University of Virginia Library

[Lewis:]

Friday June 20th. 1806.

Our hunters set out early this morning; most of them returned
before noon. R. Feilds killed a brown bear the tallons
of which were remarkably short broad at their base and sharply
pointed this was of the speceis which the Chopunnish call
Yah-kar. it was in very low order and the flesh of the bear
in this situation is much inferior to lean venison or the flesh of
poor Elk. Labush and Cruzatte returned late in the evening

with one deer which the former had killed. we also caught
seven salmon trout in the course of the day. the hunters
assured us that their greatest exertions would not enable them
to support us here more than one or two days longer from the
great scarcity of game and the difficult access of the country,
the under brush being very thick and great quantities of fallen
timber. as we shall necessarily be compelled to remain more
than two days for the return of Drewyer and Shannon we
determined to return in the morning as far as the quawmash
flatts and indeavour to lay in another stock of meat for the
mountains, our former stock being now nearly exhausted as
well as what we have killed on our return. by returning to
the quawmash flats we shall sooner be informed whether or
not we can procure a guide to conduct us through the mountains;
should we fail in procuring one, we have determined to
wrisk a passage on the following plan immediately, because
should we wait much longer or untill the snow desolves in
such manner as to enable us to follow the road we cannot hope
to reach the United States this winter; this is that Capt C. or
myself shall take four of our most expert woodsmen with three
or four of our best horses and proceed two days in advance
taking a plentifull supply of provision. for this party to
follow the road by the marks which the baggage of the
indians has made in many places on the sides of the trees by
rubing against them, and to blaize the trees with a tomahawk
as they proceeded. that after proceeding two days in advance
of hungary creek two of those men would be sent back to the
main party who by the time of their return to Hungary Creek
would have reached that place. the men so returning would
be enabled to inform the main party of the probable success of
the proceeding party in finding the road and of their probable
progress, in order that should it be necessary, the main party
by the delay of a day or two at hungary creek, should give the
advance time to mark the road through before the main party
could overtake them, and thus prevent delay on the part of
the rout where no food is to be obtained for our horses.
should it so happen that the advance could not find the road
by the marks on the trees after attempting it for two days, the
whole of [them] then would return to the main party. in
which case we wo[u]ld bring back our baggage and attempt a
passage over these mountains through the country of the
Shoshones further to the South by way of the main S. Westerly
fork of Lewis's river and Madison or Gallatin's rivers, where
from the information of the Chopunnish there is a passage
which at this season of the year is not obstructed by snow,
though the round is very distant and would require at least
a month in it's performance. The Shoshones informed us
when we first met with them that there was a passage across
the mountains in that quarter but represented the difficulties
arrising from steep high and rugged mountains and also an
extensive and barren plain which was to be passed without
game, as infinitely more difficult than the rout by which we
came. from the circumstance of the Chopunnish being at war
with that part of the Shoshones who inhabit the country on
this side of the Mountains through which the road passes I
think it is highly probable that they cannot be well informed
with rispect to the road, and further, had there been a better
road in that quarter the Shoshones on the East fork of Lewis's
river who knew them both would not have recommended that
by which we came to this country. the travelling in the mountains
on the snow at present is very good, the snow bears the
horses perfictly; it is a firm coa[r]se snow without a crust, and
the horses' have good foothold without sliping much; the only
dificulty is finding the road, and I think the plan we have
devised will succeed even should we not be enabled to obtain
a guide. Although the snow may be stated on an average at
10 feet deep yet arround the bodies of the trees it has desolved
much more than in other parts not being generally more than
one or two feet deep immediately at the roots of the trees, and
of course the marks left by the rubing of the indian baggage
against them is not concealed. the reason why the snow is
comparitively so shallow about the roots of the trees I presume
proceeds as well from the snow in falling being thrown off
from their bodies by their thick and spreading branches as
from the reflection of the sun against the trees and the warmth
which they in some measure acquire from the earth which is
never frozen underneath these masses of snow. Bratton's
horse was also discovered to be absent this evening. I presume
he has also returned to the flatts.