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Show by POLLY CAMPBELL Wintering WITH Lewih ark rtpBca of Fort CUtvop ravola maM but tfHdut quortori for Lowia, Ctarh, and I Perennial darkness and dampness test die spirits of necessity, and the men suffered from colds, pneumonia, aqd dysentery, as wdl as injured joints and backs. even, those who ate entranced by its landscapes. Salt became an essential commodity both to For Lewis, Clark, and their men, there was no preserve die food and enhance its flavor;" Acheson says. respite from the weather They settled first near what is now McGowan, Wash, but the lack of game drove Bur the fresh water of the Columbia River weakened salt levels in the ocean waters near the fin, so them across the Columbia River near present-da- y four men traveled south to Warrenron, Ore., (pop. 4,096). There tbey built Fort (pop. log compound named after a 5,900), where they boiled kettles of saltwater on Clatsop, a seven-roo- m massive wood-burnilocal American Indian tribe. ovens. As the water steamed out, salt was scoped from the bottom and sides. This Ibday, a replica of the fin, a visitors center, canoe landing, and living histoty demonstrations, conducted process yielded four bushels of "fine, strong, and by buckskin-cla- d rangers during the summer, are white nit, as described by Lewis. A replica of those wood ovens now stands near pan of the Fort Clatsop National Memorial. Rooms in the fort contain flint, journals, skins, and candle the Salt Works display, a block offthe beach in Seaside, 20 miles south of the memorial on Highway 101, making reminiscent of what the explorers used on the coast. Today, tourists come to explore die north Oregon Seeing during their three-mon- th stay how the men lived makes it easier to understand die coast and step back into the ancient trades of Lewis and Clark. They watch the freight ships along the depression and fatigue that seeped into their souls Columbia River near Astoria (papi 9313), just miles during that winter of 1805-0The Lewis and Clark expedition started near Sc. north of the fort, and they meander Seasides promeLouis in 1804 under orders from President Thomas nade, visit the gift shops along the main streets of the Jefienon to find the most direct overland route to coastal towns, and walk the beaches that Lewis and the Pacific. Little was known about the land and its Clark struggled for more than ayear to reach on their inhabitants west of the Missouri Rivet, so it became westward journey. the Corps of Discovery's task to create detailed maps, And they come to revel in the storms that those of and records all encountered. The diagrams, they early visitors loathed. insufleiahlr weather they encountered upon reaching die Oregon coast may not have been diagrammed PcUy Campbell uifiwlanaurittr jnmBtmvft, On. but it was recorded. It rained all but 12 of their 106 days at the fort; days filled with hard labor and hunting for survival. Sfort Clatsop National Memorial is located in Supplies were already low when the men arrived. theexnwmeTwrthvvestem" Fort Clatsop "They traded with American Indians from the : Jtip of Oregon. 90 miles National MemoriaT region but mostly hunted elk and deer for meat, northwest of Portland., made fallow for candles, and skins for clothing and s Lewis and Clark Salrd bedding," says Stephanie Acheson, a ranger at Fort VJAforfcs is a smaH display Clatsop National Memorial. in Seaslde, 3 mlles Yet clothing rotted and became flea infested due south of the memorial '; to the dampness. Meat spoiled but was eaten out of i The winds violent Trees fb&ng in every detection, whorl winds, with gusts of rain Had St Thunder, this kind of weather lasted aS day" t Capt. William dark, Dec. 16, 1805 The weather has changed little during the almost 200 yean since Capt. William dark (a notoriously poor speller), Meriwether Lewis, and the 3 1 memheis of die Gaps of Discovery readied the Pacific Ocean along Oregon's north coast feUow- -. nek. ing their legendaiy The climate is relentless. This is a place where rain blows sideways in winds off the ocean and dense douds soak into the lush latests of red cedar, fit; and pine. Ovora at tho Salt Works In SoasMo yMdad vital salt cross-count- ry pcesent-daySeasi- ng 6. . Trl ? de |