Lewis: April 14, 1805

Sunday April 14th 1805. One of the hunters saw an Otter last evening and
shot at it, but missed it. a dog came to us this morning, which we
supposed to have been lost by the Indians who were recently encamped near
the lake that we passed yesterday. the mineral appearances of salts, coal
and sulpher, together with birnt hills & pumicestone still continue.while
we remained at the entrance of the little Missouri, we saw several pieces
of pumice stone floating down that stream, a considerable quanty of which
had lodged against a point of drift wood a little above it’s entrance.
Capt. Clark walked on shore this morning, and on his return informed me
that he had passed through the timbered bottoms on the N. side of the
river, and had extended his walk several miles back on the hills; in the
bottom lands he had met with several uninhabited Indian lodges built with
the boughs of the Elm, and in the plains he met with the remains of two
large encampments of a recent date, which from the appearance of some
hoops of small kegs, seen near them we concluded that they must have been
the camps of the Assinniboins, as no other nation who visit this part of
the missouri ever indulge themselves with spirituous liquor. of this
article the Assinniboins are pationately fond, and we are informed that it
forms their principal inducement to furnish the British establishments on
the Assinniboin river with the dryed and pounded meat and grease which
they do. they also supply those establishments with a small quantity of
fur, consisting principally of the large and small wolves and the small
fox skins. these they barter for small kegs of ruin which they generally
transport to their camps at a distance from the establishments, where they
revel with their friends and relations as long as they possess the means
of intoxication, their women and children are equally indulged on those
occations and are all seen drunk together. so far is a state of
intoxication from being a cause of reproach among them, that with the men,
it is a matter of exultation that their skill and industry as hunters has
enabled them to get drunk frequently. in their customs, habits, and
dispositions these people very much resemble the Siouxs from whom they
have descended. The principal inducement with the British fur companies,
for continuing their establishments on the Assinniboin river, is the
Buffaloe meat and grease they procure from the Assinniboins, and
Christanoes, by means of which, they are enabled to supply provision to
their engages on their return from rainy Lake to the English river and the
Athabaskey country where they winter; without such resource those voyagers
would frequently be straitened for provision, as the country through which
they pass is but scantily supplyed with game, and the rappidity with which
they are compelled to travel in order to reach their winter stations,
would leave therm but little leasure to surch for food while on their
voyage.

The Assinniboins have so recently left this neighbourhood, that the game
is scarce and very shy. the river continues wide, and not more rapid than
the Ohio in an averge state of it’s current. the bottoms are wide and low,
the moister parts containing some timber; the upland is extreemly broken,
chonsisting of high gaulded nobs as far as the eye can reach on ether
side, and entirely destitute of timber. on these hills many aromatic herbs
are seen; resembling in taste, smel and appearance, the sage, hysop,
wormwood, southernwood and two other herbs which are strangers to me; the
one resembling the camphor in taste and smell, rising to the hight of 2 or
3 feet; the other about the same size, has a long, narrow, smooth, soft
leaf of an agreeable smel and flavor; of this last the Atelope is very
fond; they feed on it, and perfume the hair of their foreheads and necks
with it by rubing against it. the dwarf cedar and juniper is also found in
great abundance on the sides of these hills. where the land is level, it
is uniformly fertile consisting of a dark loam intermixed with a
proportion of fine sand. it is generally covered with a short grass
resembling very much the blue grass.the miniral appearances still
continue; considerable quantities of bitumenous water, about the colour of
strong lye trickles down the sides of the hills; this water partakes of
the taste of glauber salts and slightly of allumn.while the party
halted to take dinner today Capt Clark killed a buffaloe bull; it was
meagre, and we therefore took the marrow bones and a small proportion of
the meat only. near the place we dined on the Lard. side, there was a
large village of burrowing squirrels. I have remarked that these anamals
generally celect a South Easterly exposure for their residence, tho they
are sometimes found in the level plains.passed an Island, above
which two small creeks fall in on Lard side; the upper creek largest,
which we called Sharbono’s Creek after our interpreter who encamped
several weeks on it with a hunting party of Indians. this was the highest
point to which any whiteman had ever ascended; except two Frenchmen who
having lost their way had straggled a few miles further, tho to what place
precisely I could not learn.I walked on shore above this creek and
killed an Elk, which was so poor that it was unfit for uce; I therefore
left it, and joined the party at their encampment on the Stard shore a
little after dark. on my arrival Capt Clark informed me that he had seen
two white bear pass over the hills shortly after I fired, and that they
appeared to run nearly from the place where I shot. the lard. shore on
which I walked was very broken, and the hills in many places had the
appearance of having sliped down in masses of several acres of land in
surface.we saw many gees feeding on the tender grass in the praries
and several of their nests in the trees; we have not in a single instance
found the nest of this bird on or near the ground. we saw a number of
Magpies their nests and eggs. their nests are built in trees and composed
of small sticks leaves and grass, open at top, and much in the stile of
the large blackbird comm to the U States. the egg is of a bluish brown
colour, freckled with redish brown spots. one of the party killed a large
hooting owl. I observed no difference between this burd and those of the
same family common to the U States, except that this appeared to be more
booted and more thickly clad with feathers.-