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Wilson P. Hunt February 13, 1812 Campsite

Historic Campsite in Coast Ranges near Kalama, OR

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Wilson P. Hunt February 14, 1812 Campsite

Wilson P. Hunt February 11, 1812 Campsite

During Feb. 12th and 13th the Hunt’s Astorian canoe flotilla continued down the Columbia River past the the Sandy River, the Willamette River, and the islands of Suavie, Bachelor, Deer, Burke, and Martin. Wherever they camped, an arbitrary campsite is plotted near Deer Island to represent the Astorians camping near Harbor Seals and with Mount Hood serving as a travel marker (Hunt 1821; Rollins 1935, 307, notes 284-88).

Hunt put in his diary:

On the 13th I passed the confluence of the Sandy River, which rushes from the south bank of the Columbia through two mouths, thereby forming a great sandbar. Twenty miles farther downstream the Columbia is joined by another river [the Willamette] that is nearly 1,800 feet wide. A large island [Sauvie Island] stands before its mouth and several small islands below it. The Columbia at this point is about a mile and a quarter wide. On both sides we found vast rush-covered areas, some small prairies, and often some ponds. Seals were numerous here. We could see more distinctly than before the mountain that I mentioned earlier and that I have no doubt is Vancouver’s Mt. Hood. For two days the wind blew with great force. Rain, hail, and snow fell. (52 miles) (Hunt 1821)

— Hunt

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).

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)