History of the Expedition under the Command of Captains Lewis and Clark, Vol. I.

The latitude of our camp below the entrance of Portage creek, was found to be 47° 7' 10" 3, as deduced from a meridian altitude of the sun's lower limb taken with octant by back observation giving 53° 10'.

Friday, June 21. Having made the necessary preparations for continuing our route, a part of the baggage was carried across the creek into the high plain, three miles in advance and placed on one of the carriages with truck wheels: the rest of the party was employed in drying meat and dressing elk skins. We killed several muledeer and an elk, and observed as usual vast quantities of buffaloe who came to drink at the river. For the first time on the Missouri we have seen near the falls a species of fishing duck, the body of which is brown and white, the wings white, and the head and upper part of the neck of a brick red, with a narrow beak, which seems to be of the same kind common in the Susquehanna, Potomac and James' river. The little wood which this neighbourhood affords consists of the broad and narrow-leafed cottonwood, the box alder, the narrow and broad-leafed willow, the large or sweet willow, which was not common below Maria's river, but which here attains the same size and has the same appearance as in the Atlantic states. The undergrowth consists of roses, gooseberries, currants, small honeysuckles, and the redwood, the inner part of which the engages or watermen are fond of smoking when mixed with tobacco.

Saturday, 22. We now set out to pass the portage and halted for dinner at eight miles distance near a little stream. The axletrees of our carriage, which had been made of an old mast, and the cottonwood tongues broke before we came there: but we renewed them with the timber of the sweet willow, which lasted till within half a mile of our intended camp, when the tongues gave way and we were obliged to take as much baggage as we could carry on our backs down to the river, where we formed an encampment in a small grove of timber opposite to the Whitebear islands. Here the banks on both sides of the river are handsome, level, and extensive; that near our camp is not more than two feet above the surface of the water. The river is about eight hundred yards wide just above these islands, ten feet deep in most places, and with a very gentle current. The plains however on this part of the river are not so fertile as those from the mouth of the Muscleshell and thence downwards; there is much more stone on the sides of the hills and on the broken lands than is to be found lower down. We saw in the plains vast quantities of buffaloe, a number of small birds, and the large brown curlew, which is now sitting, and lays its eggs, which are of a pale blue with black-specks, on the ground without any nest. There is also a species of lark much resembling the bird called the oldfield lark, with a yellow breast and a black spot on the croup; though it differs from the latter in having its tail formed of feathers of an unequal length and pointed; the beak too is somewhat longer and more curved, and the note differs considerably. The prickly pear annoyed us very much to-day by sticking through our moccasins. As soon as we had kindled our fires we examined the meat which captain Clarke had left here, but found that the greater part of it had been taken by the wolves.

Sunday, 23. After we had brought up the canoe and baggage captain Clarke went down to the camp at Portage creek, where four of the men had been left with the Indian woman. Captain Lewis during the morning prepared the camp, and in the afternoon went down in a canoe to Medicine river to look after the three men who had been sent thither to hunt on the 19th, and from whom nothing had as yet been heard. He went up the river about half a mile and then walked along on the right bank, hallooing as he went, till at the distance of five miles he found one of them who had fixed his camp on the opposite bank, where he had killed seven deer and dried about six hundred pounds of buffaloe meat, but had killed no elk, the animal chiefly wanted. He knew nothing of his companions except that on the day of their departure from camp he had left them at the falls and come on to Medicine river, not having seen them since. As it was too late to return captain Lewis passed over on a raft which he made for the purpose and spent the night at Shannon's camp, and the next morning,

