Description of Wappatoo island, and the mode in which
the nations gather wappatoo--the character of the soil
and its productions--the numerous tribes residing in its
vicinity--the probability that they were all of the tribe
of the Multnomahs originally, inferred from similarity of
dress, manners, language, &c.--description of their dress,
weapons of war, their mode of burying the dead--description of
another village, called the Wahelellah village--their mode of
architecture--extraordinary height of Beacon rock--Unfriendly
character of the Indians at that place--The party, alarmed
for their safety, resolve to inflict summary vengeance,
in case the Wahelellah tribe persist in their outrages
and insults--interview with the chief of that tribe, and
confidence restored--difficulty of drawing the canoes over the
rapids--visited by a party of the Yehugh tribe--short notice of
the Weocksockwillackum tribe--curious phenomenon observed in
the Columbia, from the Rapids to the Chilluckittequaws.
Friday, April 4, 1804. The hunters were still out in every direction.
Those from the opposite side of the river returned with the flesh of a
bear and some venison, but the flesh of six deer and an elk which they
had killed was so meagre and unfit for use, that they had left it in
the woods. Two other deer were brought in, but as the game seemed 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 of the Indians
came to our camp, some descending the rivers with their families, and
others from below with no object except to gratify their curiosity.
The visit of captain Clarke to the Multnomahs, now enabled us to
combine all that we had seen or learnt of the neighbouring countries
and nations. Of these the most important spot is Wappatoo island, a
large extent of country lying between the Multnomah, and an arm of the
Columbia, which we have called Wappatoo inlet, and separated from the
main land by a sluice eighty yards wide, which at the distance 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 extremely fertile, and
on most parts is supplied with a heavy growth of cottonwood, ash, the
large-leafed ash, and sweet-willow, the black alder, common to the
coast, having now disappeared. But the chief wealth of this island
consists of the numerous ponds in the interior, abounding with the
common arrowhead (sagittaria sagittifolia) 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 the 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, and nine inches deep, and
tapering from the middle, where they are about twenty inches wide. 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, separates from the root this bulb, which on
being freed from the mud rises immediately to the surface of the water,
and is thrown into the canoe. In this manner these patient females
remain in the water for several hours even in the depth of winter. This
plant is found through the whole extent of the valley in which we now
are, but does not grow on the Columbia farther eastward. This valley is
bounded westward by the mountainous country bordering the coast, from
which it extends eastward thirty miles in a direct line, till it is
closed by the range of mountains crossing the Columbia above the great
falls. Its length from north to south we are unable to determine, but
we believe that the valley must extend to 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 highlands are generally of a dark rich loam, not much injured by
stones, and though waving, by no means too steep for cultivation, and
a few miles from the river they 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,
and some of which grow 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 those are the pashequaw, shanataque,
and compound fern, of which the natives use the roots; the red
flowering current abounds on the upland, while along the river bottoms
grow luxuriantly the watercress, strawberry, cinquefoil, narrowdock,
sand-rush, and the flowering pea, which is not yet in bloom. There is
also a species of the bear’s-claw now blooming, but the large leafed
thorn has disappeared, nor do we see any longer the huckleberry, the
shallun, nor any of the other evergreen shrubs which bear berries,
except the species, the leaf of which has a prickly margin.
Among the animals, we observe 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, long-legged
spider, as well as the butterfly and blowingfly, and tick, have already
made their appearance, but none of all these are distinguished from
animals of the same sort in the United States. The musquetoes too have
resumed their visits, but are not yet troublesome.
The nations who inhabit this fertile neighbourhood are very numerous.
