Clark: January 8, 1806
Jany 8 Wedned Set out at Day a fine morning wind hard from S. E at 11/2
miles arived at a Open where I had a view of the Seas Coast for a long
Distance rocks in every direction. Struck a branch and come down to the
Sea at which place an old village between 2 Creeks of the Colemix Nation
which inhabits this Coast, grave yard deposed of in Canoes in which the
bodies are laid in boxes in the Canoe, Paddles &c thos poople must use
thos Canoes in the higher Seas of which then ever I Saw on a Cost ruding
Countrey Crossed 3 points rocks great Distanc in the Sea, hill Sides
Sliping from emins ravins which appears to _____ proceeded on to the mouth
of a Creek about 80 yards wide at which Place I saw 5 Lodges of Indian of
the Ca la mix nation, boiling whale in a trough of about 20 gallons with
hot Stones, and the oyle they put into a Canoe I proceded on a Short
distance to the whales which was nothing more than the Sceleton, of 105
feet long, we took out a few bones and returned to the Cabins at the mouth
of the Creek, and attempted to trade with thos people who I found Close
and Capricious, would not trade the Smallest piece except they thought
they got an advantage of the bargain, their disposition is averitious,
& independant in trade, they offered to trade for Elk of which we had
not I purchased some oile and about 120 w of Blubber after rendered,
finding they would not trade I Deturmined to return home with what we have
The Houses of these people appear temporary a ridge pole on 2 forks
Supported a Certain number of Split boards of the red Cedar & pine,
Set on the end the gable ends of the Same materials and Calculated for 2
families first, The Dress and appearenc of the nativs as also the language
is procisely that of the Clopsots & Chinnooks, those people Save their
oile in bladder Guts &c.
Their food is principally fish that is thrown on the Shores by the Seas
& left by the tide, This Cost is rockey, the mountains high &
rugged, They inform me that their nation lives in 5 villages to the S E of
this place at the mouths of Creek in which they catch Samn. in the Season,
I got of those people a few roots Some Sturgeon whale-____ &. They
Call a whale E cu-la a Creek Shu man, they have Some fiew Sea ortter for
which they ask Such prices I could not purchase any of them
Th party much fatigued in crossing 1 mountain & 4 high Points Steep
& Slipery, also Stony Beach Slippery and tiresom The high tide obliged
me to delay untill late before the tide put out, I Shot a raven & a
gul with my Small riffle which Suppised these people a little They are
fond of blue & white large beed only, files & fish Hooks which are
large- after Diner we Set out Crossed the Creek in a Small Canoe The tide
out and Encamped on the opposit Side, I was asked for ferrage and paid a
pin, one hut on the Side in which I Camped & Village a Short distance
above which I did not See last night, all the men came over & Smoked
with me, about bed time I herd a hollowing on the opposit Side of the
river which allarnied all the Indian men about me, they run across the
Creek, I Suspected perhaps Some of my party was over after the Squars, by
exemening found that McNeal was not in Camp, my guide who Staid with me
told me Some body throat was Cut. I emediately Sent Serjt Pryor & 2
men across for McNeal, they Soon returned haveing met the person I was
anxious to find out the Cause of the allarm, McNeal Said that a man
envited him to go across and get Some fish, locked arms of which he Contd
to hold he took him into a lodge and the woman gave him a Small piec the
man then invited him to another, the woman of the lodge puled his blanket,
& Sent out a Squar to hollow across, to inform of Something which aid.
McNeal I Sent over Sergt. Pryor to Know the Cause of the allarm which he
was informed that a Plot was laid to kill McNeal for his Blanket &
Clothes by this Indian who was from another Villg at Some distance, and
that She had attempted to Stop McNeal & findeing She Could not that
She then allarmed the men, Several of the mans Band was with me who
imedeately Cleared out, 2 men Came over & Slept at my feet. I kept a
guard & Sentinel all night a fair night wind blew from S. E. during
the evening I acquired all the information possiable respecting the Coast
to the S. E. got the name of many nations & the Nos. of their houses,
a map of the Coast in their way. I am very pore & weak for want of
Sufficient food and fear much that I shall require more assistance to get
back than I had to get to this place. a deturmined purcistance will as it
has done carry me through
—
Wednesday 8th January 1805 The last night proved fair and Cold wind hard
from the S. E. we Set out early and proceeded to the top of the mountain
next to the which is much the highest part and that part faceing the Sea
is open, from this point I beheld the grandest and most pleasing prospects
which my eyes ever surveyed, in my frount a boundless Ocean; to the N. and
N. E. the coast as as far as my sight Could be extended, the Seas rageing
with emence wave and brakeing with great force from the rocks of Cape
Disapointment as far as I could See to the N. W. The Clatsops Chinnooks
and other villagers on each Side of the Columbia river and in the Praries
below me, the meanderings of 3 handsom Streams heading in Small lakes at
the foot the high Country; The Columbia River for a Some distance up, with
its Bays and Small rivers and on the other Side I have a view of the Coast
for an emence distance to the S. E. by S. the nitches and points of high
land which forms this Corse for a long ways aded to the inoumerable rocks
of emence Sise out at a great distance from the Shore and against which
