Lewis: January 30, 1806
A quiet day at Fort Clatsop with no notable events. The party was pleasantly surprised that the green pine firewood burned well once split. Lewis recorded observations about local Native dress, noting the Clatsops wore no leggings or moccasins due to the mild, wet climate. He described their conical brimmed-less hats woven from cedar bark and beargrass, often decorated with whaling scenes or geometric patterns. He also detailed their preferred weapon: a double-edged, double-pointed dagger with a central handle and blades of unequal length, carried habitually.
Friday January 30th 1806. Nothing transpired today worthy of notice. we
are agreeably disappointed in our fuel which is altogether green pine. we
had supposed that it burn but illy, but we have found that by spliting it
that it burns very well. The dress of the Clatsops and others in this
neighbourhood differs but little from that discribed of the skillutes;
they never wear leggins or mockersons which the mildness of this climate I
presume has rendered in a great measure unnecessary; and their being
obliged to be frequently in the water also renders those articles of dress
inconvenient. they wear a hat of a conic figure without a brim confined on
the head by means of a string which passes under the chin and is attatched
to the two opsite sides of a secondary rim within the hat. the hat at top
terminates in a pointed knob of a connic form also, or in this shape.
these hats are made of the bark of cedar and beargrass wrought with the
fingers so closely that it casts the rain most effectually in the shape
which they give them for their own uce or that just discribed. on these
hats they work various figures of different colours, but most commonly
only black and white are employed. these figures are faint representations
of whales the canoes and the harpoonneers striking them. sometimes squares
dimonds triangles &c. The form of knife which seems to be prefered by
these people is a double edged and double pointed daggar; the handle being
in the middle, and the blades of unequal lengths, the longest usually from
9 to ten inches and the shorter one from four to five. these knives they
carry with them habitually and most usually in the hand, sometimes exposed
but most usually particularly when in company with strangers, under their
robes with this knife they cut and clense their fish make their arrows
&c. this is somewhat the form of the knifeA is a small loop of
a strong twine through which they sometimes insert the thumb in order to
prevent it’s being wrested from their hand.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
Friday January 30th 1806. Nothing happened today worthy of notice. We are pleasantly surprised by our firewood, which is entirely green pine. We had supposed that it would burn poorly, but we have found that by splitting it, it burns very well.
The dress of the Clatsops and others in this neighborhood differs but little from that described of the Skillutes. They never wear leggings or moccasins, which the mildness of this climate, I presume, has rendered largely unnecessary; and their being obliged to be frequently in the water also makes those articles of dress inconvenient. They wear a hat of a conic shape without a brim, secured on the head by means of a string which passes under the chin and is attached to the two opposite sides of a secondary rim within the hat. The hat at the top terminates in a pointed knob of a conic form also, or in this shape. These hats are made of the bark of cedar and beargrass woven with the fingers so closely that they cast off the rain most effectively, in the shape which they give them for their own use or that just described. On these hats they work various figures of different colors, but most commonly only black and white are used. These figures are faint representations of whales, the canoes, and the harpooners striking them. Sometimes squares, diamonds, triangles, etc.
The form of knife which seems to be preferred by these people is a double-edged and double-pointed dagger; the handle being in the middle, and the blades of unequal lengths, the longer usually from 9 to ten inches and the shorter one from four to five. These knives they carry with them habitually and most usually in the hand, sometimes exposed, but most usually—particularly when in company with strangers—under their robes. With this knife they cut and clean their fish, make their arrows, etc. This is somewhat the form of the knife. A is a small loop of strong twine through which they sometimes insert the thumb in order to prevent it from being wrested from their hand.
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