[Lewis:]
Friday April 11th. 1806.
As the tents and skins which covered both our men and
baggage were wet with the rain which fell last evening, and as
it continued still raining this morning we concluded to take
our canoes first to the head of the rapids, hoping that by evening
the rain would cease and afford us a fair afternoon to take
our baggage over the portage. this portage is two thousand
eight hundred yards along a narrow rough and slipery road.[15]
the duty of getting the canoes above the rapid was by mutual
consent confided to my friend Capt. C. who took with him for
that purpose all the party except Bratton who is yet so weak
he is unable to work, three others who were lamed by various
accedents and one other to cook for the party. a few men
were absolutely necessary at any rate to guard our baggage
from the War-clel-lars who crouded about our camp in considerable
numbers. these are the greates[t] theives and scoundrels
we have met with. by the evening Capt. C. took 4 of
our canoes above the rapids tho' with much difficulty and
labour. the canoes were much damaged by being driven
against the rocks in dispite of every precaution which could be
taken to prevent t. the men complained of being so much
fatiegued in the evening that we posponed taking up our 5th.
canoe untill tomorrow. these rapids are much worse than
they were [in the] fall when we passed them,[16]
at that time
there were only three difficult points within seven miles, at
present the whole distance is extreemly difficult of ascent, and
it would be impracticable to decend except by leting down the
empty vessels by a cord and then even the wrisk would be
greater than in taking them up by the same means. the water
appears to be (considerably) upwards of 20 feet higher than
when we decended the river. the distance by way of the
river between the points of the portage is 3 M
s. many of the
natives crouded about the bank of the river where the men
were engaged in taking up the canoes; one of them had the
insolence to cast stones down the bank at two of the men who
happened to be a little detatched from the party at the time.
on the return of the party in the evening from the head of
the rapids they met with many of the natives on the road, who
seemed but illy disposed; two of these fellows met with John
Sheilds who had delayed some time in purchasing a dog and
was a considerable distance behind the party on their return
with Capt. C. they attempted to take the dog from him and
pushed him out of the road. he had nothing to defend himself
with except a large knife which he drew with an intention
of puting one or both of them to death before they could get
themselves in readiness to use their arrows, but discovering his
design they declined the combat and instantly fled through the
woods. three of this same tribe of villains the Wah-clel-lars,
stole my dog this evening, and took him towards their village;
I was shortly afterwards informed of this transaction by an
indian who spoke the Clatsop language, (
some of which we had
learnt from them during the winter) and sent three men in pursuit
of the theives with orders if they made the least resistence or
difficulty in surrendering the dog to fire on them; they overtook
these fellows or reather came within sight of them at the distance
of about 2 miles; the indians discovering the party In
pursuit of them left the dog and fled. they also stole an ax
from us, but scarcely had it in their possession before
Thompson detected them and wrest[ed] it from them. we
ordered the centinel to keep them out of camp, and informed
them by signs that if they made any further attempts to steal
our property or insulted our men we should put them to
instant death.
[17]
a cheif of the Clah-clel-lah tribe informed us
that there were two very bad men among the Wah-clel-lahs
who had been the principal actors in these seenes of outradge
of which we complained, and that it was not the wish of the
nation by any means to displease us. we told him that we
hoped it might be the case, but we should certainly be as good
as our words if they persisted in their insolence. I am convinced
that no other consideration but our number at this
moment protects us. The Cheif appeared mortified at the
conduct of his people, and seemed friendly disposed towards
us. as he appeared to be a man of consideration and we had
reason to beleive much rispected by the neighbouring tribes
we thought it well to bestoe a medal of small size upon him.
he appeared much gratifyed with this mark of distinction, and
some little attention which we showed him. he had in his
possession a very good pipe tomahawk which he informed us
he had received as a present from a trader who visited him last
winter over land pointing to the N.W., whome he called
Swippeton; he was pleased with the tommahawk of Capt. C.
in consequence of it's having a brass bowl and Capt. C. gratified
him by an exchange. as a further proof of his being esteemed
by this white trader, he gave us a well baked Saylor's bisquit
which he also informed us he had received from Swippeton.
