[Lewis:]
Saturday June 22nd. 1805.
This morning early Capt Clark and myself with all the party
except Sergt. Ordway Sharbono, Goodrich, York and the Indian
woman, set out to pass the portage with the canoe and baggage
to the Whitebear Island, where we intend that this portage
shall end. Capt. Clarke piloted us through the plains. about
noon we reached a little stream about 8 miles on the portage
where we halted and dined; we were obliged here to renew
both axeltrees and the tongues and howns of one set of wheels
which took us no more than 2 hours. these parts of our carriage
had been made of cottonwood and one axe[l]tree of an
old mast, all of which proved deficient and had broken down
several times before we reached this place we have now
renewed them with the sweet willow and hope that they will
answer better. after dark we had reached within half a mile
of our intended camp when the tongues gave way and we were
obliged to leave the canoe, each man took as much of the
baggage as he could carry on his back and proceeded to the
river where we formed our encampment much fortiegued.
the prickly pears were extreemly troublesome to us sticking
our feet through our mockersons. Saw a great number of
buffaloe in the plains, also immence quantities of little birds
and the large brown curloo; the latter is now seting; it lays
it's eggs, which are of a p[a]le blue with black specks, on the
ground without any preperation of a nest. there is a kind of
larke here that much resembles the bird called the oldfield
lark with a yellow brest and a black spot on the croop; tho'
this differs from ours in the form of the tail which is pointed
being formed of feathers of unequal length; the beak is
somewhat longer and more curved and the note differs considerably;
however in size, action, and colours there is no
perceptable difference; or at least none that strikes my eye.
after reaching our camp we kindled our fires and examined the
meat which Capt. Clark had left, but found only a small proportion
of it, the wolves had taken the greater part. we eat
our suppers and soon retired to rest.
