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What happened at the time of Thanksgiving, and how were Christmas and
New Years celebrated by the Lewis and Clark Expedition? Let's take a
trip, back in time, to the Holiday Season of 1805, where the Corps of
Discovery was camped in what is now the State of Washington and we see
what their situation was like. First, came the Thanksgiving dates.
These paragraphs are taken from Captain Clark's journal:
Captain
Lewis branded a tree with his name, date, &c. I marked my
name, the day and year, on an alder tree. The party all cut the
first letters of their names on different trees in the bottom.
Our hunters killed 3 bucks, 4 brant, and 3 ducks today.
In the evening, seven Indians of the Clatsop nation came over
in a canoe. They brought with them two sea-otter skins, for which
they asked blue beads &c., and such high prices that we were
unable to purchase them without reducing our small stock of merchandise
on which we depended for subsistence on our return up this river.
Merely to try the Indian who had one of those skins, I offered
him my watch, handkerchief, a bunch of red beads, and a dollar
of the American coin, all of which he refused and demanded ti-ƒ-co-mo-shack,
which is "chief beads," and the common blue beads, but
few of which we have at this time.
Captain Clark, 22 November 1805 |
Meeting the
Clatsop Indians was something to be thankful for. The Clatsop's told
Lewis and Clark about a much better place, across the river, for their
winter camp.
Captain Lewis pitched a camp at the site of what became Fort Clatsop
and on December 8, 1805 Captain Clark and the rest of the party arrived.
Five days earlier, Sergeant Pryor and Gibson killed six elk, confirming
that they were now in the center of good hunting country. By December
8, 1805 Clark determined they were at the best site for their winter
quarters and work on Fort Clatsop commenced.
Clark's principal objective was to find a location to make salt, and
on December 9th he set out to find such a place. Along the way they
met many friendly Clatsop's, they bartered for goods, and the Indians
took them to their living quarters. From there they were guided to the
location where they established the Salt Works.
Right around the 11th of December Captain Clark was back at the Fort,
supervising construction, suffering with fleas infesting robes and blankets,
receiving Clatsop visitors and bartering for supplies, and before they
know it, Christmas had arrived. Clark writes:
At
daylight this morning, we were awakened by the discharge of the
firearms of all our party and a salute, shouts, and a song which
the whole party joined in under our windows, after which they
retired to their rooms. Were cheerful all the morning. After breakfast
we divided our tobacco, which amounted to 12 carrots, one half
of which we gave to the men of the party who used tobacco, and
to those who do not use it we made a present of a handkerchief.
The Indians left us in the evening. All the party snugly fixed
in their huts. I received a present of Captain Lewis of a fleece
hosiery shirt, drawers and socks, a pair of moccasins of Whitehouse,
a small Indian basket of Goodrich, two dozen white weasels' tails
of the Indian woman, and some black root of the Indians before
their departure. Drouilliard informs me that he saw a snake pass
across the path today. The day proved showery, wet, and disagreeable.
We would have spent this day, the nativity of Christ, in feasting,
had we had anything either to raise our spirits or even gratify
our appetites. Our dinner consisted of poor elk, so much spoiled
that we ate it through mere necessity, some spoiled pounded fish,
and a few roots.
Captain Clark, Fort Clatsop, Christmas, 25 December 1805 |
December 30, 1805 found the Fort completed and, in the following journal
entry, Clark reports about the New Years Celebration:
This morning
I was awakened at an early hour by the discharge of a volley of
small arms, which was fired by our party in front of our quarters
to usher in the New Year. This was the only mark of respect which
we had it in our power to pay this celebrated day.
Our repast of this day, though better than that of Christmas, consisted
principally in the anticipation of the 1st day of January, 1807,
when, in the bosom of our friends, we hope to participate in the
mirth and hilarity of the day; and when, with the zest given by
the recollection of the present, we shall completely, both mentally
and corporally, enjoy the repast which the hand of civilization
has prepared for us.
At present we were content with eating our boiled elk and wappato,
and solacing our thirst with our only beverage, pure water.
Two of our hunters who set out this morning returned in the evening
having killed two buck elk. They presented Captain Clark and myself
each a marrowbone and tongue, on which we supped.
We were uneasy with respect to two of our men, Willard and Wiser,
who were dispatched on the 28th ult. with the salt makers, and were
directed to return immediately. Their not having returned induces
us to believe it probable that they have missed their way.
Captain Lewis, Fort Clatsop, 1 January 1806 |
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