Lewis: August 26, 1805

Monday August 26th 1805. This morning was excessively cold; there was ice
on the vessels of water which stood exposed to the air nearly a quarter of
an inch thick. we collected our horses and set out at sunrise. we soon
arrived at the extreem source of the Missouri; here I halted a few
minutes, the men drank of the water and consoled themselves with the idea
of having at length arrived at this long wished for point. from hence we
proceeded to a fine spring on the side of the mountain where I had lain
the evening before I first arrived at the Shoshone Camp. here I halted to
dine and graize our horses, there being fine green grass on that part of
the hillside which was moistened by the water of the spring while the
grass on the other parts was perfectly dry and parched with the sun. I
directed a pint of corn to be given each Indian who was engaged in
transporting our baggage and about the same quantity to each of the men
which they parched pounded and made into supe. one of the women who had
been assisting in the transportation of the baggage halted at a little run
about a mile behind us, and sent on the two pack horses which she had been
conducting by one of her female friends. I enquired of Cameahwait the
cause of her detention, and was informed by him in an unconcerned manner
that she had halted to bring fourth a child and would soon overtake us; in
about an hour the woman arrived with her newborn babe and passed us on her
way to the camp apparently as well as she ever was. It appears to me that
the facility and ease with which the women of the aborigines of North
America bring fourth their children is reather a gift of nature than
depending as some have supposed on the habitude of carrying heavy burthens
on their backs while in a state of pregnancy. if a pure and dry air, an
elivated and cold country is unfavourable to childbirth, we might expect
every difficult incident to that operation of nature in this part of the
continent; again as the snake Indians possess an abundance of horses,
their women are seldom compelled like those in other parts of the
continent to carry burthens on their backs, yet they have their children
with equal convenience, and it is a rare occurrence for any of them to
experience difficulty in childbirth. I have been several times informed by
those who were conversent with the fact, that the indian women who are
pregnant by whitemen experience more difficulty in childbirth than when
pregnant by an Indian. if this be true it would go far in suport of the
opinion I have advanced.

the tops of the high and irregular mountains which present themselves to
our view on the opposite side of this branch of the Columbia are yet
perfectly covered with snow; the air which proceeds from those mountains
has an agreeable coolness and renders these parched and South hillsides
much more supportable at this time of the day it being now about noon. I
observe the indian women collecting the root of a speceis of fennel which
grows in the moist grounds and feeding their poor starved children; it is
really distressing to witness the situation of those poor wretches. the
radix of this plant is of the knob kind, of a long ovate form terminating
in a single radicle, the whole bing about 3 or four inches in length and
the thickest part about the size of a man’s little finger. it is white
firm and crisp in it’s present state, when dryed and pounded it makes a
fine white meal; the flavor of this root is not unlike that of annisseed
but not so pungent; the stem rises to the hight of 3 or four feet is
jointed smooth and cilindric; from r to 4 of those knobed roots are
attatched to the base of this stem. the leaf is sheathing sessile, &
pultipartite, the divisions long and narrow; the whole is of a deep green.
it is now in blame; the flowers are numerous, small, petals white, and are
of the umbellaferous kind. several small peduncles put forth from the main
stock one at each joint above the sheathing leaf. it has no root leaves.
the root of the present year declines when the seeds have been matured and
the succeeding spring other roots of a similar kind put fourth from the
little knot which unites the roots and stem and grow and decline with the
stem as before mentioned. The sunflower is very abundant near the
watercourses the seeds of this plant are now rip and the natives collect
them in considerable quantities and reduce them to meal by pounding and
rubing them between smooth stones. this meal is a favorite food their
manner of using it has been beforementiond. after dinner we continued our
rout towards the village. on our near approach we were met by a number of
young men on horseback. Cameahwait requested that we would discharge our
guns when we arrived in sight of the Village, accordingly when I arrived
on an eminence above the village in the plain I drew up the party at open
order in a single rank and gave them a runing fire discharging two rounds.
they appeared much gratifyed with this exhibition. we then proceeded to
the village or encampment of brush lodges 32 in number. we were conducted
to a large lodge which had been prepared for me in the center of their
encampmerit which was situated in a beautifull level smooth and extensive
bottom near the river about 3 miles above the place I had first found them
encamped. here we arrived at 6 in the evening arranged our baggage near my
tent and placed those of the men on either side of the baggage facing
outwards. I found Colter here who had just arrived with a letter from
Capt. Clark in which Capt. C. had given me an account of his peregrination
and the description of the river and country as before detailed from this
view of the subject I found it a folly to think of attemping to decend
this river in canoes and therefore to commence the purchase of horses in
the morning from the indians in order to carry into execution the design
we had formed of passing the rocky Mountains. I now informed Cameahwait of
my intended expedition overland to the great river which lay in the plains
beyond the mountains and told him that I wished to purchase 20 horses of
himself and his people to convey our baggage. he observed that the
Minnetares had stolen a great number of their horses this spring but hoped
his people would spear me the number I wished. I also asked a guide, he
observed that he had no doubt but the old man who was with Capt. C. would
accompany us if we wished him and that he was better informed of the
country than any of them. matters being thus far arranged I directed the
fiddle to be played and the party danced very merily much to the amusement
and gratification of the natives, though I must confess that the state of
my own mind at this moment did not well accord with the prevailing mirth
as I somewhat feared that the caprice of the indians might suddenly induce
them to withhold their horses from us without which my hopes of
prosicuting my voyage to advantage was lost; however I determined to keep
the indians in a good humour if possible, and to loose no time in
obtaining the necessary number of horses. I directed the hunters to turn
out early in the morning and indeavor to obtain some meat. I had nothing
but a little parched corn to eat this evening.

This morning Capt. C. and party