Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 15.djvu/55



JOURNAL OF DAVID THOMPSON 47

huts are of slight poles tied together, covered with mats of slight rushes, a sufficient defence in this season, and they were considered altogether as moderately cleanly, although very poorly clothed, especially the men, as animals are very scarce and they are too poorly armed to obtain any spoil of worth from the chase. They have a good weir in the brook of about 15 yards, but only small salmon come up to it, some very poor, others tolerably good. Cloudy night.

July 4th 7. Thursday, a fair day. The Indians brought us 5 poor salmon, paid them. We stayed enquiring of the state of the country etc. about us till near noon, when I tried to get an observation by the natural horizon, as my watch is little worth to take one by 2 altitudes, the river presenting a tolerable horizon of about 2/3 or 4 of a sea mile dist. The rock on which I was obliged to stand to overlook the willows was about 40 feet high (sun?) meridian altitude 65 22' but I think the (sun?) was past the meridian. We then set off, our course to the river S. 1/3 m. Course down the Columbia S. 30 W. J4 m, S. 1 m, + 1 m, V. S. C, S. 65 W. 1 m, N. 75 W. iy 2 m, S. 80 W. iy 2 m, Fine low lots. N. 60 W. 1 m, N. 22 W. V/ 4 m, N. 70 W. y 2 m, S. 85 W. y 2 m, S. 55 W. iy 2 m, + \y 2 m, N. 85 W. y 2 m, N. 5 W. 1 m, N. 30 E. V/ 4 m, N. 5 E. 1 m, N. 12 E. ft m, N. 22 W. y 2 m, N. 55 W. 1 m, N. 65 W. 1 m, N. 75 W. 1 m,

N. 15 W. 1 m pass of the black tailed Deer 1- y 2 m, N.

22 W. 2 m, N. 60 W. 1 m, N. 70 W. 1 m, S. 75 W. 1 m, N. 75 W. lm,W.y 2 m, S. 50 W. 1 m, S. W. ft m. Very fine meadows before us on the southd. S. 75 W. YA, m, S. W. iy 4 m, S. 75 W. y 2 m, S. R., S. W. 1/3 m, S. R., S, 30 W. ft m, S. R. S. 50 W. y 2 m, S. R., S. 85 W y 2 m, N. 75 W. 1 m, S. 70 W. y 2 m, S. W. 1/3 m, S. W. 2/3 m, S. 2 m, S. 60 W. y 2 m, S. 82 W. # m, S. 65 W. 1 m, N. 75 W. iy 2 m, S. R., run on the right. N. 70 W. ft

7 The journey is from the Sans Foil River to a rocky camping place in the Nespilem canyon or gorge just above the Kalichen or Whirlpool Rapids, a distance of about fifty miles. At this extreme high water Mr. Thompson is certainly "going 1 some" this afternoon; he passes the Nespilem River, the mouth of the Grand Coulee and Wild Goose Bill's ferry without a word about them. No Indians to smoke with, but he finds some just below, the next day.