The officers of the expedition had decided to begin their homeward march
on the first of April; but a natural impatience induced them to start
a little earlier, and, as a matter of record, it may be said that they
evacuated Fort Clatsop on the 23d of March, 1806. An examination of
their stock of ammunition showed that they had on hand a supply of
powder amply sufficient for their needs when travelling the three
thousand miles of wilderness in which their sole reliance for food must
be the game to be killed. The powder was kept in leaden canisters, and
these, when empty, were used for making balls for muskets and rifles.
Three bushels of salt were collected for their use on the homeward
journey.
What they needed now most of all was an assortment of small wares and
trinkets with which to trade with the Indians among whom they must
spend so many months before reaching civilization again. They had ample
letters of credit from the Government at Washington, and if they had met
with white traders on the seacoast, they could have bought anything that
money would buy. They had spent nearly all their stock in coming across
the continent. This is Captain Lewis’s summary of the goods on hand just
before leaving Fort Clatsop:--
“All the small merchandise we possess might be tied up in a couple
of handkerchiefs. The rest of our stock in trade consists of six blue
robes, one scarlet ditto, five robes which we made out of our large
United States flag, a few old clothes trimmed with ribbons, and one
artillerist’s uniform coat and hat, which probably Captain Clark will
never wear again. We have to depend entirely upon this meagre outfit for
the purchase of such horses and provisions as it will be in our power to
obtain--a scant dependence, indeed, for such a journey as is before us.”
One of their last acts was to draw up a full list of the members of
the party, and, making several copies of it, to leave these among the
friendly Indians with instructions to give a paper to the first white
men who should arrive in the country. On the back of the paper was
traced the track by which the explorers had come and that by which
they expected to return. This is a copy of one of these important
documents:--
“The object of this list is, that through the medium of some civilized
person who may see the same, it may be made known to the informed
world, that the party consisting of the persons whose names are hereunto
annexed, and who were sent out by the government of the U’States in May,
1804, to explore the interior of the Continent of North America, did
penetrate the same by way of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, to the
discharge of the latter into the Pacific Ocean, where they arrived on
the 14th of November, 1805, and from whence they departed the 23d day of
March, 1806, on their return to the United States by the same rout they
had come out.”
Curiously enough, one of these papers did finally reach the United
States. During the summer of 1806, the brig “Lydia,” Captain Hill,
entered the Columbia for the purpose of trading with the natives. From
one of these Captain Hill secured the paper, which he took to
Canton, China, in January, 1807. Thence it was sent to a gentleman in
Philadelphia, having travelled nearly all the way round the world.
Fort Clatsop, as they called the rude collection of huts in which they
had burrowed all winter, with its rude furniture and shelters, was
formally given to Comowool, the Clatsop chief who had been so kind
to the party. Doubtless the crafty savage had had his eye on this
establishment, knowing that it was to be abandoned in the spring.
The voyagers left Fort Clatsop about one o’clock in the day, and, after
making sixteen miles up the river, camped for the night. Next day, they
reached an Indian village where they purchased “some wappatoo and a
dog for the invalids.” They still had several men on the sick list in
consequence of the hard fare of the winter. The weather was cold and
wet, and wood for fuel was difficult to obtain. In a few days they found
themselves among their old friends, the Skilloots, who had lately been
at war with the Chinooks. There was no direct intercourse between
the two nations as yet, but the Chinooks traded with the Clatsops and
Wahkiacums, and these in turn traded with the Skilloots, and in this way
the two hostile tribes exchanged the articles which they had for those
which they desired. The journal has this to say about the game of an
island on which the explorers tarried for a day or two, in order to dry
their goods and mend their canoes:--
“This island, which has received from the Indians the appropriate name
of Elalah (Elallah), or Deer Island, is surrounded on the water-side by
an abundant growth of cottonwood, ash, and willow, while the interior
consists chiefly of prairies interspersed with ponds. These afford
refuge to great numbers of geese, ducks, large swan, sandhill cranes,
a few canvas-backed ducks, and particularly the duckinmallard, the most
abundant of all. There are also great numbers of snakes resembling our
garter-snakes in appearance, and like them not poisonous. Our hunters
brought in three deer, a goose, some ducks, an eagle, and a tiger-cat.
Such is the extreme voracity of the vultures, that they had devoured in
the space of a few hours four of the deer killed this morning; and one
of our men declared that they had besides dragged a large buck about
thirty yards, skinned it, and broken the backbone.”
