April 16, 2006
Week ending April 22: The Dalles and John
Day Dam area
Highlights: While Capt. Clark scouts ahead
to trade for horses, and other men make packsaddles for their
cross-country shortcut to the Bitterroots, Lewis spends time
at their “rock fort” campsite describing local
plants (like the golden currant and wild hyacinth) and animals
(like the western gray squirrel). While visiting villages
on the river, Clark enjoys steamed onions but can’t
sleep because of mice in his host’s bed mats. Noticing
buffalo hides from the Missouri plains, seeing stacks of
stored dried salmon from last fall, and experiencing tough
bargaining, the captains soon realize they are in a major
commodity exchange center of the West. While waiting for
the spring salmon run, tribes engage in complex gambling
games using bones and sticks. Lewis notes distinct climate
and vegetation differences in the Columbia Gorge region,
particularly the scarcity of wood for their fires on the
east side. The party moves slowly upriver and portages around
today’s Celilo Falls using ropes to maneuver their
last two canoes. Along the riverbanks, Indians watch all
these activities with interest, sometimes helping themselves
to Expedition equipment if left exposed. A soldier still
suffering from a bad back since leaving Fort Clatsop rides
in a canoe and then gets a horse of his own. After several
days of trading away clothing and most of their kettles,
the Corps ends up with ten horses to carry equipment overland.
Words from the Journals: Clark lists one
of his unsuccessful bids for horses: “a blue robe,
Callico Shirt, a handkercef, 5 parcels of paint, a knife,
jewelry, 4 braces of ribin, a pice of Brass and about 6 braces
of yellow beeds plus my large blue blanket, my Coat, Sword & Plume
none of which Seem to entice those people…” Upset
by what they believe to be inhospitable treatment by local
residents, Lewis decides not to leave anything of value behind: “we
Cut up two of our Canoes for fire wood verry much to the
Sagreen (chagrin) of the natives notwithstanding they would
give us nothing for them.”
Today’s connections: Capt. Lewis
mentions trading his “irons” for horses in this
area. The Lewis branding iron owned by Oregon Historical
Society was found along the mid- Columbia River in the 1890s.
Tribes still gather at Celilo Falls 200 years later, for
the traditional “first salmon” ceremony. This
year, however, only one salmon was caught as the 2006 fish
counts at the dams are drastically reduced.
Bicentennial events in the Pacific Northwest: The
National Park Service traveling Bicentennial exhibit and
related displays are open to visitors at Warm Springs, Oregon
April 22-25. Presentations will include contemporary Indian
culture and how Columbia River tribes viewed the Corps of
Discovery. Friends of the Plankhouse at Ridgefield Wildlife
Refuge have a full afternoon of family activities Saturday,
April 22 followed by a native food tasting and raffle for
Chinook Indian art at Ridgefield Community Center. See details
at www.plankhouse.org.
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PDF
 April 9, 2006
Week ending April 15: Beacon Rock to The
Dalles
Highlights: It takes three days to cover
seven miles in some of the most beautiful parts of the Gorge.
Fierce rapids force the men use elkskin ropes to pull the
canoes upstream. They must portage three miles around the
roughest water in some of the most beautiful parts of the
Gorge. After losing one canoe in the battle, and damaging
the others, Capt. Lewis sends a group ahead to barter for
a replacement and gather pitch from trees to seal the cracks.
Friendly Indians trade them two small canoes for some skins.
Encounters with other natives are not as cordial, and security
becomes a concern. Someone tries to steal Seaman, Lewis’s
Newfoundland dog, and the Captain sends three men with orders
to retrieve the dog at any cost (and Seaman is turned over).
The captains notice the housing, hairstyles and clothing
of tribes of the mid-Columbia are different from those living
downriver. Particularly noteworthy are skins of the mountain
goat and big horn sheep, and the price goes up when they
express interest. The captains know horses will speed their
return journey to the Bitterroots, so they try to buy as
many as they can.
Words from the Journals: Despite nasty
weather and heavy spring run-off in the Columbia, Lewis briefly
mentions Multnomah Falls and other legendary falls we enjoy
today: “we passed several beautiful cascades which
fell from a great hight over the stupendious rocks which
close the river on both sides.” Worried about security,
Lewis writes “we informed the nativ’s by Signs
that if the indians insulted our men or Stold our property
we Should Certainly put them to death.” After buying
several dogs for camp food, Lewis writes “the dog now
constitutes a considerable part of our subsistence…I
prefer it to lean venison or Elk, and is very far superior
to the horse...”
Today’s connections: Tribal burial
sites the explorers describe at Lower and Upper Memaloose
Islands are interpreted at Memaloose Wayside on I-84. The
expedition’s Rock Fort campsite is in a light industrial
area of The Dalles and remains an important historic site
with good signage.
Bicentennial events in the Pacific Northwest: Re-enactors
are continuing their journey upstream in authentic dugouts
and spending each night in real campsites. National Guard
members provide backup assistance. For a schedule, see www.lewisandclark.net.
Visit the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Center in Stevenson,
Washington and the visitors center at Bonneville Dam to appreciate
more about the Expedition’s experience through the
Gorge and the tribes whose descendants are still here today.
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PDF
April 2, 2006
Week ending April 8: Washougal and into
Columbia Gorge.
Highlights: Reports from upriver tribes
verify the lack of game and salmon ahead, so hunters bring
in meat to dry over low-burning campfires for six days. Capt.
Lewis astonishes some visitors with his air gun. Local residents
point out the Corps missed a large river the captains will
later name Multnomah (now the Willamette). Hired for a magnifying
glass, a guide leads Clark’s small party back downstream
overnight to explore the Willamette, going as far up the
river as today’s St. Johns Bridge area. Journals for
this week add descriptions of several tribes and villages
(including one at today’s Portland Airport), dogwood
trees, salmonberries, mountain quail, as well as insects
such as ticks, long-legged spiders and butterflies. The captains
draw the layout of a typical Upper Chinookan-style plankhouse,
a long multi-family dwelling with separate apartments. Hunters
capture three black bear cubs which they exchange with local
Indians for wapato (popular potato-like bulbs growing in
water).
Words from the Journals: Seeking wapato
from reluctant sellers at one local villages, Clark throws
a piece of “portfire” (a fire starter—its
neither crude nor a match, but more of a flash and a pop
fire starter) into their fire and it immediately flashes
brightly. He then uses a magnet to twirl the needle on his
compass. The families are so alarmed they drop several parcels
of wapato at the captain’s feet and “begged me
to take out the bad fire” while “a very old blind
man implored his god for protection.” Clark quickly
regrets this deception, smokes a pipe with them, and pays
the women the “full amount” for the wapato.
Today’s connections: Clark’s
forecast of the region’s agriculture potential: “Soil
of the richest quality.” His prediction about the Willamette
River will also come true: the water is “Sufficiently
deep for a Man of War or Ship of any burthen”(near
the Port of Portland’s Terminal 4). Home of Clark’s
guide is a village known as Nichaqwli (nee CHALK lee) near
today’s Blue Lake Park in Fairview. A monument to this
village has been created in a secluded area at the west end
of the lake, coordinated by the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage
Foundation, the Confederated Tribes of G rand Ronde, and
Metro. Native-designed art pieces suggest village life of
the time. Funding sources included Spirit Mountain Community
Fund, Regional Arts and Culture Council, Oregon Heritage
Commission and the National Park Service among others.
