The Journals
of Lewis and Clark: Dates March 23, 1806
The following
excerpts are taken from entries of the Journals of Lewis
and Clark. Dates: March 23, 1806
March 23, 1806 - The Journey Home begins
We circulated among the natives several papers, one of which
we also posted up in the fort, to the following effect:
"The object of this last, is, that through the medium of
some civilized person, who may see the same, it may be made
known to the world, that the party consisting of the persons
whose names are hereunto annexed, and who were sent out
by the government of the United States to explore the interior
of the continent of North America, did penetrate the same
by the way of the Missouri and Columbia rivers, to the discharge
of the latter into the Pacific ocean, where they arrived
on the 14th day of November 1805, and departed the 23d day
of March, 1806, on their return to the United States, by
the same route by which they had come out."* On the back
of some of these papers, we sketched the connexion of the
upper branches of the Missouri and Columbia rivers, with
our route, and the track which we intended to follow on
our return. This memorandum was all that we deemed it necessary
to make; for there seemed but little chance that any detailed
report to our government, which we might leave in the hands
of the savages, to be delivered to foreign traders, would
ever reach the United States. To leave any of our men here,
in hopes of their procuring a passage home in some transient
vessel, would too much weaken our party, which we must necessarily
divide during our route; besides that, we will most probably
be there ourselves sooner than any trader, who, after spending
the next summer here, might go on some circuitous voyage.
The rains and wind still confined us to the fort; but at
last our provisions dwindled down to a single day's stock,
and it became absolutely necessary to remove: we therefore
sent a few hunters ahead, and stopped the boats as well
as we could with mud. The next morning, on March 23, 1806,
the journey home began.
Sunday, March 23, 1806
Sunday, March 23, 1806, the canoes were loaded, and at one
o'clock in the afternoon we took a final leave of fort Clatsop.
The wind was still high, but the alternative of remaining
without provisions was so unpleasant, that we hoped to be
able to double point William. We had scarcely left the fort
when we met Delashelwilt, and a party of twenty Chinnooks,
who understanding that we had been trying to procure a canoe,
had brought one for sale. Being, however, already supplied,
we left them, and after getting out of Meriwether's bay,
began to coast along the south side of the river: we doubled
point William without any injury, and at six o'clock reached,
at the distance of sixteen miles from fort Clatsop, the
mouth of a small creek, where we found our hunters.
Accounts of the
Animals
Accounts of the
Plants
Accounts of the Clatsop Native Indians
Journals of Lewis and Clark
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