Lewis and Clark with Wallace W Hansen Native Plants of the Northwest

WALLACE W HANSEN

Native Plants of the Northwest

Native Plant Nursery & Gardens

2158 Bower Ct S.E., Salem, Oregon 97301 E-Mail: Wallace W Hansen
PHONE (503)581-2638 FAX(503)581-9957

Information about Wallace W Hansen Northwest Native Plant Nursery & Gardens: Business Information (Ordering, etc.)

Updated May 8, 2003

Wallace Hansen Celebrates Lewis and Clark

Botanical Discoveries of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Mock Orange (Philadelphus lewisii)

Along the Clearwater River in Nez Perce County, Idaho on May 6, 1806

This particular plant was collected twice and we must rely on Pursh's notes about which specimen was collected when and where. One specimen sheet indicates it was taken "On the waters of the Clarck's river" which is probably the Clark Fork near what today is Missoula, Montana and gathered on July 4, 1806. Another is labeled with the Idaho site and date.

We do know the expedition moved from the mouth of the Potlatch River to just downstream of Pine Creek in Idaho on May 6, 1806. We also know they were in Missoula on the morning of July 4, 1806.

Lewis mentions a plant he calls "sevenbark" on June 10, and Moulton says of this plant that "Lewis had pressed a specimen of it four days earlier."

We know for sure this small tree has lovely sweet-smelling blossoms and is a fine addition to most any garden. Included in our Spring Sale, the Mock Orange will give delight each spring.

Heidi Hansen watercolor

Photo of Clark's specimen

At this time in 1806:

Captain Clark was a most interesting man, and shows remarkable skills at interaction with the native peoples the expedition encountered in their journey.

Collected our horses and set out at 7 A.M. At 4 and a half miles we arrived at the entrance of the Kooskooskee, up the N. Eastern side of which we continued our march 12 miles to a large lodge of 10 families, having passed two other large mat lodges.

At the second lodge, we passed an Indian man who gave Captain Clark a very elegant gray mare, for which he requested a phial of eye-water, which was accordingly given him. While we were encamped last fall at the entrance of the Chopunnish river, Captain Clark gave an Indian man some volatile liniment to rub his knee and thigh for a pain of which he complained. The fellow soon after recovered, and has never ceased to extol the virtues of our medicines, and the skill of my friend Captain Clark as a physician. This occurrence, added to the benefit which many of them experienced from the eye-water we gave them about the same time, has given them an exalted opinion of our medicine.

My friend Captain Clark is their favorite physician and has already received many applications. In our present situation, I think it pardonable to continue this deception, for they will not give us any provision without compensation in merchandise, and our stock is now reduced to a mere handful. We take care to give them no article which can possibly injure them.

. . .

We had several applications to assist their sick, which we refused unless they would let us have some dogs or horses to eat. A chief, whose wife had an abscess formed on the small of her back, promised a horse in the morning, provided we would administer to her. Accordingly, Captain Clark opened the abscess, introduced a tent [a roll of lint], and dressed it with basilicon [an ointment of wax, pitch, resin, and olive oil]. Captain Clark soon had more than fifty applications. I prepared some doses of flower of sulphur and cream of tartar, which were given with directions to be taken on each morning.

A little girl and sundry other patients were offered for cure, but we postponed our operations until morning. They produced us several dogs, but they were so poor that they were unfit for use.

This is the residence of one of the four principal chiefs of the nation, whom they call Neeshneparkkeook, or The Cut Nose, from the circumstance of his nose being cut by the Snake [Shoshone] Indians with a lance, in battle. To this man we gave a medal of the small size, with the likeness of the President. He may be a great chief, but his countenance has but little intelligence, and his influence among his people seems but inconsiderable. A number of Indians besides the inhabitants of these lodges gathered about us this evening and encamped in the timbered bottom on the creek near us.

We met with a Snake Indian man at this place, through whom we spoke at some length to the natives this evening with respect to the objects which had induced us to visit their country. This address was induced at this moment by the suggestions of an old man who observed to the natives that he thought we were bad men and had come, most probably, in order to kin them. This impression, if really entertained, I believe we effaced. They appeared well satisfied with what we said to them, and, being hungry and tired, we retired to rest at 11 o'clock. Captain Lewis, 5 May 1806

This morning the husband of the sick woman was as good as his word. He produced us a young horse in tolerable order, which we immediately killed and butchered. The inhabitants seemed more accommodating this morning; they sold us some bread. We received a second horse for medicine and prescription for a little girl with the rheumatism. Captain Clark dressed the woman again this morning who declared that she had rested better last night than she had since she had been sick.

Sore eyes are a universal complaint with Al the natives we have seen on the west side of the Rocky Mountains. Captain Clark was busily engaged for several hours this morning in administering eye-water to a crowd of applicants. We once more obtained a plentiful meal, much to the comfort of all the party. Captain Lewis, 6 May 1806

