FIRST ACROSS THE CONTINENT The Story of The Exploring Expedition of Lewis and Clark in 1804-5-6 By Noah Brooks Chapter I -- A Great Transaction in Land The people of the young Republic of the United States were greatlyastonished, in the summer of 1803, to learn that Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul of France, had sold to us the vast tract of land knownas the country of Louisiana. The details of this purchase were arrangedin Paris (on the part of the United States) by Robert R. Livingston andJames Monroe. The French government was represented by Barbe-Marbois, Minister of the Public Treasury. The price to be paid for this vast domain was fifteen million dollars. The area of the country ceded was reckoned to be more than one millionsquare miles, greater than the total area of the United States, as theRepublic then existed. Roughly described, the territory comprised allthat part of the continent west of the Mississippi River, bounded on thenorth by the British possessions and on the west and south by dominionsof Spain. This included the region in which now lie the States ofLouisiana, Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, parts of Colorado, Minnesota, theStates of Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Wyoming, a partof Idaho, all of Montana and Territory of Oklahoma. At that time, theentire population of the region, exclusive of the Indian tribes thatroamed over its trackless spaces, was barely ninety thousand persons, of whom forty thousand were negro slaves. The civilized inhabitantswere principally French, or descendants of French, with a few Spanish, Germans, English, and Americans. The purchase of this tremendous slice of territory could not be completewithout an approval of the bargain by the United States Senate. Greatopposition to this was immediately excited by people in various partsof the Union, especially in New England, where there was a very bitterfeeling against the prime mover in this business, --Thomas Jefferson, then President of the United States. The scheme was ridiculed by personswho insisted that the region was not only wild and unexplored, butuninhabitable and worthless. They derided "The Jefferson Purchase, " asthey called it, as a useless piece of extravagance and folly; and, inaddition to its being a foolish bargain, it was urged that PresidentJefferson had no right, under the constitution of the United States, toadd any territory to the area of the Republic. Nevertheless, a majority of the people were in favor of the purchase, and the bargain was duly approved by the United States Senate; thatbody, July 31, 1803, just three months after the execution of the treatyof cession, formally ratified the important agreement between the twogovernments. The dominion of the United States was now extended acrossthe entire continent of North America, reaching from the Atlantic to thePacific. The Territory of Oregon was already ours. This momentous transfer took place one hundred years ago, when almostnothing was known of the region so summarily handed from the governmentof France to the government of the American Republic. Few white men hadever traversed those trackless plains, or scaled the frowning ranges ofmountains that barred the way across the continent. There were living inthe fastnesses of the mysterious interior of the Louisiana Purchase manytribes of Indians who had never looked in the face of the white man. Nor was the Pacific shore of the country any better known to civilizedman than was the region lying between that coast and the Big Muddy, orMissouri River. Spanish voyagers, in 1602, had sailed as far north asthe harbors of San Diego and Monterey, in what is now California;and other explorers, of the same nationality, in 1775, extended theirdiscoveries as far north as the fifty-eighth degree of latitude. FamousCaptain Cook, the great navigator of the Pacific seas, in 1778, reachedand entered Nootka Sound, and, leaving numerous harbors and baysunexplored, he pressed on and visited the shores of Alaska, then calledUnalaska, and traced the coast as far north as Icy Cape. Cold weatherdrove him westward across the Pacific, and he spent the next winter atOwyhee, where, in February of the following year, he was killed by thenatives. All these explorers were looking for chances for fur-trading, which wasat that time the chief industry of the Pacific coast. Curiously enough, they all passed by the mouth of the Columbia without observing thatthere was the entrance to one of the finest rivers on the Americancontinent. Indeed, Captain Vancouver, a British explorer, who has left his nameon the most important island of the North Pacific coast, baffled by thedeceptive appearances of the two capes that guard the way to a noblestream (Cape Disappointment and Cape Deception), passed them without athought. But Captain Gray, sailing the good ship "Columbia, " of Boston, who coasted those shores for more than two years, fully convinced that astrong current which he observed off those capes came from a river, madea determined effort; and on the 11th of May, 1792, he discovered andentered the great river that now bears the name of his ship. At lastthe key that was to open the mountain fastnesses of the heart of thecontinent had been found. The names of the capes christened by Vancouverand re-christened by Captain Gray have disappeared from our maps, butin the words of one of the numerous editors(1) of the narrative of theexploring expedition of Lewis and Clark: "The name of the good ship'Columbia, ' it is not hard to believe, will flow with the waters of thebold river as long as grass grows or water runs in the valleys of theRocky Mountains. " (1) Dr. Archibald McVickar. It appears that the attention of President Jefferson had been earlyattracted to the vast, unexplored domain which his wise foresight wasfinally to add to the territory of the United States. While he wasliving in Paris, as the representative of the United States, in 1785-89, he made the acquaintance of John Ledyard, of Connecticut, the well-knownexplorer, who had then in mind a scheme for the establishment of afur-trading post on the western coast of America. Mr. Jefferson proposedto Ledyard that the most feasible route to the coveted fur-bearing landswould be through the Russian possessions and downward somewhere near tothe latitude of the then unknown sources of the Missouri River, enteringthe United States by that route. This scheme fell through on account ofthe obstacles thrown in Ledyard's way by the Russian Government. A fewyears later, in 1792, Jefferson, whose mind was apparently fixed oncarrying out his project, proposed to the American Philosophical Societyof Philadelphia that a subscription should be opened for the purpose ofraising money "to engage some competent person to explore that region inthe opposite direction (from the Pacific coast), --that is, by ascendingthe Missouri, crossing the Stony (Rocky) Mountains, and descending thenearest river to the Pacific. " This was the hint from which originatedthe famous expedition of Lewis and Clark. But the story-teller should not forget to mention that hardy andadventurous explorer, Jonathan Carver. This man, the son of a Britishofficer, set out from Boston, in 1766, to explore the wilderness northof Albany and lying along the southern shore of the Great Lakes. He wasabsent two years and seven months, and in that time he collected a vastamount of useful and strange information, besides learning the languageof the Indians among whom he lived. He conceived the bold plan oftravelling up a branch of the Missouri (or "Messorie"), till, havingdiscovered the source of the traditional "Oregon, or River of the West, "on the western side of the lands that divide the continent, "he wouldhave sailed down that river to the place where it is said to emptyitself, near the Straits of Anian. " By the Straits of Anian, we are to suppose, were meant some part ofBehring's Straits, separating Asia from the American continent. Carver'sfertile imagination, stimulated by what he knew of the remote Northwest, pictured that wild region where, according to a modern poet, "rolls theOregon and hears no sound save his own dashing. " But Carver died withoutthe sight; in his later years, he said of those who should follow hislead: "While their spirits are elated by their success, perhaps they maybestow some commendations and blessings on the person who first pointedout to them the way. " Chapter II -- Beginning a Long Journey In 1803, availing himself of a plausible pretext to send out anexploring expedition, President Jefferson asked Congress to appropriatea small sum of money ($2, 500) for the execution of his purpose. At thattime the cession of the Louisiana Territory had not been completed; butmatters were in train to that end, and before the expedition was fairlystarted on its long journey across the continent, the Territory wasformally ceded to the United States. Meriwether Lewis, a captain in the army, was selected by Jefferson tolead the expedition. Captain Lewis was a native of Virginia, and at thattime was only twenty-nine years old. He had been Jefferson's privatesecretary for two years and was, of course, familiar with thePresident's plans and expectations as these regarded the wonder-landwhich Lewis was to enter. It is pleasant to quote here Mr. Jefferson'swords concerning Captain Lewis. In a memoir of that distinguished youngofficer, written after his death, Jefferson said: "Of courage undaunted;possessing a firmness and perseverance of purpose which nothing butimpossibilities could divert from its direction; careful as a father ofthose committed to his charge, yet steady in the maintenance oforder and discipline; intimate with the Indian character, customsand principles; habituated to the hunting life; guarded, by exactobservation of the vegetables and animals of his own country, againstlosing time in the description of objects already possessed; honest, disinterested, liberal, of sound understanding, and a fidelity to truthso scrupulous that whatever he should report would be as certain as ifseen by ourselves--with all these qualifications, as if selected andimplanted by nature in one body for this express purpose, I could haveno hesitation in confiding the enterprise to him. " Before we have finished the story of Meriwether Lewis and hiscompanions, we shall see that this high praise of the youthful commanderwas well deserved. For a coadjutor and comrade Captain Lewis chose William Clark, (1) alsoa native of Virginia, and then about thirty-three years old. Clark, likeLewis, held a commission in the military service of the United States, and his appointment as one of the leaders of the expedition with whichhis name and that of Lewis will ever be associated, made the two menequal in rank. Exactly how there could be two captains commanding thesame expedition, both of the same military and actual rank, without jaror quarrel, we cannot understand; but it is certain that the two youngmen got on together harmoniously, and no hint or suspicion of anyserious disagreement between the two captains during their long andarduous service has come down to us from those distant days. (1) It is a little singular that Captain Clark's name has been so persistently misspelled by historians and biographers. Even in most of the published versions of the story of the Lewis and Clark expedition, the name of one of the captains is spelled Clarke. Clark's own signature, of which many are in existence, is without the final and superfluous vowel; and the family name, for generations past, does not show it. As finally organized, the expedition was made up of the two captains(Lewis and Clark) and twenty-six men. These were nine young men fromKentucky, who were used to life on the frontier among Indians; fourteensoldiers of the United States Army, selected from many who eagerlyvolunteered their services; two French voyageurs, or watermen, one ofwhom was an interpreter of Indian language, and the other a hunter; andone black man, a servant of Captain Clark. All these, except the negroservant, were regularly enlisted as privates in the military service ofthe United States during the expedition; and three of them were by thecaptains appointed sergeants. In addition to this force, nine voyageursand a corporal and six private soldiers were detailed to act as guidesand assistants until the explorers should reach the country of theMandan Indians, a region lying around the spot where is now situatedthe flourishing city of Bismarck, the capital of North Dakota. It wasexpected that if hostile Indians should attack the explorers anywherewithin the limits of the little-known parts through which they wereto make their way, such attacks were more likely to be made below theMandan country than elsewhere. The duties of the explorers were numerous and important. They were toexplore as thoroughly as possible the country through which they wereto pass; making such observations of latitude and longitude as would beneeded when maps of the region should be prepared by the War Department;observing the trade, commerce, tribal relations, manners and customs, language, traditions, and monuments, habits and industrial pursuits, diseases and laws of the Indian nations with whom they might come incontact; note the floral, mineral, and animal characteristics of thecountry, and, above all, to report whatever might be of interest tocitizens who might thereafter be desirous of opening trade relationswith those wild tribes of which almost nothing was then distinctlyknown. The list of articles with which the explorers were provided, to aid themin establishing peaceful relations with the Indians, might amuse tradersof the present day. But in those primitive times, and among peoplesentirely ignorant of the white man's riches and resources, coats richlylaced with gilt braid, red trousers, medals, flags, knives, coloredhandkerchiefs, paints, small looking-glasses, beads and tomahawks werebelieved to be so attractive to the simple-minded red man that he wouldgladly do much and give much of his own to win such prizes. Of thesefine things there were fourteen large bales and one box. The stores ofthe expedition were clothing, working tools, fire-arms, food supplies, powder, ball, lead for bullets, and flints for the guns then in use, theold-fashioned flint-lock rifle and musket being still in vogue in ourcountry; for all of this was at the beginning of the present century. As the party was to begin their long journey by ascending the MissouriRiver, their means of travel were provided in three boats. The largest, a keel-boat, fifty-five feet long and drawing three feet of water, carried a big square sail and twenty-two seats for oarsmen. On boardthis craft was a small swivel gun. The other two boats were of thatvariety of open craft known as pirogue, a craft shaped like a flat-iron, square-sterned, flat-bottomed, roomy, of light draft, and usuallyprovided with four oars and a square sail which could be used when thewind was aft, and which also served as a tent, or night shelter, onshore. Two horses, for hunting or other occasional service, were ledalong the banks of the river. As we have seen, President Jefferson, whose master mind organized anddevised this expedition, had dwelt longingly on the prospect of crossingthe continent from the headwaters of the Missouri to the headwaters ofthe then newly-discovered Columbia. The route thus explored was moredifficult than that which was later travelled by the first emigrantsacross the continent to California. That route lies up the Platte River, through what is known as the South Pass of the Rocky Mountains, by GreatSalt Lake and down the valley of the Humboldt into California, crossingthe Sierra Nevada at any one of several points leading into the valleyof the Sacramento. The route, which was opened by the gold-seekers, wasfollowed by the first railroads built across the continent. The routethat lay so firmly in Jefferson's mind, and which was followed up withincredible hardships by the Lewis and Clark expedition, has since beentraversed by two railroads, built after the first transcontinentalrails were laid. If Jefferson had desired to find the shortest and mostfeasible route across the continent, he would have pointed to the SouthPass and Utah basin trails. But these would have led the explorers intoCalifornia, then and long afterwards a Spanish possession. The entireline finally traced over the Great Divide lay within the territory ofthe United States. But it must be remembered that while the expedition was being organized, the vast Territory of Louisiana was as yet a French possession. Beforethe party were brought together and their supplies collected, the territory passed under the jurisdiction of the United States. Nevertheless, that jurisdiction was not immediately acknowledged bythe officials who, up to that time, had been the representatives of theFrench and Spanish governments. Part of the territory was transferredfrom Spain to France and then from France to the United States. It wasintended that the exploring party should pass the winter of 1803-4 inSt. Louis, then a mere village which had been commonly known as PainCourt. But the Spanish governor of the province had not been officiallytold that the country had been transferred to the United States, and, after the Spanish manner, he forbade the passage of the Americansthrough his jurisdiction. In those days communication between frontierposts and points lying far to the eastward of the Mississippi was verydifficult; it required six weeks to carry the mails between New York, Philadelphia, and Washington to St. Louis; and this was the reason whya treaty, ratified in July, was not officially heard of in St. Louisas late as December of that year. The explorers, shut out of Spanishterritory, recrossed the Mississippi and wintered at the mouth of WoodRiver, just above St. Louis, on the eastern side of the great river, inUnited States territory. As a matter of record, it may be said here thatthe actual transfer of the lower part of the territory--commonly knownas Orleans--took place at New Orleans, December 20, 1803, and thetransfer of the upper part was effected at St. Louis, March 10, 1804, before the Lewis and Clark expedition had started on its long journey tothe northwestward. All over the small area of the United States then existed a deepinterest in the proposed explorations of the course and sources of theMissouri River. The explorers were about to plunge into vast solitudesof which white people knew less than we know now about the North Polarcountry. Wild and extravagant stories of what was to be seen in thosetrackless regions were circulated in the States. For example, it wassaid that Lewis and Clark expected to find the mammoth of prehistorictimes still living and wandering in the Upper Missouri region; and itwas commonly reported that somewhere, a thousand miles or so upthe river, was a solid mountain of rock salt, eighty miles long andforty-five miles wide, destitute of vegetation and glittering in thesun! These, and other tales like these, were said to be believed anddoted upon by the great Jefferson himself. The Federalists, or "Feds, "as they were called, who hated Jefferson, pretended to believe that hehad invented some of these foolish yarns, hoping thereby to make hisLouisiana purchase more popular in the Republic. In his last letter to Captain Lewis, which was to reach the explorersbefore they started, Jefferson said: "The acquisition of the countrythrough which you are to pass has inspired the country generally with agreat deal of interest in your enterprise. The inquiries are perpetualas to your progress. The Feds alone still treat it as a philosophism, and would rejoice at its failure. Their bitterness increases with thediminution of their numbers and despair of a resurrection. I hope youwill take care of yourself, and be a living witness of their malice andfolly. " Indeed, after the explorers were lost sight of in the wildernesswhich they were to traverse, many people in the States declaimedbitterly against the folly that had sent these unfortunate men to perishmiserably in the fathomless depths of the continent. They no longertreated it "as a philosophism, " or wild prank, but as a wicked scheme torisk life and property in a search for the mysteries of the unknown andunknowable. As a striking illustration of this uncertainty of the outcome of theexpedition, which exercised even the mind of Jefferson, it may be saidthat in his instructions to Captain Lewis he said: "Our Consuls, ThomasHewes, at Batavia in Java, William Buchanan in the isles of France andBourbon, and John Elmslie at the Cape of Good Hope, will be able tosupply your necessities by drafts on us. " All this seems strange enoughto the young reader of the present day; but this was said and done onehundred years ago. Chapter III -- From the Lower to the Upper River The party finally set sail up the Missouri River on Monday, May 21, 1804, but made only a few miles, owing to head winds. Four dayslater they camped near the last white settlement on the Missouri, --LaCharrette, a little village of seven poor houses. Here lived DanielBoone, the famous Kentucky backwoodsman, then nearly seventy years old, but still vigorous, erect, and strong of limb. Here and above this placethe explorers began to meet with unfamiliar Indian tribes and names. Forexample, they met two canoes loaded with furs "from the Mahar nation. "The writer of the Lewis and Clark journal, upon whose notes we rely forour story, made many slips of this sort. By "Mahars" we must understandthat the Omahas were meant. We shall come across other such instancesin which the strangers mistook the pronunciation of Indian names. Forexample, Kansas was by them misspelled as "Canseze" and "Canzan;" andthere appear some thirteen or fourteen different spellings of Sioux, ofwhich one of the most far-fetched is "Scouex. " The explorers were now in a country unknown to them and almost unknownto any white man. On the thirty-first of May, a messenger came down theGrand Osage River bringing a letter from a person who wrote that theIndians, having been notified that the country had been ceded to theAmericans, burned the letter containing the tidings, refusing to believethe report. The Osage Indians, through whose territory they were nowpassing, were among the largest and finest-formed red men of the West. Their name came from the river along which they warred and hunted, buttheir proper title, as they called themselves, was "the Wabashas, " andfrom them, in later years, we derive the familiar name of Wabash. Acurious tradition of this people, according to the journal of Lewis andClark, is that the founder of the nation was a snail, passing a quietexistence along the banks of the Osage, till a high flood swept him downto the Missouri, and left him exposed on the shore. The heat of the sunat length ripened him into a man; but with the change of his naturehe had not forgotten his native seats on the Osage, towards which heimmediately bent his way. He was, however, soon overtaken by hunger andfatigue, when happily, the Great Spirit appeared, and, giving him a bowand arrow, showed him how to kill and cook deer, and cover himselfwith the skin. He then proceeded to his original residence; but as heapproached the river he was met by a beaver, who inquired haughtily whohe was, and by what authority he came to disturb his possession. TheOsage answered that the river was his own, for he had once lived on itsborders. As they stood disputing, the daughter of the beaver came, andhaving, by her entreaties, reconciled her father to this young stranger, it was proposed that the Osage should marry the young beaver, and sharewith her family the enjoyment of the river. The Osage readily consented, and from this happy union there soon came the village and the nation ofthe Wabasha, or Osages, who have ever since preserved a pious reverencefor their ancestors, abstaining from the chase of the beaver, because inkilling that animal they killed a brother of the Osage. Of late years, however, since the trade with the whites has rendered beaver-skins morevaluable, the sanctity of these maternal relatives has been visiblyreduced, and the poor animals have lost all the privileges of kindred. Game was abundant all along the river as the explorers sailed up thestream. Their hunters killed numbers of deer, and at the mouth of BigGood Woman Creek, which empties into the Missouri near the present townof Franklin, Howard County, three bears were brought into the camp. Here, too, they began to find salt springs, or "salt licks, " to whichmany wild animals resorted for salt, of which they were very fond. Saline County, Missouri, perpetuates the name given to the region byLewis and Clark. Traces of buffalo were also found here, and occasionalwandering traders told them that the Indians had begun to hunt thebuffalo now that the grass had become abundant enough to attract thisbig game from regions lying further south. By the tenth of June the party had entered the country of the Ayauwaynation. This was an easy way of spelling the word now familiar to usas "Iowa. " But before that spelling was reached, it was Ayaway, Ayahwa, Iawai, Iaway, and soon. The remnants of this once powerful tribe nownumber scarcely two hundred persons. In Lewis and Clark's time, theywere a large nation, with several hundred warriors, and were constantlyat war with their neighbors. Game here grew still more abundant, and inaddition to deer and bear the hunters brought in a raccoon. One of thesehunters brought into camp a wild tale of a snake which, he said, "madea guttural noise like a turkey. " One of the French voyageurs confirmedthis story; but the croaking snake was never found and identified. On the twenty-fourth of June the explorers halted to prepare some of themeat which their hunters brought in. Numerous herds of deer were feedingon the abundant grass and young willows that grew along the river banks. The meat, cut in small strips, or ribbons, was dried quickly in the hotsun. This was called "jirked" meat. Later on the word was corrupted into"jerked, " and "jerked beef" is not unknown at the present day. The verb"jerk" is corrupted from the Chilian word, charqui, meaning sun-driedmeat; but it is not easy to explain how the Chilian word got into theNorthwest. As the season advanced, the party found many delicious wild fruits, suchas currants, plums, raspberries, wild apples, and vast quantities ofmulberries. Wild turkeys were also found in large numbers, and the partyhad evidently entered a land of plenty. Wild geese were abundant, andnumerous tracks of elk were seen. But we may as well say here that theso-called elk of the Northwest is not the elk of ancient Europe; a morecorrect and distinctive name for this animal is wapiti, the name giventhe animal by the Indians. The European elk more closely resembles theAmerican moose. Its antlers are flat, low, and palmated like our moose;whereas the antlers of the American elk, so-called, are long, high, andround-shaped with many sharp points or tines. The mouth of the greatPlatte River was reached on the twenty-first of July. This famous streamwas then regarded as a sort of boundary line between the known andunknown regions. As mariners crossing the equator require all theircomrades, who have not been "over the line" to submit to latheringand shaving, so the Western voyageurs merrily compelled their mates tosubmit to similar horse-play. The great river was also the mark abovewhich explorers entered upon what was called the Upper Missouri. The expedition was now advancing into a region inhabited by severalwandering tribes of Indians, chief of which were the Ottoes, Missouris, and Pawnees. It was determined, therefore, to call a council of some ofthe chiefs of these bands and make terms of peace with them. Aftersome delay, the messengers sent out to them brought in fourteenrepresentative Indians, to whom the white men made presents of roastmeat, pork, flour, and corn-meal, in return for which their visitorsbrought them quantities of delicious watermelons. "Next day, August3, " says the journal, "the Indians, with their six chiefs, were allassembled under an awning formed with the mainsail, in presence of allour party, paraded for the occasion. A speech was then made, announcingto them the change in the government, our promises of protection, andadvice as to their future conduct. All the six chiefs replied to ourspeech, each in his turn, according to rank. They expressed their joy atthe change in the government; their hopes that we would recommend themto their Great Father (the president), that they might obtain trade andnecessaries: they wanted arms as well for hunting as for defence, andasked our mediation between them and the Mahas, with whom they are nowat war. We promised to do so, and wished some of them to accompany us tothat nation, which they declined, for fear of being killed by them. Wethen proceeded to distribute our presents. The grand chief of the nationnot being of the party, we sent him a flag, a medal, and some ornamentsfor clothing. To the six chiefs who were present, we gave a medal of thesecond grade to one Ottoe chief and one Missouri chief; a medal of thethird grade to two inferior chiefs of each nation; the customary modeof recognizing a chief being to place a medal round his neck, which isconsidered among his tribe as a proof of his consideration abroad. Eachof these medals was accompanied by a present of paint, garters, andcloth ornaments of dress; and to this we added a canister of powder, abottle of whiskey, and a few presents to the whole, which appearedto make them perfectly satisfied. The air-gun, too, was fired, andastonished them greatly. The absent grand chief was an Ottoe, namedWeahrushhah, which, in English, degenerates into Little Thief. The twoprincipal chieftains present were Shongotongo, or Big Horse, and Wethea, or Hospitality; also Shosguscan, or White Horse, an Ottoe; the first anOttoe, the second a Missouri. The incidents just related induced us togive to this place the name of the Council Bluffs: the situation of itis exceedingly favorable for a fort and trading factory, as the soilis well calculated for bricks, and there is an abundance of wood in theneighborhood, and the air being pure and healthy. " Of course the reader will recognize, in the name given to this place byLewis and Clark, the flourishing modern city of Council Bluffs, Iowa. Nevertheless, as a matter of fact, the council took place on theNebraskan or western side of the river, and the meeting-place was atsome distance above the site of the present city of Council Bluffs. Above Council Bluffs the explorers found the banks of the river to behigh and bluffy, and on one of the highlands which they passed they sawthe burial-place of Blackbird, one of the great men of the Mahars, orOmahas, who had died of small-pox. A mound, twelve feet in diameter andsix feet high, had been raised over the grave, and on a tall pole atthe summit the party fixed a flag of red, white, and blue. The placewas regarded as sacred by the Omahas, who kept the dead chieftain wellsupplied with provisions. The small-pox had caused great mortality amongthe Indians; and a few years before the white men's visit, when the felldisease had destroyed four hundred men, with a due proportion of womenand children, the survivors burned their village and fled. "They had been a military and powerful people; but when these warriorssaw their strength wasting before a malady which they could not resist, their frenzy was extreme; they burned their village, and many of themput to death their wives and children, to save them from so cruel anaffliction, and that all might go together to some better country. " In Omaha, or Mahar Creek, the explorers made their first experimentin dragging the stream for fish. With a drag of willows, loaded withstones, they succeeded in catching a great variety of fine fish, overthree hundred at one haul, and eight hundred at another. These werepike, bass, salmon-trout, catfish, buffalo fish, perch, and a species ofshrimp, all of which proved an acceptable addition to their usual fleshbill-of-fare. Desiring to call in some of the surrounding Indian tribes, they hereset fire to the dry prairie grass, that being the customary signal for ameeting of different bands of roving peoples. In the afternoon of August18, a party of Ottoes, headed by Little Thief and Big Horse, came in, with six other chiefs and a French interpreter. The journal says:-- "We met them under a shade, and after they had finished a repast withwhich we supplied them, we inquired into the origin of the war betweenthem and the Mahas, which they related with great frankness. It seemsthat two of the Missouris went to the Mahas to steal horses, but weredetected and killed; the Ottoes and Missouris thought themselves boundto avenge their companions, and the whole nations were at last obligedto share in the dispute. They are also in fear of a war from thePawnees, whose village they entered this summer, while the inhabitantswere hunting, and stole their corn. This ingenuous confession didnot make us the less desirous of negotiating a peace for them; but noIndians have as yet been attracted by our fire. The evening was closedby a dance; and the next day, the chiefs and warriors being assembledat ten o'clock, we explained the speech we had already sent from theCouncil Bluffs, and renewed our advice. They all replied in turn, andthe presents were then distributed. We exchanged the small medal we hadformerly given to the Big Horse for one of the same size with that ofLittle Thief: we also gave a small medal to a third chief, and a kindof certificate or letter of acknowledgment to five of the warriorsexpressive of our favor and their good intentions. One of them, dissatisfied, returned us the certificate; but the chief, fearful ofour being offended, begged that it might be restored to him; this wedeclined, and rebuked them severely for having in view mere trafficinstead of peace with their neighbors. This displeased them at first;but they at length all petitioned that it should be given to thewarrior, who then came forward and made an apology to us; we thendelivered it to the chief to be given to the most worthy, and hebestowed it on the same warrior, whose name was Great Blue Eyes. After amore substantial present of small articles and tobacco, the council wasended with a dram to the Indians. In the evening we exhibited differentobjects of curiosity, and particularly the air-gun, which gave themgreat surprise. Those people are almost naked, having no covering excepta sort of breech-cloth round the middle, with a loose blanket or buffalorobe, painted, thrown over them. The names of these warriors, besidesthose already mentioned, were Karkapaha, or Crow's Head, and Nenasawa, or Black Cat, Missouris; and Sananona, or Iron Eyes, Neswaunja, orBig Ox, Stageaunja, or Big Blue Eyes, and Wasashaco, or Brave Man, allOttoes. " Chapter IV -- Novel Experiences among the Indians About this time (the nineteenth and twentieth of August), the explorerslost by death the only member of their party who did not survive thejourney. Floyd River, which flows into the Upper Missouri, in thenorthwest corner of Iowa, still marks the last resting-place of SergeantCharles Floyd, who died there of bilious colic and was buried by hiscomrades near the mouth of the stream. Near here was a quarry of redpipestone, dear to the Indian fancy as a mine of material for theirpipes; traces of this deposit still remain. So fond of this red rockwere the Indians that when they went there to get the stuff, evenlifelong and vindictive enemies declared a truce while they gathered thematerial, and savage hostile tribes suspended their wars for a time. On the north side of the Missouri, at a point in what is now knownas Clay County, South Dakota, Captains Lewis and Clark, with ten men, turned aside to see a great natural curiosity, known to the Indians asthe Hill of Little Devils. The hill is a singular mound in the midst ofa flat prairie, three hundred yards long, sixty or seventy yards wide, and about seventy feet high. The top is a smooth level plain. Thejournal says:-- "The Indians have made it a great article of their superstition: itis called the Mountain of Little People, or Little Spirits; and theybelieve that it is the abode of little devils, in the human form, ofabout eighteen inches high, and with remarkably large heads; they arearmed with sharp arrows, with which they are very skilful, and arealways on the watch to kill those who should have the hardihood toapproach their residence. The tradition is, that many have suffered fromthese little evil spirits, and, among others, three Maha Indians fella sacrifice to them a few years since. This has inspired all theneighboring nations, Sioux, Mahas, and Ottoes, with such terror, that noconsideration could tempt them to visit the hill. We saw none of thesewicked little spirits, nor any place for them, except some small holesscattered over the top; we were happy enough to escape their vengeance, though we remained some time on the mound to enjoy the delightfulprospect of the plain, which spreads itself out till the eye rests uponthe northwest hills at a great distance, and those of the northeast, still farther off, enlivened by large herds of buffalo feeding at adistance. " The present residents of the region, South Dakota, have preserved theIndian tradition, and Spirit Mound may be seen on modern maps of thatcountry. Passing on their way up the Missouri, the explorers found several kindsof delicious wild plums and vast quantities of grapes; and here, too, they passed the mouth of the Yankton River, now known as the Dakota, at the mouth of which is the modern city of Yankton, South Dakota. TheYankton-Sioux Indians, numbering about one thousand people, inhabitedthis part of the country, and near here the white men were met by alarge band of these Sioux who had come in at the invitation of Lewisand Clark. The messengers from the white men reported that they had beenwell received by the Indians, who, as a mark of respect, presented theirvisitors with "a fat dog, already cooked, of which they partook heartilyand found it well-flavored. " From this time, according to the journal, the explorers tasted occasionally of roast dog, and later on theyadopted this dish as a regular feature of their bill-of-fare. They dotell us, however, that they had some difficulty in getting used to sonovel an article of food. The Sioux and the white men held a grand council under an oak-tree, from the top of which was flying the American flag. The head chief waspresented with a gold-laced uniform of the United States artillery, acocked hat and red feather. The lesser chiefs were also presentedwith suitable gifts of lesser value. Various festivities followed theconference. Next day another powwow was held at which the head chief, Weucha, or Shake Hand, said:-- "'I see before me my great father's two sons. You see me and the restof our chiefs and warriors. We are very poor; we have neither powder, nor ball, nor knives; and our women and children at the village have noclothes. I wish that, as my brothers have given me a flag and a medal, they would give something to those poor people, or let them stop andtrade with the first boat which comes up the river. I will bring thechiefs of the Pawnees and Mahas together, and make peace between them;but it is better that I should do it than my great father's sons, forthey will listen to me more readily. I will also take some chiefs toyour country in the spring; but before that time I cannot leave home. Iwent formerly to the English, and they gave me a medal and some clothes:when I went to the Spaniards they gave me a medal, but nothing to keepit from my skin: but now you give me a medal and clothes. But stillwe are poor; and I wish, brothers, you would give us something for oursquaws. '" When he sat down, Mahtoree, or White Crane, rose: "'I have listened, ' said he, 'to what our father's words wereyesterday; and I am to-day glad to see how you have dressed our oldchief. I am a young man, and do not wish to take much; my fathers havemade me a chief; I had much sense before, but now I think I have morethan ever. What the old chief has declared I will confirm, and dowhatever he and you please; but I wish that you would take pity on us, for we are very poor. ' "Another chief, called Pawnawneahpahbe, then said: "'I am a young man, and know but little; I cannot speak well, but Ihave listened to what you have told the old chief, and will do whateveryou agree. ' "The same sentiments were then repeated by Aweawechache. "We were surprised, " the journal says, "at finding that the first ofthese titles means Struck by the Pawnee, and was occasioned by some blowwhich the chief had received in battle from one of the Pawnee tribe. The second is in English Half Man, which seemed a singular name fora warrior, till it was explained to have its origin, probably, in themodesty of the chief, who, on being told of his exploits, would say, 'I am no warrior, I am only half a man. ' The other chiefs spoke verylittle; but after they had finished, one of the warriors delivered aspeech, in which he declared he would support them. They promised tomake peace with the Ottoes and Missouris, the only nations with whomthey are at war. All these harangues concluded by describing thedistress of the nation: they begged us to have pity on them; to sendthem traders; that they wanted powder and ball; and seemed anxious thatwe should supply them with some of their great father's milk, the nameby which they distinguish ardent spirits. We gave some tobacco to eachof the chiefs, and a certificate to two of the warriors who attendedthe chief We prevailed on M. Durion (interpreter) to remain here, andaccompany as many of the Sioux chiefs as he could collect to the seat ofgovernment. We also gave his son a flag, some clothes, and provisions, with directions to bring about a peace between the surrounding tribes, and to convey some of their chiefs to see the President. "The Indians who have just left us are the Yanktons, a tribe of thegreat nation of Sioux. These Yanktons are about two hundred men innumber, and inhabit the Jacques, Des Moines, and Sioux Rivers. In personthey are stout, well proportioned, and have a certain air of dignity andboldness. In their dress they differ nothing from the other bands of thenation whom we met afterwards. " Of the Sioux let us say here, there are many bands, or subdivisions. Some writers make eighteen of these principal branches. But the firstimportance is given to the Sioux proper, or Dakotas. The name "Sioux" isone of reproach, given by their enemies, and signifies "snake;" whereas"Dakota" means "friend" or "ally. " The Lewis and Clark journal says ofthe Yankton-Sioux:-- "What struck us most was an institution peculiar to them and to the Kite(Crow) Indians further to the westward, from whom it is said to havebeen copied. It is an association of the most active and brave youngmen, who are bound to each other by attachment, secured by a vow, neverto retreat before any danger, or give way to their enemies. In war theygo forward without sheltering themselves behind trees, or aiding theirnatural valor by any artifice. Their punctilious determination not tobe turned from their course became heroic, or ridiculous, a short timesince, when the Yanktons were crossing the Missouri on the ice. A holelay immediately in their course, which might easily have been avoidedby going around. This the foremost of the band disdained to do, butwent straight forward and was lost. The others would have followed hisexample, but were forcibly prevented by the rest of the tribe. Theseyoung men sit, camp, and dance together, distinct from the rest of thenation; they are generally about thirty or thirty-five years old, andsuch is the deference paid to courage that their seats in council aresuperior to those of the chiefs and their persons more respected. But, as may be supposed, such indiscreet bravery will soon diminish thenumbers of those who practise it; so that the band is now reduced tofour warriors, who were among our visitors. These were the remains oftwenty-two who composed the society not long ago; but, in a battle withthe Kite (Crow) Indians of the Black Mountains, eighteen of them werekilled, and these four were dragged from the field by their companions. " Just above the site of the city of Yankton, and near what is still knownas Bon Homme Island, Captain Clark explored a singular earth formationin a bend of the river. This had all the appearance of an ancientfortification, stretching across the bend and furnished with redoubtsand other features of a great fort. In the journal is given a glowingaccount of the work and an elaborate map of the same. Modern research, however, has proved that this strange arrangement of walls and parapetsis only a series of sand ridges formed by the currents of the river anddriftings of sand. Many of these so-called earthworks are situated onthe west bank of the Upper Missouri, in North Dakota and South Dakota. A few days later, the party saw a species of animal which they describedas "goats, "--very fleet, with short pronged horns inclining backward, and with grayish hair, marked with white on the rump. This creature, however, was the American antelope, then unknown to science, and firstdescribed by Lewis and Clark. While visiting a strange dome-shapedmountain, "resembling a cupola, " and now known as "the Tower, " theexplorers found the abode of another animal, heretofore unknown to them. "About four acres of ground, " says the journal, "was covered with smallholes. " The account continues: "These are the residence of a littleanimal, called by the French petit chien (little dog), which sit erectnear the mouth, and make a whistling noise, but, when alarmed, takerefuge in their holes. In order to bring them out we poured into one ofthe holes five barrels of water without filling it, but we dislodged andcaught the owner. After digging down another of the holes for six feet, we found, on running a pole into it, that we had not yet dug half-way tothe bottom: we discovered, however, two frogs in the hole, and near itwe killed a dark rattlesnake, which had swallowed a small prairie dog. We were also informed, though we never witnessed the fact, that a sortof lizard and a snake live habitually with these animals. Thepetit chien are justly named, as they resemble a small dog in someparticulars, although they have also some points of similarity to thesquirrel. The head resembles the squirrel in every respect, except thatthe ear is shorter; the tail like that of the ground squirrel; the toenails are long, the fur is fine, and the long hair is gray. " Great confusion has been caused in the minds of readers on account ofthere being another burrowing animal, called by Lewis and Clark "theburrowing squirrel, " which resembles the petit chien in some respects. But the little animal described here is now well known as theprairie-dog, --an unfortunate and misleading name. It is in no sense aspecies of dog. The creature commonly weighs about three pounds, and itsnote resembles that of a toy-dog. It is a species of marmot; it subsistson grass roots and other vegetable products; its flesh is delicate and, when fat, of good flavor. The writer of these lines, when crossing thegreat plains, in early times, found the "prairie-dogs" excellent eating, but difficult to kill; they are expert at diving into their holes at theslightest signal of danger. The following days they saw large herds of buffalo, and the copses oftimber appeared to contain elk and deer, "just below Cedar Island, "adds the journal, "on a hill to the south, is the backbone of a fish, forty-five feet long, tapering towards the tail, and in a perfectstate of petrifaction, fragments of which were collected and sent toWashington. " This was not a fish, but the fossil remains of a reptile ofone of the earliest geological periods. Here, too, the party saw immenseherds of buffalo, thousands in number, some of which they killed fortheir meat and skins. They also saw elk, deer, turkeys, grouse, beaver, and prairie-dogs. The journal bitterly complains of the "moschetoes, "which were very troublesome. As mosquitoes we now know them. Oddly enough, the journal sometimes speaks of "goats" and sometimes of"antelopes, " and the same animal is described in both instances. Here isa good story of the fleetness of the beautiful creature:-- "Of all the animals we had seen, the antelope seems to possess the mostwonderful fleetness. Shy and timorous, they generally repose only onthe ridges, which command a view of all the approaches of an enemy:the acuteness of their sight distinguishes the most distant danger;the delicate sensibility of their smell defeats the precautions ofconcealment; and, when alarmed, their rapid career seems more likethe flight of birds than the movements of a quadruped. After manyunsuccessful attempts, Captain Lewis at last, by winding around theridges, approached a party of seven, which were on an eminence towardswhich the wind was unfortunately blowing. The only male of the partyfrequently encircled the summit of the hill, as if to announce anydanger to the females, which formed a group at the top. Although theydid not see Captain Lewis, the smell alarmed them, and they fled when hewas at the distance of two hundred yards: he immediately ran to thespot where they had been; a ravine concealed them from him; but the nextmoment they appeared on a second ridge, at the distance of three miles. He doubted whether they could be the same; but their number, and theextreme rapidity with which they continued their course, convincedhim that they must have gone with a speed equal to that of themost distinguished race-horse. Among our acquisitions to-day were amule-deer, a magpie, a common deer, and buffalo: Captain Lewis alsosaw a hare, and killed a rattlesnake near the burrows of the barkingsquirrels. " By "barking squirrels" the reader must understand that the animal betterknown as the prairie-dog is meant; and the mule-deer, as the explorerscalled it, was not a hybrid, but a deer with very long ears, betterknown afterwards as the black-tailed deer. At the Big Bend of the Missouri, in the heart of what is now SouthDakota, while camped on a sand-bar, the explorers had a startlingexperience. "Shortly after midnight, " says the journal, "the sleeperswere startled by the sergeant on guard crying out that the sand-bar wassinking, and the alarm was timely given; for scarcely had they got offwith the boats before the bank under which they had been lying fell in;and by the time the opposite shore was reached, the ground on which theyhad been encamped sunk also. A man who was sent to step off the distanceacross the head of the bend, made it but two thousand yards, while itscircuit is thirty miles. " The next day, three Sioux boys swam the river and told them that twoparties of their nation, one of eighty lodges, and one of sixty lodges, were camped up the river, waiting to have a palaver with the whiteexplorers. These were Teton Sioux, and the river named for them stillbears that title. Chapter V -- From the Tetons to the Mandans "On the morning of September 25th, " says the journal, "we raised aflagstaff and an awning, under which we assembled, with all the partyparading under arms. The chiefs and warriors, from the camps two milesup the river, met us, about fifty or sixty in number, and after smokingwe delivered them a speech; but as our Sioux interpreter, M. Durion, hadbeen left with the Yanktons, we were obliged to make use of a Frenchmanwho could not speak fluently, and therefore we curtailed our harangue. After this we went through the ceremony of acknowledging the chiefs, bygiving to the grand chief a medal, a flag of the United States, a laceduniform coat, a cocked hat and feather; to the two other chiefs, amedal and some small presents; and to two warriors of consideration, certificates. The name of the great chief is Untongasabaw, orBlack Buffalo; the second, Tortohonga, or the Partisan; the third, Tartongawaka, or Buffalo Medicine; the name of one of the warriors wasWawzinggo; that of the second, Matocoquepa, or Second Bear. We theninvited the chiefs on board, and showed them the boat, the air-gun, andsuch curiosities as we thought might amuse them. In this we succeededtoo well; for, after giving them a quarter of a glass of whiskey, whichthey seemed to like very much, and sucked the bottle, it was with muchdifficulty that we could get rid of them. They at last accompaniedCaptain Clark on shore, in a pirogue with five men; but it seems theyhad formed a design to stop us; for no sooner had the party landed thanthree of the Indians seized the cable of the pirogue, and one of thesoldiers of the chief put his arms round the mast. The second chief, whoaffected intoxication, then said that we should not go on; that theyhad not received presents enough from us. Captain Clark told him thathe would not be prevented from going on; that we were not squaws, butwarriors; that we were sent by our great father, who could in a momentexterminate them. The chief replied that he too had warriors, and wasproceeding to offer personal violence to Captain Clark, who immediatelydrew his sword, and made a signal to the boat to prepare for action. TheIndians, who surrounded him, drew their arrows from their quivers, and were bending their bows, when the swivel in the boat was instantlypointed towards them, and twelve of our most determined men jumped intothe pirogue and joined Captain Clark. This movement made an impressionon them, for the grand chief ordered the young men away from thepirogue, and they withdrew and held a short council with the warriors. Being unwilling to irritate them, Captain Clark then went forward, andoffered his hand to the first and second chiefs, who refused to take it. He then turned from them and got into the pirogue; but he had not gotmore than ten paces, when both the chiefs and two of the warriors wadedin after him, and he brought them on board. We then proceeded on for amile, and anchored off a willow island, which, from the circumstanceswhich had just occurred, we called Bad-humored Island. " The policy of firmness and gentleness, which Lewis and Clark alwayspursued when treating with the Indians, had its good results at thistime. What might have been a bloody encounter was averted, and next daythe Indians contritely came into camp and asked that their squaws andchildren might see the white men and their boats, which would be to thema novel sight. This was agreed to, and after the expedition had sailedup the river and had been duly admired by a great crowd of men, women, and children, the Tetons invited the white men to a dance. The journaladds:-- "Captains Lewis and Clark, who went on shore one after the other, weremet on landing by ten well-dressed young men, who took them up in a robehighly decorated and carried them to a large council-house, where theywere placed on a dressed buffalo-skin by the side of the grand chief. The hall or council-room was in the shape of three-quarters of a circle, covered at the top and sides with skins well dressed and sewed together. Under this shelter sat about seventy men, forming a circle round thechief, before whom were placed a Spanish flag and the one we had giventhem yesterday. This left a vacant circle of about six feet diameter, in which the pipe of peace was raised on two forked sticks, about sixor eight inches from the ground, and under it the down of the swan wasscattered. A large fire, in which they were cooking provisions, stoodnear, and in the centre about four hundred pounds of buffalo meat as apresent for us. As soon as we were seated, an old man got up, and afterapproving what we had done, begged us take pity on their unfortunatesituation. To this we replied with assurances of protection. After hehad ceased, the great chief rose and delivered a harangue to the sameeffect; then with great solemnity he took some of the most delicateparts of the dog which was cooked for the festival, and held it to theflag by way of sacrifice; this done, he held up the pipe of peace, andfirst pointed it toward the heavens, then to the four quarters of theglobe, then to the earth, made a short speech, lighted the pipe, andpresented it to us. We smoked, and he again harangued his people, afterwhich the repast was served up to us. It consisted of the dog which theyhad just been cooking, this being a great dish among the Sioux, and usedon all festivals; to this were added pemitigon, a dish made of buffalomeat, dried or jerked, and then pounded and mixed raw with grease anda kind of ground potato, dressed like the preparation of Indian corncalled hominy, to which it is little inferior. Of all these luxuries, which were placed before us in platters with horn spoons, we took thepemitigon and the potato, which we found good, but we could as yetpartake but sparingly of the dog. " The "pemitigon" mentioned here is better known as pemmican, a sort ofdried meat, which may be eaten as prepared, or pounded fine and cookedwith other articles of food. This festival concluded with a grand dance, which at midnight wound up the affair. As the description of these Tetons, given by Lewis and Clark, will givethe reader a good idea of the manners, customs, and personal appearanceof most of the Sioux nation, we will copy the journal in full. It is asfollows: "The tribe which we this day saw are a part of the great Sioux nation, and are known by the name of the Teton Okandandas: they are about twohundred men in number, and their chief residence is on both sides of theMissouri, between the Chayenne and Teton Rivers. In their persons theyare rather ugly and ill-made, their legs and arms being too small, theircheek-bones high, and their eyes projecting. The females, with the samecharacter of form, are more handsome; and both sexes appear cheerful andsprightly; but in our intercourse with them we discovered that they werecunning and vicious. "The men shave the hair off their heads, except a small tuft on the top, which they suffer to grow, and wear in plaits over the shoulders; tothis they seem much attached, as the loss of it is the usual sacrificeat the death of near relations. In full dress, the men of considerationwear a hawk's feather, or calumet feather worked with porcupine quills, and fastened to the top of the head, from which it falls back. The faceand body are generally painted with a mixture of grease and coal. Overthe shoulders is a loose robe or mantle of buffalo skin dressed white, adorned with porcupine quills, loosely fixed, so as to make a jinglingnoise when in motion, and painted with various uncouth figures, unintelligible to us, but to them emblematic of military exploits orany other incident: the hair of the robe is worn next the skin in fairweather, but when it rains the hair is put outside, and the robe iseither thrown over the arm or wrapped round the body, all of which itmay cover. Under this, in the winter season, they wear a kind of shirtresembling ours, made either of skin or cloth, and covering the arms andbody. Round the middle is fixed a girdle of cloth, or procured dressedelk-skin, about an inch in width, and closely tied to the body; to thisis attached a piece of cloth, or blanket, or skin, about a foot wide, which passes between the legs, and is tucked under the girdle bothbefore and behind. From the hip to the ankle is covered by leggins ofdressed antelope skins, with seams at the sides two inches in width, andornamented by little tufts of hair, the produce of the scalps they havemade in war, which are scattered down the leg. The winter moccasinsare of dressed buffalo skin, the hair being worn inward, and soled withthick elk-skin parchment; those for summer are of deer or elk-skin, dressed without the hair, and with soles of elk-skin. On greatoccasions, or whenever they are in full dress, the young men drag afterthem the entire skin of a polecat fixed to the heel of the moccasin. Another skin of the same animal, either tucked into the girdle orcarried in the hand, serves as a pouch for their tobacco, or what theFrench traders call bois roule. (1) This is the inner bark of a speciesof red willow, which, being dried in the sun or over the fire, is, rubbed between the hands and broken into small pieces, and used alone ormixed with tobacco. The pipe is generally of red earth, the stem made ofash, about three or four feet long, and highly decorated with feathers, hair, and porcupine-quills. . . . (1) This is bois roule, or "rolled wood, " a poor kind of tobacco rolled with various kinds of leaves, such as the sumach and dogwood. The Indian name is kinnikinick. "While on shore to-day we witnessed a quarrel between two squaws, whichappeared to be growing every moment more boisterous, when a man cameforward, at whose approach every one seemed terrified and ran. He tookthe squaws and without any ceremony whipped them severely. On inquiringinto the nature of such summary justice, we learned that this man wasan officer well known to this and many other tribes. His duty is to keepthe peace, and the whole interior police of the village is confided totwo or three of these officers, who are named by the chief and remain inpower some days, at least till the chief appoints a successor. Theyseem to be a sort of constable or sentinel, since they are always onthe watch to keep tranquillity during the day and guard the camp in thenight. The short duration of the office is compensated by its authority. His power is supreme, and in the suppression of any riot or disturbanceno resistance to him is suffered; his person is sacred, and if in theexecution of his duty he strikes even a chief of the second class, he cannot be punished for this salutary insolence. In general heaccompanies the person of the chief, and when ordered to any duty, however dangerous, it is a point of honor rather to die than to refuseobedience. Thus, when they attempted to stop us yesterday, the chiefordered one of these men to take possession of the boat; he immediatelyput his arms around the mast, and, as we understood, no force except thecommand of the chief would have induced him to release his hold. Likethe other men his body is blackened, but his distinguishing mark is acollection of two or three raven-skins fixed to the girdle behind theback in such a way that the tails stick out horizontally from the body. On his head, too, is a raven-skin split into two parts, and tied so asto let the beak project from the forehead. " When the party of explorers subsequently made ready to leave, signs ofreluctance to have them go were apparent among the Indians. Finally, several of the chief warriors sat on the rope that held the boat tothe shore. Irritated by this, Captain Lewis got ready to fire upon thewarriors, but, anxious to avoid bloodshed, he gave them more tobacco, which they wanted, and then said to the chief, "You have told us thatyou were a great man, and have influence; now show your influence bytaking the rope from those men, and we will then go on without furthertrouble. " This appeal to the chieftain's pride had the desired effect. The warriors were compelled to give up the rope, which was delivered onboard, and the party set sail with a fresh breeze from the southeast. The explorers were soon out of the country of the Teton Sioux and intothat of the Ricaras, or, as these Indians are more commonly called, theRickarees. On the first day of October they passed the mouth of a river incorrectlyknown as Dog River, as if corrupted from the French word chien. But thetrue name is Cheyenne, from the Indians who bear that title. The streamrises in the region called the Black Mountains by Lewis and Clark, onaccount of the great quantity of dark cedar and pine trees that coveredthe hills. This locality is now known as the Black Hills, in the midstof which is the famous mining district of Deadwood. In these mountains, according to Lewis and Clark, were to be found "great quantitiesof goats, white bear, prairie cocks, and a species of animal whichresembled a small elk, with large circular horns. " By the "white bear"the reader must understand that the grizzly bear is meant. Although thisanimal, which was first discovered and described by Lewis and Clark, iscommonly referred to in the earlier pages of the journal as "white, " theerror naturally came from a desire to distinguish it from the blackand the cinnamon-colored bears. Afterwards, the journal refers to thisformidable creature as the grizzly, and again as the grisly. Certainly, the bear was a grizzled gray; but the name "grisly, " that is to say, horrible, or frightful, fitted him very well. The Latin name, _ursushorribilis_ is not unlike one of those of Lewis and Clark's selection. The animals with circular curled horns, which the explorers thoughtresembled a small elk, are now known as the Rocky Mountain sheep, orbighorn. They very little resemble sheep, however, except in color, head, horns, and feet. They are now so scarce as to be almost extinct. They were among the discoveries of Lewis and Clark. The prairie cockis known to western sportsmen as "prairie chicken;" it is a species ofgrouse. It was now early in October, and the weather became very cool. So greatis the elevation of those regions that, although the days might beoppressively warm, the nights were cold and white frosts were frequent. Crossing the Rocky Mountains at the South Pass, far south of Lewisand Clark's route, emigrants who suffered from intense heat during themiddle of day found water in their pails frozen solid in the morning. The Rickarees were very curious and inquisitive regarding the white men. But the journal adds: "The object which appeared to astonish the Indiansmost was Captain Clark's servant York, a remarkably stout, strong negro. They had never seen a being of that color, and therefore flocked roundhim to examine the extraordinary monster. By way of amusement, he toldthem that he had once been a wild animal, and been caught and tamed byhis master; and to convince them, showed them feats of strength which, added to his looks, made him more terrible than we wished him to be. " "On October 10th, " says the journal, "the weather was fine, and as wewere desirous of assembling the whole nation at once, we despatched Mr. Gravelines (a trader)--who, with Mr. Tabeau, another French trader, hadbreakfasted with us--to invite the chiefs of the two upper villages toa conference. They all assembled at one o'clock, and after the usualceremonies we addressed them in the same way in which we had alreadyspoken to the Ottoes and Sioux. We then made or acknowledged threechiefs, one for each of the three villages; giving to each a flag, amedal, a red coat, a cocked hat and feather, also some goods, paint andtobacco, which they divided among themselves. After this the air-gun wasexhibited, very much to their astonishment, nor were they less surprisedat the color and manner of York. On our side we were equally gratifiedat discovering that these Ricaras made use of no spirituous liquors ofany kind, the example of the traders who bring it to them, so farfrom tempting, having in fact disgusted them. Supposing that it was asagreeable to them as to the other Indians, we had at first offered themwhiskey; but they refused it with this sensible remark, that they weresurprised that their father should present to them a liquor which wouldmake them fools. On another occasion they observed to Mr. Tabeau that noman could be their friend who tried to lead them into such follies. " Presents were exchanged by the Indians and the white men; among thegifts from the former was a quantity of a large, rich bean, which growswild and is collected by mice. The Indians hunt for the mice's depositsand cook and eat them. The Rickarees had a grand powwow with the whitechiefs and, after accepting presents, agreed to preserve peace withall men, red or white. On the thirteenth of the month the explorersdiscovered a stream which they named Stone-Idol Creek, on account of twostones, resembling human figures, which adorn its banks. The creek isnow known as Spring River, and is in Campbell County, South Dakota. Concerning the stone images the Indians gave this tradition:-- "A young man was deeply enamoured with a girl whose parents refusedtheir consent to the marriage. The youth went out into the fields tomourn his misfortunes; a sympathy of feeling led the lady to the samespot, and the faithful dog would not cease to follow his master. Afterwandering together and having nothing but grapes to subsist on, theywere at last converted into stone, which, beginning at the feet, gradually invaded the nobler parts, leaving nothing unchanged but abunch of grapes which the female holds in her hand to this day. Wheneverthe Ricaras pass these sacred stones, they stop to make some offeringof dress to propitiate these deities. Such is the account given by theRicara chief, which we had no mode of examining, except that we foundone part of the story very agreeably confirmed; for on the river nearwhere the event is said to have occurred we found a greater abundance offine grapes than we had yet seen. " While at their last camp in the country now known as South Dakota, October 14, 1804, one of the soldiers, tried by a court-martial formutinous conduct, was sentenced to receive seventy-five lashes on thebare back. The sentence was carried out then and there. The Rickareechief, who accompanied the party for a time, was so affected by thesight that he cried aloud during the whole proceeding. When the reasonsfor the punishment were explained to him, he acknowledged the justice ofthe sentence, but said he would have punished the offender withdeath. His people, he added, never whip even their children at any agewhatever. On the eighteenth of October, the party reached Cannonball River, whichrises in the Black Hills and empties in the Missouri in Morton County, North Dakota. Its name is derived from the perfectly round, smooth, black stones that line its bed and shores. Here they saw great numbersof antelope and herds of buffalo, and of elk. They killed six fallowdeer; and next day they counted fifty-two herds of buffalo and threeherds of elk at one view; they also observed deer, wolves, and pelicansin large numbers. The ledges in the bluffs along the river often held nests of the calumetbird, or golden eagle. These nests, which are apparently resorted to, year after year, by the same pair of birds, are usually out of reach, except by means of ropes by which the hunters are let down from thecliffs overhead. The tail-feathers of the bird are twelve in number, about a foot long, and are pure white except at the tip, which isjet-black. So highly prized are these by the Indians that they have beenknown to exchange a good horse for two feathers. The party saw here a great many elk, deer, antelope, and buffalo, andthese last were dogged along their way by wolves who follow them to feedupon those that die by accident, or are too weak to keep up with theherd. Sometimes the wolves would pounce upon a calf, too young andfeeble to trot with the other buffalo; and although the mother made aneffort to save her calf, the creature was left to the hungry wolves, theherd moving along without delay. On the twenty-first of October, the explorers reached a creek to whichthe Indians gave the name of Chisshetaw, now known as Heart River, which, rising in Stark County, North Dakota, and running circuitouslythrough Morton County, empties into the Missouri opposite the city ofBismarck. At this point the Northern Pacific Railway now crosses theMissouri; and here, where is built the capital of North Dakota, began, in those days, a series of Mandan villages, with the people of whichthe explorers were to become tolerably well acquainted; for it had beendecided that the increasing cold of the weather would compel them towinter in this region. But they were as yet uncertain as to the exactlocality at which they would build their camp of winter. Here they metone of the grand chiefs of the Mandans, who was on a hunting excursionwith his braves. This chief greeted with much ceremony the Rickareechief who accompanied the exploring party. The Mandans and Rickareeswere ancient enemies, but, following the peaceful councils of the whitemen, the chiefs professed amity and smoked together the pipe of peace. A son of the Mandan chief was observed to have lost both of his littlefingers, and when the strangers asked how this happened, they were toldthat the fingers had been cut off (according to the Mandan custom) toshow the grief of the young man at the loss of some of his relations. Chapter VI -- Winter among the Mandans Before finally selecting the spot on which to build their winterquarters, Lewis and Clark held councils with the chiefs of the tribeswho were to be their neighbors during the cold season. These wereMandans, Annahaways, and Minnetarees, tribes living peacefully in thesame region of country. The principal Mandan chief was Black Cat; WhiteBuffalo Robe Unfolded represented the Annahaways, and the Minnetareechief was Black Moccasin. This last-named chief could not come to thecouncil, but was represented by Caltahcota, or Cherry on a Bush. Thepalaver being over, presents were distributed. The account says:-- "One chief of each town was acknowledged by a gift of a flag, a medalwith the likeness of the President of the United States, a uniform coat, hat and feather. To the second chiefs we gave a medal representing somedomestic animals and a loom for weaving; to the third chiefs, medalswith the impressions of a farmer sowing grain. A variety of otherpresents were distributed, but none seemed to give them moresatisfaction than an iron corn-mill which we gave to the Mandans. . . . "In the evening the prairie took fire, either by accident or design, andburned with great fury, the whole plain being enveloped in flames. So rapid was its progress that a man and a woman were burned to deathbefore they could reach a place of safety; another man, with his wifeand child, were much burned, and several other persons narrowly escapeddestruction. Among the rest, a boy of the half white breed escapedunhurt in the midst of the flames; his safety was ascribed to the greatmedicine spirit, who had preserved him on account of his being white. But a much more natural cause was the presence of mind of his mother, who, seeing no hopes of carrying off her son, threw him on the ground, and, covering him with the fresh hide of a buffalo, escaped herself fromthe flames. As soon as the fire had passed, she returned and found himuntouched, the skin having prevented the flame from reaching the grasson which he lay. " Next day, says the journal, -- "We were visited by two persons from the lower village: one, the BigWhite, the chief of the village; the other, the Chayenne, called the BigMan: they had been hunting, and did not return yesterday early enough toattend the council. At their request we repeated part of our speech ofyesterday, and put the medal round the neck of the chief. CaptainClark took a pirogue and went up the river in search of a goodwintering-place, and returned after going seven miles to the lower pointof an island on the north side, about one mile in length. He found thebanks on the north side high, with coal occasionally, and the countryfine on all sides; but the want of wood, and the scarcity of game up theriver, induced us to decide on fixing ourselves lower down during thewinter. In the evening our men danced among themselves, to the greatamusement of the Indians. " It may be said here that the incident of a life saved from fire by araw-hide, originally related by Lewis and Clark, is the foundation ofa great many similar stories of adventures among the Indians. Usually, however, it is a wise and well-seasoned white trapper who saves his lifeby this device. Having found a good site for their winter camp, the explorers now builta number of huts, which they called Fort Mandan. The place was on thenorth bank of the Missouri River, in what is now McLean County, NorthDakota, about sixteen hundred miles up the river from St. Louis, andseven or eight miles below the mouth of Big Knife River. On the oppositebank, years later, the United States built a military post known as FortClark, which may be found on some of the present-day maps. The huts werebuilt of logs, and were arranged in two rows, four rooms in each hut, the whole number being placed in the form of an angle, with a stockade, or picket, across the two outer ends of the angle, in which was a gate, kept locked at night. The roofs of the huts slanted upward from theinner side of the rows, making the outer side of each hut eighteen feethigh; and the lofts of these were made warm and comfortable with drygrass mixed with clay, Here they were continually visited during thewinter by Indians from all the region around. Here, too, they securedthe services of an interpreter, one Chaboneau, who continued with themto the end. This man's wife, Sacajawea, whose Indian name was translated"Bird Woman, " had been captured from the Snake Indians and sold toChaboneau, who married her. She was "a good creature, of a mild andgentle disposition, greatly attached to the whites. " In the expeditionshe proved herself more valuable to the explorers than her husband, andLewis and Clark always speak of her in terms of respect and admiration. It should not be understood that all the interpreters employed by whitemen on such expeditions wholly knew the spoken language of the tribesamong whom they travelled. To some extent they relied upon the universallanguage of signs to make themselves understood, and this method oftalking is known to all sorts and kinds of Indians. Thus, two fingers ofthe right hand placed astraddle the wrist of the left hand signifies aman on horseback; and the number of men on horseback is quickly added byholding up the requisite number of fingers. Sleep is described by gentlyinclining the head on the hand, and the number of "sleeps, " or nights, is indicated by the fingers. Killed, or dead, is described by closedeyes and a sudden fall of the head on the talker's chest; and so on, aneasily understood gesture, with a few Indian words, being sufficient totell a long story very clearly. Lewis and Clark discovered here a species of ermine before unknownto science. They called it "a weasel, perfectly white except at theextremity of the tail, which was black. " This animal, highly prized onaccount of its pretty fur, was not scientifically described until aslate as 1829. It is a species of stoat. The wars of some of the Indian tribes gave Lewis and Clark much troubleand uneasiness. The Sioux were at war with the Minnetarees (GrosVentres, or Big Bellies); and the Assiniboins, who lived further to thenorth, continually harassed the Sioux and the Mandans, treating these asthe latter did the Rickarees. The white chiefs had their hands fullall winter while trying to preserve peace among these quarrelsome andthieving tribes, their favorite game being to steal each other's horses. The Indian method of caring for their horses in the cold winter wasto let them shift for themselves during the day, and to take them intotheir own lodges at night where they were fed with the juicy, brittletwigs of the cottonwood tree. With this spare fodder the animals thriveand keep their coats fine and glossy. Late in November, a collision between the Sioux and the Mandans becamealmost certain, in consequence of the Sioux having attacked a smallhunting party of the Mandans, killing one, wounding two, and capturingnine horses. Captain Clark mustered and armed twenty-four of his men, crossed over into the Mandan village and offered to lead the Indiansagainst their enemies. The offer was declined on account of the deepsnows which prevented a march; but the incident made friends for whitemen, and the tidings of it had a wholesome effect on the other tribes. "The whole religion of the Mandans, " like that of many other savagetribes, says the journal, "consists in the belief of one Great Spiritpresiding over their destinies. This Being must be in the nature of agood genius, since it is associated with the healing art, and 'greatspirit' is synonymous with 'great medicine, ' a name applied toeverything which they do not comprehend. Each individual selects forhimself the particular object of his devotion, which is termed hismedicine, and is either some invisible being, or more commonly someanimal, which thenceforward becomes his protector or his intercessorwith the Great Spirit, to propitiate whom every attention is lavishedand every personal consideration is sacrificed. 