The vulture here referred to is better known as the California condor, a
great bird of prey which is now so nearly extinct that few specimens
are ever seen, and the eggs command a great price from those who make
collections of such objects. A condor killed by one of the hunters of
the Lewis and Clark expedition measured nine feet and six inches from
tip to tip of its wings, three feet and ten inches from the point of the
bill to the end of the tail, and six inches and a half from the back of
the head to the tip of the beak. Very few of the condors of the Andes
are much larger than this, though one measuring eleven feet from tip to
tip has been reported.
While camped at Quicksand, or Sandy River, the party learned that food
supplies up the Columbia were scarce. The journal says that the Indians
met here were descending the river in search of food. It adds:--
“They told us, that they lived at the Great Rapids; 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 people living
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
not expecting the return of the salmon before the next full moon,
which would be on the second of May: this information was not a little
embarrassing. From the Falls to the Chopunnish nation, the plains
afforded neither deer, elk, nor antelope for our subsistence. 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 salmon,
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 possible, 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 deliberation, 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 Columbia,
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.”
On the third of April this entry is made:--
“A considerable number of Indians crowded about us to-day, many of whom
came from the upper part of the river. These poor wretches confirm
the reports of scarcity among the nations above; which, indeed, their
appearance sufficiently proved, for they seemed almost starved, and
greedily picked the bones and refuse meat thrown away by us.
“In the evening Captain Clark returned from an excursion. On setting out
yesterday at half-past eleven o’clock, he directed his course along
the south side of the (Columbia) river, where, at the distance of eight
miles, he passed a village of the Nechacohee tribe, belonging to the
Eloot nation. The village itself is small, and being situated behind
Diamond Island, was concealed from our view as we passed both times
along the northern shore. He continued till three o’clock, when he
landed at the single house already mentioned as the only remains of a
village of twenty-four straw huts. Along the shore were great numbers
of small canoes for gathering wappatoo, which were left by the Shahalas,
who visit the place annually. The present inhabitants of the house are
part of the Neerchokioo tribe of the same (Shahala) nation. On entering
one of the apartments of the house, Captain Clark offered several
articles to the Indians in exchange for wappatoo; but they appeared
sullen and ill-humored, and refused to give him any. He therefore sat
down by the fire opposite the men, and taking a port-fire match from his
pocket, threw a small piece of it into the flame; at the same time he
took his pocket-compass, and by means of a magnet, which happened to be
in his inkhorn, made the needle turn round very briskly. The match now
took fire and burned violently, on which the Indians, terrified at this
strange exhibition, immediately 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 vehemence, as if praying and imploring
protection. Having received the roots, Captain Clark put up the compass,
and as the match went out of itself tranquillity was restored, though
the women and children still took 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, continued down the river.”
The excursion from which Captain Clark had returned, as noted in this
extract, was up the Multnomah River. As we have already seen, the
explorers missed that stream when they came down the Columbia; and they
had now passed it again unnoticed, owing to the number of straggling
islands that hide its junction with the Columbia. Convinced that a
considerable river must drain the region to the south, Captain Clark
went back alone and penetrating the intricate channels among the
islands, found the mouth of the Multnomah, now better known as the
Willamette. He was surprised to find that the depth of water in the
river was so great that large vessels might enter it. He would have been
much more surprised if he had been told that a large city, the largest
in Oregon, would some day be built on the site of the Indian huts which
he saw. Here Captain Clark found a house occupied by several families
of the Neechecolee nation. Their mansion was two hundred and twenty-six
feet long and was divided into apartments thirty feet square.
The most important point in this region of the Columbia was named
Wappatoo Island by the explorers. This is a large extent of country
lying between the Willamette and an arm of the Columbia which they
called Wappatoo Inlet, but which is now known as Willamette Slough.
It is twenty miles long and from five to ten miles wide. Here is an
interesting description of the manner of gathering the roots of the
wappatoo, of which we have heard so much in this region of country:--
“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,(1) 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 neighboring 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.”
(1) In the Chinook jargon “Wappatoo” stands for potato.
