Umatilla Maiden (c. 1910)
Edward S. Curtis (1868–1952)
Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/94507923, accessed 14 July 2019.
Umatilla is derived from the name of a winter village at the mouth of the Umatilla, ímatilam meaning ‘rocky place’ or ‘lots of rocks’. Whenever mounted Paiutes raided, they retreated to Blalock Island, now inundated.[1]Robert H. Ruby, John A. Brown, and Cary C. Collins, A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2010), 358–59; Theodore Stern, Handbook of North … Continue reading
After emerging from the Wallula Gap on 19 October 1805, Clark came across some Umatillas hiding in their lodges, and he committed a serious faux pas by entering without permission:
found the Indians much fritened, all got in to their lodges and I went in found Some hanging down their heads, Some Crying and others in great agitation, I took all by the hand, and distributed a few Small articles which I chanced to have in my Pockets and Smoked with them which expelled their fears . . . . I am confident that I could have tomahawked every Indian here.
Things went better, according to Clark, when they saw Sacagawea and baby Jean Baptiste, whose presence “confirmed those people of our friendly intentions, as no woman ever accompanies a war party of Indians in this quarter.” In the evening, they smoked together and Pierre Cruzatte and George Gibson “played the “played on the violin which delighted them greatly.”
In late 1949, the Umatillas, Cayuses, and Walla Wallas officially became The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, an alliance based on their Stevens Treaty of 1855.[2]Brown, 83.
Selected Encounters
October 16, 1805
A musical welcome
The paddlers negotiate the last of the Snake River rapids and the expedition arrives at the Columbia River. Soon after, they are given a musical welcome from a large group of Yakamas and Wanapums.
October 18, 1805
Down the Columbia
At the mouth of the Snake, the captains council with the Wanapums and Yakamas. Late in the day, the expedition heads down the Columbia and camps below the Twin Sisters in Wallula Gap.
October 19, 1805
The Walla Walla and Umatillas
After passing Hat Rock in the Wallula Gap, Clark frightens several Umatillas who—after seeing Sacagawea—learn he is not part of a war party. The day ends with mutual smoking and fiddle music.
April 25, 1806
Horse heaven
During a march of 20 miles, the travelers stop at a large Pish-quit-pah village that have never seen white men before. Lewis remarks on the abundant bunch grass of the Horse Heaven Hills.
April 26, 1806
A crowded, dusty trail
The Corps continues along the north shore of the Columbia River reaching the low plains near present Plymouth, Washington. A young boy catches several Columbia River chub, a species new to science.
Notes
| ↑1 | Robert H. Ruby, John A. Brown, and Cary C. Collins, A Guide to the Indian Tribes of the Pacific Northwest (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 2010), 358–59; Theodore Stern, Handbook of North American Indians: Plateau Vol. 12, ed. Deward E. Walker, Jr. (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution, 1998), 419. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Brown, 83. |
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
- Montana Committee for the Humanities
- Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- Yellowstone Public Radio
Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).