Explorers and Travellers

Pushing on they soon saw, to the west, high, snow-topped mountains.

“The ridge on which they stood formed the dividing line between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They followed a descent much steeper than that on the eastern side, and at the distance of three quarters of a mile reached a handsome, bold creek of cold, clear water running to the westward. They stopped to taste for the first time the waters of the Columbia, and, after a few minutes, followed the road across steep hills and low hollows, till they reached a spring on the side of a mountain. Here they found a sufficient quantity of dry willow brush for fuel, and therefore halted for the night, and, having killed nothing in the course of the day, supped on their last piece of pork, and trusted to fortune for some other food to mix with a little flour and parched meal, which was all that now remained of their provisions.”

In the early morn of August 13, Lewis hastened impatiently forward without food, and after a few hours of travel saw three Indians; but they fled. A little later he surprised three women, and succeeded in reaching two, who covered their heads and awaited in silence their expected death. Showing them that he was a white man, and giving them trinkets, they were reassured and recalled their comrade, when he painted their cheeks with vermilion, a Shoshone custom emblematic of peace.

The women pointed out the direction of camp, and Lewis, marching on, soon saw a band of sixty well-mounted Indian warriors riding full speed toward him and his two companions. With perfect composure and undaunted courage Lewis laid down his rifle, and alone marched forward to parley with this horde of unknown savages, relying on the integrity and uprightness of his mission. Received with the greatest cordiality, Lewis at once smoked a pipe of peace with them, and after giving them some blue beads and vermilion went to their camp.

On arrival he was inducted into a council lodge and seated on a robe, when a fire was kindled. “The chief then produced his pipe and tobacco, the warriors pulled off their moccasins, and our party were requested to take off their own. This being done, the chief lighted his pipe at the fire within the magic circle, and then retreating from it, began a speech several minutes long, at the end of which he pointed the stem toward the four cardinal points of the heavens, beginning with the east and concluding with the north.”

By this time the day was well spent, and no food of any kind had passed the lips of Lewis and his men since the previous day. On learning this the chief told him that they only had cakes made of sun-dried service- and choke-berries, which served as a hearty meal to the hungry men. Later an Indian gave Lewis a piece of antelope and a bit of salmon, which satisfied him that he was now on the waters of the Columbia.

The next day they had an experience of the Indian mode of hunting, which is thus described: “The chief game of the Shoshonees is the antelope, which, when pursued, retreats to the open plains, where the horses have full room for the chase. But such is its extraordinary fleetness and wind, that a single horse has no chance of outrunning it or tiring it down, and the hunters are therefore obliged to resort to stratagem. About twenty Indians, mounted on fine horses and armed with bows and arrows, left camp. In a short time they descried a herd of antelopes; they immediately separated into little squads of two or three, and formed a scattered circle round the herd for five or six miles, keeping at a wary distance, so as not to alarm them till they were perfectly enclosed, and usually selecting some commanding eminence as a stand. Having gained their positions, a small party rode toward the herd, and with wonderful dexterity the huntsman preserved his seat, and the horse his footing, as he ran at full speed over the hills and down the steep ravines and along the borders of the precipices. They were soon outstripped by the antelopes, which, on gaining the other extremity of the circle, were driven back and pursued by the fresh hunters. They turned and flew, rather than ran, in another direction; but there, too, they found new enemies. In this way they were alternately pursued backward and forward, till at length, notwithstanding the skill of the hunters, they all escaped; and the party, after running for two hours, returned without having caught anything, and their horses foaming with sweat. This chase, the greater part of which was seen from the camp, formed a beautiful scene; but to the hunters is exceedingly laborious, and so unproductive, even when they are able to worry the animal down and shoot him, that forty or fifty hunters will sometimes be engaged for half a day without obtaining more than two or three antelopes.”

Captain Lewis succeeded with great difficulty in persuading the band of Shoshones to pass over the divide in order to assist in bringing his impedimenta across. The presence of a Shoshone woman, the monstrosity of a man entirely black, favorable barter for their horses were urged; in short he played on their avarice, curiosity, tribal pride, and by questioning their courage succeeded in stimulating them to make the journey.

