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HISTORY 
 
 OP 
 
 THE EXPEDITION 
 
 UNDER THEL-Ct)MMAND OF 
 
 CAPTAINS LEWIS AND CLARKE, 
 
 TO 
 
 THE SOURCES OF THE MISSOURI, THENCE ACROSS THE ROCITf 
 
 MOUNTAINS, AND DOWN THE RIVER COLUMBIA TO THE 
 
 PACIFIC OCEAN : PERFORMED DURING THE 
 
 YEARS 1804, 1805, 1806, 
 
 BY ORDER OF THE 
 
 GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 PREPARED FOR THE PRESS 
 
 BY PAUL ALLEN, ESQ. 
 
 BEVI-SED, AND ABRIDGED BY THE OMISSION OF UMIMPORTANT DB- 
 TAILS, WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES, 
 
 BY ARCHIBALD M'vICKAR. 
 
 IN TWO VOLUMES. 
 
 VOL. II. 
 
 N E \\ Y O R 
 
 HARPER & BROTIIEILS,.--PUBLISHERS, 
 
 FRANKLIN SQUARE. 
 
 18 8. 
 
A 
 
 Entered, aocordi.g to Act of Congress, ;n the year 1842, oy 
 
 Habper &■ Brothers, 
 I. the Clerk's Offlce of tb. Sonthcm District of New TToit 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 OP 
 
 THE SECOND VOLUME. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 I he Party, after procuring Horses from the Shoshonees, proceed 
 on their Journey through the Mountains.— Difficulties and 
 Dangers of the Route.— Council held with another Band of the 
 bhoshonees, of whom some Account is given.— They are re- 
 duced to the Necessity of killing their Horses for Food.— Cap- 
 tain Clarke, with a small Party, precedes the main Body in 
 quest of Provisions, and is hospitably received by the Pierced- 
 Mose Indians.— Arrival of the main Body among this Tribe 
 with whom a Council is held.— They resolve to perform ihe 
 Remainder of their Journey in Canoes.— Sickness among the 
 Party.— They descend the Kooskooskee to its Junction with 
 Lewis River, after passing several dangerous Rapids.— Brief 
 Description of the Manners and Dress of the Pierced-Nose 
 ^"^'^"s P3gg 9 
 
 CHAPTER H. 
 
 Departure of the Party.-Description of an Indian Sweating, 
 bath and Burial-place.— Dangerous Rapids.— Visits from the 
 Indians, who manifest a pacific Disposition.— Description of the 
 bokulk Tribe —Their Dress, and Manner of building Houses. 
 —Their pacific Character.— Their Habits of Living.— Their 
 Mode of boihng Salmon.- Vast Quantities of Salmon among 
 the Sokulks.— Council held with this Tribe.— The Terror 
 and Consternation excited by Captain Clarke.-Some Ac- 
 count of the Pishquitpaws.— Their Mode of burying the Dead 
 
 26 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 
 fhe Party in their Descent still visited by the Indians.— Le- 
 page 8 River -Towahnahiooks River.— Indian Mode of stack- 
 ing tish, and preparing them for Market.— Description of the 
 threat b alls.— DeBcription of an Indian Canoe.— Alarm excited 
 by an anticipated Attack from the Eheltoots.-Dangerous 
 Rapid, called by the Indians The Falls.— Account of the la- 
 
IV CONTENTS. 
 
 dian Houses in the Neighbourhood.— Another frigntful Rapid. 
 — Some Account of the Chilluckittequaw Indians. — Captain 
 Ciariie examines tlie Great Rapids. — Description of an Indian 
 Burial-place. — The Rapids passed in Safety . . Page 59 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 First Appearance of Tide-water in the Columbia River.— The 
 Quicksand River. — Some Account of the Skilloot Indians. — 
 The Party pass the Coweliske River. — Some Account of the 
 Wahkiacum Indians. — Arrival on the Borders of the Pacific. 
 — Disagreeable and Critical Situation of the Party when first 
 encamped. — Their Distress from incessant Torrents of Rain. 
 —Exposed for thirty Days to this drenching Deluge, during 
 which Time their Provisions are spoiled, and most of their 
 few Articles of Merchandise destroyed. — Distress of the Party. 
 — Adventure of Shannon, and his Danger from the Wahkia- 
 cums. — Difficulty of finding a Place suitable for a permanent 
 Encampment. — Visited by several Indians of different Tribes, 
 on whom Medals were bestowed 83 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Extravagant Passion of the Nativea for blue Beads. — The Party 
 in Search of a suitable Place for Winter-quarters. — Suffering 
 from the Deluges of Rain. — Visits of the Indians. — Return of 
 Captain Lewis, who reported that he had found a suitable 
 Place for Wintering. — Captain Clarke goes with a Party to 
 find a Place suitable for the Manufacture of Salt. — He is hos- 
 pitably entertained by the Clatsops. — This Tribe addicted to 
 Gambling. — Sickness of some of the Party, occasioned by the 
 incessant Rains. — They form, notwithstanding, a permanent 
 Encampment for their Winter-quarters .... 102 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Captain Clarke continues his Route in Quest of the Whale. — 
 Passes Clatsop River. — Perilous Nature of the Journey.— 
 Grandeur of the Scenery. — Indian Mode of extracting Whale- 
 oil. — The Life of one of Captain Clarke's Party preserved by 
 the Kindness of an Indian Woman. — Short Account of the 
 Chinnooks, Clatsops, Killamucks, and Lucktons. — Manner of 
 Sepulture among the Chinnooks, Clatsops, &c. — Their Weap- 
 ons of War and Hunting.— Their Mode of building Houses. — 
 Their Manufactures and Cookery. — Their Canoes. — Great 
 Dexterity in managing them 120 
 
 A — 
 
CONTENTS. V 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Farther Account of the Clatsops, Killamucks, and Chinnooks ; 
 also of the Cathlamahs. — Their Custom of Flattening the 
 Forehead. — Their Dress and Ornaments described. — Their 
 Diseases. — The common Opinion that the Treatment of their 
 Women is the Standard by which the Virtues of the Indians 
 may be known, combated, and disproved by Examples. — 
 The Respect entertained by these Indians for old Age, com- 
 pared with the diiferent Conduct of those who subsist by the 
 Chase. — Their Mode of Government. — Their Ignorance of ar 
 dent Spirits, and their Fondness for Gambling. — Their Dex- 
 terity in Traffic. — In what Articles their Traffic consists. — 
 Their extraordinary Fondness for blue Beads, which form 
 their circulating Medium Page 139 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Difficulty of procuring the Means of Subsistence. — They deter- 
 mine to start on their Journey to the Mountains. — They leave 
 with the Indians a written Memorandum, giving an Account 
 of their having penetrated to the Pacific by the way of the 
 Missouri and Columbia, and across the Rocky Mountains. — 
 The Party commence their Return. — Dexterity of the Cath- 
 lamah Indians in Carving. — The Coweliskee River. — Hospi- 
 tality of the Natives. — Instance of the extreme Voracity of the 
 Vulture. — The Party are visited by many strange Indians, all 
 of whom are kind and hospitable. — Scarcity of Game, and 
 Embarrassments on that Account.— Captain Clarke discovers 
 a Tribe not seen in the Descent down the Columbia.— Partic- 
 ular Description of the Multnomah Village and River. — Mount 
 Jefferson. — Captain Clarke's Account of the Neerchokio 
 Tribe, and of their Architecture. — Their Sufferings from 
 Smallpox 154 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Description of Wappatoo Lsland, and of the Mode in which the 
 Natives gather the Wappatoo Root.— Character of the Soil 
 and its Productions. — Numerous Tribes residing in its Vicm- 
 ity.— Probability that they were all of the Multnomah Tribe 
 originally, inferred from Similarity of Dress, Manners, Lan- 
 guage, &c. — Description of their Dress, Weapons of War, and 
 Mode of burying the Dead.— Description of another Village, 
 called the Wahclellah Village.— Their Mode of Architecture. 
 — Extraordinary Height of Beacon Rock.— Unfriendly Char- 
 acter of the Indians at that Place.— The Party, alarmed for 
 their Safety, resolve to inflict summary Vengeance, in case 
 
VI CONTENTS. 
 
 the Wahclellah Tribe persist in their Outrages and Insults — 
 Interview with the Chief of that Tribe, and Confidence reato 
 red. — Difficulty of drawing the Canoes over the Rapids. — 
 Visited by a Party of the Yehugh Tribe. — Brief Notice of the 
 Weocksockwillackum Tribe. — Curious Phenomenon observ- 
 ed in the Columbia, from the Rapids to the Chilluckittequaws 
 
 Page 170 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Captain Clarke procures four Horses for the Transportation ot 
 the Baggage. — Some farther Account of the Skilloot Tribe. — 
 Their Joy at the first Appearance of Salmon in the Columbia. 
 — Their thievish Propensities. — The Party arrive at the Vil 
 lage of the Eneeshurs, where the Natives are found alike un- 
 friendly. — The Party now provided with Horses. — Prevented 
 from the Exercise of Hostility against this nation by a friendly 
 Adjustment. — The Scarcity of Timber so great that they are 
 compelled to buy Wood to cook their Provisions.— Arrive at 
 the Wahhowpum Village. — Dance of the Natives. — Havingob 
 tained their Complement of Horses, the Party proceed by Land. 
 — Arrive at the Pishquitpah Village, and some Account of that 
 People. — Frank and hospitable Conduct of the WoUawollahs. 
 — Their Mode of Dancing described. — Their Mode of making 
 Fish-wears. — Their amiable Character .... 188 
 
 CHAPTER XL 
 
 The Party pursue their Route towards the Kooskooskee. — They 
 reach the Kinnooenim Creek. — Meet with an old Acquaint 
 ance, called the Bighorn Indian.— Arrive at the Mouth of the 
 Kooskooskee. — Difficulty of purchasing Provisions from the 
 Natives, and new Device of the Party to obtain them. — Chopun- 
 nish Style of Architecture.— Captain Clarke turns Physician, 
 and performs several Experiments upon the Natives with Suc- 
 cess. — Instance of their Honesty. — Distress of the Indians 
 for want of Provisions during the Winter. — The Party finally 
 meet Twisted Hair, to whom their Horses had been intrusted 
 on their Journey down. — Quarrel between that Chief and an- 
 other of his Nation, in regard to his Horses. — Causes of the 
 Controversy stated at large. — The two Chiefs reconciled by 
 the Interference of the Party, and the Horses restored. — Ex- 
 traordinary Instanceof Indian Hospitality towards Strangers.— 
 Council held with the Chopunnish, and the Object of the Ex- 
 pedition explained. — The Party perform other medical Cures. 
 — Answer of the Chopunnish to the Speech delivered at the 
 Council, ratified by a singular Ceremony. — They promise 
 faithfully to follow the Advice of their Visiters . . 205 
 
CJ)NTENTS. VU 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Party encamp among the Chopunnish, and receive farther 
 Evidence of their Hospitality. — Indian Mode of boiling Bear's 
 Flesh. — Of decoying the Deer within Reach of their Arrows. 
 — Character of the Soil and Climate among the Rocky Mount- 
 ains. — Varieties of Climate. — Character of the Natives. — 
 Their Dress and Ornaments. — Mode of burying the Dead. — 
 The Party administer medical Relief to the Natives. — One 
 of the Natives restored to the Use of his Limbs by Sweat- 
 ing, and the curious Process by which Perspiration was exci- 
 ted. — Another Proof of Chopunnish Hospitality. — Success 
 of their sweating Prescription on an Indian Chief. — Descrip- 
 tion of the Horned Lizard and a Variety of Insects. — Attach- 
 ment of the Friends of a dying Indian to a Tomahawk which he 
 had stolen from the Party, and which they desired to bury with 
 the Body. — Description of the River Tommanamah. — The In- 
 dians return an Answer to a Proposition made by the Party 
 
 Page 224 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 They join in the Diversions of the Willetpos Indians, a Tribe hith 
 erto unnoticed. — Joy of the Party at the prospect of Return- 
 ing. — Vegetation of the Rocky Mountains, — Preparations to 
 resume their Journey. — They set out, and arrive at Hungry 
 Creek. — Difficulties that obstructed their Progress. — Com- 
 pelled to return and wait for a Guide across the Mountains. — 
 Their Distress for want of Provisions. — They resolve to re- 
 turn to the Quamash Flats. — Are at last so fortunate as to 
 procure Indian Guides, with whom they resume their Jour- 
 ney. — Dangers of the Route. — Scarcity of Provisions, and the 
 Perils to which they were exposed, their Course lying along 
 the Ridge of the Mountains. — Description of the warm 
 Springs, where the Party encamp. — Fondness of the Indians 
 for bathing in them 238 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Party, proceeding on their Journey with their Indian 
 Guides, agree to divide, take separate Routes, and meet again 
 at the Mouth of the Yellowstone River.— Captain Lewis, 
 with nine Men, proceeds up the eastern Branch of Clarke's 
 River, and takes leave of the Indian Guides.— Description of 
 that Branch, and Character of the surrounding Country. — 
 The Cokalahishkit River.— They arrive at the Ridge dividing 
 the Missouri from the Columbia River. — Meet with the Buffalo 
 and Brown Bear. — Immense Herds of Buffalo seen on the 
 Borders of Medicine River.— The Party encamp on W^hite 
 
Viii • CONTENTS. 
 
 Bear Island.-Singular Adventure that befell M'Neil.— Cap. 
 tain Lewis, with three of his Party, proceeds to explore the 
 Source of Maria's River.-Tansy River.-He reaches the di 
 viding Line of these two Streams.-General Character of the 
 surrounding Country ^^S^ '^^^ 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Captain Lewis and his Party arrive at the Forks of Maria's 
 River.- Alarmed by the Evidence of being in the Neighbour- 
 hood of unfriendly Indians, and distressed or Want ot Fro- 
 visions.-The unfavourable Weather compels them to return 
 -Interview with the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie.-Mutual 
 Consternation.- Resolution of Captain Lewis.- They en 
 camp together for the Night.-Conversation which ensues — 
 Conflict occasioned by the Indians attempting to seize the 
 Rifles and Horses of the Party, in which one of tho former is 
 mortally wounded.— Captain Lewis kills another Indian, arid 
 his narrow Escape.-Having taken four Horses belonging to 
 the Indians, they hasten to join the Party with Captain Clarke 
 -Arriving near the Missouri, they are alarmed by the bound 
 of Rifles, which fortunately proves to be from the Party undei 
 Sergeant Ordway.-The two Detachments thus united, leave 
 their Horses, and descend the Missouri in Canoes.— Continue 
 their Route down the River to join Captain Clarke.- Vast 
 Quantities of Game seen on their Passage.-Captam Lewis 
 accidentally Wounded by one of his own Party.-They at 
 length join Captain Clarke ^"' 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Party commanded by Captain Clarke proceed along 
 Clarke's River.— Their sorry Commemoration of the 4th ol 
 July .-Instance of Sacajawea's Strength of Memory.-De- 
 scription of the River and of the surroundmg Country, as he 
 Party proceed— Horses missing, and supposed to be stolen 
 by the Indians.-They reach Wisdom River.- Extraordinary 
 Heat of a Spring.-Fondness of the Party for Tobacco 
 Sergeant Ordway recovers the Horses.-Captain Clarke di- 
 vides his Party, one detachment to descend the l^iver.-l hey 
 reach Gallatm and Jeff-erson Rivers.-Arrive at the Yelow- 
 stone River.-Otter and Beaver Rivers.-Indian t ortihcation. 
 -One of the Party accidentally wounded.-Lngaged in build- 
 ing Canoes.-Twenty-four Horses stolen, probably by the In- 
 dians "^ 
 
CONTENTS. 15? 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 C&ptain Clarke proceeds down the River.— Description of an 
 Indian Lodge.— Sergeant Pryor arrives with the Horses.— 
 Remarkable Rock seen by Captain Clarke, and the Beauty 
 of the Prospect from its Summit. — Yellowstone and Bighorr; 
 Rivers compared. — Immense Herds of Buffalo. — Fierceness 
 of the White Bear. — Encamp at the Junction of the Yellow- 
 stone and Missouri.— General Outline given of the Yellowstone 
 jiiver. — Sufferings of the Party from the Moschetoes. — Ser- 
 geant Pryor arrives, and reports that the Horses were all 
 stolen by the Indians.— In this Emergency they make Canoes 
 of Skins, in which they descend the River over the most diffi- 
 cult Shoals and Rapids.— Unexpectedly meet with two White 
 Men, from whom they procure Intelligence in relation to the 
 Indians formerly visited by the Party . . . Page 292 
 
 CHAPTER XVni. 
 
 Oaptain Clarke and his Party are overtaken by the Detachment 
 under Captain Lewis, and they all descend the Missouri to- 
 gether. — They revisit the Minnetaree Indians, and hold a 
 Council with that Nation, as well as the Mahahas.— Captain 
 Clarke endeavours to persuade their Chiefs to accompany him 
 to the United States, which they decline on Account of their 
 Fears of the Sioux in their Passage down the River. — Colter, 
 one of the Party, requests and obtains Liberty to remain 
 among the Indians, for the Purpose of hunting Beaver. — 
 Friendly Deportment of the Mandans. — Council held by Cap- 
 tain Clarke with the Chiefs of the different Villages. — The 
 Chief named Big White, with his Wife and Son, agrees to ac- 
 company the Party to the United States. — He takes an affect- 
 ing Farewell of his Nation. — Chaboneau, with his Wife, de- 
 clines going to the United States, and they are left among the 
 Indians.— The Party at length proceed on their Route.— They 
 arrive among the Ricaras.— Character of the Chayennes, their 
 Dress, Habits, &c. — Captain Clarke offers a Medal to the 
 Chief of this Nation, which he at first refuses, believing it to 
 be Medicine, but which he is afterward prevailed on to ac- 
 cept. — The Ricaras decline permitting one of their Number to 
 accompany Captain Clarke to the United States, preferring to 
 wait the Return of their Chief who had already gone. — The 
 Party proceed rapidly down the River. — Prepare to defend 
 themselves against the Tetons. — Incredible Number of Buffa- 
 lo seen near White River. — They meet with the Tetons, and 
 decline their Invitations to Land. — Intrepidity ®f Captain 
 Clarke 308 
 
 JI— B 
 
X CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Party return in Safety to St. Louis . . . Page 32" 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 Farther Enumeration and Description of the Quadrupeds, Birds, 
 Fishes, and Plants noticed during the Expedition . . 339 
 
 Enumeration of Indian Nations, and their Places of general 
 Residence 379 
 
 A. Summary Statement of the Rivers, Creeks, and most re- 
 
 ■ markable Places, their Distances from each other and from 
 
 the Mississippi, up the Missouri, across the Rocky Mountains, 
 
 and down the Columbia to the Pacific Ocean, as determined 
 
 by Captains Lewis and Clarke 387 
 
 PLATES. 
 
 Vol. I. Map of Lewis and Clarke's Roite. 
 
 Ancient Fortification P«igc 87 
 
 Cascade of the Missouri 223 
 
 Falls and Portage 234 
 
 Vol II. Great Falls of the Columbia .... 64 
 
 Great Shoot and Rapid . .... 79 
 
 Mouth of the Columbia ... .06 
 
LEWIS AND CLARKE'S 
 
 EXPEDITION 
 
 UP THE MISSOURI. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 The Party, after procuring Horses from the Shoshonees, proceed 
 on their Journey through the Mountains. — Difficulties and 
 Dangers of the Route. — Council held with another Band of 
 the Shoshonees, of whom some Account is given. — They are 
 reduced to the Necessity of killing their Horses for food. — Cap- 
 tain Clarke, with a small Party, precedes the main Body in 
 quest of Provisions, and is hospitably received by the Pierced- 
 Nose Indians. — Arrival of the main Body among this Tribe, 
 with whom a Council is held. — They resolve to perform the 
 Remainder of their Journey in Canoes. — Sickness among the 
 Party. — They descend the Kooskooskee to its Junction with 
 Lewis River, after passing several dangerous Rapids. — Brief 
 Description of the Manners and Dress of the Pierced-Nose 
 Indians. 
 
 " August 27. We were now occupied in determin- 
 ing on our route and in procuring horses from the 
 Indians. The old guide who had been sent on by 
 Captain Clarke now affirmed, through our interpret- 
 er, what he had already asserted of a road up Berry 
 Creek, which would lead to Indian establishments 
 on another branch of the Columbia: his reports 
 were, however, contradicted by all the Shoshonees. 
 This representation we ascribed to a wish on their 
 part to keep us with them during the winter, as well 
 for the protection we might afford them against their 
 enemies, as for the purpose of consuming our mer- 
 
10 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 chandise among ihem ; and as the old man promis- 
 ed to conduct us himself, the route indicated by him 
 seemed to be the most eligible. We were able to 
 procure some horses, though not enough for all our 
 purposes. This traffic, and our councils with the 
 Indians, consumed the remainder of the day. 
 
 " August 28. The purchase of horses was resumed, 
 and our stock raised to twenty-two. Having now 
 crossed more than once the country which separates 
 the head-waters of the Missouri from those of the 
 Columbia, we can designate the easiest and most ex- 
 peditious route for a portage. It is as follows : 
 
 " From the forks of the river, north 60 degrees 
 west, five miles, to the point of a hill on the right ; 
 then south 80 degrees west, ten miles, to a spot 
 where the creek is ten yards wide, and the highlands 
 approach within two hundred yards ; southwest five 
 miles, to a narrow part of the bottom ; then turning 
 south 70 degrees west, two miles, to a creek on the 
 right ; thence south 80 degrees west, three miles, to 
 a rocky point opposite to a thicket of pines on the 
 left ; thence west three miles, to the gap where is 
 the fountain of the Missouri; on leaving this fount- 
 ain, south 80 degrees west, six miles, across the di- 
 viding ridge to a run from the right, passing several 
 small streams north 80 degrees west, four miles, 
 over hilly ground to the east fork of Lewis's River, 
 which is here forty yards wide.* 
 
 * Since the time of Lewis and Clarke, a far more practicable 
 route has been discovered across the mountains, farther south, 
 by ascending the Platte River instead of the Missouri. 
 
 Mr. Parker, who left Council Bluffs with a party of the Amer- 
 ican Fur Company in 1835, and crossed the Rocky Mountains 
 by this southern route, says: "The passage through these 
 mountains is in a valley so gradual in the ascent and descent, 
 that I should not have known that we were passing them, had 
 it not been that, as we advanced, the atmosphere gradually be 
 came cooler ; and at length we found perpetual snows upon our 
 right hand and upon our left, elevated many thousand feet above 
 us, in some places ten thousand. The highest part of these 
 
PURCHASE OF HORSES. 11 
 
 "August 29. Captain Clarke joined us this morn- 
 ing, and we continued bargaining for horses. Thb 
 late misfortunes of the Shoshonees have made the 
 price higher than common, so that one horse cost us 
 a pistol, one hundred balls, some powder, and a knife ; 
 another was purchased with a musket ; and in thi?j 
 way we finally obtained twenty-mne. The animals 
 are young and vigorous, but very poor, and most of 
 them have sore backs, in consequence of the rough- 
 ness of the Shoshonee saddle. We are therefore 
 afraid of burdening them too heavily, and are anx- 
 ious to obtain one, at least, for each man, to carry 
 the baggage or the man himself, or in the last re- 
 source to serve as food ; but with all our exertions 
 we are unable to provide all our men with horses. 
 We have, however, been fortunate in obtaining for 
 the last three days a sufficient supply of flesh, our 
 hunters having killed two or three deer every day. 
 
 " August 30. The weather was fine, and, having 
 now made all our purchases, we loaded our horses 
 and prepared to start. The greater part of the band, 
 also, who had delayed their journey on our account, 
 were ready to depart. We now took our leave of 
 the Shoshonees, who set out on their visit to the 
 Missouri at the same time that we, accompanied by 
 the old guide, his four sons, and another Indian, be- 
 gan the descent of the river, along the same road 
 which Captain Clarke had previously followed." 
 
 Before night they accomplished a distance of 
 
 mountains is found by f»ieasurement to be eighteen thousand 
 feet above the level of the sea. This valley was not discover- 
 ed until a few years since. Mr. Hunt and his party more than 
 twenty years ago went near it, but did not find it, though in 
 search of some favourable passage. It varies in width from five 
 to twenty miles ; and, followmg its course, the distance through 
 the mountains is about eighty miles, or four days' journey. 
 Though there are some elevations and depressions in this val- 
 ley, yet, comparatively speaking, it is level. There would be no 
 difficulty in the way of constructing a railroad from the Atlantic, t4 
 the Pacific Ocean.'^ — Parker''s Journal, p. 72. 
 
12 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 twelve miles. The following day they found the 
 valleys and prairies in different places on fire, as a 
 signal to collect the different bands of Shoshonees 
 and Flatheads, preparatory to their migration to the 
 Missouri. On reaching Tower Creek, they diverged 
 from the former route taken by Captain Clarke, and 
 followed for four miles the course of Berry Creek. 
 On the 1st of September, quitting Berry Creek, they 
 turned to the northwest, and, after travelling eighteen 
 miles across a hilly country, they arrived at Fish 
 Creek, a considerable stream flowing into the Co- 
 lumbia ; and, after going up this creek four miles, 
 they encamped. The next morning all the Indiana 
 left them except the old guide. In continuing to 
 ascend Fish Creek, at the distance of seven and a 
 half miles they found it divided into two branches, 
 and the road they had been following turning to the 
 east, and leading, as their guide informed them, to 
 the Missouri. 
 
 " We were therefore," proceeds the narrative, 
 "left without any track; but, as no time was to be 
 lost, we began to cut our road up the west branch of 
 the creek. This we effected with much difficulty. 
 The thickets of trees and brush through which we 
 were obliged to cut our way required great labour : 
 the road itself was over the steep and rocky sides 
 of the hills, where the horses could not move with- 
 out danger of slipping down, while their feet were 
 bruised by the rocks and stumps of trees. Accus- 
 tomed as these animals were to this kind of travel- 
 ling, they suffered severely: several of them fell 
 some distance down the sides of the hills, some 
 turned over with the baggage, one was crippled, and 
 two gave out, exhausted with fatigue. After cross- 
 ing the creek several times, we at length made five 
 miles with great fatigue and labour, and encamped 
 on the left bank, in some stony, low ground." * * * 
 
 "September 3. The horses were very stiff anc? 
 w^eary. We sent back two men for the load of the 
 
DIFFICULTIES OF THE JOURNEY. 13 
 
 horse wliich had been crippled jesterdny, and which 
 we had been forced to leave two miles behind. On 
 their return we set out at eight o'clock, and proceed- 
 ed up the creek, making a passage through the brush 
 and timber along its borders. The country gener- 
 ally is well supplied with pine, and in the low 
 grounds is a great abundance of fir-trees and under- 
 brush. The mountains are high and rugged, and 
 those to the east of us covered with snow. With 
 all our precautions, the horses were very much in- 
 jured in passing over the ridges and steep points of 
 the hills, and, to add to the difficulty, at the distance 
 of eleven miles the high mountains closed upon the 
 creek, so that we were obhged to leave it to the 
 right, and abruptly cross the mountain. The ascent 
 was here so steep that several of the horses slipped 
 and hurt themselves ; but at last we succeeded in 
 getting across, and encamped on a small branch of 
 Fish Creek. We had now made fourteen miles, in 
 a direction nearly north from the river." * * * " At 
 dusk it commenced snowing, and continued till the 
 ground was covered to the depth of two inches, 
 when it changed into a sleet. We here met with a 
 serious misfortune, the last of our thermometers 
 being broken by accident. After making a scanty 
 supper on a little corn and a few pheasants killed in 
 the course of the day, we laid down to sleep, and 
 the next morning, 
 
 " September 4, found everything frozen, and the 
 ground covered with snow. We were obliged to 
 wait some time, in order to thaw the covers of the 
 baggage, after which we began our journey at eight 
 o'clock. We crossed a high mountain, which forms 
 the dividing ridge between the waters of the creek 
 we had been ascending, and those running to the 
 north and west. We had not gone more than six 
 miles over the snow, when we reached the head of 
 a stream from the right, which directed its course 
 more to the west ; and, descending the steep sides 
 
14 LEWIS Ai\D CLARKE'S EXrEDlTION. 
 
 of the hills along its border, at the distance of three 
 miles found a small branch coming in from the east. 
 We saw several of the argalia, but they were too 
 shy to be killed, and we therefore made our dinner 
 from a deer shot by one of the hunters. Then we 
 pursued the course of the stream for three miles, 
 till it emptied itself into a river from the east, in 
 the wide valley at their junction we discovered a 
 large encampment of Indians ; and on reaching 
 them, and alighting from our horses, we were re- 
 ceived with great cordiality. A council was imme- 
 diately assembled, white robes were thrown over 
 our shoulders, and the pipe of peace was introduced. 
 After this ceremony, as it was too late to go any far- 
 ther, we encamped, and continued smoking and con- 
 versing with the chiefs till a late hour. The next 
 morning, 
 
 " September 5, we assembled the chiefs and war- 
 riors, and informed them who we were, and the pur- 
 pose for which we had visited their country. All 
 this was, however, conveyed to them through so 
 many different languages, that it was not compre- 
 hended without difficulty. We therefore proceeded 
 to the more intelligible language of presents, and 
 made four chiefs by giving a medal and a small 
 quantity of tobacco to each. We received in turn 
 from the principal chief a present consisting of the 
 skins of a blaireau (badger), an otter, and two ante 
 lopes, and were treated by the women to some dried 
 roots and berries. We then began to traffic for 
 horses, and succeeded in exchanging seven and pur- 
 chasing eleven, for which we gave a few articles of 
 mf3rchandise. 
 
 " This encampment consists of thirty-three tents, 
 in which were about four hundred souls, among 
 whom eighty were men. They are called Ootla- 
 shoots, and represent themselves as one band of a 
 nation called Tushepaws, a numerous people of four 
 hundred and fifty tents, residing on the head-waters 
 
ACCOUNT OP THE OOTLASHOOTS. 15 
 
 of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, and some of 
 them lower down the latter river. In person these 
 Indians are stout, and their complexion lighter than 
 that common among Indians. The hair of the men 
 is worn in queues of otter skin, falling in front over 
 the shoulders. A shirt .of dressed skin covers the 
 body to the knee, and over this is worn occasionally 
 a robe. To these are added leggins and moccasins. 
 The women suffer their hair to fall in disorder over 
 the face and shoulders, and their chief article of cov- 
 ering is a long shirt of skin, reaching down to the 
 ankles, and tied round the waist. In other respects, 
 as also in the few ornaments which they possess, 
 their appearance is similar to that of the Shosho- 
 nees : there is, however, a difference between the 
 languages of these two people, which is still farther 
 increased by the very extraordinary pronunciation 
 of the Ootlashoots. Their words have all a remark- 
 ably guttural sound, and there is nothing which 
 seems to represent the tone of their speaking more 
 exactly than the clucking of a fowl or the noise of 
 a parrot. This peculiarity renders their voices 
 scarcely audible, except at a short distance ; and, 
 when many of them are talking, forms a strange 
 confusion of sounds. The common conversation 
 that we overheard consisted of low, guttural sounds, 
 occasionally broken by a low word or two, after 
 which it would relapse, and could scarcely be dis-* 
 tinguished. They seemed kind and friendly, and 
 willingly shared with us berries and roots, which 
 formed their sole stock of provisions. Their only 
 wealth is their horses, which are very fine, and so 
 numerous that this party had with them at least five 
 hundred. 
 
 " September 6. We spent the morning with the 
 Ootlashoots, from whom we purchased two more 
 horses, and obtained a vocabulary of their language. 
 They set off about two o'clock to join the different 
 bands who were collecting at the Three Forks of 
 
16 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 the Missouri, and we ourselves proceeded at the 
 iame time. Taking a direction north 30° west, we 
 crossed, within the distance of a mile and a half, a 
 small river from the right, and a creek coming in 
 from the north. The river is the main stream, and 
 when it reaches the end of the valley where the 
 mountains close in upon it, it is joined by the stream 
 on which we encamped last evening, as well as by 
 the creek just mentioned. To the river thus form- 
 ed we gave the name of Clarke, he being the first 
 white man who had ever visited its waters. At 
 the end of five miles on this course we crossed the- 
 valley, and reached the top of a mountain covered 
 with pine : this we descended along the steep sides 
 and ravines for a mile and a half, when we came to 
 a spot on the river where the Ootlashoots had en- 
 camped a few days before. We then followed the 
 course of the stream, which is from twenty-five to 
 thirty yards wide, shallow and stony, and the low 
 grounds on its borders narrow. Within the distance 
 of three and a half miles we crossed it several times ; 
 and, after passing a run on each side, encamped on 
 its right bank, having made ten miles during the af- 
 ternoon. The horses were turned out to graze ; 
 but those we had lately bought were secured and 
 watched, lest they should escape, or be stolen by 
 .their former owners. Our stock of flour was now 
 exhausted, and we had but little corn ; and, as our 
 hunters had killed nothing except two pheasants, 
 our supper consisted chiefly of berries." 
 
 The two following days they continued to follow 
 the course of the river, being fortunate in procuring 
 game, and encountering no particular difficulty. 
 They were not a little annoyed, however, by the 
 prickly pear, which, says the journalist, " grows here 
 in clusters, is of an oval form, about the size of a 
 pigeon's egg, and its thorns are so strong and beard- 
 ed, that, when it penetrates our feet, it brings away 
 the pear itself." Several horses were seen, which 
 
SCATTERING CREEK. 
 
 17 
 
 appeared to be in a wild state. They passed a small 
 stream falling into the river, to which, from its hav- 
 h'g several Channels, they gave the name of Scat- 
 
 ^^ » S^emember 9. We resumed our journey," con- 
 tinues ^Harrat.ve, "through the valley an^^ 
 iuff the road on our right, crossed Scattering Lreek 
 nnd halted at the distance of twelve miles, on a 
 smiu fu\f fro^n the east, -here we breakfasted on 
 the remains of yesterday's hunt. )^e here took a 
 meridian altitude, which gave the l^fude of 46o 41 
 ->«" • ifter which we proceeded on, and at the dis- 
 a'nceirUr'miles pLsed over to the le" b-^^^^^^^ 
 the river, where we found a large road through the 
 vaney A^this place is a handsome stream of very 
 clear'^wattr, a hundred yards wide, with low banks 
 
 and a bed formed entirely o g^f f ; ^^^ ^^^"^,Ss 
 appearance of being navigable ; bf, as it contains 
 no salmon, we presume there must be f nie fall be- 
 low which obstructs their passage. Our guide could 
 noT inform us where this river discharged its waters 
 H. said that, as far as he knew its course ,t ran 
 along the mountains to the north, and that not far 
 from our present position it was joined by another 
 stream nearly as large as itself, rising in the mount- 
 a nsTo the Lst, niar the Missouri, and flowing 
 through an extensive valley or open prairie Through 
 this prairie was the great Indian road to he waters 
 of the Missouri ; and so direct was the route, that in 
 fou days' jouriey from this place we might reach 
 tSe Missouri about thirty miles above what we call- 
 ed the Gates of the Rocky Mountains, or the spot 
 where the valley of that river widens into an exten- 
 ^veplahr on entering the chain of i^ountains At 
 ten miles from our camp was a small creek falhng 
 n from the eastward; five miles below which we 
 Lted on a large stream, which empt.es .tself on 
 tho west side of the river. It is a fine, bold stream 
 of clear water, about twenty yards wide, and we 
 
18 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 called it Traveller's-rest Creek ; for, as our guide 
 told us that we should here leave the river, we de- 
 termined to stop for the purpose of taking celestial 
 observations and collecting some food, as the coun- 
 try through which we were to pass had no game fo^ 
 a great distance." * * * 
 
 " September 10. The morning being fair, all the 
 hunters were sent out, and the rest of the party em- 
 ployed in repairing their clothes : two of them were 
 despatched to the junction of the river from the east, 
 along which the Indians go to the Missouri, and 
 which is about seven miles below Traveller's-rest 
 Creek." * * * 
 
 "Towards evening one of the hunters returned 
 with three Indians, whom he had met in his excursion 
 up Traveller's-rest Creek. As soon as they saw him 
 they prepared to attack him with arrows ; but he pa- 
 cified them by laying down his gun, and, advancing 
 towards them, soon persuaded them to come to the 
 camp. Our Shoshonee guide could not speak the 
 language of these people ; but, by the universal lan- 
 guage of signs and gesticulations, which is perfectly 
 intelligible among the Indians, he found that they 
 were three Tushepaw Flatheads, in pursuit of two 
 men, supposed to be Shoshonees. who had stolen 
 twenty-three of their horses. We gave them some 
 boiled venison and a few presents, such as a fish-hook, 
 a steel to strike fire, and a little powder ; but they 
 seemed best pleased with a piece of riband which we 
 tied in the hair of each of them. They were in such 
 haste, however, lest their horses should be carried 
 off, that two of them set oflf after sunset in quest of 
 the robbers ; but the third was persuaded to remain 
 with us, and to conduct us to his relations. These, 
 he said, were numerous, and resided on the' Colum- 
 bia, in the plain below the mountains. From that 
 place, he added, the river was navigable to the ocean , 
 that some of his kinsmen had been there last fall, and 
 seen an old white man, who resided there by himselfj 
 
CROSSINGS A. MOUNTAIN. 19 
 
 and who gave them some handkerchiefs Uke those 
 we have. The distance from this place was five 
 sleeps, or days' journeys. When our hunters had all 
 joined us, we found our provisions consisted of four 
 deer, a beaver, and three grouse. The observation 
 of to-day gave 46° 48' 28" as the latitude of Travel- 
 ler's-rest Creek." 
 
 They were detained the whole of the next morning 
 to recover some of their horses which had strayed 
 away, so that they advanced but seven miles during 
 the remainder of the day. The Indian became im- 
 patient to return home, and left them. 
 
 " September 12. We proceeded," continues the 
 Journal, " at seven o'clock, and soon passed a stream 
 falling in on the right, near which was an old Indian 
 camp, with a bath or sweating-house covered with 
 earth. At two miles' distance we ascended a high 
 bank, and thence passed through a hilly and thickly- 
 timbered country for nine miles, when we came to 
 the forks of the creek, where the road branches up 
 each fork. We followed the western route ; and, 
 finding that the creek made a considerable bend at 
 the distance of four miles, crossed a high mountain 
 in order to avoid the circuit. The road had been very- 
 bad during the first part of the day ; but the passage 
 over the mountain, which was eight miles across, 
 was exceedingly trying to the horses, as we were 
 obliged to go over steep, stony sides of hills, and 
 along hollows and ravines, rendered still more troub- 
 lesome by the fallen limber, chiefly pine, spruce-pine, 
 and fir. We at length reached the creek, having made 
 twenty-three miles on a route so difficult that some 
 of the party did not join us before ten o'clock. We 
 found the ac30unts of scantiness of game but too true, 
 as we were not able to procure any during the whole 
 of yesterday , and to-day we killed only a single pheas- 
 ar.i. Along the road we observed many of the pine- 
 trees peeled off", which is done by the Indians to pro- 
 cure the inner bark for food in the spring. 
 
20 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 "September 13. Two of the horses strayed away 
 during the night, and one of them being Captain 
 Lewis's, he remained with four men to seek for them, 
 while we proceeded up the creek. At the distance 
 of two miles we came to several springs, issuing from 
 large rocks of a coarse, hard grit, and nearly boiling 
 hot. They seem to be much frequented, as there 
 are several paths made by elk, deer, and other ani- 
 mals, and near one of them there is a hole or Indian 
 bath, besides roads leading in different directions. 
 These embarrassed our guide, who, making a mis- 
 take, took us three miles out of the proper course, 
 over an exceedingly bad route. We then fell into 
 the right road, and proceeded on very well, when, hav- 
 ing made five miles, we stopped to refresh the horses. 
 Captain Lewis here joined us; but, not having been 
 able to find his horse, two men were sent back to 
 continue the search." 
 
 They advanced till the evening, and encamped 
 on a stream to which they gave the name of Glade 
 Creek. 
 
 Starting early the next morning, they advanced 
 along the right bank of Glade Creek, and at the dis- 
 tance of six miles found it joined by another of equal 
 size, coming from the right. " Here," says the 
 Journal, " we passed over to the left side of the 
 creek, and began the ascent of a very high and steep 
 mountain, nine miles across. On reaching the oth- 
 er side, we found a large branch from the left, which 
 seems to rise in the Snowy Mountains to the south 
 and southeast." * * * « The mountains we crossed 
 to-day were much more difficult than those of yes- 
 terday : the last was particularly fatiguing, being 
 steep and stony, broken by fallen timber, and thick- 
 ly overgrown by pine, spruce, fir, hacmataok, and 
 tamarac. Although we had made only seventeen 
 miles, we were all very weary. Our whole stock 
 of animal food was now exhausted, and we there- 
 fore killed a colC, on which we made a hearty sup- 
 
THE KOOSKOOSKEE RIVER. 21 
 
 per. From this incident we called the last creek 
 we had passed from the south Colt-killed Creek. 
 The river itself is eighty yards wide, with a swift 
 current and a stony channel. Its Indian name is 
 Kooskooskee. 
 
 " September 15. At an early hour we proceeded 
 along the right side of the Kooskooskee, over steep, 
 rocky points of land, till at the distance of four 
 miles we reached an old Indian fishing-place. The 
 road here turned to the right of the river, and began 
 to ascend a mountain ; but the wind and the fire had 
 prostrated or scorched almost all the timber on the 
 south side, and the ascents were so steep that we 
 were forced to wind in every direction round the 
 high knobs, which constantly impeded our progress. 
 Several of the horses lost their foothold and slip- 
 ped: one of them, which was loaded with a desk 
 and small trunk, rolled over and over for forty yards, 
 till his fall was stopped by a tree. The desk was 
 broken, but the poor animal escaped without much 
 injury. After clambering in this way for four miles, 
 we came to a high, snowy part of the mountain, 
 where was a spring of water, at which we halted 
 two hours to refresh our horses. 
 
 " On leaving the spring the road continued as bad 
 as it was below, and the timber more abundant. At 
 four miles we reached the top of the mountain, and, 
 foreseeing no chance of meeting with water, we en- 
 camped on the northern side, near an old bank of 
 snow three feet deep. Some of this we melted, 
 and supped on the remains of the colt killed yester- 
 day. Our only game to-day was two pheasants ; 
 and the horses, on which we calculated as a last re- 
 source, began to fail us, for two of them were so 
 poor and worn out with fatigue that we were obli- 
 ged to leave them behind. All around us were high, 
 rugged mountains, among which was a lofty range 
 from southeast to northwest, whose tops were with- 
 out timber, and in some places covered with snow 
 
22 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 The night was cloudy and very cold, and three hours 
 before daybreak, 
 
 " September 16, it began to snow, and continued 
 all day, so that by evening it was six or eight inch- 
 es deep. This covered the track so completely 
 that we were obliged constantly to halt and exam- 
 ine, lest we should lose our way. In many places 
 we had nothing to guide us except the branches of 
 the trees, which, being low, have been rubbed by 
 the burdens of the Indian horses. The road was, 
 like that of yesterday, along steep hillsides obstruct- 
 ed with fallen timber, and having a growth of eight 
 different species of pine, standing so thick that the 
 snow fell from them as we passed, and kept us con- 
 tinually wet to the skin, and so cold that we were 
 anxious lest our feet should be frozen, as we had 
 only thin moccasins to defend them. 
 
 " At noon we halted to let the horses feed on 
 some long grass on the north side of the mount- 
 ain, and endeavoured, by making fires, to keep our- 
 selves warm. As soon as the horses were refresh- 
 ed, Captain Clarke went ahead with one man, and 
 at the distance of six miles reached a stream from 
 the right, and prepared fires by the time of our arri- 
 val at dusk." * * * " We were all very wet, cold, 
 and hungry : although before setting out this morn- 
 ing we had seen four deer, we could not procure any 
 of them, and were obliged to kill a second colt for 
 our supper." 
 
 The two following days they encountered similar 
 difficulties from the ruggedness of the country and 
 the absence of game, so that they were obliged to 
 kill another colt for their subsistence. On the even- 
 ing of the 18th they encamped, after a fatiguing 
 day's journey of eighteen miles. *' We now," contin- 
 ues the Journal, " melted some snow, and supped on 
 a little portable soup, a few canisters of which, with 
 about twenty pounds of bears' oil, are our only re- 
 maining means of subsistence. Our guns are scarce- 
 
HUNGRY CREEK 23 
 
 fy of any service, for there is no living creatui'e in 
 these mountains, except a few small pheasants, a 
 small species of gray squirrel, and a blue bird of the 
 vulture kind, about the size of a turtle-dove or jay, 
 and even these are difficult to shoot." 
 
 Captain Clarke, meanwhile, had proceeded in ad- 
 vance of the party, with six hunters, for the purpose 
 of procuring game. In this, however, they were 
 wholly unsuccessful ; and, without anything to eat, 
 they encamped in the evening on the banks of a 
 stream, to which they gave the appropriate name of 
 Hungry Creek. 
 
 " September 19. Captain Clarke proceeded up the 
 creek, along which the road was more steep and 
 stony than any he had yet passed. At six miles' 
 distance he reached a small plain, in which he for- 
 tunately found a horse, on which he breakfasted, 
 and hung the rest on a tree for the party in the rear. 
 Two miles beyond this he left the creek and cross- 
 ed three high mountains, rendered almost impassa- 
 ble from the steepness of the ascent and the quantity 
 of fallen timber. After clambering over these ridg- 
 es and mountains, and passing some branches of 
 Hungry Creek, he came to a large creek running 
 westward. This he followed for four miles, then 
 turned to the right down the mountain, till he came 
 to a small creek to the left. Here he halted, having 
 made twenty-two miles on his course, south 80 de- 
 grees west, though the winding route over the 
 mountains almost doubled the distance. On de- 
 scending the last mountain, the heat became much 
 more sensible, after the extreme cold he had expe- 
 rienced for several days past." 
 
 The main party advanced eighteen miles over 
 mountains and along narrow, dangerous paths, and 
 encamped for the night on a branch of Hungry Creek. 
 They killed no game, and their only refreshment 
 during the day was a little portable soup. From fa- 
 tigue and want of food they were becoming much 
 enfeebled, and dvsentery began to prevail. 
 
 n.— c 
 
24 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 " September 20. Captain Clarke went on through 
 a country as rugged as before, till, on passing a low 
 mountain, at the distance of four miles he came 
 to the forks of a large creek. Down this he pro- 
 ceeded on a course south 60 degrees west for two 
 miles, then turning to the right, continued over a 
 dividing ridge, where were the heads of several lit- 
 tle streams, and at twelve miles' distance descend- 
 ed the last of the Rocky Mountains, and reached the 
 level country. A beautiful open plain, partially 
 supplied with pine, now presented itself. After pro- 
 ceeding five miles, he discovered three Indian boys, 
 who, on observing the party, ran off and hid them- 
 selves in the grass. Captain Clarke immediately 
 alighted, and, giving his horse and gun to one of the 
 men, went after the boys. He soon relieved their 
 apprehensions, and sent them forward to the village, 
 about a mile off, with presents of small pieces of 
 riband. Soon after they reached home a man came 
 out to meet the party, but with great caution : he 
 conducted them to a large tent in the village, and all 
 the inhabitants gathered round to view with a mix- 
 ture of fear and pleasure the wonderful strangers. 
 The conductor now informed Captain Clarke, by 
 signs, that the spacious tent he was in was the res- 
 idence of the great chief, who had set out three 
 days ago, with all the warriors, to attack some of 
 their enemies towards the southwest ; that he would 
 not return before fifteen or eighteen days, and that 
 in the mean time there were only a few men left to 
 guard the women and children. They now set be- 
 fore them a small piece of buffalo meat, some dried 
 salmon, berries, and several kinds of roots. Among 
 these last was one which was round, much like an 
 onion in appearance, and sweet to the taste ; its 
 name is quamash, and it is eaten either in its natu- 
 ral state, boiled into a kind of soup, or made into a 
 cake, when it is called -pasheco. After their long 
 abstinence this was a sumptuous treat. They re- 
 
ILLNESS OF CAPTAIN CLARKE. 25 
 
 turned the kindness of the people by a few small 
 presents, and then went on, in company with one 
 of the chiefs, to a second village in the same plain, 
 at the distance of two miles. Here they were treat- 
 ed with great kindness, and passed the night. The 
 hunters were sent out, but, though they saw some 
 tracks of deer, were unable to procure anything." 
 
 Captain Lewis, with the main party, had proceed- 
 ed about two miles, when they fortunately found 
 the remainder of the horse left by Captain Clarke 
 and also a note signifying his intention to descend 
 into the plains to the southwest in search of pro- 
 visions. One of their horses, with a valuable load, 
 was missing, and two men were sent to find him. 
 Their general course was south 25° west, through 
 a dense forest of large pine, and they advanced fif- 
 teen miles before encamping. 
 
 " On descending the heights of the mountains," 
 continues the Journal, " the soil becomes gradually 
 more fertile, and the land through which we passed 
 this evening is of an excellent quality. It has a 
 dark gray soil, though very broken, and with large 
 masses of gray freestone above the ground in many 
 places. Among the vegetable productions we dis- 
 tinguished the alder, honeysuckle, and whortleber- 
 ry, common in the United States ; also a species of 
 honeysuckle known only west of the Rocky Mount- 
 ains, which rises to the height of about four feet, and 
 bears a white berry. There is likewise a plant re- 
 sembling the chokecherry, which grows in thick 
 clumps eight or ten feet high, and bears a black ber- 
 ry with a single stone, of a sweetish taste. The 
 arbor vitcE, too, is very common, and grows to a great 
 size, being from two to six feet in diameter. 
 
 "September 21. The free use of food, to which 
 he had for some time not been accustomed, made 
 Captain Clarke very sick. He therefore sent out 
 all the hunters, and remained himself at the village, 
 as well on account of his illness as for the pur. 
 
26 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition 
 
 pose of avoiding suspicion, and collecting informa* 
 tion from the Indians as to the route. 
 
 " The two villages consisted of about thirty double 
 tents, and the inhabitants called themselves Chopun- 
 nish, or Pierced-Nose. The chief drew a chart of 
 the river, and explained that a greater chief than 
 himself, who governed these villages, and whose 
 name was Twisted Hair, was now fishing at the dis- 
 tance of half a day's ride down the river. His chart 
 made the Kooskooskee fork a little below his camp, 
 with a second fork farther on, and a large branch 
 flowing in on each side, below which the river pass- 
 ed the mountains : here was a great fall of water, 
 near which lived white people, from whom were pro- 
 cured the white beads and brass ornaments worn 
 by the women. 
 
 " A chief of another band made a visit this morn- 
 ing, and smoked with Captain Clarke. The hunters 
 returning without having been able to kill anything, 
 Captain Clarke purchased as much dried salmon, 
 roots, and berries as he could with the few articles 
 lie chanced to have in his pockets, and having sent 
 them by one of the men and a hired Indian back to 
 Captain Lewis, he went on towards the camp of 
 Twisted Hair. It was four o'clock before he set 
 out, and the night soon came on ; but, meeting an 
 Indian coming from the river, they engaged him, 
 with the present of a neckcloth, to guide them to that 
 chief. They proceeded twelve miles through the 
 plain before they reached the river hills, which are 
 very high and steep. The whole valley, from these 
 hills to the Rocky Mountains, is a beautiful level 
 country, with a rich soil, covered with grass : there 
 is, however, but little timber, and the country is 
 badly watered. The plain is so much lower than 
 the surrounding hills, or so much sheltered by them, 
 that the weather was quite warm, while the cold 
 of the mountains was extreme. From the top of 
 the river hills they proceeded down for three miles. 
 
MEETING WITH TWISTED HAIR. 27 
 
 till they reached the water side between eleven and 
 twelve o'clock at night. Here they found a small 
 camp of five squaws and three children, the chief 
 himself being encamped, with two others, on a small 
 island in the river. The guide called to him, and he 
 soon came over: Captain Clarke gave him a medal, 
 and they smoked together till one o'clock." 
 
 The main party proceeded on without anything 
 worthy of note occurring. During the day they 
 v/ere so fortunate as to kill a few pheasants and a 
 prairie wolf. 
 
 " September 22. Captain Clarke passed over to 
 the island in company with Twisted Hair, who 
 seemed to be cheerful and sincere in his conduct. 
 The river at this place was about one hundred and 
 sixty yards wide, but interrupted by shoals, and the 
 low grounds on its borders were narrow. The hunt- 
 ers brought in three deer ; after which Captain Clarke 
 left his party, and, accompanied by Twisted Hair 
 and his son, rode back to the village, where he arri- 
 ved about sunset : they then walked up together to 
 the second village, where we had just arrived. 
 
 " We had intended to set out early; but one of the 
 men having neglected to hobble his horse, he stray- 
 ed away, and we were obliged to wait till nearly 
 twelve o'clock. We then proceeded on a western 
 course for two and a half miles, when we met the 
 hunters sent by Captain Clarke from the village, 
 seven and a half miles distant, with provisions. 
 This supply was most seasonable, as we had tasted 
 nothing since last night; and the fish, roots, and 
 berries, in addition to a crow which we killed on the 
 route, completely satisfied our hunger. After this 
 refreshment we proceeded in much better spirits, 
 and at a few miles were overtaken by the two men 
 who had been sent back after the lost horse on the 
 20th." * * * 
 
 " As we approached the village, most of the wom- 
 en, though apprized of our being expected, fled with 
 
28 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 their children into the neighbouring woods. The 
 men, however, received us without any apprehen- 
 sion, and gave us a plentiful supply of provisions. 
 The plains were now crowded with Indians, who 
 had come to see the persons of the whites, and the 
 strange things they had brought with them ; but, as 
 our guide was a perfect stranger to their language, 
 we could converse by signs only. Our inquiries 
 were chiefly directed to the character of the coun- 
 try, the courses of the rivers, and the Indian villa- 
 ges, in regard to all wkich we received more or less 
 information ; and, as their accounts varied but little 
 from each other, we were induced to place confi- 
 dence in them. Twisted Hair drew a chart of the 
 river on a white elkskin ; according to which, the 
 Kooskooskee Forks were a few miles from this 
 place : two days' journey towards the south was 
 another and larger fork, on which the Shoshonee or 
 Snake Indians fished ; five days' journey lower down 
 was a large river from the northwest, into which 
 Clarke's River empties itself; and from the mouth 
 of that river to the falls was five days' journey far- 
 ther. On all the forks, as well as on the main river, 
 great numbers of Indians resided, and at the falls 
 were establishments of whites. This was the story 
 of Twisted Hair. 
 
 " Septembei 23. The chiefs and warriors were all 
 assembled this morning, and we explained to them 
 from whence we came, the objects of our visiting 
 them, and our pacific intentions towards all the In- 
 dians. This, being conveyed by signs, might not 
 have been perfectly comprehended, but appeared to 
 give entire satisfaction. We now gave a medal to 
 two of the chiefs, a shirt to Twisted Hair, in addi- 
 tion to the medal he had already received, and a flag 
 and handkerchief for the grand chief on his return. 
 To these were added a knife, a handkerchief, and a 
 small piece of tobacco for each chief. The Indians 
 did not give us any provisions gratuitously. W(^ 
 
THE TARTY COMPLAIN OF SICKNESS. 29 
 
 therefore purchased a quantity of fish, berries (chiefly 
 red haws), and roots, and in the afternoon went on 
 to the second village. Twisted Hair here introdu- 
 ced us into his own tent (which consisted, however, 
 of nothing more than pine-bushes and bark), and 
 gave us some dried salmon boiled. We continued 
 our purchases, and obtained as much provision as 
 our horses could carry, in their present weak condi- 
 tion, as far as the river. The men exchanged a few 
 old canisters for dressed elkskins, of which they 
 made shirts. Great crowds of the natives were 
 round us all night, but we did not miss anything ex- 
 cept a knife, and a few other articles stolen from a 
 shotpouch the day before. 
 
 " September 24. We sent back Colter in search 
 of the horses lost in the mountains ; and, having 
 collected the rest, set out at ten o'clock along the 
 same route already passed -by Captain Clarke to- 
 wards the river. All round the village the women 
 were busily employed in gathering and dressing the 
 pasheco root, of which large quantities were heaped 
 up in piles over the plain. We now felt severely 
 the consequences of eating heartily after our late 
 privations : Captain Lewis and two of the men were 
 taken very ill last evening, and to-day he could 
 scarcely sit on his horse, vv^hile others were obliged 
 to be put on their horses, and some, from extreme 
 weakness and pain, were forced to lie down by the 
 side of the road for a considerable time. At sunset 
 we reached the island where the hunters had been 
 left on the 22d. They had been unsuccessful, hav- 
 ing killed only two deer since that time, and two of 
 them were very ill. A little below this island was 
 a larger one, on which we encamped, and adminis- 
 tered Rush's pills to the sick. 
 
 " September 25. The weather was very hot and 
 oppressive to the party, most of whom were now 
 complaining of sickness. Our situation, indeed, 
 rendered it necessary to husband our remaining 
 
30 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 strength, and it was determined to proceed down i.hc 
 river in canoes : Captain Clarke therefore set out 
 with Twisted Hair and two young men in quest of 
 timber for their construction. As he went down the 
 river, at the distance of a mile he crossed a creek 
 from the right, which, from the rocks that obstructed 
 its passage, he called Rockdam River. The hills 
 along the river were high and steep, the low grounds 
 narrow, and the navigation was embarrassed by two 
 rapids. At the distance of two miles farther he 
 reached two nearly equal forks of the stream, one 
 of which flowed in from the north. At this place 
 he rested for an hour, and cooked a few salmon 
 which one of the Indians had struck with a gig. 
 Here, too, he was joined by some Indians in two 
 caaoes from below. These canoes were long, 
 steady, and loaded with the furniture and provisions 
 of two families. He uow crossed the south fork, 
 and returned to the camp on the south side, the 
 greater part of the way through a narrow pine bot- 
 tom, in which was found much fine timber suitable 
 for canoes. One of the Indian boats, with two men, 
 set out at the same time ; and such was their dex- 
 terity in managing the pole, that they reached camp 
 within fifteen minutes after him, although they had 
 to drag the canoe over three rapids. He found Cap- 
 tain Lewis and several of the men still very sick, 
 and distributed to such as were in need of it salts 
 and tartar emetic. 
 
 *' September 26. Having resolved to go down to 
 some spot calculated for building canoes, we set out 
 early this morning, proceeded five miles, and en- 
 camped on a piece of low ground opposite the forks 
 o,^ the river; but so weak were the men, that sever- 
 al were taken sick in coming down, the weather 
 being oppressively hot. Two chiefs, with their fam- 
 ilies, followed us, and encamped, with a great num- 
 ber of horses, near us ; and soon after our arrival 
 we were joined by two Indians, who had come down 
 
SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS. 31 
 
 Ihe north fork on a raft. We purchased some fresh 
 salmon ; and, having distributed axes, and portioned 
 off the labour of the party, 
 
 " September 27, at an early hour began our prep- 
 arations for constructing five canoes. But few^ of 
 the men, however, were able to work, and of these 
 several were soon taken ill, as the day proved very 
 hot. The hunters, too, returned without any game, 
 and seriously indisposed, so that nearly the whole 
 party were now sick. We procured some fresh 
 salmon ; and Colter, who at this time returned with 
 one of the horses, brought half a deer, which was 
 very nourishing to the invalids. Several Indians 
 from a camp below came up to see us." 
 
 From this time to the 5th of October, all the 
 men capable of labour were employed in preparing 
 the canoes. The health of the party gradually re- 
 cruited, though they still suffered severely from want 
 of food ; and, as the hunters had but little success in 
 procuring game, they were obliged on the 2d to kill 
 one of their horses. Indians from different quarters 
 frequently visited them, but all that could be obtain- 
 ed from them was a little fish and some dried roots. 
 
 " October 5. The canoes being nearly finished," 
 says the Journal, "it became necessary to dispose 
 of our horses. They were therefore collected, to the 
 number of thirty-eight, and, after being branded and 
 marked, were delivered to three Indians, the two 
 brothers and the son of a chief who had promised to 
 accompany us down the river. To each of these 
 men we gave a knife and some small articles, and 
 they agreed to take care of the horses till our return. 
 The hunters, with all their dihgence, were unable to 
 kill anything ; the liills being high and rugged, and 
 the woods too dry to hunt deer, which was the only 
 game in the country. We therefore continued to 
 eat dried fish and roots, which were purchased of 
 the squaws with small presents, but chiefly white 
 beads, of which they are extravagantly fond. Some 
 
32 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 of these roots seemed to possess very active prop* 
 erties; for, after supping on them this evening, we 
 were swelled to such a degree as to be scarcely able 
 to breathe for several hours. Towards night we 
 launched two canoes, which proved to be very good. 
 
 " October 6. The morning was cool, and the wind 
 easterly. The general course of the winds seems 
 to be nearly the same as we observed on the east 
 side of the mountains. While on the head-waters 
 of the Missouri, we had every morning a cool wind 
 from tbe west. At this place a cool breeze springs 
 up during the latter part of the night, or near day- 
 break, and continues till seven or eight o'clock, when 
 it subsides, and the other part of the day is warm. 
 Captain Lewis was now not so well as he had been, 
 and Captain Clarke was also taken ill. We had all 
 our saddles buried in a cache near the river, about 
 half a mile below, and deposited at the same time a 
 canister of powder and a bag of balls. The time 
 which could be spared from our labours on the ca- 
 noes was devoted to some astronomical observations. 
 The latitude of our camp, as deduced from the mean 
 of two observations, was found to be 46° 34' 56.3" 
 north. 
 
 " October 7. This morning all the canoes were 
 put in the water and loaded, the oars fixed, and every 
 preparation made for setting out ; but when we were 
 all ready, the two chiefs who had promised to ac- 
 company us were not to be found, and at the same 
 time we missed a pipe tomahawk : we therefore pro- 
 ceeded without them. Below the forks the river is 
 called the Kooskooskee, and is a clear, rapid stream, 
 with a number of shoals and difficult places. For 
 some miles the hills were steep, and the low grounds 
 narrow ; but then succeeded an open country, with 
 a few trees scattered along the river. At the dis- 
 tance of nine miles was a small creek on the left. 
 -Ve passed in the course of the day ten rapids ; in 
 descending one of which, one of the canoes struck a 
 
ACCIDENT TO ONE OF THE CANOES. 33 
 
 rock and sprung aleak. We, however, continued foi 
 nineteen miles, and encamped on the left side of 
 the river, opposite to the mouth of a small run. 
 Here the canoe was unloaded and repaired, and two 
 lead canisters of powder were deposited. Several 
 camps of Indians were on the sides of the river, but 
 we had little intercourse with any of them. 
 
 " October 8. We set out at nine o'clock. At eight 
 and a half miles we passed an island, and four and 
 a half miles lower a second, opposite a small creek 
 on the left side of the river. Five miles farther was 
 another island on the left ; and a mile and a half be- 
 yond, a fourth. At a short distance from this was 
 a large creek coming from the right, to which we gave 
 the name of Colter's Creek, from Colter, one of our 
 men. We had proceeded from this creek about a 
 mile and a half, and were passing the last of fifteen 
 rapids, having gone over the other fourteen safely, 
 when one of the canoes struck, and, a hole being made 
 in her side, she immediately filled. The men, several 
 of whom could not swim, clung to her till one of the 
 other boats could be unloaded, and with the assistance 
 of an Indian canoe they were all brought to shore. 
 All the goods were so much wet that we were obliged 
 to halt for the night, and spread them out to dry. 
 While all this was doing it was necessary to place 
 two sentinels over the merchandise, for we have 
 found that these Indians, though kind and disposed 
 to give us every aid during our distress, cannot resist 
 the temptation of pilfering small articles. We passed, 
 during our route of twenty miles, several encamp- 
 ments of Indians on the islands and near the rapids, 
 which places are chosen as most convenient for taking 
 salmon. At one of these camps we found the two 
 chiefs who had left us after promising to descend the 
 river with us: they, however, willingly came on board 
 after we had gone through the ceremony of smoking. 
 
 " October 9. The morning, as usual, was cool ; but, 
 as the weather was cloudy, our merchandise dried 
 
34 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 but slowly. The boat, though much injured, was 
 repaired by ten o'clock so as to be perfectly fit for 
 service : still we were obliged to remain through 
 the day, for the articles to be sufficiently dry to be 
 reloaded. The time we employed in purchasing fish 
 for the voyage and in conversing with the Indians. 
 In the afternoon we were surprised at hearing that 
 our old Shoshonee guide and his son had left us, and 
 been seen running up the river several miles above. 
 As he had never given any notice of his intention, nor 
 even received his pay for conducting us, we could 
 not imagine the cause of his desertion, nor did he 
 ever come back to explain his conduct. We request- 
 ed the chief to send a horseman after him, to ask 
 him to return and receive what we owed him. From 
 this, however, he dissuaded us ; saying very frankly, 
 that his nation, the Chopunnish, would take from the 
 old man any presents he might have on passing their 
 camp. 
 
 " The Indians came about our encampment atnight, 
 and were very gay and good-humoured with the men. 
 Among other exhibitions was that of a squaw, who 
 appeared to be crazy : she sang in a wild, incoherent 
 manner, and would offer to the spectators all the lit 
 tie articles she possessed, scarifying herself in a hor- 
 rid manner if afiy one refused her presents. She 
 seemed to be an object of pity among the Indians, 
 who suffered her to do as she pleased, without any 
 interruption. 
 
 " October 10. A fine morning. We loaded the ca- 
 noes and set off at seven o'clock. At the distance 
 of two and a half miles we had passed three islands, 
 the last of which was opposite to a small stream on 
 the right. Within the next three and a half miles 
 was another island, and a creek on the left, with wide 
 low grounds, containing wiDow and cottonwood trees, 
 and on which were three tents of Indians. Two ! 
 miles lower was the head Df a large island, and six 
 r.nd a half miles beyond it we halted at an encamp- 
 
RUGGED RAPID. 35 
 
 ment of eight lodges on the left, in order to examine 
 a rapid before us. We had already passed eight, 
 some of them difficult ; but this was worse than any 
 of those, being strewed with rocks, and very hazard- 
 ous : we purchased here some roots, and dined with 
 the Indians, Among them was a man from the falls, 
 who says that he has seen white people at that place, 
 and is very desirous of going down with us : an offer, 
 however, which we declined. Just above this camp 
 we had passed a tent, near which was an Indian bath- 
 ing himself in a small pond or hole of water, warmed 
 by throwing in hot stones. After finishing our meal, 
 w^e descended the rapid with no injury except to one 
 of our boats, which ran against a rock, but in the 
 course of an hour was got off, with only a small split 
 in her side. This rapid, from its appearance and diffi- 
 culty, we named Rugged Rapid. We went on over 
 five others of a less dangerous character, and at the 
 distance of five miles reached a large fork of the river 
 from the south ; and, after having gone twenty miles, 
 halted below the junction on the right bank. Our 
 arrival soon attracted the attention of the Indians^ 
 who flocked in all directions to see us. In the even 
 ing, the Indian from the falls, whom we had seen at 
 Rugged Rapid, joined us with his son, in a small ca- 
 noe, and insisted on accompanying us to the falls. 
 Being again reduced to fish and roots, we made an 
 experiment to vary our food by purchasing a few dogs, 
 and, after having been accustomed to horse-flesh, felt 
 no disrelish to this new dish. The Chopunnish have 
 great numbers of dogs, which they employ for do- 
 mestic purposes, but never eat them; and our using 
 the flesh of that animal soon brought us into ridicule 
 as dog-eaters. 
 
 " The country at the junction of the two rivers is 
 an open plain on all sides, broken towards the left 
 by a distant ridge of high land, thinly covered with 
 timber. This is the only body of timber which the 
 country contains, for at the forks there is not a tre# 
 
d6 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 to be seen ; and in almost the whole descent of sixty 
 miles down the Kooskooskee from its forks, there are 
 very few. This southern branch is, in fact, the main 
 streamof Lewis's River, on which we encamped when 
 among the Shoshonees. The Indians inform us that 
 it is navigable for sixty miles ; that not far from its 
 mouth it receives a branch from the south; and a 
 second and larger branch two days' march up, nearly 
 parallel to the first Chopunnish villages we met near 
 the mountains. This branch is called Pawnashte, 
 and is the residence of a chief who, according to 
 their expression, has more horses than he can count. 
 The river has many rapids, near which are numer- 
 ous fishing camps, there being ten establishments of 
 this kind before reaching the first southern branch : 
 one on that stream, five between that and the Paw- 
 nashte, one on that river, and two above it ; besides 
 which, there are many other Indian settlements on 
 the more distant waters of the river. All these In- 
 dians belong to the Chopunnish nation, and live in 
 tents of an oblong form, covered with flat roofs. 
 
 " At its mouth Lewis's River is about two hun- 
 dred and fifty yards wide, and its water is of a green- 
 ish-blue colour. The Kooskooskee, whose waters 
 are clear as crystal, is one hundred and fifty yards 
 m width, and after the union the breadth is increased 
 to three hundred yards : at the point of union is an 
 Indian cabin, and in Lewis's River a small island. 
 
 " The men of the Chopunnish, or Pierced-Nose 
 nation, residing on the Kooskooskee and Lewis Riv- 
 ers, are in person stout, portly, and well-looking; 
 the women are small, with good features, and are 
 generally handsome, though the complexion of both 
 sexes is darker than that of the Tushepaws. In 
 dress they resemble that nation, being fond of dis- 
 playing their ornaments. Buffalo or elk skin robes, 
 decorated with beads, sea-shells, chiefly mother-of- 
 pearl, attached to an otter-skin collar, falling in front 
 in two queues ; feathers, paints of different kind? 
 
DRESS, ETC., OF THE CHOPUNNISH. 37 
 
 principally white, green, and light blue, all of which 
 they find in their own country — these are the chief 
 ornaments they use. In the winter they wear a 
 short shirt of dressed skins, long painted leggins and 
 moccasins, and a plait of twisted grass lound the 
 neck. 
 
 " The dress of the women is more simple, con- 
 sisting of a long shirt ©f argalia or ibex skin, reach- 
 ing down to the ankles, and without any girdle : to 
 the bottom of it are tied little pieces of brass, shells, 
 and other small articles, but the top is not at all or- 
 namented. The dress of the females is, indeed, more 
 modest, and more studiously so than any we have 
 observed, while the other sex are heedless of the 
 indelicacy of exposure. 
 
 " The Chopunnish have very few amusements, 
 their hfe being painful and laborious, and all their 
 exertions being necessary to earn even a precarious 
 subsistence. During the summer and autumn they 
 are busily occupied in fishing for salmon, and col- 
 lecting their winter store of roots. In the winter 
 they hunt the deer on snow-shoes over the plains, 
 and towards spring cross the mountains to the Mis- 
 souri, for the purpose of trafficking for buffalo robes. 
 The inconveniences of this comfortless life are in- 
 creased by frequent encounters with their enemies 
 from the west, who drive them over the mountains 
 with the loss of their horses, and sometimes the 
 lives of many of the nation. Though originally the 
 same people, their dialect varies very perceptibly 
 from that of the Tushepaws. Their treatment to 
 us differed much from the kind and disinterested 
 services of the Shoshonees : they are, indeed, self- 
 ish and avaricious, parting very reluctantly with ev- 
 ery article of food or clothing ; and, while they ex- 
 pect a recompense for every service, however small, 
 do not concern themselves about reciprocating any 
 favours we may show them. 
 
 " They are generally healthy, the only disorders 
 
38 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 we have remarked among ihem beiri^' of a scrofu- 
 lous kind ; and for these, as well as lor the amuse 
 ment of those who are in good health, hot and cold 
 bathing is very frequently used. 
 
 " The soil of these prairies is a light yellow clay : 
 it is barren, and produces little more than a beard- 
 ed grass about three inches high, and the prickly 
 pear, of which we here found three species. The 
 first is of the broad-leafed kind, common to the Mis- 
 souri ; the second has a leaf of a globular form, and 
 is also frequent in the upper parts of the Missouri, 
 particularly in the country along the river after it 
 enters the Rocky Mountains. The third is peculiar 
 to this country, and is much more troublesome than 
 either of the others. It consists of small, thick leaves 
 of a circular form, which grow from the margin of 
 each other, as in the broad-leafed pear of the Mis- 
 souri. These leaves are armed with a great number 
 of thorns, which are "fery strong, and appear to be 
 barbed; and, as the leaf itself is very slightly at- 
 tached to the stem, as soon as one of the thorns 
 touches the moccasin, it adheres, and brings with it 
 the leaf, accompanied by a re-enforcement of other 
 thorns." 
 
INDIAN VAPOUR-BATH. 39 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 Departure of the Party.— Descriptior of an Indian Sweating- 
 bath and B-Urial-pIace.— Dangerous Rapids.— Visits from the 
 Indians, who manifest a pacific Disposition.— Description of the 
 Sokuik. Tribe.— Their Dress, and Manner of building Houses. 
 —Their pacific Character.— Their Habits of Living.— Their 
 Mode of boiling Salmon.— Vast Quantities of Salmon among 
 the Sokulks.— Council held with this Tribe.— The Terror 
 and Consternation excited by Captain Clarke.— Some Ac- 
 count of the Pishquitpaws.— Their Mode of burying the Dead. 
 
 "October 11, 1805. This morning the wmd was 
 from the east, and the weather cloudy. We set 
 out early, and at the distance of a mile and a half 
 reached a point of rocks in a bend of the river to- 
 wards the left, near to which was an old Indian 
 house, and a meadow on the opposite bank. Here 
 the hills came down towards the water, and, with 
 the rocks which have fallen from their sides, form- 
 ed a rapid, over which we were obliged to drag the 
 canoes. A mile and a half farther we passed two 
 Indian lodges in a bend towards the right, and at six 
 miles from our camp of last evening reached the 
 mouth of a brook on the left. Just above this stream 
 we stopped for breakfast, at a large encampment of 
 Indians on the same side. We soon began to trade 
 with them for a stock of provisions, and were so 
 fortunate as to purchase seven dogs and all the fish 
 they could spare. While this traffic was going on, 
 we observed a vapour-bath or sweating-house of a 
 different form from any used on the frontiers of the 
 United States or among the Rocky Mountains : it 
 was a hollow square of six or eight feet deep, form- 
 ed against the river-bank by damming up with mud 
 the other three sides, and covering the top com- 
 pletely, except an aperture about two feet wide, 
 IT.— D 
 
40 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 The bathers descend by this hole, taking with them 
 a number of heated stones and jugs of water ; and 
 after seating themselves round the room, throw the 
 water on the stones till the steam becomes of a 
 temperature sufficiently high for their purpose. The 
 baths of the Indians in the Rocky Mountains are of 
 different sizes, the most common being made of mud 
 and sticks, like an oven ; but the mode of raising 
 the steam is exactly the same. Among both these 
 nations it is very uncommon for a man to bathe 
 alone ; he is generally accompanied by one, and 
 sometimes several of his acquaintances. Indeed, it 
 is so essentially a social amusement, that to decline 
 going in the bath when invited by a friend is one 
 of the highest indignities which can be offered. The 
 Indians on the frontiers generally use a bath that 
 will accommodate only one person, and which is 
 formed of a wicker-work of willows, about four 
 feet high, arched at the top, and covered with skins 
 In this the bather sits, till by means of the steam 
 from the heated stones he has perspired sufficiently. 
 These baths are almost universally in the neighbour- 
 hood of running water, into which the Indians 
 plunge immediately on coming out from them ; and 
 sometimes they return again, and subject themselves 
 to a second perspiration. This practice is, howev- 
 er, less frequent among the nations on our borders 
 than those to the westward. The bath is employed 
 either for pleasure or health, and is used indiscrim- 
 inately for all kinds of diseases. 
 
 " Shortly after leaving our encampment we passed 
 two rapids, and at the distance of four and a half 
 miles reached one which was much more difficult. 
 Three miles beyond this there were three huts of 
 Indians on the right, where we stopped and obtain- 
 ed, in excnange for a few trifles, some pasheco roots, 
 five dogs, and a small quantity of dried fish. We 
 made our dinner of part of each of these articles, 
 and then proceeded on without any obstruction till 
 
INDIAN BURIAL-PLACES. 41 
 
 after we had gone twelve and a half miles, when 
 we came to a stony island on the right side of the 
 river, opposite to which was a rapid, and a second 
 at its lower point. About three and a half miles be- 
 yond this island was a small brook, emptying itself 
 into a bend on the right, where we stopped at two 
 Indian huts, which we found inhabited. Here we 
 met two Indians belonging to a nation residing at 
 the mouth of this river. We had made thirty-one 
 miles to-day, although the weather w^as warm, and 
 the current obstructed by nine different rapids, more 
 or less difficult to pass. All these rapids are fishing- 
 places, greatly resorted to in the season; and as we 
 passed we observed near them slabs and pieces of 
 «plit timber raised from the ground, and some entire 
 houses, vacant at present, but which will be occupied 
 as soon as the Indians return from the plains on both 
 sides of the river, where our chief informs us they are 
 now hunting the antelope. Near each of the houses 
 js a small collection of graves, the burial-places of 
 those who frequent these establishments. The dead 
 are wrapped in robes of skins, and deposited in 
 graves, which are covered over with earth, and mark- 
 ed or secured by little pickets or pieces of wood 
 stuck promiscuously in and around them. The 
 country on both sides, after mounting a steep ascent 
 of about two hundred feet, becomes an open, level, 
 and fertile plain, which is, however, as well as the 
 borders of the river itself, entirely destitute of any 
 kind of timber ; and the chief growth we observed 
 consisted of a few low blackberries." * * * 
 
 They continued to descend the river, and from the 
 12th to the 15th proceeded about sixty-three miles. 
 On their way they passed several rapids, one of 
 which was particularly dangerous, and two miles in 
 length. They got over it safely, however, by the aid 
 of their Indian pilots, but were less fortunate the next 
 day ; one of their canoes being driven sideways 
 against a rock, so that she filled with water, and they 
 
42 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 were obliged to unload her to dry the baggage she 
 had on board. Unfortunately, their roots and other 
 provisions were in this boat, and were entirely spoil- 
 ed. The only game they procured was a few geese 
 and ducks. They passed two considerable streams 
 on the 13th, the first of which they called Kimooenim 
 Creek, and the other Drewyer's River. Having part- 
 ly dried their baggage, they set out again late in the 
 day on the 15th, intending to complete the drying at 
 the mouth of the river, where they proposed stopping 
 to take some celestial observations, and which they 
 supposed could not be far distant. 
 
 " For the first four miles," proceeds the Journal, 
 " we passed three islands, at the lower points of 
 which were the same number of rapids, besides a 
 fourth at a distance from them. In the next ten miles 
 we passed eight islands and three more rapids, and 
 reached a point of rocks on the left. These islands 
 were of various sizes, and were all composed of 
 round stone and sand : the rapids were in many pla- 
 ces difficult and dangerous to pass. The country 
 now became lower than before, the ground near the 
 river not being higher than ninety or a hundred feet, 
 and extending back into a waving plain. Soon after 
 leaving this point of rocks we entered a narrow chan- 
 nel, formed by the projecting cliffs of the bank, which 
 rise nearly perpendicular from the water. The river 
 is not, however, rapid, but gentle and smooth the 
 whole length of its confinement, which continues for 
 three miles, when it falls, or rather widens, into a 
 kind of basin nearly round, and without any percept- 
 ible current. After passing through this basin we 
 were joined by the three Indians who had piloted us 
 through the rapids since we left the forks, and who, 
 in company with our two chiefs, had gone before us. 
 They had halted here to warn us of a dangerous rapid 
 which begins at the lower point of the basin. As the 
 day was too far spent to attempt it, we determined 
 to examine it before descending, and therefore en- 
 
PASSING THE RAPIDS. 43 
 
 camped near an island at its head, and studied par- 
 ticularly all its narrow and difficult parts. The spot 
 where we landed was an old fishing establishment, 
 of which there yet remained the timbers of a house, 
 carefully raised on scatfolds to protect them against 
 the spring freshet. Not being able to procure any 
 other fuel, and the night being cold, we were a sec- 
 ond time obliged to use the property of the Indians, 
 who still remain in the plains hunting the antelope. 
 Our progress had been but twenty miles, in conse- 
 quence of the difficulty of passing the rapids ; and 
 our game consisted of only two teal. 
 
 " October 16. Having fully examined the rapids, 
 which we found even more difficult than the report 
 of the Indians had induced us to believe, we set out 
 early, and, putting our Indian guide in front, our 
 smallest canoe next, and the rest in succession, be- 
 gan the descent. The passage proved to be very 
 disagreeable, as there was a continuation of shoals, 
 extending from bank to bank, for the distance of 
 three miles, the channel being narrow and crooked, 
 and obstructed by large rocks in every direction, so 
 as to require great dexterity to avoid being dashed 
 against them. We got through, however, with no 
 injury to any of the boats except the hindmost, which 
 ran on a rock ; but, by the assistance of the other 
 boats and of the Indians, who were very alert, she 
 escaped, though the baggage on board of her was 
 wet. Within three miles we passed three small isl- 
 ands, on one of which were the parts of a house, put 
 on scaffolds as usual, and soon after came to another 
 rapid at the lower extremity of three small islands ; 
 and to a second, again, at the distance of a mile and a 
 half below them. At six miles from the great rapid 
 we reached a point of rocks at a rapid opposite to the 
 upper part of a small island on the left ; three miles 
 farther there was another rapid; and two miles be- 
 yond this, a very bad one, or, rather, a fall of the river. 
 This last proved, on examination, to be so difficult, 
 
44 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 that M e thought it imprudent to attempt it, and there- 
 fore unloaded the canoes, and made a portage of three 
 quarters of a mile. This rapid, which is of about the 
 same length, is much broken by rocks and shoals, 
 and has a small island in it, on the right side. 
 
 " After completing the transportation we halted 
 for dinner, and while we were eating were visited 
 by five Indians, who had come up the river on foot 
 in great haste. We received them kindly, smoked 
 with them, and gave them a piece of tobacco to smoke 
 with their tribe ; on receiving which they set out to 
 return, and continued running as fast as they could 
 while they remained in sight. Their curiosity had 
 6een excited by the accounts of our two chiefs, who 
 had gone on ahead, to apprize the tribes of our ap- 
 proach, and of our friendly dispositions towards 
 them. After dinner we reloaded the canoes and pro- 
 ceeded. We soon passed a rapid opposite to the up- 
 per point of a sandy island on the left, which has a 
 smaller island near it. At three miles there was a 
 gravelly bar in the river ; and four miles beyond this, 
 the Kimooenim River empties itself into the Colum- 
 bia, having an island at its mouth, just below a small 
 rapid. We halted above the point of junction, on the 
 Kimooenim, to confer with the Indians, who had col- 
 lected in great numbers to receive us. On landing 
 we were met by our two chiefs, to whose good offices 
 we were indebted for this reception, and also by the 
 two Indians who had passed us a few days since on 
 horseback ; one of them appearing to be a man of in- 
 fluence, as he harangued the assembly on our arrival. 
 After smoking with the Indians, we formed a camp at 
 the point where the two rivers unite, near which we 
 found some driftwood : we were also supplied by our 
 two old chiefs with the stalks of willows and some 
 small bushes for fuel. Scarcely had we fixed our 
 quarters and got the fires prepared, when a chief 
 came from the Indian camp about a fourth of a mile 
 up the Columbia, at th.e head of nearly two hundred 
 
INDIAN PROCESSION. 45 
 
 men. They formed a regular procession, keeping 
 time to the music, or, rather, noise of their drums, 
 which they accompanied with their voices ; and as 
 they advanced, they ranged themselves in a semicir- 
 cle around us, and continued singing for some time. 
 We then smoked with them all, and communicated, 
 as well as we could by signs, our friendly intentions 
 towards every nation, and our joy at finding ourselves 
 surrounded by our children. After this we proceeded 
 to distribute presents among them, giving the princi- 
 pal chief a large medal, a shirt, and a handkerchief; 
 to the second chief, a medal of a smaller size ; and 
 to a third, who had come down from some of the up- 
 per villages, a small medal and a handkerchief. This 
 ceremony being concluded, they left us ; but in the 
 course of the afternoon several of them returned, 
 and remained with us till a late hour. After they 
 had dispersed, we proceeded to purchase provisions, 
 and were enabled to collect seven dogs, to which 
 some of the Indians added small presents of fish, and 
 one of them gave us twenty pounds of fat dried horse- 
 flesh, 
 
 " October 17. The day being fair, we were occu- 
 pied in taking the necessary observations for deter- 
 mining our longitude, and we obtained a meridian 
 altitude, from which it appeared that we were in lat- 
 itude 46° 15' 13.9". We also measured the two riv- 
 ers by angles, and found that at the junction the 
 Columbia was nine hundred and sixty yards wide, 
 and Lewis's River five hundred and seventy-five ; 
 but, soon after they unite, the former widens to the 
 breadth of from one to three miles, including the isl- 
 ands. From the point of confluence the country is 
 a continued plain, low near the water, and rising 
 gradually from it ; the only elevation to be seen be- 
 ing a range of high country running from the north- 
 east towards the southwest, where it joins a chain 
 of mountains from the southwest, and on the oppo- 
 site side is about two miles from the Columbia. 
 
46 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 There is throughout this plain not a single tree, nor 
 scarcely any shrubs, except a few willow bushes ; 
 and even of smaller plants there is not much more 
 than the prickly pear, which is in great abundance, 
 and even more thorny and troublesome than any we 
 had yet seen. In the mean time the principal chief 
 came down, with several of his warriors, and smoked 
 with us. We were also visited by several men and 
 women, who offered dogs and dried fish for sale ; but 
 as the fish was out of season, being at present abun- 
 dant in the river, we contented ourselves with pur- 
 chasing the dogs. The nation among whom we now 
 are call themselves Sokulks ; and with them are 
 united a few of another nation, who reside on a 
 western branch, emptying itself into the Columbia 
 a few miles above the mouth of the latter river, and 
 whose name is Chimnapum. 
 
 " The languages of these two nations, of both of 
 which we obtained a vocabulary, differ but little from 
 each other or from that of the Chopunnish, who in- 
 habit the Kooskooskee and Lewis Rivers. In their 
 dress and general appearance, also, they much re- 
 semble that nation ; the men wearing a robe of deer 
 or antelope skin, under which a few of them have a 
 short leathern shirt. The most striking difference 
 is among the females, the Sokulk women being more 
 inclined to corpulency than any we have yet seen. 
 Their stature is low, their faces are broad, and their 
 heads flattened in such a manner that the forehead 
 is in a straight hue from the nose to the crown of 
 the head. Their eyes are of a dirty sable, their hair 
 is coarse and black, and braided without ornament 
 of any kind. Instead of wearing, as do the Cho- 
 punnish, long leathern shirts highly decorated with 
 beads and shells, the Sokulk women have no other 
 covering but a truss or piece of leather tied round 
 the hips, and drawn tight between the legs. The 
 ornaments usually worn by both sexes are large 
 blue or white beads, either pendant from their ears, 
 
CHARACTER, ETC., OF THE SOKULKS. 47 
 
 jr round the neck, wrists, and arms : they have like- 
 wise bracelets of brass, copper, and horn, and some 
 trinkets of shells, fish-bones, and curious feathers. 
 The houses of the Sokulks are made of large mats 
 of rushes, and are generally of a square or oblong 
 form, varying in length from fifteen to sixty feet, and 
 supported in the inside by poles or forks about six 
 feet high. The top is covered with mats, leaving a 
 space of twelve or fifteen inches the whole length 
 of the house, for the purpose of admitting the light 
 and suffering the smoke to escape. The roof is 
 nearly flat, which seems to indicate that rains are 
 not common in this open country ; and the house is 
 not divided into apartments, the fire being in the mid- 
 dle of the enclosure, and immediately under the hole 
 in the roof. The interior is ornamented with their 
 nets, gigs, and other fishing-tackle, as well as the 
 bow of each inmate, and a large quiver of arrows, 
 which are headed with flint. 
 
 " The Sokulks seem to be of a mild and peaceable 
 disposition, and live in a state of comparative happi- 
 ness. The men, like those on the Kimooenim, are 
 said to content themselves with a single wife, with 
 whom the husband, we observe, shares the labours 
 of procuring subsistence much more than is common 
 among savages. What may be considered an une- 
 quivocal proof of their good disposition, is the great 
 respect which is shown to old age. Among other 
 marks of it, we noticed in one of the houses an old 
 woman perfectly blind, and who, we were told, had 
 lived more than a hundred winters. In this state of 
 decrepitude, she occupied the best position in the 
 house, seemed to be treated with great kindness, 
 and whatever she said was listened to with much 
 attention. They are by no means obtrusive ; and as 
 their fisheries supply them with a competent, if not 
 an abundant subsistence, although they receive 
 thankfully whatever we choose to give, they do not 
 importune us by begging. Fish is, indeed, their chief 
 II.— E 
 
48 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 food, to which they add roots, and occasionally the 
 flesh of the antelope, which, as they have only bows 
 and arrows, must be very scanty. This diet may be 
 the immediate or remote cause of the principal dis- 
 order prevailing among them, as well as among the 
 Flatheads on the Kooskooskee and Lewis Rivers 
 With all these Indians soreness of the eyes is very 
 common, and it is so aggravated by neglect that many 
 are deprived of one of their eyes, and some have 
 lost entirely the use of both. This dreadful disor- 
 der may also, we think, be imputed, in part, to the 
 reflection of the sun from the waters, where they are 
 constantly fishing in the spring, summer, and autumn, 
 and during the rest of the year from the snow, in a 
 country where there is no object to relieve the sight. 
 Among the Sokulks, too, and, indeed, among all the 
 tribes whose chief subsistence is fish, we have ob- 
 served that bad teeth are very general ; some have 
 the teeth, particularly those of the upper jaw, worn 
 down to the gums ; and many of both sexes, and 
 even of middle age, have lost them entirely. This 
 decay of the teeth is a circumstance very unusual 
 among the Indians, either on the mountains or plains, 
 and seems peculiar to those of the Columbia. We 
 cannot avoid regarding as one cause of it the man- 
 ner in which they eat their food. The roots are 
 swallowed as they are dug from the ground, frequent- 
 ly nearly covered with a gritty sand ; and so little 
 idea have they that this is offensive, that all the roots 
 they bring to us for sale are in the same condition. 
 Another and important cause may be their great use 
 of dried salmon, the bad effects of which are most 
 probably increased by their mode of cooking it, which 
 is simply to warm it, and then eat the skin, scales, 
 and flesh, without any farther preparation. The So- 
 kulks possess but few horses, the greater part of 
 their labours being performed in canoes. Their 
 amusements are similar to those of the Missouri In- 
 dians. 
 
