Lewis: April 2, 1806

Wednesday April 2ed 1806. This morning we came to a resolution to remain
at our present encampment or some where in this neighbourhood untill we
had obtained as much dryed meat as would be necessary for our voyage as
far as the Chopunnish. to exchange our perogues for canoes with the
natives on our way to the great falls of the columbia or purchase such
canoes from them for Elkskins and Merchandize as would answer our
purposes. these canoes we intend exchanging with the natives of the plains
for horses as we proceed untill we obtain as many as will enable us to
travel altogether by land. at some convenient point, perhaps at the
entrence of the S. E. branch of the Columbia, we purpose sending a party
of four or five men a head to collect our horses that they may be in
readiness for us by our arrival at the Chopunnish; calculating by thus
acquiring a large stock of horses we shall not only sucure the means of
transporting our baggage over the mountains but that we will also have
provided the means of subsisting; for we now view the horses as our only
certain resource for food, nor do we look forward to it with any
detestation or borrow, so soon is the mind which is occupyed with any
interesting object reconciled to it’s situation. The men who were sent in
quest of the Elk and deer that were killed yesterday returned at 8 A.M.
this morning. we now enformed the party of our intention of laying in a
store of meat at this place, and immediately dispatched two parteis
consisting of nine men to the opposite side of the river. five of those we
sent below the Quicksand river and 4 above. we also sent out three others
on this side, and those who remained in camp were employed in collecting
wood making a scaffoald and cuting up the meat in order to dry it. about
this time several canoes of the natives arrived at our camp and among
others one from below which had on board eight men of the Shah-ha-la
nation these men informed us that 2 young men whom they pointed out were
Cash-hooks and resided at the falls of a large river which discharges
itself into the Columbia on it’s South side some miles below us. we
readily prevailed on them to give us a sketch of this river which they
drew on a mat with a coal. it appeared that this river which they called
Mult-no-mah discharged itself behind the Island which we called the image
canoe Island and as we had left this island to the S. both in ascending
and decending the river we had never seen it. they informed us that it was
a large river and run a considerable distance to the South between the
mountains. Capt. Clark determined to return and examine this river
accordingly he took a party of seven men and one of the perogues and set
out 1/2 after 11 A.M., he hired one of the Cashhooks, for a birning glass,
to pilot him to the entrance of the Multnomah river and took him on board
with him. in their manners dress language and stature these people are the
same with the quathlahpohtle nation and others residing in the
neighbourhood of wappetoe Island. near the entrance of multnomah river a
considerable nation resides on the lower side of that stream by the same
name. as many as ten canoes with natives arrived at our camp in the course
of the day; most of them were families of men women and children decencing
the river. they all gave the same account of the scarcity of provision
above. I shot my air gun, with which they were much astonished. one family
consisting of ten or twelve persons remained near us all night. they
conducted themselves in a very orderly manner. the three hunters on this
side of the river returned in the evening they had killed two deer, tho
they were so poor and at such a distance from camp that they brought in
their skins only. the night and morning being cloudy I was again
disappointed in making the observations I wished.

Fir is the common growth of the uplands, as is the cottonwood, ash; large
leafed ash and sweet willow that of the bottom lands. the huckleburry,
shallon, and the several evergreen shrubs of that speceis which bear
burries have seased to appear except that speceis which has the leaf with
a prickly margin. among the plants of this prarie in which we are encamped
I observe the passhequo, Shannetahque, and compound firn the roots of
which the natives eat; also the water cress, strawburry, flowering pea not
yet in blume, the sinquefoil, narrow dock, sand rush which are luxuriant
and abundant in the river bottoms; a speceis of the bearsclaw of which I
preserved a specemine it is in blume. the large leafed thorn has also
disappeared. the red flowering currant is found here in considerable
quantities on the uplands. the hunters inform me that there are extensive
praries on the highlands a few miles back from the river on this side. the
land is very fertile.