Fort Clatsop, salt works established — Patrick Gass: December 26, 1805
The party moved into their newly built huts and celebrated Christmas by firing a round of small arms at daybreak to greet Captains Lewis and Clark. The captains distributed the last of the tobacco to users and handkerchiefs to the others as gifts. Though they had no liquor, the men were healthy. Food was plentiful but poor—lean elk meat with no salt or other provisions. The 26th through 28th brought cloudy, rainy weather. The smoky huts needed chimneys, so men worked on building them. On the 28th, six men set out for the coast to make salt, and word arrived of a beached whale.
morning we left our camp and moved into our huts. At day
break all the men paraded and fired a round of small arms,
wishing the Commanding Officers a merry Christmas. In the
course of the day Capt. Lewis and Capt. Clarke collected
what tobacco remained and divided it among those who used
tobacco as a Christmas-gift; to the others they gave handker-
chiefs in lieu of it. We had no spirituous liquor to elevate
our spirits this Christmas; but of this we had but little need,
188 GASS’S JOURNAL OF THE
as we were all in very good health. Our living is not very
good ; meat is plenty, but of an ordinary quality, as the elk
are poor in this part of the country. We have no kind of
provisions but meat, and we are without salt to season that.
The 26th, 27th and 28th, were cloudy with rain. We found
our huts smoked ; there being no chimnies in them except in
the officers’ rooms. The men were therefore employed, ex-
cept some hunters who went out, in making chimnies to the
huts. In the evening of the 27th we were informed that a
large fish, answering to the description of a whale, was driven
upon shore. In the forenoon of the 28th six men started for
the seashore to make salt, as we have none in the fort. Two
hunters returned, having killed a deer, and three went out to
hunt.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
In the morning we left our camp and moved into our huts. At daybreak all the men paraded and fired a round of small arms, wishing the Commanding Officers a merry Christmas. In the course of the day Capt. Lewis (Capt. Lewis) and Capt. Clarke (Capt. Clark) collected what tobacco remained and divided it among those who used tobacco as a Christmas gift; to the others they gave handkerchiefs in place of it. We had no spirituous liquor to lift our spirits this Christmas, but of this we had little need, as we were all in very good health. Our living is not very good; meat is plentiful, but of an ordinary quality, as the elk are poor in this part of the country. We have no kind of provisions but meat, and we are without salt to season it.
The 26th, 27th, and 28th were cloudy with rain. We found our huts smoky, there being no chimneys in them except in the officers' rooms. The men were therefore employed, except some hunters who went out, in making chimneys for the huts. In the evening of the 27th we were informed that a large fish, matching the description of a whale, had been driven up on shore. In the forenoon of the 28th, six men started for the seashore to make salt, as we have none in the fort. Two hunters returned, having killed a deer, and three went out to hunt.
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