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Show 458 Lcn:is aud Clarke·s E~pedition tigue of walking and the want of food; but as we lmd two spar•f' horses they were mount~d and brought on to the village. They had set out about three o'clock in the afternoon of the 20th with one llot·se bet ween them: after crossing the mountain they came to the plarc wiJCre we had eaten the Jaorse. Here they cneamJ,ed, and lmving no food made a fire and roastc<l the head of the lwrse, which even out· appetites llall spar·rdt and supped on the cars, skin, lips, &c. of tl1P animal. 'I'he next morning, 21st, they fouml the h·ack of the horse, ami pursuing it rccovet·ed the saddle. bags, and at length about <'lcvf'n o'docl<, the horse himself: Being now both mountc,J, tla<'y s~t on f. to re1 nl'n and slept at a small stream: tluring the day they Lad nothing ~'tall except two pheasants, which were so torn to pi~ccs l>y the shot, that the head and legs were the only parts fit for food. In this situation they found the next mot·ning, 22<1, that dul'ing the night their· horses had run away from them or been stolen by the Imlians. They searched for them until nine o'clock, when seeing that they could not recover them and fearful of starving if they remained where they wel'e, they set out on foot to join US, cat•rying the saddle. bags altel'nately. rJ'hry wall{Cd as fast as they could during the day, till they reached us in a dei>loraole state of weakness and inanition. As we approached the village, most of the women, though apprised of our being eX}lC('.trd, fled with their children into t11e ncighbom·ing woods. The men, however, rrccived us without any ap{>rchension, and gave us a plentiful SU})f1ly of pt·ovisions. The plains were now crowded with Indians, who came to see the persons of the whites, and the strange things they brought with them: but as our guide was perfectly a stranger to their language we could converse by signs only. Our inquiries were chiefly directed to the si, tuation of the country, the courses of the rivers, and the Indian villages, of all which we received information from several of the Indians, and as their accounts varied but little from each other, we were induced ~o place confidence ~- Up tht Missom·i. 4:59 in them. Among others, the Twisted-bait• dt·cw a cl1al'l ef the river on a white elk skin. According to this, the Kooskooskec for·ks a few miles ft•om this place; two days towards the south is another and larger f01·k on which the Shosbonce or Snake Indians fish: five days' joul'ney further is a large river fa·om the northwest into which Claa·ke's river empties itself: fl'om the mouth of that a·ivcr to the falls is five days' journey further: on all the fork!S as well as on the maiu river great numbers of Indians reside, aud at the falls at·e establishments of whites. 1'his was the story of the 'rwisted-hait·. Monday 23. The chiefs and wart'iors wca·e all assembled this morning~ and we expla.inetl to them wh~rc w_e eamc from, the oluects of our visiting th(•m, and out· pacafic intent ions tnwal'ds all the Indians. 'l'his being conveyed by signs, might not have been perfectly compt·ehended, but appeared to give perfect satisfaction. W c now gave a mrdal to two of tlw claiers, a shil·t in additiou to the medal already received by the 'fwistcd-hait·,_ :md dc~ivcred a llag aml a handkea·P.hicf fol· the gr·and clu~f ~n lm-s return. '.fo these were added a. knife, a ha.mlkcrclucf and a small ieee of tobacco foa~ each chief. 'l'hc inhal>Hants did not pive us any pt·ovisions gratuitously. 'Ve th('l'clore pur! hased a quantity of fish, bera'ics (claicUy red haws: and t•oots; and in the afternoon went. ou to ~he second vtlla~e. 'rhe 'fwistctl-haiL· inti·oduced us lflto Jus own tent, wh1ch consisted however of nothing more than tline busbc~ anu bark, ami gave us some dried salmon Loiled. 'Ve contmucd 9 ur purchases, and obtained as much provisi.o~ as out' horses could carry in their· present weak comhuon as far as t 11 e l'I· Ver. 'rtae men cxchan5wed a. 1'ew old canisters for dressed elk skins, of which they made shirts: great crowds of the natives are round us all night, but we have no~ )'Ct missed any thing except a kni fc and a icw other artJCJes stolen yesterday from a shot pouch. At ~ark ~ve ha~ a hard wiud from the southwest accompanied With ram wh~ch lastetl half an hour, but in the mol'niog, |