'I was lately owner ofseventeen horses, ' said a Mandan to us one day, 'but I have offered themall up to my medicine and am now poor. ' He had in reality taken all hiswealth, his horses, into the plain, and, turning them loose, committedthem to the care of his medicine and abandoned them forever. The horses, less religious, took care of themselves, and the pious votary travelledhome on foot. " To this day, all the Northwest Indians speak of anything that is highlyuseful or influential as "great medicine. " One cold December day, a Mandan chief invited the explorers to join themin a grand buffalo hunt. The journal adds:-- "Captain Clark with fifteen men went out and found the Indians engagedin killing buffalo. The hunters, mounted on horseback and armed withbows and arrows, encircle the herd and gradually drive them into a plainor an open place fit for the movements of horse; they then ride in amongthem, and singling out a buffalo, a female being preferred, go as closeas possible and wound her with arrows till they think they havegiven the mortal stroke; when they pursue another, till the quiver isexhausted. If, which rarely happens, the wounded buffalo attacks thehunter, he evades his blow by the agility of his horse, which is trainedfor the combat with great dexterity. When they have killed the requisitenumber they collect their game, and the squaws and attendants come upfrom the rear and skin and dress the animals. Captain Clark killed tenbuffalo, of which five only were brought to the fort; the rest, whichcould not be conveyed home, being seized by the Indians, among whom thecustom is that whenever a buffalo is found dead without an arrow orany particular mark, he is the property of the finder; so that often ahunter secures scarcely any of the game he kills, if the arrow happensto fall off. " The weather now became excessively cold, the mercury often goingthirty-two degrees below zero. Notwithstanding this, however, theIndians kept up their outdoor sports, one favorite game of whichresembled billiards. But instead of a table, the players had an openflooring, about fifty yards long, and the balls were rings of stone, shot along the flooring by means of sticks like billiard-cues. The whitemen had their sports, and they forbade the Indians to visit them onChristmas Day, as this was one of their "great medicine days. " TheAmerican flag was hoisted on the fort and saluted with a volley ofmusketry. The men danced among themselves; their best provisionswere brought out and "the day passed, " says the journal, "in greatfestivity. " The party also celebrated New Year's Day by similar festivities. Sixteenof the men were given leave to go up to the first Mandan village withtheir musical instruments, where they delighted the whole tribe withtheir dances, one of the French voyageurs being especially applaudedwhen he danced on his hands with his head downwards. The dancers andmusicians were presented with several buffalo-robes and a large quantityof Indian corn. The cold grew more intense, and on the tenth of themonth the mercury stood at forty degrees below zero. Some of the menwere badly frost-bitten, and a young Indian, about thirteen years old, who had been lost in the snows, came into the fort. The journal says:-- "His father, who came last night to inquire after him very anxiously, had sent him in the afternoon to the fort; he was overtaken by thenight, and was obliged to sleep on the snow with no covering except apair of antelope-skin moccasins and leggins, and a buffalo-robe. Hisfeet being frozen, we put them into cold water, and gave him everyattention in our power. About the same time an Indian who had also beenmissing returned to the fort. Although his dress was very thin, and hehad slept on the snow without a fire, he had not suffered the slightestinconvenience. We have indeed observed that these Indians support therigors of the season in a way which we had hitherto thought impossible. A more pleasing reflection occurred at seeing the warm interest whichthe situation of these two persons had excited in the village. The boyhad been a prisoner, and adopted from charity; yet the distress of thefather proved that he felt for him the tenderest affection. The man wasa person of no distinction, yet the whole village was full of anxietyfor his safety; and, when they came to us, borrowed a sleigh to bringthem home with ease if they had survived, or to carry their bodies ifthey had perished. . . . "January 13. Nearly one half of the Mandan nation passed down the riverto hunt for several days. In these excursions, men, women, and children, with their dogs, all leave the village together, and, after discoveringa spot convenient for the game, fix their tents; all the family beartheir part in the labor, and the game is equally divided among thefamilies of the tribe. When a single hunter returns from the chase withmore than is necessary for his own immediate consumption, the neighborsare entitled by custom to a share of it: they do not, however, ask forit, but send a squaw, who, without saying anything, sits down by thedoor of the lodge till the master understands the hint, and gives hergratuitously a part for her family. " By the end of January, 1805, the weather had so far moderated that theexplorers thought they might cut their boats from the ice in the riverand prepare to resume their voyage; but the ice being three feet thick, they made no progress and were obliged to give up the attempt. Theirstock of meat was low, although they had had good success when the coldwas not too severe to prevent them from hunting deer, elk, and buffalo. The Mandans, who were careless in providing food for future supplies, also suffered for want of meat, sometimes going for days without fleshfood. Captain Clark and eighteen men went down the river in search ofgame. The hunters, after being out nine days, returned and reported thatthey had killed forty deer, three buffalo, and sixteen elk. But much ofthe game was lean and poor, and the wolves, who devour everything leftout at night, had stolen a quantity of the flesh. Four men, with sleds, were sent out to bring into camp the meat, which had been securedagainst wolves by being stored in pens. These men were attacked bySioux, about one hundred in number, who robbed them of their gameand two of their three horses. Captain Lewis, with twenty-four men, accompanied by some of the Mandans, set out in pursuit of the marauders. They were unsuccessful, however, but, having found a part of their gameuntouched, they brought it back, and this, with other game killed aftertheir chase of the Sioux, gave them three thousand pounds of meat; theyhad killed thirty-six deer, fourteen elk, and one wolf. By the latter part of February, the party were able to get their boatsfrom the ice. These were dragged ashore, and the work of making themready for their next voyage was begun. As the ice in the river began tobreak up, the Mandans had great sport chasing across the floating cakesof ice the buffalo who were tempted over by the appearance of green, growing grass on the other side. The Indians were very expert in theirpursuit of the animals, which finally slipped from their insecurefooting on the drifting ice, and were killed. At this point, April 7, 1805, the escorting party, the voyageurs, andone interpreter, returned down the river in their barge. This partyconsisted of thirteen persons, all told, and to them were intrustedseveral packages of specimens for President Jefferson, with lettersand official reports. The presents for Mr. Jefferson, according to thejournal, "consisted of a stuffed male and female antelope, with theirskeletons, a weasel, three squirrels from the Rocky Mountains, theskeleton of a prairie wolf, those of a white and gray hare, a maleand female blaireau, (badger) or burrowing dog of the prairie, with askeleton of the female, two burrowing squirrels, a white weasel, and theskin of the louservia (loup-servier, or lynx), the horns of a mountainram, or big-horn, a pair of large elk horns, the horns and tail of ablack-tailed deer, and a variety of skins, such as those of the red fox, white hare, marten, yellow bear, obtained from the Sioux; also a numberof articles of Indian dress, among which was a buffalo robe representinga battle fought about eight years since between the Sioux and Ricarasagainst the Mandans and Minnetarees, in which the combatants arerepresented on horseback. . . . Such sketches, rude and imperfect asthey are, delineate the predominant character of the savage nations. If they are peaceable and inoffensive, the drawings usually consist oflocal scenery and their favorite diversions. If the band are rude andferocious, we observe tomahawks, scalping-knives, bows and arrows, andall the engines of destruction. --A Mandan bow, and quiver of arrows;also some Ricara tobacco-seed, and an ear of Mandan corn: to these wereadded a box of plants, another of insects, and three cases containing aburrowing squirrel, a prairie hen, and four magpies, all alive. " . . . The articles reached Mr. Jefferson safely and were long on view at hisVirginia residence, Monticello. They were subsequently dispersed, andsome found their way to Peale's Museum, Philadelphia. Dr. Cones, thezealous editor of the latest and fullest edition of Lewis and Clark'snarrative, says that some of the specimens of natural history wereprobably extant in 1893. Chapter VII -- From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone Up to this time, the expedition had passed through regions from whichvague reports had been brought by the few white men who, as hunters andtrappers in pursuit of fur-bearing game, had dared to venture into thesetrackless wildernesses. Now they were to launch out into the mysteriousunknown, from which absolutely no tidings had ever been brought by whitemen. The dim reports of Indians who had hunted through some parts of theregion were unreliable, and, as they afterwards proved, were often asabsurdly false as if they had been fairy tales. Here, too, they parted from some of their comrades who were to returnto "the United States, " as the explorers fondly termed their nativecountry, although the strange lands through which they were voyagingwere now a part of the American Republic. The despatches sent toWashington by these men contained the first official report from Lewisand Clark since their departure from St. Louis, May 16, 1803; and theywere the last word from the explorers until their return in September, 1806. During all that long interval, the adventurers were not heard ofin the States. No wonder that croakers declared that the little partyhad been cut off to perish miserably in the pathless woods that coverthe heart of the continent. But they set out on the long journey with light hearts. In his journal, whose spelling and punctuation are not always models for the faithfulimitation of school-boys, Captain Lewis set down this observation:-- "Our vessels consisted of six small canoes, and two large perogues. Thislittle fleet altho' not quite so respectable as those of Columbus orCapt. Cook, were still viewed by us with as much pleasure as thosedeservedly famed adventurers ever beheld theirs; and I dare say withquite as much anxiety for their safety and preservation. We were nowabout to penetrate a country at least two thousand miles in width, onwhich the foot of civilized man had never trodden; the good or evilit had in store for us was for experiment yet to determine, and theselittle vessels contained every article by which we were to expect tosubsist or defend ourselves. However as the state of mind in which weare, generally gives the colouring to events, when the imagination issuffered to wander into futurity, the picture which now presented itselfto me was a most pleasing one. Entertaining as I do the most confidenthope of succeeding in a voyage which had formed a darling project ofmine for the last ten years, I could but esteem this moment of ourdeparture as among the most happy of my life. " The barge sent down the river to St. Louis was in command of CorporalWharfington; and with him were six private soldiers, two Frenchvoyageurs, Joseph Gravelines (pilot and interpreter), and Brave Raven, aRicara (or Arikara) chief who was to be escorted to Washington to visitthe President. The party was also intrusted with sundry gifts for thePresident, among them being natural history specimens, living and dead, and a number of Indian articles which would be objects of curiosity inWashington. The long voyage of the main party began on the 8th of April, 1805, earlypassing the mouth of the Big Knife River, one of the five considerablestreams that fall into the Missouri from the westward in this region;the other streams are the Owl, the Grand, the Cannonball, and the Heart. The large town of Stanton, Mercer County, North Dakota, is now situatedat the mouth of the Big Knife. The passage of the party up the river wasslow, owing to unfavorable winds; and they observed along the banksmany signs of early convulsions of nature. The earth of the bluffs wasstreaked with layers of coal, or carbonized wood, and large quantitiesof lava and pumice-stone were strewn around, showing traces of ancientvolcanic action. The journal of April 9 says:-- "A great number of brants (snow-geese) pass up the river; some of themare perfectly white, except the large feathers of the first joint ofthe wing, which are black, though in every other characteristic theyresemble common gray brant. We also saw but could not procure an animal(gopher) that burrows in the ground, and is similar in every respect tothe burrowing-squirrel, except that it is only one-third of its size. This may be the animal whose works we have often seen in the plains andprairies; they resemble the labors of the salamander in the sand-hillsof South Carolina and Georgia, and like him the animals rarely comeabove ground; they consist of a little hillock of ten or twelve poundsof loose ground, which would seem to have been reversed from a pot, though no aperture is seen through which it could have been thrown. Onremoving gently the earth, you discover that the soil has been brokenin a circle of about an inch and a half diameter, where the ground islooser, though still no opening is perceptible. When we stopped fordinner the squaw (Sacajawea) went out, and after penetrating with asharp stick the holes of the mice (gophers), near some drift-wood, brought to us a quantity of wild artichokes, which the mice collect andhoard in large numbers. The root is white, of an ovate form, from one tothree inches long, and generally of the size of a man's finger, and two, four, and sometimes six roots are attached to a single stalk. Itsflavor as well as the stalk which issues from it resemble those of theJerusalem artichoke, except that the latter is much larger. " The weather rapidly grew so warm, although this was early in April, that the men worked half-naked during the day; and they were very muchannoyed by clouds of mosquitoes. They found that the hillsides andeven the banks of the rivers and sand-bars were covered with "a whitesubstance, which appears in considerable quantities on the surfaceof the earth, and tastes like a mixture of common salt with Glauber'ssalts. " "Many of the streams, " the journal adds, "are so stronglyimpregnated with this substance that the water has an unpleasant tasteand a purgative effect. " This is nothing more than the so-called alkaliwhich has since become known all over the farthest West. It abounds inthe regions west of Salt Lake Valley, whitening vast areas like snow andpoisoning the waters so that the traveller often sees the margins ofthe brown pools lined with skeletons and bodies of small animals whosethirst had led them to drink the deadly fluid. Men and animals stifferfrom smaller doses of this stuff, which is largely a sulphate of soda, and even in small quantities is harmful to the system. Here, on the twelfth of April, they were able to determine the exactcourse of the Little Missouri, a stream about which almost nothing wasthen known. Near here, too, they found the source of the Mouse River, only a few miles from the Missouri. The river, bending to the north andthen making many eccentric curves, finally empties into Lake Winnipeg, and so passes into the great chain of northern lakes in British America. At this point the explorers saw great flocks of the wild Canada goose. The journal says:-- "These geese, we observe, do not build their nests on the ground or inthe sand-bars, but in the tops of the lofty cottonwood trees. We sawsome elk and buffalo to-day, but at too great a distance to obtainany of them, though a number of the carcasses of the latter animal arestrewed along the shore, having fallen through the ice and been sweptalong when the river broke up. More bald eagles are seen on this part ofthe Missouri than we have previously met with; the small sparrow-hawk, common in most parts of the United States, is also found here. Greatquantities of geese are feeding on the prairies, and one flock of whitebrant, or geese with black-tipped wings, and some gray brant with them, pass up the river; from their flight they seem to proceed much furtherto the northwest. We killed two antelopes, which were very lean, andcaught last night two beavers. " Lewis and Clark were laughed at by some very knowing people whoscouted the idea that wild geese build their nests in trees. But latertravellers have confirmed their story; the wise geese avoid foxes andother of their four-footed enemies by fixing their homes in the tallcottonwoods. In other words, they roost high. The Assiniboins from the north had lately been on their spring huntingexpeditions through this region, --just above the Little Missouri, --andgame was scarce and shy. The journal, under the date of April 14, says:-- "One of the hunters shot at an otter last evening; a buffalo was killed, and an elk, both so poor as to be almost unfit for use; two white(grizzly) bears were also seen, and a muskrat swimming across the river. The river continues wide and of about the same rapidity as the ordinarycurrent of the Ohio. The low grounds are wide, the moister partscontaining timber; the upland is extremely broken, without wood, and insome places seems as if it had slipped down in masses of several acresin surface. The mineral appearance of salts, coal, and sulphur, with theburnt hill and pumice-stone, continue, and a bituminous water aboutthe color of strong lye, with the taste of Glauber's salts and a slighttincture of alum. Many geese were feeding in the prairies, and a numberof magpies, which build their nests much like those of the blackbird, intrees, and composed of small sticks, leaves, and grass, open at the top;the egg is of a bluish-brown color, freckled with reddish-brown spots. We also killed a large hooting-owl resembling that of the United Statesexcept that it was more booted and clad with feathers. On the hillsare many aromatic herbs, resembling in taste, smell, and appearance thesage, hyssop, wormwood, southernwood, juniper, and dwarf cedar; a plantalso about two or three feet high, similar to the camphor in smell andtaste; and another plant of the same size, with a long, narrow, smooth, soft leaf, of an agreeable smell and flavor, which is a favorite food ofthe antelope, whose necks are often perfumed by rubbing against it. " What the journalist intended to say here was that at least one of thearomatic herbs resembled sage, hyssop, wormwood, and southernwood, andthat there were junipers and dwarf cedars. The pungent-smelling herb wasthe wild sage, now celebrated in stories of adventure as the sage-brush. It grows abundantly in the alkali country, and is browsed upon by aspecies of grouse known as the sage-hen. Junipers and dwarf cedars alsogrow on the hills of the alkali and sage-brush country. The sage belongsto the Artemisia family of plants. Four days later, the journal had this interesting entry: "The country to-day presented the usual variety of highlandsinterspersed with rich plains. In one of these we observed a species ofpea bearing a yellow flower, which is now in blossom, the leaf and stalkresembling the common pea. It seldom rises higher than six inches, andthe root is perennial. On the rose-bushes we also saw a quantity ofthe hair of a buffalo, which had become perfectly white by exposure andresembled the wool of the sheep, except that it was much finer and moresoft and silky. A buffalo which we killed yesterday had shed his longhair, and that which remained was about two inches long, thick, fine, and would have furnished five pounds of wool, of which we have no doubtan excellent cloth may be made. Our game to-day was a beaver, a deer, anelk, and some geese. . . . "On the hills we observed considerable quantities of dwarf juniper, which seldom grows higher than three feet. We killed in the course ofthe day an elk, three geese, and a beaver. The beaver on this part ofthe Missouri are in greater quantities, larger and fatter, and their furis more abundant and of a darker color, than any we have hitherto seen. Their favorite food seems to be the bark of the cottonwood and willow, as we have seen no other species of tree that has been touched by them, and these they gnaw to the ground through a diameter of twenty inches. " And on the twenty-first of April the journal says: "Last night there was a hard white frost, and this morning the weatherwas cold, but clear and pleasant; in the course of the day, however, itbecame cloudy and the wind rose. The country is of the same descriptionas within the few last days. We saw immense quantities of buffalo, elk, deer, antelopes, geese, and some swans and ducks, out of which weprocured three deer and four buffalo calves, which last are equal inflavor to the most delicious veal; also two beaver and an otter. " As the party advanced to the westward, following the crooked courseof the Missouri, they were very much afflicted with inflamed eyes, occasioned by the fine, alkaline dust that blew so lightly that itsometimes floated for miles, like clouds of smoke. The dust evenpenetrated the works of one of their watches, although it was protectedby tight, double cases. In these later days, even the double windows ofthe railway trains do not keep out this penetrating dust, which makesone's skin dry and rough. On the twenty-fifth of April, the explorers believed, by the signs whichthey observed, that they must be near the great unknown river of whichthey had dimly heard as rising in the rocky passes of the Great Divideand emptying into the Missouri. Captain Lewis accordingly left theparty, with four men, and struck off across the country in search ofthe stream. Under the next day's date the journal reports the return ofCaptain Lewis and says:-- "On leaving us yesterday he pursued his route along the foot of thehills, which he descended to the distance of eight miles; from thesethe wide plains watered by the Missouri and the Yellowstone spreadthemselves before the eye, occasionally varied with the wood of thebanks, enlivened by the irregular windings of the two rivers, andanimated by vast herds of buffalo, deer, elk, and antelope. Theconfluence of the two rivers was concealed by the wood, but theYellowstone itself was only two miles distant, to the south. Hetherefore descended the hills and camped on the bank of the river, having killed, as he crossed the plain, four buffaloes; the deer aloneare shy and retire to the woods, but the elk, antelope, and buffalosuffered him to approach them without alarm, and often followed himquietly for some distance. " The famous water-course, first described by Lewis and Clark, was namedby them the Yellow Stone River. Earlier than this, however, the Frenchvoyageurs had called the Upper Missouri the Riviere Jaune, or YellowRiver; but it is certain that the stream, which rises in the YellowstoneNational Park, was discovered and named by Lewis and Clark. One of theparty, Private Joseph Fields, was the first white man who ever ascendedthe Yellowstone for any considerable distance. Sent up the river byCaptains Lewis and Clark, he travelled about eight miles, and observedthe currents and sand-bars. Leaving the mouth of the river, the partywent on their course along the Missouri. The journal, under date ofApril 27, says:-- "From the point of junction a wood occupies the space between the tworivers, which at the distance of a mile come within two hundred andfifty yards of each other. There a beautiful low plain commences, widening as the rivers recede, and extends along each of them forseveral miles, rising about half a mile from the Missouri into a plaintwelve feet higher than itself. The low plain is a few inches above highwater mark, and where it joins the higher plain there is a channel ofsixty or seventy yards in width, through which a part of the Missouri, when at its greatest height, passes into the Yellowstone. . . . "The northwest wind rose so high at eleven o'clock that we were obligedto stop till about four in the afternoon, when we proceeded till dusk. On the south a beautiful plain separates the two rivers, till at aboutsix miles there is a piece of low timbered ground, and a little above itbluffs, where the country rises gradually from the river: the situationson the north are more high and open. We encamped on that side, thewind, the sand which it raised, and the rapidity of the current havingprevented our advancing more than eight miles; during the latter part ofthe day the river became wider, and crowded with sand-bars. The gamewas in such plenty that we killed only what was necessary for oursubsistence. For several days past we have seen great numbers of buffalolying dead along the shore, some of them partly devoured by the wolves. They have either sunk through the ice during the winter, or been drownedin attempting to cross; or else, after crossing to some high bluff, havefound themselves too much exhausted either to ascend or swim back again, and perished for want of food: in this situation we found several smallparties of them. There are geese, too, in abundance, and more baldeagles than we have hitherto observed; the nests of these last beingalways accompanied by those of two or three magpies, who are theirinseparable attendants. " Chapter VIII -- In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo Game, which had been somewhat scarce after leaving the Yellowstone, became more plentiful as they passed on to the westward, stillfollowing the winding course of the Missouri. Much of the time, bafflingwinds and the crookedness of the stream made sailing impossible, and theboats were towed by men walking along the banks. Even this was sometimes difficult, on account of the rocky ledges thatbeset the shores, and sharp stones that lay in the path of the towingparties. On the twenty-eighth of April, however, having a favorablewind, the party made twenty-eight miles with their sails, which wasreckoned a good day's journey. On that day the journal records that gamehad again become very abundant, deer of various kinds, elk, buffalo, antelope, bear, beaver, and geese being numerous. The beaver, it wasfound, had wrought much damage by gnawing down trees; some of these, notless than three feet in diameter had been gnawed clean through by thebeaver. On the following day the journal has this record:-- "We proceeded early, with a moderate wind. Captain Lewis, who was onshore with one hunter, met, about eight o'clock, two white (grizzly)bears. Of the strength and ferocity of this animal the Indians had givenus dreadful accounts. They never attack him but in parties of six oreight persons, and even then are often defeated with a loss of one ormore of their party. Having no weapons but bows and arrows, and the badguns with which the traders supply them, they are obliged to approachvery near to the bear; as no wound except through the head or heartis mortal, they frequently fall a sacrifice if they miss their aim. Herather attacks than avoids a man, and such is the terror which he hasinspired, that the Indians who go in quest of him paint themselves andperform all the superstitious rites customary when they make war on aneighboring nation. Hitherto, those bears we had seen did not appeardesirous of encountering us; but although to a skilful rifleman thedanger is very much diminished, yet the white bear is still a terribleanimal. On approaching these two, both Captain Lewis and the hunterfired, and each wounded a bear. One of them made his escape; the otherturned upon Captain Lewis and pursued him seventy or eighty yards, butbeing badly wounded the bear could not run so fast as to prevent himfrom reloading his piece, which he again aimed at him, and a third shotfrom the hunter brought him to the ground. He was a male, not quite fullgrown, and weighed about three hundred pounds. The legs are somewhatlonger than those of the black bear, and the talons and tusks muchlarger and longer. Its color is a yellowish-brown; the eyes are small, black, and piercing; the front of the fore legs near the feet is usuallyblack, and the fur is finer, thicker, and deeper than that of the blackbear. Add to which, it is a more furious animal, and very remarkable forthe wounds which it will bear without dying. " Next day, the hunter killed the largest elk which they had ever seen. Itstood five feet three inches high from hoof to shoulder. Antelopes werealso numerous, but lean, and not very good for food. Of the antelope thejournal says:-- "These fleet and quick-sighted animals are generally the victims oftheir curiosity. When they first see the hunters, they run with greatvelocity; if he lies down on the ground, and lifts up his arm, his hat, or his foot, they return with a light trot to look at the object, andsometimes go and return two or three times, till they approach withinreach of the rifle. So, too, they sometimes leave their flock to goand look at the wolves, which crouch down, and, if the antelope isfrightened at first, repeat the same manoevre, and sometimes relieveeach other, till they decoy it from the party, when they seize it. But, generally, the wolves take them as they are crossing the rivers; for, although swift on foot, they are not good swimmers. " Later wayfarers across the plains were wont to beguile the antelope byfastening a bright-colored handkerchief to a ramrod stuck in the ground. The patient hunter was certain to be rewarded by the antelope comingwithin range of his rifle; for, unless scared off by some interference, the herd, after galloping around and around and much zigzagging, wouldcertainly seek to gratify their curiosity by gradually circling nearerand nearer the strange object until a deadly shot or two sent havoc intotheir ranks. May came on cold and windy, and on the second of the month, the journalrecords that snow fell to the depth of an inch, contrasting strangelywith the advanced vegetation. "Our game to-day, " proceeds the journal, "were deer, elk, and buffalo:we also procured three beaver. They were here quite gentle, as they havenot been hunted; but when the hunters are in pursuit, they never leavetheir huts during the day. This animal we esteem a great delicacy, particularly the tail, which, when boiled, resembles in flavor thefresh tongues and sounds of the codfish, and is generally so large as toafford a plentiful meal for two men. One of the hunters, in passing nearan old Indian camp, found several yards of scarlet cloth suspended onthe bough of a tree, as a sacrifice to the deity, by the Assiniboins;the custom of making these offerings being common among that people, as, indeed, among all the Indians on the Missouri. The air was sharp thisevening; the water froze on the oars as we rowed. " The Assiniboin custom of sacrificing to their deity, or "greatmedicine, " the article which they most value themselves, is not by anymeans peculiar to that tribe, nor to the Indian race. An unusual number of porcupines were seen along here, and thesecreatures were so free from wildness that they fed on, undisturbed, while the explorers walked around and among them. The captains nameda bold and beautiful stream, which here entered the Missouri from thenorth, --Porcupine River; but modern geography calls the water-coursePoplar River; at the mouth of the river, in Montana, is now the PoplarRiver Indian Agency and military post. The waters of this stream, theexplorers found, were clear and transparent, --an exception to all thestreams, which, discharging into the Missouri, give it its name of theBig Muddy. The journal adds:-- "A quarter of a mile beyond this river a creek falls in on the south, to which, on account of its distance from the mouth of the Missouri, wegave the name of Two-thousand-mile creek. It is a bold stream with a bedthirty yards wide. At three and one-half miles above Porcupine River, we reached some high timber on the north, and camped just above anold channel of the river, which is now dry. We saw vast quantities ofbuffalo, elk, deer, --principally of the long-tailed kind, --antelope, beaver, geese, ducks, brant, and some swan. The porcupines too arenumerous, and so careless and clumsy that we can approach very nearwithout disturbing them, as they are feeding on the young willows. Toward evening we also found for the first time the nest of a gooseamong some driftwood, all that we had hitherto seen being on the top ofa broken tree on the forks, invariably from fifteen to twenty or morefeet in height. " "Next day, " May 4, says the journal, "we passed some old Indianhunting-camps, one of which consisted of two large lodges, fortifiedwith a circular fence twenty or thirty feet in diameter, made of timberlaid horizontally, the beams overlying each other to the height of fivefeet, and covered with the trunks and limbs of trees that have drifteddown the river. The lodges themselves are formed by three or more strongsticks about the size of a man's leg or arm and twelve feet long, whichare attached at the top by a withe of small willows, and spread out soas to form at the base a circle of ten to fourteen feet in diameter. Against these are placed pieces of driftwood and fallen timber, usuallyin three ranges, one on the other; the interstices are covered withleaves, bark, and straw, so as to form a conical figure about ten feethigh, with a small aperture in one side for the door. It is, however, atbest a very imperfect shelter against the inclemencies of the seasons. " Wolves were very abundant along the route of the explorers, themost numerous species being the common kind, now known as the coyote(pronounced kyote), and named by science the canis latrans. Theseanimals are cowardly and sly creatures, of an intermediate size betweenthe fox and dog, very delicately formed, fleet and active. "The ears are large, erect, and pointed; the head is long and pointed, like that of the fox; the tail long and bushy; the hair and fur are of apale reddish-brown color, though much coarser than that of the fox; theeye is of a deep sea-green color, small and piercing; the talons arerather longer than those of the wolf of the Atlantic States, whichanimal, as far as we can perceive, is not to be found on this side ofthe Platte. These wolves usually associate in bands of ten or twelve, and are rarely, if ever, seen alone, not being able, singly, to attack adeer or antelope. They live and rear their young in burrows, which theyfix near some pass or spot much frequented by game, and sally out in abody against any animal which they think they can overpower; but on theslightest alarm retreat to their burrows, making a noise exactly likethat of a small dog. "A second species is lower, shorter in the legs, and thicker than theAtlantic wolf; the color, which is not affected by the seasons, is ofevery variety of shade, from a gray or blackish-brown to a cream-coloredwhite. They do not burrow, nor do they bark, but howl; they frequent thewoods and plains, and skulk along the skirts of the buffalo herds, inorder to attack the weary or wounded. " Under date of May 5, the journal has an interesting story of anencounter with a grizzly bear, which, by way of variety, is here called"brown, " instead of "white. " It is noticeable that the explorers dweltwith much minuteness upon the peculiar characteristics of the grizzly;this is natural enough when we consider that they were the first whitemen to form an intimate acquaintance with "Ursus horribilis. " Theaccount says:-- "Captain Clark and one of the hunters met, this evening, the largestbrown bear we have seen. As they fired he did not attempt to attack, but fled with a most tremendous roar; and such was his extraordinarytenacity of life, that, although he had five balls passed through hislungs, and five other wounds, he swam more than half across the river toa sand-bar, and survived twenty minutes. He weighed between five and sixhundred pounds at least, and measured eight feet seven inches and a halffrom the nose to the extremity of the hind feet, five feet ten inchesand a half round the breast, three feet eleven inches round the neck, one foot eleven inches round the middle of the fore leg, and his clawsfive on each foot, were four inches and three-eighths in length. Thisanimal differs from the common black bear in having his claws muchlonger and more blunt; his tail shorter; his hair of a reddish or baybrown, longer, finer, and more abundant; his liver, lungs, and heartmuch larger even in proportion to his size, the heart, particularly, being equal to that of a large ox; and his maw ten times larger. Besidesfish and flesh, he feeds on roots and every kind of wild fruit. " On May 8 the party discovered the largest and most important of thenorthern tributaries of the Upper Missouri. The journal thus describesthe stream:-- "Its width at the entrance is one hundred and fifty yards; on goingthree miles up, Captain Lewis found it to be of the same breadth andsometimes more; it is deep, gentle, and has a large quantity of water;its bed is principally of mud; the banks are abrupt, about twelvefeet in height, and formed of a dark, rich loam and blue clay; thelow grounds near it are wide and fertile, and possess a considerableproportion of cottonwood and willow. It seems to be navigable for boatsand canoes; by this circumstance, joined to its course and quantity ofwater, which indicates that it passes through a large extent ofcountry, we are led to presume that it may approach the Saskaskawan(Saskatchewan) and afford a communication with that river. The water hasa peculiar whiteness, such as might be produced by a tablespoonful ofmilk in a dish of tea, and this circumstance induced us to call it MilkRiver. " Modern geography shows that the surmise of Captain Lewis was correct. Some of the tributaries of Milk River (the Indian name of whichsignifies "The River that Scolds at all Others") have their rise nearSt. Mary's River, which is one of the tributaries of the Saskatchewan, in British America. The explorers were surprised to find the bed of a dry river, as deep andas wide as the Missouri itself, about fifteen miles above Milk River. Although it had every appearance of a water-course, it did not dischargea drop of water. Their journal says:-- "It passes through a wide valley without timber; the surrounding countryconsists of waving low hills, interspersed with some handsome levelplains; the banks are abrupt, and consist of a black or yellow clay, or of a rich sandy loam; though they do not rise more than six or eightfeet above the bed, they exhibit no appearance of being overflowed; thebed is entirely composed of a light brown sand, the particles of which, like those of the Missouri, are extremely fine. Like the dry rivers wepassed before, this seemed to have discharged its waters recently, butthe watermark indicated that its greatest depth had not been more thantwo feet. This stream, if it deserve the name, we called Bigdry (BigDry) River. " And Big Dry it remains on the maps unto this day. In this region theparty recorded this observation:-- "The game is now in great quantities, particularly the elk and buffalo, which last is so gentle that the men are obliged to drive them outof the way with sticks and stones. The ravages of the beaver are veryapparent; in one place the timber was entirely prostrated for a space ofthree acres in front on the river and one in depth, and great part of itremoved, though the trees were in large quantities, and some of them asthick as the body of a man. " Yet so great have been the ravages of man among these gentle creatures, that elk are now very rarely found in the region, and the buffalo havealmost utterly disappeared from the face of the earth. Just afterthe opening of the Northern Pacific Railway, in 1883, a band of sixtybuffaloes were heard of, far to the southward of Bismarck, and a partywas organized to hunt them. The _bold_ hunters afterwards boasted thatthey killed every one of this little band of survivors of their race. The men were now (in the middle of May) greatly troubled with boils, abscesses, and inflamed eyes, caused by the poison of the alkali thatcovered much of the ground and corrupted the water. Here is an entry inthe journal of May 11:-- "About five in the afternoon one of our men (Bratton), who had beenafflicted with boils and suffered to walk on shore, came running to theboats with loud cries, and every symptom of terror and distress. Forsome time after we had taken him on board he was so much out of breathas to be unable to describe the cause of his anxiety; but he at lengthtold us that about a mile and a half below he had shot a brown bear, which immediately turned and was in close pursuit of him; but the bearbeing badly wounded could not overtake him. Captain Lewis, with sevenmen, immediately went in search of him; having found his track theyfollowed him by the blood for a mile, found him concealed in somethick brushwood, and shot him with two balls through the skull. Thoughsomewhat smaller than that killed a few days ago, he was a monstrousanimal, and a most terrible enemy. Our man had shot him through thecentre of the lungs; yet he had pursued him furiously for half amile, then returned more than twice that distance, and with his talonsprepared himself a bed in the earth two feet deep and five feet long;he was perfectly alive when they found him, which was at least two hoursafter he had received the wound. The wonderful power of life which theseanimals possess renders them dreadful; their very track in the mud orsand, which we have sometimes found eleven inches long and seven andone-fourth wide, exclusive of the talons, is alarming; and we had ratherencounter two Indians than meet a single brown bear. There is no chanceof killing them by a single shot unless the ball goes through the brain, and this is very difficult on account of two large muscles which coverthe side of the forehead and the sharp projection of the centre of thefrontal bone, which is also thick. "Our camp was on the south, at the distance of sixteen miles from thatof last night. The fleece and skin of the bear were a heavy burden fortwo men, and the oil amounted to eight gallons. " The name of the badly-scared Bratton was bestowed upon a creek whichdischarges into the Missouri near the scene of this encounter. Gamecontinued to be very abundant. On the fourteenth, according to thejournal, the hunters were hunted, to their great discomfiture. Theaccount says:-- "Toward evening the men in the hindmost canoes discovered a large brown(grizzly) bear lying in the open grounds, about three hundred paces fromthe river. Six of them, all good hunters, immediately went to attackhim, and concealing themselves by a small eminence came unperceivedwithin forty paces of him. Four of the hunters now fired, and eachlodged a ball in his body, two of them directly through the lungs. Thefurious animal sprang up and ran open-mouthed upon them. "As he came near, the two hunters who had reserved their fire gave himtwo wounds, one of which, breaking his shoulder, retarded his motionfor a moment; but before they could reload he was so near that theywere obliged to run to the river, and before they had reached it hehad almost overtaken them. Two jumped into the canoe; the other fourseparated, and, concealing themselves in the willows, fired as fastas they could reload. They struck him several times, but, instead ofweakening the monster, each shot seemed only to direct him towards thehunters, till at last he pursued two of them so closely that they threwaside their guns and pouches, and jumped down a perpendicular bank oftwenty feet into the river: the bear sprang after them, and was withina few feet of the hindmost, when one of the hunters on shore shot himin the head, and finally killed him. They dragged him to the shore, andfound that eight balls had passed through him in different directions. The bear was old, and the meat tough, so that they took the skin only, and rejoined us at camp, where we had been as much terrified by anaccident of a different kind. "This was the narrow escape of one of our canoes, containing all ourpapers, instruments, medicine, and almost every article indispensablefor the success of our enterprise. The canoe being under sail, a suddensquall of wind struck her obliquely and turned her considerably. The manat the helm, who was unluckily the worst steersman of the party, becamealarmed, and, instead of putting her before the wind, luffed her up intoit. The wind was so high that it forced the brace of the square-sailout of the hand of the man who was attending it, and instantly upset thecanoe, which would have been turned bottom upward but for the resistancemade by the awning. Such was the confusion on board, and the waves ranso high, that it was half a minute before she righted, and then nearlyfull of water, but by bailing her out she was kept from sinking untilthey rowed ashore. Besides the loss of the lives of three men, who, notbeing able to swim, would probably have perished, we should have beendeprived of nearly everything necessary for our purposes, at a distanceof between two and three thousand miles from any place where we couldsupply the deficiency. " Fortunately, there was no great loss from this accident, which wascaused by the clumsiness and timidity of the steersman, Chaboneau. Captain Lewis's account of the incident records that the conduct ofChaboneau's wife, Sacajawea, was better than that of her cowardlyhusband. He says:-- "The Indian woman, to whom I ascribe equal fortitude and resolution withany person on board at the time of the accident, caught and preservedmost of the light articles which were washed overboard. " Chapter IX -- In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri Under date of May 17, the journal of the party has the followinginteresting entries:-- "We set out early and proceeded on very well; the banks being firm andthe shore bold, we were enabled to use the towline, which, wheneverthe banks will permit it, is the safest and most expeditious mode ofascending the river, except under sail with a steady breeze. At thedistance of ten and one-half miles we came to the mouth of a small creekon the south, below which the hills approach the river, and continuenear it during the day. Three miles further is a large creek on thenorth; and again, six and three-quarters miles beyond this, is anotherlarge creek, to the south; both containing a small quantity of runningwater, of a brackish taste. The last we called Rattlesnake Creek, fromour seeing that animal near it. Although no timber can be observed onit from the Missouri, it throws out large quantities of driftwood, amongwhich were some pieces of coal brought down by the stream. . . . "The game is in great quantities, but the buffalo are not so numerous asthey were some days ago; two rattlesnakes were seen to-day, and one ofthem was killed. It resembles those of the Middle Atlantic States, beingabout thirty inches long, of a yellowish brown on the back and sides, variegated with a row of oval dark brown spots lying transversely on theback from the neck to the tail, and two other rows of circular spots ofthe same color on the sides along the edge of the scuta; there are onehundred and seventy-six scuta on the belly, and seventeen on the tail. " Two days later, the journal records that one of the party killed agrizzly bear, "which, though shot through the heart, ran at his usualpace nearly a quarter of a mile before he fell. " The mouth of the Musselshell River, which was one of the notable pointsthat marked another stage in the journey, was reached on the twentiethof May. This stream empties into the Missouri two thousand two hundredand seventy miles above its mouth, and is still known by the name givenit by its discoverers. The journal says: "It is one hundred and ten yards wide, and contains more water thanstreams of that size usually do in this country; its current is by nomeans rapid, and there is every appearance of its being susceptible ofnavigation by canoes for a considerable distance. Its bed is chieflyformed of coarse sand and gravel, with an occasional mixture of blackmud; the banks are abrupt and nearly twelve feet high, so that they aresecure from being overflowed; the water is of a greenish-yellow cast, and much more transparent than that of the Missouri, which itself, though clearer than below, still retains its whitish hue and a portionof its sediment. Opposite the point of junction the current of theMissouri is gentle, and two hundred and twenty-two yards in width;the bed is principally of mud, the little sand remaining being whollyconfined to the points, and the water is still too deep to use thesetting-pole. "If this be, as we suppose, the Musselshell, our Indian information isthat it rises in the first chain of the Rocky mountains not far from thesources of the Yellowstone, whence in its course to this place it watersa high broken country, well timbered, particularly on its borders, andinterspersed with handsome fertile plains and meadows. We have reason, however, to believe, from their giving a similar account of the timberwhere we now are, that the timber of which they speak is similar to thatwhich we have seen for a few days past, which consists of nothing morethan a few straggling small pines and dwarf cedars on the summits of thehills, nine-tenths of the ground being totally destitute of wood, andcovered with short grass, aromatic herbs, and an immense quantityof prickly-pear; though the party who explored it for eight milesrepresented the low grounds on the river to be well supplied withcottonwood of a tolerable size, and of an excellent soil. They alsoreport that the country is broken and irregular, like that near ourcamp; and that about five miles up, a handsome river, about fiftyyards wide, which we named after Chaboneau's wife, Sacajawea's or theBird-woman's River, discharges into the Musselshell on the north orupper side. " Later explorations have shown that the Musselshell rises in theLittle Belt Mountains, considerably to the north of the sources of theYellowstone. Modern geography has also taken from the good Sacajaweathe honor of having her name bestowed on one of the branches of theMusselshell. The stream once named for her is now known as CrookedCreek: it joins the river near its mouth, in the central portion ofMontana. The journal, under date of May 22, has this entry:-- "The river (the Missouri) continues about two hundred and fifty yardswide, with fewer sand-bars, and the current more gentle and regular. Game is no longer in such abundance since leaving the Musselshell. Wehave caught very few fish on this side of the Mandans, and these werethe white catfish, of two to five pounds. We killed a deer and a bear. We have not seen in this quarter the black bear, common in the UnitedStates and on the lower parts of the Missouri, nor have we discerned anyof their tracks. They may easily be distinguished by the shortness ofthe talons from the brown, grizzly, or white bear, all of which seem tobe of the same species, which assumes those colors at different seasonsof the year. We halted earlier than usual, and camped on the north, in apoint of woods, at the distance of sixteen and one half miles (thus pastthe site of Fort Hawley, on the south). " Notwithstanding the advance of the season, the weather in those greataltitudes grew more and more cold. Under date of May 23, the journalrecords the fact that ice appeared along the edges of the river, andwater froze upon their oars. But notwithstanding the coolness of thenights and mornings, mosquitoes were very troublesome. The explorers judged that the cold was somewhat unusual for thatlocality, inasmuch as the cottonwood trees lost their leaves by thefrost, showing that vegetation, generally well suited to the temperatureof its country, or habitat, had been caught by an unusual nip of thefrost. The explorers noticed that the air of those highlands was so pureand clear that objects appeared to be much nearer than they really were. A man who was sent out to explore the country attempted to reach a ridge(now known as the Little Rocky Mountains), apparently about fifteenmiles from the river. He travelled about ten miles, but finding himselfnot halfway to the object of his search, he returned without reachingit. The party was now just westward of the site of the present town ofCarroll, Montana, on the Missouri. Their journal says:-- "The low grounds are narrow and without timber; the country is high andbroken; a large portion of black rock and brown sandy rock appears inthe face of the hills, the tops of which are covered with scatteredpine, spruce, and dwarf cedar; the soil is generally poor, sandy nearthe tops of the hills, and nowhere producing much grass, the low groundsbeing covered with little else than the hyssop, or southernwood, and thepulpy-leaved thorn. Game is more scarce, particularly beaver, of whichwe have seen but few for several days, and the abundance or scarcityof which seems to depend on the greater or less quantity of timber. Attwenty-four and one-half miles we reached a point of woodland on thesouth, where we observed that the trees had no leaves, and camped forthe night. " The "hyssop, or southernwood, " the reader now knows to be the wild sage, or sage-brush. The "pulpy-leaved thorn" mentioned in the journal is thegreasewood; and both of these shrubs flourish in the poverty-stricken, sandy, alkaline soil of the far West and Northwest. The woody fibre ofthese furnished the only fuel available for early overland emigrants tothe Pacific. The character of this country now changed considerably as the explorersturned to the northward, in their crooked course, with the river. On thetwenty-fifth of May the journal records this:-- "The country on each side is high, broken, and rocky; the rock beingeither a soft brown sandstone, covered with a thin stratum of limestone, or else a hard, black, rugged granite, both usually in horizontalstrata, and the sand-rock overlaying the other. Salts and quartz, aswell as some coal and pumice-stone, still appear. The bars of the riverare composed principally of gravel; the river low grounds are narrow, and afford scarcely any timber; nor is there much pine on the hills. Thebuffalo have now become scarce; we saw a polecat (skunk) this evening, which was the first for several days; in the course of the day we alsosaw several herds of the bighorned animals among the steep cliffs on thenorth, and killed several of them. " The bighorned animals, the first of which were killed here, weresometimes called "Rocky Mountain sheep. " But sheep they were not, bearing hair and not wool. As we have said, they are now more commonlyknown as bighorns. The patience of the explorers was rewarded, on Sunday, May 26, 1806, bytheir first view of the Rocky Mountains. Here is the journal's record onthat date:-- "It was here (Cow Creek, Mont. ) that, after ascending the highest summitof the hills on the north side of the river, Captain Lewis first caughta distant view of the Rock mountains--the object of all our hopes, andthe reward of all our ambition. On both sides of the river, and at nogreat distance from it, the mountains followed its course. Above theseat the distance of fifty miles from us, an irregular range of mountainsspread from west to northwest from his position. To the north of these, a few elevated points, the most remarkable of which bore N. 65'0 W. , appeared above the horizon; and as the sun shone on the snows of theirsummits, he obtained a clear and satisfactory view of those mountainswhich close on the Missouri the passage to the Pacific. " As they continued to ascend the Missouri they found themselvesconfronted by many considerable rapids which sometimes delayed theirprogress. They also set forth this observation: "The only animals wehave observed are the elk, the bighorn, and the hare common tothis country. " Wayfarers across the plains now call this hare thejack-rabbit. The river soon became very rapid with a marked descent, indicating their nearness to its mountain sources. The journal says:-- "Its general width is about two hundred yards; the shoals are morefrequent, and the rocky points at the mouths of the gullies moretroublesome to pass. Great quantities of stone lie in the river and onits bank, and seem to have fallen down as the rain washed away the clayand sand in which they were imbedded. The water is bordered by high, rugged bluffs, composed of irregular but horizontal strata of yellowand brown or black clay, brown and yellowish-white sand, softyellowish-white sandstone, and hard dark brown freestone; also, largeround kidney-formed irregular separate masses of a hard black ironstone, imbedded in the clay and sand; some coal or carbonated wood alsomakes its appearance in the cliffs, as do its usual attendants, thepumice-stone and burnt earth. The salts and quartz are less abundant, and, generally speaking, the country is, if possible, more rugged andbarren than that we passed yesterday; the only growth of the hills beinga few pine, spruce, and dwarf cedar, interspersed with an occasionalcontrast, once in the course of some miles, of several acres of levelground, which supply a scanty subsistence for a few little cottonwoods. " But, a few days later, the party passed out of this inhospitable region, and, after passing a stream which they named Thompson's (now Birch)Creek, after one of their men, they were glad to make this entry intheir diary: "Here the country assumed a totally different aspect: the hills retiredon both sides from the river, which spreads to more than three timesits former size, and is filled with a number of small handsome islandscovered with cottonwood. The low grounds on its banks are again wide, fertile, and enriched with trees: those on the north are particularlywide, the hills being comparatively low, and opening into three largevalleys, which extend themselves for a considerable distance towards thenorth. These appearances of vegetation are delightful after the drearyhills among which we have passed; and we have now to congratulateourselves at having escaped from the last ridges of the Black Mountains. On leaving Thompson's Creek we passed two small islands, and attwenty-three miles' distance encamped among some timber; on the north, opposite to a small creek, which we named Bull Creek. The bighorn arein great quantities, and must bring forth their young at a very earlyseason, as they are now half grown. One of the party saw a large bearalso; but, being at a distance from the river, and having no timber toconceal him, he would not venture to fire. " A curious adventure happened on the twenty-eighth, of which the journal, next day, makes this mention:-- "Last night we were alarmed by a new sort of enemy. A buffalo swam overfrom the opposite side, and to the spot where lay one of our canoes, over which he clambered to the shore: then, taking fright, he ran fullspeed up the bank towards our fires, and passed within eighteen inchesof the heads of some of the men before the sentinel could make himchange his course. Still more alarmed, he ran down between four fires, and within a few inches of the heads of a second row of the men, andwould have broken into our lodge if the barking of the dog had notstopped him. He suddenly turned to the right, and was out of sight ina moment, leaving us all in confusion, every one seizing his rifle andinquiring the cause of the alarm. On learning what had happened, we hadto rejoice at suffering no more injury than some damage to the guns thatwere in the canoe which the buffalo crossed. . . . "We passed an island and two sand-bars, and at the distance of twoand a half miles came to a handsome river, which discharges itself onthe South, and which we ascended to the distance of a mile and a half:we called it Judith's River. It rises in the Rocky Mountains, in aboutthe same place with the Musselshell, and near the Yellowstone River. Itsentrance is one hundred yards wide from one bank to the other, the wateroccupying about seventy-five yards, and being in greater quantity thanthat of the Musselshell River. . . . There were great numbers of theargalea, or bighorned animals, in the high country through which itpasses, and of beaver in its waters. Just above the entrance of it wesaw the ashes of the fires of one hundred and twenty-six lodges, whichappeared to have been deserted about twelve or fifteen days. " Leaving Judith's River, named for a sweet Virginia lass, the explorerssailed, or were towed, seventeen miles up the river, where they campedat the mouth of a bold, running river to which they gave the nameof Slaughter River. The stream is now known as the Arrow; theappropriateness of the title conferred on the stream by Lewis and Clarkappears from the story which they tell of their experience just below"Slaughter River, " as follows: "On the north we passed a precipice about one hundred and twenty feethigh, under which lay scattered the fragments of at least one hundredcarcasses of buffaloes, although the water which had washed away thelower part of the hill must have carried off many of the dead. Thesebuffaloes had been chased down the precipice in a way very common onthe Missouri, by which vast herds are destroyed in a moment. The mode ofhunting is to select one of the most active and fleet young men, who isdisguised by a buffalo-skin round his body; the skin of the head withthe ears and horns being fastened on his own head in such a way as todeceive the buffalo. Thus dressed, he fixes himself at a convenientdistance between a herd of buffalo and any of the river precipices, which sometimes extend for some miles. His companions in the meantime get in the rear and side of the herd, and at a given signal showthemselves and advance toward the buffaloes. These instantly takethe alarm, and finding the hunters beside them, they run toward thedisguised Indian or decoy, who leads them on at full speed toward theriver; when, suddenly securing himself in some crevice of the cliffwhich he had previously fixed on, the herd is left on the brink of theprecipice. It is then in vain for the foremost buffaloes to retreat oreven to stop; they are pressed on by the hindmost rank, which, seeingno danger but from the hunters, goad on those before them till thewhole are precipitated, and the shore is strewn with their dead bodies. Sometimes, in this perilous seduction, the Indian is himself eithertrodden under foot by the rapid movements of the buffaloes, or missinghis footing in the cliff is urged down the precipice by the fallingherd. The Indians then select as much meat as they wish; the rest isabandoned to the wolves, and creates a most dreadful stench. The wolveswhich had been feasting on these carcasses were very fat, and so gentlethat one of them was killed with an espontoon. "(1) (1) A short spear. The dryness and purity of the air roused the admiration of theexplorers, who noticed that the woodwork of the cases of theirinstruments shrank, and the joints opened, although the wood was old andperfectly seasoned. A tablespoonful of water, exposed to the air inan open saucer, would wholly evaporate in thirty-six hours, when thethermometer did not mark higher than the "Temperate" point at thewarmest hour of the day. Contrary to their expectations, they had notyet met with any Indians, although they saw many signs of their havingrecently been in that vicinity. The journal says: "In the course of the day (May 30) we passed several encampments ofIndians, the most recent of which seemed to have been evacuated aboutfive weeks since; and, from the several apparent dates, we supposedthat they were formed by a band of about one hundred lodges, who weretravelling slowly up the river. Although no part of the Missouri fromthe Minnetarees to this place exhibits signs of permanent settlements, yet none seem exempt from the transient visits of hunting-parties. Weknow that the Minnetarees of the Missouri extend their excursions on thesouth side of the river as high as the Yellowstone, and the Assiniboinsvisit the northern side, most probably as high as Porcupine River. Allthe lodges between that place and the Rocky Mountains we supposed tobelong to the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie, who live on the south forkof the Saskashawan. " The party now entered upon some of the natural wonders of the West, which have since become famous. Their journal says:-- "These hills and river-cliffs exhibit a most extraordinary and romanticappearance. They rise in most places nearly perpendicular from thewater, to the height of between two hundred and three hundred feet, andare formed of very white sandstone, so soft as to yield readily to theimpression of water, in the upper part of which lie imbedded two orthree thin horizontal strata of white freestone, insensible to the rain;on the top is a dark rich loam, which forms a gradually ascending plain, from a mile to a mile and a half in extent, when the hills again riseabruptly to the height of about three hundred feet more. In tricklingdown the cliffs, the water has worn the soft sandstone into a thousandgrotesque figures, among which, with a little fancy, may be discernedelegant ranges of freestone buildings, with columns variouslysculptured, and supporting long and elegant galleries, while theparapets are adorned with statuary. On a nearer approach they representevery form of elegant ruins--columns, some with pedestals and capitalsentire, others mutilated and prostrate, and some rising pyramidally overeach other till they terminate in a sharp point. These are variedby niches, alcoves, and the customary appearances of desolatedmagnificence. The illusion is increased by the number of martins, whichhave built their globular nests in the niches, and hover over thesecolumns, as in our country they are accustomed to frequent largestone structures. As we advance there seems no end to the visionaryenchantment which surrounds us. "In the midst of this fantastic scenery are vast ranges of walls, whichseem the productions of art, so regular is the workmanship. They riseperpendicularly from the river, sometimes to the height of one hundredfeet, varying in thickness from one to twelve feet, being as broad atthe top as below. The stones of which they are formed are black, thick, durable, and composed of a large portion of earth, intermixed andcemented with a small quantity of sand and a considerable proportionof talk (talc) or quartz. These stones are almost invariably regularparallelopipeds of unequal sizes in the wall, but equally deep andlaid regularly in ranges over each other like bricks, each breaking andcovering the interstice of the two on which it rests; but though theperpendicular interstice be destroyed, the horizontal one extendsentirely through the whole work. The stones are proportioned to thethickness of the wall in which they are employed, being largest in thethickest walls. The thinner walls are composed of a single depth of theparallelopiped, while the thicker ones consist of two or more depths. These walls pass the river at several places, rising from the water'sedge much above the sandstone bluffs, which they seem to penetrate;thence they cross in a straight line, on either side of the river, theplains, over which they tower to the height of from ten to seventy feet, until they lose themselves in the second range of hills. Sometimes theyrun parallel in several ranges near to each other, sometimes intersecteach other at right angles, and have the appearance of walls of ancienthouses or gardens. " The wall-like, canyon formations were charted by Lewis and Clark as "TheStone Walls. " Their fantastic outlines have been admired and describedby modern tourists, and some of them have been named "Cathedral Rocks, ""Citadel Rock, " "Hole in the Wall, " and so on. Passing out of this wonderful region, the expedition entered upon a morelevel country, here and there broken by bluffy formations which extendedalong the river, occasionally interspersed with low hills. Their journalsays: "In the plains near the river are the choke-cherry, yellow and redcurrant bushes, as well as the wild rose and prickly pear, both of whichare now in bloom. From the tops of the river-hills, which are lower thanusual, we enjoyed a delightful view of the rich, fertile plains onboth sides, in many places extending from the river-cliffs to a greatdistance back. In these plains we meet, occasionally, large banks ofpure sand, which were driven apparently by the southwest winds and theredeposited. The plains are more fertile some distance from the river thannear its banks, where the surface of the earth is very generallystrewed with small pebbles, which appear to be smoothed and worn by theagitation of the waters with which they were, no doubt, once covered. " Under date of June 2d, the journal says:-- "The current of the river is strong but regular, the timber increasesin quantity, the low grounds become more level and extensive, and thebluffs are lower than before. As the game is very abundant, we thinkit necessary to begin a collection of hides for the purpose of makinga leathern boat, which we intend constructing shortly. The hunters, whowere out the greater part of the day, brought in six elk, two buffalo, two mule-deer, and a bear. This last animal had nearly cost us the livesof two of our hunters, who were together when he attacked them. Oneof them narrowly escaped being caught, and the other, after runninga considerable distance, concealed himself in some thick bushes, and, while the bear was in quick pursuit of his hiding-place, his companioncame up, and fortunately shot the animal through the head. " Here the party came to the mouth of a large river which entered theMissouri from the northwest, at the site of the latter-day town ofOphir, Montana. This stream they named Maria's River, in honor ofanother Virginia damsel. So large and important in appearance wasMaria's River that the explorers were not certain which was the mainstream, that which came in from the north, or that which, flowing herein a general course from southwest to northeast, was really the trueMissouri. The journal says: "It now became an interesting question, which of these two streams iswhat the Minnetarees call Ahmateahza, or Missouri, which they describeas approaching very near to the Columbia. On our right decision muchof the fate of the expedition depends; since if, after ascending to theRocky Mountains or beyond them, we should find that the river we werefollowing did not come near the Columbia, and be obliged to return, weshould not only lose the travelling season, two months of which havealready elapsed, but probably dishearten the men so much as to inducethem either to abandon the enterprise, or yield us a cold obedience, instead of the warm and zealous support which they have hithertoafforded us. We determined, therefore, to examine well before we decidedon our future course. For this purpose we despatched two canoes withthree men up each of the streams, with orders to ascertain the width, depth, and rapidity of the current, so as to judge of their comparativebodies of water. At the same time parties were sent out by landto penetrate the country, and discover from the rising grounds, ifpossible, the distant bearings of the two rivers; and all were directedto return toward evening. . . . " Both parties returned without bringing any information that would settlethe point. Which was the true Missouri still remained uncertain. Underthese circumstances, it became necessary that there should be a morethorough exploration, and the next morning Captains Lewis and Clarkset out at the head of two separate parties, the former to examine thenorth, and the latter the south fork. In his progress Captain Lewis andhis party were frequently obliged to quit the course of the river andcross the plains and hills, but he did not lose sight of its generaldirection, and carefully took the bearings of the distant mountains. Onthe morning of the third day he became convinced that this river pursueda course too far north for his contemplated route to the Pacific, and heaccordingly determined to return, but judged it advisable to wait tillnoon, that he might obtain a meridian altitude. In this, however, he wasdisappointed, owing to the state of the weather. Much rain had fallen, and their return was somewhat difficult, and not unattended with danger, as the following incident, which occurred on June 7th, will show: "In passing along the side of a bluff at a narrow pass thirty yardsin length, Captain Lewis slipped, and, but for a fortunate recovery bymeans of his spontoon, would have been precipitated into the river overa precipice of about ninety feet. He had just reached a spot where, bythe assistance of his spontoon, he could stand with tolerable safety, when he heard a voice behind him cry out, 'Good God, captain, what shallI do?' He turned instantly, and found it was Windsor, who had lost hisfoothold about the middle of the narrow pass, and had slipped down tothe very verge of the precipice, where he lay on his belly, with hisright arm and leg over it, while with the other leg and arm he waswith difficulty holding on, to keep himself from being dashed to piecesbelow. His dreadful situation was instantly perceived by Captain Lewis, who, stifling his alarm, calmly told him that he was in no danger; thathe should take his knife out of his belt with his right hand, and diga hole in the side of the bluff to receive his right foot. With greatpresence of mind he did this, and then raised himself on his knees. Captain Lewis then told him to take off his moccasins and come forwardon his hands and knees, holding the knife in one hand and his rifle inthe other. He immediately crawled in this way till he came to a securespot. The men who had not attempted this passage were ordered to returnand wade the river at the foot of the bluff, where they found the waterbreast-high. This adventure taught them the danger of crossing theslippery heights of the river; but as the plains were intersected bydeep ravines, almost as difficult to pass, they continued down theriver, sometimes in the mud of the low grounds, sometimes up to theirarms in the water; and when it became too deep to wade, they cutfootholds with their knives in the sides of the banks. In this waythey travelled through the rain, mud, and water, and having made onlyeighteen miles during the whole day, camped in an old Indian lodge ofsticks, which afforded them a dry shelter. Here they cooked part of sixdeer they had killed in the course of their walk, and having eaten theonly morsel they had tasted during the whole day, slept comfortably onsome willow-boughs. " Chapter X -- To the Great Falls of the Missouri Next day, June 8, the Lewis party returned to the main body of theexpedition. They reported that timber was scarce along the river, exceptin the lowlands, where there were pretty groves and thickets. Thesetrees, the journal says, were the haunts of innumerable birds, which, asthe sun rose, sung delightfully:-- "Among these birds they distinguished the brown thrush, robin, turtle-dove, linnet, gold-finch, large and small blackbird, wren, andsome others. As they came along, the whole party were of opinionthat this river was the true Missouri; but Captain Lewis, being fullypersuaded that it was neither the main stream, nor that which itwould be advisable to ascend, gave it the name of Maria's River. After travelling all day they reached camp about five o'clock in theafternoon, and found Captain Clark and the party very anxious for theirsafety. As they had stayed two days longer than had been expected, andas Captain Clark had returned at the appointed time, it was feared thatthey had met with some accident. " As we now know, the stream that came in from the north was that whichis still called Maria's (or Marais) River, and the so-called branch fromthe southwest was the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark, however, were inthe dark as to the relations of the two streams. Which was the parent?Which was the branch? After pondering all the evidence that could becollected to bear on the important question, the two captains agreedthat the southern stream was the true Missouri, and the northern streamwas an important branch. The journal says: "These observations, which satisfied our minds completely, wecommunicated to the party; but every one of them was of a contraryopinion. Much of their belief depended on Crusatte, an experiencedwaterman on the Missouri, who gave it as his decided judgment that thenorth fork was the genuine Missouri. The men, therefore, mentioned that, although they would most cheerfully follow us wherever we should direct, yet they were afraid that the south fork would soon terminate in theRocky Mountains, and leave us at a great distance from the Columbia. Inorder that nothing might be omitted which could prevent our falling intoan error, it was agreed that one of us should ascend the southern branchby land, until we reached either the falls or the mountains. In themeantime, in order to lighten our burdens as much as possible, wedetermined to deposit here one of the pirogues, and all the heavybaggage which we could possibly spare, as well as some provision, salt, powder, and tools. This would at once lighten the other boats, and givethem the crew which had been employed on board the pirogue. " On the tenth of June, the weather being fair and pleasant, they driedall their baggage and merchandise and secreted them in places ofdeposits, called caches, as follows:-- "These deposits--or caches, as they are called by the Missouritraders--are very common, particularly among those who deal with theSioux, as the skins and merchandise will keep perfectly sound for years, and are protected from robbery. Our cache was built in the usual manner. In the high plain on the north side of the Missouri, and forty yardsfrom a steep bluff, we chose a dry situation, and then, describing asmall circle of about twenty inches diameter, removed the sod as gentlyand carefully as possible: the hole was then sunk perpendicularly fora foot deep. It was now worked gradually wider as it descended, till atlength it became six or seven feet deep, shaped nearly like a kettle, or the lower part of a large still with the bottom somewhat sunk at thecentre. As the earth was dug it was handed up in a vessel, and carefullylaid on a skin or cloth, in which it was carried away and thrown intothe river, so as to leave no trace of it. A floor of three or fourinches in thickness was then made of dry sticks, on which was placed ahide perfectly dry. The goods, being well aired and dried, were laid onthis floor, and prevented from touching the wall by other dried sticks, as the merchandise was stowed away. When the hole was nearly full, askin was laid over the goods, and on this earth was thrown and beatendown, until, with the addition of the sod first removed, the wholewas on a level with the ground, and there remained not the slightestappearance of an excavation. In addition to this, we made another ofsmaller dimensions, in which we placed all the baggage, some powder, andour blacksmith's tools, having previously repaired such of the tools aswe carry with us that require mending. To guard against accident, we hadtwo parcelss of lead and powder in the two places. The red pirogue wasdrawn up on the middle of a small island, at the entrance of Maria'sRiver, and secured, by being fastened to the trees, from the effects ofany floods. We now took another observation of the meridian altitude ofthe sun, and found that the mean latitude of Maria's River, as deducedfrom three observations, is 49'0 25' 17. 