Book of the Week: A fine historical travelogue
of the Expedition’s journey along the Columbia is Stephen
Dow Beckham’s Lewis & Clark: From the Rockies to
the Pacific, with photography by Robert M. Reynolds.
Bicentennial events in the Pacific Northwest: Re-enactors
are continuing their journey upstream in authentic dugouts.
You will find they staying at the new Capt. William Clark
Park at Cottonwood Beach [Washougal]. Stop by for a visit!
For a schedule, see www.lewisandclark.net. Watch www.lcbo.net
for other events this spring. Corps II will be in Stevenson
April 6-10.
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PDF
March 26, 2006
Week ending April 1: Longview area to Washougal/Sandy
River region.
Highlights: As they make their way up
the Columbia, visitors in canoes from several riverbank villages
greet the Corps of Discovery daily to trade. On shore, hunters
watch a condor drag a large deer about 30 yards, skin it
and break the back bone. Remembering the Cathlapotle village
they passed on the downriver trip in November (present-day
Ridgefield, Washington Wildlife Refuge), the captains now
pull in for a closer look at the 14 plankhouses and residents.
They present a medal to the “first chief,” which
he immediately turns over to his wife. They also buy 12 dogs
to add to their food supply. Learning the spring salmon run
is stalled and remembering that game on the Columbia Plateau
is scarce, they camp at today’s Washougal and begin
to lay in provisions. Believing the Quicksand (Sandy) River
might drain California, they send two men to explore the
stream. After venturing up six miles, the men confirm what
local informants had told them: this stream is fed by the
Mt. Hood region and is not the mythical river that drains
California as they thought.
Words from the Journals: At one point
the captains see familiar chives that “form a perfect
turf and are quite as agreeably flavoured” as the ones
back home. At Cathlapotle, “the frogs are croaking
in the swamps and marshes; their notes do not differ from
those of the Atlantic states.” They describe how women
collect wapato by “getting into water up to their necks”,
loosening the small tubers with their toes, and “throwing
them into small canoes.” In the Portland/Vancouver
area, the captains accurately predict why settlers will soon
come: “this valley would maintain 40 or 50 thousands
souls if properly cultivated and is indeed the only desirable
situation for a settlement which I have seen on the west
side of the Rocky mountains.” Lewis provides a familiar
word picture of Mt. St. Helens before the 1980 eruption: “the
most noble looking object of its kind in nature..its figure
is a regular cone.”
Today’s connections: One of the
Expedition’s layovers for hunting and canoe repair
is on Deer Island in Columbia County, one of the few geographic
features named by the captains still on maps today. At today’s
Sauvie Island, abundant stands of wapato still grow in waterways
as a reminder of why the captains originally named this island
for that valuable staple 200 years ago.
Bicentennial events in the Pacific Northwest: Learn
about the Corps of Discovery in the Portland/Vancouver area
at several locations this weekend: the Cathlapotle replica
plankhouse at Ridgefield Wildlife Refuge (www.plankhouse.org),
a day-long exhibition at Troutdale Historical Society April
1; and a re-enactment of the Corps’ tour of the Willamette
River at 3:00 p.m. Sunday, April 2 at Cathedral Park at St.
Johns Bridge. The National Park Service traveling exhibit
at Grand Ronde closes April 2 and then opens again April
22 at Warm Springs.
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PDF
March 19, 2006
Week ending March 25: Fort Clatsop to Clatskanie,
Oregon.
Highlights: Rain, hail and wind continue
to keep the explorers penned up inside as they prepare to
leave Fort Clatsop earlier than originally planned. The captains
issue certificates of good conduct to visiting chiefs along
with lists of the explorers in the Corps of Discovery and
their mission. They turn over their winter “huts and
furniture” to friendly Clatsop chief Coboway. Two rifles
are repaired by their gunsmith and the captains praise themselves
for bringing extra parts that guaranteed their firearms were
always in working order over the past two years. At 1 p.m.
on March 23, the Corps says farewell to Fort Clatsop and
push up river. Over the next two and a half days they travel
over 45 miles through islands along the south shore of the
Columbia to the Clatskanie River area, occasionally hunting
and trading with native villagers along the way.
Words from the Journals: Final physical
descriptions of local Clatsop Indians include the process
for flattening the heads of infants, customary clothing,
jewelry (beads and bracelets of copper and iron), and even
how men and women wear their hair (“loosly flowing
on the back and sholders, divided in center and behind the
ear on each side”). They also record the words used
by local tribes to describe white visitors like the Corps
(“cloth men” or blanket people). Regarding family
life in the region, the captains notice more equality in
male and female roles: “The men of these nations partake
of much more of the domestic drudgery than I had first supposed…they
collect and prepare all the fuel, make the fires, assist
in cleansing and preparing the fish and always cook for feasts
and the strangers who visit them.” Other men’s
chores apparently include building homes, canoes and wooden
utensils. However, men and women share responsibilities for
taking care of the canoes. On an optimistic note after months
of gray days, Capt. Lewis writes “Altho’ we have
not fared sumptuously this winter and spring at Fort Clatsop,
we have lived quite as comfortably as we had any reason to
expect we should...” Despite the rough weather, Lewis
notes: “the leafing of the hucklebury riminds us of
spring.”
Today’s connections: According to
Lewis, body piercings were also the fashion 200 years ago
on the lower Columbia, particularly dentalium shells through
the nose with shells suspended by string. Dentalium shells,
then an extremely valuable trade item, were harvested off
the shores of today’s Vancouver Island.
Bicentennial events in the Pacific Northwest: Mike
Carrick, expert on firearms carried by the Expedition, will
make two free public presentations over the next week: 11
a.m. Saturday, March 25 at Tualatin Heritage Center, 8700
SW Sweek Drive, and again at Troutdale Historical Society,
Saturday April 1 as part of a day-long commemoration of the
Corps’ visit to the Sandy River area. For a schedule
of re-enactors following the return route, including several
descendants of original Corps of Discovery members, see www.lewisandclark.net They
welcome visitor questions about what it’s like to travel
the river in dugout canoes today following 1800 Army camp
routines (with a few modern touches). The National Park Service
traveling exhibit moves on to Grand Ronde March 25-April
2 hosted by the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde. See http://www.lewisclarkandbeyond.com/schedule for
a daily schedule of performances.
Download
PDF
March 12, 2006
Week ending March 18: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: Winter sea life along the
coast and estuary take several pages of the journals as the
captains list shellfish (clams, mussels, periwinkles), seaweed
(kelp), mammals (porpoises, whales) and more descriptions
of birds, trout, steelhead and salmon. Of particular interest
to the easterners is how local tribes dry salmon roe for
later eating and how all parts of a whale are used. While
local residents also relish eating fresh porpoise, the captains
find the taste “disagreeable.” Worries about
weather and rough river travel to reach the more protected
Cathlamet area prompt the captains to leave Fort Clatsop
earlier than April 1. They send men to kill more elk and
buy two more canoes. Their inventory of trade goods is now
extremely low (smaller articles would fill one handkerchief)
plus used clothing and several robes, including five made
from their large U.S. flag. Leather work during their many
days of confinement resulted in 358 pairs of moccasins for
the return trip. A local “old baud” sets up camp
nearby offering several women for sexual favors, but after
treating several cases of venereal disease all winter, and
with their impending departure, the captains warn the men
to refrain. A Quinault Indian visitor from the northern coast
(Willapa Bay) tells of trade ships visiting his area at this
time.
