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"The Object Of This List Is, That Through The Medium Of Some Civilized
Person Who May See The Same, It
May be made known to the informed world,
that the party consisting of the persons whose names are hereunto annexed,
And who were sent out by the government of the U'States in May,
1804, to explore the interior of the Continent of North America,
did penetrate the same by way of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers,
to the discharge of the latter into the Pacific Ocean, where they
arrived on the 14th of November, 1805, and from whence they departed
the 23d day of March, 1806, on their return to the United States
by the same rout they had come out."
Curiously enough, one of these papers did finally reach the
United States. During the summer of 1806, the brig "Lydia," Captain Hill,
entered the Columbia for the purpose of trading with the natives.
From one of these Captain Hill secured the paper, which he took
to Canton, China, in January, 1807. Thence it was sent to a gentleman
in Philadelphia, having travelled nearly all the way round the world.
Fort Clatsop, as they called the rude collection of huts in which they
had burrowed all winter, with its rude furniture and shelters, was formally
given to Comowool, the Clatsop chief who had been so kind to the party.
Doubtless the crafty savage had had his eye on this establishment,
knowing that it was to be abandoned in the spring.
The voyagers left Fort Clatsop about one o'clock in the day, and,
after making sixteen miles up the river, camped for the night.
Next day, they reached an Indian village where they purchased "some
wappatoo and a dog for the invalids." They still had several men
on the sick list in consequence of the hard fare of the winter.
The weather was cold and wet, and wood for fuel was difficult to obtain.
In a few days they found themselves among their old friends,
the Skilloots, who had lately been at war with the Chinooks. There was
no direct intercourse between the two nations as yet, but the Chinooks
traded with the Clatsops and Wahkiacums, and these in turn traded
with the Skilloots, and in this way the two hostile tribes exchanged
the articles which they had for those which they desired.
The journal has this to say about the game of an island on which
the explorers tarried for a day or two, in order to dry their goods
and mend their canoes: -
"This island, which has received from the Indians the appropriate
name of Elalah [Elallah], or Deer Island, is surrounded on the
water-side by an abundant growth of cottonwood, ash, and willow,
while the interior consists chiefly of prairies interspersed
with ponds. These afford refuge to great numbers of geese,
ducks, large swan, sandhill cranes, a few canvas-backed ducks,
and particularly the duckinmallard, the most abundant of all.
There are also great numbers of snakes resembling our
garter-snakes in appearance, and like them not poisonous.
Our hunters brought in three deer, a goose, some ducks, an eagle,
and a tiger-cat. Such is the extreme voracity of the vultures,
that they had devoured in the space of a few hours four
of the deer killed this morning; and one of our men declared
that they had besides dragged a large buck about thirty yards,
skinned it, and broken the backbone."
The vulture here referred to is better known as the California condor,
a great bird of prey which is now so nearly extinct that few specimens are
ever seen, and the eggs command a great price from those who make collections
of such objects. A condor killed by one of the hunters of the Lewis and Clark
expedition measured nine feet and six inches from tip to tip of its wings,
three feet and ten inches from the point of the bill to the end of the tail,
and six inches and a half from the back of the head to the tip of the beak.
Very few of the condors of the Andes are much larger than this, though one
measuring eleven feet from tip to tip has been reported.
While camped at Quicksand, or Sandy River, the party
learned that food supplies up the Columbia were scarce.
The journal says that the Indians met here were descending
the river in search of food. It adds: -
"They told us, that they lived at the Great Rapids; but that
the scarcity of provisions there had induced them to come down,
in the hopes of finding subsistence in the more fertile valley.
All the people living at the Rapids, as well as the nations
above them, were in much distress for want of food, having consumed
their winter store of dried fish, and not expecting the return
of the salmon before the next full moon, which would be on the
second of May: this information was not a little embarrassing.
From the Falls to the Chopunnish nation, the plains afforded
neither deer, elk, nor antelope for our subsistence.
The horses were very poor at this season, and the dogs must
be in the same condition, if their food, the dried fish,
had failed. Still, it was obviously inexpedient for us to wait
for the return of the salmon, since in that case we might not reach
the Missouri before the ice would prevent our navigating it.
We might, besides, hazard the loss of our horses, as the Chopunnish,
with whom we had left them, would cross the mountains as early
as possible, or about the beginning of May, and take our horses
with them, or suffer them to disperse, in either of which cases
the passage of the mountains will be almost impracticable.
We therefore, after much deliberation, decided to remain where we
were till we could collect meat enough to last us till we
should reach the Chopunnish nation, and to obtain canoes from
the natives as we ascended, either in exchange for our pirogues,
or by purchasing them with skins and merchandise.
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