Friday June 27th. 1806
We collected our horses early and set out. the road Still
continue[d] on the hights of the Dividing ridge on which we
had traveled yesterday for 9 Ms. or to our encampment of the
16th. Septr. last. about 1 M. short of the encampment we halted
by the request of the Guides a fiew minits on an ellevated point
and smoked a pipe on this eminance the nativs have raised a
conic mound of Stons of 6 or 8 feet high and erected a pine
pole of 15 feet long. from hence they informed us that when
passing over with their families some of the men were usually
sent on foot by the fishery at the enterance of Colt Creek in
order to take fish and again meet the party at the quawmash
glade on the head of Kóoskoské river. from this place we had
an extencive view of these Stupendeous Mountains principally
covered with snow like that on which we stood; we were entirely
serounded by those mountains from which to one unacquainted
with them it would have Seemed impossible ever to
have escaped, in short without the assistance of our guides, I
doubt much whether we who had once passed them could find
our way to Travellers rest in their present situation for the
marked trees on which we had placed considerable reliance
are much fewer and more difficuelt to find than we had apprehended.
those indians are most admireable pilots; we find
the road wherever the snow has disappeared tho' it be only for
a fiew paces. after haveing smoked the pipe and contemplating
this Scene Sufficient to have dampened the Sperits of any except
such hardy travellers as we have become, we continued our
march and at the dist[ance] of 3 M. decended a steep Mountain
and passed two small branches of the Chopunnish river
just above their fo[r]k, and again assend the ridge on which we
passed. at the distance of 7 M. arived at our Encampment
of 16th. Septr. last passed 3 small branches passed on a dividing
ridge rugid and we arived at a Situation very similar to our
situation of last night tho' [as] the ridge was somewhat higher
and the snow had not been so long disolved of course there
was but little grass. here we Encamped for the night haveing
traveled 28 Ms. over these mountains without releiving the
horses from their packs or their haveing any food. the Indians
inform us that there is an abundance of the Mountain Sheep,
or what they call white Buffalow on those Mountains. we
Saw 3 black tail or mule deer this evening but were unable
to get a Shoot at them. we also Saw Several tracks of those
animals in the snow. our Meat being exhosted we issued a
point of
Bears Oil to a mess which with their boiled roots
made an agreeable dish. Jo. Potts leg which had been much
Swelled and inflaimed for several days is much better this evening
and givs him but little pain. we applied the pounded
root & leaves of wild ginger from which he found great relief.
Near our encampment we saw great numbers of the Yellow
lilly with reflected petals in blume; this plant was just as forward
here at this time as it was in the plains on the 10
th. of
May. My head has not pained me so much to day as yesterday
and last night.
