University of Virginia Library

Saturday August 10th. 1805.

We set out very early this morning and continued our rout
through the wide bottom on the Lard. side of the river. after
passing a large creek at about 5 miles we fel in with a plain Indian

road which led towards the point that the river entered
the mountain we therefore pursued the road I sent Drewyer
to the wright to kill a deer which we saw feeding and halted on
the river under an immencely high perpendicular clift of rocks
where it entered the mountain here we kindled a fire and
waited for Drewyer. he arrived in about an hour and a half or
at noon with three deer skins and the flesh of one of the best
of them; we cooked and eat a haisty meal and departed, returning
a sho[r]t distance to the Indian road which led us the
best way over the mountains, which are not very high but ar[e]
ruggid and approach the river closely on both sides just below
these mountains I saw several bald Eagles and two large
white headed fishinghawks boath these birds were the same
common to our country. from the number of rattle snakes
about the Clifts at which we halted we called them the rattle
snake clifts. this serpent is the same before discribed with
oval spots of yellowish brown. the river below the mountains
is rapid rocky, very crooked, much divided by islands and
withal shallow. after it enters the mountains it's bends are not
so circuetous and it's geneal course more direct, but it is equally
shallow les[s] divided more rocky and rapid. we continued
our rout along the Indian road which led us sometimes over the
hills and again in the narrow bottoms of the river till at the distance
of fifteen Ms. from the rattle snake Clifts we arrived in a
ha[n]dsome open and leavel vally where the river divided itself
nearly into two equal branches; here I halted and examined
those streams and readily discovered from their size that it
would be vain to attempt the navigation of either any further.
here also the road forked one leading up the vally of each
of these streams.[15] I therefore sent Drewer on one and
Shields on the other to examine these roads for a short distance
and to return and compare their information with respect
to the size and apparent plainness of the roads as I was now
determined to pursue that which appeared to have been the
most traveled this spring. in the mean time I wrote a note to
Capt. Clark informing him of the occurrences which had taken
place, recommending it to him to halt at this place untill my
return and enforming him of the rout I had taken which from
the information of the men on their return seemed to be in
favour of the S W or Left hand fork which is reather the
smallest. accordingly I put up my note on a dry willow pole
at the forks, and set out up the S.E. fork, after proceeding
about 1 1/2 miles I discovered that the road became so blind
that it could not be that which we had followed to the forks of
Jefferson's river; neither could I find the tracks of the horses
which had passed early in the spring along the other; I therefore
determined to return and examine the other myself, which
I did, and found that the same horses had passed up the West
fork which was reather [the] largest, and more in the direction
that I wished to pursue; I therefore did not hesitate about
changing my rout but determined to take the western road.
I now wrote a second note to Capt C. informing him of this
change and sent Drewyer to put it with the other at the forks
and waited until he returned. there is scarcely any timber on
the river above the Rt. Snake Clifts, nor is there anything
larger than willow brush in sight of these forks. immediately
in the level plain between the forks and about 1/2 a mile distance
from them stands a high rocky mountain, the base of
which is surrounded by the level plain; it has a singular appearance.
the mountains do not appear very high in any direction
tho' the tops of some of them are partially covered with
snow. this convinces me that we have ascended to a great
hight since we have entered the rocky Mountains, yet the
ascent has been so gradual along the vallies that it was scarcely
perceptable by land.[16] I do not believe that the world can furnish
an example of a river runing to the extent which the
Missouri and Jefferson's rivers do through such a mountainous
country and at the same time so navigable as they are. if the
Columbia furnishes us such another example, a communication
across the continent by water will be practicable and safe. but
this I can scarcely hope from a knowledge of its having in it[s]
comparitively short course to the ocean the same number of
feet to decend which the Missouri and Mississippi have from
this point to the Gulph of Mexico.

The valley of the west fork through which we passed for
four miles boar a little to N of West and was about 1 mile
wide hemned in on either side by rough mountain and steep
Clifts of rock at 4 1/2 miles this stream enters a beatifull and
extensive plain about ten miles long and from 5 to six in width.
this plain is surrounded on all sides by a country of roling or
high wavy plains through which several little rivulets extend
their wide vallies quite to the Mountains which surround the
whole in an apparent Circular manner; forming one of the
handsomest coves [Shoshone] I ever saw, of about 16 or 18
miles in diameter.[17] just after entering this cove the river
bends to the N.W. and runs close under the Stard. hills. here
we killed a deer and encamped on the Stard. side and made our
fire of dry willow brush, the only fuel which the country produces.
there are not more than three or four cottonwood
trees in this extensive cove and they are but small. the uplands
are covered with prickly pears and twisted or bearded grass
and are but poor; some parts of the bottom lands are covered
with grass and tolerably fertile; but much the greater proportion
is covered with prickly pears, sedge, twisted grass, the
pulpy leafed thorn southernwood wild sage &c and like the
uplands is very inferior in point of soil. we traveled by estimate
30 Ms. today, that is 10 to the Rattle Snake Clift, 15 to
the forks of Jefferson's river and 5 to our camp in the cove.
at the apparent extremity of the bottom above us two perpendicular
clifts of considerable hight stand on either side of the
river and uppers (appears) at this distance like a gate, it is about
10 M. due West.

Capt Clark set out at sun rise this morning and pursued his
rout; found the river not rapid but shallow also very crooked.
they were obliged to drag the canoes over many riffles in the
course of the day. they passed the point which the natives

call the beaver's head. it is a steep rocky clift of 150 feet high
near the Stard. side of the river, opposite to it at the distance
of 300 yards is a low clift of about 50 feet which is the extremity
of a spur of the mountains about 4 miles distant on Lard.
at 4. P.M. they experienced a heavy shower of rain attended
with hail thunder and Lightning which continued about an
hour. the men defended themselves from the hail by means
of the willow bushes but all the party got perfectly wet. after
the shower was over they pursued their march and encamped
on the Stard side. only one deer killed by their hunters today.
tho' they took up another by the way which had been killed
three days before by Jos. Fields and hung up near the river.

Courses and distances traveled by Capt. Clark August 10th. 1805.

     

S. 30°. W.	2.	to a Clift of rocks on Stard. 150 feet high called by the natives the beaver's head. distance by water 6 1/2 miles, passing 8 bends on the Stard. side and 2 small bayous on Lard.
S. 60°. W.	2.	to a low bluff on the Lard. side, distance by water 6 1/2 miles, passing four islands and 18 bends on Stard. side and a low bluff and several bayous on the same side or Stard.
Miles	4