The Wappatoo inlet extends three hundred yards wide, 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 resides the Clackstar nation, a
numerous people of twelve hundred souls, who subsist on fish and
wappatoo, and who trade by means of the Killamuck river, with the
nation of that name on the seacoast. Lower down the inlet, towards the
Columbia, is the tribe called Cathlacumup. On the sluice which connects
the inlet with the Multnomah, are the tribes, Cathlanahquiah, and
Cathlacomatup: and on Wappatoo island, the tribes of Clannahminamun,
and Clahnaquah. Immediately opposite, near the Towahnahiooks, are
the Quathlapotles, and higher up on the side of the Columbia, the
Shotos. All these tribes, as well as the Cathlahaws, who live somewhat
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 above its junction
with the Columbia, it receives the waters 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 borders: 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
by dress or manners, or language from the tribes of Multnomahs. Two
days’ journey from the Columbia, or about twenty miles beyond the
entrance of the Clackamos, are the falls of the Multnomah. At this
place are the permanent residences of the Cushooks and Chahcowahs,
two tribes who are attracted to that place by the fish, and by the
convenience of trading across the mountains and down Killamuck river,
with the nation of Killamucks, from whom they procure train oil. These
falls were occasioned by the passage of 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 was inhabited by a nation called
Calahpoewah, a very numerous people whose villages, nearly forty in
number, are scattered along each side of the Multnomah, which furnish
them with their chief subsistence, fish, and the roots along its banks.
All the tribes in the neighbourhood of Wappatoo island, we have
considered as Multnomahs; not because they are in any degree
subordinate to that nation; but they all seem to regard the Multnomahs
as the most powerful. There is no distinguished chief, except the
one at the head of the Multnomahs; and they are moreover linked by a
similarity of dress and manners, and houses and language, which much
more than the feeble restraints of Indian government contribute to make
one people. These circumstances also separate them from nations lower
down the river. The Clatsops, Chinnooks, Wahkiacums and Cathlamahs
understand each other perfectly; their language varies, however,
in some respects from that of the Skilloots; but on reaching the
Multnomah Indians, we found that although many words were the same,
and 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 a very sensible variation of language. The natives of the valley
are larger and rather better shaped than those of the seacoast: their
appearance too is generally healthy, but they are afflicted with the
common disease of the Columbia, soreness of the eyes. To whatever
this disorder may be imputed it is a great national calamity: at all
ages their eyes are sore and weak, and the loss of one eye is by no
means uncommon, while in grown persons total blindness is frequent,
and almost universal in old age. The dress of the men has nothing
different from that used below, but are chiefly remarked by a passion
for large brass buttons, which they fix on a sailor’s jacket, when they
are so fortunate as to obtain one, without regard to any arrangement.
The women also wear the short robe already described; but their hair
is most commonly braided into two tresses falling 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. This last is the only and ineffectual defence when the warmth
of the weather induces them to throw aside the robe. The houses are in
general on a level with the ground, though some are sunk to the depth
of two or three feet into the ground, and like those near the coast
adorned or disfigured by carvings or paintings on the posts, doors and
beds: they do not possess any peculiar weapon except a kind of broad
sword made of iron, from three to four feet long, the blade about four
inches wide, very thin and sharp at all its edges, as well as at the
point. They have also bludgeons of wood in the same form; and both
kinds generally hang at the head of their beds. These are formidable
weapons. Like the natives of the seacoast, they are also very fond of
cold, hot, and vapour baths, which are used at all seasons, and for the
purpose of health as well as pleasure. They, however, add a species of
bath peculiar to themselves, by washing the whole body with urine every
morning.
The mode of burying the dead in canoes, is no longer practised by
the natives here. The place of deposit is a vault formed of boards,
slanting like the roof of a house from a pole supported by two forks.
Under this vault the dead are placed horizontally on boards, on the
surface of the earth, and carefully covered with mats. Many bodies
are here laid on each other, to the height of three or four corpses,
and different articles, which were most esteemed by the dead, are
placed by their side; their canoes themselves being sometimes broken to
strengthen the vault.
The trade of all these inhabitants is in anchovies, sturgeon, but
chiefly in wappatoo, to obtain which, the inhabitants both above and
below them on the river, come at all seasons, and supply in turn,
beads, cloth, and various other articles procured from the Europeans.