INDIAN MODE OF COOKING FISH. 49 
 
 " In the course of the day, Captain Clarke, in a 
 email canoe with two men, ascended the Columbia. 
 At the distance of five miles he passed an island in 
 the middle of the river, at the head of which was a 
 small but not dangerous rapid. On the left bank, 
 opposite to this island, was a fishing-place consist- 
 ing of three mat houses. Here were great quanti- 
 ties of salmon drying on scaffolds ; and, indeed, from 
 the mouth of the river upward, he saw immense 
 numbers of dead salmon strewed along the shore, 
 or floating on the surface of the water, which is so 
 clear that the fish may be seen swimming at the 
 depth of fifteen or twenty feet. The Indians, who 
 had collected on the banks to observe him, now 
 joined him in eighteen canoes, and accompanied 
 him up the river. A mile above the rapids he came 
 to the lower point of an island, where the course of 
 the stream, which had been from its mouth north 
 83° west, now became due west. He proceeded in 
 that direction, until, observing three houses of mats 
 at a short distance, he landed to visit them. On en- 
 tering one of these houses, he found it crowded with 
 men, women, and children, who immediately provi- 
 ded a mat for him to sit on, and one of the party 
 undertook to prepare something to eat. He began 
 by bringing in a piece of pine wood that had drifted 
 down the river, which he split into small pieces with 
 a wedge made of elkhorn, by means of a mallet of 
 stone curiously carved. The pieces of wood were 
 then laid on the fire, and several round stones pla- 
 ced upon them. One of the squaws now brought a 
 bucket of water, in which was a large salmon about 
 half dried, and, as the stones became heated, they 
 were put into the bucket till the salmon was sufli- 
 ciently boiled for use. It v/as then taken out, put 
 on a platter of rushes neatly made, and laid before 
 Captain Clarke, while another was boiled for each 
 of his men. During these preparations he smoked 
 with such about him as would accept of tobacco, 
 
50 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 though very few would do it, smoking not being 
 general among them, and chiefly used as a matter 
 of form in great ceremonies. After eating the fish, 
 which was of an excellent flavour, Captain Clarke 
 again set out, and at the distance of four miles from 
 the last island came to the lower point of another, 
 near the left shore, where he halted at two large 
 mat houses. Here, as at the three houses below, 
 the inhabitants were occupied in splitting and drying 
 salmon. The multitudes of this fish, indeed, are al- 
 most inconceivable. The water is so clear, as we 
 have already remarked, that they can readily be 
 seen at the depth of fifteen or twenty feet ; but at 
 this s.eason they float down the stream, and are 
 drifted ashore in such quantities that the Indians 
 have only to collect, split, and dry them on the scaf- 
 folds. Where they procure the timber of which 
 these scaffolds are composed, he could not learn ; 
 and, as there are nothing but willow bushes to be 
 seen for a great distance from this place, it renders 
 very probable, what the Indians assured him by 
 signs, that they often use dried fish as fuel for the 
 common occasions of cooking. From this island 
 they showed him the entrance of a western branch 
 of the Columbia, called the Tapteal, which, a? far as 
 could be seen, bears nearly west, and empties itself 
 about eight miles above into the Columbia, the gen- 
 eral course of which is northwest. Towards the 
 southwest a range of high land runs parallel to the 
 river, at the distance of two miles on the left, while 
 on the right side the country is low, and covered 
 with the prickly pear, and a weed or plant two or 
 three feet high, resembling the whin. To the east- 
 ward is a range of mountains about fifty or sixty 
 miles distant, bearing north and south ; but neither 
 in the low grounds nor in the high lands is any tim- 
 ber to be seen. The evening coming on, he deter- 
 mined not to proceed farther than the island, and 
 therefore returned to camp, accompanied by three 
 
THE PRAIRIE-COCK. 51 
 
 canoes containing twenty Indians. In the course 
 o< his excursion he shot several grouse and ducks, 
 and received some presents of fish, for which he 
 gave in return small pieces of riband. He also kill- 
 ed a prairie-cock, a bird of the pheasant kind, but 
 about the size of a small turkey. It measured from 
 the beak to the end of the toe two feet six inches 
 and three quarters ; from the extremities of the 
 wings three feet six inches ; and the feathers of the 
 tail were thirteen inches long. This bird we have 
 seen nowhere except on this river. Its chief food 
 is the grasshopper, and the seed of a wild plant 
 which is peculiar to this river and the upper parts 
 of the Missouri. 
 
 " The men availed themselves of this day's rest 
 to mend their clothes, dress skins, and put their 
 arms in order : an object always of primary concern, 
 but particularly at a moment when we were sur- 
 rounded by so many strangers. 
 
 " October 18. We were visited this morning by 
 several canoes of Indians, who joined those already 
 with us, and formed a numerous council. We in- 
 formed them, as we had done all the other Indian 
 nations, of our friendship for them, and of our desire 
 to promote peace among all our red children in this 
 country. This was conveyed by signs through our 
 two chiefs, and seemed to be perfectly understood. 
 We then made a second chief, and gave to all the 
 chiefs a string of wampum, in remembrance of what 
 we had said. While the conference was going on, 
 four men came in a canoe from a large encamp- 
 ment on an island about eight miles below, but, after 
 staying a few minutes, returned without saying a 
 word to us. We now procured from the principal 
 chief and one of the Cuimnapum nation a sketch 
 of the Columbia, and some account of the tribes of 
 his nation living along its banks and those of the 
 Tapteal. They drew it with a piece of coal on a 
 
62 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 robe, and, as we afterward transferred it to paper, il 
 exhibited a valuable specimen of Indian delineation 
 
 " Having completed the purposes of our stay, we 
 now began to lay in our stores, and as it was not the 
 season for dried fish, purchased forty dogs, for which 
 we gave small articles, such as bells, thimbles, knit- 
 ting-needles, brass wire, and a few beads : an ex- 
 change with which they all seemed perfectly sat- 
 isfied. These dogs, with six prairie-cocks killed 
 this morning, formed a plentiful supply for the pres- 
 ent. We here left our guide, and the two young 
 men who had accompanied him ; two of the three 
 not being wilUng to go any farther, and the third be- 
 ing of no use, as he was not acquainted with the 
 river below. We therefore took no Indians but oui 
 two chiefs, and resumed our journey in the presence 
 of many of the Sokulks, who came to witness our 
 departure. The morning was cool and fair, and the 
 wind from the southeast." 
 
 Soon after starting they passed the mouth of 
 Lewis's River, and as they continued to descend, 
 saw diflferent fishing establishments on the shore. 
 Having proceeded twenty miles, they encamped for 
 the night, and soon after landing were informed by 
 their two chiefs that the largest of these establish- 
 ments belonged to the most important chief in that 
 part of the country. On receiving this inteUigence, 
 the two chiefs were despatched to invite the great 
 chief to spend the night at the encampment. He 
 accordingly came, accompanied by twenty men, 
 bringing a basket of mashed berries, which he pre- 
 sented to the strangers, but estabhshed a separate 
 camp at some distance from them. 
 
 " October 19. The great chief," continues the 
 narrative, " with two of his inferior chiefs, and a 
 third belonging to a band on the river below, made 
 us a visit at a very early hour. The first of these, 
 called Yellepit, was a handsome, well-proportioned 
 man, about five feet eight inches high, and thirty- five 
 
\WGEROUS RAPID. 53 
 
 years of age, with h bold and dignified countenance : 
 the rest had nothing remarkable in their appearance. 
 We smoked with them, and, after making a speech, 
 gave a medal, a handkerchief, and a string of wam- 
 pum to Yellepit, and a string of wampum only to 
 the inferior chiefs. He requested us to remain till 
 the middle of the day, that all his nation might come 
 and see us ; but we excused ourselves by telling him 
 that on our return we would spend two or three 
 days vvith him. This conference detained us till 
 nine o'clock, by which time great numbers of the 
 Indians had come down to visit us." 
 
 As they descended they passed an island w^here 
 were several Indian houses, the occupants of which 
 were, as usual, employed in drying fish, and seemed 
 to be much alarmed at the approach of the party. 
 They proceeded on, and at the distance of about 
 twelve miles from the point they had left in the 
 morning, they came to a very dangerous rapid, 
 which, however, they succeeded in passing safely, 
 ihough with great fatigue and difficulty. " In or- 
 ler," proceeds the Journal, " to lighten the boats, 
 Captain Clarke, with the two chiefs, the interpreter 
 and his wife, had walked across the low grounds on 
 the left to the foot of the rapids. On the way he 
 ascended a cliflf about two hundred feet above the 
 water, from which he saw that the country on both 
 sides of the river, immediately from its cliff's, was 
 low, and spread itself into a level plain, extending 
 for a great distance in every direction. To the 
 west, at the distance of about one hundred and fifty 
 miles, was a very high mountain covered with 
 snow ; and, from its direction and appearance, he 
 supposed it to be Mount St. Helen's, laid down by 
 Vancouver as visible from the mouth of the Colum- 
 bia : there was also another mountain of a conical 
 form, whose top was covered with snow, in a south- 
 west direction. 
 
 " As Captain Clarke arrived at the lower end of 
 
54 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 the rapid before any, except one of the small canoes, 
 he sat down on a rock to wait for them, and, seeing 
 a crane fly across the river, shot it, and it fell near 
 him. Several Indians had been before this passing 
 on the opposite side towards the rapids, and some 
 who were then nearly in front of him, being either 
 alarmed at his appearance or the report of the gun, 
 fled to their houses. Captain Clarke was afraid that 
 these people had not yet heard that the white men 
 were coming, and therefore, in order to allay their 
 uneasiness before the rest of the party should ar- 
 rive, he got into the small canoe with three men, 
 rowed over towards the houses, and, while crossing, 
 shot a duck, which fell into the water. As he ap- 
 proached no person was to be seen except three 
 men in the plains, and they, too, fled as he came 
 near the shore. He landed in front of five houses 
 close to each other, but no one appeared, and the 
 doors, which were of mat, were closed. He went 
 towards one of them with a pipe in his hand, and, 
 pushing aside the mat, entered the lodge, where he 
 found thirty-two persons, chiefly men and women, 
 with a few children, all in the greatest consterna- 
 tion ; some hanging down their heads, others crying 
 and vi^ringing their hands. He went up to them, 
 and shook hands with each one in the most friendly 
 manner; but their apprehensions, which had for a 
 moment subsided, revived on his taking out a burn- 
 ing-glass, as there was no roof to the house, and 
 lighting his pipe : he then off'ered it to several of the 
 men, and distributed among the women and children 
 some small trinkets which he had with him, and 
 gradually restored a degree of tranquiUity among 
 them. Leaving this house, and directing each of his 
 men to visit a house, he entered a second. Here 
 he found the inmates more terrified than those in 
 the first ; but he succeeded in pacifying them, and 
 afterward went into the other houses, where the 
 men had been equally successful. Retiring from 
 
SINGULAR BELIEF OF THE INDIANS. 55 
 
 the houses, he seated himself on a rock, and beckon- 
 ed to some of the men to come and smoke with 
 him ; but none of them ventured to join him till the 
 canoes arrived with the two chiefs, who immediate- 
 ly explained our pacific intention towards them. 
 Soon after the interpreter's wife landed, and her 
 presence dissipated all doubts of our being well-dis- 
 posed, since in this country no woman ever accom- 
 panies a war party : they therefore all came out, 
 and seemed perfectly reconciled ; nor could we, in- 
 deed, blame them for their terrors, which were per- 
 fectly natural. They told the two chiefs that they 
 knew we were not men, for they had seen us fall 
 from the clouds. In fact, unperceived by them, 
 Captain Clarke had shot the white crane, which they 
 had seen fall just before he appeared to their eyes : 
 the duck which he had killed also fell close by him ; 
 and as there were some clouds flying over at the mo- 
 ment, they connected the fall of the birds with his 
 sudden appearance, and believed that he had himself 
 actually dropped from the clouds ; considering the 
 noise of the rifle, which they had never heard be- 
 fore, the sound announcing so extraordinary an 
 event. This belief was strengthened, when, on en- 
 tering the room, he brought down fire from the 
 heavens by means of his burning-glass. We soon 
 convinced them, however, that we were merely 
 mortals ; and after one of our chiefs had explained 
 our history and objects, we all smoked together in 
 great harmony. These people do not speak pre- 
 cisely the same language as the Indians farther up, 
 but understand them in conversation. In a short 
 time we were joined by many of the inhabitants 
 from below, several of them on horseback, and all 
 pleased to see us, and to exchange their fish and ber- 
 ries for a few trinkets. 
 
 " We remained here till after dinner, and then pro- 
 ceeded. At half a mile the hilly country on the right 
 side of the river ceased; at eleven mile.^: we foun(? 
 
66 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 a small rapid ; and a mile farther we came to a 
 small island on the left, where there were some 
 willows. In going this distance from the five lodges 
 we passed twenty more, dispersed along the river 
 at different points of the valley on the right ; but. as 
 the inhabitants were now apprized of our coming, 
 they showed no signs of alarm. On leaving the isl- 
 and we proceeded three miles farther, through a 
 country which was low on both sides of the river, 
 and encamped under some willow-trees on the left, 
 having made thirty-six miles. Immediately oppo- 
 site to us was an island close to the left shore, and 
 another in the middle of the river, on which were 
 twenty-four houses of Indians, all engaged in drying 
 fish. We had scarcely landed before about a hun- 
 dred of them came over in their boats to visit us, 
 bringing with them a present of some wood, which 
 was very acceptable. We received them in as kind 
 a manner as we could, smoked with all of them, and 
 gave the principal chief a string of wampum ; but 
 the highest satisfaction they derived from the music 
 of two of our violins, with which they seemed much 
 delighted : they remained all night at our fires. 
 
 " This tribe is a branch of the nation called Pish- 
 quitpaws, and can raise about three hundred and 
 fifty men. In their dress they resemble the Indians 
 near the Forks of the Columbia, except that their 
 robes are smaller, and do not reach lower than the 
 waist ; indeed, three fourths of them have scarcely 
 anything that can be called a robe. The dress of 
 the females is equally scanty, for they wear only a 
 small piece of a robe, which covers their shoulders 
 and neck, and reaches down the back to the waist, 
 where it is attached by a piece of leather tied tight 
 round the body : their cheek-bones are high, their 
 heads flattened, and their persons in general adorned 
 with scarcely any ornaments. Both sexes were 
 employed in curing fish, of which they had great 
 quantities on their scaffolds. 
 
INDIAN BURIAL-PLACE. 
 
 67 
 
 « October 20. The morning was cool, the wind 
 from the southwest. Om- appearance had excited 
 the curiosity of the neighbourhood so much, that 
 before wo set o\it about two hundred Indians had 
 collected to see us ; and, as we were desirous of se- 
 curinc^ their friendship, we remained to smoke and 
 confe? with them till breakfast. We then took our 
 repast, which consisted wholly of dog's flesh, and 
 proceeded. We passed three vacant houses near 
 our camp, and at six miles reached the head of a 
 rapid, on descending which we soon came to an- 
 other very difficult and dangerous : it is formed by 
 a chain of large black rocks stretching from the 
 ricrht side of the river, and, with several small isl- 
 ands on the left, nearly choking the channel. To 
 this we gave the name of Pelican Rapid, from see- 
 ing a number of pelicans and black cormorants about 
 it Just below it was a small island near the right 
 shore, where were four houses, the occupants of 
 which were busy in drying fish. At sixteen miles 
 from our camp we reached a bend to the left, oppo- 
 site a large island, and at one o'clock halted for din- 
 ner on the lower point of an island on the right side 
 of the channel. Close to this was a larger island 
 on the same side, and near the left bank a small one, 
 a little below. We landed near some Indian huts, 
 and counted on this cluster of three islands seven- 
 teen of them, filled with inhabitants resembling in 
 every respect those higher up ; and, like them, they 
 were busy in preparing fish. We purchased of them 
 some dried fish, which were not good, and a few 
 berries, on which we dined, and then walked to the 
 head of the island, for the purpose of examining a 
 vault which we had observed in coming along. 
 
 " This place, in which the dead were deposited, was 
 a building about sixty feet long and twelve feet wide, 
 and was formed by fixing in the ground poles, with 
 forks, six feet high, across which a long pole was 
 extended the whole length of the structure. Against 
 
58 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 this ridge-pole were placed broad boards and pieces 
 of canoes in a slanting direction, so as to form a 
 shed. It stood east and west, and neither of the ex- 
 tremities was closed. On entering the western end 
 we observed a number of bodies wrapped carefully 
 in leathern robes, arranged in rows on boards, and 
 covered with a mat. This was the part destined for 
 those recently deceased ; while a little farther on 
 there were bones half decayed and scattered about, 
 and in the centre of the building there was a large 
 pile of them heaped promiscuously on each other. 
 At the eastern extremity was a mat, on which were 
 placed twenty-one sculls, in a circular form : the 
 mode of interment being, first, to wrap the body in 
 robes, and as it decays the bonesare thrown into a 
 heap, and the sculls placed together. From the dif- 
 ferent boards and pieces of canoes which formed the 
 vault, there were suspended on the inside fishing- 
 nets, baskets, wooden bowls, robes, skins, trenchers, 
 and trinkets of various kinds, obviously intended as 
 offerings of aflfection to deceased relatives. On the 
 outside of the burial-place were the skeletons of 
 several horses, and great quantities of their bones 
 m the neighbourhood, which induced us to believe 
 that these animals were most probably sacrificed at 
 the funeral rites of their masters." 
 
 After leaving this place the country became more 
 hilly, and they encamped in the evening, having made 
 forty-two miles. They killed several duclts and two 
 speckled gulls. 
 
SCARCITY OF WOOD. 59 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Party in their Descent still visited by the Indians. — Le- 
 page's River. — Towahnahiooks River. — Indian Mode of stack 
 ing Fish, and preparing them for Market. — Description of the 
 Great Falls. — Description of an Indian Canoe. — Alarm excited 
 by an anticipated Attack from the Eheltoots. — Dangerous 
 Rapid, called by the Indians The Falls. — Account of the In. 
 dian Houses in the Neighbourhood. — Another frightful Rapid. 
 — Some Account of the Chilluckittequaw Indians. — Captain 
 Clarke examines the Great Rapids. — Description of an Indian 
 Burial-place.— The Rapids passed in Safety. 
 
 " October 21. The morning was cool, and the wind 
 from the southwest. At five and a half miles we 
 passed a small island, and one and a half farther ano- 
 ther in the middle of the river, with some rapid wa- 
 ter near its head, and opposite to its lower extremity 
 were eight cabins of Indians. We landed near them 
 for breakfast; but such was the scarcity of wood, 
 that the last evening we had not been able to collect 
 anything except dry willows, and of these not more 
 than barely sufficient to cook our supper : this morn- 
 ing we could not find enough even to prepare our 
 breakfast. The Ind ians received us with great kind- 
 ness, and examined everything they saw with much 
 attention. In their appearance and employments, 
 as well as in their language, they did not differ from 
 those higher up the river. Their dress, too, was 
 nearly the same ; that of the men consisting of no- 
 thing but a short robe of deer or goat skin, and the 
 women wearing only a piece of dressed skin, falling 
 from the neck so as to cover the front of the body 
 as low as the waist ; a bandage tied round the body, 
 and passing between the legs ; and over this a short 
 robe of deer and antelope skin was occasionally 
 
60 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 thrown. Here we saw two blankets of scarlet and 
 one of blue cloth, and also a sailor's round jacket ; 
 but we could obtain only a few pounded roots and 
 some fish, for which, of course, we paid. Among 
 other things we observed some acorns, the fruit of 
 the white oak. These they use as food, either raw 
 or roasted ; and on inquiry, they informed us that they 
 were procured from the Indians who live near the 
 Great Falls. This place they designated by a name 
 very commonly applied to it by the Indians, and 
 highly expressive, the word Timm, which they pro- 
 nounce so as to make it perfectly represent the 
 sound of a distant cataract."* 
 
 They found the river obstructed by rocks and fre- 
 quent rapids, and towards the close of the day it be- 
 came much narrower. Passing a considerable 
 stream coming in from the southeast, to which they 
 gave the name of Lepage's River, about seven miles 
 below they encamped near some Indian huts to 
 spend the night. 
 
 " The inhabitants of these huts," says the journal- 
 ist, " stated to us that they were the relations of the 
 Indians living at the Great Falls. They appeared 
 to be of the same nation with those we had seen 
 above, resembling them, indeed, in everything, ex- 
 cept that their language, though essentially the same, 
 has some words different. They have all pierced 
 noses ; and the men, when in full dress, wear a long 
 tapering piece of shell or bead put through the nose. 
 These people did not, however, receive us with as 
 much cordiality as we had been accustomed to. 
 They were poor, but we were able to purchase from 
 them some wood to make a fire, of which, however, 
 they had but little, and which they said they brought 
 from the Great Falls. The hills in this neighbour- 
 
 * The Indians, according to Parker, call the Falls of the 
 Columbia " Tum-Tum." They use the same expression for th« 
 beating of the heart. 
 
THE SNAKE INDIANS. 61 
 
 hood are high and rugged, and a few scattered trees, 
 either small pine or scrubby white oak, were occa- 
 sionally seen on them. From the last rapids we ob- 
 served a conical mountain towards the southwest, 
 which the Indians said was not far to the left of the 
 Great Falls ; and from its vicinity to that place, we 
 called it the Timm, or Falls Mountain. The country 
 through which we passed is furnished with several 
 fine springs, which rise either high up the sides of 
 the hills, or else in the river meadows, and discharge 
 themselves into the Columbia. We could not help 
 remarking that the fishing establishments of the In- 
 dians, both on the Columbia and the waters of 
 Lewis's River, are almost universally on the right 
 bank. On inquiry, we were led to believe that the 
 reason of thit^' may be found in their fear of the 
 Snake Indians ; between whom and themselves, 
 considering the warlike temper of that people, and 
 the peaceful habits of the river tribes, it is very nat- 
 ural that the latter should be anxious to interpose 
 so good a barrier. These Indians are described as 
 residing on a great river to the south, and as always 
 at war with the people of this neighbourhood. One 
 of our chiefs pointed out to-day a spot on the left, 
 where, not many years ago, a great battle had been 
 fought, in which numbers of both nations were 
 killed." 
 
 The following day they passed an island four 
 miles in length, and about midway of it a large riv- 
 er appearing to come from the southeast, two hun- 
 dred yards wide at its mouth, and increasing the 
 volume of the Columbia one fourth. The Indians 
 called it the Towahnahiooks. Six miles below this, 
 near some Indian huts, they came to the commence- 
 ment of the Great Falls. " Here," continues the 
 Journal, " we halted, and immediately on landing 
 walked down, accompanied by an old Indian from 
 the huts, to examine the falls, in order to ascertain 
 on which side we could make a portage most easily. 
 
62 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 We soon discovered that the nearest route was on 
 the right side, and therefore dropped down to the 
 head of the rapid, unloaded the canoes, and took all 
 the baggage over by land to the foot of it. The dis- 
 tance is twelve hundred yards. On setting out, we 
 crossed a solid rock about one third of the whole 
 distance ; then reached a space of two hundred yards 
 wide, which forms a hollow, where the loose sand 
 from the low grounds has been driven by the winds, 
 and is steep and loose, and therefore difficult to 
 pass ; the rest of the route was over firm and solid 
 ground. The labour of crossing would have been 
 very great, if the Indians had not assisted us in car- 
 rying some of the heavy articles on their horses ; 
 but for this service they repaid themselves so adroit- 
 ly, that, on reaching the foot of the rapids, we found 
 it necessary to form a camp in a position which 
 would secure us from their pilfering, which we 
 dreaded much more than their hostility. Near our 
 camp were five large huts, the occupants being en- 
 gaged in drying fish and preparing it for market. 
 
 " Their manner of doing this is, first, opening the 
 fish and exposing it to the sun on scaffolds. When 
 it is sufficiently dried, it is pounded between two 
 stones till it is completely pulverized, and is then 
 placed in a basket about two feet long and one in 
 diameter, neatly made of grass and rushes, and lined 
 with the skin of a salmon stretched and dried for the 
 purpose. Here it is pressed down as hard as possi- 
 ble, and the top covered with the skins of fish, which 
 are secured by cords through the holes of the bas- 
 ket. The baskets are then put in some dry situa- 
 tion, the corded part upward, seven being usually 
 placed as closely as they can be together, and five 
 on the top of them. The whole is then wrapped up 
 in mats, and made fast by cords, over which other 
 mats are thrown. Twelve of these baskets, each of 
 which contains from ninety to a hundred pounds, 
 form a stack, which is now left till it is sent to mar- 
 
PORTAGE ROUND THE GREAT FALLS. 63 
 
 Ket. Fish thus prepared is kept sound and sweet 
 for several years, and great quantities of it, they told 
 us, were sent to the Indians living below the falls, 
 whence it found its way to the whites who visited 
 the mouth of the Columbia. We observed, both near 
 the lodges and on the rocks in the river, great num- 
 bers of stacks of these pounded fish. 
 
 "Besides fish, these people supphed us with fil- 
 berts and berries, and we purchased a dog for sup- 
 per; but it was with much difficulty that we were 
 able to buy wood enough to cook it. In the course 
 of the day we were visited by many Indians, from 
 whom we learned that the principal chiefs of the 
 bands residing in this neighbourhood were now hunt- 
 ing in the mountains towards the southwest. On 
 that side of the river none of the tribes have any 
 permanent habitations ; and on inquiry, we were con- 
 firmed in our belief that it was from the fear of be- 
 ing attacked by the Snake Indians, with whom they 
 are constantly at war. This nation they represent 
 as being very numerous, and residing in a great 
 number of villages on the Towahnahiooks, where 
 they live principally on salmon. That river, they 
 add, is aot obstructed by rapids above its mouth, but 
 becomes large, and reaches to a considerable dis- 
 tance ; the first villages of the Snake Indians being 
 twelve days' journey, on a course about southeast 
 from this place. 
 
 " October 23. Having ascertained from the In- 
 dians, and by our own examination, the best mode 
 of bringing down the canoes, it was concluded, as 
 the river was divided into several narrow channels 
 by rocks and islands, to follow the route adopted by 
 the Indians themselves. This labour Captain Clarke 
 commenced in the morning, and, after crossing to 
 the other side of the river, hauled the canoes over a 
 point of land, so as to avoid a perpendicular fall of 
 seventy feet. At the distance of four hundred and 
 fifty-seven yards we reached the water, and em- 
 
 'II.— F 
 
64 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 barked at a place where a long, rocky island com- 
 presses the channel within the space of a hundred 
 and fifty yards, so as to form nearly a semicircle. 
 On leaving this rocky island the channel ts some- 
 what wider, but a second and much larger island of 
 hard black rock still divides it from the main stream, 
 while on the left shore it is closely bordered by per- 
 pendicular cliffs. Having descended in this way for 
 a mile, we reached a pitch of the river, which, being 
 divided by two large rocks, descends with great ra- 
 pidity down a fall eight feet in height. As the boats 
 could not be navigated down this sleep descent, we 
 were obliged to land, and let them down as slowly 
 as possible by strong ropes of elkskin, which we had 
 prepared for the purpose. They all passed in safety 
 except one, which, being loosed by the breaking of 
 the ropes, was driven down with all the force of the 
 current, but afterward recovered by the Indians be- 
 low. With this rapid ends the first pitch of the 
 Great Falls, which are not so remarkable in point 
 of height as for the singular manner in which the 
 rocks divide its channel. From the marks every- 
 where perceivable at these falls, it is obvious that, in 
 the high floods in the spring, the water bdow the 
 falls rises nearly to a level with that above. Of this 
 rise, occasioned by obstructions we had not yet seen, 
 the salmon must avail themselves to pass up the 
 river, and in such multitudes that that fish is almost 
 the only one caught in great abundance above the 
 falls : below these, however, we observed the salm- 
 on trout, and the heads of a smaller species of trout, 
 which are in great numbers, and which they are now 
 burying, to be used for winter food. A hole being 
 dug, the sides and bottom are lined with straw, over 
 which skins are laid ; and on these the fish, after 
 being well dried, is placed, covered with other skins, 
 and the hole closed with a layer of earth twelve or 
 fifteen inches deep. 
 " About three o'clock we reached the lower camp ; 
 
BEAUTIFUL CANOES. 65 
 
 but our joy at having accomplished this object was 
 somewhat diminished by the persecution of a new 
 acquaintance. On reaching the upper point of the 
 portage, we found that the Indians had been en- 
 camped there not long since, and had left behind 
 them multitudes of fleas. These sagacious tor- 
 mentors were so well pleased to exchange the straw 
 and fish skins in which they had been living for a 
 more comfortable residence, that we were soon cov- 
 ered with them ; and during the portage the men 
 were obliged to strip to the skin, in order to brush 
 them from their bodies. They were not, however, 
 so easily dislodged from our clothes, and accompa- 
 nied us in great numbers to our camp. 
 
 " We saw no game except a sea-otter, which was 
 shot in the narrow channel as we were coming down, 
 but we could not get it. Having, therefore, scarcely 
 any provisions, we purchased eight small fat dogs : 
 a food to which we were compelled to have recourse, 
 as the Indians were very unwilling to sell us any of 
 their good fish, which they reserved for the market 
 below. Fortunately, however, habit had completely 
 overcome the repugnance which we felt at first at 
 eating this animal, and the dog, if not a favourite 
 dish, was always an acceptable one. The meridian 
 altitude of to-day gave 45° 42' 57.3" north as the lat- 
 itude of our camp. 
 
 " On the beach, near the Indian huts, we observed 
 two canoes of a different shape and size from any 
 which we had hitherto seen. One of these we got 
 by giving our smallest canoe, a hatchet, and a few 
 trinkets to the owner, who said he had obtained it 
 from a white man below the falls in exchange for a 
 horse. These canoes were very beautifully made : 
 wide in the middle, and tapering towards each end, 
 with curious figures carved on ihe bow. They were 
 thin, but, being strengthened by crossbars about an 
 inch in diameter, tied with strong pieces of bark 
 through holes in the sides, were able to bear very 
 
66 LEWIS AND CLAUKe's EXPEDITION. 
 
 heavy burdens, and seemed calculated to live in th* 
 roughest water. 
 
 " A great number of Indians both from above and 
 below the falls visited us this day, and towards 
 evening we were informed b)' one of the chiefs who 
 had accompanied us, that he had overheard that the 
 Indians below intended to attack us as we went down 
 the river ; but, being at all times ready for an attempt 
 of that sort, we were not under any particular appre- 
 hensions at this intelligence : we therefore merely 
 examined our arms, and increased the ammunition 
 to one hundred rounds. Our chiefs, who had not the 
 same motives of confidence, were by no means so 
 much at their ease ; and when at night they saw the 
 Indians leave us earlier than usual, their suspicions 
 of an intended attack were confirmed, and they were 
 very much alarmed. The next morning, 
 
 "October 24, the Indians .approached us with ap- 
 parent caution, and behaved with more than usual 
 reserve. Our two chiefs, by whom these circumstan- 
 ces were not unobserved, now told us that they 
 wished to return home; that they could no longer be 
 of any service to us, as they could not understand the 
 language of the people below the falls; that these 
 people formed a different nation from their own ; 
 that the two people had been at war with each other; 
 and as the Indians had expressed a resolution to at- 
 tack us, they would certainly kill them. We endeav- 
 oured to quiet their fears, and requested them to stay 
 two nights longer, in which time we would see the 
 Indians below, and make a peace between the two 
 nations. They replied that they were anxious to re- 
 turn, to look after their horses. We, however, insist- 
 ed on their remaining with us, not only in the hope of 
 bringing about an accommodation between them and 
 their enemies, but because they might be able to de- 
 tect any hostile designs against us, and also assist us 
 in passing the next falls, which were not far off, and 
 represented as very difficult: they at length consent- 
 
NARROWNESS OF THE RIVER. 67 
 
 ed to our proposal. About nine o'clock we pro- 
 ceeded, and on leaving our camp near the lower fall^ 
 found the river about four hundred yards wide, with 
 a current more rapid than usual, though with no per 
 ceptible descent. At the distance of two and a hali 
 miles it widened into a large bend or basin on tho 
 right, at the beginning of which were three Indian 
 nuts. At the extremity of this basin stood a high 
 olack rock, which, rising perpendicularly from the 
 right shore, seemed to run wholly across the river : 
 so totally, indeed, did it appear to stop the passage, 
 that we could not see where the water escaped, ex- 
 cept that the current was seemingly drawn with more 
 than usual velocity to the left of the rock, where was 
 heard a great roaring. We landed at the huts of the 
 Indians, who went with us to the top of the rock, 
 from which we had a view of all the difficulties of the 
 channel. We were now no longer at a loss to ac- 
 count for the rising of the river at the falls ; for this 
 tremendous rock was seen stretching across the 
 river, to meet the high hills on the left shore, leaving 
 a channel of only forty-five yards wide, through 
 which the whole body of the (yolumbia pressed its 
 way. The water, thus forced into so narrow a pas- 
 sage, was thrown into whirls, and swelled and boiled 
 in every part with the wildest agitation. But the 
 alternative of carrying the boats over this high rock 
 was almost impossible in our present situation; and 
 as the chief danger seemed to be, not from any ob- 
 structions in the channel, but from the great waves 
 and whirlpools, we resolved to attempt the passage, 
 in the hope of being able, by dexterous steering, to 
 descend in safety. This we undertook, and with 
 great care were able to get through, to the astonish- 
 ment of the Indians in the huts we had just passed, 
 who now collected to see us from the top of the rock. 
 The channel continued thus confined for the space 
 of about half a mile, when the rock ceased. We 
 passed a single Indian hut at the foot of it, where the 
 
6& LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 river again enlarged itself to the width of two hundred 
 yards, and at the distance of a mile and a half stop- 
 ped to view a very bad rapid, formed by the rocky 
 islands which divided the channel, and the lower and 
 larger of which was in the middle of the river. The 
 appearance of this place was so unpromising, that 
 we unloaded all the most valuable articles, such as 
 guns, ammunition, our papers, &c., and sent them by 
 land, with such of the men as could not swim, to the 
 extremity of the rapid. We then descended with 
 the canoes, two at a time, and though they took in 
 some water, we all passed down safely ; after which 
 we made two miles, and stopped in a deep bend of 
 the river towards the right, and encamped a little 
 above a large village of twenty-one houses. Here we 
 landed, and as it was late before all the canoes joined 
 us, we were obliged to remain, the difficulties of the 
 navigation having permitted us to make only six 
 miles. This village was situated at the extremity 
 of a deep bend towards the right, and immediately 
 above a ledge of high rocks, twenty feet above the 
 marks of the highest flood, but broken in several 
 places so as to form channels, which were then dry, 
 extending nearly across the river : this forms the sec- 
 ond fall, or the place, most probably, which the In- 
 dians mean by the word 'J'imm. While the canoes 
 were coming up, Captain Clarke walked down with 
 two men to examine these channels. On the rocks 
 here the Indians are accustomed to dry fish; and as 
 the season for that purpose was now over, the poles 
 which they use were tied up very securely in bundles, 
 and placed on the scaffolds. The stock of dried and 
 pounded fish was so abundant, that he counted one 
 hundred and seven heaps, making more than ten 
 thousand pounds of that provision. After examining 
 the narrows as well as the lateness of the hour would 
 permit, he returned to the village through a rocky, 
 open country, infested with polecats. This village, 
 the residence of a tribe called the Echeloots, con- 
 
MODE OF BUILDING THEIR HUTS. 69 
 
 sisted of houses scattered promiscuously over an el' 
 evated situation, near a mound more than thirty feet 
 above the common level, with some remains of houses 
 on it, and having every appearance of being artifi- 
 cial. 
 
 " The houses, which were the first wooden build- 
 ings we had seen since leaving the Illinois coun- 
 try, were nearly equal in size, and exhibited a very 
 singular appearance. A large hole, twenty feet 
 wide and thirty in length, was dug to the depth of 
 six feet ; the sides of which were lined with split 
 pieces of timber rising just above the surface of the 
 ground, and smoothed to the same width by burn- 
 ing, or by being shaved with small iron axes. These 
 timbers were secured in their erect position by a 
 pole stretched along the side of the building near 
 the eaves, and supported on a strong post fixed at 
 each corner. The timbers at the gable ends rose 
 gradually higher, the middle pieces being the broad- 
 est. At the top of these was a sort of semicircle, 
 made to receive a ridge-pole the whole length of the 
 house, propped by an additional post in the middle, 
 and forming the top of the roof. From this ridge- 
 pole to the eaves of the house were placed a num- 
 ber of small poles or rafters, secured at each end 
 by fibres of the cedar. On these poles, which were 
 connected by small transverse bars of wood, was 
 laid a covering of white cedar, or arbor vitce, kept on 
 by strands of cedar fibres ; but^a small space along 
 tlie whole length of the ridge-pole was left uncov- 
 ered, for the purpose of light, and of permitting the 
 smoke to pass out. The roof, thus formed, had a 
 descent about equal to that common among us, and 
 near the eaves it was perforated with a number of 
 small holes, made, most probably, for the discharge 
 of arrows in case of an attack. The only entrance 
 was by a small door at the gable end, cut out of the 
 middle piece of timber, twenty-nine and a half inch- 
 es high, fourteen inches broad, and reaching only 
 
70 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION, 
 
 eighteen inches above the earth. Before this hole 
 was hung a mat, and on pushing it aside and crawl- 
 ing through, the descent was by a small ladder, made 
 in the form of those used among us. One half of 
 the inside was used as a place of deposite for their 
 dried fish, in which there were large quantities 
 stored avyay, and which, with a few baskets of ber- 
 ries, formed the provisions for the family ; the other 
 half, adjoining the door, was for the accommodation 
 of the family. On each side were arranged, near the 
 walls, small beds of mats, placed on little scaffolds 
 or bedsteads raised from eighteen inches to three 
 feet from the ground, and in the middle of the va- 
 cant space was the fire, or sometimes two or three 
 fires, where, as, indeed, is usually the case, the house 
 contained three families, 
 
 "The inhabitants received us with much kind- 
 ness, invited us to their houses, and in the evening, 
 after our camp had been formed, came in great num- 
 bers to see us, accompanied by a principal chief 
 and several warriors of the nation below the Great 
 Narrows. We made use of this opportunity to at- 
 tempt a reconciliation between them and our two 
 chiefs, and to put an end to the war which had dis- 
 turbed the two nations. On representing to the 
 chiefs the evils which the war inflicted on them, and 
 the wants and privations to which it subjected them, 
 they soon became disposed to be reconciled with 
 each other, and we ^ad some reason to believe in 
 the sincerity of their mutual prorpises, that the war 
 should no longer be continued, and that in future 
 they would live in peace with each other. On con- 
 cluding this negotiation, we proceeded to invest the 
 chief with the insignia of command — a medal and 
 some small articles of clothing; after which the 
 violin was produced, and our men danced, to the 
 great delight of the Indians. 
 
 " October 25. We walked down with several of 
 the Indians to view the part of the narrows which 
 
PASSAGE OF A DANGEROUS RAPID. 71 
 
 thev represented as most dangerous, and found it 
 very diiiicult ; and, as the portage was^ impractica- 
 ble with our large canoes, we concluded to carry 
 our most valuable articles by land, and then hazard 
 the passage. We therefore returned to the village, 
 and, having sent some of the party with our best 
 stores, to make a portage, and placed others on the 
 rocks, to assist, by means of ropes, the canoes that 
 might meet with any difficulty, we began the de- 
 scent, in the presence of a great number of Indians 
 who had collected to witness the exploit. ine 
 channel for three miles is worn through a hard, 
 rough, black rock, from fifty to one hundred yards 
 wide, in which the water swells and boils in a tre- 
 mendous manner. The first three canoes escaped 
 very well; the fourth, however, nearly filled with 
 water; and the fifth passed through with taking m 
 only a small quantity of water. At half a mile we 
 had got through the worst part, and, having reload- 
 ed oSr canoes, went on very well for the remaming 
 two and a half miles, except that one of the boats 
 was nearly lost by running against a rock. At tne 
 end of this channel, in which the Indians told us 
 thev caught as many salmon as they wished, we 
 reached a deep ba3in or bend of the river towards 
 the right, near the entrance of which were two rocks. 
 We crossed the basin, which has a quiet and gentle 
 current, and at the distance of a mile from its com- 
 mencement, and a little below where the river re- 
 sumes its channel, reached a rock which divides it. 
 At this place we met our old chiefs, who, when we 
 began the portage, had walked down to a village be- 
 low, to smoke a pipe of friendship on the renewal 
 of peace. Just after our meeting we saw a chiet ol 
 the village above, with a party who had been out 
 hunlina, and were then crossing the river with their 
 hors(!s"on their way home. We landed to smoke 
 with this chief, whom we found to be a bold-looking 
 man, of a pleasing appearance, about fifty years ot 
 
72 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 age, and dressed in a war-jacket, cap, leggins, and 
 moccasins. We presented him with a medal and 
 other small articles, and lie gave us some meat, of 
 which he had been able to procure but liitle ; for on 
 his route he met with a war-party of Indians from 
 the Towahnahiooks, between whom he had a battle. 
 We here smoked a parting pipe with our two faith- 
 ful friends, the chiefs who had accompanied us from 
 the heads of the river, and who had now each 
 bought a horse, intending to go home by land. On 
 leaving this rock the current of the river is gentle, 
 but its bed is strewed with a great number of rocks 
 for several miles, when it becomes a beautiful, still 
 stream, about half a mile wide. At five miles from 
 the large bend we came to the mouth of a creek 
 twenty yards in breadth, heading in a range of 
 mountains which run S.S.W. and S.W. for a long 
 distance, and discharging a considerable quantity of 
 water : it is called by the Indians Quenett. We 
 halted below it, under a high point of rocks on the 
 left, and formed a camp on their top to take some 
 celestial observations." * * * "From this rock, the 
 pinnacle of the round mountain covered with snow, 
 which we had seen a short distance below the Forks 
 of the Columbia, and called the Fajls or Timm Mount- 
 ain, was south 43° west, and about thirty-seven miles 
 distant." * * * 
 
 " Both above and below the narrows, as well as in 
 them, we had seen a great number of sea-otter, and 
 in the evening a deer was killed, and numerous 
 
 traces of that animal were observed near the camp." 
 
 * * *■ 
 
 " October 26. The morning was fine, and we sent 
 six men to hunt, and to collect rosin to pitch the ca- 
 noes, which, by being frequently hauled over the 
 rocks, had become very leaky. They were also 
 drawn up to dry, and on examination it was found 
 that many of the articles on board of them had be- 
 come spoiled by being repeatedly wet. We were 
 
INTERVIEW WITH TWO CHIEFS. 
 
 73 
 
 occupied with the observations necessary to deter- 
 mine our longitude, and with conferences with the 
 Indians, many of whom came on horseback to the 
 opposite shore in the fore part of the day, and show^ 
 ed some anxiety to cross over to us ; we did not, how- 
 ever, think it expedient to send for them, but towards 
 eveninff two chiefs, with fifteen men, came over 
 in a small canoe. They proved to be the tvvo princi- 
 pal chiefs of the tribes at and above the Falls, and 
 had been absent on a hunting excursion as we pass- 
 ed their residence : each of them, on arriving, made 
 us a present of deer's flesh, and of small white cakes 
 made of roots. Being anxious to ingratiate our- 
 selves with them so as to ensure a friendly reception 
 on our return, we treated them with all the kindness 
 we could show. We accordingly acknowledged the 
 chiefs giving a medal of the small size, a red silk 
 handkerchief, an armband, a knife, and a piece of 
 paint to each, ana small presents to others ot the 
 party, with half a deer. These attentions were not 
 lost on them, for they appeared very weH pleased. 
 At night a fire was made in the middle of Dur camp, 
 and as the Indians sat round it, our men danced to 
 the music of the violin, which so delighted them 
 that several resolved to remain with us through the 
 night : the rest crossed the river. All the tribes in 
 this neighbourhood were at war with the Snake In- 
 dians, whom they described as living on the 1 owah- 
 nahiooks, and whose nearest town was, they said, 
 four days' march from this place, and in a direction 
 nearly southwest." * * * • j %-u 
 
 " October 27. The two chiefs who remained with 
 us were joined by seven Indians, who came in a ca- 
 noe from below. To these men we were very par- 
 ticular in our attentions, smoking and eating \yith 
 them : but some of them being tempted, by the sight 
 of our goods that were exposed to dry, to take lib- 
 erties with them, we were under the necessity ot 
 puitina an immediate check to it, and this displeas- 
 
74 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 ed them so much that they returned down the river 
 in a very ill humour. The two chiefs, however, re- 
 mained with us till the evening, when they crossed 
 the river to their party. 
 
 " Before they went we obtained from them a vocab- 
 ulary of the Echeloot, their native language ; and, 
 on comparison, were surprised at its difference from 
 the Eneeshur tongue. In fact, although the Eche- 
 loots, who live at the Great Narrows, are not more 
 than six miles from the Eneeshurs, who reside at 
 and above the Great Falls, the two people are sep- 
 arated by a broad distinction of language. The 
 Eneeshurs are understood by all the tribes on the 
 Columbia above the Falls ; but at that place the}^ 
 meet with the unintelligible language of the Eche- 
 loots, which descends the river from thence a con- 
 siderable distance. Yet this may, after all, be only 
 a difference of dialect, and not a radical difference, 
 since in both languages many words are the same ; 
 and the identity cannot be accounted for by suppo- 
 sing that their neighbourhood has interwoven them 
 into their daily conversation, since the same words 
 are equally familiar among all the Flathead bands 
 we have passed. The strange clucking or guttural 
 noise which first struck us, is common to all these 
 tribes. They also flatten the heads of their children 
 in nearly the same manner ; but we now begin to 
 observe that the heads of the males, as well as of 
 the other sex, are subjected to this operation ; where- 
 as, among the mountains, the custom is confined al- 
 most entirely to the females." * * * 
 
 " October 28. The morning was cool and windy. 
 Having dried our goods, we were about setting out, 
 when three canoes came from above to visit us, and 
 two others from below for the same purpose. 
 Among the Indians in these last was one who wore 
 his hair in a queue, and had on a round hat and a 
 sailor's jacket, which he said he had obtained from 
 the people below the Great Rapids, who bought 
 them from the whites." 
 
THE CHILLUCKITTEQUAWS. 75 
 
 This interview being over, the party again started 
 to descend the river, and after proceeding four miles, 
 landed near a small Indian settlement of eight houses. 
 "On entering one of them," says the Journal, 
 '' we saw a British musket, a cutlass, and several 
 brass tea-kettles, which they seemed to prize very 
 highly. There were also figures of men, birds, and 
 different animals, cut and painted on the boards which 
 form the sides of the room ; and though the work- 
 manship of these uncouth figures was very rough, 
 they were as highly esteemed by the Indians as the 
 finest frescoes of more civilized people. This tribe 
 is called the Chilluckittequaw, and their language, 
 although somewhat different from that of the Eche- 
 loots, has many of the same words, and is sufficient- 
 ly intelligible to the neighbouring Indians. We ob- 
 tained from them a vocabulary; and, after buying 
 five small dogs, some dried berries, and a white bread 
 or cake made of roots, left them." * * * 
 
 The wind was so high, however, that after pro- 
 ceeding a mile they were obhged to land, and stop 
 for the day. " We had not been long on shore," 
 proceeds the narrative, " before a canoe, with a man, 
 his wife, and two children, came from below, through 
 the high waves, with a few roots to sell ; and soon 
 after we were visited by many Indians from the vil- 
 lage above, with whom we smoked and conversed. 
 The canoes used by these people were, like those 
 already described, built of white cedar or pine, very 
 light, wide in the middle, and tapering towards the 
 ends, the bow being raised, and ornamented with 
 carvings of the heads of animals. As the canoe is 
 their chief vehicle for transportation, the Indians 
 *iave acquired great dexterity in its management, 
 .ind guide it safely over the highest waves. They 
 have, among their utensils, bowls and baskets very 
 neatly made of bark and grass, in which they boil 
 their provisions." * * * 
 
 " October 29. The morning was cloudy, and the 
 
76 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 wind from the west ; but, as it had abated its vio- 
 lence, we set out at daylight. At the distance of 
 four miles we passed a creek on the right, one mile 
 below which was a village of seven houses on the 
 same side. This was the residence of the principal 
 chief of the Chilluckittequaw nation, who we found 
 was the same between whom and our two chiefs 
 we had made a peace at the Echeloot village. He 
 received us very kindly, and set before us pounded 
 fish, filberts, nuts, the berries of the sacacommis, 
 and white bread made of roots. We gave, in re- 
 turn, a bracelet of riband to each of the women of 
 the house, with which they were very much pleas- 
 ed. The chief had several articles, such as scarlet 
 and blue cloth, a sword, a jacket, and a hat, which 
 must have been procured from the whites, and on 
 one side of the room were two wide, split boards, 
 placed together so as to make space for a rude fig- 
 ure of a man cut and painted on them. On pointing 
 to this, and asking him what it meant, he said some- 
 thing, of which all that we understood was ' good,' 
 and then stepped up to the painting, and took out 
 his bow and quiver, which, with some other warlike 
 instruments, were kept behind it. He then directed 
 his wife to hand him his medicine-bag, from which 
 he drew out fourteen forefingers, which he told us 
 had belonged to the same number of his enemies, 
 whom he had killed in fighting with the nations to 
 the southeast, in which direction he pointed ; allu- 
 ding, no doubt, to the Snake Indians, the common 
 enemy of the tribes on the Columbia. This bag is 
 usually about two feet in length, and contains roots, 
 pounded dirt, &c., which only the Indians know how 
 to appreciate. It is suspended in the middle of the 
 lodge ; and it is considered as a species of sacrilege 
 for any one but the owner to touch it. It is an ob- 
 ject of religious fear; and, from its supposed sanc- 
 tity, is the chief place for depositing their medals 
 and more valuable articles. They have likewise 
 
FINGERS PRESERVED AS TROPHIES. 77 
 
 gmall bags, which they preserve in their great med- 
 icine-bag, from whence they are taken, and worn 
 around their waists and necks as amulets against 
 any real or imaginary evils. This was the first 
 time we had been apprized that the Indians ever 
 carried from the field any other trophy than the 
 scalp. These fingers were shown with great exul- 
 tation; and, after an harangue, which we were left 
 to presume was in praise of his exploits, the chief 
 carefully replaced them among the valuable contents 
 of his red medicine-bag. The inhabitants of this 
 village being part of the same nation with those of 
 the village we had passed above, the language of the 
 two was the same, and their houses were of similar 
 form and materials, and calculated to contain about 
 thirty souls. They were unusually hospitable and 
 good-humoured, so that we gave to the place the 
 name of the Friendly village. We breakfasted here ; 
 and after purchasing twelve dogs, four sacks of fish, 
 and a few dried berries, proceeded on our journey. 
 The hills as we passed were high, with steep, rocky 
 sides, with pine and white oak, and an undergrowth 
 of shrubs scattered over them." 
 
 Four miles farther on they passed the mouth of a 
 small river on the right, which they called Cataract 
 River; and twelve miles beyond this, another stream 
 on the left, to which they gave the name of Labieshe, 
 after one of the party. Here were the first houses 
 which they had noticed on the right side of the Colum- 
 bia. They landed for the night at three Indian huts 
 on the right bank, after having made thirty-two 
 miles. 
 
 " On our first arrival," says the Journal, " the m- 
 habitants seemed surprised, but not alarmed, at our 
 appearance ; and we soon became intimate by means 
 of smoking, and, what was ever a favourite amuse- 
 ment with the Indians, the music of the violin. They 
 gave us fruit, some roots, and root-bread, and we 
 nurchased from them three dogs. The houses of 
 
78 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 these people were similar to those c-f the Indiana 
 above, and their language the same. Their dress 
 also, consisting of robes made of the skin of the wolf, 
 deer, elk, and wild-cat, was nearly after the same 
 fashion. Their hair was worn in plaits down each 
 shoulder, and round their neck was a strip of skin, 
 with the tail of the animal hanging over the breast. 
 Like the Indians above, they were fond of otter skins, 
 and gave a great price for them. We here saw the 
 skin of a mountain sheep, which they said lived 
 among the rocks in the mountains. It was covered 
 with white hair; the wool was long, thick, and coarse, 
 with long, coarse hair on the top of the neck, and on 
 the back resembhng somewbat the bristles of a goat. 
 Immediately behind the village was a pond, in which 
 were great numbers of small swan." 
 
 The Columbia was here about three fourths of a 
 mile wide, with a gentle current, though occasionally 
 obstructed by rocks. In proceeding the following 
 day they passed a river on the right, sixty yards in 
 width, which, after one of their men, they called Cru- 
 satte's River. About two and a half miles below 
 this they came to a rapid, which is called the Great 
 Shoot of the river, where they found it necessary to 
 terminate their voyage for the day. It became 
 necessary to explore the country to ascertain the 
 best route for a portage, and Captain Clarke start- 
 ed for this purpose, soon after landing. The night 
 obliging him to return after he had proceeded about 
 three miles, he resumed his examination the next 
 morning. 
 
 "At the extremity of a basin," says the narrative, 
 " in which was situated the island where we were en- 
 camped, several rocks and rocky islands were scat- 
 tered along the bed of the river. The rocks on each 
 side had fallen down from the mountains, the one on 
 the left being high, and the hill on the right, which was 
 lower, having bodily shd into the river, so that the cur- 
 rent was here compressed within a space of one hun- 
 
INDIAN BURIAL-PLACE. 79 
 
 dred and fift}^ yards. Within this narrow limit it runs 
 for the distance of four hundred yards with great ra- 
 pidity, swelling over the rocks with a fall of about 
 twenty feet. It then widens to two hundred paces, 
 and the current for a short distance becomes gentle; 
 but a mile and a half farther on, opposite to an old 
 Indian village, i^ is obstructed by a very bad rapid, 
 where the waves are unusually high, the river being 
 confined between large rocks, many of which are at 
 the surface of the water," 
 
 Following the same route he had taken the day 
 before, two and a half miles below the shoot he struck 
 the river at a point where the Indians commence 
 their portage round the rapids. From this place he 
 sent one of his men up the stream, to ascertain if it 
 were practicable to bring down the canoes by water; 
 while with the other he proceeded farther down 
 (the rapids extending as far as he could see), when 
 at the distance of a mile and a half, in the midst of a 
 dense wood, he came to an ancient burial-place : "it 
 consisted," says the journalist, "of eight vaults, 
 formed of pine or cedar boards closely connected, 
 each about eight feet square and six in height : the 
 top was covered with boards sloping a little, so as to 
 carry off the rain. Their direction was east and 
 west ; the door being on the eastern side, partially 
 stopped with wide boards, and decorated with rude 
 pictures of men and animals. On entering, we found 
 in some of them four dead bodies, carefully wrapped 
 ill skins tied with cords of grass and bark, and lying 
 on a mat in an east and west direction : the othera 
 contained only bones, which were in some of them 
 piled to the height of four feet. On the tops of the 
 vaults, and on poles attached to them, were hung 
 brass kettles and fryisg-pans with holes in their bot- 
 toms, baskets, bowls, sea-shells, skins, pieces of 
 cloth, hair, bags of trinkets and small bones, the 
 offerings of friendship or affection, which a pious 
 veneration had preserved from the ferocity of war, 
 
 II.^G 
 
80 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 and the more dangerous temptations of individual 
 selfishness. The whole of the walls, as well as the 
 door, were ornamented with strange figures cut and 
 painted on them ; and, besides these, there were sev- 
 eral wooden images of men, some of them so old and 
 decayed as to have almost lost their shape, all placed 
 against the sides of the vaults. Neither these ima- 
 ges, nor those in the houses we had lately visited, 
 appeared to be at all the objects of adoration. In 
 this place they were most probably intended for re- 
 semblances of the deceased; and those we had ob- 
 served in the houses occupied the most conspicuous 
 part, but were treated more like ornaments than ob- 
 jects of worship. Near the vaults that were stand- 
 ing were the remains of others, completely rotted and 
 covered with moss ; and as they were formed of the 
 most durable pine and cedar timber, it would appear 
 ihat this retired spot had long been a depository for 
 the dead." 
 
 After proceeding down the river somewhat farther, 
 and carefully examining the country. Captain Clarke 
 returned to the encampment. 
 
 " We had an opportunity to-day," says the Jour- 
 nal, " of witnessing the hardihood of the Indians of 
 the neighbouring village. One of our men shot a 
 goose, which fell into the river, and was floating 
 rapidly towards the Great Shoot, when an Indian 
 plunged in after it. The entire mass of the waters 
 of the Columbia, rushing onward to descend the nar- 
 row channel, hurried the bird along with great ra- 
 pidity. The Indian followed it fearlessly to within 
 one hundred and fifty feet of the rocks, where he 
 would inevitably have been dashed to pieces ; when, 
 seizing his prey, he turned round and swam to the 
 shore with the utmost composure. We very will- 
 ingly relinquished our right to the game in favour 
 of one who had thus saved it at the imminent haz- 
 ard of his life : he immediately set to work and 
 picked off about half the feathers, and then, without 
 
DESCRIPTION OF INDIAN HOUSES. 81 
 
 opening it, ran a stick through it, and carried it off 
 to roast." 
 
 The next day, November 1, following the exam- 
 ple of some Indians who preceded them, they trans- 
 ported their baggage and small canoe by land to the 
 foot of the shoot ; and the four large canoes they 
 managed to slide along on poles extended from one 
 rock to another, occasionally availing themselves of 
 small streams at the side of the river. They now 
 re-embarked on board the boats, and, making their 
 way with no little difficulty through other less for- 
 midable rapids, at the distance of seven miles from 
 the head of the Great Shoot they landed for the 
 night. 
 
 " The meridian altitude of to-day," proceeds the 
 Journal, " gave us the latitude of 45° 44' 3". As we 
 passed a village of four houses, we stopped to visit 
 them. They vi^ere similar to those already descri- 
 bed, but larger, from thirty-five to fifty feet long, 
 and thirty feet wide, being sunk in the ground about 
 six feet, and raised the same height above. Their 
 beds were raised about four feet and a half above 
 the floor, and the ascent to them was by a newly- 
 painted ladder, with which every family is provided, 
 and under them were stored their dried fish, while 
 the space between the part of the beds on which 
 they lay and the wall of the house was occupied by 
 the nuts, roots, berries, and other provisions, spread 
 on mats. The fireplace was about eight feet long 
 and six feet wide, sunk a foot below the floor, and 
 secured by a frame, with mats placed around for the 
 family to sit on. In all of the houses were images 
 of men of diff*erent shapes, placed as ornaments in 
 the parts where they would be most seen. The in- 
 habitants gave us nuts, berries, and some dried fish 
 to eat ; and we purchased, among other articles, a 
 hat made after their own taste, and such as they 
 wear, without a brim. They asked high prices for 
 all that they sold, observing that the whites below 
 
82 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 paid dear for whatever they carried to them. We 
 could not learn precisely the nature of the trade car- 
 ried on by the Indians with the inhabitants below. 
 But, as their knowledge of the whites seemed to be 
 very imperfect, and the only articles which they 
 took to market, such as pounded fish, bear-graSvS, 
 and roots, could not be objects of much foreign traf- 
 fic, their intercourse appeared to be an intermediate 
 trade with the natives near the mouth of the Colum- 
 bia ; from whom they obtained, in exchange for their 
 fish, roots, and bear-grass, blue and white beads, cop- 
 per tea-kettles, brass armbands, some scarlet and 
 blue robes, and a few articles of second-hand Euro- 
 pean clothing. But their great object is to obtain 
 beads : an article which holds the first place in their 
 ideas of value, and to procure which they vi^ill sac- 
 rifice their last garment and last mouthful of food. 
 Independently of their fondness for them as an or- 
 nament, these beads are employed as a medium of 
 trade, by which they obtain from the Indians still 
 higher up the river, robes, skins, root-bread, bear- 
 grass, &c. These, in turn, make use of them to 
 procure from the Indians in the Rocky Mountains 
 bear-grass, pacheco, roots, robes, &c. 
 
 " These Indians were rather below the common 
 size, with high cheek-bones, their noses pierced, 
 and, when in full dress, were ornamented with a ta- 
 pering piece of white shell or wampum about two 
 inches long. Their eyes were exceedingly sore and 
 weak, many of them having only a single eye, and 
 some were perfectly blind. Their teeth had prema- 
 turely decayed, and in many instances were alto- 
 gether worn away. Their general health, however, 
 seemed to be good, the only disorder we remarked 
 among them being tumours in different parts of the 
 body. The women were small, and homely in their 
 appearance ; their legs much swelled, and their knees 
 remarkably large ; deformities which are no doubt 
 «wing to the manner in which they sit on their hams 
 
LAST RAPID ON THE COLUMBIA. 83 
 
 They go nearly naked, having only a piece of leather 
 tied round the breast, falling thence nearly as low 
 as the waist, with a small robe about three feet 
 square, and a piece of leather tied between the legs. 
 Their hair was su.ffered to hang loose in every direc- 
 tion ; and in their persons, as well as in their cook- 
 ery, they were filthy to a most disgusting degree. 
 We here observed that the women universally have 
 their heads flattened; and in many of the villages 
 we have recently seen the female cliildren undergo 
 the operation." 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 First Appearance of Tide-water in the Columbia River. — The 
 Quicksand River. — Some Account of the Skilloot Indians. — 
 The Party pass the Coweliske River. — Some Account of tho 
 Wahkiacum Indians. — Arrival on the Borders of the Pacific. 
 — Disagreeable and Critical Situation of the Party when first 
 encamped. — Their Distress from incessant Torrents of Rain. 
 — Exposed for thirty Days to this drenching Deluge, during 
 which Time their Provisions are spoiled, and most of their 
 few Articles of Merchandise destroyed. — Distress of the Party. 
 — Adventure of Shannon, and his Danger from the Wahkia- 
 cums. — Difficulty of finding a Place suitable for a permanent 
 Encampment. — Visited by several Indians of different Tribes, 
 on whom Medals were bestowed. 
 
 " November 2. We now examined the rapid below 
 more particularly, and the danger appearing to be 
 too great for the loaded canoes, all those who could 
 not swim were sent with the baggage by land. The 
 canoes then passed safely down, and were reloaded. 
 At the foot of the rapid we took a meridian altitude, 
 and found our latitude to be 59° 45'' 45^''." 
 
 This rapid forms the last of the descents of the 
 Columbia; and immediately below it the river wi- 
 
84 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 dens, and tide-water commences. Shortly after start- 
 ing they passed an island three miles in length and to 
 which, from that plant being seen on it in great abun- 
 dance, they gave the name of Strawberry Island. Di- 
 rectly beyond were three small islands, and in the 
 meadow to the right, at some distance from the hills 
 in the background was a single perpendicular rock, 
 which they judged to be not less than eight hun- 
 dred feet high, and four hundred yards at the base, 
 \vhich they called Beacon Rock. A little farther on 
 they found the river a mile in breadth, and double this 
 breadth four miles beyond. After making twenty- 
 nine miles from the foot of the Great Shoot, they halt- 
 ed for the night at a point where the river was two 
 and a half miles wide. The character of the country 
 they had passed through during the day was very dif- 
 ferent from that they had lately been accustomed to, 
 the hills being thickly covered with timber, chiefly of 
 the pine species. The tide rose at their encampment 
 about nine inches, and they saw great numbers 
 of water-fowl, such as swan, geese, ducks of vari- 
 ous kinds, gulls, &c. 
 
 The next day, November 3d, they set off in com- 
 pany with some Indians who had joined them the 
 evening before. At the distance of three miles they 
 passed a river on the left, to which, from the quan- 
 tity of sand it bears along with it, they gave the name 
 of Quicksand River. So great, indeed, was the 
 quantity it had discharged into the Columbia, that 
 that river was compressed to the width of half a mile, 
 and the whole force of the current thrown against 
 the right shore. Opposite to this was a large creek, 
 which they called Seal River. The mountain which 
 they had supposed to be the Mount Hood of Vancou- 
 ver, now bore S. 85° E., about forty-seven miles 
 distant. A bout three miles farther on they passed the 
 lower mouth of Quicksand River, opposite to which 
 was another large creek, and near it the head of an 
 island three miles and a half in extent; and half a 
 
SKILLOOT VILLAGE. 85 
 
 mile beyond it was another island, which they call- 
 ed Diamond Island, opposite to which they encamp- 
 ed, having made but thirteen miles' distance. Here 
 they met with some Indians ascending the river, who 
 stated that they had seen three vessels at its mouth. 
 
 " Below Quicksand River," says the Journal, " the 
 country is low, rich, and thickly wooded on each 
 side of the Columbia ; the islands have less timber, 
 and on them are numerous ponds, near which were 
 vast quantities of fowl, such as swan, geese, brant, 
 cranes, storks, white gulls, cormorants, and plover. 
 The river is wide, and contains a great number of 
 sea-otters. In the evening the hunters brought in 
 game for a sumptuous supper." 
 
 In continuing their descent the next day, they 
 found Diamond Island to be six miles in length and 
 three broad ; and near its termination were two oth- 
 er islands. " Just below the last of these," proceeds 
 the narrative, " we landed on the left bank of the ri^- 
 er, at a village of twenty-five houses, all of which were 
 thatched with straw, and built of bark except one, 
 which was about fifty feet long, and constructed of 
 boards, in the form of those higher up the river, from 
 which it differed, however, in being completely above 
 ground, and covered with broad, split boards. This 
 village contained about two hundred men of the 
 Skilloot nation, who seemed well provided with ca- 
 noes, of which there were at least fifty-two, and 
 some of them very large, drawn up in front of the 
 village. On landing, we found an Indian from above, 
 who had left us this morning, and who now invited 
 ^ls into a lodge of which he appeared to be part own- 
 er. Here he treated us with a root, round in shape, 
 and about the size of a small Irish potato, which they 
 call wappatoo : it is the common arrow-head or sag 
 ittifolia so much cultivated by the Chinese, and, when 
 roasted in the embers till it becomes soft, has an 
 agreeable taste, and is a very good substitute for 
 bread. After [.-nrfhasing some of this root we re^ 
 
86 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 sumed our journey, and at seven miles' distance came 
 to the head of a large island near the left bank. On 
 the right shore was a fine open prairie for about a 
 mile, back of which the country rises, and is well sup- 
 plied with timber, such as white oak, pine of different 
 kinds, wild crab, and several species of undergrowth, 
 while along the borders of the river there were only 
 a few Cottonwood and ash trees. In this prairie 
 were also signs of deer and elk. 
 
 " When we landed for dinner a number of Indians 
 came down, for the purpose, as we supposed, of pay- 
 ing us a friendly visit, as they had put on their finest 
 dresses. In addition to their usual covering, they 
 had scarlet and blue blankets, sailors' jackets and 
 trowsers, shirts, and hats. They had all of them 
 either war-axes, spears, and bows and arrows, or 
 muskets and pistols, with tin powder-flasks. We 
 smoked with them, and endeavoured to show thena 
 every attention, but soon found them very assuming 
 and disagreeable companions. While we were eat- 
 ing, they stole the pipe with which they were smo- 
 king, and a greatcoat of one of the men. We imme- 
 diately searched them all, and found the coat stuffed 
 under the root of a tree near where they were sit- 
 ting ; but the pipe we could not recover. Finding us 
 discontented with them, and determined not to suffer 
 any imposition, they showed their displeasure in the 
 only way they dared, by returning in ill humour to 
 their village. We then proceeded, and soon met 
 two canoes, with twelve men of the same Skillool 
 nation, who were on their way from below. The 
 larger of the canoes was ornamented with the fig- 
 ures of a bear in the bow and a man in the stern, 
 both nearly as large as life, both made of painted 
 wood, and very neatly fastened to the boat. In the 
 same canoe were two Indians gaudily dressed, and 
 with round hats. This circumstance induced us to 
 give the name of Image Canoe to the large island, 
 the lower end of which we were now passing, at the 
 
THE INDIANS BECOME TROUBLESOME. 87 
 
 distance of nine miles from its head. We had seen 
 two smaller islands to the right, and three more near 
 its lower extremity." * * * " The river was now 
 about a mile and a half in width, with a gentle cur- 
 rent, and the bottoms extensive and low, but not sub- 
 ject to be overflowed. Three miles below Image- 
 Canoe Island we came to four large houses on the 
 left side ; here we had a full view of the mountain 
 which we had first seen from the Muscieshell Rapid 
 on the 19th of October, and which we now found to 
 be, in fact, the Mount St. Helen of Vancouver. It 
 bore north 25° east, about ninety miles distant, rose 
 in the form of a sugar-loaf to a very great height, 
 and was covered with snow. A mile lower we pass- 
 ed a single house on the left, and another on the 
 right. The Indians had now learned so much of us 
 that their curiosity was without any mixture of fear, 
 and their visits became very frequent and trouble- 
 some. We therefore continued on till after night, in 
 hopes of getting rid of them ; but, after passing a 
 village on each side, which, on account of the late- 
 ness of the hour, we could only see indistinctly, we 
 found there was no escaping from their importunities. 
 We accordingly landed at the distance of seven 
 miles below Image-Canoe Island, and encamped near 
 a single house on the right, having made during the 
 day twenty-nine miles. 
 
 " The Skilloots that we passed to-day speak a 
 language somewhat difterent from that of the Eche- 
 loois or Chilluckittequaws near the long narrows. 
 Their dress, however, is similar, except that the 
 Skilloots possess more articles procured from the 
 white traders ; and there is this farther difference 
 between them, that the Skilloots, both males and fe- 
 males, have the head flattened. Their principal food 
 is fish, wappatoo roots, and some elk and deer, in kill- 
 ing which with arrows they seem to be very expert; 
 for during the short time we remained at the village, 
 three deer were brought in. We also observed there 
 d tame hlaireau. 
 
 TT.— H 
 
88 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 " As soon as we landed we were visited by two ca 
 noes loaded with Indians, from whom we purchased 
 a few roots. The grounds along the river continued 
 low and rich, and among the shrubs were large 
 quantities of vines resembling the raspberry. On 
 the right, the low grounds were terminated, at the 
 distance of five miles, by a range of high hills cov- 
 ered with tall timber, and running southeast and 
 northwest. The game, as usual, was very abun- 
 dant ; and, among other birds, we observed some 
 white geese, with a part of their wings black." 
 
 Early the next morning they resumed their voy- 
 age, passing several islands in the course of the 
 day, the river alternately widening and contracting, 
 and the hills sometimes retiring from, and at others 
 approaching, its banks^. They stopped for the night 
 at the distance of thirty-two miles from their last 
 encampment. " Before landing," proceeds the Jour- 
 nal, " we met two canoes, the largest of which had 
 at the bow the image of a bear, and that of a man 
 on the stern ; there were twenty-six Indians on 
 board, but they proceeded upward, and we were left, 
 for the first time since we reached the waters of the 
 Columbia, without any of the natives with us du- 
 ring the night. Besides other game, we killed a 
 grouse much larger than the common kind, and ob- 
 served along the shore a number of striped snakes. 
 The river is here deep, and about a mile and a half 
 in width. Here, too, the ridge of low mountains, 
 running northwest and southeast, crosses the river, 
 and forms the western boundary of the plain through 
 which we had just passed. This great plain or val- 
 ley begins above the mouth of Quicksand River, and 
 is about sixty miles long in a straight line, while on 
 the right and left it extends to a great distance : it 
 is a fertile and delightful country, shaded by thick 
 groves of tall timber, and watered by small ponds 
 on both sides of the river. The soil is rich, and ca- 
 pable of any species of culture ; but in the present 
 
THE COLUMBIA VALLEY. 89 
 
 condition of the Indians, its thief production is the 
 wappatoo root, which grows spontaneously and ex- 
 clusively in this region. Sheltered as it is on both 
 sides, the temperature is much milder than that of 
 the surrounding country ; for even at this season of 
 the year we observed but very little appearance of 
 frost. It is inhabited by numerous tribes of Indians, 
 who either reside in it permanently, or visit its wa- 
 ters in quest of fish and loappatoo roots. We gave 
 it the name of the Columbia Valley. 
 
 " November 6. The morning was cool and rainy. 
 We proceeded at an early hour, between high hills 
 on both sides of the river, till at the distance of four 
 miles we came to two tents of Indians in a small 
 plain on the left, where the hills on the right recede 
 a few miles, and a long narrow island stretches 
 along the right shore. Behind this island is the 
 mouth of a large river, a hundred and fifty yards 
 wide, called by the Indians Coweliske. We halted 
 on the island for dinner, but the redwood and green 
 briers were so interwoven with the pine, alder, ash, 
 a species of beech, and other trees, that the woods 
 formed a thicket which our hunters could not pene- 
 trate. Below the mouth of the Coweliske a very 
 remarkable knob rises from the water's edge to the 
 height of eighty feet, being two hundred paces round 
 the base ; and as it is in a low part of the island, 
 and at some distance from the high grounds, its ap- 
 pearance is very singular. On setting out after din- 
 ner we overtook two canoes going down to trade. 
 One of the Indians, who spoke a few words of Eng- 
 lish, mentioned that the principal person who traded 
 with them was a Mr. Haley ; and he showed us a 
 bow of iron, and several other things, which he said 
 he had given him. Nine miles below Cowehske 
 River is a creek on the same side ; and between 
 them three smaller islands, one on the left shore, 
 the other about the middle of the river, and a third 
 near the lower end of the long narrow island, and 
 
90 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 opposite a high cliff of black rocks on the loft, six- 
 teen miles from our last night's encampment. Here 
 we were overtaken by some Indians from tbe two 
 tents we had passed in the morning, from whom we 
 purchased wappatoo roots, salmon, trout, and two 
 beaver-skins, for which last we gave five small fish- 
 hooks." 
 
 Here the mountains, which had been high and rug- 
 ged on the left, retired from the river, as had the 
 hills on the right, since leaving the Covveliske, and 
 a beautiful plain was spread out before them. They 
 met with several islands on their way, and having, 
 at the distance of five miles, come to the termination 
 of the plain, they proceeded for eight miles through 
 a hilly country, and encamped for the night after 
 having made twenty-nine miles. 
 
 " November 7. The morning," proceeds the nar- 
 rative, " was rainy, and the fog so thick that we 
 could not see across the river. We observed, how- 
 ever, opposite to our camp, the upper point of an isl- 
 and, between which and the steep hills on the right 
 we proceeded for five miles. Three miles lower 
 was the beginning of an island, separated from the 
 right shore by a narrow channel: down this we pro- 
 ceeded, under the direction of some Indians whorw 
 we had just met going up the river, and who return- 
 ed in order to show us their villapce. It consisted 
 of four houses only, situated on this channel, behind 
 several marshy islands formed by two small creeks. 
 On our arrival they gave us some fish, and we after- 
 ward purchased wappatoo roots, fish, three dogs, and 
 two otter-skins, for which we gave fish-hooks chief- 
 ly, that being an article which they are very anxious 
 to obtain. 
 
 " These people seemed to be of a different nation 
 from those we had just passed : they were low in 
 stature, ill-shaped, and all had their heads flattened 
 They called themselves Wahkiacum, and their Ian- 
 guage diflfered from that of the tribes above, with 
 
DRESS OF THE WAHKIACUMS. 91 
 
 whom they trade for wappatoo roots. The houses, 
 too, were built in a different style, being raised en- 
 tirely above ground, with the eaves about five feet 
 high, and the door at the corner. Near the end op- 
 posite to the door was a single fireplace, round which 
 were the beds, raised four feet from the floor of 
 earth : over the fire were hung fresh fish, and when 
 dried they are stowed away with the loappatoo roots 
 under the beds. The dress of the men was like that 
 of the people above ; but the women were clad in a 
 peculiar manner, the robe not reaching lower than 
 the hip, and the body being covered in cold weather 
 by a sort of corset of fur, curiously plaited, and 
 reaching from the arms to the hip : added to this 
 was a sort of petticoat, or, rather, tissue of white 
 cedar bark, bruised or broken into small strands, and 
 woven into a girdle by several cords of the same 
 material. Being tied round the middle, these strands 
 hang down as low as the knee in front, and to the 
 middle of the leg behind : sometimes the tissue con- 
 sists of strings of silk-grass, twisted and knotted at 
 the end. 
 
 " After remaining with them about an hour, we 
 proceeded down the channel with an Indian dressed 
 in a sailor's jacket for our pilot ; and, on reaching 
 the main channel, were visited by some Indians, 
 who have a temporary residence on a marshy island 
 in the middle of the river, where there are great 
 numbers of water-fowl. Here the mountainous 
 country again approaches the river on the left, and 
 a higher mountain is perceived towards the south- 
 west. At a distance of twenty miles from our 
 camp, we halted at a village of Wahkiacums, con- 
 sisting of seven ill-looking houses, built in the same 
 form with those above, and situated at the foot of 
 the high hills on the right, behind two small marshy 
 islands. We merely stopped to purchase some food 
 and two beaver skins, and then proceeded. Oppo- 
 site to these islands the hills on the left retire, and 
 
92 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 the river widens into a kind of bay, crowded with 
 low islands, subject to be overflowed occasionally 
 by the tide. We had not gone lar from this village 
 when, the fog suddenly clearing away, we were at 
 last presented with the glorious sight of the ocean — 
 that ocean, the object of all our labours, the reward 
 of all our anxieties. This animating sight exhilara- 
 ted the spirits of all the party, who were still more 
 delighted on hearing the distant roar of the breakers. 
 We went on with great cheerfulness along the high, 
 mountainous country which bordered the right 
 bank : the shore, however, was so bold and rocky, 
 that we could not, until at a distance of fourteen 
 miles from the last village, find any spot fit for an 
 encampment. Having made during the day thirty- 
 four miles, we now spread our mats on the ground, 
 and passed the night in the rain. Here we were 
 joined by our small canoe, which had been separa- 
 ted from us during the fog this morning. Two In- 
 dians from the last village also accompanied us to 
 the camp ; but, having detected them in stealing a 
 knife, they were sent off. 
 
 " November 8. It rained this morning ; and, hav 
 ing changed our clothing, which had been wet by 
 yesterday's rain, we set out at nine o'clock. Imme- 
 diately opposite our camp was a rock, at the distance 
 of a mile in the river, about twenty feet in diameter 
 and fifty in height, and towards the southwest some 
 high mountains, one of which was covered with 
 snow at the top. We proceeded past several low 
 islands in the bend or bay of the river to the left, 
 which was here five or six miles wide. On ihe 
 right side we passed an old village, and then, at the 
 distance of three miles, entered an inlet or niche, 
 about six miles across, and making a deep bend of 
 nearly five miles into the hills on the right shore, 
 where it receives the waters of several creeks. We 
 coasted along this inlet, which, from its little depth, 
 we called Shallow Bay, and at the bottom of it stop. 
 
EXPOSED SITUATION OF THE PARTY. 93 
 
 ped to dine, near the remains of an old village, from 
 which, however, we kept at a cautious distance, as, 
 like all these places, it was occupied by a plentiful 
 stock of fleas. At this place we observed a number 
 of fowl, among which we killed a goose, and two 
 ducks exactly resembling in appearance and flavour 
 the canvass-back duck of the Susquehanna. After 
 dinner we took advantage of the returning tide to 
 go on about three miles to a point on the right, eight 
 miles distant from our camp ; but here the waves 
 ran so high, and dashed about our. canoes so much, 
 that several of the men became seasick. It was 
 therefore judged imprudent to proceed in the present 
 state of the weather, and we landed at the point. 
 Our situation here was extremely uncomfortable : 
 the high hills jutted in so closely that there was not 
 room for us to lie level, nor to secure our baggage 
 from the tide, and the water of the river was too salt 
 to be used ; but the waves increasing so much that 
 we could not move from the spot with safety, we 
 fixed ourselves on the beach left by the ebb-tide, and, 
 raising the baggage on poles, passed a disagreeable 
 night, the rain during the day having wet us com- 
 pletely, as, indeed, we had been for some days past. 
 " November 9. Fortunately, the tide did not rise 
 as high as our camp during the night ; but, being ac- 
 companied by high winds from the south, the canoes, 
 which we could not place beyond its reach, were 
 filled with water, and saved with much difficulty : 
 our position was exceedingly disagreeable ; but, as it 
 was impossible to move from it, we waited for a 
 change of weather. It rained, however, during the 
 whole day, and at two o'clock in the afternoon the 
 flood-tide came in, accompanied by a high wind from 
 the south, which at about four o'clock shifted to the 
 southwest, and blew almost a gale directly from the 
 sea. Immense waves now broke over the place 
 where we were, and large trees, some of them five 
 or six feet through, which had been lodged on Xhe 
 
94. LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 point, drifted over our camp, so that the utmost vi 
 gilance of every man could scarcely save the canoes 
 from being crushed to pieces. We remained in the 
 water, and were drenched with rain during the rest 
 of the day, our only sustenance being some dried 
 fish and the rain-water which we caught. Yet, 
 though wet and cold, and some of them sick from 
 using salt-water, the men were cheerful, and full of 
 anxiety to see more of the ocean. The rain con- 
 tinued all night, and the following morning, 
 
 " November 10, the wind luUing, and the waves 
 not being so high, we loaded our canoes and pro- 
 ceeded. The mountains on the right are here high, 
 covered with timber, chiefly pine, and descend with 
 a bold and rocky shore to the water. We went 
 through a deep niche and several inlets on the right, 
 while on the opposite side was a large bay, above 
 which the hills are close on the river. At the dis- 
 tance of ten miles the Avind rose from the north- 
 west, and the waves became so high that we were 
 forced to return two miles for a place where we 
 could unload with safety. Here we landed at the 
 mouth of a small run, and, having placed our bag- 
 gage on a pile of drifted logs, waited unUl low water. 
 The river then appearing more calm, we started 
 again ; but, after going a mile, found the waves too 
 turbulent for our canoes, and were obliged to put to 
 shore. Here we landed the baggage, and, having 
 placed it on a rock above the reach of the tide, en- 
 camped on some drift logs, which formed the only 
 place where we could lie, the hills rising steep over 
 our heads to the height of five hundred feet. All 
 our baggage, as well as ourselves, was thoroughly 
 wet with the rain, which did not cease during he 
 day : it continued, indeed, violently through the 
 night, in the course of which the tide reached the 
 logs on which we lay, and set them afloat. 
 
 " November 11. The wind was still high from the 
 southwest, and drove the waves against the shore 
 
 i 
 
UNPLEASANT SITUATION OF THE PARTY. 95 
 
 with great fury : the rain, too, fell in torrents, and 
 not only drenched us to the skin, but loosened the 
 stones on the hill sides, so that they came rolling 
 down upon us. In this comfortless condition we 
 remained all day, wet and cold, and with nothing 
 but dried fish to satisfy our hunger; the canoes at 
 the mercy of the waves at one place, the baggage in 
 another, and the men scattered on floating logs, or 
 sheltering themselves in the crevices of the rocks 
 and hill sides. A hunter was despatched in the hope 
 of finding some game ; but the hills were so steep, 
 and so covered with undergrowth and fallen timber, 
 that he could not proceed, and was forced to return. 
 About twelve o'clock we were visited by five Indians 
 in a canoe. They came from the opposite side of 
 the river, above where we were, and their language 
 much resembled that of the Wahkiacums : they call- 
 ed themselves Cathlamahs. In person they were 
 small, ill made, and badly clothed ; though one of 
 them had on a sailor's jacket and pantaloons, which, 
 as he explained by signs, he had received from the 
 whites below the point. We purchased from them 
 thirteen red charr, a fish which we found very ex- 
 cellent. After some time they went on board their 
 boat, and crossed the river, which is here five miles 
 wide, through a very heavy sea. 
 
 " November 12. About three o'clock a tremendous 
 gale of wind arose, accompanied with lightning, 
 thunder, and hail : at six it lightened up for a short 
 time, but a violent rain soon began, and lasted 
 through the day. During the storm, one of our 
 boats, secured by being sunk with great quantities 
 of stone, got loose, but, drifting against a rock, was 
 recovered without having received much injury. 
 Our situation now became much more dangerous, 
 for the waves were driven with fury against the 
 rocks and trees, which t'lll now had afforded us ref- 
 uge : we therefore took advantage of the low tide, 
 and moved about half a mile round a poiiit to a small 
 
96 LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 brook, which we had not observed before on account 
 of the thick bushes and driftwood which concealed 
 its mouth. Here we were more safe, but still cold 
 and wet ; our clothes and bedding rotten as well as 
 wet, our baggage at a distance, and the canoes, our 
 only means of escape from this place, at the mercy 
 of the waves. Still, we continued to enjoy good 
 health, and even had the luxury of feasting on some 
 salmon and three salmon trout which we caught in 
 the brook. Three of the men attempted to go round 
 a point in our small Indian canoe, but the high waves 
 rendered her quite unmanageable, these boats re- 
 quiring the seamanship of the natives to make them 
 live in so rough a sea. 
 
 " November 13. During the night we had short in- 
 tervals of fair weather, but it began to rain in the 
 morning, and continued through the day. In order 
 to obtain a view of the country below, Captain Clarke 
 followed the course of the brook, and with much 
 fatigue, and after walking three miles, ascended the 
 first spur of the mountains. The whole lower coun- 
 try he found covered with almost impenetrable thick- 
 ets of small pine, with which is mixed a species of 
 plant resembling arrow-wood, twelve or fifteen feet 
 high, with a thorny stem, almost interwoven with 
 each other, and scattered among the fern and fallen 
 timber: there is also a red berry, somewhat like the 
 Solomon's seal, which is called by the natives solme, 
 and used as an article of diet. This thick growth 
 rendered travelling almost impossible, and it was 
 rendered still more fatiguing by the abruptness of 
 the mountain, which was so steep as to oblige him 
 to draw himself up by means of the bushes. The 
 timber on the hills is chiefly of a large, tall species 
 of pine, many of the trees eight or ten feet in diam- 
 eter at the stump, and rising sometimes more than 
 one hundred feet in height. The hail which fell two 
 nights before was still to be seen on the mountains: 
 there was no game, and no marks of any, except some 
 
EXAMINATION OF THE BAY. 97 
 
 old tracks of elk. The cloudy weather prevented 
 his seehig to any distance, and he therefore returned 
 to camp, and sent three men in the Indian canoe to 
 try if they could double the point, and find some 
 safer harbour for our boats. At every flood-tide the 
 sea broke in great swells against the rocks, and drift- 
 ed the trees against our establishment, so as to ren- 
 der it very insecure. 
 
 " November 14. It had rained without intermission 
 during the night, and continued to through the day : 
 the wind, too, was very high, and one of our canoes 
 much injured by being driven against the rocks. 
 Five Indians from below came to us in a canoe, and 
 thrfie of them landed, and informed us that they had 
 seen the men sent down yesterday. Fortunately, 
 at this moment one of the men arrived, and told us 
 that these very Indians had stolen his gig and bas- 
 ket : we therefore ordered the two women, who re- 
 mained in the canoe, to restore them ; but this they 
 refused to do till we threatened to shoot them, when 
 they gave back the articles, and we commanded them 
 to leave us. They were of the Wahkiacum nation. 
 The man now informed us that they had gone round 
 the point as far as the high sea would suffer them in 
 the canoe, and then landed ; that in the night he had 
 separated from his companions, who had proceeded 
 farther down ; and that, at no great distance from 
 where we were, was a beautiful sand beach and a 
 good harbour. Captain Lewis determined to exam- 
 ine more minutely the lower part of the bay, and, 
 embarking in one of the large canoes, was put on 
 shore at the point, whence he proceeded by land 
 with four men, and the canoe returned nearly filled 
 with water. 
 
 " November 15. It continued raining all night, but 
 in the morning the weather became calm and fair. 
 We began, therefore, to prepare for setting out; but 
 before we were ready, a high wind sprang up from 
 the southeast, and obliged us to remain. The sun 
 
98 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 shone until one o'clock, and we were thus enabled 
 to dry our bedding and examine our taggage. The 
 rain, which had continued for the last ten days with- 
 out any interval of more than two hours, had com- 
 pletely wet all our merchandise, spoiled some of our 
 fish, destroyed the robes, and rotted nearly one half 
 of our few remaining articles of clothing, particular- 
 ly the leather dresses. About three o'clock the wind 
 fell, and we instantly loaded the canoes, and left the 
 miserable spot to which we had been confined the 
 last six days. On turning the point we came to the 
 sand beach, through which runs a small stream from 
 the hills, at the mouth of which was an ancient viljj^ge 
 of thirty-six houses, without any inhabitants at the 
 time except fleas. Here we met Shannon, who had 
 been sent back to us by Captain Lewis. The day 
 Shannon left us in the canoe, he and Willard pro- 
 ceeded on till they met a party of twenty Indians, 
 who, not having heard of us, did not know who they 
 were ; but they behaved with great civility — so great, 
 indeed, and seemed so anxious that our men should 
 accompany them towards the sea, that their suspi- 
 cions were excited, and they declined going. The 
 Indians, however, would not leave them ; and the 
 men, becoming confirmed in their suspicions, and 
 fearful, if they went into the woods to sleep, that 
 they would be cut to pieces in the night, thought it 
 best to remain with the Indians : they therefore made 
 a fire, and after talking with them to a late hour, laid 
 down with their rifles under their heads. When 
 they awoke they found that the Indians had stolen 
 and concealed their arms ; and having demanded 
 them in vain. Shannon seized a club, and was about 
 assaulting one of the Indians whom he suspected to 
 be the thief, when another of them began to load his 
 fowling-piece with the intention of shooting him. 
 He therefore stopped, and explained to them by 
 signs, that if they did not give up the guns, a large 
 party would come down the river before the sun rose 
 
MORE COMFORTABLE ENCAMPMENT. 99 
 
 to a certain height, and put every one of them to 
 death. Fortunately, Captain Lewis and his party 
 appeared at this very time, and the terrified Indians 
 immediately brought the guns, and five of them came 
 in with Shannon. To these men we declared that, 
 if ever any of their nation stole anything from us, 
 he should be instantly shot. They resided to the 
 north of this place, and spoke a language different 
 from that of the people higher up the river. It was 
 now apparent that the sea was at all times too rough 
 for us to proceed farther down the bay by water : 
 we therefore landed, and, having chosen the best spot 
 we could, made our camp of boards from the old vil- 
 lage. We were now comfortably situated; and, be- 
 ing visited by four Wahkiacums with wappatoo roots, 
 were enabled to make an agreeable addition to our 
 food. 
 
 " November 16. The morning was clear and pleas- 
 ant. We therefore put out all our baggage to dry, 
 and sent several of the party to hunt. Our camp 
 was in full view of tiie ocean, on the bay laid down 
 by Vancouver, whicli we distinguished by the name 
 of Haley's Bay, from a trader who visits the Indians 
 here, and is a great favourite among them. The 
 meridian altitude of this day gave 46° 19' 11.7" as 
 our latitude. The a\ ind was strong from the south- 
 west, and the waves very high, yet the Indians 
 were passing up and down the bay in canoes, and 
 several of them en;;amped near us. We smoked 
 with them, but, after our recent experience of their 
 thievish disposition, treated them with caution." * * * 
 ' The hunters brought in two deer, a crane, some 
 e:eese and ducks, and several brant, three of which 
 fvere white, except a part of the wing, which was 
 ilack, and they were much larger than the gray brant. 
 
 " November 17. A fair, cool morning, and easterly 
 jvind. The tide rises at this place eight feet s.'X 
 mches. 
 
 " About one o'clock Captain Lewis returned, aftci 
 
100 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 having coasted down Haley's Bay to Cape Disap- 
 pointment, and some distance to the north, along the 
 seacoast. He was followed by several Chinnooks, 
 among whom were the principal chief and his fam 
 •ly. They made us a present of a boiled root very 
 much like the common liquorice in taste and size, 
 called culwhnmo ; and in return we gave them arti- 
 cles of double its value. We now learned, howev- 
 er, the danger of accepting anything from them, 
 since nothing given in payment, even though ten 
 times more valuable, would satisfy them. "We were 
 chiefly occupied in hunting, and were able to pro- 
 cure three deer, four brant, and two ducks ; and also 
 saw some signs of elk. Captain Clarke now pre» 
 pared for an excursion down the bay, and accord 
 ingly started, 
 
 " November 18, at daylight, accompanied by elev- 
 en men. He proceeded along the beach one mile 
 to a point of rocks about forty feet high, where the 
 hills retired, leaving a wide beach, and a number of 
 ponds covered with water-fowl, between which and 
 the mountain was a narrow bottom covered with 
 alder and small balsam trees. Seven miles from the 
 rocks was the entrance of a creek, or rather drain 
 from the ponds and hills, where was a cabin of 
 Chinnooks. The cabin contained some children and 
 four women. They were taken across the creek in 
 a canoe by two squaws, to each of whom they gave 
 a fish-hook, and then, coasting along the bay, passed 
 at two miles the low bluff of a small hill, below 
 which were the ruins of some old huts, and close to 
 it the remains of a whale. The country was low, 
 open, and marshy, interspersed with some high pine 
 and with a thick undergrowth. Five miles from the 
 creek they came to a stream, forty yards wide at 
 low water, which they called Chinnook River. The 
 hills up this river and towards the bay were not 
 high, but very thickly covered with large pine of 
 several species." 
 
