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 Lewis
and Clark’s Corps of Discovery spent the winter of 1805-06
near present-day Astoria, Oregon, a location chosen by a historic
vote (November 24, 1805) of all the expedition’s members—including
Shoshone woman Sacagawea and William Clark’s slave,
York. They called their winter home Fort Clatsop, after the
local Indian tribe, and remained there until March 23, 1806,
when they began their return trip to the United States.
The long,
wet winter provided Meriwether Lewis with plenty of time to
observe and document the native flora and fauna, including
what would become known as the Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis),
a species entirely new to science. Lewis described it “as
well as my slender botanicall skil wil enable me…”
in his journal on Tuesday, February 4, 1806, ending the day’s
entry with the hope of finding a pine cone from this “immence”
tree. Two weeks later he had his cone, making a detailed drawing
and thorough description of it in his journal on February
18, 1806.
Lewis’s
pine cone drawing was reproduced on Anchor’s
2003 Christmas Ale neck label—courtesy of the American
Philosophical Society—in celebration of the 200th anniversary
of the Lewis & Clark Expedition.
Lewis’s
original journal entries of February 4th and 18th, 1806 are
reproduced below, also courtesy of the American Philosophical
Society.
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