Lewis: June 17, 1805

Monday June 17th 1805. Capt. Clark set out early this morning with five
men to examine the country and survey the river and portage as had been
concerted last evening. I set six men at work to pepare four sets of truck
wheels with couplings, toungs and bodies, that they might either be used
without the bodies for transporting our canoes, or with them in
transporting our baggage I found that the Elk skins I had prepared for my
boat were insufficient to compleat her, some of them having become
dammaged by the weather and being frequently wet; to make up this
deficiency I sent out two hunters this morning to hunt Elk; the ballance
of the party I employed first in unloading the white perogue, which we
intend leaving at this place, and bring the whole of our baggage together
and arranging it in proper order near our camp. this duty being compleated
I employed them in taking five of the small canoes up the creek which we
now call portage creek about 13/4 miles; here I had them taken out and
lyed in the sun to dry. from this place ther is a gradual ascent to the
top of the high plain to which we can now take them with ease; the bluffs
of this creek below and those of the river above it’s entrance are so
steep that it would be almost impracticable to have gotten them on the
plain. we found much difficulty in geting the canoes up this creek to the
distance we were compelled to take them, in consequence of the rappids and
rocks which obstruct the channel of the creek. one of the canoes overset
and was very near injuring 2 men essencially. just above the canoes the
creek has a perpendicular fall of 5 feet and the cliffts again become very
steep and high. we were fortunate enough to find one cottonwood tree just
below the entrance of portage creek that was large enough to make our
carrage wheels about 22 Inches in diameter; fortunate I say because I do
not beleive that we could find another of the same size perfectly sound
within 20 miles of us. the cottonwood which we are obliged to employ in
the other parts of the work is extreemly illy calculated for it being soft
and brittle. we have made two axeltrees of the mast of the white peroge,
which I hope will answer tolerably well tho it is reather small. The
Indian woman much better today, I have still continued the same course of
medecine; she is free from pain clear of fever, her pulse regular, and
eats as heartily as I am willing to permit her of broiled buffaloe well
seasoned with pepper and salt and rich soope of the same meat; I think
therefore that there is every rational hope of her recovery. saw a vast
number of buffaloe feeding in every direction arround us in the plains,
others coming down in large herds to water at the river; the fragments of
many carcases of these poor anamals daily pass down the river, thus
mangled I pesume in decending those immence cataracts above us. as the
buffaloe generally go in large herds to water and the passages to the
river about the falls are narrow and steep the hinder part of the herd
press those in front out of their debth and the water instatly takes them
over the cataracts where they are instantly crushed to death without the
possibility of escaping. in this manner I have seen ten or a douzen
disappear in a few minutes. their mangled carcases ly along the shores
below the falls in considerable quantities and afford fine amusement for
the bear wolves and birds of prey; this may be one reason and I think not
a bad one either that the bear are so tenatious of their right of soil in
this neighbourhood.