University of Virginia Library

November 15th. Friday 1805.

Rained all the last night at intervales of sometimes of 2
hours, This morning it became cold & fair, I prepared to
set out at which time the wind sprung up from the S. E. and
blew down the River & in a fiew minits raised such swells and
waves brakeing on the Rocks at the Point as to render it unsafe
to proceed. I went to the point in an empty canoe and
found it would be dangerous to proceed even in an empty canoe
The sun shown untill 1 oClock P. M. which gave an oppertunity
for us to dry some of our bedding & examine our baggage,
the greater Part of which I found wet. some of our
Pounded fish spoiled I had all the arms put in order & amunition
examined.
The rainey weather continued without a longer intermition
than 2 hours at a time, from the 5th. in the morng. untill the
16th. is eleven days rain, and the most disagreeable time I have
experenced confined on a tempiest coast wet, where I can
neither git out to hunt, return to a better situation, or proceed
on: in this situation have we been for Six days past. fortunately
the wind lay about 3 oClock we loaded I in great
haste and set out passed the blustering Point below which is
a sand beech, with a small marshey bottom for 3 miles on the
Stard. Side, on which is a large village of 36 houses deserted by
the Inds & in full possession of the flees, a small creek fall[s]
in at this village, which waters the Country for a few miles

back; Shannon & 5 Indians met me here, Shannon informed
me he met Capt. Lewis some distance below & he took Willard
with him & sent him to meet me, the Inds. with him wer
rogues, they had the night before stold both his and Willards
guns from under their heads, Capt. Lewis & party arrived at
the camp of those Indians at so timely a period that the Inds.
were allarmed & delivered up the guns &c. The tide meeting
of me and the emence swells from the Main Ocian (imedeately
in front of us) raised to such a hite that I concluded to form a
camp on the highest spot I could find in the marshey bottom,
and proceed no further by water as the Coaste becomes verry
[dangerous] for crafts of the size of our Canoes, and as the
Ocian is imedeately in front and gives us an extensive view of
it from Cape disapointment to Point addams, except 3 small
Islands off the mouth and S W of us. my situation is in the
upper part of Haleys Bay S. 86°. W. course miles to Cape Disapt.
and S. 35°. W. course miles from Point Addams.

The River here at its mouth from Point addams to the enterance
of Haley Bay above is [blank space in MS.] miles or
thereabouts, a large Isd. the lower point of which is immediately
in the mouth above

4 Indians in a canoe came down with papto [wapatoo] roots
to sell, for which they asked blankets or robes, both of which
we could not spare I informed those Indians all of which
understood some English that if they stole our guns &c the
men would certainly shute them, I treated them with great
distance, & the sentinal which was over our Baggage allarmed
them verry much, they all Promised not to take any thing,
and if any thing was taken by the squars & bad boys to return
them &c. the waves became verry high Evening fare &
pleasent, our men all comfortable in the camps they have
made of the boards they found at the Town above