Monday, 24, sent J. Fields up the river with orders to go four miles and return, whether he found the two absent hunters or not; then descending the southwest side of Medicine river, he crossed the Missouri in the canoe, and sent Shannon back to his camp to join Fields and bring the meat which they had killed: this they did, and arrived in the evening at the camp on Whitebear islands. A part of the men from Portage creek also arrived with two canoes and baggage. On going down yesterday captain Clarke cut off several angles of the former route so as to shorten the Portage considerably, and marked it with stakes: he arrived there in time to have two of the canoes carried up in the high plain about a mile in advance. Here they all repaired their moccasins, and put on double soals to protect them from the prickly pear and from the sharp points of earth which have been formed by the trampling of the buffaloe during the late rains: this of itself is sufficient to render the portage disagreeable to one who had no burden; but as the men are loaded as heavily as their strength will permit, the crossing is really painful: some are limping with the soreness of their feet, others are scarcely able to stand for more than a few minutes from the heat and fatigue: they are all obliged to halt and rest frequently, and at almost every stopping place they fall and many of them are asleep in an instant; yet no one complains and they go on with great cheerfulness. At their camp Drewyer and Fields joined them, and while captain Lewis was looking for them at Medicine river, they returned to report the absence of Shannon about whom they had been very uneasy. They had killed several buffaloe at the bend of the Missouri above the falls: and dried about eight hundred pounds of meat and got one hundred pounds of tallow: they had also killed some deer, but had seen no elk. After getting the party in motion with the canoes captain Clarke returned to his camp at Portage creek.

We were now occupied in fitting up a boat of skins, the frame of which had been prepared for the purpose at Harper's ferry. It was made of iron, thirty-six feet long, four feet and a half in the beam, and twenty-six inches wide in the bottom. Two men had been sent this morning for timber to complete it, but they could find scarcely any even tolerably straight sticks four and a half feet long, and as the cottonwood is too soft and brittle we were obliged to use the willow and box-alder.

Tuesday, 25. The party returned to the lower camp. Two men were sent on the large island to look for timber. J. Fields was sent up the Missouri to hunt elk; but he returned about noon and informed us that a few miles above he saw two white bear near the river, and in attempting to fire at them came suddenly on a third, who being only a few steps off immediately attacked him; that in running to escape from the monster he leaped down a steep bank of the river, where falling on a bar of stone he cut his hand and knee and bent his gun; but fortunately for him the bank concealed him from his antagonist or he would have been most probably lost. The other two returned with a small quantity of bark and timber, which was all they could find on the island; but they had killed two elk: these were valuable, as we are desirous of procuring the skins of that animal in order to cover the boat, as they are more strong and durable than those of the buffaloe, and do not shrink so much in drying. The party that went to the lower camp had one canoe and the baggage carried into the high plain to be ready in the morning, and then all who could make use of their feet had a dance on the green to the music of a violin. We have been unsuccessful in our attempt to catch fish, nor does there seem to be any in this part of the river. We observe a number of water terrapins. There are quantities of young blackbirds in these islands just beginning to fly. Among the vegetable productions we observe a species of wild rye which is now heading: it rises to the height of eighteen or twenty inches, the beard remarkably fine and soft; the culen is jointed, and in every respect except in height it resembles the wild rye. Great quantities of mint too, like the peppermint, are found here.

The winds are sometimes violent in these plains. The men inform us that as they were bringing one of the canoes along on truck-wheels, they hoisted the sail and the wind carried her along for some distance.

Wednesday 26. Two men were sent on the opposite side of the river for bark and timber, of which they procured some, but by no means enough for our purposes. The bark of the cottonwood is too soft, and our only dependence is on the sweet willow, which has a tough strong bark; the two hunters killed seven buffaloe. A party arrived from below with two canoes and baggage, and the wind being from the southeast, they had made considerable progress with the sails. On their arrival one of the men who had been considerably heated and fatigued, swallowed a very hearty draught of water, and was immediately taken ill; captain Lewis bled him with a penknife, having no other instrument at hand, and succeeded in restoring him to health the next day. Captain Clarke formed a second cache or deposit near the camp, and placed the swivel under the rocks near the river. The antelopes are still scattered through the plains; the females with their young, which are generally two in number, and the males by themselves.

