Here The Fish Are Pressed
Down As Hard As Possible, And The Top Is Covered With Fish-Skins,
Which Are
Secured by cords through the holes of the basket.
These baskets are then placed in some dry situation,
the corded
Part upward, seven being usually placed as close
as they can be put together, and five on the top of these.
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 one hundred pounds,
form a stack, which is left exposed till it is sent to market.
The fish thus preserved keep sound and sweet for several years,
and great quantities, 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."
On the twenty-third the voyagers made the descent of the great
falls which had so long been an object of dread to them.
The whole height of the falls is thirty-seven feet,
eight inches, in a distance of twelve hundred yards.
A portage of four hundred and fifty yards was made around
the first fall, which is twenty feet high, and perpendicular.
By means of lines the canoes were let down the rapids below.
At the season of high water the falls become mere rapids up
which the salmon can pass. On this point the journal says: -
"From the marks everywhere 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 this 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, are laid, covered with other skins, and the hole
is closed with a layer of earth twelve or fifteen inches deep.
. . . . . . . . .
We saw no game except a sea-otter, which was shot in the narrow channel
as we were coming down, but we could not get it. Having, therefore,
scarcely any provisions, we purchased eight small fat dogs:
a food to which we were compelled to have recourse, as the Indians were
very unwilling to sell us any of their good fish, which they reserved
for the market below. Fortunately, however, habit had completely
overcome the repugnance which we felt at first at eating this animal,
and the dog, if not a favorite dish, was always an acceptable one.
The meridian altitude of to-day gave 45'0 42' 57.3" 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 by giving our smallest canoe a hatchet,
and a few trinkets to the owner, who said he had obtained it
from a white man below the falls in exchange for a horse.
These canoes were very beautifully made: wide in the middle,
and tapering towards each end, with curious figures carved on the bow.
They were thin, but, being strengthened by crossbars about
an inch in diameter, tied with strong pieces of bark through
holes in the sides, were able to bear very heavy burdens,
and seemed calculated to live in the roughest water."
At this point the officers of the expedition observed signs of uneasiness
in the two friendly Indian chiefs who had thus far accompanied them.
They also heard rumors that the warlike Indians below them were meditating
an attack as the party went down. The journal says: -
"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
re-examined 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 Indians approached us with apparent caution, and behaved with
more than usual reserve. Our two chiefs, by whom these circumstances
were not observed, now told us that they wished to return home;
that they could be no longer of any service to us; that 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 that as the Indians had expressed a resolution to attack us,
they would certainly kill them. We endeavored 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."
The explorers now arrived at the next fall of the Columbia.
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