February 5, 1806 - Discover Lewis & Clark

Contents

On their way to retrieve elk meat, the expedition’s Chinookan canoe—lost since 11 January 1806—is found. Lewis describes the Oregon ruffed grouse and continues his treatise on local firs with the western hemlock.

Finding the Indian Canoe

Late this evening one of the hunters fired his gun over the swamp of the Netul opposite to the fort and hooped. I sent sergt. Gass and a party of men over; the tide being in, they took advantage of a little creek which makes up in that direction nearly to the highlands, and in their way fortunately recovered our Indian Canoe, so long lost and much lamented.
—Meriwether Lewis

Oregon Ruffed Grouse

Ruffed Grouse

Bonasa umbellus

by Lindsay Stedman, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsmidwest/18645551408/.

Filds brought with him a phesant which differed but little from those common to the Atlantic states; it’s brown is reather brighter and more of a redish tint. it has eighteen feathers in the tale of about six inches in length.
—Meriwether Lewis

Western Hemlock

Tsuga heterophylla, Fort Clatsop

Western Hemlock

Fir No. 2 is next in dignity in point of size. it is much the most common species, it may be sad to constitute at least one half of the timber in this neighbourhood. it appears to be of the spruse kind . . . . the cone is remarkably small not larger than the end of a man’s thumb soft, flexable and of an ovate form, produced at the ends of the small twigs.
—Meriwether Lewis

Weather Diary

aspect of the weather at rise Wind at rise aspect of the weather at 4 OC1 P.M. Wind at 4 O’Clock P.M.

fair N. E. fair N E

—Meriwether Lewis^[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “Day of ye Month” column and spelled out some abbreviations.