Sunday November 24th. 1805.
A fair morning Sent out 6 hunters, and we proceeded to
make the following observations[4]
a Chief and Several men of
the Chinnook nation came to Smoke with us this evening one
of the men brought a Small Sea otter Skin for Which we gave
Some blue beads. this day proved fair Which gave us an
oppertunity of drying our wet articles, bedding &c. &c. nothing
killed to day except one Brant, the variation of the Compass
is 16°. East.
being now determined to go into Winter quarters as soon as
possible, as a convenient Situation to precure the Wild animals
of the forest which must be our dependance for Subsisting this
Winter, we have every reason to believe that the Nativs have
not provisions Suffi[ci]ent for our consumption, and if they had,
their prices are So high that it would take ten times as much to
purchase their roots & Dried fish as we have in our possesion,
encluding our Small remains of Merchindize and Clothes &c.
This certinly enduces every individual of the party to make
diligient enquiries of the nativs [for] the part of the Countrey
in which the Wild animals are most plenty. They generaly
agree that the Most Elk is on the Opposit Shore, and that the
greatest Numbers of
Deer is up the river at Some distance
above. The Elk being an animal much larger than Deer,
easier to Kill, & better meat (in the Winter when pore) and
Skins better for the Clothes of our party: added to [this]
a convenient Situation to the Sea coast where We Could make-Salt,
and a probibility of Vessels comeing into the Mouth of
Columbia ("which the Indians inform us would return to trade
with them in 3 months") from whome we might precure a fresh
Supply of Indian trinkets to purchase provisions on our return
home: together with the Solicitations of every individual, except
one of our party induced us [to] Conclude to Cross the
river and examine the opposit Side, and if a Sufficent quantity
of Elk could probebly be precured to fix on a Situation as convenient
to the Elk & Sea Coast as we could find. added to
the above advantagies in being near the Sea Coast one most
Strikeing one occurs to me i. e, the Climate which must be from
every appearance much milder than that above the 1
st. range of
Mountains, The Indians are Slightly Clothed and give an
account of but little Snow, and the weather which we have
experienced since we arrived in the neighbourhood of the Sea
coast has been verry warm, and maney of the fiew days past
disagreeably so. if this Should be the case it will most Certainly
be the best Situation of our Naked party dressed as they
are altogether in leather.
