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Shooting Through Rapids by Huge Boulders

By: Phil Scriver, LC200 Historian

The Expedition was finally able to set out down the Columbia late in the afternoon of October 18, 1805. Since the confluence of the Snake was a major trade center, there were many chiefs to council with and other preparations to make for their final push to the ocean. Clark recorded the width of the Snake River just above its confluence at 575 yards and the Columbia River just below the confluence at 960 yards. They were soon to find out the significance of those measurements was that the rapids on the Columbia were twice as big as those on the Snake. They made twenty one miles, camping for the night below the mouth of the Walla Walla River near the village of the first chief of all the tribes of this area.

The river cliffs had changed from low hills opening onto flat plains to being 200 foot high rugged rock walls. Clark climbed the hills to the plains above. From here he could see the landscape was changing from open prairie to foothills. Mount Hood was easily visible to the southwest.

The Columbia River was proving to be much like the Snake River except larger. This river, too, had many rapids and shoals that tested the mettle of the men and canoes. At every rapids the Expedition had to stop and figure how to get through them without crashing headlong into the huge boulders that rose up out of the water higher than a person’s head. Some of the rapids and occasionally a distinctive rock formation were named by Lewis or Clark. Names like “Hat Rock”, “Muscle Shell Rapids”, “Five Miles Rapids” and “Pelican Rapids” can still be found on the map today.

Small villages and seasonal fishing lodges were all along the river. However, most of them were on larger islands in the river or on the north shore to afford protection from Indians that lived to the south, who these river Indians greatly feared. At many of these lodges the Indians hid when they saw the Expedition approaching, fearing they were a war party of these southern Indians. Clark noted the Expedition would stop and coax the people out of hiding so they could present their message from Washington and show them they were not the enemy. Sacajawea’s presence was of great help. The Indians knew that war parties would not have a woman and a baby with them. After smoking with the Indians, giving them a few gifts and sometimes eating Cruzzatte and Gibson would play the fiddle to complete the show of friendship. These frequent stops with the Indians and the rapids in the river made travel very slow for the Expedition.

On October 20th Clark notes they found an Indian vault on one of the islands. He described how the vault was built and how people were “buried” in it. Clark is sure to point out that they were careful not to disturb anything in the vault. The Expedition camped that night near Roosevelt, Washington, having traveled 42 miles that day.

The next day some Indians told Lewis and Clark about a waterfall a little further down the river. Because the falls lay between two dangerous rapids, everyone inspected the rapids with even greater care before entering each stretch of rough water than before. Camp that night was below the mouth of “LaPage River” which is today’s John Day River. To the delight of many, Collins presented the Expedition with “some excellent beer” he had made from some rootbread they got back at the Clearwater River.

The “Great Falls of the Columbia” came into sight on October 22nd as the Expedition carefully worked their way through a series of particularly dangerous rapids. Both Captains went ahead to scout these falls and their accompanying rapids. They laid out a ¾ mile portage that brought them back onto the Columbia at the Deschutes River. These falls today are known as Celio Falls, but are covered by the waters behind the Dalles Dam. The Expedition had traveled 150 miles down the Columbia River from the confluence of the Snake River. They made camp on the Deschutes River. The baggage was hauled over the portage to camp with many Indians helping. After a closer examination of the falls it was decided the canoes could be launched after a shorter portage.

The next three days were spent working down through the Short and Long Narrows that make up the Dalles. Camp was set up at Fort Rock Camp, which is in the city of The Dalles, Oregon. They stayed there until October 28th, drying baggage, repairing canoes and otherwise recovering from their ordeal that even astonished many Indians who witnessed the adventurers shoot through rapids narrowly avoiding collision after collision with huge boulders that would have meant certain death.

During these days that were the most dangerous time the Expedition had spent on water, the harbor seal and the western gray squirrel were identified; both were new to science. Clark gave a detailed description of the earth houses the Indians below the falls lived in. The Old Chiefs who accompanied the Expedition from the Clearwater River told the Captains of a plot by the Chinookian Indians who lived below the falls to kill all the Expedition. Lewis talked the Old Chiefs into staying with them until they got through the Narrows, but shortly afterward they bought horses and departed overland for home. Lewis had been able to broker a peace between the two sides.

On October 28th the Expedition was ready to leave the falls and these horrendous rapids for the more peaceful waters of the lower Columbia.