Lewis: June 30, 1805

Sunday June 30th 1805.

We had a heavy dew this morning which is a remarkable event. Fraizer

and Whitehouse still continue their opperation of sewing the skins
together. I set Shields and gass to shaving bark and Fields continued to
make the cross brases. Drewyer and myself rendered a considerable quantity
of tallow and cooked. I begin to be extremely impatient to be off as the
season is now waisting a pace nearly three months have now elapsed since
we left Fort Mandan and not yet reached the Rocky Mountains I am therefore
fully preswaded that we shall not reach Fort Mandan again this season if
we even return from the ocean to the Snake Indians. wherever we find
timber there is also beaver; Drewyer killed two today. There are a number
of large bat or goatsucker here I killed one of them and found that there
was no difference between them and those common to the U States; I have
not seen the leather winged bat for some time nor is there any of the
small goatsuckers in this quarter of the country. we have not the
whip-poor-will either. this last is by many persons in the U States
confounded with the large goat-sucker or night-hawk as it is called in the
Eastern States, and are taken for the same bird. it is true that there is
a great resemblance but they are distinct species of the goatsucker. here
the one exists without the other. the large goat sucker lays it’s eggs in
these open plains without the preperation of a nest we have found their
eggs in several instances they lay only two before they set nor do I
beleive that they raise more than one brood in a season; they have now
just hatched their young.This evening the bark was shaved and the
leather covering for the sections were also completed and I had them put
into the water, in order to toughen the bark, and prepare the leather for
sewing on the sections in the morning. it has taken 28 Elk skins and 4
Buffaloe skins to complete her. the crossbars are also finished this
evening; we have therefore only the way strips now to obtain in order to
complete the wood work, and this I fear will be a difficult task. The
party have not returned from the lower camp I am therefore fearfull that
some uncommon accedent has happened.

Occurrences with Capt. Clark and Party

This morning Capt. Clark dispatched two men to kill some buffaloe, two
others to the falls to surch for the articles lost yesterday, one he
retained to cook and sent the others for the baggage left in the plains
yesterday. the hunters soon returned loaded with meat those sent for the
baggage brought it up in a few hours, he then set four men at work to make
axeltrees and repare the carrages; the others he employed in conveying the
baggage over the run on their sholders it having now fallent to about 3
feet water. the men complained much today of the bruises and wounds which
they had received yesterday from the hail. the two men sent to the falls
returned with the compas which they found covered in the mud and sand near
the mouth of the rivene the other articles were irrecoverably lost. they
found that part of rivene in; which Capt. C. had been seting yesterday,
filled with huge rocks. at 11 A.M. Capt. Clark dispatched the party with a
load of the baggage as far as the 6 miles stake, with orders to deposit it
there and return with the carriages which they did accordingly. they
experienced a heavy gust of wind this evening from the S. W. after which
it was a fair afternoon. more buffaloe than usual were seen about their
camp; Capt. C assured me that he beleives he saw at least ten thousand at
one view.