Lewis: March 29, 1806
The expedition traveled 19 miles up the Columbia, passing Deer Island and entering what they called the Columbian valley. They were joined by three Clannahminamun men, passed a 300-yard-wide inlet defining Wappetoe Island, and noted the Cahwahnahiooks River entering from the north. At the Cathlahpotle village of 14 houses, they spent two hours observing dress, housing, carvings, weapons, and stores of dried anchovies, sturgeon, and wappetoe, and traded for wappetoe, 12 dogs, and 2 sea otter skins. Lewis described local women's clothing, abundant waterfowl, garter snakes, and frogs before camping two miles upstream.
Saturday March 29th 1806. We set out early this morning and proceeded
along the side of Deer Island; halted at 10 A.M. near its upper point and
breakfasted. here we were joined by three men of the Clan-nah-min-na-mun
nation. the upper point of this Island may be esteemed the lower side or
commencement of the Columbian valley. after breakfast we proceeded on and
at the distance of 14 miles from our encampment of the last evening we
passed a large inlet 300 yds in width. this inlet or arm of the river
extends itself to the South 10 or 12 M. to the hills on that side of the
river and receives the waters of a small creek which heads with killamucks
river, and that of a bayau which passes out of the Columbia about 20 miles
above, the large Island thus formed we call wappetoe island. on this inlet
and Island the following nations reside, (viz) Clan-nah-min-namun,
Clacks-star, Cath-lah-cum-up, Clah-in-na-ta, Cath-lah-nah-qui-ah, and
Cath-lah-cam-mah-tup. the two first reside on the inlet and the others on
the bayau and island.observed a speceies of small wild onion
growing among the moss on the rocks, they resemble the shives of our
gardens and grow remarkably close together forming a perfect turf; they
are quite as agreeably flavoured as the shives. on the North side of the
columbia a little above the entrance of this inlet a considerable river
discharges itself. this stream the natives call the Cah-wah-na-hi-ooks. it
is 150 yards wide and at present discharges a large body of water, tho
from the information of the same people it is not navigable but a short
distance in consequence of falls and rappids a tribe called the
Hul-lu-ettell reside on this river above it’s entr.at the distance
of three miles above the entrance of the inlet on the N. side behind the
lower point of an island we arrived at the village of the Cath-lah-poh-tle
with consists of 14 large wooden houses. here we arrived at 3 P.M. the
language of these people as well as those on the inlet and wappetoe Island
differs in some measure from the nations on the lower part of the river.
tho many of their words are the same, and a great many others with the
difference only of accent. the form of their houses and dress of the men,
manner of living habits customs &c as far as we could discover are the
same. their women wear their ornaments robes and hair as those do below
tho here their hair is more frequently braded in two tresses and hang over
each ear in front of the body. in stead of the tissue of bark woarn by the
women below, they wear a kind of leather breech clout about the width of a
common pocket handkerchief and reather longer. the two corners of this at
one of the narrow ends are confined in front just above the hips; the
other end is then brought between the legs, compressed into a narrow
foalding bundel is drawn tight and the corners a little spread in front
and tucked at the groin over and arround the part first confind about the
waist. the small robe which dose not reach the waist is their usual and
only garment commonly woarn be side that just mentioned. when the weather
is a litte warm this robe is thrown aside and the leather truss or
breech-clout constitutes the whole of their apparel. this is a much more
indecent article than the tissue of bark, and bearly covers the mons
venes, to which it is drawn so close that the whole shape is plainly
perceived. the floors of most of their houses are on a level with the
surface of the earth tho some of them are sunk two or 3 feet beneath. the
internal arrangement of their houses is the same with those of the nations
below. they are also fond of sculpture. various figures are carved and
painted on the peices which support the center of the roof, about their
doors and beads. they had large quantities of dryed Anchovies strung on
small sticks by the gills and others which had been first dryed in this
manner, were now arranged in large sheets with strings of bark and hung
suspended by poles in the roofs of their houses; they had also an
abundance of sturgeon and wappetoe; the latter they take in great
quantities from the neighbouring bonds, which are numerous and extensive
in the river bottoms and islands. the wappetoe furnishes the principal
article of traffic with these people which they dispose of to the nations
below in exchange for beads cloth and various articles. the natives of the
Sea coast and lower part of the river will dispose of their most valuable
articles to obtain this root. they have a number of large symeters of Iron
from 3 to 4 feet long which hang by the heads of their beads; the blade of
this weapon is thickest in the center tho thin even there. all it’s edges
are sharp and it’s greatest width which is about 9 inches from the point
is about 4 inches. the form is thus. this is a formidable weapon. they
have heavy bludgeons of wood made in the same form nearly which I presume
they used for the same purpose before they obtained metal. we purchased a
considerable quantity of wappetoe, 12 dogs, and 2 Sea otter skins of these
people. they were very hospitable and gave us anchovies and wappetoe to
eat. notwithstanding their hospitality if it deserves that appellation,
they are great begers, for we had scarcely finished our repast on the
wappetoe and Anchovies which they voluntarily set before us before they
began to beg. we gave them some small articles as is our custom on those
occasions with which they seemed perfectly satisfyed. we gave the 1st
Cheif a small medal, which he soon transfered to his wife. after remaining
at this place 2 hours we set out & continued our rout between this
island, which we now call Cath-lah-poh-tle after the nation, and the Lard
shore. at the distance of 2 miles we encamped in a small prarie on the
main shore, having traveled 19 miles by estimate. the river rising fast.
