The Journals
of Lewis and Clark: Dates October 17, 1805 - October 18,
1805
The following
excerpts are taken from entries of the Journals of Lewis
and Clark. Dates: October 17, 1805 - October 18, 1805
October 17,
1805
Thursday, October 17. The day being fair we were occupied
in making the necessary observations for determining our
longitude, and obtained a meridian altitude, from which
it appeared that we were in latitude 46° 15' 13' 9‴. We
also measured the two rivers by angles, and found that at
the junction the Columbia is nine hundred and sixty yards
wide, and Lewis's river five hundred and seventy-five; but
soon after they unite, the former widens to the space of
from one to three miles, including the islands. From the
point of junction the country is a continued plain, which
is low near the water, from which it rises gradually, and
the only elevation to be seen is a range of high country
running from the northeast towards the southwest, where
it joins a range of mountains from the southwest, and is
on the opposite side about two miles from the Columbia.
There is through this plain no tree and scarcely any shrub,
except a few willow bushes; and even of smaller plants there
is not much more than the prickly pear, which is in great
abundance, and is even more thorny and troublesome than
any we have yet seen.
During
this time the principal chief came down with several of
his warriors and smoked with us: we were also visited by
several men and women, who offered dogs and fish for sale,
but as the fish was out of season, and at present abundant
in the river, we contented ourselves with purchasing all
the dogs we could obtain. The nation among which we now
are call themselves Sokulks; and with them are united a
few of another nation, who reside on a western branch, emptying
itself into the Columbia a few miles above the mouth of
the latter river, and whose name is Chimnapum. The language
of both these nations, of each of which we obtained a vocabulary,
differs but little from each other, or from that of the
Chopunnish who inhabit the Kooskooskee and Lewis's river.
In their dress and general appearance also they resemble
much those nations; the men wearing a robe of deer or antelope
skin, under which a few of them have a short leathern shirt.
The most striking difference between them is among the females,
the Sokulk women being more inclined to corpulency than
any we have yet seen: their stature is low, their faces
broad, and their heads flattened in such a manner that the
forehead is in a straight line from the nose to the crown
of the head: their eyes are of a dirty sable, their hair
too is coarse and black, and braided as above without ornament
of any kind: instead of wearing, as do the Chopunnish, long
leathern shirts, highly decorated with beads and shells,
the Sokulk females have no other covering but a truss or
piece of leather tied round the hips and then drawn tight
between the legs.
The
ornaments usually worn by both sexes are large blue or white
beads, either pendant from their ears, or round thenecks,
wrists, and arms: they have likewise bracelets of brass,
copper, and horn, and some trinkets of shells, fish bones,
and curious feathers. The houses of the Sokulks are made
of large mats of rushes, and are generally of a square or
oblong form, varying in length from fifteen to sixty feet,
and supported in the inside by poles or forks about six
feet high: the top is covered with mats, leaving a space
of twelve or fifteen inches the whole length of the house,
for the purpose of admitting the light and suffering the
smoke to pass through: the roof is nearly flat, which seems
to indicate that rains are not common in this open country,
and the house is not divided into apartments, the fire being
in the middle of the large room, and immediately under the
hole in the roof: the rooms are ornamented with their nets,
gigs, and other fishing tackle, as well as the bow for each
inhabitant, and a large quiver of arrows, which are headed
with flint stones.
The Sokulks seem to be of a mild and peaceable disposition,
and live in a state of comparative happiness. The men like
those on the Kimooenim, are said to content themselves with
a single wife, with whom we observe the husband shares the
labors of procuring subsistence much more than is usual
among savages. What may be considered as an unequivocal
proof of their good disposition, is the great respect which
was shown to old age. Among other marks of it, we observed
in one of the houses an old woman perfectly blind, and who
we were informed had lived more than a hundred winters.
In this state of decrepitude, she occupied the best position
in the house, seemed to be treated with great kindness,
and whatever she said was listened to with much attention.
They are by no means intrusive, and as their fisheries supply
them with a competent, if not an ubundant subsistence, although
they receive thankfully whatever we choose to give, they
do not importune us by begging.
