Page:History of Oregon Literature.djvu/56

 would no doubt have uttered, "Scribblers!", but it magnificently succeeded. The man who sent out the expedition, quite a writer himself, spread the contagion of that activity among the party with so much effect that poor Sacajawea must have often reflected amidst the general penciling industry at camp that she was about the only one who did not have something to jot down. If this is exaggeration, in sober truth eight separate journals by nine individuals were kept of the journey, among a party of 40-odd.

Of the two leaders as authors, Philip H. Parrish says: "Lewis was the better educated of the two, of a rather poetic temperament, fond of the beauties of nature and of attempting to transfer this beauty to paper. Clark was given to phonetic spelling and sometimes strange but always picturesque expressions." It might be added that Lewis went so far in patterning himself after his famous chief as to call one river Wisdom and another Philosophy, a nomenclature that was too much for those later living in the region of the streams, who changed Wisdom to Big Hole River and Philosophy to Stinking Water. They took turns keeping the official journal but the entries are readily distinguishable one from the other.

These selections are from Captain Clark's journal. The expedition missed the Willamette on the way down, but discovered it on the return trip.

Apr. 2, 1806

... I entered this river which the natives had informed us of, called Multnomah River so called by the natives from a nation who reside on Wappato Island a little below the enterance of this river. Multnomah discharges itself in the Columbia on the S. E. and may be justly said to be ¼ the size of that noble river. . . . Three small Islands are situated in it's mouth which hides the river from view from the Columbia. From the enterance of this river, I can plainly see Mt. Jegferson which is high and covered with snow S. E. Mt. Hood East, Mt. St. Helean's (and) a high humped mountain (Mount Adams) to the East of Mt. St. Helean's.

Apr. 7, 1806

... I prevaled on an old indian to mark the Multnomah R down on the sand which he did and perfectly coresponded with the sketch given me by sundry others, with the addition of a circular mountain which passes this river at the falls and connects with the mountains of the Seacoast. He also lais