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

Updated August 8, 2003

Wallace Hansen Celebrates Lewis and Clark's Bicentennial

Botanical Discoveries of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

Engelmann's Spruce (Picea engelmannii)

Bitterroot Mountains, Idaho, September 16, 1805

Not as commonly seen as Sitka Spruce, Engelmann's Spruce prefers moist ground and occurs mostly east of the mountain crests. It is also found scattered from B.C. down to Shasta County in California at middle and high elevations. You can easily identify Engelmann's because the needles can be rolled between your fingers, a distinct characteristic.

Spruce needles were believed by Native Peoples to have special powers for protection against evil thoughts because of their sharpness. Some tribes used the boughs in dance ceremonies as protection and to scare their audience. The inner bark of this tree was eaten fresh or dried into cakes and eaten with berries. The young shoots were eaten raw, giving fresh vitamin C. Spruce pitch can be chewed as gum, and was used medicinally. Roots of Engelmann's sister spruce, Sitka, were utilized as material for weaving hats and baskets. They would pull the roots out of the ground early in summer, seared briefly in fire to preserve their light color, then peeled and split and stored in bundles for use later on in the year when needed.

Exedition's documentation of this specimen is stored at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History in Washington, D.C.

See purchase information for this and other Northwest Native plants documented by the Corps of Discovery during the Lewis and Clark Expedition in our online catalog.

Photo of specimen collected by Expedition

Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History

At this time in 1806:

A case of mistaken identity.

We set out very early this morning, it being my wish to arrive at the Burnt Hills by noon in order to take the latitude of that place, as it is the most northern point of the Missouri. I informed the party of my design and requested that they would exert themselves to reach the place in time, as it would save us the delay of nearly one day. Being as anxious to get forward as I was, they plied their oars faithfully, and we proceeded rapidly.

Half after 11 A.M., we saw a large herd of elk on the northeast shore, and I directed the men in the small canoes to halt and kill some of them, and continued on in the pirogue to the Burnt Hills. When I arrived here, it was about 20 minutes after noon, and of course, the observation of the sun's meridian altitude was lost.

Just opposite to the Burnt Hills, there happened to be a herd of elk on a thick willow bar, and finding that my observation was lost for the present, I determined to land and kill some of them. Accordingly, we put to, and I went out with Cruzat only. We fired on the elk. I killed one and he wounded another. We reloaded our guns and took different routes through the thick willows in pursuit of the elk.

I was in the act of firing on the elk a second time when a ball struck my left thigh about an inch below my hip joint. Missing the bone, it passed through the left thigh and cut the thickness of the bullet across the hinder part of the right thigh. The stroke was very severe. I instantly supposed that Cruzat had shot me in mistake for an elk, as I was dressed in brown leather and he cannot see very well. Under this impression I called out to him, "Damn you, you have shot me," and looked toward the place from whence the ball had come. Seeing nothing, I called Cruzat several times as loud as I could, but received no answer.

I was now persuaded that it was an Indian that had shot me, as the report of the gun did not appear to be more than 40 paces from me and Cruzat appeared to be out of hearing of me. In this situation, not knowing how many Indians there might be concealed in the bushes, I thought it best to make good my retreat to the pirogue, calling out as I ran for the first hundred paces as loud as I could to Cruzat to retreat, that there were Indians, hoping to alarm him in time to make his escape also. I still retained the charge in my gun which I was about to discharge at the moment the ball struck me.

When I arrived in sight of the pirogue, I called the men to their arms, to which they flew in an instant. I told them that I was wounded but I hoped not mortally--by an Indian I believed--and directed them to follow me, that I would return and give them battle and relieve Cruzat if possible, who I feared had fallen into their hands. The men followed me as they were bid and I returned about a hundred paces, when my wounds became so painful and my thigh so stiff that I could scarcely get on. In short, I was compelled to halt, and ordered the men to proceed and, if they found themselves overpowered by numbers, to retreat in order, keeping up a fire. I now got back to the pirogue as well as I could, and prepared myself with a pistol, my rifle, and air gun, being determined--as a retreat was impracticable--to sell my life as dearly as possible.

In this state of anxiety and suspense I remained about 20 minutes, when the party returned with Cruzat and reported that there were no Indians nor the appearance of any. Cruzat seemed much alarmed, and declared if he had shot me it was not his intention, that he had shot an elk in the willows after he left or separated from me. I asked him whether he did not hear me when I called to him so frequently, which he absolutely denied. I do not believe that the fellow did it intentionally but after finding that he had shot me, was anxious to conceal his knowledge of having done so.

The ball had lodged in my breeches, which I knew to be the ball of the short rifles such as that he had; and there being no person out with me but him and no Indians that we could discover, I have no doubt in my own mind of his having shot me. With the assistance of Sergeant Gass, I took off my clothes and dressed my wounds myself as well as I could, introducing tents of patent lint into the ball holes. The wounds bled considerably, but I was happy to find that it had touched neither bone nor artery.

I sent the men to dress the two elk which Cruzat and myself had killed, which they did in a few minutes and brought the meat to the river. My wounds being so situated that I could not, without infinite pain, make an observation, I determined to relinquish it and proceeded on. At 4 P.M. we passed an encampment which had been evacuated this morning by Captain Clark. Here I found a note from Captain Clark informing me that he had left a letter for me at the entrance of the Yellowstone River, but that Sergeant Pryor, who had passed that place since he left it, had taken the letter; that Sergeant Pryor having been robbed of all his horses, had descended the Yellowstone River in skin canoes and had overtaken him at this encampment.

Captain Lewis, 11 August 1806

We hope Cruzat learned a lesson on this day, one we all must learn in order to get along in this world and to be truly good people. That is: Own up to your own actions. Had Cruzat confessed it was he who shot Captain Lewis, much energy, anxiety and trust would have been preserved.

Current events:

August 10 - 15, 2003

Application information at www.oregonhum.org or www.thejourneycontinues.org.

CONTACT:
Susie Meserve
Oregon Council for the Humanities
503.241.0543
800.735.0543

Exhibit: End of Our Voyage Exhibit
The Lewis and Clark Expedition in Washington State Trade, Recreation, and Agricultural Center (TRAC)
Pasco , WA

August 8- September 25, 2003
For More Information:
(509) 543-2999

Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in Oregon (www.lcbo.net)

May 23 - September 15, 2003:

The Lewis & Clark Explorer Train

Traveling from Portland to Astoria, via the water level Columbia River rail route.  Contact: Oregon Department of Transportation, download fact sheet (PDF file).

August 9, 2003:

American Volkssport Association and National Trail Association

Lewis & Clark Walk

Capt. William Clark Park at Cottonwood Beach, Washougal Dike Trail.

August 10 - 15, 2003:

Summer Teacher Institute - Lewis and Clark and the Legacies of Discovery

Lewis and Clark College, Portland, Oregon.  Register today at (800) 735-0543, or (503) 241-0543, or visit www.oregonhum.org.  Download press release (PDF file)

August 10 - 13, 2003:

Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation Annual Meeting

Philadelphia, PA.  More information and registration for the meeting is available at http://www.lewisandclarkphila.org/2003/annual.html.

Location: 1726 Washington Street, Oregon City, OR 97045

(503) 657-9336 (503) 557-8590

End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center Website staff@endoftheoregontrail.org

Description: The End of the Oregon Trail Interpretive Center was built in 1995 on the former Donation Land Claim of the first elected governor of the Oregon Country, George Abernethy. A merchant and miller by trade, Abernethy had a vested interest in the continued growth of Oregon City, so he permitted newly arrived emigrants to park their wagons, graze their oxen, and set up camp on a meadow behind his house. That meadow came to be called Abernethy Green, and for many of the early Oregon Trail emigrants, it truly was the Trail's end. 

Alternative approaches are via State Routes 213, 99-E, and 43. The Interpretive Center is just off the end of SR 213 -- turn left at the last light before the Interstate. Taking 99-E or 43 gives you the option of cutting over to Washington Street on the surface streets if you're familiar with Oregon City, but it's easier to take northbound I-205 to Exit 10 from both roads. 

Here's a handy tip for those arriving on 99-E: the entrance ramp from 99-E is a continuous lane that becomes the exit ramp for SR 213, so you are spared from having to merge with the through traffic on the Interstate.

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). All the plants pictured are available from Wally Hansen! See our Spring Sale site and our online catalog for more information.

Good luck and happy gardening!

Wally

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