Thursday 27. The party were employed in preparing timber for the boat, except two who were sent to hunt. About one in the afternoon a cloud arose from the southwest and brought with it violent thunder, lightning, and hail: soon after it passed the hunters came in from about four miles above us. They had killed nine elk, and three bear. As they were hunting on the river they saw a low ground covered with thick brushwood, where from the tracks along shore they thought a bear had probably taken refuge: they therefore landed, without making a noise, and climbed a tree about twenty feet above the ground. Having fixed themselves securely, they raised a loud shout, and a bear instantly rushed towards them. These animals never climb, and therefore when he came to the tree and stopped to look at them, Drewyer shot him in the head; he proved to be the largest we have yet seen, his nose appeared to be like that of a common ox, his fore feet measured nine inches across, and the hind feet were seven inches 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 buffaloe meat which we had placed on a pole. In the evening after the storm the water on this side of the river became of a deep crimson colour, probably caused by some stream above washing down a kind of soft red stone, which we observed in the neighbouring bluffs and gullies. At the camp below, the men who left us in the morning were busy in preparing their load for to-morrow, which were impeded by the rain, hail, and the hard wind from the northwest.

Friday 28. The party all occupied in making the boat; they obtained a sufficient quantity of willow bark to line her, and over these were placed the elk skins, and when they failed we were obliged to use the buffaloe hide. The white bear have now become exceedingly troublesome; they constantly infest our camp during the night, and though they have not attacked us, as our dog who patroles all night gives us notice of their approach, yet we are obliged to sleep with our arms by our sides for fear of accident, and we cannot send one man alone to any distance, particularly if he has to pass through brushwood. We saw two of them to-day on the large island opposite to us, but as we are all so much occupied now, we mean to reserve ourselves for some leisure moment, and then make a party to drive them from the islands. The river has risen nine inches since our arrival here.

At Portage creek captain Clarke completed the cache, in which we deposited whatever we could spare from our baggage; some ammunition, provisions, books, the specimens of plants and minerals, and a draught of the river from its entrance to fort Mandan. After closing it he broke up the encampment, and took on all the remaining baggage to the high plain, about three miles. Portage creek has risen considerably in consequence of the rain, and the water had become of a deep crimson colour, and ill tasted; on overtaking the canoe he found that there was more baggage than could be carried on the two carriages, and therefore left some of the heavy articles which could not be injured, and proceeded on to Willowrun where he encamped for the night. Here they made a supper on two buffaloe which they killed on the way; but passed the night in the rain, with a high wind from the southwest. In the morning,

Saturday 29, finding it impossible to reach the end of the portage with their present load, in consequence of the state of the road after the rain, he sent back nearly all his party to bring on the articles which had been left yesterday. Having lost some notes and remarks which he had made on first ascending the river, he determined to go up to the Whitebear islands along its banks, in order to supply the deficiency. He there left one man to guard the baggage, and went on to the falls accompanied by 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 could find no place where they would be secure from being blown into the river if the wind should prove as violent as it sometimes does in the plains. At length about a quarter of a mile above the falls he found a deep ravine where there were some shelving rocks, under which he took 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 shower was at first moderate, it then increased to a heavy rain, the effects of which they did not feel: soon after a torrent of rain and hail descended; 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 and rocks, and every thing that opposed it. Captain Clarke fortunately saw it a moment before it reached them, and springing up with his gun and shotpouch in his left hand, with his right clambered up the steep bluff, pushing on the Indian woman with her child in her arms; her husband too had seized her hand and was pulling her up the hill, but he was so terrified at the danger that but for captain Clark, himself and his wife and child would have been lost. So instantaneous was the rise of the water, that before captain Clark had reached his gun and began to ascend the bank, the water was up to his waist, and he could scarce get up faster than it rose, till it reached the height of fifteen feet with a furious current, which had they waited a moment longer would have swept them into the river just above the great falls, down which they must inevitable have been precipitated. They reached the plain in safety, and found York who had separated from them just before the storm to hunt some buffaloe, and was now returning to find his master. They had been obliged to escape so rapidly that captain Clarke lost his compass and umbrella. Chaboneau left his gun, shotpouch, and tomahawk, and the Indian woman had just time to grasp her child, before the net in which it lay at her feet was carried down the current. He now relinquished his intention of going up the river and returned to the camp at Willowrun. Here he found that the party sent this morning for the baggage, had all returned to camp in great confusion, 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 high wind, that it knocked several of them down: one of them particularly was thrown on the ground three times, and most of them bleeding freely and complained of being much bruised. Willow run had risen six feet since the rain, and as the plains were so wet that they could not proceed, they passed the night at their camp.

