University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER II.

Monday 21. The morning was cool, and the wind from
the southwest. At five and a half miles we passed a small
island, and one mile and a half further, another in the middle
of the river, which has some rapid water near its head,
and opposite to its lower extremity are eight cabins of Indians
on the right side. We landed near them to breakfast;
but such is the scarcity of wood, that last evening we had
not been able to collect any thing except dry willows, and of
these not more than barely sufficient to cook our supper, and
this morning we could not find enough even to prepare breakfast.
The Indians received us with great kindness, and examined
every thing they saw with much attention. In their
appearance and employments, as well as in their language,
they do not differ from those higher up the river. The dress
too is nearly the same; that of the men consisting of nothing
but a short robe of deer or goat skin; while the women wear
only a piece of dressed skin, falling from the neck so as to
cover the front of the body as low as the waist; a bandage
tied round the body and passing between the legs; and over
this a short robe of deer and antelope skin is occasionally
thrown. Here we saw two blankets of scarlet, and one of

blue cloth, and also a sailor's round jacket; but we obtained
only a few pounded roots, and some fish, for which we of
course paid them. Among other things we observed some
acorns, the fruit of the white oak. These they use as food
either raw or roasted, and on inquiry informed us that they
were procured from the Indians who live near the great
falls. This place they designate by a name very commonly
applied to it by the Indians, and highly expressive, the word
Timm, which they pronounce so as to make it perfectly represent
the sound of a distant cataract. After breakfast we
resumed our journey, and in the course of three miles passed
a rapid where large rocks were strewed across the river,
and at the head of which on the right shore were two huts
of Indians. We stopped here for the purpose of examining
it, as we always do whenever any danger is to be apprehended,
and send round by land all those who cannot swim. Five
miles further is another rapid, formed by large rocks projecting
from each side, above which were five huts of Indians
on the right side, occupied like those we had already
seen, in drying fish. One mile below this is the lower point
of an island close to the right side, opposite to which on
that shore, are two Indian huts.

On the left side of the river at this place, are immense
piles of rocks, which seem to have slipped from the cliffs
under which they lie; they continue till spreading still farther
into the river, at the distance of a mile from the island, they
occasion a very dangerous rapid; a little below which on the
right side are five huts. For many miles the river is now narrow
and obstructed with very large rocks thrown into its
channel; the hills continue high and covered, as is very rarely
the case, with a few low pine trees on their tops. Between
three and four miles below the last rapid occurs a
second, which is also difficult, and three miles below it is a
small river, which seems to rise in the open plains to the
southeast, and falls in on the left. It is forty yards wide
at its mouth; but discharges only a small quantity of water

at present: we gave it the name of Lepage's river from Lepage
one of our company. Near this little river and immediately
below it, we had to encounter a new rapid. The
river is crowded in every direction, with large rocks and
small rocky islands; the passage crooked and difficult,
and for two miles we were obliged to wind with great
care along the narrow channels and between the huge
rocks. At the end of this rapid are four huts of Indians on
the right, and two miles below five more huts on the same
side. Here we landed and passed the night, after making
thirty-three miles. The inhabitants of these huts explained
to us that they were the relations of those who live at the
great falls. They appear to be of the same nation with
those we have seen above, whom, indeed, they resemble in
every thing except that their language, although the same,
has some words different. They have all pierced noses,
and the men when in full dress wear a long tapering piece
of shell or bead put through the nose. These people did not,
however, receive us with the same cordiality to which we
have been accustomed. They are poor; but we were able
to purchase from them some wood to make a fire for supper,
of which they have but little, and which they say they
bring from the great falls. The hills in this neighbourhood
are high and rugged, and a few scattered trees, either
small pine or scrubby white oak, are occasionally seen on
them. From the last rapids we also observed the conical
mountain towards the southwest, which the Indians say is
not far to the left of the great falls. From its vicinity to
that place we called it the Timm or Falls mountain. The
country through which we passed is furnished with several
fine springs, which rise either high up the sides of the hills
or else in the river meadows, and discharge themselves into
the Columbia. We could not help remarking that almost
universally the fishing establishments of the Indians, both
on the Columbia and the waters of Lewis's river, are on the
right bank. On inquiry we were led to believe that the
reason may be found in their fear of the Snake Indians; between
whom and themselves, considering the warlike temper
of that people, and the peaceful habits of the river
tribes, it is very natural that the latter should be anxious
to interpose so good a barrier. These Indians are described
as residing on a great river to the south, and always at
war with the people of this neighbourhood. One of our
chiefs pointed out to-day a spot on the left where, not many
years ago, a great battle was fought, in which numbers of
both nations were killed. We were agreeably surprised
this evening by a present of some very good beer, made
out of the remains of the bread, composed of the Pashecoquamash,
part of the stores we had laid in at the head of
the Kooskooskee, and which by frequent exposure become
sour and moulded.

Tuesday 22. The morning was fair and calm. We left
our camp at nine o'clock, and after going on for six miles
came to the head of an island, and a very bad rapid, where
the rocks are scattered nearly across the river. Just above
this and on the right side are six huts of Indians. At the
distance of two miles below, are five more huts; the inhabitants
of which are all engaged in drying fish, and some of
them in their canoes killing fish with gigs; opposite to this
establishment is a small island in a bend towards the right,
on which there were such quantities of fish that we counted
twenty stacks of dried and pounded salmon. This small
island is at the upper point of one much larger, the sides
of which are high uneven rocks, jutting over the water:
here there is a bad rapid. The island continues for four
miles, and at the middle of it is a large river, which appears
to come from the southeast, and empties itself on the
left. We landed just above its mouth in order to examine it,
and soon found the route intercepted by a deep, narrow channel,
running into the Columbia above the large entrance,
so as to form a dry and rich island about 400 yards wide
and eight hundred long. Here as along the grounds of the

