Patrick Gass Archives - Lewis & Clark Research Database https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/journalist/patrick-gass/ A digital archive of treaties, documents, artwork, and 360° trail panoramas from the Corps of Discovery Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:34:34 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Gass Describes the Great Falls Portage https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/journal/gass-describes-the-great-falls-portage/ Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:34:34 +0000 https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/journal/gass-describes-the-great-falls-portage/ We had to haul the canoes up a high hill and over the plains about one mile; we then had to let them down a hill to the river, where we embarked. The prickley pear was very troublesome to our moccasioned feet.

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]]> Gass provides practical details of the brutal 18-mile portage around the Great Falls — one of the most physically demanding episodes of the entire expedition.

“The prickley pear was very troublesome to our moccasioned feet.”

The men built crude wagons from cottonwood trunks to haul the canoes and supplies, but the terrain — rocky, hilly, and covered with prickly pear cactus — made every step miserable. Hailstorms battered them, grizzly bears menaced them, and the heat was oppressive. The portage took from June 16 to July 15, nearly a full month.

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]]> Sgt. Gass Describes Building Fort Mandan https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/journal/sgt-gass-describes-building-fort-mandan/ Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:34:33 +0000 https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/journal/sgt-gass-describes-building-fort-mandan/ We continued to work at our fort. Six of the men were employed in making charcoal, and the rest in cutting timber and building. We named our fort, Fort Mandan, in honour of our friendly neighbours.

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]]> Patrick Gass, the expedition’s skilled carpenter, provides the most detailed account of the construction of Fort Mandan — the expedition’s first winter quarters. Gass was elected sergeant after Floyd’s death and later published the first account of the expedition (1807).

“We continued to work at our fort. Six of the men were employed in making charcoal, and the rest in cutting timber and building. We named our fort, Fort Mandan, in honour of our friendly neighbours.”

The fort consisted of two rows of huts joined at an angle, with a stockade wall, forming a triangular enclosure. It was completed by Christmas 1804 and served as the expedition’s home through one of the coldest winters on record, with temperatures dropping as low as -40 degrees.

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