At the Whitebear camp also, we had not been insensible to the hail-storm, though less exposed. In the morning there had been a heavy shower of rain, after which it became fair. After assigning to the men their respective employments, captain Lewis took one of them and went to see the large fountain near the falls. For about six miles he passed through a beautiful level plain, and then on reaching the break of the river hills, was overtaken by the gust of wind from the southwest attended by lightning, thunder, and rain: fearing a renewal of the scene on the 27th, they took shelter in a little gully where there were some broad stones with which they meant to protect themselves against the hail; but fortunately there was not much, and that of a small size; so that they felt no inconvenience except that of being exposed without shelter for an hour, and being drenched by the rain: after it was over they proceeded to the fountain which is perhaps the largest in America. It is situated in a pleasant level plain, about twenty-five yards from the river, into which it falls over some steep irregular rocks with a sudden ascent of about six feet in one part of its course. The water boils up from among the rocks and with such force near the centre, that the surface seems higher there than the earth on the sides of the fountain, which is a handsome turf of fine green grass. The water is extremely pure, cold and pleasant to the taste, not being impregnated with lime or any foreign substance. It is perfectly transparent and continues its bluish cast for half a mile down the Missouri, notwithstanding the rapidity of the river. After examining it for some time captain Lewis returned to the camp.

Sunday 30. In the morning Captain Clarke sent the men to bring up the baggage left in the plains yesterday. On their return the axletrees and carriages were repaired, and the baggage, conveyed on the shoulders of the party across Willow run which had fallen as low as three feet. The carriages being then taken over, a load of baggage was carried to the six-mile stake, deposited there, and the carriages brought back. Such is the state of the plains that this operation consumed the day. Two men were sent to the falls to look for the articles lost yesterday; but they found nothing but the compass covered with mud and sand at the mouth of the ravine; the place at which captain Clarke had been caught by the storm, was filled with large rocks. The men complain much of the bruises received yesterday from the hail. A more than usual number of buffaloe appeared about the camp to-day, and furnished plenty of meat: captain Clarke thought that at one view he must have seen at least ten thousand. In the course of the day there was a heavy gust of wind from the southwest, after which the evening was fair.

At the Whitebear camp we had a heavy dew this morning, which is quite a remarkable occurrence. The party continues to be occupied with the boat, the crossbars for which are now finished, and there remain only the strips to complete the wood work: the skins necessary to cover it have already been prepared and they amount to twenty-eight elk skins and four buffaloe skins. Among our game were two beaver, which we have had occasion to observe always are found wherever there is timber. We also killed a large bat or goatsucker of which there are many in this neighbourhood, resembling in every respect those of the same species in the United States. We have not seen the leather-winged bat for some time, nor are there any of the small goatsucker in this part of the Missouri. We have not seen either that species of goatsucker or nighthawk called the whippoorwill, which is commonly confounded in the United States with the large goatsucker which we observe here; this last prepares no nest but lays its eggs in the open plains; they generally begin to sit on two eggs, and we believe raise only one brood in a season: at the present moment they are just hatching their young.