[ILLUSTRATION]

river, the natives had been digging large quantities of roots,
as the soil was turned up in many places. We reached
the river about a quarter of a mile above its mouth at a
place where a large body of water is compressed within a
channel of about two hundred yards in width where it
foams over rocks, many of which are above the surface of
the water. These narrows are the end of a rapid which
extends two miles back, where the river is closely confined
between two high hills, below which it is divided by numbers
of large rocks and small islands, covered with a low
growth of timber. This river, which is called by the Indians
Towahnahiooks, is two hundred yards wide at its
mouth, has a very rapid current, and contributes about one
fourth as much water as the Columbia possesses before the
junction. Immediately at the entrance are three sand
islands, and near it the head of an island which runs parallel
to the large rocky island. We now returned to our boats,
and passing the mouth of the Towahnahiooks went between
the islands. At the distance of two miles we reached the
lower end of this rocky island, where were eight huts of
Indians. Here too, we saw some large logs of wood, which
were most probably rafted down the Towahnahiooks, and
a mile below, on the right bank, were sixteen lodges of Indians,
with whom we stopped to smoke. Then at the distance
of about a mile passed six more huts on the same side,
nearly opposite the lower extremity of the island, which
has its upper end in the mouth of the Towahnahiooks. Two
miles below we came to seventeen huts on the right side of
the river, situated at the commencement of the pitch which
includes the great falls. Here we halted, and immediately
on landing walked down, accompanied by an old Indian
from the huts, in order to examine the falls, and ascertain
on which side we could make a portage most easily. We
soon discovered that the nearest route was on the right side,
and therefore dropped down to the head of the rapid, unloaded
the canoes and took all the baggage over by land to
the foot of the rapid. The distance is twelve hundred
yards. On setting out we crossed a solid rock, about one
third of the whole distance; then reached a space of two
hundred yards wide, which forms a hollow, where the loose
sand from the low grounds has been driven by the winds,
and is steep and loose, and therefore disagreeable to pass;
the rest of the route is over firm and solid ground. The
labour of crossing would have been very inconvenient, if the
Indians had not assisted us in carrying some of the heavy
articles on their horses; but for this service they repaid
themselves so adroitly, that on reaching the foot of the rapids
we formed a camp in a position which might secure us
from the pilfering of the natives, which we apprehend
much more than we do their hostilities. Near our camp
are five large huts of Indians engaged in drying fish and
preparing it for the market. The manner of doing this,
is by first opening the fish and exposing it to the sun on
their scaffolds. When it is sufficiently dried it is pounded
fine between two stones till it is pulverized, and is then
placed in a basket about two feet long and one in diameter,
neatly made of grass and rushes, and lined with the skin of
a salmon stretched and dried for the purpose. Here they
are pressed down as hard as possible, and the top covered
with skins of fish which are secured by cords through the
holes of the basket. These baskets are then placed in
some dry situation, the corded part upwards, seven being
usually placed as close as they can be put together, and
five on the top of them. The whole is then wrapped up
in mats, and made fast by cords, over which mats are again
thrown. Twelve of these baskets, each of which contains
from ninety to a hundred pounds, form a stack, which
is now left exposed till it is sent to market; the fish thus
preserved are kept sound and sweet for several years, and
great quantities of it, they inform us, are sent to the Indians
who live below the falls, whence it finds its way to
the whites who visit the mouth of the Columbia. We observe
both near the lodges and on the rocks in the river,
great numbers of stacks of these pounded fish.

Besides fish, these people supplied us with filberts and
berries, and we purchased a dog for supper; but it was with
much difficulty that we were able to buy wood enough to
cook it. In the course of the day we were visited by many
Indians, from whom we learnt that the principal chiefs of
the bands, residing in this neighbourhood, are now hunting
in the mountains towards the southwest. On that side of
the river none of the Indians have any permanent habitations,
and on inquiry we were confirmed in our belief that it
was for fear of attacks from the Snake Indians with whom
they are at war. This nation they represent as very numerous,
and residing in a great number of villages on the
Towahnahiooks, where they live principally on salmon.
That river they add is not obstructed by rapids above its
mouth, but there becomes large and reaches to a considerable
distance: the first villages of the Snake Indians on
that river being twelve days' journey on a course about
southeast from this place.

Wednesday 23. Having ascertained from the Indians,
and by actual examination, the best mode of bringing down
the canoes, it was found necessary, as the river was divided
into several narrow channels, by rocks and islands, to follow
the route adopted by the Indians themselves. This
operation captain Clarke began this morning, and after
crossing to the other side of the river, hauled the canoes
over a point of land, so as to avoid a perpendicular fall of
twenty feet. At the distance of four hundred and fifty-seven
yards we reached the water, and embarked at a place
where a long rocky island compresses the channel of the
river within the space of a hundred and fifty yards, so as
to form nearly a semicircle. On leaving this rocky island
the channel is somewhat wider, but a second and much
larger island of hard black rock, still divides it from the
main stream, while on the left shore it is closely bordered

by perpendicular rocks. Having descended in this way for
a mile, we reached a pitch of the river, which being divided
by two large rocks, descends with great rapidity down a
fall eight feet in height: as the boats could not be navigated
down this steep descent, we were obliged to land and let
them down as slowly as possible by strong ropes of elk skin,
which we had prepared for the purpose. They all passed
in safety except one, which being loosed by the breaking of
the ropes, was driven down, but was recovered by the Indians
below. With this rapid ends the first pitch of the
great falls, which is not great in point of height, and remarkable
only for the singular manner in which the rocks
have divided its channel. From the marks every where
perceivable at the falls, it is obvious that in high floods,
which must be in the spring, the water below the falls rises
nearly to a level with that above them. Of this rise,
which is occasioned by some obstructions which we do not
as yet know, the salmon must avail themselves to pass up the
river in such multitudes, that that fish is almost the only one
caught in great abundance above the falls; but below that
place, we observe the salmon trout, and the heads of a species
of trout smaller than the salmon trout, which is in
great quantities, and which they are now burying to be
used as their winter food. A hole of any size being dug, the
sides and bottom are lined with straw, over which skins
are laid: on these the fish, after being well dried, is laid,
covered with other skins, and the hole closed with a layer
of earth twelve or fifteen inches deep. About three o'clock
we reached the lower camp, but our joy at having accomplished
this object was somewhat diminished, by the persecution
of a new acquaintance. On reaching the upper point
of the portage, we found that the Indians had been encamped
there not long since, and had left behind them multitudes
of fleas. These sagacious animals were so pleased
to exchange the straw and fish skins, in which they had
been living, for some better residence, that we were soon
covered with them, and during the portage the men were
obliged to strip to the skin, in order to brush them from
their bodies. They were not, however, so easily dislodged
from our clothes, and accompanied us in great numbers to
our camp.

