Fort Vancouver Tapestry

7. Lewis & Clark

York and Sacajawea at the Witness Tree

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Sponsored by: Beverly Twing
This panel, and the following two, portrays the Meriwether Lewis and William Clark saga. These American explorers were commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Northwest and record the flora and fauna. One of their guides was a Native American woman, Sacagawea. She is carrying her baby, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.  They also had with them a slave named York. The Witness Tree. Land is always platted from a starting point. It is usually a prominent natural feature such as a rock or tree, in this case a large cottonwood. Popular myth had it that Lewis and Clark tied up to the tree but we really don't know.
The upper border icons include huckleberries and the compass used by Lewis and Clark.