Clark: April 3, 1806

Thursday, April 3rd, 1806. The water had fallen five inches over the course of last night. I set out and proceeded up a short distance, and attempted a second time to fathom the river with my cord of 5 fathoms, but could find no bottom. The mist was so thick that I could see only a short distance up this river. Where I left it, it was bending to the east of S.E. Being perfectly satisfied of the size and magnitude of this great river, which must water that vast tract of country between the western range of mountains and those on the seacoast, and as far south as the waters of California, about latitude 37° north, I determined to return.

At 7 o'clock A.M. I set out on my return. The men exerted themselves and we arrived at the Neerchokioo house, in which the natives were so ill-disposed yesterday, at 11 A.M. I entered the house with a view to smoke with those people, who consisted of about 8 families. Finding my presence alarmed them so much that the children hid themselves, the women got behind their men, and the men hung their heads, I detained but a few minutes and returned on board the canoe. My pilot, who continued in the canoe, informed me on my return that those people, as well as their relations, were very ill-disposed and bad people.

I proceeded on along the south side and met five canoes of the Shah-ha-la Nation from the Great Rapids, with their wives and children, descending the Columbia into this fertile valley in pursuit of provisions. My pilot informed me in a low voice that those people were not good, and I did not allow them to come alongside of my canoe, which they appeared anxious to do. Their numbers in those canoes who appeared anxious to come alongside was 21 men and 3 boys.

At 3 P.M. we arrived at the residence of our pilot, which consists of one long house with seven apartments or rooms in square form, about 30 feet each, every room opening into a passage which runs all the way through the house. Those passages are about 4 feet in width and formed of wide boards set on end in the ground and reaching to the roof, which also serves as divisions to the rooms. The ground plot is in this form: 1 1 1 1 are the passages, 2 2 &c. are the apartments, about 30 feet square. This house is built of bark of the white cedar, supported on long stiff poles resting on the ends of broad boards which form the rooms, &c. Behind this house I observe the wreck of 5 houses remaining of a very large village, the houses of which had been built in the form of those we first saw at the Long Narrows of the E-lute Nation, with whom those people are connected.

I endeavored to obtain from those people the situation of their nation—whether scattered, or what had become of the natives who must have peopled this great town. An old man, who appeared of some note among them and was father to my guide, brought forward a woman who was badly marked with the smallpox, and made signs that they all died of the disorder which marked her face, and which she very nearly died of when a girl. From the age of this woman, I judge this destructive disorder must have been about 28 or 30 years ago, about the time the Clatsops inform us that this disorder raged in their towns and destroyed their nation.

Those people speak a different language from those below, though in their dress, habits, and manners &c. they differ but little from the Quathlahpohtles. Their women wear the truss, as do those of all the nations residing from the Quathlahpohtle to the entrance of Lewis's River, and on the Columbia above for some distance. Those people have some words the same as those below, but the sound of their language is entirely different. Their men are stouter and much better built, and their women wear larger and longer robes than those below; those are most commonly made of deer skins dressed with the hair on them. They pay great attention to their aged. Several men and women whom I observed in this village had arrived at a great age, and appeared to be healthy though blind.

I prevailed on an old man to draw me a sketch of the Multnomah River and give me the names of the nations residing on it, which he readily did. See draft on the other side. He gave me the names of 4 nations who reside on this river, two of them very numerous. The first is the Clark-a-mus Nation, who reside on a small river which takes its rise in Mount Jefferson and falls into the Multnomah about 40 miles up. This nation is numerous and inhabits 11 towns. The 2nd is the Cush-hooks, who reside on the N.E. side below the falls. The 3rd is the Char-cowah, who reside above the falls on the S.W. side; neither of those two are numerous. The fourth nation is the Cal-lar-po-e-wah, which is very numerous and inhabits the country on each side of the Multnomah from its falls as far up as the knowledge of those people extends. They inform me also that a high mountain passes the Multnomah at the falls, and above, the country is an open plain of great extent.

I purchased 5 dogs from those people for the use of their oil in the plains, and at 4 P.M. left the village and proceeded on to camp, where I joined Capt. Lewis.

The entrance of the Multnomah River is 142 miles up the Columbia River from its entrance into the Pacific Ocean. In my absence, and soon after I left camp, several canoes of men, women, and children came to the camp, and at one time there were about 37 of those people in camp. Capt. Lewis fired his air gun, which astonished them in such a manner that they were orderly and kept at a proper distance during the time they remained with him. As many as 10 canoes arrived at camp in the course of this day. They all seem to give the same account of the scarcity of provisions above. One family stayed all night and behaved themselves in a very orderly manner.

On the 3rd, Joseph Field returned from the woods and informed us that Drewyer, Rubin, and himself had killed four elk. Capt. L. sent Sergt. Pryor and two men with Joseph Field to dry the flesh of the elk in the woods on scaffolds with fire. The party below Quick Sand River did not return today. The Indians continue to visit our camp in considerable numbers from above with their families. These poor people appeared half-starved. They picked up the bones and little refuse meat which had been thrown away by the party. Capt. L. had the flesh of the 4 elk which was killed on the 1st instant dried. Some of the native men who visited Capt. Lewis wore a girdle with a small skin in front, and a cap made of the skin of a deer's head, &c.