We saw no game except a sea otter, which was shot in
the narrow channel as we came down, but we could not get
it. Having therefore scarcely any provisions, we purchased
eight small fat dogs, a food to which we are now compelled
to have recourse, for the Indians are very unwilling
to sell us any of their good fish, which they reserve for the
market below. Fortunately, however, the habit of using
this animal has completely overcome the repugnance which
we felt at first, and the dog, if not a favourite dish, is always
an acceptable one. The meridian altitude of to-day gives
45° 42′ 57″ 3–10 north, as the latitude of our camp.

On the beach near the Indian huts, we observed two canoes
of a different shape and size from any which we had
hitherto seen: one of these we got in exchange for our
smallest canoe, giving a hatchet and a few trinkets to the
owner, who said he had purchased it from a white man below
the falls, by giving him a horse. These canoes are
very beautifully made; they are wide in the middle and tapering
towards each end, with curious figures carved on the
bow. They are thin, but being strengthed by cross bars, about
an inch in diameter, which are tied with strong pieces of
bark through holes in the sides, are able to bear very heavy
burdens, and seem calculated to live in the roughest water.

A great number of Indians both from above and below
the falls visited us to-day, and towards evening we were informed
by one of the chiefs who had accompanied us, that
he had overheard that the Indians below intended to attack
us as we went down the river: being at all times ready for
any attempt of that sort, we were not under greater apprehensions
than usual at this intelligence: we, therefore, only

reexamined our arms and increased the ammunition to one
hundred rounds. Our chiefs, who had not the same motives
of confidence, were by no means so much at their ease, and
when at night they saw the Indians leave us earlier than
usual, their suspicions of an intended attack were confirmed,
and they were very much alarmed. The next morning,

Thursday 24, the Indians approached us with apparent
caution, and behaved with more than usual reserve. Our
two chiefs, by whom these circumstances were not unobserved,
now told us that they wished to return home; that they
could be no longer of any service to us, and they could not understand
the language of the people below the falls; that
those people formed a different nation from their own; that
the two people had been at war with each other, and as the
Indians had expressed a resolution to attack us, they would
certainly kill them. We endeavoured to quiet their fears,
and requested them to stay two nights longer, in which time
we would see the Indians below, and make a peace between
the two nations. They replied that they were anxious to return
and see their horses; we however insisted on their remaining
with us, not only in hopes of bringing about an accommodation
between them and their enemies, but because
they might be able to detect any hostile designs against us,
and also assist us in passing the next falls, which are not far
off, and represented as very difficult: they at length, agreed
to stay with us two nights longer. About nine o'clock we
proceeded, and on leaving our camp near the lower fall, found
the river about four hundred yards wide, with a current more
rapid than usual, though with no perceptible descent. At
the distance of two and a half miles, the river widened into
a large bend or basin on the right, at the beginning of which
are three huts of Indians. At the extremity of this basin
stands a high black rock, which, rising perpendicularly from
the right shore, seems to run wholly across the river; so totally
indeed does it appear to stop the passage, that we could
not see where the water escaped, except that the current appeared

to be drawn with more than usual velocity to the left
of the rock, where was a great roaring. We landed at the
huts of the Indians, who went with us to the top of this rock,
from which we saw all the difficulties of the channel. We
were no longer at a loss to account for the rising of the river
at the falls, for this tremendous rock stretches across the
river, to meet the high hills of the left shore, leaving a channel
of only forty-five yards wide, through which the whole
body of the Columbia must press its way. The water thus
forced into so narrow a channel, is thrown into whirls, and
swells and boils in every part with the wildest agitation.
But the alternative of carrying the boats over this high rock
was almost impossible in our present situation, and as the
chief danger seemed to be not from any rocks in the channel,
but from the great waves and whirlpools, we resolved to try
the passage in our boats, in hopes of being able by dexterous
steering to escape. This we attempted, and with great care
were able to get through, to the astonishment of all the Indians
of the huts we had just passed, who now collected to
see us from the top of the rock. The channel continues
thus confined within a space of about half a mile, when the
rock ceased. We passed a single Indian hut at the foot of
it, where the river again enlarges itself to the width of two
hundred yards, and at the distance of a mile and a half stopped
to view a very bad rapid; this is formed by two rocky
islands which divide the channel, the lower and larger of
which is in the middle of the river. The appearance of this
place was so unpromising, that we unloaded all the most valuable
articles, such as guns, ammunition, our papers, &c. and
sent them by land with all the men that could not swim to the
extremity of the rapids. We then descended with the canoes
two at a time, and though the canoes took in some water,
we all went through safely; after which we made two miles,
and stopped in a deep bend of the river towards the right,
and encamped a little above a large village of twenty-one
houses. Here we landed, and as it was late before all the
canoes joined us, we were obliged to remain here this evening,
the difficulties of the navigation having permitted us to
make only six miles. This village is situated at the extremity
of a deep bend towards the right, and immediately above
a ledge of high rocks, twenty feet above the marks of the
highest flood, but broken in several places, so as to form
channels which are at present dry, extending nearly across
the river; this forms the second fall, or the place most probably
which the Indians indicate by the word Timm. While the
canoes were coming on, captain Clarke walked with two men
down to examine these channels. On these rocks the Indians
are accustomed to dry fish, and as the season for that purpose
is now over, the poles which they use are tied up very securely
in bundles, and placed on the scaffolds. The stock of fish
dried and pounded were so abundant that he counted one
hundred and seven of them making more than ten thousand
pounds of that provision. After examining the narrows as
well as the lateness of the hour would permit, he returned
to the village though a rocky open country, infested with
polecats. This village, the residence of a tribe called the
Echeloots, consists of twenty-one houses, scattered promiscuously
over an elevated situation, near a mound about
thirty feet above the common level, which has some remains
of houses on it, and bears every appearanee of being
artificial.

