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Show !H6 Len is u wl Clw·ke's I~:ljJttlilwn or the mountain had di ssolvNl, so as to enable us to di~iinguish the rvad, would defeat out· dc!-!ign of rl'tm·niug to tho United Statcs this st>ason. 'Vc now found also that :Ls the snow bore om· horses very well. tt·avdling was infinitely cnsiet• than it was la.st. fall, whcn the a·ocks and fallen timbot• }Jac] SO much obstt•uct<ld OUl' lnat•eh. Uut it WOUhi I'cquir·e fivc days to reach the fish~w(>it·s at the mouth of CoH c1·eck. even if we were able to follow the IH'opct· ridges oft be mountains; a!Ul the danger of missing Olll' tlit·cetiou j · cx(•••cdinr;ly hrcat, while cvc.t•y ta·c.wl~ is covet·ed with snow. D111·ing the e five tlays too we have no chatwc of finding citlH'l' gt'a.ss Ol' underwood l'ot· out• lwrscs. the snow being o d<'<'P· ']\• }Wocced. Uuwefot·o, untlcr sudt ci1·cumstanccs, would lw to IJa?.at·d our hcing lu~wilctet·<~d in Uw mountaius, to iusur·e tlw loss o{' our hot·scs, and should we c''en lH' . o fortunat<' a~ Cn escape with our li,es. "c mi;;·ht he obli~'·ed 1o e:1handon nll our pap(>l'S and eollcction!'.. It was tiH·r·d'or<' c.lc(•idc·d not to venture a.ny fm·ther; to t.lcp< ;,it ltcl'r all the ba~h'<~ge and proYisionR, for which w • ha.d uo immrdiatc usc, anfl l' t'SPJ'Ving unly subsbteut.·t~ for a fen cia.' ~. rdur·n whilr OUl' hOl.'SCS WCI'C yct. Strong, tO S( lllC !liH t Vr ht> l'(' H' mit)ht live IJy hunt iu~~· till a f)Uidc could lw JH'Oeur·l'd to f'OJHluot u ~ am·oss the mountains. Our· baggag4• was phtet•d on scafl'ohls ami NLJ'ei'ully eovercd. as were al so the im.;tJ•umeuts and Jlapcrs, which we thou:'·ht it safct> to lcHxe than to ri sk thrm on·r· the roacb and ct•t.•eks IJy which we came. Uaviug com· I•letcd this opcratiuu, we set. out. at one o'clock, and tl'c:ul int; l1:u·k our stqls, reached H Ullf~t·y ct·N·lc, whiclt wr a~cenrlctl fol' two miles. and finding some scauty !;1' :\!iS, we co· camped. The min fdl dul'iug f he gt·catcr part of the even ing, ami as this was the iirst time that we have evel' been con•pcllcd to make any J'etrogradc moYemeut, we feared that it might depress the S}lit·it s of the men; but though somewhat dejected at the circumstanec, the oln'ious n 'f'('S~ sity precluded all repining. Oul'ing the night our hot·ses straggled ~u search of food to a considerable distance among ehc thicl<. timber on the l1il1 sides, nor· couhl we collect thcru till nine o'cloetc. the next morninr;, 'Vcdnesday, t8. Two of them were howevrr still miss in~. and we thcrerore tlirerted two of tlw part.y t.o 1·cmai and hunt l"o•· tlwm. At the same time, we dcspatchc4l Dt·ew~ yer and Shannon to the Chopunnish, in the plains beyond the Kooslwoskec, in order to hasten the ar1·ival of the Jndians 'vho ha.d promiscd to acr.omtlany us; or ~lt any rate, to \li'O· @ltl'(' a ~uidc to conduct us to 'rt·avell(w's-•·cst. Few thi~ JHII'(toSC thry took a rifle, a~ a r<·wat·tl to a.uy one who would en~agc to <:omluct us, with di•·e<'tiuns to increase therewat•tl, jf nccessat·y, by an olft>r of two oth('l' l;UHS, to L>e given immedia, tdy, und ten hot·scs, at the falls of the ~'lissouri: we then l'CSumctt onr l'Otttc. In crossing llungt·y Cl'Cclc, 011(' or (he hot•scs fdl. an•l a•olling ovl'r with f he l'idor, was dr·i ven for a considcrahJr di stanee among the rocks; but he fortull:: ttrly es<·a.ped wit hont Ius in~ his gun ot' sufft.·r·ing any injury. Another ur Hw men was cut 'cry hadl.r. in a \'cin in tho jnncr side of the.~ lt·g, and we had gt·t·at dillieulty in stopping 1hc blood. About one o'c·lock we haltrcl for 4linncl' at the ~lalle. on a ln·n.nch or H un~r·y cr·(•t•l , whel'c we had flincd on 110 16th. Obscrvin~ mud• iracl\ ol' deer·, we len two mrn at hi · place to lauut. and then (U'o<.·.cedc•l to Collins's CJ'Cck, where we cn<mnq•mt in a pleasant situation, at the up}lCI' end 9f the mcat.lows two mil(' ~ ahovt! our· om•auqnucntofthc 15th inst. The huntct•s wca·c imnu'tliah·ly sent out, but. they rcw.. UI'IH'd without having h.ill('d any tlaing, though they saw some l'rw tracks of'dccJ·, vei'Y ~··cat nppc;waucc of beat·, and What is o{' lliOI'C lllll)QL'(<ll1t:e, a nulllber· of what they thought were salmon- tr·out, in the c•·cd~. 'Ve thct·eforc hOJlC, b~ means of these fish aml otlw•· game to subsist at this place 'vithout J'eturning to the Q.uamash flats, which we arc unwilling to do, since thct•c arc in U1esc meadows great abund,ance Of gOO(l food fol' OUI' hor~CS. rrhul'sday, 19. The huntCl'S t'enewetl the chase at a VCI') ~arly hour, lmt they brouQht only a sin~le 1i~b at noon .. |