[Lewis:]
Monday March 31st. 1806.
We set out early this morning and proceeded until 8 A.M.
when we Landed on the N. side opposite one large wooden
house of the Shâh-ha-la nation[33]
and took breakfast, when we
decended the river in November last there were 24 other
lodges formed of Straw and covered with bark near this house;
these lodges are now distroyed and the inhabitants as the
Indians inform us have returned to the great rapids of this
river which is their permanent residence; the house which
remains is inhabited; soon after we landed two canoes came
over from this house with 4 men and a woman. they informed
us that their relations who were with them last fall usuly visit
them at that season for the purpose of hunting deer and Elk
and collecting wappetoe and that they had lately returned to
the rapids I presume to prepare for the fishing season as the
Salmon will begin to run shortly. this morning we overtook
the man who had visited our camp last night he had a fine
sturgeon in his canoe which he had just taken. the Sagittaria
Sagittifolia dose not grow on this river above the Columbian
valley. These indians of the rapids frequently visit this valley
at every season of the year for the purpose of collecting wappetoe
which is abundant and appears never to be out of season
at any time of the year. at 10 A.M. we resumed our march
accompanyed by three men in a canoe; one of these fellows
appeared to be a man of some note among them; he was
dressed in a salor's jacket which was decorated in his own
fashion with five rows of large and small buttons in front and
some large buttons on the pocket flaps. they are remarkably
fond of large brass buttons. these people speak a different
language from those below tho' in their dress habits manners
&c. they differ but little from the quathlahpohtles. their
women wear the truss as those do of all the nations residing
from the quathlahpohtles to the entrance of Lewis's river.
they differ in the manner of intering their dead. they lay
them horizontally on boards and cover them with mats, in a
valt formed with boards like the roof of a ho[u]se supported
by forks and a single pole laid horizontally on those forks.
many bodies are deposited in the same valt above ground.
these are frequently laid one on the other, to the hight of three
or fo[u]r corps. they deposit with them various articles of
which they die possessed, and most esteem while living. their
canoes are frequently broken up to strengthen the vault. these
people have a few words the same with those below but the
air of the language is intirely different, insomuch, that it may
be justly deemed a different language. their women wear
longer and larger robes generally, than those below; these are
most commonly made of deer skins dressed with the hair on
them. we continued our rout along the N. side of the river
passed diamond Island and whitebrant island to the lower point
of a handsom prarie opposite to the upper entrance of the
Quicksand river; here we encamped
[34]
having traveled 25 miles
to day. a little below the upper point of the Whitebrant
Island Seal river discharges itself on the N. side.
[34] it is about
80 yards wide, and at present discharges a large body of water.
the water is very clear. the banks are low and near the
Columbia overflow and form several large ponds. the natives
inform us that it is of no great extent and heads in the mountains
just above us. at the distance of one mile from the
entrance of this stream it forks, the two branches being nearly
of the same size. they are both obstructed with falls and
innumerable rappids, insomuch that it cannot be navigated.
as we could not learn any name of the natives for this stream
we called it Seal river from the great abundance of those
animals which we saw about it's entrance. we determined to
remain at our present encampment a day or two for the several
purposes of examining quicksand river [
which Capt. Clark could
not believe to be the river watering the Country to the Sth. and for
the purpose of] making some Celestial observations, and procuring
some meat to serve us as far as the falls or through the
Western mountains where we found the game scarce as we
decended. the three indians who accompanyed us last evening
encamped a little distance above us and visited our camp
where they remained untill 9 P.M. in the entrance of Seal
river I saw a summer duck or wood duck as they are sometimes
called. this is the same with those of our country and is
the first I have seen since I entered the rocky mountains last
summer. our hunters who had halted a little below Seal river
in consequence of the waves being too high for their small
canoe did not join us untill after dark. Drewyer who was out
below Seal river informed us that game was very scarce in that
quarter, a circumstance which we did not expect.