Monday, July 1. After a severe day's work captain Clarke reached our camp in the evening, accompanied by his party and all the baggage except that left at the six-mile stake, for which they were too much fatigued to return. The route from the lower camp on Portage creek to that near Whitebear island, having been now measured and examined by captain Clarke was as follows:

From our camp opposite the last considerable rapid to the entrance of Portage creek south 9° east for three quarters of a mile: thence on a course south 10° east for two miles, though for the canoes the best route is to the left of this course, and strikes Portage one mile and three quarters from its entrance, avoiding in this way a very steep hill which lies above Portage creek; from this south 18° west for four miles, passing the head of a drain or ravine which falls into the Missouri below the great falls, and to the Willow run which has always a plentiful supply of good water and some timber: here the course turns to south 45° west for four miles further; then south 66° west three miles, crossing at the beginning of the course the head of a drain which falls into the Missouri at the Crooked Falls, and reaching an elevated point of the plain from which south 42° west. On approaching the river on this course there is a long and gentle descent from the high plain, after which the road turns a little to the right of the course up the river to our camp. The whole portage is seventeen and three quarter miles.

At the Whitebear camp we were occupied with the boat and digging a pit for the purpose of making some tar. The day has been warm, and the mosquitoes troublesome. We were fortunate enough to observe equal altitudes of the sun with sextant, which since our arrival here we have been prevented from doing, by flying clouds and storms in the evening.

Tuesday, July 2d. A shower of rain fell very early this morning. We then despatched some men for the baggage left behind yesterday, and the rest were engaged in putting the boat together. This was accomplished in about three hours, and then we began to sew on the leather over the crossbars or iron on the inner side of the boat which form the ends of the sections. By two o'clock the last of the baggage arrived, to the great delight of the party who were anxious to proceed. The mosquitoes we find very troublesome.

Having completed our celestial observations we went over to the large island to make an attack upon its inhabitants the bears, who have annoyed us very much of late, and who were prowling about our camp all last night. We found that the part of the island frequented by the bear forms an almost impenetrable thicket of the broad-leafed willow: into this we forced our way in parties of three; but could see only one bear, who instantly attacked Drewyer. Fortunately as he was rushing on the hunter shot him through the heart within twenty paces and he fell, which enabled Drewyer to get out of his way: we then followed him one hundred yards and found that the wound had been mortal. Not being able to discover any more of these animals we returned to camp: here in turning over some of the baggage we caught a rat somewhat larger than the common European rat, and of a lighter colour: the body and outer parts of the legs and head of a light lead colour; the inner side of the legs as well as the belly, feet and ears are white; the ears are not covered with hair, and are much larger than those of the common rat; the toes also are longer, the eyes black and prominent, the whiskers very long and full; the tail rather longer than the body, and covered with fine fur and hair of the same size with that on the back, which is very close, short, and silky in its texture. This was the first we had met, although its nests are very frequent among the cliffs of rocks and hollow trees, where we also found large quantities of the shells and seed of the prickly pear, on which we conclude they chiefly subsist. The musquitoes are uncommonly troublesome. The wind was again high from the southwest: these winds are in fact always the coldest and most violent which we experience, and the hypothesis which we have formed on that subject is, that the air coming in contact with the Snowy mountains immediately becomes chilled and condensed, and being thus rendered heavier than the air below it descends into the rarified air below or into the vacuum formed by the constant action of the sun on the open unsheltered plains. The clouds rise suddenly near these mountains and distribute their contents partially over the neighbouring plains. The same cloud will discharge hail alone in one part, hail and rain in another, and rain only in a third, and all within the space of a few miles; while at the same time there is snow falling on the mountains to 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 since fallen having disappeared. The mountains to the north and northwest of us are still entirely covered with snow, and indeed there has been no perceptible diminution of it since we first saw them, which induces a belief either that the clouds prevailing at this season do not reach their summits or that they deposit their snow only. They glisten with great beauty when the sun shines on them in a particular direction, and most probably from this glittering appearance have derived the name of the Shining mountains.