Words from the Journals: Looking ahead,
the captains worry about their slim stock of trade goods
for horses and food they will need for the return trip: “a
scant dependence indeed for the tour distance before us.” The
sharp Chinookan traders squeeze Lewis’s barely-used
uniform and “half-carrot” of tobacco for one
cedar canoe “which is equal in value to a wife and
generally given in exchange to the daughter for a daughter.” Watching
to see if the men ignore temptation by the “old baud”,
Capt. Lewis writes “I believe notwithstanding every
effort of their winning graces, the men have preserved their
constancy to the vow of celibacy.”
Today’s connections: When is it
OK to break a code of conduct? The captains authorize stealing
of a second Chinookan canoe on the pretense it was payback
for elk carcasses taken earlier in the winter by local residents
(even though the offenders had already tried to make recompense).
The cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarki) is one of many
plant and animal species today that bear the name of Lewis
or Clark.
Books of the Week: Popular Naselle, Washington speaker and writer Rex Ziak
has a new book Lewis and Clark: Down and Up the Columbia River (Moffitt House
Press) featuring an eight-foot fold out map with commentary.
Bicentennial events in the Pacific Northwest: The
free exhibit and hourly performances at the traveling National
Park Service Corps of Discovery II and Tent of Many Voices
runs March 13-20 in St. Helens, then travels to Grand Ronde
for two weeks. See www.lcbo.net for
details. Presentations in the tent alternate between tribal
stories and Lewis and Clark history, natural science and
implications for today. Re-enactors and exhibits from other
state and federal agencies will be stationed nearby.
Download
PDF
March 5, 2006
Week ending March 11: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: Friendly Clatsop Indian chief
Coboway brings along two of his children with gifts of dried
smelt which the captains deem “excellent..and very
acceptable particularly at this moment.” Of the several
men in the party who are convalescing, their soldier Bratton
continues to suffer severe pain in his lower back. The captains
wish they could supply a better diet for those suffering
from various illnesses and injuries. Often using comparisons
to species back home, they continue describing herons, fishing
hawks, kingfishers, gulls, cormorants, loons, geese, swans,
mallards and several other ducks, divers, and teal. The golden
eagle rates several paragraphs along with commentary on how
tribes across the country revere its tail feathers for ceremonies
and regalia. Snakes and lizards are added to their wildlife
lists. Hunters report several elk killed, but some meat must
be hauled five miles. Hunters also say they measured one “pine
tree” (sitka spruce) 300 feet tall and 42 feet around.
Words from the Journals: Entries about
bird life also involved a taste test. Of the cormorant, Capt.
Clark says “we found this bird fat and tolerably flavoured
as we decended the Columbia.” Of one duck, Lewis says
it is “equally delicious” as those in the United
States but two others are “unfit for uce.” After
one man returns from trading with the Cathlamet Indians for
smelt, fresh sturgeon and wapato, this welcome food prompts
Lewis to write “we once more live in clover.”
Today’s connections: During the
dreary winter at Fort Clatsop, the captains dutifully followed
Jefferson’s instructions to make copies of their journals
in case one set were lost, even reproducing several fine
drawings of fish and the heads of birds. How they needed
a photocopy machine! Clark, the map maker, typically rewrites
Lewis’s entries word for word, but still adds his own
insights occasionally.
Books of the Week: How the several journalists kept their records and how editors
over the years have published various versions is an interesting story itself.
Bernard DeVoto produced an early history of the journals. Gary Moulton, editor
of the most recent comprehensive collection, provides good background as well.
James Holmberg’s 2005 edition of the Sgt. Floyd journal is the most recent
addition to the journal bookshelf. The Lewis & Clark College library holds
many of these rare editions available for viewing by special appointment.
Bicentennial events in the Pacific Northwest: Sunday,
March 11 is the last day of the National Lewis and Clark
Exhibition at Oregon Historical Society. Crowds have been
growing the last month. For a look at the Lewis and Clark
story from the view of tribes, visit Clark County Historical
Society’s “Native Perspectives on the Trail:
A Contemporary American Indian Art Portfolio.” The
museum is located at 1511 Main St. in Vancouver. Plan ahead
for the return of the National Park Service Corps of Discovery
II and Tent of Many Voices free exhibition in St. Helens
March 13-20.
Download
PDF
February 26, 2006
Week ending March 4: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: Hunters search far afield
for the prized elk as food supplies begin to run low. In
the meantime, the Corps feasts on smelt, sturgeon and wapato
(their “potato”) purchased from visiting Clatsop
Indians. They learn how local residents cook sturgeon in
a pit lined with hot stones interspersing cuts of fish between
layers of bush branches topped by a cover of woven mats.
Water poured through the mesh vaporizes when hitting the
hot stones, thus steaming the sturgeon filets. The captains
continue their careful scientific descriptions of animal
life from the Montana plains to the Pacific, often comparing
their new discoveries to familiar species back in the United
States. This week they focus on smaller four-legged creatures:
mountain beaver, badger, wood rat, mouse, mole, skunk, hare,
and rabbit. These birds rate their attention: grouse, pheasant,
crow, blackbird, hawks, turtle dove, robin, woodpecker, wren,
snipe, sparrow, lark, crane and dozens of aquatic birds.
Visiting Tillamook Indians offer to sell Clark a 10-year
old boy captured from another tribe. The captains learn these “slaves” are
adopted into families as if they were their own children.
Words from the Journals: Constant cold,
rain, sick men, and the routines of camp life are beginning
to have a psychological impact on the captains: “..we
are counting the days which seperate us from the 1st of April
and which bind us to fort Clatsop.” The captains observe
how local tribes eat the root of cattail which they believe
would be an “excellent starch.”
Today’s connections: Northwesterners
can sympathize with the Corps of Discovery waiting for the
long, wet days to end. Winter 1806 seems to be more snowy
at the coast than usual. The captains say “a high mountain” 18
miles from Fort Clatsop (likely today’s Saddle Mountain)
is covered in snow most of the winter.
Book of the Week: Mike Lapinski’s
The Elk Mystique, published by Stoneydale Press Publishing
Co. and Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, provides a good overview
of why the “wapiti” has been an important part
of American life for centuries.
Website of the Week: Keep checking www.lewis-clark.org for
new entries. This remains the premier site for background
on the Corps of Discovery. Excellent graphics and sound bites
include the call of an elk.
Bicentennial events in the Pacific Northwest: Plan
ahead to attend the next national bicentennial event sponsored
by the Nez Perce Tribe June 14-17 in Lewiston, Idaho and
nearby historic areas. Go to www.thesummerofpeace.org for
details.
Download
PDF
February 19, 2006
Week ending February 25: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: With time to review and revise their notes,
the captains continue their descriptions of animal
species over the past months. This time they focus on
antelope,
deer, elk, foxes, raccoons, sheep, squirrels and wolves.
One of the men brings cranberries for the sick. Lewis
frets
that the Corps is becoming too comfortable with neighboring
tribes and visitors and are letting down their guard.
Rain continues to disrupt hunting and other daily activities.
Using head measurements taken earlier, several Clatsop
Indian visitors bring custom-made woven cedar bark
hats that are popular items. Capt. Lewis describes why
the
sea
otter pelt is “the most delightfull fur in the world”,
pointing to its silky sheen interspersed with “fine
black Shining hairs.” Smelt (thought to be herring
and anchovies by the captains) are starting to run in the
Columbia and are “skimmed or scooped” with
nets by native fishermen about 40 miles upriver. “I
think them superior to any fish I ever tasted,” says
Lewis.