*Current events:*
Southwest Washington Convention & Visitors Bureau Northwest History - Spring Celebration Calendar of Events April 29-May 20 - "People of the Columbia River Basin" film series All films begin at 7 p.m. at the Kiggins Theater, 1011 Main St. The series begins on April 29 with "Local Color," and continues weekly. A full schedule is available at www.ccrh.org/center/pobfs.htm. Sponsored by the Center for Columbia River History. May 3-July 31 - Skamokawa Indian Village display at the Three Creeks Library May 8, 7 p.m. - "Lewis and Clark-Stories of our Time" with David Nicandri, Director of the Washington State Historical Society. Sponsored by Fort Vancouver Library and Clark College. May 9-July 27 - "End of Our Voyage" exhibit at the O.O. Howard House Wed. through Fri., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sat. through Sun., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Free. Hosted by the City of Vancouver. May 12, 7 p.m. - "Fiddle Tunes in the Pacific Northwest from Lewis and Clark to the Oregon Trail" Part of the Inquiring Minds Series at Three Creeks Library. Admission is free. Call (360) 699-8859. May 14 - Lewis and Clark Bicentennial Commemoration Kick-off The commemoration begins with a luncheon at the Water Resources Education Center featuring author Dr. Stephen Dow Beckham. Then, the Clark County Historical Museum hosts Gary Lenz to speak of the medicine of Lewis and Clark, from 3 to 5 p.m. Lenz will then present "First Contact" at the O.O. Howard House, at 6 p.m. Afternoon and evening programs are free. Call (360) 906-7119. May 17, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. - Vintage Home Fair at Esther Short Park Presented by the City of Vancouver. Call 619-1145. May 18, noon to 5 p.m. - Open house for the Fort Vancouver Tapestry At the Washington State School for the Deaf, 611 Grand Blvd. www.fortvancouvertapestry.com. May 18, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. - Queen Victoria's Birthday celebration at Fort Vancouver Bring a sack lunch and eat with the Living History re-enactors. Sponsored by the National Park Service. Go to http://www.nps.gov/fova/visitevent.htm for more information. May 23 - "Lewis and Clark on the Lower Columbia River" A Clark College Mature Learning Class. Call (360) 992-2153 or visit www.clark.edu. May 29, 7 p.m. - "Tree troopers, cherry pickers and dam builders: Commemoration the 70th Anniversary of the Civilian Conversation Corps" At the Water Resources Education Center, 4600 SE Columbia Way. Co-sponsored by the U.S. Forest Service, Celebrate Freedom-Vancouver National Historic Reserve, National Park Service and the Center for Columbia River History. www.ccrh.org/center/pobfs.htm. May 31- June 1 - Sturgeon Festival at the Water Resources Education Center Family activities from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Center is located at 4600 SE Columbia Way. Event and activities are free. Call 696-8478. Flyers featuring information on all of these activities is available from the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial office by calling (360) 906-7119 or check the individual websites for more information. (360) 750-1553 ext. 20 - Vancouver, Washington E-Mail: director@lewisandclark-clark.org

The Corps of Discovery II Lewis and Clark Traveling Exhibit Beginning it's 4-year tour, stopping at communities along the trail that the Corp of Discovery took during the three years and eight months it took to make their journey. The exhibit will end in Oregon. The exhibit consists of a 53-foot long trailer carrying two tents, a stage, chairs, lighting, sound and visual gear and heating and air-conditioning equipment. One tent will hold an audio tour of replicas of historical paintings depicting the expedition's main characters and the landscapes they saw. Guided and sponsored by the following organizations: Library Associations of Washington D.C., Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Montana, Idaho and Oregon - which collectively comprise Trail States Library Associations - and the U.S. National Park Service (NPS).

Deepwood Estate Museum 1894 Queen Anne Style Home Salem, Oregon Landscape architects Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver were commissioned by Alice Brown to create the formal gardens at Deepwood Estate. Lord and Schryver were the first formally trained women landscape architects in the Northwest. Pictured at right, top, is the 1905 Lewis & Clark Gazebo acquired by Mrs. Brown and sited at Deepwood in 1949. Below is an architectural drawing of the grounds at Deepwood. Deepwood is the most significant example of landscape architects Elizabeth Lord and Edith Schryver's Northwest work. It is their only garden design that is open to the public. Intriguing features at Deepwood include a scroll garden with a hidden signature, an ivy tunnel and a pastel tea garden. There are three other superb examples of their designs in the area, but they are associated with private residences.
Visitor Information 1116 Mission Street SE Salem, Oregon 97302 Deepwood grounds open dawn to dusk daily at no charge. Deepwood House Tours are 12:00-5:00 pm. hourly, May thru September, Sunday-Friday; October thru April, Tuesday-Saturday Admission: Adults, $4.00/Students and Seniors, $3.00/Children, $2.00 (under six - free) http://www.oregonlink.com/deepwood/ House Tour Information: 503-363-1825

PICTURING THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY: The Lewis and Clark Expedition in Oregon Art An exhibit at the State Capitol building Presented by Oregon Historical Society
December 20, 2002 through December 2004 State Capital building, 900 Court Street NE, Salem, Oregon 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Monday - Friday 12 p.m. - 4 p.m. Saturday Closed - Sunday
"Picturing the Corps of Discovery demonstrates how artistic interpretations of the Lewis and Clark Expedition mirror the history and evolving values of Americans, and more specifically Oregonians, over the past two centuries. Viewers will be introduced to works of art with Lewis-and-Clark themes that reflect changing understandings of topics as diverse as democratic ideals, ethnicity, and the environment. A collection of images of Lewis and Clark pointing westward, including Frank Schwarz's treasured 1938 mural in Oregon's Capitol rotunda, demonstrate how the two explorers were credited with introducing civilization to the West well into the first half of the twentieth century. By the end of the century, however, works like Michael Florin Dente's 1988 sculpture, The Naming of Mount Jefferson, at the University of Portland, celebrated the expedition's ethnic mix as a historical precedent for a multicultural, pluralistic society in the West." http://www.ohs.org/exhibits/picturing-the-corp-of-discovery.cfm

*Back Issues:* To see back issues of *Wallace Hansen Celebrates Lewis and Clark*, click on this link to jump to the index.
*Commemorative Painting by Heidi Hansen:* The illustrated map below was created by renowned botanical artist Heidi D. Hansen especially for this website. Done in ink and watercolors, Heidi shows many of the plants Captain Lewis documented overlaid atop a map showing a portion of the journey. (Click on image for large view).


Good luck and happy gardening! Wally