A Lewis and Clark Perspective
On September 22nd 1805, William Clark wrote in his journal:
. . . . . a fine morning, I proceed on down at the Little River about 11/2 a mile & found the Chif in a Canoe Comeing to meet me
I got into his Canoe and Crossed over to his camp on a Small Island at a rapid. . . .
On September 24th 1805, Clark continued:
. . . . at 10:00 oClock we all set out for the river and proceed on by the Same rout I had previously traveled, and at Sunset We arrived at the Island on which I found the Twisted hare and formed a Camp on a large Island a littl below, Capt Lewis Scercely able to ride on a jentle horse which was furnished by the Chief. . . .
On September 26th 1805, William Clark wrote in his journal:
. . . . Set out early and proceeded on down the river to a bottom opposit the forks of the river on the South Side and formed a Camp (canoe camp). Soon after our arrival a raft Came down the N. fork on which was two men, they came too, I had the axes distributed and handled and apotned. ready to commence building canoes on tomorrow, our axes are Small and badly Calculated to build canoes of the large Pine . . . .
On October 1st 1805, John Ordway wrote in his journal: . . . . a clear pleasant morning. we Continued on makeing our canoes as usal. built fires on Some of them to burn them out. found them to burn verry well
our hunters killed nothing this day. . . .
| Jefferson Peace Medal
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| After their arduous journey across the Bitterroots in September of 1805, the Corps of Discovery were welcomed by the Nimíipuu on the Weippe prairie by the local headman, Twisted Hair. William Clark suggested that Twisted Hair was a man of sixty-five years of age and of cheerful spirit.
With chief Broken Arm away fighting the Northern Shoshone, under the direction of Twisted Hair the Corps was fed camas and salmon, and housed. During their stay, maps were drawn up and canoes made in preparation for the river travel to come. Lewis and Clark entrusted Twisted Hair with the care of their horses and cashed their extra supplies with him until their return. It was Twisted Hair who traveled with and helped guide the Corps down the Columbia to the great trading center at Celilo Falls, negotiating with the various tribes they came upon. Upon their return in May of 1806, Lewis and Clark acquired most of their horses back from the care of Twisted Hair.
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Listen as Beatrice Miles, tribal elder, discusses the assistance Lewis and Clark received regarding canoe building. (Interviewed by Josiah Pinkham in December 2001) |
Before proceeding, the Corps of Discovery camped along the Clearwater, near the confluence with the North Fork of the Clearwater River. As the journey would continue by river, dugout canoes were needed. With their "Small & badly Calculated" axes, the work of cutting, shaping and hollowing five large ponderosa pines began. The effort must have been all that more difficult as many of Lewis and Clark's men were ill and weak from their journey over the Bitterroots. Work on each of the three to four-foot wide logs must have gone very slowly, until the Nimíipuu showed the carpenters how to hollow the logs with a method of burning and chipping. The Corps of Discovery adopted what Sergeant Patrick Gass called, "the Indian method of burning out the canoes." After building a small fire in the area of the log to be hollowed out, the resulting charcoal was then easily chipped out. The process was then repeated, until the desired shape was obtained.
| | Canoe Camp along the Clearwater River, center of photo on left side of the Clearwater. Photo by Jane Gay c. 1889-1892. Photo courtesy the Nez Perce National Historical Park
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It was during their stay that Sergeant Gass was first to record that the river was abundant "with salmon of an excellent quality" and that the water was "clear as crystal." He also recorded that the captains gave peace medals to "leading men of their nation," Twisted Hair and two un-named "chiefs."
Before launching their new means of travel, Clark made arrangements with Twisted Hair to take care of their thirty-eight horses. Each horse was easily identified, with a brand on its upper left leg reading: "U.S. Capt. M. Lewis." The Corps of Discovery named their camp, "Canoe Camp."
© Nez Perce Tribe 2002
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