[Clark, first draft:]
October 22nd. Tuesday 1805
a fine morning calm we set out at 9 oClock and on the
Course S. 52°. W. 10 miles passed lodges & Indians and rapids
as mentioned in the course of yesterday, from the expiration of
| S. 30° W. |
3 |
miles to the mouth of a large river in the Lard. bend 200
yds. wide great rapids in it a ¼ up it long and impracticable
of assent Passed a point of rock Island at 2
miles on the Stard. 3 Islands in the mouth of this river
no bottoms a little up |
| West |
4 |
miles to a bend on Stard. side passed the Island of rocks at
2 miles at Lower point 8 large Lodges, on the Stard.
Side 10 Lodges, below at the end of the course 6
more Lodges passed a Island on the Std Side |
| S. W. |
2 |
miles to a rocky Lard. bend from the mouth of the river at
the fall or commencement of the Pitch where we made
a portage of 457 yards & down a steep |
|
19 |
|
Took our Baggage & formed a camp below the rapids in a
cove on the Stard. Side the distance 1200 yards haveing passed
at the upper end of the portage 17 Lodges of Indians below
the rapids & above camp 5 large Lodges of Indians, great
numbers of baskets of Pounded fish on the rocks Islands &
near their Lodges those are needy pounded & put in verry
new baskets of about 90 or 100 pounds w[e]ight. hire Indians
to take our heavy articles across the portage purchased a Dog
for supper Great numbers of Indians view us, we with much
dificuelty purchased as much wood as cooked our dog this
evening, our men all in helth. The Indians have their grave
yard on an Island in the rapids. The Great Chief of those
Indians is out hunting. no Indians reside on the Lard Side
for fear of the Snake Indians with whome they are at war and
who reside on the large fork on the Lard. a little above
October 22d. Tuesday 1805
A fine morning calm and fare we set out at 9 oClock passed
a verry bad rapid at the head of an Island close under the Stard.
side above this rapid on the Stard side is six Lodges of nativs
Drying fish, at 9 mls. passed a bad rapid at the head of a large
Island of high & uneaven [rocks], jutting over the water, a
Small Island in a Stard. Bend opposit the upper point, on
which I counted 20 parcels of dryed and pounded fish; on the
main Stard. Shore opposit to this Island five Lodges of Indians
are Situated, Several Indians in canoes killing fish with gigs
&c. opposit the center of this Island of rocks which is about
4 miles long we discovered the enterence of a large river on the
Lard. Side which appeared to come from the S. E. we landed
at some distance above the mouth of this river and Capt. Lewis
and my Self set out to view this river above its mouth, as our
rout was intersepted by a deep narrow Chanel which runs
out of this river into the Columbia a little below the place we
landed, leaveing a high dry rich Island of about 400 yards
wide and 800 yards long here we Seperated, I proceeded on
to the river and Struck it at the foot of a verry Considerable
rapid, here I beheld an emence body of water compressd in
a narrow chanel of about 200 yds in width, fomeing over rocks
maney of which presented their tops above the water, when
at this place Cap
t. Lewis joined me haveing delayed on the wày
to examine a root of which the nativs had been digging great
quantities in the bottoms of this River. at about two miles
above this river appears to be confined between two high hils
below which it [is] divided by numbers of large rocks, and
Small Islands covered with a low groth of timber, and has a
rapid as far as the narrows, three Small Islands in the mouth
of this River, this River haveing no Indian name that we
could find out, except "the River on which the Snake Indians
live",
[6]
we think it best to leave the nameing of it untill our
return.
we proceeded on pass[ed] the mouth of this river at which
place it appears to discharge ¼ as much water as runs down
the Columbia, at two miles below this River passed Eight
Lodges on the Lower point of the Rock Island aforesaid at
those Lodges we saw large logs of wood which must have been
rafted down the To wor-ne hi ooks River, below this Island on
the main Stard. Shore is 16 Lodges of nativs, here we
landed a fiew minits to Smoke, the lower point of one Island
opposit which heads in the mouth of Towornehiooks River which
I did not observe untill after passing these lodges about ½ a
mile lower passed 6 more Lodges on the Same Side and 6
miles below the upper mouth of Towornehiooks River the comencement
of the pitch of the great falls,[7]
opposit on the
Stard. Side is 17 Lodges of the nativs we landed and walked
down accompanied by an old man to view the falls, and the
best rout for to make a portage which we Soon discovered was
much nearest on the Stard. Side, and the distance 1200 yards
one third of the way on a rock, about 200 yards over a loose
Sand collected in a hollar blown by the winds from the bottoms
below which was disagreeable to pass, as it was steep and loose.
at the lower part of those rapids we arrived at 5 Large Lod[g]es
of nativs drying and prepareing fish for market, they gave
us Philburts,
[8]
and berries to eate. we returned droped down
to the head of the rapids and took every article except the
Canoes across the portag[e] where I had formed a camp on [an]
ellegable Situation for the protection of our Stores from thieft,
which we were more fearfull of, than their arrows, we despatched
two men to examine the river on the opposit Side,
and [they] reported that the canoes could be taken down a
narrow Chanel on the opposit Side after a Short portage at
the head of the falls, at which place the Indians take over their
Canoes. Indians assisted us over the portage with our heavy
articles on their horses,
[9]
the waters is divided into Several narrow
chanels which pass through a hard black rock forming
Islands of rocks at this Stage of the water, on those Islands
of rocks as well as at and about their Lodges I observe great
numbers of Stacks of pounded Salmon neetly preserved in the
following manner, i. e. after [being] suffi[c]ently Dried it is
pounded between two Stones fine, and put into a speces of
basket neetly made of grass and rushes better than two feet
long and one foot Diamiter, which basket is lined with the Skin
of Salmon Stretched and dried for the purpose, in this it is
pressed down as hard as is possible, when full they Secure the
open part with the fish Skins across which they fasten th[r]o. the
loops of the basket that part very securely, and then on a Dry
Situation they Set those baskets the corded part up, their
common custom is to Set 7 as close as they can Stand and 5
on the top of them, and secure them with mats which is raped
around them and made fast with cords and covered also with
mats, those 12 baskets of from 90 to 100
lbs. each form a Stack,
thus preserved those fish may be kept Sound and sweet Several
years, as those people inform me, Great quantities as they inform
us are sold to the whites people who visit the mouth of
this river as well as to the nativs below.
[10]
on one of those Island[s] I saw Several tooms but did not
visit them The principal Chiefs of the bands resideing about
this Place is out hunting in the mountains to the S. W. no
Indians reside on the S. W. side of this river for fear (as we
were informed) of the Snake Indians, who are at war with the
tribes on this river. they represent the Snake Indians as
being verry noumerous, and resideing in a great number of
villages on Towornehiooks River which falls in 6 miles above
on the Lard. Side and it reaches a great ways and is large a
little abov its mouth at which part it is not intersepted with
rapids, they inform that one considerable rapid & maney
Small ones in that river, and that the Snake live on Salmon,
and they go to war to their first villages in 12 days, the
Course they pointed is S. E. or to the S of S. E. we are
visited by great numbers of Indians to Day to view us, we
purchased a Dog for Supper, some fish and with dificuelty
precured as much wood as cooked Supper, which we also purchased
we made 19 miles to day.
