Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 printed from the original manuscripts in the library of the American Philosophical Society and by direction of its committee on historical documents |
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November 15th. Friday 1805 |
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 | Chapter XX Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 |  |
November 15th. Friday 1805
Rained all the last night, this morning it became calm and
fair, I preposed Setting out, and ordered the canoes Repared
Sprung up from the S. E. and blew with Such violence, that
we could not proceed in Safty with the loading. I proceeded
to the point in an empty canoe, and found that the waves
dashed against the rocks with such Violence that I thought it
unsave to Set out with the loaded canoes. The Sun Shown
untill 1 oClock P. M. which afford[ed] us time to Dry our
bedding and examine the baggage which I found nearly all wet,
Some of our pounded fish Spoiled in the wet, I examined the
amunition and caused all the arms to be put in order.
about 3 oClock the wind luled, and the river became calm,
I had the canoes loaded in great haste and Set Out, from this
dismal nitich where we have been confined for 6 days passed,
without the possibility of proceeding on, returning to a better
Situation, or get out to hunt; Scerce of Provisions, and torents
of rain poreing on us all the time. proceeded on passed the
blustering point below which I found a butifull Sand beech
thro which runs a Small river from the hills, below the mouth
of this Stream is a village of 36 houses uninhabited by anything
except flees, here I met G. Shannon and 5 Indians.
Shannon informed me that he met Capt. Lewis at an Indian
Hut about 10 miles below who had sent him back to meet me,
he also told me the Indians were thievish, as the night before
they had Stolen both his and Willards rifles from under their
heads [they threatened them with a large party from above
which Capt. Lewis's arrival confirmed] that they Set out on
their return and had not proceeded far up the beech. before
they met Capt. Lewis, whose arival was at a timely moment and
alarmed the Indians So that they instantly produced the Guns.
I told those Indians who accompanied Shannon that they
should not come near us, and if any one of their nation Stold
anything from us, I would have him Shot, which they understoot
verry well. as the tide was comeing in and the Seas
became verry high imediately from the ocian (imediately faceing
us) I landed and formed a camp on the highest Spot I
could find between the hight of the tides, and the Slashers in
a small bottom this I could plainly See would be the extent
of our journey by water, as the waves were too high at any
of the Ocian from Point Adams or Rond (see La Payrouse) to
Cape Disapointment, I could not see any Island in the
mouth of this river as laid down by Vancouver. the Bay
which he laies down in the mouth is imediately below me.[33]
This Bay we call Haley's bay[34] from a favourite trader with the
Indians which they Say comes into this Bay and trades with
them course to Point adams is S. 35°. W. about 8 miles to
Cape Disapointment is S. 86° W. about 14 miles 4 Indians of
the War-ki-a-cum nation came down with pap-pa-too (Wappatoo)
to Sell &c. The Indians who accompanied Shannon from the
Village below Speake a Different language from those above,
and reside to the north of this place The[y] Call themselves
Chinnooks[35] , I told those people that they had attempted to
Steal 2 guns &c. that if any one of their nation stole any thing
that the Sentenl. whome they Saw near our baggage with his
gun would most certainly Shute them, they all promised not
to tuch a thing, and if any of their womin or bad boys took
any thing to return it imediately and chastise them for it. I
treated those people with great distance. our men all comfortable
old village above, we made 3 miles to day.
This bay is now known as Baker's Bay (sometimes called Rogue's Harbor).
George Vancouver was commissioned by the English government to explore the N. W.
coast of America; he did this during 1792–94, but in the first of these voyages (1792)
he failed to find the Columbia, although he was in the above-named bay. One of his
officers, however, Lieut. W. R. Broughton, discovered it in the autumn of that year,
ascended the river to the Cascades, and took possession of the country for Great
Britain.
In 1786 a French expedition for scientific research and commercial information,
headed by La Pérouse, made some explorations along the Alaska coast and for some
distance southward. The report of his voyage was not published until 1798; the
most important part of it is that which records his scientific observations.—Ed.
The Haley's Bay of Lewis and Clark is now Baker's Bay. It was named in
1792 by Lieutenant Broughton, for the Captain of an American brig which he encountered
in this bay. Point Adams was the name given by Captain Gray to the
southern cape at the mouth of the Columbia. He named the northern cape Point
Hancock; but Capt. John Meares, who in 1788 explored this coast, and failed to
recognize the entrance of the Columbia as the mouth of a great river, called the
bay Deception, and the northern headland, Cape Disappointment. Vancouver retained
this nomenclature, which consequently persisted.—Ed.
| Chapter XX Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 | |