Building and occupying Fort Clatsop — John Ordway: December 7, 1805
The party loaded their canoes and continued downriver through high waves, unable to land until reaching a sheltered bay where they cooked a young deer killed earlier by the hunters. Men returning from caring for game brought back four elk hides but no meat, citing distance and bad weather. One canoe nearly swamped on a sandbar but was freed by the waves. They paddled around a bay and up a river about three miles to the chosen site for winter quarters, unloading and camping among tall pine and fir, planning to build a fort if game proved sufficient.
in the water loaded up and set out and proceeded on down the
River, the Shore is covred thick with pine and under brush.
passd several Spring runs, the waves ran verry high, we could
not land untill we turned a point in a bay2 where we halted and
cooked a young Deer which the hunters had killed the other day.
the men who had been out to take care of the meat joined us
with 4 Elk hides but no meat the distance so great and the
weather so bad that they brought no meat. Cap* Clarks servant
1 The “diat” for several days having consisted of dried pounded fish boiled
in salt water, Clark now directed that “in future the party mix the pounded
fish with fresh water.” Sacajawea, however, effected, for the time being, a
more marked change in the captain’s menu. She gave him “a piece of bread
made of flour which She had reserved for her child and carefully Kept untill
this time,” but which, becoming wet, had soured. Not having tasted bread
for several months, Clark ate it with “great satisfaction.”
2 Young’s Bay, which Clark named Meriwether’s Bay, in honor of Captain
Lewis whom he supposed (mistakenly) to be the first white man to survey it.
316 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS [Dec. 8
did not come up with the rest. Cap* Clark Stayed with one canoe
and waited for him a Short time we proceeded on the waves
roled verry high, the canoe I was in ran on a sand barr and was
near filling, but the waves took hir off without injury, we pro-
ceed on round a bay then went up a River ab* 3 miles and landed
at the place appointed for winters quarters.1 this River is about
100 yds wide at this place but the tide water extends further up.
we unloaded the canoes and carried all our baggage about 2 hun-
dred yards on a rise of ground and thicket of handsom tall Strait
pine and balsom fir timber and Camped here we intend to build
a fort and Stay if game is to be found thro, this winter season.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
In the water, loaded up and set out, proceeding on down the river. The shore is covered thick with pine and underbrush. Passed several spring runs. The waves ran very high; we could not land until we turned a point in a bay, where we halted and cooked a young deer which the hunters had killed the other day. The men who had been out to take care of the meat joined us with 4 elk hides but no meat. The distance was so great and the weather so bad that they brought no meat. Capt Clark's (Capt. Clark's) servant did not come up with the rest. Capt Clark stayed with one canoe and waited for him a short time.
We proceeded on. The waves rolled very high. The canoe I was in ran on a sandbar and was near filling, but the waves took her off without injury. We proceeded on around a bay, then went up a river about 3 miles and landed at the place appointed for winter quarters. This river is about 100 yards wide at this place, but the tide water extends further up. We unloaded the canoes and carried all our baggage about 2 hundred yards onto a rise of ground and a thicket of handsome tall straight pine and balsam fir timber, and camped here. We intend to build a fort and stay through this winter season if game is to be found.
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