CAPE DISAPPOINTMENT. 101 
 
 Proceeding along the shore, they came to a deep 
 bend, appearing to afford a good harbour, and here 
 the natives told them that European vessels usually- 
 anchored. About two miles farther on they reach- 
 ed Cape Disappointment, " an elevated circular 
 knob," says the Journal, " rising with a steep ascent 
 one hundred and fifty or one hundred and sixty feet 
 above the water, formed like the whole shore of the 
 bay, as well as of the seacoast, and covered with 
 thick timber on the inner side, but open and grassy 
 on the exposure next the sea. From this cape a 
 high point of land bears south 20° west, about twen- 
 ty-five miles distant. In the range between these 
 two eminences is the opposite point of the bay, a 
 very low ground, which has been variously called 
 Cape Rond by La Perouse, and Point Adams by 
 Vancouver. The water, for a great distance off the 
 mouth of the river, appears very shallow, and with- 
 in the mouth, nearest to Point Adams, is a large 
 sand-bar, almost covered at high tide." * * * 
 
 " November 19. In the evening it began to rain, 
 and continued till eleven o'clock. Two hunters 
 were sent out in the morning to kill something for 
 breakfast, and the rest of the party, after drying 
 their blankets, soon followed. At three miles they 
 overtook the hunters, and breakfasted on a small 
 deer which they had been fortunate enough to kill. 
 This, like all those that we saw on this coast, was 
 much darker than our common deer. Their bodies, 
 too, are deeper, their legs shorter, and their eyes 
 larger. The branches of the horns are similar, but 
 the upper part of the tail is black, from the root to 
 the end, and they do not leap, but jump like a sheep 
 frightened." * * * 
 
 Continuing along five miles farther, they reached 
 a point of high land, below which a sandy point ex- 
 tended in a direction north 19° west, to another 
 high point twenty miles distant. To this they gave 
 the name of Point Lewis. They proceeded four 
 
102 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 miles farther along the sandy beach to a small pine- 
 tree, on which Captain Clarke marked his name, 
 with the year and day, and then set out to return to 
 the camp, where they arrived the following day, 
 having met a large number of Chinnooks coming 
 from it. 
 
 ''November 21. The morning was cloudy, and 
 from noon till night it rained. The wind, too, was 
 high from the southeast, and the sea so rough that 
 the water reached our camp. Most of the Chin- 
 nooks returned home, but we were visited in the 
 course of the day by people of different bands in the 
 neighbourhood, among whom were the Chiltz, a na- 
 tion residing on the seacoast near Point Lewis, and 
 the Clatsops, who live immediately opposite, on the 
 south side of the Columbia. A chief from the grand 
 rapid also came to see us, and we gave him a med- 
 al. To each of our visiters we made a present of a 
 small piece of riband, and purchased some cranber- 
 ries, and some articles of their manufacture, such 
 as mats and household furniture, for all which we 
 paid high prices." * * * 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Extravagant Passion of the Natives for blue Beads. — The Party 
 in Search of a suitable Place for Winter-quarters.— Suffering 
 from the Deluges of Rain. — Visits of the Indians. — Return of 
 Captain Lewis, who reported that he had found a suitable 
 Place for Wintering. — Captain Clarke goes with a Party to 
 find a Place suitable for the Manufacture of Salt. — He is hos- 
 pitably entertained by the Clatsops. — This Tribe addicted to 
 Gambling. — Sickness of some of the Party, occasioned by the 
 incessant Rains. — They form, notwithstanding, a permanent 
 Encampment for their Winter-quarters. 
 
 " November 22. It rained during the whole night, 
 and about daylight a tremendous gale of wind rose 
 from the S.S.E., and continued through the day with 
 
SKIN OF THE SEA-OTTER. 103 
 
 great violence. The sea ran so high that the water 
 came into our camp, which the rain prevents us from 
 leaving. We purchased from the old squaw, for 
 armbands and rings, a few wappatoo roots, on which 
 we subsisted. They are nearly equal in flavour to 
 the Irish potato, and afford a very good substitute 
 for bread. The bad weathe' drove several Indians 
 -.0 our camp, but they were still under the terrors 
 ,')f the threat which we made on first seeing them, 
 ind behaved with the greatest decency. 
 
 " November 23. The rain continued through the 
 night, and the morning v/as calm and cloudy. The 
 hunters were sent out, and killed three deer, four 
 brant, and three ducks. Towards evening seven 
 Clatsops came over in a canoe, with two skins of 
 the sea-otter. To this article they attached an ex- 
 travagant value ; and their demands for it were so 
 high, that we were fearful it would too much reduce 
 our small stock of merchandise, on which we had to 
 depend for subsistence on our return, to venture on 
 purchasing it. To ascertain, however, their ideas 
 as to the value of different objects, we offered for 
 one of these skins a watch, a handkerchief, an Amer- 
 ican dollar, and a bunch of red beads ; but neither 
 the curiouf) mechanism of the watch, nor even the 
 red beads, could tempt the owner : he refused the 
 offer, but asked for tiacomoshack, or chief beads, the 
 most common sort of coarse blue-coloured beds, the 
 article beyond all price in their estimation. Of these 
 olue beads we had but few, and therefore reserved 
 them for more necessitous circumstances." 
 
 * * * " Having now examined the coast, it became 
 necessary to decide on the spot for our winter-quar- 
 ters. The people of the country subsisted chiefly 
 on dried fish and roots ; but of these there did not 
 seem to be a sufficient quantity for our support, even 
 were we able to purchase them ; and the extrava- 
 gant prices, as well as our small stock of merchan- 
 dise, forbade us to depend on that resource. We 
 II.—I 
 
104 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 had therefore to rely for subsistence on our arms, 
 and to be guided in the choice of our residence by 
 the abundance of game which any particular spot 
 might offer. The Indians said that the deer were 
 most numerous some distance above, on the river, but 
 that the country on the opposite side of the bay was 
 better supphed with elk, an animal much larger, and 
 more easily killed than the deer, with a skin better 
 fitted for clothing, and the meat of which is more 
 mitritive during the winter, when they are both 
 poor. The climate, too, was obviously much mild- 
 er here than above the first range of mountains, for 
 the Indians were thinly clad, and said they had lit- 
 tle snow : indeed, since our arrival the weather had 
 been very warm, and sometimes disagreeably so : 
 and dressed, as we were, altogether in leather, the 
 cold would be very unpleasant, if not injurious. 
 The neighbourhood of the sea was moreover rec- 
 ommended by the facility it afforded of supplying 
 ourselves with salt, and the chance of meeting some 
 of the trading vessels, who were expected in about 
 three months, and from whom we might procure a 
 fresh supply of trinkets for our route homeward. 
 These considerations induced us to determine on 
 visiting the opposite side of the bay, and if there 
 was an appearance of much game, to estabhsh our- 
 selves there for the winter." 
 
 Having come to this determination, they proceed- 
 ed, as soon as the weather would permit, to put it 
 into execution. On the 26th they crossed the river, 
 and landed three miles below a point, to which they 
 gave the name of Point Samuel. They proceeded 
 along the shore as far as they could this day, and 
 the next morning " we came," says the journalist, 
 " to a very remarkable knob of land, projecting about 
 a mile and a half towards Shallow Bay, and about 
 four miles round, while the neck of land which con- 
 nects it to the main shore is not more than fifty 
 yards wide. We went round this projection, which 
 
CONTINUED RAINS. 105 
 
 we named Point William ; but the waves then be- 
 came so high that we could not venture any farther, 
 and therefore landed on a beautiful shore of pebbles 
 of various colours, and encamped near an old Indian 
 hut on the isthmus." * * * " it had rained hard du- 
 ring the whole day, continued all the night, and in 
 the morning, 
 
 " November 28, began more violently, attended 
 with a high wind from the southwest. It was now 
 impossible to proceed on so rough a sea. We there- 
 fore sent several men to hunt, and the rest of us 
 remained during the day in a situation the most 
 cheerless and uncomfortable. On this little neck of 
 land we were exposed with a little miserable cover- 
 ing, which did not deserve the name of a shelter, to 
 the violence of the winds ; all our bedding and stores, 
 as well as our bodies, being completely wet, our 
 clothes rotting with constant exposure, and having 
 no food except the dried fish obtained from the falls, 
 to which we were again reduced. The hunters 
 all returned hungry and drenched with rain, having 
 seen neither deer nor elk, and the swan and brant 
 were too shy to be approached. At noon the wind 
 shifted to the northwest, and blew with such tre- 
 mendous fury that many trees were thrown down 
 near us."* * * 
 
 The rain continued through the next day, but the 
 weather cleared on the morning of the 30th, and the 
 day was spent in drying their baggage, and in en- 
 deavouring to procure some game. Captain Lewis, 
 with five men, proceeded in the Indian canoe down 
 to a small bay below, in the hope of finding elk. 
 " Several of the men," proceeds the narrative, " com- 
 plained of disorders in their bowels, which could be 
 ascribed only to their diet of pounded fish mixed 
 with salt-water ; and they are therefore directed to 
 use for that purpose the fresh water above the point. 
 The hunters had seen three elk, but could not obtain 
 any of them. They, however, brought in three 
 
106 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 hawks, and a few black ducks, of a species common 
 in the United States, hving in large flocks, and feed- 
 ing on grass : they are distinguished by a sharp 
 white beak, toes separated, and having no craw. 
 Besides these wild-fowl, there were in this neigh- 
 bourhood a large kind of buzzard with white wings, 
 the gray and the bald eagle, the large red-tailed hawk, 
 the blue magpie, and great numbers of ravens and 
 crows. We observed, however, but few small birds ; 
 the one which most attracted our attention was a 
 small brown bird, which seemed to frequent logs and 
 the roots of trees. Of other animals there was a 
 great abundance. We saw great numbers of snakes, 
 lizards, worms, and spiders, as well as small bugs, 
 flies, and other insects of various kinds. The ve- 
 getable productions were also numerous. The hills 
 along the coast are high and steep, and the general 
 covering is a growth of lofty pines of diff"erent spe- 
 cies, some of which rise more than two hundred 
 feet, and are from ten to twelve feet in diameter 
 near the root. Besides these trees, we observed on 
 the point a species of ash, the alder, the laurel, one 
 species of the wild crab, and several kinds of un- 
 derbrush, among which the rosebush was conspicu- 
 ous." * * * 
 
 It rained almost incessantly the three following 
 days, and sickness began to prevail among the men 
 to such an extent, from eating little else than pound- 
 ed fish, that they redoubled their eff'orts to procure 
 a supply of game. Fortunately, on the 2d of De- 
 cember, one of the hunters succeeded in killing an 
 elk, of which animal numerous traces were now seen. 
 " This," says the journalist, " was the first elk we 
 had killed on the west side of the Rocky Mountams ; 
 and condemned, as we had been for so long a time, 
 to dried fish, it proved a most nourishmg food. After 
 eating the marrow of the shank bones, the squaw 
 chopped them fine, and by boiling extracted a pmtof 
 grease, superior to the tallow itself of the animal. 
 
-HEY FIND A SITE FOR WINTER QUARTERS. 107 
 
 A canoe of eight Indians, who were carrying down 
 wappatoo roots to trade with the Clatsops, stopped 
 at our camp. We bought of them a few roots foi 
 some small fish-hooks, and they left us ; when, ac- 
 customed as we had been to the sight, we could not 
 but view with admiration the wonderful dexterity 
 with which they guided their canoes through such 
 boisterous seas ; for though the waves were so high 
 that, before they had gone half a mile, the canoe was 
 at times out of sight, they proceeded with the ut- 
 most calmness and security. Two of the hunters 
 who set out yesterday had lost their way, and did 
 not return till this evening : they had seen in their 
 ramble numerous signs of elk, and had killed six, 
 which they had skinned and left at a great distance. 
 
 " December 4. A party was sent in the morning 
 to carry the elk killed yesterday to a bay some dis- 
 tance below, to which place, if the weather permit- 
 ted, we had determined to remove our camp in the 
 evening; but the rain, which had continued during the 
 night, lasted all the day, and was accompanied by so 
 high a wind from the southeast and south that we 
 dared not risk our canoes on the water. It was 
 high water at eleven o'clock, when the tide rose 
 two feet higher than common. We passed the day 
 around our fires ; and as we were so situated that the 
 smoke would not immediately leave the camp, we 
 were very much incommoded by it. No news had 
 yet been received from Captain Lewis, and we be- 
 gan to have much uneasiness for his safety." 
 
 The next day, however. Captain Lewis returned to 
 the encampment with the gratifying intelligence that 
 he had discovered a river at no great distance below, 
 where there were abundance of elk, and a favourable 
 position for their winter-quarters. He had also killed 
 six elk and five deer, and left two of his men to guard 
 them. Continued bad weather prevented their re- 
 moving until the 7th, when a favourable change en- 
 bled them to proceed. " But the tide," says the 
 
 .-I 
 
108 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 Journal, " was against us, and the wave^ very high, 
 so that we were obhged to go on slowly and cautious- 
 ly. We at length turned a point, and found ourselves 
 in a deep bay :' here we landed for breakfast, and were 
 joined by the party sent out three days ago to look 
 for the six elk. They had lost their way for a day 
 and a half, and when they at last reached the place, 
 found the elk so much spoiled that they brought away 
 nothing but the skins of four of them. After break- 
 fast we coasted round the bay, which is about four 
 miles across, and receives, besides several small 
 creeks, two rivers, called by the Indians, the one Kil- 
 howanakel, the other Netul. We named it Meriweth- 
 er's Bay, from the Christian name of Captain Lew- 
 is, who was, no doubt, the first white man who had 
 surveyed it. The wind was high from the northeast, 
 and in the middle of the day it rained for two hours, 
 and then cleared off. On reaching the south side of 
 the bay we ascended the Netul three miles, to the first 
 point of high land on its western bank, and formed our 
 camp in a thick grove of lofty pines, about two hun- 
 dred yards from the water, and thirty feet above the 
 level of the high tides." 
 
 Having determined on this spot for their winter 
 encampment. Captain Clarke set out the next day 
 with five men in order to find a favourable place for 
 making salt. After pursuing a southwesterly course 
 for some time across a ridge covered with heavy pine 
 timber, they passed some swampy ground, and then an 
 open prairie, and crossed on a raft a considerable creek 
 running towards Point Adams. " At this place," says 
 the Journal, " they discovered a large herd of elk, and 
 after pursuing them for three miles over swamps and 
 small ponds, killed one of them. The agility with 
 which the animals crossed the swamps and bogs 
 seemed almost incredible. As our men followed their 
 track, the ground for a whole acre would shake under 
 their tread, and sometimes they sunk to their hips 
 without finding bottom. Over the surface of these 
 
CLATSOP HOUSES. 109 
 
 bogs is a species of moss, among which are great 
 numbers of cranberries, and here and there are small, 
 steep knobs of earth, thickly covered with pine and 
 laurel. On one of these they halted for the night." 
 
 It had rained all the night, and the next morning, 
 sending three of his men to hunt the elk, Captain 
 Clarke proceeded with the other two to accomplish 
 the object he had in view. After a short time he 
 came to a creek too deep to be forded, and, following 
 it for some distance, found that he was between the 
 creek he had crossed yesterday and another branch 
 of it. He returned, therefore, to the point where he 
 had crossed with the raft, and about a mile below it 
 met with three Indians. 
 
 " They were loaded," says the Journal, " with fresh 
 salmon, which they had taken with a gig, and were 
 now returning to their village on the seacoast, where 
 they invited him to accompany them. He agreed, 
 and they brought out a canoe hid on the banks of the 
 creek. In this they passed over the branch which he 
 had crossed on the raft, and then carried their ca- 
 noe a quarter of a mile to the other fork, which they 
 also crossed, and then continued down to the mouth 
 of the stream. At this place it makes a great bend 
 and is seventy yards wide : just above, to the south, 
 was the village. 
 
 " They crossed over, and found that it consisted 
 of three houses, inhabited by twelve families of Clat- 
 sops. They were situated on the south side of a 
 hill, and sunk about four feet deep into the ground ; 
 the walls, roof, and gable-ends being formed of split 
 pine boards : the descent was through a small door, 
 down a ladder. There were two fires in the middle 
 of the roem, and the beds were disposed round the 
 walls, two or three feet high, so as to leave room 
 under them for their bags, baskets, and household 
 articles. The floor itself was covered with mats. 
 Captain Clarke was received with much hospitality. 
 
110 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 As soon as he entered clean mats were spread, and 
 fish, berries, and roots were set before him on small 
 neat platters made of rushes. After he had eaten, 
 the men of the other houses came and smoked with 
 him. They all appeared much cleanlier in their per- 
 sons and diet than Indians generally are, and fre- 
 quently washed their hands and faces, a ceremony 
 by no means frequent elsewhere. While he was 
 conversing with them, a flock of brant lighted on the 
 water, and with a small rifle he shot one of them at 
 a great distance. They immediately jumped in and 
 brought it on shore, very much astonished at the shot, 
 which contributed to mcrease their respect. 
 
 " Towards evening it began to rain and blow very 
 violently from the southwest, and Captain Clarke 
 therefore determined to remain during the night. 
 When they thought suflEicient time had elapsed for his 
 appetite to return, an old woman presented him, in 
 a bowl made of light-coloured horn, with a kind of 
 sirup, pleasant to the taste, and made from a species 
 of berry common in this country, about the size of 
 a cherry, and called by the Indians shelwel : of these 
 berries a bread was also prepared, which, being boil- 
 ed with roots, formed a kind of soup, which was 
 served in neat wooden trenchers ; and these, with 
 some cockles, constituted his repast. The men of 
 the village now collected and began to gamble. Their 
 principal game was one in which one of the compa- 
 ny was banker, and played against all the rest. He 
 had a piece of bone about the size of a large bean, 
 and, having agreed with some individual as to the 
 value of the stake, passed the bone from one hand 
 to the other with great dexterity, singing, at the 
 same time, to divert the attention of his adversary ; 
 and then, holding it in one of his hands, his antago- 
 nist was challenged to guess in which of them it 
 was, losing or winning as he pointed to the right or 
 wrong hand. To this game they abandoned them- 
 selves with great ardour; sometimes everything 
 
MEETING WITH THE CLATSOPS. Ill 
 
 they possess is sacrificed to it, and this evening sev- 
 eral of the Indians lost all the beads which they had 
 wiUi them. It lasted for three hours, when Captain 
 Clarke appearing disposed to sleep, the man who 
 had been most attentive, and whose name was Cus- 
 kalah, spread two new mats near the fire, and or- 
 dering his wife to retire to her bed, the rest of the 
 company dispersed at the same time. Captain 
 Clarke then laid down, but the violence with which 
 the fleas attacked him was far from leaving his rest 
 undisturbed, and he rose early. 
 
 " December 10. The morning was cloudy, with 
 some rain. Captain Clarke walked to the seacoast, 
 and observed the Indians walking up and down the 
 creek, and examining the shore. He was at a loss to 
 understand their object till one of them came to him, 
 and explained that they were in learch of any fish 
 which might have been thrown ui shore and left by 
 the tide, adding in English, ' sturgeon is very good.' 
 There is, indeed, every reason to believe that these 
 Clatsops depend for their subsistence, during the 
 winter, chiefly on the fish thus casually thrown on 
 the coast. After amusing himself for some time on 
 the beach, he returned towards the village, and shot 
 on his way two brant. As he came near the vil- 
 lage, one of the Indians asked him to shoot a duck 
 about thirty steps distant : he did so, and, having 
 accidentally shot off" its head, the bird was brought 
 to the village, when all the Indians came round in 
 astonishment. They examined the duck, the mus- 
 ket, and the very small bullets, which were a hun- 
 dred to the pound, and then exclaimed, Clouch mus' 
 que, waket, commatax musquet : Good musket ; do not 
 understand this kind of musket. They now placed 
 before him their best roots, fish, and sirup, after 
 which he attempted to purchase a sea-otter skin 
 with some red beads whicli he happened to have 
 about him ; but they declined trading, as they valued 
 none except blue or white beads. He therefore 
 
112 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 bought nothing but a little berry-bread and a lew 
 roots, in exchange for fish-hooks, and then set out to 
 return by the same route he had come. He was ac- 
 companied by Cuskalah and his brother as far as 
 the third creek, and then proceeded to the camp 
 through a heavy rain. The whole party had been 
 occupied during his absence in cutting down trees to 
 make huts, and in hunting." 
 
 The next day, notwithstanding it rained without 
 any intermission, and a considerable number of the 
 party were ill, they kept busily at work in putting up 
 their winter-cabins. 
 
 " December 12. We continued to work in the 
 rain at our houses. In the evening there arrived 
 two canoes of Clatsops, among whom was a princi- 
 pal chief called Comowool. We gave him a medal, 
 and treated his companions with great attention ; 
 after which we began to bargain for a small sea-ot- 
 ter skin, some wappatoo roots, and another species 
 of root called shanataque. We readily perceived 
 that they were close dealers, stickled much for tri- 
 fles, and never closed a bargain until they thought 
 they had the advantage. The loappatoo is dear, as 
 they themselves are obliged to give a high price foi 
 it to the Indians above. Blue beads are the articles 
 most in request ; the white occupy the next place in 
 their estimation; but they do not value much those 
 of any other colour. We succeeded at last in pur- 
 chasing their whole cargo for a few fish-hooks and 
 a small sack of Indian tobacco which we had re- 
 ceived from the Shoshonees." 
 
 From the 13th to the 21st, although it rained al- 
 most incessantly, with occasional hail, sleet, and 
 snow, they continued to labour dihgently on their 
 houses, and were tolerably successful in procuring 
 game. On the last-mentioned day they were visited 
 by three Indians in a canoe, with mats, roots, and 
 sacacommis berries. " These people proceeded with 
 a dexterity and finesse in their bargains," says the 
 
INDIAN KEENNESS IN TRADE. 113 
 
 Journal, " which, if they had not learned them from 
 their foreign visiters, might show how nearly allied 
 is the cunning of savages to the little arts of civil- 
 ized traffic. They began by asking double or treble 
 the value of what they had to sell, and lowered their 
 demands in proportion to the greater or less degree 
 of ardour or knowledge of the purchaser, who, with 
 all his management, was not able to procure the ar- 
 ticle for less than its real value, which they perfectly 
 understood. Our chief medium of trade consisted 
 of blue and white beads, files with which they sharp- 
 en their tools, fish-hooks, and tobacco ; but of all 
 these articles, blue beads and tobacco were the most 
 esteemed." 
 
 Owing to the constant and long-continued rains, 
 sickness was increasing among the party, and much 
 of their elk-meat was spoiled by the warmth of the 
 weather. 
 
 "December 23. It continued raining the whole 
 day, with no variation, except occasional thunder 
 and hail. Two canoes of Clatsops came to us with 
 various articles for sale : we bought three mats and 
 bags neatly made of flags and rushes, and also the 
 skin of a panther seven feet long, including the tail. 
 For all these we gave six small fish-hooks, a worn- 
 out file, and some pounded fish, which had become 
 so soft and mouldy by exposure that we could not 
 use it : it was, however, highly prized by the In- 
 dians. Although a very portable and convenient 
 food, the mode of curing it seems to be known, or 
 at least practised, only by the Indians near the 
 Great Falls, and, coming from such a distance, has 
 an additional value in the eyes of these people, who 
 are anxious to possess something less precarious 
 than their ordinary food. Among these Clatsops 
 was a second chief, to whom we gave a medal, and 
 sent some pounded fish to Cuskalah, who could not 
 come to see us on account of sickness. The next 
 day, however, 
 
114 LEWIS AisD Clarke's expedition. 
 
 " December 24, he came in a canoe with his young 
 brother and two squaws. Having treated Captain 
 Clarke so kindly at his village, we were pleased to 
 see him, and he gave us two mats and a parcel of 
 roots. These w^e accepted, as it would have been 
 offensive to decline them ; but afterward two files 
 were demanded in return for the presents, and, not 
 being able to spare those articles, we restored the 
 mats and roots, at which Cuskalah was a little dis- 
 pleased." * * * " Our whole stock of meat being now 
 completely spoiled, our pounded fish became again 
 our chief dependance. It had rained constantly all 
 day, but we still continued working, and at last mo- 
 ved into our huts. 
 
 " December 25. We were awakened at daylight 
 by a discharge of firearms, which was followed by a 
 song from the men as a compliment to us on the re- 
 turn of Christmas, which we have always been ac- 
 customed to observe as a day of rejoicing. After 
 breakfast we divided our remaining stock of tobac- 
 co, which amounted to twelve carrots, into two 
 parts, one of which we distributed among such of 
 the party as made use of it, making a present of a 
 handkerchief to the others. The remainder of the 
 day was passed in good spirits, though there was 
 nothing in our situation to excite much gayety. 
 The rain confined us to the house, and our only lux- 
 uries in honour of the season were some poor elk- 
 meat, so much spoiled that we ate it through mere 
 necessity, a few roots, and some mouldy pounded 
 fish. 
 
 " December 26. The rain continued, accompanied 
 by thunder, and a high wind from the southeast. 
 We vi^ere therefore still obliged to remain in our 
 huts, and endeavoured to dry our wet articles before 
 the fire. The fleas, which annoyed us near the port- 
 age of the Great Falls, had so completely taken pos- 
 session of our clothes, that we were obliged to have 
 a regular search every day through our blankets, as 
 
MULTITUDES OF FLEAS. 115 
 
 a necessary preliminary to sleeping at night. These 
 insects, indeed, are so numerous that they are al- 
 most a calamity to the Indians of this country. 
 When they have once obtained the mastery of any 
 house, it is impossible to expel them ; and the In- 
 dians have frequently other houses, to which they 
 resort when the fleas have rendered their longer 
 residence in one intolerable : yet, in spite of these 
 precautions, every Indian is constantly attended by 
 multitudes of them, and no one came into our houses 
 without leaving behind him swarms of these tor- 
 menting creatures. 
 
 " December 27. The rain did not cease last night, 
 nor the greater part of the day. In the evening we 
 were visited by Comowool, the chief, and four men 
 of the Clatsop nation, who brought a very timely 
 supply of roots and berries. Among these was one 
 called culhomo, resembling liquorice in size and taste, 
 which they roast like a potato ; there was also the 
 shanataque, a root of which they are very fond. It 
 is of a black colour, sweet to the taste, and is pre- 
 pared for eating in a kiln, as the Indians up the Co- 
 lumbia dry the pasheco. These, as well as the shel- 
 wel berries, they value highly, but were perfectly 
 satisfied with the return we made them, consisting 
 of a small piece of sheepskin for the chief to wear 
 round his head, a pair of earbobs for his son, a small 
 piece of brass, and a little riband." * * * 
 
 It rained, as usual, the following day. They sent 
 five men with a large kettle to the seaside, which 
 was about seven miles oif, for the purpose of manu- 
 facturing salt. " On the 29th," proceeds the Journal, 
 " we were employed all day in picketing the en- 
 campment ; and in the evening a young Wahkiacum 
 chief, with four men and two women, arrived with 
 some dressed elkskin and wappatoo for sale. We 
 purchased about a bushel and a half of those roots 
 for some red beads, small pieces of brass wire, and 
 old clieck. The chief, too, made us a present of 
 
116 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 half a bushel more, for which we gave him a medal, 
 and a piece of riband to tie round his hat. These 
 roots were extremely grateful, as our meat had be 
 come spoiled, and we were desirous of purchasing 
 the remainder ; but the chief would not dispose of 
 any more, as he was on his way to trade witk the 
 Clatsops. They remained with us, however, till the 
 next day, 
 
 "December 30, when they were joined by foui 
 more of their countrymen from the Wahkiacum vil- 
 lage. These last began by offering us some roots ; 
 but, as we had learned that they always expect three 
 or four times as much in return as the real value of 
 the articles they give, and are not satisfied even with 
 that, we declined such dangerous presents. Towards 
 evening the hunters brought in four elk ; and, after 
 so long a course of abstinence and miserable diet, 
 we had a most sumptuous supper of elk's tongues 
 and marrow. Besides this agreeable repast, the state 
 of the weather had been quite exhilarating. It rain- 
 ed during the night, but in the morning, though the 
 high wind continued, we enjoyed the fairest and most 
 pleasant weather we had had since our arrival ; the 
 sun shining at intervals, with only three showers in 
 the course of the day. By sunset we had comple- 
 ted our fortification ; and we now announced to the 
 Indians that every day at that hour the gates would 
 be closed, when they must leave the place, and not 
 enter it till sunrise. The Wahkiacums, who had 
 remained with us, and who were very forward in 
 their deportment, complied very reluctantly with 
 this order; and, being excluded from our houses, 
 formed a camp near us. 
 
 "December 31. As if it were impossible to have 
 twenty-four hours of pleasant weather, the sky last 
 evening clouded, and the rain began and continued 
 through the day. In the morning there came down 
 two canoes, one from the Wahkiacum village, and 
 the other contained three men and a squaw of the 
 
VISIT FROM THE WAHKIACUMS. 117 
 
 Skilloot nation. They brought wappatoo and shana- 
 taque roots, dried fish, mats made of flags and rush- 
 es, dressed elkskins, and tobacco, for which, particu- 
 larly the skins, they asked a very extravagant price. 
 VVe purchased some wappatoo and a little tobac- 
 co, very much like that we had seen among the 
 Shoshouees, put up in small, neat bags made of rush- 
 es. These we obtained in exchange for a few arti- 
 cles, among which fish-hooks were the most esteem- 
 ed. One of the Skilloots brought a gun which want- 
 ed some repair, and, having put it in order, we re- 
 ceived from him a present of about a peck of wap- 
 patoo ; we then gave him a piece of sheepskin and 
 blue cloth to cover the lock, and he very thankfully 
 offered a farther present of roots. There is, in fact, 
 an obvious superiority in these Skilloots over the 
 Wahkiacums, who are intrusive, thievish, and im- 
 pertinent. Our new regulations, however, and the 
 appearance of the sentinel, have improved the beha-. 
 viour of all our Indian visiters. They left the fort 
 before sunset, even without being ordered. 
 
 " Besides the fleas, we observed a number of oth- 
 er insects in motion. Snakes were yet to be seen ; 
 and snails without covers were common." * * * 
 
 "January 1, 1806. We were awaked at an early 
 hour by the discharge of a volley of small arms, to 
 salute the new year. This was the only mode of 
 commemorating the day which our situation permit- 
 ted ; for, though we had reason to be gayer than we 
 were at Christmas, our only dainties were boiled elk 
 and wappatoo, enlivened by draughts of pure water. 
 We were visited by a few Clatsops, who came by 
 water, bringing roots and berries for sale. Among 
 this nation we observed a man about twenty-five 
 years old, of a much lighter complexion than the In- 
 dians generally : his face was even freckled, and his 
 hair long, and of a colour inclining to red. He was 
 in habits and manners perfectly Indian ; but, though 
 he did not speak a word of English, he seemed to 
 
118 LEWIS AND Clarke's exi'edition. 
 
 understand more than the others of hi - party; and, 
 as we could obtain no account of his origin, we con- 
 cluded that one of his parents, at least, must have 
 been white." * * * 
 
 " January 2. The hunters brought in two elk, and 
 we obtained from the traps another. This animal, 
 as well as the beaver and the raccoon, are in plenty 
 near the seacoast, and along the small creeks and 
 rivers as high as the Grand Rapids, and in this coun 
 try have an extremely good fur. 
 
 " The birds most common were the large as well 
 as the small or whistling swan, the sandhill crane, 
 the large and small goose, cormorants, brown and 
 white brant, mallard, and the canvass-back, with sev- 
 eral other species of ducks. There were also a 
 small crow, the blue-crested corvus, and the smaller 
 corvus with a white breast, the little* brown wren, a 
 large brown sparrow, the bald eagle, and the beauti- 
 ful buzzard of the Columbia. All these birds con- 
 tinued with us, though they were not in such num- 
 bers as on our first arrival in this neighbourhood. 
 
 " January 3. At eleven o'clock we were visited 
 by our neighbour the tia, or chief Comowool, who 
 was also called Coone, with six Clatsops. Besides 
 roots and berries, they brought for sale three dogs 
 and some fresh blubber. Having been so long ac- 
 customed to the flesh of dogs, the greater part of us 
 had acquired a fondness for it ; and our original 
 aversion for it was overcome by reflecting that, 
 while we subsisted on that food, we were fatter, 
 stronger, and, in general, enjoyed better health than 
 at any period since leaving the buffalo country east- 
 ward of the mountains. The blubber, which is es- 
 teemed by the Indians an excellent food, had been 
 obtained, they told us, from their neighbours the 
 Killamucks, a nation who live on the seacoast to the 
 southeast, and near one of whose villages a whale 
 had recently been thrown and foundered." * * * 
 
 On the 5th, two of the men who had been sent to 
 
IMPORTANCE OF THE WHALE. US 
 
 make salt returned to the encampment with about a 
 gallon of that article, which proved to be of good 
 quality, and furnished a very grateful addition to 
 their food. They also brought some blubber of the 
 whale, which had been obtained by the Indians from 
 one of those fish that had floated ashore. " The ap- 
 pearance of this whale," says the narrative, " seem- 
 ed to be a matter of importance to all the neigh- 
 bouring Indians ; and as we might be able to pro- 
 cure some of it for ourselves, or at least purchase 
 blubber from the Indians, a small parcel of merchan- 
 dise was prepared, and a party of the men got m 
 readiness to set out in the morning. As soon as 
 this was made known, Chaboneau and his wife re- 
 quested that they might be permitted to accompany 
 ihe party. The poor woman stated very earnestly 
 ihat she had travelled a long way with us to behold 
 the great water, yet she had never been down to 
 the coast ; and, now that this monstrous fish was 
 also to be seen, it seemed hard that she should not 
 be permitted to see either the ocean or the whale. 
 So reasonable a request could not be denied ; they 
 were therefore suffered to go with Captain Clarke. 
 
 " January 6. After an early breakfast, he set out 
 with twelve men in two canoes. He proceeded 
 down the Netul into Meriwether Bay, mtendmg to 
 go to the Clatsop town, and there procure a guide 
 through the creeks, which there was reason to be- 
 lieve communicated not only with the bay, but with 
 H small river running towards the sea, near which 
 our salt-makers were encamped." A high wind 
 springing up, however, from the northwest, and obli 
 ging them to put into a small creek, he determined 
 10 attempt the passage without any guide. After 
 proceeding up this creek three miles, they left their 
 canoes, and followed an Indian path for some dis- 
 tance, when, arriving at the creek they had formerly 
 passed on a raft, they crossed it, and, having killed 
 an elk for their supper, encamped for the night. 
 II.— K 
 
120 LE^VIS AND CLJ^RKE'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Captain Clarke continues his Route in Quest of the Whale.— 
 Passes Clatsop River. — Perilous Nature of the Journey.— 
 Grandeur of the Scenery. — Indian Mode of extracting Whab 
 oil. — The Life of one of Captain Clarke's Party preserved hy 
 the Kindness of an Indian Woman. — Short Account of the 
 Chinnooks, Clatsops, Killamucks, and Lucktons. — Manner oi 
 Sepulture among the Chinnooks, Clatsops, &c. — Their Weap- 
 ons of War and Hunting. — Their Mode of building Houses.— 
 Their Manufactures and Cookery. — Their Canoes. — Greet 
 Dexterity in managing them. 
 
 They started again early the next morning, ana 
 after encountering some difficulties, came to the 
 seashore, which they followed for five miles, when 
 they reached the encampment of their salt-makers. 
 " Here," proceeds the narrative, " we persuaded a 
 young Indian, by the present of a file and a promise 
 of some other articles, to guide us to the spot where 
 the whale lay. He led us for two and a half miles 
 over round slippery stones at the foot of a high hill 
 projecting into the sea, and then suddenly stopping, 
 and uttering the word peshack, or bad, explained by 
 signs that we could no longer follow the coast, but 
 must cross the mountain. This promised to be a 
 most laborious undertaking, for the side was nearly 
 perpendicular, and the top lost in clouds. He, how- 
 ever, followed an Indian path, which wound about 
 as much as possible, but still the ascent was so 
 steep that at one place we drew ourselves up for 
 about a hundred feet by means of bushes and roots. 
 At length, after two hours' labour, we reached the 
 top of the mountain, whence we looked down with 
 astonishment on the prodigious height of ten oi 
 twelve hundred feet which we had ascendc*!. Im- 
 mediately below us, in the face of this pjecipice, 
 
MAGNIFICENT PROSPECT. 121 
 
 was a stratum of white earth, used, as our guide in- 
 formed us, an a paint by the neighbouring Indians. 
 It obvrously contains argil, and resembles the earth 
 of which the French porcelain is made ; but wheth- 
 er it contams either silex or magnesia, or, if so, in 
 what proportions, we could not determine. We 
 were here met by fourteen Indians with oil and 
 blubber, the spoils of the whale, which they were 
 carrying in very heavy loads over this rough mount- 
 ain. On leaving them, we proceeded over a bad 
 road till night, when we encamped on a small run : 
 we were all much fatigued, but the weather was 
 pleasant, and, for the first time since our arrival 
 here, an entire day had heen passed without rain. 
 
 "January 8. We set out early, and proceeded 
 along the top of the mountain, the highest point of 
 which is an open spot facing the ocean. It is situa- 
 ted about thirty miles southeast of Cape Disappoint- 
 ment, and projects nearly two and a half miles into 
 the soa. Here one of the most delightful views in 
 nature presented itself. Immediately in front was 
 the ocean, breaking with fury on the coast, from the 
 rocks of Cape Disappointment as far as the eye 
 could discern to the northwest, and against the high 
 lands and irregular piles of rock which diversify the 
 shore to the southeast. To this boisterous scene, 
 the Columbia, with its tributary waters, widening 
 into bays as it approaches the ocean, and studded on 
 both sides with the Chinnook and Clatsop villages, 
 formed a charming contrast ; while immediately be- 
 neath our feet were stretched rich prairies, enliven- 
 ed by three beautiful streams, which conducted the 
 eye to small lakes at the foot of the hills. We 
 stopped to enjoy the romantic prospect from this 
 place, which we distinguished by the name of 
 Clarke's Point of View, and then followed our guide 
 down the mountain. The descent was steep and 
 dangerous : in many places the hillsides, which are 
 formed principally of yellow clay, had been washed 
 
122 LEWIS ANt CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 by the late rains, and were now slipping into the 
 sea in large masses of from fifty to a hundred 
 acres. In other parts the path crossed the rugged 
 perpendicular rocks which overhang the sea, into 
 which a single false step would have precipitated us. 
 This mountain is covered with a very thick growth 
 of timber, chiefly pine and fir; some of which, near 
 Clarke's Point of View, perfectly sound and solid, 
 rose to the height of two hundred and ten feet, and 
 were from eight to twelve in diameter. Intermixed 
 is the white cedar, or arhor vitcB, and a small quanti- 
 ty of black alder, two or three feet thick, and sixty 
 or seventy in height. At length we reached a single 
 house, the remains of an old Killamuck village, sit- 
 uated among some rocks, in a bay immediately on 
 the coast. We then continued for two miles along 
 the sand beach, and after crossing a creek eighty 
 yards in width, near which were five cabins, reached 
 the place where the waves had thrown the whale on 
 shore. The animal had been landed between two 
 Killamuck villages ; and such had been the industry 
 of the natives, that there now remained nothing 
 more than the skeleton, which we found to be one 
 hundred and five feet in length. Captain Clarke 
 then returned to the village of five huts on the creek, 
 to which he gave the name of Ecola, or "Whale 
 Creek. The Indians were all busied in boiling the 
 blubber in a large, square trough of wood, by means 
 of heated stones, and preserving the oil thus extract- 
 ed in bladders and the entrails of the whale. The 
 refuse of the blubber, which still contained a portion 
 of oil, was hung up in large flitches, and when want- 
 ed for use is warmed on a wooden spit before the 
 fire, and eaten either alone or dipped in oil, or with 
 the roots of the rush and shanataque. The Killa- 
 mucks, though they had great quantities of it, parted 
 with it reluctantly, and at such high prices that our 
 whole stock of merchandise was exhausted in the 
 purchase of about three hundred pounds of blubber 
 
THE KILLAMUCKS. 123 
 
 and a few gallons of oil. With this we set out to 
 return; and, having crossed Ecola Creek, encamped 
 on its bank, where there was abundance of fine tim- 
 ber. We were soon joined by the men of the vil- 
 lage, with whom we smoked, and who gave us all 
 the information they possessed relative to their 
 country. 
 
 " These Killamucks are part of a much larger na- 
 tion of the same name, and reside chiefly in four 
 villages, each at the entrance of a different creek, 
 and all falling into a bay on the southwest coast ; 
 that at which we now were being the most northern, 
 and at the distance of about forty-five miles south- 
 east of Point Adams. The rest of the nation are 
 scattered along the coast, and on the banks of a riv- 
 er, which, as it was marked in their delineations, we 
 called Killamuck's River, emptying itself in the same 
 direction. During the salmon season they catch 
 great quantities of that fish in the small creeks, and 
 when these fail, their chief resource is the sturgeon 
 and other fish stranded along the coast. The elk 
 are very numerous in the mountains, but they cannot 
 procure many of them with their arrows ; and their 
 principal communication with strangers is by means 
 of the Killamuck River, up which they pass to the 
 Shocatilcum, or Columbia, to trade for wappatoo 
 roots^ In their dress, appearance, and, indeed, eve- 
 rything else, they differ very little from the Chin- 
 nooks, Clatsops, and other nations in the neighbour- 
 hood : the chief difference we have observed is in 
 their manner of burying the dead, the bodies being 
 deposited in an oblong box of plank, which is placed 
 in an open canoe, lying on the ground, with a pad- 
 dle and other small articles of the deceased by his 
 side. 
 
 " While smoking with the Indians, Captain Clarke 
 was startled about ten o'clock by a loud, shrill cry 
 from the opposite village, on hearing which all the 
 natives immediately started up to cross the creek. 
 
124 LEWIS AND CLARKE*S EXPEDITION. 
 
 and the guide informed him that some one had been 
 killed. On examination, one of our men was dis- 
 covered to be absent, and a guard was despatched, 
 who met him crossing the creek in great haste. An 
 Indian belonging to another band, and who happen- 
 ed to be with the Killamucks that evening, had treat- 
 ed him with much kindness, and walked arm in arm 
 with him to a tent, where our man found a Chin- 
 nook squaw who was an old acquaintance. From 
 the conversation and manner of the stranger, this 
 woman discovered that his object was to murdei 
 the white man for the sake of the few articles on 
 his person ; and when he rose and pressed our man 
 to go to another tent, where they would find some- 
 thing better to eat, she held M'Neal by the blanket. 
 Not knowing her object, he freed himself from her, 
 and was going on with his pretended friend, when 
 she ran out and gave a shriek which brought the men 
 of the village over, and the stranger ran off before 
 M'Neal knew what had occasioned the alarm. 
 
 " January 9. The morning was fine, the wind from 
 the northeast. Having divided our stock of blubber, 
 we began at sunrise to retrace our steps, in order to 
 reach Fort Clatsop, at the distance of thirty-five 
 miles. We met several parties of Indians on their 
 way to trade for blubber and oil with the Killamucks 
 (our route lay across the same mountains which 
 we had already passed) : we also overtook a party 
 returning from the village, and could not but regard 
 with astonishment the heavy loads which the women 
 carry along these fatiguing and dangerous paths. 
 As one of them was descending a steep part of 
 the mountain, her load slipped from her back, and 
 she stood holding it by a strap with one hand, and 
 with the other supporting herself by a bush : Cap- 
 tain Clarke being near her, undertook to replace the 
 load, and found it almost as much as he could lift, 
 and above one hundred pounds in weight. Loaded 
 as they were, they kept pace with us till we reached 
 
THE CATHLAMAIIS. 125 
 
 he salt-makers' tents, where we passed the night, 
 .vhile they continued their route." 
 
 The party the next day proceeded to the point 
 .vhere they had left their canoes, and reached the 
 encampment late in the evening. " This morning," 
 proceeds the Journal (January 10), " there came to 
 the fort twelve Indians in a large canoe : they were 
 of the Cathlamah nation, our nearest neighbours 
 above, on the south side of the river. Their tia or 
 chief, whose name was Shahawacap, having been 
 absent on a hunting excursion as we passed his vil- 
 la-ffe, had never yet seen us, and we therefore show- 
 ecfhim all the honours which our reduced finances 
 would permit. We invested him with a small med- 
 al, and received a present of Indian tobacco and a 
 basket of wappatoo in return, for which we gave him 
 a small piece of our tobacco and thread for a fishing- 
 net. They had brought dried salmon, wappatoo, 
 dogs, and mats made of rushes and flags ; but we 
 purchased only some dogs and wappatoo. These 
 Cathlamahs speak the same language as the Chin- 
 nooks and Clatsops, whom they also resemble in 
 dress and manners." 
 
 Their Indian canoe drifted away during the night, 
 and, although they made diligent search for her, the 
 men sent out were unable to find her. 
 
 "January 12. Our meat," continues the Journal, 
 " was now becoming scarce, and we therefore deter- 
 mined to jerk it, and issue it in small quantities, in- 
 stead of dividing it among the four messes, and leav- 
 ing to each the care of its own provisions : a plan 
 by which much was lost, in consequence of the im- 
 providence of the men. Two hunters had been de- 
 spatched in the morning, and one of them, Drewyer, 
 had before evening killed seven elk. We should, in- 
 deed, have been scarcely able to subsist but for the 
 exertions of this excellent hunter. The game was 
 scarce, and nothing was now to be seen except elk, 
 which almost all the men found it very difficult to 
 
126 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 shoot ; but Drewyer, who was the son of a Cana- 
 dian Frenchman and an Indian woman, had passed 
 his hfe in the woods, and united, in a wonderful de- 
 gree, the dexterous aim of the frontier huntsman 
 with the intuitive sagacity of the Indian in pursuing 
 the faintest tracks through the forest. All our men, 
 however, had become so expert with the rifle, that 
 we were never under serious apprehensions as t3 
 food, since, whenever there was game of any kind, 
 we were almost certain of procuring it." * * * 
 
 " .Tanuary 13. From all that we had seen and learn- 
 ed of the Chinnooks, we were induced to estimate 
 the nation at about twenty-eight houses and four 
 hundred souls. They reside chiefly along the banks 
 of a river, to which we gave the same name ; and 
 which, running parallel to the seacoast, waters a 
 low country with many stagnant ponds, and then 
 empties itself into Haley's Bay. The wild- fowl of 
 these ponds, and the elk and deer of the neighbour- 
 hood, furnish them with occasional luxuries ; but 
 their chief subsistence is derived from the salmon 
 and other fish which are caught in the small streams 
 by means of nets and gigs, or thrown on shore by 
 the violence of the tide. To these are added some 
 roots, such as the wild liquorice, which is the most 
 common, the shanataque, and the wappatoo, brought 
 down the river by the traders. 
 
 •' The men are low in stature, rather ugly, and ill 
 made ; their legs being small and crooked, their feet 
 large, and their heads, like those of the women, flat 
 tened in a most disgusting manner. These deform- 
 ities are in part concealed by robes made of sea-ot- 
 ter, deer, elk, beaver or fox skins. They also em- 
 ploy in their dress robes of the skin of a cat pecu- 
 liar to this country, and of another animal of the 
 same size, which is light and durable, and sold at a 
 high price by the Indians who bring it from above. 
 In addition to these are worn blankets, wrappers of 
 red, blue, or spotted cloth, and some old sailors' 
 
THE CHINNOOKS. 127 
 
 clothes, which are very highly prized. The greater 
 part of the men have guns, with powder and ball. 
 
 " The women have in general handsome faces, but 
 are low and disproportioned, with small feet and 
 large legs, occasioned, probably, by strands of beads, 
 or various strings, drawn so tight above the ankles 
 as to prevent the circulation of the blood. Their 
 dress, like that of the Wahkiacums, consists of a 
 short robe and a tissue of cedar bark. Their hair 
 hangs loosely down the shoulders and back ; and 
 their ears, neck, and wrists are ornamented with 
 blue beads. Another decoration, which is very high- 
 ly prized, consists of figures made by puncturing the 
 arms or legs ; and on the arms of one of the squavvs 
 we observed the name of J. Bowman, executed in 
 the same way. In language, habits, and in almost 
 every other particular, they resemble the Clatsops, 
 Cathlamahs, and, indeed, all the people near the 
 mouth of the Columbia, though they appeared to be 
 inferior to their neighbours in honesty as well as 
 spirit. No ill treatment or indignity on our part 
 seemed to excite any feeling except fear : nor, al- 
 though better provided than their neighbours with 
 arms, have they enterprise enough either to use them 
 advantageously against the animals of the forest, or 
 offensively against the tribes near them, who owe 
 their safety more to the timidity than the forbearance 
 of the Chinnooks. We had heard instances of pil- 
 fering while we were among them, and therefore 
 gave a general order excluding them from our en- 
 campment, so that whenever an Indian wished to 
 visit us, he began by calling out ' No Chinnook.' It 
 is not improbable that this first impression may have 
 left a prejudice against them, since, when we were 
 among the Clatsops and other tribes at the mouth of 
 the Columbia, they had less opportunity of stealing, if 
 they were so disposed." 
 
 The next day they were so fortunate as to recov- 
 er their missing canoe, and took precautions to pre- 
 II.— L 
 
128 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 vent any future accident of the kind. The Journal 
 proceeds to give a more particular account of the 
 Clatsops and Killamucks, from such knowledge as 
 could be obtained in relation to them, either from 
 the Indians or by personal observation. 
 
 * * * " The first nation to the south are the Clat- 
 sops, who reside on the southern side of the bay 
 and along the seacoast, on both sides of Point Ad- 
 ams. They were represented as the remains of a 
 much larger nation ; but about four years ago, a dis- 
 order, to which till then they were strangers, but 
 which seems, from their description, to have been 
 the smallpox, destroyed four chiefs and several 
 hundred of the nation. These were deposited in 
 canoes, a few miles below us in the bay, and the 
 survivers do not number more than fourteen houses 
 and about two hundred souls. Next to them, along 
 the southeast coast, is a much larger nation, the 
 Killamucks, who number fifty houses and a thou- 
 sand souls. Their first establishment consists of the 
 four huts at the mouth of Ecola Creek, thirty-five 
 miles from Point Adams, and two miles below are a 
 few more huts ; but the principal town is situated 
 twenty miles lower, at the entrance of a creek called 
 Nielee, into the bay which we designated by the 
 name of Killamuck Bay. Into the same bay emp- 
 ties a second creek, five miles farther, where is a 
 Killamuck village called Kilherhurst ; at two miles 
 a third creek, and a town called Kilherner ; and at 
 the same distance a town called Chishuck, at the 
 mouth of Killamuck River. Towerquotton and 
 Chucklin are the names of two other towns, situa- 
 ted on creeks which empty into the bottom of the 
 bay, the last of which is seventy miles from Point 
 Adams. The Killamuck River is about one hundred 
 yards wide, and very rapid, but, having no perpen- 
 dicular fall, is the great avenue for trade. There 
 are two small villages of Killamucks settled above 
 its mouth, and the whole trading part of the tribe 
 
SINGULAR MODE OF DEPOSITING THE DEAD. 129 
 
 ascend it, till by a short portage they carry their 
 canoes over to the Columbian Valley, and descend 
 the Multnomah to Wappatoo Island. Here they 
 purchase roots, which they carry down the Chocka- 
 lilum or Columbia ; and, after trafficking with the 
 tribes on its banks for the various articles which 
 they require, either return up the Columbia, or cross 
 over through the country of the Clatsops. This 
 trade, however, is obviously little more than a loose 
 and irregular barter, on a very small scale ; for the 
 materials for commerce are so extremely scanty and 
 precarious, that the stranding of a whale is an im- 
 portant commercial incident, which interests all the 
 adjoining country. The Killamucks have little that 
 is pecuhar, either in character or manners, and re- 
 semble in almost every particular the Clatsops and 
 Chinnooks."* * * * ^ 
 
 " The Chinnooks, Clatsops, and most of the ad- 
 joining nations deposite their dead in canoes. For 
 this purpose a scaffold is erected, by fixing perpen- 
 dicularly in the ground four long pieces of split tim- 
 ber. These are placed two by two, just wide enough 
 apart to admit the canoe, and sufficiently long to 
 support its two extremities. The boards are con- 
 nected by a bar of wood run through them at the 
 height of six feet, on which is placed a small canoe, 
 containing the body of the deceased carefully wrap- 
 ped in a robe of dressed skins, with a paddle and 
 other articles that had belonged to him by his side. 
 Over this canoe is placed one of a larger size, re- 
 versed, with its gunwale resting on the crossbars, 
 so as to cover the body completely. One or more 
 large mats of rushes or flags are then rolled round 
 both the canoes, and the whole is secured by cords 
 usually made of the bark of the white cedar. On 
 these crossbars are hung different articles of cloth- 
 
 ♦ Farther details in regard to the names, residence, numbers, 
 fee of the different tribes along the coast, on both sides of the 
 Columbia, will be found in the Append a. 
 
130 LEWIS AJND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 'ng, or culinary utensils. The method practised by 
 ?Jie Killamucks differs somewhat from this, the 
 body being deposited in an oblong box of plank, 
 which, with the paddle and other articles, is placed 
 m a canoe resting on the ground. With the reli- 
 gious opinions of these people we became but little 
 acquainted, since we understood their language too 
 imperfectly to converse on a subject so abstruse*, 
 but it is obvious, from the different articles which 
 they place by their dead, that they believe in a fu- 
 ture state of existence." 
 
 * * * " The implements used in hunting by the 
 Clatsops, Chinnooks, and other neighbouring na- 
 tions, are the gun, bow and arrow, deadfall, pits, 
 snares, and spears or gigs. The guns are generally 
 old American or British muskets, repaired for this 
 trade ; and, although there are some good pieces 
 among them, they are constantly out of order, as 
 the Indians have not been sufficiently accustomed to 
 arms to understand the management of them. Their 
 powder is kept in the small japanned tin flasks in 
 which the traders sell it ; and when ball or shot fails 
 them, they make use of gravel, or pieces of metal 
 from their pots, without being sensible of the injury 
 done to their guns. These arms are reserved for 
 hunting elk, and the few deer and bear in the neigh- 
 bourhood ; but, as they have no rifles, they are not 
 very successful hunters. The most common weap- 
 on is the bow and arrow, with which every man is 
 provided, even though he may carry a gun, and 
 which is used in every kind of hunting. The bow 
 is extremely neat, and, being very thin and flat, pos- 
 sesses great elasticity. It is made of the heart of 
 the white cedar, about two feet and a half in length, 
 and two inches wide in the centre, whence it tapers 
 to the width of half an inch at the extremities ; and 
 the back is covered with the sinews of elk, fastened 
 on by means of a glue made from the sturgeon. The 
 string is formed of the same sinews. The arrow 
 
WEAPONS OF CLATSOPS AND CIIINNOOKS. 131 
 
 generally consists of two parts : the first is about 
 twenty inches long, and formed of light white pine, 
 with the feather at one end, and at the other a cir- 
 cular hole, which receives the second part, formed 
 of some harder wood, about five inches long, and 
 secured in its place by means of sinews. The barb 
 is either of stone, or of iron or copper ; and when of 
 the latter, the angle is more obtuse than any we 
 have seen. If, as sometimes happens, the arrow is 
 formed of a single piece, the whole is of a firmer 
 and heavier wood ; but the kind just described is 
 preferred, since much of the game consisting of wild- 
 fowl on the ponds, it is desirable that their arrows 
 should be of a material to float when they fall into 
 the water. These arrows are kept in a quiver made 
 of elk or young bear skin, opening, not at the ends, 
 like the common quivers, but at the sides, which for 
 those who hunt in canoes is much more convenient. 
 These weapons are not very powerful, however, for 
 many of the elk we killed had been wounded with 
 them ; and although the barb, with the small end of 
 the arrow, remained, the flesh had closed, and the 
 animal suffered no permanent injury. The deadfalls 
 and snares are used in taking the wolf, raccoon, and 
 fox, of which there are, however, but few in this 
 country. The spear or gig employed in the pursuit 
 of the sea-otter (which they call spuck), the common 
 otter, and beaver, consists of two points of barbs, 
 and is like those already described as common 
 among the Indians on the upper part of the Colum 
 bia. The pits are chiefly for the elk, and are there 
 fore usually large cubes, twelve or fourteen feet in 
 depth, and are made by the side of a fallen tree lying 
 across some path frequented by the animal. They 
 are covered with slender boughs and moss, and the 
 elk either sinks into the pit as he approaches the 
 tree, or in leaping over the tree falls into it on the 
 other side." * * * 
 " In fishing, the CJ^tsops, Chinnooks, and other 
 
132 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 nations near this place employ the common straight 
 net, the scoop or dip net with a long handle, the 
 gig, and the hook and line. The first is of different 
 lengths and depths, and is employed in taking salm- 
 on, charr, and trout in the deep inlets among the 
 marshy grounds and at the mouths of deep creeks. 
 The scoop-net is used^or small fish in the spring 
 and summer season ; and in both kinds the net is 
 formed of silk-grass, or of the bark of white cedar. 
 The gig is employed at all seasons, and for all 
 kinds of fish they can take with it ; so, too, is the 
 hook and line, the latter being made of the same 
 material as the net, and their hooks being generally 
 brought by the traders ; though, before the whites 
 came, they made their hooks out of two small pie- 
 ces of bone, resembling the European hook, but with 
 a much more acute angle where the two pieces 
 were joined." * * * 
 
 " The houses in this neighbourhood are all large 
 wooden buildings, varying in length from twenty to 
 sixty feet, and from fourteen to twenty in width. 
 They are constructed in the following manner : two 
 or more posts of split timber, according to the num- 
 ber of partitions, are sunk in the ground, above 
 which they rise to the height of from fourteen to 
 eighteen feet. They are hollowed at the top so as 
 to receive the ends of a round beam or pole stretch- 
 ing from one to the other, and forming the upper 
 point of the roof for the whole extent of the build- 
 ing. On each side of this range is placed another, 
 which forms the eaves of the house, and is about 
 five feet high ; but as the building is often sunk to 
 the depth of four or five feet, the eaves come very 
 near the surface of the earth. Smaller pieces of 
 timber are now extended by pairs, in the form of 
 rafters, from the lower to the upper beam, where 
 they are attached at both ends with cords of cedar 
 bark. On these rafters two or three ranges of small 
 poles are placed horizontallv, and secured in the 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE CLATSOP HOUSES. 133 
 
 same way with strings of cedar bark. The sides 
 are now formed with a range of wide boards, sunk 
 a small distance into the ground, with the upper 
 ends projecting above the poles at the eaves, to 
 which they are secured by a beam running along out- 
 side parallel with the eave-poles, and tied by cords 
 of cedar bark passing through holes made in the 
 boards at certain distances. The gable ends and 
 partitions are formed in the same way, being fasten- 
 ed by beams on the outside parallel to the rafters. 
 The roof is then covered with a double range of 
 thin boards, except an aperture of two or three feet 
 in the centre for the smoke to pass through. The 
 entrance is by a small hole cut out of the boards, 
 and just large enough to admit the body. Only the 
 very largest houses are divided by partitions ; for, 
 though three or more families reside in the same 
 room, there is quite space enough for all of them. 
 In the centre of each room is a space six or eight 
 feet square, sunk to the depth of twelve inches be- 
 low the rest of the floor, and enclosed by four pie- 
 ces of square timber. Here they make the fire, for 
 which pine bark is generally preferred. Around 
 this fireplace mats are spread, which serve as seats 
 during the day, and very frequently as beds at night ; 
 there is, however, a more permanent bed, made by 
 fixing in two, or sometimes three sides of the room, 
 posts reaching from the roof down to the ground, 
 and at the distance of four feet from the wall. From 
 these posts to the wall itself one or two ranges of 
 boards are placed, so as to form shelves, on which 
 they either sleep, or stow their various articles of 
 merchandise. The uncured fish is hung in the smoke 
 of their fires, as is also the flesh of the elk, when 
 they are fortunate enough to procure any, which is 
 but rarely the case." 
 
 * * * "The hats of the Clatsops are made of ce- 
 dar and bear-grass, interwoven together in the form 
 of a European hat, with a small brim of about two 
 
134 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 inches, and a high crown widening upward. They 
 are light, ornamented with various colours and fig- 
 ures, and, being nearly water-proof, are much more 
 durable than either chip or straw hats. These hats 
 form a small article of traffic with the whites, and 
 the manufacture is one of the best specimens of In- 
 dian industry. They are, however, very dexterous 
 in making a variety of domestic utensils, among 
 which are bowls, spoons, skewers, spits, and bas- 
 kets. The bowl or trough is of different shapes, 
 round, semicircular, in the form of a canoe, or cu- 
 bic, and generally dug out of a single piece of wood, 
 the larger vessels having holes in the sides by way 
 of handle, and all being executed with great neat- 
 ness. In these vessels they boil their food by throw- 
 ing hot stones into the water, and extract oil from 
 different animals in the same way. Spoons are not 
 very abundant, nor is there anything remarkable in 
 their shape, except that they are large, with the 
 bowl broad. Meat is roasted on one end of a sharp 
 skewer, placed erect before the fire, with the other 
 fixed in the ground. The spit for fish is split at the 
 top into two parts, between which the fish is placed, 
 cut open, and its sides extended by means of small 
 splinters. The usual plate is a small mat of rushes 
 or flags, on which everything is served. The in- 
 strument with which they dig up roots is a strong 
 stick, about three feet and a half long, sharpened 
 and a little curved at the lower end, while the upper 
 is inserted into a handle, standing transversely, and 
 made of part of an elk or buck's horn. But the 
 most curious workmanship is that of.the basket. It 
 is formed of cedar bark and bear-grass, so closely 
 interwoven that it is water-tight, without the aid ei- 
 ther of gum or resin. The form is generally conic, 
 or, rather, that of the segment of a cone, of which 
 the smaller end is the bottom of the basket ; and 
 being made of all sizes, from that of the smallest 
 cup to the capacity of five or six gallons, they an- 
 
INDIAN CANOES. 135 
 
 .jwer the double purpose of a covering for the head 
 and to contain water. Some of them are highly or- 
 namented with strands of bear-grass, woven into 
 figures of various colours, which require great la- 
 bour ; yet they are made very expeditiously, and 
 sold for a trifle. It is for the construction of these 
 baskets that the bear-grass forms an article of con- 
 siderable traffic. It grows only near the snowy re- 
 gion of the high mountains, and the blade, which is 
 two feet long, and about three eighths of an inch 
 wide, is smooth, strong, and pliant ; the young blades 
 particularly, from their not being exposed to the sun 
 and air, have an appearance of great neatness, and 
 are generally preferred. Other baskets, and also 
 bags, not water-proof, are made of cedar bark, silk- 
 grass, rushes, flags, and common coarse sedge, for 
 the use of families. In the manufactures, as well 
 as ill the ordinary work of the house, the instrument 
 most in use is a knife, or rather dagger. The han- 
 dle of it is small, and has a strong loop of twine for 
 the thumb, to prevent its being wrested from the 
 hand. At each end is a blade, double edged and 
 pointed ; the longer from nine to ten inches, the 
 shorter from four to five. This knife is carried 
 about habitually in the hand, sometimes exposed, 
 but mostly under the robe." 
 
 « # * u 'pi-jg industry of the Indians is not con- 
 fined to household articles : the greatest eff'ort of 
 their skill is in the construction of their canoes. In 
 a country, indeed, where so much of the intercourse 
 between the different tribes is carried on by water, 
 their ingenuity would naturally be directed to the 
 improvement of their canoes, which would gradual- 
 ly advance from a mere safe conveyance to some- 
 thing tasteful and elegant. We have, accordingly, 
 seen canoes of various forms, from the simple boats 
 near the mountains, to the highly-decorated ones, 
 because more used, near the mouth of the Colum- 
 bia. Below the Grand Cataract there are four kinds 
 
J 36 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 of canoes. The first and smallest is about fifteen 
 feet long, and calculated for one or two persons : it 
 is, indeed, by no means remarkable in its structure, 
 and is chiefly employed by the Cathlamahs and 
 Wahkiacums among the marshy islands. The sec- 
 ond is from twenty to thirty-five feet long, about 
 two and a half or three feet in the beam, and two 
 feet in the hold. It is chiefly remarkable in having 
 the bowsprit, which rises to some height above the 
 bow, formed by tapering graduallly from the sides 
 into a sharp point. Canoes of this shape are com- 
 mon to all the nations below the Grand Rapids. 
 
 " But the canoes most used by the Columbia In- 
 dians, from the Chilluckittequaws inclusive to the 
 ocean, are from thirty to thirty-five feet long. The 
 bow, which looks more like the stern of our boats, 
 is higher than the other end, and is ornamented with 
 a sort of comb, an inch in thickness, cut out of the 
 same log which forms the canoe, and extending from 
 nine to eleven inches from the bowsprit to the bot- 
 tom of the boat. The stern is neatly rounded off, 
 and gradually ascends to a point. This canoe is 
 very light and convenient ; for, though it will con- 
 tain ten or twelve persons, it may be carried with 
 great ease by four. 
 
 " The fourth and largest kind of canoe we did not 
 meet till we reached tide-water, near the Grand 
 Rapids below, where they are found among all the 
 nations, especially the Killamucks and others resi- 
 ding on the seacoast. They are upward of fifty 
 feet long, and will carry from eight to ten thousand 
 pounds' weight, or from twenty to thirty persons. 
 Like all the canoes we have mentioned, they are 
 cut out of a single trunk of a tree, which is generally 
 white cedar, though the fir is sometimes used. The 
 sides are secured by cross-bars or round sticks 
 two or three inches in thickness, which are inserted 
 through holes made just below the gunwale, and 
 made fast with cords. The upper edge of the gun- 
 
MODE OF MANAGING THEIR CANOES. 137 
 
 wale itself is about five eighths of an inch thick and 
 four or five in breadth, and folds outward, so as to 
 form a kind of rim, which prevents the water from 
 beating into the boat. The bow and stern are about 
 the same height, and each provided with a comb, 
 reaching to the bottom of the boat. At each enr* 
 also are pedestals, formed of the same solid piece, 
 on which are placed strange grotesque figures of 
 men or animals, rising sometimes to the height of 
 five feet, and composed of small pieces of wood, 
 firmly united, with great ingenuity, by inlaying and 
 mortising, without a spike of any kind. The paddle 
 is usually from four feet and a half to five feet in 
 length, the handle being thick for one third of its 
 length, when it widens, and is hollowed and thinned 
 on each side of the centre, which forms a sort of rib. 
 When they embark, one Indian sits in the stern, and 
 steers with a paddle, the others kneel in pairs in the 
 bottom of the canoe, and, sitting on their heels, pad- 
 dle over the gunwale next to them. In this way 
 they ride with perfect safety the highest waves,and 
 venture without the least concern in seas where 
 other boats or seamen could not live an instant. 
 They sit quietly, with no other movement but that 
 required in paddling, except a large wave chances to 
 throw the boat on her side, and to the eye of a spec- 
 tator she seems lost, when the man to windward 
 steadies her by throwing his body towards the up- 
 per side, and sinking his paddle deep into the wave, 
 appearing to catch the water and force it under the 
 boat, while the same stroke pushes her on with 
 great velocity. In the management of these ca- 
 noes, the women are equally as expert as the men ; 
 for in the smaller boats, which contain four oars- 
 men, the helm is generally given to a female. As 
 soon as they land, the canoe is generally drawn on 
 shore, unless she is very heavily laden ; but at night 
 the load is universally taken out, and the canoe 
 hauled u*^ 
 
138 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 " Our admiration of their skill in these curious 
 constructions was increased by observing the very 
 inadequate implements which they use. These In- 
 dians possess very few axes, and the only tool they 
 employ, from felling the tree to the delicate work- 
 manship of the images, is a chisel made of an old 
 file, about an inch or an inch and a half in width. 
 Even of this, too, they have not learned the proper 
 management ; for the chisel is sometimes fixed in a 
 large block of wood, and, being held in the right 
 hand, the block is pushed with the left, without the 
 aid of a mallet. But under all these disadvantages, 
 their canoes, which one would suppose to be the 
 work of years, are made in a few weeks. A canoe, 
 however, is very highly prized, being in traffic an 
 article of the greatest value except a wife, and of 
 equal value with her ; so that a lover generally gives 
 a canoe to the father in exchange for his daughter." 
 
 Nothing special occurred from the 14th to the 
 20th. As they had a supply of salt, they used it in 
 curing the meat brought in by the hunters ; and the 
 season for their return being near at hand, they were 
 busily employed in' preparing clothes, «fec., for the 
 journey. 
 
PERSONS OF THE KILLAMUCKS, ETC. 139 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 farther Account of the Clatsops, Killamucks, and Chinnooks i 
 also of the Cathlamahs. — Their Custom of Flattening the 
 Forehead, — Their Dress and Ornaments described. — Their 
 Diseases. — The common Opmion that the Treatment of their 
 Women is the Standard by which the Virtues of the Indians 
 may be known, combated, and disproved by Examples. — 
 The Respect entertained by these Indians for old Age, com- 
 pared with the diflferent Conduct of those who subsist by the 
 Chase. — Their Mode of Government. — Their Ignorance of ar- 
 dent Spirits, and their Fondness for Gambling. — Their Dex- 
 terity in Traffic. — In what Articles their Traffic consists. — 
 Their extraordinary Fondness for blue Beads, which form 
 their circulating Medium. 
 
 " The Killamucks." continues the Journal, " and 
 the Clatsops, Chinnooks, and Cathlamahs, the four 
 neighbouring nations with whom we had most in- 
 tercourse, have a general resemblance in person, 
 dress, and manners. They are commonly of a di- 
 minutive stature, badly shaped, and their appearance 
 is by no means prepossessing. They have broad, 
 thick, flat feet, thick ankles, and crooked legs ; the 
 last of which deformities is to be ascribed, in part, 
 as we have already observed, to the universal prac- 
 tice of squatting, or sitting on the calves of their 
 legs and on their heels, and also to the tight banda- 
 ges of beads and strings worn round the ankles by 
 the women, which prevent the circulation of the 
 blood, and render the legs of the females, in particu- 
 lar, ill shaped and swollen. The complexion is the 
 usual copper-coloured brown of the North American 
 tribes, though it is rather lighter than that of the In- 
 dians on the Missouri and the frontiers of the Uni- 
 ted States. The mouth is wide, and the lips are 
 thick : the nose is of a moderate size, fleshy, wide 
 
140 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 at the extremities, with large nostrils, and generally 
 low between the eyes, though there are rare instan- 
 ces of high aquiline noses ; the eyes are generally 
 black, though we occasionally saw them of a dark 
 yellowish-brown, with a black pupil. But the most 
 distinguishing part of their physiognomy is the pe- 
 culiar flatness and width of their forehead : a pecu- 
 liarity which they owe to one of those customs by 
 which nature is sacrificed to fantastic ideas of beau- 
 ty. The practice, indeed, of flattening the head by 
 artificial pressure during infancy, prevails among all 
 the nations we have seen west of the Rocky Mount- 
 ains ; whereas to the east of that barrier the fashion 
 is so perfectly unknown, that there the western In- 
 dians, with the exception of the Alliatan or Snake 
 nation, are designated by the common name of Flat- 
 heads. This singular usage, which it would scarce- 
 ly seem possible that nature should suggest to re- 
 mote nations, might perhaps inchne us to believe 
 in the common and not very ancient origin of all the 
 western tribes. Such an opinion would well accord 
 with the fact that, while on the lower parts of the 
 Columbia both sexes are universally flatheads, the 
 custom diminishes in receding eastward from the 
 common centre of the practice, till among the remo- 
 ter tribes near the mountains nature recovers her 
 rights, and the exhausted folly is confined to a few 
 females. This opinion, however, is corrected or 
 weakened by considering that the flattening of the 
 head is not, in fact, peculiar to that part of the con- 
 tinent, since it was among the first objects which 
 struck the attention of Columbus. 
 
 " But, wherever it may have begun, the practice is 
 now universal among these nations. Soon after the 
 birth of her child, the mother, anxious to procure for 
 her infant the recommendation of a broad forehead, 
 places it in the compressing machine, where it is 
 kept for ten or twelve months, though the females 
 remain longer than the boys. The operation is so 
 
DRESS OF THE KILLAMUCKS. 141 
 
 gradual that it is not attended with pain; but the 
 impression is deep and permanent. The heads of 
 the children, when they are released from the band- 
 age, are not more than two inches thick about the 
 upper edge of the forehead, and still thinner above ; 
 nor, with all her efforts, can nature ever restore 
 their proper shape, the heads of grown persons be- 
 ing often in a straight line from the nose to the top 
 of the forehead. 
 
 " The hair of both sexes is parted at the top of 
 the head, and thence falls loosely behind the ears, 
 over the back and shoulders. They use combs, of 
 which they are very fond ; but contrive, without the 
 aid of them, to keep their hair in very good order. 
 The dress of the men consists of a small robe, reach- 
 ing to the middle of the thigh, tied by a string across 
 the breast, with its corners hanging loosely over 
 their arms. These robes are, in general, composed 
 of the skins of a small animal which we supposed to 
 be the brown mungo. They have, besides, those 
 made of the tiger, cat, deer, panther, bear, and elk 
 skin, which last is principally used in war parties. 
 Sometimes they have a blanket, woven with the fin- 
 gers from the wool of their native sheep. Occasion- 
 ally a mat is thrown over them to keep off the rain ; 
 but they have no article of clothing during winter 
 or summer excepting this robe, so that every part 
 of the body but the head and shoulders is exposed 
 to view. They are very fond of the dress of the 
 whites, whom they call pashisheooks, or clothmen ; 
 and, whenever they can procure any of our clothes, 
 wear them in our manner : the only article, indeed, 
 used by the whites, which we have not seen among 
 them, is the shoe. 
 
 " The robe of the women is like that worn by the 
 men, except that it does not reach below the waist. 
 Those most esteemed are made of strips of sea- 
 otter skin, which, being twisted, are interwoven with 
 silk-grass or the bark of the white cedar in such a 
 
J 42 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 manner that the fur appears equally on both sides, 
 so as to form a soft and warm covering. The skin 
 of the raccoon or beaver is also employed in the same 
 way ; though, on other occasions, these skins are 
 simply dressed in the hair, and worn without farther 
 preparation. The garment which covers the body 
 from the waist as low as the knee before and the 
 thigh behind, is the tissue already described, and is 
 made either of the bruised bark of white cedar, 
 twisted cords of silk-grass, or of flags and rushes. 
 Neither leggins nor moccasins are ever used, the 
 mildness of the climate not requiring them as a se- 
 curity from the weather, and their being so much in 
 the water rendering them an encumbrance. The 
 only covering for the head is a hat made of bear- 
 grass and the bark of cedar, interwoven in a conic 
 form, with a knob of the same shape at the top. It 
 has no brim, but is held on the head by a string pass- 
 ing under the chin, and tied to a small rim inside of 
 the hat. The colours are generally black and white 
 only, and these are made into squares, triangles, and 
 sometimes rude figures of canoes and seamen har- 
 pooning whales. This is all the usual dress of the 
 females ; but if the weather be unusually severe, 
 they add a vest formed of skins like the robe, and 
 tied behind, without any shoulder-straps to keep it 
 up." * * * 
 
 " Sometimes, though not often, they mark their 
 skins by puncturing and introducing some coloured 
 matter : this ornament is chiefly confined to the 
 women, who thus imprint on their legs and arms 
 circular or parallel dots. On the arm of one of the 
 squaws, as has been before mentioned, we read the 
 name of ' J. Bowman,' probably a trader who has 
 visited the mouth of the Columbia. The favourite 
 decoration, however, of both sexes, consists of the 
 common coarse blue or white beads, which are fold- 
 ed very tightly round their wrists and ankles, to the 
 width of three or four inches, and worn in large loose 
 
CHARACTER OF THE KILLAMUCKS, ETC. 143 
 
 rolls round the neck, or as earrings, or hanging from 
 the nose, which last mode is pecuUar to the men. 
 There is also a species of wampum very much in 
 use, which seems to be worn in its Jiatural form, 
 without any preparation. It is in the shape of a 
 cone, somewhat curved, about the size of a raven's 
 quill at the base, and tapering to a point, its whole 
 length being from one to two and a half inches, 
 white, smooth, hard, and thin. A small thread is 
 passed through it, and the wampum is either sus- 
 pended from the nose, or passed through the carti- 
 lage horizontally, forming a ring from which other 
 ornaments hang. Wampum is employed in the 
 same way as beads, but more especially as a deco- 
 ration for the noses of the men, who also use col- 
 lars made of bears' claws, while the women and 
 children wear those of elk's tusks, and both sexes 
 are adorned with bracelets of copper, iron, or brass, 
 in various forms." * * * 
 
 " The Clatsops, and other nations at the mouth of 
 the Columbia, visited us with great freedom, and we 
 endeavoured to cultivate their friendship, as well for 
 the purposes of obtaining information, as to leave 
 behind us impressions favourable to our country. 
 Having acquired much of their language, we were 
 enabled, with the aid of gestures, to hold conversa- 
 tions with great ease. We found them inquisitive 
 and loquacious, with understandings by no means 
 deficient in acuteness, and with very retentive mem- 
 ories ; and, though fond of feasts, and generally 
 cheerful, they are never gay. Everything they ob- 
 serve excites their attention and inquiry ; but, having 
 been accustomed to see the whites, nothing appear- 
 ed to astonish them more than the air-gun. To all 
 our questions they answered with great intelligence, 
 and the conversation rarely slackened, as there was 
 a constant discussion of the events, trade, politics, 
 &c., in the small but active circle of the Killa- 
 mucks, Clatsops, Cathlamahs, Wahkiacums, and 
 Chinnooks." * * * 
 
 II.— M 
 
144 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 " The treatment of their women is often consid- 
 ered as the standard by which the moral qualities 
 of savages are to be estimated. Our own observa- 
 tion, however, induced us to think that the condition 
 of the female in savage life has no necessary rela- 
 tion to the virtues of the men, but is regulated wholly 
 by their capacity to be useful. The Indians who 
 treat their females most mildly, and pay most def- 
 erence to their opinions, are by no means the most 
 distinguished for their virtues ; nor is this deference 
 attended by any increase of attachment. On the 
 other hand, the tribes among whom the women are 
 very much debased, possess the loftiest sense of 
 honour, the greatest liberality, and all the good qual- 
 ities of which their situation demands the exercise. 
 Where the women can aid in procuring food for the 
 tribe, they are treated with more equality, and their 
 importance is proportioned to the share which they 
 cake in that labour ; while in countries where sub- 
 sistence is chiefly procured by the exertions of the 
 men, the women are considered and treated as bur- 
 dens. Thus, among the Clatsops and Chinnooks, 
 who live upon fish and roots, which the women are 
 equally expert with the men in procuring, the former 
 have a rank and influence very rarely found among 
 Indians. Here the females are permitted to speak 
 freely before the men, whom, indeed, they some- 
 times address in a tone of authority. On many sub- 
 jects their judgment and opinions are respected, and 
 in matters of trade their advice is generally asked 
 and followed. The labours of the family are shared 
 almost equally. The men collect wood and attend 
 to the fires, assist in cleaning the fish, make the 
 houses, canoes, and wooden utensils ; and, whenever 
 strangers are to be entertained, or a great feast pre- 
 pared, the meats are cooked and served up by them. 
 The peculiar province of the female is to gather 
 roots, and to manufacture the various articles which 
 are formed of rushes, flags, cedar bark, and bear- 
 
THEIR TREATMENT OF THE AGED. 145 
 
 grass ; but the management of the canoes, and many 
 of the occupations, which elsewhere devolve wholly 
 on the female, are here common to both sexes. 
 
 " The observation in regard to the treatment of 
 females applies with equal force to that of old men. 
 Among tribes who subsist by hunting, the labours 
 of the chase and the wandering existence to which 
 that occupation condemns them, necessarily throw 
 the burden of procuring provisions on the active 
 young men. As soon, therefore, as a man is no^ 
 longer able to pursue the chase, he begins to with- 
 draw something from the precarious supplies of the 
 tribe. Still, however, his counsels may compensate 
 his want of activity ; but in the next stage of infirm- 
 ity, when he can no longer travel from camp to 
 camp, as the tribe roams about for food, he is found 
 to be a heavy burden. In this situation the aged are 
 abandoned among the Sioux, the Assiniboins, and 
 the hunting tribes on the Missouri. As they are set- 
 ting out for some new excursion, where the old man 
 is unable to follow, his children or nearest connex- 
 ions place before him a piece of meat and some wa- 
 ter, and telling him that he has lived long enough, 
 that it is now time for him to go home to his rela- 
 tions, who can take better care of him than his 
 friends on earth, leave him, without remorse, to per- 
 ish when his little supply is exhausted. The same 
 custom is said to prevail among the Minnetarees, 
 A.hnahawas, and Ricaras, when they are encumber- 
 ed by old men on their hunting excursions. Yet in 
 their villages we saw no want of kindness to the 
 aged : on the contrary, probably because in villages 
 the means of more abundant subsistence renders 
 such cruelty unnecessary, old people appeared to be 
 treated with attention, and some of their feasts, par- 
 ticularly the buffalo dances, are intended chiefly for 
 the entertainment of the aged and infirm, 
 
 " The dispositions of these people seem mild and 
 inoffensive, and their behaviour to us was uniformly 
 
146 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 the most friendly. They are addicted to begging, 
 and to pilfering small articles when it can be done 
 without danger of detection, but do not rob wanton- 
 ly, nor to any large amount : some of them having 
 purloined some of the meat which our hunters had 
 been obhged to leave in the woods, they voluntarily 
 brought some dogs a few days after, by way of com- 
 pensation. Our numbers, and great superiority in 
 the use of firearms, enabled us always to command ; 
 and such was the friendly deportment of these peo- 
 ple, that the men were accustomed to treat them 
 with the greatest confidence. It was therefore with 
 difliculty that we could impress on our men a con- 
 viction of the necessity of being always on our guard, 
 since we were perfectly acquainted with the treach- 
 erous character of Indians generally. We were al- 
 ways prepared for an attack, and uniformly excluded 
 all considerable parties of the natives from the fort. 
 " Their large houses usually contain several fami- 
 lies, consisting of the parents, their children, their 
 sons and daughters-in-law, and grandchildren, among 
 whom the provisions are all in common, and whose 
 harmony is scarcely ever interrupted by disputes. 
 Although polygamy is permitted by their customs, 
 very few have more than a single wife ; and she is 
 brought immediately after the marriage into the hus- 
 band's family, where she resides until increasing 
 numbers oblige them to seek another house. In 
 this state the old man is not considered as the head 
 of the family, since the active duties, as well as prin- 
 cipal responsibiUty, fall on some of the younger 
 members. As these families gradually expand into 
 bands, tribes, or nations, the paternal authority is 
 represented by the chief of each association. This 
 chieftain, however, is not hereditary ; his ability to 
 be of service to his tribe, and the popularity which 
 follows it, being at once the foundation and measure 
 of his authority, the exsrcise of which does not ex- 
 tend beyond a reprimard for some improper action. 
 
THEIR PASSION FOR GAMBLING. 147 
 
 "The harmony of their private life is indeed se- 
 cured by their ignorance of spirituous liquors, the 
 earliest and most dreadful present which civilization 
 has bestowed on the other natives of the Continent. 
 Although they have had so much intercourse with 
 the whites, they do not appear to possess any knowl- 
 edge of those dangerous luxuries : at least, they 
 never inquired of us after them, which they probably 
 would have done if they had ever been introduced 
 among them. Indeed, we did not observe any liquor 
 of an intoxicating quality used among these or any 
 Indians west of the Rocky Mountains, the universal 
 beverage being pure water. They, however, some- 
 times almost intoxicate themselves with tobacco, of 
 which they are excessively fond ; and the pleasure 
 of which they prolong as much as possible, by re- 
 taining vast quantities of the smoke at a time, till, 
 after circulating through the lungs and stomach, it 
 issues in volumes from the mouth and nostrils. But 
 the most inveterate vice of all these people is an at- 
 tachment to g^mes of hazard, which they pursue 
 with a strange and ruinous avidity. Their games 
 are of two kinds. In the first, of which we have al- 
 ready given some account, one of the company as- 
 sumes the office of banker, and plays against the 
 rest. He takes a small stone, about the size of a 
 bean, which he shifts from one hand to the other 
 with great dexterity, repeating, at the same time, a 
 song adapted to the game, and which serves to divert 
 the attention of the company, till, having agreed on 
 the stake, he holds out his hands, and his antagonist 
 wins or loses as he succeeds or fails in guessing in 
 which hand the stone is. After the banker has lost 
 his money, or whenever he is tired, the stone is 
 transferred to another, who in turn challenges the 
 company. The other play is something like that of 
 ninepins : the two. pins are placed on the floor, at 
 about the distance of a foot from each other, and a 
 sm?.ll hole is made behind them. The players then 
 
148 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 go about ten feet from the hole, into which they try 
 to roll, between the pins, a small piece resembling 
 the men used at draughts. If they succeed in get- 
 ting it into the hole, they win the stake ; if the piece 
 passes between the pins, but does not go into the 
 hole, nothing is won or lost ; but the wager is whol- 
 ly lost if the piece rolls outside of the pins. Entire 
 days are wasted at these games, which are often 
 continued through the night round the blaze of their 
 fires, till the last article of clothing, and even the 
 last blue bead, is won from the desperate adventurer. 
 
 " In traffic they are acute and intelligent, display- 
 ing a dexterity and finesse that would scarcely be 
 expected. They begin by asking double or treble 
 its value for their merchandise, and lower their de- 
 mands in proportion to the ardour or indifference of 
 the purchaser: and if he expresses any anxiety, the 
 smallest article, even a handful of roots, will furnish 
 a whole morning's negotiation. Being naturally 
 suspicious, they, of course, conceive that you are 
 pursuing the same system. They therefore invari- 
 ably refuse the first offer, however high, fearful that 
 they or the other party may have mistaken the value 
 of the merchandise, and cautiously wait for a larger 
 offer. In this way, after rejecting the most extrav- 
 agant prices, which we had offered merely for ex- 
 periment, they would afterward importune us for a 
 tenth part of what they had before refused. In this 
 respect they differ from almost all Indians, who will 
 generally exchange, in a thoughtless moment, the 
 most valuable article they possess for any bawble 
 which happens to please their fancy. 
 
 " These habits of cunning or prudence have been 
 formed or increased by their being largely engaged 
 in the traffic of the Columbia : of this trade, howev- 
 er, the chief mart is at the Falls, where all the neigh- 
 bouring nations assemble. The inhabitants of the 
 plains on the Columbia, after having passed the win- 
 ter near the mountains, come down as soon as the 
 
TRADE OF THE INDIANS. 149 
 
 snow has left the valleys, and are occupied in col- 
 iecting and drying roots till about the month of May. 
 They then crowd to the river, and, fixing themselves 
 on its north side, to avoid the incursions of the Snake 
 Indians, continue fishing till about the first of Sep- 
 tember, when the salmon are no longer fit for use. 
 Then they bury their fish, and return to the plains, 
 where they remain gathering quamash till the snow 
 obliges them to desist, when they come back to the 
 Columbia, and, taking their store of fish, retire to the 
 foot of the mountains and along the creeks which 
 supply timber for their houses, and pass the winter 
 in hunting deer or elk, which, with the aid of their 
 fish, enables them to subsist till the spring, on the 
 arrival of which they resume the same circle of em- 
 ployments. During their residence on the rivers, 
 from May to September, or, rather, before they begin 
 the regular fishery, they go down to the Falls, car- 
 rying with them skins, mats, silk-grass, rushes, and 
 root-bread. They are here met by the Chopunnish 
 and other tribes of the Rocky Mountains, who de- 
 scend the Kooskooskee and Lewis Rivers for the 
 purpose of selling bear-grass, horses, quamash^ and 
 the few skins they may have obtained by hunting, or 
 in exchange for horses with the Tushepaws. 
 
 " At the Falls they find the Chilluckittequaws, 
 Eneeshurs, Echeloots, and Skilloots, which last serve 
 as intermediate traders or carriers between the in- 
 habitants above and below the Falls. These tribes 
 prepare pounded fish for market, and the nations be- 
 low bring wappatoo roots, the fish of the seacoast, 
 berries, and such trinkets and small articles as they 
 have procured from the whites. 
 
 " The trade then begins. The Chopunnish and 
 other Indians of the Rocky Mountains exchange the 
 articles which they have brought for ivappatoo, 
 pounded fish, and beads. The Indians of the plains, 
 being their own fishermen, take only wappatoo, hor- 
 ses, beads, -j^nd ot^er articles procured from the Eu- 
 
150 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 ropeans. The Indians, however, from Lewis's River 
 to the Falls, consume for food or fuel all the fish which 
 they take ; so that the whole stock for sale is pre- 
 pared by the nations between the Towahniahiooks 
 and the Falls, and amounts, as nearly as we could 
 estimate, to about thirty thousand pounds, chieflj 
 salmon, beyond the quantity which they use them- 
 selves, or barter with the more eastern Indians 
 This is now carried down the river by the Indians 
 at the Falls, and is consumed among the nations a\ 
 the mouth of the Columbia, who, in return, give the 
 fish of the seacoast, and the articles which they ob- 
 tain from the whites. The neighbouring tribes 
 catch large quantities of salmon and dry them, but 
 they do not understand the art of drying and pound- 
 ing it in the manner practised at the Falls, and, be- 
 ing very fond of it, are forced to purchase it at high 
 prices. This article, indeed, and the wappatoo., form 
 the principal objects of trade with the people of our 
 immediate vicinity. The traffic is wholly carried on 
 by water; and there are not even any roads or paths 
 through the country, except across the portages 
 which connect the creeks. 
 
 " But that which chiefly gives animation to this 
 trade is the visits of the whites. They arrive gen- 
 erally about the month of April, and either return 
 in October, or remain till that time ; during which 
 period, having no establishment on shore, they an- 
 chor on the north side of the bay, at the place al- 
 ready described, which is a spacious and commo- 
 dious harbour, perfectly secure from all except the 
 south and southeast winds; and, as they leave it be- 
 fore winter, they do not suffer from these, which are 
 the most usual and violent at that season. This 
 situation is also recommended by its neighbourhood 
 to fresh water, wood, and excellent timber for re< 
 pairs. Here they are immediately visited by the 
 tribes along the coast, by the Cathlamahs, and, last- 
 ly, by the Skilloots, that numerous and active peo- 
 
PRINCIPAL ARTICLES OF TRAFFIC. 151 
 
 pie who skirt the river between the marshy islands 
 and the Grand Rapids, as well as the Coweliskee, 
 and who carry down the fish prepared by their im- 
 mediate neighbours, the Chilluckittequaws, Enee- 
 shurs, and Echeeloots, residing from the Grand Rap- 
 ids to the Falls, and also the articles which they 
 have themselves procured in barter at the market in 
 May. The principal articles of traffic now concen- 
 trated at the mouth of the Columbia consist of dress- 
 ed and undressed skins of the elk, sea-otter, com- 
 mon otter, beaver, common fox, spuck, and tiger- 
 cat; besides articles of less importance, as a small 
 quantity of dried or pounded salmon, biscuit made 
 of the chappelell root, and some of the manufac- 
 tures of the neighbourhood. In return they receive 
 guns (principally old British or American muskets), 
 powder, ball and shot, copper and brass kettles, 
 brass teakettles and coffee-pots, blankets, coarse 
 scarlet and blue cloth, plates and strips of sheet 
 copper and brass, large brass wire, knives, tobacco, 
 fish-hooks, buttons, and a considerable quantity of 
 sailors' hats, trowsers, coats, and shirts. But, as we 
 have had occasion to remark more than once, the 
 objects most desired are the common cheap blue or 
 white beads, of from about fifty to seventy to the 
 pennyweight, which are strung on strands a fathom 
 long, and sold by the yard, or the length of both 
 arms. Of these, blue beads, which are called tia 
 commaskuck^ or chief beads, hold the first rank in 
 their estimation ; the most inferior kind being more 
 highly prized than the finest wampum, and off*ering 
 a temptation so strong as to induce them to part 
 with their most valuable eff'ects. Indeed, if the ex- 
 ample of civilized life did not completely vindicate 
 their predilection, we might wonder at their infatu- 
 ated fondness for a bawble in itself so worthless. 
 Yet these beads are perhaps quite as reasonable 
 objects of passionate desire as the precious metals, 
 since they are at once benutiful ornaments for the 
 
15*^ LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 person, and furnish the chief medium of trade among 
 the nations on the Columbia. ^. . .u 
 
 " These strangers, who visit the Columbia for the 
 purpose of trade or hunting, must be either English 
 or Americans. The Indians informed us that they 
 spoke the same language as we did ; and, indeed, 
 the few words which they have learned from the 
 sailors, such as musket, powder, shot, knife, file, 
 heave the lead, and other phrases, sufficiently show 
 this " * * * 
 
 " The nations near the mouth of the Columbia en- 
 ]oy ffreat tranquillity, none of them being engaged 
 in war. Not long since, however, some of the tribes 
 were at war on the coast to the southwest, in which 
 the Killamucks took several prisoners. These, as 
 far as we could perceive, were treated very kindly, 
 and, though nominally slaves, they had been adopted 
 into the families of their masters, the young ones 
 being placed on the same footing with their children. 
 " The month of February and the greater part ot 
 March were passed much in the same manner. 
 Every day, parties as large as we could spare from 
 our other occupations were sent out to hunt, and we 
 were thus enabled to command some days' provision 
 in advance. This consisted chiefly of deer and elk 
 meat : the first was very lean, and by no means as 
 good as that of the elk, which, though it had been 
 poor, was getting better : it was, indeed, our chiet de- 
 pendance. At this season of the year the animals 
 are in much better order in the prairies near the point, 
 where they feed on grass and rushes, considerable 
 quantities of which remain green, than in the woody 
 country up the Netul. There they subsist on whor- 
 tleberry bushes and fern, but chiefly on an evergreen 
 called shallun, resembling the laurel, which abounds 
 through all the timbered lands, particularly along the 
 broken sides of hills. Towards the latter end ot 
 February, however, they left the prairies near Point 
 Adams, and reti -ed back to the hills ; but, fortunately, 
 
CLATSOP CHIEF, COMOWOOL. 153 
 
 at the same time the sturgeon and anchovies began 
 to appear, and afforded us a delicious variety of food. 
 The party on the seacoast continued to supply us 
 
 with salt." * * * 
 
 " The neighbouring tribes still visited us for the 
 purpose of trading, or to smoke with us. On the 
 21st, a Chinnook chief, whom we had not before 
 seen, came over with twenty-five of his men. His 
 name was Taheum : a man about fifty years of age, 
 of a larger stature and better carriage, than most of 
 his nation. We received him with the usual cere- 
 monies, gave the party something to eat, smoked 
 very freely with them all, and presented the chief 
 with a small medal. They seemed well satisfied 
 with their treatment ; but, though we were willing to 
 show the chief every civility, we could not dispense 
 with our rule of not suffering a large number of stran- 
 gers to sleep in the fort. They therefore left us at 
 sunset. On the 24th, Comowool, who was by far the 
 most friendly and decent savage we had seen in this 
 neighbourhood, came with a large party of Clatsops, 
 bringing, among other articles, sturgeon, and a small 
 fish which had just begun to make its appearance in 
 the Columbia." 
 
