Lewis: August 23, 1805
Friday August 23rd 1805. This morning I arrose very early and despatched
two hunters on horseback with orders to extend their hunt to a greater
distance up the S. E. fork than they had done heretofore, in order if
possible to obtain some meet for ourselves as well as the Indians who
appeared to depend on us for food and our store of provision is growing
too low to indulge them with much more corn or flour. I wished to have set
out this morning but the cheef requested that I would wait untill another
party of his nation arrived which he expected today, to this I consented
from necessity, and therefore sent out the hunters as I have mentioned. I
also laid up the canoes this morning in a pond near the forks; sunk them
in the water and weighted them down with stone, after taking out the plugs
of the gage holes in their bottoms; hoping by this means to guard against
both the effects of high water, and that of the fire which is frequently
kindled in these plains by the natives. the Indians have promised to do
them no intentional injury and beleive they are too lazy at any rate to
give themselves the trouble to raise them from their present situation in
order to cut or birn them. I reminded the chief of the low state of our
stores of provision and advised him to send his young men to hunt, which
he immediately recommended to them and most of them turned out. I wished
to have purchased some more horses of them but they objected against
disposing of any more of them untill we reach their camp beyond the
mountains. the Indians pursued a mule buck near our camp I saw this chase
for about 4 miles it was really entertaining, there were about twelve of
them in pursuit of it on horseback, they finally rode it down and killed
it. the all came in about 1 P.M. having killed 2 mule deer and three
goats. this mule buck was the largest deer of any kind I had ever seen. it
was nearly as large as a doe Elk. I observed that there was but little
division or distribution of the meat they had taken among themselves. some
familes had a large stock and others none. this is not customary among the
nations of Indians with whom I have hitherto been acquainted I asked
Cameahwait the reason why the hunters did not divide the meat among
themselves; he said that meat was so scarce with them that the men who
killed it reserved it for themselves and their own families. my hunters
arrived about 2 in the evening with two mule deer and three common deer. I
distributed three of the deer among those families who appeared to have
nothing to eat. at three P.M. the expected party of Indians arrived, about
50 men women and Children. I now learnt that most of them were thus far on
their way down the valley towards the buffaloe country, and observed that
there was a good deel of anxiety on the part of some of those who had
promised to assist me over the mountains to accompany this party, I felt
some uneasiness on this subject but as they still said they would return
with me as they had promised I said nothing to them but resolved to set
out in the morning as early as possible. I dispatched two hunters this
evening into the cove to hunt and leave the meat they might kill on the
rout we shall pass tomorrow.
The metal which we found in possession of these people consited of a few
indifferent knives, a few brass kettles some arm bands of iron and brass,
a few buttons, woarn as ornaments in their hair, a spear or two of a foot
in length and some iron and brass arrow points which they informed me they
obtained in exchange for horses from the Crow or Rocky Mountain Indians on
the yellowstone River. the bridlebits and stirrips they obtained from the
Spaniards, tho these were but few. many of them made use of flint for
knives, and with this instrument, skined the animals they killed, dressed
their fish and made their arrows; in short they used it for every purpose
to which the knife is applyed. this flint is of no regular form, and if
they can only obtain a part of it, an inch or two in length that will cut
they are satisfyed, they renew the edge by fleaking off the flint by means
of the point of an Elk’s or deer’s horn. with the point of a deer or Elk’s
horn they also form their arrow points of the flint, with a quickness and
neatness that is really astonishing. we found no axes nor hatchets among
them; what wood they cut was done either with stone or Elk’s horn. the
latter they use always to rive or split their wood. their culinary
eutensils exclusive of the brass kettle before mentioned consist of pots
in the form of ajar made either of earth, or of a white soft stone which
becomes black and very hard by birning, and is found in the hills near the
three forks of the Missouri betwen Madison’s and Gallitin’s rivers they
have also spoons made of the Buffaloe’s horn and those of the Bighorn.