The
fish is, indeed, their chief food, except the roots, and
the casual supplies of the antelope, which to those who
have only bows and arrows, must be very scanty. This diet
may be the direct or the remote cause of the chief disorder
which prevails among them, as well as among the Flatheads,
on the Kooskooskee and Lewis's river. With all these Indians
a bad soreness of the eyes is a very common disorder, which
is suffered to ripen by neglect, till many are deprived
of one of their eyes, and some have totally lostthe use
of both. This dreadful calamity may reasonably, we think,
be imputed to the constant reflection of the sun on the
waters where they are constantly fishing in the spring,
summer and fall, and during the rest of the year on the
snows of a country which affords no object to relieve the
sight. Among the Sokulks too, and indeed among all the tribes
whose chief subsistence is fish, we have observed that bad
teeth are very general: some have the teeth, particularly
those of the upper jaw, worn down to the gums, and many
of both sexes, and even of middle age, have lost them almost
entirely. This decay of the teeth is a circumstance very
unusual among the Indians, either of the mountains or the
plains, and seems peculiar to the inhabitants of the Columbia.
We cannot avoid regarding as one principal cause of it,
the manner in which they eat their food. The roots are swallowed
as they are dug from the ground, frequently nearly covered
with a gritty sand: so little idea have they that this is
offensive, that all the roots they offer us for sale are
in the same condition. A second and a principal cause may
be their great use of the dried salmon, the bad effects
of which are most probably increased by their mode of cooking
it, which is simply to warm, and then swallow the rind,
scales and flesh without any preparation. The Sokulks possess
but few horses, the greater part of their labors being performed
in canoes. Their amusements are similar to those of the
Missouri Indians.
In the course of the day captain Clarke, in a small canoe
with two men, ascended the Columbia. At the distance of
five miles he passed an island in the middle of the river,
at the head of which is a small and not a dangerous rapid.
On the left bank of the river opposite to this river is
a fishing place, consisting of three mat houses. Here were
great quantities of salmon drying on scaffolds: and indeed
from the mouth of the river upwards he saw immense numbers
of dead salmon strewed along the shore or floating on the
surface of the water, which is so clear that the salmon
may be seen swimming in the water at the depth of fifteen
or twenty feet. The Indians who had collected on the banks
to view him, now joined him in eighteen canoes, and accompanied
him up the river. A mile above the rapids he came to the
lower point of an island where the course of the river,
which had been from its mouth north 83° west, now became
due west. He proceeded in that direction, when observing
three houses of mats at a short distance he landed to visit
them.
On
entering one of the houses he found it crowded with men,
women and children, who immediately provided a mat for him
to sit on, and one of the party undertook to prepare something
to eat. He began by bringing in a piece of pine wood that
had drifted down the river, which he split into small pieces,
with a wedge made of the elks' horn, by means of a mallet
of stone curiously carved. The pieces were then laid on
the fire, and several round stones placed upon them: one
of the squaws now brought a bucket of water, in which was
a large salmon about half dried, and as the stones became
heated, they were put into the bucket till the salmon was
sufficiently boiled for use. It was then taken out, put
on a platter of rushes neatly made, and laid before captain
Clarke, and another was boiled for each of his men. During
these preparations he smoked with those about him who would
accept of tobacco, but very few were desirous of smoking,
a custom which is not general among them, and chiefly used
as a matter of form in great ceremonies. After eating the
fish, which was of an excellent flavor, captain Clarke set
out, and at the distance of four miles from the last island,
came to the lower point of another near the left shore,
where he halted at two large mat houses. Here as at the
three houses below, the inhabitants were occupied in splitting
and drying salmon. The multitudes of this fish are almost
inconceivable. The water is so clear that they can readily
be seen at the depth of fifteen or twenty feet, but at this
season they float in such quantities down the stream, and
are drifted ashore, that the Indians have only to collect,
split and dry them on the scaffolds.
Where
they procure the timber of which these scaffolds are composed
he could not learn, but as there are nothing but willow
bushes to be seen for a great distance from the place, it
rendered very probable, what the Indians assured him by
signs, that they often used dried fish as fuel for the common
occasions of cooking. From this island they showed him the
entrance of a western branch of the Columbia, called the
Tapteal, which as far as could be seen bears nearly west,
and empties itself about eight miles above into the Columbia;
the general course of which is northwest: towards the southwest
a range of highland runs parallel to the river, at the distance
of two miles on the left, while on the right side the country
is low and covered with the prickly pear, and a weed or
plant two or three feet high resembling whins. To the eastward
is a range of mountains about fifty or sixty miles distant,
which bear north and south; but neither in the low grounds,
nor in the highlands is any timber to be seen. The evening
coming on he determined not to proceed further than the
island, and therefore returned to camp, accompanied by three
canoes, which contained twenty Indians. In the course of
his excursion he shot several grouse, and ducks, and received
some presents of fish, for which he gave in return small
pieces of riband. He also killed a prairie cock, an animal
of the pheasant kind, but about the size of a small turkey.
