Lewis: April 9, 1805

Tuesday April 9th Set out as early as it was possible to see this morning
and proceed about five miles where we halted and took beakfasthe
Indian man who had promised us to accompany us as far as the Snake
Indians, now informed us of his intention to relinquish the journey, and
accordingly returned to his village. we saw a great number of brant
passing up the river, some of them were white, except the large feathers
in the first and second joint of the wing which are black. there is no
other difference between them and the common gray brant but that of their
colourtheir note and habits are the same, and they are freequently
seen to associate together. I have not yet positively determined whether
they are the same, or a different species.Capt Clark walked on
shore to-day and informed me on his return, that passing through the
prarie he had seen an anamal that precisely resembled the burrowing
squrril, accept in point of size, it being only about one third as large
as the squirrel, and that it also burrows. I have observed in many parts
of the plains and praries the work of an anamal of which I could never
obtain a view. their work resembles that of the salamander common to the
sand hills of the States of South Carolina and Georgia; and like that
anamal also it never appears above the ground. the little hillocks which
are thrown up by these anamals have much the appearance of ten or twelve
pounds of loose earth poared out of a vessel on the surface of the plain.
in the state they leave them you can discover no whole through which they
throw out this earth; but by removing the loose earth gently you may
discover that the soil has been broken in a circle manner for about an
inch and a half in diameter, where it appears looser than the adjacent
surface, and is certainly the place through which the earth has been
thrown out, tho the operation is performed without leaving any visible
aperture.the Bluffs of the river which we passed today were upwards
of a hundred feet high, formed of a mixture of yellow clay and sandmany
horizontal stratas of carbonated wood, having every appearance of pitcoal
at a distance; were seen in the the face of these bluffs. these stratas
are of unequal thicknesses from I to 5 feet, and appear at different
elivations above the water some of them as much as eighty feet. the hills
of the river are very broken and many of them have the apearance of having
been on fire at some former period. considerable quantities of pumice
stone and lava appear in many parts of these hills where they are broken
and washed down by the rain and melting snow. when we halted for dinner
the squaw busied herself in serching for the wild artichokes which the
mice collect and deposit in large hoards. this operation she performed by
penetrating the earth with a sharp stick about some small collections of
drift wood. her labour soon proved successful, and she procurrd a good
quantity of these roots. the flavor of this root resembles that of the
Jerusalem Artichoke, and the stalk of the weed which produces it is also
similar, tho both the root and stalk are much smaller than the Jarusalem
Artichoke. the root is white and of an ovate form, from one to three
inches in length and usually about the size of a man’s finger. one stalk
produces from two to four, and somitimes six of these roots.

at the distance of 6 miles passed a large wintering or hunting camp of the
Minetares on the Stard. side. these lodges about thirty in number are
built of earth and timber in their usual stile. 21/4 miles higher we
passed the entrance of Miry Creek, which discharges itself on the Stard.
side. this creek is but small, takes it’s rise in some small lakes near
the Mouse river and passes in it’s course to the Missouri, through
beatifull, level, and fertile plains, intirely destitute of timber.Three
miles above the mouth of this creek we passed a hunting camp of Minetares
who had prepared a park and were wating the return of the Antelope; which
usually pass the Missouri at this season of the year from the Black hills
on the South side, to the open plains on the north side of the river; in
like manner the Antelope repasses the Missouri from N. to South in the
latter end of Autumn, and winter in the black hills, where there is
considerable bodies of woodland. we proceed on 111/2 miles further and
encamped on the N. side in a most beatifull high extensive open bottom