Chapter 31

24. For this chief, see Franchère, note 51.—Ed.

25. The “Namowit” Indians were one tribe of those designated by Lewis and Clark as the “Wappato” Indians; seeOriginal Journals of Lewis and Clark Expedition, under Scientific Data: Estimate of Western Indians. For Bellevue Point, see Franchère, note 55. Johnson’s Island was named by Broughton (1792) for the lieutenant of his vessel, the “Chatham;” Lewis and Clark called it Diamond Island; it is now known as Government Island, in Multnomah County, Oregon. Wasougal (Wasough-ally) is a small stream entering the Columbia from the north, in Clark County, Washington. Quicksand River, so named by Lewis and Clark, is the present Sandy, a considerable stream draining the western slope of Mount Hood, and flowing into the Columbia through Multnomah County, Oregon.—Ed.

26. For the location of Point Vancouver, see Franchère, note 55.—Ed.

27. The rock that Ross and the Scotch Canadians of his party named “Inshoach Castle,” was probably the well-known landmark now called Beacon Rock, which marks the extent of tidal influence, and may be seen for twenty miles down the river.—Ed.

28. For Strawberry Island and the portage of the Cascades, see Franchère, note 112.—Ed.

29. Lewis and Clark called these natives at the Cascades, Clahclellahs, and included them among the generic name of Shahalas, a branch of the Upper Chinook. The tribesmen were a thieving, troublesome lot, as Ross’s subsequent narrative will show.—Ed.

30. Wind River, in Skamania County, Washington.—Ed.

31. Michel Boulard had since 1800 been a voyageur with Thompson. In 1806–07 he wintered at Rocky Mountain House, and the following spring crossed the range to Kootenay. The next four winters were spent in the mountains, and he was one of the seven canoe men who brought Thompson to Astoria in July, 1811. For his later connection with the Astorians, seepost.—Ed.

32. Ross’s designations of Indian tribes differ from those of other travellers in this region. Lewis and Clark called the permanent dwellers at the narrows, Echelutes. Wyampam must be another name for the same tribe—a branch of the Upper Chinooks.—Ed.

33. The river which Ross calls “Lowhum,” had several designations among early travellers. Lewis and Clark call it “Towarnahiooks.” All evidently endeavored to give it the Indian name, which was an imitation of the sound made by the falls at its mouth. It is at present known as Des Chutes River.—Ed.

34. Ross later relates the adventures of the pioneer John Day, from whom this river takes its name.—Ed.

35. The identification of “Suppa” River is uncertain. The largest affluent of the Columbia between John Day and Umatilla River is that Oregon stream now known as Willow Creek.—Ed.

36. For the Umatilla River, see Franchère, note 141. A large isolated cliff, just below the mouth of the Umatilla, is still called Castle Rock.—Ed.

37. The rapid here described, is now known as the Umatilla Rapid; Lewis and Clark designated it as “The Musselshell,” from the heaps of those shells spread out upon the banks. The brigade had just passed the present boundary of Oregon, 46° of north latitude.—Ed.

38. The Wallawalla Indians are of the Shahaptian stock—one of the great families of the inland Columbians, to which the Nez Percés and Umatilla belong. Usually they were hospitable and well-affected towards the whites. Lewis and Clark especially mention their friendly disposition. Many years later, they became disaffected and joined the Cayuse in acts of hostility. A treaty was made with the Wallawallas in 1855, whereby they surrendered their lands, and retired to the Umatilla reservation, where at the last report (1902) five hundred and sixty-nine were still residing. The “Shaw Haptens” were a kindred race speaking the Shahaptian language.This appears to be the first mention of the Cayuse tribe, later so prominent in Oregon history. Their language was unlike that of the Wallawalla, so that they are classified as Waülatpuans. Their habitat was the Wallawalla Valley, and south and east of the great bend of the Columbia. Their herds of horses were so numerous that “cayuse” has become a generic term for Indian ponies. These Indians constituted the largest and most powerful tribe of Eastern Oregon. Among them the American Board founded a mission, and it was this tribe that perpetrated the Whitman massacre of 1847. Broken in spirit and numbers by the settlers’ avenging warfare, five chiefs were in 1850 surrendered for trial and executed. Five years later, the Cayuse formally ceded their lands and retired to the Umatilla reservation, where three hundred and ninety-one are now (1902) reported. They have abandoned their language for that of the Wallawalla.—Ed.