The houses, which are the first wooden buildings we
have seen since leaving the Illinois country, are nearly equal
in size, and exhibit a very singular appearance. A large
hole, twenty feet wide and thirty in length, is dug to the
depth of six feet. The sides are then lined with split pieces
of timber, rising just above the surface of the ground, which
are smoothed to the same width by burning, or shaved with
small iron axes. These timbers are secured in their erect
position by a pole, stretched along the side of the building
near the eaves, and supported on a strong post fixed at each

corner. The timbers at the gable ends rise gradually higher,
the middle pieces being the broadest. At the top of
these is a sort of semicircle, made to receive a ridge-pole, the
whole length of the house, propped by an additional post in
the middle, and forming the top of the roof. From this ridgepole
to the eaves of the house, are placed a number of small
poles or rafters, secured at each end by fibres of the cedar.
On these poles, which are connected by small transverse bars
of wood, is laid a covering of the white cedar, or arbor vitæ,
kept on by the strands of the cedar fibres: but a small distance
along the whole length of the ridge-pole is left uncovered
for the purpose of light, and permitting the smoke to pass
through. The roof thus formed has a descent about equal
to that common amongst us, and near the eaves is perforated
with a number of small holes, made most probably to discharge
their arrows in case of an attack. The only entrance
is by a small door at the gable end, cut out of the middle
piece of timber, twenty-nine and a half inches high, and fourteen
inches broad, and reaching only eighteen inches above
the earth. Before this hole is hung a mat, and on pushing
it aside and crawling through, the descent is by a small
wooden ladder, made in the form of those used amongst us.
One half of the inside is used as a place of deposit for their
dried fish, of which there are large quantities stored away,
and with a few baskets of berries form the only family provisions;
the other half adjoining the door, remains for the
accommodation of the family. On each side are arranged
near the walls, small beds of mats placed on little scaffolds
or bedsteads, raised from eighteen inches to three feet from
the ground, and in the middle of the vacant space is the fire,
or sometimes two or three fires, when, as is indeed usually the
case, the house contains three families.

The inhabitants received us with great kindness—invited
us to their houses, and in the evening, after our camp had
been formed, came in great numbers to see us: accompanying
them was a principal chief, and several of the warriors

of the nation below the great narrows. We made use of this
opportunity to attempt a reconciliation between them and
our two chiefs, and to put an end to the war which had disturbed
the two nations. By representing to the chiefs the
evils which the war inflicted on them, and the wants and
privations to which it subjects them, they soon became disposed
to conciliate with each other, and we had some reason
to be satisfied with the sincerity of the mutual professions
that the war should no longer continue, and that in future
they would live in peace with each other. On concluding
this negociation we proceeded to invest the chief with the
insignia of command, a medal and some small articles of
clothing; after which the violin was produced, and our men
danced to the great delight of the Indians, who remained
with us till a late hour.

Friday, 25. We walked down with several of the Indians
to view the part of the narrows which they represented
as most dangerous: we found it very difficult, but, as
with our large canoes the portage was impracticable, we
concluded on carrying our most valuable articles by land,
and then hazarding the passage. We therefore returned to
the village, and after sending some of the party with our
best stores to make a portage, and fixed others on the rock
to assist with ropes the canoes that might meet with any
difficulty, we began the descent, in the presence of great
numbers of Indians who had collected to witness this exploit.
The channel for three miles is worn through a hard
rough black rock from fifty to one hundred yards wide, in
which the water swells and boils in a tremendous manner.
The three first canoes escaped very well; the fourth, however,
had nearly filled with water; the fifth passed through
with only a small quantity of water over her. At half a
mile we had got through the worst part, and having reloaded
our canoes went on very well for two and a half
miles, except that one of the boats was nearly lost by running
against a rock. At the end of this channel of three

miles, in which the Indians inform us they catch as many
salmon as they wish, we reached a deep basin or bend of
the river towards the right, near the entrance of which are
two rocks. We crossed the basin, which has a quiet and
gentle current, and at the distance of a mile from its commencement,
and a little below where the river resumes its
channel, reached a rock which divides it. At this place we
met our old chiefs, who, when we began the portage, had
walked down to a village below to smoke a pipe of friendship
on the renewal of peace. Just after our meeting we
saw a chief of the village above, with a party who had been
out hunting, and were then crossing the river with their
horses on their way home. We landed to smoke with this
chief, whom we found a bold looking man of a pleasing appearance,
about fifty years of age, and dressed in a war
jacket, a cap, leggings and moccasins: we presented him
with a medal and other small articles, and he gave us some
meat, of which he had been able to procure but little; for
on his route he had met with a war party of Indians from
the Towahnahiooks, between whom there was a battle. We
here smoked a parting pipe with our two faithful friends, the
chiefs, who had accompanied us from the heads of the river,
and who now had each bought a horse, intending to go home
by land. On leaving this rock the river is gentle, but strewed
with a great number of rocks for a few miles, when it becomes
a beautiful still stream about half a mile wide. At
five miles from the large bend we came to the mouth of a
creek twenty yards wide, heading in the range of mountains
which run S. S. W. and S. W. for a long distance, and discharging
a considerable quantity of water: it is called by the
Indians Quenett. We halted below it under a high point
of rocks on the left; and as it was necessary to make some
celestial observations, we formed a camp on the top of these
rocks. This situation is perfectly well calculated for defence
in case the Indians should incline to attack us, for the
rocks form a sort of natural fortification with the aid of
the river and creek, and is convenient to hunt along the
foot of the mountains to the west and southwest, where
there are several species of timber which form fine coverts
for game. From this rock, the pinnacle of the round mountain
covered with snow, which we had seen a short distance
below the forks of the Columbia, and which we had called
the Falls or Timm mountain, is south 43° west, and about
thirty-seven miles distant. The face of the country on both
sides of the river above and below the falls is steep, rugged,
and rocky, with a very small proportion of herbage, and no
timber, except a few bushes: the hills, however, to the west,
have some scattered pine, white oak and other kinds of trees.
All the timber used by the people at the upper falls is rafted
down the Towahnahiooks; and those who live at the head of
the narrows we have just passed, bring their wood in the
same way from this creek to the lower part of the narrows,
from which it is carried three miles by land to their habitations.

Both above and below, as well as in the narrows, we saw
a great number of sea-otter or seals, and this evening one
deer was killed, and great signs of that animal seen near
the camp. In the creek we shot a goose, and saw much appearance
of beaver, and one of the party also saw a fish,
which he took to be a drum-fish. Among the willows we
found several snares, set by the natives for the purpose of
catching wolves.

