Robert Heacock

Pages with Photographs by Rob Heacock

• January 3, 1806 -

  Clatsop villagers come to Fort Clatsop to sell whale blubber and dogs. Lewis finds the latter "an agreeable food". Two men are sent to fetch long-overdue Pvts. Willard and Weiser from the salt works.

• The Watlalas -

  Watlala was the name of a key Upper Chinookan village at the Cascades of the Columbia. The name has been extended by many to mean the tribe more often called the Cascades. The captains called them the Shahala, meaning 'those upriver.' The natural constriction of the river provided the people with a fishery and a good measure of control over those who traveled up and down the river. As a result, the Cascade Clahclellah village which the expedition visited on 31 October 1805 and 9 April 1806 was a major trade center before and during white contact.

• The Salt Works -

  On 28 December 1805, the officers detailed three enlisted men to proceed to the Ocean and "at Some Convenient place form a Camp and Commence makeing Salt with 5 of the largest Kittles . . . ."

• September 16, 1803 -

  Near Blennerhassett Island on the Ohio River, fog delays departure. Lewis and his crew pass an area with many trees marked by both by both original inhabitants and new settlers. He pushes his crew until nearly dark, and at camp near present Ravenswood, West Virginia, the crew is 'fatigued with this day's labor'.

• April 28, 1806 -

  A Shoshone prisoner is found at Yelleppit’s village across from the mouth of the Walla Walla and talks begin with Sacagawea, Charbonneau, and one of the French men acting as interpreters. Yelleppit brings Clark a horse, Clark gives medical aid, and Pvt. Frazer buys ten fat dogs for consumption. The day ends with singing and dancing.

• April 3, 1806 -

  Clark concludes his exploration of the Willamette River. On his way back, he learns that a smallpox epidemic had devastated the local population. The group at Provision Camp at present Washougal, Washington are greatly outnumbered by starving Native People, and Lewis demonstrates the air gun as a defensive measure.

• November 17, 1803 -

  The day is stormy at the mouth of the Ohio. Strong winds swamp the smaller boats, which fortunately had been emptied of their cargo. The captains compare the sizes of the Mississippi and Ohio riverbanks.

• September 4, 1803 -

  Lewis continues his experiment with fog, and they move down the river and enter Ohio. The pirogue springs a serious leak, and a new canoe is purchased. It also leaks. Articles are inspected and dried, and a new crew member is hired. Camp is near Newell in present West Virginia.

• Alcohol Rations -

  No military commander of the 18th-century would have thought of leading his troops on any mission without planning for liquor. In legislation and military orders of the day, the ration was typically expressed in "gills."

• November 3, 1805 -

  Moving down the Columbia River above present Portland, Oregon, Clark is unable to cross a river full of quicksand—today's Sandy River. They continue to a large island full of ponds and waterfowl.

• September 13, 1803 -

  Starting at sunrise, the boats are taken nine miles down the Ohio. After lifting the barge over a few riffles, they arrive at Marietta, Ohio. In the evening, Lewis sees a large flock of passenger pigeons, dismisses two hands, and visits with the town's postmaster.

• John Newman -

  A Pennsylvanian, he had transferred from Fort Massac into the expedition in the fall of 1803, and was a good member of the expedition until October 1804 when he was convicted of "having uttered repeated expressions of a highly criminal and mutinous nature."

• The Wahkiakums -

  The Wahkiakums exemplify the complexities encountered when trying to classify Chinookan peoples. Linguistically, they spoke the Upper Chinookan Clackamas dialect. Culturally, they were related to the Lower Chinookan Clatsops and Chinooks proper. They resided primarily along the north side of the Columbia between Grays Bay and Cathlamet, Washington.

• May 16, 1804 -

  The boats set out early, pass the coal beds of Charbonier Bluff, and reach St. Charles, an early French settlement on the Missouri River. Many citizens come out to see the event and socialization commences.

  Still in St. Louis, Lewis authorizes Amos Stoddard, the commandant of Upper Louisiana Territory, to act as his agent concerning any Indian delegations and engagés sent to St. Louis.

  From Washington City, the Secretary of War Henry Dearborn asks Capt. Amos Stoddard to continue as Civil Commandant of Upper Louisiana.

