June 19th. Wednesday 1805
We went on the Island to hunt the white bear this morning
but could not find him, after plotting my courses &c. I deturmined
to dry the meat we killed and leave here, and proceed
up the river as far as it bent to the S.E. and examine a small
creek above our camp, I set out and found the creek only
contained back water for 1 mile up, assend near the Missouri
3 miles to the bend, from which place it turned Westerly,
from this bend I with 2 men went foward towards the camp
of the party to examine the best ground for the portage, the
little creek has verry extencive bottoms which spread out into
a varriety of leavel rich bottoms quite to the mountains to the
East, between those bottoms is hills low and stoney on their
declivity where it is steep. I returned to camp late and deturmined
that the best nearest and most eassy rout would be from
the lower part of the 3rd. or white bear Islands, the wind all
this day blew violently hard from the S W. off the snowey
mountains, cool, in my last rout I lost a part of my notes
which could not be found as the wind must have blown them
to a great distance. summer duck setting great numbers of
buffalow all about our camp.
