Lewis‘s new fur coat—made by local Indians from bobcat and perhaps mountain beaver robes—is brought to Fort Clatsop. The captain also describes Chinookan hunting methods and weaponry.
Mountain Beaver
Aplodontia rufa Rafinesque (1817)
Hand-tinted lithograph by John James Audubon from Quadrapeds of North America (1845-48), Vol. III, No. 25, Plate CXXIII. Courtesy Library of Congress, Rare Book and Special Collections Division.
Lewis’s New Fur Coat
Had a large coat completed out of the skins of the Tiger Cat and those also of a small animal about the size of a squirrel not known to me; these skins I procured from the Indians who had previously dressed them and formed them into robes; it took seven of these robes to complete the coat.
—Meriwether Lewis
Chinookan Hunting Methods
The implyments used by the Chinnooks [Chinooks] Clatsops [Clatsops] Cuth-lah-mahs [Kathlamets] &c in hunting are the gun the bow & arrow, deadfalls, pitts, snares, and spears or gigs; their guns are usually of an inferior quality being oald refuse American & brittish Musquits which have been repared for this trade.
—Meriwether Lewis
Weather Diary
aspect of the weather at rise
Wind at Weather at 4 OC. P.M. Wind at 4 OC. P.M. rain after clouds & rain S E rain after rain S Saw several insects, weather warm, we could do very well without fire, I am satsifyed that the murcury would stand at 55 a. O.
—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.
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Plan a trip related to January 15, 1806:
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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