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Along the Lewis & Clark Trail

Feature Article By Cheeta Brown  

Lewis and Clark newsletter December 2003

Christmas with Lewis & Clark

Although the Lewis and Clark Expedition was never in Idaho during the Christmas and New Year’s season they did observe those days wherever they were.

On the 25th of December, 1804 they were camped on the Missouri near the Mandan Indians in the vicinity of the Knife River. The expedition members had constructed a compound that they named Fort Mandan and where they would spend the winter.

On Tuesday, December 25, 1804 Clark wrote, “I was awakened before Day by a discharge of 3 platoons from the Party and the french, the men merrily Disposed, I give them all a little Taffia (rum) and permitted 3 Cannon fired, at raising Our flag. Some Men Went out to hunt & the others to Dancing and Continued untill 9 oClock P.M. when the frolick ended.”

On that day John Ordway wrote in his journal, “we fired the Swivels at day break & each man fired one round, our officers Gave the party a drink of Taffee. We had the Best to eat that could be had, & continued firing dancing & frolicking dureing the whole day. The Savages did not Trouble us as we had requested them not to come as it was a Great medician day with us. We enjoyed a merry cristmas dureing the day & evening until nine oClock – all in peace & quietness.”

On New Years Day that 1805, the men of the expedition split into two groups and visited the Mandan villages. Half of the detachment was invited to the lower village where they danced to the music of tambourine, a sounding horn, and the fiddle played by Privage Cruzatte. About noon Lewis and Clark joined the celebration and Lewis displayed his dancing prowess. Clark wrote, “which amused the croud verry much, and Some what astonished them, that So large a man Should be so active.”

Christmas 1805 found the men at Fort Clatsop near Young’s Bay on the Columbia River. The men of the party woke the Captains at first light and gave them Christmas presents. Private Whitehouse gave Clark a pair of moccasins he had made, Private Silas Goodrich gave him a woven basket, Sacagawea presented him two dozen white weasel tails, and Captain Lewis gave him a vest, drawers, and socks. The Captains gave the men who smoked, tobacco, and those that didn’t received handkerchiefs.

The celebration was necessarily brief for as usual it was very wet and supplies of festive food and drink were exhausted. Captain Clark wrote, “We would have Spent this day the nativity of Christ in feasting, had we any thing either to raise our Sperits or even gratify out appetites, our Diner concisted of pore Elk, So much Spoiled that we eate it thro mear necessity, Some Spoiled pounded fish and a fiew roots.”

As for New Years 1806 Lewis commented the volley fire by the men to herald the New Year “was the only mark of rispect which we had it in our power to pay this celebrated day, our repast of this day no better than that of Christmass.”

Later in the day things looked a little brighter as two of the hunters went out and killed two elk. Lewis wrote, “they presented Captain Clark and myself each a marrow-bone and tonge, on which we suped."

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