2" N. " In order to make assurance doubly sure, Captain Lewis resolved totake four men with him and ascend the south branch (that is, the trueMissouri), before committing the expedition to that route as the finalone. His proposition was that his party should proceed up the river asrapidly as possible in advance of the main party. On the second day out, says the journal:-- "Captain Lewis left the bank of the river in order to avoid the steepravines, which generally run from the shore to the distance of one ortwo miles in the plain. Having reached the open country he went fortwelve miles in a course a little to the W. Of S. W. ; when, the sunbecoming warm by nine o'clock, he returned to the river in quest ofwater, and to kill something for breakfast; there being no water inthe plain, and the buffalo, discovering them before they came withingunshot, took to flight. They reached the banks in a handsome open lowground with cottonwood, after three miles' walk. Here they saw two largebrown bears, and killed them both at the first fire--a circumstancewhich has never before occurred since we have seen that animal. Havingmade a meal of a part, and hung the remainder on a tree, with a note forCaptain Clark, they again ascended the bluffs into the open plains. Here they saw great numbers of the burrowing-squirrel, also some wolves, antelopes, mule-deer, and vast herds of buffalo. They soon crossed aridge considerably higher than the surrounding plains, and from its tophad a beautiful view of the Rocky Mountains, which are now completelycovered with snow. Their general course is from S. E. To N. Of N. W. , andthey seem to consist of several ranges which successively rise aboveeach other, till the most distant mingles with the clouds. Aftertravelling twelve miles they again met the river, where there was ahandsome plain of cottonwood. " Again leaving the river, Captain Lewis bore off more to the north, thestream here bearing considerably to the south, with difficult bluffsalong its course. But fearful of passing the Great Falls before reachingthe Rocky Mountains, he again changed his course and, leaving the bluffsto his right he turned towards the river. The journal gives this description of what followed:-- "In this direction Captain Lewis had gone about two miles, when hisears were saluted with the agreeable sound of a fall of water, and as headvanced a spray, which seemed driven by the high southwest wind, aroseabove the plain like a column of smoke, and vanished in an instant. Toward this point he directed his steps; the noise increased as heapproached, and soon became too tremendous to be mistaken for anythingbut the Great Falls of the Missouri. Having travelled seven miles afterfirst hearing the sound, he reached the falls about twelve o'clock. Thehills as he approached were difficult of access and two hundred feethigh. Down these he hurried with impatience; and, seating himself onsome rocks under the centre of the falls, enjoyed the sublime spectacleof this stupendous object, which since the creation had been lavishingits magnificence upon the desert, unknown to civilization. "The river immediately at this cascade is three hundred yards wide, andis pressed in by a perpendicular cliff on the left, which rises to aboutone hundred feet and extends up the stream for a mile; on the right thebluff is also perpendicular for three hundred yards above the falls. Forninety or one hundred yards from the left cliff, the water falls inone smooth, even sheet, over a precipice of at least eighty feet. The remaining part of the river precipitates itself with a more rapidcurrent, but being received as it falls by the irregular and somewhatprojecting rocks below, forms a splendid prospect of perfectly whitefoam, two hundred yards in length and eighty in perpendicular elevation. This spray is dissipated into a thousand shapes, sometimes flying up incolumns of fifteen or twenty feet, which are then oppressed by largermasses of the white foam, on all of which the sun impresses thebrightest colors of the rainbow. Below the fall the water beats withfury against a ledge of rocks, which extends across the river at onehundred and fifty yards from the precipice. From the perpendicular cliffon the north to the distance of one hundred and twenty yards, the rocksare only a few feet above the water; and, when the river is high, thestream finds a channel across them forty yards wide, and near the higherparts of the ledge, which rise about twenty feet, and terminate abruptlywithin eighty or ninety yards of the southern side. Between them andthe perpendicular cliff on the south, the whole body of water runs withgreat swiftness. A few small cedars grow near this ridge of rocks, whichserves as a barrier to defend a small plain of about three acres, shadedwith cottonwood; at the lower extremity of which is a grove of the sametrees, where are several deserted Indian cabins of sticks; below whichthe river is divided by a large rock, several feet above the surfaceof the water, and extending down the stream for twenty yards. At thedistance of three hundred yards from the same ridge is a second abutmentof solid perpendicular rock, about sixty feet high, projecting at rightangles from the small plain on the north for one hundred and thirty-fouryards into the river. After leaving this, the Missouri again spreadsitself to its previous breadth of three hundred yards, though with morethan its ordinary rapidity. " One of Lewis's men was sent back to inform Captain Clark of thismomentous discovery, which finally settled all doubt as to which wasthe true Missouri. The famous Great Falls of the river had been finallyreached. Captain Lewis next went on to examine the rapids above thefalls. The journal says:-- "After passing one continued rapid and three cascades, each three orfour feet high, he reached, at the distance of five miles, a secondfall. The river is here about four hundred yards wide, and for thedistance of three hundred rushes down to the depth of nineteen feet, andso irregularly that he gave it the name of the Crooked Falls. From thesouthern shore it extends obliquely upward about one hundred and fiftyyards, and then forms an acute angle downward nearly to the commencementof four small islands close to the northern side. From the perpendicularpitch to these islands, a distance of more than one hundred yards, thewater glides down a sloping rock with a velocity almost equal to thatof its fall: above this fall the river bends suddenly to the northward. While viewing this place, Captain Lewis heard a loud roar above him, and, crossing the point of a hill a few hundred yards, he saw one of themost beautiful objects in nature: the whole Missouri is suddenly stoppedby one shelving rock, which, without a single niche, and with an edge asstraight and regular as if formed by art, stretches itself from one sideof the river to the other for at least a quarter of a mile. Over thisit precipitates itself in an even, uninterrupted sheet, to theperpendicular depth of fifty feet, whence, dashing against the rockybottom, it rushes rapidly down, leaving behind it a sheet of thepurest foam across the river. The scene which it presented was indeedsingularly beautiful; since, without any of the wild, irregularsublimity of the lower falls, it combined all the regular elegancieswhich the fancy of a painter would select to form a beautiful waterfall. The eye had scarcely been regaled with this charming prospect, when atthe distance of half a mile Captain Lewis observed another of a similarkind. To this he immediately hastened, and found a cascade stretchingacross the whole river for a quarter of a mile, with a descent offourteen feet, though the perpendicular pitch was only six feet. This, too, in any other neighborhood, would have been an object of greatmagnificence; but after what he had just seen, it became of secondaryinterest. His curiosity being, however, awakened, he determined to goon, even should night overtake him, to the head of the falls. "He therefore pursued the southwest course of the river, which was oneconstant succession of rapids and small cascades, at every one of whichthe bluffs grew lower, or the bed of the river became more on a levelwith the plains. At the distance of two and one-half miles he arrivedat another cataract, of twenty-six feet. The river is here six hundredyards wide, but the descent is not immediately perpendicular, thoughthe river falls generally with a regular and smooth sheet; for aboutone-third of the descent a rock protrudes to a small distance, receivesthe water in its passage, and gives it a curve. On the south side is abeautiful plain, a few feet above the level of the falls; on the north, the country is more broken, and there is a hill not far from the river. Just below the falls is a little island in the middle of the river, wellcovered with timber. Here on a cottonwood tree an eagle had fixed hernest, and seemed the undisputed mistress of a spot, to contest whosedominion neither man nor beast would venture across the gulfs thatsurround it, and which is further secured by the mist rising fromthe falls. This solitary bird could not escape the observation of theIndians, who made the eagle's nest a part of their description of thefalls, which now proves to be correct in almost every particular, exceptthat they did not do justice to the height. "Just above this is a cascade of about five feet, beyond which, asfar as could be discerned, the velocity of the water seemed to abate. Captain Lewis now ascended the hill which was behind him, and saw fromits top a delightful plain, extending from the river to the base of theSnowy (Rocky) Mountains to the south and southwest. Along this wide, level country the Missouri pursued its winding course, filled with waterto its smooth, grassy banks, while about four miles above, it was joinedby a large river flowing from the northwest, through a valley threemiles in width, and distinguished by the timber which adorned itsshores. The Missouri itself stretches to the south, in one unruffledstream of water, as if unconscious of the roughness it must soonencounter, and bearing on its bosom vast flocks of geese, while numerousherds of buffalo are feeding on the plains which surround it. "Captain Lewis then descended the hill, and directed his course towardsthe river falling in from the west. He soon met a herd of at least athousand buffalo, and, being desirous of providing for supper, shot oneof them. The animal immediately began to bleed, and Captain Lewis, whohad forgotten to reload his rifle, was intently watching to see himfall, when he beheld a large brown bear which was stealing on himunperceived, and was already within twenty steps. In the first moment ofsurprise he lifted his rifle; but, remembering instantly that it was notcharged, and that he had no time to reload, he felt that there was nosafety but in flight. It was in the open, level plain; not a bush nor atree within three hundred yards; the bank of the river sloping, andnot more than three feet high, so that there was no possible mode ofconcealment. Captain Lewis, therefore, thought of retreating with aquick walk, as fast as the bear advanced, towards the nearest tree; but, as soon as he turned, the bear rushed open-mouthed, and at full speed, upon him. Captain Lewis ran about eighty yards, but finding that theanimal gained on him fast, it flashed on his mind that, by getting intothe water to such a depth that the bear would be obliged to attack himswimming, there was still some chance of his life; he therefore turnedshort, plunged into the river about waist-deep, and facing aboutpresented the point of his espontoon. The bear arrived at the water'sedge within twenty feet of him; but as soon as he put himself in thisposture of defence, the bear seemed frightened, and wheeling about, retreated with as much precipitation as he had pursued. Very glad tobe released from this danger, Captain Lewis returned to the shore, and observed him run with great speed, sometimes looking back as if heexpected to be pursued, till he reached the woods. He could not conceivethe cause of the sudden alarm of the bear, but congratulated himselfon his escape when he saw his own track torn to pieces by the furiousanimal, and learned from the whole adventure never to suffer his rifleto be a moment unloaded. " Captain Lewis now resumed his progress towards the western, or Sun, River, then more commonly known among the Indians as Medicine River. In going through the lowlands of this stream, he met an animal which hethought was a wolf, but which was more likely a wolverine, or carcajou. The journal says:-- "It proved to be some brownish yellow animal, standing near its burrow, which, when he came nigh, crouched, and seemed as if about to spring onhim. Captain Lewis fired, and the beast disappeared in its burrow. Fromthe track, and the general appearance of the animal, he supposed itto be of the tiger kind. He then went on; but, as if the beasts ofthe forest had conspired against him, three buffalo bulls, which werefeeding with a large herd at the distance of half a mile, left theircompanions, and ran at full speed towards him. He turned round, and, unwilling to give up the field, advanced to meet them: when they werewithin a hundred yards they stopped, looked at him for some time, andthen retreated as they came. He now pursued his route in the dark, reflecting on the strange adventures and sights of the day, whichcrowded on his mind so rapidly, that he should have been inclined tobelieve it all enchantment if the thorns of the prickly pear, piercinghis feet, had not dispelled at every moment the illusion. He at lastreached the party, who had been very anxious for his safety, and who hadalready decided on the route which each should take in the morning tolook for him. Being much fatigued, he supped, and slept well during thenight. " On awaking the next morning, Captain Lewis found a large rattlesnakecoiled on the trunk of a tree under which he had been sleeping. Hekilled it, and found it like those he had seen before, differing fromthose of the Atlantic States, not in its colors, but in the form andarrangement of them. Information was received that Captain Clark hadarrived five miles below, at a rapid which he did not think it prudentto ascend, and that he was waiting there for the party above to rejoinhim. After the departure of Captain Lewis, Captain Clark had remained a dayat Maria's River, to complete the deposit of such articles as they coulddispense with, and started on the twelfth of June. Four days later, Captain Clark left the river, having sent his messengerto Captain Lewis, and began to search for a proper portage to convey thepirogue and canoes across to the Columbia River, leaving most of themen to hunt, make wheels and draw the canoes up a creek which they namedPortage Creek, as it was to be the base of their future operations. Thestream is now known as Belt Mountain Creek. But the explorers soonfound that although the pirogue was to be left behind, the way was toodifficult for a portage even for canoes. The journal says:-- "We found great difficulty and some danger in even ascending the creekthus far, in consequence of the rapids and rocks of the channel of thecreek, which just above where we brought the canoes has a fall offive feet, with high steep bluffs beyond it. We were very fortunate infinding, just below Portage Creek, a cottonwood tree about twenty-twoinches in diameter, large enough to make the carriage-wheels. It was, perhaps, the only one of the same size within twenty miles; and thecottonwood which we are obliged to employ in the other parts of the workis extremely soft and brittle. The mast of the white pirogue, which wemean to leave behind, supplied us with two axle-trees. "There are vast quantities of buffalo feeding on the plains or wateringin the river, which is also strewed with the floating carcasses andlimbs of these animals. They go in large herds to water about the falls, and as all the passages to the river near that place are narrow andsteep, the foremost are pressed into the river by the impatience ofthose behind. In this way we have seen ten or a dozen disappear overthe falls in a few minutes. They afford excellent food for the wolves, bears, and birds of prey; which circumstance may account for thereluctance of the bears to yield their dominion over the neighborhood. "The pirogue was drawn up a little below our camp, and secured in athick copse of willow-bushes. We now began to form a cache or placeof deposit, and to dry our goods and other articles which requiredinspection. The wagons are completed. Our hunters brought us ten deer, and we shot two out of a herd of buffalo that came to water at SulphurSpring. There is a species of gooseberry, growing abundantly among therocks on the sides of the cliffs. It is now ripe, of a pale red color, about the size of the common gooseberry, and like it is an ovatepericarp of soft pulp enveloping a number of small whitish seeds, andconsisting of a yellowish, slimy, mucilaginous substance, with a sweettaste; the surface of the berry is covered glutinous, adhesive matter, and its fruit, though ripe, retains its withered corolla. The shrubitself seldom rises more than two feet high, is much branched, and hasno thorns. The leaves resemble those of the common gooseberry, exceptin being smaller, and the berry is supported by separate peduncles orfoot-stalks half an inch long. There are also immense quantitiesof grasshoppers, of a brown color, on the plains; they, no doubt, contribute to the lowness of the grass, which is not generally more thanthree inches high, though it is soft, narrow-leaved, and affords a finepasture for the buffalo. " Chapter XI -- A the Heart of the Continent Captain Clark continued his observations up the long series of rapidsand falls until he came to a group of three small islands to whichhe gave the name of White Bear Islands, from his having seen numerouswhite, or grizzly, bears on them. On the nineteenth of June, CaptainClark, after a careful survey of the country on both sides of thestream, decided that the best place for a portage was on the south, orlower, side of the river, the length of the portage being estimatedto be about eighteen miles, over which the canoes and supplies mustbe carried. Next day he proceeded to mark out the exact route of theportage, or carry, by driving stakes along its lines and angles. Fromthe survey and drawing which he made, the party now had a clear andaccurate view of the falls, cascades, and rapids of the Missouri; and, it may be added, this draught, which is reproduced on another pageof this book, is still so correct in all its measurements that when aMontana manufacturing company undertook to build a dam at Black EagleFalls, nearly one hundred years afterwards, they discovered that theirsurveys and those of Captain Clark were precisely alike. The total fallof the river, from the White Bear Islands, as Lewis and Clark calledthem, to the foot of the Great Falls, is four hundred twelve andfive-tenths feet; the sheer drop of the Great Fall is seventy-five andfive-tenths feet. The wild, trackless prairie of Lewis and Clark'stime is now the site of the thriving town of Great Falls, which has apopulation of ten thousand. Here is a lucid and connected account of the falls and rapids, discovered and described by Lewis and Clark: "This river is three hundred yards wide at the point where itreceives the waters of Medicine (Sun) River, which is one hundred andthirty-seven yards in width. The united current continues three hundredand twenty-eight poles to a small rapid on the north side, from which itgradually widens to fourteen hundred yards, and at the distance of fivehundred and forty-eight poles reaches the head of the rapids, narrowingas it approaches them. Here the hills on the north, which had withdrawnfrom the bank, closely border the river, which, for the space of threehundred and twenty poles, makes its way over the rocks, with a descentof thirty feet. In this course the current is contracted to five hundredand eighty yards, and after throwing itself over a small pitch of fivefeet, forms a beautiful cascade of twenty-six feet five inches; thisdoes not, however, fall immediately or perpendicularly, being stopped bya part of the rock, which projects at about one-third of the distance. After descending this fall, and passing the cottonwood island on whichthe eagle has fixed her nest, the river goes on for five hundred andthirty-two poles over rapids and little falls, the estimated descentof which is thirteen and one-half feet, till it is joined by a largefountain boiling up underneath the rocks near the edge of the river, into which it falls with a cascade of eight feet. The water of thisfountain is of the most perfect clearness, and of rather a bluish cast;and, even after falling into the Missouri, it preserves its colorfor half a mile. From the fountain the river descends with increasedrapidity for the distance of two hundred and fourteen poles, duringwhich the estimated descent is five feet; and from this, for a distanceof one hundred and thirty-five poles, it descends fourteen feet seveninches, including a perpendicular fall of six feet seven inches. The Missouri has now become pressed into a space of four hundred andseventy-three yards, and here forms a grand cataract, by falling overa plain rock the whole distance across the river, to the depth offorty-seven feet eight inches. After recovering itself, it then proceedswith an estimated descent of three feet, till, at the distance ofone hundred and two poles, it is precipitated down the Crooked Fallsnineteen feet perpendicular. Below this, at the mouth of a deep ravine, is a fall of five feet; after which, for the distance of nine hundredand seventy poles, the descent is much more gradual, not being more thanten feet, and then succeeds a handsome level plain for the space of onehundred and seventy-eight poles, with a computed descent of three feet, the river making a bend towards the north. Thence it descends, for fourhundred and eighty poles, about eighteen and one-half feet, when itmakes a perpendicular fall of two feet, which is ninety poles beyond thegreat cataract; in approaching which, it descends thirteen feet withintwo hundred yards, and, gathering strength from its confined channel, which is only two hundred and eighty yards wide, rushes over the fall tothe depth of eighty-seven feet. "After raging among the rocks, and losing itself in foam, it iscompressed immediately into a bed of ninety-three yards in width: itcontinues for three hundred and forty poles to the entrance of a run ordeep ravine, where there is a fall of three feet, which, added to thedecline during that distance, makes the descent six feet. As it goeson, the descent within the next two hundred and forty poles is onlyfour feet; from this, passing a run or deep ravine, the descent in fourhundred poles is thirteen feet; within two hundred and forty poles, another descent of eighteen feet; thence, in one hundred and sixtypoles, a descent of six feet; after which, to the mouth of PortageCreek, a distance of two hundred and eighty poles, the descent isten feet. From this survey and estimate, it results that the riverexperiences a descent of three hundred and fifty-two feet in thedistance of two and three quarter miles, from the commencement of therapids to the mouth of Portage Creek, exclusive of the almost impassablerapids which extend for a mile below its entrance. " On the twenty-first of the month, all the needed preparations havingbeen finished, the arduous work of making the portage, or carry, wasbegun. All the members of the expedition were now together, and the twocaptains divided with their men the labor of hunting, carrying luggage, boat-building, exploring, and so on. They made three camps, the lowerone on Portage Creek, the next at Willow Run (see map), and a third ata point opposite White Bear Islands. The portage was not completed untilJuly second. They were often delayed by the breaking down of their rudecarriages, and during the last stage of their journey much of theirluggage was carried on the backs of the men. They were also very muchannoyed with the spines of the prickly pear, a species of cactus, which, growing low on the ground, is certain to be trampled upon by thewayfarer. The spines ran through the moccasins of the men and sorelywounded their feet. Thus, under date of June twenty-fourth, the journalsays (It should be understood that the portage was worked from above andbelow the rapids):-- "On going down yesterday Captain Clark cut off several angles of theformer route, so as to shorten the portage considerably, and marked itwith stakes. He arrived there in time to have two of the canoes carriedup in the high plain, about a mile in advance. Here they all repairedtheir moccasins, and put on double soles to protect them from theprickly pear, and from the sharp points of earth which have been formedby the trampling of the buffalo during the late rains. This of itself issufficient to render the portage disagreeable to one who has no burden;but as the men are loaded as heavily as their strength will permit, thecrossing is really painful. Some are limping with the soreness of theirfeet; others are scarcely able to stand for more than a few minutes, from the heat and fatigue. They are all obliged to halt and restfrequently; at almost every stopping-place they fall, and many of themare asleep in an instant; yet no one complains, and they go on withgreat cheerfulness. At the camp, midway in the portage, Drewyer andFields joined them; for, while Captain Lewis was looking for them atMedicine River, they returned to report the absence of Shannon, aboutwhom they had been very uneasy. They had killed several buffalo at thebend of the Missouri above the falls, dried about eight hundred poundsof meat, and got one hundred pounds of tallow; they had also killed somedeer, but had seen no elk. " Under this date, too, Captain Lewis, who was with another branch of theexpedition, makes this note: "Such as were able to shake a foot amusedthemselves in dancing on the green to the music of the violin whichCruzatte plays extremely well. " The journal continues:-- "We were now occupied (at White Bear camp) in fitting up a boat ofskins, the frame of which had been prepared for the purpose at Harper'sFerry in Virginia. It was made of iron, thirty-six feet long, four andone-half feet in the beam, and twenty-six inches wide in the bottom. Twomen had been sent this morning for timber to complete it, but they couldfind scarcely any even tolerably straight sticks four and one-half feetlong; and as the cottonwood is too soft and brittle, we were obliged touse willow and box-elder. " On the twenty-seventh, the main party, which was working on the upperpart of the portage, joined that of Captain Clark at the lower camp, where a second cache, or place of deposit, had been formed, and wherethe boat-swivel was now hidden under the rocks. The journal says:-- "The party were employed in preparing timber for the boat, except twowho were sent to hunt. About one in the afternoon a cloud arose fromthe southwest, and brought with it violent thunder, lightning, and hail. Soon after it passed, the hunters came in, from about four miles aboveus. They had killed nine elk and three bears. As they were hunting onthe river they saw a low ground covered with thick brushwood, where fromthe tracks along shore they thought a bear had probably taken refuge. They therefore landed, without making a noise, and climbed a tree abouttwenty feet above the ground. Having fixed themselves securely, theyraised a loud shout, and a bear instantly rushed toward them. Theseanimals never climb, and therefore when he came to the tree and stoppedto look at them, Drewyer shot him in the head. He proved to be thelargest we had yet seen; his nose appeared to be like that of a commonox; his fore feet measured nine inches across; the hind feet were seveninches wide and eleven and three quarters long, exclusive of the talons. One of these animals came within thirty yards of the camp last night, and carried off some buffalo-meat which we had placed on a pole. " The party were very much annoyed here by the grizzlies which infestedtheir camp at night. Their faithful dog always gave warning of theapproach of one of these monsters; but the men were obliged to sleepwith their guns by their side, ready to repel the enemy at a moment'snotice. Captain Clark finally broke up the camp on Portage Creek, June 28, having deposited in his cache whatever could be left behind withoutinconvenience. "On the following day, " the journal says:-- "Finding it impossible to reach the upper end of the portage with thepresent load, in consequence of the state of the road after the rain, hesent back nearly all his party to bring on the articles which had beenleft yesterday. Having lost some notes and remarks which he had madeon first ascending the river, he determined to go up to the WhitebearIslands along its banks, in order to supply the deficiency. He thereleft one man to guard the baggage, and went on to the falls, accompaniedby his servant York, Chaboneau, and his wife with her young child. "On his arrival there he observed a very dark cloud rising in the west, which threatened rain, and looked around for some shelter; but couldfind no place where the party would be secure from being blown into theriver, if the wind should prove as violent as it sometimes does in theplains. At length, about a quarter of a mile above the falls, he founda deep ravine, where there were some shelving rocks, under which hetook refuge. They were on the upper side of the ravine near the river, perfectly safe from the rain, and therefore laid down their guns, compass, and other articles which they carried with them. The showerwas at first moderate; it then increased to a heavy rain, the effectsof which they did not feel; but soon after, a torrent of rain and haildescended. The rain seemed to fall in a solid mass, and instantly, collecting in the ravine, came rolling down in a dreadful current, carrying the mud, rocks, and everything that opposed it. Captain Clarkfortunately saw it a moment before it reached them, and springing upwith his gun and shot-pouch in his left hand, with his right clamberedup the steep bluff, pushing on the Indian woman with her child in herarms; her husband too had seized her hand and was pulling her tip thehill, but he was so terrified at the danger that he remained frequentlymotionless; and but for Captain Clark, himself and his wife and childwould have been lost. So instantaneous was the rise of the water that, before Captain Clark had reached his gun and begun to ascend the bank, the water was up to his waist, and he could scarcely get up faster thanit rose, till it reached the height of fifteen feet, with a furiouscurrent which, had they waited a moment longer, would have sweptthem into the river just above the Great Falls, down which they mustinevitably have been precipitated. They reached the plain in safety andfound York, who had separated from them just before the storm to huntsome buffalo, and was now returning to find his master. They had beenobliged to escape so rapidly that Captain Clark lost his compass (thatis, circumferentor) and umbrella, Chaboneau left his gun, with CaptainLewis' wiping-rod, shot-pouch, and tomahawk, and the Indian woman hadjust time to grasp her child, before the net in which it lay at her feetwas carried down the current. " Such a storm is known in the West as a cloud-burst. Overland emigrantsin the early rush to California often suffered loss from these suddendeluges. A party of men, with wagons and animals, have been known tobe swept away and lost in a flood bursting in a narrow canyon in themountains. "Captain Clark now relinquished his intention of going up the river, andreturned to the camp at Willow Run. Here he found that the partysent this morning for the baggage had all returned to camp in greatconfusion, leaving their loads in the plain. On account of the heat, they generally go nearly naked, and with no covering on their heads. The hail was so large, and driven so furiously against them by the highwind, that it knocked several of them down: one of them, particularly, was thrown on the ground three times, and most of them were bleedingfreely, and complained of being much bruised. Willow Run had risen sixfeet since the rain; and, as the plains were so wet that they could notproceed, they passed the night at their camp. "At the White Bear camp, also, " (says Lewis), "we had not beeninsensible to the hailstorm, though less exposed. In the morning therehad been a heavy shower of rain, after which it became fair. Afterassigning to the men their respective employments, Captain Lewis tookone of them, and went to see the large fountain near the falls. . . . Itis, perhaps, the largest in America, and is situated in a pleasant levelplain, about twenty-five yards from the river, into which it falls oversome steep, irregular rocks, with a sudden ascent of about six feet inone part of its course. The water boils up from among the rocks, andwith such force near the centre that the surface seems higher there thanthe earth on the sides of the fountain, which is a handsome turf offine green grass. The water is extremely pure, cold, and pleasant to thetaste, not being impregnated with lime or any foreign substance. It isperfectly transparent, and continues its bluish cast for half a miledown the Missouri, notwithstanding the rapidity of the river. Afterexamining it for some time, Captain Lewis returned to the camp. . . . " "Two men were sent (June 30) to the falls to look for the articleslost yesterday; but they found nothing but the compass, covered with mudand sand, at the mouth of the ravine. The place at which Captain Clarkhad been caught by the storm was filled with large rocks. The mencomplain much of the bruises received yesterday from the hail. Amore than usual number of buffalo appeared about the camp to-day, andfurnished plenty of meat. Captain Clark thought that at one view he musthave seen at least ten thousand. " Of the party at the upper camp, opposite White Bear Islands, the journalmakes this observation:-- "The party continues to be occupied with the boat, the cross-bars forwhich are now finished, and there remain only the strips to complete thewoodwork. The skins necessary to cover it have already been prepared;they amount to twenty-eight elk-skins and four buffalo-skins. Among ourgame were two beaver, which we have had occasion to observe are foundwherever there is timber. We also killed a large bull-bat or goatsucker, of which there are many in this neighborhood, resembling in everyrespect those of the same species in the United States. We have not seenthe leather-winged bat for some time, nor are there any of the smallgoatsucker in this part of the Missouri. We have not seen that speciesof goatsucker called the whippoorwill, which is commonly confounded inthe United States with the large goatsucker which we observe here. This last prepares no nest, but lays its eggs on the open plains; theygenerally begin to sit on two eggs, and we believe raise only one broodin a season; at the present moment they are just hatching their young. " Dr. Coues says that we should bear in mind that this was written "whenbats were birds and whales were fishes for most persons. " The journalconfounds bats, which are winged mammals, with goatsuckers, orwhippoorwills, which are birds. The second of July was an interesting date for the explorers. On thatday we find the following entry in their journal:-- "A shower of rain fell very early this morning. We then despatched somemen for the baggage left behind yesterday, and the rest were engaged inputting the boat together. This was accomplished in about three hours, and then we began to sew on the leather over the crossbars of iron onthe inner side of the boat which form the ends of the sections. By twoo'clock the last of the baggage arrived, to the great delight ofthe party, who were anxious to proceed. The mosquitoes we find verytroublesome. "Having completed our celestial observations, we went over to the largeisland to make an attack upon its inhabitants, the bears, which haveannoyed us very much of late, and were prowling about our camp all lastnight. We found that the part of the island frequented by the bearsforms an almost impenetrable thicket of the broad-leaved willow. Intothis we forced our way in parties of three; but could see only one bear, which instantly attacked Drewyer. Fortunately, as he was rushing on, thehunter shot him through the heart within twenty paces and he fell, whichenabled Drewyer to get out of his way. We then followed him one hundredyards, and found that the wound had been mortal. "Not being able to discover any more of these animals, we returnedto camp. Here, in turning over some of the baggage, we caught a ratsomewhat larger than the common European rat, and of a lighter color;the body and outer parts of the legs and head of a light lead color; theinner side of the legs, as well as the belly, feet, and ears, white; theears are not covered with hair, and are much larger than those of thecommon rat; the toes also are longer; the eyes are black and prominent, the whiskers very long and full; the tail is rather longer than thebody, and covered with fine fur and hair of the same size with that onthe back, which is very close, short, and silky in its texture. This wasthe first we had met, although its nests are very frequent in the cliffsof rocks and hollow trees, where we also found large quantities of theshells and seed of the prickly-pear. " The queer rat discovered by Lewis and Clark was then unknown to science. It is now known in the Far West as the pack-rat. It lives in holes andcrevices of the rocks, and it subsists on the shells and seeds of theprickly pear, which is usually abundant in the hunting grounds of thelittle animal. The explorers were now constantly in full view of theRocky Mountain, on which, however, their present title had not then beenconferred. Under date of July 2, the journal says:-- "The mosquitoes are uncommonly troublesome. The wind was again highfrom the southwest. These winds are in fact always the coldest and mostviolent which we experience, and the hypothesis which we have formedon that subject is, that the air, coming in contact with the SnowyMountains, immediately becomes chilled and condensed, and being thusrendered heavier than the air below, it descends into the rarefied airbelow, or into the vacuum formed by the constant action of the sunon the open unsheltered plains. The clouds rise suddenly near thesemountains, and distribute their contents partially over the neighboringplains. The same cloud will discharge hail alone in one part, hail andrain in another, and rain only in a third, all within the space of a fewmiles; while at the same time there is snow falling on the mountainsto the southeast of us. There is at present no snow on those mountains;that which covered them on our arrival, as well as that which has sincefallen, having disappeared. The mountains to the north and northwestof us are still entirely covered with snow; indeed, there has been noperceptible diminution of it since we first saw them, which induces abelief either that the clouds prevailing at this season do not reachtheir summits or that they deposit their snow only. They glisten withgreat beauty when the sun shines on them in a particular direction, andmost probably from this glittering appearance have derived the name ofthe Shining Mountains. " A mysterious noise, heard by the party, here engaged their attention, as it did years afterwards the attention of other explorers. The journalsays:-- "Since our arrival at the falls we have repeatedly heard a strange noisecoming from the mountains in a direction a little to the north of west. It is heard at different periods of the day and night (sometimes whenthe air is perfectly still and without a cloud), and consists of onestroke only, or of five or six discharges in quick succession. It isloud, and resembles precisely the sound of a six-pound piece of ordnanceat the distance of three miles. The Minnetarees frequently mentionedthis noise, like thunder, which they said the mountains made; but we hadpaid no attention to it, believing it to have been some superstition, orperhaps a falsehood. The watermen also of the party say that thePawnees and Ricaras give the same account of a noise heard in the BlackMountains to the westward of them. The solution of the mystery given bythe philosophy of the watermen is, that it is occasioned by the burstingof the rich mines of silver confined within the bosom of the mountains. " Of these strange noises there are many explanations, the most plausiblebeing that they are caused by the explosion of the species of stoneknown as the geode, fragments of which are frequently found among themountains. The geode has a hollow cell within, lined with beautifulcrystals of many colors. Independence Day, 1805, was celebrated with becoming patriotism andcheerfulness by these far-wandering adventurers. Their record says:-- "An elk and a beaver are all that were killed to-day; the buffalo seemto have withdrawn from our neighborhood, though several of the men, whowent to-day to visit the falls for the first time, mention that theyare still abundant at that place. We contrived, however, to spread nota very sumptuous but a comfortable table in honor of the day, and inthe evening gave the men a drink of spirits, which was the last of ourstock. Some of them appeared sensible to the effects of even so smalla quantity; and as is usual among them on all festivals, the fiddle wasproduced and a dance begun, which lasted till nine o'clock, when it wasinterrupted by a heavy shower of rain. They continued their merriment, however, till a late hour. " Their bill-of-fare, according to Captain Lewis, was bacon, beans, suetdumplings, and buffalo meat, which, he says, "gave them no just cause tocovet the sumptuous feasts of our countrymen on this day. " More than ayear passed before they again saw and tasted spirits. Great expectations were entertained of the boat that was built here onthe iron frame brought all the way from Harper's Ferry, Virginia. Theframe was covered with dressed skins of buffalo and elk, the seams beingcoated with a composition of powdered charcoal and beeswax, in defaultof tar or pitch. This craft was well named the "Experiment, " and adisappointing experiment it proved to be. Here is Captain Lewis' accountof her failure: "The boat having now become sufficiently dry, we gave her a coat of thecomposition, which after a proper interval was repeated, and the nextmorning, Tuesday, July 9th, she was launched into the water, and swamperfectly well. The seats were then fixed and the oars fitted; butafter we had loaded her, as well as the canoes, and were on the point ofsetting out, a violent wind caused the waves to wet the baggage, sothat we were forced to unload the boats. The wind continued high untilevening, when to our great disappointment we discovered that nearlyall the composition had separated from the skins and left the seamsperfectly exposed; so that the boat now leaked very much. To repair thismisfortune without pitch is impossible, and as none of that articleis to be procured, we therefore, however reluctantly, are obliged toabandon her, after having had so much labor in the construction. We nowsaw that the section of the boat covered with buffalo-skins on whichhair had been left answered better than the elk-skins, and leaked butlittle; while that part which was covered with hair about one-eighth ofan inch retained the composition perfectly, and remained sound anddry. From this we perceived that had we employed buffalo instead ofelk skins, not singed them so closely as we did, and carefully avoidedcutting the leather in sewing, the boat would have been sufficient evenwith the present composition; or had we singed instead of shaving theelk-skins, we might have succeeded. But we discovered our error toolate; the buffalo had deserted us, and the travelling season was sofast advancing that we had no time to spare for experiments; therefore, finding that she could be no longer useful, she was sunk in the water, so as to soften the skins, and enable us the more easily to take her topieces. "It now became necessary to provide other means for transporting thebaggage which we had intended to stow in her. For this purpose we shallwant two more canoes; but for many miles--from below the mouth of theMusselshell River to this place--we have not seen a single tree fit tobe used in that way. The hunters, however, who have hitherto been sentafter timber, mention that there is a low ground on the opposite side ofthe river, about eight miles above us by land, and more than twice thatdistance by water, in which we may probably find trees large enough forour purposes. Captain Clark determined, therefore, to set out by landfor that place with ten of the best workmen, who would be occupied inbuilding the canoes till the rest of the party, after taking the boat topieces, and making the necessary deposits, should transport the baggage, and join them with the other six canoes. "He accordingly passed over to the opposite side of the river with hisparty next day, and proceeded on eight miles by land, the distance bywater being twenty-three and three quarter miles. Here he found twocottonwood trees; but, on cutting them down, one proved to be hollow, split at the top in falling, and both were much damaged at the bottom. He searched the neighborhood, but could find none which would suitbetter, and therefore was obliged to make use of those which he hadfelled, shortening them in order to avoid the cracks, and supplying thedeficiency by making them as wide as possible. They were equally at aloss for wood of which they might make handles for their axes, the eyesof which not being round, they were obliged to split the timber in sucha manner that thirteen of the handles broke in the course of the day, though made of the best wood they could find for the purpose, which wasthe chokecherry. "The rest of the party took the frame of the boat to pieces, depositedit in a cache or hole, with a draught of the country from Fort Mandanto this place, and also some other papers and small articles of lessimportance. " High winds prevented the party from making rapid progress, andnotwithstanding the winds they were greatly troubled with mosquitoes. Lest the reader should think the explorers too sensitive on thesubject of these troublesome pests, it should be said that only westerntravellers can realize the numbers and venom of the mosquitoes of thatregion. Early emigrants across the continent were so afflicted by theseinsects that the air at times seemed full of gray clouds of them. Itwas the custom of the wayfarers to build a "smudge, " as it was called, a low, smouldering fire of green boughs and brush, the dense smokefrom which (almost as annoying as the mosquitoes) would drive off theirpersecutors as long, as the victims sat in the smoke. The sleeping tentwas usually cleared in this way before "turning in" at night, everyopening of the canvas being afterwards closed. Captain Lewis, on the thirteenth of July, followed Captain Clark up theriver; crossing the stream to the north bank, with his six canoes andall his baggage, he overtook the other party on the same day and foundthem all engaged in boat-building. "On his way he passed a very large Indian lodge, which was probablydesigned as a great council-house; but it differed in its constructionfrom all that we had seen, lower down the Missouri or elsewhere. Theform of it was a circle two hundred and sixteen feet in circumference atthe base; it was composed of sixteen large cottonwood poles about fiftyfeet long and at their thicker ends, which touched the ground, about thesize of a man's body. They were distributed at equal distances, exceptthat one was omitted to the cast, probably for the entrance. From thecircumference of this circle the poles converged toward the centre, where they were united and secured by large withes of willow-brush. There was no covering over this fabric, in the centre of which werethe remains of a large fire, and around it the marks of about eightyleathern lodges. He also saw a number of turtle-doves, and some pigeons, of which he shot one, differing in no respect from the wild pigeon ofthe United States. . . . " "The buffalo have not yet quite gone, for the hunters brought in three, in very good order. It requires some diligence to supply us plentifully, for as we reserve our parched meal for the Rocky Mountains, where we donot expect to find much game, our principal article of food is meat, andthe consumption of the whole thirty-two persons belonging to theparty amounts to four deer, an elk and a deer, or one buffalo, everytwenty-four hours. The mosquitoes and gnats persecute us as violently asbelow, so that we can get no sleep unless defended by biers (nets), withwhich we are all provided. We here found several plants hitherto unknownto us, of which we preserved specimens. " On the fourteenth of July, the boats were finally launched, and next daythe journal records this important event: "We rose early, embarked all our baggage on board the canoes, which, though eight in number, are heavily loaded, and at ten o'clock set outon our journey. . . . At the distance of seven and a half miles we cameto the lower point of a woodland, at the entrance of a beautiful river, which, in honor of the Secretary of the Navy, we called Smith's River. This stream falls into a bend on the south side of the Missouri, andis eighty yards wide. As far as we could discern its course, it woundthrough a charming valley towards the southeast, in which many herdsof buffalo were feeding, till, at the distance of twenty-five miles, itentered the Rocky Mountains and was lost from our view. . . . "We find the prickly pear, one of the greatest beauties as well asgreatest inconveniences of the plains, now in full bloom. The sunflower, too, a plant common on every part of the Missouri from its entrance tothis place, is here very abundant, and in bloom. The lamb's-quarter, wild cucumber, sand-rush, and narrow dock, are also common. " The journal here records the fact that the great river had now become socrooked that it was expedient to note only its general course, leavingout all description of its turns and windings. The Missouri was nowflowing due north, leaving its bends out of account, and the explorers, ascending the river, were therefore travelling south; and although thejournal sets forth "the north bank" and "the south bank, " it should beunderstood that west is meant by the one, and east by the other. Buffalowere observed in great numbers. Many obstacles to navigating the riverwere encountered. Under date of July 17, the journal says: "The navigation is now very laborious. The river is deep, but withlittle current, and from seventy to one hundred yards wide; the lowgrounds are very narrow, with but little timber, and that chiefly theaspen tree. The cliffs are steep, and hang over the river so much thatoften we could not cross them, but were obliged to pass and repass fromone side of the river to the other, in order to make our way. Insome places the banks are formed of dark or black granite risingperpendicularly to a great height, through which the river seems, in theprogress of time, to have worn its channel. On these mountains we seemore pine than usual, but it is still in small quantities. Along thebottoms, which have a covering of high grass, we observed the sunflowerblooming in great abundance. The Indians of the Missouri, moreespecially those who do not cultivate maize, make great use of the seedof this plant for bread, or in thickening their soup. They first parchand then pound it between two stones, until it is reduced to a finemeal. Sometimes they add a portion of water, and drink it thus diluted;at other times they add a sufficient proportion of marrow-grease toreduce it to the consistency of common dough, and eat it in that manner. This last composition we preferred to all the rest, and thought it atthat time a very palatable dish. " They also feasted on a great variety of wild berries, purple, yellow, and black currants, which were delicious and more pleasant to the palatethan those grown in their Virginia home-gardens; also service-berries, popularly known to later emigrants as "sarvice-berries. " These grow onsmall bushes, two or three feet high; and the fruit is purple-skinned, with a white pulp, resembling a ripe gooseberry. The journal, next day, has the following entry:-- "This morning early, before our departure, we saw a large herd of thebig-horned animals, which were bounding among the rocks on the oppositecliff with great agility. These inaccessible spots secure them fromall their enemies, and their only danger is in wandering among theseprecipices, where we would suppose it scarcely possible for any animalto stand; a single false step would precipitate them at least fivehundred feet into the water. "At one and one fourth miles we passed another single cliff on the left;at the same distance beyond which is the mouth of a large river emptyingfrom the north. It is a handsome, bold, and clear stream, eighty yardswide--that is, nearly as broad as the Missouri--with a rapid current, over a bed of small smooth stones of various figures. The water isextremely transparent; the low grounds are narrow, but possess as muchwood as those of the Missouri. The river has every appearance of beingnavigable, though to what distance we cannot ascertain, as the countrywhich it waters is broken and mountainous. In honor of the Secretary ofWar we called it Dearborn's River. " General Henry Dearborn, who was then Secretary of War, in Jefferson'sadministration, gave his name, a few years later, to a collection ofcamps and log-cabins on Lake Michigan; and in due time Fort Dearbornbecame the great city of Chicago. Continuing, the journal says: "Being now very anxious to meet with the Shoshonees or Snake Indians, for the purpose of obtaining the necessary information of our route, as well as to procure horses, it was thought best for one of us to goforward with a small party and endeavor to discover them, before thedaily discharge of our guns, which is necessary for our subsistence, should give them notice of our approach. If by an accident they hear us, they will most probably retreat to the mountains, mistaking us for theirenemies, who usually attack them on this side. " . . . . . . . . . Captain Clark was now in the lead with a small party, and he came uponthe remains of several Indian camps formed of willow-brush, Traces ofIndians became more plentiful. The journal adds:-- "At the same time Captain Clark observed that the pine trees had beenstripped of their bark about the same season, which our Indian womansays her countrymen do in order to obtain the sap and the soft parts ofthe wood and bark for food. About eleven o'clock he met a herd ofelk and killed two of them; but such was the want of wood in theneighborhood that he was unable to procure enough to make a fire, andwas therefore obliged to substitute the dung of the buffalo, with whichhe cooked his breakfast. They then resumed their course along an oldIndian road. In the afternoon they reached a handsome valley, watered bya large creek, both of which extended a considerable distance into themountain. This they crossed, and during the evening travelled over amountainous country covered with sharp fragments of flint rock; thesebruised and cut their feet very much, but were scarcely less troublesomethan the prickly-pear of the open plains, which have now become soabundant that it is impossible to avoid them, and the thorns are sostrong that they pierce a double sole of dressed deer-skin; the bestresource against them is a sole of buffalo-hide in parchment (thatis, hard dried). At night they reached the river much fatigued, havingpassed two mountains in the course of the day, and travelled thirtymiles. Captain Clark's first employment, on lighting a fire, was toextract from his feet the thorns, which he found seventeen in number. " The dung of the buffalo, exposed for many years to the action of sun, wind, and rain, became as dry and firm as the finest compressed hay. As "buffalo chips, " in these treeless regions, it was the overlandemigrants' sole dependence for fuel. The explorers now approached a wonderful pass in the Rocky Mountainswhich their journal thus describes: "A mile and a half beyond this creek (Cottonwood Creek) the rocksapproach the river on both sides, forming a most sublime andextraordinary spectacle. For five and three quarter miles these rocksrise perpendicularly from the water's edge to the height of nearlytwelve hundred feet. They are composed of a black granite near theirbase, but from the lighter color above, and from the fragments, wesuppose the upper part to be flint of a yellowish brown and cream color. "Nothing can be imagined more tremendous than the frowning darknessof these rocks, which project over the river and menace us withdestruction. The river, one hundred and fifty yards in width, seems tohave forced its channel down this solid mass; but so reluctantly has itgiven way, that during the whole distance the water is very deep even atthe edges, and for the first three miles there is not a spot, exceptone of a few yards, in which a man could stand between the water and thetowering perpendicular of the mountain. The convulsion of the passagemust have been terrible, since at its outlet there are vast columnsof rock torn from the mountain, which are strewed on both sides of theriver, the trophies, as it were, of its victory. Several fine springsburst out from the chasms of the rock, and contribute to increase theriver, which has a strong current, but, very fortunately, we were ableto overcome it with our oars, since it would have been impossible to useeither the cord or the pole. We were obliged to go on some time afterdark, not being able to find a spot large enough to encamp on; but atlength, about two miles above a small island in the middle of the river, we met with a place on the left side, where we procured plenty of lightwood and pitch pine. This extraordinary range of rocks we called theGates of the Rocky Mountains. " Some of Captain Clark's men, engaged in hunting, gave the alarm toroving bands of Shoshonee Indians, hunting in that vicinity. The noiseof their guns attracted the attention of the Indians, who, having setfire to the grass as a warning to their comrades, fled to the mountains. The whole country soon appeared to have taken fright, and great cloudsof smoke were observed in all directions. Falling into an old Indiantrail, Captain Clark waited, with his weary and footsore men, for therest of the party to come up with them. The explorers had now passed south, between the Big Belt range ofmountains on the cast and the main chain of the Rocky Mountains on thewest. Meagher County, Montana, now lies on the cast of their trail, andon the west side of that route is the county of Lewis and Clark. Theywere now--still travelling southward--approaching the ultimate sourcesof the great Missouri. The journal says:-- "We are delighted to find that the Indian woman recognizes the country;she tells us that to this creek her countrymen make excursions toprocure white paint on its banks, and we therefore call it WhiteearthCreek. She says also that the Three Forks of the Missouri are at nogreat distance--a piece of intelligence which has cheered the spiritsof us all, as we hope soon to reach the head of that river. This is thewarmest day, except one, we have experienced this summer. In the shadethe mercury stood at eighty degrees, which is the second time it hasreached that height during this season. We camped on an island, aftermaking nineteen and three quarters miles. "In the course of the day we saw many geese, cranes, small birds commonto the plains, and a few pheasants. We also observed a small plover orcurlew of a brown color, about the size of a yellow-legged plover orjack-curlew, but of a different species. It first appeared near themouth of Smith's River, but is so shy and vigilant that we were unableto shoot it. Both the broad and narrow-leaved willow continue, though the sweet willow has become very scarce. The rosebush, smallhoneysuckle, pulpy-leaved thorn, southernwood, sage, box-elder, narrow-leaved cottonwood, redwood, and a species of sumach, are allabundant. So, too, are the red and black gooseberries, service-berry, choke-cherry, and the black, yellow, red, and purple currants, whichlast seems to be a favorite food of the bear. Before camping we landedand took on board Captain Clark, with the meat he had collected duringthis day's hunt, which consisted of one deer and an elk; we had, ourselves, shot a deer and an antelope. " The party found quantities of wild onions of good flavor and size. Theyalso observed wild flax, garlic, and other vegetable products of value. The journal adds:-- "We saw many otter and beaver to-day (July 24th). The latter seem tocontribute very much to the number of islands, and the widening of theriver. They begin by damming up the small channels of about twenty yardsbetween the islands: this obliges the river to seek another outlet, and, as soon as this is effected, the channel stopped by the beaver becomesfilled with mud and sand. The industrious animal is then driven toanother channel, which soon shares the same fate, till the river spreadson all sides, and cuts the projecting points of the land into islands. We killed a deer, and saw great numbers of antelopes, cranes, somegeese, and a few red-headed ducks. The small birds of the plains andthe curlew are still abundant: we saw a large bear, but could not comewithin gunshot of him. There are numerous tracks of the elk, but noneof the animals themselves; and, from the appearance of bones and oldexcrement, we suppose that buffalo sometimes stray into the valley, though we have as yet seen no recent sign of them. Along the water area number of snakes, some of a uniform brown color, others black, anda third speckled on the abdomen, and striped with black and a brownishyellow on the back and sides. The first, which is the largest, is aboutfour feet long; the second is of the kind mentioned yesterday; and thethird resembles in size and appearance the garter-snake of the UnitedStates. On examining the teeth of all these several kinds, we found themfree from poison: they are fond of the water, in which they take shelteron being pursued. The mosquitoes, gnats, and prickly pear, our threepersecutors, still continue with us, and, joined with the labor ofworking the canoes, have fatigued us all excessively. " On Thursday, July 25, Captain Clark, who was in the lead, as usual, arrived at the famous Three Forks of the Missouri. The stream flowing ina generally northeastern direction was the true, or principal Missouri, and was named the Jefferson. The middle branch was named the Madison, in honor of James Madison, then Secretary of State, and the fork next tothe eastward received the name of Albert Gallatin, then Secretary ofthe Treasury; and by these titles the streams are known to this day. Theexplorers had now passed down to their furthest southern limit, theirtrail being to the eastward of the modern cities of Helena and Butte, and separated only by a narrow divide (then unknown to them) from thesources of some of the streams that fall into the Pacific Ocean. Underthe date of July 27, the journal says:-- "We are now very anxious to see the Snake Indians. After advancing forseveral hundred miles into this wild and mountainous country, we maysoon expect that the game will abandon us. With no information of theroute, we may be unable to find a passage across the mountains when wereach the head of the river--at least, such a pass as will lead usto the Columbia. Even are we so fortunate as to find a branch of thatriver, the timber which we have hitherto seen in these mountains doesnot promise us any fit to make canoes, so that our chief dependence ison meeting some tribe from whom we may procure horses. Our consolationis that this southwest branch can scarcely head with any other riverthan the Columbia; and that if any nation of Indians can live in themountains we are able to endure as much as they can, and have evenbetter means of procuring subsistence. " Chapter XII -- At the Sources of the Missouri The explorers were now (in the last days of July, 1805) at the head ofthe principal sources of the great Missouri River, in the fastnessesof the Rocky Mountains, at the base of the narrow divide that separatesIdaho from Montana in its southern corner. Just across this divide arethe springs that feed streams falling into the majestic Columbia andthen to the Pacific Ocean. As has been already set forth, they named theThree Forks for President Jefferson and members of his cabinet. Thesenames still survive, although Jefferson River is the true Missouriand not a fork of that stream. Upon the forks of the Jefferson Lewisbestowed the titles of Philosophy, Wisdom, and Philanthropy, each ofthese gifts and graces being, in his opinion, "an attribute of thatillustrious personage, Thomas Jefferson, " then President of the UnitedStates. But alas for the fleeting greatness of geographical honor!Philosophy River is now known as Willow Creek, and at its mouth, a busylittle railroad town, is Willow City. The northwest fork is no longerWisdom, but Big Hole River; deep valleys among the mountains are knownas holes; and the stream called by that name, once Wisdom, is followedalong its crooked course by a railroad that connects Dillon, Silver Bow, and Butte City, Montana. Vulgarity does its worst for Philanthropy; itsmodern name on the map is Stinking Water. On the thirtieth of July, the party, having camped long enough to unpackand dry their goods, dress their deerskins and make them into leggingsand moccasins, reloaded their canoes and began the toilsome ascent ofthe Jefferson. The journal makes this record:-- "Sacajawea, our Indian woman, informs us that we are encamped on theprecise spot