This appears to be the first mention of the Cayuse tribe, later so prominent in Oregon history. Their language was unlike that of the Wallawalla, so that they are classified as Waülatpuans. Their habitat was the Wallawalla Valley, and south and east of the great bend of the Columbia. Their herds of horses were so numerous that “cayuse” has become a generic term for Indian ponies. These Indians constituted the largest and most powerful tribe of Eastern Oregon. Among them the American Board founded a mission, and it was this tribe that perpetrated the Whitman massacre of 1847. Broken in spirit and numbers by the settlers’ avenging warfare, five chiefs were in 1850 surrendered for trial and executed. Five years later, the Cayuse formally ceded their lands and retired to the Umatilla reservation, where three hundred and ninety-one are now (1902) reported. They have abandoned their language for that of the Wallawalla.—Ed.

39. Thompson records (July 9, 1811) “½ a mile to the Junction of the Shawpatin [Snake] 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, & that the N W Company of Merchants from Canada, finding the Factory for this People inconvenient for them, do intend to erect a Factory in this Place for the Commerce of the Country around. D. Thompson.”—Henry-Thompson Journals, p. 748.—Ed.

40. Ross is here inaccurate. The Snake River was called the Lewis; but to the Columbia above the fork, the explorers never applied the name of Clark—that was given to the large northern branch still called Clark’s Fork of the Columbia, upon whose upper waters the explorers rested when crossing the mountains.—Ed.

41. The Yakima (Eyakema) River enters the Columbia from the east, about ten miles above the Snake. It is a large tributary, draining the eastern slope of the Cascade Range. Lewis and Clark called it the Tapteet. The Northern Pacific Railway follows the valley of the Yakima for some distance.—Ed.

42. It was on the return journey (May 1, 1806) that three Wallawalla overtook Lewis and Clark, with a steel trap which they had travelled a day’s journey to restore.—Ed.

43. This is the Gualquil Rapid, one hundred and ten miles above the mouth of Snake River. The Kewaughtohenemachs are mentioned only by Ross; they were probably a Pisquow tribe. For a description of the Columbia above the entrance of the Snake, see Symons,Upper Columbia River(Washington, 1882.)—Ed.

44. Column Bluffs is the usual designation of this point on the river, about ten miles above Gualquil Rapid. According to an Indian legend, two wicked women who lived here were accustomed to kill those who passed. The Indians begged the Great Spirit to destroy them, and he, answering their prayer, sent an immense bird which picked out their brains and turned them into stone.—Ed.

45. Lewis and Clark called this river Wahnaacha, after the tribe of Pisquow Indians of that name who dwelt along its banks. Wenatchee and Pischous are both used to designate the stream at the present time. It takes its rise in the Wenatchee Mountains and flows south-eastward, emptying into the Columbia one hundred and forty-eight miles from the mouth of the Snake. The Great Northern Railway follows its course.—Ed.

46. Oak Point, mentioned so frequently in accounts of Columbian exploration, was near Astoria—Franchère, note 74. The one here referred to must be near the mouth of the Entiatqua (Entiyatecoom) River, known to the Canadian voyageurs as Point de Bois. The Entiatqua, which Ross calls Intyclook, is a small stream about a hundred feet wide, flowing into the Columbia from the west, fifteen miles above the Pischous.—Ed.

47. Between Oak Point and White Hill Rapid the west bank is a continuous volcanic bluff about two thousand feet high and striped with different-colored strata—white, gray, black, and dark brown. The rapid was doubtless named from the white hills on the eastern side.—Ed.

48. Concerning these animals, see Franchère, note 172.—Ed.

49. This is the Chelan River, which empties into the Columbia from the north-west, about one hundred and eighty-five miles above the Snake. It is but two and a half miles long, is the outlet of a considerable lake of the same name, and has a fall of two hundred and fifty feet. Just above its mouth was the principal village of the Chelan tribe, a branch of the Salish. A military post was established on this lake (1880), but not long after was removed to Spokane.—Ed.

50. Ross also calls this the Meathow River, and Methow is at present the usual appellation. The rapids just below the mouth have been named Ross Rapids, probably in honor of our author.—Ed.

51. The distance is really about one hundred and twenty-five miles. For a brief history of Okanagan post, see Franchère, note 71.—Ed.

52. This river was discovered by the explorer Thompson (for whom see Franchère, note 61). It has two large branches, a northern and an eastern, which unite at Lake Kamloops, one hundred and fifty miles directly north of the Okanagan post; the united stream then flows south-west for about ninety miles and unites with the Fraser. Thompson, thinking that he was upon the Columbia, descended its northern branch to the forks.—Ed.

