few beads, an exchange with which they all seemed perfectly
satisfied. These dogs, with six prairie-cocks killed this morning,
formed a plentiful supply for the present. We here left our guide
and the two young men who had accompanied him, two of the three being
unwilling to go any further, and the third being of no use, as he was
not acquainted with the river below. We therefore took no Indians but
our two chiefs, and resumed our journey in the presence of many of the
Sokulks, who came to witness our departure. The morning was cool and
fair, and the wind from the southeast."
They now began again to meet Indians who had never before seen white
men. On the nineteenth, says the journal:--
"The great chief, with two of his inferior chiefs and a third belonging
to a band on the river below, made us a visit at a very early hour. The
first of these was called Yelleppit,--a handsome, well-proportioned
man, about five feet eight inches high, and thirty-five years of age,
with a bold and dignified countenance; the rest were not distinguished
in their appearance. We smoked with them, and after making a speech,
gave a medal, a handkerchief, and a string of wampum to Yelleppit, but a
string of wampum only to the inferior chiefs. He requested us to remain
till the middle of the day, in order that all his nation might come and
see us; but we excused ourselves by telling him that on our return we
would spend two or three days with him. This conference detained us till
nine o'clock, by which time great numbers of the Indians had come down
to visit us. On leaving them we went on for eight miles, when we came to
an island near the left shore, which continued six miles in length.
At its lower extremity is a small island on which are five houses, at
present vacant, though the scaffolds of fish are as usual abundant. A
short distance below are two more islands, one of them near the middle
of the river. On this there were seven houses, but as soon as the
Indians, who were drying fish, saw us, they fled to their houses, and
not one of them appeared till we had passed; when they came out in
greater numbers than is usual for houses of that size, which induced us
to think that the inhabitants of the five lodges had been alarmed at our
approach and taken refuge with them. We were very desirous of landing in
order to relieve their apprehensions, but as there was a bad rapid along
the island all our care was necessary to prevent injury to the ca
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