Words from the Journals: Once again the journal keepers
rave about the artistry of local tribes: “the woodwork and
sculpture of these people as well as these hats and their waterproof
baskets evince an ingenuity by no means common among the Aborigines
of America.” On the men’s health: “we have
not had as many sick at any one time since we left Wood River…the
general complaint seams to be bad colds and fevers, something
I believe of the influenza.” Too many clouds at the coast
keep the explorers from gathering mapmaking and weather data: “I
am mortfyed at not having it in my power to make more celestial
observations since we have been at Fort Clatsop, but such has
been the state of the weather that I have found it utterly
impracticable…”
Today’s connections: Smelt dippers are on the lookout
this month for the mysterious “eulachon” running
up the Sandy and Cowlitz Rivers. In recent years the migrations
have been sporadic. Lewis and Clark quickly learned to love
this tasty fish known also as candlefish because their oily
bodies burned when dried and lighted.
Book of the Week: A finely-detailed smelt drawing from
the journals is the cover art for Paul Cutright’s comprehensive
guide to flora and fauna documented by the explorers titled
Lewis and Clark: Pioneering Naturalists.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: Times to
see OMSI’s
IMAX film “Lewis & Clark: Great Journey West” are
posted at www.omsi.edu. Only three more weeks left to visit
the National Lewis and Clark Exhibition at Oregon
Historical Society.
Download PDF
February 12, 2006
Week ending February 18: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: Three Northwest icons rate
several paragraphs and drawings in the captains’ journals
this week: lush ferns, an “evergreen shrub” we
will later know as Oregon grape, and a condor. Saltmakers
at today’s Seaside report they have made three bushels
in all, so the captains decide this is enough for the return
trip. They order the cairn closed and equipment hauled back
to the fort. One of the party purchases a robe made from
the three “tiger cat” skins. Later we know this
to be the Oregon bobcat, another new discovery for scientists.
Capt. Lewis takes time to list all the four-legged mammals
they’ve seen on the trip, noting particularly the horses
used by tribes between the Rockies and Cascades. Two men
continue to be very sick with various treatments given, including
sage tea. The Corps learns one of the trade ships that sometimes
visits the Columbia River mouth usually has three cows on
board, prompting the captains to believe there must be a
white settlement on the north coast.
Words from the Journals: Hunters wound
a condor with a wingspan of over nine feet. They report it
made a “loud noise very much like the barking of a
dog.” The captains provide three pages of details about
this legendary “thunderbird”. “I believe
this to be the largest Bird of North America” says
Clark. Finishing much of his map work, he finally declares: “we
now discover we have found the most practicable and navigable
passage across the Continent of North America.” They
believe the tribes’ “abundance and cheapness
of horses will be extremely advantageous” to future
fur traders.
Today’s connections: Oregon grape
is just one botanical find by Capt. Lewis that will later
become a Northwest state flower; Washington’s rhododendron
is another. The captains write glowingly of the Appaloosa
horses used by the Nez Perce Tribe. Youth and adults in that
tribe are again breeding, training and working with these
unique horses to keep Appaloosa traditions alive.
Book of the Week: An Oregon National Guard
officer/writer Timothy X. Merritt has teamed with photographer
Craig C. Harmel to publish Our Destiny Entwined: A Tale of
the Corps of Discovery’s Winter at the Pacific Coast
featuring photos of re-enactors who perform at Fort Clatsop.
Ordering information at www.thelewisandclarkexpedition.com.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: Saltmakers
will recreate their camp February 17-19 at Seaside’s
Turnaround. Only four weeks left to visit the National Lewis
and Clark Exhibition at Oregon Historical Society. See www.ohs.org for
details. Volunteers can help move 400 logs for the new Fort
Clatsop by contacting Park Ranger Bob Conway at (253) 569-4193
or (503) 861-4400. Help is needed each afternoon and evening
from February 22 through March 21.
Download
PDF
February 5, 2006
Week ending February 11: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: The weather is unusually cold
in January and early February with several days of snow.
Ice greets the men on the river banks. Good news arrives
when a hunting party finds their lost native-made canoe in
a small inlet. It was earlier carried away by the tides and
winds. Capt. Lewis still puzzles over the various species
of conifers in the area, finally just numbering them 1,2,3,4,5.
Pressed leaves and stems from salal and vine maple will later
become new discoveries for botanists around the world. A
black bear surprises some of the men, but Clatsop Indian
neighbors assure them the bears are usually “in their
holes” now. Hunters finally retrieve several elk killed
days earlier, but some of the meat is missing and the captains
blame local residents. Several men suffer injuries and illness
while others stay busy jerking their elk meat which is hard
to do in their “huts” with continuous rain outside
keeping humidity high.
Words from the Journals: Probably glad
for a change in the menu, elk brisket, tongue and marrow
bones are a special treat for both dinner (lunch) and supper: “this
for Fort Clatsop is living in high Stile, and in fact fiesting...” The
captains learn that many years ago smallpox spread through
Indian villages along the Columbia and Pacific coast. Apparently
it took only four or five years for the disease to reduce
the population drastically.
Today’s connections: Berries from
salal, a familiar shrub in Pacific Northwest coastal areas,
were brought back by the Expedition and successfully propagated
by President Jefferson’s friends back home. Lewis writes
again about the pacific blackberry which grows thickly in
Columbia River country. This is one of the parent stocks
of our well-known Marionberry, but it was also a popular
fresh food (not dried) for local tribes. This berry is different
from the Himalayan blackberry now considered a nuisance.
Book of the Week: Two newer books on medical
aspects of the Lewis and Clark story are David Peck’s
Or Perish in the Attempt and Bruce Paton’s Lewis and
Clark: Doctors in the Wilderness.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: Clark
County Historical Museum presents Native Perspectives on
the Trail: A Contemporary American Indian Art Portfolio,
an exhibition of contemporary prints by 15 American Indian
artists responding to the Lewis & Clark Bicentennial.
Call (360) 993-5679 or visit www.cchmuseum.org
Download
PDF
January 29, 2006
Week ending February 4: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: Details about life along the
lower Columbia fill many journal pages as the captains write
about and sketch canoes, canoe paddles, an unusual knife,
a typical Clatsop hat, a brown thrush, and games of chance
played by Clatsop Indians and other tribes they’ve
met on the trip. The work party 16 miles away at the coast
sends back its first bushel of salt scraped from pots kept
boiling night and day. Checking through their gunpowder supplies,
the captains are proud of their ingenious system for protecting
it in lead canisters sealed with a cork and wax. Despite
several spills in rivers, most containers are airtight and
intact. The men would melt the canisters to make bullets.
Words from the Journals: After telling
us how the Corps bought dozens of dogs to eat as they descended
the Columbia River, Capt. Lewis finally explains (in one
line) why local tribes value them: “the nativs of this
neighbourhood have a Small Dog which they make usefull in
hunting the elk.” In a reference to the Bible about
carvings on Chinookan Indian canoes, Lewis says: “their
images are representations of a great variety of grotesque
figures, any of which might be safely worshiped without committing
a breach of the commandments.” The captain notes “some
of the large canoes are upwards of 50 feet long and will
carry from 8 to 10 thousand lbs. or from 20 to thirty persons…”
Today’s connections: Straining his
botanical skills, Lewis admits difficulty distinguishing
between the various conifers of the Pacific Northwest. He
often calls them “pine.” Just as we marvel at
the world’s largest Sitka spruce not far from Seaside,
Lewis is particularly impressed by that species at the coast.