53. The Shushwaps (She Whaps) are a branch of the Salishan family and closely allied in language and habits to the tribes about Okanagan post. They were also called Atnahs (strangers), a name given them by the Carrier Indians, farther to the north-west. They formerly occupied the country along the Thompson and its branches, but by 1900 they were reduced to fifty-four persons.—Ed.

54. For an account of this Indian, see Franchère, note 46.—Ed.

55. Compare Franchère’s account of the destruction of the “Tonquin” with this of Ross. The village was Newity or New Whitty. Nootka Sound is on the west coast of Vancouver Island, in latitude 49° 50′ north.—Ed.

56. For notes on the following persons and places mentioned in this chapter, see Bradbury’sTravels, volume v of our series: Hunt, note 2; McKenzie, note 4; Crooks, note 3; Missouri Fur Company, note 149; Miller, note 72; Nadowa, note 5; McClellan, note 72.—Ed.

57. This route, travelled by Marquette and Jolliet in 1673 was from a well-established Indian and French waterway between the Great Lakes and the Mississippi. The Fox River (of Wisconsin) was ascended from Green Bay to the present site of Portage, Wisconsin; a portage path of a mile and a half in length was followed (in floods, the intervening swamp was overflowed, and Wisconsin River waters emptied into the Fox), and the Wisconsin was descended to its junction with the Mississippi, at Prairie du Chien.—Ed.

58. The Three Tetons are the most noted historic peaks in the Rocky Mountains. The topography of the country is such that the highest peak, Grand Teton (13,691 feet) can be seen from a great distance and has long served as a landmark to trappers and pioneers. Unlike the mountains of that region, the Tetons are not hemmed in by foothills, but rise in bold relief from the surrounding plateau—the Grand Teton towering seven thousand feet above Jackson Lake, at its base. The range is but sixty miles long and lies some twenty-five miles south-west of Yellowstone Lake. It is crossed by Teton Pass, about twenty miles south of Grand Teton.—Ed.

59. For a sketch of Stuart, see Bradbury’sTravels, volume v of our series, note 119.Russell Farnham of Massachusetts came to Astoria on the “Tonquin.” He left with Captain Hunt on the brig “Pedlar,” was landed at Kamchatka, journeyed overland to Hamburg, and sailed thence to New York. When the American Fur Company resumed operations after the War of 1812–15, he was foremost in endeavoring to establish posts on the Missouri River. In 1831 he had charge of the trade in the country of the Sauk and Fox Indians, and died at St. Louis, October 30, 1832.—Ed.

59. For a sketch of Stuart, see Bradbury’sTravels, volume v of our series, note 119.

Russell Farnham of Massachusetts came to Astoria on the “Tonquin.” He left with Captain Hunt on the brig “Pedlar,” was landed at Kamchatka, journeyed overland to Hamburg, and sailed thence to New York. When the American Fur Company resumed operations after the War of 1812–15, he was foremost in endeavoring to establish posts on the Missouri River. In 1831 he had charge of the trade in the country of the Sauk and Fox Indians, and died at St. Louis, October 30, 1832.—Ed.

60. For a brief description of the Snake Indians, see Bradbury’sTravels, note 123.—Ed.

61. Lewis and Clark state that the Indians designated the great falls of the Columbia by the words “Timm,” so pronounced as to represent the fall of a distant cataract.—Ed.

62. Simon Fraser, on his first expedition west of the Rocky Mountains (1805), gave the name “New Caledonia” to the region of Stuart and upper Fraser rivers, whose numerous lakes, lying among the bold and craggy mountains, reminded him of the Scotch highlands. The following year, accompanied by John Stuart, he farther explored the country and established St. James post, on Stuart River. For some time the boundaries of New Caledonia were indefinite, but its southern limit was always over two hundred miles north of Okanagan post. After it was erected into a district of the Hudson’s Bay Company, it extended from 51° 30′ to 56° north latitude and from 124° 10′ west longitude to the Rocky Mountains. Fort Alexandria (established 1821), on Fraser River, one hundred and seventy miles north of Fort Okanagan, became the principal trading post of the district.—Ed.

63. Concerning John Clarke, see Franchère, note 81.—Ed.

64. For further information regarding the St. Louis party, see Bradbury’sTravels, note 119.—Ed.

65. This is Fort Kamloops, also known as Fort Thompson. It was built by David Thompson (1810) at the junction of the northern and the eastern branches of Thompson River, a few miles from Lake Kamloops and one hundred and fifty miles north of Okanagan post. It became the centre of the Thompson River district of the Hudson’s Bay Company. In 1841 the agent, Black, was murdered in the fort by some Indians, and his successor had the stockade removed across the river to the south side. It is now a town on the Canadian Pacific Railroad, and in 1890 had a population of fifteen hundred.—Ed.

