Fort Clatsop, Astoria, OR Pryor’s trade delegation returns in a borrowed Indian canoe full of fish and wapato. Lewis describes the western fence lizard and rough-skinned newt.
Rough-skinned Newt
Taricha granulosa, Fort-to-Sea Trail, Fort Clatsop
© 1 April 2009 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
There is a speceis of water lizzard of which I saw one only just above the grand rapids of the Columbia. it is about 9 inches long the body is reather flat and about the size of a mans finger covered with a soft skin of a dark brown colour with an uneven surface covered with little pimples
—Meriwether Lewis
Living in Clover
Early this morning Sergt. Pryor arrived with a small canoe loaded with fish which he had obtained from the Cathlahmah’s [Kathlamets] for a very small part of the articles he had taken with him . . . . The dogs at the Cathlahmahs had bitten the trong assunder which confined his canoe and she had gone a drift. he borrowed a canoe from the Indians in which he has returned . . . . we once more live in clover; Anchovies fresh Sturgeon and Wappetoe.
—Meriwether Lewis
Lost Canoe
Sent Sergt. Gass and a party in surch of a canoe which was reported to have been sunk in a small creek on the opposite side of the Netul a few miles below us, where she had been left by Shields R. Fields [R. Field] and Frazier [Frazer] when they were lately sent out to hunt over the Netul. They returned and reported that they could not find the canoe she had broken the cord by which she was attatched, and had been carried off by the tide.
—Meriwether Lewis
Western Fence Lizard
the black or dark brown lizzard we saw at the rock fort Camp at the commencement of the woody country below the great narrows and falls of the Columbia; they are also the same with those of the United States.
—Meriwether Lewis
Weather Diary
Aspect of the weather at Rise
Wind at Aspect of weather at 4 O’Ck P. M. Wind at 4 OCk. P. M. fair after rain, hail & snow S E fair after rain & hail S E snow 1 inch deep this morning air cold but no ice. some insects seen in the evening in motion I attemted to make an observation for Equal Altitudes but the P. M. Obsevtn. was lost in consequence of clouds. it became cloudy at 10 A. M. and rained attended with some hail at six it P. M. it became fair and the wind changing to N. E. it continued fair during the night. the snow had all disappeared by 4 P. M. this evening.—
—Meriwether Lewis[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “Day of the Month” column and spelled out some abbreviations.
Fort Clatsop is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site is managed by the Lewis and Clark National and State Historic Parks.
Notes
| ↑1 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “Day of the Month” column and spelled out some abbreviations. |
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