The natives of this inland region, the explorers found, were larger
and better-shaped than those of the sea-coast, but they were nearly
all afflicted with sore eyes. The loss of one eye was common, and not
infrequently total blindness was observed in men of mature years, while
blindness was almost universal among the old people. The white men
made good use of the eye-water which was among their supplies; it was
gratefully received by the natives and won them friends among the people
they met. On the fifth of April the journal has this entry:--
“In the course of his chase yesterday, one of our men (Collins), who
had killed a bear, found the den of another with three cubs in it. He
returned to-day in hopes of finding her, but 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, which 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.”
And on the ninth is this entry:--
“The wind having moderated, we reloaded the canoes and set out by seven
o’clock. We stopped to take up the two hunters who left us yesterday,
but were unsuccessful in the chase, and then proceeded to the Wahclellah
village, situated on the north side of the river, about a mile below
Beacon Rock. During the whole of the route from 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
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, collect again 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
Wahclellahs had such an article, which they had stolen, we made no
difficulty about retaking our property.”
The Columbia along the region through which the expedition was now
passing is a very wild and picturesque stream. The banks are high and
rocky, and some of the precipices to which the journal refers are of
a vast perpendicular height. On the Oregon side of the river are five
cascades such as those which the journal mentions. The most famous and
beautiful of these is known as Multnomah Falls. This cataract has a
total fall of more than six hundred feet, divided into two sections. The
other cascades are the Bridal Veil, the Horsetail, the Latourelle, and
the Oneonta, and all are within a few miles of each other.
On the ninth of April the voyagers reached the point at which they were
to leave tidewater, fifty-six miles above the mouth of the Multnomah, or
Willamette. They were now at the entrance of the great rapids which are
known as the Cascades of the Columbia, and which occupy a space on the
river about equal to four miles and a half. They were still navigating
the stream with their canoes, camping sometimes on the north side and
sometimes on the south side of the river. This time they camped on the
north side, and during the night lost one of their boats, which got
loose and drifted down to the next village of the Wahclellahs, some of
whom brought it back to the white men’s camp and were rewarded for their
honesty by a present of two knives. It was found necessary to make a
portage here, but a long and severe rainstorm set in, and the tents and
the skins used for protecting the baggage were soaked. The journal goes
on with the narrative thus:--
We 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 labor. A guard, consisting
of one sick man and three who had been lamed by accidents, remained with
Captain Lewis (and a cook) to guard the baggage. This precaution
was absolutely necessary to protect it from the Wahclellahs, 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 now 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
afterward we were told by an Indian who spoke Clatsop, which we had
ourselves learned during the winter, that the Wahclellahs had carried
off Captain Lewis’ 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 Clahclellahs, who
seemed mortified at the behavior of the Indians, and told us that the
persons at the head of their outrages were two very bad men who belonged
to the Wahclellah 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 neighboring Indians. We
therefore gave him a small medal and showed him all the attention in our
power, with which he appeared very much gratified.”
The portage of these rapids was very difficult and tiresome. The total
distance of the first stage was twenty-eight hundred yards along a
narrow way rough with rocks and now slippery with rain. One of the
canoes was lost here by being driven out into the strong current, where
the force of the water was so great that it could not be held by the
men; the frail skiff drifted down the rapids and disappeared. They now
had two canoes and two periogues left, and the loads were divided among
these craft. This increased the difficulties of navigation, and Captain
Lewis crossed over to the south side of the river in search of canoes
to be purchased from the Indians, who lived in a village on that side of
the stream. The narrative continues:
“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. He also purchased with deer-skins three dogs,--an
animal which has now become a favorite food, for it is found to be a
strong, healthy diet, preferable to lean deer or elk, and much superior
to horseflesh in any state. With these he proceeded along the south side
of the river, and joined us in the evening.”
Above the rapids the party encountered two tribes of Indians from whom
they endeavored to buy horses, for they were now approaching a point
when they must leave the river and travel altogether by land. One of
these tribes was known as the Weocksockwillacurns, and the other was the
Chilluckittequaws. These jaw-breaking names are commended to those who
think that the Indian names of northern Maine are difficult to handle.
Trees were now growing scarcer, and the wide lowlands spread out before
the explorers stretched to the base of the Bitter Root Mountains
without trees, but covered with luxuriant grass and herbage. After being
confined so long to the thick forests and mountains of the seacoast, the
party found this prospect very exhilarating, notwithstanding the absence
of forests and thickets. The climate, too, was much more agreeable than
that to which they had lately been accustomed, being dry and pure.