Lewis and Clark Journal Summary 12: Dates December 8, 1805 - January 10, 1806
The following is a summary of the journal entries made by Lewis and Clark. Dates: December 8, 1805 - January 10, 1806
 

Fort Clatsop is built and a small party search for a whale

December 8, 1805
Over the next few days, Clark took a small party of men to find the most direct route to the ocean from the camp. It was approximately 7 miles away, and while they were gone, Lewis set about cutting down trees to build huts. At various times during the expedition the explorers had encountered fleas. They were infested, once again, at this site and struggled to remove them from their clothes and bedding.

The expedition members spent the next few weeks building their huts and hunting Elk. The weather continued to cause problems as it rarely stopped raining and there were also periods where it hailed and even snowed. The Elk meat that had been stored was spoiled by the weather.

December 25, 1805
The huts were finished by Christmas and the camp was named Fort Clatsop after the local Indian nation. On Christmas day the expedition members fired their weapons and sang. Tobacco and handkerchiefs were given to them by Lewis and Clark as presents. They were unable to enjoy a Christmas feast but had to make do with spoiled Elk meat, spoiled fish and a few roots.

The fleas continued to be a problem having to be killed every day. When the Indians visited they brought even more with them which made life very uncomfortable for the Corps of Discovery.

December 30, 1805
The fort was completed and a rule was put in place that the Indians must leave each evening at sunset when the gates would be shut. The hunters brought 4 freshly killed Elk to the fort, which was welcome after eating the spoiled food for so long. Clark wrote in his journal that this day was the best they’d had since being there, with only three showers of rain.

January 1, 1806
New Year 1806 was brought in by the firing of small arms and shouts of ‘Happy New Year’. Lewis and Clark issued orders to the members of the Corps of Discovery containing the rules that were to be adhered to in the fort.

The fort was visited by many Indians who wanted to trade. One of the Indians traded dogs for fishing hooks. Meriwether Lewis wrote in his journal that he and the men had become fond of dog flesh since having to eat it earlier in the expedition. They now preferred it to venison and elk. The men began to make moccasins and clothes from the animal skins.

January 5, 1805
Two of the men who had been to the coast to collect salt, returned with some whale blubber that they’d been given by some Indians. They found the blubber very palatable and decided that William Clark should set out, with a party of men, in search of the dead whale it had come from. They included Sacagawea in the party as she had expressed her wish to see the whale and the ocean.

January 8, 1805
After an arduous journey, that included climbing a steep mountain, Clark and his party reached the whale. It had been completely stripped of everything useful leaving just the skeleton behind. Clark measured the skeleton and recorded it as 105 feet long. They traded with some Indians to get as much blubber and oil as they could.

January 10, 1805
After a 35 mile return journey, Clark and his party arrived back at Fort Clatsop.

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