Lewis and Clark Journal

The PLUMSTEAD Family

Lewis and Clark Journal

The Journals of Lewis And Clark

Chapter 14

Continued

21 July 1805 to 26 July 1805

Set out early this morning and passed a bad rapid where the river enters the mountain, about 1 mile from our camp of last evening. The cliffs high, and covered with fragments of broken rocks. The current strong. We employed the towrope principally, and also the poles, as the river is not now so deep but rather wider and much more rapid. Our progress was therefore slow and laborious. We saw three swans this morning, which, like the geese, have not yet recovered the feathers of the wings and could not fly. We killed two of them; the third escaped by diving and passed down with the current. They had no young ones with them, therefore presume they do not breed in this country. These are the first we have seen on the river for a great distance We daily see great numbers of geese with their young which are perfectly feathered except the wings, which are deficient in both young and old. My dog caught several today, as he frequently does.

Captain Lewis, 21 July 1805

The Indian woman recognizes the country and assures us that this is the river on which her relations live, and that the Three Forks are at no great distance. This piece of information has cheered the spirits of the party, who now begin to console themselves with the anticipation of shortly seeing the head of the Missouri, yet unknown to the civilized world. The large creek which we passed on starboard, 15 yards, we call White Earth Creek from the circumstance of the natives procuring a white paint on this creek.

Captain Lewis, 22 July 1805

I ordered the canoes to hoist their small flags in order that should the Indians see us, they might discover that we were not Indians, nor their enemies. We made great use of our setting poles and cords, the use of both which the river and banks favored. Most of our small sockets were lost, and the stones were so smooth that the points of their poles slipped m such manner that it increased the labor of navigating the canoes very considerably. I recollected a parcel of gigs which I had brought on, and made the men each attach one of these to the lower ends of their poles with strong wire, which answered the desired purpose.

Captain Lewis, 23 July 1805

The valley through which the river passed today is much as that of yesterday, nor is there any difference in the appearance of the mountains. They still continue high and seem to rise in some places like an amphitheater, one range above another, as they recede from the river, until the most distant and lofty have their tops clad with snow. The adjacent mountains commonly rise so high as to conceal the more distant and lofty mountains from our view.

I fear every day that we shall meet with some considerable falls or obstruction in the river notwithstanding the information of the Indian woman to the contrary, who assures us that the river continues much as we see it. I can scarcely form an idea of a river running to great extent through such a rough, mountainous country without having its stream intercepted by some difficult and dangerous rapids or falls. We daily pass a great number of small rapids or riffles, which descend one, two, or three feet in 150 yards, but we are rarely incommoded with fixed or standing rocks, and although strong rapid water, they are nevertheless quite practicable and by no means dangerous.

This morning Captain Clark set out early and pursued the Indian road, which took him up a creek some miles. About 10 A.M., he discovered a horse about six miles distant, on his left. He changed his route toward the horse. On approaching him, he found the horse in fine order but so wild he could not get within less than several hundred paces of him. He still saw much Indian sign, but none of recent date. From this horse he directed his course obliquely to the river, where, on his arrival, he killed a deer and dined.

Captain Lewis, 24 July 1805

A fine morning. We proceeded on a few miles to the Three Forks of the Missouri. Those three forks are nearly of a size. The north fork appears to have the most water and must be considered as the one best calculated for us to ascend. Middle fork is quite as large- about 90 yards wide. The south fork is about 70 yards wide, and falls in about 400 yards below the middle fork. Those forks appear to be very rapid, and contain some timber in their bottoms which are very extensive.

On the north side the Indians have latterly set the prairies on fire - the cause I can't account for. I saw one horsetrack going up the river, about four or 5 days past.

After breakfast - which we made on the ribs of a buck killed yesterday - I wrote a note informing Captain Lewis the route I intended to take, and proceeded on up the main north fork through a valley, the day very hot.

About 6 or 8 miles up the north fork, a small rapid river falls in on the larboard side, which affords a great deal of water, and appears to head in the snow mountains to the S.W. This little river falls into the Missouri by three mouths, having separated after it arrives in the river bottoms, and contains, as also all the water courses in this quarter, immense numbers of beaver and otter. Many thousand inhabit the river and creeks near the Three Forks (Philosopher's River) . We camped on the same side. We ascended starboard 20 miles on a direct line up the N. fork. Charbonneau, our interpreter, nearly tired out; one of his ankles failing him. The bottoms are extensive and tolerable land covered with tall grass and prickly pears. The hills and mountains are high, steep, and rocky. The river very much divided by islands.

