Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 15.djvu/65



JOURNAL OF DAVID THOMPSON 57

and two species of other small deer, with small trout and another small fish in the winter, which, with the dried salmon form their winter livelihood. They have no berries, etc., whatever, nor did we see any roots. Salmon is plenty with them in the seine, etc. The salmon of this morning and now are fat a little, they give a little oil in the kettle, the very first that have done so and have a trout-like taste. When done smoking they gave us a dance after the fashion of the others. The women and men were tolerably well clothed but had not so much shell ornament as the others. They have not the sea look but much of the Plain features. They did not appear to make so much use of the nose ornament as the others. The whole lasted till 9 P. M. and they went away. Obsd. for Latitude, Longitude and time but on the 9th I found my instrument had got shaken quite out of adjustment to the left, which makes me doubt the use of either this, or the others of Antares, as I do not know when the Sextant got this shake. Promised them a house here.

July 9th, Tuesday. 22 A stormy night and morning. Wind northwesterly. At 6:10 A. M. set off Co. S. 80 E. ]/ 2 m to the junction of the Shawpatin River with this, the Columbia. Here I erected a small pole with a half sheet of paper well tied about it, with these words on it : "Know hereby that this country is claimed by Great Britain as part of its territories, and that the N. W. Company of Merchants from Canada, finding the factory for this people inconvenient for them, do hereby intend to erect a factory in this place for the commerce of the country around. D. Thompson. Junction of the Shaw- patin River with the Columbia. July 9th, 1811." The Shaw- patin River may be about 500 yards wide, troubled waters and a strong current. Indians say when the water is low it is full of rapids and bad. Co. from it below S. E. 2-^2 m. Say passed 20 families. Co. S. 37 E. 1 m + l-j m. At 8:5

22 From Pasco. aft^r stopping to post Iris formal notice, Mr. Thompson descends the Columbia about 60 miles and camps in vicinity of either Castle Rock on the Oregon side or Carley on the Washington side. He spends four hours of the morning talking with Chief Yellepit of the Walla Walla tribe of Shahaptins, the same who entertiined Lewis and Clark so sumptuously in 1805-6 as narrated in their journals. On the turn to the southwestward just above Blalock Island Mt. Hood is sighted ahead of them.