Lewis: July 11, 1805

Thursday July 11th 1805. We had now nothing to do but wait for the canoes;
as they had not returned I sent out some of the small party with me to
hunt; in the evening they returned with a good quantity of the flesh of a
fat buffaloe which they had killed. the canoes not arrived this evening. I
saw several very large grey Eagles today they are a half as large again as
the common bald Eagle of this country. I do not think the bald Eagle here
qute so large as those of the U States; the grey Eagle is infinitely
larger and is no doubt a distinct species. this evening a little before
the sun set I heared two other discharges of this unaccounable artillery
of the Rocky Mountains proceeding from the same quarter that I had before
heard it. I now recollected the Minnetares making mention of the nois
which they had frequently heard in the Rocky Mountains like thunder; and
which they said the mountains made; but I paid no attention to the
information supposing it either false or the fantom of a supersticious
immagination. I have also been informed by the engages that the Panis and
Ricaras give the same account of the Black mountains which lye West of
them. this phenomenon the philosophy of the engages readily accounts for;
they state it to be the bursting of the rich mines of silver which these
mountains contain.

This morning Capt. Clark dispatched Bratton to meet the canoes which were
detained by the wind to get a couple of axes. he obtained the axes and
returned in about two hours. this man has been unable to work for several
days in consequence of a whitlow on one of his fingers; a complaint which
has been very common among the men. one of the canoes arrived at Capt.
Clarks camp about 10 A.M. this he had unloaded and set a few miles up the
river for a buffaloe which had been killed, the party sent killed another
in thir rout and brought in the flesh and skins of both they were in good
order; his hunters had also killed two deer and an Antelope yesterday. the
three other canoes did not arrive untill late in the evening in
consequence of the wind and the fear of weting their loads which consisted
of articles much more liable to be injured by moisture than those which
composed the load of that which arrived in the morning. Capt. C. had the
canoes unloaded and ordered them to float down in the course of the night
to my camp, but the wind proved so high after night that they were obliged
to put too about 8 miles above and remain untill morning. Capt. C. kept
the party with him busily engaged at the canoes. his hunters killed and
brought in three very fat deer this evening.