 As the elk were now less plentiful, they subsisted 
 on fish whenever they could take them, or their lim- 
 ited means would procure them from the Indians. 
 There were a considerable number of invalids in the 
 party, the principal complaint being a sort of influ- 
 enza, which they ascribed to the nature of the clh 
 mate. 
 
154 LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 Difficulty of procuring tlie Means of Subsistence. — They deter- 
 mine to start on their Journey to the Mountains. — They leave 
 with the Indians a written Memorandum, giving an Account 
 of their having penetrated to the Pacific by the way of the 
 Missouri and Columbia, and across the Rocky Mountains. — 
 The Party commence their Return, — Dexterity of the Cath- 
 lamah Indians in Carving. — The Coweiiskee River. — Hospi- 
 tality of the Natives. — Instance of the extreme Voracity of the 
 Vulture. — The Party are visited by many strange Indians, all 
 of whom are kind and hospitable.— Scarcity of Game, and 
 Embarrassments on that Account.— Captain Clarke discovers 
 a Tribe not seen in the Descent down the Columbia. — Partic- 
 ular Deseription of the Multnomah Village and River. — Mount 
 Jefferson. — Captain Clarke's Account of the Neerchokio 
 Tribe, and of their Architecture.— Their Sufferings from 
 Smallpox. 
 
 " Many reasons," continues the Journal, " had de- 
 termined us to remain at Fort Clatsop till the 1st of 
 April. Besides the want of fuel in the plains on the 
 Columbia, and the impracticability of passing the 
 mountains before the beginning of June, we were 
 anxious to see some of the foreign traders, from 
 whom, by means of our ample letters of credit, we 
 might recruit our exhausted stores of merchandise. 
 About the middle of March, however, we became 
 seriously alarmed for the want of food : the elk, our 
 chief dependance, had at length deserted their usual 
 haunts in our neighbourhood, and retreated to the 
 mountains. We were too poor to purchase other 
 food from tlie Indians, so that we were sometimes 
 reduced, notwithstanding all the exertions of our 
 hunters, to a single day's provision in advance. 
 The men, too, whom the constant rains and confine- 
 ment had rendered unhealthy, might, we hoped, be 
 benefited by quitting the coast, and »'esuming the ex- 
 
PREPAEATIONS FOR THE HOMEWARD ROUTE. 155 
 
 ercise of travelling. We determined, therefore, to 
 feaie Fort Clatsop, ascend the river slowly, spend 
 he remainder of March in the woody country 
 where we hoped to find subsistence, and in this 
 way reaTh the plains about the first of April, before 
 Sh tTme it Jould be fruitless to aUe-pt cmssing 
 them ; and for this purpose we now began our prep- 
 
 ^'''^Durincr the winter we had been very indu^rious 
 in dressiirg skins, so that we had now a sufficien 
 rmantitv of clothing, besides between three and four 
 TndrS plirs of m'occasins. But the whole stock o 
 crnnris on which WO wcre to depend, both lor me 
 ZfcLTeoJhoTses and of food, during the long tour 
 of nearly four thousand miles, was so miich diniin- 
 ^shed that It might all be tied in two handkerchiefs 
 We had, in fact? nothing but six blue robes, one of 
 scarlet a coat and hat of the United States artillery 
 uniform!five robes made of our large flag, and a few 
 o d cloThes trimmed with riband. We therefore felt 
 that our chief dependance must be on our guns 
 which, fortunately, were all in good order, as we had 
 ^ken the precaution of bringing a number of extra 
 lock" and one of our men proved to be an excellent 
 arUsrin tha way. The powder had been secured 
 n faden canistJrs, and though on many occasions 
 they had been under water, it had remained per- 
 fectlv dry, and we now found ourselves in posses- 
 sion of one hundred and forty pounds of POwder and 
 twice that weight of lead, a stock quite sufficient for 
 the route homeward. j j ;„ 
 
 "After much trafficking, we at last succeeded in 
 purchasing a canoe for a uniform coat and half a 
 carrot of tobacco, and took another from the Clat- 
 cons by way of reprisal for some elk which they 
 ha^d sSen from us in the winter. We were now 
 ready to leave, but the rain prevented us for several 
 days from caulking the canoes, and we were forced 
 to wait for calm weather before we could attempt 
 
156 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 to pass Point William. In the mean time we were 
 visited by many of our neighbours, for the purpose 
 of taking leave of us= The Clatsop Comowool 
 had been the most friendly and hospitable of all the 
 Indians in this quarter : we therefore gave him a 
 certificate of the kindness and attention which we 
 had received from him, and added a more substan- 
 tial proof of our gratitude — the gift of all our houses 
 and furniture. To the Chinnook chief Delashelwilt 
 we gave a certificate of the same kind ; and distrib- 
 uted among the natives several papers (one of which 
 we also posted up in the fort), to the following ef- 
 fect : 
 
 " The object of this is, that through the medium 
 of some civilized person who may see the same, it 
 may be made known to the world that the party, 
 consisting of the persons whose names are hereunto 
 annexed, and who were sent out by the government 
 of the United States to explore the interior of the 
 continent of North America, did cross the same by 
 the way of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, to the 
 discharge of the latter into the Pacific Ocean, where 
 they arrived on the 14th day of November, 1805, and 
 departed the 23d day of March, 1806, on their return 
 to the United States, by the same route by which 
 they had come out.'* On the back of some of these 
 
 * By a singular casualty this note fell into the possession of 
 Captain Hill, who, while on the coast of the Pacific, procured it 
 from the natives. This note was taken by him to Canton, from 
 whence it was brought to the United States. The following is 
 an extract of a letter from a gentleman at Canton to his friend 
 in Philadelphia : 
 
 Extract of a letter from to in Philadelphia. 
 
 Canton, January, 1807. 
 
 I wrote you last by the Governor Strong, Cleveland, for Bos- 
 ton ; the present is by the brig Lydia, Hill, of the same place. 
 
 Captain Hill, while on the coast, met some Indian natives 
 near the mouth of the Columbia River, who delivered to him a 
 paper, of which I enclose you a copy. It had been committed to 
 their charge by Cap/ains Clarke and Lewis, who had penetrated 
 
THE PARTY COMMENCE THEIR RETURN. 157 
 
 papers we sketched the connexion of the upper 
 branches of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, with 
 our route, and the track which we intended to fol- 
 low on our return." * * * 
 
 " The rains and wind still confined us to the fort ; 
 but at last our provisions were reduced to a single 
 day's slock, and it became absolutely necessary to 
 remove : we therefore sent a few hunters ahead, 
 and stopped the rents in the boats as well as we 
 could with mud. 
 
 " March 23. The canoes were loaded, and at one 
 o'clock in the afternoon we took a final leave of Fort 
 Clatsop. The wind was still high, but we must have 
 remained without provisions, and we hoped to be 
 able to double Point William. We had scarcely 
 left the fort, when we met Delashelwilt and a party 
 of twenty Chinnooks, who, understanding that we 
 had been trying to procure a canoe, had brought one 
 for sale. Being, however, already supplied, we left 
 them, and, after getting out of Meriwether's Bay, 
 began to coast along the south side of the riv&r. 
 We doubled Point William without any accident, 
 and at six o'clock reached, at the distance of sixteen 
 miles from Fort Clatsop, the mouth of a small creek, 
 where we found our hunters." * * * 
 
 Starting immediately after breakfast the next 
 morning, at one o'clock they reached the Cathlamah 
 village, opposite to the Seal Islands, and which has 
 been already mentioned. " These people," says the 
 Journal, " seem to be more fond of carving in wood 
 
 to the Pacific Ocean. The original is a rough draught with a pen 
 of their outward route, and that which they intended returning 
 by. Just below the junction of Madison's River they found an 
 immense fall of three hundred and sixty-two feet perpendicular. 
 This, I believe, exceeds in magnitude any other known. From 
 the natives Captain Hill learned that they were all in good 
 health and spirits ; had met many difficulties on their progress 
 from various tribes of Indians, but had found them about the 
 sources of the Missouri very friendly, as were those on Colum 
 bia River and \^f^ '^"°ai. — Note of the original Editor. 
 
158 LEWIS AND Clarke's expcdition. 
 
 than their neighbours, and have vaiinis specimens 
 of their workmanship about their nouses. The 
 broad piece supporting the roof and the board 
 through which the doors are cut are the objects on 
 which they chiefly display their ingenuity, being or- 
 namented with curious figures, sometimes repre- 
 senting persons in a sitting posture supporting a 
 burden. On resuming our route among the Seal 
 Islands we mistook our way, which an Indian ob- 
 serving, he pursued us and put us in the right chan- 
 nel. Soon, however, he somewhat embarrassed us 
 by claiming the canoe we had taken from the Clat- 
 sops, and which he declared to be his property. We 
 had found it among the Clatsops, and seized it, as 
 has been already stated, by way of reprisal for a 
 theft committed by that nation ; but, being unwilling 
 to do an act of injustice to this Indian, and having 
 no time to discuss the question of right, we com- 
 promised the matter with him for an elkskin, with 
 which he returned perfectly satisfied." * * * After 
 making a distance of fifteen miles, they encamped 
 opposite to the lower village of the Wahkiacums. 
 
 The two following days they ascended the rivei 
 about thirty-three miles, meeting with different par- 
 ties of the Clatsops and Cathlamahs, from whom 
 they obtained a small supply of fish, while their 
 hunters succeeded in kilUng a goose and three ea- 
 gles. 
 
 " March 27. We set out early," continues the 
 Journal, " and were soon joined by some Skilloots 
 with fish and roots for sale. At ten o'clock we 
 stopped to breakfast at two houses of the same na- 
 tion, where we found our hunters, who had not re- 
 turned to camp last night, but had killed nothing. 
 The inhabitants seemed very kind and hospitable. 
 They gave almost the whole party as much as they 
 could eat of dried anchovies, wappatoo, sturgeon, 
 quamash, and a small white tuberous root, two inch- 
 es long, and as thick as a man's finger, which, when 
 
THE COWELISKEE RIVER. 159 
 
 eulen raw, is crisp, milky, and of an agreeable fla- 
 vour. They also urged us to remain with them all 
 the day, and hunt elk and deer, which they said were 
 abundant in the neighbourhood ; but, as the weather 
 would not permit us to dry and pitch our canoes, we 
 declined their invitation, and proceeded. At the dis- 
 tance of two miles we passed the entrance of Cowe- 
 liskee River. This stream discharges itself on the 
 north side of the Columbia, about three miles above 
 a remarkably high rocky knoll, the south side of 
 which it washes in passing, and which is separa- 
 ted from the northern hills by a wide bottom several 
 miles in extent. The Coweliskee is one hundred 
 and fifty yards wide, deep and navigable, as the In- 
 dians assert, for a considerable distance, and most 
 probably waters the country west and north of the 
 range of mountains which cross the Columbia be- 
 tween the Great Falls and Rapids. On the lower 
 side of this river, a few miles from its entrance into 
 the Columbia, is the principal village of the Skil- 
 loots, a numerous people, differing, however, neither 
 in language, dress, nor manners from the Clatsops, 
 Chinnooks, and other nations at the mouth of the 
 Columbia. With the Chinnooks they have lately 
 been at war, and, though hostilities have ceased, 
 they have not yet resumed their usual intercourse, 
 so that the Skilloots do not go down as far as the 
 sea, nor do the Chinnooks come higher up than the 
 Seal Islands, the trade between them being carried 
 on by the Clatsops, Cathlamahs, and Wahkiacums, 
 their mutual friends. On this same river, above the 
 Skilloots, resides a nation called Hullooetell, of 
 whom we learned nothing except that they were 
 numerous." * * * They halted late in the evening, 
 after making twenty miles, having been enabled to 
 purchase of the natives a plentiful supply of fish and 
 roots at a very moderate price. 
 
 The next day they set out as usual, but after pro- 
 ceeding five miles they landed on Deer Island, where, 
 II— N 
 
160 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 the weather becoming fair, they concluded to remain, 
 for the purpose of drying their baggage and pitching 
 their boats. " Our hunters," proceeds the Journal, 
 " brought in three deer, a goose, some ducks, an 
 eagle, and a tiger-cat ; but such is the extreme vora- 
 city of the vultures, that they had devoured in the 
 space of a few hours four of the deer killed in the 
 morning ; and one of our men declared ihat they had, 
 besides, dragged a large buck about thirty yards, skin- 
 ned it, and broke the back-bone. We were visiUd 
 during the day by a large canoe with ten Indians of 
 the Quathlapotle nation, who reside about seventeen 
 miles farther up. 
 
 " March 29. At an early hour we proceeded along 
 the side of Deer Island, and halted for breakfast at 
 the upper end of it, where is properly the commenc-e- 
 ment of the great Columbian Valley. We were join- 
 ed here by three men of the Towahnahiook nation, 
 with whom we proceeded, till at the clistance of four- 
 teen miles from our camp of last evening we reached 
 a large inlet or arm of the river, about three hundred 
 yards wide, up which they went to their villages. A 
 short distance above this inlet, a considerable river 
 empties itself on the north side of the Columbia ; its 
 name is Chawahnahiooks. It is about one hundred 
 and fifty yards wide, and discharges a large body of 
 water, though the Indians assured us that at a short 
 distance above its mouth the navigation is obstructed 
 by falls and rapids. Three miles beyond the inlet is 
 an island near the north shore of the river, behind 
 the lower end of which was a village of Quathlapo- 
 tles, where we landed about three o'clock. This vil- 
 lage consisted of fourteen large wooden houses. The 
 people received us very kindly, and voluntarily spread 
 before us anchovies and wappatoo ; but, as soon as we 
 had finished enjoying their hospitality, if it deserves 
 that name, they began to ask for presents. They 
 were, however, perfectly satisfied with the trifling 
 articles which we distributed among them, and equaJ* 
 
QUATHLAPOTLE ISLAND. 161 
 
 ly pleased with our purchasing some wappatoo, twelve 
 dogs, and two sea-otter skins. We also gave to the 
 chief a small medal, which he soon transferred to 
 his wife. After remaining some time we embarked, 
 and, coasting along this island , which, after the nation, 
 we called Quathlapotle Island, encamped for the night 
 m a small prairie on the north side of the Columbia, 
 having made by estimate nineteen miles. The river 
 was rising fast. In the course of the day we saw 
 great numbers of geese, ducks, and large and small 
 swans, which last were very abundant in the ponds 
 where the wappatoo grew, as they feed much on that 
 root. We also observed the crested kingfisher, and 
 the large and small blackbird; and in the evening 
 heard, without seeing, the large hooting-owl. Frogs, 
 which we did not find in the wet marshes near the 
 entrance of the Columbia, were now croaking in the 
 swamps and marshes, with precisely the same note 
 as in the United States. Garter-snakes appeared in 
 vast numbers, and were seen in the prairies in large 
 oundles of forty or fifty entwined round each other. 
 Among the moss on the rocks we observed a species 
 of small wild onions, growing so closely together as 
 to form a perfect turf, and equal in flavour to the 
 chives of our gardens, which they resemble in ap- 
 pearance also. 
 
 " March 30. Soon after our departure we were met 
 by three Clanaminanums, one of whom we recog- 
 nised as our companion yesterday. He pressed us 
 very much to visit his countrymen on the inlet, but 
 we had no time to make the circuit, and parted. We 
 had not proceeded far before a party of Claxtars and 
 Cathlacumups passed us in two canoes, on their way 
 down the river ; and soon after we were met by sev- 
 eral other canoes, filled with Indians of different 
 tribes on each side of the river. We also passed 
 several fishing camps on Wappatoo Island, and then 
 halted for breakfast on the north side of ihe river, 
 wear our camp of the 4th of November. Here we 
 
162 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 were visited by several canoes from two villages on 
 Wappatoo Island : the first, about two miles farther 
 up, was called Clahnaquah ; the other, a mile above 
 it, Multnomah. After higgling much in the manner 
 of those on the seacoast, these Indians gave us a 
 sturgeon, with some wappatoo and pashequaw, in ex- 
 change for a few small fish-hooks. As we proceeded 
 we were joined by other Indians, and on coming op- 
 posite to the Clahnaquah village, we were shown 
 another village, about two miles from the river on 
 the northeast side, and behind a pond running paral- 
 lel with it. Here they said the tribe called Shotos 
 resided. About four o'clock the Indians all left us. 
 Their chief object in accompanying us appeared to 
 have been to gratify their curiosity ; but, though they 
 behaved in the most friendly manner, most of them 
 were furnished with their instruments of war. About 
 sunset we reached a beautiful prairie, opposite to the 
 middle of what we had called Image-Canoe Island ; 
 and, having made twenty-three miles, encamped for 
 the night." * * * 
 
 The next day they proceeded twenty-five miles, 
 passing a considerable stream from the north, which 
 they called Seal River, and encamped opposite to 
 the upper entrance of Quicksand River. The latter 
 stream they ascertained, from the accounts of the 
 Indians and by their own examination, to be much 
 less extensive than they had supposed in passing it 
 on their way down. They remained here till the 
 6th of April, for the purpose of collecting a stock of 
 provisions. Several parties of Indians were met de- 
 scending the river in quest of food. " They told us," 
 says the Journal, " that they lived at the Great Rap- 
 ids ; but that the scarcity of provisions there had 
 induced them to come down, in the hopes of finding 
 subsistence in the more fertile valley. All the peo 
 plchving at the Rapids, as well as the nations above 
 them, were in much distress for want of food, having 
 consumed their winter store of dried fish, and no! 
 
THE PARTy STOP TO COLLECT PROVISIONS. 163 
 
 expecting the return of the salmon before the next 
 full moon, which would be on the 2d of May : this 
 information was not a little embarrassing. From 
 the Falls to the Chopunnish nation, the plains afford- 
 ed neither deer, elk, nor antelope for our subsist- 
 ence. The horses were very poor at this season, 
 and the dogs must be in the same condition, if their 
 food, the dried fish, had failed. Still, it was obviously 
 inexpedient for us to wait for the return of the salm- 
 on, since in that case we might not reach the 
 Missouri before the ice would prevent our navigating 
 it. We might, besides, hazard the loss of our 
 horses, as, the Chopunnish, with whom we had left 
 them, would cross the mountains as early as possi- 
 ble, or about the beginning of May, and take our 
 horses with them, or suffer them to disperse, in either 
 of which cases the passage of the mountains will be 
 almost impracticable. We therefore, after much de- 
 liberation, decided to remain where we were till we 
 could collect meat enough to last us till we should 
 reach the Chopunnish nation, and to obtain canoes 
 from the natives as we ascended, either in exchange 
 for our pirogues, or by purchasing them with skins 
 and merchandise. These canoes, again, we might 
 exchange for horses with the natives of the plains, 
 till we should obtain enough to travel altogether by 
 land. On reaching the southeast branch of the Co- 
 lumbia, four or five men could be sent on to the 
 Chopunnish to have our horses in readiness ; and 
 thus we should have a stock of horses sufficient 
 both to transport our baggage and supply us with 
 food, as we now perceived that they would form our 
 only certain dependance for subsistence. 
 
 " The hunters returned from the opposite side of 
 the river with some deer and elk, which were abun- 
 dant there, as were also the tracks of the black bear, 
 while on the north side we could kill nothing. 
 
 " In the course of our dealings to-day we pur- 
 chased a canoe from an Indian for six fathoms of 
 
164 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 wampum beads. He seemed perfectly satisfied, and 
 went away ; but returned soon after, cancelled the 
 bargain, and, giving back the wampum, requested us 
 to restore the canoe. To this we consented, as we 
 knew that this method of trading was very common, 
 and deemed perfectly fair. 
 
 " April 2. Being now determined to collect as 
 much game as possible, two parties, consisting of 
 nine men, were sent over the river to hunt, and three 
 were ordered to range the country on the side where 
 we were, while the rest were employed in cutting 
 up and scaffolding the meat which had been already 
 brought in. About eight o'clock several canoes ar- 
 rived with visiters, and among the rest were two 
 young men who were pointed out as Cushooks. 
 They said that their nation resided at the falls of a 
 large river, which emptied itself into the south side 
 of the Columbia a few miles above us ; and they 
 drew a map of the country with a coal, on a mat. 
 In order to satisfy himself as to the truth of this 
 information, Captain Clarke persuaded one of the 
 young Cushooks, by a present of a burning-glass, to 
 accompany him to the river, in search of which he 
 immediately set out with a canoe and seven of our 
 men. After his departure other canoes arrived, 
 bringing families of women and children, who con- 
 firmed the accounts of scarcity above. One of these 
 families, consisting of ten or twelve persons, en- 
 camped near us, and behaved perfectly well. The 
 hunters on our side of the river returned with the 
 skins only of two deer, the animals themselves being 
 too lean for use. 
 
 "April 3. A considerable number of Indians 
 crowded about us to-day, many of them from the 
 upper part of the river. These poor wretches gave 
 a dismal account of the scarcity prevailing there ; 
 which, indeed, their appearance sufficiently proved, 
 for they seemed almost starved, and greedily picksd 
 the bones and refuse meat thrown away by us. 
 
DEVICE TO PROCURE PROVISIONS. 165 
 
 " In the evening Captain Clarke returned from his 
 fcxcursion. On setting out yesterday at half past 
 eleven o'clock, he directed his course along the south 
 side of the river, where, at the distance of eight 
 miles, he passed a village of the Nechacohee tribe, 
 belonging to the Eloot nation. The village itself 
 was small, and, being situated behind Diamond Isl- 
 and, was concealed from our view, as we had pass- 
 ed both times along the northern shore. He pro- 
 ceeded onward till three o'clock, when he landed 
 near a single house, the only remains of a village of 
 twenty-four straw huts. Along the shore were great 
 numbers of small canoes for receiving wappatoo, 
 having been left here by the Shahalas, who visit the 
 place annually. The present inmates of the house 
 were part of the Neerchokioo tribe of the same na- 
 tion. On entering one of the apartments of the 
 house. Captain Clarke offered several articles to the 
 Indians in exchange for wappatoo ; but they appeared 
 sullen and ill humoured, and refused to give him any. 
 He therefore sat down by the fire opposite to the 
 men, and, drawing a portfire match from his pocket, 
 threw a small piece of it into the flames ; at the 
 same time he took out his pocket compass, and by 
 means of a magnet which happened to be in his ink- 
 horn, made the needle turn round very briskly. The 
 match immediately took fire and burned violently, 
 on which the Indians, terrified at this strange exhi- 
 bition, brought a quantity of wappatoo and laid it at 
 his feet, begging him to put out the bad fire ; while 
 an old woman continued to speak with great vehe- 
 mence, as if praying, and imploring protection. Af- 
 ter receiving the roots, Captain Clarke put up the 
 compass, and, as the match went out of itself, tran- 
 quillity was restored, though the women and chil- 
 dren still sought refuge in their beds and behind the 
 men. He now paid them for what he had used, and, 
 after lighting his pipe and smoking with them, con- 
 tinued down the river. He found that what we had 
 
166 LEWIS AND CLARKE^S EXPEDITION. 
 
 called Image-Canoe Island consisted of three islands, 
 the one in the middle concealing the opening be- 
 tween the other two in such a way as to present to 
 us on the opposite side of the river the appearance 
 of a single island. At the lower point of the third, 
 and thirteen miles below the last village, he entered 
 the mouth of a large river, which was concealed by 
 three small islands at its mouth from those who de- 
 scend or ascend the Columbia. This river, which 
 the Indians call Multnomah, from a nation of the 
 same name residing near it on Wappaloo Island, en- 
 ters the Columbia one hundred and forty miles from 
 the mouth of the latter river, of which it may justly be 
 considered as forming one fourth, though it had now 
 fallen eighteen inches below its greatest annual 
 height. From its entrance Mount Regnier bears 
 nearly north, and Mount St. Helen north, with a very 
 high humped mountain a little to the east of it, which 
 seems to lie in the same chain with the conic-point- 
 ed mountains before mentioned. Mount Hood bore 
 due east, and Captain Clarke now discovered to the 
 southeast a mountain which we had not yet seen, 
 and to which he gave the name of Mount Jefferson. 
 Like Mount St. Helen, its figure is a regular cone, 
 covered with snow, and it is probably of equal height 
 with that mountain, though, being more distant, so 
 large a portion of it did not appear above the range 
 of mountains which lie between these and the point 
 where they were. Soon after entering the Multno- 
 mah he was met by an old Indian descending the 
 river alone in a canoe. After some conversation 
 with him, the pilot informed Captain Clarke that 
 this old man belonged to the Clackamos nation, who 
 reside on a river forty miles up the Multnomah. 
 The current of this latter river is as gentle as that 
 of the Columbia, its surface is smooth and even, and 
 it appears to possess water enough for the largest 
 ship, since, on sounding with a line of five fathoms, 
 he could find no bottom for nt least one third of the 
 
THE MULTNOMAH RIVER. 167 
 
 width of the stream. At the distance of seven miles 
 he passed a sluice or opening on the right, eighty 
 yards wide, which separates Wappatoo Island from 
 the continent by emptying itself into the inlet be- 
 low. Three miles farther up he reached a large 
 wooden house on the east side, where he intended 
 to sleep ; but on entering the rooms he found such 
 swarms of fleas, that he preferred lymg on the 
 ground near by. The guide informed him that this 
 house was the temporary residence of the Nemal- 
 quinner tribe of the Cushook nation, who reside just 
 below the falls of the Multnomah, but come down 
 here occasionally to collect ivappatoo : it was thirty 
 feet long and forty deep, built of broad boards, and 
 covered with the bark of white cedar, the floor be- 
 ing on a level with the surface of the earth, and the 
 arrangement of the interior hke that of the houses 
 near the seacoast. The former inhabitants had left 
 their canoes, mats, bladders, train oil, baskets, bowls, 
 and trenchers lying about the house at the mercy 
 of every visiter ; a proof, indeed, of their respect for 
 the property of each other, though we had had very 
 conclusive evidence that the property of white men 
 was not deemed equally sacred. The guide inform- 
 ed him farther, that at a small distance above there 
 were two bayous, on which were a number of small 
 houses belonging to the Cushooks, but that they had 
 then all gone up to the falls of the Multnomah for 
 the purpose of fishing. 
 
 " Early the next morning Captain Clarke proceeded 
 up the river, which during the night had fallen about 
 five inches. At the distance of two miles he came 
 to the centre of a bend under the high lands on the 
 right side, from which its course, as far as could be 
 discerned, was to the east of southeast. At this 
 place the Multnomah is five hundred yards wide, 
 and for half that distance across a cord of five fath- 
 oms would not reach the bottom. It appears to be 
 washing away its banks, and has more sand-bars 
 IT.— O 
 
168 LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 and willow-points than the Columbia. Its regular, 
 gentle current, the depth, smoothness, and uniformi- 
 ty with which it rolls its vast body of water, proves 
 that its supplies are at once distant and steady; nor 
 judging from its appearance and course, is it rash to 
 believe that the Multnomah and its tributary streams 
 water the vast extent of country between the western 
 mountains and those of the seacoast, as far, perhaps, 
 as the Gulf of California. At about eleven o'clock 
 he again reached the house of the Neerchokioos, in 
 which he now found eight families ; but they were 
 all so much alarmed at his presence, notwithstand- 
 ing his visit yesterday, that he remained a very few 
 minutes only. Soon after setting out he met five 
 canoes, filled with the same number of famihes, be- 
 longing to the Shahala nation. They were descend- 
 ing the river in search of food, and seemed very de- 
 sirous of coming alongside the boat; but, as there 
 were twenty-one of them, and the guide said that 
 these Shahalas, as well as their relations at the 
 house we had just left, were all mischievous, bad 
 men, they were not suffered to approach. 
 
 " At three o'clock he halted for an hour at the 
 Nechecolee house, where his guide resided. This 
 large building was two hundred and twenty-six feet 
 in front, entirely above ground, and might be con- 
 sidered as a single house, since the whole was un- 
 der one roof : otherwise it appeared more like a 
 range of buildings, as it was divided into seven dis- 
 tinct apartments, each thirty feet square, by means 
 of broad poles set on end, and reaching from the 
 floor to the roof. The apartments were separated 
 from each other by a passage or alley four feet wide, 
 extending through the whole depth of the house, 
 and the only entrance to them was from these al- 
 leys, through a small hole about twenty-two inche8 
 Wide, and not more than three feet high. The roo) 
 was formed of rafters and round poles laid on them 
 longitudinally; the whole being covered with a dou 
 
ACCOUNT OF THE NECHECOLEES. 169 
 
 ble row of the bark of the white cedar, extending 
 from the top eighteen inches over the eaves, and se- 
 cured as well as kept smooth by splinters of dried 
 fir inserted through it at regular distances. In this 
 manner the roof was made light, strong, and dura- 
 ble. Near this house were the remains of several 
 other large buildings, sunk in the ground, and con- 
 structed like those we had seen at the Great Nar- 
 rows of the Columbia, belonging to the Eloots, with 
 whom these people claim affinity. In manners and 
 dress these Nechecolees differ but little from the 
 Quathlapotles, and others of this neighbourhood ; but 
 their language is the same used by the Eloots, and 
 though it has some words in common with the dia ' 
 lects spoken here, yet its whole structure is obvi 
 ously different. The men, too, are of larger stature, 
 and both sexes better formed than among the na- 
 tions below ; and the females are distinguished by 
 wearing larger and longer robes (which are gener- 
 ally of deerskin dressed in the hair) than those of 
 the neighbouring tribes. In the house there were 
 several old people of both sexes, who were treated 
 with much respect, and still seemed healthy, though 
 most of them were perfectly blind. On inquiring 
 the cause of the decline of their village, an old man, 
 the father of the guide, and a person of some dis- 
 tinction, brought forward a woman very much pit- 
 ted with the smallpox, and said that, when a girl, she 
 was very near dying with the disorder which had 
 left those marks, and that all the inhabitants of the 
 houses now in ruins had fallen victims to the same 
 disease. From the apparent age of the woman 
 then, connected with what it was at the time of her 
 illness. Captain Clarke judged that this sickness 
 must have been about thirty years before, or about 
 the period we had supposed that the smallpox prob- 
 ably prevailed on the seacoast. 
 
 " He then entered into a long conversation in re- 
 gard to the adjacent country and its inhabitants, the 
 
 Vol. II.— P 
 
170 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 old man replying to his questions with great intelli- 
 gence ; and at the close he drew with his finger in 
 the dust a sketch of the Multnomah, and of Wappa- 
 too Island. This Captain Clarke copied and pre. 
 served. He then purchased five dogs, and, taking 
 leave of the Nechecolee village, returned to camp." 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Description of Wappatoo Island, and of the Mode in which the 
 r^atives gather the Wappatoo Root. — Character of the Soil 
 and its Productions. — Numerous Tribes residing in its Vicin- 
 ity. — Probability that they were all of the Multnomah Tribe 
 originally, inferred from Similarity of Dress, Manners, Lan- 
 guage, &c. — Description of their Dress, Weapons of War, and 
 Mode of burying the Dead. — Description of another Village, 
 called the Wahclellah Village.— Their Mode of Architecture. 
 — Extraordinary Height of Beacon Rock.— Unfriendly Char- 
 acter of the Indians at that Place. — The Party, alarmed for 
 their Safety, resolve to inflict siimmary Vengeance, in case 
 the W^ahclellah Tribe persist in their Outrages and Insults. — 
 Interview with the Chief of that Tribe, and Confidence resto 
 red. — Difficulty of drawing the Canoes over the Rapids. — 
 Visited by a Party of the Yehugh Tribe. — Brief Notice of the 
 Weocksockwillackum Tribe. — Curious Phenomenon observ- 
 ed in the Columbia, from the Rapids to the Chilluckittequaws 
 
 " April 4. The hunters were still out in every di- 
 rection. Those from the opposite side of the river 
 returned with a bear and some venison ; but the flesh 
 of six deer and an elk which they had killed was so 
 meager and unfit for use that they had left it in the 
 woods. Two other deer were brought in ; but, as 
 the game was all poor, we despatched a large party 
 to some low grounds on the south, six miles above 
 us, to hunt there until our arrival. As usual, many 
 Indians came to our camp, some of them descend- 
 ing the river with their families, and others from 
 
MODE OF GATHERING WAPPATOO. 171 
 
 below, with no object except to gratify their curi- 
 osity. 
 
 " The visit of Captain Clarke to the Multnomahs, 
 and information obtained from other sources, now 
 enabled us to give some account of the neighbouring 
 countries and nations. The most important spot is 
 Wappatoo Island, a large tract lying between the 
 Multnomah and an arm of the Columbia, which we 
 called Wappatoo Inlet, and separated from the main 
 land by a sluice eighty yards wide, which at the dis- 
 tance of seven miles up the Multnomah connects 
 that river with the inlet. The island thus formed 
 is about twenty miles long, and varies in breadth 
 from five to ten miles. The land is high, and ex- 
 tremely fertile ; and on most parts is covered with 
 a heavy growth of cottonwood, ash, the large-leafed 
 ash, and sweet willow, the black alder common on 
 the coast having now disappeared. But the chief 
 wealth of this island is found in the numerous ponds 
 in the interior, which abound with tne common ar- 
 rowhead {sagittaria sagittifolid), to the root of which 
 is attached a bulb growing beneath it in the mud. 
 This bulb, to which the Indians give the name of 
 wappatoo, is their great article of food, and almost 
 the staple article of commerce on the Columbia. It 
 is never out of season ; so that at all times of the 
 year the valley is frequented by the neighbouring 
 Indians, who come to gather it. It is collected 
 chiefly by the women, who employ for the purpose 
 canoes from ten to fourteen feet in length, about 
 two feet wide, nine inches deep, and tapering from 
 the middle. They are sufficient to contain a single 
 person and several bushels of roots, yet so very light 
 that a woman can carry them with ease. She takes 
 one of these canoes into a pond where the water is 
 as high as the breast, and by means of her toes sep- 
 arates this bulb from the roct, which, on being freed 
 from the mud, rises immediately to the surface of 
 the water, and is thrown into the canoe. In this 
 
172 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 manner these patient females will remain in the wa- 
 ter for several hours, even ii\ the depth of vv'inter. 
 This plant is found throughout the whole extent of 
 the valley in which we then were, but does not grovi 
 on the Cohimbia farther east. 
 
 " This valley is bounded on the west by the mount- 
 ainous country bordering the coast, from whicli it 
 extends eastward thirty miles in a direct line, to the 
 range of mountains crossing the Columbia above 
 the Great Falls : its length from north to south we 
 were unable to determine, but we believed it to ex- 
 tend in this direction a great distance. It is, in fact, 
 the only desirable situation for a settlement on the 
 western side of the Rocky Mountains ; and, being 
 naturally fertile, would, if properly cultivated, afford 
 subsistence for forty or fifty thousand souls. The 
 high lands are generally of a dark rich loam, not 
 much encumbered with stones, and, though waving, 
 by no means too steep for cultivation : a few miles 
 from the river mey widen, at least on the north side, 
 into rich, extensive prairies. The timber on them 
 is abundant, and consists almost exclusively of the 
 several species of fir already described, some of the 
 trees growing to a great height. We measured a 
 fallen tree of that species, and found that, including 
 the stump of about six feet, it was three hundred 
 and eighteen feet in length, though its diameter was 
 only three feet. The dogwood is also abundant on 
 the uplands : it differs from that of the United States 
 in having a much smoother bark, and in being much 
 larger, the trunk attaining a diameter of nearly two 
 feet. There is some white cedar of a large size, 
 but no pine of any kind. In the bottom lands are 
 the Cottonwood, ash, large-leafed ash, and sweet 
 willow ; interspersed with which are the pashequaw^ 
 shanataque, and compound fern, of which the natives 
 use the roots. The red flowering currant abounds 
 on the uplands, while along the river bottoms grow 
 luxuriantly the water-cress, strawberry, cinquefoil 
 
DIFFERENT TRIBES OF INDIANS. 173 
 
 narrow dock, sandrush, and th(; flowering pea. 
 There is also a species of the bear's-claw, but the 
 large-leafed thorn had disappeared, nor did we see 
 any longer the whortleberry, the shallun, nor any of 
 the other evergreen shrubs bearing berries, except a 
 species the leaf of which has a prickly margin. 
 
 " Among the animals we observed the martin, 
 small geese, the small speckled woodpecker with a 
 white back, the blue-crested corvus, ravens, crows, 
 eagles, vultures, and hawks. The mellow bug and 
 long-legged spider, as well as the butterfly, blowing- 
 fly, and tick, had already made their appearance ; but 
 none of these are different from insects of the same 
 sort in the United States. The moschetoes, too, had 
 resumed their visits, but were not yet troublesome. 
 
 " The nations who inhabit this fertile neighbour- 
 hood are very numerous. The Wappatoo Inlet, 
 three hundred yards wide, extends for ten or twelve 
 miles to the south, as far as the hills, near which it 
 receives the waters of a small creek, whose sources 
 are not far from those of the Killamuck River. On 
 that creek reside the Clackstar nation, a numer- 
 ous people of twelve hundred souls, who subsist on 
 fish and wappatoo, and trade, by means of the Kil- 
 lamuck River, with the nation of that name on the 
 seacoast. Lower down the inlet, towards the Co- 
 lumbia, is the tribe called Cathlacumup. On the 
 sluice which connects the inlet with the Multnomah 
 are the Cathlanahquiah and Cathlacomatup tribes ; 
 and on Wappatoo Island the Clannahminamuns and 
 Clahnaquahs. Immediately opposite, near the Tow- 
 ahnahiooks, are the Quathlapotles, and higher up, on 
 the side of the Columbia, the Shotos. All these 
 tribes, as well as the Cathlahaws, who live some- 
 what lower on the river, and have an old village on 
 Deer Island, may be considered as parts of the great 
 Multnomah nation, which has its principal residence 
 on Wappatoo Island, near the mouth of the large 
 river to which they give their name. Forty miles 
 
174 LEWIS A2iD Clarke's expedition. 
 
 above its junction with the Columbia, this river re- 
 ceives the v/aters of the Clackamos, a river which 
 may be traced through a woody and fertile country 
 to its sources in Mount Jefferson, almost to the foot 
 of which it is navigable for canoes. A nation of the 
 same name resides in eleven villages along its bor- 
 ders: they live chiefly on fish and roots, which 
 abound in the Clackamos and along its banks, though 
 they sometimes descend to the Columbia to gather 
 wappatoo, where they cannot be distinguished in 
 dress, manners, or language from the tribes of the 
 Multnomahs. Two days' journey from the Colum- 
 bia, or about twenty miles beyond the entrance of 
 the Clackamos, are the Falls of the Multnomah. At 
 this place reside the Cushooks and Chahcowahs, 
 two tribes that are attracted there by the fish, and 
 by the convenience of trading across the mountains, 
 and down the Killamuck River, with the Killamucks, 
 from whom they procure train oil. These falls are 
 occasioned by a high range of mountains, beyond 
 which the country stretches into a vast level plain 
 wholly destitute of timber. As far as the Indians 
 with whom we conversed had ever penetrated' that 
 country, it seems to be inhabited by a nation called 
 Calahpoewah, a very numerous people, whose vil- 
 lages, nearly forty in number, are scattered along 
 each side of the Multnomah, which furnishes them 
 with their chief subsistence, viz., fish, and the roots 
 along its banks. 
 
 " AH the tribes in the neighbourhood of Wappatoo 
 Island we considered as Multnomahs ; not because 
 they are in any degree subordinate to that nation, 
 but they all seem to regard it as being the most pow- 
 erful. There was no distinguished chief except the 
 one at the head of the Multnomahs ; and they are, 
 moreover, allied by similarity of dress and manners, 
 and of houses and language, which, much more than 
 the feeble restraints of Indian government, contrib- 
 ute to make one people. These circumstances sep* 
 
INDIANS OF THE COLUMBIA VALLEY. 175 
 
 arate them also from the nations lower down the 
 river. The Clatsops, Chinnooks, VVahkiacums, and 
 Cathlamahs understand each other perfectly : their 
 language varies, however, in some respects from 
 that of the Skilloots ; but, on reaching the Multno- 
 mah Indians, we found that, although many words 
 were the same, while a great number differed only 
 in the mode of accenting them from those employed 
 by the Indians near the mouth of the Columbia, yet 
 there was, in fact, a very sensible distinction. The 
 natives of the valley are of larger stature, and rather 
 better shaped than those on the seacoast : their ap- 
 pearance, too, is generally healthy, though they are 
 afflicted with the common disease of the Columbia, 
 soreness of the eyes." * * * 
 
 " The dress of the men does not differ from that 
 used below ; they are chiefly distinguished by a pas- 
 sion for large brass buttons, which they will fix on a 
 sailor's jacket, whenever they are so fortunate as to 
 obtain one, without the slightest regard to arrange- 
 ment. The women, also, wear the short robe al- 
 ready described; but their hair is most commonly 
 braided into two tresses, falhng over each ear in front 
 of the body ; and instead of the tissue of bark, they 
 employ a piece of leather in the shape of a pocket 
 handkerchief, tied round the loins." * * * 
 
 " The houses are generally on a level with the 
 ground, though some are sunk to the depth of two 
 or three feet, and, like those near the coast, are 
 adorned, or rather disfigured, with carvings or paint- 
 ings on the posts, doors, and beds. They have no 
 peculiar weapon except a kind of broadsword made 
 of iron, from three to four feet long, the blade about 
 four inches wide, and very thin and sharp at both its 
 edges, as well as at the point. They have also 
 bludgeons of wood of the same form ; and both kinds 
 generally hang at the head of their beds : these are 
 formidable weapons. Like the natives of the sea- 
 coast, they are also very fond of cold, lioi, ;uid vapour 
 
176 LEWIS AND CLARKE S rrPI' *. ON 
 
 baths, which are used at all seasons, f': the p\ ose 
 of health as well as pleasure. 
 
 " The mode of burying the dead in cinoes is not 
 practised by the natives here. The place of deposite 
 is a vault formed of boards, slanting like the roof of 
 a house, from a pole supported by two forks. Un- 
 der this the dead are placed horizontally on boards, 
 on the surface of the earth, and carefully covered 
 with mats. The bodies are here laid to the height 
 of three or four upon each other, and the different 
 articles which were most esteemed by the deceased 
 are placed by their side ; their canoes themselves 
 being sometimes taken to pieces to strengthen the 
 vault. 
 
 " All these people trade in anchovies and sturgeon, 
 but chiefly m wappatoo; to obtain which, the inhabi- 
 tants both above and below come at all seasons, the 
 latter bringing, in turn, beads, cloth, and various oth- 
 er articles procured from the Europeans. 
 
 " April 5. We dried our meat as well as the cloudy 
 weather would permit. In the course of the chase yes- 
 terday, one of our men who had killed the bear found 
 the den of another with three cubs in it. He return- 
 ed to it to-day in hope of finding the dam, but, being 
 disappointed in this, he brought the cubs ; and on 
 this occasion Drewyer, our most experienced hunts- 
 man, assured us that he had never known a single 
 instance where a female bear had been once disturb- 
 ed by the hunter and obliged to leave her young, 
 that she returned to them again. The young bears 
 we sold for wappatoo to some of the numerous In- 
 dians who visited us in parties during the day, and 
 who behaved very well. Having prepared our stock 
 of dried meat, we set out the next morning.'" * * * 
 
 They proceeded, however, but a few miles the next 
 day, as they were obliged to wait and collect their 
 hunters ; nor did they start again the two following 
 days, being employed in drying some additional meat 
 that was brought in on the 7th, and on the 8th tha 
 weather would not permit their leaving. 
 
BEACON ROCK. A77 
 
 " April 9. The wind having moderated, we reload- 
 ed the canoes, and set out by s\jven o'clock. We 
 stopped to take up two of our hunters who had left 
 us yesterday, but had been unsuccessful in the chase, 
 and then proceeded to the Wahclellah village, situ- 
 ated on the north side of the river, about a mile be- 
 low Beacon Rock. During the whole of the route 
 from our camp we passed along under high, steep, 
 and rocky sides of mountains, which here close in on 
 each side of the river, forming stupendous precipices 
 covered with fir and white cedar. Down these 
 heights descend the most beautiful cascades, one of 
 which, formed by a large creek, falls over a perpen- 
 dicular rock three hundred feet above the water, 
 while other smaller streams precipitate themselves 
 from a still greater elevation, and, partially evapora- 
 ting in a mi'st, collect again, and make a second de- 
 scent before they reach the bottom of the rocks. 
 We stopped to breakfast at this village ; and here 
 we found the tomahawk which had been stolen from 
 us on the 4th of last November, They assured us 
 that they had bought it of the Indians below ; but, as 
 the latter had already informed us that the Wah- 
 clellahs had such an article which they had stolen, 
 we made no difficulty about retaking our property." 
 * * * " After purchasing, with much difficulty, a few 
 dogs and some wappatoo from the Wahclellahs, we 
 left them at two o'clock, and, passing along the Bea- 
 con Rock, reached in two hours the Clahclellah vil- 
 lage. 
 
 " This rock, which we now observed more accu- 
 rately than we had done in our descent, stands on 
 the north side of the river, insulated from the hills. 
 The northern side has a partial growth of fir or pine. 
 To the south it rises in an unbroken precipice to the 
 height of seven hundred feet, where it terminates in 
 a sharp point, and may be seen at the distance of 
 twenty miles below. This rock may be considered 
 as the point where tide-wa.er commences • though 
 
178 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition 
 
 the influence of the tide is perceptible here in au* 
 tumn only, at which time the river is low. What 
 the precise difference is at those seasons, we could 
 not determine ; but, on examining a rock uhich we 
 had lately passed, and comparing its appearance 
 with what we had observed last November, we 
 judged the flood of this spring to be twelve feet 
 above the height of the river at that time. From 
 Beacon Rock as low down as the marshy islands, 
 the general width of the river is from one to two 
 miles, though in many places it is greater. On 
 landing at the village of the Clahclellahs, we found 
 them busy in erecting their huts, which seemed to 
 be of a temporary kind only, so that most probably 
 they do not remain longer than the salmon season. 
 Like their countrymen whom we had just left, these 
 people w^ere sulky- and ill humoured, and ^o much 
 on the alert to pilfer that we were obhged to keep 
 them at a distance from our baggage. As our large 
 canoes could not ascend the rapids on thp north 
 side, we passed to the opposite shore, and entered 
 the narrow channel which separates it from Brant 
 Island. The weather was very cold and rainy, and 
 the wind so high that we were afraid to attempt the 
 rapids the same evening, and therefore, finding a 
 safe harbour, we encamped for the night." * * * 
 
 " April 10. Early in the morning we dropped down 
 the channel to the lower end of Brant Island, and 
 then drew our boats up the rapid. At the distance 
 of a quarter of a mile we crossed over to a village 
 of Clahclellahs, consisting of six houses, on the op- 
 posite side. The river is here about four hundred 
 yards wide, and the current so rapid that, although 
 we employed five oars for each canoe, we were 
 3)orne down a considerable distance. While we 
 were at breakfast, one of the Indians offered us 
 two sheepskins for sale, one of which was the skin 
 of a full-grown animal, and was as large a» that of a 
 common deer; the second was smaller. and the skin 
 
MOUNTAIN SHEEP. 179 
 
 of the head, with the horns on it, had been made 
 into a cap, and was highly prized by the owner. 
 He, however, sold the cap to us for a knife, and the 
 rest of the skin for those of two elk ; but, observing 
 our anxiety to purchase the other skin, they would 
 not accept the same price for it, and, as we hoped 
 to procure more in the neighbourhood, we would 
 not offer a greater. The horns of the animal were 
 black, smooth, and erect, and rise from the middle 
 of the forehead, a little above the eyes, in a cylin- 
 drical form, to the height of four inches, where they 
 are pointed. The Clahclellahs informed us that 
 these sheep were very abundant on the heights and 
 among the cliffs of the adjacent mountains, and that 
 these two had been lately killed out of a herd of 
 thirty-six, at no great distance from the village. 
 We were soon joinod by our hunters, with three 
 black-tailed fallow (-eer, and, having purchased a 
 few white salmon, ])roceeded on our route. The 
 south side of the river is impassable, and the rapid- 
 ity of the current, as well as the large rocks along 
 the shore, renders the navigation of even the north 
 side extremely difficult. During the greater part 
 of the day it was necessary to draw them along the 
 shore; and, as we had only a single towrope that 
 was strong enough, we were obliged to bring them 
 one after the other. In this tedious and laborious 
 manner we at lengih reached the portage on the 
 north side, and carried our baggage to the top of a 
 hill about two hundred paces distant, w^here we en- 
 camped for the night. The canoes were drawn on 
 shore and secured, but one of them having got 
 loose, drifted down to the last village, the inhabi- 
 tants of which brought her back to us, an instance 
 of honesty which we rewarded with a present of two 
 knives. It rained all night, and the next morning, 
 
 "April 11, so that the tents and the skins which 
 covered the baggage were wet. We therefore de- 
 termined to take the canoes over the portage first. 
 
i80 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 in hopes that by the afternoon the rain would cease, 
 and we might carry our baggage across without in- 
 jury. The work was immediately begun by almost 
 the whole party, who in the course of the day dragged 
 four of the canoes to the head of the rapids with 
 great difficulty and labour, A guard, consisting of 
 one sick man and three who had been lamed by ac- 
 cidents, remained with Captain Lewis to protect 
 the baggage. This precaution was absolutely neces- 
 sary to save it from the depredations of the Wah- 
 clellahs, who, we discovered, were great thieves, not- 
 withstanding their apparent honesty in restoring our 
 boat : indeed, so arrogant and intrusive did they be- 
 come, that nothing but our numbers, we were con 
 vinced, preserved us from attack. They crowded 
 about us while we were taking up the boats, and one 
 of them had the insolence to throw stones down the 
 bank at two of our men. We now found it neces- 
 sary to depart from our uniformly mild and pacific 
 course of conduct. On returning to the head of the 
 portage, a large number of them met our men, and 
 seemed very ill disposed. Shields had stopped to 
 purchase a dog, and, being separated from the rest 
 of the party, two Indians pushed him out of the road, 
 and attempted to take the dog from him. He had 
 no weapon but a long knife, with which he immedi- 
 ately attacked them both, hoping to despatch them 
 before they had time to draw their arrows ; but, as 
 soon as they saw his design, they fled into the woods. 
 Soon afterward we were told by an Indian who 
 spoke Clatsop, which language we had learned du- 
 ring the winter, that the Wahclellahs had carried off 
 Captain Lewis's dog to their village below. Three 
 men, well armed, were instantly sent in pursuit of 
 them, with orders to fire if there was the slightest 
 resistance or hesitation. At the distance of two 
 miles they came within sight of the thieves, who, 
 finding themselves pursued, left the dog and made 
 off. We now ordered all the Indians out of ou/ 
 
VISITED BY . oAHCLELLAH CHIEF. 18J 
 
 camp, and signified to v.. em that, if any one of them 
 stole our baggage or insulted our men, he would be 
 instantly shot ; a resolution ^>hlch we were deter- 
 mined to enforce, as it was now our only means of 
 safety. We were visited durii.g the day by a chief 
 of the Clahclellahs, who seemed mortified at the treat- 
 ment we had received, and told us that the persons 
 at the head of these outrages were two very bad 
 men who belonged to the Wahclellahs, but that the 
 nation itself did not by any means wish to displease 
 us. This chief seemed very well disposed, and we 
 had every reason to believe was much respected by 
 the neighbouring Indians. We therefore gave him 
 a small medal, and showed him all the attention in 
 our powei, with which he appeared to be very much 
 gratified ; and we trusted that his interposition would 
 prevent the necessity of our resorting to force 
 against his countrymen. 
 
 " Many Indians from the villages above passed us 
 in the course of the day, on their return from trading 
 with the natives of the valley, and among others we 
 recognised an Eloot, who, with ten or twelve of his 
 nation, were on their way home to the Long Nar- 
 rows of the Columbia. These people do not, as we 
 are compelled to do, drag their canoes up the rapids, 
 but leave them at the head as they descend, and, car- 
 rying their goods across the portage, hire or borrow 
 others from the people below. When the traflSc is 
 over, they return to the foot of the rapids, where 
 they leave these boats, and resume their own at the 
 head of the portage. The labour of carrying the 
 goods across is equally shared by the men and 
 women ; and we were struck by the contrast between 
 the decent conduct of all the natives from above, 
 and the profligacy and ill manners of the Wahclel- 
 lahs. About three quarters of a mile below our 
 camp was a burial-ground, which seemed common 
 to the Wahclellahs, Clahclellahs, and Yehhuhs. It 
 
182 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 consisted of eight sepulchres on the north bank of 
 the river." 
 
 In dragging their remaining pirogue up the rapids 
 the next day, they unfortunately lost her, but suc- 
 ceeded in transporting all their baggage to the head 
 of the portage by five o'clock in the afternoon ; and 
 the v^^eather being cold and rainy, they concluded to 
 remain there during the nigl^. " The portage," says 
 the Journal, " was two thousand eight hundred yards, 
 along a narrow road, at all times rough, and then ren- 
 dered slippery by the rain. About halfway was an old 
 village, which the Clahclellah chief informed us was 
 the occasional residence of his tribe. These hous- 
 es were uncommonly large ; one of them measuring 
 one hundred and sixty by forty feet, the frames be- 
 ing constructed in the usual manner, except that 
 they were double, so as to appear like one house 
 within another. The floors were on a level with 
 the ground, and the roofs had been taken down, and 
 sunk in a pond behind the village. We now found 
 that our firmness the day before had made the In- 
 dians much more respectful : they did not crowd 
 about us in such numbers, and behaved with much 
 more propriety. 
 
 " Among those who visited u? here were about 
 twenty of the Yehhuhs, a tribe of Shahalas, whom 
 we had found on the north side of the river, imme- 
 diately above the rapids, but who had now emigra- 
 ted to the opposite shore, where they generally take 
 salmon. Like their relations, the Wahclellahs, they 
 had taken their houses with them, so that only one 
 was now standing where the old village was." * * * 
 
 " There is but little difference in appearance be- 
 tween the Yehhuhs, Wahclellahs, Clahclellahs, and 
 Neerchokioos, who compose the Shahala nation. 
 On comparing the vocabulary of the Wahclellahs 
 with that of the Chinnooks, we found that the names 
 for numbers were precisely the same, though the 
 other parts of the language were essentially differ- 
 
THE YEHHUHS. 183 
 
 ent. The women of all these tribes braid their 
 hair, pierce the nose, and some of them have lines 
 of dots reaching from the ankle as high as the mid- 
 dle of the leg. These Yehhuhs behaved with great 
 propriety, and condemned the treatment we had re- 
 ceived from the Wahclellahs. We purchased from 
 one of them the skin of a sheep killed near this 
 place, for which we gave in exchange the skins of a 
 deer and an elk. These animals, he told us, usually 
 frequent the rocky parts of the mountains, where 
 they are found in great numbers. The bighorn is 
 also an inhabitant of these mountains, and the na- 
 tives have several robes made of their skins." * * * 
 
 In ascending the river the next day, they found 
 that their boats were too heavily laden, in conse- 
 quence of the loss of their pirogue ;.but they suc- 
 ceeded in purchasing two additional canoes at a 
 Yehhuh village, the inhabitants of which were very 
 friendly. They advanced about six miles beyond 
 Cruzatte's River, where they encamped, and, being 
 joined by all their hunters the next morning, resu- 
 med their journey. " At one o'clock," continues the 
 Journal, " we halted for dinner at a large village, sit- 
 uated in a narrow bottom just above the entrance 
 of Canoe Creek. The houses were detached from 
 each other so as to occupy an extent of several 
 miles, though only twenty in number. Those which 
 were inhabited were on the surface of the ground, 
 and built in the same shape as those near the Rap- 
 ids ; but there were others not occupied, which were 
 completely under ground. They were sunk about 
 'iight feet deep, and covered with strong timbers, 
 and several feet of earth in a conical form. On de- 
 scending by means of a ladder through a hole at the 
 top, which answered the double purpose of a door 
 and a chimney, we found that the house consisted 
 of a single room, nearly circular, and about sixteen 
 feet in diameter. 
 
 " The inhabitants, who called themselves Weock- 
 II.-P 
 
184 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 sockwillacums, differed but little from those near 
 the Rapids, the chief distinction in dress being a 
 few leggins and moccasins resembling those worn 
 by the Chopunnish. These people had ten or 
 twelve very good horses, which were the first we 
 had seen since leaving this neighbourhood in the 
 preceding autumn. The country below is, indeed, 
 of such a nature as to prevent the use of this ani- 
 mal, except in the Columbia Valley, and there they 
 would be of no great service, as the inhabitants re- 
 side chiefly on the river side, and the country is too 
 thickly wooded to suffer them to hunt on horseback. 
 Most of these horses, they informed us, had been 
 taken in a warlike excursion lately made against the 
 Towahnahiooks, a part of the Snake nation living on 
 the upper part of the Multnomah, to the southeast 
 of this place. Their language is the same with that 
 of the Chilluckittequaws. They seemed inclined to 
 be very civil, and gave us in traffic some roots, chap- 
 pelell, filberts, dried berries, and five dogs. 
 
 " After dinner we proceeded, and, passing at the 
 distance of six miles high cliffs on the left, encamp- 
 ed at the mouth of a small run on the same side. A 
 little above us was a village, consisting of about one 
 hundred fighting men, of a tribe called Smackshops, 
 many of whom passed the evening with us. They 
 did not differ in any respect from the inhabitants of 
 the village below." * * * 
 
 Soon after starting the next morning they came to 
 Sepulchre Rock. " This rock," says the Journal, 
 " stands near the middle of the river, and contains 
 about two acres of ground above high water. Over 
 this surface are scattered thirteen vaults, construct 
 ed like those below the Rapids, and some of them 
 more than half filled with dead bodies. After satis 
 fying our curiosity with these venerable remains 
 we returned to the northern shore, and proceeded to 
 a village at the distance of four miles. On landing, 
 we found that the inhabitants belonged to the samt 
 
COUNTRY ALONG THE COLUMBIA. 185 
 
 nation as those we had just left, and as they had 
 horses, we made an attempt to purchase some of 
 them ; but, with all our dexterity in exhibiting our 
 wares, we could not succeed, as we had none of the 
 only article which they seemed desirous of procu- 
 ring, a sort of war-hatchet called by the Northwest 
 traders an eye-dog. We therefore purchased two 
 dogs, and, taking leave of these Weocksockwilla- 
 cums, proceeded to another of their villages, just 
 below the entrance of Cataract River. Here, too, 
 we tried ir vain to purchase horses ; nor did we 
 meet with better success at the two villages of Chil- 
 luckittequaws, a few miles farther up the river. At 
 three in the afternoon we came to the mouth of 
 Quinette Creek, wfiich we ascended a short distance, 
 and encamped for the night at the spot we had call- 
 ed Rock Fort. Here we were soon visited by some 
 of the people from the Great Narrows and Falls ; 
 and on our expressing a wish to purchase horses, 
 they agreed to meet us the next day on the north 
 side of the river, where they would open a trade. 
 They then returned to their villages to collect the 
 horses, and in the morning, 
 
 " April 16, Captain Clarke crossed with nine men, 
 and a large part of the merchandise, to purchase, if 
 it were possible, twelve horses to transport our bag- 
 gage, and some pounded fish, as a reserve on the 
 passage across the Rocky Mountains. The rest of 
 the men were employed in hunting and preparing 
 saddles. 
 
 " From the Rapids to this place, and, indeed, as 
 far as the commencement of the Narrows, the Co- 
 lumbia is from half a mile to three quarters in width, 
 and possesses scarcely any current : its bed consists 
 principally of rock, except at the entrance of Labiche 
 River, which takes its rise in Mount Hood, from 
 which, like Quicksand River, it brings down vast 
 quantities of sand. Along the whole course of the 
 Columbia, from the Rapids to the Chilluckittequaws, 
 
186 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 the trunks of many large pine-trees are seen stand- 
 ing erect in water, which was now thirty feet aeep, 
 and is never less than ten. These trees could never 
 have grown in their present state, for they are all 
 very much rotted, and none of them vegetate ; so 
 that the only reasonable account which crui be given 
 of this phenomena is, that at some period, which the 
 appearance of the trees induced us to fix within 
 twenty years, the rocks from the hill sides have ob- 
 structed the narrow pass at the Rapids, and caused 
 the river to spread through the woods. The mount- 
 ains which border it as far as Sepulchre Rock are 
 high and broken, and its romantic views are occa- 
 sionally enlivened by beautiful cascades rushing 
 from the heights, and forming a striking contrast 
 with the firs, cedars, and pines which darken their 
 sides. From Sepulchre Rock, where the low coun- 
 try begins, the long-leafed pine is the almost exclu- 
 sive growth of timber ; but our camp was the last 
 spot where a single tree is to be seen on the wide 
 plain, spreading beyond it to the foot of the Rocky 
 Mountains. This plain is, however, covered with a 
 rich verdure of grass and herbs, some inches in 
 height, which forms a delightful and exhilarating 
 prospect, after being confined to the mountains and 
 thick forests on the seacoast. The climate, too, 
 though we were only on the border of the plain, was 
 very different here from what we had lately experi- 
 enced : the air was drier and more pure, and the 
 ground as free from moisture as if there had been 
 no rain for the last ten days. Around this place 
 were many esculent plants used by the Indians, 
 among which was a currant now in bloom, with a 
 yellow blossom, like that of the yellow currant of 
 the Missouri, from which, however, it differs specif 
 ically. There was also a species of hyacinth grow 
 ing in the plains, which presented at this time i^ 
 pretty flower of a pale blue colour, the bulb of whicl* 
 is boiled, or baked, or dried in the sun, and eaten by 
 
<VANT OF SUCCESS IN PURCHASING HORSES. 187 
 
 the Indians. The bulb of the present year was 
 white, flat in shape, and not quite solid : it overlaid 
 and pressed closely that of the last year, which, 
 though much thinner and withered, was equally 
 wide, and sent forth from its sides a number of small 
 radicles." * * * 
 
 " Captain Clarke, meanwhile, had been unsuccess- 
 fully endeavouring to purchase horses ; but the In- 
 dians promised to trade with him if he would go up 
 to the Skilloot village, above the Long Narrows. 
 He therefore sent over to us for more merchandise, 
 and then accompanied them in the evening to that 
 place, where he passed the night. 
 
 "April 17. Captain Clarke sent to inform us that 
 he was still unable to purchase any horses, but in- 
 tended going as far as the Eneeshur village, whence 
 he would return to meet us the next day at the Skil- 
 loot village. In the evening, the principal chief of 
 the Chilluckittequaws came to see us, accompanied 
 by twelve of his nation, and, hearing that we wanted 
 horses, promised to meet us at the Narrows with 
 some for sale." 
 
188 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 Captain Clarke procures four Horses for the Transportation ol 
 the Baggage. — Some farther Account of the Skilloot Tribe. — 
 Their Joy at the first Appearance of Sahnon in the Columbia. 
 — Their thievish Propensities. — The Party arrive at the Vil- 
 lage of the Eneeshurs, where the Natives are found alike un 
 friendly. — The Party now provided with Horses. — Prevented 
 from the Exercise of Hostility against this nation by a friendly 
 Adjustment. — The Scarcity of Timber so great that they are 
 compelled to buy Wood to cook their Provisions. — Arrive at 
 the Wahhowpum Village. — Dance of the Natives. — Having ob- 
 tained their Complement of Horses, the Party proceed by Land. 
 — Arrive at the Pishquitpah Village, and some Account of that 
 People. — Frank and hospitable Conduct of the WoUawoUahs, 
 — Their Mode of Dancing described. — Their Mode of making 
 Fish-wears. — Their amiable Character. 
 
 Setting out early on the morning of the 18th, at 
 the distance of nine miles they reached the Skilloot 
 village, at the foot of the Long Narrows. Here they 
 found Captain Clarke, who had succeeded in pur- 
 chasing four horses, though at double the price that 
 had been paid the Shoshonees. Owing to the great 
 quantity of water in the river, the passage of the 
 Long Narrows was wholly impracticable for boats, 
 so that they cut up their two pirogues to be used for 
 fuel. 
 
 "April 19. All the party," proceeds the Journal, 
 " were employed in carrying the merchandise over 
 the portage. This we accomplished with the aid of 
 our four horses by three o'clock in the afternoon, 
 when we formed our camp a little above the Skilloot 
 settlement. Since we left them in the autumn they 
 had removed their village a few hundred yards lower 
 down the river, and exchanged the cellars in which 
 we then found them for more pleasant dwellings on 
 the surface of the ground. These were formed by 
 
FIRST APPEARANCE OF THE SALMON. 189 
 
 Sticks covered with mats and straw, and so large 
 that each was the residence of several families." * * 
 
 " The whole village was filled with rejoicing at 
 having caught a salmon, which was considered as 
 the harbinger of vast quantities that would arrive in 
 a few days. In the behef that it would hasten their 
 coming, the Indians, according to their custom, 
 dressed the fish and cut it into small pieces, one of 
 which was given to each child in the village ; and in 
 the good humour excited by this occurrence, they 
 parted, though reluctantly, with four other horses, 
 for which we gave them two kettles, reserving only 
 a single small one for a mess of eight men. Un- 
 luckily, however, we lost one of the horses by the 
 negligence of the person to whose charge he was 
 committed." * * * 
 
 " April 20. As it was so much for our interest to 
 preserve the good-will of these people, we passed 
 over several small thefts which they had commit- 
 ted ; but this morning we learned that six toma- 
 hawks and a knife had been stolen during the night. 
 We addressed ourselves to the chief, who seemed 
 angry with his people, and made an harangue to 
 them, but we did not recover the articles, and soon 
 afterward two of our spoons were missing. We 
 therefore ordered them all from our camp, threaten- 
 ing to beat severely any one detected in purloining. 
 This harshness irritated them so much that they 
 left us in ill humour, and we therefore kept on our 
 guard against any insult. Besides this knavery, 
 their faithlessness was intolerable : frequently, after 
 receiving goods in exchange for a horse, they would 
 return in a few hours and insist on revoking the 
 bargain, or that they should receive some additional 
 value. We discovered, too, that the horse missed 
 yesterday had been gambled away by the fellow 
 from whom we had purchased him to a man of a 
 different nation, who had carried him off. We suc- 
 ceeded in buying two more horses, two dogs, and 
 
190 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 some chappelell, and also exchanged a couple of elk- 
 skins for a gun belonging to the chief." * * * " One 
 of the canoes, for which the Indians would give us 
 very little, was cut up for fuel ; two others, together 
 with some elkskins and pieces of old iron, we bar- 
 tered for beads, and the remaining two small ones 
 were despatched early next morning, 
 
 "April 21, with all the baggage which could not 
 be carried on horseback. We had intended setting 
 out at the same time, but one of our horses broke 
 loose during the night, and we were under the ne- 
 cessity of sending several men in search of him. In 
 the mean time, the Indians, who were always on the 
 alert, stole a tomahawk, which we could not recov- 
 er, though several of them were searched ; and an- 
 other fellow was detected in carrying off a piece of 
 iron, and kicked out of camp ; upon which Captain 
 Lewis, addressing them, told them he was not afraid 
 to fight them, for, if he chose, he could easily put 
 them all to death, and burn their village, but that he 
 did not wish to treat them ill if they kept from steal- 
 ing ; and that, although, if he could discover who had 
 the tomahawks, he would take away their horses, yet 
 he would rather lose the property altogether than 
 take the horse of an innocent man. The chiefs 
 were present at this harangue, hung their heads, and 
 made no reply. 
 
 " At ten o'clock the men returned with the horse, 
 and soon after an Indian, who had promised to go 
 with us as far as the Chopunnish, came with two 
 horses, one of which he politely offered to assist in 
 carrying our baggage. We therefore loaded nine 
 horses, and, giving the tenth to Bratton, who was 
 still too sick to walk, at about ten o'clock left the 
 village of these disagreeable people. At one o'clock 
 we arrived at the village of the Eneeshurs, where 
 we found Captain Clarke, who had been altogether 
 unsuccessful in his attempts to purchase horses, the 
 Eneeshurs being quite as unfriendly as the Skilloots. 
 
CHARACTER OF THE ENEESHURS. 191 
 
 Fortunately, however, the fellow who had sold us a 
 horse, and afterward lost him in gambling, belonged 
 to this village, and we insisted on having the kettle 
 and knife which had been given to him for his horse, 
 or that he should furnish us with one of equal value. 
 He preferred the latter, and brought us a very good 
 horse. Being joined here by the canoes and bag- 
 gage, we halted half a mile above the town, and 
 dined on the flesh of dogs, after which we proceeded 
 about four miles farther, and encamped at a village 
 of Eneeshurs, consisting of nine mat huts, a little 
 below the mouth of the Towahnahiooks. We ob- 
 tained from these people a couple of dogs and a 
 small quantity of fuel, for which we were obliged to 
 give a higher price than usual. We also bought a 
 horse, with his back so much injured that he could 
 scarcely be of much service to us ; but the price 
 was only some trifling articles, which in the United 
 States would not cost above a dollar and a quarter. 
 The dress, manners, and language of the Eneeshurs 
 Jiff'er in no respect from those of the Skilloots. 
 Like them, too, they are inhospitable and parsimo- 
 nious, faithless to their engagements, and in the 
 midst of poverty and filth retained a degree of pride 
 and arrogance which rendered our numbers our only 
 protection against insult, pillage, and even murder. 
 We were, however, assured by our Chopunnish 
 guide, who appeared to be a very sincere, honest 
 Indian, that the nations above would treat us with 
 much greater hospitality. 
 
 " April 22. Two of our horses broke loose in the 
 night, and strayed to some distance, so that we 
 were not able to retake them and begin our march 
 before seven ox-lock. We had just reached the top 
 of a hill near the village, when the load of one of the 
 horses turned, and the animal, taking fright at a 
 robe which still adhered to him, ran furiously to- 
 wards the village : just as he came there the robe 
 fell, and an Indian hid it in his hut. Two men went 
 
192 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 back after the horse, which they soon caught, but 
 the robe was still missing, and the Indians denied 
 having seen it. These repeated acts of knavery 
 had quite exhausted our patience, and Captain Lewis 
 therefore set out for the village, determined to makt 
 them deliver up the robe, or to burn their houses tc 
 the ground. This disagreeable retaliation was, how 
 ever, rendered unnecessary, for on his way he met 
 one of our men, who had found the robe in one of 
 the huts, hid behind some baggage. We resumed 
 our route, and soon after halted on a hill, from the 
 top of which we had a commanding view of the 
 range of mountains in which Mount Hood stands, 
 and which continued south as far as the eye could 
 reach, their summits being covered with snow. 
 Mount Hood itself bore south 30° west, and the 
 snowy summit of Mount Jefferson south 10° west. 
 Towards the south, and at no great distance, we 
 discerned some woody country, and opposite to this 
 point of view is the mouth of the Towahnahiooks." 
 * * * " From this place we proceeded with our bag- 
 gage in the centre, escorted both before and behind 
 by such of the men as had not the care of the horses, 
 and, having crossed a plain eight miles in extent, 
 reached a village of the Eneeshurs, consisting of 
 six houses. Here we bought some dogs, on which 
 we dined near the village, and, having purchased an- 
 other horse, went up the river four miles farther, to 
 another Eneeshur village of seven mat houses." * * * 
 Being informed by their guide .that they would not 
 be able to reach the next village the same evening, 
 they concluded to halt where they were. Here 
 they purchased a horse and some dogs ; but such 
 was the scarcity of fuel, that they were obliged to 
 buy what was required to cook their supper. 
 
 The party were detained for a considerable time 
 the next morning in consequence of two of their 
 horses having strayed during the night. One they 
 recovered, but the other they could not find, and 
 
INTERVIEW WITH THE WAHHOWPUMS. 193 
 
 were obliged to start without him. "After march- 
 ing' twelve miles," says the Journal, " we came to a 
 village near the Rock Rapid, at the mouth of a large 
 creek which we had not observed in descending. It 
 consisted of twelve temporary huts of mats, and 
 was inhabited by a tribe called Wahhowpum, who 
 speak a language very similar to that of the Chopun- 
 nish, whom they resemble also in dress, both sexes 
 being clad in robes and shirts, as well as leggins and 
 moccasins. These people seemed much pleased to 
 see us, and readily gave us four dogs, and some chap- 
 pelell and wood, in exchange for a few small articles, 
 such as pewter buttons, strips of tin, iron, and brass, 
 and some twisted wire, which we had previously 
 prepared for our journey across the plains. They, 
 as well as others of the same tribe, living in five 
 huts a little below, were waiting the return of the 
 salmon. We also found a Chopunnish returning 
 home with his family and a dozen young horses, 
 some of which he wanted us to hire ; but this we 
 declined, as by doing so we should be obliged to 
 maintain him and his family on the route. After 
 arranging our camp, we assembled all the warriors, 
 and, having smoked with them, the violins were pro- 
 duced, and some of the men danced. This civility 
 was returned by the Indians with a kind of dance 
 that we had not before seen. The spectators form- 
 ed a circle about the dancers, who, with their robes 
 drawn tightly round the shoulders, and divided into 
 parties of five or six men, kept crossing in a line 
 from one side of the circle to the other. Both the 
 performers and spectators sang, and, after proceed- 
 ing in this way for some time, the latter joined in, 
 and the whole concluded with a promiscuous dance 
 and song. This being finished, the natives retired 
 at our request, after promising to barter horses with 
 us in the morning. The river was by no means so 
 difficult o^ oassage, nor obstructed by so many rap- 
 
194 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 ids, as it had been in the autumn, the water being 
 sufficiently high to cover the rocks in its bed. 
 
 " April 24. We began early to look for our hor- 
 ses, but they were not collected before one o'clock. 
 In the mean time we prepared saddles for three new 
 liorses which we had purchased from the Wahhow- 
 pums, and agreed to hire three more from the Cho- 
 punnish Indian, who was to accompany us with his 
 family. The natives had also promised to take our 
 canoes in exchange for horses ; but, when they 
 found that we were resolved on travelling by land, 
 they refused giving us anything, in hopes that we 
 would be forced to leave them. Disgusted at this 
 conduct, we determined rather to cut them in pie- 
 ces than suffer these people to possess them, and 
 actually began to split them up, when they consent- 
 ed to give us several strands of beads for each canoe. 
 We had now a sufficient number of horses to carry 
 our baggage, and therefore proceeded wholly by 
 land. At two o'clock we set out, and, passing be- 
 tween the hills and the northern shore of the river, 
 had a difficult and fatiguing march over a road al- 
 ternately sandy and rocky. At the distance of four 
 miles we came to four huts of the Meteowwee tribe ; 
 two miles farther, to the same number of huts; and, 
 after making twelve miles from our last night's 
 camp, we halted at a larger village of five huts of 
 Meteowwees." * * * 
 
 As they had passed along they met several pai- 
 ties of the natives, who were distant and reserved, 
 and, though respectful, would hold no conversatiun 
 with them. They found the nights cold, though il 
 was warm in the day, and what rendered them ex- 
 ceedingly uncomfortable was the scarcity of wood. 
 
 "April 25. We collected our horses," continues 
 the Journal, " and proceeded eleven miles to a large 
 village of fifty-one mat houses, where we purchased 
 some wood and a few dogs, on which we made oui 
 dinner. This village contained about seven hundred 
 
ACCOUNT OF PISHQUITPAHS. 195 
 
 persons, of a tribe called Pishquitpah, whose resi- 
 dence on the river is only during the spring and sum- 
 mer, the autumn and winter being passed in hunting 
 through the plains and along the borders of the 
 mountains. The greater part of them had been at 
 a distance from the river when we descended, and 
 never having seen white men before, they flocked 
 round us in great numbers ; but, although they were 
 exceedingly curious, they treated us with much re- 
 spect, and were very urgent that we should spend 
 the night with them. Two principal chiefs were 
 pointed out by our Chopunnish companion, and being 
 acknowledged as such by the tribe, we invested each 
 of them with a small medal. We were also very 
 desirous of purchasing more horses ; but as our 
 stock of merchandise consisted of little more than 
 a dirk, a sword, and a few old clothes, the Indians 
 could not be induced to traffic with us. The Pish- 
 quitpahs are generally of good stature and propor- 
 tions, and as the heads neither of the males nor fe- 
 males are so much flattened as those of the natives 
 lower down, their features are rather pleasant. 
 Their hair is braided in the manner practised by their 
 western neighbours ; but the generality of the men 
 are dressed in a large robe, under which is a shirt 
 reaching to the knees, where it is met by long leg- 
 gins, and the feet are covered with moccasins : some, 
 however, wear only the truss and robe. As they 
 unite the occupations of hunting and fishing, both 
 sexes ride very dexterously ; their caparison being 
 a saddle or pad of dressed skin, stuffed with goat's 
 hair, from which wooden stirrups are suspended, and 
 a hair rope is tied at both ends to the under jaw of 
 the animal. The horses, however, though good, 
 suff'er much, as do, in fact, all the Indian horses, from 
 sore backs. 
 
 " Finding them not disposed to barter with us, we 
 left the Pishquitpahs at four o'clock, accompanied 
 by eighteen or twenty of their young men on horse- 
 
196 LEWIS \ND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 back. At the distance of four miles we passed, with- 
 out halting, five houses belonging to the Wollawol- 
 \ahs ; and five miles farther, observing as many wil- 
 lows as would enable us to make fires, we availed 
 ourselves of the circumstance, and encamped near 
 them. 
 
 " The country through which we passed resembled 
 that of yesterday. The hills on both sides of the 
 river are about two hundred and fifty feet high, gen- 
 erally abrupt and craggy, and in many places pre- 
 senting a perpendicular face of black, solid rock. 
 From the top of these hills the country extends it- 
 self in level plains to a very great distance, and 
 though not so fertile as the land near the Falls, pro- 
 duces an abundant supply of low grass, which is an 
 excellent food for horses. This grass must, indeed, 
 be unusually nutritious, for even at this season of 
 the year, after wintering on the dry grass of the 
 plains, and being used with greater severity than is 
 usual among the whites, many of the horses were 
 perfectly fat, nor had we seen a single one that was 
 really poor. In the course of the day we killed sev- 
 eral rattlesnakes, like those of the United States, 
 and saw many of the common as well as the horned 
 lizard." * * * 
 
 As they advanced the next day the hills became 
 low, and left an extensive plain on each side of the 
 river. Having proceeded thirty-one miles, they halt- 
 ed for the night not far from some houses of the 
 WollawoUahs. On the 27th they found the abrupt, 
 rocky hills again approaching the river ; and, after 
 a march of twenty-four miles, they halted for din- 
 ner. " Soon after stopping," says the Journal, " we 
 were joined by seven WollawoUahs, among whom 
 we recognised a chief by the name of Yellept, who 
 had visited us on the 19th of October, when we gave 
 him a medal, with the promise of a larger one on 
 our return. He appeared very much pleased at see- 
 ing us again, and invited us to remain at his village 
 
RECEPTION BY THE WOLLAWOLLAHS. 197 
 
 three or four days, during which he would supply 
 us with the only food they had, and furnish us with 
 horses for our journey. After the cold, inhospitable 
 treatment we had lately received, this kind offer was 
 peculiarly acceptable ; and, having made a hasty 
 meal, we accompanied him to his village, six miles 
 above, situated on the edge of the low country, and 
 about twelve miles below the mouth of Lewis's 
 River. Immediately on our arrival, Yellept, who 
 proved to be a man of much influence, not only in 
 his own, but among the neighbouring nations, collect- 
 ed the inhabitants, and, after having made an ha- 
 rangue to them, the purport of which was to induce 
 them -to treat us hospitably, set them an example by 
 bringing himself an armful of wood, and a platter 
 containing three roasted mullets. They immediate- 
 ly complied with one part, at least, of the recom- 
 mendation, by furnishing us with an abundance of 
 the only sort of fuel th^ use, the stems of shrubs 
 growing in the plains. We then purchased four 
 dogs, on which we supped heartily, having been on 
 short allowance for two days previously. When we 
 were disposed to sleep, the Indians retired immedi- 
 ately on our requesting them to do so, and, indeed, 
 uniformly conducted themselves with great propri- 
 ety. These people live mostly on roots, which are 
 very abundant in the plains, and catch a few salmon- 
 trout ; but they then seemed to be subsisting chiefly 
 •on a species of mullet, weighing from one to three 
 pounds. They informed us that opposite to their 
 village there was a route which led to the mouth of 
 the Kooskooskee, on the south side of Lewis's Riv- 
 er ; that the road itself was good, and passed over 
 a level country well supplied with water and grass ; 
 and that we should meet with plenty of deer and an- 
 telope. We knew that a road in that direction would 
 shorten the distance at least eighty miles ; and as 
 the report of our guide was confirmed by Yellept 
 and other Indians, we did not hesitate to adopt this 
 
198 LEWIS AND Clarke's exildition. 
 
 route: they added, however, that V.y^re were no 
 houses, nor permanent Indian residences on the road, 
 and that it would therefore be prudent not to trust 
 wholly to our guns, but to lay in a stock of provis- 
 ions. 
 
 " April 28. Taking their advice, therefore, we this 
 morning purchased ten dogs. While the trade for 
 these was being conducted by our men, Yellept 
 brought a fine white horse, and presented him to 
 Captain Clarke, expressing at the same time a wish 
 to have a kettle ; but, on being informed that we had 
 already disposed of the last kettle we could spare, he 
 said he would be content with any present we chose 
 to make him in return. Captain Clarke thereupon 
 gave him his sword, for which the chief had before 
 expressed a desire, adding one hundred balls, some 
 powder, and other small articles, with which he ap- 
 peared perfectly satisfied. We were now anxious 
 to depart, and requested Tellept to lend us canoes 
 for the purpose of crossing the river ; but he would 
 not listen to any proposal of the kind. He wished 
 us to remain for two or three days ; but, at all 
 events, would not consent to our going to-day, for 
 he had already sent to invite his neighbours, the 
 Chimnapoos, to come down in the evening and join 
 his people in a dance for our amusement. We 
 urged in vain that by setting out sooner we should 
 the earher return with the articles they desired : a 
 day, he observed, would make but little difference. 
 We at length suggested that, as there was then no 
 wind, it was the best time to cross the river, and 
 that we would merely take the horses over, and re- 
 turn to sleep at their village. To this he assented ; 
 and we then crossed with the horses, and, having 
 hoppled them, came back to their camp. Fortunately, 
 there was among these Wollawollahs a prisoner be 
 longing to a tribe of the Shoshonee or Snake In 
 dians, residing to the south of the Multnomah, and vis 
 iting occasionally the heads of Wollawollah Creek 
 
CHIMNAPOO AND WOLLAWOLLAH DANCE. 199 
 
 Our Shoshonee woman, Sacajawe ah, though she be- 
 longed to a tribe near the Missouri, spoke the same 
 language as this prisoner ; and by their means we 
 were able to explain ourselves to the Indians, and 
 answer all their inquiries with respect to ourselves 
 and the object of our journey. Our conversation 
 inspired them with much confidence, and they soon 
 brought several sick persons, for whom they re- 
 quested our assistance. We splintered the broken 
 arm of one, gave some relief to another whose knee 
 was contracted by rheumatism, and administered 
 what we thought would be beneficial for ulcers, and 
 eruptions of the skin on various parts of the body, 
 which are very common disorders among them. 
 But our most valuable medicine was eye-water, 
 which we distributed, and which, indeed, they very 
 much required ; for the complaints of the eyes, oc- 
 casioned bv living so much on the water, and ag- 
 gravated by the fine sand of the plains, were univer- 
 sal among them. 
 
 " A little before sunset the Chimnapoos, amount- 
 incr to one hundred men and a few women, came to 
 tlie village, and, joining the Wollawollahs, who were 
 about the same number of men, formed themselves 
 in a circle round our camp, and waited very patiently 
 till our men were disposed to dance, which they did 
 for about an hour, to the music of the viohn. They 
 then requested the Indians to dance. With thi.« 
 they readily complied ; and the whole assemblage, 
 amounting, with the women and children of the vil- 
 lage, 'to several hundred, stood up, and sang and 
 danced at the same time. The exercise was not, 
 indeed, very violent nor very graceful ; for the great- 
 ( r part of them were formed into a solid column, 
 ] ound a kind of hollow square, stood on the same 
 
 )lace, and merely jumped up at intervals, to keep 
 time to the music. Some, however, of the more ac- 
 tive warriors entered the square and danced round 
 
 it sideways, and some of our men joined in with 
 Jf.-Q 
 
200 LEWIS AND CLA.RKe's EXPEDITION. 
 
 them, to the great satisfaction of the Indians. The 
 dance continued till ten o'clock. The next morning, 
 " April 29, Yellept supplied us with two canoes, 
 in which we crossed with all our baggage by eleven 
 o'clock; but the horses having strayed to some dis- 
 tance, we could not collect them in time to reach 
 any suitable place for encamping if we should then 
 begin our journey, as night would overtake us be- 
 fore we came to any water. We therefore thought 
 it advisable to encamp about a mile from the Co 
 lumbia, at the mouth of the WoUawoUah River. 
 This is a handsome stream, about fifty yards wi.Je, 
 and four and a half feet in depth. Its waters, which 
 are clear, roll over a bed composed principally of 
 gravel, intermixed with some sand and mud ; and, 
 though the banks are low, they do not seem to be 
 overflowed. It empties into the Columbia about 
 twelve or fifteen miles from the entrance of Lewis's 
 River, and just above a range of high hills crossing 
 the former. Its sources, like those of the Tow- 
 ahnahiooks, Lapage, Youmalolam, and Wollawol- 
 lah, are, as the Indians informed us, on the north side 
 of a range of mountains which we saw to the east 
 and southeast, and which, commencing to the south 
 of Mount Hood, stretch in a northeastern direction 
 to the neighbourhood of a southern branch of Lew- 
 is's River, at some distance from the Rocky Mount- 
 ains. Two principal branches, however, of the Tow- 
 ahnahiooks, take their rise in Mount Jefferson and 
 Mount Hood, which in fact appear to separate the 
 waters of the Multnomah and Columbia. They 
 were about sixty-five or seventy miles from this 
 place, and, although covered with snow, did not seem 
 high To the south of these mountains, the Indian 
 prisoner said there was a river running towards the 
 northwest, as wide as the Columbia at this place, 
 which was nearly a mile. This account might be 
 exaggerated, but it served to show that the Multno- 
 mah was a very large river, and that, with the as- 
 
INDIAN FISH-WEAR. 201 
 
 sistance of a southeastern branch of Lewis s River, 
 passing round the eastern extremity of the chain of 
 mountains in which Mounts Hood and Jefterson are 
 so conspicuous, it might water the vast tract of 
 country to the south, till its remote sources ap- 
 proached those of the Missouri and the Rio de? 
 Norte. 
 
 " Near our camp was a fish-wear, formed of two 
 curtains of small willow switches, matted together 
 with withes of the same plant, and extending across 
 the river in two parallel lines, six feet asunder. 
 These were supported by several parcels of poles, 
 in the manner already described as in use among 
 the Shoshonees, and were rolled up or let down at 
 pleasure for a few feet, so as either to let the fish 
 pass or to detain them. A seine of from fifteen to 
 eighteen feet in length is dragged down the river 
 by two persons, and the bottom drawn up against 
 the curtain of willows. They also employ a small- 
 er seine, like a scoop-net, one side of which is con- 
 fined to a semicircular bow five feet long, and half 
 the size of a man's arm, and the other side held by 
 a strong rope, which, being tied at both ends to the 
 bow, forms the chord to the semicircle : this is used 
 by one person. But the only fish they could take 
 at this time were mullet of from four to five pounds 
 in weight, and which formed the chief subsistence 
 of a village of twelve houses of WollawoUahs, a lit- 
 tle below us on the Columbia, as well as of others 
 on the opposite side of the river. In the course of 
 the day we gave small medals to two inferior chiefs, 
 each of whom made us a present of a fine horse. 
 We were in a poor condition to make an adequate 
 acknowledgment for this kindness, but gave them 
 several articles, among which was a pistol, with 
 some hundred rounds of ammunition. We had, in- 
 deed, been treated by these people with an unusual 
 degree of kindness and civility. They seemed to 
 have been successful in their hunfiig during the last 
 
202 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION. 
 
 winter, for all of them, but particularly the women, 
 were much better clad than when we had seen them 
 before ; both sexes among the WoUawollahs, as well 
 as the Chiranapoos, being provided with good robes, 
 moccasins, long shirts, and leggins. Their orna- 
 ments were similar to those used below, the hair 
 being cut on the forehead, and queues falling over 
 the shoulders in front of the body : some have small 
 plaits at the earlocks, and others tie a bundle of the 
 docked foretop in front of the forehead." * * * 
 
 " April 30. We had now twenty-three horses, many 
 of them young and excellent animals, but the great- 
 er part had sore backs. The Indians are generally 
 cruel masters : they ride very hard, and their sad- 
 dles being so badly constructed that it is almost im- 
 possible to avoid wounding the animal, they will 
 continue to ride the poor creatures after their backs 
 are scarified in the most shocking manner. At 
 eleven o'clock we left these honest. Worthy people, 
 accompanied by our guide and the Chopunnish fam- 
 ily, and directed our course north 50° east, across 
 an open, level sandy plain, unbroken except by 
 large banks of pure sand, which had drifted in many 
 parts to the height of fifteen or twenty feet. The 
 rest of the plain is poor in point of soil, but through- 
 out there is generally a short grass interspersed with 
 aromatic shrubs, and a number of plants, the roots 
 of which supply the principal food of the natives. 
 Among these we observed a root something like the 
 sweet potato. At the distance of fourteen miles we 
 reached a branch of WollawoUah River, rising in the 
 same range of mountains, and emptying itself six 
 miles above the mouth of the latter. It is a bold, 
 deep stream, about ten yards wide, and seems to be 
 navigable for canoes. The hills along this creek 
 are generally abrupt and rocky, but the narrow bot- 
 tom is very fertile, and both possess twenty times 
 as much timber as the Columbia itself: indeed, we 
 now find, for the first time since leaving Rock Fort, 
 
INDIAN REPUGNANCE TO HORSEFLESH. 203 
 
 an abundance of firewood. The growth consists of 
 Cottonwood, birch, the crimson haw, red and sweet 
 willow, chokecherry, yellow currants, gooseberry, 
 the honeysuckle with a white berry, rosebushes, 
 sevenbark, and sumach, together with some corn- 
 grass and rushes. The advantage of a comfortable 
 fire induced us, as it was already night, to halt at 
 this place. 
 