where her countrymen, the Snake Indians, had their hutsfive years ago, when the Minnetarees of Knife River first came insight of them, and from whom they hastily retreated three miles upthe Jefferson, and concealed themselves in the woods. The Minnetarees, however, pursued and attacked them, killed four men, as many women, and a number of boys; and made prisoners of four other boys and allthe females, of whom Sacajawea was one. She does not, however, show anydistress at these recollections, nor any joy at the prospect of beingrestored to her country; for she seems to possess the folly, or thephilosophy, of not suffering her feelings to extend beyond the anxietyof having plenty to eat and a few trinkets to wear. "This morning the hunters brought in some fat deer of the long-tailedred kind, which are quite as large as those of the United States, and are, indeed, the only kind we have found at this place. There arenumbers of the sand-hill cranes feeding in the meadows: we caught ayoung one of the same color as the red deer, which, though it had nearlyattained its full growth, could not fly; it is very fierce, and strikesa severe blow with its beak. . . . "Captain Lewis proceeded after dinner through an extensive low ground oftimber and meadow-land intermixed; but the bayous were so obstructed bybeaver-dams that, in order to avoid them, he directed his course towardthe high plain on the right. This he gained with some difficulty, after wading up to his waist through the mud and water of a numberof beaver-dams. When he desired to rejoin the canoes he found theunderbrush so thick, and the river so crooked, that this, joined to thedifficulty of passing the beaver-dams, induced him to go on and endeavorto intercept the river at some point where it might be more collectedinto one channel, and approach nearer the high plain. He arrived at thebank about sunset, having gone only six miles in a direct course fromthe canoes; but he saw no traces of the men, nor did he receive anyanswer to his shouts and the firing of his gun. It was now nearly dark;a duck lighted near him, and he shot it. He then went on the head of asmall island, where he found some driftwood, which enabled him to cookhis duck for supper, and laid down to sleep on some willow-brush. Thenight was cool, but the driftwood gave him a good fire, and he sufferedno inconvenience, except from the mosquitoes. " The easy indifference to discomfort with which these well-seasonedpioneers took their hardships must needs impress the reader. It was acommon thing for men, or for a solitary man, to be caught out of campby nightfall and compelled to bivouac, like Captain Lewis, in theunderbrush, or the prairie-grass. As they pressed on, game began to failthem. Under date of July 31, they remark that the only game seen thatday was one bighorn, a few antelopes, deer, and a brown bear, all ofwhich escaped them. "Nothing was killed to-day, " it is recorded, "norhave we had any fresh meat except one beaver for the last two days; sothat we are now reduced to an unusual situation, for we have hithertoalways had a great abundance of flesh. " Indeed, one reason for this isfound in Captain Lewis's remark: "When we have plenty of fresh meat, Ifind it impossible to make the men take any care of it, or use it withthe least frugality, though I expect that necessity will shortly teachthem this art. " We shall see, later on, that the men, who were really asimprovident of food as the Indians, had hard lessons from necessity. Anxious to reach the Indians, who were believed to be somewhere aheadof them, Captain Lewis and three men went on up the Jefferson, CaptainClark and his party following with the canoes and luggage in a moreleisurely manner. The advance party were so fortunate as to overtake aherd of elk, two of which they killed; what they did not eat they leftsecured for the other party with the canoes. Clark's men also had goodluck in hunting, for they killed five deer and one bighorn. Neitherparty found fresh tracks of Indians, and they were greatly discouragedthereat. The journal speaks of a beautiful valley, from six to eightmiles wide, where they saw ancient traces of buffalo occupation, but nobuffalo. These animals had now completely disappeared; they were seldomseen in those mountains. The journal says of Lewis:-- "He saw an abundance of deer and antelope, and many tracks of elk andbear. Having killed two deer, they feasted sumptuously, with a dessertof currants of different colors--two species red, others yellow, deeppurple, and black; to these were added black gooseberries and deeppurple service-berries, somewhat larger than ours, from which theydiffer also in color, size, and the superior excellence of theirflavor. In the low grounds of the river were many beaver-dams formed ofwillow-brush, mud, and gravel, so closely interwoven that they resistthe water perfectly; some of them were five feet high, and caused theriver to overflow several acres of land. " Meanwhile, the party with the canoes were having a fatiguing time asthey toiled up the river. On the fourth of August, after they had madeonly fifteen miles, the journal has this entry:-- "The river is still rapid, and the water, though clear, is very muchobstructed by shoals or ripples at every two hundred or three hundredyards. At all these places we are obliged to drag the canoes over thestones, as there is not a sufficient depth of water to float them, andin the other parts the current obliges us to have recourse to the cord. But as the brushwood on the banks will not permit us to walk on shore, we are under the necessity of wading through the river as we drag theboats. This soon makes our feet tender, and sometimes occasions severefalls over the slippery stones; and the men, by being constantly wet, are becoming more feeble. In the course of the day the hunters killedtwo deer, some geese and ducks, and the party saw some antelopes, cranes, beaver, and otter. " Captain Lewis had left a note for Captain Clark at the forks of theJefferson and Wisdom rivers. Clark's journal says:-- "We arrived at the forks about four o'clock, but, unluckily, CaptainLewis's note had been attached to a green pole, which the beaver had cutdown, and carried off with the note on it: an accident which deprived usof all information as to the character of the two branches of the river. Observing, therefore, that the northwest fork was most in our direction, we ascended it. We found it extremely rapid, and its waters werescattered in such a manner that for a quarter of a mile we were forcedto cut a passage through the willow-brush that leaned over the littlechannels and united at the top. After going up it for a mile, weencamped on an island which had been overflowed, and was still so wetthat we were compelled to make beds of brush to keep ourselves out ofthe mud. Our provision consisted of two deer which had been killed inthe morning. " It should be borne in mind that this river, up which the party weremaking their way, was the Wisdom (now Big Hole), and was the northwestfork of the Jefferson, flowing from southeast to northwest; and near thepoint where it enters the Jefferson, it has a loop toward the northeast;that is to say, it comes from the southwest to a person looking up itsmouth. After going up the Wisdom River, Clark's party were overtaken byDrewyer, Lewis's hunter, who had been sent across between the forks tonotify Clark that Lewis regarded the other fork--the main Jefferson--asthe right course to take. The party, accordingly, turned about and beganto descend the stream, in order to ascend the Jefferson. The journalsays:-- "On going down, one of the canoes upset and two others filled withwater, by which all the baggage was wet and several articles wereirrecoverably lost. As one of them swung round in a rapid current, Whitehouse was thrown out of her; while down, the canoe passed over him, and had the water been two inches shallower would have crushed him topieces; but he escaped with a severe bruise of his leg. In order torepair these misfortunes we hastened (down) to the forks, where we werejoined by Captain Lewis. We then passed over to the left (east) side, opposite the entrance of the rapid fork, and camped on a large gravellybar, near which there was plenty of wood. Here we opened, and exposedto dry, all the articles which had suffered from the water; none of themwere completely spoiled except a small keg of powder; the rest of thepowder, which was distributed in the different canoes, was quite safe, although it had been under the water for upward of an hour. The air isindeed so pure and dry that any wood-work immediately shrinks, unlessit is kept filled with water; but we had placed our powder in smallcanisters of lead, each containing powder enough for the canister whenmelted into bullets, and secured with cork and wax, which answered ourpurpose perfectly. . . . " "In the evening we killed three deer and four elk, which furnished usonce more with a plentiful supply of meat. Shannon, the same man who hadbeen lost for fifteen days (August 28 to Sept. 11, 1804), was sentout this morning to hunt, up the northwest fork. When we decided onreturning, Drewyer was directed to go in quest of him, but he returnedwith information that he had gone several miles up the (Wisdom) riverwithout being able to find Shannon. We now had the trumpet sounded, and fired several guns; but he did not return, and we fear he is againlost. " This man, although an expert hunter, had an unlucky habit of losinghimself in the wilderness, as many another good man has lost himselfamong the mountains or the great plains. This time, however, he cameinto camp again, after being lost three days. On the eighth of August the party reached a point now known by itsfamous landmark, Beaver Head, a remarkable rocky formation which givesits name to Beaverhead County, Montana. The Indian woman, Sacajawea, recognized the so-called beaver-head, which, she said, was not far fromthe summer retreat of her countrymen, living on the other side of themountains. The whole party were now together again, the men with thecanoes having come up; and the journal says:-- "Persuaded of the absolute necessity of procuring horses to crossthe mountains, it was determined that one of us should proceed in themorning to the head of the river, and penetrate the mountains tillhe found the Shoshonees or some other nation who can assist us intransporting our baggage, the greater part of which we shall becompelled to leave without the aid of horses. ". . . Early the next day Captain Lewis took Drewyer, Shields, and M'Neal, and, slinging their knapsacks, they set out with a resolution to meet somenation of Indians before they returned, however long they might beseparated from the party. The party in the canoes continued to ascend the river, which was socrooked that they advanced but four miles in a direct line from theirstarting-place in a distance of eleven miles. In this manner, the partyon foot leading those with the canoes, they repeatedly explored thevarious forks of the streams, which baffled them by their turnings andwindings. Lewis was in the advance, and Clark brought up the rear withthe main body. It was found necessary for the leading party to wade thestreams, and occasionally they were compelled by the roughness ofthe way to leave the water-course and take to the hills, where greatvigilance was required to keep them in sight of the general direction inwhich they must travel. On the 11th of August, 1805, Captain Lewis camein sight of the first Indian encountered since leaving the country ofthe Minnetarees, far back on the Missouri. The journal of that datesays: "On examining him with the glass Captain Lewis saw that he was of adifferent nation from any Indians we had hitherto met. He was armed witha bow and a quiver of arrows, and mounted on an elegant horse without asaddle; a small string attached to the under jaw answered as a bridle. "Convinced that he was a Shoshonee, and knowing how much our successdepended on the friendly offices of that nation, Captain Lewis was fullof anxiety to approach without alarming him, and endeavor to convincehim that he (Lewis) was a white man. He therefore proceeded toward theIndian at his usual pace. When they were within a mile of each other theIndian suddenly stopped. Captain Lewis immediately followed his example, took his blanket from his knapsack, and, holding it with both hands atthe two corners, threw it above his head, and unfolded it as he broughtit to the ground, as if in the act of spreading it. This signal, whichoriginates in the practice of spreading a robe or skin as a seat forguests to whom they wish to show a distinguished kindness, is theuniversal sign of friendship among the Indians on the Missouri and theRocky Mountains. As usual, Captain Lewis repeated this signal threetimes: still the Indian kept his position, and looked with an air ofsuspicion on Drewyer and Shields, who were now advancing on each side. Captain Lewis was afraid to make any signal for them to halt, lest heshould increase the distrust of the Indian, who began to be uneasy, andthey were too distant to hear his voice. He therefore took from his packsome beads, a looking-glass, and a few trinkets, which he had broughtfor the purpose, and, leaving his gun, advanced unarmed towards theIndian. He remained in the same position till Captain Lewis came withintwo hundred yards of him, when he turned his horse and began to move offslowly. Captain Lewis then called out to him in as loud a voice as hecould, repeating the words tabba bone, which in the Shoshonee languagemean white man. But, looking over his shoulder, the Indian kept his eyeson Drewyer and Shields, who were still advancing, without recollectingthe impropriety of doing so at such a moment, till Captain Lewis made asignal to them to halt: this Drewyer obeyed, but Shields did not observeit, and still went forward. Seeing Drewyer halt, the Indian turned hishorse about as if to wait for Captain Lewis, who now reached within onehundred and fifty paces, repeating the words tabba bone, and holding upthe trinkets in his hand, at the same time stripping up the sleeve ofhis shirt to show the color of his skin. The Indian suffered him toadvance within one hundred paces, then suddenly turned his horse, and, giving him the whip, leaped across the creek, and disappeared in aninstant among the willow bushes: with him vanished all the hopeswhich the sight of him had inspired, of a friendly introduction to hiscountrymen. " Sadly disappointed by the clumsy imprudence of his men, Captain Lewisnow endeavored to follow the track of the retreating Indian, hoping thatthis might lead them to an encampment, or village, of the Shoshonees. Healso built a fire, the smoke of which might attract the attention ofthe Indians. At the same time, he placed on a pole near the fire asmall assortment of beads, trinkets, awls, and paints, in order that theIndians, if they returned that way, might discover them and be therebyassured the strangers were white men and friends. Next morning, whiletrying to follow the trail of the lone Indian, they found traces offreshly turned earth where people had been digging for roots; and, lateron, they came upon the fresh track of eight or ten horses. But thesewere soon scattered, and the explorers only found that the generaldirection of the trails was up into the mountains which define theboundary between Montana and Idaho. Skirting the base of these mountains(the Bitter Root), the party endeavored to find a plain trail, or Indianroad, leading up to a practicable pass. Travelling in a southwesterlydirection along the main stream, they entered a valley which led intothe mountains. Here they ate their last bit of fresh meat, the remainderof a deer they had killed a day or two before; they reserved for theirfinal resort, in case of famine, a small piece of salt pork. The journalsays:-- "They then continued through the low bottom, along the main stream, nearthe foot of the mountains on their right. For the first five miles, thevalley continues toward the southwest, being from two to three miles inwidth; then the main stream, which had received two small branches fromthe left in the valley, turned abruptly to the west through a narrowbottom between the mountains. The road was still plain, and, as itled them directly on toward the mountain, the stream gradually becamesmaller, till, after going two miles, it had so greatly diminished inwidth that one of the men, in a fit of enthusiasm, with one foot oneach side of the river, thanked God that he had lived to bestride theMissouri. As they went along their hopes of soon seeing the Columbia(that is, the Pacific watershed) arose almost to painful anxiety, whenafter four miles from the last abrupt turn of the river (which turnhad been to the west), they reached a small gap formed by the highmountains, which recede on each side, leaving room for the Indian road. From the foot of one of the lowest of these mountains, which rises witha gentle ascent of about half a mile, issues the remotest water of theMissouri. "They had now reached the hidden sources of that river, which had neveryet been seen by civilized man. As they quenched their thirst at thechaste and icy fountain--as they sat down by the brink of that littlerivulet, which yielded its distant and modest tribute to the parentocean--they felt themselves rewarded for all their labors and all theirdifficulties. "They left reluctantly this interesting spot, and, pursuing the Indianroad through the interval of the hills, arrived at the top of a ridge, from which they saw high mountains, partially covered with snow, stillto the west of them. "The ridge on which they stood formed the dividing line between thewaters of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. They followed a descentmuch steeper than that on the eastern side, and at the distance ofthree-quarters of a mile reached a handsome, bold creek of cold, clearwater running to the westward. They stopped to taste, for the firsttime, the waters of the Columbia; and, after a few minutes, followed theroad across steep hills and low hollows, when they came to a spring onthe side of a mountain. Here they found a sufficient quantity of drywillow-brush for fuel, and therefore halted for the night; and, havingkilled nothing in the course of the day, supped on their last piece ofpork, and trusted to fortune for some other food to mix with a littleflour and parched meal, which was all that now remained of theirprovisions. " Chapter XIII -- From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees Travelling in a westerly direction, with a very gradual descent, CaptainLewis, on the thirteenth of August, came upon two Indian women, a man, and some dogs. The Indians sat down when the strangers first came insight, as if to wait for their coming; but, soon taking alarm, theyall fled, much to the chagrin of the white men. Now striking into awell-worn Indian road, they found themselves surely near a village. Thejournal says:-- "They had not gone along the road more than a mile, when on a suddenthey saw three female Indians, from whom they had been concealed bythe deep ravines which intersected the road, till they were now withinthirty paces of each other. One of them, a young woman, immediately tookto flight; the other two, an elderly woman and a little girl, seeingthey were too near for them to escape, sat on the ground, and holdingdown their heads seemed as if reconciled to the death which theysupposed awaited them. The same habit of holding down the head andinviting the enemy to strike, when all chance of escape is gone, ispreserved in Egypt to this day. "Captain Lewis instantly put down his rifle, and advancing toward them, took the woman by the hand, raised her up, and repeated the words 'tabbabone!' at the same time stripping up his shirt-sleeve to prove that hewas a white man--for his hands and face had become by constant exposurequite as dark as their own. She appeared immediately relieved from heralarm; and Drewyer and Shields now coming up, Captain Lewis gave themsome beads, a few awls, pewter mirrors, and a little paint, and toldDrewyer to request the woman to recall her companion, who had escaped tosome distance and, by alarming the Indians, might cause them to attackhim without any time for explanation. She did as she was desired, andthe young woman returned almost out of breath. Captain Lewis gave her anequal portion of trinkets, and painted the tawny checks of all threeof them with vermilion, --a ceremony which among the Shoshonees isemblematic of peace. "After they had become composed, he informed them by signs of his wishesto go to their camp, in order to see their chiefs and warriors; theyreadily obeyed, and conducted the party along the same road down theriver. In this way they marched two miles, when they met a troop ofnearly sixty warriors, mounted on excellent horses, riding at full speedtoward them. As they advanced Captain Lewis put down his gun, and wentwith the flag about fifty paces in advance. The chief, who with twomen was riding in front of the main body, spoke to the women, whonow explained that the party was composed of white men, and showedexultingly the presents they had received. The three men immediatelyleaped from their horses, came up to Captain Lewis, and embraced himwith great cordiality, putting their left arm over his right shoulder, and clasping his back, applying at the same time their left cheek tohis, and frequently vociferating ah hi e! ah hi e! 'I am much pleased, Iam much rejoiced. ' The whole body of warriors now came forward, and ourmen received the caresses, and no small share of the grease and paint, of their new friends. After this fraternal embrace, of which the motivewas much more agreeable than the manner, Captain Lewis lighted a pipe, and offered it to the Indians, who had now seated themselves in acircle around the party. But, before they would receive this mark offriendship, they pulled off their moccasins: a custom, as we afterwardlearned, which indicates the sacred sincerity of their professionswhen they smoke with a stranger, and which imprecates on themselvesthe misery of going barefoot forever if they prove faithless to theirwords--a penalty by no means light for those who rove over the thornyplains of this country. . . . "After smoking a few pipes, some trifling presents were distributedamong them, with which they seemed very much pleased, particularly withthe blue beads and the vermilion. Captain Lewis then stated to the chiefthat the object of his visit was friendly, and should be explained assoon as he reached their camp; and that, as the sun was oppressive, andno water near, he wished to go there as soon as possible. They now puton their moccasins, and their chief, whose name was Cameahwait, madea short speech to the warriors. Captain Lewis then gave him the flag, which he informed him was among white men the emblem of peace; and, nowthat he had received it, was to be in future the bond of union betweenthem. The chief then moved on; our party followed him; and the rest ofthe warriors, in a squadron, brought up the rear. " Arriving at the village, the ceremony of smoking the pipe of peacewas solemnly observed; and the women and children of the tribe werepermitted to gaze with wonder on the first white men they had ever seen. The Indians were not much better provided with food than were theirhalf-famished visitors. But some cakes made of service-berries andchoke-berries dried in the sun were presented to the white men "onwhich, " says Captain Lewis, "we made a hearty meal. " Later in the day, however, an Indian invited Captain Lewis into his wigwam and treatedhim to a small morsel of boiled antelope and a piece of fresh salmonroasted. This was the first salmon he had seen, and the captain was nowassured that he was on the headwaters of the Columbia. This stream waswhat is now known as the Lemhi River. The water was clear and limpid, flowing down a bed of gravel; its general direction was a little northof west. The journal says:-- "The chief informed him that this stream discharged, at the distanceof half a day's march, into another (Salmon River) of twice its size, coming from the southwest; but added, on further inquiry, that therewas scarcely more timber below the junction of those rivers than inthis neighborhood, and that the river was rocky, rapid, and so closelyconfined between high mountains that it was impossible to pass down iteither by land or water to the great lake (Pacific Ocean), where, as hehad understood, the white men lived. "This information was far from being satisfactory, for there was notimber here that would answer the purpose of building canoes, --indeednot more than just sufficient for fuel; and even that consisted ofthe narrow-leaved cottonwood, the red and the narrow-leaved willow, chokecherry, service-berry, and a few currant bushes, such as are commonon the Missouri. The prospect of going on by land is more pleasant, forthere are great numbers of horses feeding in every direction round thecamp, which will enable us to transport our stores, if necessary, overthe mountains. " While Captain Lewis was thus engaged, his companions in the canoes wereslowly and laboriously ascending the river on the other side of thedivide. The character of the stream was much as it had been for severaldays, and the men were in the water three-fourths of the time, draggingthe boats over the shoals. They had but little success in killing game, but caught, as they had done for some days before, numbers of finetrout. "August 14. In order to give time for the boats to reach the forks ofJefferson River, " proceeds the narrative, "Captain Lewis determined toremain where he was, and obtain all the information he could collectin regard to the country. Having nothing to eat but a little flour andparched meal, with the berries of the Indians, he sent out Drewyer andShields, who borrowed horses from the natives, to hunt for a few hours. About the same time the young warriors set out for the same purpose. There are but few elk or black tailed deer in this neighborhood; and asthe common red deer secrete themselves in the bushes when alarmed, theyare soon safe from the arrows, which are but feeble weapons against anyanimals which the huntsmen cannot previously run down with their horses. The chief game of the Shoshonees, therefore, is the antelope, which, when pursued, retreats to the open plains, where the horses have fullroom for the chase. But such is its extraordinary fleetness and wind, that a single horse has no possible chance of outrunning it or tiring itdown, and the hunters are therefore obliged to resort to stratagem. "About twenty Indians, mounted on fine horses, and armed with bowsand arrows, left the camp. In a short time they descried a herd of tenantelope: they immediately separated into little squads of two or three, and formed a scattered circle round the herd for five or six miles, keeping at a wary distance, so as not to alarm them till they wereperfectly enclosed, and selecting, as far as possible, some commandingeminence as a stand. Having gained their positions, a small party rodetowards the animals, and with wonderful dexterity the huntsmen preservedtheir seats, and the horses their footing, as they ran at full speedover the hills, down the steep ravines, and along the borders of theprecipices. They were soon outstripped by the antelopes, which, ongaining the other extremity of the circle, were driven back and pursuedby the fresh hunters. They turned and flew, rather than ran, in anotherdirection; but there, too, they found new enemies. In this way theywere alternately pursued backward and forward, till at length, notwithstanding the skill of the hunters, they all escaped and theparty, after running for two hours, returned without having caughtanything, and their horses foaming with sweat. This chase, the greaterpart of which was seen from the camp, formed a beautiful scene; but tothe hunters it is exceedingly laborious, and so unproductive, even whenthey are able to worry the animal down and shoot him, that forty orfifty hunters will sometimes be engaged for half a day without obtainingmore than two or three antelope. "Soon after they returned, our two huntsmen came in with no bettersuccess. Captain Lewis therefore made a little paste with the flour, andthe addition of some berries formed a very palatable repast. Having nowsecured the good will of Cameahwait, Captain Lewis informed him of hiswish that he would speak to the warriors, and endeavor to engage themto accompany him to the forks of Jefferson River; where by this timeanother chief (Clark), with a large party of white men, was awaiting his(Lewis') return; that it would be necessary to take about thirty horsesto transport the merchandise; that they should be well rewarded fortheir trouble; and that, when all the party should have reached theShoshonee camp, they would remain some time among them to trade forhorses, as well as concert plans for furnishing them in future withregular supplies of merchandise. He readily consented to do so, andafter collecting the tribe together, he made a long harangue. In aboutan hour and a half he returned, and told Captain Lewis that they wouldbe ready to accompany him in the morning. " But the Indians were suspicious and reluctant to take the word of thewhite man. Captain Lewis, almost at his wits' end, appealed to theircourage. He said that if they were afraid of being led into a trap, hewas sure that some among them were not afraid. "To doubt the courage of an Indian is to touch the tenderest string ofhis mind, and the surest way to rouse him to any dangerous achievement. Cameahwait instantly replied that he was not afraid to die, and mountinghis horse, for the third time harangued the warriors. He told them thathe was resolved to go if he went alone, or if he were sure of perishing;that he hoped there were among those who heard him some who were notafraid to die, and who would prove it by mounting their horses andfollowing him. This harangue produced an effect on six or eight onlyof the warriors, who now joined their chief. With these Captain Lewissmoked a pipe; and then, fearful of some change in their capricioustemper, set out immediately. " The party now retraced the steps so lately taken by Captain Lewis andhis men. On the second day out, one of the spies sent forward by theIndians came madly galloping back, much to the alarm of the white men. It proved, however, that the spy had returned to tell his comrades thatone of the white hunters (Drewyer) had killed a deer. An Indian ridingbehind Captain Lewis, fearful that he should not get his share ofthe spoil, jumped off the horse and ran for a mile at full speed. Thejournal says:-- "Captain Lewis slackened his pace, and followed at a sufficient distanceto observe them. When they reached the place where Drewyer had thrownout the intestines, they all dismounted in confusion and ran tumblingover each other like famished dogs. Each tore away whatever part hecould, and instantly began to eat it. Some had the liver, some thekidneys--in short, no part on which we are accustomed to look withdisgust escaped them. One of them, who had seized about nine feet of theentrails, was chewing at one end, while with his hand he was diligentlyclearing his way by discharging the contents at the other. It was indeedimpossible to see these wretches ravenously feeding on the filth ofanimals, the blood streaming from their mouths, without deploring hownearly the condition of savages approaches that of the brute creation. Yet, though suffering with hunger, they did not attempt, as they mighthave done, to take by force the whole deer, but contented themselveswith what had been thrown away by the hunter. Captain Lewis now had thedeer skinned, and after reserving a quarter of it gave the rest of theanimal to the chief, to be divided among the Indians, who immediatelydevoured nearly the whole of it without cooking. They now went towardthe (Prairie) creek, where there was some brushwood to make a fire, andfound Drewyer, who had killed a second deer. The same struggle for theentrails was renewed here, and on giving nearly the whole deer to theIndians, they devoured it even to the soft part of the hoofs. A firebeing made, Captain Lewis had his breakfast, during which Drewyerbrought in a third deer. This too, after reserving one-quarter, wasgiven to the Indians, who now seemed completely satisfied and in goodhumor. " They now approached the forks of the Jefferson, where they had expectedto meet Clark and his party with the canoes. Not seeing any signs ofthem, the Lewis party were placed in a critical position. The Indianswere again alarmed and suspicious. Here Captain Clark's journal says:-- "As they went on towards the point, Captain Lewis, perceiving howcritical his situation had become, resolved to attempt a stratagem, which his present difficulty seemed completely to justify. Recollectingthe notes he had left at the point for us, he sent Drewyer for them withan Indian, who witnessed his taking them from the pole. When they werebrought, Captain Lewis told Cameahwait that, on leaving his brotherchief at the place where the river issues from the mountains, it wasagreed that the boats should not be brought higher than the next forkswe should meet; but that, if the rapid water prevented the boats fromcoming on as fast as they expected, his brother chief was to send a noteto the first forks above him, to let him know where they were: that thisnote had been left this morning at the forks, and mentioned thatthe canoes were just below the mountains, and coming up slowly inconsequence of the current. Captain Lewis added that he would stay atthe forks for his brother chief, but would send a man down the river;and that if Cameahwait doubted what he said, one of their young mencould go with him, while he and the other two remained at the forks. This story satisfied the chief and the greater part of the Indians; buta few did not conceal their suspicions, observing that we told differentstories, and complaining that their chief exposed them to danger bya mistaken confidence. Captain Lewis now wrote, by the light of somewillow-brush, a note to Captain Clark, which he gave to Drewyer, withan order to use all possible expedition in descending the river, andengaged an Indian to accompany him by the promise of a knife and somebeads. "At bedtime the chief and five others slept round the fire ofCaptain Lewis, and the rest hid themselves in different parts of thewillow-brush to avoid the enemy, who, they feared, would attack them inthe night. Captain Lewis endeavored to assume a cheerfulness he did notfeel, to prevent the despondency of the savages. After conversing gaylywith them he retired to his mosquito-bier, by the side of which thechief now placed himself. He lay down, yet slept but little, beingin fact scarcely less uneasy than his Indian companions. He wasapprehensive that, finding the ascent of the river impracticable, Captain Clark might have stopped below Rattlesnake bluff, and themessenger would not meet him. The consequence of disappointing theIndians at this moment would most probably be that they would retireand secrete themselves in the mountains, so as to prevent our havingan opportunity of recovering their confidence. They would also spreada panic through all the neighboring Indians, and cut us off from thesupply of horses so useful and almost so essential to our success. He was at the same time consoled by remembering that his hopes ofassistance rested on better foundations than their generosity--theiravarice and their curiosity. He had promised liberal exchanges for theirhorses; but what was still more seductive, he had told them that one oftheir countrywomen, who had been taken with the Minnetarees, accompaniedthe party below; and one of the men had spread the report of our havingwith us a man (York) perfectly black, whose hair was short and curled. This last account had excited a great degree of curiosity, and theyseemed more desirous of seeing this monster than of obtaining the mostfavorable barter for their horses. " On the following day, August 17, the two parties of explorers finallymet. Under that date the journal has this interesting entry:-- "Captain Lewis rose very early and despatched Drewyer and the Indiandown the river in quest of the boats. Shields was sent out at the sametime to hunt, while M'Neal prepared a breakfast out of the remainder ofthe meat. Drewyer had been gone about two hours, and the Indians wereall anxiously waiting for some news, when an Indian, who had straggleda short distance down the river, returned with a report that he had seenthe white men, who were only a short distance below, and were coming on. The Indians were transported with joy, and the chief, in the warmth ofhis satisfaction, renewed his embrace to Captain Lewis, who was quiteas much delighted as the Indians themselves. The report proved mostagreeably true. "On setting out at seven o'clock, Captain Clark, with Chaboneau and hiswife, walked on shore; but they had not gone more than a mile beforeCaptain Clark saw Sacajawea, who was with her husband one hundred yardsahead, begin to dance and show every mark of the most extravagant joy, turning round to him and pointing to several Indians, whom he nowsaw advancing on horseback, sucking her fingers at the same time, toindicate that they were of her native tribe. As they advanced, CaptainClark discovered among them Drewyer dressed like an Indian, from whom helearned the situation of the party. While the boats were performing thecircuit, he went toward the forks with the Indians, who, as they wentalong, sang aloud with the greatest appearance of delight. "We soon drew near the camp, and just as we approached it a woman madeher way through the crowd toward Sacajawea; recognizing each other, theyembraced with the most tender affection. The meeting of these two youngwomen had in it something peculiarly touching, not only from the ardentmanner in which their feelings were expressed, but also from the realinterest of their situation. They had been companions in childhood; inthe war with the Minnetarees they had both been taken prisoners in thesame battle; they had shared and softened the rigors of their captivitytill one of them had escaped from their enemies with scarce a hope ofever seeing her friend rescued from their hands. "While Sacajawea was renewing among the women the friendships of formerdays, Captain Clark went on, and was received by Captain Lewis andthe chief, who, after the first embraces and salutations were over, conducted him to a sort of circular tent or shade of willows. Here hewas seated on a white robe; and the chief immediately tied in his hairsix small shells resembling pearls, an ornament highly valued by thesepeople, who procure them in the course of trade from the seacoast. The moccasins of the whole party were then taken off, and, after muchceremony, the smoking began. After this the conference was to be opened;and, glad of an opportunity of being able to converse more intelligibly, Sacajawea was sent for: she came into the tent, sat down, and wasbeginning to interpret, when in the person of Cameahwait she recognizedher brother. She instantly jumped up, and ran and embraced him, throwingover him her blanket, and weeping profusely: the chief was himselfmoved, though not in the same degree. After some conversation betweenthem she resumed her seat, and attempted to interpret for us; buther new situation seemed to overpower her, and she was frequentlyinterrupted by her tears. After the council was finished, theunfortunate woman learned that all her family were dead except twobrothers, one of whom was absent, and a son of her eldest sister, asmall boy, who was immediately adopted by her. " The two parties, Indian and white, now went into a conference, the whitechiefs explaining that it would be needful for their Indian friendsto collect all their horses and help to transport the goods of theexplorers over the Great Divide. The journal says:-- "The speech made a favorable impression. The chief, in reply, thankedus for our expressions of friendship toward himself and his nation, anddeclared their willingness to render us every service. He lamented thatit would be so long before they should be supplied with firearms, but that till then they could subsist as they had heretofore done. Heconcluded by saying that there were not horses enough here to transportour goods, but that he would return to the village to-morrow, bring allhis own horses, and encourage his people to come over with theirs. The conference being ended to our satisfaction, we now inquired ofCameahwait what chiefs were among the party, and he pointed out two ofthem. We then distributed our presents: to Cameahwait we gave a medal ofsmall size, with the likeness of President Jefferson, and on the reversea figure of hands clasped with a pipe and tomahawk; to this was added anuniform coat, a shirt, a pair of scarlet leggings, a carrot (or twist)of tobacco, and some small articles. Each of the other chiefs received asmall medal struck during the presidency of General Washington, a shirt, handkerchief, leggings, knife, and some tobacco. Medals of the same sortwere also presented to two young warriors, who, though not chiefs, werepromising youths and very much respected in the tribe. These honorarygifts were followed by presents of paint, moccasins, awls, knives, beads, and looking-glasses. We also gave them all a plentiful meal ofIndian corn, of which the hull is taken off by being boiled in lye; asthis was the first they had ever tasted, they were very much pleasedwith it. They had, indeed, abundant sources of surprise in all theysaw--the appearance of the men, their arms, their clothing, the canoes, the strange looks of the negro, and the sagacity of our dog, all in turnshared their admiration, which was raised to astonishment by a shot fromthe air-gun. This operation was instantly considered 'great medicine, 'by which they, as well as the other Indians, mean something emanatingdirectly from the Great Spirit, or produced by his invisible andincomprehensible agency. . . . "After the council was over we consulted as to our future operations. The game did not promise to last here for many days; and thiscircumstance combined with many others to induce our going on as soon aspossible. Our Indian information as to the state of the Columbia was ofa very alarming kind; and our first object was, of course, to ascertainthe practicability of descending it, of which the Indians discouragedour expectations. It was therefore agreed that Captain Clark should setoff in the morning with eleven men, furnished, besides their arms, withtools for making canoes: that he should take Chaboneau and his wifeto the camp of the Shoshonees, where he was to leave them, in order tohasten the collection of horses; that he should then lead his mendown to the Columbia, and if he found it navigable, and the timber insufficient quantity, begin to build canoes. As soon as he had decidedas to the propriety of proceeding down the Columbia or across themountains, he was to send back one of the men with information of it toCaptain Lewis, who by that time would have brought up the wholeparty, and the rest of the baggage, as far as the Shoshonee village. Preparations were accordingly made at once to carry out thearrangement. . . . " "In order to relieve the men of Captain Clark's party from the heavyweight of their arms, provisions, and tools, we exposed a few articlesto barter for horses, and soon obtained three very good ones, inexchange for which we gave a uniform coat, a pair of leggings, a fewhandkerchiefs, three knives, and some other small articles, the wholeof which did not, in the United States, cost more than twenty dollars;a fourth was purchased by the men for an old checkered shirt, a pairof old leggings, and a knife. The Indians seemed to be quite as wellpleased as ourselves at the bargain they had made. We now found that thetwo inferior chiefs were somewhat displeased at not having received apresent equal to that given to the great chief, who appeared in a dressso much finer than their own. To allay their discontent, we bestowed onthem two old coats, and promised them if they were active in assistingus across the mountains they should have an additional present. Thistreatment completely reconciled them, and the whole Indian party, excepttwo men and two women, set out in perfect good humor to return to theirhome with Captain Clark. " Chapter XIV -- Across the Great Divide Captain Clark had now left the water-shed of the Missouri behind him, and was pressing on, over a broken, hilly country, to the lands fromwhich issue the tributaries of the Columbia. The Indian village whichCaptain Lewis had previously visited had been removed two miles up thestream on which it was situated, and was reached by Clark on August 20. The party was very ceremoniously received by Chief Cameahwait, andall hands began to explain to the white men the difficulties of thesituation. How to transport the canoes and baggage over the mountainsto some navigable stream leading into the Columbia was now the seriousproblem. The Indian chief and his old men dwelt on the obstacles in theway and argued that it was too late in the season to make the attempt. They even urged the white men to stay with them until another spring, when Indian guides would be furnished them to proceed on their journeywestward. On the twenty-first, Clark passed the junction of two streams, theSalmon and the Lemhi, which is now the site of Salmon City, Idaho. AsCaptain Lewis was the first white man who had seen these waters, Clark gave to the combined water-course the name of Lewis' River. Themountains here assumed a formidable aspect, and the stream was toonarrow, rapid, and rock-bound to admit of navigation. The journal saysof Captain Clark:-- "He soon began to perceive that the Indian accounts had not beenexaggerated. At the distance of a mile he passed a small creek (on theright), and the points of four mountains, which were rocky, and so highthat it seemed almost impossible to cross them with horses. The road layover the sharp fragments of rocks which had fallen from the mountains, and were strewed in heaps for miles together; yet the horses, altogetherunshod, travelled across them as fast as the men, without detaining thema moment. They passed two bold running streams, and reached the entranceof a small river, where a few Indian families resided, who had not beenpreviously acquainted with the arrival of the whites; the guide wasbehind, and the woods were so thick that we came upon them unobserved, till at a very short distance. As soon as they saw us the women andchildren fled in great consternation; the men offered us everything theyhad--the fish on the scaffolds, the dried berries, and the collars ofelks' tushes worn by the children. We took only a small quantity of thefood, and gave them in return some small articles which conduced verymuch to pacify them. The guide now coming up, explained to them who wewere and the object of our visit, which seemed to relieve their fears;still a number of the women and children did not recover from theirfright, but cried during our stay, which lasted about an hour. Theguide, whom we found a very intelligent, friendly old man, informed usthat up this river there was a road which led over the mountains to theMissouri. " To add to their difficulties, game had almost entirely disappeared, andthe abundant fish in the river could not be caught for lack of properfishing-tackle. Timber from which canoes could be made, there was none, and the rapids in the rivers were sharp and violent. With his Indianguide and three men, Captain Clark now pressed on his route of survey, leaving the remainder of his men behind to hunt and fish. He went downthe Salmon River about fifty-two miles, making his way as best he couldalong its banks. Finding the way absolutely blocked for their purposes, Captain Clark returned on the twenty-fifth of August and rejoined theparty that he had left behind. These had not been able to kill anything, and for a time starvation stared them in the face. Under date of August27, the journal says:-- "The men, who were engaged last night in mending their moccasins, allexcept one, went out hunting, but no game was to be procured. One of themen, however, killed a small salmon, and the Indians made a present ofanother, on which the whole party made a very slight breakfast. TheseIndians, to whom this life is familiar, seem contented, although theydepend for subsistence on the scanty productions of the fishery. Butour men, who are used to hardships, but have been accustomed to havethe first wants of nature regularly supplied, feel very sensibly theirwretched situation; their strength is wasting away; they begin toexpress their apprehensions of being without food in a country perfectlydestitute of any means of supporting life, except a few fish. In thecourse of the day an Indian brought into the camp five salmon, two ofwhich Captain Clark bought and made a supper for the party. " Two days later, Captain Clark and his men joined the main party, havingmet the only repulse that was suffered by the expedition from first tolast. Eluding the vigilance of the Indians, caches, or hiding-places, for the baggage were constructed, filled, and concealed, the work beingdone after dark. The weather was now very cold, although August hadnot passed. Ink froze in the pen during the night, and the meadows werewhite with frost; but the days were warm, even hot. In the absence of Captain Clark, his colleague and party had beenvisited by Cameahwait and about fifty of his band, with their women andchildren. Captain Lewis' journal says:-- "After they had camped near us and turned loose their horses, we calleda council of all the chiefs and warriors, and addressed them in aspeech. Additional presents were then distributed, particularly tothe two second chiefs, who had, agreeably to their promises, exertedthemselves in our favor. The council was then adjourned, and all theIndians were treated with an abundant meal of boiled Indian corn andbeans. The poor wretches, who had no animal food and scarcely anythingbut a few fish, had been almost starved, and received this new luxurywith great thankfulness. Out of compliment to the chief, we gave hima few dried squashes, which we had brought from the Mandans, and hedeclared it was the best food he had ever tasted except sugar, a smalllump of which he had received from his sister Sacajawea. He now declaredhow happy they should all be to live in a country which produced so manygood things; and we told him that it would not be long before the whitemen would put it in their power to live below the mountains, where theymight themselves cultivate all these kinds of food, instead of wanderingin the mountains. He appeared to be much pleased with this information, and the whole party being now in excellent temper after their repast, webegan our purchase of horses. We soon obtained five very good ones, onvery reasonable terms--that is, by giving for each horse merchandisewhich cost us originally about $6. We have again to admire the perfectdecency and propriety of the Indians; for though so numerous, they donot attempt to crowd round our camp or take anything which they seelying about, and whenever they borrow knives or kettles or any otherarticle from the men, they return them with great fidelity. " Captain Lewis anxiously wished to push on to meet Clark, who, as wehave seen, was then far down on the Salmon River. Lewis was still atthe forks of Jefferson River, it should be borne in mind; and theirobjective point was the upper Shoshonee village on the Lemhi River, across the divide. While on the way over the divide, Lewis was greatlytroubled by the freaks of the Indians, who, regardless of theirpromises, would propose to return to the buffalo country on the easternside of the mountains. Learning that Cameahwait and his chiefs had senta messenger over to the Lemhi to notify the village to come and join anexpedition of this sort, Captain Lewis was dismayed. His journal says:-- "Alarmed at this new caprice of the Indians, which, if not counteracted, threatened to leave ourselves and our baggage on the mountains, oreven if we reached the waters of the Columbia, to prevent our obtaininghorses to go on further, Captain Lewis immediately called the threechiefs together. After smoking a pipe he asked them if they were menof their word, and if we could rely on their promises. They readilyanswered in the affirmative. He then asked if they had not agreed toassist us in carrying our baggage over the mountains. To this they alsoanswered yes. 'Why, then, ' said he, 'have you requested your peopleto meet us to-morrow where it will be impossible for us to trade forhorses, as you promised we should? If, ' he continued, 'you had notpromised to help us in transporting our goods over the mountains, weshould not have attempted it, but have returned down the river; afterwhich no white men would ever have come into your country. If you wishthe whites to be your friends, to bring you arms, and to protect youfrom your enemies, you should never promise what you do not meanto perform. When I first met you, you doubted what I said, yet youafterward saw that I told you the truth. How, therefore, can you doubtwhat I now tell you? You see that I divide amongst you the meat whichmy hunters kill, and I promise to give all who assist us a share ofwhatever we have to eat. If, therefore, you intend to keep your promise, send one of the young men immediately, to order the people to remain atthe village till we arrive. ' The two inferior chiefs then said that theyhad wished to keep their word and to assist us; that they had not sentfor the people, but on the contrary had disapproved of that measure, which was done wholly by the first chief. Cameahwait remained silentfor some time; at last he said that he knew he had done wrong, but that, seeing his people all in want of provisions, he had wished to hastentheir departure for the country where their wants might be supplied. He, however, now declared that, having passed his word, he would neverviolate it, and counter-orders were immediately sent to the village bya young man, to whom we gave a handkerchief in order to ensure despatchand fidelity. . . . "This difficulty being now adjusted, our march was resumed with anunusual degree of alacrity on the part of the Indians. We passed a spotwhere, six years ago, the Shoshonees had suffered a very severe defeatfrom the Minnetarees; and late in the evening we reached the upper partof the cove, where the creek enters the mountains. The part of the coveon the northeast side of the creek has lately been burned, most probablyas a signal on some occasion. Here we were joined by our hunters with asingle deer, which Captain Lewis gave, as a proof of his sincerity, to the women and children, and remained supperless himself. As we camealong we observed several large hares, some ducks, and many of the cockof the plains: in the low grounds of the cove were also considerablequantities of wild onions. " Arriving at the Shoshonee village on the Lemhi, Captain Lewis found anote from Captain Clark, sent back by a runner, informing him ofthe difficulty and impossibility of a water route to the Columbia. Cameahwait, being told that his white friends would now need twenty morehorses, said that he would do what he could to help them. The journalhere adds:-- "In order not to lose the present favorable moment, and to keep theIndians as cheerful as possible, the violins were brought out and ourmen danced, to the great diversion of the Indians. This mirth was themore welcome because our situation was not precisely that which wouldmost dispose us to gayety; for we have only a little parched corn toeat, and our means of subsistence or of success depend on the waveringtemper of the natives, who may change their minds to-morrow. . . . "The Shoshonees are a small tribe of the nation called the SnakeIndians, a vague appellation, which embraces at once the inhabitants ofthe southern parts of the Rocky Mountains and of the plains on eitherside. The Shoshonees with whom we now were amount to about one hundredwarriors, and three times that number of women and children. Withintheir own recollection they formerly lived in the plains, but they havebeen driven into the mountains by the Pahkees, or the roving Indiansof the Sascatchawan, and are now obliged to visit occasionally, andby stealth, the country of their ancestors. Their lives, indeed, aremigratory. From the middle of May to the beginning of September theyreside on the headwaters of the Columbia, where they consider themselvesperfectly secure from the Pahkees, who have never yet found their way tothat retreat. During this time they subsist chiefly on salmon, and, asthat fish disappears on the approach of autumn, they are driven to seeksubsistence elsewhere. They then cross the ridge to the waters of theMissouri, down which they proceed slowly and cautiously, till they arejoined near the Three Forks by other bands, either of their own nationor of the Flatheads, with whom they associate against the common enemy. Being now strong in numbers, they venture to hunt the buffalo in theplains eastward of the mountains, near which they spend the winter, tillthe return of the salmon invites them to the Columbia. But such is theirterror of the Pahkees, that, so long as they can obtain the scantiestsubsistence, they do not leave the interior of the mountains; and, assoon as they have collected a large stock of dried meat, they againretreat, thus alternately obtaining their food at the hazard of theirlives, and hiding themselves to consume it. "In this loose and wandering life they suffer the extremes of want; fortwo thirds of the year they are forced to live in the mountains, passingwhole weeks without meat, and with nothing to eat but a few fish androots. Nor can anything be imagined more wretched than their conditionat the present time, when the salmon is fast retiring, when roots arebecoming scarce, and they have not yet acquired strength to hazard anencounter with their enemies. So insensible are they, however, to thesecalamities, that the Shoshonees are not only cheerful, but even gay; andtheir character, which is more interesting than that of any Indianswe have seen, has in it much of the dignity of misfortune. In theirintercourse with strangers they are frank and communicative; in theirdealings they are perfectly fair; nor have we, during our stay withthem, had any reason to suspect that the display of all our new andvaluable wealth has tempted them into a single act of dishonesty. Whilethey have generally shared with us the little they possess, they havealways abstained from begging anything from us. With their livelinessof temper, they are fond of gaudy dresses and all sorts of amusements, particularly games of hazard; and, like most Indians, delight inboasting of their warlike exploits, either real or fictitious. In theirconduct towards us they have been kind and obliging; and though on oneoccasion they seemed willing to neglect us, yet we scarcely knew how toblame the treatment by which we were to suffer, when we recollected howfew civilized chiefs would have hazarded the comforts or the subsistenceof their people for the sake of a few strangers. . . . . . . . . . "As war is the chief occupation, bravery is the first virtue amongthe Shoshonees. None can hope to be distinguished without having givenproofs of it, nor can there be any preferment or influence among thenation, without some warlike achievement. Those important events whichgive reputation to a warrior, and entitle him to a new name, are:killing a white (or grizzly) bear, stealing individually the horsesof the enemy, leading a party who happen to be successful either inplundering horses or destroying the enemy, and lastly, scalping awarrior. These acts seem of nearly equal dignity, but the last, thatof taking an enemy's scalp, is an honor quite independent of the act ofvanquishing him. To kill your adversary is of no importance unless thescalp is brought from the field of battle; were a warrior to slay anynumber of his enemies in action, and others were to obtain the scalpsor first touch the dead, they would have all the honors, since they haveborne off the trophy. . . . " "The names of these Indians vary in the course of their life. Originallygiven in childhood, from the mere necessity of distinguishing objects, or from some accidental resemblance to external objects, the youngwarrior is impatient to change it by some achievement of his own. Anyimportant event--the stealing of horses, the scalping of an enemy, orthe killing of a brown bear--entitles him at once to a new name, which he then selects for himself, and it is confirmed by the nation. Sometimes the two names subsist together; thus, the chief Cameahwait, which means 'One Who Never Walks, ' has the war-name of Tooettecone, or'Black Gun, ' which he acquired when he first signalized himself. As eachnew action gives a warrior a right to change his name, many of them haveseveral in the course of their lives. To give to a friend one's own nameis an act of high courtesy, and a pledge, like that of pulling off themoccasin, of sincerity and hospitality. The chief in this way gave hisname to Captain Clark when he first arrived, and he was afterward knownamong the Shoshonees by the name of Cameahwait. " On the thirtieth of August, the whole expedition being now reunited, anda sufficient number of horses having been purchased of the Shoshonees, the final start across the mountains was begun. The journal says: "The greater part of the band, who had delayed their journey on ouraccount, were also ready to depart. We took leave of the Shoshonees, who set out on their visit to the Missouri at the same time that we, accompanied by the old guide, his four sons, and another Indian, beganthe descent of the Lemhi River, along the same road which Captain Clarkhad previously pursued. After riding twelve miles we camped on the southbank of this river, and as the hunters had brought in three deer earlyin the morning, we did not feel the want of provisions. " Three days later, all the Indians, except the old guide, left them. They now passed up Fish Creek, and finding no track leading over themountains they cut their way. Their journal says:-- "This we effected with much difficulty; the thickets of trees and brushthrough which we were obliged to cut our way required great labor; theroad itself was over the steep and rocky sides of the hills, where thehorses could not move without danger of slipping down, while theirfeet were bruised by the rocks and stumps of trees. Accustomed as theseanimals were to this kind of life, they suffered severely; several ofthem fell to some distance down the sides of the hills, some turned overwith the baggage, one was crippled, and two gave out, exhausted withfatigue. After crossing the creek several times we at last made fivemiles, with great fatigue and labor, and camped on the left side of thecreek in a small stony low ground. It was not, however, till after darkthat the whole party was collected; and then, as it rained and we hadkilled nothing, we passed an uncomfortable night. The party had beentoo busily occupied with the horses to make any hunting excursion; andthough, as we came along Fish Creek, we saw many beaver-dams, we sawnone of the animals themselves. " The Indian guide appears here to have lost his way; but, not dismayed, he pushed on through a trackless wilderness, sometimes travelling onthe snow that now covered the mountains. On the fourth of September, theparty came upon a large encampment of Indians, who received them withmuch ceremony. The journal says:-- "September 5, we assembled the chiefs and warriors, and informed themwho we were, and the purpose for which we had visited their country. Allthis was, however, conveyed to them through so many different languages, that it was not comprehended without difficulty. We therefore proceededto the more intelligible language of presents, and made four chiefs bygiving a medal and a small quantity of tobacco to each. We received inturn from the principal chief a present consisting of the skins of ablaireau (badger), an otter, and two antelopes, and were treated bythe women to some dried roots and berries. We then began to traffic forhorses, and succeeded in exchanging seven and purchasing eleven, forwhich we gave a few articles of merchandise. "This encampment consists of thirty-three tents, in which were aboutfour hundred souls, among whom eighty were men. They are calledOotlashoots, and represent themselves as one band of a nation calledTushepaws, a numerous people of four hundred and fifty tents, residingon the head-waters of the Missouri and Columbia rivers, and some ofthem lower down the latter river. In person these Indians are stout, andtheir complexion lighter than that common among Indians. The hair ofthe men is worn in queues of otter skin, falling in front over theshoulders. A shirt of dressed skin covers the body to the knee, andover this is worn occasionally a robe. To these are added leggings andmoccasins. The women suffer their hair to fall in disorder over the faceand shoulders, and their chief article of covering is a long shirt ofskin, reaching down to the ankles, and tied round the waist. In otherrespects, as also in the few ornaments which they possess, theirappearance is similar to that of the Shoshonees: there is, however, adifference between the languages of these two people, which is stillfarther increased by the very extraordinary pronunciation of theOotlashoots. Their words have all a remarkably guttural sound, and thereis nothing which seems to represent the tone of their speaking moreexactly than the clucking of a fowl or the noise of a parrot. Thispeculiarity renders their voices scarcely audible, except at a shortdistance; and, when many of them are talking, forms a strange confusionof sounds. The common conversation that we overheard consisted of low, guttural sounds, occasionally broken by a low word or two, after whichit would relapse, and could scarcely be distinguished. They seemed kindand friendly, and willingly shared with us berries and roots, whichformed their sole stock of provisions. Their only wealth is theirhorses, which are very fine, and so numerous that this party had withthem at least five hundred. " These Indians were on their way to join the other bands who were huntingbuffalo on the Jefferson River, across the Great Divide. They set outthe next morning, and the explorers resumed their toilsome journey, travelling generally in a northwesterly direction and looking for a passacross the Bitter Root Mountains. Very soon, all indications of gamedisappeared, and, September 14, they were forced to kill a colt, theirstock of animal food being exhausted. They pressed on, however, througha savage wilderness, having frequent need to recur to horse-flesh. Hereis an entry under date of September 18, in the journal: "We melted somesnow, and supped on a little portable soup, a few canisters of which, with about twenty pounds' weight of bear's oil, are our only remainingmeans of subsistence. Our guns are scarcely of any service, for there isno living creature in these mountains, except a few small pheasants, a small species of gray squirrel, and a blue bird of the vulture kind, about the size of a turtle-dove, or jay. Even these are difficult toshoot. " "A bold running creek, " up which Captain Clark passed on September 19, was appropriately named by him "Hungry Creek, " as at that place they hadnothing to eat. But, at about six miles' distance from the head of thestream, "he fortunately found a horse, on which he breakfasted, and hungthe rest on a tree for the party in the rear. " This was one of the wildhorses, strayed from Indian bands, which they found in the wilderness, too wild to be caught and used, but not too wild to shoot and eat. Later, on the same day, this entry is made in the journal: "The road along the creek is a narrow rocky path near the bordersof very high precipices, from which a fall seems almost inevitabledestruction. One of our horses slipped and rolled over with his loaddown the hillside, which was nearly perpendicular and strewed with largeirregular rocks, nearly one hundred yards, and did not stop till he fellinto the creek. We all expected he was killed, but to our astonishment, on taking off his load he rose, seemed but little injured, and in twentyminutes proceeded with his load. Having no other provision, we took someportable soup, our only refreshment during the day. This abstinence, joined with fatigue, has a visible effect on our health. The men aregrowing weak and losing their flesh very fast; several are afflictedwith dysentery, and eruptions of the skin are very common. " Next day, the party descended the last of the Bitter Root range andreached level country. They were at last over the Great Divide. ThreeIndian boys were discovered hiding in the grass, in great alarm. CaptainClark at once dismounted from his horse, and, making signs of amity, went after the boys. He calmed their terrors, and, giving them some bitsof ribbon, sent them home. "Soon after the boys reached home, a man came out to meet the party, with great caution; but he conducted them to a large tent in thevillage, and all the inhabitants gathered round to view with a mixtureof fear and pleasure these wonderful strangers. The conductor nowinformed Captain Clark, by signs, that the spacious tent was theresidence of the great chief, who had set out three days ago with allthe warriors to attack some of their enemies toward the southwest; thathe would not return before fifteen or eighteen days, and that inthe mean time there were only a few men left to guard the women andchildren. They now set before them a small piece of buffalo-meat, somedried salmon, berries, and several kinds of roots. Among these last isone which is round, much like an onion in appearance, and sweet to thetaste. It is called quamash, and is eaten either in its natural state, or boiled into a kind of soup, or made into a cake, which is then calledpasheco. After the long abstinence this was a sumptuous treat. Theyreturned the kindness of the people by a few small presents, and thenwent on in company with one of the chiefs to a second village in thesame plain, at the distance of two miles. Here the party were treatedwith great kindness, and passed the night. The hunters were sent out, but, though they saw some tracks of deer, were not able to procureanything. " The root which the Indians used in so many ways is now known as camas;it is still much sought for by the Nez Perces and other wandering tribesin the Northwest, and Camas Prairie, in that region, derives its namefrom the much-sought-for vegetable. Captain Clark and his men stayed with these hospitable Indians severaldays. The free use of wholesome food, to which he had not lately beenaccustomed, made Clark very ill, and he contented himself with stayingin the Indian villages, of which there were two. These Indians calledthemselves Chopunnish, or Pierced Noses; this latter name is now morecommonly rendered _Nez Perces_, the French voyageurs having given it thattranslation into their own tongue. But these people, so far as known, did not pierce their noses. After sending a man back on the trail tonotify Captain Lewis of his progress, Captain Clark went on to thevillage of Chief Twisted-hair. Most of the women and children, though notified of the coming of the white man, were so scared bythe appearance of the strangers that they fled to the woods. The men, however, received them without fear and gave them a plentiful supplyof food. They were now on one of the upper branches of the KooskooskeeRiver, near what is the site of Pierce City, county seat of ShoshoneeCounty, Idaho. The Indians endeavored, by means of signs, to explain totheir visitors the geography of the country beyond. "Among others, Twisted-hair drew a chart of the river on a whiteelk-skin. According to this, the Kooskooskee forks (confluence of itsNorth fork) a few miles from this place; two days toward the southis another and larger fork (confluence of Snake River), on which theShoshonee or Snake Indians fish; five days' journey further is a largeriver from the northwest (that is, the Columbia itself) into whichClark's River empties; from the mouth of that river (that is, confluenceof the Snake with the Columbia) to the falls is five days' journeyfurther; on all the forks as well as on the main river great numbers ofIndians reside. " On the twenty-third of September, Captain Lewis and his party havingcome up, the white men assembled the Indians and explained to themwhere they came from and what was their errand across the continent. TheIndians appeared to be entirely satisfied, and they sold their visitorsas much provisions as their half-famished horses could carry. Thejournal here says:-- "All around the village the women are busily employed in gathering anddressing the pasheco-root, of which large quantities are heaped in pilesover the plain. We now felt severely the consequence of eating heartilyafter our late privations. Captain Lewis and two of the men were takenvery ill last evening; to-day he could hardly sit on his horse, whileothers were obliged to be put on horseback, and some, from extremeweakness and pain, were forced to lie down alongside of the road forsome time. At sunset we reached the island where the hunters had beenleft on the 22d. They had been unsuccessful, having killed only two deersince that time, and two of them were very sick. A little below thisisland is a larger one on which we camped, and administered Rush's pillsto the sick. " The illness of the party continued for several days, and not muchprogress was made down-stream. Having camped, on the twenty-seventh ofSeptember, in the Kooskooskee River, at a place where plenty of goodtimber was found, preparations for building five canoes were begun. Fromthis time to the fifth of October, all the men capable of labor wereemployed in preparing the canoes. The health of the party graduallyrecruited, though they still suffered severely from want of food; and, as the hunters had but little success in procuring game, they wereobliged on the second to kill one of their horses. Indians fromdifferent quarters frequently visited them, but all that could beobtained from them was a little fish and some dried roots. This diet wasnot only unnutritious, but in many cases it caused dysentery and nausea. Chapter XV -- Down the Pacific Slope The early days of October were spent in making preparations for thedescent of the river, --the Kooskooskee. Here they made their canoes, andthey called their stopping-place Canoe Camp. This was at the junctionof the north fork of the river with the main stream; and all below thatpoint is called the Lower Kooskooskee, while that above is known as theupper river. The latitude of the camp, according to the journal of theexplorers, was 46'0 34' 56" north. Here they buried in a cache theirsaddles, horse-gear, and a small supply of powder and musket balls forpossible emergencies. The Kooskooskee, it should be borne in mind, isnow better known as the Clearwater; it empties into the Snake River, andthat into the Columbia. As far as the explorers knew the water-coursedown which they were to navigate, they called it Clark's River, in honorof Captain Clark. But modern geographers have displaced the name of thateminent explorer and map-maker and have divided the stream, or streams, with other nomenclature. On the eighth of October the party set out on their long water journeyin five canoes, one of which was a small craft intended to go on aheadand pilot the way (which, of course, was unknown) for the four largerones, in which travelled the main party with their luggage. They metwith disaster very soon after their start, one of the canoes havingstruck a rock, which made a hole in its side and caused the sinkingof the craft. Fortunately, no lives were lost, but the voyage wasinterrupted. The party went ashore and did not resume their journeyuntil their luggage was dried and the canoe repaired. On the ninth, saysthe journal:-- "The morning was as usual cool; but as the weather both yesterday andto-day was cloudy, our merchandise dried but slowly. The boat, thoughmuch injured, was repaired by ten o'clock so as to be perfectly fit forservice; but we were obliged to remain during the day till the articleswere sufficiently dry to be reloaded. The interval we employed inpurchasing fish for the voyage, and conversing with the Indians. In theafternoon we were surprised at hearing that our old Shoshonee guide andhis son had left us and had been seen running up the river several milesabove. As he had never given any notice of his intention, nor had evenreceived his pay for guiding us, we could not imagine the cause of hisdesertion; nor did he ever return to explain his conduct. We requestedthe chief to send a horseman after him to request that he would returnand receive what we owed him. From this, however, he dissuaded us, andsaid very frankly that his nation, the Chopunnish, would take fromthe old man any presents that he might have on passing their camp. TheIndians came about our camp at night, and were very gay and good-humoredwith the men. Among other exhibitions was that of a squaw who appearedto be crazy. She sang in a wild, incoherent manner, and offered to thespectators all the little articles she possessed, scarifying herselfin a horrid manner if anyone refused her present. She seemed to be anobject of pity among the Indians, who suffered her to do as she pleasedwithout interruption. " The river was full of rapids and very dangerous rocks and reefs, andthe voyagers were able to make only twenty miles a day for some distancealong the stream. At the confluence of the Kooskooskee and the SnakeRiver they camped for the night, near the present site of Lewiston, Idaho. This city, first settled in May, 1861, and incorporated in 1863, was named for Captain Lewis of our expedition. From this point the partycrossed over into the present State of Washington. Of their experienceat their camp here the journal says:-- "Our arrival soon attracted the attention of the Indians, who flocked inall directions to see us. In the evening the Indian from the falls, whomwe had seen at Rugged rapid, joined us with his son in a small canoe, and insisted on accompanying us to the falls. Being again reduced tofish and roots, we made an experiment to vary our food by purchasinga few dogs, and after having been accustomed to horse-flesh, felt nodisrelish for this new dish. The Chopunnish have great numbers of dogs, which they employ for domestic purposes, but never eat; and our usingthe flesh of that animal soon brought us into ridicule as dog-eaters. " When Fremont and his men crossed the continent to California, in 1842, they ate the flesh of that species of marmot which we know as theprairie-dog. Long afterwards, when Fremont was a candidate for theoffice of President of the United States, this fact was recalled to theminds of men, and the famous explorer was denounced as "a dog-eater. " The journal of the explorers gives this interesting account of theIndians among whom they now found themselves:-- "The Chopunnish or Pierced-nose nation, who reside on the Kooskooskeeand Lewis' (Snake) rivers, are in person stout, portly, well-lookingmen; the women are small, with good features and generally handsome, though the complexion of both sexes is darker than that of theTushepaws. In dress they resemble that nation, being fond of displayingtheir ornaments. The buffalo or elk-skin robe decorated with beads;sea-shells, chiefly mother-of-pearl, attached to an otter-skin collarand hung in the hair, which falls in front in two cues; feathers, paintsof different kinds, principally white, green, and light blue, all ofwhich they find in their own country; these are the chief ornamentsthey use. In the winter they wear a short skirt of dressed skins, longpainted leggings and moccasins, and a plait of twisted grass round theneck. The dress of the women is more simple, consisting of a long shirtof argalia (argali) or ibex (bighorn) skin, reaching down to the ankles, without a girdle; to this are tied little pieces of brass, shells, andother small articles; but the head is not at all ornamented. "The Chopunnish have very few amusements, for their life is painfuland laborious; all their exertions are necessary to earn even theirprecarious subsistence. During the summer and autumn they are busilyoccupied in fishing for salmon and collecting their winter store ofroots. In winter they hunt the deer on snow-shoes over the plains, andtoward spring cross the mountains to the Missouri for the purpose ofrafficking for buffalo-robe. The inconveniences of their comfortlesslife are increased by frequent encounters with their enemies from thewest, who drive them over the mountains with the loss of their horses, and sometimes the lives of many of the nation. " After making a short stage on their journey, October 11, the partystopped to trade with the Indians, their stock of provisions being low. They were able to purchase a quantity of salmon and seven dogs. Theysaw here a novel kind of vapor bath which is thus described in thejournal:-- "While this traffic was going on we observed a vapor bath orsweating-house, in a different form from that used on the frontier ofthe United States or in the Rocky Mountains. It was a hollow square sixor eight feet deep, formed in the river bank by damming up with mud theother three sides and covering the whole completely, except an apertureabout two feet wide at the top. The bathers descend by this hole, takingwith them a number of heated stones and jugs of water; after beingseated round the room they throw the water on the stones till the steambecomes of a temperature sufficiently high for their purposes. The bathsof the Indians in the Rocky Mountains are of different sizes, themost common being made of mud and sticks like an oven, but the mode ofraising the steam is exactly the same. Among both these nations it isvery uncommon for a man to bathe alone; he is generally accompaniedby one or sometimes several of his acquaintances; indeed, it is soessentially a social amusement, that to decline going in to bathe wheninvited by a friend is one of the highest indignities which can beoffered to him. The Indians on the frontier generally use a bath whichwill accommodate only one person, formed of a wicker-work of willowsabout four feet high, arched at the top, and covered with skins. In thisthe patient sits, till by means of the heated stones and water hehas perspired sufficiently. Almost universally these baths are in theneighborhood of running water, into which the Indians plunge immediatelyon coming out of the vapor bath, and sometimes return again and subjectthemselves to a second perspiration. This practice is, however, lessfrequent among our neighboring nations than those to the westward. This bath is employed either for pleasure or for health, and is usedindiscriminately for all kinds of diseases. " The expedition was now on the Snake River, making all possible speedtoward the Columbia, commonly known to the Indians as "The Great River. "The stream was crowded with dangerous rapids, and sundry disasters weremet with by the way; thus, on the fourteenth of October, a high windblowing, one of the canoes was driven upon a rock sidewise and filledwith water. The men on board got out and dragged the canoe upon therock, where they held her above water. Another canoe, having beenunloaded, was sent to the relief of the shipwrecked men, who, afterbeing left on the rock for some time, were taken off without any otherloss than the bedding of two of them. But accidents like this delayedthe party, as they were forced to land and remain long enough to drythe goods that had been exposed to the water. Several such incidents aretold in the journal of the explorers. Few Indians were to be seen alongthe banks of the river, but occasionally the party came to a pile ofplanks and timbers which were the materials from which were built thehouses of such Indians as came here in the fishing season to catcha supply for the winter and for trading purposes. Occasionally, thecomplete scarcity of fuel compelled the explorers to depart from theirgeneral rule to avoid taking any Indian property without leave; and theyused some of these house materials for firewood, with the intent to paythe rightful owners, if they should ever be found. On the sixteenth ofOctober, they met with a party of Indians, of whom the journal givesthis account:-- "After crossing by land we halted for dinner, and whilst we were eatingwere visited by five Indians, who came up the river on foot in greathaste. We received them kindly, smoked with them, and gave them a pieceof tobacco to smoke with their tribe. On receiving the present they setout to return, and continued running as fast as they could while theyremained in sight. Their curiosity had been excited by the accounts ofour two chiefs, who had gone on in order to apprise the tribes of ourapproach and of our friendly disposition toward them. After dinner wereloaded the canoes and proceeded. We soon passed a rapid opposite theupper point of a sandy island on the left, which has a smaller islandnear it. At three miles is a gravelly bar in the river; four milesbeyond this the Kimooenim (Snake) empties into the Columbia, and at itsmouth has an island just below a small rapid. "We halted above the point of junction, on the Kimooenim, to conferwith the Indians, who had collected in great numbers to receive us. Onlanding we were met by our two chiefs, to whose good offices we wereindebted for this reception, and also the two Indians who had passedus a few days since on horseback; one of whom appeared to be a man ofinfluence, and harangued the Indians on our arrival. After smoking withthe Indians, we formed a camp at the point where the two rivers unite, near to which we found some driftwood, and were supplied by our two oldchiefs with the stalks of willows and some small bushes for fuel. "We had scarcely fixed the camp and got the fires prepared, when a chiefcame from the Indian camp about a quarter of a mile up the Columbia, atthe head of nearly two hundred men. They formed a regular procession, keeping time to the music, or, rather, noise of their drums, whichthey accompanied with their voices; and as they advanced, they rangedthemselves in a semicircle around us, and continued singing for sometime. We then smoked with them all, and communicated, as well as wecould by signs, our friendly intentions towards every nation, and ourjoy at finding ourselves surrounded by our children. After this weproceeded to distribute presents among them, giving the principal chiefa large medal, a shirt, and a handkerchief; to the second chief, a medalof a smaller size; and to a third, who had come down from some of theupper villages, a small medal and a handkerchief. This ceremony beingconcluded, they left us; but in the course of the afternoon several ofthem returned, and remained with us till a late hour. After they haddispersed, we proceeded to purchase provisions, and were enabled tocollect seven dogs, to which some of the Indians added small presents offish, and one of them gave us twenty pounds of fat dried horse-flesh. " The explorers were still in the country which is now the State ofWashington, at a point where the counties of Franklin, Yakima, and WallaWalla come together, at the junction of the Snake and the Columbia. Wequote now from the journal:-- "From the point of junction the country is a continued plain, low nearthe water, from which it rises gradually, and the only elevation to beseen is a range of high country running from northeast to southwest, where it joins a range of mountains from the southwest, and is on theopposite side about two miles from the Columbia. There is on this plainno tree, and scarcely any shrubs, except a few willow-bushes; even ofsmaller plants there is not much more than the prickly-pear, which isin great abundance, and is even more thorny and troublesome than anywe have yet seen. During this time the principal chief came down withseveral of his warriors, and smoked with us. We were also visited byseveral men and women, who offered dogs and fish for sale; but asthe fish was out of season, and at present abundant in the river, wecontented ourselves with purchasing all the dogs we could obtain. "The nation among which we now are call themselves Sokulks; with themare united a few of another nation, who reside on a western branch whichempties into the Columbia a few miles above the mouth of the latterriver, and whose name is Chimnapum. The languages of these two nations, of each of which we obtained a vocabulary, differ but little from eachother, or from that of the Chopunnish who inhabit the Kooskooskee andLewis' rivers. In their dress and general appearance they also muchresemble those nations; the men wearing a robe of deer- antelope-skin, under which a few of them have a short leathern shirt. The most strikingdifference is among the females, the Sokulk women being more inclined tocorpulency than any we have yet seen. Their stature is low, their facesare broad, and their heads flattened in such a manner that the foreheadis in a straight line from the nose to the crown of the head. Theireyes are of a dirty sable, their hair is coarse and black, and braidedwithout ornament of any kind. Instead of wearing, as do the Chopunnish, long leathern shirts highly decorated with beads and shells, the Sokulkwomen have no other covering but a truss or piece of leather tied roundthe hips, and drawn tight between the legs. The ornaments usually wornby both sexes are large blue or white beads, either pendant from theirears, or round the neck, wrists, and arms; they have likewise braceletsof brass, copper, and horn, and some trinkets of shells, fishbones, andcurious feathers. "The houses of the Sokulks are made of large mats of rushes, and aregenerally of a square or oblong form, varying in length from fifteen tosixty feet, and supported in the inside by poles or forks about six feethigh. The top is covered with mats, leaving a space of twelve or fifteeninches the whole length of the house, for the purpose of admitting thelight and suffering the smoke to escape. The roof is nearly flat, whichseems to indicate that rains are not common in this open country; andthe house is not divided into apartments, the fire being in the middleof the enclosure, and immediately under the bole in the roof. Theinterior is ornamented with their nets, gigs, and other fishing-tackle, as well as the bow of each inmate, and a large quiver of arrows, whichare headed with flint. "The Sokulks seem to be of a mild and peaceable disposition, and live ina state of comparative happiness. The men, like those on the Kimooenim, are said to content themselves with a single wife, with whom thehusband, we observe, shares the labors of procuring subsistence muchmore than is common among savages. What may be considered an unequivocalproof of their good disposition, is the great respect which is shown toold age. Among other marks of it, we noticed in one of the houses anold woman perfectly blind, and who, we were told, had lived more thana hundred winters. In this state of decrepitude, she occupied the bestposition in the house, seemed to be treated with great kindness, andwhatever she said was listened to with much attention. They are by nomeans obtrusive; and as their fisheries supply them with a competent, ifnot an abundant subsistence, although they receive thankfully whateverwe choose to give, they do not importune us by begging. Fish is, indeed, their chief food, except roots and casual supplies of antelope, whichlatter, to those who have only bows and arrows, must be very scanty. This diet may be the direct or the remote cause of the chief disorderwhich prevails among them, as well as among the Flatheads on theKooskooskee and Lewis' rivers. With all these Indians a bad sorenessof the eyes is a very common disorder, which is suffered to ripen byneglect, till many are deprived of one of their eyes, and some havetotally lost the use of both. This dreadful calamity may reasonably, wethink, be imputed to the constant reflection of the sun on the waters, where they are constantly fishing in the spring, summer, and fall, andduring the rest of the year on the snows of a country which affords noobject to relieve the sight. "Among the Sokulks, indeed among all the tribes whose chief subsistenceis fish, we have observed that bad teeth are very general; some have theteeth, particularly those of the upper jaw, worn down to the gums, andmany of both sexes, even of middle age, have lost them almost entirely. This decay of the teeth is a circumstance very unusual among Indians, either of the mountains or the plains, and seems peculiar to theinhabitants of the Columbia. We cannot avoid regarding as one principalcause of it the manner in which they eat their food. The roots areswallowed as they are dug from the ground, frequently covered with agritty sand; so little idea have they that this is offensive that allthe roots they offer us for sale are in the same condition. " The explorers were now at the entrance of the mighty Columbia, --"TheGreat River" of which they had heard so much from the Indians. We mightsuppose that when they actually embarked upon the waters of the famousstream, variously known as "The River of the North" and "The Oregon, "the explorers would be touched with a little of the enthusiasm withwhich they straddled the headwaters of the Missouri and gazed upon thesnow-covered peaks of the Rocky Mountains. But no such kindling ofthe imagination seems to have been noted in their journal. In thiscommonplace way, according to their own account, Captain Clark enteredupon the mighty Columbia:-- "In the course of the day (October 17, 1805), Captain Clark, in a smallcanoe with two men, ascended the Columbia. At the distance of five mileshe passed an island in the middle of the river, at the head of whichwas a small but not dangerous rapid. On the left bank, opposite to thisisland, was a fishing-place consisting of three mat houses. Here weregreat quantities of salmon drying on scaffolds; and, indeed, from themouth of the river upward, he saw immense numbers of dead salmon strewedalong the shore, or floating on the surface of the water, which is soclear that the fish may be seen swimming at the depth of fifteen ortwenty feet. The Indians, who had collected on the banks to observe him, now joined him in eighteen canoes, and accompanied him up the river. Amile above the rapids he came to the lower point of an island, where thecourse of the stream, which had been from its mouth north eighty-threedegrees west, now became due west. He proceeded in that direction, until, observing three house's of mats at a short distance, he landedto visit them. On entering one of these houses, he found it crowded withmen, women, and children, who immediately provided a mat for him to siton, and one of the party undertook to prepare something to eat. He beganby bringing in a piece of pine wood that had drifted down the river, which he split into small pieces with a wedge made of elkhorn, by meansof a mallet of stone curiously carved. The pieces of wood were thenlaid on the fire, and several round stones placed upon them. One of thesquaws now brought a bucket of water, in which was a large salmon abouthalf dried, and, as the stones became heated, they were put into thebucket till the salmon was sufficiently boiled for use. It was thentaken out, put on a platter of rushes neatly made, and laid beforeCaptain Clark, while another was boiled for each of his men. Duringthese preparations he smoked with such about him as would accept oftobacco, but very few were desirous of smoking, a custom which isnot general among them, and chiefly used as a matter of form in greatceremonies. "After eating the fish, which was of an excellent flavor, Captain Clarkset out and, at the distance of four miles from the last island, came tothe lower point of another near the left shore, where he halted at twolarge mat-houses. Here, as at the three houses below, the inhabitantswere occupied in splitting and drying salmon. The multitudes of thisfish are almost inconceivable. The water is so clear that they canreadily be seen at the depth of fifteen or twenty feet; but at thisseason they float in such quantities down the stream, and are driftedashore, that the Indians have only to collect, split, and dry them onthe scaffolds. Where they procure the timber of which these scaffoldsare composed he could not learn; but as there is nothing butwillow-bushes to be seen for a great distance from this place, itrendered very probable what the Indians assured him by signs, that theyoften used dried fish as fuel for the common occasions of cooking. Fromthis island they showed him the entrance of the western branch of theColumbia, called the Tapteal, which, as far as could be seen, bearsnearly west and empties about eight miles above into the Columbia, thegeneral course of which is northwest. " The Tapteal, as the journal calls it, is now known as the Yakima, a stream which has its source in the Cascade range of mountains, Washington. The party tarried here long enough to secure from theIndians a tolerably correct description of the river upon which theywere about to embark. One of the chiefs drew upon the skin-side of abuffalo robe a sketch of the Columbia. And this was transferred to paperand put into the journal. That volume adds here:-- "Having completed the purposes of our stay, we now began to lay in ourstores. Fish being out of season, we purchased forty dogs, for which wegave small articles, such as bells, thimbles, knitting-needles, brasswire, and a few beads, an exchange with which they all seemed perfectlysatisfied. These dogs, with six prairie-cocks killed this morning, formed a plentiful supply for the present. We here left our guideand the two young men who had accompanied him, two of the three beingunwilling to go any further, and the third being of no use, as he wasnot acquainted with the river below. We therefore took no Indians butour two chiefs, and resumed our journey in the presence of many of theSokulks, who came to witness our departure. The morning was cool andfair, and the wind from the southeast. " They now began again to meet Indians who had never before seen whitemen. On the nineteenth, says the journal:-- "The great chief, with two of his inferior chiefs and a third belongingto a band on the river below, made us a visit at a very early hour. Thefirst of these was called Yelleppit, --a handsome, well-proportionedman, about five feet eight inches high, and thirty-five years of age, with a bold and dignified countenance; the rest were not distinguishedin their appearance. We smoked with them, and after making a speech, gave a medal, a handkerchief, and a string of wampum to Yelleppit, but astring of wampum only to the inferior chiefs. He requested us to remaintill the middle of the day, in order that all his nation might come andsee us; but we excused ourselves by telling him that on our return wewould spend two or three days with him. This conference detained us tillnine o'clock, by which time great numbers of the Indians had come downto visit us. On leaving them we went on for eight miles, when we came toan island near the left shore, which continued six miles in length. At its lower extremity is a small island on which are five houses, atpresent vacant, though the scaffolds of fish are as usual abundant. Ashort distance below are two more islands, one of them near the middleof the river. On this there were seven houses, but as soon as theIndians, who were drying fish, saw us, they fled to their houses, andnot one of them appeared till we had passed; when they came out ingreater numbers than is usual for houses of that size, which induced usto think that the inhabitants of the five lodges had been alarmed at ourapproach and taken refuge with them. We were very desirous of landing inorder to relieve their apprehensions, but as there was a bad rapid alongthe island all our care was necessary to prevent injury to the canoes. At the foot of this rapid is a rock on the left shore, which is fourteenmiles from our camp of last night and resembles a hat in shape. " Later in the day, Captain Clark ascended a bluff on the river bank, where he saw "a very high mountain covered with snow. " This was MountSt. Helen's, in Cowlitz County, Washington. The altitude of the peak isnine thousand seven hundred and fifty feet. "Having arrived at the lowerends of the rapids below the bluff before any of the rest of the party, he sat down on a rock to wait for them, and, seeing a crane fly acrossthe river, shot it, and it fell near him. Several Indians had beenbefore this passing on the opposite side towards the rapids, and somewho were then nearly in front of him, being either alarmed at hisappearance or the report of the gun, fled to their houses. Captain Clarkwas afraid that these people had not yet heard that the white men werecoming, and therefore, in order to allay their uneasiness before therest of the party should arrive, he got into the small canoe with threemen, rowed over towards the houses, and, while crossing, shot a duck, which fell into the water. As he approached no person was to be seenexcept three men in the plains, and they, too, fled as he came near theshore. He landed in front of five houses close to each other, but no oneappeared, and the doors, which were of mat, were closed. He went towardsone of them with a pipe in his hand, and, pushing aside the mat, enteredthe lodge, where he found thirty-two persons, chiefly men and women, with a few children, all in the greatest consternation; some hangingdown their heads, others crying and wringing their hands. He went upto them, and shook hands with each one in the most friendly manner; buttheir apprehensions, which had for a moment subsided, revived on histaking out a burning-glass, as there was no roof to the house, andlighting his pipe: he then offered it to several of the men, anddistributed among the women and children some small trinkets which hehad with him, and gradually restored a degree of tranquillity amongthem. "Leaving this house, and directing each of his men to visit a house, heentered a second. Here he found the inmates more terrified than those inthe first; but he succeeded in pacifying them, and afterward went intothe other houses, where the men had been equally successful. Retiringfrom the houses, he seated himself on a rock, and beckoned to some ofthe men to come and smoke with him; but none of them ventured tojoin him till the canoes arrived with the two chiefs, who immediatelyexplained our pacific intention towards them. Soon after theinterpreter's wife (Sacajawea) landed, and her presence dissipated alldoubts of our being well-disposed, since in this country no womanever accompanies a war party: they therefore all came out, and seemedperfectly reconciled; nor could we, indeed, blame them for theirterrors, which were perfectly natural. They told the two chiefs thatthey knew we were not men, for they had seen us fall from the clouds. Infact, unperceived by them, Captain Clark had shot the white crane, whichthey had seen fall just before he appeared to their eyes: the duck whichhe had killed also fell close by him; and as there were some cloudsflying over at the moment, they connected the fall of the birds withhis sudden appearance, and believed that he had himself actually droppedfrom the clouds; considering the noise of the rifle, which they hadnever heard before, the sound announcing so extraordinary an event. Thisbelief was strengthened, when, on entering the room, he brought downfire from the heavens by means of his burning-glass. We soon convincedthem, however, that we were merely mortals; and after one of our chiefshad explained our history and objects, we all smoked together in greatharmony. " Chapter XVI -- Down the Columbia to Tidewater The voyagers were now drifting down the Columbia River, and they foundthe way impeded by many rapids, some of them very dangerous. But theirskill in the handling of their canoes seems to have been equal to theoccasion, although they were sometimes compelled to go around the moredifficult rapids, making a short land portage. When they had travelledabout forty miles down the river, they landed opposite an island onwhich were twenty-four houses of Indians; the people, known as thePishquitpahs, were engaged in drying fish. No sooner had the white menlanded than the Indians, to the number of one hundred, came across thestream bringing with them some firewood, a most welcome present in thattreeless country. The visitors were entertained with presents and a longsmoke at the pipe of peace. So pleased were they with the music of twoviolins played by Cruzatte and Gibson, of the exploring party, that theyremained by the fire of the white men all night. The news of the arrivalof the white strangers soon spread, and next morning about two hundredmore of the Indians assembled to gaze on them. Later in the day, havinggotten away from their numerous inquisitive visitors, the explorerspassed down-stream and landed on a small island to examine a curiousvault, in which were placed the remains of the dead of the tribe. Thejournal says:-- "This place, in which the dead are deposited, is a building about sixtyfeet long and twelve feet wide, formed by placing in the ground polesor forks six feet high, across which a long pole is extended the wholelength of the structure; against this ridge-pole are placed broad boardsand pieces of canoes, in a slanting direction, so as to form a shed. It stands cast and west, and neither of the extremities is closed. On entering the western end we observed a number of bodies wrappedcarefully in leather robes, and arranged in rows on boards, which werethen covered with a mat. This was the part destined for those who hadrecently died; a little further on, bones half decayed were scatteredabout, and in the centre of the building was a large pile of them heapedpromiscuously on each other. At the eastern extremity was a mat, onwhich twenty-one skulls were placed in a circular form; the mode ofinterment being first to wrap the body in robes, then as it decays tothrow the bones into the heap, and place the skulls together. Fromthe different boards and pieces of canoes which form the vault weresuspended, on the inside, fishing-nets, baskets, wooden bowls, robes, skins, trenchers, and trinkets of various kinds, obviously intendedas offerings of affection to deceased relatives. On the outside of thevault were the skeletons of several horses, and great quantities oftheir bones were in the neighborhood, which induced us to believe thatthese animals were most probably sacrificed at the funeral rites oftheir masters. " Just below this stand the party met Indians who traded with tribesliving near the great falls of the Columbia. That place they designatedas "Tum-tum, " a word that signifies the throbbing of the heart. One ofthese Indians had a sailor's jacket, and others had a blue blanket anda scarlet blanket. These articles had found their way up the river fromwhite traders on the seashore. On the twenty-first of October the explorers discovered a considerablestream which appeared to rise in the southeast and empty into theColumbia on the left. To this stream they gave the name of Lepagefor Bastien Lepage, one of the voyageurs accompanying the party. Thewatercourse, however, is now known as John Day's River. John Day wasa mighty hunter and backwoodsman from Kentucky who went across thecontinent, six years later, with a party bound for Astoria, on theColumbia. From the rapids below the John Day River the Lewis and Clarkparty caught their first sight of Mount Hood, a famous peak of theCascade range of mountains, looming up in the southwest, eleven thousandtwo hundred and twenty-five feet high. Next day they passed the mouthof another river entering the Columbia from the south and called bythe Indians the Towahnahiooks, but known to modern geography as the DesChutes, one of the largest southern tributaries of the Columbia. Fivemiles below the mouth of this stream the party camped. Near them was aparty of Indians engaged in drying and packing salmon. Their method ofdoing this is thus described:-- "The manner of doing this is by first opening the fish and exposing itto the sun on scaffolds. When it is sufficiently dried it is poundedbetween two stones till it is pulverized, and is then placed in abasket about two feet long and one in diameter, neatly made of grass andrushes, and lined with the skin of a salmon stretched and dried for thepurpose. Here the fish are pressed down as hard as possible, and the topis covered with fish-skins, which are secured by cords through the holesof the basket. These baskets are then placed in some dry situation, thecorded part upward, seven being usually placed as close as they can beput together, and five on the top of these. The whole is then wrappedup in mats, and made fast by cords, over which mats are again thrown. Twelve of these baskets, each of which contains from ninety to onehundred pounds, form a stack, which is left exposed till it is sent tomarket. The fish thus preserved keep sound and sweet for several years, and great quantities, they inform us, are sent to the Indians who livebelow the falls, whence it finds its way to the whites who visit themouth of the Columbia. We observe, both near the lodges and on the rocksin the river, great numbers of stacks of these pounded fish. Besidesfish, these people supplied us with filberts and berries, and wepurchased a dog for supper; but it was with much difficulty that we wereable to buy wood enough to cook it. " On the twenty-third the voyagers made the descent of the great fallswhich had so long been an object of dread to them. The whole height ofthe falls is thirty-seven feet, eight inches, in a distance of twelvehundred yards. A portage of four hundred and fifty yards was made aroundthe first fall, which is twenty feet high, and perpendicular. By meansof lines the canoes were let down the rapids below. At the season ofhigh water the falls become mere rapids up which the salmon can pass. Onthis point the journal says:-- "From the marks everywhere perceivable at the falls, it is obvious thatin high floods, which must be in the spring, the water below the fallsrises nearly to a level with that above them. Of this rise, which isoccasioned by some obstructions which we do not as yet know, the salmonmust avail themselves to pass up the river in such multitudes that thisfish is almost the only one caught in great abundance above the falls;but below that place we observe the salmon-trout, and the heads ofa species of trout smaller than the salmon-trout, which is in greatquantities, and which they are now burying, to be used as their winterfood. A hole of any size being dug, the sides and bottom are lined withstraw, over which skins are laid; on these the fish, after being welldried, are laid, covered with other skins, and the hole is closed with alayer of earth twelve or fifteen inches deep. . . . "We saw no game except a sea-otter, which was shot in the narrow channelas we were coming down, but we could not get it. Having, therefore, scarcely any provisions, we purchased eight small fat dogs: a foodto which we were compelled to have recourse, as the Indians were veryunwilling to sell us any of their good fish, which they reserved for themarket below. Fortunately, however, habit had completely overcome therepugnance which we felt at first at eating this animal, and the dog, ifnot a favorite dish, was always an acceptable one. The meridian altitudeof to-day gave 45'0 42' 57. 3" north as the latitude of our camp. "On the beach, near the Indian huts, we observed two canoes of adifferent shape and size from any which we had hitherto seen. One ofthese we got by giving our smallest canoe a hatchet, and a few trinketsto the owner, who said he had obtained it from a white man below thefalls in exchange for a horse. These canoes were very beautifully made:wide in the middle, and tapering towards each end, with curious figurescarved on the bow. They were thin, but, being strengthened by crossbarsabout an inch in diameter, tied with strong pieces of bark throughholes in the sides, were able to bear very heavy burdens, and seemedcalculated to live in the roughest water. " At this point the officers of the expedition observed signs ofuneasiness in the two friendly Indian chiefs who had thus faraccompanied them. They also heard rumors that the warlike Indians belowthem were meditating an attack as the party went down. The journalsays:-- "Being at all times ready for any attempt of that sort, we werenot under greater apprehensions than usual at this intelligence. Wetherefore only re-examined our arms, and increased the ammunition to onehundred rounds. Our chiefs, who had not the same motives of confidence, were by no means so much at their ease, and when at night they saw theIndians leave us earlier than usual, their suspicions of an intendedattack were confirmed, and they were very much alarmed. "The Indians approached us with apparent caution, and behaved with morethan usual reserve. Our two chiefs, by whom these circumstances were notobserved, now told us that they wished to return home; that they couldbe no longer of any service to us; that they could not understand thelanguage of the people below the falls; that those people formed adifferent nation from their own; that the two people had been at warwith each other; and that as the Indians had expressed a resolution toattack us, they would certainly kill them. We endeavored to quiet theirfears, and requested them to stay two nights longer, in which time wewould see the Indians below, and make a peace between the two nations. They replied that they were anxious to return and see their horses. We however insisted on their remaining with us, not only in hopes ofbringing about an accommodation between them and their enemies, butbecause they might be able to detect any hostile designs against us, and also assist us in passing the next falls, which are not far off, andrepresented as very difficult. They at length agreed to stay with us twonights longer. " The explorers now arrived at the next fall of the Columbia. Here was aquiet basin, on the margin of which were three Indian huts. The journaltells the rest of the story:-- "At the extremity of this basin stood a high black rock, which, risingperpendicularly from the right shore, seemed to run wholly across theriver: so totally, indeed, did it appear to stop the passage, thatwe could not see where the water escaped, except that the current wasseemingly drawn with more than usual velocity to the left of the rock, where was heard a great roaring. We landed at the huts of the Indians, who went with us to the top of the rock, from which we had a view ofall the difficulties of the channel. We were now no longer at a loss toaccount for the rising of the river at the falls; for this tremendousrock was seen stretching across the river, to meet the high hills onthe left shore, leaving a channel of only forty-five yards wide, throughwhich the whole body of the Columbia pressed its way. The water, thusforced into so narrow a passage, was thrown into whirls, and swelled andboiled in every part with the wildest agitation. But the alternativeof carrying the boats over this high rock was almost impossible in ourpresent situation; and as the chief danger seemed to be, not from anyobstructions in the channel, but from the great waves and whirlpools, weresolved to attempt the passage, in the hope of being able, by dexteroussteering, to descend in safety. This we undertook, and with great carewere able to get through, to the astonishment of the Indians in thehuts we had just passed, who now collected to see us from the top of therock. The channel continued thus confined for the space of about half amile, when the rock ceased. We passed a single Indian hut at the footof it, where the river again enlarges to the width of two hundred yards, and at the distance of a mile and a half stopped to view a very badrapid; this is formed by two rocky islands which divide the channel, thelower and larger of which is in the middle of the river. The appearanceof this place was so unpromising that we unloaded all the most valuablearticles, such as guns, ammunition, our papers, etc. , and sent them byland, with all the men that could not swim, to the extremity of theserapids. We then descended with the canoes, two at a time; though thecanoes took in some water, we all went through safely; after which wemade two miles, stopped in a deep bend of the river toward the right, and camped a little above a large village of twenty-one houses. Herewe landed; and as it was late before all the canoes joined us, we wereobliged to remain this evening, the difficulties of the navigationhaving permitted us to make only six miles. " They were then among the Echeloots, a tribe of the Upper Chinooks, nownearly extinct. The white men were much interested in the houses ofthese people, which, their journal set forth, were "the first woodenbuildings seen since leaving the Illinois country. " This is the mannerof their construction:-- "A large hole, twenty feet wide and thirty in length, was dug to thedepth of six feet; the sides of which were lined with split pieces oftimber rising just above the surface of the ground, and smoothed to thesame width by burning, or by being shaved with small iron axes. Thesetimbers were secured in their erect position by a pole stretched alongthe side of the building near the eaves, and supported on a strongpost fixed at each corner. The timbers at the gable ends rose graduallyhigher, the middle pieces being the broadest. At the top of these was asort of semicircle, made to receive a ridge-pole the whole length of thehouse, propped by an additional post in the middle, and forming the topof the roof. From this ridge-pole to the eaves of the house were placeda number of small poles or rafters, secured at each end by fibres of thecedar. On these poles, which were connected by small transverse barsof wood, was laid a covering of white cedar, or arbor vitae, kept on bystrands of cedar fibres; but a small space along the whole length ofthe ridge-pole was left uncovered, for the purpose of light, and ofpermitting the smoke to pass out. The roof, thus formed, had adescent about equal to that common among us, and near the eaves it wasperforated with a number of small holes, made, most probably, for thedischarge of arrows in case of an attack. The only entrance was by asmall door at the gable end, cut out of the middle piece of timber, twenty-nine and a half inches high, fourteen inches broad, and reachingonly eighteen inches above the earth. Before this hole is hung a mat; onpushing it aside and crawling through, the descent is by a small woodenladder, made in the form of those used among us. One-half of the insideis used as a place of deposit for dried fish, of which large quantitiesare stored away, and with a few baskets of berries form the onlyfamily provisions; the other half, adjoining the door, remains for theaccommodation of the family. On each side are arranged near the wallssmall beds of mats placed on little scaffolds or bedsteads, raised fromeighteen inches to three feet from the ground; and in the middle of thevacant space is the fire, or sometimes two or three fires, when, as isusually the case, the house contains three families. " Houses very like these are built by the Ahts or Nootkas, a tribe ofIndians inhabiting parts of Vancouver Island and the adjacent mainland. A Nootka calls his house an ourt. The good offices of Lewis and Clark, who were always ready to makepeace between hostile tribes, were again successful here. The Echelootsreceived the white men with much kindness, invited them to their houses, and returned their visits after the explorers had camped. Lewis andClark told the Echeloot chiefs that the war was destroying them andtheir industries, bringing want and privation upon them. The Indianslistened with attention to what was said, and after some talk theyagreed to make peace with their ancient enemies. Impressed with thesincerity of this agreement, the captains of the expedition invested theprincipal chief with a medal and some small articles of clothing. The two faithful chiefs who had accompanied the white men from theheadwaters of the streams now bade farewell to their friends and allies, the explorers. They bought horses of the Echeloots and returned to theirdistant homes by land. Game here became more abundant, and on the twenty-sixth of October thejournal records the fact that they received from the Indians a presentof deer-meat, and on that day their hunters found plenty of tracks ofelk and deer in the mountains, and they brought in five deer, four verylarge gray squirrels, and a grouse. Besides these delicacies, one ofthe men killed in the river a salmon-trout which was fried in bear's oiland, according to the journal, "furnished a dish of a very delightfulflavor, " doubtless a pleasing change from the diet of dog's flesh withwhich they had so recently been regaled. Two of the Echeloot chiefs remained with the white men to guide themon their way down the river. These were joined by seven others of theirtribe, to whom the explorers were kind and attentive. But the visitorscould not resist the temptation to pilfer from the goods exposed to dryin the sun. Being checked in this sly business, they became ill-humoredand returned, angry, down the river. The explorers noticed here that the Indians flattened the heads ofmales as well as females. Higher up the river, only the women and femalechildren had flat heads. The custom of artificially flattening the headsof both men and women, in infancy, was formerly practised by nearly allthe tribes of the Chinook family along the Columbia River. Various meansare used to accomplish this purpose, the most common and most cruelbeing to bind a flat board on the forehead of an infant in such a waythat it presses on the skull and forces the forehead up on to the top ofthe head. As a man whose head has been flattened in infancy grows older, the deformity partly disappears; but the flatness of the head is alwaysregarded as a tribal badge of great merit. "On the morning of the twenty-eighth, " says the journal, having driedour goods, we were about setting out, when three canoes came from aboveto visit us, and at the same time two others from below arrived for thesame purpose. Among these last was an Indian who wore his hair in aque, and had on a round hat and a sailor's jacket, which he said he hadobtained from the people below the great rapids, who bought them fromthe whites. This interview detained us till nine o'clock, when weproceeded down the river, which is now bordered with cliffs of loosedark colored rocks about ninety feet high, with a thin covering of pinesand other small trees. At the distance of four miles we reached a smallvillage of eight houses under some high rocks on the right with a smallcreek on the opposite side of the river. "We landed and found the houses similar to those we had seen at thegreat narrows; on entering one of them we saw a British musket, acutlass, and several brass tea-kettles, of which they seemed to be veryfond. There were figures of men, birds, and different animals, whichwere cut and painted on the boards which form the sides of the room;though the workmanship of these uncouth figures was very rough, theywere highly esteemed by the Indians as the finest frescos of morecivilized people. This tribe is called the Chilluckittequaw; theirlanguage, though somewhat different from that of the Echeloots, has manyof the same words, and is sufficiently intelligible to the neighboringIndians. We procured from them a vocabulary, and then, after buying fivesmall dogs, some dried berries, and a white bread or cake made of roots, we left them. The wind, however, rose so high that we were obliged, after going one mile, to land on the left side, opposite a rocky island, and pass the day. " On the same day the white chiefs visited one of the most prominent ofthe native houses built along the river. "This, " says the journal, "was the residence of the principal chief ofthe Chilluckittequaw nation, who we found was the same between whom andour two chiefs we had made a peace at the Echeloot village. He receivedus, very kindly, and set before us pounded fish, filberts, nuts, theberries of the sacacommis, and white bread made of roots. We gave, inreturn, a bracelet of ribbon to each of the women of the house, withwhich they were very much pleased. The chief had several articles, suchas scarlet and blue cloth, a sword, a jacket, and a hat, which musthave been procured from the whites, and on one side of the room weretwo wide, split boards, placed together so as to make space for a rudefigure of a man cut and painted on them. On pointing to this, and askinghim what it meant, he said something, of which all that we understoodwas 'good, ' and then stepped up to the painting, and took out his bowand quiver, which, with some other warlike instruments, were kept behindit. "He then directed his wife to hand him his medicine-bag, from which hedrew out fourteen forefingers, which he told us had belonged to the samenumber of his enemies, whom he had killed in fighting with the nationsto the southeast, in which direction he pointed; alluding, no doubt, tothe Snake Indians, the common enemy of the tribes on the Columbia. Thisbag is usually about two feet in length, and contains roots, poundeddirt, etc. , which only the Indians know how to appreciate. It issuspended in the middle of the lodge; and it is considered as a speciesof sacrilege for any one but the owner to touch it. It is an object ofreligious fear; and, from its supposed sanctity, is the chief place fordepositing their medals and more valuable articles. They have likewisesmall bags, which they preserve in their great medicine-bag, fromwhence they are taken, and worn around their waists and necks as amuletsagainst any real or imaginary evils. This was the first time we had beenapprised that the Indians ever carried from the field any other trophythan the scalp. These fingers were shown with great exultation; and, after an harangue, which we were left to presume was in praise of hisexploits, the chief carefully replaced them among the valuable contentsof his red medicine-bag. The inhabitants of this village being partof the same nation with those of the village we had passed above, thelanguage of the two was the same, and their houses were of similar formand materials, and calculated to contain about thirty souls. They wereunusually hospitable and good-humored, so that we gave to the place thename of the Friendly village. We breakfasted here; and after purchasingtwelve dogs, four sacks of fish, and a few dried berries, proceeded onour journey. The hills as we passed were high, with steep, rocky sides, with pine and white oak, and an undergrowth of shrubs scattered overthem. " Leaving the Friendly village, the party went on their way down theriver. Four miles below they came to a small and rapid river which theycalled the Cataract River, but which is now known as the Klikitat. Therapids of the stream, according to the Indians, were so numerous thatsalmon could not ascend it, and the Indians who lived along its bankssubsisted on what game they could kill with their bows and arrows and onthe berries which, in certain seasons, were plentiful. Again we noticethe purchase of dogs; this time only four were bought, and the partyproceeded on their way. That night, having travelled thirty-two miles, they camped on the right bank of the river in what is now SkamaniaCounty, Washington. Three huts were inhabited by a considerable numberof Indians, of whom the journal has this to say:-- "On our first arrival they seemed surprised, but not alarmed, and wesoon became intimate by means of smoking and our favorite entertainmentfor the Indians, the violin. They gave us fruit, roots, and root-bread, and we purchased from them three dogs. The houses of these people aresimilar to those of the Indians above, and their language is the same;their dress also, consisting of robes or skins of wolves, deer, elk, and wildcat, is made nearly after the same model; their hair is worn inplaits down each shoulder, and round their neck is put a strip of someskin with the tail of the animal hanging down over the breast; like theIndians above, they are fond of otter-skins, and give a great price forthem. We here saw the skin of a mountain sheep, which they say livesamong the rocks in the mountains; the skin was covered with white hair;the wool was long, thick, and coarse, with long coarse hair on the topof the neck and on the back, resembling somewhat the bristles of a goat. Immediately behind the village is a pond, in which were great numbers ofsmall swan. " The "mountain sheep" mentioned here are not the bighorn of which we haveheard something in the earlier part of this narrative, but a speciesof wild goat found among the Cascade Mountains. The "wildcat" abovereferred to is probably that variety of lynx known in Canada and mostof the Northern States and the Pacific as the _loup-cervier_, orvulgarly, the "lucifee. " On the last day of October, the next of the more difficult rapids beingnear, Captain Clark went ahead to examine the "shoot, " as the explorerscalled the place which we know as the chute. In the thick wood thatbordered the river he found an ancient burial-place which he thusdescribes:-- "It consists of eight vaults made of pine or cedar boards closelyconnected, about eight feet square and six in height; the top coveredwith wide boards sloping a little, so as to convey off the rain. Thedirection of all of these vaults is east and west, the door being onthe eastern side, partially stopped with wide boards decorated with rudepictures of men and other animals. On entering he found in some of themfour dead bodies, carefully wrapped in skins, tied with cords of grassand bark, lying on a mat, in a direction east and west. The other vaultscontained only bones, which were in some of them piled to the heightof four feet. On the tops of the vaults, and on poles attached to them, bung brass kettles and frying-pans with holes in their bottoms, baskets, bowls, sea-shells, skins, pieces of cloth, hair, bags of trinkets andsmall bones--the offerings of friendship or affection, which havebeen saved by a pious veneration from the ferocity of war, or the moredangerous temptations of individual gain. The whole of the walls as wellas the door were decorated with strange figures cut and painted on them;and besides were several wooden images of men, some so old and decayedas to have almost lost their shape, which were all placed against thesides of the vaults. These images, as well as those in the houses wehave lately seen, do not appear to be at all the objects of adoration;in this place they were most probably intended as resemblances of thosewhose decease they indicate; when we observe them in houses, they occupythe most conspicuous part, but are treated more like ornaments thanobjects of worship. " The white men were visited at their camp by many Indians from thevillages farther up the stream. The journal says:-- "We had an opportunity of seeing to-day the hardihood of the Indians ofthe neighboring village. One of the men shot a goose, which fell intothe river and was floating rapidly toward the great shoot, when anIndian observing it plunged in after it. The whole mass of the waters ofthe Columbia, just preparing to descend its narrow channel, carried theanimal down with great rapidity. The Indian followed it fearlesslyto within one hundred and fifty feet of the rocks, where he wouldinevitably have been dashed to pieces; but seizing his prey heturned round and swam ashore with great composure. We very willinglyrelinquished our right to the bird in favor of the Indian who had thussaved it at the imminent hazard of his life; he immediately set to workand picked off about half the feathers, and then, without opening it, ran a stick through it and carried it off to roast. " With many hair's-breadth escapes, the expedition now passed through therapids or "great shoot. " The river here is one hundred and fifty yardswide and the rapids are confined to an area four hundred yards long, crowded with islands and rocky ledges. They found the Indians livingalong the banks of the stream to be kindly disposed; but they hadlearned, by their intercourse with tribes living below, to set a highvalue on their wares. They asked high prices for anything they had forsale. The journal says:-- "We cannot learn precisely the nature of the trade carried on by theIndians with the inhabitants below. But as their knowledge of the whitesseems to be very imperfect, and as the only articles which they carry tomarket, such as pounded fish, bear-grass, and roots, cannot be an objectof much foreign traffic, their intercourse appears to be an intermediatetrade with the natives near the mouth of the Columbia. From them thesepeople obtain, in exchange for their fish, roots, and bear-grass, blueand white beads, copper tea-kettles, brass armbands, some scarlet andblue robes, and a few articles of old European clothing. But their greatobject is to obtain beads, an article which holds the first place intheir ideas of relative value, and to procure which they will sacrificetheir last article of clothing or last mouthful of food. Independentlyof their fondness for them as an ornament, these beads are the medium oftrade, by which they obtain from the Indians still higher up the river, robes, skins, chappelel bread, bear-grass, etc. Those Indians inturn employ them to procure from the Indians in the Rocky Mountains, bear-grass, pachico-roots, robes, etc. "These Indians are rather below the common size, with high cheek-bones;their noses are pierced, and in full dress ornamented with a taperingpiece of white shell or wampum about two inches long. Their eyes areexceedingly sore and weak; many of them have only a single eye, andsome are perfectly blind. Their teeth prematurely decay, and in frequentinstances are altogether worn away. Their general health, however, seemsto be good, the only disorder we have remarked being tumors in differentparts of the body. " The more difficult rapid was passed on the second day of November, theluggage being sent down by land and the empty canoes taken down withgreat care. The journal of that date says:-- "The rapid we have just passed is the last of all the descents of theColumbia. At this place the first tidewater commences, and the riverin consequence widens immediately below the rapid. As we descended wereached, at the distance of one mile from the rapid, a creek undera bluff on the left; at three miles is the lower point of StrawberryIsland. To this immediately succeed three small islands covered withwood. In the meadow to the right, at some distance from the hills, stands a perpendicular rock about eight hundred feet high and fourhundred yards around the base. This we called Beacon Rock. Just below isan Indian village of nine houses, situated between two small creeks. At this village the river widens to nearly a mile in extent; the lowgrounds become wider, and they as well as the mountains on each side arecovered with pine, spruce-pine, cottonwood, a species of ash, and somealder. After being so long accustomed to the dreary nakedness of thecountry above, the change is as grateful to the eye as it is useful insupplying us with fuel. Four miles from the village is a point ofland on the right, where the hills become lower, but are still thicklytimbered. The river is now about two miles wide, the current smooth andgentle, and the effect of the tide has been sensible since leaving therapid. Six miles lower is a rock rising from the middle of the river tothe height of one hundred feet, and about eighty yards at its base. We continued six miles further, and halted for the night under a highprojecting rock on the left side of the river, opposite the point of alarge meadow. "The mountains, which, from the great shoot to this place, are high, rugged, and thickly covered with timber, chiefly of the pine species, here leave the river on each side; the river becomes two and one-halfmiles in width; the low grounds are extensive and well supplied withwood. The Indians whom we left at the portage passed us on their waydown the river, and seven others, who were descending in a canoe for thepurpose of trading below, camped with us. We had made from the foot ofthe great shoot twenty-nine miles to-day. The ebb tide rose at our campabout nine inches; the flood must rise much higher. We saw great numbersof water-fowl, such as swan, geese, ducks of various kinds, gulls, plovers, and the white and gray brant, of which last we killedeighteen. " Chapter XVII -- From Tidewater to the Sea Near the mouth of the river which the explorers named Quicksand River(now Sandy), they met a party of fifteen Indians who had lately beendown to the mouth of the Columbia. These people told the white men thatthey had seen three vessels at anchor below, and, as these must needsbe American, or European, the far-voyaging explorers were naturallypleased. When they had camped that night, they received other visitorsof whom the journal makes mention:-- "A canoe soon after arrived from the village at the foot of the lastrapid, with an Indian and his family, consisting of a wife, threechildren, and a woman who had been taken prisoner from the SnakeIndians, living on a river from the south, which we afterward found tobe the Multnomah. Sacajawea was immediately introduced to her, in hopesthat, being a Snake Indian, they might understand each other; but theirlanguage was not sufficiently intelligible to permit them to conversetogether. The Indian had a gun with a brass barrel and cock, which heappeared to value highly. " The party had missed the Multnomah River in their way down, althoughthis is one of the three largest tributaries of the Columbia, John Day'sRiver and the Des Chutes being the other two. A group of islandsnear the mouth of the Multnomah hides it from the view of the passingvoyager. The stream is now more generally known as the Willamette, orWallamet. The large city of Portland, Oregon, is built on the river, about twelve miles from its junction with the Columbia. The Indiantribes along the banks of the Multnomah, or Willamette, subsistedlargely on the wappatoo, an eatable root, about the size of a hen's eggand closely resembling a potato. This root is much sought after by theIndians and is eagerly bought by tribes living in regions where it isnot to be found. The party made great use of the wappatoo after they hadlearned how well it served in place of bread. They bought here all thatthe Indians could spare and then made their way down the river to anopen prairie where they camped for dinner and found many signs of elkand deer. The journal says:-- "When we landed for dinner, a number of Indians from the last villagecame down for the purpose, as we supposed, of paying us a friendlyvisit, as they had put on their favorite dresses. In addition to theirusual covering they had scarlet and blue blankets, sailors' jackets andtrousers, shirts and hats. They had all of them either war-axes, spears, and bows and arrows, or muskets and pistols, with tin powder-flasks. We smoked with them and endeavored to show them every attention, but wesoon found them very assuming and disagreeable companions. While wewere eating, they stole the pipe with which they were smoking, andthe greatcoat of one of the men. We immediately searched them all, anddiscovered the coat stuffed under the root of a tree near where theywere sitting; but the pipe we could not recover. Finding us determinednot to suffer any imposition, and discontented with them, they showedtheir displeasure in the only way which they dared, by returning in anill-humor to their village. "We then proceeded and soon met two canoes, with twelve men of the sameSkilloot nation, who were on their way from below. The larger of thecanoes was ornamented with the figure of a bear in the bow and a man inthe stern, both nearly as large as life, both made of painted woodand very neatly fixed to the boat. In the same canoe were two Indians, finely dressed and with round hats. This circumstance induced us to givethe name of Image-canoe to the large island, the lower end of which wenow passed at the distance of nine miles from its head. " Here they had their first full view of Mt. St. Helen's, sometimes calledMt. Ranier. The peak is in Washington and is 9, 750 feet high. It hasa sugar-loaf, or conical, shape and is usually covered with snow. Thenarrative of the expedition continues as follows:-- "The Skilloots that we passed to-day speak a language somewhat differentfrom that of the Echeloots or Chilluckittequaws near the long narrows. Their dress, however, is similar, except that the Skilloots possessmore articles procured from the white traders; and there is this fartherdifference between them, that the Skilloots, both males and females, have the head flattened. Their principal food is fish, wappatoo roots, and some elk and deer, in killing which with arrows they seem to be veryexpert; for during the short time we remained at the village, three deerwere brought in. We also observed there a tame blaireau, (badger). " The journal, November 5, says:-- "Our choice of a camp had been very unfortunate; for on a sand-islandopposite us were immense numbers of geese, swan, ducks, and other wildfowl, which during the whole night serenaded us with a confusion ofnoises which completely prevented our sleeping. During the latter partof the night it rained, and we therefore willingly left camp at an earlyhour. We passed at three miles a small prairie, where the river is onlythree-quarters of a mile in width, and soon after two houses on theleft, half a mile distant from each other; from one of which three mencame in a canoe merely to look at us, and having done so returned home. At eight miles we came to the lower point of an island, separated fromthe right side by a narrow channel, on which, a short distance abovethe end of the island, is situated a large village. It is built morecompactly than the generality of the Indian villages, and the fronthas fourteen houses, which are ranged for a quarter of a mile along thechannel. As soon as we were discovered seven canoes came out to seeus, and after some traffic, during which they seemed well disposed andorderly, accompanied us a short distance below. " The explorers now met Indians of a different nation from those whom theyhad seen before. The journal says:-- "These people seem to be of a different nation from those we have justpassed; they are low in stature, ill shaped, and all have their headsflattened. They call themselves Wahkiacum, and their language differsfrom that of the tribes above, with whom they trade for wappatoo-roots. The houses are built in a different style, being raised entirely aboveground, with the caves about five feet high and the door at the corner. Near the end, opposite this door, is a single fireplace, round which arethe beds, raised four feet from the floor of earth; over the fireare hung the fresh fish, which, when dried, are stowed away with thewappatoo-roots under the beds. The dress of the men is like that of thepeople above, but the women are clad in a peculiar manner, the robe notreaching lower than the hip, and the body being covered in cold weatherby a sort of corset of fur, curiously plaited and reaching from the armsto the hip; added to this is a sort of petticoat, or rather tissue ofwhite cedar bark, bruised or broken into small strands, and woven intoa girdle by several cords of the same material. Being tied round themiddle, these strands hang down as low as the knee in front, and to themid-leg behind; they are of sufficient thickness to answer the purposeof concealment whilst the female stands in an erect position, but in anyother attitude form but a very ineffectual defence. Sometimes thetissue is strings of silk-grass, twisted and knotted at the end. Afterremaining with them about an hour, we proceeded down the channel with anIndian dressed in a sailor's jacket for our pilot, and on reaching themain channel were visited by some Indians who have a temporary residenceon a marshy island in the middle of the river, where is a greatabundance of water-fowl. " The tribe of Indians known as the Wahkiacums has entirely disappeared;but the name survives as that of one of the counties of Washingtonbordering on the Columbia. Wahkiacum is the county lying next west ofCowlitz. When the explorers passed down the river under the piloting oftheir Indian friend wearing a sailor's jacket, they were in a thick fog. This cleared away and a sight greeted their joyful vision. Their storysays:-- "At a distance of twenty miles from our camp, we halted at a village ofWahkiacums, consisting of seven ill-looking houses, built in the sameform with those above, and situated at the foot of the high hills on theright, behind two small marshy islands. We merely stopped to purchasesome food and two beaver skins, and then proceeded. Opposite to theseislands the hills on the left retire, and the river widens into a kindof bay, crowded with low islands, subject to be overflowed occasionallyby the tide. We had not gone far from this village when, the fogsuddenly clearing away, we were at last presented with the glorioussight of the ocean--that ocean, the object of all our labors, the rewardof all our anxieties. This animating sight exhilarated the spirits ofall the party, who were still more delighted on hearing the distantroar of the breakers. We went on with great cheerfulness along the high, mountainous country which bordered the right bank: the shore, however, was so bold and rocky, that we could not, until at a distance offourteen miles from the last village, find any spot fit for anencampment. Having made during the day thirty-four miles, we now spreadour mats on the ground, and passed the night in the rain. Here we werejoined by our small canoe, which had been separated from us during thefog this morning. Two Indians from the last village also accompanied usto the camp; but, having detected them in stealing a knife, they weresent off. " It is not very easy for us, who have lived comfortably at home, or whohave travelled only in luxurious railway-cars and handsomely equippedsteamers, to realize the joy and rapture with which these far-wanderingexplorers hailed the sight of the sea, --the sea to which they had solong been journeying, through deserts, mountain-passes, and tangledwildernesses. In his diary Captain Clark thus sets down some indicationof his joy on that memorable day, November 8, 1805: "Great joy in camp. We are in view of the Ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we havebeen so long anxious to see, and the roaring or noise made by the wavesbreaking on the rocky shores (as I suppose) may be heard distinctly. "Later, same day, he says, "Ocean in view! O! the joy!" Fortunately, thehardships to be undergone on the shores of the ocean were then unknownand undreamed of; the travellers were thankful to see the sea, thegoal of all their hopes, the end of their long pilgrimage across thecontinent. That night they camped near the mouth of the river in what is now knownas Gray's Bay, on the north side of the river, in the southwest cornerof Wahkiacum County. Before they could reach their camping-place, the water was so rough that some of the men had an unusualexperience, --seasickness. They passed a disagreeable night on a narrow, rocky bench of land. Next day they say: "Fortunately for us, the tide did not rise as high as our camp duringthe night; but being accompanied by high winds from the south, thecanoes, which we could not place beyond its reach, were filled withwater, and were saved with much difficulty. Our position was veryuncomfortable, but as it was impossible to move from it, we waited for achange of weather. It rained, however, during the whole day, and at twoo'clock in the afternoon the flood tide set in, accompanied by a highwind from the south, which, about four o'clock, shifted to the southwestand blew almost a gale directly from the sea. The immense waves nowbroke over the place where we were camped; the large trees, some of themfive or six feet thick, which had lodged at the point, were drifted overour camp, and the utmost vigilance of every man could scarcely saveour canoes from being crushed to pieces. We remained in the water, anddrenched with rain, during the rest of the day, our only food beingsome dried fish and some rain-water which we caught. Yet, though wetand cold, and some of them sick from using salt water, the men werecheerful, and full of anxiety to see more of the ocean. The raincontinued all night. " This was the beginning of troubles. Next day, the wind having lulled, the party set forth again, only to be beaten back and compelled to taketo the shore again. This was their experience for several days. Forexample, under date of the eleventh the journal says:-- "The wind was still high from the southwest, and drove the waves againstthe shore with great fury; the rain too fell in torrents, and not onlydrenched us to the skin, but loosened the stones on the hillsides, which then came rolling down upon us. In this comfortless situation weremained all day, wet, cold, with nothing but dried fish to satisfy ourhunger; the canoes in one place at the mercy of the waves, the baggagein another, and all the men scattered on floating logs, or shelteringthemselves in the crevices of the rocks and hillsides. A hunter wasdespatched in hopes of finding some fresh meat; but the hills were sosteep, and so covered with undergrowth and fallen timber, that he couldnot penetrate them, and he was forced to return. " And this is the record for the next day:-- "About three o'clock a tremendous gale of wind arose accompanied withlightning, thunder, and hail: at six it lightened up for a short time, but a violent rain soon began, and lasted through the day. During thestorm, one of our boats, secured by being sunk with great quantities ofstone, got loose, but, drifting against a rock, was recovered withouthaving received much injury. Our situation now became much moredangerous, for the waves were driven with fury against the rocksand trees, which till now had afforded us refuge: we therefore tookadvantage of the low tide, and moved about half a mile round a point toa small brook, which we had not observed before on account of the thickbushes and driftwood which concealed its mouth. Here we were more safe, but still cold and wet; our clothes and bedding rotten as well as wet, our baggage at a distance, and the canoes, our only means of escape fromthis place, at the mercy of the waves. Still, we continued to enjoy goodhealth, and even had the luxury of feasting on some salmon and threesalmon trout which we caught in the brook. Three of the men attempted togo round a point in our small Indian canoe, but the high waves renderedher quite unmanageable, these boats requiring the seamanship of thenatives to make them live in so rough a sea. " It should be borne in mind that the canoes of the explorers were poordug-outs, unfit