To see a building inspired by the Clatsop hat drawn by Lewis,
visit the chapel at Lewis & Clark College. The high stakes
Indian games described by the captains may be a precursor
of wagering at casinos today. However, 200 years ago these
games of risk were accompanied by singing.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: Oregon
Historical Society offers several programs free with regular
museum admission: Tuesday, February 7: Landon Jones on “William
Clark: The Necessary American”, 7 p.m.; Wednesday,
February 8: Black Heritage Month program on York with Darrell
Millner, 7-9 pm.; Saturday, February 11: Lewis and Clark
Children's Theatre, 2-4 p.m. Players from Seattle's Theater
Troupe "Playback Theater," will interview children
about their connection to Lewis and Clark and then will "act
out" the children's responses. The Saltmakers return
to Seaside on President’s Day weekend near the turnaround.
Re-enactors will keep their pots boiling and answer questions
as if you were on the beach with them 200 years ago. Children
might want to bring something to trade. What would these
workers really want?
Download
PDF
January 22, 2006
Week ending January 28: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: Food is on the minds of the
Corps, both for their written record and their stomachs.
Two hunting teams are sent out from the Fort. One group recruits
some Clatsop Indian helpers to haul back their three elk
kills, but snow hides carcasses in the coastal range when
searchers go to retrieve the other team’s meat. The
explorers work hard to tan elk skins for moccasins and clothes.
Meanwhile at today’s Seaside, the saltmakers are also
trying to stay fed as they replenish the Fort’s salt
supply. One of the new roots the men learn to like tastes
like wheat dough. They observe local residents eat it “voraciously.” Another
root is too tough to chew easily, but reminds them of sweet
potato. Roots of the thistle taste better when eaten with
whale oil or beaten in cold water to resemble mush. The men’s
favorite is still the wapato, a starchy bulb which they note
grows only in waterways, ponds and lakes for 70 miles downstream
from today’s Sandy River. This is also one of the valuable
items of trade for upriver Chinook Indians who sell basketsfull
to Columbia estuary tribes and white visitors. Local berries
and fruit such as salal, huckleberries and Oregon crabapple
also receive detailed botanical analysis in the journals.
Wood from the crabapple is shaped into axe handles and wedges,
becoming “excessively hard when seasoned”.
Words from the Journals: Neighboring Clatsop Indians go along with some of
the hunters. Lewis says the visitors have “a very exalted opinion of
us as marksmen and the superior excellence of our rifles…my Air-gun also
astonishes them..(they) think it is great medicine.”
Today’s connection: Sexually-transmitted
disease is readily apparent to the captains who observe evidence
in local tribes and are treating their own men with mercury-laden
medicine. This is the evidence some archeologists were seeking
as they tried to pinpoint Fort Clatsop’s location.
Military code specified latrines should be 50 paces away.
No mercury traces were located at the present site during
several years of probes.
Book of the Week: Several cookbooks using
the Lewis and Clark theme have been published during the
Bicentennial period. Mary Gunderson has written two: Cooking
on the Lewis and Clark Expedition and The Food Journal of
Lewis and Clark.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: Student
Conservation Association members from several states are
leading efforts to rebuild Fort Clatsop. Visitors are invited
to the Clatsop County Fairgrounds to see the construction
underway, talk with park staff and help with the work. The
Clatsop County Fairgrounds are located approximately 4 miles
south of Astoria on Hwy 202. For information, call Pete Field
(503) 861-4402. Log work should be completed in March with
re-assembly scheduled for spring at the original site.
Download
PDF
January 15, 2006
Week ending January 21: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: Camp routines for the Corps
of Discovery now begin to focus on President Jefferson’s
original instructions and less on basic shelter. Hunting
squads are dispatched to acquire food since bartering with
visiting tribes is depleting scarce trade goods. The captains
give up tools for making moccasins in return for edible roots
of ferns, thistles and the popular wapato. However, their
visitors will not exchange sea otter skins for anything but
the Expedition’s last six fathoms of blue beads. Lewis
writes several pages of valuable ethnographic descriptions
still used by researchers today. A main topic is hunting
techniques: bows and arrows (meatcutters find several elk
with old arrow points still lodged inside), snares, camouflaged
pits, deadfalls (a weight tripped and falling on the victim),
and spears (for beaver and otter), and guns (seldom effective,
using old American and British muskets, not rifles). Arrows
used for hunting waterfowl rate two separate drawings because
of their unique design. Lewis describes each step of construction
and how materials are applied (using elk sinew for thread
and sturgeon “gleue” for attaching feathers).
The arrow point end comes apart so the main shaft floats
in the water for retrieval and re-use. He also provides details
of bone fish hooks, keying a description to each part of
the drawing. On local housing, Clatsop-area plankhouses seem
shorter and more rectangular to the captains than the larger
style they saw upriver.
Words from the Journals: Lewis is fascinated
by hats and “baskets formed of cedar bark and beargrass
so closely interwoven that they are watertight without the
aid of gum or rosin; some of these are highly ornamented
with strans of beargrass which they dye of several colours
and interweave in a variety of figures.” Some are small
as a cup, writes Lewis, while others are up to five or six
gallons in size. Non-water-tight baskets sometimes carried
on their heads for holding berries, roots and fish are often
conical shaped. Cooking baskets apparently stand up well
to boiling water heated by hot rocks.
Today’s connection: Things always
work out in the end. Looking back on the decision about where
to spend the winter, Lewis expresses satisfaction with adequate
food supply, “houses dry and comfortable,” and
each man “content with his situation and fare.” Involving
the whole group in an important decision like where to build
the fort seems to be paying off. Describing Chinookan-style
hats “with a high crown rather larger at the top than
where it joins the brim,” Lewis sees similarities with
fashions in the US and Britain in the years 1800 and 1801.
Local traders know these are hot items for white men, much
needed gear for a rainy winter at the coast 200 years before
Gore-Tex.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: Clark
County Museum in Vancouver offers a spectacular collection
of Northwest Indian baskets, complete with a color guidebook.
Many Chinook Indian artifacts are also on display. The museum
lists a number of public programs with a Lewis and Clark
connection at http://cchmuseum.org/.
The Vancouver Sympohony is also continuing its series of
Bicentennial offerings, one this weekend. Go to www.vancouversymphony.org/.
Download
PDF
January 8, 2006
Week ending January 14: Fort Clatsop and
Cannon Beach.
Highlights: Capt. Lewis stays at Fort
Clatsop to handle paperwork, and track down canoes that float
way, while Clark leads a group of men and Sacagawea to investigate
the beached whale and describe tribes and terrain. How the
native people boil down the blubber in cedar troughs using
hot stones draws their attention. Whale oil is highly valued
and not easily obtained by the explorers. Tribal informants
at the mouth of the Columbia easily name the captains or
names of ships which cross the bar from April till early
fall, buying hides and furs for eventual transport to Canton,
China. The captains also hear words they recognize (like
musket, powder, “damned rascal” and “sun
of a bitch”). They wonder if local tribes have been
talking with American or British seafarers. Lewis is impressed
with how tribal visitors inhale when smoking, but apparently
have had no exposure to alcohol from traders.
Words from the Journals: Clark recalls
the Bible story of Jonah, writing “I thank providence
for directing the whale to us; and think him much more kind
to us than he was to jonah, having Sent this monster to be
Swallowed by us in Sted of swallowing of us as jonah’s
did.” Clark is also a real promoter for Cannon Beach: “rocks
of emence Sise out at a great distance from the Shore and
against which the Seas brak with great force gives this Coast
a most romantic appearance.”