Saturday, April 5. We dried our meat as well as the cloudy weather
would permit. In the course of his chase yesterday, one of our men who
killed the bear, found a nest of another with three cubs in it. He
returned to-day in hopes of finding her, but he brought only the cubs,
without being able to see the dam, and on this occasion, Drewyer, our
most experienced huntsman, assured us that he had never known a single
instance where a female bear, who had once been disturbed by a hunter
and obliged to leave her young, returned to them again. The young
bears were sold for wappatoo to some of the many Indians who visited
us in parties during the day, and behaved very well. Having made our
preparations of dried meat, we set out next morning,
Sunday 6, by nine o’clock, and continued along the north side of the
river for a few miles, and then crossed to the river to look for the
hunters, who had been sent forward the day before yesterday. We found
them at the upper end of the bottom with some Indians, for we are never
freed from the visits of the natives. They had killed three elk, and
wounded two others so badly, that it was still possible to get them. We
therefore landed, and having prepared scaffolds and secured the five
elk, we encamped for the night, and the following evening,
Monday 7, the weather having been fair and pleasant, had dried a
sufficient quantity of meat to serve us as far as the Chopunnish,
with occasional supplies, if we can procure them, of dogs, roots, and
horses. In the course of the day several parties of Shahalas, from a
village eight miles above us, came to visit us, and behaved themselves
very properly, except that we were obliged to turn one of them from the
camp for stealing a piece of lead. Every thing was now ready for our
departure, but in the morning,
Tuesday 8, the wind blew with great violence, and we were obliged to
unload our boats, which were soon after filled with water. The same
cause prevented our setting out to-day; we therefore despatched several
hunters round the neighbourhood, but in the evening they came back with
nothing but a duck. They had, however, seen some of the black-tailed,
jumping, or fallow deer, like those about fort Clatsop, which are
scarce near this place, where the common long-tailed fallow deer
are most abundant. They had also observed two black bears, the only
kind that we have discovered in this quarter. A party of six Indians
encamped at some distance, and late at night the sentinel stopped one
of the men, an old man who was creeping into camp in order to pilfer:
he contented himself with frightening the Indian, and then giving
him a few stripes with a switch, turned the fellow out, and he soon
afterwards left the place with all his party.
Wednesday, 9. The wind having moderated, we reloaded the canoes,
and set out by seven o’clock. We stopped to take up two hunters who
had left us yesterday, but were unsuccessful in the chase, and then
proceeded to the Wahelellah village, situated on the north side of the
river, about a mile below Beacon rock. During the whole of the route
from our camp, we passed along under high, steep, and rocky sides of
the mountains, which now close on each side of the river, forming
stupendous precipices, covered with the fir and white cedar. Down
these heights frequently descend the most beautiful cascades, one of
which, a large creek, throws itself over a perpendicular rock three
hundred feet above the water, while other smaller streams precipitate
themselves from a still greater elevation, and evaporating in a mist,
again collect and form a second cascade before they reach the bottom
of the rocks. We stopped to breakfast at this village. We here found
the tomahawk which had been stolen from us on the fourth of last
November: they assured us they had bought it of the Indians below; but
as the latter had already informed us that the Wahelellahs had such an
article, which they had stolen, we made no difficulty about retaking
our property. This village appears to be the wintering station of the
Wahelellahs and Clahelellahs, two tribes of the Shahala nation. The
greater part of the first tribe have lately removed to the falls of
the Multnomah, and the second have established themselves a few miles
higher up the Columbia, opposite the lower point of Brant island, where
they take salmon, that being the commencement of the rapids. They are
now in the act of removing, and carrying off with them, not only the
furniture and effects, but the bark and most of the boards of their
houses. In this way nine have been lately removed. There are still
fourteen standing, and in the rear of the village are the traces of ten
or twelve others of more ancient date. These houses are either sunk
in the ground or on a level with the surface, and are generally built
of boards and covered with cedar bark. In the single houses there is
generally a division near the door, which is in the end; or in case
the house be double, opens on the narrow passage between the two. Like
those we had seen below at the Neerehokioo tribe, the women wear longer
and larger robes than their neighbours the Multnomahs, and suspend
various ornaments from the cartilage of the nose: the hair is, however,
worn in the same sort of braid, falling over each ear, and the truss is
universal from the Wappatoo island to Lewis’s river. The men also form
their hair into two queues by means of otter skin thongs, which fall
over the ears so as to give that extraordinary width to the face which
is here considered so ornamental. These people seemed very unfriendly,
and our numbers alone seemed to secure us from ill treatment. While
we were at breakfast the grand chief of the Chilluckittequaws arrived,
with two inferior chiefs, and several men and women of his nation.
