University of Virginia Library

Monday 14th. July 1806

Sent Shields a head to kill a deer for our brackfast, and at
an early hour set out with the party crossed Gallitines river
which makes a considerable bend to the N. E. and proceeded
on nearly S. 78°. E through an open Leavel plain at 6 Miles
I struck the river and crossed a part of it and attempted to
proceed on through the river bottoms which was several Miles
wide at this place, I crossed several chanels of the river running
through the bottom in defferent directions. I proceeded on
about two miles crossing those defferent chanels all of which
was damed with beaver in such a manner as to render the
passage impracticable and after [being] swamped as I may say
in this bottom of beaver, I was compelled to turn short about
to the right and after some difficuelty made my way good to
an open low but firm plain which was an Island and extended
nearly the course I wished to proceed, here the squar informed
me that there was a large road passing through the
upper part of this low plain from Madicins river through the
gap which I was Stearing my course to. I proceeded up this
plain 4 miles and crossed the main chanel of the river, having
passed through a skirt of cotton timber to an open low plain
on the N E. side of the river and nooned it. the river is
much divided and on all the small streams inoumerable quantities
of beaver dams, tho' the river is yet navagable for canoes

I overtook Shields soon after I set out; he had killed a large
fat Buck. I saw Elk, deer & Antelopes, and great deel of
old signs of buffalow. their roads is in every direction. The
Indian woman informs me that a fiew years ago Buffalow was
very plenty in those plains & Vallies quit[e] as high as the
head of Jeffersons river, but fiew of them ever come into those
vallys of late years owing to the Shoshones who are fearfull of
passing in-to the plains West of the mountains and subsist on
what game they can catch in the Mountains principally and the
fish which they take in the E. fork of Lewis's river. Small
parties of Shoshones do pass over to the plains for a few days at
a time an[d] kill buffalow for their skins and dried meat, and
return imediately into the Mountains, after Dinner we proceeded
on a little to the South of East through an open leavel
plain to the three forks of the E branch of Gallitines River at
about 12 Miles, crossed the most Southerly of those forks and
struck an old buffalow road (the one our Indn. woman meant)
which I kept continuing nearly the same course up the middle
fork crossed it and camped on a small branch of the middle
fork on the N E. side at the commencement of the gap of the
mountain[18] —the road leading up this branch, several other
roads all old come in from the right & left. emence quantities
of beaver on this Fork quit[e] down, and their dams very
much impeed the navigation of it from the 3 forks down, tho
I beleive it practicable for small canoes by unloading at a fiew
of the worst of those dams. Deer are plenty Shannon Shields
and Sergt. Pryor each killed one which were very fat much more
so than they are commonly at this Season of the year. The
Main fork of Gallitins River turn South and enter the Mountains
which are yet covered with Snow. Madicens river makes
a Great bend to the East and enters the same mountain. a
leavel plain between the two rivers below the mountain.