University of Virginia Library

Sunday April 14th 1805.

One of the hunters saw an Otter last evening and shot at it,
but missed it. a dog came to us this morning, which we supposed
to have been lost by the Indians who were recently
encamped near the lake that we passed yesterday. the mineral
appearances of salts, coal and sulphur, together with birnt
hills & pumice stone still continue. while we remained at the
entrance of the little Missouri, we saw several pieces of pumice
stone floating down that stream, a considerable quant[it]y of

which had lodged against a point of drift wood a little above
it's entrance. Capt. Clark walked on shore this morning, and
on his return informed me that he had passed through the
timbered bottoms on the N. side of the river, and had extended
his walk several miles back on the hills; in the
bottom lands he had met with several uninhabited Indian
lodges built with the boughs of the Elm, and in the plains he
met with the remains of two large encampments of a recent
date, which from the appearance of some hoops of small kegs,
seen near them we concluded that they must have been the
camps of the Assinniboins, as no other nation who visit this
part of the missouri ever indulge themselves with spirituous
liquor. of this article the Assinniboins are pationately fond,
and we are informed that it, forms their principal inducement
to furnish the British establishments on the Assinniboin river
with the dryed and pounded meat and grease which they do.
they also supply those establishments with a small quantity of
fur, consisting principally of the large and small wolves and
the small fox[23] skins. these they barter for small kegs of rum
which they generally transport to their camps at a distance
from the establishments, where they revel with their friends
and relations as long as they possess the means of intoxication,
their women and children are equally indulged on those occations
and are all seen drunk together. so far is a state of
intoxication from being a cause of reproach among them, that
with the men, it is a matter of exultation that their skill and
industry as hunters has enabled them to get drunk frequently.
in their customs, habits and dispositions these people very
much resemble the Siouxs from whom they have descended.
The principal inducement with the British fur companies, for
continuing their establishments on the Assinniboin river, is
the Buffaloe meat and grease they procure from the Assinniboins,
and Christanoes, by means of which, they are enabled
to supply provision to their engages on their return from
rainy Lake to the English river and the Athabaskey country
where they winter; without such resource those voyagers
would frequently be straitened for provision, as the country
through which they pass is but scantily supplyed with game,
and the rappidity with which they are compelled to travel in
order to reach their winter stations, would leave them but
little leasure to surch for food while on their voyage.

The Assinniboins have so recently left this neighbourhood,
that the game is scarce and very shy. the river continues
wide, and not more rapid than the Ohio in an averge state of
it's current. the bottoms are wide and low, the moister parts
containing some timber; the upland is extreemly broken,
chonsisting of high gaulded nobs as far as the eye can reach
on ether side, and entirely destitute of timber. on these hills
many aromatic herbs are seen; resembling in taste, smel and
appearance, the sage, hysop, wormwood, southernwood,[24] and
two other herbs which are strangers to me; the one resembling
the camphor in taste and smell, rising to the hight of 2
or 3 feet; the other about the same size, has a long, narrow,
smo[o]th, soft leaf of an agreeable smel and flavor; of this
last the A[n]telope is very fond; they feed on it, and perfume
the hair of their foreheads and necks with it by rubing against
it. the dwarf cedar and juniper is also found in great abundance
on the sides of these hills. where the land is level, it is
uniformly fertile consisting of a dark loam intermixed with a
proportion of fine sand. it is generally covered with a short
grass resembling very much the blue grass. the miniral
appearances still continue; considerable quantities of bitumenous
water, about the colour of strong lye trickles down the
sides of the hills; this water partakes of the taste of glauber
salts and slightly of allumn. while the party halted to take
dinner today Capt. Clark killed a buffaloe bull; it was meagre,
and we therefore took the marrow bones and a small proportion
of the meat only. near the place we dined, on the Lard.
side, there was a large village of burrowing squirrels. I have
remarked that these anamals generally celect a South Easterly
exposure for their residence, tho' they are sometimes found in

the level plains. passed an Island, above which two small
creeks fall in on Lard. side; the upper creek largest, which we
called Sharbono's Creek, after our interpreter who encamped
several weeks on it with a hunting party of Indians. this was
the highest point to which any whiteman had ever ascended
except two Frenchmen (one of whom Lapage was now with us.
See at Mandan) who having lost their way had straggled a few
miles further, tho' to what place precisely I could not learn.[25]
I walked on shore above this creek and killed an Elk, which
was so poor that it was unfit for uce; I therefore left it, and
joined the party at their encampment on the Stard. shore a little
after dark. on my arrival Capt. Clark informed me that he
had seen two white bear pass over the hills shortly after I
fired, and that they appeared to run nearly from the place
where I shot. the lard. shore on which I walked was very
broken, and the hills in many places had the appearance of
having sliped down in masses of several acres of land in surface.
we saw many gees feeding on the tender grass in the
praries and several of their nests in the trees; we have not in a
single instance found the nest of this bird on or near the
ground. we saw a number of Magpies their nests and eggs.
their nests are built in trees and composed of small sticks
leaves and grass, open at top, and much in the stile of the
large blackbird comm to the U.'States. the egg is of a bluish
brown colour, freckled with redish brown spots. one of the
party killed a large hooting owl; I observed no difference
between this bird and those of the same family common to the
U.'States, except that this appeared to be more booted and
more thickly clad with feathers.

The courses and distances of the 14th April.

               

		Miles
S. 45. W.	to the mouth of a small creek at the upper part of a timbered bottom	2 1/2
W. -	to a point of Woodland on the Lard. side	3 1/2
N. 85. W.	to a point on the Stard. opposite to a bluff	2
N. 80. W.	to a point on Stard opposite to a bluff on Lad.	1 3/4
W.	to the lower point of an Island which from the circumstance of our arriving at it on sunday-we called Sunday Island. the river washes the base of the hills on both sides of this Island	1
N. 70. W.	to a point of woodland on the Stard. Side the Island and it's sandbar occupy 1/2 the distance of this course pass two small creeks on the Lard. Side, the upper one the largest, called Sharbono's creek.	3 1/4
	Miles	14

Point of Observation No. 2.

On the Stard. shore 1/2 of a mile above the extremity of the third
course of this day observed Meridian Altd. ☉8 L. L. with Octant by the
back Obt. 81° 34′ ″—

Latitude deduced from this Observatn.

Point of Observation No. 3.

At our encampment of this evening on the Sid. Sd. observed time and
distance of ☽'s Western limb from Regulus, with Sextant. *West.—

                       

		Time.—			Distance.—
	h	m	s	°	′	″
P.M.	10.	47.	2—	72.	20.	30.
	".	51.	10.—	".	21.	-
	".	53.	19—	".	21.	45.
	".	56.	2.—	".	23.	-
	".	58.	58—	".	24.	15.
P.M .	11.	2.	2.—	72.	25.	45.
	".	4.	27 .—	".	27.	15.
	".	7.	55—	".	29.	-.
	".	10.	19—	".	30.	-.
	".	12.	12—	".	31.	15.

Observed time and distance of ☽'s Eastern limb from a. Aquilæ with
Sextant. *. East.—

                       

			Time.		Distance.
	h	m	s	°	′	″
P.M.	11.	22.	7.—	82.	16.	45.
	".	27.	7 .—	".	16.	15
	".	30.	23.—	".	15.	30.
	".	32.	27 .—	".	15.	15.
	".	34.	39 .—	".	15.	15.
P.M .	11.	36.	47.—	82.	14.	30.
	".	39.	34.—	".	14.	-
	".	43.	2.—	".	13.	15.
	".	46.	8.—	".	13.	30.
	".	48.	16 .—	".	13.	-