Saturday, 26. The morning was fine: we sent six men
to hunt and to collect rosin to pitch the canoes, which, by
being frequently hauled over rocks, have become very leaky.
The canoes were also brought out to dry, and on examination
it was found that many of the articles had become spoiled
by being repeatedly wet. We were occupied with the observations
necessary to determine our longitude, and with
conferences among the Indians, many of whom came on
horseback to the opposite shore in the forepart of the day,
and showed some anxiety to cross over to us: we did not

however think it proper to send for them, but towards evening
two chiefs with fifteen men came over in a small canoe:
they proved to be the two principal chiefs of the tribes at
and above the falls, who had been absent on a hunting excursion
as we passed their residence: each of them on their
arrival made us a present of deer's flesh, and small white
cakes made of roots. Being anxious to ingratiate ourselves
in their favour so as to insure a friendly reception on our
return, we treated them with all the kindness we could
show: we acknowledge the chiefs, gave a medal of the small
size, a red silk handkerchief, an armband, a knife, and a
piece of paint to each chief, and small presents to several
of the party, and half a deer: these attentions were not lost
on the Indians, who appeared very well pleased with them.
At night a fire was made in the middle of our camp, and as
the Indians sat round it our men danced to the music of the
violin, which so delighted them that several resolved to remain
with us all night: the rest crossed the river. All the
tribes in this neighbourhood are at war with the Snake Indians,
whom they all describe as living on the Towahnahiooks,
and whose nearest town is said to be four days' march
from this place, and in a direction nearly southwest: there
has lately been a battle between these tribes, but we could
not ascertain the loss on either side. The water rose today
eight inches, a rise which we could only ascribe to the
circumstance of the wind's having been up the river for the
last twenty-four hours, since the influence of the tide cannot
be sensible here on account of the falls below. The
hunters returned in the evening; they had seen the tracks
of elk and bear in the mountains, and killed five deer, four
very large gray squirrels, and a grouse: they inform us that
the country off the river is broken, stony, and thinly timbered
with pine and white oak; besides these delicacies one
of the men killed with a gig a salmon trout, which, being
fried in some bear's oil, which had been given to us by the
chief whom we had met this morning below the narrows,
furnished a dish of a very delightful flavour. A number of
white cranes were also seen flying in different directions,
but at such a height that we could not procure any of them.

The fleas, with whom we had contracted an intimacy at
the falls, are so unwilling to leave us, that the men are obliged
to throw off all their clothes, in order to relieve them
selves from their persecution.

Sunday 27. The wind was high from the westward during
last night and this morning, but the weather being fair
we continued our celestial observations. The two chiefs who
remained with us, were joined by seven Indians, who came in
a canoe from below. To these men we were very particular
in our attentions; we smoked and eat with them; but
some of them who were tempted by the sight of our goods
exposed to dry, wished to take liberties with them; to which
we were under the necessity of putting an immediate check:
this restraint displeased them so much, that they returned
down the river in a very ill humour. The two chiefs however
remained with us till the evening, when they crossed
the river to their party. Before they went we procured from
them a vocabulary of the Echeloot, their native language,
and on comparison were surprised at its difference from that
of the Eneeshur tongue. In fact although the Echeloots, who
live at the great narrows, are not more than six miles from
the Eneeshurs or residents at and above the great falls, the
two people are separated by a broad distinction of language.
The Eneeshurs are understood by all the tribes residing on
the Columbia, above the falls; but at that place they meet
with the unintelligible language of the Echeloots, which
then descends the river to a considerable distance. Yet the
variation may possibly be rather a deep shade of dialect
than a radical difference, since among both many words are
the same, and the identity cannot be accounted for by supposing
that their neighbourhood has interwoven them into their
daily conversations, because the same words are equally familiar
among all the Flathead bands which we have passed.

To all these tribes too the strange clucking or guttural noise
which first struck us is common. They also flatten the heads
of the children in nearly the same manner, but we now begin
to observe that the heads of the males, as well as of the
other sex, are subjected to this operation, whereas among
the mountains the custom has confined it almost to the females.
The hunters brought home four deer, one grouse,
and a squirrel.

Monday 28. The morning was again cool and windy.
Having dried our goods, we were about setting out, when
three canoes came from above to visit us, and at the same
time two others from below arrived for the same purpose.
Among these last was an Indian who wore his hair in a
queue, and had on a round hat and a sailor's jacket, which
he said he had obtained from the people below the great
rapids, who bought them from the whites. This interview
detained us till nine o'clock, when we proceeded down the
river, which is now bordered with cliffs of loose dark coloured
rocks about ninety feet high, with a thin covering of pine
and other small trees. At the distance of four miles we
reached a small village of eight houses under some high
rocks on the right, with a small creek on the opposite side
of the river. We landed and found the houses similar to
those we had seen at the great narrows: on entering one of
them we saw a British musket, a cutlass, and several brass
teakettles, of which they seemed to be very fond. There
were figures of men, birds, and different animals, which
were cut and painted on the boards which form the sides of
the room, and though the workmanship of these uncouth
figures was very rough, they were as highly esteemed by
the Indians as the finest frescoes of more civilized people.
This tribe is called the Chilluckittequaw, and their language
although somewhat different from that of the Echeloots, has
many of the same words, and is sufficiently intelligible to the
neighbouring Indians. We procured from them a vocabulary,
and then after buying five small dogs, some dried berries,

and a white bread or cake made of roots, we left them. The
wind however rose so high, that we were obliged after going
one mile to land on the left side opposite to a rocky island,
and pass the day there. We formed our camp in a niche above
a point of high rocks, and as it was the only safe harbour we
could find, submitted to the inconvenience of lying on the
sand, exposed to the wind and rain during all the evening.
The high wind, which obliged us to consult the safety of our
boats by not venturing further, did not at all prevent the Indians
from navigating the river. We had not been long on
shore, before a canoe with a man, his wife and two children,
came from below through the high waves with a few roots to
sell; and soon after we were visited by many Indians from the
village above, with whom we smoked and conversed. The
canoes used by these people are like those already described,
built of white cedar or pine, very light, wide in the middle,
and tapering towards the ends, the bow being raised and ornamented
with carvings of the heads of animals. As the canoe
is the vehicle of transportation, the Indians have acquired
great dexterity in the management of it, and guide it
safely over the highest waves. They have among their utensils
bowls and baskets very neatly made of small bark and
grass, in which they boil their provisions. The only game
seen to-day were two deer, of which only one was killed, the
other was wounded but escaped.

