At Fort Clatsop near Astoria, Oregon, the captains “live sumptuously” and describe Native methods of preserving and cooking eulachon and sturgeon. Continuing his March treatise on birds, Lewis focuses on western meadowlarks and jays.
Keeping the Journals
10″ x 15″ oil on canvas
© 2009 by Charles Fritz. Used by permission.
Sumptuous Living
Not any occurrence today worthy of notice. we live sumptuously on our wappetoe and Sturgeon.
—Meriwether Lewis
Cooking Eulachon
the Anchovey [eulachon] is so delicate that they soon become tainted unless pickled or smoked. the natives run a small stick through their gills and hang them in the smoke of their lodges, or kindle a small fire under them for the purpose of drying them
—Meriwether Lewis
Steaming Sturgeon
the fresh sturgeon they keep for many days by immersing it in water. they coock their sturgeon by means of vapor or steam. . . . the whole process is performed in an hour, and the sturgeon thus cooked is much better than either boiled or roasted.
—Meriwether Lewis
Western Meadowlark
Sturnella neglecta
© A & S Carrey/VIREO.
Western Meadowlarks
the lark is found in the plains only and are the same with those before mentioned on the Missouri, and not very unlike what is called in Virginia the old field lark.
—Meriwether Lewis
Stellar’s Jay and Gray Jay
Cyanocitta stelleri and Perisoreus canadensis
Stellars jay: © 2006 by unknown. Permission via the Creative Commons 3.0 License.
Gray jay: © 2007 by Alan D. Wilson. Permission via the Creative Commons 3.0 License.
Two Jays
The blue crested Corvus and the small white breasted do have been previously discribed and are the natives of a piney country invariably, being found as well on the rocky mountains as on this coast.—
—Meriwether Lewis
Weather Diary
Aspect of the weather at Rise
Wind at Aspect of weather at 4 O’Ck P. M. Wind at 4 OCk. P. M. rain after clouds & rain S. rain after rain S rained constantly most of the night. saw a Snail, this morning, they are very large.
—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 March 4, 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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