Clark: March 18, 1806
Tuesday March 17th 1806 Drewyer was taken last night with a violent pain
in his Side. I bled him. Several of the men are complaining of being
unwell. it is truly unfortunate that they Should be Sick at the moment of
our departure. Derected Sergt. Pryor to prepare the two Indian Canoes
which we had purchased for his mess. they wanted Some knees to Strengthen
them, and Several cracks corked and payed. he compleated them except
paying. the frequent Showers of rain prevented the Canoes drying
Sufficient to pay them even with the assistance of fire.
Commorwool and two Cathlahmahs visited us to day; we Suffered them to
remain all night. this morning we gave Delashelwilt a certificate of his
good deportment &c. and also a list of our names, after which we
dispatched him to his village with his female band. Those list’s of our
Names we have given to Several of the nativs, and also pasted up a Copy in
our room. the Object of these lists we Stated in the preamble of the Same
as follows Viz: “The Object of this list is, that through the medium of
Some civilized person who may See the Same, it may be made known to the
informed world, that the party consisting of the persons whoes names are
hereunto annexed, and who were Sent out by the Government of the United
States in May 1804, to explore the interior of the Continent of North
America, did penetrate the Same by way of the Missouri and Columbia
rivers, to the discharge of the latter into the Pacific Ocian, where they
arrived on the 14th of November 1805, and from whence they departed the
____ day of March 1806 on their return to the United States by the Same
rout they had come out.”
On the back of lists we added a Sketch of the continent of the upper
branches of the Missouri with those of the Columbia, particularly of its
upper N. E. branch or Lewis’s River, on which we also delienated the track
we had Came and that we ment to pursue on our return, when the Same
happened to vary. There Seemes So many chances against our governments
ever obtaining a regular report, through the medium of the Savages, and
the traders of this Coast that we decline makeing any. Our party are too
small to think of leaveing any of them to return to the Unt. States by
Sea, particularly as we Shall be necessarily devided into two or three
parties on our return in order to accomplish the Object we have in View;
and at any rate we Shall reach the U, States in all humain probabillity
much earlier than a man Could who must in the event of his being left here
depend for his passage to the U, State on the traders of the Coast, who
may not return imediately to the U, States. or if they should, might
probably Spend the next Summer in tradeing with the nativs before they
would Set out on their return. This evening Drewyer went in quest of his
traps, and took an otter. Joseph Field killd and Elk.The Indians
repeated to us Eighteen distinct Nations resideing on the S S. E Coast who
Speak the Kil a mox language or understand it. and beyend those Six other
Nations which Speak a different language which they did not comprehend.
The 2d Species of Seawreck which I saw on the coast to the S. S. E. near
the Kil a mox nation. it resembles a large pumpkin, it is Solid and it’s
Specific Gravity reather greater than the water, tho it is Sometimes
thrown out by the waves. it is of a pale yellowish brown colour. the rhind
Smooth and consistency harder than that of the pumpkin, tho easily cut
with a knife. there are Some fibers of a lighter colour and much harder
than any other part which pass Longitudinally through the pulp or fleshey
Substance which forms the interior of this marine production
