Thanksgiving

[Buck Conner1]

Thanksgiving​

Remember that this was not a Holiday as we know it now, that didn’t happen until the next century and then 50 years before becoming a National Holiday.

On November 24 the captains called everyone together. They had come 4,162 miles since leaving the Mississippi, Clark estimated. But now a decision was needed: where to spend the winter. ​

Lewis and Clark explained the options.

Staying near the ocean meant they might yet meet a ship, get provisions, and perhaps send a man or two back to Washington by sea with word of their achievement. And being near ocean water, they could also make salt, which they would need for the return trip.

They could remain on the north side of the Columbia’s mouth, through the local Chinook Indians charged what Clark considered extravagant prices for everything and there did not appear to be an abundance of game.

They could move to the south side (in what is now Oregon). Some Clatsops, who had crossed over there, promised plenty of elk for food and clothing.

Or they could head back upriver - perhaps halfway back toward the Nez Perce - where they could count on drier weather.

Once again the captains broke with protocol in reaching an important decision. As military commanders - especially as commanders now operating in territory beyond the borders of the United States - Lewis and Clark could simply have imposed their own choice.​

Instead, the Corps of Discovery would face this issue the same way it had already dealt with the grueling portage of the Great Falls, the deflating disappointment of Lemhi Pass, the biting cold and near starvation of the Bitterroot Mountains, and the rain-soaked gales of the lower Columbia. They would face it together, as a collection of diverse individuals who had molded themselves into a cohesive unit that was stronger than the sum of its particular parts.

E pluribus unum.​

One by one, the name of each member of the Corps of Discovery was called out. And each one’s preference was recorded.

Clark’s slave York, was allowed to vote - nearly sixty years before slaves in the rest of America would be emancipated and enfranchised.

Sacagawea, the Indian woman, voted too - more than a century before either women or Indians were granted the full rights of citizenship.​

In the end, a majority decided to cross to the south side of the Columbia. There, together they would spend the winter with all of North America between themselves and their countrymen.

Capt. Lewis Branded a tree with his name, Date, etc..... The party all Cut the first letters of their names on different trees.... I marked my name, the Day & year on an alder tree.... William Clark. By Land from the U. States in 1804 & 1805.

WILLIAM CLARK​

Not as fancy a November 24th as we have come to be accustomed to, with large amounts of food, family and left overs, but to them working as a unit and making that crossing to be with the Clatsops, who had crossed over there, promised plenty of elk for food and clothing they had a wonderful day to be thankful for.