Their bows are made of ceader or pine and have nothing remarkable about
them. the back of the bow is covered with sinues and glue and is about
21/2 feet long. much the shape of those used by the Siouxs Mandans
Minnetares &c. their arrows are more slender generally than those used
by the nations just mentioned but much the same in construction. Their
Sheild is formed of buffaloe hide, perfectly arrow proof, and is a circle
of 2 feet 4 I. or 2 F. 6 I. in diameter. this is frequently painted with
varios figures and ornamented around the edges with feather and a fringe
of dressed leather. they sometimes make bows of the Elk’s horn and those
also of the bighorn. those of the Elk’s horn are made of a single peice
and covered on the back with glue and sinues like those made of wood, and
are frequently ornamented with a stran wrought porcupine quills and sinues
raped around them for some distance at both extremities. the bows of the
bighorn are formed of small peices laid flat and cemented with gleue, and
rolled with sinews, after which, they are also covered on the back with
sinews and glew, and highly ornamented as they are much prized. forming
the sheild is a cerimony of great importance among them, this implement
would in their minds be devested of much of its protecting power were it
not inspired with those virtues by their old men and jugglers. their
method of preparing it is thus, an entire skin of a bull buffaloe two
years old is first provided; a feast is next prepared and all the warriors
old men and jugglers invited to partake. a hole is sunk in the ground
about the same in diameter with the intended sheild and about 18 inches
deep. a parcel of stones are now made red hot and thrown into the hole
water is next thrown in and the hot stones cause it to emit a very strong
hot steem, over this they spread the green skin which must not have been
suffered to dry after taken off the beast. the flesh side is laid next to
the groround and as many of the workmen as can reach it take hold on it’s
edges and extend it in every direction. as the skin becomes heated, the
hair seperates and is taken of with the fingers, and the skin continues to
contract untill the whoe is drawn within the compas designed for the
shield, it is then taken off and laid on a parchment hide where they pound
it with their heels when barefoot. this operation of pounding continues
for several days or as long as the feast lasts when it is delivered to the
propryeter and declared by the jugglers and old men to be a sufficient
defence against the arrows of their enimies or even bullets if feast has
been a satisfactory one. many of them beleive implisitly that a ball
cannot penitrate their sheilds, in consequence of certain supernaural
powers with which they have been inspired by their jugglers.The
Poggamoggon is an instrument with a handle of wood covered with dressed
leather about the size of a whip handle and 22 inches long; a round stone
of 2 pounds weight is also covered with leather and strongly united to the
leather of the handle by a throng of 2 inches long; a loop of leather
united to the handle passes arond the wrist. a very heavy blow may be
given with this instrument. They have also a kind of armor which they form
with many foalds of dressed Atelope’s skin, unite with glue and sand. with
this they cover their own bodies and those of their horses. these are
sufficient against the effects of the arrow.the quiver which
contains their arrows and implements for making fire is formed of various
skins. that of the Otter seems to be prefered. they are but narrow, of a
length sufficent to protect the arrow from the weather, and are woarn on
the back by means of a strap which passes over the left sholder and under
the wright arm.their impliments for making fire is nothing more than a
blunt arrow and a peice of well seasoned soft spongey wood such as the
willow or cottonwood. the point of this arrow they apply to this dry stick
so near one edge of it that the particles of wood which are seperated from
it by the friction of the arrow falls down by it’s side in a little pile.
the arrow is held between the palms of the hand with the fingers extended,
and being pressed as much as possible against the peice is briskly rolled
between the palms of the hands backwards and forwards by pressing the
arrow downwards the hands of course in rolling arrow also decend; they
bring them back with a quick motion and repeat the operation till the dust
by the friction takes fire; the peice and arrow are then removed and some
dry grass or Boated wood is added. it astonished me to see in what little
time these people would kindle fire in this way. in less than a minute
they will produce fire.
Capt. Clark set out this morning very early and poroceeded but slowly in
consequence of the difficulty of his road which lay along the steep side
of a mountain over large irregular and broken masses of rocks which had
tumbled from the upper part of the mountain. it was with much wrisk and
pain that the horses could get on. at the distance of four miles he
arrived at the river and the rocks were here so steep and juted into the
river such manner that there was no other alternative but passing through
the river, this he attempted with success tho water was so deep for a
short distance as to swim the horses and was very rapid; he continued his
rout one mile along the edge of the river under this steep Clift to a
little bottom, below which the whole current of the river beat against the
Stard. shore on which he was, and which was formed of a solid rock
perfectly inaccessible to horses. here also the little track which he had
been pursuing, terminated. he therefore determined to leave the horses and
the majority of the party here and with his guide and three men to
continue his rout down the river still further, in order more fully to
satisfy himself as to it’s practicability. accordingly he directed the men
to hunt and fish at this place untill his return. they had not killed
anything today but one goose, and the ballance of the little provision
they had brought with them, as well as the five salmon they had procured
yesterday were consumed last evening; there was of tours no inducement for
his halting any time, at this place; after a few minutes he continued his
rout clambering over immence rocks and along the sides of lofty precepices
on the border of the river to the distance of 12 miles, at which place a
large creek discharged itself on the Norh side 12 yds. wide and deep. a
short distance above the entrance of this creek there is a narrow bottom
which is the first that he had found on the river from that in which he
left the horses and party. a plain indian road led up this creek which the
guide informed him led to a large river that ran to the North, and was
frequented by another nation who occasionally visited this river for the
purpose of taking fish. at this place he saw some late appearance of
Indians having been encamped and the tracks of a number of horses. Capt.
