Lewis: August 20, 1805

Tuesday August 20th 1805. This morning I sent out the two hunters and
employed the ballance of the party pretty much as yesterday. I walked down
the river about3/4 of a mile and scelected a place near the river
bank unperceived by the Indians for a cash, which I set three men to make,
and directed the centinel to discharge his gun if he pereceived any of the
Indians going down in that direction which was to be the signal for the
men at work on the cash to desist and seperate, least these people should
discover our deposit and rob us of the baggage we intend leaving here. by
evening the cash was completed unperceived by the Indians, and all our
packages made up. the Pack-saddles and harries is not yet complete. in
this operation we find ourselves at a loss for nails and boards; for the
first we substitute throngs of raw hide which answer verry well, and for
the last to cut off the blades of our oars and use the plank of some boxes
which have heretofore held other articles and put those articles into
sacks of raw hide which I have had made for the purpose. by this means I
have obtained as many boards as will make 20 saddles which I suppose will
be sufficient for our present exegencies. The Indians with us behave
themselves extreemly well; the women have been busily engaged all day
making and mending the mockersons of our party. In the evening the hunters
returned unsuccessfull. Drewyer went in search of his trap which a beaver
had taken off last night; he found the beaver dead with the trap to his
foot about 2 miles below the place he had set it. this beaver constituted
the whole of the game taken today. the fur of this animal is as good as I
ever saw any, and beleive that they are never out of season on the upper
part of the Missouri and it’s branches within the Mountains. Goodrich
caught several douzen fine trout. today. I made up a small assortment of
medicines, together with the specemines of plants, minerals, seeds &c.
which, I have collected betwen this place and the falls of the Missouri
which I shall deposit here. the robe woarn by the Shoshonees is the same
in both sexes and is loosly thrown about their sholders, and the sides at
pleasure either hanging loose or drawn together with the hands, sometimes
if the weather is cold they confine it with a girdel arround the waist;
they are generally about the size of a 21/2 point blanket for grown
persons and reach as low as the middle of the leg. this robe forms a
garment in the day and constitutes their only covering at night. with
these people the robe is formed most commonly of the skins of Antelope,
Bighorn, or deer, dressed with the hair on, tho they prefer the buffaloe
when they can procure them. I have also observed some robes among them of
beaver, moonax, and small wolves. the summer robes of both sexes are also
frequently made of the Elk’s skin dressed without the hair. The shirt of
the men is really a commodious and decent garment. it roomy and reaches
nearly half way the thye, there is no collar, the apperture being
sufficiently large to admit the head and is left square at top, or most
frequently, both before and behind terminate in the tails of the animals
of which they are made and which foald outwards being frequently left
entire or somtimes cut into a fring on the edges and ornimented with the
quills of the Porcupine. the sides of the shirt are sewed deeply fringed,
and ornamented in a similar manner from the bottom upwards, within six or
eight inches of the sieve from whence it is left open as well as the sieve
on it’s under side to the elbow nearly. from the elbow the sieve fits the
arm tight as low as the wrist and is not ornimented with a fringe as the
sides and under parts of the sieve are above the elbow. the sholder straps
are wide and on them is generally displayed the taste of the manufacterer
in a variety of figures wrought with the quills of the porcupine of
several colours; beads when they have them are also displayed on this
part. the tail of the shirt is left in the form which the fore legs and
neck give it with the addition of a slight fringe. the hair is usually
left on the tail, & near the hoofs of the animal; part of the hoof is
also retained to the skin and is split into a fring by way of orniment.