the Seas brak with great force gives this Coast a most romantic
appearance. from this point of View my guide pointed to a village at the
mouth of a Small river near which place he Said the whale was, he also
pointed to 4 other places where the princpal Villages of the Kil la mox
were Situated, I could plainly See the houses of 2 of those Villeges &
the Smoke of a 3rd which was two far of for me to disern with my naked eyeafter
taking the Courses and computed the Distances in my own mind, I proceeded
on down a Steep decent to a Single house the remains of an old Kil a mox
Town in a nitch imediately on the Sea Coast, at which place great no. of
eregular rocks are out and the waves comes in with great force. Near this
old Town I observed large Canoes of the neetest kind on the ground Some of
which appeared nearly decayed others quit Sound, I examoned those Canoes
and found they were the repository of the deadThis Custom of
Secureing the Dead differs a little from the Chinnooks. the Kil a mox
Secure the dead bodies in an oblong box of Plank, which is placed in an
open Canoe resting on the ground, in which is put a paddle and Sundery
other articles the property of the disceased. The Coast in the
neighbourhood of this old village is slipping from the Sides of the high
hills, in emence masses; fifty or a hundred acres at a time give way and a
great proportion of an instant precipitated into the Ocean. those hills
and mountains are principally composed of a yellow Clay; their Slipping
off or Spliting assunder at this time is no doubt Caused by the incessant
rains which has fallen within the last two months. the mountans Covered
with a verry heavy Croth of pine & furr, also the white Cedar or arbor
vita and a Small proportion of the black alder, this alder grows to the
hight of Sixty or Seventy feet and from 2 to 3 feet in diamiter. Some
Species of pine on the top of the Point of View rise to the emmence hight
of 210 feet and from 8 to 12 feet in diameter, and are perfectly Sound and
Solid. Wind hard from the S. E and See looked ____ in the after part of
the Day breaking with great force against the Scattering rocks at Some
distance from Shore, and the ruged rockey points under which we wer
obleged to pass and if we had unfortunately made one false Stet we Should
eneviateably have fallen into the Sea and dashed against the rocks in an
instant, fortunately we passed over 3 of those dismal points and arived on
a butifull Sand Shore on which we Continued for 2 miles, Crossed a Creek
80 yards near 5 Cabins, and proceeded to the place the whale had perished,
found only the Skelleton of this monster on the Sand between 2 of the
villages of the Kil a mox nation; the Whale was already pillaged of every
valuable part by the Kil a mox Inds. in the vecinity of whose village’s it
lay on the Strand where the waves and tide had driven up & left it.
this Skeleton measured 105 feet. I returned to the village of 5 Cabins on
the Creek which I shall call E co-la or whale Creek, found the nativs
busily engaged boiling the blubber, which they performed in a large Squar
wooden trought by means of hot Stones; the oil when extracted was Secured
in bladders and the Guts of the whale; the blubber from which the oil was
only partially extracted by this process, was laid by in their Cabins in
large flickes for use; those flickes they usially expose to the fire on a
wooden Spit untill it is prutty well wormed through and then eate it
either alone or with roots of the rush, Shaw na tdk we or diped in the
oil. The Kil a mox although they possessed large quantities of this
blubber and oil were so prenurious that they disposed of it with great
reluctiance and in Small quantities only; insomuch that my utmost exertion
aided by the party with the Small Stock of merchindize I had taken with me
were not able to precure more blubber than about 300 wt. and a fiew
gallons of oil; Small as this Stock is I prise it highly; and thank
providence for directing the whale to us; and think him much more kind to
us than he was to jonah, having Sent this monster to be Swallowed by us in
Sted of Swallowing of us as jonah’s did. I recrossed E co la Creek and
Encamped on the bank at which place we observed an ebundance of fine wood
the Indian men followed me for the purpose of Smokeing. I enquired of
those people as well as I could by Signs the Situation, mode of liveing
& Strength of their nation They informed me that the bulk of their
nation lived in 3 large villages Still further along the Sea coast to the
S, S, W. at the enterence Of 3 Creek which fell into a bay, and that other
houses were Scattered about on the Coast, Bay and on a Small river which
fell into the Bay in which they Cought Salmon, and from this Creek (which
I call Kil a mox River) they crossed over to the Wappato I. on the
Shock-ah-lil com (which is the Indian name for the Columbia river) and
purchased Wappato &c. that the nation was once verry large and that
they had a great maney houses, In Salmon Season they Cought great numbers
of that fish in the Small Creeks, when the Salmon was Scerce they found
Sturgion and a variety of other fish thrown up by the waves and left by
the tide which was verry fine, Elk was plenty in the mountains, but they
Could not Kill maney of them with their arrows. The Kil d mox in their
habits Customs manners dress & language differ but little from the
Clatsops, Chinnooks and others in this neighbourhood are of the Same form
of those of the Clatsops with a Dore at each end & two fire places i,
e the house is double as long as wide and divided into 2 equal parts with
a post in the middle Supporting the ridge pole, and in the middle of each
of those divisions they make their fires, dotes Small & houses Sunk 5
feet
