380 



COLUMBIA OR OREGON. 



of the Great Rapids, below which point tlie width is generally 2 or 3 miles and rarely less 

 than 1, and vessels of 300 tons may go up to Fort Vancouver, 100 miles from the ocean. At 

 the Great rapids, the river is compressed into a gorge not more than 150 yards wide, through 

 which the foaming waters are hurried with great violence. About 90 miles further up are the 

 Great Falls, where the descent is about 50 feet, and there are numerous rapids and falls thence 

 to its head. 



The principal tributaries of the Columbia are from the east, those which come in on the 

 right being in general inconsiderable streams ; the Oakanignn, Yackaman,a.ud Coweliskee, ave, 

 however, large rivers. Clarke^s^ or Flathead River, rises in the mountain valleys, near the 

 heads of the Missouri, and flows first through a rugged country, and lower down through ex- 

 tensive and fertile valleys and verdant }ilains. It is navigable in the upper part of its course, 

 but about GO miles from its mouth, becomes so rapid and so much broken as not to admit of 

 navigation. Lewis'' s River , also called the Skoshonie, or Saptin, is the principal tributary of 

 the Columbia, having a course of about 1,000 miles, chiefly through vast, barren plains. It 

 rises near the head of the Yellowstone and the Colorado, and its current is impetuous, and 

 broken by numerous cascades. The Malade, Wapticacoos, and Kooskoosk.ee, from the north, 

 and the Owyhee, Jllalheur, and Walleway, from the south, are its principal tributaries. The 

 Frazer^ or Tacoutche Tesse, runs nearly parallel with the Columbia, and empties its waters 



into the Gulf of Georgia. The Hud- 

 son's Bay Company have several posts on 

 this river and its branches, which abound 

 in the fur-bearing animals. The fine 

 island of Quadra and Vancouver, north of 

 Juande Fuca's Straits, is about 150 miles 

 long, and contains some excellent har- 

 bors, among which are those of J^ootka 

 Sound, Port Cox, and JS^itinat. 



5. Inhabitants. The only establish- 

 ments of the whites in this region are the 

 Hudson's Bay Company's post and set- 

 tlements, and some missionary stations, 

 the whole country being in possession of 

 the native tribes. Fort Vancouver, the 

 principal depot of the Company for Col- 

 umbia District, stands on the north bank 

 of the River Columbia, 100 miles from 

 its mouth. A Company's ship from 

 London arrives here annually, in the 

 spring, v/ith goods, and returns in the 

 autumn, after having made a trip to the Sandwich islands and back, with furs, and several ves- 

 sels remain on the coast to traffic, and bring in the furs. Every spring numerous parties leave 

 Fort Vancouver, in boats loaded with goods for the Indian trade, for the different interior posts ; 

 these are Fort Wallawallah, about 250 miles up the river ; Fort Colville, near the mouth of the 

 Clarke ; Oakanigan House, at the mouth of that river ; Flathead House, on Clarke's River, and 

 Fort McKay, on the IJmpqua ; forts Langley, Thompson, and Alexander, on Frazer's River, 

 and Fort Simpson, further north, also receive iheir goods from Fort Vancouver, and transmit 

 thither their furs and peltries. Fort George, at the mouth of the Columbia, is on the site of 

 Astoria. There is also a white setttlement on the Wallamut, or Multnomah, where the Meth- 

 odists have a mission. The Board of Foreign Missions have two stations on this side of the 

 mountains. 



The native tribes exist in a very rude social state, and many of them in a most miserable and 

 degraded condition. Those inhabiting the coast appear to be of kindred origin, resembling 

 each other in their language, aspect, and manners. The Skilloots, Wackhiacums, Cathla- 

 mahs, Chinnooks, and Chilts, on the northern side of the Columbia, and the Clatsops and 

 Killamoucks, on the south, are among the number. The Umpquas, Clamets, Yunchills, 

 Wallamuts or Multnomahs, Callipoori or Calipoyas, further south, and the Culquats further 

 north, in the vicinity of Cape Flattery, appear to be of different stocks. The former derive 

 their subsistence from tlie chase and the fisheries, and are very skilful in the management of 



I 



A'oot!{a Sound. 



