Part 6

SACAJAWEA ON THE OCEAN BEACH.

The party made a winter camp at the mouth of the Columbia River. They called it Fort Clatsop. The Indians near-by were the Clatsop tribe. These Indians gave the whites some whale blubber. They said that a whale was on the ocean beach. Captain Clark and some men got ready to go to see it. Sacajawea came to Captain Clark and said, "May I go, too? I have come over the mountains with you to find the Great Water and I have not been to it yet. Now I would see the Big Animal and the Great Water, too." Captain Clark was glad to have her go. He wrote in his book that this was the only time she asked for anything. She took her baby on her back and walked with Captain Clark. When she got near the ocean, she was afraid. The noise seemed to her like thunder. She always had been afraid of thunder. When she saw the waves, she was afraid they would come over the earth. She had never before seen any big body of water. She had seen only rivers and ponds. The ocean looked very big. She would not go near the waves. Then Captain Clark showed her the high water line. He told her that the waves would not go over that line. She sat down on the sand with her baby in her lap. She watched the waves a long time. Then she was not afraid. She walked out to the waves. When they came to shore, she ran before them. She let them come over her feet. She took some ocean water in her hand and tasted it. She did not like its salt taste. But she did like to run after the waves.

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THE WHALE.

Captain Clark and his party walked all day before they came to where the whale lay. The waves had carried it up on the shore. It was a very big animal. It was longer than most houses. It was eighty feet long. The Indians were cutting it up. They put the meat into a large wooden trough. Then they put hot stones into the trough. The hot stones melted out the oil. The Indians put the oil into skin bags. They used it to eat with roots and mush. They did not wish to sell the oil. But after a time, they did sell some oil to Captain Clark. They sold him some blubber, too. The blubber was white and looked like pork fat. The soldiers cooked some and ate it. They liked it very much. Sacajawea was happy to see the whale. She walked all around it. She made her baby to look well at it. She told him he might never see one again. The baby did not care for the whale, but he laughed because Sacajawea laughed.

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SACAJAWEA'S BELT.

The Clatsop chief came to Fort Clatsop to see the captains. He had on a robe made of two sea-otter skins. The skins were the most beautiful the captains had yet seen. They wanted the chief to sell the robe. He did not want to sell it, as sea-otters are hard to get. They said they would give him anything they had for it. Still he would not sell it. Sacajawea saw him looking at her blue bead belt. She had made this belt from beads Captain Clark had given her. She used to wear it all the time. She said to the Clatsop chief, "Will you sell the robe for my belt?" He said, "Yes, I will sell it for the chief beads." The Indians called blue beads "chief beads." Sacajawea thought a little time. Then she gave her belt to him. He put it around his neck. He gave her his sea-otter robe. She gave it to Captain Clark for a present. She was sorry to give up her belt. The captains had no more blue beads to give her to make another. But she was glad to give Captain Clark the beautiful sea-otter skins.

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AT FORT CLATSOP.

At Fort Clatsop, the captains wrote in their books. They wrote about all they had seen coming to the Pacific. They wrote about things near Fort Clatsop. They made maps of the land near the Missouri River, in the Rocky Mountains, and on the banks of the Columbia. Some of the men hunted. They made the skins of animals into clothes and moccasins. They made between three and four hundred pairs of moccasins. They saved these to wear on the way home. Five soldiers were sent down to the ocean beach to make salt. Each had a big kettle. They filled the kettles with ocean water. They burned a fire under the kettles day and night. In time, the water all boiled away. A crust of salt was left on the inside of the kettles. The soldiers gathered this salt into wooden kegs. It took seven weeks to make enough salt for their journey home. Captain Lewis wrote, "This salt was a great treat to many of the party." He liked salt very much. Captain Clark wrote that he did not care if he had salt or not.

