[Clark:]
Saturday February 1st.. 1806
This morning a party of four men set out with Jo. Field;
and Sergt Gass with a party of five men again set out up the
Netul river in serch of the Elk which had been killed some
days since and which could not be found in consequence of the
snow.
The Canoes of the nativs inhabitting the lower part of the
Columbia River from the Long narrows down make their
canoes remarkably neat light and well addapted for rideing high
waves. I have seen the nativs near the coast rideing waves in
these canoes in safty and appearantly without concern when I
should [think] it impossible for any vessel of the same size to
have lived or kept above water a minute. They are built of
arborvitia or white Cedar generally, but sometimes of fir. they
are cut out of a solid stick of timber, the Gunnals at the upper
edge fold over outwards and are about 5/8 of an inch thick and
4 or 5 broad, and Stand out nearly Horizontially forming a
kind of rim to the Canoe to prevent the water beating into it.
they are all furnished with more or less cross bars agreeably to
the size of the canoe, those bars are round sticks about 1 inch
and 1/2 diameter which are atached to the iner side of the canoes
a little below the rim on either side with thongs of cedar bark
which is incerted through holes and made fast to the ends of the
stick, which is made smaller than the other part of the stick
to prevent the cord slipping off these crossbears serve to
strengthen the canoe, and by which they lift and manage her
on land. When the nativs land the[y] invariably take their
canoes on Shore unless they are heavily ladined, and then even,
if they remain all night, they discharge their loads and take the
canoe on shore. Some of the large canoes are upwards of 50
feet long and will carry from 8 to 12 thousand lb
s. or from 20
to 30 persons, and some of them particularly on the sea coast
are waxed painted and ornimented with curious images on bow
and stern; those images sometimes rise to the height of five
feet; the pedestile on which these images are fixed, are sometimes
cut out of the solid stick with the canoe, and the image
is formed of separate pieces of timber firmly united with tenants
and mortices without the appearance of a single spike or nail of
any kind. when the nativs are engaged in navigating their
canoes, one sets in the Stern and Stears with a paddle the
others set by pars and paddle over their gunnals next them.
They all kneel in the bottom of the canoe and set on their feet.
their paddles are of an uniform shape which this is an imitation
[ILLUSTRATION] those paddles are made verry thin and the middle
of the blade is thick and hollowed out suddenly,
and made thin on the sides, the center
forming a kind of ridge. the [handle] occupies about 1/3 of the
length of the paddle which is usually 4 to 4 1/2 feet in length.
[ILLUSTRATION] I have observed five forms of Canoes only
in use among the nativs below the Grand
Cataract of this river. they are as follows.
[ILLUSTRATION] this is the smallest size about 15 feet long, and
calculated for one [or] two men mearly to cross
creeks, take over short portages to navigate the
ponds and still water, and is mostly in use amongst the Clatsops
and Chinnooks.
[ILLUSTRATION] this is the next smallest
and from 16 to 20 feet long and calculated
for two or 3 persons and are most common
among the
Wau-ki-â-cums and
Cath-lâh-mâhs among the
marshey Islands, near their villages
[ILLUSTRATION]
A the bow; B the stern; those
are from 20 to 40 feet in length
and from 2 1/2 to 3 1/2 feet in the
beam and about 2 feet deep; this canoe is common to all the
nations below the grand Rapids it [is] here made deeper
and shorter in pertotion [proportion] than the canoe realy is,
the bowsprit from C. to D. is brought to a sharp edge
tapering gradually from the sides.
[ILLUSTRATION]
This is the most common form
of the canoe in use among the
indians from the Chil-luck-kit-te-quaw
inclusive to the Ocian and is commonly from about 30
to 35 feet long, and will carry from 10 to 12 persons. 4 men
are competent to carry them a considerable distance say a mile
without resting. A is the end the nativs use as the bow, but
which on first sight I took to be the stern c. d. is a comb cut
of the solid wood with the canoe, and projects from the center
of the end of the canoe being about 1 inch thick, it's sides
parallel and edge at c. d. sharp it is from 9 to 11 inches in
debth and extends from the under part of the bowsprit at A to
the bottom at d,. the stern B is nearly rounding and gradually
assending. 1,2,3, represents the rim of the gunnals about 4
inches wide, reather ascending as they recede from the canoe,
4,5,6,7,8, are the holes through which the string pass to fasten
the round pieces which pass crosswise the canoe to strengthen
& lift her.
[ILLUSTRATION] This form of a canoe we
did not meet with untill
we reached the tide water
or below the Great Rapids.
from thence down it is
common to all the nations
but more particularly the
Kilamox and others of the coast. these are the largest Canoes,
I measured one at the Kilamox village S S W of us which was
[blank space in MS.] feet long & [blank space in MS.] feet
wide and [blank space in MS.] feet deep, and they are most
commonly about that size. B. is the bow, and comb. C, the
stern and comb. Their images are representations of a great
variety of grotesque figures, any of which might be safely worshiped
without commiting a breach of the commandments.
They have but fiew axes among them, and the only tool
usially employd in forming the canoe, carving &c. is a chissel
formed of an old file about an inch or 1 1/2 inchs broad, this
chissel has sometimes a large block of wood for a handle; they
grasp the chissel just below the block with the right hand holding
the top of the block, and strikes backwards against the
wood with the edge of the chissel. a person would suppose
that forming a large canoe with an instrument like this was the
work of several years; but those people make them in a fiew
weeks. They prize their Canoes very highly; we have been
anxious to obtain some of them, for our journey up the river
but have not been able to obtain one as yet from the nativs in
this neighbourhood.
Today we opened and examined all our ammunition, which
has been secured in leaden canistirs. we found twenty sevin
of the best Rifle powder, 4 of common rifle, 3 of Glaize and
one of Musquet powder in good order, perfectly as dry as when
first put in the canisters, altho the whole of it from various
accidince have been for hours under the water. these cannisters
contain 4 pounds of powder each and 8 of Lead. had it
not been for that happy expedient which Capt. Lewis devised of
securing the powder by means of the Lead, we should have
found great dificuelty in keeping dry powder untill this time;
those cannisters which had been accidently brused and cracked,
one which was carelessly stopped, and a fifth which had been
penetrated with a nail; were wet and damaged; those we gave
to the men to dry; however exclusive of those 5 we have an
abundant stock to last us back; and we always take care to put
a purpotion of it in each canoe, to the end that should one
canoe or more be lost we should still not be entirely bereft of
ammunition, which is now our only hopes for subsistance and
defence in the rout of 4,000 miles through a country exclusively
inhabited by Indians—many bands of which are Savage in
every sense of the word.
