“January 1, 1806.  We were awaked at an early hour by the discharge of a volley of small arms, to salute the new year.  This was the only mode of commemorating the day which our situation permitted; for, though we had reason to be gayer than we were at Christmas, our only dainties were boiled elk and wappatoo, enlivened by draughts of pure water.  We were visited by a few Clatsops, who came by water, bringing roots and berries for sale.  Among this nation we observed a man about twenty-five years old, of a much lighter complexion than the Indians generally:  his face was even freckled, and his hair long, and of a colour inclining to red.  He was in habits and manners perfectly Indian; but, though he did not speak a word of English, he seemed to understand more than the others of his party; and, as we could obtain no account of his origin, we concluded that one of his parents, at least, must have been white.”

A novel addition to their bill of fare was fresh blubber, or fat, from a stranded whale.  Under date of January 3 the journal says:—­

“At eleven o’clock we were visited by our neighbor, the Tia or chief, Comowool, who is also called Coone, and six Clatsops.  Besides roots and berries, they brought for sale three dogs, and some fresh blubber.  Having been so long accustomed to live on the flesh of dogs, the greater part of us have acquired a fondness for it, and our original aversion for it is overcome, by reflecting that while we subsisted on that food we were fatter, stronger, and in general enjoyed better health than at any period since leaving the buffalo country, eastward of the mountains.  The blubber, which is esteemed by the Indians an excellent food, has been obtained, they tell us, from their neighbors, the Killamucks, a nation who live on the seacoast to the southeast, near one of whose villages a whale had recently been thrown and foundered.”

Five men had been sent out to form a camp on the seashore and go into the manufacture of salt as expeditiously as possible.  On the fifth of January, two of them came into the fort bringing a gallon of salt, which was decided to be “white, fine and very good,” and a very agreeable addition to their food, which had been eaten perfectly fresh for some weeks past.  Captain Clark, however, said it was a “mere matter of indifference” to him whether he had salt or not, but he hankered for bread.  Captain Lewis, on the other hand, said the lack of salt was a great inconvenience; “the want of bread I consider trivial,” was his dictum.  It was estimated that the salt-makers could turn out three or four quarts a day, and there was good prospect of an abundant supply for present needs and for the homeward journey.  An expedition to the seashore was now planned, and the journal goes on to tell how they set out:—­