C. halted here about 2 hours, caught some small fish, on which, with the
addition of some berries, they dined. the river from the place at which he
left the party to his present station was one continued rapid, in which
there were five shoals neither of which could be passed with loaded canoes
nor even run with empty ones. at those several places therefore it would
be necessary to unload and transport the baggage for a considerable
distance over steep and almost inacassable rocks where there was no
possibility of employing horses for the releif of the men; the canoes
would next have to be let down by cords and even with this precaution
Capt. C. conceived there would be much wriske of both canoes and men. at
one of those shoals the lofty perpendicular rocks which from the bases of
the mountains approach the river so nearly on each side, as to prevent the
possibility of a portage, or passage for the canoes without expending much
labour in removing rocks and cuting away the earth in some places. to
surmount These difficulties, precautions must be observed which in their
execution must necessarily consume much time and provision, neither of
which we can command. the season is now far advanced to remain in these
mountains as the Indians inform us we shall shortly have snow; the salmon
have so far declined that they are themselves haistening from the country
and not an animal of any discription is to be seen in this difficult part
of the river larger than a pheasant or a squirrel and they not abundant;
add to this that our stock of provision is now so low that it would not
support us more than ten days. the bends of the river are short and the
currant beats from side to side against the rocks with great violence. the
river is about 100 yds. wide and so deep that it cannot be foarded but in
a few places, and the rocks approach the river so near in most places that
there is no possibility of passing between them and the water; a passage
therefore with horses along the river is also impracticable. The sides of
these mountains present generally one barren surface of confused and
broken masses of stone. above these are white or brown and towards the
base of a grey colour and so hard that when struck with a steel, yeald
fire like flint. those he had just past were scarcely releived by the
appearance of a tree; but those below the entrance of the creek were
better covered with timber, and there were also some tall pine near the
river. The sides of the mountains are very steep, and the torrents of
water which roll down their sides at certain seasons appear to carry with
them vast quantities of the loose stone into the river. after dinner Capt.
C. continued his rout down the river and at 1/2 a mile pased another creek
not so large as that just mentioned, or about 5 yards wide. here his guide
informed him that by ascending this creek some distance they would have a
better road and would cut off a considerable bend which the river made to
the south; accordingly he pursued a well beaten Indian track which led up
this creek about six miles, then leaving the creek on the wright he passed
over a ridge, and at the distance of a mile arrived at the river where it
passes through a well timbered bottom of about eighty acres of land; they
passed this bottom and asscended a steep and elivated point of a mountain,
from whence the guide shewed him the brake of the river through the
mountains for about 20 miles further. this view was terminated by one of
the most lofty mountains, Capt. C. informed me, he had ever seen which was
perfectly covered with snow. the river directed it’s course immediately to
this stupendous mountain at the bace of which the gude informe him those
difficulties of which himself and nation had spoken, commenced. that after
the river reached this mountain it continued it’s rout to the North for
many miles between high and perpendicular rocks, roling foaming and
beating against innumerable rocks which crouded it’s channel; that then it
penetrated the mountain through a narrow gap leaving a perpendicular rock
on either side as high as the top of the mountain which he beheld. that
the river here making a bend they could not see through the mountain, and
as it was impossible to decend the river or clamber over that vast
mountain covered with eternal snow, neither himself nor any of his nation
had ever been lower in this direction, than in view of the place at which
the river entered this mountain; that if Capt. C. wished him to do so, he
would conduct him to that place, where he thought they could probably
arrive by the next evening. Capt. C. being now perfictly satisfyed as to
the impractability of this rout either by land or water, informed the old
man, that he was convinced of the varacity of his assertions and would now
return to the village from whence they had set out where he expected to
meet myself and party. they now returned to the upper part of the last
creek he had passed, and encamped. it was an hour after dark before he
reached this place. a small river falls into this fork of the Columbia
just above the high mountain through which it passes on the south side.
