In December 1803 the members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition started construction of Camp Dubois, also known as Camp Wood, their winter camp of 1803–1804. Located next to the Mississippi River, and at the mouth of Wood River, the camp was in what was then St. Clair County, now Madison County, Illinois. They stayed at Camp Dubois until May 14, 1804, when they crossed the Mississippi River and started up the Missouri River (at 2,341 miles long it is the longest river in North America). On March 29, 1804, while still at Camp Dubois, Private John Colter and Shields (second cousins) threatened Sergeant John Ordway's life. They were put on trial for mutiny, but they were both spared. (See John Ordway for more information.) Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Journal of Captain Meriwether Lewis: "6th February Wednesday 1805 . . . Shields killed three antelopes this evening. the blacksmiths [John Shields, William Bratton, and Alexander Willard] take a considerable quantity of corn today in payment for their labour. the blacksmith's have proved a happy resoce to us in our present situation as I believe it would have been difficult to have devised any other method to have procured corn from the natives. the Indians are extravegantly fond of sheet iron of which they form arrow-points and manufacter into instruments for scraping and dressing their buffaloe robes - I permited the blacksmith to dispose of a part of a sheet-iron callaboos [stove] which had been nearly birnt out on our passage up the river, and for each piece about four inches square he obtained from seven to eight gallons of corn from the natives who appeared extremely pleased with the exchange" Journal of Second Lieutenant William Clark: "Friday June 13th 1806 . . . Soon after they Set out all of our hunters returned each with a deer except Shields who brought two" "Wednesday July 2nd 1806 . . . had all of our arms put in the most prime order two of the rifles have unfortunately burst near the muscle, Shields Cut them off and they Shute tolerable well" Journal of Sergeant John Ordway: "Wednesday 1st August 1804 . . . Shields went out a short time and killed & brought in a Deer." "Friday 14th Sept. 1804 . . . John Shields who went on Shore with the horse killed a verry large white rabbit or