- —The old Indian—Hunting party—Horses—The
priest—Piss-cows—Sopa—Great assemblage of Indians—The comet—Oakinacken—Distance from Astoria—Indian council—Resolve to winter—Some account of the place—The stolen watch—The priest dismissed—Voyage concluded—The two strangers—First building—Division of the party—Lonely winter—The lost party—Indian trade—Mr. Stuart's adventures.
On the 5th of August, early in the morning, after making the chiefs a few presents, we proceeded, and had the singular good luck to get off with the loss of only one paddle. As we left the beach, the sullen savages crowded to the water's edge, and in silence stood and gazed at us, as if reproaching themselves for their forbearance. As we proceeded, the banks {122} of the river were literally lined with Indians. Having ascended about seven miles, we arrived at the falls—the great Columbia Falls, as they are generally called; but, from the high floods this year, they were scarcely perceptible, and we passed them without ever getting out of our canoes. In seasons of low water, however, the break or fall is about twenty feet high, and runs across the whole breadth of the river, in an oblique direction. The face of the country about this place is bare, rugged, and rocky, and, to our annoyance, every point was swarming with Indians, all as anxious to get to us as we were to avoid them. Our exertions, and the want of sleep for the last three nights in succession, almost stupefied us, and we were the more anxious to find some quiet resting-place for the night. We halted a short distance above the falls, and there encamped. The current was strong, and rapid the whole of this day. Course, north.
On the 6th, after passing a comfortless and almost
