The dugouts are loaded, and they leave Fort Clatsop to begin their homeward-bound journey. Fighting high waves, they round Tongue Point and camp near the John Day River.
Tag: Delashelwilt and Wife
March 21, 1806
Fort Clatsop, Astoria, OR Bad weather prevents the expedition from leaving for home. Provisions are low, so during the weather delay, hunters are dispatched without success.
March 18, 1806
Fort Clatsop, OR After stealing a canoe, soldiers hide it near the fort. The captains write a short description of the expedition with the names of each member, and they distribute copies among the Indians.
March 17, 1806
Fort Clatsop, OR George Drouillard returns from his trading trip with a canoe paid for with Lewis’s uniform coat. The captains report that the enlisted men are staying away from the Indian women camped near Fort Clatsop.
March 15, 1806
Fort Clatsop, OR The captains continue to barter for canoes without success. Several men are busy hunting and gathering meat. Lewis describes the white-fronted goose, new to science.
November 21, 1805
Station Camp near Chinook, WA In addition to Clatsop and Lower Chehalis visitors, the wife of Chinook chief Delashelwilt brings young female camp followers. Clark describes the Chinooks.
November 17, 1805
Station Camp near Chinook, WA Having explored Cape Disappointment, Lewis returns to Station Camp without finding any trading ships. Despite his report of a very bad road, several men volunteer to go there with Clark tomorrow.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.