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Wilson P. Hunt February 10, 1812 Campsite

Historic Campsite in Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Mt. Hood NF, Gates Of The Columbia River Gorge Special Management Area, Cascade Range near Cascade Locks, OR

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Wilson P. Hunt February 11, 1812 Campsite

Wilson P. Hunt February 5-9, 1812 Campsite

The Astorians canoed down the Columbia River and reached the upstream entrance to the white water and rocks of “The Cascades of the Columbia River’’ which are now flooded by today’s Bonneville Dam.

Somewhere near today’s Cascade Locks, Oregon, Hunt put his canoe flotilla ashore and used the left bank to portage around the “Upper Cascades” section of the “The Cascades of the Columbia River’’, and camped before reaching the “Middle Cascades”.

In 1805 and again in 1806, Lewis and Clark portaged of the rapids using the right bank (“Clark’s Columbia River Maps.”; Hunt 1821; Irving 1836; Rollins 1935, 307, 326-27 notes 275 and 276; The Columbia River A Photographic Journey).

Hunt penned in his diary:

The wind subsided on the 10th and we got under way early. When we arrived at the beginning of some large rapids (15 miles), I examined the portage on the north bank. The trail was only good for something over a mile. We therefore landed all our canoes at ten o’clock and within an hour we were below the rapids which are very large. In dashing against the rocks, the water produces some unusually high waves. No boat could ride through them, at least in the present condition of the river which narrows formidably between hills and rocks. From this point on downriver, oaks and ash become more common. We saw quantities of hazelnut trees, too. At these rapids we found a second salmon fishery, a village on the north bank, and three lodges on the opposite side. The Indians here have a penchant for blue glass beads. Numerous rivulets that plunge down from the mountains above add to the beauty of the countryside. (16 miles) (Hunt 1821)

— Hunt

Irving added:

Even after he was enabled to get under way, he had still to struggle against contrary winds and tempestuous weather. The current of the river, however, was in his favor; having made a portage at the grand rapid, … (1836, 2: 73)

— Irving

Attribution of Source Material

The preceding summary for the approximated February 10, 1812 Wilson P. Hunt Campsite location is used with thanks for the public domain sources of Hunt 1821 and Irving 1836. Additionally, appropriate parenthetical citations are used with thanks and credit in specific summary passages and quotes for sources that are not in the public domain Rollins 1935. Errors regarding unintended and improper copyright usage will be corrected immediately following notification.

Primary Sources

Hunt, Wilson P., and V.A. Malte-Brun. Nouvelles annales des voyages. v. 10. Paris: Bertrand, 1821. English translation available at Mountain Men and the Fur Trade AMM Virtual Research Center Project http://www.mtmen.org/mtman/html/wphunt/index.html.

Irving, Washington. Astoria, Or Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains. Vol. 2. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Blanchard, 1836. https://www.google.com/books/edition/Astoria_Or_Anecdotes_of_an_Enterprise_Be/t6k-AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.

Rollins, Phillip A., ed. 1935. The Discovery of the Oregon Trail: Robert Stuart’s Narrative of His Overland Trip Eastward from Astoria in 1812-1813: Appendix A: Wilson Price Hunt’s Diary. Bison Book Edition reprinted from the original 1935 edition by Edward Eberstadt and Sons. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1995.

Further Research and Reading

Irving, Washington. Astoria, Or Anecdotes of an Enterprise Beyond the Rocky Mountains. Vol. 1. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea, & Blanchard, 1836. https://www.google.com/books/edition/_/oKk-AQAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=0.

Illustrations and Maps

Chittenden, Hiram Martin. “Map of the Trans-Mississippi of the United States during the Period of the American Fur Trade as Conducted from St. Louis between the Years 1807 and 1843.” Image. Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA, 1902. https://lccn.loc.gov/99446195 (accessed February 25, 2022).

Clark, William. “Clark’s Columbia River Maps.” Discover Lewis & Clark, April 9, 2021. https://lewis-clark.org/sciences/geography/clarks-maps/clarks-columbia-river-maps/ (accessed April 15, 2022).

Clark, William. “Great Rapids of the Columbia.” Cascade Rapids, 1806. Clark Family Collection: Volume 4. Voorhis Journal No. 4, page 4, October 30-November 2, 1806 Courtesy of Missouri Historical Society. https://mohistory.org/collections/item/resource:213911. (accessed April 7, 2022)

Kmusser. “Columbia River Watershed with the Columbia River Highlighted.” April 7, 2008. self-made, based on USGS and Digital Chart of the World data. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Columbiarivermap.png. (accessed March 31, 2022)

The Columbia River A Photographic Journey. “The Columbia River - ‘Cascade Rapids’ and the ‘Lower Falls of the Columbia,’” September 2016. http://columbiariverimages.com/Regions/Places/cascade_rapids.html. (accessed April 16, 2022)

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Historic Campsite

Wilson P. Hunt February 10, 1812 Campsite