Today’s connection: Clark measures
the whale beached near Ecola State Park at 105’ long.
The gray whales traveling along the Oregon coast this time
of the year would rarely be much longer than 50 ft. Some
experts believe this particular specimen must have been a
blue whale whose range today is further out to sea. On the
other hand, local tribes would say Creator once again provides
these gifts when needed.
Website of the week: Find out more on
whales, and visit what might have been “Clark’s
Point of View” at Tillamook Head at www.lewis-clark.org.
This website adds new features monthly and continues to be
the best overall reference for the Lewis and Clark story.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: On
Thursday, January 19, Oregon Historical Society offers Sacagawea,
Bird Woman: An Indian Historian's View with Dr. Jeanne Eder.
Cocktails 6-9 p.m. Program starts at 7 p.m. See www.ohs.org for
details. Looking ahead, see costumed re-enactors make salt
authentically at Seaside’s Avenue U, February 17-19.
Download
PDF
January 1, 2006
Week ending January 7: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: New Years Day, like Christmas
morning, begins with rifle volleys to celebrate the holiday.
The captains agree the men are dreaming of being home a year
from now. The operating rules for Fort Clatsop require two
pages, including a command that each night guard will bring
two loads of wood to the commanding officers’ quarters
every morning. There is now time to begin writing up earlier
notes and describing the natural world around them, particularly
birds and a skate (fish). Clark finally accepts the fact
that “intolerably troublesom flees” will not
disappear. Hunting parties once again go out and local visitors
drop in with items for trade. First results from the saltmakers
at the coast arrive, along with blubber from the whale that
washed up near today’s Cannon Beach. Lewis says it
is “pallitable and tender” not unlike pork fat,
but “more spongey and somewhat coarser.” The
salt is “excellent white & fine” and the
men are glad to have it again. Clark leads a team to visit
the saltmakers and see the beached whale. Sacagawea goes
along after insisting “she had traveled a long way
with us to see the great waters” and also the “monstrous
fish.” Clark describes their climb up today’s
Tillamook Head as the “Steepest worst and highest mountain
I ever ascended.”
Words from the Journals: Lewis, whose
journal entries begin after weeks of silence, says the best
thing about their 1806 New Year is knowing they will be able “to
participate in the mirth and hilarity of the day” on
January 1, 1807. With all hard spirits used up at Great Falls,
Montana, they are content with “solacing our thirst
with our only beverage pure water.” Comparing his men’s
like of dog meat to the native preference for whale blubber,
he notes “our party is perfectly reconciled to subsist
on dogs and have now become extremely fond of their flesh,” preferring
it to venison or elk. When Lewis is writing, Clark’s
copies most of his partner’s entries for safekeeping.
On eating dogs, Clark adds this: “I have not become
reconsiled to the taste of this animal as yet.” Without
a dictionary, Lewis still often gets his spelling right.
Describing trade with local Chinook Indians, he complains
about their “avaricious all grasping disposition.”
Today’s connection: As an early health educator, Clark takes issue with
Lewis and the other men on constant use of salt on what they eat. He says he
can do without it, preferring the natural flavors of his food.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: For
a post-holiday workout, try the Saturday, January 7, “A
Whale of a Hike” over Tillamook Head to Ecola State
Park. For more details or to register, visitwww.cannonbeach.org or
call (503) 436-2623. Attend a free lecture at Fort Clatop,
Sunday, January 15, 1 p.m. with Julie Stein discussing "Lewis
and Clark: Where exactly were they?" On Thursday, January
19, Oregon Historical Society offers Sacagawea, Bird Woman:
An Indian Historian's View with Dr. Jeanne Eder. Cocktails
6-9 p.m. Program starts at 7 p.m. See www.ohs.org for
details.
Download PDF
December 25
Week ending December 31: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: Barely settled in their new
home, the men wake the captains outside their windows on
Christmas morning with volleys of gunfire, cheerful shouts
and songs. After breakfast, it’s time for a gift exchange:
the captains distribute half the remaining tobacco to those
who use it and give handkerchiefs to the others. Capt. Clark
receives fleece clothing from Meriwether Lewis, a pair of
moccasins and basket from two men, 24 white weasel tails
from Sacagawea, and roots from visiting Clatsop Indians.
The men work all week building furniture and the outside
security fence and gates. A team lugs several iron pots to
the ocean so salt making can begin. Hunters replenish their
elk meat supply which spoils quickly in the moist and moderate
weather. Fleas torment the men night and day, both in their
clothing and in their beds. “Musquetors” also
bug the men. Clark notes “my man York” suffers
from a bad cold and aches from lifting heavy logs. Indian
visitors bring valuable roots and berries to sell and others
tell about a whale that foundered on the coast to the southwest
(today’s Cannon Beach). Clark gives a visiting chief
a razor. Concerned about disappearing items, the captains
impose new rules for visitors: the gates will be shut at
sunset and no one can spend the night. Posting a guard is
also a new procedure, but after minor grumbling, tribal visitors
and traders quickly adjust.
Words from the Journals: Clark writes: “We
would have Spent this day the nativity of Christ in feasting,
had we any thing either to raise our Sperits or even gratify
our appetites, our Diner concisted of pore Elk, So much Spoiled
that we eate it thro’ mear necessity…” On
New Year’s Eve, Clark observes evidence of prior European
visitors: “With the party of Clat Sops who visited
us was a man much lighter Coloured than the natives are generally,
he was freckled with long duskey red hair, about 25 years
of age, and must Certainly be half white at least, this man
appeared to understand more of the English language than
the others of his party, but did not Speak a word of English..”
Today’s connection: Famous Pacific
Northwest slugs rate this description in Clark’s journal: “Snales
without Cover is Common and large.” As the year closes,
Clark tries to put a positive spin on coastal weather: “this
day proved the best we have had Since at this place, only
3 Showers of rain to day.”
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: Volunteers
can help prepare logs for the new Fort Clatsop replica by
checking with Pete Field, Project Manager, at (503) 861-4402.
Clark’s elk skin journal containing the floor plan
for Fort Clatsop is on display until March 11 at Oregon Historical
Society in Portland. Go to www.ohs.org for
exhibition details.
Download PDF
December 18
Week ending December 24: Fort Clatsop.
Highlights: The Corps spends the week before Christmas
working on their new quarters and trying to lay in a
food supply.
Rain turns to hail and snow at times. Capt. Lewis describes
a gray jay and Steller’s jay in careful detail, often
comparing features to birds back home. The elk meat they
worked so hard to get is spoiling before they can completely
dry it. Pounded (powdered) salmon purchased near today’s
Celilo Falls gets wet and molds. Local Clatsop Indians
bring roots, mats and berries to sell, but continue to
demand high prices (blue and white beads, fish hooks, tobacco,
files for sharpening and even some of the pounded fish
from upriver). A chief offers women to the men, and when
the captains say no, the chief is displeased. One of the
men builds writing desks for the captains so their paperwork
will be easier to spread out. Two men are dispatched to
flatlands near the ocean to gather a plant that mixes well
with their tobacco. Capt. Clark sends a small stick of
cinnamon to a sick man in a Clatsop village who had displayed
friendship. On a rainy Christmas Eve day, the men start
moving into their “huts.”
