University of Virginia Library

[Lewis:]

Monday August 19th. 1805

This morning I arrose at d[a]ylight and sent out three
hunters. some of the men who were much in want of legings
and mockersons I suffered to dress some skins. the others I
employed in repacking the baggage, making pack saddles &c.
we took up the net this morning but caught no fish. one
beaver was caught in a trap. the frost which perfectly whitened
the grass this morning had a singular appearance to me at this
season. this evening I made a few of the men construct a sein
of willow brush which we hawled and caught a large number
of fine trout and a kind of mullet about 16 Inches long which
I had not seen before. the scales are small, the nose is long
and obtusely pointed and exceeds the under jaw. the mouth
is not large but opens with foalds at the sides, the colour of it's
back and sides is of a bluish brown and belley white; it has
the faggot bones, from which I have supposed it to be of the
mullet kind. the tongue and pallate are smooth and it has no

teeth. it is by no means as good as the trout.[6] the trout are
the same which I first met with at the falls of the Missouri,
they are larger than the speckled trout of our mountains and
equally as well flavored. The hunters returned this evening
with two deer. from what has been said of the Shoshones it
will be readily perceived that they live in a wretched stait of
poverty. yet notwithstanding their extreem poverty they are
not only cheerfull but even gay, fond of gaudy dress and
amusements; like most other Indians they are great egotists
and frequently boast of heroic acts which they never performed.
they are also fond of games of wrisk. they are frank, communicative,
fair in dealing, generous with the little they possess,
extreemly honest, and by no means beggarly. each individual
is his own sovereign master, and acts from the dictates of his
own mind; the authority of the Cheif being nothing more
than mere admonition supported by the influence which the
prop[r]iety of his own examplary conduct may have acquired
him in the minds of the individuals who compose the band.
the title of cheif is not hereditary, nor can I learn that there
is any cerimony of instalment, or other epo[c]h in the life of a
Cheif from which his title as such can be dated. in fact every
man is a chief, but all have not an equal influence on the minds
of the other members of the community, and he who happens
to enjoy the greatest share of confidence is the principal Chief.
The Shoshonees may be estimated at about 100 warriors, and
about three times that number of woomen and children. they
have more children among them than I expected to have seen
among a people who procure subsistence with such difficulty.
there are but few very old persons, nor did they appear to treat
those with much tenderness or rispect. The man is the sole
propryetor of his wives and daughters, and can barter or dispose
of either as he thinks proper. a plurality of wives is common
among them, but these are not generally sisters as with the
Minnitares & Mandans but are purchased of different fathers.
The father frequently disposes of his infant daughters in marriage
to men who are grown or to men who have sons for whom
they think proper to provide wives. the compensation given in
such cases usually consists of horses or mules which the father
receives at the time of contract and converts to his own uce.
the girl remains with her parents untill she is conceived to have
obtained the age of puberty which with them is considered to
be about the age of 13 or 14 years. the female at this age is
surrendered to her soveriegn lord and husband agreeably to
contract, and with her is frequently restored by the father
quite as much as he received in the first instance in payment
for his daughter; but this is discretionary with the father.
Sah-car-gar-we-ah had been thus disposed of before she was
taken by the Minnetares, or had arrived to the years of
puberty. the husband was yet living with this band. he was
more than double her age and had two other wives. he
claimed her as his wife but said that as she had had a child by
another man, who was Charbono, that he did not want her.
They seldom correct their children particularly the boys who
soon become masters of their own acts. they give as a reason
that it cows and breaks the sperit of the boy to whip him, and
that he never recovers his independence of mind after he is
grown. They treat their women but with little rispect, and
compel them to perform every species of drudgery. they
collect the wild fruits and roots, attend to the horses or assist
in that duty, cook, dress the skins and make all their apparel,
collect wood and make their fires, arrange and form their lodges,
and when they travel pack the horses and take charge of all
the baggage; in short the man dose little else except attend
his horses hunt and fish. the man considers himself degraded
if he is compelled to walk any distance; and if he is so unfortunately
poor as only to possess two horses he rides the best
himself and leavs the woman or women if he has more than
one, to transport their baggage and children on the other,
and to walk if the horse is unable to carry the additional
weight of their persons. the chastity of their women is not
held in high estimation, and the husband will for a trifle barter
the companion of his bead for a night or longer if he conceives
the reward adiquate; tho' they are not so importunate that we
should caress their women as the siouxs were. and some of
their women appear to be held more sacred than in any nation
we have seen. I have requested the men to give them no
cause of jealousy by having connection with their women without
their knowledge, which with them, strange as it may seem
is considered as disgracefull to the husband, as clandestine
connections of a similar kind are among civilized nations. to
prevent this mutual exchange of good officies altogether I
know it impossible to effect, particularly on the part of our
young men whom some months abstanence have made very
polite to those tawney damsels. no evil has yet resulted and
I hope will not from these connections. notwithstanding the
