OCR Text |
Show Lewis and Clm·ke' $ Ex~dit.ion we were again drenchc<l by the rain, which lasted all th next morning, 'l'hursday, 7; but being resolved, if possible, to reach the Yellowstone, a distance of eighty-three miles, in tbc course ofthc day, we set out eal'ly. and being favoured hy the rapid cut·rcnt and good oarsmen, }ll'OCccded with ~rcat spec~. In passing l\fartha's rivet·, we ouscrvcd that its mouth is at }ll'esent a quarter of a mile lowt•r than it was last ycat·. Hero we find for the first time the app('arance of coal-hul'nt hills and lmmicestone, which seem alway.i to accom}mny each other. At this plaet~ also arc tho first elms and dwal'f ecdars in the Uluffs of tho river. 'rhc ash lit·st makes its aplle~ u·ance in one solitary tree at the A!;h rapid, but is sCC'll ocrasionallJ scattered through the low gt·oumls at t)JC Elh rapid, and thence downwards, though it is gcncralJy smalL ']'he whole country on the northeast side, bet ween l\l~u·tha and Milk t·ivcrs, is a beautiful level plain. with a soil much more fcr·tile than that higher up the river. 'The buffaloc, elk. ancJ other animals still continue numerous; as arc alsu the ucat·. who lie in wait at the eros ing places. where they seize elk and the wealH·r ca.Ulc, and then stay by the carcase in ordct" to keep off the wolves, till tbe whole'is devoureel. At four o'clock we reached the mouth of Ydlowstone, whc1•e we found a note fr·om eaptain Clarke, infot•ming us of his intention of waiting for us a few miles below. 'Ve thcrefm ·c h·ft a memorandum for out• two huntsmen, whom we now supl>Oscd must be behind us, and then pul'sued our course till night ca.me on, ami not being able to overtake captai1t Chu·l,e. we encamped. In the morning, F•·iday, S, we set out in bopcs of ovedaldng captain Clarke; uut aft.er descending to ncarJy the entrance of'\Vhitecarth river without being able to see him, we were at a loss what to conjecture. In this situation we landed, antl be· r;an to caulk aud rcpail· the canoes, as well as pt·rparc some &kius for clothin{;, for since wo left tbe Rocky mountains" e Up the JII'issom-i. SGS i•ave had no leisure to make clothes, so that tho greater 'Part of the men are almost nakctl. In these oecnpation we passed this and the following day, without any intcr1·uption except ft·om the musq uetocs, whi('.h at·e vct•y troublesome, and then ba.ving completed the repait•s of the canoes, we emuarkcd, Sunday1 10, at five in the afternoon; but the wind aml t•ain prevented us goio~ further than near the entrance of Whitc-car·th r·ivcr. The next day, Monday 11, being anxious to reach the Burnt hills by noon, in o•·dc t· to ascertain the latitude. we went forward 'vith great rapidity; but hy the time we rcacl1cd that place, it was twenty minutes too late to take tho meridian altitude. Having lost the obsct·vation, captain Lewis obsm•vcd on the opposite side of the t•iver, a herd of elk on a thick sanduar of willows, anti landctl with Ct·uzatto to hunt them. Eaah of them fired an(\ shot an elk. rrhcy then reloaded ancJ took difl'cr·cnt routes in pursuit of the game, when Just as captain Lewis was taking aim at an ell~, a ball struck him in the left thigh, about an inch below the joint of the hi}>, and missing the bone, went tht·ough the left thigh and grazed the 1·igbt to the depth of the ball. It instantly oceurt·ed to him that. Ct·uzaHc must have shot him by mistake fot· an elk, as lte was dressed in brown leather, and Cruzatte had not a very good eye-sight. lle therefor·o calle(\ out that he was shot, aml looked towards the place f•·om whicb the ball <mmc; but seeing nothing, he called on C1·uzatte by name qcveral times, but received no answer. Ue now thought that as CruzaHe was out or hearing, and the shot cJid not seem to come ft·om more than forty paces distance, it must have been fit·cd by an [n,lian; ancl not knowing how many might he concealed in the bushes, he ma•le towards the pcriogue, calling out to CruzaHc to retreat as thet·e were lndians in tho willows. As soon as he l'cachcd the porioguc, ho or «lrrcd the men to arm9, ~~ncl mentioning that he was wound~ |