Through
this the whole body of the river roars along, swelling and whirling
and boiling for some distance in the wildest confusion. Through this
tremendous channel the intrepid explorers of the river, Lewis and
Clarke, passed in their boats; the danger being, not from the rocks, but
from the great surges and whirlpools.
At the distance of a mile and a half from the foot of this narrow
channel is a rapid, formed by two rocky islands; and two miles beyond is
a second great fall, over a ledge of rocks twenty feet high, extending
nearly from shore to shore. The river is again compressed into a channel
from fifty to a hundred feet wide, worn through a rough bed of hard
black rock, along which it boils and roars with great fury for the
distance of three miles. This is called "The Long Narrows."
Here is the great fishing place of the Columbia. In the spring of the
year, when the water is high, the salmon ascend the river in incredible
numbers. As they pass through this narrow strait, the Indians, standing
on the rocks, or on the end of wooden stages projecting from the banks,
scoop them up with small nets distended on hoops and attached to long
handles, and cast them on the shore.
They are then cured and packed in a peculiar manner. After having
been opened and disemboweled, they are exposed to the sun on scaffolds
erected on the river banks.
Pages:
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137