Historians Gary Lentz (Park Ranger at Lewis & Clark Trail State Park) and Dave Nicandri, Director, WSHS, have teamed with surveyor Rob Stratton of Kennewick to pursue of one of the leading mysteries associated with the Lewis & Clark story in Washington:
Where was William Clark when, to paraphrase his journal entry for October 18, 1805, he saw a conical mountain bearing southwest?
So...who saw the mountain?
Capt. William Clark?
- He wrote about the mountain.
- He had the time to do it.
- He was healthy and fit to do it.
- Why didn't he mention climbing the hills?
Capt. Meriwether Lewis?
- We don't have his journals for this time.
- He often walked alone.
- He had spent several days in camp while Clark went exploring.
- What WAS he doing during this time?
Bullet points by Gary Lentz
Where were Lewis & Clark when they saw Mt. Hood?
The photos below are samples from Park Ranger Lentz's photographic survey of river and mountain from the plains above Wallula.
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NOTE: Click on any picture to see a larger image.
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Columbia River view to the southwest, 2 miles north of 1805 mouth of Walla Walla River. Marked locations:
A. 1400 foot ridge
B. 1805 mouth of Walla Walla River.
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Port Kelley, looking WSW down the Columbia River. Area marked is the approximate location of
the Lewis and Clark Expedition's October 18, 1805 campsite.
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View from 1/2 mile north of Port Kelley, looking west across the Columbia River. Approximately 800
feet of elevation.
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View from 1/2 mile north of Port Kelley, looking SW down the Columbia River at the 1173 ft. elevation.
Approximate location of Hat Rock State Park in Oregon is marked.
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View to the SW directly above (east) Port Kelley at 1246 ft. elevation. Mt. Hood is still not visible at this elevation.
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Mt. Hood from 1/2 mile ESE of Port Kelley shortly after sunset in late October 1999. The circle shows the tip of Mt. Hood above the horizon. Elevation: 1400 ft. |
Scholars, indeed, Clark himself, later confirmed that the mountain he saw this day was Mt. Hood, first charted in 1792 by a member of Captain Vancouver's coastal exploring expedition. Lewis & Clark had copies of Vancouver's charts and so they were able to match up a landmark of known geography with their own explorations. Mt Hood was especially important in this regard because it served as a course marker for their proximity to the ultimate destination of the Corps of Discovery, the Pacific Ocean.
However, intervening generations of historians have presumed that Clark was mistaken when he said he saw Mt. Hood on the 18th of October. It has long been thought, notwithstanding Clark's otherwise trustworthy account, that it was not possible to see the peak from anywhere on that Corps' traverse for the 18th: from the confluence of the Snake & Columbia Rivers to the heart of the Wallula Gap. Rather, as the previous theory went, Clark mis-inscribed his note from a later day and he truly first saw Mt. Hood, the great snowy icon of the state of Oregon, near or on Hat Rock in Umatilla County, Oregon.
Nicandri, Stratton & Lentz, using an interdisciplinary combination of textual analysis, computer modeling, and field observation, believe they have proved that you can in fact see Mt. Hood from the area of Lewis & Clark's traverse for October 18th, specifically from the plains above Wallula Gap in present Walla Walla County, Washington. And accordingly, Lewis & Clark were able to place themselves on a map for the first time since they left present North Dakota the previous April.
Stratton, Lentz & Nicandri are preparing an article for national or regional publication that details the controversy and their findings in depth.
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