University of Virginia Library

[Lewis:]

Wednesday August 21st. 1805.

THIS morning was very cold, the ice ¼ of an inch
thick on the water which stood in the vessels exposed
to the air. some wet deerskins that had been spread
on the grass last evening are stiffly frozen. the ink f[r]eizes
in my pen. the bottoms are perfectly covered with frost, insomuch
that they appear to be covered with snow. This
morning early I dispatched two hunters to kill some meat if
possible before the Indians arrive; Drewyer I sent with the
horse into the cove for that purpose. The party pursued
their several occupations as yesterday. by evening I had all
the baggage, saddles, and harness completely ready for a
march. after dark, I made the men take the baggage to the
cash and deposit it. I beleve we have been unperceived by
the Indians in this movement. notwithstanding the coldness
of the last night the day has proved excessively warm.
neither of the hunters returned this evening and I was obliged
to issue pork and corn. The mockersons of both sexes are
usually the same and are made of deer Elk or buffaloe skin
dressed without the hair. sometimes in the winter they make
them of buffaloe skin dressed with the hair on and turn the
hair inwards as the Mandans Minetares and most of the nations
do who inhabit the buffaloe country. the mockerson is formed
with one seem on the outer edge of the foot is cut open at the

instep to admit the foot and sewed up behind. in this rispect they
are the same with the Mandans. they sometimes ornament
their mockersons with various figures wrought with the quills
of the Porcupine. some of the dressey young men orniment
the tops of their mockersons with the skins of polecats and
trale the tail of that animal on the ground at their heels as they
walk. the robe of the woman is generally smaller than that
of the man but is woarn in the same manner over the sholders.
the Chemise is roomy and comes down below the middle of
the leg the upper part of this garment is formed much like the
shirt of the men except the sholder strap which is never used
with the Chemise. in women who give suck, they are left open
at the sides nearly as low as the waist, in others, close as high
as the sleeve. the sleeve underneath as low as the elbow is
open, that part being left very full. the sides tail and upper
part of the sleeves are deeply fringed and sometimes ornimented
in a similar manner with the shirts of the men with the addition
of little patches of red cloth about the tail edged around
with beads. the breast is usually ornament[e]d with various
figures of party colours rought with the quills of the Porcupine.
it is on this part of the garment that they appear to exert their
greatest engenuity. a girdle of dressed leather confines the
Chemise around the waist. when either the man or the woman
wish to disengage their arm from the sleeve they draw it out
by means of the opening underneath the arm and throw the
sleeve behind the body.[1] the legings of the women reach as
high as the knee and are confined with a garter below. the
mockerson covers and confins it's lower extremity. they are
neither fringed nor ornamented. these legings are made of
the skins of the antelope and the Chemise usually of those of
the large deer Bighorn and the smallest elk. They seldom
wear the beads they possess about their necks; at least I have
never seen a grown person of either sex wear them on this
part; some [of] their children are seen with them in this way.
the men and women were [wear] them suspen[ded] from the
ear in little bunches or intermixed with triangular peices of the
shells of the perl oister. the men also were them attached in
a similar manner to the hare of the fore part of the crown of
the head; to which they sometimes make the addition of the
wings and tails of birds. the nose in neither sex is pierced nor
do they wear any ornament in it. they have a variety of small
sea shells of which they form collars woarn indiscriminately by
both sexes. these as well as the shell of the perl oister they
value very highly and inform us that they obtain them from
their friends and relations who live beyond the barren plain
towards the Ocean in a S. Westerly direction. these friends
of theirs they say inhabit a good country abounding with Elk,
deer, bear, and Antelope, and possess a much greater number
of horses and mules than they do themselves; or using their
own figure that their horses and mules are as numerous as the
grass of the plains. the warriors or such as esteem themselves
brave men wear collars made of the claws of the brown bear
which are also esteemed of great value and are preserved with
great care. these claws are ornamented with beads about the
thick end near which they are peirced through their sides and
strung on a throng of dressed leather and tyed about the neck
commonly with the upper edge of the tallon next the breast or
neck but sometimes are reversed. it is esteemed by them an act
of equal celebrity the killing one of these bear or an enimy, and
with the means they have of killing this animal it must really
be a serious undertaking. the sweet sented grass which grows
very abundant on this river is either twisted or plaited and
woarn around the neck in ether sex, but most commonly by
the men. they have a collar also woarn by either sex. it [is]
generally round and about the size of a man's finger; formed
of leather or silk-grass twisted or firmly rolled and covered
with the quills of the porcupine of different colours. the tusks
of the Elk are pierced strung on a throng and woarn as an orniment
for the neck, and is most generally woarn by the women
and children.[2] the men frequently wear the skin of a fox or
a broad strip of that of the otter around the forehead and head
in form of a bando. they are also fond of the feathers of the
tail of the beautifull eagle or callumet bird with which they ornament
their own hair and the tails and mains of their horses.
also a collar of round bones which look like the joints of a
fishes back The dress of these people is quite as desent and
convenient as that of any nation of Indians I ever saw.