66. An account of Spokane Fort is given in Franchère, note 85.—Ed.

67. For a brief biography of Larocque, see Franchère, note 90.—Ed.

68. Similkameen is the present name of this river. It rises in the Cascade Mountains not far from the boundary line, and flows south-east into the Okanagan.—Ed.

69. The Palouse River—Drewyer’s River of Lewis and Clark. Palouse is probably an Indian word, although it has been connected with the French word “pelouse,” in that it flows through a rolling, bunch-grass country, the most fertile in eastern Washington. It empties into the Snake eighty-five miles from the Columbia, and is its only important tributary on the northern side.—Ed.

70. Concerning the Nez Percés, see Franchère, note 145.—Ed.

71. For an account of Cox, see Franchère, note 84.—Ed.

72. The original Kootenay post was established by Thompson in July, 1807, on the Columbia River (called by him Kootenay) just below lower Columbia Lake. He wintered here in 1808–09 and 1809–10.In 1808, Finan McDonald, a member of Thompson’s party, built a post at the southern end of the loop in the Kootenay River, in the north-west corner of the present state of Montana, five miles south of the boundary line. This became an important North West fort. McDonald remained until late in 1811, when Montour was placed in charge.Nicholas Montour was in 1804 a clerk in the employ of the North West Company at Fort de Prairie. From 1811 to 1816 he was active on the Columbia, moving about between Fort Kootenay, Spokane, and Okanagan, with headquarters at Spokane after 1814. See Coues,Henry-Thompson Journals, ii, pp. 606, 672–675, 757.—Ed.

72. The original Kootenay post was established by Thompson in July, 1807, on the Columbia River (called by him Kootenay) just below lower Columbia Lake. He wintered here in 1808–09 and 1809–10.

In 1808, Finan McDonald, a member of Thompson’s party, built a post at the southern end of the loop in the Kootenay River, in the north-west corner of the present state of Montana, five miles south of the boundary line. This became an important North West fort. McDonald remained until late in 1811, when Montour was placed in charge.

Nicholas Montour was in 1804 a clerk in the employ of the North West Company at Fort de Prairie. From 1811 to 1816 he was active on the Columbia, moving about between Fort Kootenay, Spokane, and Okanagan, with headquarters at Spokane after 1814. See Coues,Henry-Thompson Journals, ii, pp. 606, 672–675, 757.—Ed.

73. For a description of the Salishan Indians, see Franchère, note 145.—Ed.

74. The Kootenai or Flatbows wandered between the northern forks of the Columbia and the Rocky Mountains. Possibly they were the Tushepaws of Lewis and Clark. They were unrelated to any of the surrounding peoples, and resembled more the Indians east of the Rocky Mountains.—Ed.

75. The Blackfeet Indians are treated in Bradbury’sTravels, note 120.—Ed.

76. Lake Cœur d’Alêne (Pointed Heart) is at the head of Spokane River, about twenty-five miles south-east of Spokane Falls. It is a small lake fed by the Cœur d’Alêne and St. Joseph rivers, flowing from the Bitter Root Mountains. There are two theories regarding the origin of the name—one, that the Indians living there were so sharp at bargaining that the fur traders named them Cœur d’Alênes, “Awl-Hearts,” or “Pointed Hearts;” the other, that among the first traders was a Canadian of so close and niggardly a disposition that the Indians applied an epithet to him which the interpreter translated “Cœur d’Alêne,” and the name became fixed upon the Indians.—Ed.

77. On his map, Ross located McKenzie’s post on the Snake at the mouth of Reed’s River, the present Boisé River. Fort Boisé, a Hudson’s Bay post, was afterwards established there.—Ed.

78. A biography of M‘Tavish will be found in Franchère, note 90.—Ed.

79. Concerning Seton, see Franchère, note 81.—Ed.

80. For notes on the following persons and places mentioned in this chapter, see Bradbury’sTravels, volume v of our series: Hoback, Rezner, and Robinson, note 65; Crow Indians, note 121; Arapaho Indians, note 120; Oto Indians, note 42.—Ed.

