University of Virginia Library

Summary of article from the New York Gazette:[5]

Have lately been told that Mr. Lewis and party passed last winter near mouth
of Columbia, this is in lat. 46, 19′ N. and long. 123°, 38′ W. from London; it
was named by Captain Gray in 1791 or '92, for his ship, and the southern cape
for the late president Adams. The bay is some miles broad and 20 or 30 long;
the tide rises 12 feet at the mouth of the river, but the current is so strong it does
not run up it more than 60 miles. The river and its tributary streams abound in
salmon. The timber is pine, maple, ash, poplar, and oak. The natives are
badly armed, though some have copper swords.

The head of Columbia river lies south of the 45th degree; the distance from
the mouth of the Missouri to that of the Columbia is 1440 miles in a direct
course, which will probably never be travelled.