Lewis: May 16, 1805

Thursday May 16th The morning was fair and the day proved favorable to our
operations; by 4 oClock in the evening our Instruments, Medicine,
merchandize provision &c, were perfectly dryed, repacked and put on
board the perogue. the loss we sustained was not so great as we had at
first apprehended; our medicine sustained the greatest injury, several
articles of which were intirely spoiled, and many others considerably
injured; the ballance of our losses consisted of some gardin seeds, a
small quantity of gunpowder, and a few culinary articles which fell
overboard and sunk, the Indian woman to whom I ascribe equal fortitude and
resolution, with any person onboard at the time of the accedent, caught
and preserved most of the light articles which were washed overboard all
matters being now arranged for our departure we lost no time in seting
out; proceeced on tolerably well about seven miles and encamped on the
Stard. side. in the early part of the day two of our men fired on a
panther, a little below our encampment, and wounded it; they informed us
that it was very large, had just killed a deer partly devoured it, and in
the act of concealing the ballance as they discovered him. we caught two
Antelopes at our encampment in attempting to swim the river; these anamals
are but lean as yet, and of course not very pleasant food. I walked on
shore this evening and killed a buffaloe cow and calf, we found the calf
most excellent veal. the country on either side of the river is broken and
hills much higher than usual, the bottoms now become narrow and the timber
more scant; some scattering pine and cedar on the steep declivities of the
hills.- this morning a white bear toar Labuiche’s coat which he had left
in the plains.