to navigate the turbulent waters of the bay, and the menwere not so expert in that sort of seamanship as were the Indians whomthey, with envy, saw breasting the waves and making short voyages in themidst of the storms. It continued to rain without any intermission, and the waves dashed up among the floating logs of the camp in a verydistracting manner. The party now had nothing but dried fish to eat, and it was with great difficulty that a fire could be built. Onthe fifteenth of the month, Captain Lewis having found a bettercamping-place near a sandy beach, they started to move their luggagethither; but before they could get under way, a high wind from thesouthwest sprung up and they were forced to remain. But the sun came outand they were enabled to dry their stuff, much of which had been spoiledby the rain which had prevailed for the past ten days. Their fish alsowas no longer fit to eat, and they were indeed in poor case. CaptainLewis was out on a prospecting trip, and the party set out and found abeach through which a pleasant brook flowed to the river, making a verygood camping-place. At the mouth of this stream was an ancient Chinookvillage, which, says the journal, "has at present no inhabitants butfleas. " The adventurers were compelled to steer wide of all old Indianvillages, they were so infested with fleas. At times, so great wasthe pest, the men were forced to take off all their clothing and soakthemselves and their garments in the river before they could be ridof the insects. The site of their new camp was at the southeast endof Baker's Bay, sometimes called Haley's Bay, a mile above a very highpoint of rocks. On arriving at this place, the voyagers met with anunpleasant experience of which the journal gives this account:-- "Here we met Shannon, who had been sent back to meet us by CaptainLewis. The day Shannon left us in the canoe, he and Willard proceededtill they met a party of twenty Indians, who, having never heard of us, did not know where they (our men) came from; they, however, behaved withso much civility, and seemed so anxious that the men should go with themtoward the sea, that their suspicions were excited, and they declinedgoing on. The Indians, however, would not leave them; the men beingconfirmed in their suspicions, and fearful that if they went into thewoods to sleep they would be cut to pieces in the night, thought it bestto pass the night in the midst of the Indians. They therefore made afire, and after talking with them to a late hour, laid down with theirrifles under their heads. As they awoke that morning they found thatthe Indians had stolen and concealed their guns. Having demanded themin vain, Shannon seized a club, and was about assaulting one of theIndians, whom he suspected as a thief, when another Indian began toload a fowling-piece with the intention of shooting him. He thereforestopped, and explained by signs that if they did not give up the gunsa large party would come down the river before the sun rose to such aheight, and put every one of them to death. Fortunately, Captain Lewisand his party appeared at this time. The terrified Indians immediatelybrought the guns, and five of them came on with Shannon. To these men wedeclared that if ever any one of their nation stole anything from us, he should be instantly shot. They reside to the north of this place, andspeak a language different from that of the people higher up the river. "It was now apparent that the sea was at all times too rough for us toproceed further down the bay by water. We therefore landed, and havingchosen the best spot we could select, made our camp of boards fromthe old (Chinook) village. We were now situated comfortably, and beingvisited by four Wahkiacums with wappatoo-roots, were enabled to make anagreeable addition to our food. " On the seventeenth Captain Lewis with a small party of his men coastedthe bay as far out as Cape Disappointment and some distance to the northalong the seacoast. Game was now plenty, and the camp was supplied withducks, geese, and venison. Bad weather again set in. The journal underdate of November 22 says:-- "It rained during the whole night, and about daylight a tremendous galeof wind rose from the S. S. E. , and continued through the day with greatviolence. The sea ran so high that the water came into our camp, whichthe rain prevents us from leaving. We purchased from the old squaw, forarmbands and rings, a few wappatoo-roots, on which we subsisted. Theyare nearly equal in flavor to the Irish potato, and afford a very goodsubstitute for bread. The bad weather drove several Indians to our camp, but they were still under the terrors of the threat which we made onfirst seeing them, and behaved with the greatest decency. "The rain continued through the night, November 23, and the morning wascalm and cloudy. The hunters were sent out, and killed three deer, fourbrant, and three ducks. Towards evening seven Clatsops came over in acanoe, with two skins of the sea-otter. To this article they attached anextravagant value; and their demands for it were so high, that we werefearful it would too much reduce our small stock of merchandise, onwhich we had to depend for subsistence on our return, to venture onpurchasing it. To ascertain, however, their ideas as to the valueof different objects, we offered for one of these skins a watch, ahandkerchief, an American dollar, and a bunch of red beads; but neitherthe curious mechanism of the watch, nor even the red beads, could temptthe owner: he refused the offer, but asked for tiacomoshack, or chiefbeads, the most common sort of coarse blue-colored beads, the articlebeyond all price in their estimation. Of these blue beads we had butfew, and therefore reserved them for more necessitous circumstances. " The officers of the expedition had hoped and expected to find here someof the trading ships that were occasionally sent along the coast tobarter with the natives; but none were to be found. They were soon toprepare for winter-quarters, and they still hoped that a trader mightappear in the spring before they set out on their homeward journeyacross the continent. Very much they needed trinkets to deal with thenatives in exchange for, the needful articles of food on the route. But(we may as well say here) no such relief ever appeared. It is strangethat President Jefferson, in the midst of his very minute orders andpreparations for the benefit of the explorers, did not think of sendinga relief ship to meet the party at the mouth of the Columbia. They wouldhave been saved a world of care, worry, and discomfort. But at that timethe European nations who held possessions on the Pacific coast were verysuspicious of the Americans, and possibly President Jefferson did notlike to risk rousing their animosity. The rain that now deluged the unhappy campers was so incessant that theymight well have thought that people should be web-footed to live in sucha watery region. In these later days, Oregon is sometimes known as "TheWeb-foot State. " Captain Clark, in his diary, November 28, makes thisentry: "O! how disagreeable is our situation dureing this dreadfullweather!" The gallant captain's spelling was sometimes queer. Under thatdate he adds:-- "We remained during the day in a situation the most cheerless anduncomfortable. On this little neck of land we are exposed, with amiserable covering which does not deserve the name of a shelter, tothe violence of the winds; all our bedding and stores, as well asour bodies, are completely wet; our clothes are rotting with constantexposure, and we have no food except the dried fish brought from thefalls, to which we are again reduced. The hunters all returned hungryand drenched with rain, having seen neither deer nor elk, and the swanand brant were too shy to be approached. At noon the wind shifted to thenorthwest, and blew with such tremendous fury that many trees were blowndown near us. This gale lasted with short intervals during the wholenight. " Of course, in the midst of such violent storms, it was impossible to getgame, and the men were obliged to resort once more to a diet ofdried fish, This food caused much sickness in the camp, and it becameimperatively necessary that efforts should again be made to find game. On the second of December, to their great joy an elk was killed, andnext day they had a feast. The journal says; "The wind was from the east and the morning fair; but, as if one wholeday of fine weather were not permitted, toward night it began to rain. Even this transient glimpse of sunshine revived the spirits of theparty, who were still more pleased when the elk killed yesterday wasbrought into camp. This was the first elk we had killed on the west sideof the Rocky Mountains, and condemned as we have been to the driedfish, it formed a most nourishing food. After eating the marrow of theshank-bones, the squaw chopped them fine, and by boiling extracted apint of grease, superior to the tallow itself of the animal. A canoe ofeight Indians, who were carrying down wappatoo-roots to trade withthe Clatsops, stopped at our camp; we bought a few roots for smallfish-hooks, and they then left us. Accustomed as we were to the sight, we could not but view with admiration the wonderful dexterity with whichthey guide their canoes over the most boisterous seas; for though thewaves were so high that before they had gone half a mile the canoe wasseveral times out of sight, they proceeded with the greatest calmnessand security. Two of the hunters who set out yesterday had lost theirway, and did not return till this evening. They had seen in their ramblegreat signs of elk and had killed six, which they had butchered and leftat a great distance. A party was sent in the morning. " On the third of December Captain Clark carved on the trunk of a greatpine tree this inscription:-- "WM. CLARK DECEMBER 3D 1805 BY LAND FROM THE U. STATES IN 1804 & 5. " A few days later, Captain Lewis took with him a small party and set outto find a suitable spot on which to build their winter camp. He did notreturn as soon as he was expected, and considerable uneasiness was feltin camp on that account. But he came in safely. He brought good news;they had discovered a river on the south side of the Columbia, not farfrom their present encampment, where there were an abundance of elk anda favorable place for a winter camp. Bad weather detained them until theseventh of December, when a favorable change enabled them to proceed. They made their way slowly and very cautiously down-stream, the tidebeing against them. The narrative proceeds:-- "We at length turned a point, and found ourselves in a deep bay: here welanded for breakfast, and were joined by the party sent out three daysago to look for the six elk, killed by the Lewis party. They had losttheir way for a day and a half, and when they at last reached the place, found the elk so much spoiled that they brought away nothing but theskins of four of them. After breakfast we coasted round the bay, whichis about four miles across, and receives, besides several small creeks, two rivers, called by the Indians, the one Kilhowanakel, the otherNetul. We named it Meriwether's Bay, from the Christian name of CaptainLewis, who was, no doubt, the first white man who had surveyed it. Thewind was high from the northeast, and in the middle of the day it rainedfor two hours, and then cleared off. On reaching the south side of thebay we ascended the Netul three miles, to the first point of high landon its western bank, and formed our camp in a thick grove of loftypines, about two hundred yards from the water, and thirty feet above thelevel of the high tides. " Chapter XVIII -- Camping by the Pacific Next in importance to the building of a winter camp was the fixing ofa place where salt could be made. Salt is absolutely necessary for thecomfort of man, and the supply brought out from the United States by theexplorers was now nearly all gone. They were provided with kettlesin which sea-water could be boiled down and salt be made. It would beneedful to go to work at once, for the process of salt-making by boilingin ordinary kettles is slow and tedious; not only must enough forpresent uses be found, but a supply to last the party home again wasnecessary. Accordingly, on the eighth of December the journal has thisentry to show what was to be done:-- "In order, therefore, to find a place for making salt, and to examinethe country further, Captain Clark set out with five men, and pursuing acourse S. 60'0 W. , over a dividing ridge through thick pine timber, much of which bad fallen, passed the beads of two small brooks. In theneighborhood of these the land was swampy and overflowed, and they wadedknee-deep till they came to an open ridgy prairie, covered with theplant known on our frontier by the name of sacacommis (bearberry). Hereis a creek about sixty yards wide and running toward Point Adams; theypassed it on a small raft. At this place they discovered a large herd ofelk, and after pursuing them for three miles over bad swamps and smallponds, killed one of them. The agility with which the elk crossed theswamps and bogs seems almost incredible; as we followed their track theground for a whole acre would shake at our tread and sometimes we sunkto our hips without finding any bottom. Over the surface of these bogsis a species of moss, among which are great numbers of cranberries;and occasionally there rise from the swamp small steep knobs of earth, thickly covered with pine and laurel. On one of these we halted atnight, but it was scarcely large enough to suffer us to lie clear ofthe water, and had very little dry wood. We succeeded, however, incollecting enough to make a fire; and having stretched the elk-skin tokeep off the rain, which still continued, slept till morning. " Next day the party were met by three Indians who had been fishing forsalmon, of which they had a goodly supply, and were now on their wayhome to their village on the seacoast. They, invited Captain Clark andhis men to accompany them; and the white men accepted the invitation. These were Clatsops. Their village consisted of twelve families livingin houses of split pine boards, the lower half of the house beingunderground. By a small ladder in the middle of the house-front, thevisitors reached the floor, which was about four feet below the surface. Two fires were burning in the middle of the room upon the earthen floor. The beds were ranged around the room next to the wall, with spacesbeneath them for bags, baskets, and household articles. Captain Clark was received with much attention, clean mats were spreadfor him, and a repast of fish, roots, and berries was set before him. He noticed that the Clatsops were well dressed and clean, and that theyfrequently washed their faces and hands, a ceremony, he remarked, thatis by no means frequent among other Indians. A high wind now prevailed, and as the evening was stormy, Captain Clark resolved to stay all nightwith his hospitable Clatsops. The narrative proceeds:-- "The men of the village now collected and began to gamble. The mostcommon game was one in which one of the company was banker, and playedagainst all the rest. He had a piece of bone, about the size of a largebean, and having agreed with any individual as to the value of thestake, would pass the bone from one hand to the other with greatdexterity, singing at the same time to divert the attention of hisadversary; then holding it in his hands, his antagonist was challengedto guess in which of them the bone was, and lost or won as he pointedto the right or wrong hand. To this game of hazard they abandonedthemselves with great ardor; sometimes everything they possess issacrificed to it; and this evening several of the Indians lost allthe beads which they had with them. This lasted for three hours; when, Captain Clark appearing disposed to sleep, the man who had been mostattentive, and whose name was Cuskalah, spread two new mats near thefire, ordered his wife to retire to her own bed, and the rest of thecompany dispersed at the same time. Captain Clark then lay down, butthe violence with which the fleas attacked him did not leave his restunbroken. " Next morning, Captain Clark walked along the seashore, and he observedthat the Indians were walking up and down, examining the shore and themargin of a creek that emptied here. The narrative says:-- "He was at a loss to understand their object till one of them came tohim, and explained that they were in search of any fish which might havebeen thrown on shore and left by the tide, adding in English, 'sturgeonis very good. ' There is, indeed, every reason to believe that theseClatsops depend for their subsistence, during the winter, chiefly on thefish thus casually thrown on the coast. After amusing himself for sometime on the beach, he returned towards the village, and shot on his waytwo brant. As he came near the village, one of the Indians asked himto shoot a duck about thirty steps distant: he did so, and, havingaccidentally shot off its head, the bird was brought to the village, when all the Indians came round in astonishment. They examined the duck, the musket, and the very small bullets, which were a hundred to thepound, and then exclaimed, Clouch musque, waket, commatax musquet: Goodmusket; do not understand this kind of musket. They now placed beforehim their best roots, fish, and syrup, after which he attempted topurchase a sea-otter skin with some red beads which he happened to haveabout him; but they declined trading, as they valued none except blue orwhite beads. He therefore bought nothing but a little berry-bread and afew roots, in exchange for fish-hooks, and then set out to return by thesame route he had come. He was accompanied by Cuskalah and his brotheras far as the third creek, and then proceeded to the camp through aheavy rain. The whole party had been occupied during his absence incutting down trees to make huts, and in hunting. " This was the occupation of all hands for several days, notwithstandingthe discomfort of the continual downpour. Many of the men were ill fromthe effects of sleeping and living so constantly in water. Under date ofDecember 12, the journal has this entry:-- "We continued to work in the rain at our houses. In the evening therearrived two canoes of Clatsops, among whom was a principal chief, calledComowol. We gave him a medal and treated his companions with greatattention; after which we began to bargain for a small sea-otter skin, some wappatoo-roots, and another species of root called shanataque. We readily perceived that they were close dealers, stickled much fortrifles, and never closed the bargain until they thought they had theadvantage. The wappatoo is dear, as they themselves are obliged to givea high price for it to the Indians above. Blue beads are the articlesmost in request; the white occupy the next place in their estimation;but they do not value much those of any other color. We succeeded atlast in purchasing their whole cargo for a few fish-hooks and a smallsack of Indian tobacco, which we had received from the Shoshonees. " The winter camp was made up of seven huts, and, although it was not socarefully fortified as was the fort in the Mandan country (during theprevious winter), it was so arranged that intruders could be kept outwhen necessary. For the roofs of these shelters they were provided with"shakes" split out from a species of pine which they called "balsampine, " and which gave them boards, or puncheons, or shakes, ten feetlong and two feet wide, and not more than an inch and a half thick. Bythe sixteenth of December their meat-house was finished, and their meat, so much of which had been spoiled for lack of proper care, was cut upin small pieces and hung under cover. They had been told by the Indiansthat very little snow ever fell in that region, and the weather, although very, very wet, was mild and usually free from frost. They didhave severe hailstorms and a few flurries of snow in December but therain was a continual cause of discomfort. Of the trading habits of theClatsops the journal has this to say:-- "Three Indians came in a canoe with mats, roots, and the berries of thesacacommis. These people proceed with a dexterity and finesse in theirbargains which, if they have not learned it from their foreign visitors, may show how nearly allied is the cunning of savages to the little artsof traffic. They begin by asking double or treble the value of what theyhave to sell, and lower their demand in proportion to the greater orless degree of ardor or knowledge of the purchaser, who, with all hismanagement, is not able to procure the article for less than its realvalue, which the Indians perfectly understand. Our chief medium of tradeconsists of blue and white beads, files, --with which they sharpen theirtools, --fish-hooks, and tobacco; but of all these articles blue beadsand tobacco are the most esteemed. " But, although their surroundings were not of a sort to make one veryjolly, when Christmas came they observed the day as well as they could. Here is what the journal says of the holiday:-- "We were awaked at daylight by a discharge of firearms, which wasfollowed by a song from the men, as a compliment to us on the return ofChristmas, which we have always been accustomed to observe as a day ofrejoicing. After breakfast we divided our remaining stock of tobacco, which amounted to twelve carrots (hands), into two parts; one of whichwe distributed among such of the party as make use of it, making apresent of a handkerchief to the others. The remainder of the day waspassed in good spirits, though there was nothing in our situation toexcite much gayety. The rain confined us to the house, and our onlyluxuries in honor of the season were some poor elk, so much spoiled thatwe ate it through sheer necessity, a few roots, and some spoiled poundedfish. "The next day brought a continuation of rain, accompanied with thunder, and a high wind from the southeast. We were therefore obliged to stillremain in our huts, and endeavored to dry our wet articles before thefire. The fleas, which annoyed us near the portage of the Great Falls, have taken such possession of our clothes that we are obliged to have aregular search every day through our blankets as a necessary preliminaryto sleeping at night. These animals, indeed, are so numerous that theyare almost a calamity to the Indians of this country. When they haveonce obtained the mastery of any house it is impossible to expel them, and the Indians have frequently different houses, to which they resortoccasionally when the fleas have rendered their permanent residenceintolerable; yet, in spite of these precautions, every Indian isconstantly attended by multitudes of them, and no one comes into ourhouse without leaving behind him swarms of these tormenting insects. " Although the condition of the exploring party was low, the men did notrequire very much to put them in good spirits. The important and happyevent of finishing their fort and the noting of good weather are thusset forth in the journal under date of December 30:-- "Toward evening the hunters brought in four elk (which Drewyer hadkilled), and after a long course of abstinence and miserable diet, wehad a most sumptuous supper of elk's tongues and marrow. Besides thisagreeable repast, the state of the weather was quite exhilarating. Ithad rained during the night, but in the morning, though the high windcontinued, we enjoyed the fairest and most pleasant weather since ourarrival; the sun having shone at intervals, and there being onlythree showers in the course of the day. By sunset we had completed thefortification, and now announced to the Indians that every day at thathour the gates would be closed, and they must leave the fort and notenter it till sunrise. The Wahkiacums who remained with us, and who werevery forward in their deportment, complied very reluctantly with thisorder; but, being excluded from our houses, formed a camp near us. . . . "January 1, 1806. We were awaked at an early hour by the discharge of avolley of small arms, to salute the new year. This was the only mode ofcommemorating the day which our situation permitted; for, though we hadreason to be gayer than we were at Christmas, our only dainties wereboiled elk and wappatoo, enlivened by draughts of pure water. We werevisited by a few Clatsops, who came by water, bringing roots and berriesfor sale. Among this nation we observed a man about twenty-five yearsold, of a much lighter complexion than the Indians generally: his facewas even freckled, and his hair long, and of a colour inclining to red. He was in habits and manners perfectly Indian; but, though he did notspeak a word of English, he seemed to understand more than the othersof his party; and, as we could obtain no account of his origin, weconcluded that one of his parents, at least, must have been white. " A novel addition to their bill of fare was fresh blubber, or fat, from astranded whale. Under date of January 3 the journal says:-- "At eleven o'clock we were visited by our neighbor, the Tia or chief, Comowool, who is also called Coone, and six Clatsops. Besides rootsand berries, they brought for sale three dogs, and some fresh blubber. Having been so long accustomed to live on the flesh of dogs, the greaterpart of us have acquired a fondness for it, and our original aversionfor it is overcome, by reflecting that while we subsisted on that foodwe were fatter, stronger, and in general enjoyed better health than atany period since leaving the buffalo country, eastward of the mountains. The blubber, which is esteemed by the Indians an excellent food, hasbeen obtained, they tell us, from their neighbors, the Killamucks, anation who live on the seacoast to the southeast, near one of whosevillages a whale had recently been thrown and foundered. " Five men had been sent out to form a camp on the seashore and go intothe manufacture of salt as expeditiously as possible. On the fifth ofJanuary, two of them came into the fort bringing a gallon of salt, whichwas decided to be "white, fine and very good, " and a very agreeableaddition to their food, which had been eaten perfectly fresh for someweeks past. Captain Clark, however, said it was a "mere matter ofindifference" to him whether he had salt or not, but he hankered forbread. Captain Lewis, on the other hand, said the lack of salt was agreat inconvenience; "the want of bread I consider trivial, " was hisdictum. It was estimated that the salt-makers could turn out three orfour quarts a day, and there was good prospect of an abundant supplyfor present needs and for the homeward journey. An expedition to theseashore was now planned, and the journal goes on to tell how they setout:-- "The appearance of the whale seemed to be a matter of importance to allthe neighboring Indians, and as we might be able to procure some of itfor ourselves, or at least purchase blubber from the Indians, a smallparcel of merchandise was prepared, and a party of the men held inreadiness to set out in the morning. As soon as this resolution wasknown, Chaboneau and his wife requested that they might be permittedto accompany us. The poor woman stated very earnestly that she hadtravelled a great way with us to see the great water, yet she had neverbeen down to the coast, and now that this monstrous fish was also tobe seen, it seemed hard that she should be permitted to see neither theocean nor the whale. So reasonable a request could not be denied; theywere therefore suffered to accompany Captain Clark, who, January 6th, after an early breakfast, set out with twelve men in two canoes. " After a long and tedious trip, the camp of the saltmakers was reached, and Captain Clark and his men went on to the remains of the whale, onlythe skeleton being left by the rapacious and hungry Indians. The whalehad been stranded between two shore villages tenanted by the Killamucks, as Captain Clark called them. They are now known as the TillamookIndians, and their name is preserved in Tillamook County, Oregon. Thewhite men found it difficult to secure much of the blubber, or the oil. Although the Indians had large quantities of both, they sold it withmuch reluctance. In Clark's private diary is found this entry: "Smallas this stock (of oil and lubber) is I prize it highly; and thankProvidence for directing the whale to us; and think him more kind tous than he was to Jonah, having sent this monster to be swallowed by usinstead of swallowing us as Jonah's did. " While here, the party had astartling experience, as the journal says:-- "Whilst smoking with the Indians, Captain Clark was surprised, about teno'clock, by a loud, shrill outcry from the opposite village, on hearingwhich all the Indians immediately started up to cross the creek, and theguide informed him that someone had been killed. On examination oneof the men (M'Neal) was discovered to be absent, and a guard (SergeantPryor and four men) despatched, who met him crossing the creek in greathaste. An Indian belonging to another band, who happened to be with theKillamucks that evening, had treated him with much kindness, and walkedarm in arm with him to a tent where our man found a Chinnook squaw, who was an old acquaintance. From the conversation and manner of thestranger, this woman discovered that his object was to murder the whiteman for the sake of the few articles on his person; when he rose andpressed our man to go to another tent where they would find somethingbetter to eat, she held M'Neal by the blanket; not knowing her object, he freed himself from her, and was going on with his pretended friend, when she ran out and gave the shriek which brought the men of thevillage over, and the stranger ran off before M'Neal knew what hadoccasioned the alarm. " The "mighty hunter" of the Lewis and Clark expedition was Drewyer, whosename has frequently been mentioned in these pages. Under date of January12, the journal has this just tribute to the man:-- "Our meat is now becoming scarce; we therefore determined to jerk it, and issue it in small quantities, instead of dividing it among the fourmesses, and leaving to each the care of its own provisions; a plan bywhich much is lost, in consequence of the improvidence of the men. Twohunters had been despatched in the morning, and one of them, Drewyer, had before evening killed seven elk. We should scarcely be able tosubsist, were it not for the exertions of this most excellent hunter. The game is scarce, and nothing is now to be seen except elk, which foralmost all the men are very difficult to be procured; but Drewyer, whois the offspring of a Canadian Frenchman and an Indian woman, has passedhis life in the woods, and unites, in a wonderful degree, the dexterousaim of the frontier huntsman with the intuitive sagacity of the Indian, in pursuing the faintest tracks through the forest. All our men, however, have indeed become so expert with the rifle that we are neverunder apprehensions as to food; since, whenever there is game of anykind, we are almost certain of procuring it. " The narrative of the explorers gives this account of the Chinooks:-- "The men are low in stature, rather ugly, and ill made; their legs beingsmall and crooked, their feet large, and their heads, like those of thewomen, flattened in a most disgusting manner. These deformities arein part concealed by robes made of sea-otter, deer, elk, beaver orfox skins. They also employ in their dress robes of the skin of a catpeculiar to this country, and of another animal of the same size, whichis light and durable, and sold at a high price by the Indians who bringit from above. In addition to these are worn blankets, wrappers of red, blue, or spotted cloth, and some old sailors' clothes, which are veryhighly prized. The greater part of the men have guns, with powder andball. "The women have in general handsome faces, but are low anddisproportioned, with small feet and large legs, occasioned, probably, by strands of beads, or various strings, drawn so tight above the anklesas to prevent the circulation of the blood. Their dress, like that ofthe Wahkiacums, consists of a short robe and a tissue of cedar bark. Their hair hangs loosely down the shoulders and back; and their ears, neck, and wrists are ornamented with blue beads. Another decoration, which is very highly prized, consists of figures made by puncturing thearms or legs; and on the arms of one of the squaws we observed the nameof J. Bowman, executed in the same way. In language, habits, and inalmost every other particular, they resemble the Clatsops, Cathlamahs, and, indeed, all the people near the mouth of the Columbia, though theyappeared to be inferior to their neighbors in honesty as well as spirit. No ill treatment or indignity on our part seemed to excite any feelingexcept fear; nor, although better provided than their neighbors witharms, have they enterprise enough either to use them advantageouslyagainst the animals of the forest, or offensively against thetribes near them, who owe their safety more to the timidity than theforbearance of the Chinooks. We had heard instances of pilfering whilewe were among them, and therefore gave a general order excluding themfrom our encampment, so that whenever an Indian wished to visit us, hebegan by calling out 'No Chinook. ' It is not improbable that this firstimpression may have left a prejudice against them, since, when we wereamong the Clatsops and other tribes at the mouth of the Columbia, theyhad less opportunity of stealing, if they were so disposed. " The weeks remaining before the party set out on their return were passedwithout notable incident. The journal is chiefly occupied with commentson the weather, which was variable, and some account of the manners andcustoms of the Indian tribes along the Columbia River. At that time, so few traders had penetrated the wilds of the Lower Columbia that theIndians were not supplied with firearms to any great extent. Their mainreliance was the bow and arrow. A few shotguns were seen among them, but no rifles, and great was the admiration and wonder with which theIndians saw the white men slay birds and animals at a long distance. Pitfalls for elk were constructed by the side of fallen trees over whichthe animals might leap. Concerning the manufactures of the Clatsops, they reported as follows:-- "Their hats are made of cedar-bark and bear-grass, interwoven togetherin the form of a European hat, with a small brim of about two inches, and a high crown widening upward. They are light, ornamented withvarious colors and figures, and being nearly water-proof, are much moredurable than either chip or straw hats. These hats form a small articleof traffic with the whites, and their manufacture is one of the bestexertions of Indian industry. They are, however, very dexterous inmaking a variety of domestic utensils, among which are bowls, spoons, scewers (skewers), spits, and baskets. The bowl or trough is ofdifferent shapes--round, semicircular, in the form of a canoe, or cubic, and generally dug out of a single piece of wood; the larger vessels haveholes in the sides by way of handles, and all are executed with greatneatness. In these vessels they boil their food, by throwing hot stonesinto the water, and extract oil from different animals in the same way. Spoons are not very abundant, nor is there anything remarkable in theirshape, except that they are large and the bowl broad. Meat is roasted onone end of a sharp skewer, placed erect before the fire, with the otherend fixed in the ground. "But the most curious workmanship is that of the basket. It is formed ofcedar-bark and bear-grass, so closely interwoven that it is water-tight, without the aid of either gum or resin. The form is generally conic, orrather the segment (frustum) of a cone, of which the smaller end isthe bottom of the basket; and being made of all sizes, from that of thesmallest cup to the capacity of five or six gallons, they answer thedouble purpose of a covering for the head or to contain water. Someof them are highly ornamented with strands of bear-grass, woven intofigures of various colors, which require great labor; yet they are madevery expeditiously and sold for a trifle. It is for the constructionof these baskets that the bear-grass forms an article of considerabletraffic. It grows only near the snowy region of the high mountains; theblade, which is two feet long and about three-eighths of an inch wide, is smooth, strong, and pliant; the young blades particularly, fromtheir not being exposed to the sun and air, have an appearance of greatneatness, and are generally preferred. Other bags and baskets, notwaterproof, are made of cedar-bark, silk-grass, rushes, flags, andcommon coarse sedge, for the use of families. In these manufactures, as in the ordinary work of the house, the instrument most in use is aknife, or rather a dagger. The handle of it is small, and has a strongloop of twine for the thumb, to prevent its being wrested from the band. On each side is a blade, double-edged and pointed; the longer from nineto ten inches, the shorter from four to five. This knife is carriedhabitually in the hand, sometimes exposed, but mostly, when in companywith strangers, is put under the robe. " Naturally, all of the Columbia River Indians were found to be expertin the building and handling of canoes. Here their greatest skill wasemployed. And, it may be added, the Indians of the North Pacific coastto-day are equally adept and skilful. The canoes of the present race ofred men do not essentially differ from those of the tribes described byLewis and Clark, and who are now extinct. The Indians then living abovetide-water built canoes of smaller size than those employed by thenations farther down the river. The canoes of the Tillamooks and othertribes living on the seacoast were upwards of fifty feet long, and wouldcarry eight or ten thousand pounds' weight, or twenty-five or thirtypersons. These were constructed from the trunk of a single tree, usuallywhite cedar. The bow and stern rose much higher than the gunwale, andwere adorned by grotesque figures excellently well carved and fittedto pedestals cut in the solid wood of the canoe. The same method ofadornment may be seen among the aborigines of Alaska and other regionsof the North Pacific, to-day. The figures are made of small pieces ofwood neatly fitted together by inlaying and mortising, without any spikeof any kind. When one reflects that the Indians seen by Lewis and Clarkconstructed their large canoes with very poor tools, it is impossibleto withhold one's admiration of their industry and patience. The journalsays:-- "Our admiration of their skill in these curious constructions wasincreased by observing the very inadequate implements which they use. These Indians possess very few axes, and the only tool they employ, fromfelling the tree to the delicate workmanship of the images, is a chiselmade of an old file, about an inch or an inch and a half in width. Even of this, too, they have not learned the proper management; for thechisel is sometimes fixed in a large block of wood, and, being held inthe right hand, the block is pushed with the left, without the aid of amallet. But under all these disadvantages, their canoes, which onewould suppose to be the work of years, are made in a few weeks. A canoe, however, is very highly prized, being in traffic an article of thegreatest value except a wife, and of equal value with her; so thata lover generally gives a canoe to the father in exchange for hisdaughter. . . . "The harmony of their private life is secured by their ignoranceof spirituous liquors, the earliest and most dreadful present whichcivilization has given to the other natives of the continent. Althoughthey have had so much intercourse with whites, they do not appear topossess any knowledge of those dangerous luxuries; at least they havenever inquired after them, which they probably would have done if onceliquors bad been introduced among them. Indeed, we have not observed anyliquor of intoxicating quality among these or any Indians west of theRocky Mountains, the universal beverage being pure water. They, however, sometimes almost intoxicate themselves by smoking tobacco, of which theyare excessively fond, and the pleasures of which they prolong as much aspossible, by retaining vast quantities at a time, till after circulatingthrough the lungs and stomach it issues in volumes from the mouth andnostrils. " A long period of quiet prevailed in camp after the first of February, before the final preparations for departure were made. Parties were sentout every day to hunt, and the campers were able to command a few days'supply of provision in advance. The flesh of the deer was now very leanand poor, but that of the elk was growing better and better. It wasestimated by one of the party that they killed, between December1, 1805, and March 20, 1806, elk to the number of one hundred andthirty-one, and twenty deer. Some of this meat they smoked for itsbetter preservation, but most of it was eaten fresh. No record was keptof the amount of fish consumed by the party; but they were obliged attimes to make fish their sole article of diet. Late in February theywere visited by Comowool, the principal Clatsop chief, who brought thema sturgeon and quantities of a small fish which had just begun to makeits appearance in the Columbia. This was known as the anchovy, butoftener as the candle-fish; it is so fat that it may be burned like atorch, or candle. The journal speaks of Comowool as "by far the mostfriendly and decent savage we have seen in this neighborhood. " Chapter XIX -- With Faces turned Homeward The officers of the expedition had decided to begin their homeward marchon the first of April; but a natural impatience induced them to starta little earlier, and, as a matter of record, it may be said that theyevacuated Fort Clatsop on the 23d of March, 1806. An examination oftheir stock of ammunition showed that they had on hand a supply ofpowder amply sufficient for their needs when travelling the threethousand miles of wilderness in which their sole reliance for food mustbe the game to be killed. The powder was kept in leaden canisters, andthese, when empty, were used for making balls for muskets and rifles. Three bushels of salt were collected for their use on the homewardjourney. What they needed now most of all was an assortment of small wares andtrinkets with which to trade with the Indians among whom they mustspend so many months before reaching civilization again. They had ampleletters of credit from the Government at Washington, and if they had metwith white traders on the seacoast, they could have bought anything thatmoney would buy. They had spent nearly all their stock in coming acrossthe continent. This is Captain Lewis's summary of the goods on hand justbefore leaving Fort Clatsop:-- "All the small merchandise we possess might be tied up in a coupleof handkerchiefs. The rest of our stock in trade consists of six bluerobes, one scarlet ditto, five robes which we made out of our largeUnited States flag, a few old clothes trimmed with ribbons, and oneartillerist's uniform coat and hat, which probably Captain Clark willnever wear again. We have to depend entirely upon this meagre outfit forthe purchase of such horses and provisions as it will be in our power toobtain--a scant dependence, indeed, for such a journey as is before us. " One of their last acts was to draw up a full list of the members ofthe party, and, making several copies of it, to leave these among thefriendly Indians with instructions to give a paper to the first whitemen who should arrive in the country. On the back of the paper wastraced the track by which the explorers had come and that by whichthey expected to return. This is a copy of one of these importantdocuments:-- "The object of this list is, that through the medium of some civilizedperson who may see the same, it may be made known to the informedworld, that the party consisting of the persons whose names are hereuntoannexed, and who were sent out by the government of the U'States in May, 1804, to explore the interior of the Continent of North America, didpenetrate the same by way of the Missouri and Columbia Rivers, to thedischarge of the latter into the Pacific Ocean, where they arrived onthe 14th of November, 1805, and from whence they departed the 23d day ofMarch, 1806, on their return to the United States by the same rout theyhad come out. " Curiously enough, one of these papers did finally reach the UnitedStates. During the summer of 1806, the brig "Lydia, " Captain Hill, entered the Columbia for the purpose of trading with the natives. Fromone of these Captain Hill secured the paper, which he took toCanton, China, in January, 1807. Thence it was sent to a gentleman inPhiladelphia, having travelled nearly all the way round the world. Fort Clatsop, as they called the rude collection of huts in which theyhad burrowed all winter, with its rude furniture and shelters, wasformally given to Comowool, the Clatsop chief who had been so kindto the party. Doubtless the crafty savage had had his eye on thisestablishment, knowing that it was to be abandoned in the spring. The voyagers left Fort Clatsop about one o'clock in the day, and, aftermaking sixteen miles up the river, camped for the night. Next day, theyreached an Indian village where they purchased "some wappatoo and adog for the invalids. " They still had several men on the sick list inconsequence of the hard fare of the winter. The weather was cold andwet, and wood for fuel was difficult to obtain. In a few days they foundthemselves among their old friends, the Skilloots, who had lately beenat war with the Chinooks. There was no direct intercourse betweenthe two nations as yet, but the Chinooks traded with the Clatsops andWahkiacums, and these in turn traded with the Skilloots, and in this waythe two hostile tribes exchanged the articles which they had for thosewhich they desired. The journal has this to say about the game of anisland on which the explorers tarried for a day or two, in order to drytheir goods and mend their canoes:-- "This island, which has received from the Indians the appropriate nameof Elalah (Elallah), or Deer Island, is surrounded on the water-side byan abundant growth of cottonwood, ash, and willow, while the interiorconsists chiefly of prairies interspersed with ponds. These affordrefuge to great numbers of geese, ducks, large swan, sandhill cranes, a few canvas-backed ducks, and particularly the duckinmallard, the mostabundant of all. There are also great numbers of snakes resembling ourgarter-snakes in appearance, and like them not poisonous. Our huntersbrought in three deer, a goose, some ducks, an eagle, and a tiger-cat. Such is the extreme voracity of the vultures, that they had devoured inthe space of a few hours four of the deer killed this morning; and oneof our men declared that they had besides dragged a large buck aboutthirty yards, skinned it, and broken the backbone. " The vulture here referred to is better known as the California condor, agreat bird of prey which is now so nearly extinct that few specimensare ever seen, and the eggs command a great price from those who makecollections of such objects. A condor killed by one of the hunters ofthe Lewis and Clark expedition measured nine feet and six inches fromtip to tip of its wings, three feet and ten inches from the point of thebill to the end of the tail, and six inches and a half from the back ofthe head to the tip of the beak. Very few of the condors of the Andesare much larger than this, though one measuring eleven feet from tip totip has been reported. While camped at Quicksand, or Sandy River, the party learned that foodsupplies up the Columbia were scarce. The journal says that the Indiansmet here were descending the river in search of food. It adds:-- "They told us, that they lived at the Great Rapids; but that thescarcity of provisions there had induced them to come down, in the hopesof finding subsistence in the more fertile valley. All the people livingat the Rapids, as well as the nations above them, were in much distressfor want of food, having consumed their winter store of dried fish, andnot expecting the return of the salmon before the next full moon, which would be on the second of May: this information was not a littleembarrassing. From the Falls to the Chopunnish nation, the plainsafforded neither deer, elk, nor antelope for our subsistence. Thehorses were very poor at this season, and the dogs must be in the samecondition, if their food, the dried fish, had failed. Still, it wasobviously inexpedient for us to wait for the return of the salmon, since in that case we might not reach the Missouri before the ice wouldprevent our navigating it. We might, besides, hazard the loss of ourhorses, as the Chopunnish, with whom we had left them, would cross themountains as early as possible, or about the beginning of May, and takeour horses with them, or suffer them to disperse, in either of whichcases the passage of the mountains will be almost impracticable. Wetherefore, after much deliberation, decided to remain where we weretill we could collect meat enough to last us till we should reach theChopunnish nation, and to obtain canoes from the natives as we ascended, either in exchange for our pirogues, or by purchasing them with skinsand merchandise. These canoes, again, we might exchange for horseswith the natives of the plains, till we should obtain enough to travelaltogether by land. On reaching the southeast branch of the Columbia, four or five men could be sent on to the Chopunnish to have our horsesin readiness; and thus we should have a stock of horses sufficient bothto transport our baggage and supply us with food, as we now perceivedthat they would form our only certain dependance for subsistence. " On the third of April this entry is made:-- "A considerable number of Indians crowded about us to-day, many of whomcame from the upper part of the river. These poor wretches confirmthe reports of scarcity among the nations above; which, indeed, theirappearance sufficiently proved, for they seemed almost starved, andgreedily picked the bones and refuse meat thrown away by us. "In the evening Captain Clark returned from an excursion. On setting outyesterday at half-past eleven o'clock, he directed his course alongthe south side of the (Columbia) river, where, at the distance of eightmiles, he passed a village of the Nechacohee tribe, belonging to theEloot nation. The village itself is small, and being situated behindDiamond Island, was concealed from our view as we passed both timesalong the northern shore. He continued till three o'clock, when helanded at the single house already mentioned as the only remains of avillage of twenty-four straw huts. Along the shore were great numbersof small canoes for gathering wappatoo, which were left by the Shahalas, who visit the place annually. The present inhabitants of the house arepart of the Neerchokioo tribe of the same (Shahala) nation. On enteringone of the apartments of the house, Captain Clark offered severalarticles to the Indians in exchange for wappatoo; but they appearedsullen and ill-humored, and refused to give him any. He therefore satdown by the fire opposite the men, and taking a port-fire match from hispocket, threw a small piece of it into the flame; at the same time hetook his pocket-compass, and by means of a magnet, which happened to bein his inkhorn, made the needle turn round very briskly. The match nowtook fire and burned violently, on which the Indians, terrified at thisstrange exhibition, immediately brought a quantity of wappatoo and laidit at his feet, begging him to put out the bad fire, while an old womancontinued to speak with great vehemence, as if praying and imploringprotection. Having received the roots, Captain Clark put up the compass, and as the match went out of itself tranquillity was restored, thoughthe women and children still took refuge in their beds and behind themen. He now paid them for what he had used, and after lighting his pipeand smoking with them, continued down the river. " The excursion from which Captain Clark had returned, as noted in thisextract, was up the Multnomah River. As we have already seen, theexplorers missed that stream when they came down the Columbia; and theyhad now passed it again unnoticed, owing to the number of stragglingislands that hide its junction with the Columbia. Convinced that aconsiderable river must drain the region to the south, Captain Clarkwent back alone and penetrating the intricate channels among theislands, found the mouth of the Multnomah, now better known as theWillamette. He was surprised to find that the depth of water in theriver was so great that large vessels might enter it. He would have beenmuch more surprised if he had been told that a large city, the largestin Oregon, would some day be built on the site of the Indian huts whichhe saw. Here Captain Clark found a house occupied by several familiesof the Neechecolee nation. Their mansion was two hundred and twenty-sixfeet long and was divided into apartments thirty feet square. The most important point in this region of the Columbia was namedWappatoo Island by the explorers. This is a large extent of countrylying between the Willamette and an arm of the Columbia which theycalled Wappatoo Inlet, but which is now known as Willamette Slough. It is twenty miles long and from five to ten miles wide. Here is aninteresting description of the manner of gathering the roots of thewappatoo, of which we have heard so much in this region of country:-- "The chief wealth of this island consists of the numerous ponds in theinterior, abounding with the common arrowhead (sagittaria sagittifolia)to the root of which is attached a bulb growing beneath it in the mud. This bulb, to which the Indians give the name of wappatoo, (1) is thegreat article of food, and almost the staple article of commerce on theColumbia. It is never out of season; so that at all times of the yearthe valley is frequented by the neighboring Indians who come to gatherit. It is collected chiefly by the women, who employ for the purposecanoes from ten to fourteen feet in length, about two feet wide and nineinches deep, and tapering from the middle, where they are about twentyinches wide. They are sufficient to contain a single person and severalbushels of roots, yet so very light that a woman can carry them withease. She takes one of these canoes into a pond where the water is ashigh as the breast, and by means of her toes separates from the rootthis bulb, which on being freed from the mud rises immediately to thesurface of the water, and is thrown into the canoe. In this manner thesepatient females remain in the water for several hours, even in the depthof winter. This plant is found through the whole extent of the valley inwhich we now are, but does not grow on the Columbia farther eastward. " (1) In the Chinook jargon "Wappatoo" stands for potato. The natives of this inland region, the explorers found, were largerand better-shaped than those of the sea-coast, but they were nearlyall afflicted with sore eyes. The loss of one eye was common, and notinfrequently total blindness was observed in men of mature years, whileblindness was almost universal among the old people. The white menmade good use of the eye-water which was among their supplies; it wasgratefully received by the natives and won them friends among the peoplethey met. On the fifth of April the journal has this entry:-- "In the course of his chase yesterday, one of our men (Collins), whohad killed a bear, found the den of another with three cubs in it. Hereturned to-day in hopes of finding her, but brought only the cubs, without being able to see the dam; and on this occasion Drewyer, ourmost experienced huntsman, assured us that he had never known a singleinstance where a female bear, which had once been disturbed by a hunterand obliged to leave her young, returned to them again. The young bearswere sold for wappatoo to some of the many Indians who visited us inparties during the day and behaved very well. " And on the ninth is this entry:-- "The wind having moderated, we reloaded the canoes and set out by seveno'clock. We stopped to take up the two hunters who left us yesterday, but were unsuccessful in the chase, and then proceeded to the Wahclellahvillage, situated on the north side of the river, about a mile belowBeacon Rock. During the whole of the route from camp we passed alongunder high, steep, and rocky sides of the mountains, which now close oneach side of the river, forming stupendous precipices, covered withfir and white cedar. Down these heights frequently descend the mostbeautiful cascades, one of which, a large creek, throws itself overa perpendicular rock three hundred feet above the water, while othersmaller streams precipitate themselves from a still greater elevation, and evaporating in a mist, collect again and form a second cascadebefore they reach the bottom of the rocks. We stopped to breakfast atthis village. We here found the tomahawk which had been stolen from uson the fourth of last November. They assured us they had bought it ofthe Indians below; but as the latter had already informed us that theWahclellahs had such an article, which they had stolen, we made nodifficulty about retaking our property. " The Columbia along the region through which the expedition was nowpassing is a very wild and picturesque stream. The banks are high androcky, and some of the precipices to which the journal refers are ofa vast perpendicular height. On the Oregon side of the river are fivecascades such as those which the journal mentions. The most famous andbeautiful of these is known as Multnomah Falls. This cataract has atotal fall of more than six hundred feet, divided into two sections. Theother cascades are the Bridal Veil, the Horsetail, the Latourelle, andthe Oneonta, and all are within a few miles of each other. On the ninth of April the voyagers reached the point at which they wereto leave tidewater, fifty-six miles above the mouth of the Multnomah, orWillamette. They were now at the entrance of the great rapids which areknown as the Cascades of the Columbia, and which occupy a space on theriver about equal to four miles and a half. They were still navigatingthe stream with their canoes, camping sometimes on the north side andsometimes on the south side of the river. This time they camped on thenorth side, and during the night lost one of their boats, which gotloose and drifted down to the next village of the Wahclellahs, some ofwhom brought it back to the white men's camp and were rewarded for theirhonesty by a present of two knives. It was found necessary to make aportage here, but a long and severe rainstorm set in, and the tents andthe skins used for protecting the baggage were soaked. The journal goeson with the narrative thus:-- We determined to take the canoes first over the portage, in hopes thatby the afternoon the rain would cease, and we might carry our baggageacross without injury. This was immediately begun by almost the wholeparty, who in the course of the day dragged four of the canoes to thehead of the rapids, with great difficulty and labor. A guard, consistingof one sick man and three who had been lamed by accidents, remained withCaptain Lewis (and a cook) to guard the baggage. This precautionwas absolutely necessary to protect it from the Wahclellahs, whom wediscovered to be great thieves, notwithstanding their apparent honestyin restoring our boat; indeed, so arrogant and intrusive have theybecome that nothing but our numbers, we are convinced, saves us fromattack. They crowded about us while we were taking up the boats, and oneof them had the insolence to throw stones down the bank at two of ourmen. "We now found it necessary to depart from our mild and pacific course ofconduct. On returning to the head of the portage, many of them met ourmen and seemed very ill-disposed. Shields had stopped to purchase a dog, and being separated from the rest of the party, two Indians pushedhim out of the road, and attempted to take the dog from him. He had noweapon but a long knife, with which he immediately attacked them both, hoping to put them to death before they had time to draw their arrows;but as soon as they saw his design they fled into the woods. Soonafterward we were told by an Indian who spoke Clatsop, which we hadourselves learned during the winter, that the Wahclellahs had carriedoff Captain Lewis' dog to their village below. Three men well armed wereinstantly despatched in pursuit of them, with orders to fire if therewas the slightest resistance or hesitation. At the distance of two milesthey came within sight of the thieves, who, finding themselves pursued, left the dog and made off. We now ordered all the Indians out of ourcamp, and explained to them that whoever stole any of our baggage, orinsulted our men, should be instantly shot; a resolution which we weredetermined to enforce, as it was now our only means of safety. "We were visited during the day by a chief of the Clahclellahs, whoseemed mortified at the behavior of the Indians, and told us that thepersons at the head of their outrages were two very bad men who belongedto the Wahclellah tribe, but that the nation did not by any means wishto displease us. This chief seemed very well-disposed, and we had everyreason to believe was much respected by the neighboring Indians. Wetherefore gave him a small medal and showed him all the attention in ourpower, with which he appeared very much gratified. " The portage of these rapids was very difficult and tiresome. The totaldistance of the first stage was twenty-eight hundred yards along anarrow way rough with rocks and now slippery with rain. One of thecanoes was lost here by being driven out into the strong current, wherethe force of the water was so great that it could not be held by themen; the frail skiff drifted down the rapids and disappeared. They nowhad two canoes and two periogues left, and the loads were divided amongthese craft. This increased the difficulties of navigation, and CaptainLewis crossed over to the south side of the river in search of canoesto be purchased from the Indians, who lived in a village on that side ofthe stream. The narrative continues: "The village now consisted of eleven houses, crowded with inhabitants, and about sixty fighting men. They were very well disposed, and we foundno difficulty in procuring two small canoes, in exchange for two robesand four elk-skins. He also purchased with deer-skins three dogs, --ananimal which has now become a favorite food, for it is found to be astrong, healthy diet, preferable to lean deer or elk, and much superiorto horseflesh in any state. With these he proceeded along the south sideof the river, and joined us in the evening. " Above the rapids the party encountered two tribes of Indians from whomthey endeavored to buy horses, for they were now approaching a pointwhen they must leave the river and travel altogether by land. One ofthese tribes was known as the Weocksockwillacurns, and the other was theChilluckittequaws. These jaw-breaking names are commended to those whothink that the Indian names of northern Maine are difficult to handle. Trees were now growing scarcer, and the wide lowlands spread out beforethe explorers stretched to the base of the Bitter Root Mountainswithout trees, but covered with luxuriant grass and herbage. After beingconfined so long to the thick forests and mountains of the seacoast, theparty found this prospect very exhilarating, notwithstanding the absenceof forests and thickets. The climate, too, was much more agreeable thanthat to which they had lately been accustomed, being dry and pure. Chapter XX -- The Last Stage of the Columbia On the thirteenth of April the party reached the series of falls andrapids which they called the Long Narrows. At the point reached theriver is confined, for a space of about fourteen miles, to narrowchannels and rocky falls. The Long Narrows are now known as the Dalles. The word "dalles" is French, and signifies flagstones, such as are usedfor sidewalks. Many of the rocks in these narrows are nearly flat ontop, and even the precipitous banks look like walls of rock. At theupper end of the rapids, or dalles, is Celilo City, and at the lower endis Dalles City, sometimes known as "The Dalles. " Both of these placesare in Oregon; the total fall of the water from Celilo to the Dallesis over eighty feet. Navigation of these rapids is impossible. As theexplorers had no further use for their pirogues, they broke them up forfuel. The merchandise was laboriously carried around on the river bank. They were able to buy four horses from the Skilloots for which they paidwell in goods. It was now nearly time for the salmon to begin to run, and under date of April 19 the journal has this entry:-- "The whole village was filled with rejoicing to-day at having caught asingle salmon, which was considered as the harbinger of vast quantitiesin four or five days. In order to hasten their arrival the Indians, according to custom, dressed the fish and cut it into small pieces, one of which was given to each child in the village. In the good humorexcited by this occurrence they parted, though reluctantly, with fourother horses, for which we gave them two kettles, reserving only asingle small one for a mess of eight men. Unluckily, however, we lostone of the horses by the negligence of the person to whose charge hewas committed. The rest were, therefore, hobbled and tied; but as thenations here do not understand gelding, all the horses but one werestallions; this being the season when they are most vicious, we hadgreat difficulty in managing them, and were obliged to keep watch overthem all night. . . . "As it was obviously our interest to preserve the goodwill of thesepeople, we passed over several small thefts which they committed, butthis morning we learnt that six tomahawks and a knife had been stolenduring the night. We addressed ourselves to the chief, who seemed angrywith his people, and made a harangue to them; but we did not recoverthe articles, and soon afterward two of our spoons were missing. Wetherefore ordered them all from our camp, threatening to beat severelyany one detected in purloining. This harshness irritated them so muchthat they left us in an ill-humor, and we therefore kept on our guardagainst any insult. Besides this knavery, the faithlessness of thepeople is intolerable; frequently, after receiving goods in exchange fora horse, they return in a few hours and insist on revoking the bargainor receiving some additional value. We discovered, too, that the horsewhich was missing yesterday had been gambled away by the fellow fromwhom we had purchased him, to a man of a different nation, who hadcarried him off. We succeeded in buying two more horses, two dogs, andsome chappelell, and also exchanged a couple of elk-skins for a gunbelonging to the chief. . . . One of the canoes, for which the Indianswould give us very little, was cut up for fuel; two others, togetherwith some elk-skins and pieces of old iron, we bartered for beads, andthe remaining two small ones were despatched early next morning, withall the baggage which could not be carried on horseback. We had intendedsetting out at the same time, but one of our horses broke loose duringthe night, and we were under the necessity of sending several men insearch of him. In the mean time, the Indians, who were always on thealert, stole a tomahawk, which we could not recover, though several ofthem were searched; and another fellow was detected in carrying offa piece of iron, and kicked out of camp; upon which Captain Lewis, addressing them, told them he was not afraid to fight them, for, if hechose, he could easily put them all to death, and burn their village, but that he did not wish to treat them ill if they kept from stealing;and that, although, if he could discover who had the tomahawks, he wouldtake away their horses, yet he would rather lose the property altogetherthan take the horse of an innocent man. The chiefs were present at thisharangue, hung their heads, and made no reply. "At ten o'clock the men returned with the horse, and soon after anIndian, who had promised to go with us as far as the Chopunnish, camewith two horses, one of which he politely offered to assist in carryingour baggage. We therefore loaded nine horses, and, giving the tenth toBratton, who was still too sick to walk, at about ten o'clock left thevillage of these disagreeable people. " At an Indian village which they reached soon after leaving that of thedisagreeable Skilloots, they found the fellow who had gambled awaythe horse that he had sold. Being faced with punishment, he agreed toreplace the animal he had stolen with another, and a very good horse wasbrought to satisfy the white men, who were now determined to pursue arigid course with the thievish Indians among whom they found themselves. These people, the Eneeshurs, were stingy, inhospitable, and overbearingin their ways. Nothing but the formidable numbers of the white men savedthem from insult, pillage, and even murder. While they were here, one ofthe horses belonging to the party broke loose and ran towards the Indianvillage. A buffalo robe attached to him fell off and was gathered in byone of the Eneeshurs. Captain Lewis, whose patience was now exhausted, set out, determined to burn the village unless the Indians restored therobe. Fortunately, however, one of his men found the missing articlehidden in a hut, and so any act of violent reprisal was not necessary. So scarce had now become fuel, the party were obliged to buy what littlewood they required for their single cooking-fire. They could not afforda fire to keep them warm, and, as the nights were cold and they laywithout any shelter, they were most uncomfortable, although the dayswere warm. They were now travelling along the Columbia River, usingtheir horses for a part of their luggage, and towing the canoes with theremainder of the stuff. On the twenty-third of April they arrived at themouth of Rock Creek, on the Columbia, a considerable stream which theymissed as they passed this point on their way down, October 21. Herethey met a company of Indians called the Wahhowpum, with whom theytraded pewter buttons, strips of tin and twisted wire for roots, dogs, and fuel. These people were waiting for the arrival of the salmon. Thejournal says:-- "After arranging the camp we assembled all the warriors, and havingsmoked with them, the violins were produced, and some of the men danced. This civility was returned by the Indians in a style of dancing, such aswe had not yet seen. The spectators formed a circle round the dancers, who, with their robes drawn tightly round the shoulders, and dividedinto parties of five or six men, perform by crossing in a line from oneside of the circle to the other. All the parties, performers as well asspectators, sing, and after proceeding in this way for some time, thespectators join, and the whole concludes by a promiscuous dance andsong. Having finished, the natives retired at our request, afterpromising to barter horses with us in the morning. " They bought three horses of these Indians and hired three more from aChopunnish who was to accompany them. The journal adds:-- "The natives also had promised to take our canoes in exchange forhorses; but when they found that we were resolved on travelling by landthey refused giving us anything, in hopes that we would be forced toleave them. Disgusted at this conduct, we determined rather to cut themto pieces than suffer these people to enjoy them, and actually beganto split them, on which they gave us several strands of beads for eachcanoe. We had now a sufficient number of horses to carry our baggage, and therefore proceeded wholly by land. " Next day the party camped near a tribe of Indians known as thePishquitpah. These people had never seen white men before, and theyflocked in great numbers around the strangers, but were very civil andhospitable, although their curiosity was rather embarrassing. Thesepeople were famous hunters, and both men and women were excellentriders. They were now travelling on the south side of the river, inOregon, and, after leaving the Pishquitpahs, they encountered the"Wollawollahs, " as they called them. These Indians are now known as theWalla Walla tribe, and their name is given to a river, a town, and afort of the United States. In several of the Indian dialects walla means"running water, " and when the word is repeated, it diminishes the sizeof the object; so that Walla Walla means "little running water. " Nearhere the explorers passed the mouth of a river which they called theYoumalolam; it is a curious example of the difficulty of renderingIndian names into English. The stream is now known as the Umatilla. Here they found some old acquaintances of whom the journal has thisaccount:-- "Soon after we were joined by seven Wollawollahs, among whom werecognized a chief by the name of Yellept, who had visited us on thenineteenth of October, when we gave him a medal with the promise of alarger one on our return. He appeared very much pleased at seeing usagain, and invited us to remain at his village three or four days, during which he would supply us with the only food they had, and furnishus with horses for our journey. After the cold, inhospitable treatmentwe have lately received, this kind offer was peculiarly acceptable; andafter a hasty meal we accompanied him to his village, six miles above, situated on the edge of the low country, about twelve miles below themouth of Lewis' River. "Immediately on our arrival Yellept, who proved to be a man of muchinfluence, not only in his own but in the neighboring nations, collectedthe inhabitants, and having made a harangue, the purport of which wasto induce the nations to treat us hospitably, he set them an exampleby bringing himself an armful of wood, and a platter containing threeroasted mullets. They immediately assented to one part, at least, of therecommendation, by furnishing us with an abundance of the only sort offuel they employ, the stems of shrubs growing in the plains. We thenpurchased four dogs, on which we supped heartily, having been on shortallowance for two days past. When we were disposed to sleep, the Indiansretired immediately on our request, and indeed, uniformly conductedthemselves with great propriety. These people live on roots, whichare very abundant in the plains, and catch a few salmon-trout; but atpresent they seem to subsist chiefly on a species of mullet, weighingfrom one to three pounds. They informed us that opposite the villagethere was a route which led to the mouth of the Kooskooskee, on thesouth side of Lewis' River; that the road itself was good, and passedover a level country well supplied with water and grass; and that weshould meet with plenty of deer and antelope. We knew that a road inthat direction would shorten the distance at least eighty miles; and asthe report of our guide was confirmed by Yellept and other Indians, wedid not hesitate to adopt this route: they added, however, that therewere no houses, nor permanent Indian residences on the road and that itwould therefore be prudent not to trust wholly to our guns, but to layin a stock of provisions. "Taking their advice, therefore, we next day purchased ten dogs. Whilethe trade for these was being conducted by our men, Yellept brought afine white horse, and presented him to Captain Clark, expressing at thesame time a wish to have a kettle; but, on being informed that we hadalready disposed of the last kettle we could spare, he said he would becontent with any present we chose to make him in return. Captain Clarkthereupon gave him his sword, for which the chief had before expressed adesire, adding one hundred balls, some powder, and other small articles, with