The Bird-Woman of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Part 11

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 sh.o.r.e.

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.

beau ti ful robe sor ry belt sea-ot ter wear

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.

boiled crust five pairs burned filled kegs treat

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.

hand ker chief un der wear wea sel mer ry wak en wel come

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.