• January 8, 1806 -

  From Clark's Point of View above Ecola, Clark's group enjoys the "grandest and most pleasing prospects". At Ecola, Tillamook Indians trade a little whale blubber, and Pvt. McNeal's life is threatened.

• Beacon Rock -

  "a remarkable high detached rock Stands in a bottom on the Stard [starboard, the navigator's right] Side & about 800 feet high and 400 paces around"

• December 7, 1803 -

  Lewis travels by land and Clark by river to arrive at Cahokia, Illinois. Lewis meets John Hay and Nicholas Jarrot who help him negotiate with the Spanish Lt. governor of Upper Louisiana.

• The Sandy River -

  The expedition traveled out from under an ancient river channel frozen in time to a river discharging huge volumes of sediment in real time, the "quicksand river," now known as the Sandy River.

• November 23, 1803 -

  After arriving at Cape Girardeau, Lewis takes letters of introduction to Louis Lorimier, whose store was burned to the ground by William Clark's brother—George Rogers Clark—in 1782.

• April 7, 1806 -

  The expedition spends the day hunting and jerking meat at present Shepperds Dell at the lower end of the Columbia River Gorge. The enlisted men are ordered to practice shooting and to adjust their gun sights. Lewis describes the mountain quail, new to science. After the meat was dried and packed, Drouillard returns with some Watlalas in tow.

• Rattlesnakes -

  Lewis awoke to find "a large rattlesnake coiled on the leaning trunk of a tree under the shade of which I had been lying." It certainly wasn't the first rattlesnake seen on the trip, but he killed this one, and took time to study it.

• William Clark (1784–1838) -

  Clark was a highly intelligent man, and in terms of the practical knowledge required to make his way in the wilderness, to lead men, and to succeed in the world of frontier politics, he was highly educated and consummately effective.

• November 7, 1805 -

  The expedition paddles around Columbia River islands and stops at two Wahkiakum villages. They reach a landmark presently named Pillar Rock where Clark mistakenly exclaims 'Ocean in view! O! the joy'.

• November 25, 1803 -

  As the expedition's flotilla of boats approach the Grand Tower of the Mississippi, Lewis learns of the ritual held the first time a boatman passes it. He also describes coal mines and the Apple River Shawnees living in that area.

  In Washington City, the senior Senator from New York state tells his wife about the progress of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

• December 30, 1805 -

  At Fort Clatsop, the journalists appear happy to see the sun, and Clark enjoys a sumptuous dinner of fresh elk tongue and marrow bones. With the fort’s pickets and gates completed, overnight guests are banned from the fort. Clark lists the area fauna: slugs, insects, snakes, and waterfowl.

  In Washington City, visiting Cherokee and Osage delegates go to the Capitol where Congress is in session.

• September 18, 1803 -

  Anchored on a large sandbar, the night is dry and the morning clear, and the crews set out before sunrise. The barge is safely piloted through the rapids at Letart Falls. Here, Lewis's journal ends until November 11. Fortunately, Zadok Cramer and Thomas Rodney also describe the rapid they called Letart's Falls.

• October 21, 1805 -

  Moving down the Columbia above present John Day Dam, the paddlers navigate several rapids while the non-swimmers walk around them. Pvt. Collins shares his camas-brewed beer, and Mt. Hood is in view.

• October 29, 1805 -

  Moving 35 miles down the Columbia, the expedition encounters many Sahaptin and Upper Chinook villages. They pass an island with numerous graves—Memaloose—and camp above the Little White Salmon River.

• November 13, 1803 -

  The expedition leaves Fort Massac moving about three miles down the Ohio, and Lewis is "siezed with a violent ague". The Indiana Territorial Governor pens a letter introducing John Hay of Cahokia.

• April 2, 1806 -

  Clackamas visitors tell the captains about the Willamette River, and Clark sets out to find it. At a village at the that rivers’ mouth, Clark resorts to trickery to entice them to trade for food. At Provision Camp at present Washougal, Washington, Lewis says the berries are all gone except for the Oregon grape.

• November 25, 1805 -

  Having decided to winter on the Columbia River's southern shore, they leave Station Camp. With Mt. St. Helens in view, they paddle upriver and encamp near Pillar Rock where the river narrows.

• The Deschutes River -

  The fall salmon run was ending when the Corps arrived at the Great Falls of the Columbia, several miles below the mouth of Towarnehiooks, with some native people still at the river, fishing with gigs and nets and processing their salmon harvest.

• April 20, 1803 -

  Meriwether Lewis writes to President Thomas Jefferson explaining a delay at Harpers Ferry Armory due to the design and construction of the iron-framed boat. He also discusses plans to hire interpreter John Conner and a boat builder in Nashville. He leaves for Lancaster, Pennsylvania where Andrew Ellicott will train him in celestial navigation.

• The Columbia River Gorge -

  The consolidated rocks that compose the Gorge were formed by a complex interplay of Columbia River Basalt Group flood basalt deposition and basin subsidence, along with contemporaneous folding and faulting—not the Glacial Lake Missoula floods.

• April 27, 1806 -

  Moving up the Columbia River, the expedition passes the Umatilla River and then climbs to the high plain above Wallula Gap. Late in the day, they are met by Chief Yelleppit who escorts them to his village opposite the mouth of the Walla Walla. There, the captains learn of a good road to take them back to the Nez Perce.

• September 28, 1803 -

  Lewis arrives in Cincinnati, Ohio where he rests his crew and writes letters to President Jefferson and William Clark. He tells Jefferson he has come 500 miles and informs Clark that he has two young men that may be suitable for the expedition.

• November 24, 1803 -

  Moving ten miles up the Mississippi, a missing hunter—Sgt. Pryor—is found, and Lewis observes the limestone lining the shores and hills of present Trail of Tears (Missouri) State Park.

• September 7, 1803 -

  Three miles above Wellsburg in present West Virginia, the boats come to a riffle, and all hands get out to push the heavy barge through the shallow water. At five in the evening, they arrive at Wheeling, a common point for embarkation during low water. Lewis receives the goods that came by wagon from Pittsburgh, and he meets Thomas Rodney who is also traveling down the Ohio.

• November 19, 1803 -

  On the expedition's final day encamped at the mouth of the Ohio, Clark completes his survey of that river's confluence with the Mississippi, and Lewis makes celestial observations.

• February 8, 1806 -

  All three sergeants are dispatched to bring into Fort Clatsop the various elk killed on previous days. By day’s end, they all complete their missions. Lewis describes the salal plant.

• Phoca (Seal) Rock -

  The mid-river island identified as "Phoca" and "Seal rock" on one of William Clark's route maps is a compact landslide block that detached from the Cape Horn headland.

• The Clearwater River -

  Clark spent the night of 21 September 1805 at Twisted Hair's camp on an island in the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River. The next morning the chief and his son accompanied him back up to the village on Weippe Prairie where he expected to rendezvous with Lewis.

• March 26, 1806 -

  After a wet night, they paddle approximately 18 miles up the Columbia River and camp on an island near an area they call "fannys bottom". Lewis describes eagles and substitutes for tobacco.

• The Falls of the Ohio -

  As the days grew shorter and cooler, William Clark must have worn a path to the Louisville landing. The barge (keelboat) could be expected to heave into site at any moment.

• March 27, 1806 -

  Near present Deer Island, Oregon, some generous Skilloots give away food with hopes that the expedition hunters will hunt with them. Lewis describes the area's trees and prepares a salmonberry specimen.

• April 9, 1806 -

  The expedition’s flotilla moves sixteen miles up the Columbia River Gorge marveling at its many beautiful waterfalls. In one of the villages, Pvt. Colter confiscates a tomahawk stolen the previous year.

  In Washington City, the Secretary of War deals with the death of Arikara Chief Too Né who went there at the request of the captains.

• The Skilloots -

  The Skilloot were an Upper Chinookan group that spoke the Clackamas dialect of the Chinookan language. They were located on both sides of the Columbia River above and below the mouth of the Cowlitz. At first, the captains applied the name over a much wider area, perhaps misinterpreting a similar expression meaning 'look at him!'. Cape Horn, a few miles east of Washougal, was named sqúlips, and could be the origin of the tribe's name.

• November 27, 1805 -

  Unable to continue due to high winds and waves, they are forced to take shelter on a narrow isthmus—present Tongue Point near Astoria, Oregon. Everyone is wet and disagreeable.

• A Solitary Hero -

  Lewis had made a habit of abandoning Clark in quests for exploratory triumph. It was no coincidence that Lewis was the first to see the Great Falls or the Continental Divide; he engineered those moments.