Part 77 (1/2)
[Clark, September 4, 1805]
September 4th Wednesday 1805 a verry cold morning every thing wet and frosed, we detained untill 8 oClock to thaw the covering for the baggage &c. &c. groun covered with Snow, we a.s.sended a mountain & took a Divideing ridge which we kept for Several Miles & fell on the head of a Creek which appeared to run the Course we wished to go, I was in front, & Saw Several of the Argalia or Ibex decended the mountain by verry Steep decent takeing the advantage of the points and best places to the Creek, where our hunter killed a Deer which we made use of and prosued our Course down the Creek to the forks about 5 miles where we met a part of the Flat head nation of 33 Lodges about 80 men 400 Total and at least 500 horses, those people recved us friendly, threw white robes over our Sholders & Smoked in the pipes of peace, we Encamped with them & found them friendly but nothing but berries to eate a part of which they gave us, those Indians are well dressed with Skin s.h.i.+rts & robes, they Stout & light complected more So than Common for Indians, The Chiefs harangued untill late at night, Smoked our pipe and appeared Satisfied. I was the first white man who ever wer on the waters of this river.
[Clark, September 5, 1805]
September 5th Thursday 1805 a Cloudy morning we a.s.sembled the Chiefs & warriers and Spoke to them (with much dificuely as what we Said had to pa.s.s through Several languajes before it got in to theirs, which is a gugling kind of languaje Spoken much thro the fhrought) we informed them who we were, where we Came from, where bound and for what purpose &c. &c. and requsted to purchase & exchange a fiew horses with them, in the Course of the day I purchased 11 horses & exchanged 7 for which we gave a fiew articles of merchendize. those people possess ellegant horses.--we made 4 Chiefs whome we gave meadels & a few Small articles with Tobacco; the women brought us a few berries & roots to eate and the Princ.i.p.al Chief a Dressed Brarow, otter & two Goat & antilope Skins
Those people wore their hair the men Cewed with otter Skin on each Side falling over the Sholrs forward, the women loose promisquisly over ther Sholdrs & face long s.h.i.+rts which Coms to the anckles & tied with a belt about their waste with a roabe over, the have but fiew ornaments and what they do were are Similar to the Snake Indians, They Call themselves Eoote-lash-Schute and consist of 450 Lodges in all and divided into Several bands on the heads of Columbia river & Missouri, Some low down the Columbia River
[Clark, September 6, 1805]
September 6th Friday 1805 Some little rain, purchased two fine horses & took a Vocabiliary of the language litened our loads & packed up, rained contd. Untill 12 oClock we Set out at 2 oClock at the Same time all the Indians Set out on Ther way to meet the Snake Indians at the 3 forks of the Missouri. Crossed a Small river from the right we call ____ Soon after Setting out, also a Small Creek from the North all three forks Comeing together below our Camp at which place the Mountains Close on each Side of the river, We proceeded on N 30 W. Crossed a Mountain and Struck the river Several miles down, at which place the Indians had Encamped two days before, we Proceeded on Down the River which is 30 yds. wide Shallow & Stoney.
Crossing it Several times & Encamped in a Small bottom on the right side. rained this evening nothing to eate but berries, our flour out, and but little Corn, the hunters killed 2 pheasents only--all our horses purchased of the oote lash Shutes we Secured well for fear of their leaveing of us, and watched them all night for fear of their leaving us or the Indians prosuing & Steeling them.
