University of Virginia Library

Thursday August 15th. 1805.

This morning I arrose very early and as hungary as a wolf.
I had eat nothing yesterday except one scant meal of the flour
and berries except the dryed cakes of berries which did not
appear to satisfy my appetite as they appeared to do those of
my Indian friends. I found on enquiry of M.cNeal that we
had only about two pounds of flour remaining. this I directed
him to divide into two equal parts and to cook the one half
this morning in a kind of pudding with the burries as he had
done yesterday and reserve the ballance for the evening. on
this new fashoned pudding four of us breakfasted, giving a
pretty good allowance also to the Chief who declared it the
best thing he had taisted for a long time. he took a little of
the flour in his hand, taisted and examined [it] very scrutinously
and asked me if we made it of roots. I explained to
him the manner in which it grew. I hurried the departure of
the Indians. the Chief addressed them several times before
they would move they seemed very reluctant to accompany
me. I at length asked the reason and he told me that some
foolish persons among them had suggested the idea that we
were in league with the Pahkees and had come on in order to

decoy them into an ambuscade where their enimies were waiting
to receive them. but that for his part he did not believe
it. I readily perceived that our situation was not enterely free
from danger as the transicion from suspicion to the confermation
of the fact would not be very difficult in the minds of these
ignorant people who have been accustomed from their infancy
to view every stranger as an enimy. I told Cameahwait that I
was sorry to find that they had put so little confidence in us,
that I knew they were not acquainted with whitemen and therefore
could forgive them. that among whitemen it was considered
disgracefull to lye or entrap an enimy by falsehood.
I told him if they continued to think thus meanly of us that
they might rely on it that no whitemen would ever come to
trade with them or bring them arms and amunition and that
if the bulk of his nation still entertained this opinion I still
hoped that there were some among them that were not affraid
to die, that were men and would go with me and convince
themselves of the truth of what I had asscerted. that there
was a party of whitemen waiting my return either at the forks
of Jefferson's river or a little below coming on to that place in
canoes loaded with provisions and merchandize. he told me
for his own part he was determined to go, that he was not
affraid to die. I soon found that I had touched him on the
right string; to doubt the bravery of a savage is at once to put
him on his metal. he now mounted his horse and haranged
his village a third time; the perport of which as he afterwards
told me was to inform them that he would go with us and convince
himself of the truth or falsity of what we had told him
if he was sertain he should be killed, that he hoped there were
some of them who heard him were not affraid to die with him
and if there was to let him see them mount their horses and
prepare to set out. shortly after this harange he was joined
by six or eight only and with these I smoked a pipe and directed
the men to put on their packs being determined to set out with
them while I had them in the humour at half after 12 we set
out, several of the old women were crying and imploring the
great sperit to protect their warriors as if they were going to inevitable
distruction. we had not proceeded far before our party
was augmented by ten or twelve more, and before we reached
the Creek which we had passed in the morning of the 13th it
appeared to me that we had all the men of the village and a
number of women with us. this may serve in some measure
to ilustrate the capricious disposition of those people, who never
act but from the impulse of the moment. they were now very
cheerfull and gay, and two hours ago they looked as sirly as
so many imps of satturn. when we arrived at the spring on
the side of the mountain where we had encamped on the 12th the
Chief insi[s]ted on halting to let the horses graize with which
I complyed and gave the Indians smoke. they are excessively
fond of the pipe; but have it not much in their power to indulge
themselves with even their native tobacco as they do not
cultivate it themselves. after remaining about an hour we
again set out, and by engaging to make compensation to four
of them for their trouble obtained the previlege of riding with
an indian myself and a similar situation for each of my party.
I soon found it more tiresome riding without [s]tirrups than
walking and of course chose the latter making the Indian carry
my pack. about sunset we reached the upper part of the level
valley of the Cove which [we] now called Shoshone Cove.
the grass being birned on the North side of the river we passed
over to the south and encamped near some willow brush about
4 miles above the narrow pass between the hills noticed as I
came up this cove. the river was here about six yards wide,
and frequently damed up by the beaver. I had sent Drewyer
forward this evening before we halted to kill some meat but he
was unsuccessfull and did not rejoin us untill after dark I now
cooked and [divided] among six of us [to] eat the remaining
pound of flour stired in a little boiling water. Capt. Clark delayed
again this morning untill after breakfast, when he set out
and passed between low and rugged mountains which had a few
pine trees distributed over them. the clifts are formed of limestone
and a hard black rock intermixed. no trees on the river,
the bottoms narrow river crooked shallow shoally and rapid.
the water is as coald as that of the best springs in our country.
the men as usual suffered excessively with fatiegue and the
coldness of the water to which they were exposed for hours
together. at the distance of 6 miles by water they passed the
entrance of a bold creek on Stard. side 10 yds. wide and 3 f. 3 I.
deep which we called Willard's Creek[15] after Alexander Willard
one of our party. at 4 miles by water from their encampment
of las[t] evening passed a bold branch which tumbled down a
steep precipice of rocks from the mountains on the Lard. Capt.
Clark was very near being bitten twice today by rattlesnakes,
the Indian woman also narrowly escaped. they caught a
number of fine trout. Capt. Clark killed a buck which was
the only game killed today. the venison has an uncommon
bitter taist which is unpleasant I presume it proceeds from
some article of their food, perhaps the willow, on the leaves
of which they feed very much. they encamped this evening
on the Lard. side[16] near a few cottonwood trees, about which
there were the remains of several old Indian brush lodges.

Courses and distances traveled by Capt. Clark August 15th 1805.

       

S. 25° W.	4.	to the entrance of Willard's Creek on Stard. 10 Yds wide bold current. so called from Alexander Willard one of our party. the distance by water 6 Miles. passed a point of rocks at 2 M. on Stard. a bold run on Lard. at 4. Miles; a second point of rocks on Lard. at 5 and an Island.
S. 22° E.	1.	to a small bottom on the Lard. side, passing a high clift on Stard. opposite to a steep sloping hill. the same being 3. M. by water
S. 20° W.	2	M. to a small branch on Lard. side near which is a small bottom covered with clover and a few cottonwood trees where they encamped on Lard. side for the
Miles	7	evening.

During my absence Capt. Clark had made the following
observations.

Point of Observation No. 41.

August 11th 1805. on the upper point of an island at the encampment
of this evening, observed time and distance of D's Western limb from
Antares. * West. with Sextant.

               

	Time	Distance		Time	Distance
	h m s	o ′ ″		h m s	o ′ ″
P.M.	9. 38. 1.	91. 57. -.	P.M.	9. 54. 31.	91. 49. 45.
	". 41. 20.	". 56. 45.		". 56. 11.	". 48. 30.
	". 44. 39.	". 55. 15.		". 58. 14.	".48—.
	". 47. 8.	". 54. 30.		10. –. 23.	". 47. 45.
	".50. 38.	". 54. 15.		". 1. 39.	". 47. 45.
	". 51. 52.	". 53. 45.		". 2. 32.	". 47.—.

 

Longitude deduced from this observation } West from Greenwich

[blank space in MS.]

Point of Observation No. 42.

August 15th. 1805. On the Lard. side of the Missouri at the rattlesnake
Clifts. Observed

     

Meridian Altitude of ☉'s L. L. } with Octant by the back observation	65° 47′-″
Latitude deduced from this observation	44° -′ 48″1.
this place ought to stand at about	44° 50′. or thereabouts.