They were returning home, after trading in the Columbian valley,
and were loaded with wappatoo and dried anchovies, which, with some
beads, they had obtained in exchange for chappelell, bear-grass and
other small articles. As these people had been very kind to us as we
descended the river, we endeavoured to repay them by every attention
in our power. After purchasing, with much difficulty, a few dogs and
some wappatoo from the Wahelellahs, we left them at two o’clock, and
passing under the Beacon rock, reached in two hours the Clahelellah
village. This Beacon rock, which we now observed more accurately than
as we descended, 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 commencement of tide-water, though the influence of the tide is
perceptible here in autumn only, at which time the water is low. What
the precise difference at those seasons is, we cannot determine; but on
examining a rock which we lately passed, and comparing its appearance
now with that which we observed last November, we judge the flood of
this spring to be twelve feet above the height of the river at that
time. From Beacon rock as low as the marshy islands, the general width
of the river is from one to two miles, though in many places it is
still greater. On landing at the Clahelellahs we found them busy in
erecting their huts, which seem 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 were sulky and
ill-humoured, and so much on the alert to pilfer, that we were obliged
to keep them at a distance from our baggage. As our large canoes could
not ascend the rapids on the 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 this evening, and therefore,
finding a safe harbour, we encamped for the night. The wood in this
neighbourhood has lately been on fire, and the firs have discharged
considerable quantities of pitch, which we collected for some of our
boats. We saw to-day some turkey-buzzards, which are the first we have
observed on this side of the Rocky mountains.
Thursday, 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
Clahelellahs, consisting of six houses, on the opposite 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 borne down a
considerable distance. While we were at breakfast, one of the Indians
offered us two sheep-skins for sale, one, which was the skin of a full
grown sheep, was as large as that of a common deer: the second was
smaller, and the skin of the head, with the horns remaining, was made
into a cap, and highly prized as an ornament 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 as they observed 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 did not offer a greater. The horns of the
animal were black, smooth, and erect, and they rise from the middle
of the forehead, a little above the eyes, in a cylindrical form, to
the height of four inches, where they are pointed. The Clahelellahs
informed us that the sheep are 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 joined by our hunters with three
black-tailed fallow deer, and having purchased a few white salmon,
proceeded on our route. The south side of the river is impassible, and
the rapidity of the current as well as the large rocks along the shore,
render 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 have only a single tow-rope that is strong enough,
we are obliged to bring them one after the other. In this tedious and
laborious manner, we at length reached the portage on the north side,
and carried our baggage to the top of a hill, about two hundred paces
distant, where we encamped 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 inhabitants 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,
Friday, 11, so that the tents, and skins which covered the baggage,
were wet. We therefore determined to take the canoes first over the
portage, in hopes that by the afternoon the rain would cease, and we
might carry our baggage across without injury. This 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 accidents, remained with captain Lewis to guard the baggage.
