The Journals
of Lewis and Clark: Dates November 8, 1805 - November 12,
1805
The following
excerpts are taken from entries of the Journals of Lewis
and Clark. Dates: November 8, 1805 - November 12, 1805
November 8,
1805
Friday 8. It rained this morning; and having changed the
clothing which had been wet during yesterday's rain, we
did not set out till nine o'clock. Immediately opposite
our camp is a rock at the distance of a mile in the river,
about twenty feet in diameter and fifty in height, and towards
the southwest some high mountains, one of which is covered
with snow at the top. We proceeded past several low islands
in the bay or bend of the river to the left, which is here
five or six miles wide. We were here overtaken by three
Indians in a canoe who had salmon to sell. On the right
side we passed an old village, and then, at the distance
of three miles, entered an inlet or niche about six miles
across, and making a deep bend of nearly five miles into
the hills on the right shore, where it receives the waters
of several creeks. We coasted along this inlet, which, from
its little depth, we called Shallow bay, and at the bottom
of it halted to dine near the remains of an old village,
from which, however, we kept at a cautious distance, as
it was occupied by great numbers of fleas. At this place
we observed a number of fowl, among which we killed a goose
and two ducks, exactly resembling in appearance and flavor
the canvass back duck of the Susquehannah. After dinner
the three Indians left us, and we then took advantage of
the returning tide, to go on about three miles to a point
on the right, eight miles distant from our camp; but here
the waves ran so high, and dashed about our canoes so much,
that several of the men became seasick. It was therefore
judged imprudent to go on in the present state of the weather,
and we landed at the point. The situation was extremely
uncomfortable; the high hills jutted in so closely that
there was not room for us to lie level, nor to secure our
baggage free from the tide; and the water of the river is
too salt to be used; but the waves increasing every moment
so much, that we could not move from the spot with safety:
we therefore fixed ourselves on the beach left by the ebb-tide,
and having raised the baggage on poles, passed a disagreeable
night, the rain during the day having wet us completely,
as indeed we have been for some days past.
November
9, 1805
Saturday 9. Fortunately
for us, the tide did not rise as high as our camp during
the night; but being accompanied by high winds from the
south, the canoes, which we could not place beyond its reach,
were filled with water, and were saved with much difficulty:
our position was very uncomfortable, but as it was impossible
to move from it, we waited for a change of weather. It rained,
however, during the whole day, and at two o'clock in the
afternoon, the flood tide set in, accompanied by a high
wind from the south, which, about four o'clock, shifted
to the southwest, and blew almost a gale directly from the
sea. The immense waves now broke over the place where we
were encamped, and the large trees, some of them five or
six feet thick, which had lodged at the point, were drifted
over our camp, and the utmost vigilance of every man could
scarcely save our canoes from being crushed to pieces. We
remained in the water and drenched with rain during the
rest of the day; our only food being some dried fish, and
some rain-water which we caught. Yet, though wet and cold,
and some of them sick from using the salt-water, the men
are cheerful, and full of anxiety to see more of the ocean.
The rain continued all night, and,
November
10, 1805
Sunday 10th, the
following morning, the wind, and the waves not being so
high, we loaded our canoes and proceeded. The mountains
on the right are high, covered with timber, chiefly pine,
and descend in a bold and rocky shore to the water. We went
through a deep niche and several inlets on the right, while
on the opposite side is a large bay, above which the hills
are close on the river. At the distance of ten miles the
wind rose from the northwest and the waves became so high
that we were forced to return for two miles to a place where
we could with safety unload. Here we landed at the mouth
of a small run, and having placed our baggage on a pile
of drifted logs waited until low water. The river then appeared
more calm: we therefore started, but after going a mile
found the waves too high for our canoes and were obliged
to put to shore. We unloaded the canoes, and having placed
the baggage on a rock above the reach of the tide, encamped
on some drift logs which formed the only place where we
could lie, the hills over our ? to the height of five hundred
feet. All as well as ourselves were thoroughly wet with
the rain, which did not cease during the day; it continued
violently during the night, in the course of which the tide
reached the logs on which we lay, and set them afloat.
November
11, 1805
Monday, 11. The
wind was still high from the southwest, and drove the waves
against the shore with great fury: the rain too fell in
torrents, and not only drenched us to the skin, but ? the
stones on the hill sides, which then came rolling down upon
us. In this comfortless situation we remained all day wet,
cold, with nothing but dried fish to satisfy our hunger;
the canoes in one place at the mercy of the waves; the baggage
in another, and all the men scattered on floating logs,
or sheltering themselves in the crevices of the rocks and
hill sides. A hunter was dispatched in hopes of finding
some fresh meat, but the hills were so steeps and covered
with undergrowth and fallen timber, that he could not penetrate
them, and he was forced to return. About twelve o'clock
we were visited by five Indians in a canoe: they came from
above this place on the opposite side of the river, and
their language much resembles that of the Wahkiacum: they
called themselves Cathlamahs. In person they are small,
ill made, and badly clothed; though one of them had on a
sailor's round jacket and pantaloons, which, as he explained
by signs, he had received from the whites below the point:
we purchased from them thirteen red charr, a fish which
we found very excellent. After some time they went on board
the boat, and crossed the river, which is here five miles
wide, through a very heavy sea.
November
12, 1805
Tuesday, 12. About
three o'clock a tremendous gale of wind arose, accompanied
with lightning, thunder, and hail: at six it became light
for a short time, but a violent rain soon began and lasted
during the day. During this storm one of our boats, secured
by being sunk with great quantities of stone, got loose,
but drifting against a rock, was recovered without having
received much injury. Our situation became now much more
dangerous, for the waves were driven with fury against the
rocks and trees, which till now had afforded us refuge:
we therefore took advantage of a low tide, and moved about
half a mile round a point to a small brook, which we had
not observed till now on account of the thick bushes and
driftwood which concealed its mouth. Here we were more safe;
but still cold and wet, our clothes and bedding rotten as
well as wet, our baggage at a distance, and the canoes,
our only means of escape from this place, at the mercy of
the waves: we were, however, fortunate enough to enjoy good
health, and even had the luxury of getting some fresh salmon
and three salmon trout in the brook. Three of the men attempted
to go round a point in our small Indian canoe, but the high
waves rendered her quite unmanageable; these boats requiring
the seamanship of the natives themselves to make them live
in so rough a sea.
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