 " We were soon supphed by Drewyer with a bea- 
 ver and an otter, of which we took only a part of the 
 former, and gave the rest to the Indians. The otter 
 is with them a favourite food, though much inferior, 
 at least in our estimation, to the dog, which they 
 will not eat. The flesh of the horse, too, is seldom 
 eaten, and never except when absolute necessity 
 compels them to eat it, as the only alternative to 
 save them from dying with hunger. This fastidi- 
 ousness does not seem, however, to proceed so much 
 from any dislike to the food as from attachment to 
 the animal itself, for many of them ate very heartily 
 of the horseflesh which we gave them." * * * 
 
 After they had proceeded nine miles the next day, 
 their Chopunnish Indian left them, taking an old, 
 unbeaten road which led to the left. " At the dis- 
 tance of three miles farther," continues the Journal, 
 " the hills on the north side became lower, and the 
 bottoms of the creek widened into a pleasant coun- 
 try, two or three miles in extent. The timber, too, 
 was now more abundant, and our guide told us that 
 we should not want either wood or game from this 
 place as far as the Kooskooskee. We had already 
 seen several deer, of which we killed one, and ob- 
 served great numbers of curlew, as well as some 
 cranes, ducks, prairie larks, and several species of 
 the sparrow common to the prairies. There is, in 
 fact, very little difference in the general face of the 
 country here from that of the plains on the Missou- 
 ri, except that the latter are enlivened by vast herds 
 of buffalo, elk, and other animals, which give it an 
 
204 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition.. 
 
 additional interest. Over these wide bottoms we 
 continued on a course north 75° east, till, at the dis- 
 tance of seventeen miles from where we had dined, 
 and twenty-six from our last encampment, we halt- 
 ed for the night. We had scarcely encamped when 
 three young men came up from the Wollawollah vil- 
 lage, with a steel-trap which had inadvertently been 
 left behind, and which they had come a whole day's 
 journey in order to restore. This act of integrity 
 was the more pleasing, because, though very rare 
 among Indians, it corresponded perfectly with the 
 general behaviour of the Wollawollahs, among whom 
 we had lost carelessly several knives, which were 
 always returned as soon as found. We may, in- 
 deed, justly affirm, that of all the Indians whom we 
 had met since leaving the United States, the Wolla- 
 wollahs were the most hospitable, honest, and sin- 
 cere." 
 
MEETING WITH BIGHORN 205 
 
 CHAPTER XI. 
 
 The Party pursue their Route towards the Kooskooskee. — They 
 reach the Kinnooenim Creek. — Meet with an old Acquaint- 
 ance, called the Bighorn Indian.— Arrive at the Mouth of the 
 Kooskooskee. — Difficulty of purchasing Provisions from the 
 Natives, and new Device of the Party to obtain them. — Chopun 
 nish Style of Architecture. — Captain Clarke turns Physician, 
 and performs several Experiments upon the Natives with Suc- 
 cess. — Instance of their Honesty. — Distress of the Indians 
 for want of Provisions during the Winter. — The Party finally 
 meet Twisted Hair, to whom their Horses had been intrusted 
 on their Journey down. — Quarrel between that Chief and an- 
 other of his Nation, in regard to his Horses. — Causes of the 
 Controversy stated at large. — The two Chiefs reconciled by 
 the Interference of the Party, and the Horses restored. — Ex- 
 traordinary Instance of Indian Hospitality towards Strangers. — 
 Council held with the Chopunnish, and the Object of the Ex- 
 pedition explained. — The Party perform other medical Cures. 
 — Answer of the Chopunnish to the Speech delivered at the 
 Council, ratified by a singular Ceremony. — They promise 
 faithfully to follow the Advice of their Visiters. 
 
 They followed the course of the creek the next 
 day, and, after travelling nineteen miles, encamped 
 for the night. The mountains to the southwest, at 
 the distance of twenty-five miles, though not ap- 
 pearing to be very high, were still covered with 
 snow. Pursuing a course north 25° east on the 
 morning of the 3d, at the distance of twelve miles 
 they reached the Kinnooenim Creek ; and three miles 
 beyond thisi in a northeasterly direction, they came 
 to a branch of this creek, which they followed for 
 eleven miles, and "at that distance," says the Jour- 
 nal, we were agreeably surprised by the appearance 
 of Weahkoonut, or the Indian whom we had called 
 The Biffhorn, from the circumstance of his wearing 
 
206 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 a horn of that animal suspended from his left arm. 
 He had gone down with us last year along Lewis's 
 River, and was highly serviceable in preparing the 
 minds of the natives for our reception. He was, 
 moreover, the first chief of a large band of Chopun- 
 nish ; and, hearing that we were on our return, he 
 had come with ten of his warriors to meet us. He 
 now turned back with us, and we continued up the 
 bottoms of the creek for two miles, till the road be- 
 gan to leave it, and to cross the hill towards the 
 plains. "We therefore encamped for the night in a 
 grove of Cottonwood, after we had made a disagree- 
 able journey of twenty-eight miles. During the 
 greater part of the day the air had been keen and 
 cold, and it alternately rained, hailed, and snowed ; 
 but, though the wind blew with great violence, it 
 was fortunately from the southwest, and on our 
 backs. We had consumed at dinner the last of our 
 dried meat, and nearly all that was left of the dogs ; 
 so that we supped very scantily on the remainder, 
 and had nothing for the next day. Weahkoonut, 
 however, assured us that there was a house on the 
 river at no great distance, where we could supply 
 ourselves with provisions. We now missed oui 
 guide and the Wollawollahs, who had left us ab- 
 ruptly in the morning, and never returned. 
 
 " May 4. We were now nearer to the southwest 
 mountains, which appeared to become lower as they 
 advanced towards the northeast. We followed the 
 road over the plains, north 60^ east, for four miles 
 to a ravine, where was the source of a small creek, 
 down the hilly and rocky sides of which we proceed- 
 ed for eight miles to its entrance into Lewis's River, 
 about seven miles and a half above the mouth of the 
 Kooskooskee. Near this place we found the house 
 which Weahkoonut had mentioned, and where we 
 now halted for breakfast. It contained six families, 
 but so miserably poor that all we could obtain from 
 them were two lean dogs and a few hirge cakes of 
 
ARRIVAL AT A CHOPUNNISH VILLAGE. 207 
 
 half-prepared bread, made of a root resembling the 
 sweet potato, of all which we contrived to form a 
 kind of soup. The soil of the plain is good, but it 
 has no timber. The range of southwestern mount- 
 ains vi^as about fifteen miles above us, but continued 
 to become lower, and was still covered with snow 
 to its base. After giving a passage to Lewis's River 
 near their northeastern extremity, they terminate i» 
 a high level plain between that river and the Koos- 
 kooskee. The salmon not having yet called them 
 to the rivers, the greater part of the Chopunnish 
 were still dispersed in villages through this plain, for 
 the purpose of collecting quamash and cow-weed, 
 which grow here in great abundance, the soil being 
 extremely fertile, and in many places covered with 
 the long-leafed pine, the larch, and balsam-fir, which 
 contribute to render it less dry than the open, un- 
 sheltered plains. After our repast we continued our 
 route along the west side of the river, where, as well 
 as on the opposite shore, the high hills approached 
 it closely, till, at the distance of three miles, we 
 halted near two houses. The inmates consisted of 
 five families of Chopunnish, among whom were Te- 
 toh or Sky, the younger of the two chiefs who ac- 
 companied us in the autumn to the Great Falls of 
 the Columbia, and also our old pilot who had con- 
 ducted us down to that river. They both advised us 
 to cross here, and ascend the Kooskooskee on the 
 northeast 'ide, this being the shortest and best route 
 to the forks of that river, where we should find 
 Twisted Hair, in whose charge we hadleft our horses, 
 and to which place they promised to show us the 
 way. We did not hesitate to accept their offer, and 
 crossed over with the assistance of three canoes ; 
 but, as the night was coming on, we purchased a lit- 
 tle wood and some roots of cow-weed, and encamp- 
 ed, though we had made only fifteen miles during 
 the day. The evening proved cold and disagree- 
 able, and the natives crowded round our fire in such 
 U.— R 
 
208 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 numbers that we could scarcely cook or keep our- 
 selves warm." * * * 
 
 " May 5. We collected our horses, and at seven 
 o'clock set forward alone; for Weahkoonut, whose 
 people resided above on the west side of Lewis's 
 River, resumed his route homeward when we cross- 
 ed to the huts. Our road was over the plains for 
 four and a half miles to the entrance of the Koos- 
 kooskee. We then proceeded up that river, and at 
 five miles reached a large mat house, but could not 
 procure any provisions from the inhabitatits ; how- 
 ever, on reaching another three miles beyond, we 
 were surprised at the liberality of an Indian, who 
 presented to Captain Clarke a very fine gray mare, 
 for which all he requested was a vial of eyewater. 
 Last autumn, while we were encamped at the mouth 
 of the Chopunnish River, a man who complained of 
 a pain in his knee and thigh was brought to us, in 
 hopes of receiving some relief. To appearance he 
 had recovered from his disorder, though he had not 
 walked for some time ; but, that we might not disap- 
 point them. Captain Clarke, with much ceremony, 
 washed and rubbed his sore limb, and gave him some 
 volatile liniment to continue the operation, which 
 caused, or, more properly, perhaps, did not prevent, 
 his complete cure. The man gratefully circulated 
 our praises, and our fame as physicians was farther 
 increased by the efficacy of some eye-water which 
 we had given them at the same time. We were by 
 no means dissatisfied at this new resource for ob- 
 taining subsistence, as the Indians would give us no 
 provisions without merchandise, and our stock was 
 now very much reduced. We cautiously abstained 
 from giving them any but harmless medicines, and 
 as we could not possibly do harm, our prescriptions, 
 though unsanctioned by the faculty, might be useful, 
 and were therefore entitled to some remuneration. 
 Four miles beyond this we came to another large 
 house, containing ten families, where we halted, and 
 
IMPUDENCE OF AN INDIAN. 209 
 
 made our dinner on two dogs and a small quantity 
 of roots, which we did not obtain without much dif- 
 ficulty. While we were eating, an Indian standing 
 by, and looking with great derision at our eating 
 dog's flesh, threw a poor half-starved puppy almost 
 into Captain Lewis's plate, laughing heartily at the 
 humour of it. Captain Lewis took up the animal, 
 and flung it back with great force into the fellow's 
 face, and, seizing his tomahawk, threatened to cut 
 him down if he dared to repeat such insolence. Ht 
 immediately withdrew, apparently much mortified, 
 and we continued our dog repast very quietly. Here 
 we met our old Chopunnish guide, with his family ; 
 and soon afterward one of our horses, which had 
 been separated from the others in the charge of 
 Twisted Hair, and been in this neighbourhood for 
 several weeks, was caught and restored to us. 
 
 " After dinner we proceeded to the entrance of 
 Colter's Creek, at the distance of four miles, and, 
 having made twenty and a half miles, encamped on 
 the lower side of it. This creek rises not far from 
 the Rocky Mountains, and, passing in the greater 
 part of its course through a country well supplied 
 with pine, discharges a large body of water. It is 
 about twenty-five yards wide, with a pebbled bed 
 and low banks. At a little distance from us were 
 two Chopunnish houses, one of which contained 
 eight families, and the other, much the largest we 
 had yet seen, was inhabited by at least thirty. It 
 was rather a kind of shed, built, hke all the other 
 houses, of straw and matSj with a roof one hundred 
 and fifty-six feet long, and about fifteen wide, closed 
 at the ends, and having a number of doors on each 
 side. The vast interior was without partitions, but 
 the fires of the different families were kindled in a 
 row through the middle of the building, and about 
 ten feet apart. This village was the residence of 
 one of the principal chiefs of the nation, who was 
 called Neeshnepahkeeook, or Cut Nose, from the cir- 
 
210 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 camstance of his nose having been cut by the stroke 
 of a lance in battle with the Snake Indians. We 
 gave him a small medal ; but, though he was a great 
 chief, his influence among his own people did not 
 seem to be considerable, and his countenance pos- 
 sessed very little intelligence. We arrived very 
 hungry and weary, but could not purchase any pro 
 visions except a small quantity of the roots of the 
 cow-weed, and some bread made from them. They 
 had, however, heard of our medical skill, and made 
 many applications for assistance ; but we refused to 
 do anything for them, unless they gave us either 
 some dog or horse flesh to eat. We had soon nearly 
 fifty patients. A chief brought his wife with an ab- 
 scess in her back, and promised to furnish us with a 
 horse the next day if we would relieve her. Cap- 
 tain Clarke therefore opened the abscess, intro- 
 duced a tent, and dressed it with basilicon. We 
 also prepared and distributed some doses of the flour 
 of sulphur and cream of tartar, with directions for 
 their use. For these we obtained several dogs ; but 
 they were too poor to be eaten, and we therefore 
 postponed our medical operations till the morning. 
 In the mean time a number of Indians, besides the 
 residents of the village, gathered about us, or en- 
 camped in the woody bottom of the creek. 
 
 " In the evening we learned from a Snake Indian, 
 who happened to be at the place, that one of the old 
 men had been endeavouring to excite prejudices 
 against us by observing that he thought we were 
 bad men, and came there, most probably, for the 
 purpose of killing them. In order to remove such 
 suspicions, we made a speech, in which, by means 
 of the same Indian, we informed them of our coun- 
 try, and of the purposes of our visit. While we 
 were thus engaged, we were joined by Weahkoo- 
 nut, who assisted us in effacing all unfavourable im- 
 pressions from the minds of the Indians. The fol- 
 lowing morning 
 
THE PARTY TURN PHYSICIANS. 211 
 
 " May 6, our practice became more lucrative. The 
 woman declared that she had slept better than she 
 had before since her illness. She was therefore 
 dressed a second time, and her husband, according 
 to promise, brought us a horse, which we immedi- 
 ately killed. Besides this woman, we had crowds 
 of applicants, chiefly afiiicted with sore eyes ; and, 
 after administering to them for several hours, found 
 ourselves once more in possession of a plentiful 
 meal ; for the inhabitants became more and more 
 friendly, and one of them even gave us a horse for 
 our prescriptions for his daughter, a little girl who 
 was afflicted with the rheumatism. We moreover 
 exchanged one of our horses with Weahkoonut by 
 adding a small flag, obtaining an excellent sorrel 
 horse. 
 
 "We found here three men of a nation called 
 Skeetsomish, who reside at the falls of a large river 
 emptying itself into the north side of the Columbia, 
 and which takes its rise from a spacious lake in the 
 mountains, at no great distance from these falls. 
 We now designated this river by the name of 
 Clarke's River, as we did not know its Indian name, 
 and we were the first whites who had ever visited 
 its principal branches ; for the Great Lake River, 
 mentioned by Mr. Fidler, if at all connected with 
 Clarke's River, must be a very inconsiderable branch. 
 To the river, moreover, which we had before called 
 Clarke's River, rising in the southwest mountains, 
 we restored the name of Towahnahiooks, the appel- 
 lation by which it is known to the Eneeshurs. In 
 dress and appearance these Skeetsomish were not 
 to be distinguished from the Chopunnish ; but their 
 language was entirely diff'erent, a circumstance which 
 we did not learn till their departure, when it was too 
 late to obtain from them a vocabulary of it." * * * 
 
 They set out about two o'clock, accompanied by 
 Weahkoonut, with ten or twelve men, and an Indian 
 who called himself the brother of Twisted Hair; 
 
 / 
 
\ 
 
 212 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 and after proceeding nine miles they halted, having 
 lost the horse they had intended to kill, and, conse- 
 quently, being obliged to lie down supperless for the 
 night. 
 
 They started the next morning with the brother 
 of Twisted Hair for their guide ; and after proceed- 
 ing four miles, to a house containing six families, by 
 his advice they crossed to the other side of the riv- 
 er, expecting to find game more plentiful near the 
 mouth of the Chopunnish. " An Indian," says the 
 narrative, " now brought two canisters of powder, 
 which his dog," he stated, " had discovered under 
 ground, in a bottom some miles above. We imme- 
 diately knew them to be the same we had buried 
 last autunm, and as he had kept them safely, and 
 was honest enough to return them, we rewarded 
 him — inadequately, to be sure, but as well as we 
 could — with a steel for striking fire. We set out at 
 three o'clock, and pursued a difficult and stony road 
 for two miles, when we left the river, and ascended 
 the hills on the right, which began to resemble 
 mountains. But when we reached the heights we 
 saw before us a beautiful level country, partially 
 covered with the long-leafed pine, and supplied with 
 an excellent herbage, the abundant productions of 
 a dark, rich soil. In many parts of the plain the 
 earth was thrown up into little mounds by some 
 animal whose habits most resemble those of the 
 salamander ; but, although these mounds were scat- 
 tered all over the plains from the Mississippi to the 
 Pacific, we had never been able to obtain a sight of 
 the animal to which they owe their origin." 
 
 Coming to a deserted Indian settlement, on a 
 small creek emptying into the Kooskooskee, they 
 encamped there for the night. The spurs of the 
 Rocky Mountains were covered with snow, which 
 the Indians said was still deep, and that they would 
 not b*e able to cross them before the 1st of June. 
 They had seen some deer in the course of the day, 
 and the tracks of many others. 
 
WANT OF FOOD AMONG THE NATIVES. 213 
 
 •' May 8. Most of the hunters set out at daylight. 
 By eleven o'clock they all returned, with four deer, 
 and a duck of an uncommon kind, which, with the 
 remains of our horse, formed a stock of provisions 
 such as we had not lately possessed. Not havnig 
 our facilities of procuring subsistence with guns, 
 the natives of this country must often suffer very 
 severely. During the last winter they had been so 
 much distressed for food, that they were obliged to 
 boil and eat the moss growing on the pine-trees. At 
 the same time they cut down nearly all the long- 
 leafed pines (which we observed lying on the 
 ground), for the purpose of collecting its seed, which 
 resembles in size and shape that of the large sun- 
 flower, and, when roasted or boiled, is nutritious, and 
 not disagreeable to the taste. In the spring they 
 peel this pine, and eat tiie inner bark ; and in the 
 creek near us they take some trout by means of a 
 falling trap, similar to those common in the United 
 States. We gave Neeshnepahkeeook and his peo- 
 ple some of our game and horseflesh, besides the 
 entrails of the deer. They did not eat any of it 
 perfectly raw, but the entrails had very little cook- 
 ing. The Shoshonee was offended at not receiving 
 as much venison as he wished, and refused to inter- 
 pret ; but, as we took no notice of him, he became 
 very ofiicious in the course of a few hours, and made 
 many advances to reinstate himself in our favour. 
 The mother of Twisted Hair and Neeshnepahkeeook 
 now drew a sketch, which we preserved, of all the 
 waters west of the Rocky Mountains. They made 
 the main southern branch of Lewis's River much 
 more extensive than the other, and placed a great 
 number of Shoshonee villages on its western side. 
 
 " Between three and four o'clock in the afternoon 
 we set out, in company with Neeshnepahkeeook and 
 other Indians, the brother of Twisted Hair having left 
 us. Our route was up a high steep hill to a level 
 plain, with little wood, over which we passed in a 
 
214 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 direction parallel to the river for four miles, when 
 we met Twisted Hair and six of his people. To this 
 chief we had confided our horses and part of our 
 saddles the preceding autumn, and we therefore 
 formed very unfavourable surmises on finding tha* 
 he received us with much coldness. He soon began 
 to speak to Neeshnepahkeeook in a very loud, angry 
 tone, and was answered by him. We now discov- 
 ered that there was a violent quarrel between these 
 chiefs, on the subject, as we afterward understood, 
 of our horses. But, as we could not learn the cause, 
 and were desirous of terminating the dispute, we 
 interposed, and told them that we should go on to 
 the first water and halt. We therefore set out, fol- 
 lowed by all the Indians, and, having reached, at 
 two miles' distance, a small stream running to the 
 right, we encamped, the two chiefs and their little 
 bands forming separate camps at a distance from 
 each other. They all appeared to be in very ill hu- 
 mour ; and as we had already heard a report that the 
 Indians had discovered and carried off our saddles, 
 and that the horses were much scattered, we began 
 to be uneasy lest there should be too much founda- 
 tion for the rumour. We were therefore anxious to 
 reconcile the two chiefs as soon as possible, and de- 
 sired the Shoshonee to interpret for us while we at- 
 tempted to mediate between them : but he peremp- 
 torily refused to speak a word. He observed that 
 it was a quarrel between the two. chiefs, and he had 
 therefore no right to interfere ; nor could all our 
 representations, that, in merely repeating what we 
 said, he could not possibly be considered as meddling 
 between them, induce him to take any part in it. 
 
 " Soon afterward Drewyer returned from hunting, 
 and was sent to invite Twisted Hair to smoke with 
 us. He accepted the invitation, and, as we were 
 smoking over our fire, he informed us that, accord- 
 ing to his promise on leaving us at the Falls of the 
 Columbia, he collected our horses and took charge 
 
QUARREL BETWEEN TWO CHIEFS. 215 
 
 of them as soon as he reached home. But about 
 this time Neeshnepahkeeook andTunnacheraootoolt, 
 or Broken Arm, who, as we passed, had been on a 
 war party against the Shoshonees on the south 
 branch of Lewis's River, returned, and becoming 
 jealous of him because the horses had been confided 
 to his care, constantly sought to quarrel with him. 
 At length, being an old man, and unwilling to live in 
 a perpetual broil with these chiefs, he gave up the 
 care of the horses to them, in consequence of which 
 the animals had become very much scattered. The 
 greater part of them were, however, still in the 
 neighbourhood ; some in the forks between the 
 Chopunnish ana Kooskooskee, and three or four 
 at the village of Broken Arm, about half a day's 
 march higher up the river. He added, that on the 
 rise of the river in the spring, the earth had fallen 
 from the door of the cache, and exposed the saddles, 
 some of which had probably been lost ; but that, as 
 soon as he was acquainted with the situation of them, 
 he had them buried in another deposite, where they 
 now were. He promised that, if we would stay the 
 next day at his house, a few miles distant, he would 
 collect such of the horses as were in the neighbour- 
 hood, and send his young men for those in the forks, 
 over the Kooskooskee, He moreover advised us to 
 visit Broken Arm, who was a chief of great eminence, 
 and he would himself guide us to his dwelling. 
 
 " We told him that we would follow his advice in 
 every respect ; that we had confided our horses to 
 his care, and expected he would deliver them to us, 
 on which we should cheerfully give him the two guns 
 and the ammunition we had promised him. With 
 this he seemed very much pleased, and declared he 
 would use every exertion to restore the horses. We 
 now sent for Neeshnepahkeeook, or Cut Nose, and, 
 after smoking for some time, began by expressing 
 to the two chiefs our regret at seeing a misunder- 
 standing between them. Neeshnepahkeeook replied 
 
216 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 that Twisted Hair was a bad old man, and wore two 
 faces ; for, instead of taking care of our horses, he 
 had suffered his young men to hunt with them, so 
 that they had been very much injured, and it was 
 for this reason that Broken Arm and himself had for- 
 bidden him to use them. Twisted Hair made no re- 
 ply to this speech, and we then told Neeshnepah- 
 keeook of our arrangement for the next day. He 
 appeared to be very well satisfied, and said he would 
 himself go with us to Broken Arm, who expected to 
 see us, and had two bad horses for us ; by which ex- 
 pression it was meant that he intended making us a 
 present of two valuable horses. That chief, he also 
 informed us, had been apprized of our want of pro- 
 visions, and had sent four young men with a supply 
 for us ; but that, having taken a different road, they 
 had missed us. After this interview we retired to 
 rest at a late hour, and in the morning, 
 
 " May 9, after sending out several hunters, we 
 proceeded through a rich, level country, similar to 
 that of the previous day, for six miles, when we 
 reached the house of Twisted Hair, situated near 
 some larch-trees and a few bushes of the balsam- 
 fir." * * * " Late in the afternoon Twisted Hair re- 
 turned with about half the saddles we had left in the 
 autumn, and some powder and lead that had been 
 buried at the same place. Soon after the Indians 
 brought us twenty-one of our horses, the greater 
 part of which were in excellent order, though some 
 of them had not yet recovered from hard usage, and 
 three had sore backs. We were, however, very 
 glad to recover them in any condition. Several In- 
 dians came down from the village of Tunnachemoo- 
 toolt, and passed the night with us. Cut Nose and 
 Twisted Hair seemed now to be perfectly reconciled, 
 for they both slept in the house of the latter. The 
 man who had imposed himself upon us as a brother 
 of Twisted Hair also came and renewed his advances: 
 but we found that he was an impertinent, proud 
 
INTERVIEW WITH TUNNACHEMOOTOOLT. 217 
 
 fellow, of no respectability in the nation, and we 
 therefore felt no inchnation to cultivate any intima- 
 cy with him. Our camp was in an open plain, and 
 soon became very uncomfortable ; for the wind was 
 high and cold, and the rain and hail, which began 
 about seven o'clock, changed in about two hours to 
 a heavy fall of snow, which continued till after six 
 o'clock the next morning, 
 
 " May 10, when it ceased, after covering the 
 ground eight inches deep, and leaving the air keen 
 and frosty. We soon collected our horses, and, after 
 a scanty breakfast of roots, set out on a course south 
 35° east. The road was very slippery, and the snow 
 stuck to the horses' feet, and made them stumble 
 very frequently. After going about sixteen miles 
 we came to the hills on Commearp Creek, which 
 were six hundred feet high, and their tops covered 
 with snow, though in the lower parts, as well as 
 along the bottom of the creek, there had been only 
 rain, while it was snowing on the elevated plains. 
 Descending these hills to the creek, at about four 
 o'clock we reached the house of Tunnachemootoolt, 
 where the flag which we had given him was dis- 
 played on a staff, and beneath which we were re- 
 ceived with due form, and then conducted a short 
 distance to a good spot for an encampment, on Com- 
 mearp Creek. We next collected the men of con- 
 sideration in the tribe, and, after smoking with them, 
 explained how destitute we were of provisions. 
 The chief then spoke to the people, and they imme- 
 diately brought about two bushels of dried quamash 
 roots, some cakes of the roots of cow-weed, and a 
 dried salmon-trout. We thanked them for this sup- 
 ply, but observed at the same time that, not being 
 accustomed to live on roots only, we feared that such 
 diet might make our men sick, and proposed to ex- 
 change one of our good horses which was rathet 
 poor, for one that was fatter that we might kill 
 The hosoitable feelings of the chief were shocked at 
 
218 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 the idea of an exchange ; and he at once replied 
 that his people had an abundance of young horses, 
 and that, if we were disposed to eat such food, we 
 might have as many as we wanted. Accordingly, 
 they soon brought us two fat young horses, asking 
 for nothing in return: an act of liberal kindness 
 much greater than any we had witnessed since 
 crossing the Rocky Mountains, if it may not^ indeed, 
 be considered the only really hospitable treatment 
 we had received in this part of the world. We kill- 
 ed one of the horses, and then telling the natives 
 that we were fatigued and hungry, and that, as soon 
 as we were refreshed, we would communicate freely 
 with them, began to prepare our repast. 
 
 " During this time a principal chief, called Hohas- 
 tillpilp, came from his village, about six miles dis- 
 tant, with a party of fifty men, for the purpose of 
 visiting us. We invited him into our circle, and he 
 alighted and smoked with us, while his retinue, with 
 five elegant horses, continued mounted at a short 
 distance. While this was going on, the chief had a 
 large leathern tent spread for us, and desired that 
 we would make it our home so long as we remained 
 at his village. We removed there, and having made 
 a fire, and cooked our supper of horseflesh and 
 roots, collected all the distinguished men present, 
 and spent the evening in making known who we 
 were, what were the objects of our journey, and in 
 answering their inquiries. To each of tiie chiefs 
 Tunnachemootoolt and Hohastillpilp we gave a 
 small medal, explaining their use and importance as 
 honorary distinctions both among the whites and the 
 red men. Our men w^ore well pleased at once more 
 having made a hearty meal. They had generally 
 been in the habit of crowding into the houses of the 
 Indians, to purchase provisions on the best terms 
 Ihey could ; for the inhospitality of the country was 
 such, that often, in the extreme of hunger, they were 
 obliged to treat the natives with but little ceremony; 
 
COUNCIL HELD WITH THE CHOPUNNISH. 219 
 
 ^hlV^^'J^''^^^."^^' ^^^ ^^^^ "«^^s very disagree- 
 able. Finding that these people are so kind and 
 liberal we ordered our men to treat them with the 
 greatest respect, and not to throng round thdr fires 
 so that they now agree perfectly well together If' 
 er the council the Indians felt no disposition om 
 
 on' wJfl^'iT^ ^?^^ ^^'^y' ^"^ breakfasted a^ain 
 was in fact oni?^'-^'\^'^.' "^ Tunnachemootool" 
 Z^!' f ; r ' "l^ •? ^'"^'^ ^°"-^e' one hundred and 
 fifty feet long, built after the Chopunnish fashion 
 with sticks, straw, and dried grass. It contained 
 twenty four fires, about double fhat number oflamt 
 nJ men "^!^^^™"^^^^' P^.^^aps, one hundred fighl 
 ng men. Iheir chief subsistence was roots • and 
 the noise made by the women in pounding 'them 
 gave one the idea of a nail-factory/ Yet otwiT 
 standing so many families were c^rowLd^ogeThe^." 
 we found the Chopunnish much more cSl in 
 their persons and habitations than any people we 
 had met since leaving the Ottoes on the Rive? Platte 
 In the course of the morning, a chief named Yoom: 
 
 years r^.VT\^7f^°".^-''^^ "^^" ^^ -'^«"t ?orTy 
 years of age, who had lost his left eye, arrived from 
 his village on the south side of Lewis'L River W^ 
 gave him a small medal, and, finding that there were 
 na^Ln'^S^V!'' P""^^P^l^hiefs of^he Chopunnis" 
 
 nfnahkeeoor Vnn '"^rJ^^^^' ^^"^^" Arm, Neesh- 
 nepankeeook, Yoompahkatim, and HohastillDilo 
 
 we thought this a favourable moment to explain to 
 them the intentions of our government. We there- 
 fore collected the chiefs and warriors, aiid having 
 drawn a map of the relative situation of our coun? 
 ry on a mat with a piece of coal, detai ed the na 
 ture and power of the American nation, its desfret^ 
 preserve harmony between all its red brethren and 
 its intention of establishing trading-houses fo"'th^r 
 
220 LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 relief and support. It was not without difficulty, 
 nor till nearly half the day had been spent, that we 
 were able to convey all this information to the 
 Chopunnish, much of which might have been lost or 
 misapprehended in its translation into so many dif- 
 ferent languages ; for, in the first place, we spoke in 
 English to one of our men, who translated it into 
 French to Chaboneau, who interpreted it to his wife 
 in the Minnetaree tongue, while she then put it into 
 Shoshonee, and the young Shoshonee prisoner ex- 
 plained it to the Chopunnish in their own dialect. 
 At last, however, we succeeded in communicating 
 the impression we wished, and then adjourned the 
 council ; after which we amused our hosts by show- 
 ing them the wonders of the compass, the spyglass, 
 the magnet, the watch, and the air-gun, each of 
 which attracted its share of admiration. They said 
 that after we left the Minnetarees last autumn, three 
 young Chopunnish had gone over to that nation, the 
 people of which had mentioned to them our visit, 
 and the extraordinary articles we had with us, but 
 that they had placed no confidence in it until now. 
 Among other persons present was a youth, son of a 
 Chopunnish chief of much consideration, killed not 
 long since by the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie. 
 As soon as the council was over, he brought a very 
 fine mare, with her colt, and begged us to accept 
 them, as a proof that he intended to follow our ad- 
 vice, for he had opened his ears to it, and it had made 
 his heart glad. We now resumed our medical la- 
 bours, and had a number of patients afflicted w.ith 
 scrofula, rheumatism, and sore eyes, to all whom 
 we administered very cheerfully as far as our skill 
 and supphes of medicine would permit. We alsQ 
 visited a chief who had for three years past so com- 
 pletely lost the use of his limbs, that he lay like a 
 corpse in whatever position he was placed ; yet he 
 ate heartily, digested his food well, had a regular 
 pulse, and retained his flesh ; in short, but that he 
 
SPEECH OF TUNNACHEMOOTOOLT. 221 
 
 was somewhat pale with lying so long out of the 
 sun, he might have been mistaken for a man in per- 
 fect health. This disease did not seem to be com- 
 mon ; indeed, we saw only three cases of it among 
 the Chopunnish, who alone are afflicted with it. 
 The scrofulous disorders we may readily conjecture 
 to originate in the long confinement to vegetable 
 diet, which may also, perhaps, increase the soreness 
 of the eyes ; but this strange disorder baffled at once 
 our curiosity and our skill. Our assistance was 
 again demanded early the next morning, 
 
 "May 12, by a crowd of Indians, to whom we 
 gave eye-water. Shortly after, the chiefs and war- 
 riors held a council among themselves, to decide on 
 an answer to our speech, and the result was, as we 
 were informed, that they had full confidence in wiiat 
 we had told them, and were resolved to follow our 
 advice. This determination having been made, the 
 principal chief, Tunnachemootoolt, took a quantity 
 of flour of the roots of cow-weed, and going round 
 to all the kettles and baskets in which his people 
 were cooking, thickened the soup into a kind of 
 mush. He then began an harangue, setting forth 
 the result of the deliberations among the chiefs, and 
 after exhorting them to unanimity, concluded with 
 an invitation to all who acquiesced in the proceed- 
 ings of the council to come and eat ; while those 
 who were of a different mind were requested to 
 show their dissent by not partaking of the feast. 
 During this animated harangue, the women, who 
 were probably uneasy at the prospect of forming 
 this proposed new connexion with strangers, tore 
 their hair, and wrung their hands with the greatest 
 appearance of distress. But the concluding appeal 
 of the orator effectually stopped the mouths of every 
 malecontent, and the proceedings were ratified, and 
 the mush devoured with the most zealous unanimity. 
 The chiefs and warriors then came in a body to visii 
 us as we were seated near our tent ; and at theii 
 
222 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 instance, two young men, one of whom was a son 
 of Tunnachemootoolt, and the other the youth whose 
 father had been killed by the Pahkees, presented tc 
 us each a fine horse. We invited the chiefs lo be 
 seated, and gave every one of them a flag, a pound 
 of powder, and fifty balls, and a present of the same 
 kind to the young men from whom we had received 
 the horses. They then invitea us into the tent, and 
 said that they now wished to answer what we had 
 told them yesterday, but that many of their people 
 were at that moment waiting in great pain for our 
 medical assistance. It was therefore agreed thai 
 Captain Clarke, who was the favourite physician, 
 should visit the sick, while Captain Lewis held the 
 CO? iic.'i ; which was opened by an old man, the fa- 
 ther of Hohastillpilp. He began by declaring that 
 the nation had listened with attention to our advice, 
 and had only one heart and one tongue in declaring 
 their determination to follow it. They knew well 
 the advantages of peace, for they valued the lives of 
 their young men too much to expose them to the 
 dangers of war ; and their desire to live quietly with 
 their neighbours had induced them last summer to 
 send three warriors with a pipe to the Shoshonees, 
 in the plains of the Columbia south of Lewis's Riv- 
 er. These ministers of peace had been killed by the 
 Shoshonees, against whom the nation immediately 
 took up arms. They had met them last winter and 
 killed forty-two men, with the loss of only three of 
 their own party ; so that, having revenged their de- 
 ceased brethren, they would no longer make war on 
 the Shoshonees, but receive them as friends. As to 
 going with us to the plains of the Missouri, they 
 would be very willing to do so ; for, though the Black- 
 foot Indians and the Pahkees had shed much of their 
 blood, they still wished to live in peace with them. 
 But we had not yet seen either of these nations, and 
 it would therefore be unsafe for them to venture 
 till they were assured of not being attacked by them 
 
PRESENTS TO THE CHIEFS. 223 
 
 iStill, however, some of their young men should ac- 
 company us across the mountains, and if they could 
 effect a peace with their enemies, the whole nation 
 would go over to the Missouri in the course of the 
 next summer. On our proposal that one of their 
 chiefs should go with us to the country of the whites, 
 they had not yet decided, but would let us know be- 
 fore we left ; but that, at all events, the whites might 
 calculate on their attachment and their best services, 
 for, though poor, their hearts were good. The snow 
 was, however, still so deep on the mountains, that 
 we should perish in attempting the passage, but if 
 we waited till after the next full moon, the snows 
 would have melted sufficiently to enable our horses 
 to subsist on the grass. 
 
 " As soon as this speech was concluded, Captain 
 Lewis replied at some length : they appeared to be 
 highly gratified with what he said, and after smoking 
 the pipe, made us a present of another fat horse. 
 In turn, we gave Broken Arm a vial of eye- water, 
 • with directions how to wash the eyes of those who 
 should apply for it ; and as we promised to fill it again 
 when it was exhausted, he seemed very much pleas- 
 ed with our liberahty. To Twisted Hair, who had 
 last night collected six more horses, we gave a 
 gun, a hundred balls, and two pounds of powder, 
 and told him he should have the same quantity when 
 we received the remainder of our horses. In the 
 course of the day three more of them were brought 
 in, and a fresh exchange of small presents put the 
 Indians in excellent humour. On our expressing a 
 wish to cross the river, and form a camp in order to 
 hunt and fish till the snows had melted, they recom- 
 mended a position a few miles distant, and promised 
 to furnish us the next day with a canoe to pass over. 
 We invited Twisted Hair to establish himself near our 
 camp, for he had several young sons, one of whom 
 we hoped to engage as a guide, and he promised to 
 do so. Having now settled all their affairs, the In- 
 IT._S 
 
224 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 dians divided themselves into two parties, and began 
 to play the game of hiding a bone, already described 
 as common to all the natives of this country." 
 
 CHAPTER XII. 
 
 The Party encamp among the Chopunnish, and receive farther 
 Evidence of their Hospitality. — Indian Mode of boiling Bear's 
 Flesh. — Of decoying the Deer within Reach of their Arrows. 
 — Character of the Soil and Climate among the Rocky Mount 
 ains. — Varieties of Climate. — Character of the Natives. — 
 Their Dress and Ornaments. — Mode of burying the Dead. — 
 The Party administer medical Relief to the Natives. — One 
 of the Natives restored to the Use of his Limbs by Sweat- 
 ing, and the curious Process by which Perspiration was exci- 
 ted. — Another Proof of Chopunnish Hospitality. — Success 
 of their sweating Prescription on an Indian Chief. — Descrip- 
 tion of the Horned Lizard and a Variety of Insects. — Attach- 
 ment of the Friends of a dying Indian to a Tomahawk which he 
 had stolen from the Party, and which they desired to bury with 
 the Body.— Description of the River Tommanamah. — The In- 
 dians return an Answer to a Proposition made by the Party. 
 
 They were disappointed in being furnished with a 
 canoe in season to cross the river the next day, but 
 passed over on the 14th, and formed their camp 
 where the Indians had recommended. " As soon as 
 we had encamped," says the Journal, " Tunnache- 
 mootoolt and Hohastillpilp, with about twelve of their 
 nation, came to the opposite side and began to sing, 
 this being the usual token of friendship on such oc- 
 casions. We sent the canoe for them, and the two 
 chiefs came over with several of the party, among 
 whom were the two young men who had given us 
 the two horses in behalf of the nation. After smo- 
 king for some time, Hohastillpilp presented to Cap- 
 tain Lewis an elegant gray gelding which he had 
 brought for the purpose, and was perfectly satisfied at 
 
THE VARIEGATED BEAR. 225 
 
 receiving in return a handkerchief, two hundred 
 calls, and four pounds of powder. 
 
 " The hunters killed some pheasants, two squir- 
 rels, and a male and a female bear, the first of which 
 was large and fat, and of a bay colour ; the second, 
 meager, grizzly, and of a smaller size. They were of 
 the species common to the upper part of the Mis- 
 souri, and might well be termed the variegated bear, 
 for they are found occasionally of a black grizzly 
 brown or red colour. There is every reason to be- 
 lieve that ihey are of precisely the same species. 
 Those of different colours are sometimes killed to- 
 gether, as in the case of these two, and as we had 
 found the white and bay associated together on the 
 Missouri : some nearly white were seen in this 
 neighbourhood by the hunters. Indeed, it is not 
 common to find any two bears of the same colour ; 
 and if difference of colour were allowed to constitute 
 a distinct species, the number would be increased to 
 almost twenty. Soon after they killed a female bear 
 with two cubs. The mother was black, with a con- 
 siderable intermixture of white hairs, and a white 
 spot on her breast. One of the cubs was jet black, 
 and the other of a light reddish brown or bay colour. 
 The fur of these variegated bears is much finer, lon- 
 ger, and more abundant than that of the common 
 black bear ; but the most striking difference between 
 them is, that the former are larger, have longer tusks, 
 and longer as well as blunter claws ; that they prey 
 more on other animals ; and that they lie neither so 
 long nor so closely in winter-quarters, and never 
 climb a tree, however closely pressed by the hunters. 
 The variegated bear here, though specifically the same 
 with those we met on the Missouri, are by no means 
 so ferocious, probably because the scarcity of game 
 and the habit of living on roots may have weaned 
 them from attacking and devouring animals. Still, 
 however, they are not so passive as the common 
 black bear, which are also found here ; for they had 
 
226 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition 
 
 fought with our hunters, though with less fur}'- than 
 those on the other side of the mountains. 
 
 " A large part of the mea*. we gave to the Indians, 
 to whom it was a great luxury, as they scarcely taste 
 flesh once in a month. They immediately prepared 
 a large fire of dried wood, on which were thrown a 
 numberof smooth stones from the river. As soon as 
 the fire went down and the stones were heated, they 
 were laid close to each other in a level position, 
 and covered with a quantity of pine branches, on 
 which were placed flitches of the meat, and then 
 boughs and flesh alternately for several courses, 
 leaving a thick layer of pine on the top. On this 
 heap they then poured a small quantity of water, and 
 covered the whole with earth to the depth of four 
 inches. After remaining in this state for about three 
 hours, the meat was taken off, and was really more 
 tender than that which we had boiled or roasted, 
 though the strong flavour of the pine rendered it dis- 
 agreeable to our palates. This repast gave them 
 much satisfaction ; for, though they sometimes kill 
 the black bear, they attack very reluctantly the fierce 
 variegated bear ; and never except when they can 
 pursue him on horseback over the plains, and shoot 
 him with arrows." * * * 
 
 " May 15. As we were compelled to pass some 
 time in this neighbourhood, a number of hunters 
 were sent in diff'erent directions, and the rest were 
 employed in completing the camp. We secured the 
 baggage with a shelter of grass, and made a kind of 
 bower of the under part of an old sail, the leathern 
 tent being too rotten for use, while the men formed 
 very comfortable huts in the shape of the awning of 
 a wagon, by means of willow poles and grass. 
 Tunnachemootoolt and his young men left us in the 
 morning to go home, and soon after we were visit- 
 ed by a party of fourteen Indians on horseback, pro- 
 ceeding on a hunting excursion, armed with bows and 
 arrows. The chief game is the deer, and, whenever 
 
INDIAN MODE OF DECOYING DEER. 227 
 
 the ground will permit, they prefer hunting on horse- 
 back ; but in the woodlands, where this is impracti- 
 cable, they make use of a decoy. This consists of 
 the skin of the head and upper part of the neck of a 
 deer, kept in its natural shape by a frame of small 
 sticks in the inside. As soon as the hunter perceives 
 a deer, he conceals himself, and with his hand moves 
 the decoy so as to represent a real deer in the act of 
 feeding, which is done so naturally that the game is 
 enticed within reach of their arrows." * * * 
 
 The next day a horse which had strayed was 
 brought back by one of the Indians, thus affording 
 another instance of the honesty of these people. 
 Their native guests all left them in the course of 
 the day. 
 
 " May 17. It rained," continues the narrative, 
 " during the greater part of the night, and our flimsy 
 covering being insufficient for our protection, we 
 lay in water the most of the time ; and, what was 
 more unlucky, our chronometer got wet. The rain 
 continued with us nearly the whole day, while on 
 the high plains the snow was falling, and lay two or 
 three inches in depth. This weather confined us to 
 our camp, and kept the Indians from us ; so that for 
 the first time since we had left the Narrows of the 
 Columbia, a day was passed without being visited 
 by them. 
 
 " The country along the Rocky Mountains, for sev- 
 eral hundred miles in length and about fifty in width, 
 is a high level plain ; in all its parts extremely fer- 
 tile, and in many places covered with a growth of 
 tall long-leafed pine. This plain is chiefly inter- 
 rupted near the streams of water, where the hills are 
 steep and lofty; but the soil on them is good, being 
 unencumbered by much stone, and possessing more 
 timber than the level country. Under shelter of 
 these hills, the bottom lands skirt the margins of the 
 rivers, and though narrow and confined, are fertile 
 and rarely inundated. Nearly the whole of this 
 
228 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 widespread tract is covered with a profusion of 
 grass and plants, which were at this time as high as 
 the knee. Among these are a variety of esculent 
 plants and roots, gathered without much difficulty, 
 and yielding not only a nutritious, but a very agree- 
 able food. The air is pure and dry, the climate quite 
 as mild, if not milder, than in the same parallels of 
 latitude in the Atlantic States, and must be equally 
 healthy; for all the disorders which we had wit- 
 nessed might fairly be imputed more to the nature 
 of the diet of the inhabitants than to any peculiarity 
 of climate. This general observation is of course 
 to be qualified, since in the same tract of country 
 the degrees of the variation of heat and cold depend 
 much upon the influence of situation. Thus the 
 rains of the low grounds near our camp were snows 
 in the high plains ; and while the sun shone with in- 
 tense heat in the confined bottoms, the plains had 
 a much colder air, and the vegetation was retarded 
 there at least fifteen days, while at the foot of the 
 mountains the snows were still many feet in depth ; 
 so that within twenty miles of our camp we observ- 
 ed the rigours of winter cold, the cool air of spring, 
 and the oppressive heat of midsummer. On th^ 
 plains, however, where the snow had fallen, it seem- 
 ed to do but little injury to the grass and other plants, 
 which, though apparently tender and susceptible, 
 were still blooming at the height of nearly eighteen 
 inches through their wintry mantle. In short, this 
 district affords many advantages to settlers; and, if 
 properly cultivated, would yield every object ne- 
 cessary for the subsistence and comfort of civilized 
 man. 
 
 " The Chopunnish are in general stout, well form- 
 ed, and active : they have high, and many of them 
 aquiline noses, and the general appearance of the 
 face is cheerful and agreeable, though without any 
 indication of gayety and mirth. Like most of the 
 Indians, they extract their beards : there does not 
 
ORNAMENTS WORN BY THE CHOPUNNISH. 229 
 
 appear to be any natural deficiency in this respect, for 
 we observed several men, w^ho, if they had adopted 
 the practice of shaving, vv^ould have been as well sup- 
 plied with beards as ourselves. The dress of both 
 sexes resembles that of the Shoshonees, and con- 
 sists of a long shirt reaching to the thigh, leggins as 
 high as the waist, and moccasins and robes, all of 
 which are formed of skins. 
 
 " Their ornaments are beads, shells, and pieces of 
 brass attached to different parts of the dress, tied 
 round the arms, neck, and wrists, or thrown over 
 the shoulders ; and to these are added pearls and 
 beads suspended from the ears, and a single shell of 
 wampum through the nose. The headdress of the 
 men is a bandeau of fox or otter skin, either with or 
 without the fur, and sometimes an ornament is tied 
 to a plait of hair falling from the crown of the head : 
 that of the women is a cap without rim, formed of 
 bear-grass and cedar bark ; while the hair itself of 
 both sexes falls in two rows down the front of the 
 body. Collars of bears' claws are also common. 
 But the personal ornament most esteemed is a sort 
 of breastplate, formed of a strip of otter-skin six 
 inches wide, cut out of the whole length of the back 
 of the animal, including the head : this being dressed 
 with the hair on, a hole is made in the upper end for 
 the head of the wearer to pass through, and the skin 
 hangs down in front, with the tail reaching below 
 the knee, and ornamented with pieces of pearl, red 
 cloth, wampum, or, in short, any other fanciful dec- 
 oration. Tippets, also, are occasionally worn. That 
 of Hohastillpilp was formed of human scalps, and 
 adorned with the thumbs and fingers of the enemies 
 he had slain in battle.* 
 
 * And yet this chief belonged to a nation immediately after 
 ward praised for their amiability. Such are the contradictions 
 in the character of the wild, uncultivated, and ungoverned sav- 
 age. This chief showed unbounded liberaUty, and the most 
 hospitable attentions to the party. 
 
230 LEWIS AND CLARKE'S EXPEDITION, 
 
 "The Chopunnish are among the most amiable 
 Indians we had seen. Their character is placid and 
 gentle, rarely moved into passion, and not often en- 
 livened by gayety. Their amusements consist in 
 running races, and in shooting with arrows at a tar- 
 get, and they are addicted to the all-prevailing vice 
 of gambling. They are much less taken with baw- 
 bles than the generality of Indians, and are chiefly 
 anxious to obtain articles of utility, such as knives, 
 tomahawks, kettles, blankets, and awls for making 
 moccasins. They have also suffered so much from 
 the superior equipment of their enemies, that they 
 are very desirous of procuring arms and ammuni- 
 tion, which they are gradually acquiring ; for the 
 band of Tunnachemootoolt have already six guns, 
 which they obtained from the Minnetarees. 
 
 "The Chopunnish bury their dead in sepulchres 
 formed of boards, and in shape like the roof of a 
 house. The bodies are rolled in skins, and laid one 
 above another, separated only by a board. We 
 have sometimes seen their dead deposited in wood- 
 en boxes, after being rolled in skins in the same 
 manner. They sacrifice to the deceased their hor- 
 ses, canoes, and every other species of property, and 
 numerous bones of horses may be seen lying round 
 their sepulchres." * * * 
 
 " Among the reptiles common in this country is a 
 species of lizard, which we called the horned lizard, 
 about the size, and much resembling in figure the 
 ordinary black lizard. Its belly is, however, broad- 
 er, its tail shorter, and its action much slower than 
 that of the common lizard. It crawls like the toad, 
 and is of a brown colour variegated with yellowish 
 brown spots : it is covered with minute shells, in- 
 terspersed with little horny projections like prickles, 
 on the upper part of the body. The belly and throat 
 resemble that of the frog, and are of a light yellow- 
 ish brown. The edges of the belly are regularly 
 studded with these horny projections, which give to 
 
HORNED LIZARD. 231 
 
 them a serrated appearance : the eye is small and 
 of a dark colour. Above and behind the eyes are 
 several bony projections, wliich, being armed at the 
 extremities v^^ith a firm black substance, looking like 
 horns sprouting from the head, induced us to call it 
 the horned lizard. These animals are found in great 
 abundance in the sandy parts of the plains, and af- 
 ter a shower of rain are seen basking in the sun, 
 but for the greater part of the time they are con- 
 cealed in holes. They are also seen in great num- 
 bers on the banks of the Missouri, and in the plains 
 through which we passed above the Wollawollahs." 
 
 * * * " Most of the insects of the United States 
 are common here, though there is neither the hor- 
 net, the wasp, nor the yellow-jacket, but an insect 
 resembling the last of these, though much larger. 
 They are very numerous, particularly in the Rocky 
 Mountains and on the waters of the Columbia : the 
 body and abdomen are yellow, with transverse cir- 
 cles of black, the head black, and the wings, which 
 are four in number, are of a dark brown colour; 
 their nests are built in the ground, and resemble 
 that of the hornet, with an outer covering to the 
 comb. These insects are very fierce, and sting se- 
 verely, so that we found them exceedingly trouble- 
 some in frightening our horses as we passed the 
 mountains. The silkworm is also found here, as 
 well as the humble-bee, though the honey-bee is not." 
 
 From the 18th to the 23d nothing of special inter- 
 est occurred. For several days they had almost 
 constant rains, and the hunters had very little suc- 
 cess in killing game, so that they were very scan- 
 tily supplied with food. The salmon, however, were 
 soon expected, as they had received accounts of 
 their having made their appearance in Lewis's River. 
 
 " May 24. This proved the warmest day," says 
 the Journal, " since our arrival. Besides adminis- 
 tering medical relief to the Indians, we were now 
 obliged to devote much of our time to the care of 
 
232 LEWIS AND Clarke's expeditiow. 
 
 our own invalids. The child of Sacajawea was very 
 unwell ; and with one of the men we had ventured 
 an experiment of a very bold character. He had 
 been for some time sick, but had now recovered his 
 flesh, ate heartily, and digested well, but had so 
 great a weakness in the loins that he could not walk, 
 nor even sit upright without extreme pain. After 
 we had in vain exhausted the resources of our art, 
 one of the hunters mentioned that he had known 
 persons in a similar situation restored by violent 
 sweats, and at the request of the patient we permit- 
 ted the remedy to be applied. For this purpose, a 
 hole about four feet deep and three in diameter was 
 dug in the earth, and heated well by a large fire in 
 the bottom of it. The fire was then taken out, 
 and an arch formed over the hole by means of wil- 
 low poles, and covered with several blankets, so as 
 to form a perfect awning. The patient, being strip- 
 ped naked, was seated under this on a bench, with 
 a piece of board for his feet, while with a jug of wa- 
 ter he sprinkled the bottom and sides of the hole, so 
 as to keep up as hot a steam .as he could bear. Af- 
 ter remaining twenty minutes in this situation he 
 was taken out, immediately plunged twice into cold 
 water, and then brought back to the hole, where he 
 was again subjected to the vapour bath. During all 
 this time he drank copiously a strong infusion of 
 horsemint, which was used as a substitute for the 
 seneca root, which our informant said he had seen 
 employed on these occasions, but of which there 
 was none in this country. At the end of three quar- 
 ters of an hour he was again withdrawn from the 
 hole, carefully wrapped up, and suff'ered to cool 
 gradually. The morning after this operation was 
 performed he walked about, and was nearly free 
 from pain. 
 
 " About eleven o'clock a canoe arrived with three 
 Indians, one of whom was the poor creature who 
 had lost the use of his limbs, and for whose recov- 
 ery the natives seemed very anxious, as he was a 
 
HOSPITALITY OF HOHASTILLPILP. 233 
 
 chief of considerable rank among them. His situa- 
 tion, however, was beyond the reach of our skill. 
 He complained of no pain in any particular limb, and 
 we therefore thought his disorder could not be 
 rheumatic ; and his limbs would have been more 
 attenuated if his disease had been a paralytic affec- 
 tion." * * * 
 
 The two following days the hunters failed alto- 
 gether in obtaining game, but purchased a few roots, 
 which they brought in. The Indians still remained 
 at the encampment with their sick chief, discovering 
 the most affectionate anxiety for his cure, and con- 
 tinually sohciting that something farther might be 
 done for him. The snows on the mountains were 
 evidently disappearing, and on the 26th they were 
 gladdened by the sight of a salmon in the river. 
 
 " May 27. The horse the Indians had given us 
 some time ago had gone astray, but in our present 
 dearth of provisions we searched for him and killed 
 him. Observing that we were in want of food, Ho- 
 hastillpilp told us that most of the horses which we 
 saw running at large belonged to him or his people, 
 and that, whenever we wished for meat, we might 
 take one without any restraint. We had, indeed, 
 more than once, occasion to admire the generosity 
 of this Indian, whose conduct presented a model of 
 what is due to strangers in distress. A party was 
 sent to a village that had been discovered the day 
 before, and returned with a large supply of bread 
 and roots. Sergeant Ordway and two men were 
 also despatched to Lewis's River, about half a day's 
 ride to the south, where we expected to obtain salm- 
 on, which were said to be very abundant at that 
 place. Three of our hunters returned with five 
 deer." * * * "The Indians who attended the sick 
 chief were so anxious to have the operation of 
 sweating performed on him under our inspection, 
 that we determined to gratify them by making the 
 attempt. The hole was therefore enlarged, and tha 
 
234 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 father of the chief, a very good-looking old man, 
 went in with him, and held him in a proper position. 
 This strong evidence of affection is directly oppo- 
 site to the received opinion of the insensibility of 
 savages ; nor were we less struck with the kindness 
 and attentions shown to the sick man by those who 
 were wholly unrelated to him, and which was the 
 more remarkable, as his long illness of three years 
 might be supposed to have exhausted their sympa- 
 thy. We could not produce as complete a perspi- 
 ration as we desired, and after he w^as taken out he 
 complained of suffering considerable pain, which we 
 relieved with a few drops of laudanum, and he then 
 rested well. The next morning, 
 
 " May 28, he was able to use his arms, felt better 
 than he had done for many months, and sat up du- 
 ring the greater part of the day." * * * 
 
 " May 29. The Indian chief was still rapidly re- 
 covering, and for the first time during the last twelve 
 months had strength enough to wash his face. We 
 had intended to repeat the sweating to-day, but as 
 the weather was cloudy, with occasional rain, we 
 deferred it. This operation, though violent, appears 
 highly efficacious ; for our own man, on whom the 
 experiment was first made, is recovering his strength 
 very fast, and the restoration of the chief is won- 
 derful. He continued to improve, and on the fol- 
 lowing day, 
 
 " May 30, after a very violent sweating, was able 
 to move one of his legs and some of his toes, the 
 fingers and arms being almost entirely restored to 
 their former strength." * * * 
 
 " May 31. Two men visited the Indian village, 
 where they purchased a dressed bearskin of a uni- 
 form pale reddish brown colour, which the Indians 
 called yachah, in contradistinction to hohhosf, or the 
 white bear. This induced us to inquire more par- 
 ticularly into their opinions as to the several species 
 of bears ; and we produced all the skins of that ani- 
 
DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BEAR. 235 
 
 nial which we had purchased. The natives imme- 
 diately classed the white, the deep and the pale griz- 
 zly red, the grizzly dark brown, in short, all those 
 with the extremities of the hair of a white or frosty 
 colour, without regard to the colour of the ground 
 of the fur, under the name of hohhost. They as- 
 sured us that they were all of the same species 
 with the white bear; that they associated together, 
 had longer nails than the others, and never dimbed 
 trees. On the other hand, the animals with black 
 skins, those which were black with a number of en- 
 tire white hairs intermixed, or with a white breast, 
 the uniform bay, and the brown and ligfit reddish 
 brown, they ranged under the class yackah, and said 
 they resembled each other in being smaller, in hav- 
 ing shorter nails than the white bear, in climbing 
 trees, and being so little vicious that they could be 
 pursued with safety. This distinction of the In- 
 dians seemed to be well founded, and we were in- 
 clined to believe, 
 
 " First, that the white or grizzly bear of this neigh- 
 bourhood form a distinct species, which, moreover, 
 are the same with those of the same colour on the 
 upper part of the Missouri, where the other species 
 is not found. 
 
 "Second, that the black and reddish brown, &c., 
 are a second species, equally distinct from the white 
 bear of this country, and from the black bear on the 
 Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, which last two seem to 
 form only one species. The common black bear is 
 indeed unknown in this country ; for the bear of 
 which we are speaking, though in most respects 
 similar, differs from it in having much finer, thicker, 
 and longer hair, with a greater proportion of fur 
 mixed with it, and also in having a variety of col- 
 ours, while the common black bear has no intermix- 
 lure or change of colour, but is of a uniform black.* 
 
 * Townsend, in his Catalogue of the Quadrupeds of this 
 
236 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 " In the course of the day the natives brought ua 
 another of our original stock of horses, of which we 
 had now recovered all except two ; and those, we 
 were informed, were taken back by our Shoshonee 
 guide when he returned home. They amounted to 
 sixty-five, most of them fine, strong, active animals, 
 and in excellent order." 
 
 The next day, in crossing the river, they had the 
 misfortune to lose all their remaining stock of mer- 
 chandise. " We therefore," says the Journal, " cre- 
 ated a new fund, by cutting oft' the buttons from our 
 clothes, and preparing some eye-water and basilicon, 
 to which were added a few vials and small tin box- 
 es, in which we had once kept phosphorus. With 
 these articles two men set out in the morning, 
 
 " June 2, to trade, and brought home three bushels 
 of roots and some bread. In the mean time sever- 
 al hunters were sent out. The Indians informed us 
 that there were great numbers of moose to the 
 southeast of the east branch of Lewis's River, which 
 they called the Tommanamah. We had lately heard, 
 also, that some Indians, residing at a considerable 
 distance, on the south side of the Kooskooskee, 
 were in possession of two tomahawks, one of which 
 had been left at our camp on Moscheto Creek, and 
 the other had been stolen while we were with the 
 Chopunnish in the autumn. This last we were 
 anxious to obtain, in order to give it to the relations 
 of our unfortunate companion, Sergeant Floyd, to 
 whom it once belonged. We therefore sent Drew- 
 yer, with the two chiefs Neeshnepahkeeook and 
 Hohastillpilp, to demand it. On their arrival, they 
 found that the present possessor of it, who had pur- 
 chased it of the thief, was at the point of death ; 
 and his relations were unwilling to give it up, as 
 
 country, names four species of bears : The Grizzly Bear, or 
 Ursus ferox of Zoologists ; the Black Bear, or Ursus Americana 
 the Wiiite Bear, and the Brown Bear. 
 
IMPATIENCE OF THE PARTY TO LEAVE. 237 
 
 they wished to bury it in the grave with the deceased. 
 The influence of Neeshnepahkeeook, however, at 
 length prevailed ; and they consented to surrender 
 the tomahawk on receiving two strands of beads 
 and a handkerchief from Drewyer, and from each 
 of the chiefs a horse, to be killed at the funeral of 
 their kinsman, according to the custom of the coun- 
 try. 
 
 " Soon after their return, Sergeant Ordway and 
 his party, who had been sent to procure fish, and 
 for whose safety we had become extremely anxious, 
 came back from Lewis's River with some roots and 
 seventeen salmon. The distance, however, from 
 which they had been brought was so great, that 
 most of them were nearly spoiled ; but such as 
 were still sound were very delicious, the flesh being 
 of a fine rose colour, with a small mixture of yellow, 
 and so fat that they cooked perfectly well without 
 the addition of any oil or grease." * * * 
 
 " June 3. Finding that the salmon did not yet ap- 
 pear along the shore, as the Indians had assured us 
 they would, and that all the salmon which they 
 themselves used were obtained from Lewis's River, 
 we began to lose our hopes of subsisting on them. 
 We were too poor, and at too great a distance from 
 Lewis's River to obtain fish from thence ; and it was 
 not probable that the river would fall sufficiently for 
 the salmon to reach where we were before it would be 
 necessary for us to leave. Our Indian friends were 
 about sending an express over the mountains to 
 Traveller's Rest, in order to procure intelligence 
 from the Ootlashoots, a band of Flatheads who have 
 wintered on the east side of the mountains ; and, as 
 the route was deemed practicable for this express, 
 we also proposed setting out. The Indians, however, 
 dissuaded us from it, as many of the creeks, they said, 
 were still too deep to be forded, the roads very heavy 
 and slippery, and there was no grass yet for our hor- 
 ses ; but that in twelve or fourteen days we should 
 not have these obstacles to encounter." * ♦ * 
 
238 LEWIS AND Clarke's expl:dition. 
 
 "During the two following days we continued 
 hunting in our own neighbourhood, and by means of 
 these efforts, and trading with the Indians for trifling 
 articles, we succeeded in procuring as much bread 
 and roots, besides other food, as would enable us to 
 subsist while crossing the mountains. The old chiet 
 in the mean time gradually recovered the use of hia 
 limbs, and our own man was nearly restored to hia 
 former health." * * * 
 
 The next day they were informed by Neeshne- 
 pahkeeook that his people would not accompany 
 them to the Missouri, but that some of their young 
 men, as they had before promised, should go with 
 them. 
 
 CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 They join in the Diversions of the Willetpos Indians, a Tribe hith 
 erto unnoticed. — Joy of the Party at the prospect of Return 
 ing. — Vegetation of the Rocky Mountains. — Preparations to 
 resume their Journey. — They set out, and arrive at Hungry 
 Creek. — Difficulties that obstructed their Progress. — Com- 
 pelled to return and wait for a Guide across the Mountains. — 
 Their Distress for want of Provisions. — They resolve to re. 
 turn to the Quamash Flats. — Are at last so fortunate as to 
 procure Indian Guides, with whom they resume their Jour 
 ney. — Dangers of the Route. — Scarcity of Provisions, and the 
 Perils to \fhich they were exposed, their Course lying along 
 the Ridge of the Mountains. — Description of the warm 
 Springs, where the Party encamp. — Fondness of the Indians 
 for bathing in them. 
 
 On the 7th they were engaged in preparing packs 
 and saddles for their journey, having now resolved 
 to start as soon as circumstances would in any way 
 permit. 
 
 "June 8. Cut Nose visited us this morning with 
 
VISITED BY A PARTY OF WILLETPOS. 239 
 
 ten or twelve warriors, among whom were two be- 
 longing to a band of Chopunnish which we had not 
 before seen, who called themselves Willetpos, and 
 resided on the south side of Lewis's River. One of 
 ihem gave a good horse which he rode in exchange 
 for one of ours which was in no condition to cross 
 the mountains, on receiving a tomahawk in addition. 
 We were also so fortunate as to exchange two 
 other horses for two that were much better, with- 
 out giving anything else. After these important 
 transactions, several foot-races were run between 
 our men and the Indians: the latter, who are very 
 active, and fond of these races, proved themselves 
 very expert, and one of them was as fleet as our 
 swiftest runners. After the races were over, the 
 men divided themselves into two parties, and played 
 at prison bars ; an exercise which we were desirous 
 of encouraging, as several of the part)'^ were becom- 
 ing lazy from inaction. At night these games were 
 concluded by a dance. One of the Indians told us 
 that we could not pass the mountains before the 
 next full moon, or about the first of July ; and that, 
 if we attempted it before that time, the horses would 
 be three days without food on the top of the mount- 
 ains. This intelligence was by no means agreeable, 
 as it excited doubts as to the most proper time for 
 starting; but, having become very impatient, we 
 were determined to run all hazards, and leave as 
 soon as the Indians generally considered the route 
 practicable, which was about the middle of the pres- 
 ent* month. 
 
 * * * " June 9. Hohastillpilp, who had visited us 
 \he day before, now left us, with other Indians, for 
 !he plains near Lewis's River, where the whole na- 
 tion were about to assemble. Broken Arm. too, with 
 all his people, stopped on their way to the general 
 rendezvous at the same place. Cut Nose, or Neesh- 
 nepahkeeook, borrowed a horse, and rode down a 
 few miles after some young eagles. He soon re- 
 II T 
 
240 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 turned with two of the gray kind, nearly grown, 
 which he intended to raise for the sake of the feath- 
 ers. The young chief who had some time before 
 made us a present of two horses, came with a par- 
 ty of his people and passed the night with us." * * * 
 
 The river had now fallen about six feet, which 
 might be regarded as a sure indication that most of 
 the snow had melted on the mountains. They con- 
 cluded, however, that it would be most prudent still 
 to wait a day or two longer before they finally set 
 out on their journey. 
 
 " June 10. After collecting our horses," proceeds 
 the Journal, " which took much time, we set out at 
 eleven o'clock for the Quamash Flats. Our stock was 
 now very abundant, each man being well mounted, 
 with a small load on a second horse, besides sever- 
 al supernumerary ones, in case of accident or want of 
 food. We ascended the river hills, which are very 
 high, and three miles in extent; our course being 
 north 220 east, and then north 15° west for two 
 miles, till we reached Collins's Creek. It was deep 
 and difficult to cross, but we passed without any in- 
 jury except wetting some of our provisions, and 
 then proceeded due north for five miles to the east- 
 ern edge of the Quamash Flats, near where we had 
 first met the Chopunnish in the autumn. We en- 
 camped on the bank of a small stream, in a point 
 of woods bordering an extensive level and beauti- 
 ful prairie, which was intersected by several rivu- 
 lets, and, as the quamash was now in blossom, pre- 
 sented a perfect resemblance to a lake of clear water. 
 
 " A party of Chopunnish, who had oyertaken us 
 a few miles above, halted for the night with us, and 
 mentioned that they too had come down to hunt in 
 the flats, though we had fears that they expected us 
 ^o provide for them during their stay. 
 
 " The country through which we passed was gen- 
 erally free from stone, extremely fertile, and well 
 supplied with timber, consisting of several species 
 
DIFFERENT SPECIES OF PLANTS. 241 
 
 of fir, long-leafed pine, and larch. The undergrowth 
 was chokecherry near the water-courses, and scat- 
 tered through the country were black alder, a large 
 species of the reed-root now in bloom, a plant re- 
 sembling the pawpaw in its leaf, and bearing a berry 
 with five valves of a deep purple colour. There 
 were also two species of sumach, the purple haw, 
 sevenbark, service-berry, gooseberry, the honey- 
 suckle bearing a white berry, and a species of dwarf 
 pine ten or twelve feet high, which might be con- 
 founded with the young pine of the long-leafed spe- 
 cies, except that the former bears a cone of a glob- 
 ular form, with small scales, and that its leaves are 
 in fascicles of two,resembhng in length and appear- 
 ance the common pitch pine. We also observed 
 two species of wild rose, both quinquepetalous, both 
 of a damask red colour, and similar in the stem ; 
 but one of them was as large as the common red 
 rose of our gardens ; its leaf, too, is somewhat lar- 
 ger than that of the other species of wild rose, and 
 the apex, as we saw them last year, was more than 
 three times the size of the common wild rose. 
 
 " We saw many sandhill cranes, and some ducks 
 in the marshes near our camp ; likewise a great num- 
 ber of burrowing squirrels, some of which we kill- 
 ed, and found them as tender and well-flavoured as 
 our gray squirrels." 
 
 The hunters were sent out in diff'erent directions 
 the next day, but with very indifferent success. Be- 
 ing determined to start in earnest in the morning, 
 they cut up and dried what meat they had, packed 
 their baggage, and hoppled their horses, to be in 
 readiness at an early hour. 
 
 " June 15. The horses," proceeds the Journal, 
 " had strayed to such a distance that we could not 
 collect them without great difficulty ; and, as it rain- 
 ed very hard, we waited for it to abate. It soon, 
 however, showed every appearance of a settled rain, 
 a»^d we t>ierefore set out at ten o'clock. We cross- 
 
242 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 ed the prairie at tk'e distance of eight miles, where 
 we had sent our hunters, and found two deer which 
 they had hung up for us. Two and a half miles far- 
 ther we overtook them at CoUins's Creek : they had 
 killed a third deer. After dining, we proceeded up 
 the creek about half a mile ; then, crossing through 
 a high, broken country for about ten miles, reached 
 an eastern branch of the same creek, near which 
 we encamped in the bottom, after a ride of twenty- 
 two miles. The rains had made the road very sHp- 
 pery, and this, joined to the quantity of fallen tim- 
 ber, rendered our progress slow and laborious. The 
 country through which we passed had a thick growth 
 of long-leafed pine, with some pitch pine, larch, 
 white pine, white cedar or arbor viice- of large size, 
 and a variety of firs. The undergrowth gonsisted 
 chiefly of reed-root, from six to ten feet in height, 
 with the other species already enumerated. The 
 soil was in general good, and had somewhat of a 
 red cast, like that near the Southwest Mountain in 
 Virginia. We saw in the course of our ride the 
 speckled woodpecker and the bee-martin, and found 
 ^le nest of a humming-bird which had just begun to 
 lay its eggs. 
 
 "June 16. We readily collected our horses, and, 
 having taken breakfast, proceeded at six o'clock up 
 the creek, over handsome meadows of fine grass, 
 and a great abundance of quamash. At the distance 
 of two miles we crossed the creek, and ascended a 
 ridge in a direction towards the northeast. Fallen 
 timber still obstructed our way so much, that it was 
 eleven o'clock before we had made seven miles to a 
 small branch of Hungry Creek. In the hollows and 
 on the north side of the hills large quantities of snow- 
 still remained, in some places to the depth of two or 
 three feet. Vegetation, too, was proportionably re- 
 tarded, the dog-tooth violet being just in bloom, and 
 the honeysuckle, whortleberry, and a small species 
 of white maple were but beginning to put forth their 
 
COUNTRY STILIi COVERED WITH SNOW. 243 
 
 leaves. These appearances, in a part of the country 
 comparatively low, were ill omens of the practica- 
 bility of crossing the mountains. But, being deter- 
 mined to proceed, we halted merely to take a hasty 
 meal while the horses were grazing, and then re- 
 sumed our march. The route was through thick 
 woods, and over high hills intersected by deep ra- 
 vines and obstructed by fallen timber. We found 
 much difficulty, also, in following the road, the great- 
 er part of it being now covered with snow, which 
 lay in large masses eight or ten feet deep, and would 
 have been wholly impassable had it not been suffi- 
 ciently firm to bear our horses. Early in the even- 
 ing we reached Hungry Creek, at the place where 
 Captain Clarke had left a horse for us as we passed 
 in September ; and, finding a small glade with some 
 grass, though not enough for our horses, we thought 
 it better to halt for the night, lest by going farther 
 we should find nothing for them to eat. Hungry 
 Creek was small at this place, but deep, and dis- 
 cliarged a torrent of water perfectly transparent, 
 and cold as ice. During the fifteen miles of our 
 route this day the principal timber was the pitch 
 pine, the white pine, larch, and fir. The long-leafed 
 pine extends but a small distance on this side of 
 CoUins's Creek, and the white cedar does not reach 
 beyond the branch of Hungry Creek on which we 
 dined. In the early part of the day we saw the col- 
 umbine, the blue bell, and the yellow flowering pea 
 in bloom. There was also on these mountains a 
 great quantity of angelica, stronger to the taste, and 
 more highly scented, than that common in the Uni- 
 ted States. The smell is very pleasant, and the na- 
 tives, after drying and cutting it into small pieces, 
 wear it in strings around their necks. 
 
 " June 17. The air we found pleasant during the 
 day, but, notwithstanding the shortness of the nights, 
 it became very cold before morning. At an early 
 hour we collected our horses and proceeded down 
 
244 LEWIS AND Clarke's, expedition. 
 
 the creek, which we crossed twice with much diffi. 
 culty and danger, on account of its depth and rapid- 
 ity. We avoided two other crossings of the same 
 4cind by passing over a steep and rocky hill. At 
 the distance of seven miles, the road began to as- 
 cend the main ridges which divide the waters of the 
 Chopunnish and Kooskooskee Rivers. We followed 
 it up a mountain for about three miles, when we 
 found ourselves enveloped in snow, from twelve to 
 fifteen feet in depth, even on the south side, with the 
 fullest exposure to the sun. Winter now presented 
 itself to us in all its rigours : the air was keen and 
 frosty, no vestige of vegetation was to be seen, and 
 our hands and feet were benumbed with cold. We 
 halted at the sight of this new difficulty. 
 
 " To wait till the snows on the mountains had dis- 
 solved so as to enable us to distinguish the road, 
 would, we knew, defeat our design of returning to 
 the United Slates this season. We found, also, that 
 as the snow bore our horses very well, travelling 
 was infinitely easier than it had been last fall, when 
 the rocks and fallen timber so much obstructed our 
 march. But it would require five days to reach the 
 fish-wears at the mouth of Colt Creek, even if we 
 should succeed in following the proper ridges of the 
 mountains ; and the danger of missing our way was 
 exceedingly great, as every track was covered with 
 snow. During these five days, too, we should have 
 no chance of finding either grass or underwood for 
 our horses. To proceed, therefore, under such cir- 
 cumstances, would be to hazard our being bewilder- 
 ed in the mountains, to ensure the loss of our horses, 
 and, should we even be so fortunate as to escape 
 with our lives, we might be obliged to abandon all 
 our papers and collections. It was accordingly de- 
 cided not to venture any farther ; to deposite here all 
 the baggage and provisions for which we had no im- 
 mediate use, and, reserving only subsistence for a 
 few days, return, while our horses were yet strong, 
 
EFFORTS TO PROCURE A GUIDE. 245 
 
 to some spot where we might hve by hunting till a 
 guide could be procured to conduct us across the 
 mountains. Our baggage was placed on scaffolds 
 and carefully covered, as were also the instruments 
 and papers, which we thought it safer to leave than 
 to risk them over the roads and creeks by which we 
 had come. Having completed this operation, we 
 set out at one o'clock, and, retracing our steps, 
 reached Hungry Creek, which we ascended for two 
 miles, and, finding some scanty grass, encamped for 
 the night. The rain fell during the greater part of 
 the evening ; and, as this was the first time that we 
 had ever been compelled to make a retrograde move- 
 ment, we feared that it might depress the spirits of 
 the men ; but, though somewhat dejected at the cir- 
 cumstance, the obvious necessity precluded all re- 
 pining. During the night our horses strayed in 
 search of food to a considerable distance among the 
 thick timber on the hill sides, nor could we collect 
 them till nine o'clock the next morning, 
 
 " June 18. Two of them were, however, still miss- 
 ing, and we directed two of the party to remain and 
 look for them. At the same time we despatched 
 Drewyer and Shannon to the Chopunnish, in the 
 plains beyond the Kooskooskee, in order to hasten 
 the arrival of the Indians who it had been promised 
 should accompany us, or, at any rate, to procure a 
 guide to conduct us to Traveller's Rest. For this 
 purpose they took a rifle, as a reward to any one 
 who would engage to go with us, with directions to 
 increase the reward, if necessary, by an offer of two 
 other guns to be given immediately, and ten horses 
 at the Falls of the Missouri : we then resumed our 
 route." * * * They proceeded on to Collins's Creek, 
 where they halted for the night. Although numer- 
 ous tracks of deer were seen, the hunters did not 
 succeed in killing any. 
 
 They remained at their encampment on Collins's 
 CJreek the two following days, but, as they had but 
 
246 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 little success in procuring game, they resolved to 
 return to Quamash Flats. On the 19th, the two men 
 who had been left behind returned, without having 
 been able to find the missing horses. 
 
 "June 21. The mortification of being obliged to 
 retrace our steps," continues the Journal, " rendered 
 still more tedious a route everywhere so obstructed 
 by brush and fallen timber that it could not be pass- 
 ed without difficulty, and even danger to our horses. 
 One of these poor creatures wounded himself so 
 badly in jumpmg over some fallen logs, that he was 
 rendered unfit for use, and sickness had deprived us 
 of the service of another. At the pass of Collins's 
 Creek we met two Indians, who returned with us 
 about half a mile to a spot where we had slept in 
 September, and where we now halted to dine and let 
 our horses graze. These Indians had four supernu- 
 merary horses, and were on their way to cross the 
 mountains. They had seen Drewyer and Shannon, 
 who, they said, would not return for two days. We 
 pressed them to remain with us till that time, in or- 
 der to conduct us over the mountains ; to which 
 they consented, and deposited their stores of roots 
 and bread in the bushes at a little distance. After 
 dinner we left three men to hum till our return, and 
 then proceeded ; but we had not gone more than two 
 miles, when the Indians halted in a small prairie, 
 where they promised to remain at least two nights, 
 if we did not come back sooner. We left them, and 
 at about seven in the evening found ourselves at our 
 old encampment on the Flats, and were glad to find 
 that four of the hunters whom we had sent ahead 
 had killed a deer for supper. 
 
 " June 22. At daylight all the hunters set out, and, 
 traversing the whole country, were much more suc- 
 cessful than we had even hoped, for they brought in 
 eight deer and three bear. Hearing, too, that salmon 
 were now abundant in the Kooskooskee, we de- 
 SDa<^oL>»ed a man to our former station above Ool- 
 
THEY OBTAIN TWO INDIAN GVIDHjTS. 247 
 
 lins's Creek, for the purpose of purchasing some 
 with a few beads which had been found accidentally 
 in one of our waistcoat pockets. He did not return 
 in the evening, nor had we heard from Drewyer and 
 Shannon, who we began to fear had found much 
 difficulty in engaging a guide ; and we were also ap- 
 prehensive that the two Indians might set out the 
 next day for the mountains. Early in the morning, 
 therefore, 
 
 " June 23, we despatched two hunters to prevail 
 on them, if possible, to remain a day or two longer ; 
 and if they persisted in going on, they were to ac- 
 company them, with the three men at Collins's 
 Creek, and mark the route as far as Traveller's Rest, 
 wthere Ihey were to remain till we joined them by 
 following the same road. 
 
 " Our fears for the safety of D/ewyer, Shannon 
 and Whitehouse were fortunately relieved by their 
 return in the afternoon. The former brought three 
 Indians, who promised to go with us to the Falls of 
 the Missouri for the compensation of two guns. 
 One of them was the brother of Cut Nose, and the 
 other two had each given us a horse at the house 
 of Broken Arm ; and as they were men of good 
 character, and respectable in the nation, we had the 
 fairest prospect of being well served. We therefore 
 secured our horses near the camp, and at an early 
 hour the next morning, 
 
 "June 24, set out on our second attempt to cross 
 the mountains. On reaching Collins's Creek we 
 found only one of our men, who informed us that, a 
 short time before he arrived, the two Indians, tired 
 of waiting, had set out, and the other four men had 
 accompanied them, as they were directed. After 
 halting, we went on to Fish Creek, the branch of 
 Hungry Creek where we had slept on the 19th in- 
 stant. Here we overtook two of the party who had 
 gone on with the Indians, and who had been fortu- 
 nate enough to persuade them to wait for us. Du- 
 ll— U 
 
248 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 ring their stay at Collins's Creek they had killed only 
 a single deer, and of this they had been very liber- 
 al to the Indians, in order to induce them to remain, 
 so that they were without provisions ; and two of 
 ihem had set out for another branch of Hungry Creek, 
 where we would meet them the next day. 
 
 " In the evening, the Indians, to bring fair weath- 
 er, as they said, for our journey, set fire to the 
 woods. As these consisted chiefly of tall fir-trees, 
 with very numerous dried branches, the blaze was 
 almost instantaneous; and as the flames mounted 
 to the tops of the highest trees, it resembled a splen- 
 did display of fireworks. In the morning, 
 
 " June 25, one of our guides complained of being 
 sick : a symptom by no means pleasant, as sickness 
 with an Indian is generally the pretext for abandon- 
 ing an enterprise which he dislikes. He promised, 
 however, to overtake us, and we therefore left him 
 with his two companions, and set out at an early 
 hour. At eleven o'clock we halted for dinner at the 
 branch of Hungry Creek, and here we found our 
 two men, who had killed nothing. Here, too, we 
 were joined, rather unexpectedly, by our guides, who 
 now appeared disposed to be faithful to their engage- 
 ments. The Indian, indeed, was really sick ; and 
 having no covering except a pair of moccasins and 
 an elkskin dressed without the hair, we supplied him 
 with a buff'alo robe. 
 
 " In the evening we arrived at Hungry Creek, and 
 halted for the night about a mile and a half below 
 our encampment of the 16th. 
 
 " June 26. Having collected our horses and taken 
 breakfast, we set out at six o'clock, pursuing our for- 
 mer route, and at length began to ascend for the 
 second time the ridge of mountains. Near the 
 snowy region we killed two small black pheasants 
 and one of the speckled kind. These birds general- 
 ly frequent the higher parts of the mountains, where 
 they feed on the leaves of the pine and fir; but both 
 
DIFFICULTIES IN CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS. 249 
 
 kinds appear to be solitary and silent, as we never 
 heard either of them make any noise : and the In- 
 dians told us that they did not drum in flying, nor 
 make a whirring sound with their wings. On reach- 
 ing the top of the mountain, we found our deposite 
 perfectly safe. The snow in the neighbourhood had 
 melted nearly four feet since the 17th. By measur- 
 ing it accurately, and comparing it with a mark 
 which we had then made, we found the general depth 
 to have been ten feet ten inches, though in some 
 places still greater ; but at this time it was. about 
 seven feet. It required two hours to arrange our 
 baggage and prepare a hasty meal, after which the 
 guides urged us to set off, as we had a long ride to 
 make before we should reach a spot where there 
 was grass for our horses. We accordingly mount- 
 ed, and, following their steps, sometimes crossed 
 abruptly steep hills, and then wound along their sides, 
 near tremendous precipices, where, had our horses 
 slipped, we should have been irrecoverably lost. 
 Our route lay along the ridgy mountains which sep- 
 arate the waters of the Kooskooskee and Chopun- 
 nish, and above the heads of all the streams, so that 
 we met no running water. The whole country was 
 completely covered with snow, except occasionally 
 a few square feet of earth at the roots of some trees, 
 round which it had dissolved. We passed our camp 
 of the 18th of September, and late in the evening 
 reached a spot where we encamped, near a good 
 spring of water. It was on the steep side of a mount- 
 ain, with no wood, and a fair southern aspect, from 
 which the snow seemed to have disappeared for about 
 ten days, and an abundant growth of young grass, like 
 greensward, had sprung up. There was also a species 
 of grass not unhke flag, with a broad succulent leaf. 
 And which is confined to the upper parts of the high- 
 est mountains. It is a favourite food with horses, 
 but it was then either covered with snow, or just 
 making its appearance. There is a third plant pe- 
 
250 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 culiar to the same regions, a species of whortleber- 
 ry; and there are also large quantities of a species 
 of bear-grass, which, though it grows luxuriantly 
 over all these mountains, and preserves its verdure 
 during the whole winter, is never eaten by horses. 
 
 " In the night there came to our camp a Chopun- 
 nish, who had followed us with the view of accom- 
 panying us to the Falls of the Missouri. We now 
 learned that the two young Indians whom we had 
 met on the 21st, and detained several days, were 
 merely going on a party of pleasure to the Ootia- 
 shoots, or, as they call them, Shallees, a band of 
 Tushepahs who live on Clarke's River, near Trav- 
 eller's Rest. Early the next morning, 
 
 "June 27, we resumed our journey over the 
 heights and steep hills of the same great ridge. At 
 eight miles' distance we reached an eminence where 
 the Indians had raised a conical mound of stone, six 
 or eight feet high, on which was fixed a pine pole 
 about fifteen feet high. Here we halted and smoked 
 for some time, at the request of the Indians, who 
 told us that, in passing the mountains with their fam- 
 ilies, some men are usually sent on foot from this 
 place to fish at the entrance of Colt Creek, rejoining 
 the main party at the Ruamash Glade at the head 
 of the Kooskooskee. From the elevated point where 
 we now were, we had a commanding view of the 
 surrounding mountains, which so completely enclo- 
 sed us, that, although we had once passed them, we 
 might have almost despaired of ever escaping from 
 them but for the assistance of the Indians. The 
 marks on the trees, which had been our chief de- 
 pendance, were much fewer and more difficult to be 
 distinguished than we had expected ; but our guides 
 traversed this trackless region with a kind of in- 
 stinctive sagacity : they never hesitated, nor were 
 they ever embarrassed ; and so unerring was their 
 course, that wherever the snow had disappeared for 
 even a hundred paces, they found at once the sum- 
 
HARDNESS OF THE SNOW. 251 
 
 mer road. With their aid the snow was scarcely a 
 disadvantage; for, although we were often obliged to 
 slide down, the fallen timber and the rocks, which 
 were now covered, had been much more trouble- 
 some when we passed in the autumn. The travel- 
 ling was, indeed, comparatively pleasant, as well as 
 more rapid, the snow being granular and without 
 crust, and sufficiently hard to prevent the horses 
 from sinking more than two or three inches. After 
 the sun had been on it for some hours it became 
 softer than early in the morning, but the horses were 
 almost always able to get a sure foothold. 
 
 "After some time we resumed our route, and at 
 the distance of three miles descended a steep mount- 
 ain-, when, crossing two branches of the Chopunnish 
 River just above their forks, we began to mount a 
 second ridge. Along this we proceeded for some 
 time, and at the distance of seven miles reached our 
 camp of the 16th of September. Near this place 
 we crossed three small branches of the Chopunnish, 
 and then ascended a second dividing ridge, along 
 which we continued for nine miles, when it became 
 somewhat lower, and we halted for the night in a 
 position similar to that where we had encamped the 
 preceding evening. 
 
 "We had now travelled twenty-eight miles with- 
 out taking the loads from our horses or giving them 
 anything to eat ; and as the snow where we halted 
 had not entirely melted, there was but little grass. 
 Among other plants we observed great quantities of 
 the white lily, with reflected petals, which were now 
 in bloom, and in the same forwardness as in the 
 plains on the 10th of May. As for ourselves, our 
 stock of meat being entirely gone, we distributed to 
 each mess a pint of bear's oil, which, with some 
 boiled roots, made an agreeable repast. We saw 
 several black-tailed or mule-deer, but could not gel 
 a shot at them, and were informed that there were 
 great numbers of elk in the valley, near the fishery 
 
252 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 on the Kooskooskee. The Indians also asserted 
 that on the mountains to our right there were large 
 numbers of what they call white buffalo, or mount- 
 ain sheep. Our horses had strayed some distance 
 in quest of food, and in the morning, 
 
 " June 28, when they were brought in, exhibited 
 rather a gaunt appearance. The Indians promised, 
 however, that we should reach some good grass by 
 noon, and we set out after an early breakfast. Our 
 route lay along the dividing ridge and across a very 
 deep hollow, till at the distance of six miles wfc 
 reached our camp of the 15th of September. A mile 
 and a half farther we passed a road from the right, 
 immediately on the dividing ridge, leading to the 
 fishery. We went on, as we had done during the 
 former part of the route, over deep snows, when, 
 having made thirteen miles, we came to the side of 
 a mountain just above the fishery, which, having no 
 timber and a southern exposure, the snow had dis- 
 appeared from it, and there was an abundance of fine 
 grass. Our horses were very hungry as well as 
 greatly fatigued, and as there was no other spot 
 within our reach this evening where we should find 
 food for them, we determined to encamp, though it 
 was not yet midday. As there was no water in the 
 neighbourhood, we melted snow for cooking, and 
 early in the morning, 
 
 " June 29, continued along the ridge we had been 
 following for several days, till at the end of five miles 
 it terminated ; and now, bidding adieu to the snows 
 which we had been traversing, we descended to the 
 main branch of the Kooskooskee. On reaching the 
 water side we found a deer which had been left for 
 us by two of our hunters, who had been despatched 
 at an early hour to the warm springs, and which 
 proved a very seasonable addition to our food ; for, 
 having neither meat nor oil, we were reduced to a 
 diet of roots, without salt or any other addition. At 
 this place (about a mile and a half from the point 
 
WARM SPRINGS. 253 
 
 where Quamash Creek falls m from the northeast) 
 the Kooskooskee is ahout thirty yards wide, and 
 runs with great velocity over a bed, like those of all 
 the mountain streams, composed of pebbles. We 
 forded the river, and ascended for two miles the 
 steep acclivities of a mountain, and at its summit 
 found, coming in from the right, the old road which 
 we had passed on our route in the autumn. It was 
 now much plainer and more beaten, which the In- 
 dians told us was owing to the frequent visits of the 
 Ootlashoots from the valley of Clarke's River to the 
 fishery, though there was no appearance of their 
 having been here this spring. Twelve miles from 
 our camp we halted to graze our horses on the flats 
 of the Quamash Creek. These form a handsome 
 plain of fifty acres in extent, covered with an abun- 
 dance of quamash, and seem to be one of the princi- 
 pal stopping places of the Indians in crossing the 
 mountains. We saw here several young pheasants, 
 and killed one of the small black kind, which was the 
 first we had observed below the region of snow. In 
 the neighbourhood were also seen the tracks of two 
 barefoot Indians, w^hich our companions supposed 
 to be Ootlashoots who had fled in distress from the 
 Pahkees. Here, too, we discovered that two of our 
 horses were missing. We sent two men in quest 
 of them, and then went on seven miles farther to the 
 warm springs, where we arrived early in the after- 
 noon. The two hunters who had been sent forward 
 in the morning had collected no game, nor were sev- 
 eral others who went out after our arrival more 
 successful. We therefore had a prospect of contin- 
 uing our usual diet of roots, when late in the after- 
 noon the men returned with the stray horses and a 
 deer for supper. 
 
 " These warm springs are situated at the foot of 
 a hill on the north side of Travellers Rest Creek, 
 which is ten yards wide at this place. They issue 
 from the bottoms and through the interstices of a 
 
254 LEWIS AJsD CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 gray freestone rock, which rises in irregular masses 
 round their lower side. The principal spring, which 
 the Indians have formed into a bath by stopping the 
 run with stones and pebbles, is of about the same 
 temperature as the warmest bath used at the Hot 
 Springs in Virginia. Captain Lewis could with dif- 
 ficulty remain in it nineteen minutes, and was then 
 affected with a profuse perspiration. The two other 
 springs are much hotter, their temperature being 
 equal to that of the warmest of the Hot Springs in 
 Virginia. Our men, as well as the Indians, amused 
 themselves with going into the bath; the latter, ac- 
 cording to the universal custom among them, first 
 entering the hot bath, where they remained as long 
 as they could bear the heat, then plunging into the 
 creek, which was now of an icy coldness, and re- 
 peating this operation several tim.es, but always 
 ending with the warm bath." 
 
 CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 The Party, proceeding on their Journey with their Indian 
 Guides, agree to divide, take separate Routes, and meet again 
 at the Mouth of the Yellowstone River. — Captain Lewis, 
 with nine Men, proceeds up the eastern Branch of Clarke's 
 River, and takes leave of the Jndian Guides.— Description of 
 that Branch, and Character of the surrounding Country. — 
 The Cokalahishkit River. — They arrive at the Ridge dividing 
 the Missouri from the Columbia River. — Meet with the Buffalo 
 and Brown Bear. — Immense Herds of Buffalo seen on the 
 Borders of Medicine River. — The Party encamp on White 
 Bear Island. — Singular Adventure that befell M'Neil. — Cap- 
 tain Lewis, with three of his Party, proceeds to explore the 
 Source of Maria's River. — Tansy River. — He reaches the di- 
 viding Line of these two Streams.— General Character of the 
 surrounding Country. 
 
 The next day they proceeded along Traveller's 
 Rest Creek, and, after making thirty-two miles^ 
 
THE PARTY TAKE DIFFERENT ROUTES. 255 
 
 halted for the night on its south side, near where it 
 enters Clarke's River. In the course of the day 
 they killed six deer, oj" which there were great num- 
 bers, as well as bighorn and elk, in the neighbourhood. 
 
 "July 1. We had now," continues the Journal, 
 " made one hundred and fifty-six miles from the 
 Quamash Flats to the mouth of Traveller's Rest 
 Creek. Here we proposed to separate ; and it was 
 accordingly resolved to remain a day or two, to re- 
 fresh ourselves and the horses, which had borne the 
 journey extremely well, and were still in fine order, 
 though they required a little jrest. We had hoped 
 to meet some of the Ootlashoots at this place, but 
 no tracks of them were to be seen. Our Indian 
 companions expressed much anxiety lest they should 
 have been cut off by the Pahkees during the winter, 
 and alluded to the tracks of the two barefooted per- 
 sons as a proof how much they must have been 
 distressed. 
 
 " We now formed the following plan of opera- 
 tions : Captain Lewis, with nine men, was to pursue 
 the most direct route to the Falls of the Missouri, 
 where three of his party were to be left, to prepare 
 carriages for transporting the baggage and canoes 
 across the portage. With the remaining six he was 
 to ascend Maria's River, to explore the country, and 
 ascertain whether any branch of it reached as far 
 north as the latitude of fifty degrees, after which he 
 would descend that river to its mouth. The rest of 
 the party were to accompany Captain Clarke to the 
 head of Jefferson River, which Sergeant Ordway 
 and nine men would descend with the canoes and 
 other articles deposited there. Captain Clarke's 
 party, which would then be reduced to ten, would 
 proceed to the Yellowstone at its nearest approach 
 to the Three Forks of the Missouri, where he would 
 build canoes, descend that river with seven of his 
 party, and wait at its mouth till the rest should join 
 him. Sergeant Pryor, with the two others, would 
 
256 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 take the horses by land to the Mandans, and from 
 that nation go to the British posts on the Assiniboin, 
 with a letter to Mr. Henry, to induce him to endeav- 
 our to prevail on some of the Sioux chiefs to ac- 
 company him to the city of Washington." 
 
 Having concluded on these arrangements, they bu- 
 sied themselves with putting their arms in order : 
 the hunters were also sent out, and had good sue 
 cess in killing deer. 
 
 " The Indians who had accompanied us," pro- 
 ceeds the narrative, " proposed leaving us here, in 
 order to seek their friends the Ootlashoots ; but we 
 prevailed on them to accompany Captain Lewis a 
 part of his route, so as to show him the shortest 
 road to the Missouri, and in the mean time amused 
 them with conversation, and with running races both 
 on foot and on horseback, in both of which they 
 proved themselves hardy, athletic, and active. To 
 the chief Captain Lewis presented a small medal 
 and a gun, as a reward for having guided us across 
 the mountains; and, in return, the customary civility 
 was observed of exchanging names, by which the 
 former acquired the title of Yomekollick, or White 
 Bearskin Unfolded. The Chopunnish who had over- 
 taken us on the 26th made us a present of an ex- 
 cellent horse for the good advice we had given him, 
 and as a proof, also, of his attachment to the whites, 
 and of his desire to be at peace with the Pahkees. 
 The next morning, 
 
 "July 3, all our preparations being completed, we 
 saddled our horses, and the two parties which had 
 been so long companions now separated, with an 
 anxious hope of soon meeting, after each had ac- 
 complished its destined purpose. 
 
 " The nine men and five Indians who accompanied 
 Captain Lewis proceeded in a direction due north, 
 down the west side of Clarke's River. Half a mile 
 from the camp we forded Traveller's Rest Creek, 
 and two and a half miles farther passed a western 
 
THEIR GUIDES LEAVE THEM. 257 
 
 branch of the river : one mile beyond this was a 
 small creek on the eastern side, and a mile lower 
 down, the entrance of the eastern branch of the riv- 
 er. This stream is from ninety to one hundred and 
 twenty yards wide, and its waters, which are dis- 
 charged through two channels, were more turbid 
 than that of the main river. The latter is one hun- 
 dred and fifty yards in width, and waters an exten- 
 sive level plain and prairie, the lower parts of which 
 are ornamented with the long-leafed pine and cotton- 
 wood, while the tops of the hills are covered with 
 pine, larch, and fir. We proceeded two miles far- 
 ther, to a place where the Indians advised us to 
 cross ; but, having no boats, and wood being scarce, 
 four hours were spent in collecting sufficient timber 
 to make three small rafts, on which, with some dif- 
 ficulty and danger, we passed the river. We then 
 drove our horses into the water, and they swam to 
 the opposite shore ; but the Indians crossed on horse- 
 back, drawing, at the same time, their baggage along- 
 side of them, in small vessels made of deerskin. 
 The whole party being now reassembled, we pro- 
 ceeded three miles farther, and encamped about sun- 
 set at a small creek. The Indians now pointed out 
 to us a road at no great distance, which, they said, 
 would lead up the eastern branch of Clarke's River, 
 to another river called Cokalahishkit, or the River 
 of the Road to the Buffaloes, and thence to Medicine 
 River and the Falls of the Missouri. They added, 
 that not far from the dividing ridge of the waters of 
 Clarke's River and the Missouri the roads forked, 
 and, though both led to the Falls, the left-hand route 
 was the best. The road was so well beaten that we 
 could no longer mistake it, and, having now shown 
 us the way, they were anxious to go on in qu-est of 
 their friends the Shalees ; besides which, they fear- 
 ed, by venturing farther with us, that they might en- 
 counter the Pahkees, we having in the afternoon 
 seen the fresh track of a horse, which they believed 
 
258 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 to be that of a Shalee scout. We could not insist 
 on their remaining longer with us; and as they had 
 60 kindly conducted us across the mountains, we 
 were desirous of giving them a supply of provisions, 
 and therefore distributed to them the half of three 
 deer, and our hunters were ordered to go out early 
 in the morning in hopes of adding to the stock. 
 
 " The horses suffered so dreadfully from the raos- 
 chetoes, that we were obliged to kindle large fires, 
 and place the poor animals in 1;he midst of the 
 smoke." * * * 
 
 " July 4. We smoked a farewell pipe with our es- 
 timable Indian companions, who expressed the great- 
 est regret at parting with us, which they felt the 
 more, because of their fears, which they did not con- 
 ceal, of our being cut off by the Pahkees. We also 
 gave them a shirt, a handkerchief, and a small quan- 
 tity of ammunition. The meat which they received 
 from us they dried, and left it at this place as a stock 
 for their homeward journey. This circumstance 
 convinced us that there was no route along Clarke's 
 River to the plains on the Columbia so near or so 
 good as that by which we had come ; for, although 
 these people meant to go several days' journey down 
 the former river to look for th3 Shalees, yet they 
 intended returning home by the same pass of the 
 mountains through which they had conducted us. 
 This route is used also by all the nations with whom 
 we became acquainted west of the mountains that 
 are in the habit of visiting the plains of the Missou- 
 ri ; while, on the other side, all the war-paths of the 
 Pahkees, which run into this valley of Clarke's Riv- 
 er, concentrate at Traveller's Rest, beyond which 
 these people have never ventured to the west." * * * 
 
 After taking leave of their Indian friends, they 
 proceeded up the eastern branch of Clarke's River 
 for ten miles, when they came to the Cokalahishkit, 
 a deep and rapid stream, sixty yards broad, empty- 
 ing into it ; an(f turning up this stream in a due east 
 
PRAIRIE OF THE KNOBS. 259 
 
 course, at the distance of eight miles they encamp- 
 ed for the night. 
 
 The road continued to extend along this river most 
 of the following day, during which they came to a 
 considerable stream emptying into it from the north, 
 which they called Werner's Creek ; and, after ma- 
 king a distance of twenty-eight miles, they encamped 
 near the entrance of another creek, to which they 
 gave the name of Seaman's Creek. The country 
 through which they passed consisted of plains and 
 prairies. 
 
 " July 6. At sunrise," proceeds the Journal, " we 
 continued our course eastward along the river. At 
 seven miles' distance we passed the north fork of 
 the Cokalahishkit, a deep and rapid stream, forty- 
 five yards in width, and, like the main branch itself, 
 somewhat turbid, though the other streams of this 
 country are clear. Seven miles farther the river 
 enters the mountains, and here end the extensive 
 prairies on this side, though they widen in their 
 course towards the southeast, and form an Indian 
 route to Dearborn's Hiver, and thence to the Missou 
 ri. From the multitude of knobs irregularly scat- 
 tered through this country. Captain Lewis called it 
 the Prairie of the Knobs. It abounds in game, as 
 we saw goats, deer, great numbers of the burrow- 
 ing squirrels, some curlews, bee-martins, woodpeck- 
 ers, plover, robins, doves, ravens, hawks, ducks, a 
 variety of sparrows, and yesterday observed swans 
 on Werner's Creek. Among the plants we observ- 
 ed the southern wood, and two other species of 
 shrubs, of which we preserved specimens." * * * 
 
 " July 7. W^e proceeded through a beautiful plain," 
 says the Journal, " on the north side of the river, 
 which seemed here to abound in beaver. On the 
 low grounds there was much timber, and the hills 
 were covered chiefly with pitch pine, that of the 
 long-leafed kind having disappeared since we left the 
 Prairie of the Knobs. At the distance of twelve 
 
260 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 miles we left the river, or rather the creek, and hav- 
 ing for four miles crossed two ridges in a direction 
 north 15° east, again struck to the right, proceeding 
 through a narrow bottom covered with low willows 
 and grass, and abundantly supplied with both deer 
 and beaver. After travelling seven miles we reach- 
 ed the foot of a ridge, which we ascended in a direc- 
 tion north 45° east, through a low gap of easy as- 
 cent from the westward ; and, on descending it, were 
 delighted at discovering that this was the dividing 
 ridge between the waters of the Columbia and those 
 of the Missouri. From this gap Fort Mountain is 
 about twenty miles in a northeastern direction. 
 We now wound through the hills and mountains, 
 passing several rivulets which ran to the right, and 
 at the distance of nine miles from the gap encamped, 
 having made thirty-two miles. We procured some 
 beaver, and this morning saw tracks of buffalo, 
 from which it appears that those animals do some- 
 times penetrate a short distance among the mount- 
 ains. 
 
 " July 8. At three miles from our camp we reach- 
 ed a stream issuing from the mountains to the south- 
 west. It contains water only for a width of thirty 
 feet, but its bed is more than three times that breadth, 
 and from the appearance of the roots and trees in 
 the neighbouring bottom, its current must sometimes 
 run with great violence : we called it Dearborn's 
 River. Half a mile farther we observed from a 
 height the Shishequaw Mountain, a high, insula- 
 ted eminence of a conical form, standing several 
 miles in advance of the eastern range of the Rocky 
 Mountains, and then about eight miles from us, and 
 immediately on our road, which was in a northwest 
 direction. But, as our object was to strike Medicine 
 River, and hunt down to its mouth, we determined 
 to leave the road, and therefore proceeded due north, 
 through an open plain, till we reached Shishequaw 
 Creek, a stream about twenty yards wide, with a 
 
FIRST APPEARANCE OF BUFFALO. 261 
 
 considerable quantity of timber on its low grounds. 
 Here we halted and dined ; and now felt, by the lux- 
 ury of our food, that we were approaching once more 
 the plains of the Missouri, so rich in game. We 
 saw a great number of deer, goats, and wolves, and 
 some barking squirrels, and for the first time caught 
 a distant prospect of two buffalo. After dinner we 
 followed the Shishequaw for six and a half miles, to 
 its entrance into Medicine River, and along the banks 
 of this river for eight miles, when we encamped on 
 a large island. The bottoms continued low, level, 
 and extensive ; the plains, too, were level ; but the 
 soil of neither was fertile, as it consisted of a hght- 
 coloured earth intermixed with a proportion of grav- 
 el : the grass in both was generally about nine inch- 
 es high. Captain Lewis here shot a large wolf, re- 
 markable for being almost white. We had made 
 twenty eight miles." * * * 
 
 It rained the whole of the next day, and they ad- 
 vanced but eight miles, over extensive bottom lands 
 tolerably well supplied with the narrow-leafed Cot- 
 tonwood. 
 
 " July 10. We set out early, and proceeded through 
 a country similar to that of yesterday, with wide- 
 leafed Cottonwood occasionally along the borders of 
 the bottoms, though for the most part the low grounds 
 were without timber. In the plains were great 
 quantities of two species of prickly pear, then in 
 bloom. Gooseberries of the common red kind were 
 in abundance, and just beginning to ripen, but there 
 were no currants. The river had now widened to 
 a hundred yards ; was deep, crowded with islands, 
 and in many parts rapid. At the distance of seven- 
 teen miles the timber disappeared totally from the 
 bottoms. About this time the wind, which had be- 
 fore blown on our backs, and put the elk on their 
 guard, shifted round, and we shot three of them and 
 a brown bear. Captain Lewis halted to skin them, 
 while two of the men took the pack-horses forward 
 
262 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 to seek for a place to encamp. It was nine o'clock 
 before he overtook them, at the distance of seven 
 miles, in the first grove of cottonwood. They had 
 been pursued as they came along by a very large 
 bear, on which they were afraid to fire, lest their 
 horses, being unaccustomed to the report of a gun, 
 might take fright and throw them. This circum- 
 stance reminded us of the ferocity of these animals 
 when we were before near this place, and admonish- 
 ed us to be very cautious. We saw vast numbers 
 of buffalo below us, which kept up a dreadful bellow- 
 ing during the night. With all our exertions we were 
 unable to advance more than twenty-four miles, 
 owing to the miry state of the ground, occasioned 
 by the rain. The next morning, however, 
 
 "July 11, was fair, and enlivened by multitudes 
 of birds, which sang delightfully in the clusters of 
 cottonwood. The hunters were sent down Medi- 
 cine River in pursuit of elk, while Captain Lewis 
 crossed the high plain, in a direction 75° east, to 
 White Bear Island, a distance of eight miles, and 
 here they joined him. They had seen some elk; 
 but in this neighbourhood the buffalo were in such 
 numbers, that on a moderate computation there could 
 not have been fewer than ten tnousand within a cir- 
 cuit of two miles. At this season they are heard 
 bellowing in every direction, so as to form an al- 
 most continual roar, which at first alarmed our hor- 
 ses, which, being from the west of the mountains, 
 were unaccustomed to the noise and appearance of 
 these animals. Among the smaller game were the 
 brown thrush, pigeons, doves, and a beautiful bird 
 called the buffalo-pecker. 
 
 "Immediately on our arrival we began to hunt, 
 and by three in the afternoon had collected a stock 
 of food and hides sufficient for our purpose. We 
 then made two canoes, one in the form of a basin, 
 like those used by the Mandans, the other consisting 
 of two skins, in a form of our own invention. They 
 were completed the next morning. 
 
«t ^ . ^fTT^" 
 
 CACHE overflow; ED. 263 
 
 " July 12 ; but the wind continued so high that it 
 was not till towards night that we could cross the 
 river in them. In the meau time nearly the whole 
 day was consumed in seeking after our horses, which 
 had disappeared during the night; and seven of them 
 were not recovered at dark, Drewyer being still in 
 quest of them," * * * 
 
 " July 13. We formed our camp this morning at 
 our old station, near the head of White Bear Island, 
 and immediately set to work in making gear. On 
 opening the cache, we found the bearskins entirely 
 destroyed by the water, which in a flood of the riv- 
 er had penetrated to them. All the specimens of 
 plants, too, were unfortunately lost : the chart of 
 the Missouri, however, still remained unhurt, and 
 several articles contained in trunks and boxes had 
 suffered but little injury; but a vial of laudanum 
 had lost its stopper, and the liquid had run into a 
 drawer of medicines, which it spoiled beyond recov- 
 ery. The moschetoes were so troublesome that 
 it was impossible even to write without a moscheto 
 bier. The buffalo were leaving us fast, on their 
 way to the southeast. 
 
 " July 14. We continued making preparations for 
 transporting our articles, and, as the old deposite was 
 too damp, we secured the trunks on a high scaifold, 
 covered with skins, among the thick brush on a large 
 island : a precaution against the Indians, should they 
 visit us before the main party arrived. The car- 
 riage wheels were in good order, and the iron frame 
 of the boat had not suffered materially. The buffalo 
 had now nearly disappeared, leaving behind them a 
 number of large wolves who were prowling about us. 
 " July 15. To our great joy, Drewyer now return- 
 ed from his long search after the horses ; for we had 
 concluded from his protracted stay that he had prob- 
 ably met with a bear, and with his usual intrepidity 
 attacked the animal, in which case, if by any accident 
 he had been separated from his horse, his death waa 
 II.— X 
 
264 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 almost inevitable. Under this impression, we had 
 resolved to set out in quest of him, when his return 
 relieved us from our apprehensions. He had search- 
 ed for two days before he discovered that the hor- 
 ses had crossed Dearborn's River, near a spot where 
 there was an Indian encampment, which seemed to 
 have been abandoned about the time the animals 
 were stolen, and around which so much caution had 
 been used, that no trace of a horse was to be seen 
 within the distance of a quarter of a mile. He 
 crossed the river and pursued the track of these In- 
 dians westward, till his horse became so much fa- 
 tigued that he despaired of overtaking them, and 
 then returned. These Indians we supposed to be a 
 party of Tushepaws, who had ventured out of the 
 mountains to hunt buffalo. 
 
 " During the day we were engaged in drying meat 
 and dressing skins. At night M'Neal, who had been 
 sent in the morning to examine the cache at the low- 
 er end of the portage, returned, but had been pre- 
 vented from reaching that place by a singular adven- 
 ture. Just as he arrived near Willow Run, he ap- 
 proached a thicket of brush in which was a white 
 bear, which he did not discover till he was within 
 ten feet of him ; when his horse started, and, wheel- 
 ing suddenly round, threw him almost immediately 
 under the animal. M'Neal started up instantly, and, 
 finding the bear raising himself on his hind feet to 
 attack him, struck him on the head with the butt 
 end of his musket. The blow was so violent that it 
 broke the breech of the musket and knocked the 
 bear to the ground ; and, before he recovered, M'Neal 
 sprang into a willow-tree which he saw close by, 
 and remained there, while the bear closely guarded 
 the foot of it, till late in the afternoon. He then 
 went off, when M'Neal came down, and, having 
 found his horse, which had strayed to the distance 
 of two miles, returned to camp. These animals 
 are, indeed, terribly ferocious ; and it is matter of 
 
FALLS OF MEDICINE RIVER. 265 
 
 wonder, that in all our encounters with them we 
 should have had the good fortune to escape unhurt. 
 We were now troubled with another enemy, not 
 quite so dangerous, though even more disagreeable: 
 these were the moschetoes, which swarmed around 
 us in such myriads that we frequently got them into 
 our throats when breathing, and the dog howled 
 with the torture they occasioned. Having now ac- 
 complished the object of our stay, Captain Lewis 
 determined to leave Sergeant Gass, with two men 
 and four horses, to assist the party who were ex- 
 pected, in carrying our effects over the portage, 
 while he, with Drewyer, the two Fields, and six hor- 
 ses, proceeded to the sources of Maria's River. 
 Accordingly, early in the morning, 
 
 " July 16, he descended in a skin canoe to the 
 lower side of Medicine River, where the horses had 
 previously been sent, and then rode with his party 
 to the fall of forty-seven feet, where he halted for 
 two hours to dine, and took a sketch of the cascade. 
 In the afternoon they proceeded to the Great Falls, 
 near which they slept, under a shelving rock, with a 
 happy exemption from moschetoes. These falls had 
 lost much of their grandeur since they were before 
 seen, the river being now much lower, though they 
 still formed a most sublime spectacle. As we came 
 along we met several white bears, but they did not 
 venture to attack us. There were but few buffalo, 
 however, they having principally passed the river, 
 and directed their course downward. As usual, 
 there were great numbers of goats and antelopes 
 dispersed over the plains, and we saw large flocks 
 of geese, which raise their young about the entrance 
 of Medicine River. We observed here, also, the 
 cuckoo, or, as it is sometimes called, the raincraw, 
 a bird which is not known either among or west of 
 the Rocky Mountains. 
 
 "July 17. After taking a second draught of the 
 Falls, Captain Lewis directed his course north 10'' 
 
266 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 west, with an intention of striking Maria's River at 
 the point to which he had ascended in 1804. The 
 country here spreads into wide level plains, swell- 
 ing like the ocean, in which the eye is unattracted by 
 the appearance of a single tree or shrub, and which 
 are diversified only by the moving herds of buffalo. 
 The soil consists of a light-coloured earth, inter- 
 mixed with a large proportion of coarse gravel, 
 without sand, and is by no means as fertile as either 
 the plains on the Columbia, or those lower down the 
 Missouri. When dry it cracks, and is hard and 
 thirsty, while in its wet state it is soft and slimy 
 like soap. The grass is naturally short, and at this 
 time was still more so, from the recent passage of 
 the buffalo." * * * 
 
 " The tribes which principally frequent this coun- 
 try are the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie and the 
 Blackfoot Indians, both of whom are vicious and 
 profligate rovers ; and we had, therefore, everything 
 to fear : not only that they might steal our horses, 
 but even our arms and baggage, if they were suffi- 
 ciently strong." 
 
 After proceeding about twenty miles they came 
 to Tansy River, and as they would not be able to 
 reach Maria's River before night, they encamped 
 there. 
 
 " July 18. A little before sunrise," proceeds the 
 Journal, " we started on a course north 25° west, 
 which we continued for six miles, when we reached 
 the top of a high plain which divides the waters of 
 Maria and Tansy Rivers ; and a mile farther came 
 to a creek of the former, about twenty-five yards 
 wide, though without water except in a few pools 
 in its bed. Down this creek we proceeded for 
 twelve miles, through thick groves of timber on ita 
 banks, passing such immense numbers of buffalo 
 that the whole seemed to be but a single herd. Ac- 
 companying them were multitudes of wolves, and 
 besides these we saw some antelope and hare. Af- 
 
fHEY REACH THE FORKS OF MARIa's RIVER. 267 
 
 ter dinner we left this creek, which we called Buf- 
 falo Creek, and, crossing the plain for six miles, came 
 to Maria's River, where we encamped iti a grove of 
 Cottonwood on its western side, keeping watch 
 through the night lest we should be surprised by the 
 Indians." 
 
 The two following days they continued their jour- 
 ney up Maria's River to the distance of forty-eight 
 miles, seeing great numbers of wild animals of dif- 
 ferent kinds, though fewer buffalo than before. The 
 country was spread out in level, beautiful plains, 
 though the soil, except on the bottoms, was of infe- 
 rior quality. 
 
 CHAPTER XV. 
 
 Captain Lewis and his Party arrive at the Forks of Maria's 
 Kiver. — Alarmed by the Evidence of being in the Neighbour- 
 hood of unfriendly Indians, and distressed for Want of Pro- 
 visions. — The unfavourable Weather compels them to return. 
 — Interview with the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie. — Mutual 
 Consternation. — Resolution of Captain Lewis. — They en- 
 camp together for the Night. — Conversation which ensues. - 
 Conflict occasioned by the Indians attempting to seize the 
 Rifles and Horses of the Party, in which one of the former is 
 mortally wounded.— Captain Lewis kills another Indian, and 
 his narrow Escape. — Having taken four Horses belonging to 
 the Indians, they hasten to join the Party with Captain Clarke. 
 — Arriving near the Missouri, they are alarmed by the Sound 
 of Rifles, which fortunately proves to be from the Party under 
 Sergeant Ordway. — The two Detachments thus united, leave 
 their Horses, and descend the Missouri in Canoes. — Continue 
 their Route down the River to join Captain Clarke. — Vast 
 Quantities of Game seen on their Passage. — Captain Lewis 
 accidentally Wounded by one of his own Party. — They at 
 length jom Captain Clarke. 
 
 Starting at sunrise on the 21st, Captain Lewis 
 and his party, after proceeding eighteen miles, came 
 to the forks of Maria's River, the largest branch run- 
 
268 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 ning south 75° west towards the mountains, and 
 the other north 40° west. They followed the north- 
 ern branch, believing it would lead them to the most 
 northerly point of the river, and at the distance of 
 thirteen miles encamped under a cliff on its banks. 
 
 Ascending this branch for tweniy-eight miles on 
 the following day, they were brought within about 
 ten miles of the foot of the Rocky Mountains ; " and 
 being now able to trace distinctly," says the Journal, 
 " that the point at which the river issues from those 
 mountains was to the south of west, we concluded 
 that we had reached its most northern point ; and 
 as we had ceased to believe that any of its branches 
 extend as far north as the fiftieth degree of latitude, 
 we deemed it useless to proceed farther." 
 
 They concluded to remain here two days, to take 
 some observations and rest their horses. Being 
 unable to procure either game or fish, they were 
 much distressed for want of provisions ; and their 
 situation was rendered still more unpleasant by cer- 
 tain evidences that the Minnetarees were at no great 
 distance from them. The weather, also, was cold 
 and rainy, preventing their taking any observation, 
 and detaining them beyond the period they had 
 proposed to stop. 
 
 They did not start till the 26th, when, proceeding 
 in nearly a southeast direction across the plains, at 
 twelve miles' distance they came to a branch of Ma- 
 ria's River, "which," says the .Journal, "we cross- 
 ed, and continued along its southern side for two 
 miles, where it is joined by another branch of nearly 
 equal size from the southwest, and far more cleni 
 than the north branch, which is turbid, though the 
 beds of both are composed of pebbles. We now de- 
 cided on pursuing this river to its junction with the 
 fork of Maria's River, which we had ascended, and 
 then crossing the country obliquely to Tansy River, 
 to descend that stream to its confluence with Ma- 
 ria's River. We therefore crossed over and de 
 
DISCOVERY OF THE MINNETAREES. 
 
 269 
 
 scended the river, and at one mile below the junc- 
 tion halted to let the horses graze ni a fertile bottom, 
 in which were some Indian lodges that appeared to 
 have been inhabited during the last winter. * 
 
 *' At the distance of three miles we ascended the 
 hills close to the river, while Drewyer proceeded 
 alonff its valley on the opposite side. But scarcely 
 had Captain Lewis reached the high plain, when he 
 saw, about a mile to his left, a collection of about 
 thirty horses. He immediately halted, and by he 
 • aid of his spyglass discovered that one half of the 
 horses were saddled, and that on the eminence 
 above the horses there were several Indiaiis look- 
 ino- down towards the river, probably at Drewyer. 
 This was a most unwelcome sight. Their probable 
 numbers rendered any contest with them of doubt- 
 ful issue, while to attempt to escape would only in- 
 vite pursuit, and our horses were so bad that we 
 must certainly be overtaken ; besides which, Drew- 
 yer could not yet be aware that the Indians were 
 near, and if we ran he would most probably be sac- 
 rificed We determined, therefore, to make the best 
 of our situation, and advanced towards them in a 
 friendly manner. The flag which we had brought in 
 case of any such accident was displayed, and we 
 continued slowly to approach them. Their atten- 
 tion was so entirely directed to Drewyer that they 
 did not immediately discover us. As soon as they 
 did perceive us they appeared to be much alarmed, 
 and ran about in great confusion: some of them 
 came down the hill and drove their horses withm 
 gunshot of the eminence, to which they then re- 
 turned, as if to wait our arrival. When we came 
 within a quarter of a mile, one of them mounted and 
 rode at full speed to meet us ; but at the distance of 
 a hundred paces he halted, and Captain Lewis, who 
 had alighted to receive him, held out his hand and 
 beckoned to him to approach : he looked at us for 
 
 gome time, and then, without saying a word, return- 
 
270 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 ed to his companions with as much haste as he had 
 advanced. The whole party now descended the hill 
 and rode towards us. As yet we saw only eight, 
 but presumed that there must be more behind them, 
 as there were other horses saddled. We, however, 
 advanced, and Captain Lewis now told his two men 
 that he feared these were the Minnetarees of Fort 
 de Prairie, who, from their infamous character, would 
 in all probability attempt to rob us ; but that, being 
 determined to die rather than lose his papers and in- 
 struments, he had made up his mind to resist to the 
 last extremity, and advised them to do the same, and 
 to be on the alert should there be any disposition 
 to attack us. 
 
 " "When the two parties came within a hundred 
 yards of each other, all the Indians except one halt- 
 ed; Captain Lewis therefore ordered his two men 
 to stop while he advanced alone ; and, after shaking 
 hands with the Lidian, he went on, and did the same 
 with the others in the rear, the foremost Indian at 
 the same time shaking hands with the two men. 
 They all now came up, and, after alighting, the In- 
 dians asked to smoke with us. Captain Lewis, who 
 was very anxious for Drewyer's safety, told them 
 that the man who had gone down the river had the 
 pipe, and requested, as they had seen him, that one 
 of them should accompany Fields to bring him back. 
 To this they assented, and Fields went with a young 
 Indian in search of Drewyer. Captain Lewis now 
 asked them by signs if they were the Miimetarees 
 of the north, and was sorry to learn by their answer 
 that his suspicions were too true. He then inquired 
 if there was any chief among them. They pointed 
 out three; but, though he did not believe them, he 
 thought it best to please them, and gave to one a 
 flag, to another a medal, and to a third a handker- 
 chief. They appeared to be well satisfied with these 
 presents, and soon entirely recovered from the agi- 
 tation into which our first interview had thrown 
 
INTERVIEW WITH THE MINNETAREES. 271 
 
 them ; for they were, in fact, more alarmed than we 
 were at the first meeting. In turn, however, we be- 
 came equally satisfied, on seeing that they were not 
 joined by any more companions ; for we considered 
 ourselves quite a match for eight Indians, particu- 
 larly as only two of them had guns, the rest being 
 armed with eye-dogs and bows and arrows. 
 
 "As it was growing late, Captain Lewis proposed 
 that they should encamp together near the river; for 
 he was glad to see them, and had a great deal to 
 say to them. They assented ; and being soon join- 
 ed by Drewyer, we proceeded towards the river, 
 and after descending a very steep bluflf, two hundred 
 and fifty feet high, encamped in a small bottom. 
 Here the Indians formed a large semicircular tent 
 of dressed buffalo skins, in which the two parties 
 assembled, and by the help of Drewyer the evening 
 was spent in conversation. The Indians informed 
 us that they were a part of a large band, which at 
 present lay encamped on the main branch of Maria's 
 River, near the foot of the Rocky Mountains, and at 
 the distance of a day and a half's journey from this 
 place. Another numerous party were hunting buf- 
 falo near the Broken Mountains, from which they 
 would proceed in a few days to the north of Maria's 
 River. With the first of these there was a white 
 man. They added, that from this place to the es- 
 tablishment at which they traded on the Saskasha- 
 wan was only six days' easy march, that is, such a 
 day's journey as could be made with their women 
 and children ; so that we computed the distance at 
 one hundred and sixty miles. There they carry 
 wolfskins and some beaver, and exchange them for 
 guns, ammunition, blankets, spirituous liquors, and 
 other articles of Indian traffic, 
 
 " Captain Lewis, in turn, informed them that he 
 had come from a great distance up the large river 
 which runs towards the rising sun, and that he had 
 been as far as the great lake where the sun sets , 
 
272 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 that he had seen many nations, the greater part of 
 whom were at war with each other, but that by hia 
 mediation they had made peace, and all of them had 
 been invited to come and trade with him east of the 
 mountains ; that he was now on his way home, but 
 had left his companions at the Falls while he came 
 in search of the Minnetarees, in the hope of inducing 
 them also to live at peace with their neighbours, and 
 to visit the trading-houses which were about to be 
 established at the entrance of Maria's River. They 
 said that they were anxious to be at peace with the 
 Tushepaws, but that those people had lately killed a 
 number of their relations, as they proved by pointing 
 to several of the party who had their hair cut as a 
 mark of mourning. They were equally willing, they 
 added, to come down and trade with us. Captain 
 Lewis therefore proposed that they should send 
 some of their young men to invite all their band to 
 meet us at the mouth of Maria's River, and that the 
 rest of the party should go with us to that place, 
 where he hoped to find his men, offering them, at 
 the same time, ten horses and some tobacco if they 
 would accompany us. To this, however, they made 
 no reply. Finding them very fond of the pipe, Cap- 
 tain Lewis, who was desirous of keeping a vigilant 
 watch during the night, smoked with them until a 
 late hour, and, as soon as they were all asleep, he 
 awoke R. Fields, and ordering him to rouse us all in 
 case any Indian left the camp, as they would prob- 
 ably attempt to steal our horses, he lay down by the 
 side of Drewyer in the tent with all the Indians, 
 while the two Fields were stretched near the fire at 
 the mouth of it. 
 
 "July 27. The Indians got up at sunrise and 
 crowded round the fire, near which J. Fields, who 
 was then on watch, had carelessly left his rifle, by 
 the head of his brother, who was still asleep. One 
 of the Indians slipped behind him, and, unperceived, 
 took his brother's and his own rifle, while at the 
 
CONFLICT WITH THE MINNETAREES. 273 
 
 same lime two others seized those of Drewyer and 
 Captain Lewis. As soon as Fields turned round he 
 saw the Indian running off with the rifles, and in- 
 stantly calling his brother, they pursued him for fifty 
 or sixty yards, and just as they overtook him, in 
 the scuffle R. Fields stabbed him through the heart 
 with his knife : he ran about fifteen steps and fell 
 dead. They now hastened back with their rifles to 
 the camp. The moment the fellow touched his gun, 
 Drewyer, who was awake, jumped up and wrested 
 it from him. The noise awoke Captain Lewis, who 
 instantly started from the ground, and reached to 
 seize his gun ; but, finding it gone, he drew a pistol 
 from his belt, and turning about, saw an Indian run- 
 ning off with it. He followed him and ordered him 
 to lay it down, which he was doing, just as the two 
 Fields came up and were taking aim to shoot him ; 
 when Captain Lewis ordered them not to fire, as the 
 Indian did not appear to intend any mischief. He 
 dropped the gun, and was going off slowly, when 
 Drewyer came out and asked permission to kill him ; 
 but this Captain Lewis forbade, as he had not at- 
 tempted to shoot us. But, finding that the Indians 
 were now endeavouring to drive off all our horses, 
 he ordered the men to follow the main party who 
 were chasing the horses up the river, and to fire in- 
 stantly upon the thieves ; while he, without taking 
 time to run for his shot-pouch, pursued the fellow 
 who had stolen his gun and another Indian, who 
 were driving away the horses on the left of the 
 camp. He pressed them so closely that they left 
 twelve of their own horses, but continued to drive 
 off one of ours. At the distance of three hundred 
 paces they entered a steep niche in the river bluffs, 
 when Captain Lewis, being too much out of breath 
 to pursue them any farther, called out, as he had 
 done several times before, that unless they gave up 
 the horse he would shoot them. As he raised his 
 gun one of them jumped behind a rock, and spoke to 
 
274 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 the other, who, stopping at the distance of thirty 
 paces, Captain Lewis shot him in the belly.* He 
 fell on his knees and right elbow, but, raising him- 
 self a little, fired, and then crawled behind a rock. 
 The shot had nearly proved fatal ; for Captain Lew- 
 is, who was bareheaded, felt the wind of the ball 
 very distinctly. Not having his shot-pouch, ho 
 could not reload his rifle ; and, having only a single 
 charge also for his jlistol, he thought it most prudent 
 not to attack them farther, and retired slowly to the 
 camp. He was met by Drewyer, who, hearing the 
 report of the guns, had come to his assistance, leav- 
 ing the Fields to follow the other Indians. Captain 
 Lewis ordered him to call out to them to desist from 
 the pursuit, as we could take the horses of the In- 
 dians in place of our own; but they were at too 
 great a distance to hear him. He therefore return- 
 ed to the camp, and while he was saddling the 
 horses the Fields returned with four of our own, 
 having followed the Indians until two of them swam 
 the river and two others ascended the hills, so that 
 the horses became dispersed. 
 
 " We were, on the whole, rather gainers by the 
 contest, for we had taken four of the Indian horses, 
 and lost only one of our own. Besides which, we 
 found in the camp four shields, two bows with quiv- 
 ers, and one of their guns, which we took with us, 
 and also the flag we had presented to them: the 
 medal we left round the neck of the dead man, that 
 they might be informed who we were. The rest of 
 their baggage, except some buffalo meat, we did not 
 disturb ; and as there was no time to be lost, w^e 
 
 * In consequence of the death of this man at the hands of 
 Captain Lewis, a treacherous and lurking hostility was excited 
 in the breasts of the Blackfeet (and it is presumed still remains), 
 which Induced the American Fur Company to establish a strong 
 fort, with a force of sixty men, at the mouth of Maria's River. 
 This band keep about the head-waters of the Missouri, and come 
 down even to the Arkansas, plundering the Flatheads, Nez- 
 Perces, and Shoshonees — Irving. . 
 
THEY HASTEN THEIR JOURNEY. 275 
 
 mounted our horses, and, after ascending the river 
 hills, took our course through the beautiful level 
 plains in a direction a little to the south of east. 
 We had no doubt but we should be immediately pur- 
 sued by a much larger party, and that, as soon as in- 
 telligence was given to the band near the Broken 
 Mountains, they would hasten to the mouth of M;^- 
 ria's River to intercept us. We hoped, however, to 
 be there before them, so as to form a junction with 
 our friends. W^e therefore pushed our horses as 
 fast as we possibly could (and, fortunately for us, the 
 Indian horses proved very good), the plains being 
 perfectly level, without many stones or prickly 
 pears, and in fine order for travelling after the late 
 rains. At eight miles from our camp we passed a 
 stream forty yards wide, to which, from the occur- 
 rence of the morning, we gave the name of Battle 
 River. At three o'clock we reached Rose River, 
 five miles above where we had formerly passed it ; 
 and having now come by estimate sixty-three miles, 
 we halted for an hour and a half to refresh our horses, 
 then pursued our journey seventeen miles farther, 
 when, as the night came on, we killed a buffalo, and 
 again stopped for two hours. The sky was now 
 overcast, but as the moon gave light enough to show 
 us the route, we continued along through immense 
 herds of buffalo for twenty miles, and then, almost 
 exhausted with fatigue, halted at two in the morn- 
 ing, 
 
 " July 28, to rest ourselves and the horses. At 
 daylight we awoke, sore, and scarcely able to stand ; 
 but as our own lives, as well as those of our com- 
 panions, depended on our pressing forward, we again 
 mounted our horses and set out. The men were 
 desirous of crossing the Missouri at Grog Spring, 
 where Rose River approaches it so nearly that by 
 passing down the southwest side of it we might 
 avoid the country at the junction of the two rivers, 
 across which the enemy would most probably pur- 
 
276 LEWIS \ND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 sue us. But as this circuitous route would consume 
 the whole day, and the Indians might in the mean 
 time attack the canoes at the point, Captain Lewis 
 stated to his party that it was now their duty to risk 
 their lives for their friends and companions ; that 
 they should therefore proceed immediately to the 
 point to give them the alarm ; and if they had not 
 yet arrived there, they would raft the Missouri, and, 
 after hiding the baggage, ascend the river on foot 
 through the woods till they should meet them. He 
 told them, also, that it was his determination, in case 
 they were attacked in crossing the plains, to tie the 
 bridles of the horses, and stand together till they 
 had either routed their enemies, or sold their lives 
 as dearly as possible. To this they all assented, 
 and we therefore continued our route to the east- 
 ward, till at the distance of twelve miles we came 
 near the Missouri, when we heard a noise which 
 seemed like the report of a gun. We therefore 
 quickened our pace for eight miles farther, and, be- 
 mg about five miles from Grog Spring, now heard 
 distinctly the noise of several rifles from the river. 
 We hurried to the bank, and saw with exquisite sat- 
 isfaction our friends descending the river. They 
 landed to greet us, and after tuniing our horses loose, 
 we embarked with our baggage, and went down to 
 the spot where we had made a deposite. This, after 
 reconnoitring the adjacent country, we opened ; but, 
 unfortunately, the cache had caved in, and most of 
 the articles were injured. We took whatever was 
 still worth preserving, and immediately proceeded 
 to the point, where we found our deposites in good 
 order. By a singular good fortune, we were here 
 joined by Sergeant Gass and Willard from the Falls, 
 who had been ordered to come with the horses here 
 to assist in procuring meat for the voyage, as it had 
 been calculated that the canoes would reach this 
 place much sooner than Captain Lewis's party. Af- 
 ter a very heavy shower of rain and hail, attended 
 
PASSAGE DOWN THE MISSOURI. 277 
 
 with violent thunder and lightning, we started from 
 the point, and giving a final discharge to our horses, 
 went over to the island where we had left our red 
 pirogue, which, however, we found much decayed, 
 and we had no means of repairing her. We there- 
 fore took all tlie iron work out of her, and, proceed- 
 ing down the river fifteen miles, encamped near 
 some cottoiiwood-trees, one of which was of the 
 narrow-leafed species, and the first of that kind we 
 had remarked in ascending the river. 
 
 " Sergeant Ordway's party, which had left the 
 mouth of Madison River on the 13th, had descended 
 in safety to White Bear Island, where he arrived on 
 the 19th, and, after collecting the baggage, had left 
 the falls on the 27th in the white pirogue and five ca- 
 noes, while Sergeant Gass and Willard set out at 
 the same time by land with the horses, and thus for- 
 tunately met together." 
 
 They started the next morning, notwithstanding 
 A violent storm of rain and hail, having first sent 
 two canoes ahead for -iJie purpose of hunting elk 
 and buffalo, which were ni immense numbers. The 
 river was high and the current rapid, and they con- 
 tinued their voyage downward for several days, at 
 the rate, when the weather would permit, of sixty 
 or seventy miles a day, passing the mouths of the 
 Muscleshell, Big Dry, Little Dry, and Porcupine Riv- 
 ers in their descent. 
 
 " August 7. Being resolved," proceeds the Jour- 
 nal, " to reach, if possible, the Yellowstone, a dis- 
 tance of eighty-three miles, in the course of the day, 
 we set out early, and, being favoured by a rapid cur- 
 rent and good oarsmen, proceeded with great speed. 
 In passing Martha's River, we observed that its 
 mouth was at present a quarter of a mile lower than 
 it had been last year. Here we perceived the first 
 appearance of coal-burned hills and pumice-stone, 
 which seem always to accompany each other. At 
 this place, also, were the first elms and dwarf ce- 
 
278 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 dars, on the bluffs of the river. The a.sh, too, made 
 its first appearance in a sohtary tree at the Ash Rap- 
 id but was seen occasionally scattered through the 
 low grounds at the Elk Rapid, and thence down- 
 ward, though it was generally small. The whole 
 country on the northeast side, between Martha and 
 Milk Rivers, is a beautiful level plain, with a soil 
 much more fertile than that higher up. The buffa- 
 lo, elk, and other animals still continued numerous, 
 as' were also the bear, who lie in wait at the cross- 
 ing places, where they seize elk and the weaker 
 cattle, and then stay by the carcass to keep off the 
 wolves till the whole is devoured. At four o'clock 
 we reached the mouth of the Yellowstone, where 
 we found a note from Captain Clarke, informmg us 
 of his intention of waiting for us a few miles below. 
 We therefore left a memorandum for two of our 
 huntsmen, who had been sent out, and who, we now 
 supposed, must be behind us, and then pursued our 
 course till night came on, when, not bemg able to 
 overtake Captain Clarke, we encamped." 
 
 The next day they proceeded nearly to the 
 mouth of Whiteearth River without meeting Captain 
 Clarke, and not knowing what to think of it, they 
 landed and remained for two days, during which 
 they employed themselves in caulking and repairing 
 their canoes, and in preparing skins for clothing. 
 
 " August 11. Being anxious," continues the narra- 
 tive, " to reach the Burned Hills by noon, in order to 
 determine their latitude, we went forward with great 
 rapidity, but by the time we reached that place it was 
 twenty minutes too late to take a meridian altitude. 
 Captain Lewis observing on the opposite side of the 
 river a herd of elk on a sand-bar covered with willows, 
 landed with Cruzatte to hunt them. Each of them 
 fired and shot an elk. They then reloaded, and took 
 different routes in pursuit of the game, when, just as 
 Captain Lewis was taking aim at an elk, a ball struck 
 him in the left thigh, about an inch below the hip 
 
CAPTAIN LEWIS ACCIDENTALLY WOUNDED. 279 
 
 joint, and missing the bone, passed through the limb, 
 and grazed the other to some depth. It mstantly 
 occurred to him that Cruzatte, whose eyesiglit was 
 no* very good, must have shot him m mistake for 
 an elk, as he was dressed in brown leather. He 
 therefore called out that he was wounded, and looked 
 towards the place from which the shot came : see- 
 ing nothing, however, he called on Cruzatte by name 
 several times, but received no answer. As, then, his 
 companion was out of hearing, and the shot appear- 
 ed not to have come from more than forty paces dis- 
 tance, he now concluded that it must have been fired 
 by an Indian ; and not knowing how many might be 
 concealed in the bushes, he made towards the pi- 
 rogue, calling out to Cruzatte to retreat, as there 
 were Indians in the willows. As soon as he reach- 
 ed the pirogue, he ordered the men to arms, and sta- 
 tincr to them that he had been wounded by the Indians, 
 tholish he hoped not mortally, bade them follow him 
 to relieve Cruzatte. They instantly followed for a 
 hundred paces, when his wound became so painful, 
 and his thigh stiffened in such a manner, that he could 
 go no farther. He therefore ordered the men to 
 proceed, and if they should be overpowered by num- 
 bers, to retreat towards the boats, keeping up a con- 
 tinual fire ; then limping back to the pirogue, he 
 made ready his rifle, pistol, and air-gun, determined 
 to sell his hfe dearly in case the men should be over- 
 come. In this state of anxiety and suspense he re- 
 mained for about twenty minutes, when the party 
 returned with Cruzatte, and reported that no Indians 
 were to be seen in the neighbourhood. Cruzatte 
 was now much alarmed, and declared that he had 
 shot at an elk, as he supposed, after Captain Lewis 
 had left him, but disclaimed all idea of having inten- 
 tionally wounded his officer. There was now no 
 doubt but the shot had come from him ; yet, as it 
 seemed to be perfectly accidental, and he had always 
 conducted himself with propriety, no farther notice 
 IT.— Y 
 
280 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 was taken of it. The wound was dressed, and pat- 
 ent lint put into the holes. It bled considerably, but 
 as the ball had touched no bone or artery, it was 
 hoped it would not prove fatal. As it was now ren- 
 dered impossible for him, however, to take the ob- 
 servations he had proposed, to determine the latitude 
 of the Burned Hills, which was chiefly desirable from 
 their being at the most northern point of the Missou- 
 ri, he declined remaining till the next day, and pro- 
 ceeded on till evening. As he could not now be re- 
 moved without great pain, and had a high fever, he 
 remained on board during the night, and early the 
 next morning, 
 
 " August 12, we proceeded on with as much expe- 
 dition as possible. Soon after starting we went on 
 shore to visit a camp, which we found to be that of 
 Dickson and Hancock, the two Illinois traders, who 
 told us that they had seen Captain Clarke the day 
 before. While stopping here we were overtaken 
 by our two hunters. Colter and Collins, who had 
 been missing since the 3d. They stated that, after 
 following us the first day, they concluded we must 
 be behind, and waited for us several days, until they 
 became convinced of their mistake, when they came 
 on as rapidly as they could. We made some presents 
 to the two traders, and then proceeded till one 
 o'clock, when we joined our friends and companions 
 under Captain Clarke ' 
 
DEPARTURE OF CAPTAIN CLARKE 281 
 
 CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 The Party commanded by Captain Clarke proceed along 
 Clarke's River.— Their sorry Commemoration of the 4th oi 
 July.— Instance of Sacajawea's Strength of Memory.— De 
 scription of the River and of the surrounding Country, as the 
 Party proceed.— Horses missing, and supposed to be stolen 
 by the Indians.— They reach Wisdom River.- Extraordinary 
 Heat of a Spring.— Fondness of the Party for Tobacco.— 
 Sergeant Ordway recovers the Horses.— Captain Clarke di- 
 vides his Party, one detachment to descend the River.— They 
 reach Gallatin and Jefferson Rivers.— Arrive at the Yellow- 
 stone River.— Otter and Beaver Rivers.— Indian Fortification. 
 —One of the Party accidentally wounded.— Engaged in build- 
 ing Canoes.— Twenty-four Horses stolen, probably by the In- 
 dians. 
 
 " July 3. On taking leave of Captain Lewis and 
 the Indians, the division under Captain Clarke, con- 
 sisting of fifteen men, with fifty horses, set out 
 through the valley of Clarke's River, along the west- 
 ern side of which they rode in a southern direction. 
 This valley is from ten to fifteen miles in width, tol- 
 erably level, and partially covered with the long- 
 leafed and the pitch pine, with some cottonvvood, 
 birch, and sweet willow on the borders of the 
 streams." * * * "After crossing eight different 
 streams of water, four of which were small, they 
 halted at the distance of eighteen miles, on the up- 
 per side of a large creek, where they let their horses 
 graze, and after dinner continued their journey in the 
 same direction eighteen miles farther, when they 
 encamped on the north side of a large creek. The 
 valley became more beautiful as they advanced, and 
 was diversified by a number of small open plains, 
 abounding with grass and a variety of sweet-scented 
 plants, and watered by ten streams rushing from 
 
282 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 the western mountains with considerable velocity. 
 These mountains were covered with snow about 
 one fifth of their way from the top, and some snow 
 was still to be seen on the high points, and in the 
 hollows of the mountains to the eastward." 
 
 The following day they continued their route up 
 the valley, which became narrower as they advan- 
 ced. They were obliged to ford several rapid creeks 
 on their way, and at the distance of thirty miles en- 
 camped on the western branch of Clarke's River. 
 Crossing the river the next morning, after proceed- 
 ing one mile they came to its eastern branch, which 
 they ascended to the foot of the mountain ; and, hav- 
 ing ascertained that it took its rise in a high, peaked 
 mountain about twenty miles to the northeast of the 
 valley, they stopped for the night. " As soon as they 
 halted," proceeds the narrative, " several men were 
 despatched in different directions to examine the 
 road, and from their report it was concluded that the 
 best path would be one about three miles up the 
 stream. This was the road travelled by the Ootla- 
 shoots, and would certainly shorten the route two 
 days at least, besides being much better, as they had 
 been informed by the Indians, than that by which 
 we had advanced in the fall. 
 
 "July 6. The night was very cold, succeeded by 
 frost in the morning ; and as the horses were much 
 scattered, the party were not able to set out before 
 nine o'clock. They then went along the stream for 
 three miles, and leaving to the right the path by 
 which they had come in the fall, followed the road 
 taken by the Ootlashoots, up a gentle ascent to the 
 dividing mountain which separates the waters of 
 the middle fork of Clarke's River from those of 
 Wisdom and Lewis Rivers. On reaching the oth- 
 er side they came to Glade Creek, down which they 
 proceeded, crossing it frequently into the glades on 
 each side, where the timber was small, and in many 
 places destroyed by fire : there were great quantities 
 
SACA^JAWEAH RECOGNISES THE COUNTRY. 283 
 
 of quamash then in bloom. Throughout the glades 
 were great numbers of holes made by the whisthng 
 or burrowing squirrel i and they killed a hare of the 
 large mountain species. Along these roads there 
 were also appearances of old buffalo paths, and some 
 old heads of buffaloes ; and as these animals evince 
 wonderful sagacity in the choice of their routes, the 
 coincidence of a buffalo with an Indian track affords 
 the strongest evidence that it is the best. In the af- 
 ternoon they passed along the hill side, north of the 
 creek, for six miles, when they entered an extensive 
 level plain. Here the Indian tracks scattered so 
 much that they were wholly at a loss which to fol- 
 low ; but Sacajaweah recognised the plain immedi- 
 ately. She had travelled it often during her child- 
 hood, and informed them that it was greatly resort- 
 ed to by the Shoshonees, who came here for the 
 purpose of gathering quamash and of taking beaver, 
 with which the plain abounded ; that Glade Creek 
 was a branch of Wisdom River, and that, on reach- 
 ing the more elevated part of the plain, they would 
 see a gap in the mountains, on the route to the ca- 
 noes, and from that gap the high point of a mountain 
 covered with snow. At the distance of a mile they 
 passed over a large creek from the right ; also Fish 
 Creek, coming from a snowy mountain, across which 
 there was a gap. Soon after, on ascending some 
 rising ground, the country spread itself into a beau- 
 tiful plain, extending north and south about fifteen 
 miles wide and thirty in length, and surrounded on 
 all sides by high points of mountains covered with 
 snow, among which was the gap pointed out by the 
 squaw, bearing south 56° east. , They had not gone 
 two miles from the last creek when they were over- 
 taken by a violent storm of wind, accompanied by 
 a heavy fall of rain, which lasted an hour and a half. 
 Having no shelter, they formed a solid column to 
 project themselves from the gust, and then went on 
 five miles to a small creek, where, finding some 
 
284 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 wood, they encamped for the night, and dried them- 
 selves. Here they observed fresh signs of Indians, 
 u^ho had been gathering quamash. Their distance 
 vi^as twenty-six miles. In the morning, 
 
 " July 7, their horses were so much scattered, that, 
 although they sent out hunters to range the country 
 in every direction for six or eight miles, nine of 
 them were still missing. They were the most valu- 
 able ones of all, and so much attached to some of 
 their companions that it was difficult to separate 
 them in the daytime. It was therefore concluded 
 that they must have been stolen by some roving In- 
 dians, and, accordingly, a party of five men was left 
 to continue the pursuit, while the rest went on to 
 the spot where the canoes had been deposited. They 
 set out at ten o'clock, and pursued a course south 
 50° east across the valley, which they found to be 
 watered by four large creeks, with extensive, low, 
 miry bottoms, till they reached Wisdom River, along 
 the northeast side of which they continued, when, 
 at the distance of sixteen miles, they came to the 
 three branches. Near that place they stopped for 
 dinner at a hot spring situated in the open plain. 
 The bed of the spring is about fifteen yards in cir- 
 cumference, and composed of loose, hard, gritty 
 stones, through which the water boils in large quan- 
 tities. It is shghtly impregnated with sulphur, and 
 so hot that a piece of meat, about the size of three 
 fingers, vi7as completely done in twenty-five minutes. 
 After dinner they proceeded across the eastern 
 branch and along the north side of the middle branch 
 for nine miles, when they reached the gap in the 
 mountains, and took, a final leave of this extensive 
 valley, which they called the Hot-spring Valley. It 
 is, indeed, a beautiful country: though enclosed by 
 mountains covered with snow, the soil is exceeding- 
 ly fertile, and well supphed with esculent plants, 
 while its numerous creeks furnish immense quanti- 
 ties of beaver. Another valley less extensive and 
 
FONDNESS OF THE MEN FOR TOBACCO. 285 
 
 more rugged opened itself to their view as they 
 passed through the gap ; but, as they had made twen- 
 ty-five miles, and the night was advancing, they halt- 
 ed near some fine springs which fall into Willard's 
 Creek. After a cold night, during which their horses 
 separated and could not be collected till eight o'clock 
 in the morning, 
 
 " July 8, they crossed the valley along the south- 
 ivest side of Willard's Creek for twelve miles, when 
 It entered the mountains, and then, turning S. 20° 
 G., they came to the Shoshonee Cove after riding 
 seven miles ; thence they proceeded down the west 
 branch of Jeff'erson River, and at the distance of 
 nine miles reached its forks, where we had depos- 
 ited our merchandise in the month of August. Most 
 of the men were in the habit of chewing tobacco ; 
 and such was their eagerness to procure it after so 
 long a privation, that they scarcely waited to take 
 the saddles from their horses before they ran eager- 
 ly to the cave, and were delighted at being able to 
 resume this fascinating indulgence. This, indeed, 
 was one of the most trying privations they had en- 
 countered. Some of the men, whose tomahawks 
 were so formed as to answer the purpose of pipes, 
 even broke the handles of these weapons, cut them 
 mto small fragments, and chewed them ; the wood 
 having, by frequent smoking, become strongly im- 
 pregnated with the taste of that plant. They found 
 everything safe, though some of the goods were a 
 little damp, and one of the canoes had a hole in it. 
 The ride of this day was twenty-seven miles in 
 length, through a country diversified by low, marshy 
 grounds, and high, open, stony plains, terminated by 
 lofty mountains, on the tops and along the* northern 
 sides of which the snow still remained. Over the 
 whole were scattered great quantities of hyssop, and 
 the different species of shrubs common to the plains 
 of the Missouri. 
 
 "They had now crossed from Traveller's Rest 
 
1286 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 Creek to the head of Jefferson's River, which seems 
 to form the best and shortest route over the mount- 
 ains during ahuost the v^^hole distance of one hun- 
 dred and sixty-four miles. It is, in fact, a very ex- 
 cellent road ; and by cutting down a few trees it 
 might be rendered a good route for wagons, with the 
 exception of about four miles over one of the mount- 
 ains, which would require some levelling." 
 
 The next day was spent in raising and repairing 
 the canoes, and in the course of it they were joined 
 by Sergeant Ordway with the missing horses. 
 
 " July 10. This morning," says the Journal, " a 
 white frost covered the ground, the grass was frozen, 
 and the ice three quarters of an inch thick in a basin 
 of water. The boats were now loaded, and Captain 
 Clarke divided his men into two bands, one to de- 
 scend the river with the baggage, while he, with the 
 other, should proceed on horseback to the Yellow- 
 stone. After breakfast the two parties set out, those 
 on shore skirting the eastern side of Jefferson Riv- 
 er, through Service Valley, and over Rattlesnake 
 Mountain, into a beautiful and extensive country, 
 known among the Indians by the name of Hahnah- 
 appapelah, or Beaverhead Valley, from the number 
 of those animals found in it, and also from a point of 
 land resembling the head of a beaver. It extends 
 from Rattlesnake Mountain as low as Frazier's 
 Creek, and is about fifty miles in length in a direct 
 line, while its width varies from ten to fifteen miles, 
 being watered in its whole course by the Jefferson, 
 and six different creeks. This valley is open and 
 fertile, and, besides the vast numbers of beaver and 
 otter on its creeks, the bushy low grounds are a fa- 
 vourite resort for deer, while on the higher parts of 
 the valley were seen scattered groups of antelopes, 
 and beyond, on the steep sides of the mountains, 
 many of the bighorn, taking refuge there from the 
 wolves and bears. At the distance of fifteen miles 
 the two parties stopped to dine, when Captain 
 
GALLATIN RIVER. 287 
 
 Clarke, finding that the river became wider and 
 deeper, and that the canoes could advance more 
 rapidly than the horses, determined to proceed him- 
 self by water, leaving Sergeant Pryor, with six men, 
 to bring on the horses. They resumed their jour- 
 ney after dinner, and encamped on the eastern side 
 of the river, opposite to the head of Three-thousand- 
 mile Island." 
 
 The two following days they continued to descend 
 the river, passing Philanthropy and Wisdom Rivers, 
 and seeing great numbers of beaver as they passed 
 along. 
 
 "July 13. Early in the morning," continues the 
 narrative, " they set out, and at noon reached the 
 entrance of Madison River, where Sergeant Pryor 
 had arrived with the horses about an hour before ; 
 and, having driven them across Madison and Gal- 
 latin Rivers, just below the mouth of the latter the 
 party halted to dine and unload the canoes. Here 
 they again separated ; Sergeant Ordvvay, with nine 
 men, setting out in six canoes to descend the river, 
 while Captain Clarke, with the remaining ten, the 
 wife and child of Chaboneau, and fifty horses, were 
 to proceed by land to the Yellowstone. They set 
 out at five in the afternoon from the forks of the 
 Missouri, in a direction nearly east ; but, as many 
 of the horses had sore feet, they were obliged to 
 move slowly, and after going four miles halted for 
 the night on the bank of Gallatin Rivjer. This is a 
 beautiful stream, and though rapid, and obstructed 
 by islands near its mouth, is navigable for canoes. 
 On its lower side the land rises gradually to the foot 
 of a mountain, running almost parallel with it ; but 
 the country below it and Madison River is a level 
 plain, covered with short grass, the soil being poor, 
 and encumbered with stones and strata of hard 
 white rock along the hill sides. Throughout the 
 whole, game was very abundant. They obtained 
 deer in the low grounds ; beaver and otter were seen 
 IT.— Z 
 
288 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 in Gallatin River; and elk, wolves, eagles, hawks, 
 crows, and geese w^ere noticed at different points on 
 the ronte. The plain was intersected by several 
 great roads, leading to a gap in the mountain about 
 twenty miles distant, in a direction E.N.E. ; but 
 the Indian woman, who was acquainted with the 
 country, recommended another gap more to the 
 south, through which Captain Clarke determined to 
 proceed." 
 
 They started early the next morning, and, pursu- 
 ing the route recommended by the squaw, came in 
 the afternoon to the three forks of Gallatin River, 
 and in the evening encamped at the entrance of the 
 gap previously mentioned by her. 
 
 " July 15. After an early breakfast," says the 
 Journal, " they proceeded through this gap to the 
 heads of the eastern fork of Gallatin River, near 
 which they had encamped the evening before, and at 
 the distance of six miles reached the top of the di- 
 viding ridge which separates the waters of the Mis- 
 souri and the Yellowstone, on descending which 
 ridge they struck one of the streams of the latter 
 river. They followed its course through an open 
 country, with high mountains on each side partially 
 covered with pine, and watered by several streams, 
 crowded, as usual, with beaver dams. Nine miles 
 from the summit of the ridge they reached the Yel- 
 lowstone itself, about a mile and a half below where 
 it issues from the Rocky Mountains. It now ap- 
 peared that the communication between the two 
 rivers was short and easy. The distance from the 
 head of the Missouri at its three forks to this place 
 is forty-eight miles, the greater part of which is 
 through a level plain ; while from the forks of the 
 eastern branch of Gallatin River, which is there nav- 
 igable for small canoes, to this part of the Yellow- 
 stone, it is no more than eighteen miles, with an ex- 
 cellent road over a high, dry country, the hills being 
 of inconsiderable height, and easily passable. They 
 
COUNTRY ON THE YELLOWSTONE, 289 
 
 halted for three hours to rest their horses, and then 
 pursued the buffalo road along the bank of the river. 
 " Although but just emerging from a high snowy- 
 mountain, the Yellowstone is here a bold, rapid, and 
 deep stream, one hundred and twenty yards in width. 
 The bottoms along its course are narrow within the 
 mountains, but widen to the extent of nearly two 
 miles in the valley below, where they are occasion- 
 ally overflowed, and the soil gives growth to cotton- 
 wood, rose-bushes, honeysuckle, rushes, common 
 coarse grass, a species of rye, and various produc- 
 tions found on moist lands. On each side these low 
 grounds are bordered by dry plains of coarse gravel 
 and sand, stretching back to the foot of the mount- 
 ains, and supplied with a very short grass. The 
 mountains on the east side of the river are rough 
 and rocky, and were still covered with great quan- 
 tities of snow ; while two other high, snowy mount- 
 ains were seen, one bearing north fifteen or twenty 
 miles, the other nearly east. They had no cover- 
 ing except a few scattered pine, nor, indeed, could 
 they discover any timber fit even for a small ca- 
 noe." At the distance of nine miles from the mount- 
 ain they passed a bold, deep stream from the north- 
 west, discharging itself into the Yellowstone, and to 
 which they gave the name of Shields's River. 
 
 They continued their course along the river the 
 following day, their horses being unable to travel 
 fast in consequence of the soreness of their feet, and 
 halted in the evening after having made twenty-six 
 miles. On the 17th they passed two large creeks, 
 entering the Yellowstone nearly opposite to each 
 other; the one coming from the northeast they call- 
 ed Otter, and that on the other side Beaver River. 
 " The river," says the Journal, " was now becoming 
 more divided by islands, and a number of small 
 creeks fell into it on both sides. The largest of 
 these was about seven miles from Beaver River, en- 
 tering on the right : they called it Bratton's River, 
 
290 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 from one of the men. The highlands, too, approach- 
 ed more nearly than before ; but, although their sides 
 were partially supplied with pine and cedar, the 
 growth was too small for canoes. The buffalo were 
 beginning to be more abundant, and for the first 
 time on this river they saw a pelican ; but deer and 
 elk were now more scarce than before. In one of 
 the low bottoms of the river was an Indian fort, 
 which seemed to have been built during the previous 
 summer. It .was in the form of a circle, about fifty 
 feet in diameter, five feet high, and formed of logs 
 lapped over each other, covered on the outside with 
 bark set on end. The entrance was guarded by a 
 work on each side of it facing the river. These in- 
 trenchments, the squaw informed us, were frequent- 
 ly made by the Minnetarees and other Indians at war 
 with the Shoshonees, when pursued by their ene- 
 mies on horseback." 
 
 Gibson, one of the party, was so badly hurt the 
 following day, by falling on a sharp point of wood, 
 that he was unable to sit on his horse, and they 
 were obliged to form a sort of litter for him, so that 
 he could lie nearly at full length. The wound be- 
 came so painful, however, after proceeding a short 
 distance, that he could not bear the motion, and they 
 left him with two men, while Captain Clarke went 
 to search for timber large enough to form canoes. 
 He succeeded in finding some trees of sufficient size 
 for small canoes, two of which he determined to 
 construct, and by lashing them together hoped to 
 make them answer the purpose of conveying the 
 party down the river, while a few of his men should 
 conduct the horses to the Mandans. All hands, 
 therefore, were set busily to work, and they were 
 employed in this labour for several days. In the 
 mean time no less than twenty-four of their hor- 
 ses were missing, and they strongly suspected had 
 been stolen by the Indians, for they were unable to 
 find them, notwithstanding they made the most dili 
 gent search. 
 
THE INDIANS STEAL THEIR HORSES. 291 
 
 " July 23. A piece of a robe and a mi3ccasin," 
 says the Journal, " were discovered this morning 
 not far from the camp. The moccasin was worn 
 out in the sole, and yet wet, and had every appear- 
 ance of having been left but a few hours before. 
 This was conclusive that the Indians had taken our 
 horses, and were still prowling about for the remain- 
 der, which fortunately escaped last night by being 
 in a small prairie surrounded by thick timber. At 
 length Labiche, one of our best trackers, returned 
 from a very wide circuit, and informed Captain 
 Clarke that he had traced the horses bending their 
 course rather down the river towards the open plains, 
 and from their tracks, must have been going very 
 rapidly. All hopes of recovering them were now 
 abandoned. Nor were the Indians the only plun- 
 derers around our camp ; for in the night the wolves 
 or dogs stole the greater part of the dried meat from 
 the scaffold. The wolves, which constantly attend 
 the buffalo, were here in great numbers, as this 
 seemed to be the commencement of the buffalo 
 country." * * * 
 
 " At noon the two canoes were finished. They 
 were twenty-eight feet long, sixteen or eighteen 
 inches deep, and from sixteen to twenty-four inches 
 wide ; and, having lashed them together, everything 
 was ready for setting out the next day, Gibson hav- 
 ing now recovered. Sergeant Pryor was directed, 
 with Shannon and Windsor, to take the remaining 
 horses to the Mandans, and if he should find thai 
 Mr. Henry was on the Assiniboin River, to go thithei 
 and deliver him a letter, the object of which was ta 
 prevail on the most distinguished chiefs of the Siouj( 
 to accompany him to Washington.' 
 
292 LEWIS AMi> Clarke's expedition. 
 
 CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 Captain Clarke proceeds down the River. — Description of an 
 Indian Lodge. — Sergeant Prj'or arrives with the Horses.— 
 Remarkable Rock seen by Captain Clarke, and the Beauty 
 of the Prospect from its Summit. — Yellowstone and Bighorn 
 Rivers compared. — Immense Herds of Buffalo. — Fierceness 
 of the White Bear. — Encamp at the Junction of the Yellow- 
 stone and Missouri. — General Outline given of the Yellowstone 
 River. — Sufferings of the Party from the Moschetoes. — Ser- 
 geant Pryor arrives, and reports that the Horses were all 
 stolen by the Indians. — In this Emergency they make Canoes 
 of Skins, in which they descend the River over the most diffi- 
 cult Shoals and Rapids. — Unexpectedly meet with two White 
 Men, from whom they procure Intelligence in relation to tho 
 Indians formerly visited by the Party. 
 
 " July 24. The canoes were loaded, and Sergeant 
 Pryor and his party set out, with orders to proceed 
 down to the entrance of Bighorn River, which was 
 supposed to be at no great distance, where they 
 would be taken in the boats across the Yellowstone. 
 At eight o'clock Captain Clarke embarked, and pro- 
 ceeded on very steadily down the river, which con- 
 tained a number of islands, some of which were sup- 
 plied with a growth of small timber. At the dis- 
 tance of a mile from the camp, the river passed along 
 a high bluff for about twenty-three miles, when the 
 bottoms widened on both sides ; and twenty-nine 
 miles farther, a stream fell into it from the south, 
 which was supposed to be the Bighorn ; but after- 
 ward, when the Bighorn was found, the name of 
 Clarke's Fork was given to this stream. It is a 
 bold river, one hundred and fifty yards wide at the 
 entrance, but a short distance above is contracted to 
 a hundred yards. The water is of a light muddy 
 colour, and much colder than that of the Yellow- 
 
INDIAN LODGE. 293 
 
 Stone, and its general course is southeasterly from 
 the Rocky Mountains. There is a small island sit- 
 uated immediately at its entrance, and this or the 
 adjoining mainland would form a very good position 
 for a fort. The country most frequented by the 
 beaver begins here, and that which lies between this 
 river and the Yellowstone is perhaps the best dis- 
 trict for the hunters of that animal. About a mile 
 before reaching this river there was a ripple in the 
 Yellowstone, on passing which the canoes took in 
 some water. The party therefore landed to bale out 
 the boats, and then proceeded six miles farther to a 
 large island, where they halted for the purpose of 
 waiting for Sergeant Pryor. It is a beautiful spot, 
 with a rich soil, covered with wild rye, and a spe- 
 cies of grass like the blue grass, and some of anoth- 
 er kind, which the Indians wear in plaits round the 
 neck, on account of its fragrance, resembling that of 
 the vanilla. There is also a thin growth of cotton- 
 wood. In the centre was a large Indian lodge, 
 which seemed to have been built during the prece- 
 ding summer. It was in the form of a cone, sixty feet 
 in diameter at the base, composed of twenty poles, 
 each forty-five feet long, and two and a half in cir- 
 cumference, and the whole structure covered with 
 bushes. The interior was curiously ornamented. 
 On the tops of the poles were feathers of eagles, and 
 circular pieces of wood, with sticks across them in 
 the form of a girdle. From the centre was suspend- 
 ed a stuffed buffalo skin ; fronting the door was 
 hung a cedar bush ; on one side of the lodge, a buf- 
 falo's head ; and on the other, several pieces of wood 
 were stuck in the ground. From its whole appear- 
 ance, it was more like a building for holding coun- 
 cils than an ordinary lodge. Sergeant Pryor not 
 having yet arrived, they went on about fifteen and a 
 half miles farther, to a small creek on the right, to 
 which ihey gave the name of Horse Creek, and just 
 below it overtook him with the horses. He had 
 
294 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 found it almost impossible, with two men, to drive 
 them on; for, as soon as they discovered a herd of 
 buffalo, the loose horses, having been trained to 
 hunting this animal by the Indians, immediately set 
 off in pursuit, and surrounded the herd with almost 
 ds much skill as their riders could have done. At 
 last he was obliged to send one horseman forward, 
 to drive all the buffalo from their route. The horses 
 were here driven across, and Sergeant Pryor started 
 again, with an additional man to his party." As 
 they proceeded, the river deepened and became more 
 navigable ; they passed a creek coming from the 
 southeast, which they called Pryor's Creek, and 
 landed in the evening after having made sixty-nine 
 and a half miles. 
 
 " July 25. At sunrise they resumed their voyage, 
 and passed a number of small islands and streams, 
 and occasionally high bluffs, composed of a yellow 
 gritty stone. After proceeding a short distance 
 they were overtaken by a storm of rain, with a high 
 southwest wind, which obliged them to land, and 
 form a sort of log hut covered with deerskins. As 
 soon as it ceased they went on ; and at about four 
 o'clock, after having made forty-nine miles. Captain 
 Clarke landed to examine a very remarkable rock, 
 situated in an extensive bottom on the right, about 
 two hundred and fifty paces from the shore. It is 
 nearly two hundred paces in circumference, two 
 hundred feet high, and accessible only from the 
 northeast, the other sides consisting of perpendicu- 
 lar cliffs of a light-coloured gritty stone. The soil 
 on the summit is five or six feet deep, of a good 
 quahty, and covered with short grass. The Indians 
 have carved the figures of animals and other objects 
 on the sides of the rock, and on the top are raised 
 two piles of stones. From this height the eye ran- 
 ged over a wide extent of variegated country. On 
 the southwest were the Rocky Mountains covered 
 with f.now ; there was a low mountain about forty 
 
PROSPECT FROM POMPEY's PILLaR. 295 
 
 miles distant, in a direction north 55° west ; and at 
 the distance of thirty-five miles, the southern ex- 
 tremity of wh*it are called the Little Wolf Mountains. 
 The low grounds of the river extended nearly six 
 miles to the southward, when they rose into plains 
 reaching to the mountains, and were watered by a 
 large creek ; while at some distance below, a range 
 of highland, covered with pine, stretched on both 
 sides of the river in a direction north and south. 
 The north side of the river, for some distance, is 
 here surrounded by jutting romantic cliffs, succeed- 
 ed by rugged hills, beyond which the plains are 
 again open and extensive, and the whole country 
 was enlivened by herds of butfalo, elk, and wolves. 
 After enjoying the prospect from this rock, to which 
 Captain Clarke gave the name of Pompey's Pillar, 
 he descended and continued his route. At the dis- 
 tance of six or seven miles he stopped to secure two 
 bighorns which had been shot from the boat ; and 
 while on shore, saw, in the face of the cliff" on the 
 left, about twenty feet above the water, a fragment 
 of the rib of a fish, three feet long and nearly three 
 inches round, incrusted in the rock itself, and which, 
 though neither decayed nor petrified, was very rot- 
 ten. After making fifty-eight miles they reached 
 the entrance of a stream on the right, about twenty- 
 two yards wide, where they encamped. 
 
 " July 26. They started early the next morning. 
 The river was now much divided by stony islands 
 and bars, but the current, though swift, was regular, 
 and there were many very handsome islands cover- 
 ed with Cottonwood. On the left shore the bottoms 
 were very extensive ; the right bank was formed of 
 high cliffs of a whitish gritty stone ; and beyond, the 
 country on both sides was diversified with waving 
 plains covered with pine." * * * " At length, after 
 coming sixty-two miles, they landed at the entrance 
 of the Bighorn River ; but finding the point between 
 the two composed of soft mud and sand, and liable 
 
296 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 to be overflowed, they ascended the Bighorn for 
 half a mile, then crossed, and formed a camp on its 
 lower side." * * * " At their junction the two riv- 
 ers are nearly equal in breadth, extending from two 
 hundred to two hundred and twenty yards ; but the 
 Yellowstone contains much more water, being ten 
 or twelve feet deep, while the depth of the Bighorn 
 varies from five to seven feet. This is the river 
 which had been described by the Indians as rising in 
 the Rocky Mountains near the Yellowstone and the 
 sources of the Platte, and then finding its way 
 through the Cote Noir and the eastern range of the 
 Rocky Mountains. In its long course it receives 
 two large rivers, one from the north and the other 
 from the south, and being unobstructed by falls, is 
 navigable in canoes for a great distance, through a 
 fine, rich, open country, supplied with a great quan- 
 tity of timber, and inhabited by beaver and numer- 
 ous species of other animals, among which are those 
 from which it derives its name of Bighorn. There 
 are no permanent settlements near it ; but the whole 
 country watered by it is occasionally visited by 
 roving bands of hunters of the Crow Tribe, by the 
 Paunch Indians, also a band of Crows, and by the 
 Castahanas, a small band of the Snake Indians. 
 
 " July 27. They again set out very early, and on 
 leaving the Bighorn, took a last look at the Rocky 
 Mountains, which had been constantly in view from 
 the 1st of May. The river now widened to the ex- 
 tent of from four to six hundred yards, was much 
 divided by islands and sand-bars, and its banks were 
 generally low and falling in, and resembled those of 
 the Missouri in many particulars; but its islands 
 weremore numerous, its waters less muddy, and its 
 current more rapid." * * * " Throughout the coun- 
 try there were vast numbers of buffalo, which kept 
 up a continued bellowing. Large herds of elk, also, 
 were lying on every point, and were so gentle that 
 they might be approached within twenty paces with* 
 
DRY BEDS OF RIVERS. 297 
 
 )ut being alarmed. Several beaver, likewise, were 
 seen in the course of the day. Deer, however, were 
 by no means abundant, and antelopes as well as the 
 bighorns were scarce." They made this day eighty 
 and a half miles, and encamped on a large island in 
 ihe evening. 
 
 " July 28. At daylight the next morning they pro- 
 ceeded down the smooth, gentle current, passing by 
 a number of islands, and several creeks which were 
 now dry. These are, indeed, more like the beds of 
 the dry brooks of the Missouri, merely serving to 
 carry off the vast quantities of water which fall on 
 the plains, and bringing down also a great deal of 
 mud, which contributes to the discoloration of the 
 Yellowstone. The largest of these are, at the dis- 
 tance of six miles, a creek eighty yards in width, 
 coming from the northwest, and called by the In- 
 dians Little Wolf River ; twenty-nine miles lower, 
 another on the left, seventy yards in width, which 
 they named Table Creek, from several mounds in 
 the plains to the northwest, the tops of which re- 
 semble a table ; and four miles farther, a stream of 
 more importance, entering behind an island from 
 the south. This last is about one hundred yards in 
 width, with a bold current of muddy water, and is 
 probably the river called by the Indians the Little 
 Bighorn. There is also another stream on the right, 
 twenty-five yards wide, the Indian name of which 
 is Mashaskap. Nearly opposite to this creek they 
 encamped, after making seventy-three miles."" 
 
 The channel was now from five hundred yards to 
 half a mile in width. They continued to pass the 
 beds of rivers that were then dry ; and in the evening 
 of the 29th, after making forty-one miles, they en- 
 camped opposite to the entrance of a stream coming 
 from the right, called by the Indians Lazeka, or 
 Tongue River. 
 
 " July 30. They set out at an early hour, and after 
 passing, at the distance of twelve miles, the bed of a 
 
298 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 river jne hundred yards wide, but then nearly dry, 
 reached, two miles below it, a succession of bad 
 shoals, extending for six miles, the rock near their 
 termination stretching nearly across the river, with 
 a descent of about three feet. At this place they 
 were obliged to let their canoes down by hand, 
 for fear of their striking on some concealed rock; 
 though, with a perfect knowledge of the shoals, a 
 large canoe might be navigated down with safety. 
 This is the most difficult part of the Yellowstone 
 River, and they called it the Buffalo Shoal, from the 
 circumstance of one of those animals being found 
 there. The neighbouring cliffs on the right are about 
 one hundred feet high, while on the left the country 
 is low, but gradually rises, and at some distance 
 from the shore presents the first appearance of 
 burned hills to be seen on the Yellowstone." Twen- 
 ty miles beyond they came to a rapid with a channel 
 that was easily navigable on the left, and which they 
 called Bear Rapid. They landed for the night about 
 a mile and a half below the mouth of a stream com- 
 ing in from the right, one hundred yards in width, to 
 which they gave the name of the Redstone River, 
 having made during the day forty-eight miles. 
 
 "July 31. During the whole night," continues the 
 Journal, " the buffalo were hovering about the camp, 
 and excited much alarm lest they should tread on 
 the boats and split them to pieces. They set out, as 
 usual, and at the distance of two miles passed a 
 rapid that was not very formidable, which they call- 
 ed Wolf Rapid. At this place commences a range 
 of highlands. They have no timber, and are com- 
 posed of earth of different colours, without much 
 rock, but supplied throughout with great quantities 
 of coal or carbonated wood. After passing these 
 hills the country again opens into extensive plains, 
 like those passed the previous day, the river being 
 diversified with islands, and having a great number 
 of wide, but then nearly dry, brooks on either side. 
 
VAST HERDS OF BUFFALO. 299 
 
 Thus eighteen miles below their camp there was a 
 shallow, muddy stream on the left, one hundred 
 yards wide, and supposed to be that known among 
 the Indians by the name of Saasha, or Little Wolf 
 River ; five miles below, on the right, another, forty 
 yards wide and four feet in depth, which, from the 
 steep coal-banks on each side, they called Oakta- 
 roup, or Coal River ; and eighteen miles farther, a 
 third, sixty yards in width, to which they gave the 
 name of Gibson's River. Having made sixty-six 
 miles, they stopped for the night; and just as they 
 landed, perceived a white bear, which was larger 
 than any of the party had before seen, devouring a 
 dead buffalo on a sand-bar. Though they fired two 
 balls into him, still lie swam to the mainland and 
 walked along the sliore. Captain Clarke pursued 
 him, and lodged two more balls in his body ; he bled 
 profusely, but still mude his escape, as the night pre- 
 vented them from foMowing him." 
 
 The next day, August 1st, they had a strong head 
 wind, which retarded their progress, and their situa- 
 tion was rendered very uncomfortable by continual 
 rain. " The current of the river," proceeds the Jour- 
 nal, "was less rapid, had more soft mud, and was 
 more obstructed by sand-bars, and the rain had 
 greatly increased the quantity of water in the brooks. 
 Buffalo now appeared in vast numbers. A herd 
 happened to be crossing the river ; and such was the 
 multitude of these animals, that for a mile in length, 
 down the river, the lierd stretched as thick as they 
 could swim, completely from one side to the other, 
 and the party were obliged to stop for an hour. 
 They consoled themselves for the delay by killing 
 four of them, and then proceeded, till at the distance 
 of forty-five miles they reached an island, below 
 which two other herds of buffalo, as numerous as 
 the first, soon afterward crossed the river.* 
 
 * The Indians and hunters frequently destroy tljese animals 
 in the most wanton manner. " I have seen dozens of buffalo,* 
 
300 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 " August 2. The river was now about a mile wide 
 less rapid, and more divided by islands, and bars of 
 sand and mud, than heretofore ; the low grounds, too, 
 were more extensive, and contained a greater quan- 
 tity of Cottonwood, ash, and willows. On the north- 
 west was a low, level plain, and on the southeast 
 some rugged hills, on which we saw, without being 
 able to approach them, some bighorns. Buffalo and 
 elk, as well as their pursuers, the wolves, were in 
 great numbers. On each side of the river there were 
 several dry beds of streams, but the only one of any 
 considerable size was one to which they gave the 
 name of Ibex River, on the right, about thirty yards 
 wide, and sixteen miles from their encampment of 
 Ihe preceding night. The bear, which had given 
 them so much trouble at the head of the Missouri, 
 they found equally fierce here. One of these ani- 
 mals, which was on a s^nd-bar as the boat passed, 
 raised himself on his hind feet, and after looking at 
 the party for a moment, plunged in and swam to- 
 wards them ; but, after receiving three balls in the 
 body, he turned and made for the shore. Towards 
 evening they saw another enter the water to swim 
 across ; when Captain Clarke directed the boat to- 
 wards the shore, and just as the animal landed shot 
 it in the head. It proved to be the largest female 
 they had ever seen, and was so old that its tusks 
 were worn quite smooth. The boats escaped with 
 difficulty between two herds of buffalo that were 
 crossing the river, and came near being again de- 
 tained by them. Among the elk of this neighbour- 
 hood they saw an unusual number of males, while 
 higher up the herds consisted chiefly of females. 
 
 says Townsend, " slaughtered merely for the tongues or for 
 practice with the rifle, and I have also lived to see the very per- 
 petrators of these deeds lean and lank with famine, when the 
 meanest and most worthless parts of the poor animals they had 
 80 inhumanly slaughtered would have been received and eaten 
 with humble thaukfulnesa." 
 
DESCRIPTION OF THE YELLOWSTONE. 301 
 
 After making eighty-four miles, they encamped 
 among some ash and elm trees on the right. They 
 might be said rather to have passed the night than 
 slept there, however, for the moschetoes were so 
 troublesome that scarcely any of the party closed 
 their eyes. 
 
 " August 3. They set out early in the morning to 
 escape the persecution of the moschetoes. At the 
 distance of two miles they passed Field's Creek, a 
 stream thirty-five yards wide, which enters on the 
 right, immediately above a high bluff which is rapid 
 ly sinking into the river. Here Captain Clarke went 
 ashore in pursuit of some bighorns, but the mosche- 
 toes were so numerous that he was unable to aim 
 with certainty. He therefore returned to the ca- 
 noes ; and, observmg a ram of the same species soon 
 after, he sent on shore one of the hunters, who shot 
 it, and it was preserved as a specimen. Eight miles 
 below Field's Creek they reached the junction of 
 the Yellowstone and the Missouri, and landed at the 
 point where they had encamped on the 26th of 
 April the previous year. The canoes were now un- 
 loaded, and the baggage exposed to dry, as many of 
 the articles were wet, and some of them quite spoiled. 
 
 " The Rochejaune, or Yellowstone River, according 
 to the Indian accounts, has its remote sources in the 
 Rocky Mountains, near the peaks of the Rio del 
 Norte, on the confines of New Mexico, to which 
 country there is a good road for the whole distance 
 along the banks of the Yellowstone. Its western 
 waters are probably connected with those of Lew- 
 is's River, while the eastern branches approach the 
 heads of Clarke's River, of the Bighorn, and the 
 Platte ; so that it waters the middle portion of the 
 Rocky Mountains for several hundred miles, from 
 northwest to southeast. Along its whole course, 
 from the point where Captain Clarke reached it to 
 the Missouri, a distance which he computed at eight 
 hundred and thirty-seven miles, it is large, and nav 
 
302 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 igable for pirogues and even batteaux, there being 
 none of the moving sand-bars which obstruct the 
 navigation of the Missouri; while there is but one 
 ledge of rocks, and this is not difficult to pass. Even 
 its tributary streams, the Bighorn, Clarke's Fork, and 
 Tongue River, may be ascended in boats for a con- 
 siderable distance. The banks of the Yellowstone 
 are low, but bold, and nowhere subject to be over- 
 flowed, except for a short distance from the mount- 
 ains. The predominating colour of its waters is a 
 yellowish brown ; while those of the Missouri, which 
 have more mud, are of a deep drab colour. The 
 bed of the former is chiefly composed of loose peb- 
 ble, which diminish in size, however, in descending 
 the river, till, after passing the Lazeka, they cease 
 as the river widens, and mud and sand below this 
 form the greater part of the bottom. The current 
 flows with a velocity constantly and equably decreas- 
 ing in receding from the mountains. From the 
 mountains to Clarke's Fork it may be estimated at 
 four and a half miles an hour; thence as low as the 
 Bighorn, at three and a half; between that and the 
 Lazeka, at three ; from that river to the Wolf Rapid, 
 at two and three quarter miles ; and from thence to 
 the mouth of the river, at two miles per hour. 
 
 " The appearance and character of the country 
 present nearly similar varieties of fertile, rich, open 
 lands. Above Clarke's Fork it consists of high 
 waving plains, bordered by stony hills, partially cov- 
 ered with pine : the middle portion, as low as Buffa- 
 lo Shoal, contains less timber, and the number of 
 trees diminishes in proceeding lower down, till, 
 where the river widens, the country spreads itself 
 into extensive plains. Like all the branches of the 
 Missouri which penetrate the Rocky Mountains, the 
 Yellowstone and its tributary streams within the dis- 
 trict of country beyond Clarke's Fork abound in 
 beaver and otter: a circumstance which strongly 
 recommends the mouth of the latter river as a ju 
 
TRADING POST ON THE YELLOWSTONE. 303 
 
 dicious position for a trading establishment. To 
 such an establishment at that point, the Shosho- 
 nees both from within and westward of the Rocky- 
 Mountains would wiUingly resort, as they would be 
 farther from the Blackfoot Indians and the Minne- 
 tarees of Fort de Prairie than in trading with any 
 factories on the Missouri. The same motive of 
 personal safety would probably induce many of the 
 tribes on the Columbia and Lewis Rivers to prefer 
 this place to the mouth of Maria's River, at least for 
 some years ; and as the Crow and Paunch Indians, 
 the Castahanas, and the Indians residing south of 
 Clarke's Fork, would also be induced to visit it, this 
 position might be considered as one of the best 
 points for the western fur-trade. The adjacent coun- 
 try, too, possesses a sufficiency of timber, an advan- 
 tage which is not found anywhere between Clarke's 
 Fork and the Rocky Mountains.* 
 
 " August 5. Their camp became absolutely unin- 
 habitable from the multitudes of moschetoes ; nor 
 could the men either work in preparing skins for 
 clothing, or hunt in the low timbered grounds ; in 
 
 ♦ The American Fur Company have for many years had a 
 fort at the mouth of the Yellowstone River, and one also at 
 the junction of the Teton and the Missouri, in the heart of the 
 buffalo country. In the year 1832, a steamboat in the service 
 of the Company ascended the Missouri from St. Louis to the 
 post at the mouth of the Yellowstone, which was higher than 
 any steamboat had proceeded before. On board this boat, Mr. 
 Catlin, well known as the founder and proprietor of the Indian 
 Gallery, made his first incursion into the Indian country; and 
 at this point, surrounded by different Indian tribes, and in daily 
 intercourse with their chiefs, he commenced his indefatigable 
 labours. In these labours he enthusiastically persevered for 
 several successive years, through the wide regions between the 
 Great Northern Lakes and the Red River, the Rocky Mount- 
 ains and the Mississippi. It is needless to say, that by his de- 
 lineation of Indian life and manners, his portraits of the native 
 chiefs, and the rich collections of liis museum, he has done 
 more than any other individual towards presenting the living 
 image of a race which is seemingly fast passing away. 
 II.— Aa 
 
304 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 short, there was no method of escape but by going 
 on the sand-bars in the river, where, when the wind 
 blew, the insects did not venture." * * * " Captain 
 Clarke therefore determined to remove to some spot 
 that would be free from moschetoes, and afford more 
 game. After writing a note to Captain Lewis, there- 
 fore, to inform him of his intention, he stuck it on a 
 pole at the confluence of the two rivers, loaded the 
 canoes at five in the afternoon, and proceeded down 
 the river to the second point, where he encamped on 
 a sand-bar ; but here their tormentors appeared to be 
 even more numerous than above. The face of the 
 Indian child was swollen with the bites of these in- 
 sects, nor could the men procure scarcely any sleep 
 during the night. 
 