This precaution was absolutely necessary to protect it from the
Wahelellahs, whom we discovered to be great thieves, notwithstanding
their apparent honesty in restoring our boat: indeed, so arrogant
and intrusive have they become, that nothing but our numbers, we are
convinced, saves 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 found it necessary to depart
from our mild and pacific course of conduct. On returning to the
head of the portage, many 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 immediately attacked them both, hoping to put
them to death before they had time to draw their arrows, but as soon
as they saw his design, they fled into the woods. Soon afterwards
we were told by an Indian who spoke Clatsop, which we had ourselves
learnt during the winter, that the Wahelellahs had carried off captain
Lewis’s dog to their village below. Three men well armed were instantly
despatched 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 our
camp, and explained to them, that whoever stole any of our baggage,
or insulted our men, should be instantly shot; a resolution which we
were determined to enforce, as it was now our only means of safety. We
were visited during the day by a chief of the Clahelellahs, who seemed
mortified at the behaviour of the Indians, and told us that the persons
at the head of their outrages were two very bad men, who belonged to
the Wahelellah tribe, but that the nation 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 attentions in
our power, with which he appeared very much gratified, and we trust
his interposition may 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 narrows 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 carrying
their goods across the portage, hire or borrow others from the people
below. When the trade 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 Wahelellahs. About three quarters of a mile below
our camp is a burial ground, which seems common to the Wahelellahs,
Clahelellahs, and Yehhuhs. It consists of eight sepulchres on the north
bank of the river.
Saturday 12. The rain continued all night and this morning. Captain
Lewis now took with him all the men fit for duty, and began to drag the
remaining periogue over the rapids. This has become much more difficult
than when we passed in the autumn; at that time there were in the whole
distance of seven miles only three difficult points; but the water is
now considerably higher, and during all that distance the ascent is
exceedingly laborious and dangerous, nor would it be practicable to
descend, except by letting down the empty boats by means of ropes.
The route over this part, from the head to the foot of the portage,
is about three miles: the canoes which had been already dragged up
were very much injured, by being driven against the rocks, which no
precautions could prevent. This morning as we were drawing the fifth
canoe round a projecting rock, against which the current sets with
great violence, she unfortunately offered too much of her side to the
stream. It then drove her with such force, that with all the exertions
of the party we were unable to hold her, and were forced to let go the
cord, and see her drift down the stream, and be irrecoverably lost. We
then began to carry our effects across the portage, but as all those
who had short rifles took them in order to repel any attack from the
Indians, it was not until five o’clock in the afternoon that the
last of the party reached the head of the rapids, accompanied by our
new friend the Wahelellah chief. The afternoon being so far advanced,
and the weather rainy and cold, we determined to halt for the night,
though very desirous of going on, for during the three last days we
have not advanced more than seven miles. The portage is two thousand
eight hundred yards, along a narrow road, at all times rough, and now
rendered slippery by the rain. About half way is an old village which
the Clahelellah chief informs us is the occasional residence of his
tribe. These houses are uncommonly large, one of them measured one
hundred and sixty by forty feet, and the frames are constructed in
the usual manner, except that it is double so as to appear like one
house within another. The floors are on a level with the ground, and
the roofs have been taken down and sunk in a pond behind the village.
We find that our conduct yesterday has made the Indians much more
respectful; they do not crowd about us in such numbers, and behave with
much more propriety. Among those who visited us were about twenty of
the Yehhuhs, a tribe of Shahalas, whom we had found on the north side
the river, immediately above the rapids, but who had now emigrated
to the opposite shore, where they generally take salmon. Like their
relations the Wahelellahs, they have taken their houses with them, so
that only one is now standing where the old village was. We observe
generally, that the homes which have the floor on a level with the
earth, are smaller, and have more the appearance of being temporary
than those which are sunk in the ground, whence we presume that the
former are the dwellings during spring and summer, while the latter
are reserved for the autumn and winter. Most of the houses are built
of boards and covered with bark, though some of the more inferior kind
are constructed wholly of cedar bark, kept smooth and flat by small
splinters fixed crosswise through the bark, at the distance of twelve
or fourteen inches apart. There is but little difference in appearance
between these Yehhuhs, Wahelellahs, Clahelellahs, and Neerchokioos,
who compose the Shahala nation. On comparing the vocabulary of the
Wahelellahs with that of the Chinooks, we found that the names for
numbers were precisely the same, though the other parts of the language
were essentially different. The women of all these tribes braid their
hair, pierce the nose, and some of them have lines of dots reaching
from the ancle as high as the middle of the leg. These Yehhuhs behaved
with great propriety, and condemned the treatment we had received from
the Wahelellahs. 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 tells 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 natives
have several robes made of their skins. The mountains near this place
are high, steep, and strewed with rocks, which are principally black.
