March 15, 1805

"a fine day  I put out all the goods & parch meal clothing to sun, a number of Indains here to day  They make maney remarks resepcting our goods  Set some men about hulling corn*."

hulling corn* - Perhaps they were stripping the husks from the ears, more commonly called "shucking" but more likely they were removing the outer skin of the kernels.

March 16, 1805  (Mr. Garreau, first white settler in the Dakotas living among the Mandans and Arikaras, explained and demonstrated to the Captains the process of making the artistic large beads that the Indians admire.)

" this Frenchman who has lived many years with the Ricares & Mandans shewed us the process used by those Indians to make beads. the discovery of this art these nations are said to have derived from the Snake Indians who had been taken prisoners by the Ricaras.... The Indians are extreemly fond of the large beads formed by this process.  they use them as pendants to their years, or hair and sometimes wear them about their necks-" Lewis

March 17, 1805 (Earlier in the week , March 12, Charbonneau an interpreter hired by Lewis and Clark to accompany the Corps into the unknown NW Territories had decided that he would not join the expedition. However his demeanor changed)

" Mr. Chabonah Sent a french man of our party that he was sorry for the foolissh part he had acted and if we pleased he would accompany us agreeabley to the terms we had perposed and doe everything we wished him to doe."  Clark

March 18, 1805 (The Corps prepares to depart from Fort Mandan)

 " I pack up all the merchindize into 8 packs equally devided So as to have something of every thing in each Canoe & perogue."  Clark

March 19, 1805

"Cold windey day cloudy  Some little snow last night  Visited to day by the big white & little crow, also a man & his wife with a Sick child, I administer for the child ." 
March 20, 1805

"I will all the men which could be speared from the Fort went to (Perogues )Canoes, there I found a number of Indians  the men caried 4 (canoes) to the river about 1 1/2 miles thro the Bottom, I visited the Chief of the Mandans in the Course of the Day and Smoked a pipe with himself and Several men." 

March 21, 1805

" a cloudy day  some snow, the men carried the remaining the 2 remained Canoes to the River, all except 3 left to take care & complete the Canoes,  returned to the fort with their baggage, on my return to day to the Fort I came on the points of the high hills, Saw an emence quantity of Pumice Stone* on the Sides & foot of the hills and emence beds of Pumice Stone hear the Tops of the hills with evident marks of the Hill haveing once bee on fire, I collected some the differnt i e Stone Pumice Stone & a hard earth and put them into a furnace  the hard earth melted and glazed the others two and the hard clay became a pumice Stone Glazed.  I also collected a plant** the root of which is a cure for the Bite of a mad dog & snake. "

Pumice Stone* - Pumice is frothy volcanic glass. When heated in a furnace it will fuse; some clays, when heated to about 2000º F, expand and resemble somewhat the frothy volcanic rock.

collected a plant**- The plant is the purple coneflower.