American Expedition of Discoverij, 1 7 



eight daj's before we reached the Kooskooske. Durine; our 

 passage over these mountauis \vc sufiered every thing which 

 hunger, cold, and fatigue, could impose : nor did our dif- 

 ficulties terminate on our arrival at the Kooskooske ; for al- 

 though the Pollotepallors, a numerous nation inhabilino; that 

 country, were extremely hospitable, and for a few trifling 

 articles furnished us with an abundance of roots and dried 

 Skdnion, the food to which they were accustomed, we found 

 that we could not subsist on. these articles, and almost all of 

 us grew sick on eating them : we were obliged, therefore, 

 to have recourse to the flesh of horses and dogs, as food to 

 supplv the deMciency of our guns, which produced but little 

 meat, as game was scarce in the vicinity of our camp on the 

 Kooskooske, where we were compelled to remain, in order 

 to construct our perogues to descend the river. At this sea- 

 son the salmon are meagre, and form but indifferent food. 

 While we remained here I was myself sick for several davs, 

 and my friend captain Lewis suffered a severe indi?posidon. 



Having completed four perogues and a small canoe, we 

 gave our horses in charge to the Pollotepallors uniil we re- 

 turned, and on the 7th of October re-embarkcd for the Pa- 

 cific Ocean. We descended by the route I have already 

 mentioned. The water of the river being low at this season, 

 we experienced much difficulty in descending : we found it 

 obstructed by a great number of difficult and dangerous ra- 

 pids, in passing of, which our perogues. several times filled, 

 and the men escaped narrowly with their lives. However, 

 this difficulty does not exist in high water, which happens 

 within the period which I have previously mentioned. We 

 found the natives extremely numerous, and generally friendly, 

 thovigh we have on several occasions owed our lives and the 

 fate of the expedition to our number, which consisted of 

 thirty-one men. On the 17th of November we reached the 

 ocean, where various considerations induced us to spend the 

 winter: we therefore searched for an eligible situation for 

 that purpose, and selected a spot on the south side of a little 

 river called by the natives Nctat, which discharges itself" 

 at a small bar on the soul'j side of the Columbia, and four- 

 teen miles within point Adams. Here we constructed some 



Vol. 27. No. 105. F/.1'. I8O7. B lu(r- 