Tuesday 29. The morning was still cloudy, and the wind
from the west, but as it had abated its violence, we set out
at daylight. At the distance of four miles we passed a
creek on the right, one mile below which is a village of seven
houses on the same side. This is the residence of the principal
chief of the Chilluckittequaw nation, whom we now
found to be the same between whom and our two chiefs we
had made a peace at the Echeloot village. He received us
very kindly, and set before us pounded fish, filberts, nuts,
the berries of the Sacacommis, and white bread made of
roots. We gave in return a bracelet of riband to each of the

women of the house, with which they were very much pleased.
The chief had several articles, such as scarlet and blue
cloth, a sword, a jacket and hat, which must have been procured
from the whites, and on one side of the room were two
wide split boards placed together, so as to make space for a
rude figure of a man cut and painted on them. On pointing
to this and asking them what it meant, he said something, of
which all we understood was "good," and then stepped to
the image and brought out his bow and quiver, which, with
some other warlike instruments, were kept behind it. The
chief then directed his wife to hand him his medicine-bag,
from which he brought out fourteen fore-fingers, which he
told us had once belonged to the same number of his enemies,
whom he had killed in fighting with the nations to the southeast,
to which place he pointed, alluding no doubt to the Snake
Indians, the common enemy of the nations on the Columbia.
This bag is about two feet in length, containing roots, pounded
dirt, &c. which the Indians only know how to appreciate.
It is suspended in the middle of the lodge, and it is
supposed to be a species of sacrilege to be touched by any
but the owner. It is an object of religious fear, and it is
from its sanctity the safest place to deposit their medals and
their more valuable articles. The Indians have likewise
small bags which they preserve in their great medicine-bag,
from whence they are taken and worn around their waists
and necks as amulets against any real or imaginary evils.
This was the first time we had ever known the Indians to
carry from the field any other trophy except the scalp. They
were shown with great exultation, and after an harangue
which we were left to presume was in praise of his exploits,
the fingers were carefully replaced among the valuable contents
of the red medicine-bag. This village being part of
the same nation with the village we passed above, the language
of the two is the same, and their houses of similar
form and materials, and calculated to contain about thirty
souls. The inhabitants were unusually hospitable and good-humoured,
so that we gave to the place the name of the
Friendly village. We breakfasted here, and after purchasing
twelve dogs, four sacks of fish, and a few dried berries,
proceeded on our journey. The hills as we passed are high
with steep and rocky sides, and some pine and white oak,
and an undergrowth of shrubs scattered over them. Four
miles below this village is a small river on the right side; immediately
below is a village of Chilluckittequaws, consisting
of eleven houses. Here we landed and smoked a pipe with
the inhabitants, who were very cheerful and friendly. They
as well as the people of the last village inform us, that this
river comes a considerable distance from the N. N. E. that
it has a great number of falls, which prevent the salmon from
passing up, and that there are ten nations residing on it
who subsist on berries, or such game as they can procure
with their bows and arrows. At its mouth the river is sixty
yards wide, and has a deep and very rapid channel. From
the number of falls of which the Indians spoke, we gave it
the name of Cataract river. We purchased four dogs, and
then proceeded. The country as we advance is more rocky
and broken, and the pine and low whiteoak on the hills increase
in great quantity. Three miles below Cataract river
we passed three large rocks in the river; that in the middle
is large and longer than the rest, and from the circumstance
of its having several square vaults on it, obtained the name
of Sepulchre island. A short distance below are two huts
of Indians on the right: the river now widens, and in three
miles we came to two more houses on the right; one mile beyond
which is a rocky island in a bend of the river towards
the left. Within the next six miles we passed fourteen huts
of Indians, scattered on the right bank, and then reached the
entrance of a river on the left, which we called Labieshe's
river, after Labieshe one of our party. Just above this river
is a low ground more thickly timbered than usual, and in
front are four huts of Indians on the bank, which are
the first we have seen on that side of the Columbia. The exception
may be occasioned by this spot's being more than ususually
protected from the approach of their enemies, by the
creek, and the thick wood behind.

We again embarked, and at the distance of a mile passed
the mouth of a rapid creek on the right eighteen yards
wide: in this creek the Indians whom we left take their
fish, and from the number of canoes which were in it, we
called it Canoe creek. Opposite to this creek is a large
sandbar, which continues for four miles along the left side
of the river. Just below this a beautiful cascade falls in on
the left over a precipice of rock one hundred feet in height.
One mile further are four Indian huts in the low ground on
the left: and two miles beyond this a point of land on the
right, where the mountains become high on both sides, and
possess more timber and greater varieties of it than hitherto,
and those on the left are covered with snow. One mile from
this point we halted for the night at three Indian huts on
the right, having made thirty-two miles. On our first arrival
they seemed surprised, but not alarmed at our appearance,
and we soon became intimate by means of smoking
and our favourite entertainment for the Indians, the violin.
They gave us fruit, some roots, and root-bread, and we purchased
from them three dogs. The houses of these people
are similar to those of the Indians above, and their language
the same: their dress also, consisting of robes or skins of
wolves, deer, elk, and wild-cat, is made nearly after the
same model: their hair is worn in plaits down each shoulder,
and round their neck is put a strip of some skin with the
tail of the animal hanging down over the breast: like the
Indians above they are fond of otter skins, and give a great
price for them. We here saw the skin of a mountain sheep,
which they say live among the rocks in the mountains: the
skin was covered with white hair, the wool long, thick, and
coarse, with long coarse hair on the top of the neck, and
the back resembling somewhat the bristles of a goat. Immediately

behind the village is a pond, in which were great
numbers of small swan.