 " August 5. Finding their situation intolerable 
 where they were, they proceeded farther down. On 
 the way^ Captain Clarke went on shore, and ascend- 
 ed a hill in pursuit of a bighorn ; but the moschetoes 
 were in such multitudes that he could not keep 
 them from the barrel of his rifle long enough to take 
 aim. At about ten o'clock, however, a light breeze 
 sprung up from the northwest, and in some measure 
 dispersed them. Captain Clarke then landed on a 
 sand-bar, where he intended to wait for Captain 
 Lewis ; but, not finding any buffalo in the neighbour- 
 hood, he proceeded on again in the afternoon, and 
 after killing a large white bear, encamped under a 
 high bluff, exposed to a light breeze from the south- 
 west, which drove away the moschetoes." 
 
 The next day they continued to descend, and en- 
 camped on a sand-bar below the mouth of White- 
 earth River; and on the 7th, after proceeding till six 
 in the evening, they again landed on a sand-bar for 
 the night. 
 
 " August 8. In the morning they were here joined 
 by Sergeant Pryor, accompanied by Shannon, Hall, 
 and Windsor, but without the horses. They stated 
 that, the second day after leaving the party, they 
 
SKIN CANOES. 305 
 
 halted to let the horses graze near the bed «f a large 
 creek which contained no running water, but that, 
 soon after, a shower of rain fell, and the creek swell- 
 ed so suddenly that several horses which had stray- 
 ed across it while dry could return only by swim- 
 ming. They formed their camp at this place, but 
 were astonished the next morning at not being able 
 to find a single one of their horses. They immedi- 
 ately examined the neighbourhood, and soon discov- 
 ering the track of the Indians who had stolen the 
 horses, they pursued them for five miles, when they 
 came to the place where the fugitives divided into 
 two parties. They now followed the largest party 
 five miles farther, when, losing all hopes of over- 
 taking them, they returned to the camp, and packing 
 the baggage on their backs, pursued a northeast 
 course towards the Yellowstone. The following 
 night a wolf bit Sergeant Pryor through the hand as 
 he lay asleep, and made an attempt to seize Wind- 
 sor, when Shannon got sight of him, and shot him. 
 They passed over an open, broken country, and hav- 
 ing reached the Yellowstone near Pompey's Pillar, 
 they determined to descend it, and for this purpose 
 made two skin canoes, such as they had seen among 
 the Mandans and the Ricaras. Tliey are construct- 
 ed in the following manner: two sticks of about an 
 inch and a quarter in diameter are tied together so 
 as to form a round hoop, which serves for the gun- 
 wale, while a second hoop for the bottom is made 
 in the same way, both being secured by sticks of 
 the same size extended from the hoops, and fast- 
 ened to them and to each other by thongs. Over 
 this frame the skin is drawn closely and tied with 
 thongs, so as to form a perfect basin of about sev- 
 en feet in diameter and sixteen inches in depth, 
 strengthened by sixteen ribs or cross-sticks, and ca- 
 pable of carrying six or eight men with their bur- 
 dens. Being unacquainted with the river, they 
 thought it most prudent to divide their guns and am 
 
306 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition 
 
 munition, so that in case of accident all might not 
 be lost, and for this purpose built two of these ca- 
 noes. In these frail vessels they embarked, and 
 were not a little surprised at the perfect safety with 
 which they passed over the most difficult shoals aiul 
 rapids, without taking in any water, even in tho 
 highest winds. 
 
 " On reaching the confluence of the Yellowstone 
 and Missouri, Sergeant Pryor took down the note 
 from the pole, supposing that Captain Lewis had al- 
 ready passed ; and now learning where the party 
 were, he pressed on with his skin canoes to join 
 them. 
 
 " The day was spent in hunting, in order to pro- 
 cure skins to trade with the Mandans ; for, having 
 now neither horses nor merchandise, their only re- 
 source to obtain corn and beans was to lay in a 
 stock of skins, which those Indians greatly ad- 
 mire." 
 
 The next day they continued their route down the 
 river till late in the evening, and encamped on the 
 southeast side, where they remained until the 11th. 
 "In the low grounds of the river," continues the 
 Journal, " Captain Clarke found a species of cherry 
 which he had never seen before, and which seems 
 peculiar to this small district of country, though 
 even here it is not very abundant. The men also 
 dug up quantities of a large and very insipid root, 
 called by the Indians hankee, and by the engages the 
 white apple. It is used by them in a dry, pounded 
 state, to mix with their soup ; but our men boiled it 
 and ate it with meat. In descending the river the 
 day before, the squaw brought in a large, well-fla- 
 voured gooseberry, of a rich crimson colour ; and 
 also a deep purple berry, being a species of currant 
 common along this river as low as the Mandans, and 
 called by the engages the Indian currant. 
 
 "August 11. They set out early in the morning, 
 luid at about ten o'clock landed on a sand-bar for the 
 
THEY MEET TWO TRADERS. 307 
 
 purpose of taking breakfast and drying their meat. 
 At noon they started again, and after proceeding 
 about two miles, observed a canoe near the shore. 
 They immediately landed, and were no less surpri- 
 sed than gratified at discovering two men by the 
 names of Dickson and Hancock, who had come from 
 the Illinois on a hunting excursion up the Yellow- 
 stone. They had left the Illinois in the summer of 
 1804, and spent the last winter with the Tetons, in 
 company with a Mr. Ceautoin, who came there as a 
 trader, and whom they had robbed, or, in other 
 words, taken all his merchandise and given him a 
 few robes in exchange. These men had met the 
 boat we had despatched from Fort Mandan, on board 
 of which they were told there was a Ricara chief on 
 his way to Washington, and also a party of Yank- 
 ton chiefs, accompanying Mr. Durion on a visit of 
 the same kind. We were sorry to learn that the 
 Mandans and Minnetarees were at war with the 
 Ricaras, and had killed two of them. The Assini- 
 boins, too, were at war with the Mandans. They 
 had, in consequence, prohibited the Northwest Com- 
 pany from trading to the Missouri, and evl^n killed 
 two of their traders near Mouse River, and were now 
 lying in wait for Mr. M'Kenzie of that Company, 
 who had been for a long time amohg the Minneta- 
 rees. These appearances were rather unfavourable 
 to the project of carrying some of the chiefs to the 
 United States ; but we still hoped that by effecting a 
 peace between the Mandans, Minnetarees, and Ric- 
 aras, the views of our government might still be 
 accomplished. 
 
 " After leaving these trappers. Captain Clarke 
 went on and encamped nearly opposite to the en- 
 trance of Goatpen Creek, where the party were again 
 assailed by their old enemies the moschetoes." 
 
3QS LEWIS AND Clarke's e2?editio5^. 
 
 CHAPTER XVIII. 
 
 Captain Clarke and his Party are overtaken by the Detachmen' 
 under Caplain Lewis, and they all descend the Missouri to- 
 gether. — They revisit the Minnetaree Indians, and hold 9 
 Council with that Nation, as well as the Mahahas. — Captain 
 Clarke endeavours to persuade their Chiefs 10 accompany him 
 to the United States, which they decline on Account of theii 
 Fears of the Sioux in their Passage down the River. — Colter, 
 one of the Party, requests and obtains Liberty to remain 
 among the Indians, for the Purpose of hunting Beaver. — 
 Friendly Deportment of the Mandans. — Council held by Cap- 
 tain Clarke with the Chiefs of the diiferent Villages. — The 
 Chief named Big White, with his Wife and Son, agrees to ac- 
 company the Party to the United States. — He takes an atfect- 
 ing Farewell of his Nation. — Chaboneau, with his Wife, de- 
 clmes going to the United States, and they are left among the 
 Indians. — The Party at length proceed on their Route. — They 
 arrive among the Ricaras.— Character of the Chayennes, their 
 Dress, Habits, &c. — Captain Clarke offers a Medal to the 
 Chief of this Nation, which he at first refuses, believing it to 
 be Medfcine, but which he is afterward prevailed on to ac- 
 cept. — The Ricaras decline permitting one of their Number to 
 accompany Captain Clarke to the United States, preferring to 
 wait the Return^ of their Chief who had already gone. — The 
 Party proceed rapidly down the River. — Prepare to defend 
 themselves against the 'I'etons. — Incredible Number of BufTa 
 lo seen near White Kiver. — Tliey meet with the Tetons, and 
 decline their Invitations to Land. — Intrepidity of Captain 
 Clarke. 
 
 " August 12. The party continued slowly to de- 
 scend the river. One of the skin canoes had by ac- 
 cident a small hole made in it, and they halted for 
 the purpose of covering" it with a piece of elkskin, 
 and also to wait for two of the party who were be- 
 hind. While there, about noon ihey were overjoy- 
 ed at seeing the boats of the other party heave in 
 sight; but this feeling was changed into alarm on 
 perceiving them reach the shore without Captain 
 
THE TWO PARTIES MEET. 309 
 
 Lewis, who had been wounded, they were informed, 
 the day before, and was then lying in the pirogue. 
 
 " After giving to his wound all the attention in our 
 power," proceeds the narrative, " we remained here 
 for some time, during which we were overtaken by 
 our two men, accompanied by Dickson and Han- 
 cock, who wished to go with us as far as the Man- 
 dans. The party being now happily reunited, we 
 left the two skin canoes, and at about three o'clock 
 all embarked on board the boats. The wind was, 
 however, very high from the southwest, accompa- 
 nied with rain, so that we did not proceed far before 
 we halted for the night on a sand-bar. Captain 
 Lewis's wound was now sore and somewhat pain- 
 ful. The next day, 
 
 " August 13, we set out by sunrise, and with a 
 strong breeze from the northwest proceeded on 
 rapidly. At eight o'clock we passed the mouth of 
 the Little Missouri. Some Indians were seen at a 
 distance below in a skin canoe, and were probably 
 some of the Minnetarees on their return from a 
 hunting excursion, as we passed one of their camps 
 on the southwest side, where they had left a canoe. 
 Two other Indians were seen far off on one of the 
 hills, and we therefore expected soon to meet with 
 our old acquaintances the Mandans. At sunset we 
 arrived at the entrance of Miry River, and encamp- 
 ed on the northeast side, having come by the aid of 
 the wind and our oars a distance of eighty-six miles. 
 The air was cool, and the moschetoes now ceased to 
 trouble us as they had done. 
 
 " August 14. We again set out at sunrise, and at 
 length approached the grand village of the Minne- 
 tarees, where the natives had collected to view us 
 as we passed. We fired the blunderbuss several 
 times by way of salute, and soon after landed near 
 the village of the Mahahas or Shoe Indians, and 
 were received by a crowd of people, who came to 
 welcome us on our return. Among these were the 
 
310 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 principal chief of the Mahahas, and the chief of the 
 Little Minnetaree village, both of whom expressed 
 great pleasure at seeing us again ; but the latter 
 wept most bitterly. On inquiring the cause, it ap- 
 peared that his tears were excited by the sight of us 
 renunding him of his son, who had been lately killed 
 by the Blackfoot Indians. After remaining there a 
 few minutes, we crossed to the Mandan village of 
 the Black Cat, where all the inhabitants seemed very 
 much gratified at seeing us. We immediately sent 
 Chaboneau with an invitation for the Minnetarees 
 to visit us, and despatched Drewyer to the village 
 of the Mandans, to bring Jesseaume as an interpret- 
 er. Captain Clarke, in the mean time, walked up 
 to the village of Black Cat, and smoked and ate 
 with that chief. This village had been rebuilt since 
 our departure, and was now much smaller; a quarrel 
 having arisen among its inhabitants, in consequence 
 of which a number of famihes had removed to the 
 opposite side of the river. 
 
 " On the arrival of Jesseaume, Captain Clarke 
 addressed the chiefs. He spoke to them new, he 
 said, in the same language he had done before ; and 
 repeated his invitation to them to accompany him 
 to the United States, to hear in person the counsels 
 of their great father, who could at all times punish 
 his enemies. In reply, Black Cat declared that he 
 wished to visit the United States, and to see his 
 great father, but was afraid of the Sioux, who had 
 killed several of the Mandans since our departure, 
 and who were now on the river below, and would 
 intercept him if he attempted to pass. Captain Clarke 
 endeavoured to quiet his apprehensions by assuring 
 him that he would not suffer the Sioux to injure 
 any one of our red children who should accompany 
 us, and that they should return loaded with pres- 
 ents, and protected at the expense of the United 
 Slates. The council was then broken up; after 
 which we crossed and formed our camp on the oth- 
 
GREAT CHIEF OF THE MINNETAREES. 311 
 
 er side of the river, where we should be sheltered 
 from the rain. Soon after, the chief of the Mahahas 
 informed us, that if we would send to his village we 
 should have some corn. Three men were there- 
 fore despatched, and returned soon after loaded 
 with as much as they could carry. They were 
 soon followed by the chief and his wife, to whom 
 we presented a few needles and other articles suita- 
 ble for a woman. 
 
 " In a short time Borgne, the great chief of all 
 the Minnetarees, came down, attended by several 
 other chiefs, to whom, after smoking a pipe, Captain 
 Clarke made a speech, renewing his assurances of 
 friendship, and the invitation to accompany us to 
 Washington. In reply, Borgne began by declaring 
 that he much desired to visit his great father, but 
 that the Sioux would certainly kill any of the Man- 
 dans who should attempt to go down the river: 
 they were bad people, and would not listen to any 
 advice. When he s^w us last, we had told him that 
 we would make peace with all the nations below, 
 yet the Sioux had since killed eight of his tribe, and 
 stolen a number of their horses. The Ricaras, too, 
 had stolen their horses, and in the contest his peo- 
 ple had killed two of them. Yet, in spite of these 
 things, he had always his ears open to our coun- 
 sels, and had actually made a peace with the Chay- 
 ennes and the Indians of the Rocky Mountains. 
 He concluded by saying that, however much dispo- 
 sed they might be to visit the United States, the fear 
 of the Sioux would prevent them from going with 
 us. The council was then concluded, and soon af- 
 terward an invitation to visit him was received from 
 Black Cat, who, on Captain Clarke's arrival at his 
 village, presented him with a dozen bushels of com, 
 which lie said was a large proportion of what his peo- 
 ple possessed ; and, after smoking a pipe, declared 
 that his tribe were too apprehensive of the Sioux for 
 any of them to venture with us. Captain Clarke 
 
312 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 then spoke to the chiefs and warriors of the village; 
 he told them of his anxiety that some of them 
 should see their great father, and hear his good 
 words, and receive his gifts, and requested them to 
 fix on some confidential chief who might accompa- 
 ny us. To this they made the same objections as 
 before, till at length a young man ofi'ered to go, and 
 the warriors all assented to it. But the character 
 of this man was known to be bad, and one of the 
 parly with Captain Clarke informed him that at that 
 moment he had in his possession a knife which he 
 had stolen. Captain Clarke thereupon told the 
 chief of the theft, and demanded the knife to be 
 given up. This was done, with but a poor apology 
 for having it in his possession ; and Captain Clarke 
 then reproached the chiefs for wishing to send such 
 a fellow to see and hear so distinguished a person 
 as their great father. They all hung down their 
 heads for some time, till Black Cat at length apolo- 
 gized by saying that the danger was such that they 
 were afraid to send any one of'their chiefs, as they 
 should consider his loss almost inevitable. Captain 
 Clarke remained some time with them, smoking, 
 and relating various particulars of his journey ; and 
 then left them to visit the second chief of the Man- 
 dans, or Black Crow, who had expressed some dis- 
 position to accompany us. He seemed well inclined 
 to the journey, but was unwilling to decide till he 
 had called a council of his people, which he intend- 
 ed to do in the afternoon.. On returning to the 
 camp. Captain Clarke found the chief of the Maha- 
 has, and also the chief of the Little Minnetaree viU 
 lage, who had brought a present of corn on theii 
 mules, of which they have several, and which they 
 procure from the Crow Indians, who either buy oi 
 steal them on the frontiers of the Spanish settle- 
 ments. A great number of the Indians visited us, 
 either for the yjurpose of renewing their acquaint- 
 ance, or of exchanging robes and other articles for 
 the skins brought by the party. 
 
COLTER LEFT BEHIND. 313 
 
 " in the evening Colter applied to us for permis- 
 sion to join the two trappers who had accompanied 
 us, and who now proposed an expedition up the riv- 
 er, in which they were to find traps and to give him 
 a share of the profits. The offer was a very advan- 
 tageous one ; and as he had always performed his 
 duty, and his services could be dispensed with, we 
 consented to his going upon condition that none of 
 the rest were to ask or expect a similar indulgence. 
 To this they all cheerfully assented, saying that 
 they wished Colter every success, and would not 
 apply for liberty to separate before we reached St. 
 Louis. We therefore supplied him, as did his com- 
 rades also, with powder and lead, and a variety of 
 articles which might be useful to him, and he left us 
 the next day. The example of this man shows how 
 easily men may be weaned from the habits of civil- 
 ized life to the ruder, though scarcely less fascinating, 
 manners of the woods. This hunter had now been 
 absent for many years from the frontiers, and might 
 naturally be presumed to have some anxiety, or at 
 least curiosity, to return to his friends and his coun- 
 try ; yet, just at the moment when he was approach- 
 ing the frontiers, he was tempted by a hunting 
 scheme to give up all those delightful prospects, and 
 to go back without the least reluctance to the soli- 
 tude of the vvilds. 
 
 " In the evening, Chaboneau, who had been min- 
 gling with the Indians, and learned what had taken 
 place during our absence, informed us that, as soon 
 as we had left the Minnetarees, they sent out a war 
 party against the Shoshonees, whom they had at- 
 tacked and routed, though in the engagement they 
 lost two men, one of whom was the son of the chief 
 of the Little Minnetaree village. Another war par- 
 ty also went against the Ricaras, two of whom they 
 had killed. A misunderstanding had likewise taken 
 place between the Mandans and Minnetarees, in con- 
 sequenc*^ of a dispute about a woman^ which had 
 
314 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 nearly occasioned a war ; but at length a pipe was 
 presented by the Minnetarees, and a reconcihation 
 took place. 
 
 " August 16. Th3 Mandans had offered to give us 
 some corn, and on sending this morning we found a 
 greater quantity collected for our use than all our 
 canoes would contain. We therefore thanked the 
 chief, and took only six loads. At ten o'clock the 
 chiefs of the different villages came down to smoke 
 with us, and we embraced this opportunity to en- 
 deavour to engage Borgne in our interest by the pres- 
 ent of our swivel, which was no longer of any use, 
 as it could not be discharged from our largest pi- 
 rogue. It was now loaded, and the chiefs having 
 been formed in a circle round it, Captain Clarke ad- 
 dressed them with great ceremony. He said that 
 he had listened with much attention to what had 
 yesterday been declared by Borgne, whom he be- 
 lieved to be sincere, and then reproached them with 
 their disregard of our counsels, and their wars with 
 the Shoshonees and Ricaras. Little Cherry, the old 
 Minnetaree chief, answered that they had long stayed 
 at home and listened to our advice, but that at last 
 they went to war against the Sioux because they 
 had stolen their horses and killed their companions ; 
 and that, in an expedition against that people, they 
 had met the Ricaras, who were on their way to strike 
 them, when a battle ensued. But in future, he said, 
 they would attend to our words and live in peace. 
 Borgne, too, added, that his ears would always be 
 open to the words of his good father, and shut against 
 bad counsel. Captain Clarke then presented to him 
 the swivel, which he told him had announced the 
 words of his great father to all the nations we had 
 seen ; and which, whenever it was fired, should re- 
 call those which we had now delivered. The gun 
 was then discharged, and Borgne had it conveye-d in 
 great pomp to his village, when the council was ad- 
 journed. 
 
CHABONEAU AND WIFE REMAIN. 315 
 
 " In the afternoon Captain Clarke walked up to 
 the village of Little Crow, taking a flag which he in- 
 tended to present to him, but was surprised on being 
 told by him that he had given up all intention of ac- 
 companying us, refusing at the same time the flag. 
 He found that this change was occasioned by a jeal- 
 ousy between him and the principal chief, Big White : 
 by the interference, of Jesseaume, however, the two 
 chiefs were reconciled, and it was agreed that Big 
 White himself should accompany us, with his wife 
 and son. 
 
 " August 17. The principal chiefs of the Minne- 
 tarees now came down to bid us farewell, as none 
 of them could be prevailed on to go with us. This 
 circumstance induced our interpreter, Chaboneau, to 
 remain here with his wife and child, as he could no 
 longer be of use to us, and, although we offered to 
 take him with us to the United States, he declined, 
 saying that there he had no acquaintance, and no 
 chance of making a livelihood, and preferred remain- 
 ing among the Indians. This man had been very 
 serviceable to us, and his wife was particularly use- 
 ful among the Shoshonees : indeed, she had borne 
 with a patience truly admirable the fatigues of so 
 long a route, encumbered with the charge of an in- 
 fant, who was then only nineteen months old. We 
 therefore paid him his wages, amounting to five hun- 
 dred dollars and thirty-three cents, including the price 
 of a horse and a lodge purchased of him, and soon 
 afterward dropped down to the village of Big White, 
 attended on shore by all the Indian chiefs, who had 
 come to take leave of him. We found him surround- 
 ed by his friends, who sat in a circle smoking, while 
 the women were crying. He immediately sent his 
 wife and son, with their baggage, on board, accom- 
 panied by the interpreter and his wife, and two chil- 
 dren ; and then, after distributing among his friends 
 some powder and ball which we had given him, and 
 smoking a pipe, he went with us to the river side. 
 
316 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 The whole village crowded about us, and many of 
 the people wept aloud at the departure of their chief. 
 
 " As Captain Clarke was shaking hands with the 
 principal chiefs of the different villages, they re- 
 quested that he would sit with them a moment lon- 
 ger. Being willing to gratify them, he stopped and 
 ordered a pipe, when, after smoking it, they inform- 
 ed him that they had not believed all that we told 
 them at the time they first saw us ; but having 
 now found that our words were all true, they would 
 carefully remember them, and follow our advice ; 
 and that he might tell their great father that the 
 young men should remain at home, and not make 
 war on any people except in their own defence. 
 They requested him to tell the Ricaras to come and 
 visit them, which they might do without fear, as 
 they meant that nation no harm, but, on the contra- 
 ry, were desirous of peace with them. On the Sioux, 
 however, they could place, they said, no dependance, 
 and must kill them whenever they sent war parties 
 against their country. Captain Clarke replied that 
 we had never insisted an their not defending them- 
 selves, but only requested that they would not strike 
 those whom we had taken by the hand ; that we 
 would apprize the Ricaras of their friendly inten- 
 tions ; and that, although we had not seen the Sioux 
 with whom they were at war, we should relate their 
 conduct to their great father, who would take meas- 
 ures for effecting a general peace among all his red 
 children. 
 
 " Borgne now requested that we would take good 
 care of the chief, who would report whatever their 
 great father should say ; and the council then break- 
 ing up, we took leave with a salute from a gun, and 
 proceeded. On reaching Fort Mandan we found a 
 few pickets standing on the river side, but all the 
 houses except one had been accidentally burned. 
 At the distance of eighteen miles we reached the 
 old Ricara village, and encamped on the southwest 
 
BIG white's brother. 317 
 
 Bide, the wind being too violent, and the waves too 
 high, to permit our going any farther. 
 
 " August 18. The same cause prevented us from 
 setting out before eight o'clock in the morning. Soon 
 after we had embarked, an Indian came running 
 down to the beach, and appeared very anxious to 
 speak to us. We therefore went ashore, and found 
 it was the brollier of Big White, who was encamp- 
 ed at no great distance, and hearing of our departure, 
 had come to take leave of the chief. Big White 
 gave his brother a pair of leggins, and they separa- 
 ted in the most affectionate manner : we then con- 
 tinued our voyage, though the wind and waves were 
 still high. The Indian chief seemed quite satisfied 
 with his treatment, and during the day employed 
 himself in pointing out the ancient monuments of 
 the Mandans, or in relating their traditions. At 
 length, after making forty miles, we encamped on 
 the northeast side, opposite to an old Mandan village, 
 and below the mouth of Chesshetah River. 
 
 " August 19. The wind was so violent that we 
 were not able to proceed until four in the afternoon, 
 and in the mean time the hunters had killed four elk 
 and twelve deer. We then went on for ten miles, 
 and came to a sand-bar. The wind and rain contin- 
 ued through the night, and during the whole of the 
 next day, 
 
 " August 20, the waves were so high that one man 
 was constantly occupied in bailing the boats. At 
 noon we passed Cannonball River, and at three in 
 the afternoon the mouth of Wardepon River, which 
 bounds the country claimed by the Sioux ; and after 
 proceeding eighty-one miles, landed for the night on 
 a sand-bar. The plains were beginning to change 
 their appearance, the grass assuming a yellowish 
 colour. We this day saw great numbers of wolves, 
 and some buffalo and elk, though these were by no 
 means as abundant as on the Yellowstone. 
 
 " Since we passed in 1804, a very obvious change 
 
318 LEWIS AND Clarke's extlditioN. 
 
 had taken place in the course and appearance of ths 
 Missouri. In places where, at that time, there were 
 sand-bars, the current of the river now passed, and 
 where the channel was then, there were, in turn, 
 banks of sand. Sand-bars, then naked, were now 
 covered with willows several feet high ; the entrances 
 of some of the creeks and rivers had been changed 
 by the quantity of mud thrown into them ; and in 
 some of the bottoms there were layers of mud eight 
 inches in depth. 
 
 "August 21. We rose after a night of broken rest, 
 having been much annoyed by moschetoes, and after 
 putting our arms in order, to be prepared for any 
 attack, continued our course. We soon met three 
 traders, two of whom had wintered with us among 
 the Mandans in 1804, and who were now on their 
 way thither. They were out of powder and lead, 
 and we supplied them with both. They informed 
 us that seven hundred Sioux had passed the Ricara 
 towns on their way to attack the Mandans and Min- 
 netarees, leaving their women and children encamp- 
 ed near the Big Bend of the Missouri ; but that the 
 Ricaras had all remained at home, declining to take 
 any part in the war. They also told us that the 
 Pawnee or Ricara chief who had gone to the United 
 States the spring before, died on his return near the 
 Sioux River. 
 
 " We then left them, and soon afterward arrived 
 opposite to the upper Ricara villages. We saluted 
 them with the discharge of four guns, which they 
 answered in the same manner ; and on our landing 
 we were met by the greater part of the inhabitants 
 of each village, and also by a band of the Chayennes, 
 who were encamped on a hill in the neighbourhood. 
 
 "As soon as Captain Clarke stepped on shore, he 
 was greeted by the two chiefs to whom we had giv- 
 en medals in our former visit ; and as they and the 
 rest appeared much rejoiced at our return, and de- 
 sirous of hearing from the Mandans, he sat down 
 
INTERVIEW WITH THE RICARAS. 319 
 
 on the bank, while the Ricaras and Chayennes form- 
 ^A a circle round him ; and, after smoking, he inform- 
 ed them, as he had already done the Minnetarees, of 
 the various tribes we had visited, and of our anxiety 
 to promote peace among our red brethren. He then 
 expressed his regret at their having attacked the 
 Mandans, who had listened to our counsels, and had 
 sent on a chief to smoke with them, and to assure 
 them that they might now hunt in the plains, and 
 visit the Mandan villages in safety, and he conclu- 
 ded by inviting some of the chiefs to accompany us 
 to Washington. The man whom we had acknowl- 
 edged as the principal chief when we ascended the 
 river, now presented another, who, he said, was a 
 greater chief than himself; and to him, therefore 
 he had surrendered the flag and medal with which 
 we had honoured him. This chief, who had been 
 absent at our former visit, was a man of thirty-five 
 years of age, stout and good-looking, and called by 
 the Indians Gray Eyes. 
 
 " He now made a very animated reply. He de- 
 Glared that the Ricaras were willing to follow the 
 counsels we had given them ; but that a few of their 
 bad young men would not live in peace, but had 
 joined the Sioux, and thus embroiled them with the 
 Mandans. These young men had, however, been 
 driven out of the villages; and as the Ricaras 
 were now separated from the Sioux, who were a 
 bad people, and the cause of all their misfortunes, 
 they desired to be at peace with the Mandans, 
 and would receive them with kindness and friend- 
 ship. Several of the chiefs, he said, were desirous 
 of visiting their great father ; but as the chief who 
 had gone to the United States the last summer had 
 not returned, and they had some fears for his safety 
 on account of the Sioux, they did not wish to leave 
 home until they had heard from him. As to him- 
 self, he should continue with his nation, to see that 
 they followed our advice. 
 II.— Bb 
 
320 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 " The sun being very hot, the chief of the Chay- 
 ennes invited us to his lodge, which was at no great 
 distance from the river. We followed him, and 
 found a very large lodge, made of twenty buffalo 
 skins, surrounded by eighteeli or twenty others of 
 nearly equal size. The rest of the nation were ex- 
 pected the next day, and would make the number 
 of from one hundred and thirty to one hundred and 
 fifty lodges, containing from three hundred and fifty 
 to four hundred men, at which the men of the nation 
 might be computed. These Chayennes are a fine- 
 looking people, of large stature, with straight limhs, 
 and high cheek-bones and noses, and of a complexion 
 similar to that of the Ricaras. Their ears are cut at 
 the lower part, but few wear ornaments in them. 
 Their hair is generally cut over the eyebrows, and 
 small ornaments hang from it down the cheeks, the 
 remainder being either twisted with horse or buflfalo 
 hair, and divided over each shoulder, or else flowing 
 loosely behind. Their decorations consist chiefly 
 of blue beads, shells, red paint, brass rings, bears' 
 claws, and strips of otter skins, of which last they, 
 as well as the Ricaras, are very fond. The women, 
 however, are coarse in their features, with wide 
 mouths, and ugly. Their dress consists of a habit 
 reaching to the mid-leg, made of two equal pieces of 
 leather, sewed from the bottom, with armholes, and 
 with a flap hanging nearly half way down the body 
 both before and behind. On these are burned vari- 
 ous figures by means of an ignited stick, and they 
 are adorned with beads, shells, and elk's tusks, which 
 all the Indians greatly prize. The other ornaments 
 are blue beads in the ears, but the hair is left plain, 
 and flows down the back. The summer dress of 
 the men is a simple bufi'alo robe, a cloth round the 
 waist, moccasins, and occasionally leggins. Living 
 remote from the whites, they are shy and cautious, 
 but are peaceably disposed, and profess to make war 
 against no people except the Sioux, with whom they ^ 
 
CURIOUS INDIAN SUPERSTITION. 321 
 
 have been engaged in contests from lime immemo- 
 rial. In their excursions they are accompanied by 
 their dogs and horses, of which they have a great 
 number ; the former serving to carry almost all their 
 light baggage. 
 
 " After smoking for some time, Captain Clarke 
 gave a small medal to the Chayenne chief, explain- 
 ing at the same time the meaning of it. He seemed 
 alarmed at the present, and sending for a robe and a 
 quantity of buffalo meat, he gave them to Captain 
 Clarke, requesting him to take back the medal, as 
 he knew that all white people were medicine, and he 
 was afraid of everything which they might give to 
 the Indians. Captain Clarke again explained his ob- 
 ject in giving the medal, which, he said, was the 
 medicine his great father had directed him to deliver 
 to all their chiefs who should hsten to his word and 
 follow his counsels ; and that, as he had done so, it 
 had been given him as a proof that we believe him 
 sincere. He now appeared satisfied, and receiving 
 the medal, gave in return double the quantity of 
 buffalo meat he had offered before. He seemed now 
 quite reconciled to the whites, and requested that 
 some traders might be sent among his people, who 
 lived, he said, in a country full of beaver, but did not 
 understand the best modes of catching them, and, 
 farthermore, were deterred from it by having no 
 market for them when caught. Captain Clarke 
 promised that they should soon be supplied with 
 goods, and taught the best mode of catching beaver. 
 
 " Big White, chief of the Mandans, now addressed 
 them at some length, explaining the pacific inten- 
 tions of his nation ; and the Chayenne observed that 
 both the Ricaras and Mandans seemed to be in fault ; 
 but at the end of the council the Mandan chief was 
 treated with much civility, and the greatest harmony 
 prevailed between them. The great chief informed 
 us, however, that none of the Ricaras could be pre- 
 vailed on to accompany us till the return of the 
 
322 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 other chief; and that the Chayennes were a wild 
 people, and afraid to go. He invited Captain Clarke 
 to his house, and gave him two carrots of tobacco, 
 two beaver skins, and a trencher of boiled corn and 
 beans. It is the custom of the nations on the Mis- 
 souri to offer to all white men food and refreshment 
 when they first enter their tents. 
 
 " Captain Clarke now returned to the boats, where 
 he found the chief of the lower village, who had cut 
 off part of his hair, and disfigured himself in such a 
 manner that we did not recognise him until he ex- 
 plained that he was in mourning for his nephew, 
 who had been killed by the Sioux. He proceeded 
 with us to the village on the island, where we were 
 met by all the inhabitants. The second chief, on 
 seeing the Mandan, began to speak to him in a loud 
 and threatening tone, till Captain Clarke declared 
 that the Mandans had listened to our councils, and 
 that, if any injury was attempted to be done to the 
 chief, we should defend him to the utmost extrem- 
 ity. He then invited the chief to his lodge, and 
 after a very ceremonious smoking, assured Captain 
 Clarke that he was as safe as at his home, for the 
 Ricaras, as well as the Mandans, had opened their 
 ears to our councils. This was repeated by the 
 great chief; and the Mandan and Ricara chiefs now 
 smoked and conversed with great apparent harmo- 
 ny, after which we returned to our boats. The whole 
 distance made this day was twenty-nine miles. 
 
 " August 22. It rained the whole night, so that 
 we all rose in the morning quite wet, and were 
 about proceeding, when Captain Clarke received 
 from the chiefs a request to visit them. They made 
 to him several speeches, in which they observed 
 that they must decline going with us, as their coun- 
 tryman had not yet returned ; and that, although all 
 their troubles came from the Sioux, yet, as they had 
 more horses than they wanted, and were in want 
 of guns and powder, they should be obliged to trade 
 
CAPTAIN LEWIS RECOVERS. 323 
 
 With them once more for those articles, after which 
 they would break off all connexion with them. He 
 then returned to the boats, and after taking leave 
 of the natives, who seemed to regret our departure, 
 and firing a salute of two guns, we proceeded on 
 our way. We made only seventeen miles this day, 
 being obliged to land near Wetarboo River to dry 
 our baggage ; besides which, the sand-bars were very 
 numerous, as the river became wider below the Ric- 
 ara villages. Captain Lewis was now so far recov- 
 ered that he was able to walk a little for the first 
 time. While here we noticed that the Mandans, 
 as well as the Minnetarees and Ricaras, keep their 
 horses in the same lodges with themselves." 
 
 During the two following days they made a dis- 
 tance of eighty-three miles, and in the morning of 
 the 24th encamped at the gorge of the Lookout 
 Bend. 
 
 " August 25. Before daylight," continues the Jour- 
 nal, " we sent five of the men ahead to hunt on 
 Pawnee Island, and followed them soon after. At 
 eight o'clock we reached the entrance of the Chay- 
 enne, where we remained till noon to take a merid- 
 ian observation. At three o'clock we passed the 
 old Pawnee village, near which we had met the Te- 
 tons in 1804, and encamped in a large bottom on 
 the northeast side, a little below the mouth of No- 
 timber Creek. Just above our camp the Ricaras 
 had formerly a large village on each side of the riv- 
 er, and there were still to be seen the remains of 
 five villages on the southwest side below the Chay- 
 ' enne, and one on Lahoocat's Island, all of which 
 had been destroyed by the Sioux. The weather 
 was clear and calm, but by the help of our oars we 
 made forty-eight miles." * * * 
 
 " August 26. We set out early, and at nine o'clock 
 reached the entrance of Teton River, below which 
 were a raft and a skin canoe, which made us sus- 
 pect that the Tetons were in the neighbourhood. 
 
324 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 Our arms, therefore, were put in order, and every 
 preparation was made to revenge the slightest insult 
 from those people, who required, we knew, to be 
 treated with rigour. We went on, however, with- 
 out seeing any of them, though we were obliged to 
 land near Smoke Creek, and remained there for two 
 hours to stop a leak in the pirogue. Here we saw- 
 great quantities of plums and grapes, but they were 
 not yet ripe. At five o'clock we passed Louisville's 
 Fort, on Cedar Island, twelve miles below which 
 we encamped, having made sixty miles by using 
 our oars, with the wind ahead during the greater 
 part of the day." 
 
 Setting out before sunrise the next morning, at 
 the distance of a few miles they landed on a sand- 
 bar near Taylor's River. " Near this place," says 
 the Journal, " we observed the first signs of the 
 wild turkey, and not long after landed in the Big 
 Bend, and killed a fine fat elk. Towards night we 
 heard the bellowing of the buffalo bulls on the low- 
 er island of the Big Bend ; and following the direc- 
 tion of this agreeable sound, we killed some of the 
 cows, and encamped on the island, forty-five miles 
 from our camp of the previous night. 
 
 *' August 28. We started at an early hour, having 
 first despatched some hunters ahead, with orders to 
 join us at our old camp a httle above Corvus Creek, 
 where we intended to remain one day, for the pur- 
 pose of procuring the skins and skeletons of some 
 animals, such as the mule-deer, the antelope, the 
 barking squirrel, the magpie, &c., which we were 
 desirous of taking with us. After rowing thirty-five . 
 miles, we landed at twelve o'clock, and formed our 
 camp m a high bottom, thinly timbered, and covered 
 with grass. Soon after our arrival the squaws and 
 several of the men went to the bushes near the riv- 
 er, and brought a great quantity of large, well-fla- 
 voured plums, of three different species. 
 
 " The hunters returned in the afternoon without 
 
IMMtJNSE NUMBERS OF BUFFALO. 325 
 
 having been able to procure any of the game we 
 wished except the barking squirrel, though they kill- 
 ed four common deer, and had seen large herds of 
 buffalo, of which they brought in two." 
 
 Setting out at ten o'clock the pext morning, at a 
 short distance they passed the mouth of White Riv- 
 er, the water of which was nearly of the colour 
 of milk. As they were much occupied with hunting, 
 they made but twenty miles. " The buffalo," says the 
 Journal, " were now so numerous, that from an em- 
 inence we discovered more than we had ever seen 
 before at one time; and though it was impossible 
 accurately to calculate their number, they darken- 
 ed the whole plain, and could not have been, we were 
 convinced, less than twenty thousand. With re- 
 gard to game in general, we have observed that wild 
 animals are usually found in the greatest numbers in 
 the country lying between two nations at war. 
 
 "August 30. We set out at the usual time, but 
 after going some distance were obliged to stop two 
 hours for one of our hunters. During this time we 
 made an excursion to a large orchard of delicious 
 plums, where we were so fortunate as to kill two 
 buck elks. We then proceeded down the river, and 
 were about landing at the place where we had agreed 
 to meet all the hunters, when several persons ap- 
 peared on the high hills to the northeast, and by the 
 help of our spyglass we distinguished them to be 
 Indians. We landed on the southwest side of the 
 river, and immediately after saw on a height oppo- 
 site to us about twenty men, one of whom, from 
 his blanket greatcoat and a handkerchief round his 
 head, we took for a Frenchman. At the same time, 
 about eighty or ninety Indians, armed with guns 
 and bows and arrows, came out of a wood some 
 distance below them, and fired a salute, which we 
 returned. From their hostile appearance we were 
 apprehensive that they might be Tetons ; but as, 
 from the country through which they were passing, 
 
32G LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 it was possible they might be Yanktons, Pawnees, 
 or Mahas, we did not know in what way to receive 
 them. In order, however, to ascertain who they 
 were without risk to the party, Captain Clarke 
 crossed, with three persons who could speak differ- 
 ent Indian langucfges, to a sand-bar near the oppo- 
 site side, for the purpose of conversing with them. 
 Eight young men soon met him on the sand-bar, but 
 none of them could understand either the Pawnee 
 or Maha interpreter. They were then addressed in 
 the Sioux language, and answered that they were 
 Tetons, of the band headed by the Black Baffalo, 
 Tahtackasabah. It was the same band which had 
 attempted to stop us in 1804; and being now less 
 anxious about off'ending this mischievous tribe. Cap- 
 tain Clarke told them that they had been deaf to 
 our counsels, had ill treated us two years ago, and 
 had abused all the whites who had since visited 
 them. He believed them, he added, to be bad peo- 
 ple, and they must return, therefore, to their com- 
 panions, for if they crossed over to our camp we 
 would put them all to death. They asked for some 
 corn, which Captain Clarke refused them : they then 
 requested permission to come and visit us, but he 
 ordered them back. He then returned, and our arms 
 were all made ready in case of an attack. Bui 
 when these Indians reached their comrades, and in- 
 formed their chiefs of our determination, they all 
 set off for their own camp : some of them, however, 
 halted on a rising ground, and abused us with their 
 tongues very copiously, threatening to kill us if we 
 came across. We took no notice of this for some 
 time, as three of our hunters were absent, and we 
 were afraid the Indians might meet them ; but as 
 soon as they joined us we embarked, and, to see 
 what the Indians would attempt, steered near their 
 side of the river. At this the party on the hill 
 seemed not a little agitated : some of them set off 
 for their camp, others walked about, and one man 
 
HOSTILITY OF THE TETONS. 327 
 
 came towards the boats and invited us to land. As 
 he approached, we recognised him to be the same 
 who had accompanied us for two days in 1804, and 
 was considered a friend of the whites. Unwilling, 
 however, to have any intercourse with these people, 
 we declined his invitation, upon which he returned 
 to the hill, and struck the earth three times with his 
 gun, a great oath among the Indians, who consider 
 swearing by the earth as one of the most solemn 
 forms of imprecation. At the distance of six miles 
 we stopped on a bleak sand-bar, where we thought 
 ourselves secure from any attack during the night, 
 and also safe from the moschetoes. We had made 
 but twenty-two miles, but in the course of the day 
 had killed a mule-deer, an animal we were very 
 anxious to obtain. About eleven in the evening the 
 wind shifted to the northwest, and it began to rain, 
 accompanied by thunder and lightning, after which 
 the wind changed to the southwest, and blew with 
 such violence that we were obliged to hold fast the 
 canoes, for fear of their being driven from the sand- 
 bar : still, the cables of two of them broke, and two 
 others were blown quite across the river; nor was 
 it till two o'clock that the whole party were reas- 
 sembled, waiting in the rain for daylight." 
 
 CHAPTER XIX. 
 
 The Party return in Safety to St. Louis. 
 
 *' August 31. We examined our arms, and proceed 
 ed with the wind in our favour. For some time we 
 saw different Indians on the hills, but at length lost 
 sight of them. In passing the Dome, and the first 
 village of barking squirrels, we stopped and killed 
 II.— C r 
 
328 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 two fox squirrels, an animal we had not seen on the 
 river higher than this place; and at night we en- 
 camped Dn the northeast side, after making a dis- 
 tance of seventy miles. We had seen no game for 
 some time past on the river, but in the evening the 
 moschetoes were not slow to discover us. 
 
 " September 1. We set out early, but were shortly 
 compelled to land, and wait for half an hour, till a 
 thick fog dispersed. At nine o'clock we passed the 
 mouth of the Quicurre, which presented the same 
 appearance as when we ascended, the water being 
 rapid and of a milky-white colour. Two miles be- 
 low, several Indians ran down to the bank and beck- 
 oned us to land ; but as they appeared to be Tetons, 
 and of a war party, we paid no attention to them, 
 oxcept to inquire to what tribe they belonged : our 
 Sioux interpreter,'however, did not understand much 
 of their language, and they probably mistook his 
 question. As one of our canoes was behind, we 
 were afraid of its being attacked ; we therefore land- 
 ed on an open, commanding situation, out of view 
 of the Indians, to wait for it. W^e had not been in 
 this position fifteen minutes, when we heard several 
 guns, which we immediately concluded were fired 
 at the men in the canoe ; and being determined to 
 protect them against any number of Indians, Captain 
 Clarke, with fifteen men, ran up the river, while Cap- 
 tain Lewis hobbled up the bank, and formed the rest 
 of the party in such a manner as would best enable 
 them to protect the boats. On turning a point of 
 the river, however. Captain Clarke was agreeably 
 surprised at seeing the Indians still in the place 
 where we had left them, and our canoe at the dis- 
 tance of a mile. He now^ went on to a sand-bar, and, 
 the Indians crossing over to him, he gave them his 
 hand, when they informed him that they had been 
 amusing themselves with shooting at an old keg we 
 had thrown into the river as it was floating down. 
 We now found them to be part of a band of eighty 
 
INTERVIEW WITH THE YANKTONS. 329 
 
 lodges of Yanktons on Plum Creek, and therefore 
 invited iheni down to our camp. After smoking 
 several pipes, we told them that we had mistaken 
 them for Tetons, and had intended putting every one 
 of them to death if they had fired at our canoe ; but 
 finding them Yanktons, who were good men, we 
 were glad to take them by the hand as faithful chil- 
 dren, who had opened their ears to our counsels. 
 They saluted the Mandan with great cordiality, and 
 one of them said that their ears had indeed been 
 open, and that they had followed our advice since 
 we gave a medal to their great chief, and should con- 
 tinue to do so. We now tied a piece of riband to 
 the hair of each Indian, and gave them some corn. 
 We also made a present of a pair of leggins to the 
 principal chief, when we took our leave of them, hav- 
 ing been previously overtaken by our canoe. At 
 two o'clock we landed to hunt on Bonhomme Island, 
 but obtained a single elk only. The bottom on the 
 north side is very rich, and was so thickly over- 
 grown with pea- vines and grass, interwoven with 
 grape-vines, that some of the party who attempted 
 to hunt there were obliged to leave it and ascend 
 the plain, where they found the grass nearly as high 
 as their heads. These plains are much more fertile 
 below than above the Quicurre, and the whole coun- 
 try was now very beautiful. After making fifty-two 
 miles against a head wind, we landed for the night 
 on a sand-bar opposite to Calumet Blutf, where we 
 had encamped on the 1st of September, 1804, and 
 where our flagstaff was still standing. We suffered 
 very much from the moschetoes till the wind be- 
 came so high as to blow them away. 
 
 " September 2. At eight o'clock we passed the 
 mouth of the Jacques River, but soon after were com- 
 pelled to land, in consequence of the high wind from 
 the northeast, and to remain till sunset, after which 
 we went on to a sand-bar twenty-two miles from our 
 camp of the previous evening. While we were on 
 
330 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 shore we killed three buflfaloes and four prairie-fowl, 
 which were the first of the latter we had seen in de- 
 scending. Two turkeys were also killed, and were 
 very much admired by our Indians, who had never 
 seen that bird before." * * * 
 
 " September 3. Towards daylight we started again, 
 and at eleven o'clock we passed the Redstone. The 
 river was crowded with sand-bars, which were now 
 very differently situated from what they had been 
 when we ascended ; but, notwithstanding these and 
 the head wind, we had made sixty miles towards 
 night, when, seeing two boats and several men on 
 the shore, we landed, and found a Mr. James Airs, a 
 partner of a house at Prairie de Chien, who had 
 come from Mackinaw by the way of St. Louis, with 
 a license to trade among the Sioux for one year. 
 He had started two canoes loaded with merchandise, 
 but lost many of his most valuable articles in a squall 
 some time before. After so long an absence, the 
 sight of any one who could give us information of 
 our country was peculiarly delightful, and much of 
 the night was spent in making inquiries as to what 
 had occurred since we had left. We found Mr. Aira 
 a very friendly and liberal gentleman, and when we 
 proposed to him to purchase a small quantity of to- 
 bacco, to be paid for at St. Louis, he very readily 
 furnished every man of the party with as much as 
 he could use during the rest of the voyage, and in- 
 sisted also on our receiving a barrel of flour. This 
 last was very acceptable, though we had still a little 
 flour, which we had deposited at the mouth of Ma 
 ria's River. We could give in return only about six 
 bushels of corn, which was all that we could spare 
 The next morning, 
 
 " September 4, we left Mr. Airs at about eight 
 o'clock, and after passing the Big Sioux River, stop- 
 ped at noon near Floyd's Bluff. On ascending the 
 hill we found that the grave of Floyd had been open- 
 ed, and was now half uncovered. We filled it up, 
 
THEY MEET A TRADING PARTY. 33 i 
 
 and then continued down to our old camp near the 
 Maha village, where all our baggage, which had been 
 wet by the rain in the night, was exposed to dry. 
 There was no game on the river except wild geese 
 and pelicans. Near Floyd's grave were some nour- 
 ishing black-walnut trees, the first we had seen on 
 our return. At night we heard the report of several 
 guns in a direction towards the Maha village, and 
 supposed it to be a signal for the arrival of some 
 trader. But not meeting any one when we set out 
 the next morning, 
 
 " September 5, we concluded that the firing was 
 merely to announce the return of the Mahas to their 
 village, this being the season at which they come 
 home from buffalo hunting, to take care of their 
 corn, beans, and pumpkins. The river was now 
 more crooked, the current more rapid, and crowded 
 with snags and sawyers, while the bottoms on both 
 sides were well supplied with timber. At three 
 o'clock we passed Bluestone Bluff, where the river 
 leaves the highlands and meanders through a low, 
 rich bottom, and encamped for the night after ma- 
 king seventy-three miles. 
 
 " September 6. The wind continued ahead, but the 
 moschetoes were so tormenting that to remain was 
 more unpleasant than to proceed, however slowly, 
 and we therefore started. Near the Little Sioux 
 River we met a trading-boat belonging to Mr. Au- 
 gustus Chateau, of St. Louis, with several men on 
 their way to trade with the Yanktons at the Jacques 
 River. We obtained from them a gallon of whiskey, 
 and gave each of the party a dram, which was the 
 first spirituous liquor any of them had tasted since 
 the 4th of July, 1805." 
 
 During this and the following day they made a 
 distance of seventy-four miles, encamping, as usual, 
 on sand-bars for the night, to avoid the moschetoes, 
 though even here they were greatly tormented by 
 them. 
 
 ^^ 
 
332 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 a 
 
 September 8. We set out early," continues the 
 Journal, " and stopped for a short time at Council 
 Bluffs to examine the situation of the place, when 
 we were confirmed in our behef that it would be a 
 very eligible spot for a trading establishment. Be- 
 ing anxious to reach the Platte, we plied our oars so 
 well that by night we had made seventy-eight miles, 
 and landed at our old White Catfish encampment, 
 twelve miles above that river. We could not but 
 here remark the wonderful evaporation from the Mis- 
 souri, which does not appear to contain more water, 
 nor is its channel wider than at one thousand miles 
 nearer its source, though within the intervening dis- 
 tance it receives about twenty rivers, some of them 
 of considerable width, and a great number of creeks. 
 This evaporation seemed, in fact, to be greater now 
 than when we ascended the river ; for we were 
 obliged to replenish the inkstand every day with 
 fresh ink, nine tenths of which must have escaped 
 by evaporation. 
 
 " September 9. By eight o'clock we passed the 
 mouth of the Platte, which river was lower than 
 when we saw it before, and its waters were almost 
 clear, though its channel was turbulent, as usual. 
 The sand-bars, however, which then obstructed the 
 Missouri were now washed away, and nothing of 
 them was to be seen except a few remains. Below the 
 Platte the current of the Missouri became evidently 
 more rapid, and the obstructions from fallen timber 
 increased. The river bottoms aie here extensive, 
 rich, and covered with tall, large timber, which is 
 still more abundant in the hollows of the ravines, 
 where may be seen oak, ash, and elm, interspersed 
 with some wahiut and hickory. The moschetoes, 
 though still numerous, seemed to have lost some of 
 their vigour. As we advanced the diffierence of cli- 
 mate was very perceptible, the air being more sul- 
 try than we had experienced it for a long time be- 
 fore, and the nights were so warm that a thin 
 
THEY MEET A BOAT FROM ST. LOUIS. 333 
 
 blanket was now sufficient, although a few days be- 
 fore two had been no more than comfortable. Late 
 in the afternoon we encamped opposite to the Bald- 
 pated Prairie, after having come a distance of sev- 
 enty-three miles. 
 
 " September 10. We again set out early, and the 
 wind being moderate, though still ahead, we pro- 
 ceeded sixty-five miles, to a sand-bar a short dis 
 tance above the Grand Nemaha. In the course of 
 the day we met a trader, with three men, on his way 
 to the Pawnee Loups, or Wolf Pawnees, on the 
 Platte. Soon after another boat passed us with 
 seven men from St. Louis, bound to the Mahas. 
 With both of these parties we had some conversa- 
 tion, but our anxiety to go on would not suffer us 
 to remain long with them. The Indians, particular- 
 ly the squaws and children, had become weary with 
 the length of the route, and we were impatient to 
 reach our country and our friends. We saw on the 
 shore deer, raccoons, and turkeys. 
 
 " September 11. A high wind from the northwest 
 detained us till after sunrise, when we started, but 
 proceeded slowly, since, from the river being now 
 rapid and narrow, as well as more crowded with 
 sand-bars and timber than above, much caution was 
 necessary in avoiding these obstacles, especially as 
 the water was low. The Nemaha seemed less wide 
 than when we saw it before, and Wolf River had 
 scarcely any water. In the afternoon we halted 
 above the Nadowa to hunt, and killed two deer, 
 after which we went on to a small island forty miles 
 from our last encampment. Here we were no 
 longer annoyed by the moschetoes, which did not 
 seem to frequent this part of the river ; and, after 
 having been persecuted by these insects the whole 
 distance from the Falls, it was a most agreeable re- 
 lease. Their noise was very agreeably exchanged 
 for that of the common wolves, which were howling 
 <ii different directions, and of the prairie wolves. 
 
334 LEWIS AND CLARKE S EXPEDITION. 
 
 whose barking resembles precisely that of a cui 
 dog. 
 
 " September 12. After a thick fog and a heavy dew, 
 we set out by sunrise, and at the distance of seven 
 miles passed two pirogues, one of them bound to the 
 Platte for the purpose of trading with the Pawnees, 
 the other on a trapping expedition to the neighbour- 
 hood of the Mahas. Soon after we met the trading 
 party under Mr. M'Clellan ; and with them was Mr. 
 Gravelines, the interpreter whom we had sent with 
 a Ricara chief to the United States. The chief had 
 unfortunately died at Washington, and Gravelines 
 was now on his way to the Ricaras with a speech 
 from the president, and the presents which had beeit 
 made to the deceased. He had also directions to in- 
 struct the Ricaras in agriculture. He was accom- 
 panied on his mission by old Mr. Durion, our former 
 interpreter, for the purpose of employing his influ- 
 ence to secure a safe passage for the Ricara presents 
 through the country of the Sioux, and also to en- 
 gage some of the Sioux chiefs, not exceeding six, to 
 visit Washington. Both of them were instructed to 
 inquire particularly after the fate of our party, no 
 intelligence having been received from us for a long 
 time. We authorized Mr. Durion to invite ten or 
 twelve of the Sioux chiefs to accompany him, par- 
 ticularly the Yanktons, whom we had found well 
 disposed towards our country. The afternoon being 
 wet, we determined to remain with Mr. M'Clellan 
 during the night ; and sending five hunters ahead, 
 spent the evening in inquiries respecting what had 
 transpired in the United States since we left. 
 
 " September 13. By eight o'clock in the morning 
 we overtook the hunters, but they had killed nothing.* 
 The wind being now too high to proceed safely 
 through the timber that was stuck in every part of 
 the channel, we landed and sent the small canoes 
 ahead to hunt. Towards evening we overtook them, 
 and encamped, having been able to advance only 
 
FEAR OF MEETING THE KANZAS. 335 
 
 eighteen miles. The weather wa£5 very waim, and 
 the rushes in the bottoms were so thick and high 
 that we could scarcely hunt ; still, we were so fortu- 
 nate as to obtain four deer and a turkey, which, with 
 the hooting owl, and the common buzzard, crow, 
 and hawk, were the only game we saw. Among 
 the timber was the cottonwood, sycamore, ash, mul- 
 berry, papaw, walnut, hickory, prickly ash, and sev- 
 eral species of elm, interspersed with great quanti- 
 ties of grape-vines, and three kinds of pea. 
 
 "September 14. We resumed our journey, and 
 this being the part of the river to which the Kanzas 
 resort for the purpose of robbing the boats of the 
 traders, we held ourselves in readiness to fire upon 
 any Indians who should offer us the slightest indig- 
 nity, as we no longer needed their friendship, and 
 had found that a tone of firmness and decision was 
 the best possible method of making a proper impres- 
 sion upon these freebooters. We did not, however, 
 encounter any of them, but just below the old Kan- 
 zas village met three trading boats from 8t. Louis, 
 on their way to the Yanktons and Mahas. After 
 leaving them we saw a number of deer, of which 
 we killed five, and landed on an island fifty-three 
 miles from our last encampment. 
 
 " September 15. A strong breeze ahead prevented 
 us from proceeding more than forty-nine miles, to 
 the neighbourhood of Hay Cabin Creek. The Kan- 
 zas was very low at this time. About a mile be- 
 yond it we landed to examine the situation of a high 
 hill, which has many advantages for a trading house 
 or fort ; while on the shore we gathered great quan- 
 tities of papaw, and shot an elk. The low grounds 
 were now delightful, and the whole country exhibit- 
 ed a rich appearance ; but the weather was oppress- 
 ively warm, and descending as rapidly as we did 
 from a cool, open country, situated in the latitude of 
 from 4G° to 49°, in which we had been for nearly 
 two years, to the wooded plains in 38° and 39°, the 
 
336 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 heat would have been almost insufferable but foi 
 the winds constantly blowing from the south and 
 southeast. 
 
 " September 16. We set out at an early hour, but 
 the weather soon became so warm that the men 
 rowed but little. In the course of the day we met 
 two trading parties on their way to the Pawnees 
 and Mahas, and after making fifty-two miles, landed 
 on an island, and remained there till the next morn- 
 ing. 
 
 "September 17. We started early, and passed in 
 safety the island of the Little Osage village. This 
 place is considered by the navigators of the Missou- 
 ri as the most dangerous part of it, the whole stream 
 being compressed, for two miles, within a narrow 
 channel crowded with timber, into which the violence 
 of the current is constantly washing the banks. At 
 the distance of thirty miles we met a Captain 
 M'Clellan, lately of the United States army, with 
 whom we encamped. He informed us that the gen- 
 eral opinion in the United States was that we were 
 lost, the latest accounts of us being from the Man- 
 dan village. Captain M'Clellan was on his way to 
 attempt to open a new trade with the Indians. His 
 plan was to establish himself on the Platte, and after 
 trading with the Pawnees and Ottoes, to prevail on 
 some of their chiefs to accompany him to Santa Fe, 
 where he hoped to obtain permission to exchange 
 his merchandise for gold and silver, which were 
 there abundant. If this should be granted, he would 
 transport his goods on mules and horses from the 
 Platte to some part of Louisiana, convenient to the 
 Spanish settlements, where he would be met by the 
 traders from New Mexico. 
 
 " September 18. We parted with Captain M'Clel- 
 lan, and within a few miles passed the mouth of 
 Grand River, below which we overtook the hunters 
 who had been sent forward the day before. They 
 had not been able to kill anything, nor did we see 
 
THEY APPROACH ST. LOUIS. 337 
 
 any game except -one bear and three turkeys, so 
 that our whole stock of provisions was reduced to 
 one biscuit for each person ; but as there was an 
 abundance of papaw, the men were perfectly con- 
 tented. The current of the river was more gentle 
 than when we had ascended, the water being lower, 
 though it was still rapid in places where it was con- 
 fined. We continued to pass through a very fine 
 country for fifty-two miles, when we encamped 
 nearly opposite to Mine River. The next morning, 
 
 " September 19, we worked our oars all day, with- 
 out taking time to hunt, or even landing, except once 
 to gather papaws ; and at eight o'clock reached the 
 entrance of the Osage River, a distance of seventy- 
 two miles. Several of the party had been for a day 
 or two attacked with soreness of the eyes, the eye- 
 ball being very much swelled, and the lid appearing 
 as if burned by the sun, and being extremely painful, 
 particularly when exposed to the light. Three of 
 the men were so much aflfected by it as to be unable 
 to row. We therefore turned one of the boats adrift, 
 and distributing the men among the others, we set 
 out a little before daybreak, 
 
 " September 20. The Osage was at this time low, 
 and discharged but a very small quantity of water. 
 Near the mouth of the Gasconade, where we arrived 
 at noon, we met five Frenchmen on their way to the 
 Great Osage village. As we were rapidly moving 
 along, we saw on the banks some cows feeding, 
 when the whole party almost involuntarily raised a 
 shout of joy on perceiving this image of civilization 
 and domestic life. 
 
 " Soon after, we reached the little French village 
 of La Charette, which we saluted with a discharge 
 of four guns, and three hearty cheers. We then 
 landed, and were received with kindness by the in- 
 habitants, as well as some traders from Canada, who 
 were going to traffic with the Osages and Ottoes. 
 They were all equally surprised and pleased at our 
 
338 LEWIS AND Clarke's expedition. 
 
 arrival, for they, had long since abandoned all hopes 
 of ever seeing us again. 
 
 "These Canadians have boats prepared for the 
 navigation of the Missouri, which seem better cal- 
 culated for the purpose than those of any other form. 
 They are in the shape of bateaux, about thirty feet 
 long and eight wide ; the bow and stern pointed, the 
 bottom flat, and being propelled by six oars only : 
 their chief advantage is their width and flatness, 
 which saves thena from the danger of rolling sands. 
 
 " Having come forty-eight miles, and the weather 
 threatening to be bad, we remained at La Charette 
 till the next morning, 
 
 " September 21, when we proceeded, and as sev- 
 eral new settlements had been made during our ab- 
 sence, we were refreshed with the sight of men and 
 cattle along the banks. We also passed twelve ca- 
 noes of the Kickapoo Indians going on a hunting 
 excursion. At length, after proceedini-^ forty-eight 
 miles, we saluted with heartfelt satisfaction the vil- 
 lage of St. Charles, and on landing were treated 
 with the greatest hospitality and kindness by all the 
 inhabitants of the place. Their civility detained us 
 till ten o'clock the next morning, 
 
 " September 22, when the rain having ceased, we 
 set out for Coldwater Creek, about three miles from 
 the mouth of the Missouri, where we found a can- 
 tonment of United States troops, with whom we 
 passed the day; and then, 
 
 " September 23, descended to the Mississippi, and 
 round to St. Louis, at which place we arrived at 
 twelve o'clock ; and having fired a salute, went on 
 shore, where we received a most hearty and hospi- 
 table welcome from the whole village." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 FARTHER ENUMERATION AND DESCRIPTION OF THK 
 QUADRUPEDS-, BIRDS, FISHES, AND PLANTS NOTICED 
 DURING THE EXPEDITION. 
 
 The quadrupeds of the country extending from the 
 Rocky Mountains to the Pacific may be conveniently di- 
 vided into domestic and wild animals. The first class em- 
 braces the horse and dog only. 
 
 The horse is confined principally to the nations inhab- 
 iting the great plains of the Columbia, lying between the 
 fortieth and fiftieth degrees of north latitude, and extend- 
 ing from the Rocky Mountains to a range of mountains 
 which pass the Columliia near the Great Falls, between 
 the one hundred and sixteenth and the one hundred and 
 twenty-first degrees ol" west latitude. The Shoshonees, 
 Chopunnish, Sokulks, Echeloots, Eneeshurs, and Chilluc- 
 kittequaws, all enjoy the benefit of that docile, generous, 
 and noble animal ; and all of them, except the last three, 
 possess immense numbers. 
 
 They appear to be of an excellent race ; are lofty, ele- 
 gantly formed, active, and hardy ; and many of them ap- 
 pear like fine English coursers. Some of them are pied, 
 with large spots of w'lite irregularly distributed, and in- 
 termixed with a dark-lirown bay : the greater part, how- 
 ever, are of a uniform colour, marked with stars and white 
 feet, and in fleetness and bottom, as well as in form and 
 colour, resemble the best blooded horses of Virginia. The 
 natives suffer them to run at large in the plains, the grass 
 of which affords them their only subsistence, their mas- 
 ters taking no trouble to lay in a winter's store for them ; 
 and, if they are not overworked, they will even at this 
 season fatten on the dry herbage. These plains are rare- 
 ly moistened by rain, ano the grass is consequently short 
 and thin The natives, excepting those of the Rocki/ 
 
340 APPENDIX. 
 
 Mountains, appear to take no pains in selecting the male 
 horses for breed, and, indeed, those oi' that class appear 
 much the most indifferent. The soil and climate of ths 
 country appear to be perfectly well adapted to the natuie 
 of the animal, which is said to be found wild in many parts. 
 The several tribes of Shoshonees, who reside towards 
 Mexico, on the waters of the Multnomah River, and partic 
 nlarly one of them, called Shaboboah, have also a greal 
 number of mules, which they prize more highly than 
 horses. * * * 
 
 The dog is unusually small, about the size of an ordina- 
 ry cur. He is usually parti-coloured, black, white, brown, 
 and brindle being the colours most predominant : the head 
 is long, the nose pointed, the eyes are small, and the ears 
 erect and pointed, like those of the wolf The hair is 
 short and smooth, excepting on the tail, where it is long 
 and straight, like that of the ordinary cur-dog. The na- 
 tives never eat the flesh of this animal, and he appears to 
 be in no other way serviceable to them than in hunting 
 the elk. 
 
 The second division comprehends the brown, white, or 
 grizzly bear, the black bear, the common red deer, the 
 black-tailed fallow deer, the mule deer, the elk, the large 
 brown wolf, the small wolf of the plains, the large wolf of 
 the plains, the tiger-cat, the common red fox, the silver fox, 
 the fisher or black fox, the large red fox of the plains, the 
 kit-fox or small fox of the plains, the antelope, the sheep, 
 the beaver, the common otter, the sea-otter, the mink, the 
 seal, the raccoon, the large gray squirrel, the small gray 
 squirrel, the small brown squirrel, the ground squirrel, the 
 blaircau, the rat, the mouse, the mole, the panther, the 
 hare, the rabbit, and the polecat or skunk. 
 
 The brown, white, or grizzly bear, which seem all to be 
 of the same family, with an accidental variation of colour 
 only, inhabit the timbered parts of the Rocky Mountains. 
 They are rarely found on the western side, and are more 
 commonly below those mountains, in the plains, or on their 
 borders, amid copses of brush and underwood, and near 
 the water courses.* * * * 
 
 The black bear differs in no i espect from those common 
 
 ♦ See Journal, i., 189, 195, 198, 200, 227, 240 ; ii., 225, 235, 261, 29a 
 
APPENDIX. 341 
 
 to the United States. It chiefly inhabits the timbered 
 parts of the Rocky Mountains and the borders of the great 
 plains on the Columbia. * * * 
 
 The common red deer inhabits the Rocky Mountains in 
 the neighbourhood of the Chopunnish, also about the Co- 
 lumbia, and down that river as low as where the tide-wa- 
 ter commences. It does not appear to differ essentially 
 from those of the United States, being the same in shape, 
 size, and appearance. The tail, however, is of an unusual 
 length, far exceeding that of the common deer : Captain 
 Lewis measured one, and found it to be seventeen inches 
 long. 
 
 The black- tailed fallow deer is peculiar to the Pacific 
 coast, and is a distinct species, partaking equally of the 
 qualities of the mule and common deer. Its ears are long- 
 er, and its winter coat is darker than that of the common 
 deer. The receptacle of the eye is more conspicuous, its 
 legs are shorter, and its body thicker and larger. The 
 tail is of the same length with that of the common deer, 
 the hair on the under part white, and on its sides and top 
 of a deep jetty black : its hams, in form and colour, are 
 like those of the mule deer, which it likewise resembles in 
 its gait. The black-tailed deer never runs at full speed, 
 but bounds with all its feet from the ground at the same 
 time, like the mule deer. It sometimes inhabits the wood- 
 lands, but more often the prairies and open grounds. It 
 is generally of a size larger than the common deer, and 
 less than the mule deer. * * * 
 
 The mule deer inhabits the coast of the Pacific, the plains 
 of the Missouri, and the borders of the Kooskooskee River, 
 in the neighbourhood of the Rocky Mountains. * * * The 
 qualities of this animal have been already noticed. 
 
 The elk is of the same species as those found in the 
 greater part of North America. It is common to every 
 part of this country, as well the timbered lands as the 
 plains, but is much more abundant in the former than in 
 the latter.* * * * 
 
 Of wolves, there are the large brown wolf and the wolf 
 of the plains, of which last there are two kinds, the large 
 and the small. The large brown wolf inhabits the woody 
 
 * Journal, ii., 108. 
 
342 APPENDIX. 
 
 countries on the borders of the Pacific, and the mountains 
 on either side of the Columbia between the Great Falls 
 and Rapids, and resembles in all points those of the United 
 States.* 
 
 The large and small wolves of the plains are principally 
 found in the open country, and in the woodlands on its 
 borders. They resemble, both in appearance and habits, 
 those of the plains of the Missouri.! * * * 
 
 The tiger-cat inhabits the borders of the plains and the 
 woody regions in the neighbourhood of the Pacific. This 
 animal is a size larger than the wild-cat of our country, 
 and much the same in form, agility, and ferocity. The 
 colour of the back, neck, and sides is a reddish brown, ir- 
 regularly variegated with small spots of dark brown. The 
 tail is about two inches long, and nearly white, except the 
 extremity, which is black ; it terminates abruptly, as if it 
 had been amputated. The belly is white, beautifully va- 
 riegated with small black spots ; the legs are of the same 
 colour with the sides ; the back is marked transversely 
 with black stripes ; the ears are black on the outer side, 
 covered with fine short hair except at the upper point, 
 which is furnished with a pencil of hair, fine, straight, and 
 black, and three fourths of an inch in length. The hair of 
 this animal is longer and finer than that of the wild-cat of 
 the United States ; and the skin of the animal is in great 
 demand among the natives, as they form their robes of it. 
 
 Of foxes we saw several species. The large red fox 
 of the plains, and the kit- fox, or small red fox of the plains, 
 are the same on the Columbia as those on the banks of the 
 Missouri. They are found almost exclusively in the open 
 plains, or on the tops of brush within the level country. * * * 
 
 The black fox, or, as it is called in the neighbourhood of 
 Detroit, the fisher, is found in the woody country border- 
 ing on the coast of the Pacific. How it should have ac- 
 quired this appellation it is difficult to imagine, as it cer- 
 tainly does not live upon fish. These animals are exceed- 
 ingly strong and active, and admirably expert in climbing, 
 which they perform with the greatest ease,, and bound 
 from tree to tree in pursuit of the squirrel or raccoon, their 
 most Uisual prey. Their colour is of a jetty black, excej it- 
 
 * Journal, i., 195. t Xiuma! 1 194. 
 
APPENDIX. 343 
 
 mg a small white spot upon, the breast : the body is long, 
 and the legs short, resembling those of the common turn- 
 spit dog. The tail is remarkably long, and does not differ 
 in other particulars from that of the ordinary fox. 
 
 The silver fox is an animal very rare, even in the country 
 it inhabits. We saw only the skins of this animal in the 
 possession of the natives of the woody country below the 
 Falls of the Columbia, which induced us to believe that it 
 is confined to that country. From the skin, it appeared 
 to be of about the size of the large red fox of the plains, 
 resembling that animal in form, and particularly in the di- 
 mensions of the tail. Its legs Captain Lewis conjectured 
 to be somewhat larger. It has a long, deep, lead-coloured 
 far, intermixed with long hairs, either of a black or white 
 colour at the lower part, and invariably white at the top, 
 forming a most beautiful silver gray. Captain Lewis 
 thought this the most beautiful of the species, exceptmg 
 one which he saw on the Missouri, near the Natural Falls. 
 
 The antelope inhabits the great plains of the Columbia, 
 and resembles those found on the banks of the Missouri, 
 and, indeed, in every part of the untimbered country, but 
 it is by no means as abundant on the west as on the east 
 side of the Rocky Mountains. * * * 
 
 The sheep is found in many places, but mostly in the 
 timbered parts of the Rocky Mountains. It lives in great- 
 er numbers on the chain of mountains forming the com- 
 mencement of the woody country on the coast, and pass- 
 ing the Columbia between the Falls and Rapids. We 
 saw only the skins of this animal (which the natives 
 dress with the wool on), and the blankets which they 
 manufacture from the wool. The animal appears to be 
 of about the size of our common sheep, and of a white 
 colour ; the wool being fine on many parts of the body, 
 but not equal in length to that of the domestic sheep. On 
 the back, and particularly on the top of the head, the wool 
 is intermixed with a considerable quantity of long straight 
 hairs. From the Indian accounts, this animal has erect, 
 pointed horns ; but one of our engages informed us that 
 he had seen it in the Black Hills, and that its horns were 
 lunated, like those of the common sheep.* * * * 
 
 ^_ _ » Journal, i., 146 ; ii., 179 
 
 II. — D D 
 
344 APPENDIX 
 
 The beaver of these countries is large and fat, its flesh 
 very palatable, and we considered it quite a luxury. On 
 the 7th of January, 1806, our hunter found a beaver in his 
 traps, from which he prepared a bait for taking others. This 
 bait will entice the animal as far as he can smell it, which 
 may be fairly stated at a mile, as its sense of smell is 
 very acute. To form this bait, the castor or bark-stone 
 (so called from its having the smell of tanners' bark) is 
 first gently pressed from the bladder-like bag which con- 
 tains it into a vial of four ounces with a large mouth : five 
 or six of these stones are thus taken, and there must be 
 added to them a nutmeg, a dozen or fifteen cloves, and 
 thirty grains of cinnamon, finely pulverized and stirred to- 
 gether, with as much ardent spirits as will reduce the 
 whole to the consistency of mustard. The bottle must be 
 then carefully corked, as the compound soon loses its effi- 
 cacy if exposed to the open air. The scent becomes much 
 stronger in four or five days, and, provided proper precau 
 tion is taken, the compound will retain its virtue for months 
 Any strong aromatic spices will answer, as their only ob. 
 ject is to give variety and pungency to the scent of the 
 bark-stone. * * * The female beaver has young once in 
 a year only, sometimes two and sometimes four at a birth, 
 and this is usually in the latter end of May and the begin- 
 ning of June, at which time she is said to drive the mal* 
 fi-om the lodge, as he would otherwise destroy her proge 
 nv- * * * 
 
 The common otter does not differ from those inh:jbitin^ 
 other parts of America. 
 
 The sea-otter resides only on the seacoast or in thv 
 neighbourhood of salt-water. When fully grown it at 
 tains the size of a large mastiff dog. The ears are lot ar 
 inch in length, thick, pointed, fleshy, and covered witl shor* 
 nair. The tail is about ten inches long, thick at the poin< 
 of insertion, and partially covered with a deep fur on thf 
 upper side. The legs are very short, and covered wiih fur 
 and the feet, which have five toes each, are broad, large 
 and webbed, and covered with short hair. The body ol 
 the animal is long, and of the same thickness throug lout • 
 and from the extremity of the tail to the nose measure/ 
 about five feet. The colour is a uniform dark brown and 
 when the animal is in good order and in season, it ia pei 
 
APPENDIX. 345 
 
 fectly black. This animal is unrivalled for the beauty, 
 richness, and softness of its fur, the inner part of it, when 
 opened, being lighter than the surface in its natural posi- 
 tion ; and there are some black, shining hairs intermixed 
 with it which are rather longer, and add much to its beau- 
 ty. The fur in some of this species presents a lighter col- 
 our, sometimes brown, about the ears, nose, and eyes. 
 Their young are often seen of a cream-coloured white 
 about the nose, eyes, and forehead, which are always much 
 lighter than the other parts, and the fur of these is much 
 inferior to that of the full-grown animal. 
 
 The mink inhabits the woody country bordering on the 
 seacoast, and does not differ in any point from those of the 
 United States. 
 
 The seal is found on the coast of the Pacific in great 
 numbers, and as far up the Columbia as the Great Falls, 
 none having been discovered beyond them. * * * 
 
 The raccoon inhabits the woody districts bordering on 
 the coast in considerable numbers, and is caught by the 
 natives with snares or pitfalls ; but they hold its skin in 
 little or no estimation, and very seldom make it into robes. 
 
 Of squirrels we saw several species. 
 
 The large gray squirrel appears to inhabit a narrow tract 
 of country, well covered with white-oak timber, situated 
 on the upper side of the mountains, just below the Falls ot 
 the Columbia ; nor is it found except in tracts where 
 there is this kind of timber, never appearing in districts 
 where piMe is most abundant. This animal is much su- 
 perior in size to the common gray squirrel, resembling in 
 form, colour, and size the fox-squirrel of the Atlantic 
 States. The tail exceeds the whole length of the body 
 and head : the eyes are dark ; the whiskers long and black ; 
 the back, sides of the head and tail, and outward part of 
 the legs, are all of a blue-coloured gray ; and the breast, 
 belly, and inner part of the body are of a pure white. The 
 hair is short, like that of the fox-squirrel, though much 
 finer, and intermixed with a portion of fur. The natives 
 hold the skin of this animal in high estimation, and use it 
 in making their robes. It subsists on acorns and filbeits, 
 the last growing in great abundance in the oak country. 
 
 The small gray squirrel is common to every part of the 
 Rocky Mountains where timber abounds. It differs from 
 
346 APPENDIX. 
 
 the dark brown squirrel in colour only. The back, sides, 
 neck, head, tail, and outer part of the legs are of a brown- 
 ish lead-coloured gray ; the tail is slightly tinged with a 
 dark reddish colour near the extremity of some of the 
 hairs ; the throat, breast, belly, and inner part of the legs 
 are of the colour of tanners' ooze, and there is a narrow 
 strip of black, commencing behind each shoulder, and en- 
 tering longitudinally for about three inches, between the 
 colours of the sides and belly. Its habits are precisely 
 those of the dark brown squirrel, and, like the latter, it is 
 extremely nimble and active. 
 
 There is another species of squirrel, evidently distinct, 
 which we denominated the burrowing squirrel. It in- 
 habits the plains of the Columbia, and somewhat resem- 
 bles those found on the Missouri. Its length is about one 
 foot five inches, of which the tail makes two and a half 
 inches only: the neck and legs are short, as are also 
 the ears, which are obtusely pointed, and lie close to the 
 head, the aperture being larger than is generally found 
 among burrowing animals. The eyes are of a moderate 
 size, the pupil being black, and the iris of a dark sooty 
 brown : the whiskers are full, long, and black ; the teeth, 
 and, indeed, the whole contour of the animal, resemble 
 those of the squirrel. Each foot has five toes, the two 
 inner ones of the fore feet being remarkably short, and 
 armed with blunt nails, while the remaining toes on these 
 feet are long, black, slightly curved, and sharply pointed. 
 The hair of the tail is thick on the sides only, which gives 
 it a flat appearance, and a long, oval form ; the tips of the 
 hair forming the outer edges of the tail being white, the 
 other extremity of a fox red ; the under part of the tail 
 being of an iron-gray colour, and the upper part of a red- 
 dish brown. The lower part of the jaws, and the under 
 part of the neck, legs, and feet, from the body and belly 
 downward, are of a light brick red ; the nose and eyes of 
 a darker shade of the same colour ; and the upper part of 
 the head, neck and body, of a curious brown gray, with a 
 slight tinge of brick red : the longer hairs of these parts 
 are of a reddish white colour at their extremities, and fall- 
 ing together, give the animal a speckled appearance. These 
 animals west of the mountains, like those on the Missouri, 
 form large communities, occupying sometinies with their 
 
APPENDIX. 347 
 
 trtirrows two hundred acres of land : these burrows are 
 Reparate, and each contains, perhaps, ten or twelve inhab- 
 itants. There is a little mound in front of the hole, form- 
 ed of the earth thrown out of the burrow, and frequently 
 there are three or four of these holes, forming one burrow, 
 around the base of the little mounds. Some of these 
 mounds, which are about two feet in height and four in 
 diameter, are occupied as watch-towers by the inhabitants. 
 The animals, one or more, are irregularly distributed over 
 the tract thus occupied, at the distance of from ten to forty 
 yards ; and when any one approaches, they set up a shrill 
 whisthng sound, somewhat resembling iwect, tweet, tweet, 
 which is the signal for their companions to take the alarm, 
 and retreat within their intrenchments. They feed on the 
 ■roots of grass, &c. 
 
 The small brown squirrel is a beautiful little animal, about 
 ihe size and form of the red squirrel of the eastern Atlan- 
 tic States and along the western lakes. The taU is as 
 long as the body and neck, and in shape like that of the 
 red squirrel. The eyes are black, the whiskers long and 
 black, but not abundant ; the back, sides, head, neck, and 
 outer part of the legs are of a reddish brown ; the throat, 
 bieast, belly, and inner part of the legs of a pale red ; the 
 tail is of a mixture of black and fox-coloured red, in which 
 the black predominates in the middle, and the other on the 
 edges and extremity. The hair of the body is about an 
 inch and a half long, and so fine and soft that it has the 
 appearance of fur ; that of the tail is coarser, and double 
 the length. This animal feeds chiefly on the seeds of dif- 
 ferent species of pine, and is always found in the pine 
 country. 
 
 The ground squirrel we found in every part of the coun- 
 try, and it differs in no respect from those of the United 
 States. 
 
 There is still another species, called by Captain Lewis 
 the barking squirrel, found in the plains of the Missouri. 
 This animal commonly weighs about three pounds : its 
 colour is a uniform bright brick red and gray, the former 
 predominating ; and the under side of the neck and belly 
 are lighter than the other parts of the body. The legs are 
 short, and the breast and shoulders wide ; the head is 
 stout and muscular, terminates more bluntly, and is wider 
 
348 APPENDIX. 
 
 and flatter than that of the common squirrel ; the ears are 
 short, and appear as though they had been cropped ; the 
 jaw is furnished with a pouch to contain his food, but it is 
 not so large as that of the common squirrel ; the nose is 
 armed with whiskers on each side, and a few long hairs 
 are inserted on each jaw and directly over the eyes; the 
 eye is small and black ; and each foot has five toes, the 
 two outer ones being much shorter than those in the 
 centre. The two inner toes of the fore feet are long and 
 sharp, and well adapted to digging and scratching. From 
 the extremity of the nose to the end of the tail, this animal 
 measures about one foot five inches, of which the tail 
 makes four inches. Notwithstanding the clumsiness of 
 its form, it is remarkably active, and digs in the ground 
 with great rapidity. These animals reside in little subter- 
 raneous villages like the burrowing squirrel ; and although 
 six or eight usually live together, they have but one e.i 
 trance to their domicil. Their holes are of great deptL, 
 and Captain Lewis once followed one to the depth of ten 
 feet without reaching its termination : they will occupy 
 in this manner several hundred acres of ground. When 
 they are at rest their position is generally erect on their 
 hinder feet and rump ; and they sit in this way seemingly 
 with much confidence, barking at any intruder that may 
 approach with a fretful and harmless intrepidity. The 
 noise they make resembles that of the little pet-dog, the 
 yelps being in quick and angry succession, attended by 
 rapid and convulsive motions, as if they were determinow 
 to sally forth in defence of their freehold. They feed on 
 the grass of their village, beyond the limits of which they 
 never venture to pass. As soon as the frost commences 
 they shut themselves up in their holes, and continue there 
 till the spring opens. The flesh of this animal is not un- 
 pleasant. 
 
 Sewellel is the name given by the natives to a small ani 
 mal found in the timbered country on the Pacific coast, 
 though it is most abundant in the neighbourhood of the 
 Great Falls and Rapids of the Columbia. 
 
 The natives make great use of the skins of this animd 
 for robes, dressing them with the fur on, and sewing them 
 together with the sinews of the elk or deer. AVhen dress- 
 ed, the skin is from fourteen to eighteen inches long, and 
 
APPENDIX. 349 
 
 from seven to nine in width ; and the natives always sep- 
 arate the tail from it when they make it into robes. This 
 animal climbs trees and burrows in the ground precisely 
 like a squirrel. Its ears are short, thin, and pointed, and 
 covered with a fine short hair of a uniform reddish brown : 
 the bottom or base of the long hairs, which exceed the fur 
 but httle in length, as well as the fur itself, are of a dark 
 colour next to the skin for two thirds of the length of the 
 animal ; the fur and hair are very fine, short, thick-set, and 
 silky ; the ends of both being of a reddish brown, that col- 
 our predominating generally in the appearance of the ani- 
 mal. Although Captain Lewis offered a considerable re- 
 ward to the Indians for one of these animals, he could 
 never procure one alive. 
 
 The blaircau, so called by the French engages, appears 
 to be of the civet species, and much resembles the common 
 badger. These animals inhabit the open plains of the Co- 
 lumbia, in some places those of the Missouri, and are oc- 
 casionally found in the woods : they burrow in hard ground 
 with surprising ease and dexterity, and will cover them- 
 selves in a very few moments. They have five long nails 
 on each foot ; those on the fore feet being much the long- 
 est, and one on each hind foot being double, as with the 
 beaver. They weigh from fourteen to eighteen pounds. 
 The body is long in proportion to its thickness ; the fore 
 legs are remarkably large and muscular, formed jike those 
 of the turnspit dog, and, as well as the hind legs, are short. 
 They are broad across the shoulders and breast ; the neck 
 is short, the mouth wide, and furnished with sharp, straight 
 teeth both above and below, with four sharp, straight, point- 
 ed tusks, two in the upper and two in the lower jaw. The 
 eyes are black and small ; the whiskers placed in four 
 points on each side near the nose, and on the jaws near 
 the opening of the mouth ; the ears short and wide, ap- 
 pearing as if a part had been cut off. The tail is about 
 lour inches in length, the hair on it being longest at the 
 point of its junction with the body, and growing shorter 
 till it ends in an acute point. The hair on the body is much 
 longer on the sides and rump than on any other part, 
 which gives to the animal an apparent flatness, particular- 
 ly when it rests upon its beUy. The hair is upward of 
 
350 APPENDIX. 
 
 three inches in length, being longest on the rump, where 
 it extends so far towards the point of the tail that it con- 
 ceals the shape of the hinder part of the body, giving to it 
 the appearance of a right-angled triangle, the point of 
 the tail forming an acute angle : the small quantity of 
 coarse fur intermixed with the hair is of a reddish pale 
 yellow. 
 
 The rat inhabiting the Rocky Mountains, like those on 
 the borders of the Missouri in the neighbourhood of the 
 mountains, is distinguished by having a tail covered with 
 hair like the other parts of the body. * * * The ordinary 
 house rat we found on the banks of the Missouri as far up 
 as the woody country extends ; and the rat first mention- 
 ed Captain Lewis found in Georgia, and also in Madison's 
 Cave in Virginia.* 
 
 The mice which we saw are precisely the same with 
 th<;se in the United States ; nor does the mole differ in 
 any respect from the species so common there. 
 
 The panther is found in the great plains on the Colum- 
 bia, on the western side of the Rocky Mountains, and on 
 the coast of the Pacific. It is the same animal so well 
 known on the Atlantic coast, and which is most commonly 
 found on the frontiers or in the unsettled parts of the coun- 
 try. * * * 
 
 The hare west of the Rocky Mountains inhabits the 
 great plains of the Columbia ; and to the east of those 
 mountains, the plains on the Missouri. It weighs from 
 seven to eleven pounds. The eye is large and prominent, 
 the pupil being of a deep sea-green, and occupying one 
 third of its diameter ; and the iris is of a bright yellowish 
 and silver colour. The ears are placed far back, very near 
 each other, and the animal can dilate and throw them for- 
 ward, or contract or lay them upon its back, with surpri- 
 sing ease and quickness. The head, neck, back, shoul- 
 ders, thighs, and outer part of the legs are of a lead colour ; 
 the sides, as they approach the belly, become gradually 
 more white ; the belly, breast, and inner part of the legs 
 and thighs are white, with a light shade of lead colour ; 
 the tail is round and bluntly pointed, covered with white, 
 Eoft, fine fur, not quite so long as on the other parts of the 
 
 * See Journal, i., 244. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 351 
 
 body ■ and the body is covered with a deep, fine, soft, close 
 fur The colours here described are those which the ani- 
 mal assumes from the middle of April to the middle of No- 
 vember being the rest of the year of a pure white, except 
 the black and reddish brown of the ears, which never 
 change A few reddish brown spots are sometimes inter- 
 mixed with the white, in February, on the head and the 
 upper part of the neck and shoulders. The body of the 
 animal is smaller and longer in proportion to its height 
 than that of the rabbit. When it runs, it can-ies its tail 
 strai«^ht behind : it bounds with surprising agdity ; is ex- 
 tremely fleet, and never burrows or takes shelter in the 
 ground when pursued. Its teeth are like those of the rab- 
 bit, as is also its upper lip, which is divided as high as the 
 nose Its food is grass and herbs, and in winter it feeds 
 much on the bark of several aromatic herbs growing on 
 the plains. Captain Lewis measured the leaps of this an- 
 imal, and found them generally from eighteen to twenty- 
 one feet : thev are generally found separate, and are neve; 
 seen to associate in greater numbers than two or three. 
 
 The rabbit here is the same as those of our own coun- 
 try, and it is found both on the prairies and woodlands, 
 but is not very abundant. 
 
 The polecat is also found in every part of this country. 
 It is very abundant in some parts on the Columbia, par- 
 ticularly in the neighbourhood of the Great Falls and Nar- 
 rows of that river, where it lives in the cliffs, and feeds 
 on the offal of the Indian fishing establishments. It is 
 of the same species as those found in other parts of North 
 
 America. , -r, i ht * 
 
 Of the birds which we saw between the Rocky Mount- 
 ains and the Pacific, we will first mention the grouse or 
 prairie-hen. This bird frequents the great plains of the 
 Columbia, and does not diflfer from those of the upper por- 
 tion of the Missouri. Its tail is pointed, the feathers m 
 the centre being much longer than those on the sides. 
 This species differs essentially in the formation of its plu- 
 mage from those of the Illinois, the tails of the latter be- 
 in*^ composed of feathers of an equal length. In the win- 
 ter season it is booted to the first joint of the toes, which 
 are curiously bordered on their lower edges with narrow, 
 hard scales, placed very close to each other, and extend- 
 
352 APPENDIX. 
 
 ing horizontally about an eighth of an inch on each side, 
 adding much to the broadness of the feet : a provision 
 which bounteous Nature has furnished them for passing 
 with more ease over the snows ; and, what is very remark- 
 able, in the summer season these scales drop off. This 
 bird has four toes on each foot, and its colour is a mixture 
 of dark brown, reddish and yellowish brown, and white, 
 confusedly blended. In this assemblage of colours, the 
 reddish brown predominates on the upper parts of the body, 
 wings, and tail, and the white on the belly, and the lower 
 parts of the breast and tail. These birds associate in large 
 flocks in autumn and winter, and even in summer are seen 
 in companies of five or six. They feed on grass, insects, 
 the leaves of various shrubs in the plains, and on the seeds 
 of several species of speth and wild rye, which grow in 
 the richer soils. In winter their food consists of the buds 
 of the willow and cotton wood, and different berries. 
 
 The cock of the plains is found in great abundance from 
 the mouth of the southeast fork of the Columbia to that 
 of Clarke's River. Its size is about two and three quarter 
 inches less than that of our ordinary turkey. The beak is 
 large, short, curved and convex, the upper chap exceed- 
 ing the lower : the nostrils are large, the back is black, 
 and the colour of the rest of the body of a uniform mix- 
 ture of dark brown, and a reddish and yellowish brown, 
 with some small black specks. In this mixture the dark 
 brown predominates, and has a slight cast of the dove- 
 colour : the wider side of the large feathers of the wings 
 are dark brown, without any other shade. The tail is 
 composed of nineteen feathers, that in the centre being 
 th'3 Imgest, and the other nine on each side of it grad- 
 ually diminishing. When folded, the tail comes to a 
 very sharp point, and appears long compared with the 
 body. In the act of flying, the tail appears like that of 
 the wild pigeon, but the motion of the wings closely re- 
 sembles that of the pheasant and grouse. This bird 
 has four toes on each foot, of which the hindmost is the 
 shortest, and the leg is covered with feathers about half 
 way from the joint to the foot. When its wings are ex- 
 panded there are wide openings between the feathers, the 
 plumage being too narrow to fill up the space ; and the 
 wings are short compared with those of the grouse o 
 
APPENDIX. 353 
 
 pheasant. The habits of the bird resemble those of the 
 grouse, excepting that it feeds on the leaf and buds of the 
 pulpy-leafed thorn. Captain Lewis did not remember to 
 have seen it but in the neighbourhood of a shrub which 
 they also sometimes feed on, the prickly pear. The giz- 
 zard is large, much less compressed and muscular than in 
 most birds, and perfectly resembles a craw. WTien the 
 bird flies it utters a cackling sound, not unhke that of the 
 dunghill fowl. Its flesh is dark, and only tolerable in point 
 of flavour, being less palatable than that of the pheasant 
 or grouse. The feathers about the head are pointed, stiff, 
 and short, and fine and stiff about the ears ; at the base 
 of the beak there are several hairs. This bird is invaria 
 bly found in the plains. 
 
