COUNTRY UPON SHOALWATER BAY AND PUGET SOUND. 
465 
REPORT OF GEORGE GIBBS ON A RECONNAISSANCE OF THE COUNTRY LYING UPON SHOALWATER 
BAY AND PUGET SOUND. 
Olympia, Washington Territory, 
March 1, 1854. 
Sir: I have herewith the honor to submit the report of the journey undertaken, pursuant to 
your orders, for the examination of the country lying between Shoalwater bay and Puget sound, 
as also of a tour through the Sound itself. 
This bay, the entrance to which lies about twenty-five miles north of Cape Disappointment, 
approaches in its southern extremity to within four miles of Baker’s bay and fifteen of Gray’s 
harbor. Its length from north to south is by estimate about thirty miles, and its average width 
eight. The width of the entrance is reported at five miles. It has two channels, both pretty 
straight; but the northern only a good beating channel. The depth of water on the bar at low 
tide is three and a half fathoms. The greater part of the bay is bare at low tide, presenting 
extensive mud flats, so that vessels can approach the shore in but few places. There are three 
routes used by the Indians, in crossing between the bay and the Columbia river. One of these 
is by the Wallacut creek at Baker’s bay, with a portage of about a mile and a half to another 
running into Shoalwater bay. Here the land is so low, that it is said a canal, a few hundred 
yards in length, could easily be made, connecting the waters of the two. There seems a strong 
probability that Shoalwater bay once formed pa: t of the estuary of the Columbia river, the rocky 
promontory of Cape Disappointment being an island in its midst, or at least that an actual com¬ 
munication existed between them. A second portage, by which I crossed, leads from the Wap- 
paloche creek, below Chinook Spit, to the Ateesowill, and is about the same length. These 
creeks are all tide-sloughs, nearly dry at low water. A third is by the Kewitsa, which runs into 
Gray’s bay above Point Ellice, from which there is a portage to the Nasal, a stream emptying into 
Shoalwater bay some miles from its southern extremity. This last is not much used. For the 
establishment of any artificial communication, the first-named is preferable. 
The peninsula extending north from Cape Disappointment is similar in character to the Clatsop 
plains, much of it being prairie land; it is, however, deficient in water. On the north a straight 
beach runs to Gray’s harbor. Quite a number of streams empty into Shoalwater bay, of which 
the principal are the Nasal, (already mentioned,) the Copaluks, and the Willopah. The first two 
must head in the mountains, near Gray’s river. The latter rises in the divide between the waters 
of the Cbihalis and the bay, the main branch probably interlocking with the south fork of that 
river, in a mountain lying north of Cathlamet. On all these, as well as the smaller streams, there 
is a good deal of salt-marsh near the mouth, subject to flood in winter. The tide, the extremes of 
which are about the same as those on the Columbia river at Astoria, (viz: 13 feet,) extends from 
eight to fifteen miles up those rivers; but vessels could not ascend so far. The country upon the 
bay is, like most of that in the coast section of the Territory, heavily wooded with fir, spruce, 
hemlock, and arbor vitae. Upon the rivers, white and vine maple and alder occur. The timber 
is good and accessible, but there are few sites lor saw-mills. One mill only had been erected 
at the time of my visit, and that was not yet in operation. A considerable amount of piles and 
square timber has, however, been shipped to California. 
The settlements are as yet, with the exception of a few scattered claims, at the northern end 
of the bay; and a small village, occupied by fishermen, has grown up near the mouth of the 
Willopah. The principal trade, so far, has been in oysters, which abound on the flats. They 
are taken up, during the low tides of summer, from their natural beds, separated, and replanted, 
as in the States. They sell alongside the vessel at $1 50 per bushel, and in San Francisco are 
worth $7. The fall salmon, sturgeon, and other kinds of fish, are abundant, and the bay will 
probably derive a considerable importance from this source. No part of the coast affords a 
greater field for the naturalist than does this place, in its variety of marine productions and the 
59/ 