Wednesday, 30. A moderate rain fell during all last
night, but the morning was cool, and after taking a scanty
breakfast of deer, we proceeded. The river is now about
three quarters of a mile wide, with a current so gentle, that
it does not exceed one mile and a half an hour; but its course
is obstructed by the projection of large rocks, which seemed
to have fallen promiscuously from the mountains into the
bed of the river. On the left side four different streams of
water empty themselves in cascades from the hills: what is,
however, most singular is, that there are stumps of pine
trees scattered to some distance in the river, which has the
appearance of being dammed below and forced to encroach
on the shore: these obstructions continue till at the distance
of twelve miles, when we came to the mouth of a river on
the right, where we landed: we found it sixty yards wide,
and its banks possess two kinds of timber which we had
not hitherto seen: one is a very large species of ash; the
other resembling in its bark the beach; but the tree itself,
as also the leaves, are smaller. We called this stream Crusatte's
river, after Crusatte, one of our men: opposite to its
mouth the Columbia widens to the distance of a mile, with
a large sandbar, and large stones and rocks scattered
through the channel. We here saw several of the large
buzzards, which are of the size of the largest eagle, with
the under part of their wings white: we also shot a deer and
three ducks; on part of which we dined, and then continued
down the Columbia. Above Crusatte's river the low grounds
are about three quarters of a mile wide, rising gradually to
the hills, and with a rich soil covered with grass, fern, and
other small undergrowth; but below, the country rises with
a steep ascent, and soon the mountains approach to the river
with steep rugged sides, covered with a very thick growth
of pine, cedar, cottonwood, and oak. The river is still
strewed with large rocks. Two and a half miles below

Crusatte's river is a large creek on the right, with a small
island in the mouth. Just below this creek we passed
along the right side of three small islands on the right bank
of the river, with a larger island on the opposite side, and
landed on an island very near the right shore at the head of
the great shoot, and opposite two smaller islands at the
fall or shoot itself. Just above the island on which we
were encamped is a small village of eight large houses in a
bend on the right, where the country, from having been
very mountainous, becomes low for a short distance. We
had made fifteen miles to-day, during all which time we
were kept constantly wet with the rain; but as we were able
to get on this island some of the ash which we saw for the
first time to-day, and which makes a tolerable fire, we were
as comfortable as the moistness of the evening would permit.
As soon as we landed, captain Lewis went with five men to
the village, which is situated near the river, with ponds in
the low grounds behind: the greater part of the inhabitants
were absent collecting roots down the river: the few,
however, who were at home, treated him very kindly, and
gave him berries, nuts, and fish; and in the house were a
gun and several articles which must have been procured
from the whites; but not being able to procure any information,
he returned to the island. Captain Clarke had in the
meantime gone down to examine the shoot, and to discover
the best route for a portage. He followed an Indian path,
which, at the distance of a mile, led to a village on an elevated
situation, the houses of which had been large, but
built in a different form from any we had yet seen, but
which had been lately abandoned, the greater part of the
boards being put into a pond near the village: this was most
probably for the purpose of drowning the fleas, which were
in immense quantities near the houses. After going about
three miles the night obliged him to return to camp: he resumed
his search in the morning,

Thursday, 31st, through the rain. At the extremity of
the basin, in which is situated the island where we are encamped,
several rocks and rocky islands are interspersed
through the bed of the river. The rocks on each side have
fallen down from the mountains; that on the left being high,
and on the right the hill itself, which is lower, slipping into
the river; so that the current is here compressed within a
space of one hundred and fifty yards. Within this narrow
limit it runs for the distance of four hundred yards with
great rapidity, swelling over the rocks with a fall of about
twenty feet: it then widens to two hundred paces, and the
current for a short distance becomes gentle; but at the distance
of a mile and a half, and opposite to the old village
mentioned yesterday, it is obstructed by a very bad rapid,
where the waves are unusually high, the river being confined
between large rocks, many of which are at the surface
of the water. Captain Clarke proceeded along the same
path he had taken before, which led him through a thick
wood and along a hill side, till two and a half miles below
the shoots, he struck the river at the place whence the Indians
make their portage to the head of the shoot: he here
sent Crusatte, the principal waterman, up the stream, to
examine if it were practicable to bring the canoes down the
water. In the meantime, he, with Joseph Fields, continued
his route down the river, along which the rapids seem to
stretch as far as he could see. At half a mile below the
end of the portage, he came to a house, the only remnant
of a town, which, from its appearance, must have been of
great antiquity. The house was uninhabited, and being old
and decayed, he felt no disposition to encounter the fleas,
which abound in every situation of that kind, and therefore
did not enter. About half a mile below this house, in a
very thick part of the woods, is an ancient burial place: it
consists of eight vaults made of pine or cedar boards closely
connected, about eight feet square and six in height; the
top secured, covered with wide boards sloping a little, so as

[ILLUSTRATION]

to convey off the rain: the direction of all of them is east
and west, the door being on the eastern side, and partially
stopped with wide boards decorated with rude pictures
of men and other animals. On entering we found in
some of them four dead bodies, carefully wrapped in skins,
tied with cords of grass and bark, lying on a mat in a direction
east and west: the other vaults contained only bones,
which were in some of them piled to the height of four
feet: on the tops of the vaults, and on poles attached to them,
hung brass kettles and frying-pans with holes in their bottoms,
baskets, bowls, sea-shells, skins, pieces of cloth, hair,
bags of trinkets and small bones, the offerings of friendship
or affection, which have been saved by a pious veneration
from the ferocity of war, or the more dangerous temptations
of individual gain: the whole of the walls as well as
the door were decorated with strange figures cut and painted
on them; and besides these were several wooden images of
men, some of them so old and decayed as to have almost
lost their shape, which were all placed against the sides of
the vaults. These images, as well as those in the houses
we have lately seen, do not appear to be at all the objects
of adoration: in this place they were most probably intended
as resemblances of those whose decease they indicate;
and when we observe them in houses, they occupy the most
conspicuous part; but are treated more like ornaments
than objects of worship. Near the vaults which are standing,
are the remains of others on the ground completely rotted
and covered with moss; and as they are formed of the
most durable pine and cedar timber, there is every appearance,
that for a very long series of years this retired spot
has been the depository for the Indians near this place. After
examining this place captain Clarke went on, and found the
river as before strewed with large rocks, against which the
water ran with great rapidity. Just below the vaults the mountain,
which is but low on the right side, leaves the river, and is
succeeded by an open stony level, which extends down the
river, while on the left the mountain is still high and rugged.
At two miles distance he came to a village of four houses,
which were now vacant and the doors barred up: on looking
in he saw the usual quantity of utensils still remaining,
from which he concluded that the inhabitants were at no
great distance collecting roots or hunting, in order to lay
in their supply of food for the winter: he left them and went
on three miles to a difficult rocky rapid, which was the last
in view. Here, on the right, are the remains of a large and
ancient village, which could be plainly traced by the holes
for the houses and the deposits for fish: after he had examined
these rapids and the neighbouring country he returned
to camp by the same route: the only game he had
obtained was a sandhill crane. In the meantime we had
been occupied in preparations for making the portage, and
in conference with the Indians, who came down from the
village to visit us. Towards evening two canoes arrived
from the village at the mouth of Cataract river, loaded with
fish and bears' grease for the market below: as soon as they
landed they unloaded the canoes, turned them upside down
on the beach, and encamped under a shelving rock near our
camp. We had an opportunity of seeing to-day the hardihood
of the Indians of the neighbouring village: one of the
men shot a goose, which fell into the river, and was floating
rapidly towards the great shoot, when an Indian observing
it plunged in after it: the whole mass of the waters of the
Columbia, just preparing to descend its narrow channel,
carried the animal down with great rapidity: the Indian
followed it fearlessly to within one hundred and fifty feet of
the rocks, where he would inevitably have been dashed to
pieces; but seizing his prey he turned round and swam ashore
with great composure. We very willingly relinquished our
right to the bird in favour of the Indian who had thus saved
it at the imminent hazard of his life: he immediately set to
work, and picked off about half the feathers, and then without
opening it ran a stick through it and carried it off to roast.