It transpired that Cameahwait, the Shoshone chief, was the brother of Sacajawea, and one of the Shoshone women, now in camp, had been for some time prisoner with her in the hands of the Minnetarees. The meeting of these Indians after long separation disclosed such emotion as proved their tender feelings and genuine interest in each other.

A long and tedious council was held, with the usual smoke and speeches. Lewis set forth in lively terms the strength of the government, the advantages of trade, and the importance of hastening the day of fire-arms and supplies by facilitating the journey. Meanwhile they were amused, as the Indian must be, by the queer negro, the sagacious and well-trained dog, the rifles, the air-gun, clothing, canoes, etc. All game brought in was divided; the Indians feasted on hulled corn, and presents were liberally distributed.

The good-will of the Shoshones was finally secured, and four horses purchased by barter; so that Lewis was to send Clark ahead to reconnoitre the route along the Columbia, and build canoes if possible, which the Indians declared to be impracticable, as timber was wanting, and the river and mountains impassable. They said that for seven days the route lay over steep, rocky mountains, with no game and only roots for food; then for ten days an arid sandy desert, where men and horses would perish for want of food and water. On inquiry, Clark learned that Nez Percés came from the west by a very bad road towards the north, where they suffered excessively from hunger and travel. Believing that difficulties surmountable to Indians with women and children could not be formidable, Clark pushed on with a guide, but soon found that the Indian accounts had not been exaggerated, as he fell in with the points of four mountains, which were rocky, and so high that it seemed almost impossible to cross them with horses. The road lay over sharp fragments of broken rock which had fallen from the mountains and were strewed in heaps for miles together.

Occasionally he met small parties of Indians, who, in wretched plight themselves, yet acted most generously, giving him, as he says, willingly what little they possessed, which was usually a few dried berries and a bit of salmon, never enough to entirely appease the hunger of his famished men. Clark says:

“Our men, who are used to hardships, but have been accustomed to have the first wants of nature regularly supplied, feel very sensibly their wretched situation; their strength is wasting away; they begin to express an apprehension of being without food in a country perfectly destitute of any means of supporting life, except a few fish.”

Clark’s explorations showed that it was impossible to follow the river, to which he gave the name of Lewis, as he was the first white man to visit its waters, either by canoe or along its banks on horses. The mountains were one barren surface of broken masses of rock which crowded into the river, where the stream presented either continuous rapids or series of shoals.

Meanwhile, Lewis moved his necessary baggage to the Shoshone village, previously caching his surplus baggage and sinking his canoes for safety. As a rule the Indians were most friendly, but during a hunting expedition a young brave snatched up his rifle and made off with it. Drewyer pursued him ten miles, and overtaking the women of the party, watched his opportunity, and seeing the Indian off his guard, galloped up to him and seized his rifle. The Indian struggled for some time, but finding Drewyer getting too strong for him, had the presence of mind to open the pan and let the priming fall out; he then let go his hold, and giving his horse the whip, escaped at full speed, leaving the women at the mercy of the conqueror.

Considerable time was spent in making needful preparations for crossing the mountains and in negotiating for horses, of which they obtained twenty-nine – young, vigorous animals, though in poor flesh and with sore backs.

This necessary delay gave Lewis ample opportunity to observe the habits and modes of life of the Shoshones, which are especially interesting as the record of an Indian tribe before it had come in contact with the white men. The Shoshones, or Snakes, who here number four hundred souls, lived a migratory, wretched existence, seeking at one season the salmon of Lewis River, at another the buffalo of the upper Missouri, and again in the mountains barely maintaining life on roots. They were, however, gay, frank, fair-dealing, honest, fond of ornaments, amusements, and games of chance, kind and obliging, and somewhat given to boasting of their warlike exploits. The narrative continues: “The mass of females are condemned, as among all savage nations, to the lowest and most laborious drudgery. When the tribe is stationary they collect the roots and cook; they build the huts, dress the skins, and make clothing, collect the wood, and assist in taking care of the horses on the route; they load the horses, and have charge of all the baggage. The only business of the man is to fight: he therefore takes on himself the care of his horse, the companion of his warfare, but he will descend to no other labor than to hunt and to fish.”

