The Journals of Lewis & Clark: Clark, April 25, 1806

Updated May 14, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Clark, April 25, 1806

Friday 25th of April 1806

This morning we Collected our horses very conveniently and Set out at 9 A M and proceeded on to a village of Pish-quit-pahs of 52 mat Lodges 11 miles this village Contains about 700 Soles here we turned out our horses and bought 5 dogs & some wood and dined here we met with a Chief and gave him a Medal of the Small Size. we passed a house a little above the place we encamped on the 20th of Octr. 1805. we offered to purchase with what articles we had Such as old Clothes &c. emence numbers of those Indians flocked about us and behaved with distant respect towards us. we attempted to purchase Some horses without Suckcess. at 4 P. M Set out. I was in the rear and had not proceeded verry far before one of the horses which we had hired of the Chopunnish, was taken from Hall who I had directed to ride. he had fallen behind out of my sight at the time. we proceeded on about 9 miles through a Country Similar to that of yesterday and encamped below the mouth of a Small Creek we passed at 4 miles a Village of 5 Mat Lodges of the War-war-wa Tribe. We made a Chief and gave a medal to a Chief of each of those two tribes. great numbers of the nativs accompanied us to our encampmt. The Curloos are abundant in those plains & are now laying their eggs. Saw the Kildee the brown Lizzard, and a moonax which the nativs had petted. the Winds which Set from mount hood or in a westwardly direction are much more cold than those from any other quarter. there are no dews in these plains, and from the appearance of the earth there appears to have been no rain for Several Weeks. The pish-quit pahs may be considered as hunters as well as fishermen as they Spend the fall & winter months in that occupation. they are generally pleasently featured of good Statue and well proportiond. both women and men ride extreamly well. their bridle is usially a hair rope tied with both ends to the under jaw of the horse, and their Saddles Consist of a pad of dressed Skin Stuffed with goats hair with wooden Sturreps. almost all the horses I have Seen in the poss ession of the Indians have Sore backs.

The pishquitpahs women for the most part dress with Short Shirts which reach to their knees long legins, and mockersons, they also use long robes; Some of them weare only the truss and robe, they brade their hair as before discribed but the heads of neither the male nor female of this tribe are So much flattend as the nativs lower down on this river. we were accompd. by 18 or 20 young men on horsback. we Continued our rout about 9 miles, where finding as maney Willows as would answer our purpose for fuel we encamped for the night. the Country we passed through was Sandy indifferent rocky and hills on the left. proceeded up on the North Side the river hills are about 250 feet high & generally abrupt and Craggey in maney places faced with a pirpendicular and Solid rock. this rock is black and hard. leavel plains extend themselves from the top of the river hills to a great distance on either Side of the river. the Soil is not as fertile as about the falls tho it produces low grass on which the horses feed very Conveniently. it astonished me to See the order of their horses at this Season of the year when I know they had wintered on dry grass of the plains and at the Same time rode with greater Severity than is Common among ourselves. I did not See a Single horse which Could be deemed pore, and maney of them were verry fat. their horses are generally good. this evening after we had encamped we traded for two horses with nearly the Same articles we had offered at the Village. these Nags Capt. L-s and myself intend rideing ourselves; haveing now a Sufficency to transport with ease all our baggage and the packs of the men.- we killed 6 ducks in the course of the day; one of them were of a Species I had never before Seen. the legs yellow and feet wibbed as those of the duckinmallard. Saw great numbers of Common Lizzard. Several rattle Snakes, killed by the party, they are the Same as those Common to the U. States. the Horned Lizzard is also Common.- a Chief over took us. we had the fiddle played by the request of the nativs and Some of the men danced. I think those plains are much more Sandy than any which I have Seen and the road is a bed of loose Sand. made 20 miles.