They Are Nearly Equal In
Flavor To The Irish Potato, And Afford A Very Good Substitute For Bread.
The Bad Weather Drove Several Indians To Our Camp, But They Were Still
Under The Terrors Of The Threat Which We Made On First Seeing Them,
And Behaved With The Greatest Decency.
"The rain continued through the night, November 23, and the morning
was calm and cloudy.
The hunters were sent out, and killed three deer,
four brant, and three ducks. Towards evening seven Clatsops came over
in a canoe, with two skins of the sea-otter. To this article they attached
an extravagant value; and their demands for it were so high, that we were
fearful it would too much reduce our small stock of merchandise, on which we
had to depend for subsistence on our return, to venture on purchasing it.
To ascertain, however, their ideas as to the value of different objects,
we offered for one of these skins a watch, a handkerchief, an American dollar,
and a bunch of red beads; but neither the curious mechanism of the watch,
nor even the red beads, could tempt the owner: he refused the offer,
but asked for tiacomoshack, or chief beads, the most common sort of coarse
blue-colored beads, the article beyond all price in their estimation.
Of these blue beads we had but few, and therefore reserved them for
more necessitous circumstances."
The officers of the expedition had hoped and expected to find
here some of the trading ships that were occasionally sent along
the coast to barter with the natives; but none were to be found.
They were soon to prepare for winter-quarters, and they still
hoped that a trader might appear in the spring before they
set out on their homeward journey across the continent.
Very much they needed trinkets to deal with the natives
in exchange for, the needful articles of food on the route.
But (we may as well say here) no such relief ever appeared.
It is strange that President Jefferson, in the midst
of his very minute orders and preparations for the benefit
of the explorers, did not think of sending a relief ship
to meet the party at the mouth of the Columbia. They would
have been saved a world of care, worry, and discomfort.
But at that time the European nations who held possessions
on the Pacific coast were very suspicious of the Americans,
and possibly President Jefferson did not like to risk
rousing their animosity.
The rain that now deluged the unhappy campers was so incessant that they
might well have thought that people should be web-footed to live in
such a watery region. In these later days, Oregon is sometimes known
as "The Web-foot State." Captain Clark, in his diary, November 28,
makes this entry: "O! how disagreeable is our situation dureing this
dreadfull weather!" The gallant captain's spelling was sometimes queer.
Under that date he adds: -
"We remained during the day in a situation the most cheerless
and uncomfortable.
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