Their inferior arms put them at the mercy of the Minnetarees of Knife River, who mercilessly stole their horses and killed their braves. They seemed an adventurous and courageous people, and Cameahwait’s vehement declaration that, with guns, they would never fear to meet their enemies, did not seem boastful.

Their common arms are bow and arrow, shield, lance, and a weapon called by the Chippeways, by whom it was formerly used, the poggamoggon.

Their method of producing fire was by an arrow and a dry prepared stick, which, being rubbed together vigorously and dexterously for a few minutes, first creates a fine dust, then bursts speedily into flame.

The great wealth of the tribe consists in large numbers of small, wiry, and hardy horses, capable of great endurance, sure footed and fleet. They were second in value to the women alone, who carried the baggage when horses failed.

The Shoshones were well dressed, with shirts, leggings, and moccasins of dressed deer, antelope, etc., skins. A robe with the hair on served as a cloak or as a bed-covering; the shirts were ornamented with porcupine quills of different colors and sometimes by beads, also the moccasins. Elaborate tippets of elegant pattern were also worn, made of otter and fringed with many ermine skins; also collars of various kinds of sea-shells, of the sweet-scented grass, of tusks of the elk, and of the claws of the grizzly bear.

“The names of the Indians vary in the course of their life. Originally given in childhood from the mere necessity of distinguishing objects, or from some accidental resemblance to external objects, the young warrior is impatient to change it by something of his own achievement. Any important event, the stealing of a horse, the scalping of an enemy, or killing a brown bear, entitles him at once to a new name, which he then selects for himself, and it is confirmed by the nation.”

Everything ready, Lewis started on August 27, 1805, with twenty-nine pack-horses, to follow Berry Creek and pass over the mountains to Indian establishments on another branch of the Columbia. In many places a road had to be cut, and even then was barely practicable. Sure footed as is the Indian pony, yet all of the horses were very much injured in passing over the steep rocky ridges. The way was so rough that the horses fell repeatedly down the hillsides, often capsizing with their load, and occasionally one was crippled and disabled. The journey was made yet more disagreeable by a fall of snow and by severe freezing weather, but the spirit of the party is shown by the mention of a “serious misfortune, the last of our thermometers being broken.” On September 6th, however, they were safely beyond the mountain in a wide valley at the head of Clark’s Fork of the Columbia, where they met about four hundred Ootlashoots, who received them kindly and gave to them of their only food, berries and roots. Following the river they reached Travellers’ Rest Creek, where they stopped for hunting, as they were told the country before them had no game for a great distance. Game proved to be so scanty that they moved onward, crossing to the Kooskooskee, where, being without animal food, they killed a colt for supper. Snow fell again, which would not have been so uncomfortable had not their road fallen along steep hillsides, obstructed with dead timber where not covered with living trees, from which the snow fell on them as they passed, keeping them continually wet while the weather was freezing. The road continued difficult. Game was wanting, and as they marched they killed one after another of their colts for food. Their horses were becoming rapidly disabled; the allowance of food scarcely sufficed to check their hunger; while the extreme bodily fatigue of the march, and the dreary prospects before them, began to dispirit the men.

Lewis, appreciating the gravity of the situation, sent Clark ahead, with six hunters, who the next day was fortunate enough to kill a horse, on which his party breakfasted and left the rest for the main expedition. The country continued rugged, and in some places the only road was a narrow rocky path at the edge of very high precipices. One of their horses, slipping, rolled a hundred feet, over and over, down a nearly perpendicular hill strewed with large rocks. All expected he was killed, but he proved to be little injured. Their enforced fasting visibly affected the health of the party; all lost flesh, grew weak, and were troubled with skin eruptions, while several were more seriously ill.

