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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40.2 Lewi.'> and Cla1•ke' s EXjJcdition future course from view, and as it was alike impossible t~ descend the river or clamber over that vast mountain, eter­nally covered with snow, neither he nor any of his nation bad ever been lower tlmn at a place where they could see the gap made by the river on entering the mountain. To that place he said he would conduct captain Clarke if he desired it by the next evening. But he was in need of no further evidence to convince him of the uttet· impractica­bility of the route befot•e him. He had already witnessed the difficulties of part of the road, yet after aU these dan­gers his guide, whose inteUigence and :fidelity he could not doubt, now assured him that the difficulties were only com­mencing, and what he saw before him too clearly convinced J1im of the Indian's veracity. He therefore determined to abandon this route, and returned to the upper }>art of the last creek we had passed, and reaching it an hour afte1· dark encamped for the night: on this creel{ he had seen in the moa·ning an Indian road coming in from the north. Dis­appointed in finding a route by watet·, captain Clat·ke now questioned his guide more particularly as to the direction 9f this road which he seemed to understand }lerfectly. He drew a map on the sand, am] represented this road as well as that we passed yestt'rday on Berry creek as botb leading to­wards two forh:s of the samt> gl'eat t•iver, whc•·e resided ana­tion called Tushepaws. who i•aving no salmon on their river, came by these roads to the fish weirs on Lewis's river. He had himself been among these 'f1ushepa ws, and having once accompanied them on a fishing party to another river he had there seen Indians who had come across the rocky mountains. After a great deal of <•onversation, or rather -signs, and a second and mor·e fJarticular map from his guide, cal>tain Clarke felt persuaded that his guide knew of a road fl'om the Shosbonee village they had left, to the gr·eat river to the north, without coming so low down as this on a t•oute impracticable for horses. He was desirous of hastening his return, and therefore set out early, . Up tJtc .Missotwi. ~03 d' the creek to the river, Saturday 2~, and aftei' des~en _mgthe meadow above the kf t on ber•rJes m stopped to brea as '· t ofortunate1y fell from k He then went on, uu u d second cree • l . l however walke on . d h' I very mue t, ae a rock and inJure . Js eg . tl e afternoon rejoined Id nd at t'our m 1 ' as rapidly as he eou ' a h had killed one of the D · his absence t ey his men. urmg t nd some small fish, on . k few pheasan s, a . d moun tam. coc s, a d ervl.C eb err.J .e S they bad subs1ste • which With haws an s J' d a man on horse- Capt . d' t l sent torwar ain Clarke 1mmc m e Y • • hi·m of the re- . L · appr1smg back with a note to captam ~wJsh, fternoon set out with · · · and late m t c a suit of his mqun·tes, ' d t the distance of two t and encampr a the rest of the par y . eartened at the bad pros-miles. The men were mueh dits~ ' and llaving nothing to P . f. tlte moun ams, . k ect of escapmg rom . cl several of them sic ' · hJCh have rna e eat but a few berrJes w . ht vhicb was rendered they all passecl a disaga·eeable mg ' ' bl b a heavy clew. more uncomforta e y . . tll'P"ed captain Clarke Th t of proVISions o Sunday ~5. e wanible· he thererot·e set out early, ami to return as soon as poss ' d' mn neat· the fish weirs. . · the In Ian ca. a· halted an hour m passmg . th ooa·eat ldnclness, and though I t ted them w1 b • • These poo}l e rea . . I .,.ive what little they possess, poor and dirty they WJlhngly 'gl d lmon aml dried berries, h 1 llarty JOt e sa they gave the w o e . ffi ient quantities to appease which were not llowever m su ~cd 4}1Cir old road, but as the TI ey soon resume '- their hunger. , l . .t bad ivcn one of the men a very se-abstinence or stiange die . gd much on his account, h were detame very vere illness, t _ey . he da they reached the cliff under and it was not tilllate m ~on tl;e twenty-first. They imme­which they bad encamped h t in order to Jll'Ocure a meal. . b to fish an un ' 'd b diately egan 11 fl I nd by means of our gm e, o .. We caught several sma JS t, all party of women and chil-l n from a sma . tained two s.a hm o an were go.m g below to gather berries. dren, who, ~nt one .m ~out half a meal, but after dar·k we This supplied us With a hich one of the hunters brought l d 'th a. beaver w were rega e WI • f the day were one in. 'rlle other game seen In the course o