Lewis: April 10, 1805

Wednesday April 10th 1805. Set out at an early hour this morning at the
distance of three miles passed some Minetares who had assembled themselves
on the Lard shore to take a view of our little fleet. Capt Clark walked on
shore today, for several hours, when he returned he informed me that he
had seen a gang of Antelopes in the plains but was unable to get a shoot
at them he also saw some geese and swan. the geese are now feeding in
considerable numbers on the young grass which has sprung up in the bottom
prariesthe Musquetoes were very troublesome to us today. The country on
both sides of the missouri from the tops of the river hills, is one
continued level fertile plain as far as the eye can reach, in which there
is not even a solitary tree or shrub to be seen except such as from their
moist situations or the steep declivities of hills are sheltered from the
ravages of the fire. at the distance of 12 miles from our encampment of
last night we arrived at the lower point of a bluff on the Lard side;
about 11/2 miles down this bluff from this point, the bluff is now on fire
and throws out considerable quantities of smoke which has a strong
sulphurious smell. the appearance of the coal in the blufs continues as
yesterday. at 1 P.M. we overtook three french hunters who had set out a
few days before us with a view of traping beaver; they had taken 12 since
they left Fort Mandan. these people avail themselves of the protection
which our numbers will enable us to give them against the Assinniboins who
sometimes hunt on the Missouri and intend ascending with us as far as the
mouth of the Yellow stone river and continue there hunt up that river.
this is the first essay of a beaver hunter of any discription on this
river. the beaver these people have already taken is by far the best I
have ever seen. the river bottoms we have passed to-day are wider and
possess more timber than usualthe courant of the Missouri is but moderate,
at least not greater than that of the Ohio in high tide; it’s banks are
falling in but little; the navigation is therefore comparitively with it’s
lower portion easy and safe.we encamped this evening on a willow
point, Stard. side just above a remarkable bend in the river to the S. W.
which we called the little bason.-