It measured from the beak to the end of the toe two feet
six inches and three quarters, from the extremity of the
wings three feet six inches, and the feathers of the tail
were thirteen inches long. This bird we have seen no where
except on this river. Its chief food is the grasshopper,
and the seed of the wild plant which is peculiar to this
river and the upper parts of the Missouri.
The men availed themselves of this day's rest to mend their
clothes, dressing skins, and putting their arms in complete
order, an object always of primary concern, but particularly
at a moment when we are surrounded by so many strangers.
October
18, 1805
Friday 18. We
were visited this morning by several canoes of Indians,
who joined those who were already with us, and soon opened
a numerous council. We informed them as we had done all
the other Indian nations of our friendship for them, and
of our desire to promote peace among all our red children
in this country. This was conveyed by signs through the
means of our two chiefs, and seemed to be perfectly understood.
We then made a second chief, and gave to all the chiefs
a string of wampum, in remembrance of what we had said.
Whilst the conference was going on in a canoe from a large
encampment on an island about eight miles below, but after
staying a few minutes returned without saying a word to
us. We now procured from the principal chief and one of
the Cuimnapum nation a sketch of the Columbia, and the tribes
of his nation living along its banks and those of the Tapteet.
They drew it with a piece of coal on a robe, and as we afterwards
transferred to paper, it exhibited a valuable specimen of
Indian delineation.
Having completed the purposes of our stay, we now began
to lay in our stores, and fish being out of season, purchased
forty dogs, for which we gave small articles, such as bells,
thimbles, knitting-needles, brass wire, and a few beads,
an exchange with which they all seemed perfectly satisfied.
These dogs, with six prairie cocks killed this morning,
formed a plentiful supply for the present. We here left
our guide and the two young men who had accompanied him,
two of the three not being willing to go any further, and
the third could be of no use as he was not acquainted with
the river below. We therefore took no Indians but our two
chiefs, and resumed our journey in the presence of many
of the Sokulks, who came to witness our departure. The morning
was cool and fair, and the wind from the southeast. Soon
after proceeding,
We passed the island in the mouth of Lewis river, and at
eight miles reached a larger island, which extends three
miles in length. On going down by this island there is another
on the right, which commences about the middle of it, and
continues for three and a half miles. While they continue
parallel to each other, they occasion a rapid near the lower
extremity of the first island, opposite to which on the
second island are nine lodges built of mats, and intended
for the accommodation of the fishermen, of whom we saw great
numbers, and vast quantities of dried fish on their scaffolds.
On reaching the lower point of the island, we landed to
examine a bad rapid, and then undertook the passage which
is very difficult, as the channel lies between two small
islands, with two others still smaller near the left side
of the river. Here are two Indian houses, the inhabitants
of the river. Here are two Indian houses, the inhabitants
of which were as usual drying fish. We passed the rapid
without injury, and fourteen and a half miles from the mouth
of Lewis's river, came to an island near the right shore,
on which were two other houses of Indians pursuing the customary
occupation. One mile and a half beyond this place, is a
mouth of a small brook under a high hill on the left. It
seems to run during its whole course through the high country,
which at this place begins, and rising to the height of
two hundred feet form cliffs of rugged black rocks which
project a considerable distance into the river. At this
place too we observed a mountain to the S. W. the form of
which is conical, and its top covered with snow. We followed
the river as it entered these highlands, and at the distance
of two miles reached three islands, one on each side of
the river, and a third in the middle, on which were two
houses, where the Indians were drying fish opposite a small
rapid. Near these a fourth island begins, close to the right
shore, where were nine lodges of Indians, all employed with
their fish.
As
we passed they called to us to land, but as night was coming
on, and there was no appearance of wood in the neighborhood,
we went on about a mile further, till observing a log that
had drifted down the river, we landed near it on the left
side, and formed our camp under a high hill, after having
made twenty miles today. Directly opposite to us are five
houses of Indians, who were drying fish on the same island
where we had passed the nine lodges, and on the other side
of the river we saw a number of horses feeding. Soon after
landing, we were informed by our chiefs that the large camp
of nine houses, belonged to the first chief of all the tribes
in this quarter, and that he had called to request us to
land and pass the night with him as he had plenty of wood
for us. This intelligence would have been very acceptable
if it had been explained sooner, for we were obliged to
use dried willows for fuel to cook with, not being able
to burn the drift-log which had tempted us to land. We now
sent the two chiefs along the left side of the river to
invite the great chief down to spend the night with us.
He came at a late hour, accompanied by twenty men, bringing
a basket of mashed berries which he left as a present for
us, and formed a camp at a short distance from us.
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