these shirts are generally made of deer’s Antelope’s, Bighorn’s, or Elk’s
skins dressed without the hair. the Elk skin is less used for this purpose
than either of the others. their only thread used on this or any other
occasion is the sinews taken from the back and loins of the deer Elk
buffaloe &c. Their legings are most usually formed of the skins of the
Antelope dressed without the hair. in the men they are very long and full
each leging being formed of a skin nearly entire. the legs, tail and neck
are also left on these, and the tail woarn upwards; and the neck deeply
fringed and ornimented with porcupine qulls drags or trails on the ground
behind the heel. the skin is sewn in such manner as to fit the leg and
thye closely; the upper part being left open a sufficient distance to
permit the legs of the skin to be dran underneath a girdle both before and
behind, and the wide part of the skin to cover the buttock and lap before
in such manner that the breechcloth is unnecessary. they are much more
decent in concealing those parts than any nation on the Missouri the sides
of the legings are also deeply fringed and ornimented. sometimes this part
is ornimented with little fassicles of the hair of an enimy whom they have
slain in battle. The tippet of the Snake Indians is the most eligant peice
of Indian dress I ever saw, the neck or collar of this is formed of a
strip of dressed Otter skin with the fur. it is about four or five inches
wide and is cut out of the back of the skin the nose and eyes forming one
extremity and the tail the other. begining a little behind the ear of the
animal at one edge of this collar and proceeding towards the tail, they
attatch from one to two hundred and fifty little roles of Ermin skin
formed in the following manner. the skin is first dressed with the fur on
it and a narrow strip is cut out of the back of the skin reaching from the
nose and imbracing the tail. this is sewed arround a small cord of the
silk-grass twisted for the purpose and regularly tapering in such manner
as to give it ajust proportion to the tail which is to form the lower
extremity of the stran. thus arranged they are confined at the upper point
in little bundles of two-three, or more as the disign may be to make them
more full; these are then attatched to the collars as before mentioned,
and to conceal the connection of this part which would otherwise have a
course appearance they attatch a broad fringe of the Ermin skin to the
collar overlaying that part. little bundles of fine fringe of the same
materials is fastened to the extremity of the tails in order to shew their
black extremities to greater advantage. the center of the otterskin collar
is also ornamented with the shells of the perl oister. the collar is
confined arond the neck and the little roles of Ermin skin about the size
of a large quill covers the solders and body nearly to the waist and has
the appearance of a short cloak and is really handsome. these they esteem
very highly, and give or dispose of only on important occasions. the ermin
whic is known to the traiders of the N. W. by the name of the white weasel
is the genuine ermine, and might no doubt be turned to great advantage by
those people if they would encourage the Indians to take them. they are no
doubt extreemly plenty and readily taken, from the number of these tippets
which I have seen among these people and the great number of skins
employed in the construction of each timppet. scarcely any of them have
employed less than one hundred of these skins in their formation.This
morning Capt. Clark set out at 6 in the morning and soon after arrived
near their camp they having removed about 2 miles higher up the river than
the camp at which they were when I first visited them. the chief requested
a halt, which was complyed with, and a number of the indians came out from
the village and joined them after smoking a few pipes with them they all
proceeded to the village where Capt C. was conducted to a large lodge
prepared in the center of the encampment for himself and party. here they
gave him one salmon and some cakes of dryed berries. he now repeated to
them what had been said to them in council at this place which was
repeated to the village by the Cheif. when he had concluded this address
he requested a guide to accompany him down the river and an elderly man
was pointed out by the Cheif who consented to undertake this task. this
was the old man of whom Cameahwait had spoken as a person well acquainted
with the country to the North of this river. Capt. C. encouraged the
Indians to come over with their horses and assist me over with the
baggage. he distrubuted some presents among the Indians. about half the
men of the village turned out to hunt the antelope but were unsuccessfull.
at 3 P.M. Capt. Clark departed, accompanyed by his guide and party except
one man whom he left with orders to purchase a horse if possible and
overtake him as soon as he could. he left Charbono and the indian woman to
return to my camp with the Indians. he passed the river about four miles
below the Indians, and encamped on a small branch, eight miles distant. on
his way he met a rispectable looking indian who returned and continued
with him all night; this indian gave them three salmon. Capt. C. killed a
cock of the plains or mountain cock. it was of a dark brown colour with a
long and pointed tail larger than the dunghill fowl and had a fleshey
protuberant substance about the base of the upper chap, something like
that of the turkey tho without the snout.