On September 20th, Clark reached a village of the Chopunish or Nez Percés, in a beautiful level valley, where he was kindly received and well fed. Fish, roots, and berries were also obtained, which, sent to Lewis, reached him eight miles out of the village at a time when his party had been without food for more than a day. When the village was reached, the party was in a deplorable condition through long fasting and the exhausting fatigue of the march.

Purchasing from the Indians as much provisions as their weakened horses could carry, they moved on to the forks of the Snake, where the party slowly recruited its health and strength. They killed a horse for the sick, while the party in general lived on dried fish and roots, the latter causing violent pains in the stomach. Five canoes were made, and as the men were weak they adopted the Indian method of burning them out. The twelfth day saw their canoes finished and loaded for the final journey, which was to lead them to the sea. Lewis cached his saddles, the extra powder and ball, and branding his remaining horses, delivered them to three Indians, the principal named Twisted-hair, who agreed to take good care of them till the return of the party, when additional presents were to be given for this service.

Their troubles now seemed to be over and they were congratulating themselves on their safe progress, when they struck a series of fifteen rapids. When passing the last Sergeant Gass’s “canoe struck, and a hole being made in her side she immediately filled and sank. Several men who could not swim clung to the boat until one of our canoes could be unloaded, and with the assistance of an Indian boat they were all brought ashore. All the goods were so much wetted that we were obliged to halt for the night and spread them out to dry. While all this was exhibited, it was necessary to place two sentinels over the merchandise, for we found that the Indians, though kind and disposed to give us aid during our distress, could not resist the temptation of pilfering small articles.” The Snake River was in general very beautiful, but it was filled with rapids, most of them difficult, and one strewed with rocks, most hazardous.

Food failing, except fish and roots, they concluded, probably at the suggestion of their Frenchmen, to change their diet, and being again reduced to fish and roots, made an experiment to vary their food by purchasing a few dogs, and after having been accustomed to horseflesh, felt no disrelish to this new dish. The Chopunish have great numbers of dogs, which they employ for domestic purposes but never eat, and the practice of using the flesh of that animal soon brought the explorers into ridicule as dog-eaters. “Fortunately, however,” says Clark, “the habit of using this animal has completely overcome the repugnance which we felt at first, and the dog, if not a favorite dish, is always an acceptable one.” Elsewhere he adds, “having been so long accustomed to live on the flesh of dogs, the greater part of us had acquired a fondness for it, and our original aversion for it is overcome by reflecting that on that food we were stronger and in better health than at any period since leaving the buffalo country.”

They were now in Lewis River, a broad greenish-blue stream filled with islands and dangerous rapids, which were passed in canoes, except one near the mouth, where a land portage of a mile was necessary. This brought them to the junction of the Lewis and Columbia Rivers on October 17th, where they parted from the Nez Percés. These Indians lead a painful, laborious life, brightened by but few amusements; are healthy, comely, and generally well dressed; given to ornaments of beads, sea-shells, feathers, and paints. In winter they collect roots and hunt the deer on snow-shoes, toward spring cross the mountains to buy buffalo robes, and in summer and autumn catch salmon, usually by weirs at the rapids, in the following manner: “About the centre of each was placed a basket formed of willows, eighteen or twenty feet in length, of a cylindrical form and terminating in a conic shape at its lower extremity. This was situated with its mouth upward opposite to an aperture in the weir. The main channel of the water was conducted to this weir, and as the fish entered it they were so entangled with each other that they could not move, and were taken out by untying the small end of the willow basket.”

Here Lewis began to lay in stores, and, fish being out of season, purchased forty dogs, which for weeks had proved to be the best food available. On October 20th they again launched their canoes in the Columbia, and pushed on through the frequent rapids, looking forward with interest not unmixed with anxiety to the great falls of which the Indians told them. Arrived at the head of the rapids, they made a portage of nearly a mile, availing themselves of the assistance and guidance of the Indians. Owing to the great labor of portages they kept to the river when possible, and “reached a pitch of the river, which, being divided by two large rocks, descended with great rapidity down a fall eight feet in height. As the boats could not be navigated down this steep descent, we were obliged to land and let them down as slowly as possible by strong ropes of elk-skin.” They all passed in safety except one, which, being loosed by the breaking of the rope, was driven down, but was recovered by the Indians below.

