The Voorhis collection
It appears that a few years ago Mrs. Voorhis began the
examination of the collection with a view to selecting therefrom,
for a projected compilation of her
own, certain
documents which pertained to the public careers of
various members of the Clark family, particularly
William and George
Rogers. This examination was still privately
in progress when, in the autumn of 1903, the present
Editor—
quite unconscious of the existence of other historical
manuscripts at the
Voorhis home—appeared upon the scene
with his application for the
Ordway Journal. Indeed, the
ladies themselves were as yet unaware of the
full significance
of their treasures, especially those appertaining to the
great
expedition. The result was that the writer in several visits
personally completed the examination of the collection, with
the
papers of the expedition especially in view; and arrangements
were concluded between the
proprietors of the documents
and the
publishers, by which all those essential to the
complete narrative of the
Lewis and Clark exploration are to
be published in the present
work.
The Voorhis collection of Lewis and Clark material is of
surprising richness, and consists of the following items:
Clark Journals
Red morocco note-book No. 1—Diary, April 7–July 3, 1805;
38,000 words, with 3 maps of the Falls of the Missouri.
Field-book, bound in a rude piece of elk skin, secured by a thong
and button, and undoubtedly carried in Clark's pocket upon the expedition
—Diary, Sept. 11–Dec. 31, 1805; 20,000 words, with over a
dozen full-page sketch-maps of the trail over the mountains, and the
neighborhood of Fort Clatsop, interwoven with the badly blurred text.
On the skin cover is a rude plan of the fort itself.Red morocco note-book No. 2—Diary, Jan. 30–April 3, 1806;
41,000 words, with numerous pen sketches of canoes, birds, dwellings,
tools, etc. by the same hand (Clark's) as those contained in Lewis's
codices of similar dates, in the American Philosophical Society's
collection.
Red morocco note-book No. 3—Diary, April 4–June 6, 1806;
35,000 words, with some sketch-maps.
Fragment of Journal—Detached leaves, giving evidently first draft
of entries, April 16–21, 1806; 2,300 words.
Red morocco note-book No. 4—No diary, but containing sundry
notes and tables of weather, distances, astronomical and ethnological
data—all covered, however, in more finished manuscripts in the American
Philosophical Society's collection. There are also in this book four excellent colored maps.
Miscellaneous Material
An orderly book, by several hands, running from April 1 to Oct. 13,
1804, and a detached entry for Jan. 1, 1806; detached orders promulgated
at River Dubois camp, Feb. 20 and March 4, 1804; also a few
detached orders issued during the expedition.
Ten letters (some of them drafts)—Lewis offering (June 19, 1803)
Clark an equal partnership in command of the expedition; Clark's
acceptance thereof (July 17); Clark's letter to President Jefferson
(July 24), informing him of this fact; Lewis to Clark (Aug. 3),
expressing his gratification at the latter's favorable response; six others,
chiefly by Clark, relating to various phases of the expedition.
Letter of Clark to "Mr. Hugh Henry at the N. W. Co. establishments
on the Assiniboin River," written from the Yellowstone, July
20, 1806 (2,000 words); and Clark's order to Sergeant N. Pryor, dated
July 25, 1806, directing him to take the aforesaid letter to Henry,
together with twelve or fourteen horses (320 words).
An address from the citizens of Fincastle and its vicinity to Captains
Lewis and Clark, dated January 8, 1807 (300 words); and Clark's
undated answer thereto (300 words).
Numerous other letters and memoranda—among them the original
of Jefferson's letter of credit; Clark's various military commissions,
before, during, and after the expedition; fragmentary records of courses
and distances, Indian tribes, weather data, and the like; information
concerning the Assiniboin country obtained from British traders at Fort
Mandan; and one of Clark's speeches to the Indians, in 1806.
Maps
Most important of all are about sixty detailed maps, for the most
part made by Clark while on the trip, he being engineer of the detachment.
Collectively, these illustrate the greater part of the journey
both going and returning, indicate camping-places, and contain many
interesting comments on the country and the Indians. These charts
vary in size from eight inches square to several feet long.
In addition to the above manuscripts, there are in this collection
several oil paintings of the Clarks—chiefly George
Rogers and William—together with numerous valuable relics
of these men, making of the Voorhis home a museum of great
interest to students of Western history.