Friday, November 1, 1805. The morning was cool and
the wind high from the northeast. The Indians who arrived
last night, took their empty canoes on their shoulders
and carried them below the great shoot, where they put
them in the water and brought them down the rapid, till at
the distance of two and a half miles they stopped to take
in their loading, which they had been afraid to trust in the
last rapid, and had therefore carried by land from the head
of the shoot.

After their example we carried our small canoe, and
all the baggage across the slippery rocks, to the foot of the
shoot. The four large canoes were next brought down, by
slipping them along poles, placed from one rock to another,
and in some places by using partially streams which escaped
along side of the river. We were not, however, able
to bring them across without three of them receiving injuries,
which obliged us to stop at the end of the shoot to
repair them. At this shoot we saw great numbers of sea-otters;
but they are so shy that it is difficult to reach them
with the musket: one of them that was wounded to-day
sunk and was lost. Having by this portage avoided the rapid
and shoot of four hundred yards in length, we re-embarked,
passed at a mile and a half the bad rapid opposite
to the old village on the right, and making our way through
the rocks, saw the house just below the end of the portage;
the eight vaults near it; and at the distance of four miles
from the head of the shoot, reached a high rock, which
forms the upper part of an island near the left shore. Between
this island and the right shore we proceeded, leaving
at the distance of a mile and a half, the village of four houses
on our right, and a mile and a half lower came to the
head of a rapid near the village on the right. Here we
halted for the night, having made only seven miles from
the head of the shoot. During the whole of the passage
the river is very much obstructed by rocks. The island,
which is about three miles long, reaches to the rapid which

its lower extremity contributes to form. The meridian altitude
of to-day gave us the latitude of 45° 447′ 3″ north.
As we passed the village of four houses, we found that the
inhabitants had returned, and stopped to visit them. The
houses are similar to those already described, but larger,
from thirty-five to fifty feet long, and thirty feet wide, being
sunk in the ground about six feet, and raised the same
height above. Their beds are raised about four feet
and a half above the floor, and the ascent is by a new
painted ladder, with which every family is provided, and
under them are stored their dried fish, while the space between
the part of the bed on which they lie and the wall of
the house is occupied by the nuts, roots, berries, and other
provisions, which are spread on mats. The fireplace is
about eight feet long, and six feet wide, sunk a foot below
the floor, secured by a frame, with mats placed around
for the family to sit on. In all of the houses are images of
men of different shapes, and placed as ornaments in the parts
of the house where they are most seen. They gave us nuts,
berries, and some dried fish to eat, and we purchased, among
other articles, a hat made after their own taste, such as they
wear, without a brim. They ask high prices for all that
they sell, observing that the whites below, pay dearly for
all which they carry there. We cannot learn precisely the
nature of the trade carried on by the Indians with the inhabitants
below. But as their knowledge of the whites
seems to be very imperfect, and the only articles which they
carry to market, such as pounded fish, bear-grass and roots,
cannot be an object of much foreign traffic, their intercourse
appears to be an intermediate trade with the natives
near the mouth of the Columbia: from them these
people obtain in exchange for their fish, roots and bear-grass,
blue and white beads, copper tea-kettles, brass armbands,
some scarlet and blue robes, and a few articles of old
European clothing. But their great object is to obtain beads,
an article which holds the first place in their ideas of
relative value, and to procure which they will sacrifice their
last article of clothing or the last mouthful of food. Independently
of their fondness for them as an ornament, these
beads are the medium of trade, by which they obtain from
the Indians still higher up the river, robes, skins, chappelel
bread, bear-grass, &c. Those Indians in turn, employ them
to procure from the Indians in the Rocky mountains, bear-grass,
pachico, roots, robes, &c.

These Indians are rather below the common size, with
high cheek-bones, their noses pierced, and in full dress,
ornamented with a tapering piece of white shell or wampum
about two inches long. Their eyes are exceedingly
sore and weak, many of them have only a single eye,
and some perfectly blind. Their teeth prematurely decayed,
and in frequent instances, altogether worn away.
Their general health, however, seems to be good, the only
disorder we have remarked, being tumours in different parts
of the body. The women are small and homely in their appearance,
their legs and thighs much swelled, and their
knees remarkably large; deformities, which are no doubt
owing to the manner in which they set on their hams. They
go nearly naked, having only a piece of leather tied round
the breast, falling thence, nearly as low as the waist; a small
robe about three feet square, and a piece of leather, which
ill supplies the place of a cover, tied between their legs.
Their hair is suffered to hang loose in every direction; and
in their persons, as well as in their cookery, they are
filthy to a most disgusting degree. We here observe that
the women universally have their heads flattened, and in
many of the villages, we have lately seen the female children
undergo the operation.