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On Christmas Day, 1805, the soldiers got up without making any noise. They fired their guns all at one time to waken the captains. Then they sang an old Christmas song. Then they wished the captains "Merry Christmas." They gave each other presents. Captain Clark wrote that he had twelve weasel tails, some underwear, some moccasins, and an Indian blanket for his Christmas presents. He gave a handkerchief or some little present to each man. There was no snow and no ice, but there was much rain. The soldiers had to stay in their log fort all day. They had only poor elk, poor roots, and some bad dried salmon for dinner. But they were cheerful. They danced and sang into the night. On New Year's Day, they fired their guns to welcome in the New Year. They had more to eat than on Christmas Day. The captains wrote, "Our greatest pleasure to-day is thinking about New Year's, 1807. Then we shall be home."

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THE START HOME.

In March, the elk left the woods near Fort Clatsop. The soldiers could not get enough to eat. The captains said, "It is time to start home." They bought a canoe with a soldier-coat and some little things. They took another canoe from the Clatsops for some elk meat that the Indians had stolen. They had not many things left to get food and horses with on the way home. But their guns were in good order. They had good powder and balls. They could kill game on the way. They cut up their big flag into five robes. They could sell them robes for food. The captains gave the Clatsops letters to give to any white men who should come there. These letters told about the party's trip out West. They told how they were going back East. The Clatsops promised to give these letters to the first white men who should come. Then the party said good-bye to the Clatsops. This was in the month of March. They started up the Columbia River, singing. They were happy because they were going home.

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AT CAMP CHOPUNNISH.

On the way up the Columbia, the soldiers killed game. They gave some to the Indians for roots. They came to the foot of the mountains in May. There was too much snow then for them to cross They made a camp near the Chopunnish Indians. They called it Camp Chopunnish. They sent out to get the horses they had left when camping there before. They tried to get enough food to last them over the mountains. Many of the Indians were ill. Captain Clark gave them medicine. They gave him food and horses for the medicine. Captain Lewis talked with the Indian chiefs all day. They promised to let some young Indians show the way over the mountains. The captains gave each soldier some of their goods and sent him out to get food. Captain Lewis wrote that each man had "only one awl and one knitting- pin, half an ounce of vermilion, two needles, a few skeins of thread, and a yard of ribbon." Two of the men took their goods with them in a canoe. The canoe turned over. They lost all their goods. They just saved their lives.

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Two other men went up the river with their goods on a horse. The horse slipped down a steep bank into the river. He got safe to the bank across the river. An Indian made him swim back to the two soldiers. On the way, most of the goods were lost. The paint melted, and the horse's back was all red. The Indians on the bank across the river saw what the soldiers wanted. They loaded some roots and bread on a raft. They tried to cross to the soldiers. A high wind sent the raft on a rock. The raft turned over. The roots and bread were lost. Then the captains and men felt unhappy. They cut the buttons from their clothes. They gathered up all the bottles and medicine boxes they had. With these things, two soldiers went out to get food. They got three bushels of roots and some bread. The other men hunted. They dried some meat, and gave some to the Indians for roots. They became good friends with the Chopunnish Indians. They used to run fast races together. Both soldiers and Indians could run fast. The soldiers took sides and played prisoners' base.

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OVER THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS GOING HOME.

The party wanted to start over the mountains in early June. The Indians were not ready to go with them then. The party started to go without the Indians. They could not find food for the horses. There was snow all over the ground. They had to turn back and camp where there was grass. A week later the Indians were ready to go with them. They started a second time. The Indians showed them the way. They found food for the horses each night. The trip across the mountains was not so hard as it had been the year before. Now the snow covered all the sharp rocks. The snow was so hard that the horses could walk on it. Now they had enough food. All the men had horses. They went many miles each day. All were happy. One of the Indians liked Captain Lewis so much that he gave him his name, "Yomekollick."

This means "White Bear-skin Folded." The Indians thought their names were the best thing they could give to any one.

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EAST OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS AGAIN.

Before they left the mountains, the captains said: