Lewis Arrives in Cahokia, Meets with Carlos Dehault Delassus

Portrait of Carlos Dehault Delassus, Missouri History Museum

On December 7, 1803, Meriwether Lewis arrived by himself on horseback at Cahokia in Illinois Territory. He left Kaskaskia two days before and began working his way up the eastern side of the Mississippi River. Lewis had actually been on his own for about a week – on November 28 he had departed Captain Clark and the Corps to likely talk with authorities in the Kaskaskia area and to take astronomical observations.

Upon arrival in Cahokia, according to his letter to President Jefferson, Lewis immediately introduced himself to John Hay, the postmaster at Cahokia. He also met Nicholas Jarrot, a French fur trapper who came to the area in 1794. Both men could speak English and French and accompanied Lewis across the Mississippi River to St. Louis on December 8 to meet with the Spanish commandant, Carlos Dehault Delassus, who was actually a French native. Delassus would not grant his permission for Lewis and Clark to proceed up the Missouri without approval from his superiors.

Lewis would remain in St. Louis that evening and return to Cahokia the next day to meet up with the Corps. The entire party would remain there for three more days.