[Clark, September 7, 1805]
September 7th Satt.u.r.day 1805 A Cloudy & rainie Day the greater Part of the Day dark & Drisley we proceedd on down the river thro a Vallie pa.s.sed Several Small Runs on the right & 3 creeks on the left The Vallie from 1 to 2 miles wide the Snow top mountains to our left, open hilley Countrey on the right. Saw 2 horses left by the Indians Those horses were as wild a Elk. One of our hunters Came up this morning without his horse, in the course of the night the horse broke loose & Cleared out--we did not make Camp untill dark, for the want of a good place, one of our hunters did not join us this evening. he haveing killed an elk packed his horses & could not overtake us
[Clark, September 8, 1805]
September 8th Sunday 1805 a Cloudy morning Set out early and proceeded on through an open vallie for 23 miles pa.s.sed 4 Creeks on the right Some runs on the left, The bottoms as also the hills Stoney bad land. Some pine on the Creeks and mountains, an partial on the hills to the right hand Side. two of our hunters came up with us at 12 oClock with an Elk, & Buck--the wind from the N. W. & Cold. The foot of the Snow mountains approach the River on the left Side. Some Snow on The mountain to the right also proceeded on down the Vallie which is pore Stoney land and encamped on the right Side of the river a hard rain all the evening we are all Cold and wet.
on this part of the river on the head of Clarks River I observe great quant.i.ties of a peculiar Sort of p.r.i.c.kly peare grow in Cl.u.s.ters ovel & about the Size of a Pigions egge with Strong Thorns which is So birded as to draw the Pear from the Cl.u.s.ter after penetrateing our feet.
Drewyer killed a Deer. I killed a prarie fowl we found 2 mears and a Colt the mears were lame, we ventered to let our late purchase of horses loose to night
[Lewis, September 9, 1805]
Monday September 9th 1805.
Set out at 7 A M. this morning and proceeded down the Flathead river leaving it on our left, the country in the valley of this river is generally a prarie and from five to 6 miles wide the growth is almost altogether pine princ.i.p.ally of the longleafed kind, with some spruce and a kind of furr resembleing the scotch furr. near the wartercourses we find a small proportion of the narrow leafed cottonwood some redwood honeysuckle and rosebushes form the scant proportion of underbrush to be seen. at 12 we halted on a small branch which falls in to the river on the E. side, where we breakfasted on a scant proportion of meat which we had reserved from the hunt of yesterday added to three geese which one of our hunters killed this morning. two of our hunters have arrived, one of them brought with him a redheaded woodp.e.c.k.e.r of the large kind common to the U States. this is the first of the kind I have seen since I left the Illinois. just as we were seting out Drewyer arrived with two deer. we continued our rout down the valley about 4 miles and crossed the river; it is hear a handsome stream about 100 yards wide and affords a considerable quant.i.ty of very clear water, the banks are low and it's bed entirely gravel. the stream appears navigable, but from the circ.u.mstance of their being no sammon in it I believe that there must be a considerable fall in it below. our guide could not inform us where this river discharged itself into the columbia river, he informed us that it continues it's course along the mountains to the N. as far as he knew it and that not very distant from where we then were it formed a junction with a stream nearly as large as itself which took it's rise in the mountains near the Missouri to the East of us and pa.s.sed through an extensive valley generally open prarie which forms an excellent pa.s.s to the Missouri. the point of the Missouri where this Indian pa.s.s intersects it, is about 30 miles above the gates of the rocky mountain, or the place where the valley of the Missouri first widens into an extensive plain after entering the rockey mountains. the guide informed us that a man might pa.s.s to the missouri from hence by that rout in four days. we continued our rout down the W.
side of the river about 5 miles further and encamped on a large creek which falls in on the West as our guide informes that we should leave the river at this place and the weather appearing settled and fair I determined to halt the next day rest our horses and take some scelestial Observations. we called this Creek Travellers rest. it is about 20 yards wide a fine bould clear runing stream the land through which we pa.s.sed is but indifferent a could white gravley soil. we estimate our journey of this day at 19 M.
[Clark, September 9, 1805]
September 9th Monday 1805 a fair morning Set out early and proceeded on thro a plain as yesterday down the valley Crossed a large Scattering Creek on which Cotton trees grew at 11/2 miles, a Small one at 10 miles, both from the right, the main river at 15 miles & Encamped on a large Creek from the left which we call Travelers rest Creek. killed 4 deer & 4 Ducks & 3 prarie fowls.
day fair Wind N. W. See Suplement