81. The Kalapuya, an isolated family, were once a numerous people dwelling at the falls of the Willamette. In 1841 they numbered less than five hundred, and by the middle of the century were practically extinct. In civilization they occupied a middle position between the wandering tribes of the interior and the debased Indians of the coast. It is impossible to reconcile the names of the Kalapuya tribes given by Ross with other lists of lower Willamette Indians. He alone extends the Kalapuya to its mouth, while Lewis and Clark, Morse (Report to the Secretary of War, Washington, 1822), and Hale (United States Exploring Expedition, Philadelphia, 1846, vol. vi) confine them to the falls, and place Chinook tribes below that point.—Ed.

82. For an account of this chief, see Franchère, note 51.—Ed.

83. This is the Umpqua, the largest river between the Sacramento and the Columbia. It rises in the Cascade Range and empties into the Pacific Ocean about two hundred and twenty-five miles south of the Columbia. The fur-trading post Fort Umpqua, was on the southern bank about forty miles from the ocean.—Ed.

84. Joseph Gervais, a French Canadian, came to Astoria with Captain Hunt in 1811. After the abandonment of that post, he became a “free trapper,” and married the daughter of a Clatsop chief. Desiring a more settled life, in 1828 he selected a place on the Willamette, a short distance below the present Salem, and raised wheat. A few years later other French Canadians, retired Hudson’s Bay clerks, became farmers along the Willamette and the district became known as French Prairie. Gervais took an active part in establishing the provisional government of Oregon in 1843. He became prosperous, and lived on French Prairie until his death (1861) at the age of eighty-four years.—Ed.

85. For further information regarding Baranoff and the Russian settlements, see Franchère, note 93.—Ed.

86. A brief account of Sitka will be found in Franchère, note 68. Sitka and New Archangel were identical. Sitka was destroyed by the Indians in 1802 and in 1804 a post called New Archangel, was built at the same place. It is situated on Sitka Sound, Baranoff Island, in latitude 57° north. St. Paul is on the north-east shore of Kadiak Island, off the coast of Alaska, in latitude 58°.—Ed.

87. Astor felt that he had been cheated in the transfer of Astoria, and charged McDougal with betraying his interests. See his letter to John Quincy Adams, January, 1823, in Lyman,History of Oregon, ii, pp. 298–301; also Irving,Astoria, chap. 29. Astor stated that McDougal sold the entire property for about $58,000, less the wages due the men; that beaver was sold for two dollars and otter for fifty cents a skin, both of which were at the time worth five or six dollars each in Canton, China. Altogether he considered the property worth nearly $200,000 above the sum received. Bancroft defends McDougal at length—History of North-west Coast, ii, pp. 221–230. Admitting that the property was sold at a loss, he contends McDougal was justified in thinking Astoria could not be maintained, and that it was better to get what he could for Astor, before fort and furs were captured by a British ship of war.—Ed.

88. For a brief discussion of Franchère’s attitude toward the North West Company, see the preface to volume vi of our series.—Ed.

89. Michel Laframboise came to Oregon on the “Tonquin.” When Astoria was transferred to the British, he entered the service of the North West Company, and throughout the remainder of his life was with them and the Hudson’s Bay Company. He obtained a small piece of property on French Prairie, but his restless disposition was unsuited to farming. In his later years he conducted exploring parties through the country between the Columbia and California, serving as Captain Wilkes’s guide in 1841.—Ed.

90. A brief sketch of John McDonald is given in Franchère, note 104.—Ed.

91. For an account of David Porter, see Franchère, note 105.—Ed.

92. This is the island of Maui, north-west of Hawaii. There are two high volcanic islands, east Maui and west Maui, connected by a low isthmus.—Ed.

93. Concerning James Keith and Alexander Stuart, see Franchère, notes 108, 102.—Ed.

94. For a sketch of Pierre Dorion, see Bradbury’sTravels, note 7.—Ed.

95. Ross is here enumerating all the Salishan tribes living on the Columbia between the Yakima and Spokane rivers, and on the lower Okanagan. For the first seven, see notes 42, 44, 45, 48,ante. The Inspellum were east of Okanagan. The Sinpohellechach were the San Poils at the mouth of San Poil River, forty-five miles west of Spokane River. They were closely related to the Spokane Indians. Samilkamigh is, of course, Similkameen, a tribe on the river of the same name.—Ed.

96. The Conconully River is an affluent of the Okanagan, entering a short distance above its mouth.—Ed.

97. From his residence among the Okanagan and his marriage to the daughter of a chief of this tribe, Ross had ample opportunity to learn their customs; he seems to speak wholly from observation. Ross Cox, who in 1816 was stationed at Okanagan, also gives a description of these Indians, which in the main agrees with Ross’s account, although differing in some important details.—Ed.

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