Departed Fort Clatsop, ascending Columbia River — Patrick Gass: March 28, 1806
The party reached Deer Island around 10 a.m., where men sent ahead in small canoes had camped and gone hunting. They decided to stay the day to repair two leaking canoes, despite intermittent rain. Hunters killed seven deer plus geese and ducks, though birds devoured four deer carcasses before they could be retrieved. Gass noted the women at the last village wore a thin dressed skin around the loins rather than the short petticoats seen near the coast. The island swarmed with garter snakes. The Columbia was running high, making upstream travel harder.
and at 10 o’clock came to Deer island; where those who had
gone ahead in the small canoes had encamped, and all gone
out to hunt except one. In a short time a hunter returned
with a large deer, and we concluded to stay here all day and
repair two of our canoes, that leaked. It rained at intervals
during the day. Our hunters came in and had killed 7 deer
in all. Some of the men went to bring in the meat, and others
went out and killed some geese and ducks. At the last village
we passed I took notice of a difference in the dress of the
females, from that of those below, about the coast and Hailey’s
Bay. Instead of the short petticoat, they have a piece of thin
dressed skin tied tight round their loins, with a narrow slip
coming up between their thighs. On this island there are a
greater number of snakes, than I had ever seen in any other
place; they appeared almost as numerous as the blades of
grass; and are a species of Garter snake. When our men
went for the deer, they found that the fowls had devoured
four of the carcases entirely, except the bones. So they
brought in the other two; and we finished our canoes, and
put them in the water. The Columbia river is now very
high, which makes it more difficult to ascend.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
At 10 o'clock we came to Deer Island, where those who had gone ahead in the small canoes had camped, and all had gone out to hunt except one. In a short time a hunter returned with a large deer, and we decided to stay here all day and repair two of our canoes that leaked. It rained at intervals during the day. Our hunters came in, having killed 7 deer in all. Some of the men went to bring in the meat, and others went out and killed some geese and ducks.
At the last village we passed, I noticed a difference in the dress of the women from that of those below, around the coast and Haley's Bay. Instead of the short petticoat, they wear a piece of thin dressed skin tied tightly around their loins, with a narrow slip coming up between their thighs.
On this island there are a greater number of snakes than I had ever seen in any other place; they appeared almost as numerous as the blades of grass, and are a species of garter snake. When our men went for the deer, they found that the fowls had devoured four of the carcasses entirely, except for the bones. So they brought in the other two. We finished our canoes and put them in the water. The Columbia River is now very high, which makes it more difficult to ascend.
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