Words from the Journals: Alternating gusts of rain and
snow halt construction one day because of inadequate
clothing: “The
men being thinly Dressed and mockersons without Socks is
the reason that but little can be done at the Houses to day…”
Today’s connection: While the captains had vowed to
maintain high standards of conduct in their relations with
tribes, they sometimes break their code. To speed up construction
of Fort Clatsop, for example, they take two canoe loads of
planks from what they say is an abandoned house across the
bay. This is likely a seasonal home (fishing grounds) for
Chinookan people of the lower Columbia who retreat inland
during the winter. At the same time, Capt. Clark complains
of petty theft by visitors to their camp.
Website of the Week: How schools are approaching
the Lewis and Clark story? See a resource designed for
teachers in
Vancouver, Washington: www.vansd.org/lewisandclark
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: During
the holiday period, Fort Clatsop will offer a variety
of “wintering
in” activities for all ages. Schedule for lectures,
ranger talks, and hikes are best found by searching for Lewis
and Clark National and State Historical Parks, then click
on Events. Download PDF
December 11
Week ending December 18: Fort Clatsop area.
Highlights: Preparing logs and framing
their winter huts is now the top priority for the wet and
ailing Corps of Discovery. In addition to fleas flourishing
in their fur clothing and bedrolls, complaints include a
dislocated shoulder, “biles” on the skin, a sprained
knee and “disentary.” Elk are indeed more plentiful
on the south side of the Columbia, and hunters kill 17 of
the large animals. It takes two-days for Capt. Clark and
several men to retrieve the carcasses and back sprains occur
from carrying the heavy meat. Top priority is building a
smokehouse. Jerking (drying) the elk is hard to do in the
stormy weather and the meat spoils quickly if not preserved.
A Clatsop chief named Coboway visits the construction site
with food and pelts to trade.
Words from the Journals: Trying to buy
wapato and skins for clothing from the local Clatsop Indians
is increasingly difficult: “they never close a bargin
except they think they have the advantage. They value the
blue and white beeds highly.” Meantime, framers of
the first Fort Clatsop are busy: “all the men at work
about the house, chinking, dobbing and cutting out doors.”
Today’s connection: This week volunteers
are stripping donated logs as Fort Clatsop III is being recreated
at the Clatsop County Fairgrounds in Astoria. It will be
reassembled later in 2006 on the same foundation used for
the 1955 replica. Did the Chinook and Clatsop Indians have
trouble with fleas? Perhaps not since their clothing and
other household goods were typically made from cedar. Pet
beds today are often stuffed with cedar shavings, said to
be a natural insect repellant. For a free pamphlet titled
Lewis and Clark and Oregon Forests, call Oregon Forest Resources
Institute, 503-229-6718. The carpenters were amazed at how
well some of the logs split into planks, a common technique
used by native peoples in the region.
Website of the Week: To learn about the tribe whose ancestors greeted the Expedition
in the Fort Clatsop area, go to http://www.clatsop-nehalem.com/
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: A
rough blueprint of Fort Clatsop is found in the elk skin
journal kept by Capt. Clark, one of the many artifacts now
on display at the Oregon Historical Society in Portland.
See www.ohs.org for
hours and costs. The Lewis branding iron used to mark trees
is among the items owned by OHS.
Download PDF.
December 4
Week ending December 10: Astoria and Seaside,
Oregon area.
Highlights: Separated into two and sometimes
three groups for a week, Lewis probes the lower Columbia
estuary to find a suitable winter campsite while Clark continues
to battle high waves, winds and driving rain around today’s
Tongue Point. Finally, Lewis returns with two men to describe
an ideal location close to game, a fresh water spring, and
access to the river with some protection from storms. After
more weather delays, the men pack their canoes for the final
time this winter and follow Lewis to the chosen spot. While
Lewis immediately sets the men to work on clearing timber,
Clark now becomes the scout and leads a small team on a three-day
trek to the beach, ending up at today’s Seaside. Here
they spend one night with friendly villagers where Clark
demonstrates his marksmanship by shooting brants (geese)
at 40 yards. The natives provide a feast of fish, boiled
roots and a compote of salal and other berries. Clark describes
two hand games played by his adult hosts: one for gambling
and another comparable to backgammon. The men also discover
how tough shopping with local tribes will be during their
winter stay: to trade for some roots, red beads are refused,
but small fish hooks are acceptable currency.
Words from the Journals: “1000 conjectures
has crowded into my mind respecting his probable Situation & Safty,” writes
Clark, as he worries over the fate of Lewis who is long overdue
trying to find a suitable spot to spend the winter. Leading
the first tour group to visit Seaside, Clark gives this report
on his lodging: “I had not long been on my mat when
I was attacked most violently by the flees and they kept
up a close Siege duering the night.”
Today’s connection: Hunting for a
spot suitable for saltmaking is one of the first tasks after
arriving at their future Fort Clatsop site. Rather than heading
directly west to present-day Fort Stevens, the men hike 16
miles to today’s Seaside. Why? Billions of gallons
of fresh water pouring out of the Columbia dilute the salinity
for several miles up and down the coast, impacting the time
needed to boil down the salt.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: The
traveling National Park Service exhibit and Tent of Many
Voices wraps up its 2005 schedule December 11 near the O.O.
Howard House at the Fort Vancouver Historic Preserve. Hourly
presenters between 9 and 4 cover a wide range of topics.
Exhibits by the National Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
are accompanied by a replica keelboat, dugout, Chinook canoe
and a self-guided interpretive tour of Lewis and Clark’s
journey and tribes they met. Schedule is accessible at www.lcbo.net.
For a unique perspective on the Lewis and Clark journey from
the eyes of tribes they met west of the Rockies, attend the
public launch of a new radio series December 11 between 1-5
p.m. at the Portland State University Native American Student
and Community Center. Details at www.wisdomoftheelders.org
Download PDF
November 27
Week ending December 3: Astoria, Oregon
area.
Highlights: Determined to see if the Clatsop
Indians were right about more elk being on the south side
of the river, the Corps makes its way around today’s
Tongue Point and is once again pinned down by the weather,
resulting in a two-foot crack in one canoe. Capt. Lewis takes
a small group on ahead in their native-built canoe to see
if they can find a suitable spot for winter camp. What the
captains thought would be a short scouting trip turns into
a week of frustration as the men probe the dense shoreline
underbrush and small inlets. The hunters finally succeed,
but getting the meat hauled out proves difficult. Back at
base camp on the exposed shoreline, the worried Clark tries
to overcome rotting tents and wet clothes while he and others
suffer from diarrhea they attribute to eating powdered salmon.
Sacagawea apparently tries to comfort Clark by giving him
a piece of hard bread she’s been saving until her baby
could start eating hard food. Even though the bread has gotten
wet and is slightly sour, Clark says it gives him “great
Satisfaction, it being the only mouthful I had tasted for
Several months past.” These weather delays give the
journal keepers time to list some of the rich plant and wildlife
resources of the area, particularly roses and bird life.
We also read first details of what we know now as the Pacific
blackberry, salmonberry, Oregon crabapple and Pacific madrone.
Clark also describes how lower Columbia tribes often bury
their dead with paddles and utensils inside canoes raised
on scaffolds, apparently to speed their journey to another
life.
