trip, but it never came to light until the latter part of 1913, was then edited by M. M. Quaife and published by the Wisconsin Historical Society in 1916.
Sergeant Nathaniel Pryor's record of the expedition has never been found.
Of the privates accompanying the expedition at least three are supposed to have kept a record of the trip, Robert Frazier, Joseph Whitehouse, and very likely George Shannon. The only one which has yet been discovered is that of Joseph Whitehouse, dating from May 14, 1804, to Nov. 6, 1805.
When the expedition made its way down the Columbia, they passed unknowingly the mouth of the Multnomah, as they later called it. On their return, however, they ascended the Columbia to the mouth of the Sandy River, where they stopped a few days to replenish their larder.
We will let them tell us in their own words and their own peculiar orthography about the Multnomah.
(Lewis) Wednesday, April 2, 1806:
* * * "about this time several canoes of the natives arrived at out camp and among others one from below which had on board eight young men of the Sha-ha-la nation these men informed us that 2 young men whom they pointed out were Cash-hooks and resided at the falls of a large river which discharges itself into the Columbia on its South side some miles below us. we readily prevailed on them to give us a sketch of this river which they drew on a mat with a coal, it appeared that this river which they called Mult-no-mah discharged itself behind the Island which we called the image canoe Island and as we had left this island to the S. both in ascending and decending the river we had never seen it. they informed us that it was a large river and run a considerable distance to the South between the mountains. Capt. Clark determined to return and examine this river accordingly he took a party of seven men and one of the perogues and set out ½ after 11 A. M. he hired one of the Cashhooks, for a birning glass, to pilot him to the entrance of the Multnomah river and took him on board with him."
