Friday 6th. August 1806
I rose very wet. about 11 P M last night the wind become
very hard for a fiew minits suckceeded by Sharp lightning and
hard claps of Thunder and rained for about 2 hours very hard
after which it continued Cloudy the balance of the night. as
we were about Setting out a female Bighorn animal came on
the bluff imediately above us and looked down. I derected
Labeech to shoot it which he did, after skinning this animal
we set out and proceeded on to a Sand bar on the S W. side
below the enterance of White earth river where I landed and
had the meat skins and bedding all put out to dry. wind hard
from the N W. I halted on the N W. side of this river in
the bend above White earth river, where I saw the Indians
had been digging a root which they eate and use in Suip,
(Soup) not more than 7 or 8 days past. This morning a very
large Bear of [the] white Species, discovered us floating in the
water and takeing us, as I prosume to be Buffalow imediately
plunged into the river and prosued us. I directed the men to
be still. this animal Came within about 40 yards of us, and
tacked. about. we all fired into him without killing him, and
the wind so high that we could not pursue hi[m], by which
means he made his escape to the shore badly wounded. I
have observed buffalow floating down which I suppose must
have been drounded in crossing above. more or less of those
animals drown or mire in passing this river. I observed several
floating buffalow on the R. Rochejhone imediately below
where large gangues had crossed. The wind blew hard all the
after part of the day. I derected the men to dress their skins
except one which I took with me and walkd. through the bottom
the foot of the hills I killed five deer and the man
with me killed 2. four others were killed in the course of the
day by the party only 2 of those deer were fat owing as I
suppose to the Musquetors which are so noumerous and
troublesom to them that they cannot feed except under the
torments of millions of those Musquetors.