which he appeared perfectly satisfied. We were now anxious todepart, and requested Yellept to lend us canoes for the purpose ofcrossing the river; but he would not listen to any proposal of the kind. He wished us to remain for two or three days; but, at all events, wouldnot consent to our going to-day, for he had already sent to invite hisneighbors, the Chimnapoos, to come down this evening and join his peoplein a dance for our amusement. We urged in vain that, by setting outsooner, we would the earlier return with the articles they desired;for a day, he observed, would make but little difference. We at lengthmentioned that, as there was no wind it was now the best time to crossthe river, and we would merely take the horses over and return to sleepat their village. To this he assented; we then crossed with our horses, and having hobbled them, returned to their camp. "Fortunately, there was among these Wollwaollahs a prisoner belongingto a tribe of Shoshonee or Snake Indians, residing to the south of theMultnomah and visiting occasionally the heads of Wollawollah Creek. Our Shoshonee woman, Sacajawea, though she belonged to a tribe near theMissouri, spoke the same language as this prisoner; by their means wewere able to explain ourselves to the Indians, and answer all theirinquiries with respect to ourselves and the object of our journey. Ourconversation inspired them with much confidence, and they soon broughtseveral sick persons, for whom they requested our assistance. Wesplintered (splinted) the broken arm of one, gave some relief toanother, whose knee was contracted by rheumatism, and administered whatwe thought beneficial for ulcers and eruptions of the skin on variousparts of the body which are very common disorders among them. But ourmost valuable medicine was eye-water, which we distributed, and which, indeed, they required very much. "A little before sunset the Chimnapoos, amounting to one hundred menand a few women, came to the village, and, joining the Wollawollahs, whowere about the same number of men, formed themselves in a circle roundour camp, and waited very patiently till our men were disposed to dance, which they did for about an hour, to the music of the violin. They thenrequested the Indians to dance. With this they readily complied; and thewhole assemblage, amounting, with the women and children of the village, to several hundred, stood up, and sang and danced at the same time. The exercise was not, indeed, very violent nor very graceful; for thegreater part of them were formed into a solid column, round a kindof hollow square, stood on the same place, and merely jumped up atintervals, to keep time to the music. Some, however, of the more activewarriors entered the square and danced round it sideways, and some ofour men joined in with them, to the great satisfaction of the Indians. The dance continued till ten o'clock. " By the thirtieth of April the expedition was equipped with twenty-threehorses, most of which were young and excellent animals; but many of themwere afflicted with sore backs. All Indians are cruel masters andhard riders, and their saddles are so rudely made that it is almostimpossible for an Indian's horse to be free from scars; yet theycontinue to ride after the animal's back is scarified in the mosthorrible manner. The expedition was now in what we know as Walla Walla County, Washington, and they were travelling along the river Walla Walla, leaving the Columbia, which has here a general direction of northerly. The course of the party was northeast, their objective point being thatwhere Waitesburg is now built, near the junction of Coppie Creek andthe Touchet River. They were in a region of wood in plenty, and for thefirst time since leaving the Long Narrows, or Dalles, they had as muchfuel as they needed. On the Touchet, accordingly, they camped for thesake of having a comfortable night; the nights were cold, and a goodfire by which to sleep was an attraction not easily resisted. Thejournal, April 30, has this entry:-- "We were soon supplied by Drewyer with a beaver and an otter, of whichwe took only a part of the beaver, and gave the rest to the Indians. The otter is a favorite food, though much inferior, at least in ourestimation, to the dog, which they will not eat. The horse is seldomeaten, and never except when absolute necessity compels them, as theonly alternative to dying of hunger. This fastidiousness does not, however, seem to proceed so much from any dislike to the food, as fromattachment to the animal itself; for many of them eat very heartily ofthe horse-beef which we give them. " On the first day of May, having travelled forty miles from their campnear the mouth of the Walla Walla, they camped between two points atwhich are now situated the two towns of Prescott, on the south, andWaitesburg, on the north. Their journal says:-- "We had scarcely encamped when three young men came up from theWollawollah village, with a steel-trap which had inadvertently beenleft behind, and which they had come a whole day's journey in order torestore. This act of integrity was the more pleasing, because, thoughvery rare among Indians, it corresponded perfectly with the generalbehavior of the Wollawollahs, among whom we had lost carelessly severalknives, which were always returned as soon as found. We may, indeed, justly affirm, that of all the Indians whom we had met since leaving theUnited States, the Wollawollahs were the most hospitable, honest, andsincere. " Chapter XXI -- Overland east of the Columbia It was now early in May, and the expedition, travelling eastward alongTouchet Creek, were in the country of their friends, the Chopunnish. Onthe third, they were agreeably surprised to meet Weahkootnut, whomthey had named Bighorn from the fact that he wore a horn of that animalsuspended from his left arm. This man was the first chief of a largeband of Chopunnish, and when the expedition passed that way, on theirpath to the Pacific, the last autumn, he was very obliging and useful tothem, guiding them down the Snake, or Lewis River. He had now heardthat the white men were on their return, and he had come over across thehills to meet them. As we may suppose, the meeting was very cordial, andWeahkootnut turned back with his white friends and accompanied them tothe mouth of the Kooskooskee, a stream of which our readers have heardbefore; it is now known as the Clearwater. Captain Lewis told Weahkootnut that his people were hungry, theirslender stock of provisions being about exhausted. The chief told themthat they would soon come to a Chopunnish house where they could getfood. But the journal has this entry:-- "We found the house which Weahkootnut had mentioned, where we haltedfor breakfast. It contained six families, so miserably poor that allwe could obtain from them were two lean dogs and a few large cakes ofhalf-cured bread, made of a root resembling the sweet potato, of allwhich we contrived to form a kind of soup. The soil of the plain isgood, but it has no timber. The range of southwest mountains is aboutfifteen miles above us, but continues to lower, and is still coveredwith snow to its base. After giving passage to Lewis' (Snake) River, near their northeastern extremity, they terminate in a high level plainbetween that river and the Kooskooskee. The salmon not having yet calledthem to the rivers, the greater part of the Chopunnish are now dispersedin villages through this plain, for the purpose of collecting quamashand cows, which here grow in great abundance, the soil being extremelyfertile, in many places covered with long-leaved pine, larch, andbalsam-fir, which contribute to render it less thirsty than the open, unsheltered plains. " By the word "cows, " in this sentence, we must understand that thestory-teller meant cowas, a root eaten by the Indians and whiteexplorers in that distant region. It is a knobbed, irregular root, andwhen cooked resembles the ginseng. At this place the party met some ofthe Indians whom Captain Clark had treated for slight diseases, whenthey passed that way, the previous autumn. They bad sounded the praisesof the white men and their medicine, and others were now waiting tobe treated in the same manner. The Indians were glad to pay for theirtreatment, and the white men were not sorry to find this easy method ofadding to their stock of food, which was very scanty at this time. Thejournal sagely adds, "We cautiously abstain from giving them anybut harmless medicines; and as we cannot possibly do harm, ourprescriptions, though unsanctioned by the faculty, may be useful, andare entitled to some remuneration. " Very famous and accomplished doctorsmight say the same thing of their practice. But the explorers didnot meet with pleasant acquaintances only; in the very next entry isrecorded this disagreeable incident: "Four miles beyond this house we came to another large one, containingten families, where we halted and made our dinner on two dogs anda small quantity of roots, which we did not procure without muchdifficulty. Whilst we were eating, an Indian standing by, looking withgreat derision at our eating dogs, threw a poor half-starved puppyalmost into Captain Lewis' plate, laughing heartily at the humor of it. Captain Lewis took up the animal and flung it with great force into thefellow's face; and seizing his tomahawk, threatened to cut him down ifhe dared to repeat such insolence. He immediately withdrew, apparentlymuch mortified, and we continued our repast of dog very quietly. Here wemet our old Chopunnish guide, with his family; and soon afterward oneof our horses, which had been separated from the rest in charge ofTwisted-hair, and had been in this neighborhood for several weeks, wascaught and restored to us. " Later in that day the party came to a Chopunnish house which was onehundred and fifty-six feet long and fifteen feet wide. Thirty familieswere living in this big house, each family having its fire by itselfburning on the earthen floor, along through the middle of the greatstructure. The journal says:-- "We arrived very hungry and weary, but could not purchase anyprovisions, except a small quantity of the roots and bread of thecows. They had, however, heard of our medical skill, and made manyapplications for assistance, but we refused to do anything unless theygave us either dogs or horses to eat. We soon had nearly fifty patients. A chief brought his wife with an abscess on her back, and promisedto furnish us with a horse to-morrow if we would relieve her. CaptainClark, therefore, opened the abscess, introduced a tent, and dressed itwith basilicon. We also prepared and distributed some doses of flour ofsulphur and cream of tartar, with directions for its use. For these weobtained several dogs, but too poor for use, and therefore postponedour medical operations till the morning. In the mean time a number ofIndians, besides the residents of the village, gathered about us orcamped in the woody bottom of the creek. " It will be recollected that when the expedition was in this region (onthe Kooskooskee), during the previous September, on their way westward, they left their horses with Chief Twisted-hair, travelling overlandfrom that point. They were now looking for that chief, and the journalsays:-- "About two o'clock we collected our horses and set out, accompanied byWeahkoonut, with ten or twelve men and a man who said he was the brotherof Twisted-hair. At four miles we came to a single house of threefamilies, but could not procure provisions of any kind; and five milesfurther we halted for the night near another house, built like the rest, of sticks, mats, and dried hay, and containing six families. It was nowso difficult to procure anything to eat that our chief dependence wason the horse which we received yesterday for medicine; but to our greatdisappointment he broke the rope by which he was confined, made hisescape, and left us supperless in the rain. " Next day they met an Indian who brought them two canisters of powder, which they at once knew to be some of that which they had buried lastautumn. The Indian said that his dog had dug it up in the meadow by theriver, and he had restored it to its rightful owners. As a reward forhis honesty, the captains gave him a flint and steel for striking fire;and they regretted that their own poverty prevented them from being moreliberal to the man. They observed that the Rocky Mountains, now in full sight, were stillcovered with snow, and the prospect of crossing them was not very rosy. Their Chopunnish guide told them that it would be impossible to crossthe mountains before the next full moon, which would be about the firstof June. The journal adds: "To us, who are desirous of reaching theplains of the Missouri--if for no other reason, for the purpose ofenjoying a good meal--this intelligence was by no means welcome, andgave no relish to the remainder of the horse killed at Colter's Creek, which formed our supper, as part of which had already been our dinner. "Next day, accordingly, the hunters turned out early in the morning, andbefore noon returned with four deer and a duck, which, with theremains of horse-beef on hand, gave them a much more plentiful stockof provisions than had lately fallen to their lot. During the previouswinter, they were told, the Indians suffered very much for lack of food, game of all sorts being scarce. They were forced to boil and eat themoss growing on the trees, and they cut down the pine-trees for the sakeof the small nut to be found in the pine-cones. Here they were met byan old friend, Neeshnepahkeeook and the Shoshonee, who had acted asinterpreter for them. The journal says:-- "We gave Neeshnepahkeeook and his people some of our game andhorse-beef, besides the entrails of the deer, and four fawns which wefound inside of two of them. They did not eat any of them perfectly raw, but the entrails had very little cooking; the fawns were boiled whole, and the hide, hair, and entrails all consumed. The Shoshonee wasoffended at not having as much venison as he wished, and refused tointerpret; but as we took no notice of him, he became very officious inthe course of a few hours, and made many efforts to reinstate himself inour favor. The brother of Twisted-hair, and Neeshnepahkeeook, now drewa sketch, which we preserved, of all the waters west of the RockyMountains. " They now met Twisted-hair, in whose care they had left their horses andsaddles the previous fall, and this was the result of their inquiries:-- "Between three and four o'clock in the afternoon we set out, in companywith Neeshuepahkeeook and other Indians, the brother of Twisted-hairhaving left us. Our route was up a high steep hill to a level plainwith little wood, through which we passed in a direction parallel to the(Kooskooskee) River for four miles, when we met Twisted-hair and six ofhis people. To this chief we had confided our horses and a part ofour saddles last autumn, and we therefore formed very unfavorableconjectures on finding that he received us with great coldness. Shortlyafterward he began to speak in a very loud, angry manner, and wasanswered by Neeshnepahkeeook. We now discovered that a violent quarrelhad arisen between these chiefs, on the subject, as we afterwardunderstood, of our horses. But as we could not learn the cause, and weredesirous of terminating the dispute, we interposed, and told them weshould go on to the first water and camp. We therefore set out, followedby all the Indians, and having reached, at two miles' distance, a smallstream running to the right, we camped with the two chiefs and theirlittle bands, forming separate camps at a distance from each other. Theyall appeared to be in an ill humor; and as we had already heard reportsthat the Indians had discovered and carried off our saddles, and thatthe horses were very much scattered, we began to be uneasy, lest thereshould be too much foundation for the report. We were therefore anxiousto reconcile the two chiefs as soon as possible, and desired theShoshonee to interpret for us while we attempted a mediation, but beperemptorily refused to speak a word. He observed that it was a quarrelbetween the two chiefs, and he had therefore no right to interfere; norcould all our representations, that by merely repeating what we said hecould not possibly be considered as meddling between the chiefs, inducehim to take any part in it. "Soon afterward Drewyer returned from hunting, and was sent to inviteTwisted-hair to come and smoke with us. He accepted the invitation, andas we were smoking the pipe over our fire he informed us that accordingto his promise on leaving us at the falls of the Columbia, he hadcollected our horses and taken charge of them as soon as he reachedhome. But about this time Neeshnepahkeeook and Turmachemootoolt(Broken-arm), who, as we passed, were on a war-party against theShoshonees on the south branch of Lewis' River, returned; and becomingjealous of him, because the horses had been confided to his care, were constantly quarrelling with him. At length, being an old man andunwilling to live in perpetual dispute with these two chiefs, he hadgiven up the care of the horses, which had consequently become verymuch scattered. The greater part of them were, however, still in theneighborhood; some in the forks between the Chopunnish and Kooskooskee, and three or four at the village of Broken Arm, about half a day's marchhigher up the river. He added, that on the rise of the river in thespring, the earth had fallen from the door of the cache, and exposed thesaddles, some of which had probably been lost; but that, as soon as hewas acquainted with the situation of them, he had them buried in anotherdeposit, where they now were. He promised that, if we would stay thenext day at his house, a few miles distant, he would collect such of thehorses as were in the neighborhood, and send his young men for those inthe forks, over the Kooskooskee. He moreover advised us to visit BrokenArm, who was a chief of great eminence, and he would himself guide us tohis dwelling. "We told him that we would follow his advice in every respect; that wehad confided our horses to his care, and expected he would deliverthem to us, on which we should cheerfully give him the two guns and theammunition we had promised him. With this he seemed very much pleased, and declared he would use every exertion to restore the horses. We nowsent for Neesbnepahkeeook, or Cut Nose, and, after smoking for sometime, began by expressing to the two chiefs our regret at seeing amisunderstanding between them. Neeshnepahkeeook replied that TwistedHair was a bad old man, and wore two faces; for, instead of taking careof our horses, he had suffered his young men to hunt with them, so thatthey had been very much injured, and it was for this reason that BrokenArm and himself had forbidden him to use them. Twisted Hair madeno reply to this speech, and we then told Neeshnepahkeeook of ourarrangement for the next day. He appeared to be very well satisfied, andsaid he would himself go with us to Broken Arm, who expected to see us, and had TWO BAD HORSES FOR US; by which expression we understood thatBroken Arm intended to make us a present of two horses. " Next day, the party reached the house of Twisted-hair, and began tolook for their horses and saddles. The journal gives this account of thesearch:-- "Late in the afternoon, Twisted-hair returned with about half thesaddles we had left in the autumn, and some powder and lead which wereburied at the same place. Soon after, the Indians brought us twenty-oneof our horses, the greater part of which were in excellent order, thoughsome had not yet recovered from hard usage, and three had sore backs. We were, however, very glad to procure them in any condition. SeveralIndians came down from the village of Tunnachemootoolt and passed thenight with us. Cut-nose and Twisted-hair seem now perfectly reconciled, for they both slept in the house of the latter. The man who had imposedhimself upon us as a brother of Twisted-hair also came and renewed hisadvances, but we now found that he was an impertinent, proud fellow, ofno respectability in the nation, and we therefore felt no inclination tocultivate his intimacy. Our camp was in an open plain, and soon becamevery uncomfortable, for the wind was high and cold, and the rain andhail, which began about seven o'clock, changed in two hours to a heavyfall of snow, which continued till after six o'clock (May 10th), thenext morning, when it ceased, after covering the ground eight inchesdeep and leaving the air keen and cold. We soon collected our horses, and after a scanty breakfast of roots set out on a course S. 35'0 E. " They were now following the general course of the Kooskooskee, orClearwater, as the stream is called, and their route lay in what is nowNez Perce County, Idaho. They have passed the site of the present cityof Lewiston, named for Captain Lewis. They have arrived in a regioninhabited by the friendly Chopunnish, or Nez Perce, several villagesof which nation were scattered around the camp of the white men. Thenarrative says: "We soon collected the men of consideration, and after smoking, explained how destitute we were of provisions. The chief spoke to thepeople, who immediately brought two bushels of dried quamash-roots, somecakes of the roots of cows, and a dried salmon-trout; we thanked themfor this supply, but observed that, not being accustomed to live onroots alone, we feared that such diet might make our men sick, andtherefore proposed to exchange one of our good horses, which was ratherpoor, for one that was fatter, and which we might kill. The hospitalityof the chief was offended at the idea of an exchange; he observedthat his people had an abundance of young horses, and that if wewere disposed to use that food we might have as many as we wanted. Accordingly, they soon gave us two fat young horses, without askinganything in return, an act of liberal hospitality much greater than anywe have witnessed since crossing the Rocky Mountains, if it be not infact the only really hospitable treatment we have received in this partof the world. We killed one of the horses, and then telling the nativesthat we were fatigued and hungry, and that as soon as we were refreshedwe would communicate freely with them, began to prepare our repast. "During this time a principal chief, called Hohastillpilp, came fromhis village, about six miles distant, with a party of fifty men, for thepurpose of visiting us. We invited him into our circle, and he alightedand smoked with us, while his retinue, with five elegant horses, continued mounted at a short distance. While this was going on, thechief had a large leathern tent spread for us, and desired that wewould make it our home so long as we remained at his village. We removedthere, and having made a fire, and cooked our supper of horsefleshand roots, collected all the distinguished men present, and spentthe evening in making known who we were, what were the objects ofour journey, and in answering their inquiries. To each of the chiefsTunnachemootoolt and Hohastillpilp we gave a small medal, explainingtheir use and importance as honorary distinctions both among the whitesand the red men. Our men were well pleased at once more having made ahearty meal. They had generally been in the habit of crowding into thehouses of the Indians, to purchase provisions on the best terms theycould; for the inhospitality of the country was such, that often, inthe extreme of hunger, they were obliged to treat the natives withbut little ceremony; but this Twisted Hair had told us was verydisagreeable. Finding that these people are so kind and liberal, weordered our men to treat them with the greatest respect, and notto throng round their fires, so that they now agree perfectly welltogether. After the council the Indians felt no disposition to retire, and our tent was filled with them all night. " As the expedition was here in a populous country, among many bands ofIndians, it was thought wise to have a powwow with the head menand explain to them what were the intentions of the United StatesGovernment. But, owing to the crooked course which their talk must needstake, it was very difficult to learn if the Indians finally understoodwhat was said. Here is the journal's account of the way in which thepowwow was conducted:-- "We collected the chiefs and warriors, and having drawn a map ofthe relative situation of our country on a mat with a piece of coal, detailed the nature and power of the American nation, its desire topreserve harmony between all its red brethren, and its intention ofestablishing trading-houses for their relief and support. It was notwithout difficulty, nor till after nearly half the day was spent, thatwe were able to convey all this information to the Chopunnish, much ofwhich might have been lost or distorted in its circuitous route througha variety of languages; for in the first place, we spoke in Englishto one of our men, who translated it into French to Chaboneau; heinterpreted it to his wife in the Minnetaree language; she then put itinto Shoshonee, and the young Shoshonee prisoner explained it to theChopunnish in their own dialect. At last we succeeded in communicatingthe impression we wished, and then adjourned the council; after whichwe amused them by showing the wonders of the compass, spy-glass, magnet, watch, and air-gun, each of which attracted its share of admiration. " The simple-minded Indians, who seemed to think that the white men couldheal all manner of diseases, crowded around them next day, begging formedicines and treatment. These were freely given, eye-water being mostin demand. There was a general medical powwow. The journal adds:-- "Shortly after, the chiefs and warriors held a council among themselves, to decide on an answer to our speech, and the result was, as we wereinformed, that they had full confidence in what we had told them, andwere resolved to follow our advice. This determination having been made, the principal chief, Tunnachemootoolt, took a quantity of flour ofthe roots of cow-weed (cowas), and going round to all the kettles andbaskets in which his people were cooking, thickened the soup into akind of mush. He then began an harangue, setting forth the result of thedeliberations among the chiefs, and after exhorting them to unanimity, concluded with an invitation to all who acquiesced in the proceedingsof the council to come and eat; while those who were of a differentmind were requested to show their dissent by not partaking of the feast. During this animated harangue, the women, who were probably uneasy atthe prospect of forming this proposed new connection with strangers, tore their hair, and wrung their hands with the greatest appearance ofdistress. But the concluding appeal of the orator effectually stoppedthe mouths of every malecontent, and the proceedings were ratified, andthe mush devoured with the most zealous unanimity. "The chiefs and warriors then came in a body to visit us as we wereseated near our tent; and at their instance, two young men, one of whomwas a son of Tunnachemootoolt, and the other the youth whose fatherhad been killed by the Pahkees, presented to us each a fine horse. Weinvited the chiefs to be seated, and gave every one of them a flag, apound of powder, and fifty balls, and a present of the same kind to theyoung men from whom we had received the horses. They then invited usinto the tent, and said that they now wished to answer what we hadtold them yesterday, but that many of their people were at that momentwaiting in great pain for our medical assistance. " It was agreed, therefore, that Captain Clark, who seems to have beentheir favorite physician, should attend to the sick and lame, whileCaptain Lewis should conduct a council with the chiefs and listen towhat they had to say. The upshot of the powwow was that the Chopunnishsaid they had sent three of their warriors with a pipe to make peacewith the Shoshonees, last summer, as they had been advised to do by thewhite men. The Shoshonees, unmindful of the sacredness of thisembassy, had killed the young warriors and had invited the battle whichimmediately took place, in which the Chopunnish killed forty-two of theShoshonees, to get even for the wanton killing of their three young men. The white men now wanted some of the Chopunnish to accompany them tothe plains of the Missouri, but the Indians were not willing to go untilthey were assured that they would not be waylaid and slain by theirenemies of the other side of the mountains. The Chopunnish would thinkover the proposal that some of their young men should go over the rangewith the white men; a decision on this point should be reached beforethe white men left the country. Anyhow, the white men might be surethat the Indians would do their best to oblige their visitors. Theirconclusion was, "For, although we are poor, our hearts are good. " Thestory of this conference thus concludes:-- "As soon as this speech was concluded, Captain Lewis replied at somelength; with this they appeared highly gratified, and after smoking thepipe, made us a present of another fat horse for food. We, in turn, gaveBroken-arm a phial of eye-water, with directions to wash the eyes of allwho should apply for it; and as we promised to fill it again when itwas exhausted, he seemed very much pleased with our liberality. ToTwisted-hair, who had last night collected six more horses, we gave agun, one hundred balls, and two pounds of powder, and told him he shouldhave the same quantity when we received the remainder of our horses. Inthe course of the day three more of them were brought in, and a freshexchange of small presents put the Indians in excellent humor. On ourexpressing a wish to cross the river and form a camp, in order to huntand fish till the snows had melted, they recommended a position a fewmiles distant, and promised to furnish us to-morrow with a canoe tocross. We invited Twisted-hair to settle near our camp, for he hasseveral young sons, one of whom we hope to engage as a guide, and hepromised to do so. Having now settled all their affairs, the Indiansdivided themselves into two parties, and began to play the game ofhiding a bone, already described as common to all the natives of thiscountry, which they continued playing for beads and other ornaments. " As there was so dismal a prospect for crossing the snow-coveredmountains at this season of the year, the captains of the expeditionresolved to establish a camp and remain until the season should befurther advanced. Accordingly, a spot on the north side of the river, recommended to them by the Indians, was selected, and a move acrossthe stream was made. A single canoe was borrowed for the transit of thebaggage, and the horses were driven in to swim across, and the passagewas accomplished without loss. The camp was built on the site of an oldIndian house, in a circle about thirty yards in diameter, near the riverand in an advantageous position. As soon as the party were encamped, thetwo Chopunnish chiefs came down to the opposite bank, and, with twelveof their nation, began to sing. This was the custom of these people, being a token of their friendship on such occasions. The captains senta canoe over for the chiefs, and, after smoking for some time, Hohastillpilp presented Captain with a fine gray horse which he hadbrought over for that purpose, and he was perfectly satisfied to receivein return a handkerchief, two hundred balls, and four pounds of powder. Here is some curious information concerning the bears which they foundin this region. It must be borne in mind that they were still west ofthe Bitter Root Mountains:-- "The hunters killed some pheasants, two squirrels, and a male and afemale bear, the first of which was large, fat, and of a bay color; thesecond meagre, grizzly, and of smaller size. They were of the species(Ursus horribilis) common to the upper part of the Missouri, and mightwell be termed the variegated bear, for they are found occasionally ofa black, grizzly, brown, or red color. There is every reason to believethem to be of precisely the same species. Those of different colors arekilled together, as in the case of these two, and as we found the whiteand bay associated together on the Missouri; and some nearly white wereseen in this neighborhood by the hunters. Indeed, it is not common tofind any two bears of the same color; and if the difference in colorwere to constitute a distinction of species, the number would increaseto almost twenty. Soon afterward the hunters killed a female bear withtwo cubs. The mother was black, with a considerable intermixture ofwhite hairs and a white spot on the breast. One of the cubs was jetblack, and the other of a light reddish-brown or bay color. The hairof these variegated bears is much finer, longer, and more abundant thanthat of the common black bear; but the most striking differences betweenthem are that the former are larger and have longer tusks, and longer aswell as blunter talons; that they prey more on other animals; that theylie neither so long nor so closely in winter quarters; and that theynever climb a tree, however closely pressed by the hunters. Thesevariegated bears, though specifically the same with those we met on theMissouri, are by no means so ferocious; probably because the scarcityof game and the habit of living on roots may have weaned them from thepractices of attacking and devouring animals. Still, however, they arenot so passive as the common black bear, which is also to be found here;for they have already fought with our hunters, though with less furythan those on the other side of the mountains. "A large part of the meat we gave to the Indians, to whom it was a realluxury, as they scarcely taste flesh once in a month. They immediatelyprepared a large fire of dried wood, on which was thrown a number ofsmooth stones from the river. As soon as the fire went down and thestones were heated, they were laid next to each other in a levelposition, and covered with a quantity of pine branches, on which wereplaced flitches of the meat, and then boughs and flesh alternately forseveral courses, leaving a thick layer of pine on the top. On this heapthey then poured a small quantity of water, and covered the whole withearth to the depth of four inches. After remaining in this state forabout three hours, the meat was taken off, and was really more tenderthan that which we had boiled or roasted, though the strong flavor ofthe pine rendered it disagreeable to our palates. This repast gave themmuch satisfaction; for, though they sometimes kill the black bear, theyattack very reluctantly the fierce variegated bear; and never exceptwhen they can pursue him on horseback over the plains, and shoot himwith arrows. " Chapter XXII -- Camping with the Nez Perces Soon after they had fixed their camp, the explorers bade farewell totheir good friend Tunnachemootoolt and his young men, who returnedto their homes farther down the river. Others of the Nez Perce, orChopunnish, nation visited them, and the strangers were interested inwatching the Indians preparing for their hunt. As they were to hunt thedeer, they had the head, horns, and hide of that animal so preparedthat when it was placed on the head and body of a hunter, it gave a verydeceptive idea of a deer; the hunter could move the head of the decoyso that it looked like a deer feeding, and the suspicious animals werelured within range of the Indians' bow and arrow. On the sixteenth of May, Hohastillpilp and his young men also left thewhite men's camp and returned to their own village. The hunters of theparty did not meet with much luck in their quest for game, only one deerand a few pheasants being brought in for several days. The party werefed on roots and herbs, a species of onion being much prized by them. Bad weather confined them to their camp, and a common entry in theirjournal refers to their having slept all night in a pool of water formedby the falling rain; their tent-cover was a worn-out leathern affairno longer capable of shedding the rain. While it rained in the meadowswhere they were camped, they could see the snow covering the higherplains above them; on those plains the snow was more than a foot deep, and yet the plants and shrubs seemed to thrive in the midst of the snow. On the mountains the snow was several feet in depth. The journalistsays: "So that within twenty miles of our camp we observe the rigorsof winter cold, the cool air of spring, and the oppressive heat ofmidsummer. " They kept a shrewd lookout for the possibilities of futureoccupation of the land by white men; and, writing here of country andits character, the journalist says: "In short, this district affordsmany advantages to settlers, and if properly cultivated, would yieldevery object necessary for the comfort and subsistence of civilizedman. " But in their wildest dreams, Captains Lewis and Clark could nothave foreseen that in that identical region thrifty settlements of whitemen should flourish and that the time would come when the scanty remnantof the Chopunnish, whom we now call Nez Perces, would be gathered on areservation near their camping-place. But both of these things have cometo pass. In describing the dress of the Chopunnish, or Nez Perces, thejournal says that tippets, or collars, were worn by the men. "Thatof Hohastillpilp, " says the journal, "was formed of human scalps andadorned with the thumbs and fingers of several men slain by him inbattle. " And yet the journal immediately adds: "The Chopunnish are amongthe most amiable men we have seen. Their character is placid and gentle, rarely moved to passion, yet not often enlivened by gayety. " In short, the Indians were amiable savages; and it is a savage trait to love todestroy one's enemies. Here is an entry in the journal of May 19 which will give the readersome notion of the privations and the pursuits of the party while shutup in camp for weary weeks in the early summer of 1806:-- "After a cold, rainy night, during a greater part of which we lay in thewater, the weather became fair; we then sent some men to a village aboveus, on the opposite side, to purchase some roots. They carried withthem for this purpose a small collection of awls, knitting-pins, andarmbands, with which they obtained several bushels of the root of cows, and some bread of the same material. They were followed, too, by a trainof invalids from the village, who came to ask for our assistance. Themen were generally afflicted with sore eyes; but the women had besidesthis a variety of other disorders, chiefly rheumatic, a violent pain andweakness in the loins, which is a common complaint among them; one ofthem seemed much dejected, and as we thought, from the account of herdisease, hysterical. We gave her thirty drops of laudanum, and afteradministering eye-water, rubbing the rheumatic patients with volatileliniment, and giving cathartics to others, they all thought themselvesmuch relieved and returned highly satisfied to the village. We werefortunate enough to retake one of the horses on which we (Captain Lewis)had crossed the Rocky Mountains in the autumn, and which had becomealmost wild since that time. " A day or two later, the journal has this significant entry: "Onparcelling out the stores, the stock of each man was found to be onlyone awl, and one knitting-pin, half an ounce of vermilion, two needles, a few skeins of thread, and about a yard of ribbon--a slender means ofbartering for our subsistence; but the men have been so much accustomedto privations that now neither the want of meat nor the scanty fundsof the party excites the least anxiety among them. " To add to theirdiscomfort, there was a great deal of sickness in the camp, owing to thelow diet of the men. Sacajawea's baby was ill with mumps and teething, and it is suggested that the two captains would have been obliged to"walk the floor all night, " if there had been any floor to walk on; asit was, they were deprived of their nightly rest. Here is an exampleof what the doctors would call heroic treatment by Captain Clark, whoconducted all such experiments:-- "With one of the men (Bratton) we have ventured an experiment of a veryrobust nature. He has been for some time sick, but has now recovered hisflesh, eats heartily, and digests well, but has so great a weakness inthe loins that he cannot walk or even sit upright without extreme pain. After we had in vain exhausted the resources of our art, one of thehunters mentioned that he had known persons in similar situations tobe restored by violent sweats, and at the request of the patient, wepermitted the remedy to be applied. For this purpose a hole about fourfeet deep and three in diameter was dug in the earth, and heated wellby a large fire in the bottom of it. The fire was then taken out, andan arch formed over the hole by means of willow-poles, and coveredwith several blankets so as to make a perfect awning. The patient beingstripped naked, was seated under this on a beach, with a piece of boardfor his feet, and with a jug of water sprinkled the bottom and sidesof the hole, so as to keep up as hot a steam as he could bear. After remaining twenty minutes in this situation, he was taken out, immediately plunged twice in cold water, and brought back to the hole, where he resumed the vapor bath. During all this time he drank copiouslya strong infusion of horse-mint, which was used as a substitute forseneca-root, which our informant said he had seen employed on theseoccasions, but of which there is none in this country. At the endof three-quarters of an hour he was again withdrawn from the hole, carefully wrapped, and suffered to cool gradually. This operation wasperformed yesterday; this morning he walked about and is nearly freefrom pain. About eleven o'clock a canoe arrived with three Indians, oneof whom was the poor creature who had lost the use of his limbs, andfor whose recovery the natives seem very anxious, as he is a chief ofconsiderable rank among them. His situation is beyond the reach of ourskill. He complains of no pain in any peculiar limb, and we thereforethink his disorder cannot be rheumatic, and his limbs would have beenmore diminished if his disease had been a paralytic affection. We hadalready ascribed it to his diet of roots, and had recommended his livingon fish and flesh, and using the cold bath every morning, with a dose ofcream of tartar or flowers of sulphur every third day. " It is gratifying to be able to record the fact that Bratton and theIndian (who was treated in the same manner) actually recovered fromtheir malady. The journal says of the Indian that his restorationwas "wonderful. " This is not too strong a word to use under thecircumstances, for the chief had been helpless for nearly three years, and yet he was able to get about and take care of himself after he hadbeen treated by Captain (otherwise Doctor) Clark. Two of his men metwith a serious disaster about this time; going across the river to tradewith some Indians, their boat was stove and went to the bottom, carryingwith it three blankets, a blanket-coat, and their scanty stock ofmerchandise, all of which was utterly lost. Another disaster, whichhappened next day, is thus recorded:-- "Two of our men, who had been up the river to trade with the Indians, returned quite unsuccessful. Nearly opposite the village, their horsefell with his load down a steep cliff into the river, across which heswam. An Indian on the opposite side drove him back to them; butin crossing most of the articles were lost and the paint melted. Understanding their intentions, the Indians attempted to come over tothem, but having no canoe, were obliged to use a raft, which struck on arock, upset, and the whole store of roots and bread were destroyed. This failure completely exhausted our stock of merchandise; but theremembrance of what we suffered from cold and hunger during the passageof the Rocky Mountains makes us anxious to increase our means ofsubsistence and comfort, since we have again to encounter the sameinconvenience. " But the ingenuity of the explorers was equal to this emergency. Havingobserved that the Indians were very fond of brass buttons, which theyfastened to their garments as ornaments, and not for the useful purposefor which buttons are made, the men now proceeded to cut from theirshabby United States uniforms those desired articles, and thus formed anew fund for trading purposes. To these they added some eye-water, somebasilicon, and a few small tin boxes in which phosphorus had been kept. Basilicon, of which mention is frequently made in the journal, was anointment composed of black pitch, white wax, resin, and olive oil; itwas esteemed as a sovereign remedy for all diseases requiring an outwardapplication. With these valuables two men were sent out to trade withthe Indians, on the second day of June, and they returned with threebushels of eatable roots and some cowas bread. Later in that day, aparty that had been sent down the river (Lewis') in quest of food, returned with a goodly supply of roots and seventeen salmon. Thesefish, although partly spoiled by the long journey home, gave greatsatisfaction to the hungry adventurers, for they were the promise of aplenty to come when the salmon should ascend the rivers that make intothe Columbia. At this time we find the following interesting story inthe journal of the expedition:-- "We had lately heard, also, that some Indians, residing at aconsiderable distance, on the south side of the Kooskooskee, were inpossession of two tomahawks, one of which had been left at our camp onMoscheto Creek, and the other had been stolen while we were with theChopunnish in the autumn. This last we were anxious to obtain, in orderto give it to the relations of our unfortunate companion, SergeantFloyd, (1) to whom it once belonged. We therefore sent Drewyer, with thetwo chiefs Neeshnepahkeeook and Hohastillpilp (who had returned to us)to demand it. On their arrival, they found that the present possessorof it, who had purchased it of the thief, was at the point of death; andhis relations were unwilling to give it up, as they wished to bury it inthe grave with the deceased. The influence of Neeshnepahkeeook, however, at length prevailed; and they consented to surrender the tomahawk onreceiving two strands of beads and a handkerchief from Drewyer, andfrom each of the chiefs a horse, to be killed at the funeral of theirkinsman, according to the custom of the country. " (1) See page 23. The Chopunnish chiefs now gave their final answer to the two captainswho had requested guides from them. The chiefs said that they could notaccompany the party, but later in the summer they might cross the greatdivide and spend the next winter on the headwaters of the Missouri. Atpresent, they could only promise that some of their young men should gowith the whites; these had not been selected, but they would be sent onafter the party, if the two captains insisted on starting now. Thiswas not very encouraging, for they had depended upon the Indians forguidance over the exceedingly difficult and even dangerous passages ofthe mountains. Accordingly, it was resolved that, while waiting on themotions of the Indians, the party might as well make a visit to Quamashflats, where they could lay in a stock of provisions for their arduousjourney. It is not certain which of the several Quamash flats mentionedin the history of the expedition is here referred to; but it is likelythat the open glade in which Captain Clark first struck the low countryof the west is here meant. It was here that he met the Indian boyshiding in the grass, and from here he led the expedition out of thewilderness. For "quamash" read "camass, " an edible root much prized bythe Nez Perces then and now. While they lingered at their camp, they were visited by several bands offriendly Indians. The explorers traded horses with their visitors, and, with what they already had, they now found their band to numbersixty-five, all told. Having finished their trading, they invited theIndians to take part in the games of prisoners' base and foot-racing; inthe latter game the Indians were very expert, being able to distancethe fleetest runner of the white men's party. At night, the gameswere concluded by a dance. The account of the expedition says that thecaptains were desirous of encouraging these exercises before theyshould begin the passage over the mountains, "as several of the men arebecoming lazy from inaction. " On the tenth of June the party set out for Quamash flats, each man wellmounted and leading a spare horse which carried a small load. To theirdismay, they found that their good friends, the Chopunnish, unwilling topart with them, were bound to accompany them to the hunting-grounds. TheIndians would naturally expect to share in the hunt and to be providedfor by the white men. The party halted there only until the sixth ofJune, and then, collecting their horses, set out through what proved tobe a very difficult trail up the creek on which they were camped, ina northeasterly direction. There was still a quantity of snow on theground, although this was in shady places and hollows. Vegetation wasrank, and the dogtooth violet, honeysuckle, blue-bell, and columbinewere in blossom. The pale blue flowers of the quamash gave to the levelcountry the appearance of a blue lake. Striking Hungry Creek, whichCaptain Clark had very appropriately named when he passed that way, theprevious September, they followed it up to a mountain for about threemiles, when they found themselves enveloped in snow; their limbs werebenumbed, and the snow, from twelve to fifteen feet deep, so paralyzedtheir feet that further progress was impossible. Here the journal shouldbe quoted:-- "We halted at the sight of this new difficulty. We already knew that towait till the snows of the mountains had dissolved, so as to enable usto distinguish the road, would defeat our design of returning to theUnited States this season. We now found also that as the snow bore ourhorses very well, travelling was infinitely easier than it was lastfall, when the rocks and fallen timber had so much obstructed our march. But it would require five days to reach the fish-weirs at the mouth ofColt (-killed) Creek, even if we were able to follow the proper ridgesof the mountains; and the danger of missing our direction is exceedinglygreat while every track is covered with snow. During these five days, too, we have no chance of finding either grass or underwood for ourhorses, the snow being so deep. To proceed, therefore, under suchcircumstances, would be to hazard our being bewildered in the mountains, and to insure the loss of our horses; even should we be so fortunate asto escape with our lives, we might be obliged to abandon all our papersand collections. It was therefore decided not to venture any further;to deposit here all the baggage and provisions for which we had noimmediate use; and, reserving only subsistence for a few days, to returnwhile our horses were yet strong to some spot where we might liveby hunting, till a guide could be procured to conduct us across themountains. Our baggage was placed on scaffolds and carefully covered, aswere also the instruments and papers, which we thought it safer to leavethan to risk over the roads and creeks by which we came. " There was nothing left to do but to return to Hungry Creek. Finding ascanty supply of grass, they camped under most depressing circumstances;their outlook now was the passing of four or five days in the midstof snows from ten to fifteen feet deep, with no guide, no road, andno forage. In this emergency, two men were sent back to the Chopunnishcountry to hurry up the Indians who had promised to accompany them overthe mountains; and, to insure a guide, these men were authorized tooffer a rifle as a reward for any one who would undertake the task. Forthe present, it was thought best to return to Quamash flats. Chapter XXIII -- Crossing the Bitter Root Mountains Disasters many kept pace with the unhappy explorers on their way backto Quamash flats after their rebuff at the base of the Bitter RootMountains. One of the horses fell down a rough and rocky place, carryinghis rider with him; but fortunately neither horse nor man was killed. Next, a man, sent ahead to cut down the brush that blocked the path, cuthimself badly on the inside of his thigh and bled copiously. The hunterssent out for game returned empty-handed. The fishermen caught no fish, but broke the two Indian gigs, or contrivances for catching fish, withwhich they had been provided. The stock of salt had given out, thebulk of their supply having been left on the mountain. Several largemushrooms were brought in by Cruzatte, but these were eaten withoutpepper, salt, or any kind of grease, --"a very tasteless, insipid food, "as the journal says. To crown all, the mosquitoes were pestilential intheir numbers and venom. Nevertheless, the leaders of the expedition were determined to press onand pass the Bitter Root Mountains as soon as a slight rest at Quamashflats should be had. If they should tarry until the snows melted fromthe trail, they would be too late to reach the United States that winterand would be compelled to pass the next winter at some camp high up onthe Missouri, as they had passed one winter at Fort Mandan, on their wayout. This is the course of argument which Captain Lewis and Clark tookto persuade each other as to the best way out of their difficulties:-- "The snows have formed a hard, coarse bed without crust, on which thehorses walk safely without slipping; the chief difficulty, therefore, isto find the road. In this we may be assisted by the circumstance that, though generally ten feet in depth, the snow has been thrown off by thethick and spreading branches of the trees, and from round the trunk;while the warmth of the trunk itself, acquired by the reflection of thesun, or communicated by natural heat of the earth, which is never frozenunder these masses, has dissolved the snow so much that immediately atthe roots its depth is not more than one or two feet. We therefore hopethat the marks of the baggage rubbing against the trees may still beperceived; and we have decided, in case the guide cannot be procured, that one of us will take three or four of our most expert woodsmen, several of our best horses, and an ample supply of provisions, go on twodays' journey in advance, and endeavor to trace the route by the marksof the Indian baggage on the trees, which we would then mark moredistinctly with a tomahawk. When they should have reached two days'journey beyond Hungry Creek, two of the men were to be sent back toapprise the rest of their success, and if necessary to cause them todelay there; lest, by advancing too soon, they should be forced to haltwhere no food could be obtained for the horses. If the traces of thebaggage be too indistinct, the whole party is to return to Hungry Creek, and we will then attempt the passage by ascending the main southwestbranch of Lewis' River through the country of the Shoshonees, over toMadison or Gallatin River. On that route, the Chopunnish inform us, there is a passage not obstructed by snow at this period of the year. " On their return to Quamash flats the party met two Indians who, aftersome parley, agreed to pilot them over the mountains; these camped wherethey were, and the party went on to the flats, having exacted a promisefrom the Indians that they would wait there two nights for the white mento come along. When the party reached their old camp, they found thatone of their hunters had killed a deer, which was a welcome additionto their otherwise scanty supper. Next day, the hunters met withastonishing luck, bringing into camp eight deer and three bears. Four ofthe men were directed to go to the camp of the two Indians, and if thesewere bent on going on, to accompany them and so mark, or blaze, thetrees that the rest of the party would have no difficulty in finding theway, later on. Meanwhile, the men who had been sent back for guides returned, bringingwith them the pleasing information that three Indians whom they broughtwith them had consented to guide the party to the great falls of theMissouri, for the pay of two guns. Accordingly, once more (June 26), they set out for the mountains, travelling for the third time in twelvedays the route between Quamash flats and the Bitter Root range. For thesecond time they ran up against a barrier of snow. They measured thedepth of the snow at the place where they had left their luggage attheir previous repulse and found it to be ten feet and ten inches deep;and it had sunk four feet since they had been turned back at this point. Pressing on, after they reached their old camp, they found a bare spoton the side of the mountain where there was a little grass for theirhorses; and there they camped for the night. They were fortunate inhaving Indian guides with them; and the journal says:-- "The marks on the trees, which had been our chief dependence, are muchfewer and more difficult to be distinguished than we had supposed. Butour guides traverse this trackless region with a kind of instinctivesagacity; they never hesitate, they are never embarrassed; and soundeviating is their step, that wherever the snow has disappeared, foreven a hundred paces, we find the summer road. With their aid the snowis scarcely a disadvantage; for though we are often obliged to slipdown, yet the fallen timber and the rocks, which are now covered, weremuch more troublesome when we passed in the autumn. Travelling is indeedcomparatively pleasant, as well as more rapid, the snow being hard andcoarse, without a crust, and perfectly hard enough to prevent the horsessinking more than two or three inches. After the sun has been on it forsome hours it becomes softer than it is early in the morning; yet theyare almost always able to get a sure foothold. " On the twenty-ninth of June the party were well out of the snows inwhich they had been imprisoned, although they were by no means over themountain barrier that had been climbed so painfully during the past fewdays. Here they observed the tracks of two barefooted Indians who hadevidently been fleeing from their enemies, the Pahkees. These signsdisturbed the Indian guides, for they at once said that the tracks weremade by their friends, the Ootlashoots, and that the Pahkees wouldalso cut them (the guides) off on their return from the trip over themountains. On the evening of the day above mentioned, the party campedat the warm springs which fall into Traveller's-rest Creek, a pointnow well known to the explorers, who had passed that way before. Of thesprings the journal says:-- "These warm springs are situated at the foot of a hill on the north sideof Traveller's-rest Creek, which is ten yards wide at this place. Theyissue from the bottoms, and through the interstices of a gray freestonerock, which rises in irregular masses round their lower side. Theprincipal spring, which the Indians have formed into a bath by stoppingthe run with stone and pebbles, is about the same temperature as thewarmest bath used at the hot springs in Virginia. On trying, CaptainLewis could with difficulty remain in it nineteen minutes, and then wasaffected with a profuse perspiration. The two other springs are muchhotter, the temperature being equal to that of the warmest of the hotsprings in Virginia. Our men, as well as the Indians, amused themselveswith going into the bath; the latter, according to their universalcustom, going first into the hot bath, where they remain as long as theycan bear the heat, then plunging into the creek, which is now of an icycoldness, and repeating this operation several times, but always endingwith the warm bath. " Traveller's-rest Creek, it will be recollected, is on the summit of theBitter Root Mountains, and the expedition had consequently passed fromIdaho into Montana, as these States now exist on the map; but they werestill on the Pacific side of the Great Divide, or the backbone ofthe continent. Much game was seen in this region, and after reachingTraveller's-rest Creek, the hunters killed six deer; great numbers ofelk and bighorn were also seen in this vicinity. On the thirtieth ofJuly the party were at their old camp of September 9 and 10, 1805, having made one hundred and fifty-six miles from Quamash flats to themouth of the creek where they now camped. Here a plan to divide andsubdivide the party was made out as follows:-- "Captain Lewis, with nine men, is to pursue the most direct route to thefalls of the Missouri, where three of his party (Thompson, Goodrich, andMcNeal) are to be left to prepare carriages for transporting the baggageand canoes across the portage. With the remaining six, he will ascendMaria's River to explore the country and ascertain whether any branchof it reaches as far north as latitude 50'0, after which he will descendthat river to its mouth. The rest of the men will accompany CaptainClark to the head of Jefferson River, which Sergeant Ordway and a partyof nine men will descend, with the canoes and other articles depositedthere. Captain Clark's party, which will then be reduced to ten men andSacajawea, will proceed to the Yellowstone, at its nearest approach tothe Three Forks of the Missouri. There he will build canoes, go downthat river with seven of his party, and wait at its mouth till the restof the party join him. Sergeant Pryor, with two others, will then takethe horses by land to the Mandans. From that nation he will go to theBritish posts on the Assiniboin with a letter to Mr. Alexander Henry, to procure his endeavors to prevail on some of the Sioux chiefs toaccompany him to the city of Washington. . . . "The Indians who had accompanied us intended leaving us in order to seektheir friends, the Ootlashoots; but we prevailed on them to accompanyCaptain Lewis a part of his route, so as to show him the shortest roadto the Missouri, and in the mean time amused them with conversation andrunning races, on foot and with horses, in both of which they provedthemselves hardy, athletic, and active. To the chief Captain Lewis gavea small medal and a gun, as a reward for having guided us across themountains; in return the customary civility of exchanging names passedbetween them, by which the former acquired the title of Yomekollick, ofWhite Bearskin Unfolded. " Chapter XXIV -- The Expedition Subdivided On the third of July, accordingly, Captain Lewis, with nine of his menand five Indians, proceeded down the valley lying between the Rockyand the Bitter Root ranges of mountains, his general course being duenorthwest of Clark's fork of the Columbia River. Crossing several smallstreams that make into this river, they finally reached and crossed theMissoula River from west to east, below the confluence of the St. Mary'sand Hell-gate rivers, or creeks; for these streams hardly deserve thename of rivers. The party camped for the night within a few miles of thesite of the present city of Missoula, Montana. Here they were forced topart from their good friends and allies, the Indians, who had crossedthe range with them. These men were afraid that they would be cut off bytheir foes, the Pahkees, and they wanted to find and join some bandof the Indian nation with whom they were on terms of friendship. Thejournal gives this account of the parting:-- "We now smoked a farewell pipe with our estimable companions, whoexpressed every emotion of regret at parting with us; which they feltthe more, because they did not conceal their fears of our being cut offby the Pahkees. We also gave them a shirt, a handkerchief, and a smallquantity of ammunition. The meat which they received from us was driedand left at this place, as a store during the homeward journey. Thiscircumstance confirms our belief that there is no route along Clark'sRiver to the Columbian plains so near or so good as that by which wecame; for, though these people mean to go for several days' journeydown that river, to look for the Shalees (Ootlashoots), yet they intendreturning home by the same pass of the mountains through which they haveconducted us. This route is also used by all the nations whom we knowwest of the mountains who are in the habit of visiting the plains ofthe Missouri; while on the other side, all the war-paths of thePahkees which fall into this valley of Clark's River concentre atTraveller's-rest, beyond which these people have never ventured to thewest. " During the next day or two, Captain Lewis kept on the same generalcourse through a well-watered country, the ground gradually rising as heapproached the base of the mountains. Tracks of Indians, supposed tobe Pahkees, became more numerous and fresh. On the seventh of July, thelittle company went through the famous pass of the Rocky Mountains, nowproperly named for the leaders of the expedition. Here is the journal'saccount of their finding the Lewis and Clark Pass:-- "At the distance of twelve miles we left the river, or rather thecreek, and having for four miles crossed two ridges in a direction northfifteen degrees east, again struck to the right, proceeding througha narrow bottom covered with low willows and grass, and abundantlysupplied with both deer and beaver. After travelling seven miles wereached the foot of a ridge, which we ascended in a direction northforty-five degrees east, through a low gap of easy ascent from thewestward; and, on descending it, were delighted at discovering that thiswas the dividing ridge between the waters of the Columbia and those ofthe Missouri. From this gap Fort Mountain is about twenty miles in anortheastern direction. We now wound through the hills and mountains, passing several rivulets which ran to the right, and at the distanceof nine miles from the gap encamped, having made thirty-two miles. Weprocured some beaver, and this morning saw tracks of buffalo, from whichit appears that those animals do sometimes penetrate a short distanceamong the mountains. " Next day the party found themselves in clover, so to speak. Game wasplenty, and, as their object now was to accumulate meat for the threemen who were to be left at the falls (and who were not hunters), theyresolved to strike the Medicine, or Sun, River and hunt down its banks. On that river the journal, July 10, has this to say:-- "In the plains are great quantities of two species of prickly-pear nowin bloom. Gooseberries of the common red kind are in abundance and justbeginning to ripen, but there are no currants. The river has now widenedto one hundred yards; it is deep, crowded with islands, and in manyparts rapid. At the distance of seventeen miles, the timber disappearstotally from the river-bottoms. About this part of the river, the wind, which had blown on our backs, and constantly put the elk on their guard, shifted round; we then shot three of them and a brown bear. CaptainLewis halted to skin them, while two of the men took the pack-horsesforward to seek for a camp. It was nine o'clock before he overtook them, at the distance of seven miles, in the first grove of cottonwood. Theyhad been pursued as they came along by a very large bear, on which theywere afraid to fire, lest their horses, being unaccustomed to the gun, might take fright and throw them. This circumstance reminds us ofthe ferocity of these animals, when we were last near this place, andadmonishes us to be very cautious. We saw vast numbers of buffalo belowus, which kept up a dreadful bellowing during the night. With all ourexertions we were unable to advance more than twenty-four miles, owingto the mire through which we are obliged to travel, in consequence ofthe rain. " The Sun, or Medicine, River empties into the Missouri just above thegreat falls of that stream; and near here, opposite White Bear Islands, the expedition had deposited some of their property in a cache dugnear the river bank, when they passed that way, a year before. On thethirteenth of the month, having reached their old camping-ground here, the party set to work making boat-gear and preparing to leave theircomrades in camp well fixed for their stay. The journal adds:-- "On opening the cache, we found the bearskins entirely destroyed by thewater, which in a flood of the river had penetrated to them. All thespecimens of plants, too, were unfortunately lost: the chart of theMissouri, however, still remained unhurt, and several articles containedin trunks and boxes had suffered but little injury; but a vial oflaudanum had lost its stopper, and the liquid had run into a drawerof medicines, which it spoiled beyond recovery. The mosquitoes wereso troublesome that it was impossible even to write without a mosquitobier. The buffalo were leaving us fast, on their way to the southeast. " One of the party met with an amusing adventure here, which is thusdescribed:-- "At night M'Neal, who had been sent in the morning to examine the cacheat the lower end of the portage, returned; but had been prevented fromreaching that place by a singular adventure. Just as he arrived nearWillow run, he approached a thicket of brush in which was a white bear, which he did not discover till he was within ten feet of him. His horsestarted, and wheeling suddenly round, threw M'Neal almost immediatelyunder the bear, which started up instantly. Finding the bear raisinghimself on his hind feet to attack him, he struck him on the head withthe butt end of his musket; the blow was so violent that it broke thebreech of the musket and knocked the bear to the ground. Before herecovered M'Neal, seeing a willow-tree close by, sprang up, and thereremained while the bear closely guarded the foot of the tree until latein the afternoon. He then went off; M'Neal being released came down, and having found his horse, which had strayed off to the distance oftwo miles, returned to camp. These animals are, indeed, of a mostextraordinary ferocity, and it is matter of wonder that in all ourencounters we have had the good fortune to escape. We are nowtroubled with another enemy, not quite so dangerous, though even moredisagreeable-these are the mosquitoes, who now infest us in such myriadsthat we frequently get them into our throats when breathing, and the dogeven howls with the torture they occasion. " The intention of Captain Lewis was to reach the river sometimes known asMaria's, and sometimes as Marais, or swamp. This stream rises near theboundary between Montana and the British possessions, and flows into theMissouri, where the modern town of Ophir is built. The men left at thegreat falls were to dig up the canoes and baggage that had been cachedthere the previous year, and be ready to carry around the portage ofthe falls the stuff that would be brought from the two forks of theJefferson, later on, by Sergeant Ordway and his party. It will berecollected that this stuff had also been cached at the forks of theJefferson, the year before. The two parties, thus united, were to godown to the entrance of Maria's River into the Missouri, and CaptainLewis expected to join them there by the fifth of August; if he failedto meet them by that time, they were to go on down the river and meetCaptain Clark at the mouth of the Yellowstone. This explanation isneeded to the proper understanding of the narrative that follows; for wenow have to keep track of three parties of the explorers. Captain Lewis and his men, having travelled northwest about twenty milesfrom the great falls of the Missouri, struck the trail of a woundedbuffalo. They were dismayed by the sight, for that assured them thatthere were Indians in the vicinity; and the most natural thing to expectwas that these were Blackfeet, or Minnetarees; both of these tribes arevicious and rascally people, and they would not hesitate to attack asmall party and rob them of their guns, if they thought themselves ableto get away with them. They were now in the midst of vast herds of buffalo, so numerous thatthe whole number seemed one immense herd. Hanging on the flanks weremany wolves; hares and antelope were also abundant. On the fourth dayout, Captain Lewis struck the north fork of Maria's River, now known asCut-bank River, in the northwest corner of Montana. He was desirousof following up the stream, to ascertain, if possible, whether itsfountain-head was below, or above, the boundary between the UnitedStates and the British possessions. Bad weather and an accident tohis chronometer prevented his accomplishing his purpose, and, on thetwenty-sixth of July, he turned reluctantly back, giving the name ofCape Disappointment to his last camping-place. Later in that day, as they were travelling down the main stream (Maria's River), theyencountered the Indians whom they had hoped to avoid. Let us read thestory as it is told in the journal of the party:-- "At the distance of three miles we ascended the hills close to theriver-side, while Drewyer pursued the valley of the river on theopposite side. But scarcely had Captain Lewis reached the high plainwhen he saw, about a mile on his left, a collection of about thirtyhorses. He immediately halted, and by the aid of his spy-glassdiscovered that one-half of the horses were saddled, and that on theeminence above the horses several Indians were looking down towardthe river, probably at Drewyer. This was a most unwelcome sight. Theirprobable numbers rendered any contest with them of doubtful issue; toattempt to escape would only invite pursuit, and our horses were so badthat we must certainly be overtaken; besides which, Drewyer could notyet be aware that the Indians were near, and if we ran he would mostprobably be sacrificed. We therefore determined to make the most of oursituation, and advance toward them in a friendly manner. The flag whichwe had brought in case of any such accident was therefore displayed, andwe continued slowly our march toward them. Their whole attention was soengaged by Drewyer that they did not immediately discover us. As soonas they did see us, they appeared to be much alarmed and ran about inconfusion; some of them came down the hill and drove their horses withingunshot of the eminence, to which they then returned, as if to awaitour arrival. When we came within a quarter of a mile, one of the Indiansmounted and rode at full speed to receive us; but when within a hundredpaces of us, he halted. Captain Lewis, who had alighted to receive him, held out his hand and beckoned to him to approach; he only looked atus for some time, and then, without saying a word, returned to hiscompanions with as much haste as he had advanced. The whole party nowdescended the hill and rode toward us. As yet we saw only eight, butpresumed that there must be more behind us, as there were several horsessaddled. We however advanced, and Captain Lewis now told his two menthat he believed these were the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie, who, from their infamous character, would in all probability attempt torob us; but being determined to die rather than lose his papers andinstruments, he intended to resist to the last extremity, and advisedthem to do the same, and to be on the alert should there be anydisposition to attack us. When the two parties came within a hundredyards of each other, all the Indians, except one, halted. Captain Lewistherefore ordered his two men to halt while he advanced, and aftershaking hands with the Indian, went on and did the same with the othersin the rear, while the Indian himself shook hands with the two men. Theyall now came up; and after alighting, the Indians asked to smoke withus. Captain Lewis, who was very anxious for Drewyer's safety, told themthat the man who had gone down the river had the pipe, and requestedthat as they had seen him, one of them would accompany R. Fields, tobring him back. To this they assented, and Fields went with a young manin search of Drewyer. " Captain Lewis now asked them by signs if they were Minnetarees of thenorth, and he was sorry to be told in reply that they were; he knewthem to be a