Thursday May 2nd.
1805.
The wind continued violent all night nor did it abate much
of it's violence this morning, when at daylight it was attended
with snow which continued to fall untill about 10 A.M.
being about one inch
deep, it formed a singular contrast with
the vegitation which was
considerably advanced. some flowers
had put forth in the plains, and the
leaves of the cottonwood
were as large as a dollar. sent out some hunters
who killed 2
deer 3 Elk and several buffaloe; on our way this evening we
also shot three beaver along the shore; these anamals in consequence
of not being hunted are extreemly
gentle, where they
are hunted they never leave their lodges in the day,
the flesh
of the beaver is esteemed a delecacy among us; I think the
tale a most delicious morsal, when boiled it resembles in flavor
the
fresh tongues and sounds of the codfish, and is usually
sufficiently large
to afford a plentifull meal for two men.
Joseph Fields one of the hunters
who was out today found
several yards of scarlet cloth which had been
suspended on the
bough of a tree near an old indian hunting cam[p], where
it
had been left as a sacrefice to the deity by the indians, probably
of the Assinniboin nation, it being a
custom with them as
well as all the nations inhabiting the waters of the
Missouri so
far as they are known to us, to offer or sacrefice in this
manner
to the deity wat-ever they may be possessed off which they
think most acceptable to him, and very honestly making their
own
feelings the test of those of the deity offer him the article
which they
most prize themselves. this being the most usual
method of we[r]shiping
the great sperit as they term the
deity, is practiced on interesting
occasions, or to produce the
happy eventuation of the important
occurrances incident to
human nature, such as relief from hungar or
mallady, protection
from their enemies or
the delivering them into their
hands, and with such as cultivate, to
prevent the river's overflowing
and
distroying their crops &c. s[a]crefices of a
similar kind are also
made to the deceased by their friends
and relatives. the are was very
piercing this evening the
[water] friezed on the oars as they rowed. the
wind dying at
5.P.M. we set out.
Courses and
distance 2ed.
May.
| S. |
70°. |
E. |
to the upper point of the timber on the Lard.
side in
a bend, passing a point of timber on the Lard.
side at 1/4 of a
mile |
2 |
| S. |
10°. |
E. |
to a point of wood land on the Stard.
side |
1/2 |
| S. |
30°. |
W. |
to a point of low timber on the Lard. side, a little
above which on the Stard. side, we encamped, having
passed some wider fertile bottoms and beatifull
high level plains |
2 |
|
|
|
|
4 1/2 |
every thing which is incomprehensible to
the indians they
call big medicine, and is the
opperation of the presnts [presence
—Ed.] and
power of the great sperit. this morning one of
the
men shot the indian dog that had followed us for several
days, he would
steal their cooked provision.
