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I had now an oportunity of comparing the bald with the grey Eagle; I found that the greay Eagle was about 1/4 larger, it's legs and feet were dark while those of the bald Eagle wer of a fine orrange yellow; the iris of the eye is also of a dark yellowish brown while that of the other is of a bright silvery colour with a slight admixture of yellow. after dinner we proceeded on and passed an Elegant and extensive bottom on the South side and an island near it's upper point which we call Fanny's Island and bottom. the greater part of the bottom is a high dry prarie. near the river towards the upper point we saw a fine grove of whiteoak trees; we saw some deer and Elk at a distance in the prarie, but did not delay for the purpose of hunting them. we continued our rout after dinner untill late in the evening and encamped on the next island above fanny's Island. we found it difficult to obtain as much wood as answered our purposes. the hunters who had proceeded on before us after dinner did not join us this evening. some Indians visited us after dark, but did not remain long. agreeably to our estimate as we decended the river, we came 16 m. 23rd, 16 m. the 24th, 15 the 25th, and 18 m. the 26th, tho I now think that our estimate in decending the river was too short.
Of 46° and 49° North in which we had been for nearly two years, rapidly decending into a woody Country in a wormer Climate between the Latds. 38°& 39° North is probably the Cause of our experiencing the heat much more Senceable than those who have Continued within the parralel of Latitude.
I lit my pipe and gave them Smoke & gave the womin the full amount of the roots which they had put at my feet. they appeared Somewhat passified and I left them and proceeded on on the South Side of Image Canoe Island which I found to be two Islands hid from the opposit Side by one near the Center of the river. the lower point of the upper and the upper point of the lower cannot be Seen from the North Side of the Columbia on which we had passed both decending and ascending and had not observed the apperture between those islands. at the distance of 13 Miles below the last village and at the place I had Supposed was the lower point of the image Canoe island, I entered this river which the nativs had informed us of, Called Mult no mah River so called by the nativs from a Nation who reside on Wappato Island a little below the enterance of this river.
The road through this hilley Countrey is verry bad passing over hills & thro Steep hollows, over falling timber &c. &c. continued on & passed Some most intolerable road on the Sides of the Steep Stoney mountains, which might be avoided by keeping up the Creek which is thickly covered with under groth & falling timber Crossed a mountain 8 miles with out water & encamped on a hill Side on the Creek after Decending a long Steep mountain, Some of our Party did not git up untill 10 oClock P M. I mad camp at 8 on this roade & particularly on this Creek the Indians have pealed a number of Pine for the under bark which they eate at certain Seasons of the year, I am told in the Spring they make use of this bark our hunters Killed only one Pheasent this after noon.
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.
The Indians continued to visit us today in considerable numbers most of them were decending the river with their families. these poor people appeared to be almost starved, they picked up the bones and little peices of refuse meat which had been thrown away by the party. they confirm the report of the scarcity of provision among the natives above.
The Countrey from the mountains to the river hills is a leavel rich butifull Pine Countrey badly watered, thinly timbered & covered with grass- The weather verry worm after decending into the low Countrey, the river hills are verry high & Steep, Small bottoms to this little river which is Flat head & is 160 yards wide and Sholey This river is the one we killed the first Coalt on near a fishing were I am verry Sick to day and puke which relive me.
I think the flood of this spring has been about 12 feet higher than it was at that time; the river is here about 11/2 miles wide; it's general width from the beacon rock which may be esteemed the head of tide water, to the marshey islands is from one to 2 miles tho in many places it is still wider. it is only in the fall of the year when the river is low that the tides are persceptable as high as the beacon rock. this remarkable rock which stands on the North shore of the river is unconnected with the hills and rises to the hight of seven hundred feet; it has some pine or reather fir timber on it's nothern side, the southern is a precipice of it's whole hight. it rises to a very sharp point and is visible for 20 miles below on the river. at the distance of ten miles from our encampment we met with our hunters in the upper end of the bottom to which we had directed them on the South side of the river. they had killed three Elk this morning and wounded two others so badly that they expected to get them. we therefore determined to encamp for the evening at this place in order to dry the meat, in surch of which we sent a party immediately and employed others in preparing scaffoalds and collecting firewood &c against their return. we found some indians with our hunters when we arrived; these people are constantly hanging about us. As has been before mentioned Capt C set out with a party of seven men on 2ed inst. in surch of the entrance of the Multnomah river. he departed at 1/2 after 11 A. M and directed his course along the Southern side of the river. at the distance of 8 miles he passed the village of the Na-cha-co-lee tribe of the E-lute Nation; this village is not large and being situated on the main shore opposite to and S. of the Diamond Island it was concealed by that island from our view both ascending and decending the Columbia as we passed near the Northern shore.
the eye is large and prominent the sight is circular, deep sea green, and occupyes one third of the width of the eye the remaining two thirds is a ring of a bright yellowish silver colour. the years ar placed at the upper part of the head and very near to each other, the years are very flexable, the anamall moves them with great ease and quickness and can contrat and foald them on his back or delate them at pleasure- the front outer foald of the year is a redis brown, the inner foalds or those which ly together when the years are thrown back and wich occupy two thirds of the width of the year is of a clear white colour except one inch at the tip of the year which is black, the hinder foald is of a light grey- the head back sholders and outer part of the thighs are of a ledcoloured grey the sides as they approache the belly grow lighter becomeing gradually more white the belly and brest are white with a shad of lead colour- the furr is long and fine- the tale is white round and blounty pointed the furr on it is long and extreemly fine and soft when it runs it carry's it's tale strait behind the direction of the body- the body is much smaller and more length than the rabbit in proportion to it's height- the teeth are like those of the hair or rabbit as is it's upper lip split- it's food is grass or herbs- it resorts the open plains, is extreemly fleet and never burrows or takes shelter in the ground when pursued, I measured the leaps of one which I suprised in the plains on the 17th Inst. and found them 21 feet the ground was a little decending they apear to run with more ease and to bound with greater agility than any anamall I ever saw. this anamal is usually single seldom associating in any considerable numbers.
The water in the course of time in decending from those hills and plains on either side of the river has trickled down the soft sand clifts and woarn it into a thousand grotesque figures, which with the help of a little immagination and an oblique view at a distance, are made to represent eligant ranges of lofty freestone buildings, having their parapets well stocked with statuary; collumns of various sculpture both grooved and plain, are also seen supporting long galleries in front of those buildings; in other places on a much nearer approach and with the help of less immagination we see the remains or ruins of eligant buildings; some collumns standing and almost entire with their pedestals and capitals; others retaining their pedestals but deprived by time or accident of their capitals, some lying prostrate an broken othes in the form of vast pyramids of connic structure bearing a sereis of other pyramids on their tops becoming less as they ascend and finally terminating in a sharp point. nitches and alcoves of various forms and sizes are seen at different hights as we pass. a number of the small martin which build their nests with clay in a globular form attatched to the wall within those nitches, and which were seen hovering about the tops of the collumns did not the less remind us of some of those large stone buildings in the U States. the thin stratas of hard freestone intermixed with the soft sandstone seems to have aided the water in forming this curious scenery.
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