Several species of fir, white pine, and white cedar, forms their
covering, while near the river we see the cottonwood, sweet-willow, a
species of maple, the broad-leafed ash, the purple haw, a small species
of cherry, the purple currant, gooseberry, red-willow, the vining and
whiteberry honeysuckle, the huckleberry, sacacommis, two kinds of
mountain holly, and the common ash.
Sunday 18. The loss of our periogue yesterday obliges us to distribute
our loading between the two canoes, and the two remaining periogues.
This being done, we proceeded along the north side of the river, but
soon finding that the increased loading rendered our vessels difficult
to manage, if not dangerous in case of high wind, the two periogues
only continued on their route, while captain Lewis with the canoes
crossed over to the Yehhuh village, with a view of purchasing one or
two more canoes. The village now consisted of eleven houses, crowded
with inhabitants, and about sixty fighting men. They were very well
disposed, and we found no difficulty in procuring two small canoes,
in exchange for two robes and four elk skins. We also purchased with
deer skins, three dogs, an animal which has now become a favourite
food, for it is found to be a strong healthy diet, preferable to lean
deer or elk, and much superior to horse-flesh in any state. With these
he proceeded along the south side of the river, and joined us in the
evening. We had gone along the north shore as high as Cruzatte’s river,
to which place we had sent some hunters the day before yesterday, and
where we were detained by the high winds. The hunters however did not
join us, and we therefore, as soon as the wind had abated, proceeded on
for six miles, where we halted for Captain Lewis, and in the meantime
went out to hunt. We procured two black-tailed fallow deer which seem
to be the only kind inhabiting these mountains. Believing that the
hunters were still below us, we despatched a small canoe back for them,
and in the morning,
April 14. they all joined us with four more deer. After breakfast we
resumed our journey, and though the wind was high during the day, yet
by keeping along the northern shore we were able to proceed without
danger. At one o’clock we halted for dinner at a large village situated
in a narrow bottom, just above the entrance of Canoe creek. The houses
are detached from each other, so as to occupy an extent of several
miles, though only twenty in number. Those which are inhabited are
on the surface of the earth, and built in the same shape as those
near the rapids; but there were others at present evacuated, which
are completely under ground. They are sunk about eight feet deep, and
covered with strong timbers, and several feet of earth in conical form.
On descending by means of a ladder through a hole at the top, which
answers 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 call themselves Weocksockwillacum, differ but
little from those near the rapids, the chief distinction in dress,
being a few leggings and moccasins, which we find here like those worn
by the Chopunnish. These people have ten or twelve very good horses,
which are the first we have seen since leaving this neighbourhood last
autumn. The country below is, indeed, of such a nature, as to prevent
the use of this animal, except in the Columbian valley, and there they
would be of great service, for the inhabitants reside chiefly on the
river side, and the country is too thickly wooded to suffer them to
hunt game on horseback. Most of these, they inform us, have been taken
in a warlike excursion, which was lately made against the Towanahiooks,
a part of the Snake nation living in 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 exchange, some roots, shapelell, filberts, dried berries, and
five dogs.