bad lot. When asked if they had any chief among them, theypointed out three. The captain did not believe them, but, in order tokeep on good terms with them, he gave to one a flag, to another a medal, and to the third a handkerchief. At Captain Lewis' suggestion, theIndians and the white men camped together, and in the course of theevening the red men told the captain that they were part of a bigband of their tribe, or nation. The rest of the tribe, they said, werehunting further up the river, and were then in camp near the foot of theRocky Mountains. The captain, in return, told them that his party hadcome from the great lake where the sun sets, and that he was in hopesthat he could induce the Minnetarees to live in peace with theirneighbors and come and trade at the posts that would be established intheir country by and by. He offered them ten horses and some tobacco ifthey would accompany his party down the river below the great falls. Tothis they made no reply. Being still suspicious of these sullen guests, Captain Lewis made his dispositions for the night, with orders for thesentry on duty to rouse all hands if the Indians should attempt to stealanything in the night. Next morning trouble began. Says the journal:-- "At sunrise, the Indians got up and crowded around the fire near whichJ. Fields, who was then on watch, had carelessly left his rifle, nearthe head of his brother, who was still asleep. One of the Indiansslipped behind him, and, unperceived, took his brother's and his ownrifle, while at the same time two others seized those of Drewyer andCaptain Lewis. As soon as Fields turned, he saw the Indian running offwith the rifles; instantly calling his brother, they pursued him forfifty or sixty yards; just as they overtook him, in the scuffle forthe rifles R. Fields stabbed him through the heart with his knife. TheIndian ran about fifteen steps and fell dead. They now ran back withtheir rifles to the camp. The moment the fellow touched his gun, Drewyer, who was awake, jumped up and wrested it from him. The noiseawoke Captain Lewis, who instantly started from the ground and reachedfor his gun; but finding it gone, drew a pistol from his belt, andturning saw the Indian running off with it. He followed him and orderedhim to lay it down, which he did just as the two Fields came up, andwere taking aim to shoot him; when Captain Lewis ordered them not tofire, as the Indian did not appear to intend any mischief. He droppedthe gun and was going slowly off when Drewyer came out and askedpermission to kill him; but this Captain Lewis forbade, as he hadnot yet attempted to shoot us. But finding that the Indians were nowendeavoring to drive off all the horses, he ordered all three of us tofollow the main party, who were chasing the horses up the river, andfire instantly upon the thieves; while he, without taking time torun for his shot-pouch, pursued the fellow who had stolen his gun andanother Indian, who were driving away the horses on the left of thecamp. He pressed them so closely that they left twelve of their horses, but continued to drive off one of our own. "At the distance of three hundred paces they entered a steep niche inthe river-bluffs, when Captain Lewis, being too much out of breathto pursue them any further, called out, as he had done several timesbefore, that unless they gave up the horse he would shoot them. As heraised his gun one of the Indians jumped behind a rock and spoke to theother, who stopped at the distance of thirty paces. Captain Lewis shothim in the belly. He fell on his knees and right elbow; but, raisinghimself a little, fired, and then crawled behind a rock. The shot hadnearly proved fatal; for Captain Lewis, who was bareheaded, felt thewind of the ball very distinctly. Not having his shot-pouch, he couldnot reload his rifle; and, having only a single charge also for hispistol, he thought it most prudent not to attack them farther, andretired slowly to the camp. He was met by Drewyer, who, hearing thereport of the guns, had come to his assistance, leaving the Fields tofollow the other Indians. Captain Lewis ordered him to call out to themto desist from the pursuit, as we could take the horses of the Indiansin place of our own; but they were at too great a distance to hear him. He therefore returned to the camp, and while he was saddling the horsesthe Fields returned with four of our own, having followed the Indiansuntil two of them swam the river and two others ascended the hills, sothat the horses became dispersed. " The white men were gainers by this sad affair, for they had now in theirpossession four of the Indians' horses, and had lost one of their own. Besides these, they found in the camp of the Indians four shields, twobows and their quivers, and one of their two guns. The captain tooksome buffalo meat which he found in the camp, and then the rest of theirbaggage was burned on the spot. The flag given to one of the so-calledchiefs was retaken; but the medal given to the dead man was leftaround his neck. The consequences of this unfortunate quarrel werefar-reaching. The tribe whose member was killed by the white men neverforgave the injury, and for years after there was no safety for whitemen in their vicinity except when the wayfarers were in great numbers orstrongly guarded. A forced march was now necessary for the explorers, and they set out asspeedily as possible, well knowing that the Indians would be on theirtrail. By three o'clock in the afternoon of that day they had reachedTansy River, now known as the Teton, having travelled sixty-three miles. They rested for an hour and a half to refresh their horses, and thenpushed on for seventeen miles further before camping again. Havingkilled a buffalo, they had supper and stopped two hours. Then, travelling through vast herds of buffalo until two o'clock in themorning, they halted again, almost dead with fatigue; they rested untildaylight. On awaking, they found themselves so stiff and sore with muchriding that they could scarcely stand. But the lives of their friendsnow at or near the mouth of Maria's River were at stake, as well astheir own. Indeed, it was not certain but that the Indians had, by hardriding and a circuitous route, already attacked the river party left atthe falls. So Captain Lewis told his men that they must go on, and, if attacked, they must tie their horses together by the head and standtogether, selling their lives as dearly as possible, or routing theirenemies. The journal now says:-- "To this they all assented, and we therefore continued our route tothe eastward, till at the distance of twelve miles we came near theMissouri, when we heard a noise which seemed like the report of a gun. We therefore quickened our pace for eight miles farther, and, beingabout five miles from Grog Spring, now heard distinctly the noise ofseveral rifles from the river. We hurried to the bank, and saw withexquisite satisfaction our friends descending the river. They landedto greet us, and after turning our horses loose, we embarked with ourbaggage, and went down to the spot where we had made a deposite. This, after reconnoitring the adjacent country, we opened; but, unfortunately, the cache had caved in, and most of the articles were injured. We tookwhatever was still worth preserving, and immediately proceeded to thepoint, where we found our deposits in good order. By a singular goodfortune, we were here joined by Sergeant Gass and Willard from theFalls, who had been ordered to come with the horses here to assist inprocuring meat for the voyage, as it had been calculated that the canoeswould reach this place much sooner than Captain Lewis's party. After avery heavy shower of rain and hail, attended with violent thunder andlightning, we started from the point, and giving a final discharge toour horses, went over to the island where we had left our red pirogue, which, however, we found much decayed, and we had no means of repairingher. We therefore took all the iron work out of her, and, proceedingdown the river fifteen miles, encamped near some cottonwood trees, oneof which was of the narrow-leafed species, and the first of that kind wehad remarked in ascending the river. "Sergeant Ordway's party, which had left the mouth of Madison River onthe thirteenth, had descended in safety to White Bear Island, where hearrived on the nineteenth, and, after collecting the baggage, had leftthe falls on the twenty-seventh in the white pirogue and five canoes, while Sergeant Gass and Willard set out at the same time by land withthe horses, and thus fortunately met together. " Sergeant Ordway's party, it will be recollected, had left Captain Clarkat the three forks of the Missouri, to which they had come down theJefferson, and thence had passed down the Missouri to White BearIslands, and, making the portage, had joined the rest of the party justin time to reinforce them. Game was now abundant the buffalo being inenormous herds; and the bighorn were also numerous; the flesh of theseanimals was in fine condition, resembling the best of mutton in flavor. The reunited party now descended the river, the intention being to reachthe mouth of the Yellowstone as soon as possible, and there wait forCaptain Clark, who, it will be recalled, was to explore that stream andmeet them at the point of its junction with the Missouri. The voyage ofCaptain Lewis and his men was without startling incident, except thatCruzatte accidentally shot the captain, one day, while they were outhunting. The wound was through the fleshy part of the left thigh, andfor a time was very painful. As Cruzatte was not in sight when thecaptain was hit, the latter naturally thought he had been shot byIndians hiding in the thicket. He reached camp as best he could, and, telling his men to arm themselves, he explained that he had been shot byIndians. But when Cruzatte came into camp, mutual explanations satisfiedall hands that a misunderstanding had arisen and that Cruzatte's unluckyshot was accidental. As an example of the experience of the party aboutthis time, while they were on their way down the Missouri, we take thisextract from their journal:-- "We again saw great numbers of buffalo, elk, antelope, deer, and wolves;also eagles and other birds, among which were geese and a solitarypelican, neither of which can fly at present, as they are now sheddingthe feathers of their wings. We also saw several bears, one of them thelargest, except one, we had ever seen; for he measured nine feet fromthe nose to the extremity of the tail. During the night a violentstorm came on from the northeast with such torrents of rain that we hadscarcely time to unload the canoes before they filled with water. Havingno shelter we ourselves were completely wet to the skin, and the windand cold air made our situation very unpleasant. " On the twelfth of August, the Lewis party met with two traders fromIllinois. These men were camped on the northeast side of the river;they had left Illinois the previous summer, and had been coming up theMissouri hunting and trapping. Captain Lewis learned from them thatCaptain Clark was below; and later in that day the entire expedition wasagain united, Captain Clark's party being found at a point near whereLittle Knife Creek enters the Missouri River. We must now take up thenarrative of Captain Clark and his adventures on the Yellowstone. Chapter XXV -- Adventures on the Yellowstone The route of Captain Clark from the point where he and Captain Lewisdivided their party, was rather more difficult than that pursued bythe Lewis detachment. But the Clark party was larger, being composed oftwenty men and Sacajawea and her baby. They were to travel up the mainfork of Clark's River (sometimes called the Bitter Root), to Ross'sHole, and then strike over the great continental divide at that point byway of the pass which he discovered and which was named for him; thencehe was to strike the headwaters of Wisdom River, a stream which thisgeneration of men knows by the vulgar name of Big Hole River; from thispoint he was to go by the way of Willard's Creek to Shoshonee Cove andthe Two Forks of the Jefferson, and thence down that stream to theThree Forks of the Missouri, up the Gallatin, and over the divide to theYellowstone and down that river to its junction with the Missouri, wherehe was to join the party of Captain Lewis. This is the itinerary thatwas exactly carried out. The very first incident set forth in thejournal is a celebration of Independence Day, as follows:-- "Friday, July 4. Early in the morning three hunters were sent out. The rest of the party having collected the horses and breakfasted, weproceeded at seven o'clock up the valley, which is now contracted to thewidth of from eight to ten miles, with a good proportion of pitch-pine, though its low lands, as well as the bottoms of the creeks, are strewnwith large stones. We crossed five creeks of different sizes, but ofgreat depth, and so rapid that in passing the last several of the horseswere driven down the stream, and some of our baggage was wet. Nearthis river we saw the tracks of two Indians, whom we supposed to beShoshonees. Having made sixteen miles, we halted at an hour forthe purpose of doing honor to the birthday of our early country'sindependence. The festival was not very splendid, for it consisted of amush made of cows and a saddle of venison; nor had we anything to temptus to prolong it. We therefore went on till at the distance of a mile wecame to a very large creek, which, like all those in the valley, hadan immense rapidity of descent; we therefore proceeded up for somedistance, in order to select the most convenient spot for fording. Eventhere, however, such was the violence of the current that, though thewater was not higher than the bellies of the horses, the resistance madein passing caused the stream to rise over their backs and loads. Afterpassing the creek we inclined to the left, and soon after struck theroad which we had descended last year, near the spot where we dined onthe 7th of September (1805). Along this road we continued on the westside of Clark's River, till at the distance of thirteen miles, duringwhich we passed three more deep, large creeks, we reached its westernbranch, where we camped; and having sent out two hunters, despatchedsome men to examine the best ford across the west fork of the river. Thegame to-day consisted of four deer; though we also saw a herd of ibex, or bighorn. " Two days later they were high up among the mountains, although theascent was not very steep. At that height they found the weather verycool, so much so that on the morning of the sixth of July, after a coldnight, they had a heavy white frost on the ground. Setting out on thatday, Captain Clark crossed a ridge which proved to be the dividing linebetween the Pacific and the Atlantic watershed. At the same time hepassed from what is now Missoula County, Montana, into the presentcounty of Beaver Head, in that State. "Beaver Head, " the reader willrecollect, comes from a natural elevation in that region resembling thehead of a beaver. These points will serve to fix in one's mind theroute of the first exploring party that ever ventured into those wilds;descending the ridge on its eastern slope, the explorers struck GladeCreek, one of the sources of the stream then named Wisdom River, abranch of the Jefferson; and the Jefferson is one of the tributaries ofthe mighty Missouri. Next day the journal has this entry:-- "In the morning our horses were so much scattered that, although we sentout hunters in every direction to range the country for six or eightmiles, nine of them could not be recovered. They were the most valuableof all our horses, and so much attached to some of their companions thatit was difficult to separate them in the daytime. We therefore presumedthat they must have been stolen by some roving Indians; and accordinglyleft a party of five men to continue the pursuit, while the rest wenton to the spot where the canoes had been deposited. We set out at teno'clock and pursued a course S. 56'0 E. Across the valley, which wefound to be watered by four large creeks, with extensive low andmiry bottoms; and then reached (and crossed) Wisdom River, along thenortheast side of which we continued, till at the distance of sixteenmiles we came to its three branches. Near that place we stopped fordinner at a hot spring situated in the open plain. The bed of the springis about fifteen yards in circumference, and composed of loose, hard, gritty stones, through which the water boils in great quantities. It isslightly impregnated with sulphur, and so hot that a piece of meat aboutthe size of three fingers was completely done in twenty-five minutes. " Next day, July 8, the party reached the forks of the Jefferson River, where they had cached their goods in August, 1805; they had nowtravelled one hundred and sixty-four miles from Traveller's-rest Creekto that point. The men were out of tobacco, and as there was some amongthe goods deposited in the cache they made haste to open the cache. Theyfound everything safe, although some of the articles were damp, and ahole had been made in the bottom of one of the canoes. Here they wereovertaken by Sergeant Ordway and his party with the nine horses that hadescaped during the night of the seventh. That night the weather was so cold that water froze in a basin to athickness of three-quarters of an inch, and the grass around the campwas stiff with frost, although the month of July was nearly a week old. The boats taken from the cache were now loaded, and the explorers weredivided into two bands, one to descend the river by boat and the otherto take the same general route on horseback, the objective point beingthe Yellowstone. The story is taken tip here by the journal in theselines:-- "After breakfast (July 10) the two parties set out, those on shoreskirting the eastern side of Jefferson River, through Service (-berry)Valley and over Rattlesnake Mountain, into a beautiful and extensivecountry, known among the Indians by the name of Hahnahappapchah, orBeaverhead Valley, from the number of those animals to be found in it, and also from the point of land resembling the head of a beaver. It (thevalley) extends from Rattlesnake Mountain as low as Frazier's Creek, andis about fifty miles in length in direct line; while its width variesfrom ten to fifteen miles, being watered in its whole course byJefferson River and six different creeks. The valley is open andfertile; besides the innumerable quantities of beaver and otter withwhich its creeks are supplied, the bushes of the low grounds are afavorite resort for deer; while on the higher parts of the valley areseen scattered groups of antelopes, and still further, on the steepsides of the mountains, are observed many bighorns, which take refugethere from the wolves and bears. At the distance of fifteen miles thetwo parties stopped to dine; when Captain Clark, finding that the riverbecame wider and deeper, and that the canoes could advance more rapidlythan the horses, determined to go himself by water, leaving SergeantPryor with six men to bring on the horses. In this way they resumedtheir journey after dinner, and camped on the eastern side of the river, opposite the head of Three-thousand-mile Island. The beaver were baskingin great numbers along the shore; there were also some young wild geeseand ducks. The mosquitoes were very troublesome during the day, butafter sunset the weather became cool and they disappeared. " Three-thousand-mile Island was so named by the explorers, when theyascended these streams, because it was at a point exactly three thousandmiles from the mouth of the Missouri. But no such island exists now; ithas probably been worn away by the swift-rushing current of the river. The route of Captain Clark and his party, up to this time had been a fewmiles west of Bannock City, Montana. As the captain was now to proceedby land to the Yellowstone, again leaving the canoe party, it is well torecall the fact that his route from the Three Forks of the Missouri tothe Yellowstone follows pretty nearly the present line of the railroadfrom Gallatin City to Livingston, by the way of Bozeman Pass. Of thisroute the journal says:-- "Throughout the whole, game was very abundant. They procured deer inthe low grounds; beaver and otter were seen in Gallatin River, and elk, wolves, eagles, hawks, crows, and geese at different parts of the route. The plain was intersected by several great roads leading to a gap in themountains, about twenty miles distant, in a direction E. N. E. ; but theIndian woman, who was acquainted with the country, recommended a gapmore to the southward. This course Captain Clark determined to pursue. " Let us pause here to pay a little tribute to the memory of "the Indianwoman, " Sacajawea. She showed that she was very observant, had a goodmemory, and was plucky and determined when in trouble. She was the guideof the exploring party when she was in a region of country, as here, with which she was familiar. She remembered localities which she hadnot seen since her childhood. When their pirogue was upset by thecarelessness of her husband, it was she who saved the goods and helpedto right the boat. And, with her helpless infant clinging to her, sherode with the men, guiding them with unerring skill through the mountainfastnesses and lonely passes which the white men saw for the first timewhen their salient features were pointed out to them by the intelligentand faithful Sacajawea. The Indian woman has long since departed to theHappy Hunting-Grounds of her fathers; only her name and story remainto us who follow the footsteps of the brave pioneers of the westerncontinent. But posterity should not forget the services which wererendered to the white race by Sacajawea. On the fifteenth of July the party arrived at the ridge that dividesthe Missouri and the Yellowstone, nine miles from which they reachedthe river itself, about a mile and a half from the point where itissues from the Rocky Mountains. Their journey down the valley of theYellowstone was devoid of special interest, but was accompanied withsome hardships. For example, the feet of the horses had become so sorewith long travel over a stony trail that it was necessary to shoe themwith raw buffalo hide. Rain fell frequently and copiously; and often, sheltered at night only by buffalo hides, they rose in the morningdrenched to the skin. The party could not follow the course of the riververy closely, but were compelled often to cross hills that came down tothe bank, making the trail impassable for horses. Here is the story ofJuly 18 and 19:-- "Gibson, one of the party, was so badly hurt by falling on a sharp pointof wood that he was unable to sit on his horse, and they were obligedto form a sort of litter for him, so that he could lie nearly at fulllength. The wound became so painful, however, after proceeding a shortdistance, that he could not bear the motion, and they left him with twomen, while Captain Clark went to search for timber large enough to formcanoes. He succeeded in finding some trees of sufficient size for smallcanoes, two of which he determined to construct, and by lashing themtogether hoped to make them answer the purpose of conveying the partydown the river, while a few of his men should conduct the horses to theMandans. All hands, therefore, were set busily to work, and they wereemployed in this labor for several days. In the mean time no less thantwenty-four of their horses were missing, and they strongly suspectedhad been stolen by the Indians, for they were unable to find them, notwithstanding they made the most diligent search. " "July 23. A piece of a robe and a moccasin, " says the journal, "werediscovered this morning not far from the camp. The moccasin was worn outin the sole, and yet wet, and had every appearance of having been leftbut a few hours before. This was conclusive that the Indians had takenour horses, and were still prowling about for the remainder, whichfortunately escaped last night by being in a small prairie surrounded bythick timber. At length Labiche, one of our best trackers, returned froma very wide circuit, and informed Captain Clark that he had tracedthe horses bending their course rather down the river towards the openplains, and from their tracks, must have been going very rapidly. Allhopes of recovering them were now abandoned. Nor were the Indians theonly plunderers around our camp; for in the night the wolves or dogsstole the greater part of the dried meat from the scaffold. The wolves, which constantly attend the buffalo, were here in great numbers, as thisseemed to be the commencement of the buffalo country. . . . "At noon the two canoes were finished. They were twenty-eight feet long, sixteen or eighteen inches deep, and from sixteen to twenty-four incheswide; and, having lashed them together, everything was ready for settingout the next day, Gibson having now recovered. Sergeant Pryor wasdirected, with Shannon and Windsor, to take the remaining horses to theMandans, and if he should find that Mr. Henry (a trading-post agent)was on the Assiniboin River, to go thither and deliver him a letter, theobject of which was to prevail on the most distinguished chiefs of theSioux to accompany him to Washington. " On a large island near the mouth of a creek now known as Canyon Creek, the party landed to explore an extensive Indian lodge which seems tohave been built for councils, rather than for a place of residence. Thelodge was shaped like a cone, sixty feet in diameter at the base andtapering towards the top. The poles of which it was constructed wereforty-five feet long. The interior was strangely decorated, the tops ofthe poles being ornamented with eagles' feathers, and from the centrehung a stuffed buffalo-hide. A buffalo's head and other trophies ofthe chase were disposed about the wigwam. The valley, as the explorersdescended the river, was very picturesque and wonderful. On the northside the cliffs were wild and romantic, and these were soon succeeded byrugged hills, and these, in turn, by open plains on which were descriedherds of buffalo, elk, and wolves. On the twenty-seventh of July, havingreached the Bighorn, one of the largest tributaries of the Yellowstone, the party have this entry in their journal:-- "They again set out very early, and on leaving the Bighorn took a lastlook at the Rocky Mountains, which had been constantly in view from thefirst of May. The (Yellowstone) river now widens to the extent of fromfour hundred to six hundred yards; it is much divided by islands andsandbars; its banks are generally low and falling in; it thus resemblesthe Missouri in many particulars, but its islands are more numerous, its waters less muddy, and the current is more rapid. The water is ofa yellowish-white, and the round stones, which form the bars above theBighorn, have given place to gravel. On the left side the river runsunder cliffs of light, soft, gritty stone, varying in height fromseventy to one hundred feet, behind which are level and extensiveplains. On the right side of the river are low extensive bottoms, bordered with cottonwood, various species of willow, rose-bushes, grapevines, redberry or buffalo-grease bushes, and a species of sumach;to these succeed high grounds supplied with pine, and still further onare level plains. Throughout the country are vast quantities of buffalo, which, as this is the running-season, keep up a continued bellowing. Large herds of elk also are lying on every point, so gentle that theymay be approached within twenty paces without being alarmed. Severalbeaver were seen in the course of the day; indeed, there is a greaterappearance of those animals than there was above the Bighorn. Deer, however, are by no means abundant, and antelopes, as well as bighorns, are scarce. " It is noticeable that the explorers, all along their route, gave tostreams, rocks, mountains, and other natural features of the countrymany names that appear to us meaningless and trifling. It would appearthat they used up all the big names, such as Jefferson, Gallatin, Philosophy, Philanthropy, and the like, and were compelled to use, first, the names of their own party, and then such titles as weresuggested by trifling incidents. For example, when they reached adifficult shoal on the Yellowstone River, they named that Buffalo Shoalbecause they found a buffalo on it; and Buffalo Shoal it remains untothis day. In like manner, when they reached a dangerous rapid, twentymiles below that point, they saw a bear standing on a rock in thestream; and Bear Rapid the place was and is named. Bear and buffalowere pretty numerous all the way along that part of the river which theynavigated in July. They had now rejoined the boats, and on the last dayof July, when camped at a point two miles above Wolf Rapid (so calledfrom seeing a wolf there), the buffalo were continually prowling aboutthe camp at night, exciting much alarm lest they should trample on theboats and ruin them. In those days, buffalo were so numerous that theywere a nuisance to travellers; and they were so free from fear of manthat they were too familiar with the camps and equipage. On the first ofAugust we find this entry in the journal of the party:-- "The buffalo now appear in vast numbers. A herd happened to be on theirway across the river. Such was the multitude of these animals that, though the river, including an island over which they passed, was a milewide, the herd stretched, as thickly as they could swim, from oneside to the other, and the party was obliged to stop for an hour. Theyconsoled themselves for the delay by killing four of the herd; and thenhaving proceeded for the distance of forty-five miles (in all to-day)to an island, below which two other herds of buffalo, as numerous as thefirst, soon after crossed the river. " Again, on the very next day, we find this entry:-- "The river was now about a mile wide, less rapid, and more divided byislands, and bars of sand and mud, than heretofore; the low grounds, too, were more extensive, and contained a greater quantity ofcottonwood, ash, and willows. On the northwest was a low, level plain, and on the southeast some rugged hills, on which we saw, without beingable to approach them, some bighorns. Buffalo and elk, as well as theirpursuers, the wolves, were in great numbers. On each side of theriver there were several dry beds of streams, but the only one of anyconsiderable size was one to which they gave the name of Ibex River, on the right, about thirty yards wide, and sixteen miles from theirencampment of the preceding night. The bear, which had given them somuch trouble at the head of the Missouri, they found equally fiercehere. One of these animals, which was on a sand-bar as the boat passed, raised himself on his hind feet, and after looking at the party for amoment, plunged in and swam towards them; but, after receiving threeballs in the body, he turned and made for the shore. Towards eveningthey saw another enter the water to swim across; when Captain Clarkdirected the boat towards the shore, and just as the animal landed shotit in the head. It proved to be the largest female they had ever seen, and was so old that its tusks were worn quite smooth. The boats escapedwith difficulty between two herds of buffalo that were crossing theriver, and came near being again detained by them. Among the elk of thisneighborhood they saw an unusual number of males, while higher up theherds consisted chiefly of females. " It is almost incredible that these wild animals should have been sonearly exterminated by hunters and other rovers of the plains, very soonafter travel set in across the continent. The writer of these lines, whocrossed the plains to California so lately as 1856, saw buffalokilled for the sake of their tongues, or to give rifle practice tothe wayfarers. After the overland railroad was opened, passengers shotbuffalo from the car-windows, well knowing that they could not get theirgame, even if they should kill as they flew by a herd. There are nobuffalo nor elk where millions once roamed almost unmolested. Early in the afternoon of August 3, the party reached the junction ofthe Yellowstone and the Missouri, and camped on the same spot where theyhad pitched their tents on the 26th of April, 1805. They were nearingthe end of their long journey. But their troubles thickened as they drew near the close of their manymiles of travel. The journal for August 4 has this record:-- "The camp became absolutely uninhabitable in consequence of themultitude of mosquitoes; the men could not work in preparing skins forclothing, nor hunt in the timbered low grounds; there was no mode ofescape, except by going on the sand-bars in the river, where, if thewind should blow, the insects do not venture; but when there is no wind, and particularly at night, when the men have no covering except theirworn-out blankets, the pain they suffer is scarcely to be endured. Therewas also a want of meat, for no buffalo were to be found; and though elkare very abundant, yet their fat and flesh is more difficult to dry inthe sun, and is also much more easily spoiled than the meat or fat ofeither deer or buffalo. "Captain Clark therefore determined to go on to some spot which shouldbe free from mosquitoes and furnish more game. Having written a note toCaptain Lewis, to inform him of his intention, and stuck it on a poleat the confluence of the two rivers, he loaded the canoes at five in theafternoon, proceeded down the river to the second point, and camped ona sand-bar; but here the mosquitoes seemed to be even more numerousthan above. The face of the Indian child was considerably puffed upand swollen with their bites; the men could procure scarcely any sleepduring the night, and the insects continued to harass them next morning, as they proceeded. On one occasion Captain Clark went on shore andascended a hill after one of the bighorns; but the mosquitoes were insuch multitudes that he could not keep them from the barrel of his riflelong enough to take aim. About ten o'clock, however, a light breezesprung up from the northwest, and dispersed them in some degree. CaptainClark then landed on a sand-bar, intending to wait for Captain Lewis, and went out to hunt. But not finding any buffalo, he again proceeded inthe afternoon; and having killed a large white bear, camped under a highbluff exposed to a light breeze from the southwest, which blew away themosquitoes. About eleven o'clock, however, the wind became very high anda storm of rain came on, which lasted for two hours, accompanied withsharp lightning and loud peals of thunder. "The party rose, next day, very wet, and proceeded to a sand-bar belowthe entrance of Whiteearth River. Just above this place the Indians, apparently within seven, or eight days past, had been digging a rootwhich they employ in making a kind of soup. Having fixed their tents, the men were employed in dressing skins and hunting. They shot a numberof deer; but only two of them were fat, owing probably to the greatquantities of mosquitoes which annoy them while feeding. " On the eleventh of August the Clark party came up with the two whitetraders from Illinois, of whom we have already made mention as havingbeen met by the Lewis party on their way down the river. These were thefirst white men they had seen (except themselves) since they parted withthe three French trappers, near the Little Missouri, in April, 1805, From them the wayworn voyagers received the latest news from the UnitedStates. From them they also had some unfavorable tidings. The journalsays:-- "These men had met the boat which we had despatched from Fort Mandan, on board of which, they were told, was a Ricara chief on his way toWashington; and also another party of Yankton chiefs, accompanying Mr. Durion on a visit of the same kind. We were sorry to learn that theMandans and Minnetarees were at war with the Ricaras, and had killed twoof them. The Assiniboins too are at war with the Mandans. They have, in consequence, prohibited the Northwestern Company from trading to theMissouri, and even killed two of their traders near Mouse River; theyare now lying in wait for Mr. McKenzie of the Northwestern Company, whohas been for a long time among the Minnetarees. These appearances arerather unfavorable to our project of carrying some of the chiefs to theUnited States; but we still hope that, by effecting a peace between theMandans, Minnetarees, and Ricaras, the views of our Government may beaccomplished. " Next day, August 12, 1806, the party, slowly descending the river, wereoverjoyed to see below them the little flotilla of Captain Lewis and hismen. But they were alarmed when they discovered that Lewis was not withthem; as the boats landed at the shore, the captain was not to be seen. Captain Clark's party, on coming up with their friends, were told thatLewis was lying in the pirogue, having been accidentally wounded. Thewhole party were now happily reunited, and they were soon joined by thetwo Illinois traders whom they had met up the river; these men wished toaccompany the expedition down the river as far as the Mandan nation, for the purpose of trading; they were more secure with a large party ofwhite men than they would be if left to themselves. Chapter XXVI -- The End of a Long Journey The reunited party now set out for the lower river and proceeded rapidlydown-stream, favored with a good wind. They made eighty-six miles onthe first day, passing the mouth of the Little Missouri early in theforenoon, and camping at Miry River, on the northeast side of theMissouri. On the second day they arrived at the principal village of theMinnetarees, where they were received with cordial welcome by their oldfriends. The explorers fired their blunderbuss several times by way ofsalute, and the Indian chiefs expressed their satisfaction at the safereturn of the white men. One of the Minnetaree chiefs, however, weptbitterly at the sight of the whites, and it was explained by his friendsthat their coming reminded him of the death of his son, who had beenlately killed by the Blackfoot Indians. Arriving at the village of the Mandans, of which Black Cat was thechief, a council was called, and the chiefs of the expedition endeavoredto persuade some of the leading men of the tribe to accompany them toWashington to see "the Great Father. " Black Cat expressed his strongdesire to visit the United States and see the Great Father, but he wasafraid of the Sioux, their ancient enemies, through whose territory theymust pass on their way down to the white man's country. This chief, itwill be recollected, was given a flag and a medal by the two captainswhen they passed up the river on their way to the Rocky Mountains andthe Pacific coast. The flag was now brought on and hoisted on the lodgeof Black Cat. On that occasion, also, the commanders of the expeditionhad given the Indians a number of useful articles, among them being aportable corn-mill. But the Indians had other uses for metal, and theyhad taken the mill apart and used the iron for the purpose of makingbarbs for their arrows. From the Omahas, who were located here, thewhite men received a present of as much corn as three men could carry. Black Cat also gave them a dozen bushels of corn. Their days of starvation and famine were over. They were next visitedby Le Borgne, better known as One-eye, the head chief of all theMinnetarees, to whom Lewis and Clark also extended an invitation to goto Washington to see the Great Father. The journal says:-- "Le Borgne began by declaring that he much desired to visit his GreatFather, but that the Sioux would certainly kill any of the Mandans whoshould attempt to go down the river. They were bad people, and would notlisten to any advice. When he saw us last, we had told him that we hadmade peace with all the nations below; yet the Sioux had since killedeight of his tribe, and stolen a number of their horses. The Ricaras toohad stolen their horses, and in the contest his people had killed twoof the Ricaras. Yet in spite of these dispositions he had always hadhis ears open to our counsels, and had actually made a peace withthe Chayennes and the Indians of the Rocky Mountains. He concluded bysaying, that however disposed they were to visit the United States, thefear of the Sioux would prevent them from going with us. " The truth was that One-eye had no notion of going to Washington; he wasafraid of nobody, and his plea of possible danger among the Siouxwas mere nonsense to deceive the white men. Captain Clark visited thevillage of Black Cat, and that worthy savage made the same excuse thatLe Borgne (One-eye) had already put forth; he was afraid of the Sioux. The journal adds:-- "Captain Clark then spoke to the chiefs and warriors of the village. He told them of his anxiety that some of them should see their GreatFather, hear his good words, and receive his gifts; and requested themto fix on some confidential chief who might accompany us. To this theymade the same objections as before; till at length a young man offeredto go, and the warriors all assented to it. But the character ofthis man was known to be bad; and one of the party with Captain Clarkinformed him that at the moment he (this Indian) had in his possessiona knife which he had stolen. Captain Clark therefore told the chief ofthis theft, and ordered the knife to be given up. This was done witha poor apology for having it in his possession, and Captain Clark thenreproached the chiefs for wishing to send such a fellow to see and hearso distinguished a person as their Great Father. They all hung downtheir heads for some time, till Black Cat apologized by saying thatthe danger was such that they were afraid of sending any one of theirchiefs, as they considered his loss almost inevitable. " Although there was so much reluctance on the part of the Indians toleave their roving life, even for a few months, there were some whitemen among the explorers who were willing to give up their home in "theStates. " The journal says:-- "In the evening Colter applied to us for permission to join the twotrappers who had accompanied us, and who now proposed an expedition upthe river, in which they were to find traps and to give him a share ofthe profits. The offer was a very advantageous one; and as he hadalways performed his duty, and his services could be dispensed with, weconsented to his going upon condition that none of the rest were to askor expect a similar indulgence. To this they all cheerfully assented, saying that they wished Colter every success, and would not apply forliberty to separate before we reached St. Louis. We therefore suppliedhim, as did his comrades also, with powder and lead, and a variety ofarticles which might be useful to him, and he left us the next day. Theexample of this man shows how easily men may be weaned from the habitsof civilized life to the ruder, though scarcely less fascinating, manners of the woods. This hunter had now been absent for many yearsfrom the frontiers, and might naturally be presumed to have someanxiety, or at least curiosity, to return to his friends and hiscountry; yet, just at the moment when he was approaching the frontiers, he was tempted by a hunting scheme to give up all those delightfulprospects, and to go back without the least reluctance to the solitudeof the wilds. " The two captains learned here that the Minnetarees had sent out awar-party against the Shoshonees, very soon after the white men'sexpedition had left for the Rocky Mountains, notwithstanding theirpromise to keep peace with the surrounding tribes. They had also sent awar-party against the Ricaras, two of whom they killed. Accordingly, thewhite chiefs had a powwow with the Indian chiefs, at which the journalsays these incidents occurred:-- "We took this opportunity of endeavoring to engage Le Borgne in ourinterests by a present of the swivel, which is no longer serviceable, asit cannot be discharged from our largest pirogue. It was loaded; and thechiefs being formed into a circle round it, Captain Clark addressed themwith great ceremony. He said that he had listened with much attentionto what had yesterday been declared by Le Borgne, whom he believed to besincere, and then reproached them with their disregard of our counsels, and their wars on the Shoshonees and Ricaras. Little Cherry, theold Minnetaree chief, answered that they had long stayed at home andlistened to our advice, but at last went to war against the Siouxbecause their horses had been stolen and their companions killed; andthat in an expedition against those people they met the Ricaras, whowere on their way to strike them, and a battle ensued. But in future hesaid they would attend to our words and live at peace. Le Borgne addedthat his ears would always be open to the words of his Good Father, andshut against bad counsel. Captain Clark then presented to Le Borgne theswivel, which he told him had announced the words of his Great Fatherto all the nations we had seen, and which, whenever it was fired, shouldrecall those which we had delivered to him. The gun was discharged, andLe Borgne had it conveyed in great pomp to his village. The council thenadjourned. " After much diplomacy and underhand scheming, one of the Mandan chiefs, Big White, agreed to go to Washington with the expedition. But none ofthe Minnetarees could be prevailed upon to leave their tribe, even fora journey to the Great Father, of whose power and might so much had beentold them. The journal, narrating this fact, says further:-- "The principal chiefs of the Minnetarees now came down to bid usfarewell, as none of them could be prevailed on to go with us. Thiscircumstance induced our interpreter, Chaboneau, to remain here with hiswife and child, as he could no longer be of use to us, and, although weoffered to take him with us to the United States, he declined, sayingthat there he had no acquaintance, and no chance of making a livelihood, and preferred remaining among the Indians. This man had been veryserviceable to us, and his wife was particularly useful among theShoshonees: indeed, she had borne with a patience truly admirable thefatigues of so long a route, encumbered with the charge of an infant, who was then only nineteen months old. We therefore paid him his wages, amounting to five hundred dollars and thirty-three cents, includingthe price of a horse and a lodge purchased of him, and soon afterwarddropped down to the village of Big White, attended on shore by all theIndian chiefs, who had come to take leave of him. "We found him surrounded by his friends, who sat in a circle smoking, while the women were crying. He immediately sent his wife and son, withtheir baggage, on board, accompanied by the interpreter and his wife, and two children; and then, after distributing among his friends somepowder and ball which we had given him, and smoking a pipe, he went withus to the river side. The whole village crowded about us, and many ofthe people wept aloud at the departure of their chief. " Once more embarked, the party soon reached Fort Mandan, where they hadwintered in 1804. They found very little of their old stronghold leftexcept a few pickets and one of the houses. The rest had been destroyedby an accidental fire. Eighteen miles below, they camped near an oldRicara village, and next day, as they were about to resume their voyage, a brother of Big White, whose camp was farther inland, came running downto the beach to bid Big White farewell. The parting of the two brotherswas very affectionate, and the elder gave the younger a pair of leggingsas a farewell present. The Indian chief was satisfied with his treatmentby the whites, and interested himself to tell them traditions oflocalities which they passed. August 20 they were below the mouth ofCannon-ball River, and were in the country occupied and claimed by theSioux. Here, if anywhere, they must be prepared for attacks fromhostile Indians. At this point, the journal sets forth this interestingobservation:-- "Since we passed in 1804, a very obvious change has taken place in thecurrent and appearance of the Missouri. In places where at that timethere were sandbars, the current of the river now passes, and the formerchannel of the river is in turn a bank of sand. Sandbars then naked arenow covered with willows several feet high; the entrance of some ofthe creeks and rivers has changed in consequence of the quantity of mudthrown into them; and in some of the bottoms are layers of mud eightinches in depth. " The streams that flow into the Missouri and Mississippi from thewestward are notoriously fickle and changeable. Within a very few years, some of them have changed their course so that farms are divided intotwo parts, or are nearly wiped out by the wandering streams. In at leastone instance, artful men have tried to steal part of a State by changingthe boundary line along the bed of the river, making the stream flowmany miles across a tract around which it formerly meandered. On thisboundary line between the Sioux and their upper neighbors, the partymet a band of Cheyennes and another of Ricaras, or Arikaras. They helda palaver with these Indians and reproached the Ricara chief, who wascalled Gray-eyes, with having engaged in hostilities with the Sioux, notwithstanding the promises made when the white men were here before. To this Gray-eyes made an animated reply:-- "He declared that the Ricaras were willing to follow the counsels we hadgiven them, but a few of their bad young men would not live in peace, but had joined the Sioux and thus embroiled them with the Mandans. Theseyoung men had, however, been driven out of the villages, and as theRicaras were now separated from the Sioux, who were a bad people and thecause of all their misfortunes, they now desired to be at peace with theMandans, and would receive them with kindness and friendship. Several ofthe chiefs, he said, were desirous of visiting their Great Father; butas the chief who went to the United States last summer had not returned, and they had some fears for his safety, on account of the Sioux, theydid not wish to leave home until they heard of him. With regard tohimself, he would continue with his nation, to see that they followedour advice. . . . . . . . . . "After smoking for some time, Captain Clark gave a small medal to theChayenne chief, and explained at the same time the meaning of it. Heseemed alarmed at this present, and sent for a robe and a quantity ofbuffalo-meat, which he gave to Captain Clark, and requested him to takeback the medal; for he knew that all white people were 'medicine, ' andwas afraid of the medal, or of anything else which the white people gaveto the Indians. Captain Clark then repeated his intention in givingthe medal, which was the medicine his great father had directed himto deliver to all chiefs who listened to his word and followed hiscounsels; and that as he (the chief) had done so, the medal was givenas a proof that we believed him sincere. He now appeared satisfied andreceived the medal, in return for which he gave double the quantity ofbuffalo-meat he had offered before. He seemed now quite reconciled tothe whites, and requested that some traders might be sent among theChayennes, who lived, he said, in a country full of beaver, but didnot understand well how to catch them, and were discouraged from it byhaving no sale for them when caught. Captain Clark promised that theyshould be soon supplied with goods and taught the best mode of catchingbeaver. "Big White, the chief of the Mandans, now addressed them at some length, explaining the pacific intentions of his nation; the Chayennes observedthat both the Ricaras and Mandans seemed to be in fault; but at the endof the council the Mandan chief was treated with great civility, andthe greatest harmony prevailed among them. The great chief, however, informed us that none of the Ricaras could be prevailed on to go with ustill the return of the other chief; and that the Chayennes were a wildpeople, afraid to go. He invited Captain Clark to his house, and gavehim two carrots of tobacco, two beaver-skins, and a trencher of boiledcorn and beans. It is the custom of all the nations on the Missouri tooffer to every white man food and refreshment when he first enters theirtents. " Resuming their voyage, the party reached Tyler's River, where theycamped, on the twenty-seventh of August. This stream is now known asMedicine River, from Medicine Hill, a conspicuous landmark rising at alittle distance from the Missouri. The voyagers were now near thelower portion of what is now known as South Dakota, and they camped interritory embraced in the county of Presho. Here they were forced tosend out their hunters; their stock of meat was nearly exhausted. Thehunters returned empty-handed. "After a hunt of three hours they reported that no game was to be foundin the bottoms, the grass having been laid flat by the immense number ofbuffaloes which recently passed over it; and, that they saw only a fewbuffalo bulls, which they did not kill, as they were quite unfit foruse. Near this place we observed, however, the first signs of the wildturkey; not long afterward we landed in the Big Bend, and killed a finefat elk, on which we feasted. Toward night we heard the bellowing ofbuffalo bulls on the lower island of the Big Bend. We pursued thisagreeable sound, and after killing some of the cows, camped on theisland, forty-five miles from the camp of last night. " . . . . . . . . . "Setting out at ten o'clock the next morning, at a short distance theypassed the mouth of White River, the water of which was nearly of thecolor of milk. As they were much occupied with hunting, they made buttwenty miles. The buffalo, " says the journal, "were now so numerous, that from an eminence we discovered more than we had ever seen beforeat one time; and though it was impossible accurately to calculate theirnumber, they darkened the whole plain, and could not have been, we wereconvinced, less than twenty thousand. With regard to game in general, we have observed that wild animals are usually found in the greatestnumbers in the country lying between two nations at war. " They were now well into the Sioux territory, and on the thirtieth ofAugust they had an encounter with a party of Indians. About twentypersons were seen on the west side of the river, proceeding along aheight opposite the voyagers. Just as these were observed, another band, numbering eighty or ninety, came out of the woods nearer the shore. Asthey had a hostile appearance, the party in the canoes made preparationsto receive them; they were suspected to be Teton-Sioux, although theymight be Yanktons, Pawnees, or Omahas. The journal adds:-- "In order, however, to ascertain who they were, without risk to theparty, Captain Clark crossed, with three persons who could speakdifferent Indian languages, to a sand-bar near the opposite side, inhopes of conversing with them. Eight young men soon met him on thesand-bar, but none of them could understand either the Pawnee orMaha interpreter. They were then addressed in the Sioux language, andanswered that they were Tetons, of the band headed by Black Buffaloe, Tahtackasabah. This was the same who had attempted to stop us in 1804;and being now less anxious about offending so mischievous a tribe, Captain Clark told them that they had been deaf to our councils, hadill-treated us two years ago, and had abused all the whites who hadsince visited them. He believed them, he added, to be bad people, andthey must therefore return to their companions; for if they crossed overto our camp we would put them to death. They asked for some corn, whichCaptain Clark refused; they then requested permission to come andvisit our camp, but he ordered them back to their own people. He thenreturned, and all our arms were prepared, in case of an attack; but whenthe Indians reached their comrades, and informed their chiefs of ourintention, they all set out on their way to their own camp; thoughsome of them halted on a rising ground and abused us very copiously, threatening to kill us if we came across. We took no notice of this forsome time, till the return of three of our hunters, whom we were afraidthe Indians might have met. But as soon as they joined us we embarked;and to see what the Indians would attempt, steered near their side ofthe river. At this the party on the hill seemed agitated; some set outfor their camp, others walked about, and one man walked toward the boatsand invited us to land. As he came near, we recognized him to be thesame who had accompanied us for two days in 1804, and was considered afriend of the whites. "Unwilling, however, to have any intercourse with these people, wedeclined his invitation, upon which he returned to the hill, and struckthe earth three times with his gun, a great oath among the Indians, who consider swearing by the earth as one of the most solemn formsof imprecation. At the distance of six miles we stopped on a bleaksand-bar, where we thought ourselves secure from any attack during thenight, and also safe from the mosquitoes. We had made but twenty-twomiles, but in the course of the day had killed a mule-deer, an animalwe were very anxious to obtain. About eleven in the evening the windshifted to the northwest, and it began to rain, accompanied by thunderand lightning, after which the wind changed to the southwest, and blewwith such violence that we were obliged to hold fast the canoes, forfear of their being driven from the sand-bar: still, the cables of twoof them broke, and two others were blown quite across the river; nor wasit till two o'clock that the whole party were reassembled, waiting inthe rain for daylight. " The party now began to meet white men in small detachments coming up theriver. On the third of September, for example, they met the first menwho were able to give them news of home. This party was commanded by aMr. James Airs (or Ayres), from Mackinaw, by the way of Prairie du Chienand St. Louis. He had two canoes loaded with merchandise which he wastaking up the river to trade with the Indians. Among the items of newsgathered from him, according to the private journal of one of the Lewisand Clark party, was that General James Wilkinson was now Governorof Louisiana Territory, and was stationed at St. Louis. This is theWilkinson who fought in the American Revolution, and was subsequently tothis time accused of accepting bribes from Spain and of complicity withAaron Burr in his treasonable schemes. Another item was to this effect:"Mr. Burr & Genl. Hambleton fought a Duel, the latter was killed. "This brief statement refers to the unhappy duel between Aaron Burrand Alexander Hamilton, at Weehawken, New Jersey, July 11, 1804. Thisinteresting entry shows with what feelings the long-absent explorers metMr. Airs:-- "After so long an interval, the sight of anyone who could give usinformation of our country was peculiarly delightful, and much of thenight was spent in making inquiries into what had occurred during ourabsence. We found Mr. Airs a very friendly and liberal gentleman; whenwe proposed to him to purchase a small quantity of tobacco, to be paidfor in St. Louis, he very readily furnished every man of the party withas much as he could use during the rest of the voyage, and insistedon our accepting a barrel of flour. This last we found very agreeable, although we have still a little flour which we had deposited at themouth of Maria's River. We could give in return only about six bushelsof corn, which was all that we could spare. " Three days later, the voyagers met a trading-boat belonging to Mr. Augustus Chouteau, the founder of a famous trading-house in St. Louis. From this party the captains procured a gallon of whiskey, and with thisthey served out a dram to each of their men. "This, " says the journal, "is the first spirituous liquor any of them have tasted since the Fourthof July, 1805. " From this time forward, the returning explorers mettrading parties nearly every day; and this showed that trade wasfollowing the flag far up into the hitherto unexplored regions of theAmerican continent. The explorers, hungry for news from home, would have tarried and talkedlonger with their new-found friends, but they were anxious to getdown to civilization once more. Their journal also says: "The Indians, particularly the squaws and children, are weary of the long journey, andwe are desirous of seeing our country and friends. " This quotation fromthe journal gives us our first intimation that any Indians accompaniedBig White to the United States. He appears to have had a small retinueof followers men, women, and children--with him. Below the mouth of the Platte, September 12, Lewis and Clark metGravelines, the interpreter who was sent to Washington from Fort Mandan, in 1805, with despatches, natural history specimens, and a Ricara chief. The chief had unfortunately died in Washington, and Gravelines was nowon his way to the Ricaras with a speech from President Jefferson and thepresents that had been given to the chief. He also had instructions toteach the Ricaras in agriculture. It is interesting to note how that the explorers, now tolerably wellacquainted with the Indian character since their long experience withthe red men, had adopted a very different bearing from that which theyhad when coming up the river, in 1805. Here is an extract from theirjournal, September 14:-- "We resumed our journey. This being a part of the river to which theKansas resort, in order to rob the boats of traders, we held ourselvesin readiness to fire upon any Indians who should offer us the slightestindignity; as we no longer needed their friendship, and found that atone of firmness and decision is the best possible method of makingproper impressions on these freebooters. However, we did notencounter any of them; but just below the old Kansas village met threetrading-boats from St. Louis, on their way to the Yanktons and Mahas. " Thirty miles below the island of Little Osage village, the party metCaptain McClellan, formerly of the United States army. He informedCaptain Lewis that the party had been given up for lost, peoplegenerally believing that they would never again be heard from; but, according to the journal of one of the party, "The President of the U. States yet had hopes of us. " The last news received in "the U. States"from the explorers was that sent from Fort Mandan, by Gravelines, in1805. Scarcity of provisions once more disturbed the party, so that, on theeighteenth of September, the journal sets forth the fact that game wasvery scarce and nothing was seen by the hunters but a bear and threeturkeys, which they were unable to reach. The men, however, wereperfectly satisfied, although they were allowed only one biscuitper day. An abundance of pawpaws growing along the banks sufficed asnutritious food. The pawpaw is native to many of the Western Statesof the Republic. It is a fruit three or four inches long, growing ona small tree, or bush. The fruit is sweet and juicy and has severalbean-shaped seeds embedded in the pulp. The voyagers now began to seesigns of civilization on the banks of the river. Near the mouth of theGasconade, above St. Louis, they beheld cows grazing in the meadows. Thejournal says: "The whole party almost involuntarily raised a shout ofjoy at seeing this image of civilization and domestic life. " Men whohave been wandering in pathless wildernesses, remote from man, for morethan two years, might well be moved by the sights of a homelike farmand a settled life. Soon after this the party reached the little Frenchvillage of La Charette which they saluted with four guns and threehearty cheers. Then, according to the journal, they landed and werewarmly received by the people, who had long since abandoned all hopeof ever seeing these far-voyaging adventurers return. Here are thelast entries in the journal that has been our guide so long across thecontinent and back again to the haunts of men:-- "Sunday, September 21st, we proceeded; and as several settlements havebeen made during our absence, we were refreshed with the sight of menand cattle along the banks. We also passed twelve canoes of KickapooIndians, going on a hunting-excursion. At length, after comingforty-eight miles, we saluted, with heartfelt satisfaction, thevillage of St. Charles, and on landing were treated with the greatesthospitality and kindness by all the inhabitants of that place. Theircivility detained us till ten o'clock the next morning. "September 22d, when the rain having ceased, we set out for ColdwaterCreek, about three miles from the mouth of the Missouri, where we founda cantonment of troops of the United States, with whom we passed theday; and then, "September 23d, descended to the Mississippi, and round to St. Louis, where we arrived at twelve o'clock; and having fired a salute, went onshore and received the heartiest and most hospitable welcome from thewhole village. " The two captains were very busily employed, as soon as they arrived inSt. Louis, with writing letters to their friends and to the officersof the government who were concerned to know of their safe return tocivilization. Captain Lewis' letter to the President of the UnitedStates, announcing his arrival, was dated Sept. 23, 1806. PresidentJefferson's reply was dated October 20 of that year. In his letter thePresident expressed his "unspeakable joy" at the safe return of theexpedition. He said that the unknown scenes in which they had beenengaged and the length of time during which no tidings had been receivedfrom them "had begun to be felt awfully. " It may seem strange to modernreaders familiar with the means for rapid travel and communication thatno news from the explorers, later than that which they sent from theMandan country, was received in the United States until their return, two years and four months later. But mail facilities were very scantyin those far-off days, even in the settled portions of the MississippiValley, and few traders had then penetrated to those portions of theLower Missouri that had just been travelled by Lewis and Clark. As wehave seen, white men were regarded with awe and curiosity by the nativesof the regions which the explorers traversed in their long absence. Thefirst post-office in what is now the great city of St. Louis was notestablished until 1808; mails between the Atlantic seaboard and that"village" required six weeks to pass either way. The two captains went to Washington early in the year following theirarrival in St. Louis. There is extant a letter from Captain Lewis, dated at Washington, Feb. 11, 1807. Congress was then in session, and, agreeably to the promises that had been held out to the explorers, theSecretary of War (General Henry Dearborn), secured from that bodythe passage of an act granting to each member of the expedition aconsiderable tract of land from the public domain. To each privateand non-commissioned officer was given three hundred acres; to CaptainClark, one thousand acres, and to Captain Lewis fifteen hundred acres. In addition to this, the two officers were given double pay for theirservices during the time of their absence. Captain Lewis magnanimouslyobjected to receiving more land for his services than that given toCaptain Clark. Captain Lewis resigned from the army, March 2, 1807, having beennominated to be Governor of Louisiana Territory a few days before. Hiscommission as Governor was dated March 3 of that year. He was thusmade the Governor of all the territory of the United States west of theMississippi River. About the same time, Captain Clark was appointed ageneral of the territorial militia and Indian agent for that department. Originally, the territory acquired from France was divided into theDistrict of New Orleans and the District of Louisiana, the first-namedbeing the lower portion of the territory and bounded on the north bya line which now represents the northern boundary of the State ofLouisiana; and all above that line was known as the District ofLouisiana. In 1812, the upper part, or Louisiana, was named theTerritory of Missouri, and Captain Clark (otherwise General), wasappointed Governor of the Territory, July 1, 1813, his old friend andcomrade having died a few years earlier. The end of Captain (otherwise Governor) Lewis was tragical and wasshadowed by a cloud. Official business calling him to Washington, heleft St. Louis early in September, 1809, and prosecuted his journeyeastward through Tennessee, by the way of Chickasaw Bluffs, now Memphis, of that State. There is a mystery around his last days. On the eleventhof October, he stopped at a wayside log-inn, and that night he dieda violent death, whether by his own hand or by that of a murderer, noliving man knows. There were many contradictory stories about the sadaffair, some persons holding to the one theory and some to the other. He was buried where he died, in the centre of what is now Lewis County, Tennessee. In 1848, the State of Tennessee erected over the lastresting-place of Lewis a handsome monument, the inscriptions on whichduly set forth his many virtues and his distinguished services to hiscountry. The story of the expedition of Lewis and Clark is the foundation of thehistory of the great Northwest and the Missouri Valley. These menand their devoted band of followers were the first to break into theworld-old solitudes of the heart of the continent and to explorethe mountain fastnesses in which the mighty Columbia has its birth. Following in their footsteps, the hardy American emigrant, trader, adventurer, and home-seeker penetrated the wilderness, and, buildingbetter than they knew, laid the foundations of populous and thrivingStates. Peaceful farms and noble cities, towns and villages, thrillingwith the hum of modern industry and activity, are spread over the vastspaces through which the explorers threaded their toilsome trail, amidincredible privations and hardships, showing the way westward across theboundless continent which is ours. Let the names of those two men longbe held in grateful honor by the American people! INDEX A Alkali, natural deposits of, 60. Antelope, first seen, 29, how hunted, 69. Assiniboins, at war with Sioux, 49. B Beaver, hunted as game, 70, Beaver Head, 143. Big Dry River, 75. Bismarck, N. D. , 44. Bitter Root Mountains, 147. Black Cat, a Mandan chief, 342. Boone, Daniel, 14. Buffalo, first signs of, 16; hunt, 51; curious adventure with, 87; extermination of, 338. C Caches, how built, 98. Calumet bird, 43. Camas, edible root, 179. Cameahwait, a Shoshonee chief, 157. Camp, first winter, 48; departure from, 57. Candle-fish, 252. Cannonball River, N. D-, 43. Captain Cook, 3. Captain Gray, 3. Captain Vancouver, 3. Carroll, Mont. , 83. Carver, Jonathan, 5. Cascades of the Columbia, 262. Cathedral Rocks, 90-92. Cheyenne River, 40. Chinook Indians, 208, some account of, 246. Chouteau, a St. Louis trader, 355. Christmas (1804), 52. (1805), 240- Clark, Captain, biographical notice Of, 7. General of militia, 359. Clark's Fort, 48. River, 180-63. Party overtaken by disaster, 142. Clatsop Indians, some account Of, 248. Clearwater River, 183. Cloudburst, 116. Columbia River, discovery Of, 4. Portage to, 108; at the headwaters of, 148. At the entrance to, 194. Great falls of, 202; the great chute Of, 21. Et seq. Comowol, a Columbia River Indian chief, 239. Condor, a California variety, 256. Council Bluffs, 19. Cowas, an edible root, 278. Coyote, described, 72. Crow Indians, 24. D Dalles, the, 266. Dearborn River, 130. Divide, on the great, 148; across the, 179. Dog's flesh as an article of food, 24. 185- E Echeloot Indians, 210. Elk, hunting of, 251. Ermine, first seen, 49. Expedition, Lewis and Clark's, 7. Organization of, 8. Route of, 10; sets sail, 14. "Experiment, " failure of the boat, 124 F Falls of the Missouri, 101. Description of, 11. Et seq. Flathead Indians, 211. Floyd's River, why so named, 23. Forks of the Missouri, 135. Fort Clark, 48. Clatsop, 255. G Gallatin's fork of the Missouri, 135. Gates of the Rocky Mountains, 132. Goose-nests in trees, 61. Gray, Capt. , discoverer of the Columbia, 3. Grizzly bear, first seen, 40. Thrilling encounters with, 72, 76, 77, 105, 115, 315- H Horse-flesh eaten by the expedition, 77. Hungry Creek, 178, 303- 1 Independence Day, celebration of (1805), 123. (180(i), 327. Iowa Indians, 16. Islands, White Bear, 110. J Jefferson, President Thomas, 2-4. His letters to Capt. Lewis, 12. Presents to, from Lewis and Clark, 55. Welcome to Capt. Lewis on return, 358. Name given to fork of the Missouri, 135. John Day's River, 203- K Klikitat River, 214. Kooskooskee River, 180. L Lewis, Capt. , biographical notice of, 6, 7. Accidentally wounded, 341; announces his return, 358. Governor of Louisiana Territory, 359; his tragical death, 360. Lewis and Clark, pursue separate routes across the Divide, 140. Also on their return, 310. Lewis's River, 165. Lewiston, Idaho, 185. Ledyard, John, 4. Lemhi River, 152. Little Devils, hill Of, 23. Louisiana Purchase, the, 1-2; divided into two territories, 360. M Madison, fork of the Missouri, 135. Mandan Indians, 4. Et seq. ; religion of, 50. Maria's River, 97. Medicine River, 106. Meriwether's Bay, 234. Milk River, 74. Minnetarees, at war with Sioux, 49. Expedition has an encounter with, 31. Et seq, Missouri River, Little, 60. Missouri, the Upper, So; great falls of, 101; forks of, 135. At the headwaters Of, 147. Mosquitoes, the great plague of, 126, 339. Mount St. Helen's, 198. Hood, 203. Mouse River, source of, 60. Multnomah (Willamette) River, 221. 259. Musselshell River, 81. N Nez Perce Indians (Chopunnish), 180. Some account of the, 186. Noises, mysterious, 122. 0 Osage Indians, traditions of, 15. Ottoes, council with, 20. P Pacific Ocean, first sight of the, 225. Pawpaw fruit, 357. Pemmican, 33. Platte River as a boundary, 17. Porcupine River, 70. Prairie dog, 29. Q Quamash flats, 302. Quicksand River, 220. R Rat, peculiar variety of, 121. Rickarees, in the country of the, 40. River, Little Missouri, to; Mouse, source of, 60; Yellowstone, 65. Porcupine, 70. Saskatchewan, 74. Milk, 74; Big Dry, 75. Upper Missouri, 80. Musselshell, 81. Slaughter, 88; Maria's, 97. Madison, 106. Columbia, portage to, 108. Smith's, 129; Dearborn, 130. Salmon, 152. Lemhi, 152. Lewis's, 165. Kooskooskee, 180; Clark's, 180. Clearwater, 183. Snake, 188. Yakima, 196. John Day'S, 203; Klikitat, 21. Quicksand, 220. Multnomah. 220. Rocky Mountains, first sight of, 85. Sheep, 85. Gates of the, 132. Farewell to the mountains, 335. Rocks, Cathedral, 90-92. S St. Louis, village of, 11. First post-office in, 359. Sacajawea, joins the expedition, 4. Stream named for her, 82; story of her capture, 138. Finds her own people, 160. A tribute to her memory, 332. Sage-brush, first seen, 62. Saline County, Mo. , 16. Salmon River, 152. City, Idaho, 165. Abundance of fish, 194. Salt, made from sea-water, 23. Et seq. Saskatchewan River, 74. Shannon, the lost hunter, 143. Shoshonees, first meeting with, 14. Among the, 15. Et seq. ; some account of the, 17. Et seq. Sioux Indians, 27. Slaughter River, 88. Smith's River, 128. Snake River, 188. Junction of the with Columbia, 190. Sokulk Indians, some account of, 19. Et seq. Spirit Mound, 24. Spring River, S. D-; 42. Stone-Idol Creek, legend Of, 42. Sweat baths, Indian, 187, 298. T Tetons, in the country of, 33-38. Three-thousand-mile Island, 331. Tillamook Indians, 244. Traveller's-rest Creek, 309. Twisted-hair, an Indian chief, adventures with, 28. Et seq. U Umatilla, 271- V Vancouver, Capt-y 3- W Wahkiacum Indians, 224. Walla Walla, 271. Wappatoo, edible root, 23. Description of, 260. Weocksockwillacums, 265. Wharfington, commands return party to the U. S. , 58. White Bear Islands, 110. Camp at, 114. Whisky, Indian rejection of, 42. Winter camp, first, 48. Departure from, 57- Y Yakima River, 196. Yankton, S. D. , 24. Yellowstone River, 65; Capt. Clark's descent of the, 327. York, a negro servant, 41. 159.