File:Clark Family Collection- Volume 6. Elkskin Journal, September-December 1805.jpg

The journal is handstiched in soft elkskin cover with foldover flap, button, and leather thongs attached. Page folios are made of different types of paper, grey and off-white, and both iron gall and oak gall ink are used. Lettering is tightly-written and interspersed with maps and tables.

William Clark used the Elkskin Journal as a field journal during the fall of 1805, making daily notes and sketching maps that he later copied into three journals whose purpose was to serve as the official record of the exploration of the West (Codex G, H, and I at the American Philosophical Society). Clark recorded the daily occurrences as the party crossed the Bitterroot Mountains; canoed down the Colorado River, the Snake River and the Columbia River to cross the Rocky Mountains; and encountered the rapids and falls of the Columbia River. Along the way, the party encountered the Flathead and became the first Americans to meet the Nez Perce. After they reached the Pacific, the captains took a poll of the party concerning where to camp for the winter, including York and noting Sacagawea’s preference. They established a camp, Fort Clatsop, on the south side of the Columbia River, where they remained until March 23, 1806.