late loss of horses which this people sustained by the Minnetares
the stock of the band may be very safely estimated at
seven hundred of which they are perhaps about 40 coalts and
half that number of mules. these people are deminutive in
stature, thick ankles, crooked legs, thick flat feet and in short
but illy formed, at least much more so in general than any
nation of Indians I ever saw. their complexion is much that
of the Siouxs or darker than the Minnetares Mandands or
Shawnees. generally both men and women wear their hair
in a loos lank flow over the sholders and face; tho' I observed
some few men who confined their hair in two equal cues hanging
over each ear and drawnn in front of the body. the cue
is formed with throngs of dressed leather or Otterskin a[l]ternately
crossing each other. at present most of them have
their hair cut short in the neck in consequence of the loss of
their relations by the Minnetares. Cameahwait has his cut
close all over his head. this constitutes their cerimony of
morning for their deceased relations. the dress of the men
consists of a robe long legings, shirt, tippet and Mockersons
that of the women is also a robe, chemise, and Mockersons
sometimes they make use of short legings. the ornements of
both men and women are very similar, and consist of several
species of sea shells, blue and white beads, bras and Iron arn
bands, plaited cords of the sweet grass, and collars of leather
ornamented with the quills of the porcupine dyed of various
colours among which I observed the red, yellow, blue, and
black. the ear is purforated in the lower part to receive
various ornaments but the nose is not, nor is the ear lasserated
or disvigored for this purpose as among many nations. the
men never mark their skins by birning, cuting, nor puncturing
and introducing a colouring matter as many nations do. there
women sometimes puncture a small circle on their forehead
nose or cheeks and thus introduce a black matter usually soot
and grease which leaves an indelible stane. tho' this even is by
no means common. their arms offensive and defensive consist
in the bow and arrows shield, some, lances, and a weapon
called by the Cippeways who formerly used it, the pog-gar'-mag-gon'.[7]
in fishing they employ wairs, gigs, and fishing
hooks. the salmon is the principal object of their pursuit.
they snair wolves and foxes. I was anxious to learn whether
these people had the venerial, and made the enquiry through
the intrepreter and his wife; the information was that they
sometimes had it but I could not learn their remedy; they
most usually die with it's effects. this seems a strong proof
that these disorders bothe ganaræhah [gonorrhea] and Louis
Veneræ are native disorders of America. tho' these people
have suffered much by the small pox which is known to be
imported and perhaps those other disorders might have been
contracted from other indian tribes who by a round of communications
might have obtained from the Europeans since
it was introduced into that quarter of the globe. but so
much detatched on the other ha[n]d from all communication
with the whites that I think it most probable that those
disorders are original with them. from the middle of May
to the first of September these people reside on the waters
of the Columbia where they consider themselves in perfect
security from their enimies as they have not as yet ever
found their way to this retreat; during this season the
salmon furnish the principal part of their subsistence and as
this fish either perishes or returns about the 1st. of September
they are compelled at this season in surch of subsistence to
resort to the Missouri, in the vallies of which, there is more
game even within the mountains. here they move slowly
down the river in order to collect and join other bands either
of their own nation or the Flatheads, and having become sufficiently
strong as they conceive venture on the Eastern side of
the Rockey mountains into the plains, where the buffaloe
abound. but they never leave the interior of the mountains
while they can obtain a scanty subsistence, and always return
as soon as they have acquired a good stock of dryed meat in
the plains; when this stock is consumed they venture again
into the plains; thus alternately obtaining their food at the
risk of their lives and retiring to the mountains, while they
consume it. These people are now on the eve of their departure
for the Missouri, and inform us that they expect to be
joined at or about the three forks by several bands of their
own nation, and a band of the Flatheads. as I am now two
busily engaged to enter at once into a minute discription of the
several articles which compose their dress, impliments of war
hunting fishing &c I shall pursue them at my leasure in the
order they have here occurred to my mind, and have been
mentioned.[8] This morning capt. Clark continued his rout with
his party, the Indians accompanying him as yesterday; he was
obliged to feed them. nothing remarkable happened during
the day. he was met by an Indian with two mules on this
side of the dividing ridge at the foot of the mountain, the
Indian had the politeness to offer Capt. C. one of his mules to
ride as he was on foot, which he accepted and gave the fellow
a waistcoat as a reward for his politeness. in the evening he
reached the creek on this side of the Indian camp and halted
for the night. his hunters killed nothing today. The Indians
value their mules very highly. a good mule can not be obtained
for less than three and sometimes four horses, and the
most indifferent are rated at two horses. their mules generally
are the finest I ever saw without any comparison. today I
observed time and distance of ☉'s and D's. nearest limbs with
sextant ☉ East. it being the

Point of Observation No. 43.

             

	Time	Distance		Time	Distance
	h m s	o ′ ″		h m s	o ′ ″
A.M.	11. 37. 11.	56. 53. 15.	A.M.	11. 51. 37	65. 47. 15.
	". 39. 50.	". 52. –.		". 54. 43.	". 45. 30.
	". 44. 15.	" 50. 45.		". 55. 53.	". 44. 15.
	". 46. 18.	". 49. –.		". 57. 40.	". 43. 30.
				". 59. 30.	". 42. 30.

     

Observed Meridian Altitude of ☉'s. L.L. with
Octant by the back observation	69°. 15′.—″.
Latitude deduced from this observation.	N. 44°. 37′. 57″.4.