This morning early Capt. C. resumed his march; at the distance
of five miles he arrived at some brush lodges of the Shoshones
inhabited by about seven families. here he halted and
was very friendly received by these people, who gave himself
and party as much boiled salmon as they could eat; they also
gave him several dryed salmon and a considerable quantity of
dryed chokecherries. after smoking with them he visited their
fish wear [weir] which was abut 200 yds. distant. he found the
wear extended across four channels of the river which was here
divided by three small islands. three of these channels were
narrow, and were stoped by means of trees fallen across, supported
by which stakes of willow were driven down sufficiently
near each other to prevent the salmon from passing. about
the center of each a cilindric basket of eighteen or 20 feet in
length terminating in a conic shape at it's lower extremity,
formed of willows, was opposed to a small apperture in the
wear with it's mouth up stream to receive the fish. the main
channel of the water was conducted to this basket, which was
so narrow at it's lower extremity that the fish when once in
could not turn itself about, and were taken out by untying the
small ends of the longitudinal willows, which form the hull of
the basket. the wear in the main channel was somewhat differently
contrived. there were two distinct wears formed of poles
and willow sticks, quite across the river, at no great distance
from each other. each of these, were furnished with two
baskets; the one wear to take them ascending and the other

in decending. in constructing these wears, poles were first
tyed together in parcels of three near the smaller extremity;
these were set on end, and spread in a triangular form at the
base, in such manner, that two of the three poles ranged in the
direction of the intended work, and the third down the stream.
two ranges of horizontal poles were next lashed with willow
bark and wythes to the ranging poles, and on these willow
sticks were placed perpendicularly, reaching from the bottom
of the river to about 3 or four feet above it's surface; and
placed so near each other, as not to permit the passage of the
fish, and even so thick in some parts, as with the help of gravel
and stone to give a direction to the water which they wished.
the baskets were the same in form of the others. this is the

[ILLUSTRATION]

form of the work, and disposition of the baskets. After examining
the wears Capt. C. returned to the lodges, and shortly
continued his rout and passed the river to the Lard side a little
distance below the wears. he sent Collins with an Indian down
the Lard. side of the river to the forks 5 M. in surch of Cruzatte
who was left at the upper camp yesterday to purchase a
horse and had followed on today and passed them by another
road while they were at the lodges and had gone on to the
forks. while Capt. Clark was at these lodges an Indian brought
him a tomehawk which he said he found in the grass near the
lodge where I had staid at the upper camp when I was first
with his nation. the tommahawk was Drewyer's he missed it
in the morning before we had set out and surched for it but it
was not to be found I beleive the young fellow stole it, but
if he did it is the only article they have pilfered and this was
now returned. Capt. C. after traveling about 20 miles through
the valley with the course of the river nearly N.W. encamped
on the Stard. side in a small bottom under a high Clift of rocks.
on his way one of the party killed a very large Salmon in a
creek which they passed at the distance of 14 Ms. he was
joined this evening by Cruzatte and Collins who brought with
them five fresh salmon which had been given them by the Indians
at the forks. the forks of this river is famous as a gig
fishery and is much resorted [to] by the natives. They killed
one deer today. The Guide apeared to be a very friendly intelligent
old man, Capt. C. is much pleased with him.

This day I observed Equal Altitudes of the ☉ with Sextant.

       

	h m s		h m s
A.M.	8. 38. 36.	P.M.	4. –. 56	Altitude at the time of
	". 40. 8.		". 1. 34	observation.
	". 42. 45.		". 3. 5.	65°. 57'. 30".

   

Also observed Meridian Altd. of ☉'s. L.L. with	° ′ ″
Octant by the back observation.	72. –. –.

   

	° ′ ″
Latitude deduced from this observation.	North. 44. 30. 21.7.

   

	° ′ ″
Mean Latitude of the Forks of Jefferson's river, deduced from three observations of the Meridian Altd. of ☉'s L.L. with Octant, and one calculation by means of the hor: 〈 [angle] of the ☉'s center in the P.M. observation for equal Altitudes on the 20th. Instant	N. 44. 35. 28.1