“We’ve come away with plenty powder and lead, and plenty salt; that’s one good job,” remarked Pat.
The powder, sealed in lead canisters, had kept splendidly. Now there were 140 pounds of it. And as to salt—twelve gallons had been packed.
“It’s been not such a bad winter, after all, even if we did have only six clear days in six months,” laughed George Shannon. “Now we’ll soon be rid of our rheumatism.”
Spring had arrived; for although the weather continued wet and raw, wild fowl were feeding in the ponds, the gooseberry and honeysuckle were leaving forth in the parks, and the frogs were croaking in the marshes. Many Indians were met; they were gathering along the river, to wait for the salmon to run up from the sea.
“Next full moon,” said the Indians. “No salmon till next full moon.”
“The second of May, that is,” figured Captain Lewis. “Well, we can’t wait. We’ll have to depend on our guns; for if we wait, winter will overtake us on the Missouri. Where there’s nothing to shoot, we can live for a time on dogs and horses.”
The Indians seemed poor and starving. Captain Clark was told of a large river emptying from the south: the Multnomah, which is the Willamette. He ascended it a short distance, and there found some of the Neer-cho-ki-oo tribe. They refused to sell him any wappatoo roots. But he tossed a match into a fire; it blazed and frightened them. He placed a magnet on his compass, and whirled the compass needle ’round and ’round. The women and children crawled under the bed-covers, and the men piled wappatoo roots at his feet. The captain liked to do this sort of thing.
He returned from among the Multnomahs with roots and five dogs.
The Indians were not all friendly, especially those new tribes who had traveled to await the salmon. The Clah-clel-lahs threw stones at the canoes, and stole things; John Shields had to defend himself with his hunting-knife. The Wah-clel-lahs stole the little black Assiniboine dog. Captain Lewis, who was very fond of the little dog, immediately sent Sergeant Pryor, Drouillard and Hugh McNeal to get it even if they had to shoot the thieves. The thieves ran off and left the dog. And in the village of the Skilloots Captain Lewis knocked down an Indian who was carrying off a valuable piece of iron.
Among the Skilloots, here, quite a number of articles were lost; so that Captain Lewis made a speech, to say that he and his men were not afraid and were able to burn the village if necessary to stop the thieving.