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--> --> Associated Press National Park Service archeologist Bob Cromwell stands in front of a replica of Lewis and Clark's winter stockade at the Fort Clatsop National Memorial in Warrenton. Archaeologist tries to spot camp of Lewis & Clark ASTORIA (AP) - Lewis and Clark slept here, somewhere, at the 125-acre Fort Clatsop National Memorial. Bob Cromwell wants to find the spot. He's the latest in a long line of archaeologists looking for the precise location of Lewis and Clark's 1805-06 winter encampment. On a piece of land that's been clearcut, plowed, farmed and replanted with trees in the past 200 years, it's like searching for the proverbial needle in a haystack. "This is one of the most confusing places to find a 200-year-old site," he said. "And people keep wondering why we can't find it." Unlike most archaeologists, Cromwell isn't digging. Instead, he's sifting through 50 years of archaeologists' records, trying to piece together what the National Park Service knows about the site. "I have to find out if there's anything left, any archaeological remnants of the actual fort," he said. "The first step in managing an archaeological site is knowing where it is." Fort Clatsop officials want to find the true site of the encampment by the bicentennial of the Expedition, which begins nationwide in 2003. It's an important missing piece in American history, said Scott Stonum, the park's chief resource manager. The 33 members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition chose a spot in what's now northwest Oregon, west of Astoria, for their winter camp. After more than two years trekking across uncharted wilderness, the explorers didn't have a lot of belongings to scatter in the dirt, Cromwell said. When they departed in early 1806, they left only the solid wood stockade. The stockade was apparently still standing when farmers began to settle in the area in the 1850s. With one or two pieces of information - the exact location of an 1850s homestead, for example, or the site of a marker placed a century ago - the location of the original stockade could be determined. Other archaeologists have used more traditional methods to search. In the 1950s and 60s, a backhoe was used to dig up dirt while archaeologists searched for beads and other artifacts from Lewis and Clark. Others have dug pits and trenches looking for remnants of logs. Most recently, archaeologists have used sensitive equipment to scan several layers of ground without digging. The non-invasive procedure scans for metal objects and dense pockets of earth. Using a GIS system, Cromwell can study individual layers of earth at the Fort Clatsop site for anomalies in the soil. "We hope to find linear features, something that looks unnatural," Stonum said. "Then, instead of destroying, we can go in and do some smaller, controlled test pits." Few artifacts have turned up in 50 years of searching. And Cromwell isn't convinced those that have are connected with Lewis and Clark. Beads and misshapen musket balls have been found matching those the Expedition members might have carried, but there's no way to tell if the pieces belonged to the explorers or later settlers, he said. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing