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 190

338 . Lewis ctncl Cla1·T~e's E:rJ>etlitiou berJ•y, and a little of a small SJlecirs of birch; it is a finely indented oval of a small size and a deep green colom·; the stem is simple, ascending and b•·auehing, and seldom J•iscs higher than ten or hreh·e fc.ct. The mountains continue high on each side of the ' 'alley, but thcit· on1y roveriug is a small species of pitch-pine with a short leai~ growing on the lower and mi«.lule regions, while for some distance below the snowy tops there is ncithrr timhcl' nor hel'IJage of an) kind. About clrvcn o'clock D1·ewycr kiiJed a doc on which they breakfasted, ami after resting two hours continuctl till night, when they rcaclJcd the !'i ver ncar a low grouml more extensive than usual. From the appearance of the timber captain IJewis supposed that the river forked above him, ami therefore encamped with an intention of examining it more Jmrticulal'1y in the morning. lie lmtl now made twenty~ tbt•ee miles, the lattel' pa.·t or which were for eight miles through a high plain covet·cd with prickly pea1·s and beal'ded grass, which rcnd<wcd the walking very inconve­nient: but even this was better than the river bottoms we crossed in the evening, which, though apparently level, we1•e formed into deep holes as if they had been rooted up by hogs, and the holes we1·e so covered wilh thick grass that they were in danger of falling at every step. Some Jlarts of these low grounds, however, contain tul'f or peat of an excellent quality for many feet dee11 ap]laJ·ently, as well as the mineral salts which we haye all·eady mention­ed on the Missouri. 'They saw many deer, antelopes, ducks, geese, some beaver, and g~'eat tJ·aces of their work, and the small birds and curlews as usua1. '.fhe only fish wl•ich they observed in this pa1•t of tile t•ivcr is the trout and a species of white fish w iih a remarkably long small mouth, which oue of our men recognize p.s the fish called in the eastern states the bottlenose. On setting out with the canoes we found the river as usu­al much crowded with islands, the current more rapid as well as shallower, so that in many places they were Up the .JUissotu·i. 359 obliged to man the cauoes double, and drag them over the stone and gr.a vel of the channel. Soon afte1• we set off cap­tain Clarke who was walking on shore observed a f•·esh track which he knew to be that of au Indian from the hu·ge toes being turned inwards, and 011 following it round that it led to the point of a hill ft•om which our cam(l ol' last night could be seen. ,.fhis circumstance strcngthrned the belief that some Indian had strayed thither, and hatl run off alarmed at the sight of us. At two and a quarter mile , is a small creek i~ a bend towards the right, which runs down ft·om the moun tams at a little distance; we called it Panth<'t' cr~ek ft·om an ani­mal of that kiml killed by neuiJen Fields at its mouth. Jt is precisely the same animal common to the wes~~rn parti or the United States, and measured seven and a half feet ft·om the nose to the ext 1·emity of the tail. Six and three quat·ieL' miles ueyoml this stream is another on the left formed. hy the drains which convey the melted snows ft·om a moun tam near it, under which the river 1msses, JeRving the low grounds on the right side, and making several bends in its ~ourse. O_u this stream at·e many large braver dams. One mile above Jt is a small run on the left, and arteL· leaving which begins a very bad raphl, where the bed of the rivCL' is forml'd of so­lid t•oclc this we passed in the course of a mile, and encamp­ed on the lower 1wint of an island. Out• jout•ney hatl been only thirteen miles, lmt the b~ulncss of the river made it very labot•ious, as the men were comllellcd to be in the water du­!• ing the greater pal't of the day. 'Vc saw only deer, ante­lopes, and the common biL·ds or the counh·y. Saturday '1. 'fhis morning captain Lewis pt·oceeded ear­ly, and after going southeast by cast fot· four miles reach­ed a bold running creek, twelve yards wide, with clear cold water, furnished appal'cntly IJy four drains fl'Oill the snowy mountains on the left: al'tet•passing this creek he changed lkis direction to southeast, and leaving the valley in which he had travelled for the two last days, entered another which bol'e east. At the distance of three miles on this