"
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.
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