from these evidences I have no doubt but the traders who
winter in some of the inlets to the N. of us visit this part of
the Columbia by land at certain seasons, most probably when
they are confined to their winter harbour, and if so some of
those inlets are probably at no great distance from this place,
as there seems to be but little inducement to intice the trader
hither from any considerable distance particularly as the difficulty
in traveling on the borders of this mountainous country
must be great at that season as the natives informed me their
snows were frequently breast deep. I observe snow-shoes in
all the lodges of the natives above the Columbean vally. I
hope that the friendly interposition of this chief may prevent
our being compelled to use some violence with these people;
our men seem well disposed to kill a few of them. we keep
ourselves perefectly on our guard. This evening we send
Drewyer and the two Feildses on a few miles up the river to
the entrance of Cruzatt's river to hunt untill our arrival.
The inhabitants of the Y-eh-huh Village on the North side
immediately above the rapids have lately removed to the
opposite side of the river, where it appears they usually take
their salmon. like their relations the Wah-Clel-lars they have
taken their houses with them. I observe that all the houses
lately established have their floors on the surface of the ear[th],
are smaller and of more temperary structure than those which
are sunk in the ground. I presume the former are their
spring and Summer dwellings and the latter those of the fall
and winter. these houses are most generally built with boards
and covered with bark. some of an inferior ore more temperary
cast are built entirely of cedar bark, which is kept smooth
and extended by inserting small splinters of wood through the
bark crosswise at the distance of 12 or 14 inches assunder.
several families inhabit the same appartment. their women as
well as those of the 3 villages next below us pierce the cartelage
of the nose and insert various ornaments. they very seldom
imprint any figures on their skins; a few I observed had one or
two longitudinal lines of dots on the front of the leg, reaching
from the ankle upwards about midleg. most of their women
braid their hair in two tresses as before mentioned. the men
usually cew their hair in two parsels which like the braded
tresses of the female hang over each ear in front of the sholder,
and gives an additional
width to the head and face so much
admired by them. these cews are usually formed with throngs
of dressed Otterskin crossing each other and not roled in our
manner arrond the hair. in all other rispects I observe no
difference in their dress habits manners &c. from those in the
Neighbourhood of the diamond Island. today we recognized
a man of the Elute nation who reside at the long narrows of
the Columbia, he was on his return from a trading voyage to
the Columbean valley with 10 or 12 others of his nation.
many other natives from the village above were employed in
taking their roots &c. over the portage on their return. I
observed that the men equally with the women engage in the
labour of carrying. they all left their canoes below the rapids
and took others above which they had left as they decended.
those which were left below were taken down the river by the
persons from whom they had been hired or borrowed. the
natives from above behaved themselves in a very orderly
manner. The salmon have not yet made their appearance,
tho' the natives are not so much distressed for food as I was
induced to believe. I walked down today about 3/4 of a mile
below our encampment to observe the manner in which these
people inter their dead. I found eight sepulchers near the
north bank of the river built in the following manner. four
strong forks are first sunk several feet in the ground and rise
about six feet high, forming a parrallelogram of 8 by 10 feet.
the intervals between these upright forks, on which four poles
are laid, are filled up with broad erect boards with their lower
ends sunk in the ground and their upper ends confined to the
horizontal poles, a flat roof is formed of several layers of
boards; the floors of these sepulchres are on a level with the
surface of the earth. the human bodies are well rolled in
dressed skins and lashed securely with chords and laid horizontaly
on the back with the head to the west, in some of these
sepulchres they are laid on each other to the debth of three or
four bodies, in one of those sepulchres which was nearly
decayed I observed that the human bones filled it perfectly to
the hight of about three feet. many articles appear to be
sacrificed to the dead both within and without the sepulcres.
among other articles, I observed a brass teakettle, some scollep
shells, parts of several robes of cloth and skins, with sticks for
diging roots &c. this appears to be the burying ground of
the Wahclellahs, Clahclellahs and Yehhuhs.