After dinner we proceeded, and passing at the distance of six miles,
the high cliffs on the left, encamped at the mouth of a small run on
the same side. A little above us is a village, consisting of about
one hundred fighting men of a tribe called Smackshops, many of whom
passed the evening with us: They do not differ in any respect from the
inhabitants of the village below. In hopes of purchasing horses we did
not set out the next morning,
Tuesday 15, till after breakfast, and in the meantime exposed our
merchandise, and made them various offers; but as they declined
bartering, we left them and soon reached the Sepulchre rock, where we
halted a few minutes. The rock itself stands near the middle of the
river, and contains about two acres of ground above high water. On this
surface are scattered thirteen vaults, constructed like those below the
Rapids, and some of them more than half filled with dead bodies. After
satisfying 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
same nation we had just left, and as they also had horses, we made a
second attempt to purchase a few of them: but with all our dexterity in
exhibiting our wares, we could not induce them to sell, as we had none
of the only articles which they seemed desirous of procuring, a sort of
war hatchet, called by the northwest traders an eye-dog. We therefore
purchased two dogs, and taking leave of these Weocksockwillacums,
proceeded to another of their villages, just below the entrance of
Cataract river. Here too, we tried in vain to purchase some horses, nor
did we meet with more success at the two villages of Chilluckittequaws,
a few miles farther up the river. At three in the afternoon, we came
to the mouth of Quinett creek, which we ascended a short distance and
encamped for the night, at the spot we had called 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 to-morrow on the north side of the river, where we would open
a traffic. They then returned to their villages to collect the horses,
and in the morning,
Wednesday 16, captain Clarke crossed with nine men, and a large part
of the merchandise, in order to purchase twelve horses to transport
our baggage, and some pounded fish, as a reserve during the passage of
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 Columbia 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. During the whole course of the Columbia from
the Rapids to the Chilluckittequaws are the trunks of many large pine
trees standing erect in water, which is thirty feet deep at present,
and never less than ten. These trees could never have grown in their
present state, for they are all very much doated, and none of them
vegetate; so that the only reasonable account which can be given of
this phenomenon, is, that at some period, which the appearance of the
trees induces us to fix within twenty years, the rocks from the hill
sides have obstructed the narrow pass at the rapids, and caused the
river to spread through the woods. The mountains which border as far
as the Sepulchre rock, are high and broken, and its romantic views
occasionally enlivened by beautiful cascades rushing from the heights,
and forming a deep contrast with the firs, cedars and pines, which
darken their sides. From the Sepulchre rock, where the low country
begins, the long-leafed pine is the almost exclusive growth of timber;
but our present camp is the last spot where a single tree is to be
seen on the wide plains, which are now spread before us to the foot
of the Rocky mountains. It 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 only on the
border of the plains, is here very different from that we have lately
experienced. The air is drier and more pure, and the ground itself is
as free from moisture as if there had been no rain for the last ten
days. Around this place are many esculent plants used by the Indians:
among which is a currant, now in bloom, with a yellow blossom like
that of the yellow currant of the Missouri, from which however it
differs specifically. There is also a species of hyacinth growing in
the plains, which presents at this time a pretty flower of a pale blue
colour, and the bulb of which is boiled or baked, or dried in the sun,
and eaten by the Indians. This bulb, of the present year, is white,
flat in shape and not quite solid, and it overlays and presses closely
that of the last year, which, though much thinner and withered, is
equally wide, and sends forth from its sides a number of small radicles.
Our hunters obtained one of the long-tailed deer with the young horns,
about two inches, and a large black or dark brown pheasant, such as
we had seen on the upper part of the Missouri. They also brought in
a large gray squirrel, and two others resembling it in shape, but
smaller than the common gray squirrel of the United States, and of a
pied gray and yellowish brown colour. In addition to this game, they
had seen some antelopes, and the tracks of several black bear, but no
appearance of elk. They had seen no birds, but found three eggs of the
party-coloured corvus. Though the salmon has not yet appeared, we have
seen less scarcity than we apprehended from the reports we had heard
below. At the rapids, the natives subsist chiefly on a few white salmon
trout, which they take at this time, and considerable quantities of
a small indifferent mullet of an inferior quality. Beyond that place
we see none except dried fish of the last season, nor is the sturgeon
caught by any of the natives above the Columbia, their whole stores
consisting of roots, and fish either dried or pounded.
Captain Clarke had, in the meantime, been endeavouring to purchase
horses, without success, but they 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. The next
day,
Thursday 17, he sent to inform us that he was still unable to purchase
any horses, but intended going as far as the Eneeshur village to-day,
whence he would return to meet us to-morrow at the Skilloot 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, he promised to meet us at the narrows with some for sale.