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Show Lewis and Clarke's Expediiwlt our burdens as much as possible, we determined ·to deposit here one of the periogues and all the heavy baggage which we could possibly spare, as well as some provision. salt, powdel•, and tools; this would at once lighten the other boats, and give them the crew which had been employed on board the periogue. Monday, 10. The weather br-ing fair nnd pleasant 've dried all our baggage and merchandize ami made our deposit. These boles or caches as they are called by the Missouri tt'aders are very common, particularly among those who deal with the Sioux, as the skins and merchandize will keep perfectly sound for years, and arc llf'otectcd from r obbery: our cache is built in thi& manner: In the high plain on the north side of the Missouri and forty ya1·ds from a steep bluff, we chose a dry situation, and then describing a small circle of about twenty inches diameter, removed the sod as gently and carefulJy as possible: the hole is then sunk perpendicularly for a foot deep, or more if the ground be not firm. It is now worked gr·adualJy wider as they descend, till at length it becomes six or seven feet deep, shaped ncal'ly like a kettle or the lower part of a large still with the bottom somewhat sunk at the centre. As the earth is dug it is handed up in a vessel and carefully laid on a skin or cloth, in which it is carried away and usually thrown into the river or concealed so as to !eave no trace of it. A floor of three or four inches in thickness is then made of dry sticks, on which is thrown hay or a hide perfectly dry. The goods being well aired and dried are laid on this floor, and prevented from touching the wall by other dried sticks in proportion as the merchan· dize is stowed away: when the hole is nearly full. a skin is lai.d over the goods, and on this earth is thrown and beaten <lown until with the addition of the sod first removed the whole is on a level with the ground, and there remains not the slightest appearance of an excavation. In addition to this we made another of smaller dimensions, Up t11e .7JlissoUJ·i. in which we placed all the baggage. some powder, and our blacksmith's tools, having previously repaired such of the tools we carry with us as require mending. 'ro guard ~gainst aeci.dc~t, we hid two parcels of lead and powder In the two d&stmct places. The red periogue was drawn up on the middle of a small island at the t>ntrance of Maria's river, ancl secured by being fastened to the trees ft·om the eftcct of any floods. In the evening there was a high wind from the southwest accompanied with thunder and rain. We now made another obsm·vation of the meridian altitude of the sun, aud found that the mean latitude of the entrance of l\laria's river, as deduced from three observations, is 47° 25' 17" 2 north. 'V c saw a small bird like tho blue thrush ot· catbh·d which we had not before met, and also observed that the beemat'tin Ol' kingbjrd is common to this country although there are no hecs here, and in fact we have not met with the l10ney-bec since leaving the Osage river. Tuesday 11. 1~ltis morning captain JJewis wifh four men set out on their expedition up the south lJI'anch. 'rhcy soon reached the point where the Tansy river approaches the Missouri, and observing a large herd of elk IJefore them, d~sccnded and killed several which they hung up along the l'Jver !O that the party in the boats might see them as they cam~ along. They then halted for dinner; but captain LewJs who hacl been for some days afflicted witb the dysen· t~ry, was now attacked with violent pains attended by a h•gh fever and was unable to go on. He therefore encamped fot· the night under some willow boughs: having brought no medicine he determined to try an expet·iment with the sm~ll twigs of the chokecherry, which being stripped of tb~1r l~avcs and cut into pieces about two inches long were botled m pure water, till t11ey produced a strong black de .. coction of an astringent bitter taste; a pint of this he took at sunset, and t•epeated the dose an hour afterwards. By ten o'clock he was perfeetly relieved fl·om pain, a gentle vor. .. 1. L 1 |