 Of pheasants we observed the large black and white 
 pheasant, the small speckled pheasant, and the small brown 
 pheasant. 
 
 The large black and white pheasant differs but little 
 from that of the United States, the brown being rather 
 brighter, with a more reddish tint. This bird has eighteen 
 feathers in the tail, about six inches in length. He is boot- 
 ed to the toes, and the two tufts of long black feathers on 
 each side of the neck are no less observable than in the 
 male of this species inhabiting the United States. The 
 feathers on the body are of a dark brown, tipped with white 
 and black, the black predominating, while the white are ir- 
 regularly intermixed with the black and dark brown in 
 every part, though in greater proportion about the neck, 
 breast, and belly ; and this mixture makes the bird resem- 
 ble that kind of dunghill fowl which the housewives of our 
 country call Domminicker. On the breast of some the 
 white predominates. The tufl;s on the neck leave a space 
 about two and a half inches long and one wide, where no 
 feathers grow, though it is concealed by the plumage on 
 the higher and under parts of the neck ; this space ena- 
 bles them to contract or dilate the feathers on the neck 
 with more ease. The eye is dark, the beak black, curved, 
 and somewhat pointed, the upper chap exceeding the un- 
 der one ; and a narrow vermillion stripe runs along above 
 each eye, not protuberant, but uneven, with a number of 
 minute rounded dots. The bird feeds on wild fruits, par- 
 ticularly the berry of the sacacommis, and inhabits exclu 
 
354 APPENDIX. 
 
 eively the poition of the Rocky Mountains watered by the 
 Columbia. 
 
 The small speckled pheasant is found in the same dis- 
 trict as the foregoing, and differs from it only in size and 
 colour. It is but half the size of the black and white 
 pheasant, associates in much larger flocks, and is very 
 gentle ; the black in its colour is more predominant, and 
 the dark brown feathers are less frequent ; the mixture of 
 white is also more general on every part. This bird is 
 smaller than our pheasant, and the body more round ; the 
 flesh both of this and the last-named species is dark, and, 
 with our means of cooking, was not well flavoured. 
 
 The small brown pheasant inhabits tlie same country, 
 and is of the same size and shape as the speckled pheas- 
 ant, which he resembles also in his habits. The stripe 
 above the eye in this species is scarcely perceptible, and is 
 found, when closely examined, to be of a yellow or orange 
 colour instead of vermillion, as in the other species. The 
 colour of the bird is a uniform mixture of dark yellowish 
 brown, with a slight sprinkling of brownish white on the 
 breast and belly, and under the tail ; and in its whole ap- 
 pearance it much resembles the common quail. It is 
 booted to the toes, and its flesh is preferable to that of the 
 two preceding. 
 
 The buzzard is, we beheve, the largest bird of North 
 America. One taken by our hunters, and not in good con- 
 dition, weighed twenty-five pounds. Between the extrem- 
 ities of the wings he measured nine feet two inches ; from 
 the extremity of the beak to the toe, three feet nine and a 
 half inches ; and from the hip to the toe, two feet. The 
 circumference of the head was nine and three quarter inch- 
 es ; that of the neck, seven and a half inches ; and that of 
 the body, two feet three inches. The diameter of the eye 
 was four and a half tenths of an inch ; the iris is of a pale 
 scarlet red, and the pupil of a deep sea-green. The head 
 and part of the neck are without feathers ; the tail is com- 
 posed of twelve feathers of equal length, each being about 
 fourteen inches ; the thigh is covered with feathers as low 
 as the knee, and the legs are naked, and not entirely 
 smooth. The toes are four in number, three forward, and 
 that in the centre much the largest ; the fourth is short, 
 Uiserted near the inner part of the three others, and rather 
 
APPENDIX. 355 
 
 projecting forward ; the top or upper part of the toes is im- 
 bricated with broad scales lying transversely, and the nails 
 are black, short, and bluntly pointed. The under side of 
 the wing is covered with white down and feathers ; a 
 white stripe of about two inches in width marks the outer 
 part of the wing, embracing the lower points of the plu- 
 mage, and covering the joint ; and the remainder is of a 
 deep black. The skin of the beak and head to the joining 
 of the neck is of a pale orange colour, and the other part 
 destitute of plumage is of a light flesh colour. It is not 
 known that this bird preys upon living animals : we have 
 seen him feeding on the remains of the whale and other 
 fish thrown upon the coast. He was not seen by any of 
 the party until we had descended below the Great Falls of 
 the Columbia, and he is believed to be of the vulture 
 genus, although he lacks some of the characteristics, par- 
 ticularly the hair on the neck and the plumage on the 
 legs. 
 
 The robin is an inhabitant of the Rocky Mountains. 
 The beak of this bird is smooth, black, and convex ; the 
 upper chap exceeds the other in length, and a few small 
 black hairs garnish the sides of its base. The eye is of a 
 uniform deep sea-green colour ; the legs, feet, and talons 
 are white, the longest claw, including the talon, being of 
 the same length as the leg : these are slightly imbricated, 
 curved, and sharply pointed. The crown, from the beak, 
 back to the neck, embracing more than half the circum- 
 ference of the neck, and the back and tail, are all of a blu- 
 ish dark brown ; the two outer feathers of the tail being 
 dashed with white near their tips, though imperceptible when 
 the tail is folded. A fine black forms the ground of the 
 wings ; two stripes of the same colour pass on either side 
 of the head, from the base of the beak to the upper edge of 
 the eye ; and a third stripe of the same extends from the 
 sides of the neck to the tips of the wings, across the crop, 
 in the form of a gorget. The throat, neck, breast, and 
 belly are of a fine brick red, tinged with yellow, a narrow 
 stripe of which colour commences just above the centre 
 of each eye, extending backward to the neck till it comes 
 in contact with the black stripe before mentioned, to 
 which it answers as a border. The first and second 
 ranges of feather* covering the joint of the wing n-ext ta 
 
356 APPENDIX. 
 
 the body are beautifully tipped with brick red, as is also 
 each large feather of the wing on the short side of its plu- 
 mage. This beautiful little bird feeds on berries. It in- 
 habits exclusively the woody country : we never heard its 
 note, which might be owing to the coldness of the season. 
 
 The crow and raven are exactly the same in appearance 
 and note as those on the Atlantic, except that they are 
 much smaller on the Columbia. 
 
 Neither do the hawks of the Pacific coast differ from 
 those of the United States. * * * With the crows and ra- 
 vens, they are common to every part of the country, their 
 nests being found in the high cliffs along the whole course 
 of the Columbia and its southeastern branches. 
 
 The large blackbird is the same as those of our coun- 
 try, and is found everywhere west of the mountains. 
 
 The large hooting owl we saw only on the Kooskooskee, 
 near the Rocky Mountains. It is the same in form and 
 size as the owl of the United States, though its colours, 
 particularly the reddish brown, appear deeper and brighter. 
 
 The turtle-dove and the robin (except the Columbian 
 robin already described) do not differ from those of the 
 United States, and are found both in the plains and in the 
 common broken country. 
 
 The magpie most generally inhabits the open country, 
 and resembles those of the Missouri. 
 
 The large woodpecker or laycock, the lark woodpecker 
 and the common small white woodpecker with a red head 
 are found only in the timbered lands, and differ in no re 
 spect from birds of the same species in the United States. 
 
 The lark, which frequents the plains only, and is nol 
 unlike what is called in Virginia the old-field lark, is tht 
 same with those seen on the Missouri. 
 
 The fly-catcher is of two species. 
 
 The body of the first is small, of a reddish brown col- 
 our, with some fine black specks ; the tail and neck are 
 short, and the beak is pointed. This is of the same spe- 
 cies as that which remains all the winter in Virginia, 
 where it is sometimes called the wren. It is the smallest 
 bird we saw except the humming-bird. 
 
 The back, head, neck, wing, and tail of the second spe- 
 cies are of a yellowish brown ; the breast and belly yel- 
 lowish white. The tail is short like th*t of the wren, but 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 357 
 
 the bird itself is a size smaller than the wren : the beak is 
 straight, pointed, convex, rather large at the base, and the 
 chaps are of equal length. Both these species are found 
 exclusively in the woody country. 
 
 The blue-crestca and the smai: white-crested corvus are 
 confined to the pine country, as weU on the Rocky Mount- 
 airs as along the Pacific coast. 
 
 The snipe of the marshes and the common sand-snipe, 
 the bat, and the white woodpecker, are of the same species 
 as those in the United States.* * * 
 
 The black woodpecker is found in most parts ot the 
 Rocky Mountaihs, and in the western and southwestern 
 mountains. It is about the size of the lark woodpecker 
 or turtle-dove, though his wings are longer than those of 
 either of these. The beak is an inch m length, black, 
 curved at the base, and sharply pointed, with the chaps of 
 equal length ; and around its base, includmg the eye and 
 a small part of the throat, there is a fine crimson red. 
 The neck, as low down as the crop in front, is of an iron 
 eray ; the belly and breast present a curious mixture of 
 white and blood-red, which has much the appearance of 
 paint, the red predominating ; the top of the head, the 
 back and sides, and the upper surface of the wings and 
 tail, appear of a glossy green in a certam exposure to the 
 light, and the under side of the wings and tail is of a sooty 
 black The tail has ten feathers, sharply pointed, tnose in 
 the centre being the longest, or about two and a half inch- 
 es in len<^th. The tongue is barbed and pointed, and of an 
 elastic, cartilaginous substance; the eye is rather large, 
 the pupil black, and the iris of a dark yellowish brown. 
 The movements of this bird when flying, and also its notes, 
 resemble those of the small red-headed woodpecker com- 
 mon in the United States. The pointed tail renders it es- 
 sential service in retaining its resting position against the 
 perpendicular sides of trees. The legs and feet are black, 
 Snd covered with wide imbricated scales ; and it has lour 
 toes on each foot, two extending back and two forward, 
 the nails of which are much curved, pointed, and very 
 Bhi.rr. It feeds on bugs and other insects. 
 
 The calumet eagle is sometimes found on the western 
 side of the Rocky Mountains, as Captain Lewis was in- 
 formed by the natives, in whose possession he saw then 
 
358 APPENDIX. 
 
 plumage. They are of the same species v,o those on tl»^ 
 Missouri, and are the most beautiful of all the eagles in 
 America. The colours are black and white, richly varie- 
 gated. The tail feathers (so highly prized by the Indians) 
 are twelve in number, of unequal length, and white to 
 within two inches of their extremities, where they sudden- 
 ly change to a jetty black. The wings have a large circu- 
 lar white spot in the middle, which is only visible when 
 they are extended ; and the body is variously marked with 
 black and white. In form they resemble the bald eagle, 
 but are rather smaller, and fly with much greater rapidity. 
 This bird is feared by all his carnivorous competitors, 
 which, on his approach, instantly abandon the carcass on 
 which they had been feeding. The female breeds in the 
 most inaccessible parts of the mountains, where she makes 
 her summer residence, and descends to the plains only in 
 the fall and winter seasons. The natives are constantly 
 on the watch for them at these seasons, and so highly is 
 their plumage prized by the Mandans, the Minnetarees, and 
 the Ricaras, that for the tail feathers of two of these birds 
 they will give a good horse or gun ; and among the Great 
 and Little Osages, and the nations inhabiting countries 
 where the bird is more rarely seen, the price is even double 
 this. With these feathers the Indians decorate the stems 
 of their sacred pipes or calumets, whence the name of cal- 
 umet given to the bir.d is derived. The Ricaras often do- 
 mesticate this bird for the purpose of obtaining its plumage. 
 The natives also fasten these feathers in their hair, deco- 
 rate their war caps or bonnets with them, and attach them 
 to the manes and tails of their favourite horses. 
 
 As we were near the coast only during the winter, many 
 of the aquatic birds may have retired from the cold, and 
 been lost to our observation. We saw, however, the large 
 blue and brown heron ; the fish-hawk ; the blue-crested 
 fisher ; several species of gulls ; the cormorant ; two spe- 
 cies of loons ; brant of two kinds ; geese ; swan, and sev- 
 eral species of ducks. 
 
 The large blue and brown herons, or cranes, as they 
 are usually termed, are found on the Columbia below tide- 
 water, and differ in no respect from the same species in 
 the United States. The same remark will apply to the 
 fish-hawk and the blue-crested or king fisher, both of which 
 
APPENDIX. 359 
 
 are found everywhere on the Columbia and its tributary 
 waters. 
 
 Of gulls we noticed four species on the coast and river, 
 all common to the United States. 
 
 The cormorant is, properly speaking, a large black duck 
 that feeds on fish ; and Captain Lewis could perceive na 
 difference between this bird there and those frequenting 
 the Potomac and other rivers on the Atlantic coast. 
 
 Of loon there were two species, the first, or speckled 
 loon, being found on all the rivers west of the mountains, 
 and of the same size, colour, and form as those of the At- 
 lantic coast. 
 
 The second species we saw at the Falls of Columbia, 
 and from thence downward to the ocean. This bird is not 
 more than half the size of the other : its neck is long, slen- 
 der, and white ; the plumage on the body, and on the top 
 of the head and neck, is of a dun or ash colour ; the 
 breast and belly are white ; the beak is like that of the 
 speckled loon ; and, like it, it cannot fly, but flutters along 
 on the surface of the water, or dives when pursued. 
 
 The brant are of three kinds : the white, the brown, and 
 the pied. 
 
 The white brant are very common on the shores of the 
 Pacific, where they remain in vast numbers during the 
 winter ; and, like the swan-geese, feed on the grass, roots, 
 and seeds which grow in the marshes.* * * * 
 
 The brown brant are nearly of the same colour, size, 
 and form as the white, only that their wings are consider- 
 ably longer and more pointed. The plumage on the upper 
 part of the body, neck, head, and tail resembles in colour 
 that of the Canadian goose, though somewhat darker, from 
 some dark feathers being irregularly scattered throughout ; 
 neither have they the same white on the neck and sides 
 of the head as the goose, nor is the neck darker than the 
 body ; though, like the goose, they have some white 
 feathers on the rump at the insertion of thf tail. The 
 beak is dark, as are also the legs and feet, with a greenish 
 cast ; the breast and belly are of a lighter colour than the 
 back, and are also irregularly spotted with dark brown and 
 black feathers, which give it a pied appearance ; the flesh 
 
 * For description. Bee Journal, i., 194, 
 II.— E E 
 
360 APPENDIX. 
 
 is darker and better than that of the goose. *• * * There 
 is no difference between this bird and the brant so common 
 on the lakes, the Ohio, and the Mississippi. 
 
 The pied brant weighs about eight and a half pounds, 
 differing from the ordinary pied brant in its wings, which 
 are neither so long nor so pointed. * * * Its note is also 
 much like that of the common pied brant, from which, in 
 fact, it is not to be distinguished at a distance, although it 
 is certainly of a distinct species. * * * 
 
 Of geese there are two kinds, the large and small. The 
 large goose is like our ordinary wild or Canadian goose : 
 the small is rather less than the brant, which it resembles 
 in the head and neck, which are larger in proportion than 
 those of the goose ; the beak is likewise thicker and short- 
 er, and its note is similar to that of the tame goose. In 
 all other points it resembles the larger kind, with which it 
 so frequently associates that it was some time before we 
 discovered it to be a distinct species.* 
 
 There are also two kinds of swan, the large and the 
 small. The large swan is the same as that in the Atlantic 
 States : the small differs from it only in size and in note, 
 it being about one fourth less, and its note entirely differ- 
 ent. The note, which is as loud as that of the large spe- 
 cies, begins with a kind of whistling sound, terminating in 
 a round, full tone, loudest at the end, whence it might be 
 denominated the whistling-swan. Its habits, colour, and 
 contour appear to be precisely like those of the larger 
 kind. This bird was first found below the Great Narrows 
 of the Columbia, near the Chilluckittequaw nation : they 
 were very abundant about the coast, and remained there 
 all the winter, being five times as numerous as those of 
 the large species. 
 
 Of ducks there are many kinds : the duckinmallard, the 
 canvass-back duck, the red-headed fishing duck, the black 
 and white duck, the little brown duck, the black duck, two 
 species of divers, and the blue- winged teal. 
 
 The duckinmallard, or common large duck, resembles 
 the domestic duck, is very abundant, and found on every 
 part of the Columbia below the mountains. * * * 
 
 The canvass-back duck is a mpst beautiful bird, and, ai 
 
 * Journpl, i., 194. 
 
APPENDIX. 361 
 
 18 well known, very delicious to the palate. It is found in 
 considerable numbers at the mouth of the Columbia. It 
 is of the same species as those in the Delaware, Susque- 
 hannah, and Potomac, and of equally fine flavour. * * * 
 
 The red-headed fishing-duck is common to every part of 
 the river, and was the only duck we saw on the waters of 
 the Columbia within the Rocky Mountains. It is the same 
 in every respect as those on the Atlantic coast. 
 
 The black and white duck is small, and of a size larger 
 than the teal. The male is beautifully variegated with 
 black and white ; the white occupying the breast and back, 
 the tail, the feathers of the wings, and two tufts of feath- 
 ers which cover the upper part of the wings when folded, 
 and likewise the neck and head : the female is the largest. 
 This is believed to be of the same species as the duck 
 common on the Atlantic coast, called the butter-box. The 
 beak is wide and short, and, as well as the legs, of a dark 
 colour : its flesh is extremely well flavoured. * * * 
 
 The black duck found on the Columbia is the same as 
 Captain Lewis noticed on many parts of the Ohio and Mis- 
 sissippi Rivers ; and the divers and the blue-winged teal 
 resemble in all respects those of the United States. 
 
 The fish we saw on the coast and in the Columbia were 
 the whale, porpoise, skait, flounder, salmon, red char, two 
 species of salmon trout, mountain or speckled trout, bot- 
 tlenose, anchovy, and sturgeon. 
 
 The whale is sometimes pursued and taken with the 
 harpoon by the Indians, but is much mare frequently kill- 
 ed by running against the rocks in violent storms, and 
 thrown on shore by the wind and tide. * * * 
 
 The porpoise, skait, and flounder are the same as those 
 found on the Atlantic coast. 
 
 The common salmon and red char are inhabitants both 
 of the sea and rivers. The former are usually the largest, 
 and weigh from five to fifteen pounds. They are found in 
 all the rivers and little creeks on the western side of the 
 continent, and the natives are greatly indebted to them for 
 their subsistence. The body of the fish is from two and a 
 half to three feet long, proportionably broad, and covered 
 with imbricated scales of a moderate size : the eye is 
 large, the iris of a silvery colour, and the pupil black ; 
 the rostrum or nose extends beyond the under jaw, and 
 
362 APPENDIX. 
 
 both jaws are armed with a single series of long teeth, 
 which are subulate and inflected near the extremities of 
 the jaws, where they are also more closely arranged ; they 
 have also some sharp teeth of smaller size, and sharp 
 points on the tongue, which is thick and fleshy. The lins 
 of the back are two : the first is placed nearer the head 
 than the ventral fins, and has several rays ; while the sec- 
 ond is far back, near the tail, and has no rays. The flesh 
 of this fish, when in order, is of a deep flesh-coloured red, 
 and of every shade from that to an orange yellow, but 
 when very meagre it is almost white. The roe is in high 
 estimation among the natives, who dry it in the sun, and 
 preserve it for a great length of time. * * * 
 
 The red char is rather broader in proportion to its length 
 than the common salmon. The scales are also imbrica- 
 ted, but rather larger ; the rostrum extends far beyond the 
 under jaw, and the teeth are neither so large nor numerous 
 as those of the salmon. Some of these fish are almost 
 entirely red on the belly and sides ; others are much whi- 
 ter than the salmon, and none of them are variegated with 
 dark spots, though in regard to their flesh, roe, and every 
 particular with regard to form, they are like that fish. 
 
 Of salmon trout we observed two- kinds, differing only 
 in colour. They are seldom more than two feet in 
 length, and are much narrower in proportion to their 
 length than the salmon or red char. The jaws are near- 
 ly of the same length, and are furnished with a single se- 
 ries of subulate, straight teeth, neither as long nor as large 
 as those of the salmon. The mouth is wide, and on the 
 tongue there are also some teeth : the fins are placed much 
 like those of the salmon. At the Great Falls we found 
 this fish of a silvery white colour on the belly and sides, 
 and of a bluish light brown on the back and head. The 
 other kind is of a dark colour on its back, and its sides and 
 belly are yeUow, with transverse stripes of dark brown ; a 
 little red being sometimes intermixed with these colours 
 on the belly and sides towards the head. The eye, flesh, 
 and roe are like those of the salmon. 
 
 The white species found below the Falls were in excel- 
 lent order when the salmon were entirely out of season, 
 and not fit for use : they associate with the red char in 
 little rivulets and creeks. This fish is about two feet eighi 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 363 
 
 inches in length, and weighs about ten pounds : the eye is 
 moderately ifrge, the pupil black, with a smal admixture 
 rveUovv and the iris of a silvery white, a little tinged 
 nllts border with a yeUowish brown. The fins are 
 small S proportion to the size of the fish, and are bony 
 sman in p.ut. except the tail and back fins, which 
 
 LSghU^TT«^^^^ fin and the ventral ones 
 
 crntafeach ten rays ; those of the gills, thirteen ; that of 
 the taU twelve! and the small fin placed near and above 
 the a 1 hTs no bony rays, but is a tough, flexible substance 
 covered with a smooth skin. It is thicker in proportion to 
 ?ts wTdth than the salmon : the tongue is thick and firrn, 
 armld on each border with smaU subulate teeth in a single 
 
 d mt we never saw this fish below the mountains 
 
 ThelotSenose is the same as that seen in the Missouri, 
 and is found exclusively within the mountams^ 
 
 The anchovY, called by the natives olthen, is so deiicaie 
 a Ish thatTsoon becomes tainted unless pickled or 
 smoked The Indians run a small stick through the guis 
 and ether hang them up to dry in the smoke of their 
 lodges? or Se small fires under them for this pur- 
 
 ''^Of sUfi^sh we observed the clam, the Pji^mMe the 
 common muscle, the cockle, and a species with a circular 
 fla?Then The clam of the Pacific coast is very small ; 
 the shell consLing of two valves opening with hmges, and 
 bdncT smooth thinfof an oval form like that of the common 
 Srand of a 'sky-blue colour. It is about one and a 
 inches in length^and hangs in ^'l-t^^^ the moss o 
 the rocks- the natives sometimes eat them, ine per 
 winkL both of the river, and the ooe.n,^ss^ri.r^o 
 those fiund in the same situation on t^e ^^laiitic coast^ 
 The common muscle of the river is the same as mat 
 in the rivers on the Atlantic : the cockle is ^^f^f^^f 
 
 also closely resembles that in the f^^f ^'^^^ J.^tWcii' 
 Uk€iwise an animal inhabiting a shell that is periectiy cir 
 
364 APPENDIX. 
 
 cular, about three inches in diameter, thin and entire on 
 the margin, convex and smooth on the upper side, plain 
 on the under part, and covered with a number of minute 
 uapiUary fibres, by means ot vi^hich it attaches itself to the 
 sides of the rocks. The shell is thin, and consists of one 
 valve, with a small circular valve in the centre of the 
 under shell : the animal is soft and boneless. 
 
 The pellucid jelly-like substance, called the sea-nettle, is 
 found in great abundance along the strand of the Pacific, 
 where it is thrown up by the waves and tide. 
 
 There are two species of fuci thrown up in this manner. 
 The first species consists, at one extremity, of a large ves- 
 icle or hollow vessel, which will contain from one to two 
 gallons : it is of a conic shape, the base of which forms the 
 extreme end, and is convex and globular, having in its 
 centre some short, broad, angular fibres. Its substance is 
 of about the consistence of the rind of a citron melon, and 
 three fourths of an inch thick ; the rind being smooth from 
 the small extremity of the cone. A long, hollow, cylindri- 
 cal, and regularly tapering tube extends to twenty or thirty 
 feet, and terminates in a number of branches, which are 
 flat, half an inch in width, and rough, particularly on the 
 edges, where they are furnished with a number of little 
 ovate vesicles or bags of the size of a pigeon's egg. This 
 plant seems calculated to float at each extremity, while 
 the little end of the tube, from whence the branches pro- 
 ceed, lies deepest in the water. The other species, seen 
 on the coast towards the Killamucks, resembles a large 
 pumpkin : it is solid, and its specific gravity greater than 
 the water, though sometimes thrown on shore by the 
 waves. It is of a yellowish brown colour, the rind smooth, 
 and its consistence harder than that of the pumpkin, but 
 easily cut with a knife : there are some dark brown fibres, 
 rather harder than any other part, which pass longitu- 
 dinally through the pulp or fleshy substance which forms 
 the interior of this marine production. 
 
 The reptiles we saw in the country west of the Rocky 
 Mountains are the rattlesnake,* the gartersnake, the liz- 
 ard, and the snail. 
 
 The gartersnake appears to belong to the same family 
 
 * See Journal, i., 202. 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 365 
 
 as the common gartersnake of the Atlantic coast, and, Uke 
 that snake, it has no poisonous quahties. It has one hun- 
 dred and sixty scuti on the abdomen, and seventy on the 
 tail : those on the abdomen near the head and jaws, as 
 high as the eye, are of a bluish white, and as they recede 
 from the head they become of a dark brown. The field 
 of the back and sides is black : a narrow stripe of light yel- 
 low runs along the centre of the back ; and on each side 
 of this stripe there is a range of small, tranverse, oblong 
 spots, of a pale brick red, diminishing as they recede from 
 the head, and disappearing at the commencement of the 
 tail. The pupil of the eye is black, with a narrow rmg of 
 white bordering on its edge, and the remainder of the ins 
 is of a dark yellowish brown. 
 
 The horned lizard, called, and for what reason we could 
 never learn, the prairie buffalo, is a native of the country 
 west of the mountains, as well as on the Missouri : it is of 
 the same size, and much the same in appearance, as the 
 black lizard.* 
 
 The vegetable productions of the country on the Lolum- 
 bia, furnishing a large proportion of the food of the natives, 
 are the roots of a species of thistle, the fern, rush, liquo- 
 rice, and a small cylindrical root resembling in flavour and 
 consistency the sweet potato. 
 
 The thistle, called by the natives shanataque, grows in 
 a deep, rich, dry loam, with a considerable mixture of 
 sand. The stem is simple, ascending, cylindric, and his- 
 pid, and rises to the height of three or four feet. The cau- 
 line leaf is simple, crenate, and oblong, rather more ob- 
 tuse at its apex than at its insertion, decurrent, and its po- 
 sition declining, while its margin is armed with prickles, 
 and its disk hairy. The flower was dry and mutilated 
 when we saw it, but the pericarp seemed to be much like 
 that of the common thistle. The root-leaves, which still 
 possessed their verdure, and were about half grown, were 
 of a pale green colour. The root, which is the only part 
 used, is from nine to fifteen inches long, about the size of 
 a man's thumb, perpendicular, fusiform, and with from two 
 to four radicles ; the rind being of a brown colour, and 
 somewhat rough. When first taken from the earth it is 
 
 * For farther account, see Journal, ii., 230, 
 
366 APPENDIX. 
 
 white, and nearly as crisp as a carrot, and in this r/cate is 
 sometimes eaten without any preparation. But when pxa 
 pared by the same process as that used for the paihea 
 quamash, which is the most usual and the best method, it 
 becomes black, and is much improved in flavour. Its taste 
 ia exactly like that of sugar, and it is the sweetest vege- 
 table eaten by the Indians. After being baked in the kiln, 
 it is eaten either simply or with train oil ; sometimes 
 pounded fine and mixed with cold water, until it is re- 
 duced to the consistence of sagamity, or Indian musb, 
 which last was the most agreeable to our palates. 
 
 Three species of fern grew in the neighbourhood of our 
 winter encampment at the mouth of the Columbia, but the 
 root of only one is eaten. It is very abundant in those 
 parts of the open lands and prairies which have a deep, 
 loose, rich, black loam, without any sand, where it attains 
 the height of four or five feet, and is a beautiful plant, of a 
 fine green colour in summer. The stem, which is smooth, 
 cylindric, and slightly grooved on one side, rises erectlj 
 for about half its height, when it divides into two branches, 
 or, rather, long footstalks, which put forth in pairs from 
 one side only, and near the edges of the groove, declining 
 backward from the grooved side. These footstalks them- 
 selves are likewise grooved and cylindric ; and as the) 
 gradually taper towards the extremities, put forth others 
 of a smaller size, which are alternate, and have forty oi 
 fifty alternate, pinnate, horizontal, and sessile leaves. The 
 leaves are multipartite for half the length of their footstalk, 
 when they assume the tongue-like form altogether ; being 
 also revolute, with the upper disk smooth, and the lowei 
 resembling cotton. The top is annual, and was therefore 
 dead when we saw it, but it produces neither flower nor 
 fruit. The root is perennial, and grows horizontally, 
 sometimes a little diverging or obliquely descending, and 
 frequently dividing itself as it extends, and shooting up a 
 number of stems. It lies about four inches under the sur- 
 face of the earth, is of a cylindrical form, with few or no 
 radicles, and varies from the size of a goose-quill to that 
 of a man's finger. The bark is black, thin, brittle, and 
 rather rough, and easily separates in flakes from the part 
 which is eaten, being divided in the centre into two parts 
 by a strong, flat, white ligament, like a piece of thin tape ; 
 
APPENDIX. 367 
 
 on each side of which is a white substance, resembling, 
 after the root is roasted, botli in appearance and flavour, 
 the dough of wheat. It has a pungency, however, which 
 was disagreeable to us, though the natives eat it voracious- 
 I}', and it seems to be very nutritious. 
 
 The rush is most commonly used by the Killamucks and 
 other Indians along the seacoast, on the sands of which it 
 grows in greatest abundance. From each root a single 
 stem rises erectly to the height of three or four feet, some- 
 what thicker than a large quill, hollow and jointed : about 
 twenty or thirty long, lineal, stellate, or radiate and hori- 
 zontal leaves surround the stem at each joint, about half 
 an inch above which its stem is sheathed like the sand- 
 rush. When green it resembles that plant also in appear- 
 ance, as well as in having a rough stem. It is not branch- 
 ing, nor does it bear, as far as we could discover, either 
 flov^^er or seed. At the bottom of this stem, which is an- 
 nual, is a strong radicle, about an inch long, descending 
 perpendicularly to the root ; while just above the junction 
 of tills radicle with the stem, the latter is surrounded, in 
 the form of a wheel, with six or nine other radicles de- 
 scending obliquely. The root attached to the perpendicu- 
 lar radicle is a perennial solid bulb, about an inch long, and 
 of the thickness of a man's thumb, of an ovate form, de- 
 pressed on one or two of its sides, and covered with a thin, 
 smooth, black rind : the pulp is white, brittle, and easily 
 masticated. It is commonly roasted, though sometimes 
 eaten raw, but in both states is rather an insipid root. 
 
 The hquorice of this country does not differ from that 
 common in the United States. It here delights in a deep, 
 loose, sandy soil, and grows very large and abundantly. 
 It is prepared by being roasted in the embers, and pounded 
 slightly with a small stick, in order to separate from it the 
 strong ligament in its centre, which is thrown away, and 
 the rest is eaten. Prepared in this way it has an agreea- 
 ble flavour, not unlike that of the sweet potato.* The root 
 of the cattail, or cooper's flag, is likewise eaten by the In- 
 dians ; and also a small, dry, tuberous root, two inches in 
 length, and about the thickness of the finger : this is eaten 
 raw, and is crisp, milky, and of an agreeable flavour. 
 
 * See Journal, ii., 115, 
 
368 APPENDIX. 
 
 Besides the small cylindrical root mentioned above, therd 
 is another of the same form and appearance, which is usu- 
 ally boiled, and eaten with train oil. Its taste, however, 
 is disagreeably bitter. 
 
 But the most valuable of all the Indian roots is the wap- 
 patoo, or the bulb of the common sagittifolia, or arrow- 
 head. It does not grow near the mouth of the Columbia 
 but is found in great abundance in the marshy grounds of 
 that beautiful valley, which extends from near the Quick- 
 sand River seventy miles westward, and is a principal ar- 
 ticle of trade between the inhabitants of that valley and 
 those of the seacoast. 
 
 This shrub rises to the height of four or five feet, the stem 
 being simple and much branched. The bark is of a red- 
 dish dark brown, being on the main stem somewhat rough, 
 while on the boughs it is smooth : the leaf is obtuse at the 
 apex, and acute and angular at the insertion of the pedicle ; 
 three fourths of an inch in length, and three eighths in 
 width, smooth, and of a paler green than evergreens gen- 
 erally are. The fruit is a small deep purple berry, of a 
 pleasant flavour ; the natives eat the berry when ripe, but 
 seldom collect it in quantities to dry for winter use.* 
 
 The native fruits and berries in most general use among 
 the Indians are the shallun, the solmc, the cranberry, a 
 berry like the black haw, the scarlet berry of the plant 
 called sacacommis, and a purple berry like the whortle- 
 berry. 
 
 The shallun is an evergreen plant, abounding near the 
 mouth of the Colmnbia, and its leaves are the favourite 
 food of the elk. It is of a thick growth, rising cylindrical- 
 ly to the height of three, and sometimes five feet, and va- 
 rying from the size of a goose-quill to that of a man's 
 thumb. The stem is simple, branching, reclining, and 
 partially flexuose, with a bark which, on the older part, is 
 of a reddish brown colour, while the younger branches are 
 red where exposed to the sun, and green elsewhere. The 
 leaf is three fourths of an inch in length, two and a half in 
 breadth, and of an oval form ; the upper disk being of a 
 glossy deep green, and the under of a pale green. The 
 Truit is a deep purple berry about the size of a common 
 
 * See Journal ii., 85, 171. 
 
APPENDIX. 369 
 
 black cherry, oval, and rather bluntly pointed : the peri- 
 carp is divided into five acute angular points, and envet 
 ops a soft pulp containing a great number of small brown 
 seeds. 
 
 The solme is a small pale red berry, the production of a 
 plant resembling in size and shape that which produces 
 the fruit called in the United States Solomon's seal-berry, 
 the berry being attached to the stem in the same manner. 
 It is of a globular form, containing a soft pulp which en- 
 velops four seeds about the size of the seed of the common 
 small grape. It grows among the woodland moss, and is, 
 to all appearance, an annual plant. 
 
 The cranberry is of the low, viny kind, and grows in 
 marshes or bogs : it is precisely the same as the cranberry 
 of the United States. 
 
 The fruit which, though rather larger, resembles in 
 shape the black haw, is a light brown berry, the product of 
 a tree resembling in size, shape, and appearance that 
 which in the United States is called the wild crab-apple. 
 The leaf, too, is precisely the same, as is also the bark both 
 in texture and colour. The berries grow in clumps of from 
 three to eighteen or twenty, at the end of the small branch- 
 es, each berry being supported by a separate stem: the 
 berry is ovate, and its lower end slightly concave. The 
 wood of this tree is excessively hard, and the natives 
 make wedges of it to split their boards and firewood, and to 
 hollow out their canoes. Our party likewise made use of 
 it for wedges and axe-handles. The fruit is exceedingly 
 acid, and resembles in flavour the wild crab. The peri- 
 carp contains a soft, pulpy substance, divided into four 
 cells, each containing a single seed ; and its outer coat 
 consists of a thin and smooth, though firm and tough pel- 
 licle. 
 
 The plant called sacacommis by the Canadian traders 
 derives its name from the clerks of the trading companies 
 being generally very fond of smoking its leaves, which 
 they carry about them in a small bag. It grows generally 
 in open pine districts or on their borders. We found it in 
 the prairies bordering on the Rocky Mountains, and in the 
 more open woodlands. It is indiscriminately the growth 
 of a very rich and very poor soil, and is found in the same 
 abundance in both. The natives on the western side of 
 
370 APPENDIX. 
 
 the Rocky Mountains are very fond of this berry, althf ,,h 
 to us it was a very tasteless and insipid fruit. The is^ .<'ab 
 is an evergreen, and retains its verdure in the same per- 
 fection the whole year round. However inclement the 
 climate, the root puts forth a great number of stems, which 
 separate near the surface of the ground, each stem being 
 from the size of a small quill to that of a man's finger. 
 The stems are much branched, the branches forming an 
 acute angle with them, and are more properly procum- 
 bent than creeping, although both the stems and branches 
 sometimes put forth radicles, which strike obliquely into 
 the ground. These radicles, however, are by no means 
 general, or equal in their distances from each other, nor 
 do they appear calculated to furnish nutriment to the 
 plant. The bark is formed of several layers of a smooth, 
 thin, brittle, and reddish substance, easily separated from 
 the stem. The leaves, with respect to their position, are 
 scattered, yet closely arranged, particularly near the ex 
 tremities of the twigs : they are about three fourths of au 
 inch in length, oval, obtusely pointed, of a deep green, 
 slightly grooved, and the footstalk is of proportionable 
 length. The berry is attached in an irregular manner to 
 the small boughs among the leaves, and is always support- 
 ed by a separate, small, short peduncle : the insertion pro- 
 duces a shght concavity in the berry, while its opposite 
 end is slightly convex. The outer coat of the pericarp is 
 a thin, firm, tough pellicle, while the inner coat consists 
 of a dry, mealy powder, of a yellowish white colour, en- 
 veloping from four to six large, light brown seeds. The 
 colour of the fruit is a fine scarlet, and the natives eat it 
 without any preparation. It ripens in September, and re- 
 mains on the bushes all the winter, unaffected by the frost. 
 These berries are sometimes gathered and hung in the 
 lodges in bags, where they are dried without farther 
 trouble. 
 
 The deep purple berry, like the whortleberry, terminates 
 blj:ntly, and has a cap or cover at the end. The berries 
 are attached separately to the sides of the boughs by a 
 short stem hanging underneath, and they often grow very 
 near each other on the same bough : they separate very 
 easily from the stem ; the leaves adhere closely. The 
 Bhrub is an evergreen, and rises to the height of six of 
 
APPENDIX* 371 
 
 eight feet, growing sometimes on high lands, but more 
 frequently on low marshy grounds. It is about ten inch- 
 es in circumference, divides into many irregular branches, 
 and seldom more than one stem springs from the same 
 root, though they associate very thickly : the bark is some- 
 what rough, and of a reddish brown colour, and the wood 
 is very hard. The leaves are alternate, and attached by a 
 short footstalk to the horizontal sides of the boughs : their 
 form is a long oval, rather more acute towards the apex 
 than at the point of insertion ; their margin slightly ser- 
 rate, the sides collapsing, thick, firm, smooth, and glossy ; 
 the under surface being of a pale or whitish green, and the 
 upper of a fine deep green. This beautiful shrub retains its 
 verdure throughout the year, and is more peculiarly beau- 
 tiful in winter. The natives sometimes eat the berries 
 without preparation, sometimes they dry them in the sun, 
 and at others in their sweating-kilns. They very fre- 
 quently pound them, and bake them in large loaves weigh- 
 ing from ten to fifteen pounds ; the bread keeping very 
 well for one season, an 1 retaining its juices better by this 
 mode of preparation tha n any other. This bread is broken 
 and stirred in cold water until it acquires the consistency 
 of soup, when it is eaten. 
 
 Trees of a large growth are very abundant, the whole 
 neighbourhood of the Pacific coast being well supplied with 
 excellent timber. The predominating wood is the fir, of 
 which we saw several species. There is one singular cir- 
 cumstance attending all the pine of this country, which is, 
 that when consumed it yields not the slightest particle of 
 ashes. The first species grows to an immense size, and 
 is very commonly twen iy-seven feet in circumference six 
 feet from the ground, rising to the height of two hundred 
 and thirty feet, and one hundred and twenty of that height 
 without a limb. We often found them thirty-six feet in 
 circumference. One of our party measured one, and found 
 it to be forty-two feet in circumference at a point above 
 the reach of an ordinary man. This trunk for the distance 
 of two hundred feet was destitute of limbs : the tree, too, 
 was perfectly sound, and, at a moderate calculation, its 
 height might be estimated at three hundred feet. The tim- 
 ber is straight-grained throughout, and rives better than 
 any other species : the bark scales off in flakes irregularly 
 
372 APPENDIX. 
 
 round, and is of a reddish brown colour, particularly the 
 younger growth ; the trunk is simple, branching, and not 
 very proliferous. The leaf is acerose, one tenth of an inch 
 m width, and three fourths in length, firm, stiffj and acu- 
 minate : it is triangular, a little dechning, and thickly scat- 
 tered on all sides of the bough, and springs from small tri- 
 angular pedestals of soft, spongy, elastic bark at the junc- 
 tion of the boughs. The bud-scales continue to encircle 
 their respective twigs for several years : Captain Lewis 
 counted as many as four years' growths beyond the scales. 
 This tree yields but little resin, and we were never able 
 to discover any cone, although we felled several of the 
 trees. 
 
 The second is a much more common species, and con- 
 stitutes at least one half of the timber near the mouth of 
 the Columbia. It seems to resemble the spruce, rises from 
 one hundred and sixty to one hundred and eighty feet, and 
 is from four to six feet in diameter, straight, round, and 
 regularly tapering. The bark is thin, of a dark colour, and 
 much divided by small longitudinal interstices : that of the 
 boughs and of young trees is somewhat smooth, but less 
 so than that of the balsam fir. The wood is white, very 
 soft, but difiicult to rive : the trunk is a simple, branching, 
 diffuse stem, not so prohferous as the pines and firs usu- 
 ally are. It puts forth buds from the sides of the small 
 boughs as well as from their extremities, and the stem 
 terminates, like the cedar, in a slender pointed top. The 
 leaves are petiolate, their footstalks being short, acerose, 
 and rather more than half a line in width, while the leaves 
 themselves are very unequal in length, the longest seldom 
 exceeding one inch, while others, intermixed on every part 
 of the bough, are not more than a quarter of an inch. The 
 leaf has a small longitudinal channel on the upper disk, 
 ivhich is of a deep glossy green, while the under disk is 
 )f a whitish green : the wood yields but little resin. The 
 ;one is not longer than the end of a man's thumb ; it is 
 soft, flexible, of an ovate form, and produced at the ends 
 of the small twigs. 
 
 ;^.The third species resembles in all points the Canadian 
 balsam fir : it grows from two and a half to four feet in 
 diameter, and rises to the height of eighty or a hundred 
 feet. The stem is simple, branching, and proliferous : ita 
 
APPENDIX. 373 
 
 leaves are sessile, acerose, one eighth of an inch in length, 
 and one sixteenth in breadth, thickly scattered on the 
 twigs, and adhering to the under sides only ; gibbous, a 
 little declining, obtusely pointed, soft, and flexible. The 
 upper disk is marked longitudinally with a slight channel 
 of a deep glossy green ; the under one is of a pale green, 
 and not glossy. This tree affords considerable quantities 
 of a fine aromatic balsam, resembling the balsam of Can- 
 ada in taste and appearance. The small pistils, when fill- 
 ed, rise like a blister on the trunk and branches. The 
 bark that envelops these pistils is soft, and easily punc- 
 tured. The general appearance of the bark is dark and 
 smooth, but less so than that of the white pine of our 
 country. The wood is white and soft. 
 
 The fourth species in size resembles the second. The 
 stem is simple, branching, ascending, and proliferous : the 
 bark is of a reddish dark brown, thicker than that of the 
 third species, and divided by longitudinal interstices, not 
 so large as in the second species. The leaves are placed 
 like those of the balsam fir, but are only two thirds as wide, 
 and of little more than half their length, nor is the upper 
 disk as green and glossy. The wood yields no balsam, 
 and but little resin ; it is white and tough, although rather 
 porous. 
 
 The fifth species is also of about the same size as the 
 second, and has a trunk simple, branching, and prolifer- 
 ous. The bark is thin, of a dark brown colour, divided 
 longitudinally by interstices, and scales off in thin rolling 
 flakes: it yields but little balsam. Two thirds of the diame- 
 ter of the trunk in the centre presents a reddish white, and 
 the remainder is white, porous, and tough. The twigs are 
 much longer and more slender than in either of the other 
 species : the leaves are acerose, one twentieth of an inch 
 in width, and one inch in length ; sessile, inserted on all 
 sides of the bough, straight, and obliquely pointing towards 
 the extremities. The upper disk has a small longitudinal 
 channel, is of a deep green, and not so glossy as in the 
 balsam fir. The under disk is of a pale green. 
 
 We have seen a species of this fir on low marshy grounds, 
 resembling in all points the foregoing, except that it branch- 
 es more diffusely. This tree is generally about thirtj 
 feet in height and two in diameter. The diffuseness of 
 
374 APPENDIX. 
 
 its branches may result from its open situation, as it sel- 
 dom grows in the neighbourhood of other trees. The cone 
 :s two and a half inches in length, and three and three 
 quarters round in its greatest circumference. It tapers 
 regularly to a point, and is formed of imbricated scales, of 
 a bluntly-rounded form. A thin leaf is inserted in the pith 
 of the cone, which overlays the centre of, and extends half 
 an inch beyond, the point of each scale. 
 
 The sixth species does not differ from what is called the 
 white pine in Virginia, except in the unusual length of its 
 cone, which is sometimes sixteen or eighteen inches long, 
 and about four in circumference. It grows on the north 
 side of the Columbia, near the ocean. 
 
 The seventh and last species is found in low grounds, 
 and in places frequently overflowed by the tide, seldom ri- 
 sing higher than thirty-five feet, and not being more than 
 from two and a half to four feet in diameter. The stem 
 is simple, branching, and proliferous ; and the bark resem- 
 bles that of the first species, though more rugged. The 
 leaves are acerose, two tenths of an inch in width, and 
 three fourths in length, firm, stiff, and a little acuminated : 
 they end in short, pointed tendrils, gibbous, and thickly 
 scattered on all sides of the branch, though adhering only 
 to the three under sides : those inserted beneath incline 
 sidewise, with upward points, presenting the leaf in the 
 shape of a scythe ; while the others are pointing upward, 
 sessile, and, like those of the first species, grow from small 
 triangular pedestals of a spongy, soft, and elastic bark. 
 The under disk is of a deep glossy green, the upper of a 
 pale whitish green. The boughs retain leaves of six years' 
 growth : the bud scales resemble those of the first species. 
 The cone is of an ovate figure, three and a half inches in 
 length, and three in circumference, thickest in the middle, 
 tapering, and terminating in two obtuse points : it is com- 
 posed of small, flexible scales, imbricated, and of a reddish 
 brown colour. Each scale covers two small seeds, and is 
 itself covered in the centre by a small, thin, inferior scale, 
 acutely pointed : these scales proceed from the sides of 
 the boughs as well as from their extremities. This tree 
 was nowhere to be seen above the Wappatoo. 
 
 The stem of the black alder arrives to a great size. It 
 is simple, branching, and diffuse : the bark is smooth, of a 
 
APPENDIX. «375 
 
 lieht colour, with white spreading spots, resembhng those 
 ot the beech; and the leaf, fructification, &c., resemble 
 precisely those of the common alder of our country. They 
 grow separately from different roots, and not m clusters, 
 hke those of the United States. The black alder does not 
 cast its leaf until the 1st of December. It is sometimes 
 found growing to the height of sixty or seventy feet, and 
 from two to four feet in diameter. 
 
 There is a tree growing along the Columbia, below the 
 entrance of Cataract River, which, when divested of its 
 foliacre much resembles the ash. The trunk is simple, 
 branching, and diffuse ; the leaf petiolate, plain, divided by 
 four deep Unes, similar to that of the pahn, and considera- 
 bly lobate ; the lobes terminating in from three to five an- 
 gular points, and their margins being indented with irregu- 
 lar and somewhat circular incisures. The petiole is cy- 
 lindrical, smooth, and seven inches long, and the leaf it- 
 self eight inches in length, and twelve in breadth. This 
 tree is frequently three feet in diameter, and rises from 
 forty to fifty feet : its fruit is a winged seed, somewhat re- 
 sembling that of the maple. 
 
 In the same part of the country there is a tree resem- 
 bling the white maple, though much smaUer, and seldom 
 of more than six or seven inches in diameter. These trees 
 grow in clusters, from fifteen to twenty feet m height, from 
 the same bed of roots, spreading and leaning outward. 
 The twigs are long and slender ; the stem is simple and 
 branching ; the bark resembles in colour that of the white 
 maple : the leaf is petiolate, plain, scattered, nearly circu- 
 lar, with acute angular incisures round the margin, of an 
 inch in length, and from six to eight in number ; the acute 
 angular points being crenate, three inches in length and 
 four in width. The petiole is cylindric, smooth, and an 
 inch and a quarter in length : the fruit was not seen. 
 
 . The undergrowth consists of the honeysuckle, the alder, 
 the seven bark, or, as it is called in the United States, nine 
 bark, the whortleberry, a shrub like the quiUwood, a plant 
 resembhng the mountain-hoUy, the green brier, and the fern. 
 
 The honeysuckle common in the United States we found 
 about the mouth of the Columbia, having first discovered 
 it on the waters of the Kooskooskee, near the country of 
 the Chopunnish, and afterward below the Grand Rapids. 
 II.— F F 
 
376 APPENDIX. 
 
 An alder resembling that of our country we found alsn 
 in great abundance in the woodlands on the west side of 
 the Rocky Mountains. It differs, however, in the colour 
 of its berry, which is of a pale sky blue, whereas that of 
 the United States is of a deep purple. 
 
 The seven bark, which is the same as the nine bark of 
 the United States, is also common here. 
 
 There is a species of whortleberry here, found on the 
 highlands from the Columbia Valley to the seacoast, rising 
 to the height of six or eight feet, branching and diffuse. 
 The stem is cylindrical, and of a dark brown colour ; the 
 collateral branches being green, smooth, and square, and 
 putting forth a number of alternate branches of the same 
 colour from the two horizontal sides only. The fruit is a 
 small deep purple berry, held in much esteem by the na- 
 tives. The leaf is of a pale green, three fourths of an inch 
 in length, and three eighths in width ; oval, and terminating 
 more acutely at the apex than at the insertion of the foot- 
 stalk ; the base nearly entire, and but slightly serrate : the 
 footstalks are short ; their relative position being alternate, 
 two-rowed, and proceeding from the horizontal sides of the 
 boughs only. 
 
 There are two species of shrubs, which were first seen 
 at the Grand Rapids of the Columbia, and afterward else- 
 where, growing in rich dry grounds, usually in the neigh- 
 bourhood of some watercourse. The roots are creeping 
 and cylindrical : the stem of the first species is from a foot 
 to eighteen inches in height, and about as large as an or- 
 dinary goosequill ; simple, unbranched, and erect. Its 
 leaves are cauline, compound, and spreading ; the leaflets 
 being jointed, oppositely pinnate, three paired, terminating 
 in one footstalk, widest at the base, and tapering to an 
 acuminate point. They are an inch and a quarter in their 
 greatest width, and three inches and a quarter in length ; 
 each point of the margin being armed with a subulate 
 thorn, of which there are from thirteen to seventeen in 
 number. They are veined, glossy, carinate, and vnrinkled, 
 their points tending obliquely towards the common foot- 
 stalk. 
 
 The stem of the second species is procumbent, about 
 the size of that of the first species, jointed and unbranch- 
 ed. Its leaves are cauline, compound, and oppositely pin- 
 
APPENDIX. 377 
 
 nate; the rib beiri? frcm fourteen to sixteen inches in 
 lengthf cylindric, and smooth. The leaflets are two inches 
 and a half long, o^je inch wide, and of the greatest breadth 
 half an inch from the base, which they regularly surround, 
 and taper from it to an acute apex, usually terminated by 
 a small subulate thorn. They are jointed and oppositely 
 pinnate, consisting of six pairs, and terminating in one ; 
 sessile, serrate, and ending in a small subulate point, of 
 which there are from twenty-five to twenty-seven in all. 
 They are smooth, plain, of a deep green, and all obliquely 
 tending towards the footstalk, and retain their colour 
 through the winter. 
 
 The green brier grows most abundantly in rich dry 
 lands in the vicinity of water-courses, but is also found in 
 small quantities in pine lands at a distance from water. 
 In the former situation the stem is frequently of the size 
 of a man's finger, and rises perpendicularly four or five 
 feet ; it then descends in an arch, becoming procumbent, 
 or resting on some neighbouring plant : it is simple, un- 
 branched, and cylindrio ; and in the last-mentioned situation 
 it grows much smaller, and is usually procumbent. The 
 stem is armed with sharp, forked briers ; the leaf is peti- 
 olate, ternate, and resembles in shape and appearance that 
 of the purple raspberry, so common in the Atlantic States. 
 The fruit is a berry resembling in all respects the black- 
 berry ; and it is eaten when ripe by the natives, who hold 
 it in much esteem, although they do not dry it for winter 
 consumption. This shrub was first discovered at the en- 
 trance of Quicksand River ; and it grows so abundantly 
 in the fertile valley of the Columbia and on the islands, 
 that the country is almost impenetrable. It retains its 
 verdure until late in the summer. 
 
 Besides the fern already described as furnishing a nutri- 
 tious root, there are two other plants of the same species, 
 v-hich may be divided into the large and the small. The 
 large fern rises three or four feet : the stem is a common 
 footstalk, proceeding immediately from the radix, some- 
 what flat, about the size of a man's arm, covered with in 
 iiumerabie black, coarse, capillary radicles, issuing from 
 every part of its surface ; and a single root sends forth 
 from twenty to forty of these footstalks, bending out 
 ward from the common centre. The ribs are cylindric. 
 
378 APPENDIX. 
 
 their whole length being marked longitudinally with a 
 groove on the upper side ; and on either side of this groove, 
 a little below its edge, the leaflets are inserted. These 
 are shortly petiolate for about two thirds the length of the 
 middle rib, commencing from the bottom, and from thence 
 to the extremity are sessile: the rib is terminated by a 
 single undivided lanceolate leaflet from two to four inches 
 in length, having a small acute angular projection oblique- 
 ly cut at the base. The upper surface is smooth, and of a 
 deep green ; the under of a pale green, and covered with 
 a brown protuberance of a woolly appearance, particularly 
 near the central fibre. The leaflets are alternately pinnate, 
 and in number from one hundred and ten to one hundred 
 and forty : they are shortest at the two extremities of the 
 common footstalk, largest in the centre, gradually length- 
 ening, and diminishing as they succeed each other. 
 
 The small fern likewise rises in common footstalks from 
 the radix, from four to eight in number, and from four to 
 eight inches in length. The central rib is marked with a 
 slight longitudinal groove throughout its whole length : the 
 leaflets are oppositely pinnate for about one third of the 
 length of the footstalk from the bottom, and thence alter- 
 nately pinnate. The footstalk terminates in a simple undi- 
 vided lanceolate leaflet, which is oblong, obtuse, convex, 
 entire, and has its upper disk marked with a slight longitu- 
 dinal groove : near the upper extremity these leaflets are 
 decursively pinnate, as are all those of the large fern. 
 Both these species remain green through the winter. 
 
ENUMERATION OF INDIAN NATIONS, 
 
 AND 
 
 THEIR PLACES OF GENERAL RESIDENCE. 
 
 1. The Shoshonee nation — residing in the spring and 
 summer on the west fork of Lewis's River, a branch of 
 the Columbia, and in the fall and winter on the Missouri ; 
 sixty lodges, eight hundred souls. 
 
 2. The Ootlashoot tribe of the Tushepah nation — resi- 
 ding in the spring and summer on Clarke's River, within 
 the Rocky Mountains, and in the fall and winter on the 
 Missouri and its tributary waters : thirty-three lodges, four 
 hundred souls. 
 
 3. The Chopunnish nation — residing on the Kooskoos- 
 kee River below the Forks, and on Colter's Creek, and 
 sometimes passing over to the Missouri : thirty-three 
 lodges, two thousand souls. 
 
 4. The Pelloatpallah band of the Chopunnish — residing 
 on the Kooskooskee above the forks, and on the small 
 streams which fall into that river west of the Rocky 
 Mountains and the Chopunnish River, and sometimes 
 passing over to the Missouri : thirty-three lodges, sixteen 
 hundred souls. 
 
 5. The Kimooenim band of the Chopunnish — residing 
 on Lewis's River, above the entrance of the Kooskooskee, 
 as high up that river as the Forks : thirty- three lodges, 
 eight hundred souls. 
 
 6. The Yeletpo band of the Chopunnish — residing along 
 the southwest mountains, on a small river which falls into 
 Lewis's River above the entrance of the Kooskooskee, 
 which they call Weaucum : thirty-three lodges, two hun- 
 dred and fifty souls. 
 
 7. The Willewah band of the Chopunnish — residing oo 
 
580 APPENDIX. 
 
 a river of the same name, which discharges itself ini' 
 Lewis's River on the southwest side, below the Forks c 
 that river : thirty-three lodges, live hundred souls. 
 
 8. The Soy ennom band of the Chopunnish — residing ok 
 the north side of the east fork of Lewis's River, from it 
 junction to the Rocky Mountains, and on Lamaltar Creek 
 thirty-three lodges, four hundred souls. 
 
 9. The Chopunnish of Lewis's River — residing belo^vr 
 the entrance of the Kooskooskee, on either side of that rivet 
 to its junction with the Columbia : forty lodges, two thou- 
 sand three hundred souls. 
 
 10. The Sokulk nation — residing on the Columbia above 
 the entrance of Lewis's River, as high up as the entrance 
 of Clarke's River : one hundred and twenty lodges, two 
 thousand four hundred souls. 
 
 11. The Chimnahpums — residing on the northwest side 
 of the Columbia, both above and below the entrance of 
 Lewis's River, and on the Tapteal River, which falls into 
 the Columbia fifteen miles above Lewis's River : forty two 
 lodges, one thousand eight hundred and sixty souls, 
 
 12. The Wollawollah nation — residing on both sides of 
 the Columbia, from the entrance of Lewis's River as low 
 as the Muscleshell Rapid, and in winter passing over to 
 the Tapteal River : forty-six lodges, one thousand six hun- 
 dred souls. 
 
 13. The Pishquitpah nation — ^residing at the Muscleshell 
 Rapid, and on the north side of the Columbia to the com- 
 mencement of the high country ; wintering on the borders 
 of the Tapteal River : seventy-one lodges, two thousand 
 six hundred souls. 
 
 14. The Wahowpum nation — residing on the north 
 branch of the Columbia, in different bands, from the Pish- 
 quitpahs as low as the River Lepage, and wintering on the 
 banks of Tapteal and Cataract Rivers : thirty-three lodges, 
 seven hundred souls. 
 
 15. The Eneeshur nation — residing at the upper part o< 
 the Great Narrows of the Columbia on either side : forty- 
 one lodges, twelve hundred souls. 
 
 16. The Echeloot nation — also residing at the uppei 
 part of the Great Narrows of the Columbia, on the north 
 side of which is the great mart for all the couptry ; twen 
 ty-one lodges, one thousand souls. 
 
APPENDIX. 381 
 
 17. The Chilluckittequaw nation — lesiding next below 
 the Narrows, and extending down on the north side of the 
 Columbia to the River Labiche : thirty-two lodges, fourteen 
 hundred souls. 
 
 18. The Smackshop band of the Chilluckittequaws — re- 
 siding on the Columbia River, on each side of the entrarce 
 of the Labiche, to the neighbourhood of the Grand Rapids 
 of that river : twenty-four lodges, eight hundred souls. 
 
 19. The Shahala nation — residing at the Grand Rapids 
 of the Columbia, and extending down in different villages 
 as low as the Multnomah River, consisting of the follow- 
 ing tribes : viz., the Yehhuhs, above the Rapids ; the Clah- 
 clellahs, below the Rapids ; the Wahclellahs, below all the 
 rapids ; and the Neerchokioos (one house, one hundred 
 lodges), on the south side, a few miles above the Multno- 
 mah River : altogether, sixty-two houses, two thousand 
 eight hundred souls. 
 
 The Wappatoo Indians, viz. : 
 
 20. The Nechacokee tribe — residing on the south side 
 of the Columbia, a few miles below Quicksand River, and 
 opposite Diamond Island : one lodge, one hundred souls. 
 
 The Shoto tribe — residing on the north side of the Co- 
 lumbia, back of a pond, and nearly opposite to the entrance 
 of the Multnomah River : eight lodges, four hundred and 
 sixty souls. 
 
 The Multnomah tribe — ^residing on Wappatoo Island, at 
 the mouth of the Multnomah, the remains of a large na- 
 tion : six lodges, eight hundred souls. 
 
 The Clahnahquah tribe of the Multnomahs — residing on 
 Wappatoo Island, below the Multnomahs : four lodges, one 
 hundred and thirty souls. 
 
 The Nemalquinner tribe of the Multnomahs — residing 
 on the northeast side of the Multnomah River, three milea 
 above its mouth : four lodges, two hundred souls. 
 
 The Cathlacomatups, a tribe of the Multnomahs — re- 
 siding on the south side of Wappatoo Island, at a bend o< 
 the Multnomah : three lodges, one hundred and seventy 
 souls. 
 
 The Caliiianahquiahs^ a tribe of the Multnomahs — resi> 
 ding on the southwest side of Wappatoo Island: six 
 lodges, four hundred souls. 
 
382 APPENDIX. 
 
 The Claukstar nation — residing on a small river which 
 discharges itself on the southwest side of Wappatoo Isl- 
 and : twenty-eight lodges, one thousand two hundred souls. 
 
 The Claninnatas — residing on the southwest side of 
 Wappatoo Island : five lodges, two hundred souls. 
 
 The Cathlacumups — residing on the main shore, south- 
 west of Wappatoo Island : six lodges, four hundred and 
 fifty souls. 
 
 The Clannahminamuns — residing on the southwest side 
 of Wappatoo Island : twelve lodges, two hundred and 
 eighty souls. 
 
 The Quathlapotle nation — residing on the southwest 
 side of the Columbia, above the entrance of Towahna- 
 hiook River, opposite the lower point of Wappatoo Island : 
 fourteen lodges, nine hundred souls. 
 
 The Cathlamahs — residing on a creek which falls into 
 the Columbia on the north side, at the lower part of the 
 Columbian Valley : ten lodges, two hundred souls. 
 
 21. The Skilloot nation — residing in different villages 
 on both sides of the Columbia, from the lower part of the 
 Columbian Valley to Sturgeon Island, and on either side 
 of the Coweliske River : fifty lodges, two thousand five 
 hundred souls. 
 
 The Hullooetells also reside on the Coweliske. 
 
 22. The Wahkiacums — residing on the north side of the 
 Columbia, opposite to the Marshy Islands : eleven lodges, 
 two hundred souls. 
 
 23. The Cathlamahs — residing on the south side of the 
 Columbia, opposite to the Sea Islands : nine lodges, three 
 hundred souls. 
 
 24. The Chinnooks — residing on the north side of the 
 Columbia, at the entrance of and on the Chinnook River : 
 twenty-eight lodges, four hundred souls. 
 
 25. The Clatsop nation — residing on the south side of 
 the Columbia, and a few miles along the southeast coast, 
 on both sides of Point Adams : fourteen lodges, two hun 
 dred souls. 
 
 26. The Killamuck nation — residing from the Clatsopg 
 of the coast along the southeast coast for many miles : 
 fifty lodges, one thousand souls. . 
 
APPENDIX. 383 
 
 Nations speaking the Killamuck Language, concerning which 
 we obtained the following information from the Indians. 
 
 27. The Lucktons — residing on the seacoast to the 
 southwest of the Killamucks : twenty souls. 
 
 The Kahuncles — residing on the seacoast southwest of 
 the Lucktons : four hundred souls. 
 
 The Lukawis — residing on the seacoast to the south- 
 southeast : a large town, eight hundred souls. 
 
 The Youikcones — residing on the seacoast to the south- 
 southeast : large houses, seven hundred souls. 
 
 The Necketoos — residing on the seacoast to the south- 
 southeast : a large town, seven hundred souls. 
 
 The Ulseahs — residing on the seacoast to the south 
 southeast : a small town, one hundred and fifty souls. 
 
 The Youitts — residing on the seacoast to the south- 
 southeast : a small town, one hundred and fifty souls. 
 
 The Sheastuckles — residing on the seacoast to the south- 
 east of the Lucktons : a large town, nine hundred souls. 
 
 The Killawats — ^residing on the seacoast to the south- 
 east of the Lucktons : a large town, five hundred souls. 
 
 28. The Cookkoo-oose nation — residing on the seacoast 
 to the south of the Killawats : one thousand five hundred 
 souls. 
 
 The Sahlalah nation — residing on the seacoast to the 
 south of the Killawats : fifteen hundred souls. 
 
 The Luckaso nation — residing on the same, to the 
 south : twelve hundred souls. 
 
 The Hannakalal nation — residing on the same, to the 
 south : six hundred souls. 
 
 Indians along the Coast to the Northwest. 
 
 29. The Killaxthocles — residing on the seacoast from 
 the Chinnooks to the north-northwest : eight lodges, one 
 hundred souls. 
 
 The Chiltz nation — residing from the Killaxthocles to 
 the north-northwest : thirty-eight lodges, seven hundred 
 souls. 
 
 The Clamoitomish — residing from the Chiltz to the 
 north-northwest : twelve lodges, two hundred and sixty 
 souls. 
 
384 iiPPENDIX. 
 
 The Potoashees — residing on the coast northwestward 
 of the Clamoitomish : ten lodges, two hundred souls. 
 
 The Pailsh tribe — residing northwest of the Potoashees • 
 ten lodges, two hundred souls. 
 
 The Quinults — residing northwest of the Pailsh : sixtj 
 lodges, one thousand souls. 
 
 The Quieetsos — residing northwest of the Quinults.- 
 eighteen lodges, two hundred and fifty souls. 
 
 The Chillates — residing northwest of the Quieetsos, 
 along the coast : eight lodges, one hundred and fifty souls. 
 
 The Calasthocles — residing northwest of the Chillates, 
 along the same coast : ten lodges, two hundred souls. 
 
 The Quinnechant nation — residing on the seacoast and 
 a creek, north and northwest of the Calasthocles : two 
 thousand souls. 
 
 30. The Clarkamus nation — residing on a large river of 
 the same name, which heads in Mount Jefferson, and dis- 
 charges itself into the Multnomah forty miles up that river 
 on its northeast side : this nation has several villages on 
 either side, and numbers eighteen hundred souls. 
 
 31. The Cushooks — residing on the northeast bank of 
 the Multnomah, immediately below the Falls of that river, 
 and about sixty miles above its entrance iiito the Colum- 
 bia : six hundred and fifty souls. 
 
 32. The Charcowah nation — residing on the southwest 
 bank of the Multnomah, immediately above the Falls : two 
 hundred souls. 
 
 33. The Callahpoewah nation — inhabiting the country 
 on both sides of the Multnomah, above the Charcowahs for 
 a great extent : two thousand souls. 
 
 34. The Shoshonees, or Snake Indians — residing in the 
 fall and winter on the Multnomah River, southward of the 
 Southwest Mountains, and in spring and summer near the 
 heads of the Towahnahiooks, Lepage, Yaumalolam, and 
 Wollawollah Rivers, and especially at the Falls of the 
 Towahnahiooks, for the purpose of fishing : three thousand 
 souls. 
 
 35. The Shoshonees on the Multnomah and its tributary 
 waters — their particular places of residence we could not 
 ascertain from the Indians on the Columbia : six thousand 
 souls. 
 
 36. The Shobarboobeer band of Shoshonees — residing 
 
APPENDIX. 385 
 
 on the southwest side of the Multnomah, high up that 
 river : one thousand six hundred souls. 
 
 37. The Shoshonees residing on the south fork of Lew- 
 is's River, and on the Nemo, Walshlemo, Shallette, Shush- 
 pellanimmo, Shecomshink, Timmoonumlarwas, and Cop- 
 coppakark Rivers, branches of the south fork of Lewis's 
 River : three thousand souls. 
 
 We saw Parts of the following Tribes at the Long Narrows : 
 
 38. The Skaddal nation — residing on Cataract River, 
 twenty-five miles north of the Big Narrows : two hundred 
 souls. 
 
 The Squannaroos — residing on Cataract River below 
 the Skaddals : one hundred and twenty souls. 
 
 The Shallattoos — residing on Cataract River above the 
 Skaddals : one hundred souls. 
 
 The Shanwappoms — residing at the heads of the Cata- 
 ract and Tapteal Rivers : four hundred souls. 
 
 39. The Cutsahnim nation — residing on both sid««rof 
 the Columbia, above the Sokulks, on the northern branch- 
 es of the Tapteal River, and also on the Wahnaschee : 
 sixty lodges, one thousand two hundred souls. 
 
 The Lahanna nation — residing on both sides of the Co- 
 lumbia, above the entrance of Clarke's River : ope hundred 
 and twenty lodges, two thousand souls. \ 
 
 The Coospellar nation — residing on a river which falls 
 into the Columbia to the north of Clarke's River : thirty 
 lodges, one thousand six hundred souls. 
 
 The Wheelpoo nation — residing on both sides of Clarke's 
 River, from the entrance of the Lastaw to the Great Falls 
 of the first-named river : one hundred and thirty lodges, 
 two thousand five hundred souls. 
 
 The Hihigheninmio nation — residing from the entrance 
 of the Lastaw into Clarke's River, on both sides of the 
 former as high as the Forks : forty-five lodges, one thou- 
 sand three hundred souls. 
 
 The Lartielo nation — residing at the Falls of the Lastaw 
 River, below the Great Wayton Lake, on both sides of the 
 river : thirty lodges, six hundred souls. 
 
 The Skeetsomish nation — residing on a small river of 
 the same name, which discharges itself into the Lastaw 
 
386 APPENDIX. 
 
 below the Falls, around the Wayton Lake, and oh two 
 islands in that lake : twelve lodges, two thousand souls. 
 
 The Micksucksealton tribe of the Tushepahs — resi- 
 ding on Clarke's River, above the Great Falls of that river, 
 in the Rocky Mountains : twenty-five lodges, three hun- 
 dred souls. 
 
 The Hohilpos, a tribe of the Tushepahs — residing on 
 Clarke's River above the Micksucksealtons, in the Rocky 
 Mountains : twenty-five lodges, three hundred souls. 
 
 The Tushepah nation — residing on a north fork of 
 Clarke's River in spring and summer, and in the fall and 
 winter on the Missouri, the Ootlashoots being a band of 
 this nation : thirty-five lodges, four hundred and thirty 
 souls. 
 
 Estimated number of Indians west of the Rocky Mount- 
 ains, 80,000.* 
 
 * Of the tribes occupying the tipper part of the Oregon Territory, Mr. 
 Parker numbers the Shoshonees at 10,000 ; the Nez-Perc^s, 2500 ; the 
 Cayuses, 2000 ; the WoUawollahs, 500 ; the Paloos'S, along the Pavilion 
 River, 300 ; the Spokains, northeast of the Palooses, 800 ; the CcRur 
 d'Aldne Indians, 700 ; the Flatheads, to the east and southeast, 800 ; the 
 Pondecas, north of Clarke's River, and on a lake of the name of the tribe, 
 2200 ; the Cootanies, along M'Gillivray's River, 1000 ; the Canices, north 
 of the Cootanies, 4000 ; the Lake Indians on the Arrow Lakes, 500 , Ket- 
 tle Falls' Indians, 560 ; the Sinpaivelish, 1000; the Okinagans, at the 
 west and northwest, 1050 : of other tribes, wanting the active anil manly 
 spirit which he ascribes to the above named, this traveller does not give 
 the numbers. The whole number of those enumerated he estimates at 
 about 32,000, without including the Falls and La Dalle Indians, and 
 other tribes north and south of the Falls, which would, he tliinks, mora 
 than double that number. 
 
A SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
 OF THE 
 RIVERS, CREEKS, AND MOST REMARKABLE PLACES, 
 
 THEIR DISTANCES FROM EACH OTHER AND FROM THE MISSISSIPPI, Vt 
 THE MISSOURI, ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, AND DOWN THE CO- 
 LUMBIA TO THE PACIFIC OCEAN, AS DETERMINED BY CAPTAINS 
 LEWIS AND CLARKE. 
 
 To the Village of St. Charles 
 " Osage-Woman's River 
 
 Charette's Village and Creek 
 
 Shepherd's Creek 
 
 Gasconade River . 
 
 Muddy River 
 
 Grand Osage River 
 
 Murrow Creek 
 
 Cedar Island and Creek 
 
 Leadmine Hill 
 
 Manitou Creek 
 
 Split-Rock Creek , 
 
 Saline or Salt River 
 
 Manitou River 
 
 Good- Woman's River 
 
 Mine River . 
 
 Arrow Prairie 
 
 Two Charleton Rivers 
 
 Ancient village of the Missouri nation, 
 
 near which place Fort Orleans stood 
 
 Grand River .... 
 
 Snake Creek .... 
 
 Ancient village of the Little Osages 
 
 Tiger's Island and Creek 
 
 Hubert's Island and Creek . 
 
 <4 
 
 « 
 
 it 
 « 
 
 
 it 
 
 (i 
 
 (t 
 
 (( 
 
 (( 
 
 i( 
 
 Total 
 Distance. 
 
 21 : 21 
 
 20 
 
 27 
 
 15 
 
 17 
 
 15 
 
 18 
 
 5 
 
 7 
 
 9 
 
 8 
 
 8 
 
 3 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 9 
 
 6 
 
 14 
 
 4 
 
 6 
 
 10 
 
 20 
 
 13 
 
 41 
 68 
 83 
 100 
 115 
 133 
 138 
 145 
 154 
 163 
 170 
 173 
 183 
 191 
 200 
 206 
 220 
 
 16 ; 2-36 
 
 240 
 
 246 
 256 
 
 276 
 288 
 
388 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 « 
 
 
 
 « 
 
 « 
 
 
 « 
 
 (( 
 
 t( 
 
 « 
 
 
 r< 
 
 it 
 
 ii 
 
 To the Fire-Prairie Creek 
 " Fort Point . 
 
 Hay- Cabin Creek . 
 
 Coal Bank . 
 
 Bluewater River 
 
 Kanzas River 
 
 Little Platte River 
 
 First old Kanzas village 
 
 Independence Creek, a mile below the 
 second old Kanzas village . 
 
 St. Michael's Prairie 
 
 Nodawa River 
 
 Wolf or Loup River 
 
 Big Nemaha River 
 
 Tarkio Creek 
 
 Neeshnabatona River 
 
 Little Nemaha River 
 
 Baldpated Prairie, the Neeshnabatona 
 within 150 yards of the Missouri 
 
 Weeping-water Creek . 
 
 River Platte, or Shoal River 
 
 Butterfly or Papillon Creek . 
 
 Moscheto Creek .... 
 
 Ancient village of the Ottoes 
 
 Ancient Ayaways' village, below a bluff, 
 on the northeast side 
 
 Bowyer's River . 
 
 Council Bluffs (estabhshment) 
 
 Soldier's River 
 
 Eaneahwaudepon, or Little Sioux River 
 
 Waucarde, or Bad-Spirit Creek 
 
 Around a bend of the river to the north- 
 east, the gorge of which is only 974 
 yards 
 
 Island three miles northeast of the Maha 
 village 
 
 Floyd's Bluff and River 
 
 Big Sioux River 
 
 Commencement of the Copperas, Cobalt, 
 Pyrites, and Alum Bluffs . 
 
 Hot or Burning Bluffs .... 
 
 Whitestone River . . . . 
 
 ] 
 . 12 
 
 Total 
 
 distance. 
 
 : 300 
 
 . 6 
 
 : 306 
 
 . 6 
 
 : 312 
 
 . 9 
 
 : 321 
 
 . 10 
 
 : 331 
 
 . 9 
 
 : 340 
 
 . 9 
 
 : 349 
 
 . 28 
 
 : 377 
 
 [ 28 
 
 : 405 
 
 . 25 
 
 : 430 
 
 . 20 
 
 : 450 
 
 . 14 
 
 : 464 
 
 . 16 
 
 : 480 
 
 . 3 
 
 : 483 
 
 . 25 
 
 : 508 
 
 . 8 
 
 : 516 
 
 '. 23 
 
 : 539 
 
 . 29 
 
 : 568 
 
 . 32 
 
 : 600 
 
 . 3 
 
 : 603 
 
 . 7 
 
 : 610 
 
 : ^^ 
 
 : 621 
 
 '. 6 
 
 ; 627 
 
 . 11 
 
 : 638 
 
 . 12 
 
 : 650 
 
 . 39 
 
 : 689 
 
 r 44 
 
 : 733 
 
 . 55 
 
 : 788 
 
 it 
 
 21 : 809 
 
 27 : 836 
 
 14 : 850 
 
 3 : 853 
 
 27 : 880 
 
 30 : 910 
 
 8 : 918 
 
APPENDIX. 389 
 
 To the Petit-Arc, an old Maha village at the 
 mouth of Littlebow Creek 
 
 " Jacques, or James's River . 
 
 " Calumet Bluff (mineral) 
 
 " Ancient fortification, Goodman's Island 
 
 " Plum Creek 
 
 " Whitepoint Creek .... 
 
 ** Qiiicurre ...... 
 
 " Poncar River and village . 
 
 " Dome and village of the burrowing 
 squirrels 
 
 " Island of cedars 
 
 " White River 
 
 " Three Rivers of the Sioux Pass . 
 
 " Island at the commencement of the 
 Big Bend 
 
 " Upper part of the Big Bend, the gorge 
 of which is 1| miles 
 
 « Tyler's River 
 
 " Loisel's Fort on Cedar Island 
 
 " Teton River 
 
 " The upper one of five old Ricara villa- 
 ges, reduced by the Sioux and aban- 
 doned ...... 
 
 " Chayenne River .... 
 
 " An old Ricara village on Lahoocat's 
 Island 
 
 " Sarwarkama River .... 
 
 " Wetarhoo River .... 
 
 " The first Ricara village on an island . 
 
 " Second Ricara three villages 
 
 " Stone-Idol Creek .... 
 
 " Warreconne River .... 
 
 " Cannonball River .... 
 
 " Chesschetar River, near six old Man- 
 dan villages 
 
 " Old Ricara and Mandan villages 
 
 " Fort Mandan (wintering post of 1804) 
 
 " Mandan villages on either side . 
 
 " Knife River, on which, and near its 
 mouth, are the two Minnetaree and 
 Maha villages 2 : 1606 
 
 
 Totil 
 
 
 Distance. 
 
 20 
 
 938 
 
 12 
 
 950 
 
 10 
 
 960 
 
 16 
 
 976 
 
 10 
 
 986 
 
 8 
 
 994 
 
 6 
 
 : 1000 
 
 10 
 
 1010 
 
 20 
 
 : 1030 
 
 45 
 
 : 1075 
 
 55 
 
 : 1130 
 
 22 
 
 : 1152 
 
 20 
 
 1172 
 
 30 
 
 : 1202 
 
 6 
 
 : 1208 
 
 18 
 
 : 1226 
 
 37 
 
 : 1263 
 
 42 
 
 : 1305 
 
 5 
 
 : 1310 
 
 47 
 
 : 1357 
 
 40 
 
 : 1397 
 
 25 
 
 : 1422 
 
 4 
 
 : 1426 
 
 4 
 
 : 1430 
 
 18 
 
 : 1448 
 
 40 
 
 : 1488 
 
 12 
 
 ; 1500 
 
 40 
 
 : 1540 
 
 40 
 
 : 1580 
 
 20 
 
 : 1600 
 
 4 
 
 : 1604 
 
3yu 
 
 APPENDIX. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Total 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Distance. 
 
 To the Island 
 
 
 
 11 
 
 : 1617 
 
 <( 
 
 Miry River 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 : 1633 
 
 « 
 
 Island in the Little Basin 
 
 
 
 28 
 
 : 1661 
 
 « 
 
 Little Missouri River . 
 
 
 
 29 
 
 : 1690 
 
 (i 
 
 Wild Onion Creek 
 
 
 
 12 
 
 : 1702 
 
 « 
 
 Goose-Egg Lake 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 : 1711 
 
 « 
 
 Chaboneau's Creek . 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 : 1727 
 
 u 
 
 Goatpen Creek . 
 
 
 
 16 
 
 : 1743 
 
 ti 
 
 Hall's Strand, Lake, and Creek . 
 
 
 47 
 
 : 1790 
 
 <{ 
 
 Whiteearth River 
 
 • • 
 
 
 50 
 
 : 1840 
 
 «( 
 
 Rochejaune, or Yellowstone River 
 
 
 40 
 
 : 1880 
 
 (( 
 
 Martha's River . 
 
 
 
 60 
 
 : 1940 
 
 (( 
 
 Porcupine River 
 
 
 
 50 
 
 : 1990 
 
 « 
 
 Little Dry Creek 
 
 
 
 40 
 
 : 2030 
 
 (( 
 
 Big Dry Creek . 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 : 2039 
 
 «< 
 
 Little Dry River 
 
 
 
 6 
 
 : 2045 
 
 « 
 
 Gulf in the Island Bend 
 
 
 
 32 
 
 : 2077 
 
 « 
 
 Milk River . 
 
 
 
 13 
 
 : 2090 
 
 « 
 
 Big Dry River . 
 
 
 
 25 
 
 : 2115 
 
 i( 
 
 Werner's Run . 
 
 
 
 9 
 
 : 2124 
 
 « 
 
 Pine Creek 
 
 
 
 36 
 
 : 2160 
 
 « 
 
 Gibson's River . 
 
 
 
 17 
 
 : 2177 
 
 u 
 
 Brown Bear-defeated Creek 
 
 
 12 
 
 : 2189 
 
 tt 
 
 Bratton's River . 
 
 • • 
 
 
 24 
 
 : 2213 
 
 (C 
 
 Burned-lodge Creek . 
 
 • • 
 
 
 6 
 
 : 2219 
 
 « 
 
 Wiser's Creek . 
 
 • • 
 
 
 14 
 
 : 2233 
 
 <{ 
 
 Muscleshell River 
 
 • • 
 
 
 37 
 
 : 2270 
 
 <{ 
 
 Grouse Creek 
 
 • • 
 
 
 30 
 
 : 2300 
 
 M 
 
 North Mountain Creek 
 
 ^ ^ 
 
 
 36 
 
 : 2336 
 
 «( 
 
 South Mountain Creek 
 
 • • 
 
 
 18 
 
 : 2354 
 
 « 
 
 Ibex Island 
 
 • • 
 
 
 15 
 
 : 2369 
 
 I< 
 
 Goodrich's Island 
 
 • « 
 
 
 9 
 
 : 2378 
 
 u 
 
 Windsor's Creek 
 
 • • 
 
 
 7 
 
 : 2385 
 
 a 
 
 Elk Rapid (swift water) 
 
 • • 
 
 
 15 
 
 : 2400 
 
 It 
 
 Thomson's Creek 
 
 • • 
 
 
 27 
 
 : 2427 
 
 it 
 
 Judith's River 
 
 • • 
 
 
 12 
 
 : 2439 
 
 tt 
 
 Ash's Rapid (swift water) 
 
 • • 
 
 
 4 
 
 : 2443 
 
 tt 
 
 Slaughter River 
 
 • « 
 
 
 11 
 
 : 2454 
 
 tt 
 
 Stonewall Creek, above 
 
 the N£ 
 
 itural 
 
 
 
 
 Walls ". 
 
 • « 
 
 
 26 
 
 : 2480 
 
 it 
 
 Maria's River 
 
 • « 
 
 
 41 
 
 : 2521 
 
 tt 
 
 Snow River 
 
 • « 
 
 
 19 
 
 : 2540 
 
APPENDIX. 391 
 
 Totsi 
 Distance. 
 
 To Shields's River 28 : 2568 
 
 To the foot of the entrance of Portage River, 
 
 five miles below the Great Falls . 7 : 2575 
 
 Leaving the Missouri below the Falls, and passing by- 
 land to the navigable waters of the Columbia River, 
 
 To the entrance of Medicine River . . 18:2593 
 " Fort Mountain, passing through the 
 plain between Medicine River and 
 the Missouri, near the Mis&ouri . 15 : 2608 
 « Rocky Mountains, to a gap on the ridge 
 which divides the waters of the Mis- 
 souri from those of the Columbia, 
 passing the north part of a mount- 
 ain, and crossing Dearborn's River 35 : 2643 
 « Fork of Cohahlarishkit River from the 
 north, passing four creeks from the 
 
 north 40 : 2683 
 
 " Seaman's Creek from the north . . 7 : 2690 
 " Werner's Creek from the north . . 10 : 2700 
 «♦ East fork of Clarke's River, at the en- 
 trance of the Cohahlarishkit . . 30 : 2730 
 " Clarke's River, below the Forks . 12 : 2742 
 
 " Traveller's Rest Creek, on the west 
 side of Clarke's River, about the 
 
 Forks 5 : 2747 
 
 " Forks of Traveller's Rest Creek, at a 
 
 road on the right . . . . 18 : 2765 
 ** Hot Springs on the Creek . . . 13 : 2778 
 " Quamash Glades, passing the head of 
 the Creek to a branch of Kooskoos- 
 
 kee River 7 : 2785 
 
 « North branch of the Kooskooskee, at a 
 
 road leading off to the right . . 7:2792 
 « Junction of the roads on the top of a 
 snowy mountain, the left-hand road 
 passing by a fishery . . . 10 : 2803 
 
 ** To Hungry Creek from the right, pass- 
 ing along a dividing mountain cover- 
 ed with deep snow except at two pla- 
 II.— G G 
 
892 APPENDIX. 
 
 ces, which were open, with a south- Di!^!!k 
 
 ern exposure, at 8 and 36 miles . 54 : 2856 
 
 To a glade on Hungry Creek . . . 6 : 2862 
 
 " a glade on a small branch of the same . 8 : 2870 
 
 " a glade on Fish Creek . . . . 9 : 2879 
 
 " CoUins's Creek 13 : 2892 
 
 '* Quamash Flats 11 : 2903 
 
 To the Kooskooskee, or Flathead River, in a 
 
 pine country 12 : 3915 
 
 Thus, from the Missouri, across the Rocky Mountains, 
 to the navigable waters of the Columbia, is three hundred 
 and forty miles, two hundred of which is over a good road, 
 and one hundred and forty over rugged mountains, sixty 
 miles of which we found covered with snow from two to 
 eight feet deep in the last of June. 
 
 To the entrance of Rockdam Creek . . 8 : 2923 
 
 " Chopunnish River . . . . 5 : 2928 
 
 " Colter's Creek 37 : 2965 
 
 " Lewis's River, at the entrance of the 
 
 Kooskooskee 23 : 2988 
 
 " Sweathouse village and Run . . 7 : 2995 
 
 « Pilot's viUage 11 : 3006 
 
 " Kimooenim Creek . . . . 48 : 3054 
 " Drewyer's River, below the Narrows 
 
 of Lewis's River . . . . 5 : 3059 
 
 «* Cave Rapid 28 : 3087 
 
 " Basin Rapid (bad) . . . . 34 : 3121 
 " Discharge Rapid (bad) . . . 14 : 3135 
 " Columbia, at the mouth of Lewis's Riv- 
 er, from the east . . . . 7 : 3142 
 ** Wollawollah River, at eleven large mat 
 
 lodges of that nation . . . 16 : 3158 
 ** Muscleshell Rapid (bad), at thirty-three 
 
 mat lodges of the Wollawollahs . 25:3183 
 ** Pelican Rapid, at forty-eight lodges of 
 
 the Pishquitpah nation . . . 22 • 3205 
 •• Twenty-one lodges of the Wahowpum 
 nation, residing on three islands at 
 the commencement of the high coun- 
 
 tiv ... 18 • -WZd 
 
APPENDIX. 393 
 
 To the eight lodges of the Wahowpums at Distknee. 
 
 Short Rapid . . . . - 27 : 3250 
 
 " Rocky Rapid, nine lodges of the same 
 
 nation 13 : 3263 
 
 " Lepage River (bad rapid) . . 9 : 3272 
 
 «< Twenty-seven lodges of the Eneeshur 
 
 nation at Fishstack Rapid . . 10 : 3282 
 
 « Towahnahiook River . . . 8 : 3290 
 
 « Great Falls jf the Columbia of 57 feet 
 8 inches, near which were forty mat 
 lodges of the Eneeshur nation . . 4 : 3294 
 
 " Short Narrows, 45 yards wide . . 2 : 3296 
 
 « Skilloot village of twenty-one large 
 wooden houses at the Long Narrows, 
 from 50 to 100 yards wide . . 4 : 3300 
 
 « Chilluckittequaw village of eight large 
 
 wooden houses . . • . 5 : 3305 
 
 ** Cataract River, a few miles below a 
 village of seven houses, and imme- 
 diately above one of eleven houses 
 of the Chilluckittequaw nation . 19 : 3324 
 
 •* Sepulchre Rock, opposite to a village 
 
 of the Chilluckittequaws . . . 4 : 3328 
 
 " Labiche River, opposite to twenty-six 
 houses of the Smackshop nation, 
 houses scattered on the north side . 9 : 3337 
 
 " Little Lake Creek, three houses of the 
 
 Smackshops 10 : 3347 
 
 « Cruzatte's River . . . . 12 : 3359 
 
 " Grand Rapid, just below the village of 
 the Yehhuh tribe of the Shahala na- 
 tion, occupying fourteen wooden 
 houses 6 : 3365 
 
 '-* Clahclellah village of the Shahala na- 
 tion, near the foot of the Rapids, sev- 
 en houses 6 : 3371 
 
 « Wahclellah village of the Shahala na- 
 tion, twenty-three houses, just below 
 the entrance of Beacon Rock Creek 6 : 3377 
 
 At this point Tide-water commences. 
 
 1 « the Phoca Rock in the river, sixty feet 
 
 above water . • - • , II : 3388 
 
394 APPENDIX 
 
 Total 
 DJitance. 
 
 To the Quicksand River . . . . 9 : 3397 
 
 " Seal River 3 : 3400 
 
 " Neechaokee village, opposite to Dia- 
 mond Island 4 : 3404 
 
 " Shahala village of twenty-five tempo- 
 rary houses 12 : 3416 
 
 " Multnomah River . . . . 14 : 3430 
 " Multnomah village . . . . 6 : 3436 
 " Quathlapotle village . . . . 8 : 3444 
 ** Towahnahiooks River . . . 1 : 3445 
 
 «* Cathlahaw Creek and village . . 10 : 3555 
 " Lower extremity of Elallah, or Deer 
 
 Island 6 : 3461 
 
 ** Coweliske River, about the entrance 
 (up this river the Skilloot nation re- 
 side) 13 : 3474 
 
 « Fanny's Island 18 : 3492 
 
 " Sea Otter Island . . . . 10 : 3502 
 " Upper village of the Wahkiacum nation 6 : 3508 
 " Cathlamah village of nine large wood- 
 en houses, south of Seal Islands . 14 : 3522 
 " Point William, opposite Shallow Bay . 10 : 3532 
 " Point Meriwether, above Meriwether 
 
 Bay 9 : 3541 
 
 " Clatsop village below Meriwether Bay, 
 and seven miles northwest of Fort 
 Clatsop . . . . . 8 : 3549 
 
 " Point Adams, at the entrance of the 
 Columbia into the Pacific Ocean, in 
 latitude 46° 15' north, and longitude 
 124° 57' west from Greenwich . 6 : 35.'55 
 
 Fort Clatsop is situated on the west side of, and three 
 miles up the Netul River from Meriwether Bay, and seven 
 miles east from the nearest part of the seacoast : here we 
 passed the winter of 1805-6. 
 
 The length of our route in going out, by the way of the 
 Missouri to its head, was 3096 miles : thence by land, fol- 
 lowing Lewis's River over to Clarke's River, and down 
 that river to the entrance of Traveller's Rest Creek, where 
 all the different roads meet, and thence across the rugged 
 
APPENDIX. 395 
 
 part vf the Rocky Mountains to the navigable waters of 
 the Columbia, was 398 miles : thence down the river to 
 the Pacific Ocean, making the total distance 4134 miles. 
 On our return in 1806, we came from Traveller's Rest Creek 
 directly to the Falls of the Missouri, which shortens the 
 distance about 579 miles, and is a much better route, re- 
 ducing the distance from the Mississippi to the Pacific 
 Ocean to 3545 miles, 2575 miles of which distance is up 
 the Missouri to the Falls of that river. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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