Departed Fort Clatsop, ascending Columbia River — John Ordway: April 2, 1806
The party remained camped near the mouth of the Washougal River while waiting for hunters to kill enough elk to jerk meat for the journey ahead. Officers decided to delay because Indians reported game was scarce upriver and salmon would not arrive until May. Most of the best hunters crossed to the south shore in search of game. Acting on native reports of a large unseen river entering the Columbia below Quicksand River, Captain Clark set out with six men and an Indian guide to investigate. Three hunters returned with two deer, and about thirty Indians camped alongside the expedition.
evening for the meat of the 4 Elk Stayed out all night our offi-
cers determined to delay at this place untill the hunters kill 9 or
10 Elk and jurk the meat to take along with us.2 So all the best
of our hunters turned out the most of them went over to the
South Shore & in different directions a hunting, the natives in-
formed our officers that their is a large River comes in on the South
Side Some distance below quick sand River which we had not
Seen So Cap* Clark & 6 men Set out with a canoe to go and ex-
amine the sd River, took an Indian along for a guide, the after
part of the [day] clear & pleasant in the evening 3 of the hunters
came in had killed two Deer. 30 odd Savages Camped with us,
men women & children.
1 Modern Washougal River, which joins the Columbia in Clarke County.
Wash. The camp was just above its mouth.
2 From numerous parties of Indians coming down the river it was learned
that game was exceedingly scarce above, and that the salmon would not arrive
until about the first of May. Not daring to wait this long, the decision was
reached to lie by at the present camp until a large enough store of meat had
been accumulated to subsist the party until it should arrive among the Chopun-
nish, where the horses had been left the previous autumn.
336 WISCONSIN HISTORICAL COLLECTIONS [April 3
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In the evening, while bringing in the meat of the 4 Elk, the men stayed out all night. Our officers determined to delay at this place until the hunters kill 9 or 10 Elk and jerk the meat to take along with us. So all the best of our hunters turned out, the most of them went over to the South Shore and in different directions a-hunting. The natives informed our officers that there is a large River that comes in on the South Side some distance below Quicksand River which we had not seen. So Capt Clark (Capt. Clark) and 6 men set out with a canoe to go and examine the said River, and took an Indian along for a guide. The after part of the day was clear and pleasant. In the evening 3 of the hunters came in, having killed two Deer. 30-odd Indians camped with us, men, women, and children.
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