Finally they came to an extremely dangerous place where a tremendous rock projected into the river, leaving a channel of only forty-five yards, through which the Columbia passed, its waters thrown into whirlpools and great waves of the wildest and most dangerous character. As the portage of boats over this high rock was impossible in their situation, Lewis resolved on a passage in boats, relying on dexterous steering, which carried them through safely, much to the astonishment of the Indians gathered to watch them. Another rapid was so bad that all papers, guns, ammunition, and such men as could not swim made a land portage, while Lewis and Clark took the canoes through safely, two at a time. The 25th brought them to the most dangerous part of the narrows, which they concluded to hazard by canoe after using precautions as to valuable articles and men. The first three canoes escaped very well, the fourth nearly filled, the fifth passed through with only a small quantity of water.

On the 28th Lewis was very much gratified by seeing an Indian with a round hat and sailor’s jacket, which had come up the river by traffic; and as he went on similar articles became common. They passed a number of different tribes who behaved in a friendly manner, and among others the Eneeshur, at the great falls, interested them by their cooking utensils, which were baskets so skilfully made of bark and grass as to serve as vessels for boiling their provisions. Some of the party were horrified, however, by “the chief, who directed his wife to hand him his medicine bag, from which he brought out fourteen fore-fingers, which he told us had once belonged to the same number of his enemies whom he had killed in fighting.”

On the 31st they came to the lower falls, where the river narrowed to one hundred and fifty yards and fell twenty feet in a distance of four hundred yards, while below was another exceedingly bad rapid. The upper rapid was so filled with rocks that Crusatte, the principal waterman, thought it impracticable, so a portage of four miles was made over the route followed by the Indians. “After their example, we carried our small canoe and all the baggage across the slippery rocks to the foot of the shoot. The four large canoes were then brought down by slipping them along poles placed from one rock to another, and in some places by using partially streams which escaped alongside of the river. We were not, however, able to bring them across without three of them receiving injuries which obliged us to stop at the end of the shoot to repair them.”

On November 2d, Lewis was intensely gratified by the first appearance of tide-water, and pushed on with the greatest eagerness until he reached Diamond Island, where “we met fifteen Indians ascending the river in two canoes; but the only information we could procure from them was that they had seen three vessels, which we presumed to be European, at the mouth of the Columbia.”

As he went on, small parties of Indians in canoes were seen and many small villages, principally of the Skilloots, who were friendly, well disposed, desirous of traffic, and visited so frequently as to be troublesome. One Indian, speaking a little English, said that he traded with a Mr. Haley. The weather had become foggy and rainy, but on November 7, 1805, while pushing down the river below a village of the Wahkiacums, the “fog cleared off and we enjoyed the delightful prospect of the ocean – that ocean, the object of all our labors, the reward of all our anxieties. This cheering view exhilarated the spirits of all the party, who were still more delighted on hearing the distant roar of the breakers, and went on with great cheerfulness.”

Lewis, not content with a sight of the ocean, went on, determined to winter on the coast. A severe storm forced him to land under a high rocky cliff, where the party had scarcely room to lie level or secure their baggage. It “blew almost a gale directly from the sea. The immense waves now broke over the place where we were encamped, and the large trees, some of them five or six feet thick, which had lodged at the point, were drifted over our camp, and the utmost vigilance of every man could scarcely save our canoes from being crushed to pieces. We remained in the water and drenched with rain during the rest of the day, our only food being some dried fish and some rain-water which we caught. Yet, though wet and cold and some of them sick from using salt water, the men are cheerful and full of anxiety to see more of the ocean.” Here they were confined six days, and the rain had lasted ten days, wetting their merchandise through, spoiling their store of dried fish, destroying and rotting their robes and leather dresses.