river is deep enough for large vessels to run up as far as Wilsons, but not wide enough for them to turn round and run out again. There is a conciderable bottom land on the sides of this river, (and so there is on all the rivers about the bay) that is very rich, and now reddy for the plough, there being but now an then a tree on it, and near the bay there is none. It is what they call tide land, in consequence of its being covered with water in the winter at the time of high tides, and some of it I saw covered on the Willowpar.[1] This land is covered with good grass and would keep stock very well through the winter but it is badly cut up by ditches of every size runing through it, or them, in every direction varying from one to eight feet deep. Near the mouth of this river (and so it is with all the rest,) there is places where there is large mud flats, that must make very disagreable places in the warm seasons of the year, to live near, and almost impossible to cross, in consequence of the depth of the mud, at the time of low water.
We entered the bay, passed a small island on our right, turned to the east, and went down a narrow channel betwene an island and the main land, about 6 miles from the head of the bay, and camped for the night. The latter part of the day had been very cold, and stormy, in the shape of snow squalls, a kind of weather that seemed to follow us up rather sharp, during our stay in these parts. The next morning we started again run down the bay, to the mouth of a river, called by the Indians Elelam, and run up that about 12 miles. It is said that there never was but one white man up this river befor us. This appeared to us to be an arm of the bay more than a river, and an Indian that came to us while getting our dinners, told us that we could not go any farther, in consequence of logs that lay across the stream or streams, for it appeared to be made up of small streams a short distance above us. At the ebing of the tide, we returned in company with the Indian, who wished to show us where, and how he caught "hi you, ten as Salman." That is large quantity of small salmon, but what proved to be the nicest kind
- ↑ Willapa.
