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Trapped on a Rocky Point

By: Phil Scriver, LC200 Historian

Having put everything in order after getting through the Dalles, the Expedition slid their canoes into the Columbia River on October 28th bound for the ocean. Their dreams of a smooth, quick ride down river were soon dashed as the wind came up strong creating high waves that forced the Expedition to stop after only going four miles. They looked longingly at the sleek canoes the Indians of the lower Columbia made. These crafts were light and rode high in the water. With narrow ends and a wider middle they could navigate very large waves that would instantly swamp the low-riding crude dugouts the Expedition had. The river had become wide with a leisurely current, but it still has many obstacles that must be avoided. They had one more bad stretch of rapids between them and the Pacific; the Columbia Shutes, later called the Cascades of the Columbia and under the waters behind the Bonneville Dam.

All along the river there were Indian villages and individual houses; the Expedition was continually invited in by these friendly people. This seemed to be the biggest obstacle to making faster time down the river. The farther they went the more frequently the Expedition saw Indians with trade items from the trading ships that visited the mouth of the Columbia. On the 30th the Expedition made camp at the upper end of the Shutes. Clark walked along the river three miles examining the best route through the rapids. At last he selected a 2 ½ mile portage route for the baggage and a route to haul the empty canoes over the rocks in the river. The next day while the baggage was being prepared for portaging Clark re-examined the river, going ten miles downstream. He discovered that these rapids continue for six miles before the river is calm enough to re-launch the canoes. At the bottom of the last rapids is a large island that Clark says must have been cultivated at some earlier time. At the end of this island, that he named Strawberry Island, he noted a large rock now known as Beacon Rock. Below this rock the Columbia is affected by the ocean tides. Clark had trouble recording the size of the tide because the water turbulence resulting from the rapids

During this trip Clark discovered eight burial vaults, some of which are very old and the wood was nearly all rotted away. He also noticed “wooden gods or images of men cut in wood set up around the vaults.” He added that he was sure the Indians did not worship these gods. Close by these vaults was remains of a very old village.

For the next two days the Expedition worked its way around and through these Shutes eventually covering twenty nine miles and camping at Crown Point in today’s Rooster State Park, Oregon. During these days Clark noted in his journal entries Seal Rock, observes that the Indians have bad eyes and teeth, are poorly dressed and their prize possessions were blue or white beads. He said they would give their last piece of clothes or mouthful of food for beads. He also described how these people built their houses. They were 30 to 50 feet square built five feet into the ground and five feet above ground with 30 inches high by 16 inches wide door. From four to six families lived in each house.

On November 3rd they passed Reed Island marking the farthest up the Columbia white explorers had been. They also passed Sandy River flowing into the Columbia from the south. Clark thought it carried so much silt with it that it could change the course of the Columbia. (later measurements show this river has moved the course of the Columbia two miles north.) They camped that night on Diamond Island which is at Portland, Oregon.

By the 4th of November rain started to fall; brief showers at first, but intensifying over the next two days to a steady rain that thoroughly soaked the men and all their baggage. The trip down river had become quite difficult with wind and rain kicking up waves that constantly threatened to swamp the canoes.

November 7th dawned with no rain or wind, but the fog was so thick a person could pass within a few feet and never be seen. By mid morning the fog had cleared enough that some Indians guided the Expedition through a maze of small islands they had become entangled in out to the main channel of the river. That night’s camp was opposite a large rock Clark estimated was 50 feet high and 20 feet in diameter. Today this rock just west of Jim Crow Point is called Pillar Rock. That evening Clark penned in his journal, “Great joy in camp we are in view of the ocean. This great Pacific Ocean which we been so long anxious to see.” He was later to realize they were seeing Gray’s Bay and had not reached the ocean quite yet.

Weather again turned windy and rainy the next day, cutting the day’s travel to eight miles. The Expedition landed at Gray’s Point, which proved to be a minimal camp requiring them to put their baggage on logs to keep it out of the waves breaking over the shore. The storm that had been threatening was moving in and held the Corps of Discovery on this tiny beach for two days before they were able to move down river another ten miles. This camp was much like what they had left, only worse. On that rocky shore no water was available except rainwater that came down in torrents as the full fury of the storm hit. The Expedition was pinned down here totally at nature’s mercy. Still, they were visited several times by Indians in their canoes that slipped easily through the tumultuous waves. From them the men were able to get enough food to survive. On the 12th they were able to move camp around the point into a cove that offered more protection, but it was still minimal.

Three of the men tried to take the light Indian canoe they had earlier traded for and locate a suitable campsite. After only a mile they gave up and returned, being unable to steer the craft through the towering waves. Clark noted in an almost disgusted tone that although their canoe was identical to the ones the Indians easily guided across these waters, the Expedition was no match to those navigators who seemed as at home on these waves that rose many feet above the canoe as they were on dry land.

The Corps of Discovery was in a tough situation and something had to be done. Clark decided to climb the mountain behind them to survey the country ahead. He found the steep hillside with dense forest and underbrush was nearly impassable; he could only go three miles. Another attempt was made in the Indian canoe. One of the three men who had set out in it returned the following day. He had left the other two at a sheltered, sandy beach a short distance farther down the river. As soon as the winds subsided somewhat, Lewis took a party of four to scout the area in greater detail. Clark was to move the main party at the earliest opportunity. The following afternoon the Expedition moved to the sandy beach on Baker Bay, just east of Cape Disappointment. Lewis returned having been to Cape Disappointment and the Pacific Ocean. He reported that everything east of the Cape was actually river or bays. This was the farthest the Expedition could travel by water.

November 16th was bright and sunny. The storm had passed and the camp was drying out. Confidence was returning. Clark announced that the following day he would lead a group, whoever wanted to go, to see the Ocean.