Captain Clark, 25 July 1805

The high lands are thin, meager soil, covered with dry, low sedge and a species of grass, also dry, the seeds of which are armed with a long, twisted, hard beard at the upper extremity, while the lower point is a sharp, subulate, firm point beset at its base with little stiff bristles standing with their points in a contrary direction to the subulate point, to which they answer as a barb and serve also to press it forward when once entered a small distance. These barbed seeds penetrate our moccasins and leather leggings and give us great pain until they are removed. My poor dog suffers with them excessively. He is constantly biting and scratching himself as if in a rack of pain.

The prickly pear also grow here as abundantly as usual. There is another species of the prickly pear of a globular form, composed of an assemblage of little conic leaves springing from a common root, to which their small points are attached as a common center; and the base of the cone forms the apex of the leaf, which is garnished with a circular range of sharp thorns, quite as stiff and more keen than the more common species with the flat leaf, like the cochineal plant.

On entering this open valley, I saw the snow-clad tops of distant mountains before us. The timber and mountains much as heretofore. Saw a number of beaver today and some otter; killed one of the former, also four deer. Found a deer's skin which had been left by Captain Clark, with a note informing me of his having met with a horse, but had seen no fresh appearance of the Indians.

Captain Lewis, 26 July 1805

Captain Clark Thought Himself Somewhat Bilious and Had Not Had a Passage for Several Days I determined to leave Charbonneau and one man who had sore feet to rest, and proceed on with the other two to the top of a mountain 12 miles distant, west, and from thence view the river and valleys ahead. We, with great difficulty and much fatigue, reached the top at 11 o'clock. From the top of this mountain I could see the course of the north fork about ten miles, meandering through a valley, but could discover no Indians or sign which was fresh. I could also see some distance up the small river below, and also the middle fork. After satisfying myself, returned to the two men by an old Indian path.

On this path, and in the mountain, we came to a spring of excessive cold water, which we drank rather freely of, as we were almost famished. Notwithstanding the precautions of wetting my face, hands, and feet, I soon felt the effects of the water. We continued through a deep valley without a tree to shade us, scorching with heat, to the men who had killed a poor deer. I was fatigued. My feet with several blisters, and stuck with prickly pears.

Captain Clark, 26 July 1805

Ascended the S.W. fork 1 3/4 miles and encamped at a larboard bend in a handsome, level, smooth plain just below a bayou, having passed the entrance of the middle fork at 1/2 a mile. Here I encamped to wait the return of Captain Clark, and to give the men a little rest, which seemed absolutely necessary to them. At the junction of the S.W. and middle forks, I found a note which had been left by Captain Clark informing me of his intended route, and that he would join me at this place, provided he did not fall in with any fresh sign of Indians, in which case he intended to pursue until he overtook them, calculating on my taking the S.W. fork, which I most certainly prefer, as its direction is much more promising than any other.

Believing this to be an essential point in the geography of this western part of the continent, I determined to remain at all events until I obtained the necessary data for fixing its latitude, longitude, &c. After fixing my camp, I had the canoes all unloaded and the baggage stowed away and securely covered on shore, and then permitted several men to hunt.

I walked down to the middle fork and examined and compared it with the S.W. fork, but could not satisfy myself which was the largest stream of the two; in fact they appeared as if they had been cast in the same mold, there being no difference in character or size. Therefore, to call either of these streams the Missouri would be giving it a preference which its size does not warrant, as it is not larger than the other. They are each 90 yards wide. In these meadows I saw a number of the mallard duck with their young, which are now nearly grown.

Captain Clark arrived very sick, with a high fever on him, and much fatigued and exhausted. He informed me that he was very sick all last night, had a high fever and frequent chills and constant aching pains in all his muscles. This morning, notwithstanding his indisposition, he pursued his intended route to the middle fork, about 8 miles, and finding no recent sign of Indians, rested about an hour, and came down the middle fork to this place.

Ch 14A Index Ch 15