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

Page 196

S50 Lewis anti ClaJ•ke'8 Expedition In the meantime we proceeded, and in the course of cit ven miles from our last encam1lment passed two small islands, sixteen short round bends in the river, and halted in a bend towards the right where we dined. The river increases in rapidity as we advance, and is so crooked that the eleven miles, \Vhich have cost us so much labour, only bring us four miles in a direct line. The weather became overcast to­wards evening, and we experienced a slight shower attended with thunder and lightning. The three hunters who were sent out killed only two antelopes; game of evet·y kind be­mg scarce. Saturday, ~0. Captain Lewis continued his route at an early hour through the wide bottom along the left bank of the J•ivet•. At about five miles he llassed a large et•eck, and then fell into an Indian road leading towa1·ds the point where the river entered the mountain. Thi~ he followed till he reached a high perpendicular cliff of rocks wbe1·e the river makes its passage through the hills, and which he called the Rattlesnake cliff, from the number of that ani­mal which he saw there: here he kindled a fire and waited the return of Drewyer, who had been sent out on the way to kill a deer: he came back about noon with the skin of three deer and the flesh of one of the best of them. After a hasty dinner they returned to the Indian road whid1 they had left for a short distance to see the cliff. It led them sometimes over the hills, sometimes in the narrow uottoms of the river, till at the distance of fifteen miles fa·om the Rattlesnake cliffs they reached a handsome open and level valley, where the river divided into two nearly equaiiJrancb­es. 'l'he mountains over which they passed were net ve•·y high, but are .rugged and continue close to the rivet• side. The river, which before it ente1•s the mountain was rapid, rocky, very crooked, much divided by islands, and shallow, now becomes more direct in its course as it is hemmed in by the hills, and has not so many bends nor ialands, but be- Up the ~lissonJ•i. 351 comes m01'C rapitl and rocky, and continues as shallow. On examining the two branches of the river it was evident that neither of them was navigable further. The road forked ,vitb the river; and captain Lewis therefore sent a man up each of them for a short distance, in order that by com­paring their respective information he might be able to take tl.at whieh seemed to l1ave been most used this spring. From their account he resolved to choose that which led along the southwest branch of the river which was rather the smaller of the two: he accordingly wrote a note to cap­tain Cla1•ke informing him of the route, and recommending his staying with the party at the forks till he should return: This he fixed on a dry willow pole at the forks of the rive•·· and then proceeded up the southwest branch; but after gojng a mile and a half the road became scarrely distin· guishablc, and the tracli:s of the horses which he had fol ­lowed along the Jefferson were no longer seen. Captain Lewis thet·efot•e returned to examine the other road him­self, and found that the horses had in fact passed along the weste1·n ot· right fork which had the additional recom­mendation of being Jat·gcr than the other. 'l'his road he concludNl to take, and therefore sent back Dt·ewyer to the forks with a second letter to captain Clarke apprising hiln or the change, and then ru·ocecd~cl on. rrhe valley of the west fork th Pough which he now 1mssed, bears a liltlc to the north of west. and is confint•d within the space of about a mile in width, by rough mountains anrl ~lt'ep cliffs of r·ock. At the distance of four and a half miles iL opens into a IJeautiful and extensive plain about ten miles long and live or six in width: this is sm'l'ouudcd on all sides by highet• rolling or waving countr·y, iutea·srcted by sevc1·al little •·ivulets from the mountains, each bor(iered b)' its "ide meadows. The whole p1·ospect is bouudet.l by these moun­tains, which nearly sut·rouud it, so as to foJ •m a beautiful covt' about sixteen or eighteen miles in diameter. On en­terin~ this cove the I'iver bends to the northwest, and bathes