History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky mountains and down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean : performed during the years 1804-5-6 by order of the government of the United States; Volume 1

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192 Lewis and Clarlic' s Ex1Jedition dt·esscd buffaloc skins; ncar it lay a bag made of bnffaloe skin, containing a pail· of moccasins, some red and blue paint, ucaVCl''S nails, SCl'a}lCl'S for dressing hides, SOme ~lricd roots, several plaits of sweet ga·ass, ami a small qnant1ty of ~landau tobacco. These things as well as the body itself Jiad probably fallen down by accident, as the custom is Lo place them on the scaffold. At a little dist~nee was t~lC body of a dog not yet decayed, who had met this r~w.ard {.or having dragged thus far in the sled the corpse of Ius nus .. tress, to whom according to the Indian usage be had beeu sacrificed. Sunday, 2lst. Last night thet•e was a hard while frost, and this morning the weather colcl, but clear and pleasant: in the course of' the day however it became cloudy and the wind rose. Th.e country is of the same description as within the few last days. \Vc saw immense quantities of buffaloc, elk, deer, antelopes, geese, and some swan and ducks, out of which we procured three deer, four buffaloe calves, which last are equal in flavour to tlJe most delicious veal; also two beaver, and an otter. \Vc passed one large and two small creeks on the south side, and reached at sixteen miles the mouth of "'\\'hitccarth l'iver, coming in ft•om the not•tb. This river before it reaches the low grounds near the Missouri, is a fine l>old stream sixty yards wide, and is deep aml navigable, but it is so much choked up at the entrance by the mud of the Missouri, that its mouth is not more than ten yards wide. Its course, as far as we could discern ft·om tbe neighbouring hills, is nearly due no.rth, passing through a beautiful ami fertile valley, though with­out a tree or busb of any description. Ilalf a mile beyond this rivet' we encamped on the same side below a point of highland, which from its appearance we call Cut bluff: Monday, 22d. The day clear and cold: we passed a high bluff on the not•th aud plains on the south, in which were large herds of buffaloc, tHI breakfast, when the wind became so strong ahead tbat we proceeded witb difficulty even with Up the ""Iissouri. the aid of the towline. Some ofthc11arty now walkcdaerosi to the \Vhitcearth l'iver, which here at the distance of four miles from its mouth approaches very ncar to the Missouri. It contains more water than is usual in streams of the same size at this season, with steep banks about ten or t wclre feet high, antl the water is much clearer than that of the Missour'i; t.he salts which have been mentioned as common. on the l\lissouri, arc hcl'e so abundant that in many places the gt·onnd appcar·s pcl'f'cctly white, and from this cir­cumstance it may Jnnre derhetl its name; it waters an open counti'J' and is navigaiJle almost to its source, which is not far from the Saskaskawan, and Judging f1·om its size and coul'se, it is pt·obabJc that it extends as far north as the fiftieth dcga·ee of latitude. After much delay in conse­quence of the high wind, we succeeded in making eleven miles, and encamped in a lowgr·ountl on the south covered with cottonwood and rabbitber·ries. The hills of the Mis­souri ncar this place exhibit large irt·egular broken masses of rocks and stones, some of which~ although two hundred feet above the water·, seem at some l'emote period to have been subject to iis influence, being apparently worn smooth by the agitation of the water. 1,bese rocks and stones <'On ­sist of whHc and gray gt·anite, a brittle black rock, flint, limestone, ft'CC!!Itone, some small specimens of an excellent pebble, ami occasionally broken stratas of a black coloured stone like petl'ilied wood, which make good wbetstone!i .. 'rhe usual a1)pcarances of coal, or cat·bonatcd wood, and pumices tone still continue, the coal beiug of a better quality and wheu burnt aJfords a J10t and Jastiug fire, emitting l·el'y little smol\:c ot· flame. '"rhct'e at·e large hortls of deer, elk .• buffitloc, and antelopes in view of us: 1hc Luffaloe are not so shy as the r·est, for they suffer us to approach witbin one hundred yards bcfoJ'e they run, and tiAcn stop and resume thcit~ llastu1·c at a very short distance. 'l'he wolves to-day pursued a herd of them, ~tnd at length caught a calf that. was unable to keep up wjtb tbe rest; the )ootber~ on the'!e VOL. I .