University of Virginia Library

[Lewis:]

Sunday June 29th. 1806.

We collected our horses early this morning and set out,
having previously dispatched Drewyer and R. Fields to the
warm springs to hunt. we pursued the hights of the ridge on
which we have been passing for several days; it terminated at
the distance of 5 ms from our encampment and we decended
to, and passed the main branch of the Kooskooske 1-½ ms
above the entrance of Quawmash [i. e., Glade] creek which
falls in on the N. E. side. when we decended from this ridge
we bid adieu to the snow. near the river we f [o]und a deer
which the hunters had killed and left us. this was a fortunate
supply as all our oil was now exhausted and we were reduced
to our roots alone without salt. the Kooskooske at this place
is about 30 yds. wide and runs with great velocity. the bed as
[of] all the mountain streams is composed of smooth stones.

beyond the river we ascended a very steep acclivity of a mountain
about 2 Miles and arrived at it's summit where we found
the old road which we had pased as we went out, coming in
on our wright. the road was now much plainer and more
beaten, which we were informed happened from the circumstance
of the Ootslashshoots visiting the fishery frequently from
the vally of Clark's river; tho' there was no appearance of
there having been here this spring. at noon we arrived at the
quawmas flatts on the Creek of the same name and halted to
graize our horses and dine having traveled 12 miles. we
passed our encampment of the (13th.) September at 10 ms.
where we halted there is a pretty little plain of about 50 acres
plentifully stocked with quawmash and from apperances this
fromes [forms] one of the principal stages or encampments of
the indians who pass the mountains on this road. we found
after we had halted that one of our pack-horses with his load
and one of my riding horses were left behind. we dispatched
J. Feilds and Colter in surch of the lost horses. after dinner
we continued our march seven miles further to the warm
springs where we arrived early in the evening and sent out
several hunters, who as well as R. Fields and Drewyer returned
unsuccessful; late in the evening Colter and J. Fields joined
us with the lost horses and brought with them a deer which
they had killed, this furnished us with supper. these warm
springs are situated at the base of a hill of no considerable hight
on the N. side and near the bank of travellers rest creek which
at that place is about 10 yards wide. these springs issue from
the bottoms and through the interstices of a grey freestone
rock, the rock rises in iregular mas[s]y clifts in a circular range
arround the springs on their lower side. immediately above
the springs on the creek there is a handsome little quamas plain
of about 10 acres. the prinsipal spring is about the temperature
of the warmest baths used at the hot springs in Virginia.[33] In
this bath which had been prepared by the Indians by stoping
the run with stone and gravel, I bathed and remained in 19
minutes, it was with dificulty I could remain thus long and it
caused a profuse sweat two other bold springs adjacent to this
are much warmer, their heat being so great as to make the
hand of a person smart extreemly when immerced. I think
the temperature of these springs about the same as the hotest
of the hot springs in Virginia. both the men and indians
amused themselves with the use of a bath this evening. I
observed that the indians after remaining in the hot bath as
long as they could bear it ran and plunged themselves into the
creek the water of which is now as cold as ice can make it;
after remaining here a few minutes they returned again to the
warm bath, repeating this transision several times but always
ending with the warm bath. I killed a small black pheasant
near the quamash grounds this evening which is the first I
have seen below the snowy region. I also saw some young
pheasants which were about the size of Chickens of 3 days old.
saw the track of two bearfoot indians who were supposed to be
distressed rufugees who had fled from the Minnetares.