great numbers of both the large and small swans, gees and ducks seen
today. the former are very abundant in the ponds where the wappetoe is
found, they feed much on this bulb. the female of the duck which was
described yesterday is of a uniform dark brown with some yellowish brown
intermixed in small specks on the back neck and breast. the garter snakes
are innumerable, & are seen entwined arround each other in large
bundles of forty or fifty lying about in different directions through the
praries. the frogs are croaking in the swams and marhes; their notes do
not differ from those of the Atlantic States; they are not found in the
salt marshes near the entrance of the river. heared a large hooting owl
hollowing this evening. saw several of the crested fishers and some of the
large and small black-birds.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
Saturday March 29th 1806. We set out early this morning and proceeded along the side of Deer Island; halted at 10 A.M. near its upper point and had breakfast. Here we were joined by three men of the Clan-nah-min-na-mun nation. The upper point of this Island may be considered the lower side or beginning of the Columbian Valley. After breakfast we continued on, and at a distance of 14 miles from our camp of last evening we passed a large inlet 300 yards wide. This inlet or arm of the river extends to the south 10 or 12 miles to the hills on that side of the river and receives the waters of a small creek which heads with Killamucks River, and that of a bayou which passes out of the Columbia about 20 miles above. The large island thus formed we call Wappetoe Island. On this inlet and island the following nations reside, namely: Clan-nah-min-namun, Clacks-star, Cath-lah-cum-up, Clah-in-na-ta, Cath-lah-nah-qui-ah, and Cath-lah-cam-mah-tup. The first two reside on the inlet and the others on the bayou and island.
Observed a species of small wild onion growing among the moss on the rocks. They resemble the chives of our gardens and grow remarkably close together, forming a perfect turf; they are quite as agreeably flavored as chives. On the north side of the Columbia, a little above the entrance of this inlet, a considerable river discharges itself. This stream the natives call the Cah-wah-na-hi-ooks. It is 150 yards wide and at present discharges a large body of water, though from the information of the same people it is not navigable but a short distance because of falls and rapids. A tribe called the Hul-lu-ettell reside on this river above its entrance.
At a distance of three miles above the entrance of the inlet, on the north side behind the lower point of an island, we arrived at the village of the Cath-lah-poh-tle, which consists of 14 large wooden houses. We arrived here at 3 P.M. The language of these people, as well as those on the inlet and Wappetoe Island, differs to some degree from the nations on the lower part of the river, though many of their words are the same, and a great many others differ only in accent. The form of their houses and dress of the men, manner of living, habits, customs, etc., as far as we could discover, are the same. Their women wear their ornaments, robes, and hair as those do below, though here their hair is more frequently braided in two tresses that hang over each ear in front of the body. Instead of the tissue of bark worn by the women below, they wear a kind of leather breechcloth about the width of a common pocket handkerchief and rather longer. The two corners at one of the narrow ends are fastened in front just above the hips; the other end is then brought between the legs, compressed into a narrow folded bundle, drawn tight, and the corners spread a little in front and tucked at the groin over and around the part first fastened about the waist. The small robe, which does not reach the waist, is their usual and only garment commonly worn besides the one just mentioned. When the weather is a little warm, this robe is thrown aside and the leather truss or breechcloth makes up the whole of their apparel. This is a much more indecent article than the tissue of bark, and barely covers the mons veneris, to which it is drawn so close that the whole shape is plainly visible. The floors of most of their houses are on a level with the surface of the earth, though some of them are sunk two or three feet beneath. The internal arrangement of their houses is the same as those of the nations below. They are also fond of sculpture. Various figures are carved and painted on the pieces that support the center of the roof, about their doors and beds.
They had large quantities of dried anchovies strung on small sticks by the gills, and others, which had been first dried in this manner, were now arranged in large sheets with strings of bark and hung suspended by poles from the roofs of their houses. They also had an abundance of sturgeon and wappetoe; the latter they take in great quantities from the neighboring ponds, which are numerous and extensive in the river bottoms and islands. The wappetoe furnishes the principal article of trade with these people, which they sell to the nations below in exchange for beads, cloth, and various articles. The natives of the seacoast and lower part of the river will give up their most valuable articles to obtain this root. They have a number of large scimitars of iron from 3 to 4 feet long, which hang by the heads of their beds. The blade of this weapon is thickest in the center, though thin even there. All its edges are sharp, and its greatest width, which is about 9 inches from the point, is about 4 inches. The form is thus. This is a formidable weapon. They have heavy bludgeons of wood made in nearly the same form, which I suppose they used for the same purpose before they obtained metal. We purchased a considerable quantity of wappetoe, 12 dogs, and 2 sea otter skins from these people. They were very hospitable and gave us anchovies and wappetoe to eat. Notwithstanding their hospitality, if it deserves that name, they are great beggars, for we had scarcely finished our meal of the wappetoe and anchovies which they voluntarily set before us before they began to beg. We gave them some small articles, as is our custom on those occasions, with which they seemed perfectly satisfied. We gave the 1st chief a small medal, which he soon transferred to his wife.
After remaining at this place 2 hours we set out and continued our route between this island, which we now call Cath-lah-poh-tle after the nation, and the larboard shore. At the distance of 2 miles we camped in a small prairie on the main shore, having traveled 19 miles by estimate. The river is rising fast. Great numbers of both the large and small swans, geese, and ducks were seen today. The swans are very abundant in the ponds where the wappetoe is found; they feed much on this bulb. The female of the duck that was described yesterday is of a uniform dark brown with some yellowish brown intermixed in small specks on the back, neck, and breast. The garter snakes are innumerable and are seen entwined around each other in large bundles of forty or fifty lying about in different directions throughout the prairies. The frogs are croaking in the swamps and marshes; their notes do not differ from those of the Atlantic states; they are not found in the salt marshes near the entrance of the river. Heard a large hooting owl calling this evening. Saw several of the crested kingfishers and some of the large and small blackbirds.
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