Words from the Journals: “O! how
disagreeable is our Situation during this dreadfull weather,” laments
Clark. One night the wind “blew with such violence
that I expected every moment to See trees taken up by the
roots, maney were blown down.” Clark laments it’s
been 24 days since they arrived at the “Great Western
(for I cannot say Pacific) Ocian as I have not Seen one pacific
day since my arrival…”
Today’s connection: The Pacific
blackberry the explorers describe along the Columbia River
is part of the genetic pool for the famous Marionberry grown
widely in the region. This plant is not the same as the Himalayan
blackberry regarded as a non-native, invasive species.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: Fort
Vancouver National Historic Reserve hosts the Corps of Discovery
II through December 11. This free National Park Service exhibit
offers an audio tour of the Journey of Discovery and a separate
Tent of Many Voices features hourly presentations by Lewis
and Clark and tribal presenters and entertainers. Other state
and federal agencies also have displays. For information,
see www.lewisandclark-clark.org. The four-month long National
Exhibition at Oregon Historical Society in downtown Portland
requires two hours for a thorough visit. Look for the icon
on many artifacts indicating items brought back by the Expedition
or related documents written about it. Timed entry tickets
help keep the numbers of visitors small for easy viewing.
Plan for extended time see other exhibits at the Museum,
such as Oregon My Oregon and art by Warm Springs native artist
Lillian Pitt.
Download
PDF
November 20
Week ending November 26: Lower Columbia
River estuary.
Highlights: Returning from his hike north
on today’s Long Beach Peninsula, Capt. Clark rejoins
Lewis at the base camp west of the Astoria Bridge where they
brand their names on trees. Visiting Clatsop Indians from
the Oregon side offer to sell two sleek, valuable sea otter
pelts. Clark really wants these two skins, but the traders
demand high prices. Finally, the visitors point to Sacagawea’s
blue-beaded belt. The deal is made and the next day Clark
gives Sacagawea a cloth coat as payback. Knowing they’ve
accomplished Jefferson’s goal to reach the Pacific
via the Columbia, the men prepare to head back upriver until
another fierce storm pins them down. Two days later when
the sun reappears, they decide not to act hastily and conduct
a poll to gather everyone’s opinion (including Sacagawea
and York). Hearing from the Clatsop Indians that abundant
elk are available, and still hoping that a trading ship will
pull into the bay, the Corps votes to check out the other
side of the river as possible winter quarters. Sacagawea’s
opinion: stay close to a supply of wapato. Making the rough
four-mile crossing in their clumsy dugouts near today’s
Astoria is still impossible, so they retreat upriver near
Pillar Rock where the channel is narrower and protected by
small islands.
Words from the Journals: The familiar
refrain “O how miserable is the day” continues
as Pacific storms regularly pound the Northwest coast. On
the other hand, Capt. Clark indicates the temperate climate
is a factor in the decision to stay at the coast for the
winter.
Today’s connection: Re-enactors
will commemorate the “vote” November 24 at Station
Camp west of the Astoria Bridge in Washington state. Historians
debate whether this was truly a vote as we understand elections
today; most believe this was another good example of the
co-captains’ leadership as they built group consensus.
Other choices for spending the winter were up near The Dalles
or in the Sandy River area where they remembered an ample
food supply and friendly natives. The explorers also enjoy
cranberries in the Long Beach region, a crop that will make
the area famous someday.
Website of the Week: The US Geodetic Survey’s
website provides daily views of the geography encountered
by the Expedition using old and contemporary pictures and
maps. The website also features volcanoes (Mts. Rainier and
St. Helens) the explorers saw from their lower Columbia vantage
point. See http://vulcan.wr.usgs.gov
Book of the week: Oregonian editorial
page writer David Sarasohn’s new book Waiting for Lewis
and Clark (Oregon Historical Society Press) provides an inside
look at how the three-year Bicentennial commemoration was
developed nationally and its legacies for the changing West.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: The
free National Park Service traveling exhibit nicknamed Corps
of Discovery II opens its two-week Portland-area run at historic
Fort Vancouver on November 28. The Fort Clatsop Visitors
Center, centerpiece for the new Lewis and Clark National
and State Historical Parks, still provides informative exhibits
while archeologists wrap up their work where the old replica
stood. Fort Clatsop III will be reassembled in March.
Download PDF
November 13
Week ending November 19: Between the Astoria
Bridge and Long Beach, Washington.
Highlights: Still pinned down on the north
side of the Columbia by rough water, high tides and nasty
weather, the captains worry about the men’s exposure
and little hot food. Three men use their lighter Indian-made
canoe to move around an exposed point. At another time, the
Expedition separates into three different groups as they
seek a sheltered campsite and any sign of European traders
who might be in the area. Their buckskin clothes literally
melts after a week of constant moisture. Some of their equipment
mysteriously disappears; confrontations with native passersby
follow. Their own trade goods now very low, they discover
the Chinook Indians are tough traders. Finally a break in
the weather and a sandy beach mean hot meals and a chance
to dry some of their gear. bring a good view of the ocean.
Each captain leads scouting parties to the north side of
the Columbia’s mouth around Cape Disappointment where
they carve names in trees where seafarers have done the same.
Clark leads a group up today’s Long Beach. Along the
way, they shoot a condor with a nine-foot wingspan.
Words from the Journals: Sergeant Patrick
Gass, whose journal was the first published and can be seen
at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center at Cape Disappointment
(Ilwaco), summarizes the men’s elation: “We are
now at the end of our voyage, which has been completely accomplished
according to the intention of the expedition, the object
of which was to discover a passage by the way of the Missouri
and Columbia rivers to the Pacific ocean.
Today’s connection: The California
condor may once again roam the Columbia drainage if efforts
by the Oregon Zoo are successful. In an isolated Clackamas
County sanctuary, Zoo experts run a captive breeding program
which has already produced eggs sent to San Diego for hatching.
Book-of-the week: The Corps of Discovery
could have avoided lots of troubles with Keith G. Hay’s
Lewis and Clark Columbia River Water Trail: A Guide for Paddlers,
Hikers, other Explorers published by Timber Press, Portland.
Bicentennial events in Oregon/Washington: Maya
Lin will dedicate her first creation in a series of public
art projects inspired by the Lewis and Clark story at Ilwaco,
Washington Friday, November 18. While in the area, visit
Ilwaco Heritage Museum with its Chinook Indian exhibit and
amazing Lewis and Clark in Popular Culture collection. The
National Park Service Corps of Discovery II traveling exhibit
is free in Seaside November 19-22. Visitors review highlights
of the Trail with audiophones then visit the Tent of Many
Voices for half-hour presentations and entertainment. A replica
keelboat and tipi are also on display.
Download PDF
November 6
Week ending November 12: From the Cowlitz
River to the Megler, Washington area east of the Astoria
Bridge.
Highlights: The five canoes cover 30 miles
a day as the explorers anticipate the successful end of their
voyage. But with victory in reach, they run into major trouble.
Fierce rain and wind, pounding waves, and high tides keep
them pinned on the north side of the Columbia. They marvel
at how well the light Chinookan cedar canoes easily ride
the waves (“they are the best navigators I ever Saw”)
while their own sluggish dugouts must wait for brief breaks
in the weather and current to inch from cove to cove. The
men spend one night camping on boulders and driftwood while
trying to protect their canoes from being crushed by massive
logs rolling onto shore and rocks falling from cliffs above.
Their buckskin clothing is rotting from constant moisture.
Dense underbrush makes hunting impossible. Fresh water is
difficult to get because of the salty river water. Still,
the journal keepers take time to describe the lifestyle of
their Chinook Indian visitors who stop by to trade fresh
salmon and wapato—some wearing sailors’ coats
and trousers.
Words from the Journals: While | 
