February 11, 1805

Greetings from the trail!
Sacagawea gave birth to a fine baby boy today. It was her first child. Lewis assisted by giving her a medicine made of crushed rattlesnake tail in water to speed the delivery. The baby's full name is Jean-Baptiste but Sacagawea has already nicknamed him Pomp. She seems quite happy and proud.

The ice is breaking up on the Missouri river, a sure sign of spring. Some buffalo got stranded on the huge ice cakes and swept by the village, bellowing like mad. The Mandan warriors grabbed their bows and leapt daringly from floe to floe until they reached the animals and killed them. Then they paddled the ice floes back to the village and dragged the animals up the bank with ropes. They are a truly resourceful people.
— William Clark