University of Virginia Library

[Lewis:]

Tuesday April 29th. 1806.

This morning Yellept furnished us with two canoes and we
began to transport our baggage over the river; we also sent a
party of the men over to collect the horses. we purchased
some dogs and shappellell this morning. we had now a store
of 12 dogs for our voyage through the plains. by 11 A.M.
we had passed the river[20] with our party and baggage but were
detained several hours in consequence of not being able to
collect our horses. our guide now informed us that it was too
late in the evening to reach an eligible place to encamp; that
we could not reach any water before night. we therefore
thought it best to remain on the Wallahwollah river[21] about a
mile from the Columbia untill the morning, and accordingly
encamped on that river near a fish wear. this wear consists of
two curtains of small willow switches matted together with
four lines of withs of the same materials exten[d]ing quite
across the river, parrallel with ea[c]h other and about 6 feet
assunder. those are supported by several parsels of poles
placed in the manner before discribed of the fishingwears.
these curtains of willow are either roled at one end for a few
feet to permit the fish to pass or are let down at pleasure.
they take their fish which at present are a mullet only of from
one to five lbs., with small seines of 15 or 18 feet long drawn
by two persons; these they drag down to the wear and raise
the bottom of the seine against the willow curtain. they have
also a small seine maniaged by one person it bags in the
manner of the scooping net; the one side of the net is confined
to a simicircular bow of half the size of a man's arm and about
5 feet long, the other side is confined to a strong string which
being attached to the extremities of the bow forms the cord
line to the simicircle. The Wallahwollah river discharges
itself into the Columbia on it's S. side 15 miles below the
entrance of Lewis's river or the S.E. branch. a high range of

hills pass the Columbia just below the entrance of this river.
this is a handsome stream about 4 1/2 feet deep and 50 Yds. wide;
it's bed is composed of gravel principally with some sand and
mud; the banks are abrupt but not high, tho' it dose not
appear to overflow; the water is clear. the indians inform us
that it has it's s[o]urces in the range of mountains in view of
us to the E and S.E. these mountains commence a little to
the south of Mt. Hood and extending themselves in a N. Easterly
direction terminate near a Southe[r]n branch of Lewis's
river short of the Rocky mountains.[22] The Towannahiooks
river, river LaPage (You ma lol am R)[23] and the Wollah-wollah
rivers all take their rise on the N side of these mountains;
two principal branches of the first of these take their rise in
Mountains Jefferson and hood. these [Cascade] mountains
are covered with snow at present tho' do not appear high;
they seperate the waters of the Multnomah from those of the
Columbia river. they appear to be about 65 or 70 miles distant
from hence. The Snake indian prisoner informed us that
at some distance in the large plains to the South of those
[Blue] mountains there was a large river runing to the N.W.
which was as wide as the Columbia at this place which is
nearly one mile. this account is no doubt some what exagerated
but it serves to evince the certainty of the Multnomah
being a very large river and that it's waters are seperated from
the Columbia by those mountains and that with the aid of a
southwardly branch of Lewis's river which passes arrond the
eastern extremity of those mountains, it must water that vast
tract of country extending from those mountains to the waters
of the gulph of California. and no doubt it heads with the
Yellowstone river [waters of the Missouri] and the del Nord.
we gave small medals to two inferior cheifs of this nation and
they each presented us a fine horse in return we gave them
sundry articles and among others one of my case pistols and
several hundred rounds of amunition. there are 12 other
lodges of the Wollah wollah nation on this river a little distance
below our camp. these as well as those beyond the Columbia
appear to depend on this fishing wear for their subsistence.
these people as well as the Chymnahpos are very well dressed,
much more so particularly their women than they were as we
decended the river last fall most of them have long shirts and
leggings, good robes and mockersons. their women wear the
truss when they cannot procure the shirt, but very few are
seen with the former at this moment. I presume the success
of their winters hunt has produced this change in their attire.
they all cut their hair in their forehead and most of the men
wear the two cews over each sholder in front of the body;
some have the addition of a few small plats formed of the earlocks
and others tigh a small bundle of the docked foretop in
front of the forehead. their ornaments are such as discribed
of the nations below and are woarn in a similar manner. they
insisted on our dancing this evening but it rained a little the
wind blew hard and the weather was cold, we therefore did not
indulge them.