[Lewis:]
Wednesday June 18th. 1806.
this morning we had considerable difficulty in collecting our
horses they having straggled off to a considerable distance in
surch of food on the sides of the mountains among the thick
timber, at 9 OCk. we collected them all except one of Drewyers
and one of Sheildes; we set out leaving Sheilds and LaPage
to collect the two lost horses and follow us. We dispatched
Drewyer and Shannon to the Chopunnish Indians in the plains
beyond the Kooskooske in order to hasten the arrival of the
indians who had promised to accompany us or to procure a
gu[i]de at all events and rejoin us as soon as possible. we
sent by them a rifle which we offered as a reward to any of
them who would engage to conduct us to traveller's rest: we
also dirrected them if they found difficulty in inducing any of
them to accompany us to offer the reward of two other guns to
be given them immediately and ten horses at the falls of Missouri.
we had not proceeded far this morning before Potts
cut his leg very badly with one of the large knives; he cut
one of the large veigns on the inner side of the leg; I found
much difficulty in stoping the blood which I could not effect
untill I applyed a tight bandage with a little cushon of wood
and tow on the veign below the wound. Colter's horse fel
with him in passing hungry creek and himself and horse were
driven down the creek a considerable distance rolling over each
other among the rocks, fortunately [he] escaped without injury
or the loss of his gun. by 1 P. M. we returned to the
glade on the branch of hungry Creek where we had dined on
the 16
th. inst. here we again halted and dined. as there was
much appearance of deer about this place we left R. and J.
Feilds with directions to hunt this evening and tomorrow
morning at this place and to join us in the evening at the
meadows of Collin's creek where we intend remaining tomorrow
in order to rest our horses and hunt. after dinner
we proceeded on to Collin's Creek and encamped in a pleasant
situation at the upper part of the meadows about 2 M
s. above
our encampment of the 15
th. inst. we sent out several hunters
but they returned without having killed anything. they saw a
number of salmon (
trout) in the creek and shot at them several
times without success. we directed Colter and Gibson to fix
each of them a gigg in the morning and indevour to take
some of the salmon. the hunters saw much fresh appearance
of bear but very little of deer, we hope by means of the fish
together with what deer and bear we can kill to be enabled to
subsist untill our guide arrives without the necessity of returning
to the quawmash flats. there is a great abundance of good
food here to sustain our horses.
