[Lewis:]
Saturday June 15th.. 1805.
This morning the men again were sent to bring in some
more meat which Drewyer had killed yesterday, and continued
the opperation of drying it. I amused myself in fishing, and
sleeping away the fortiegues of yesterday. I caught a number
of very fine trout which I made goodrich dry; goodrich also
caught about two douzen and several small cat of a yellow
colour which would weigh about 4 lbs. the tail was seperated
with a deep angular nitch like that of the white cat of the
missouri from which indeed they differed only in colour.
when I awoke from my sleep today I found a large rattlesnake
coiled on the leaning trunk of a tree under the shade of which
I had been lying at the distance of about ten feet from him.
I killed the snake and found that he had 176 scuta on the
abdomen and 17 half formed scuta on the tale; it was of the
same kinde which I had frequently seen before; they do not
differ in their colours from the rattle-snake common to the
middle attlantic states, but considerably in the form and figures
of those colours. This evening after dark Joseph Fields returned
and informed me that Capt Clark had arrived with the
party at the foot of a rappid about 5 miles below which he did
not think proper to ascend and would wait my arrival there.
I had discovered from my journey yesterday that a portage on
this side of the river will be attended by much difficulty in
consequence of several deep ravenes which intersect the plains
(
Qu.) nearly at right angles with the river to a considerable
distance, while the South side appears to be a deligh[t] full
smoth unbroken plain; the bearings of the river also make it
p[r]obable that the portage will be shorter on that side than
on this. I directed Fields to return early in the morning to
Capt. C. and request him to send up a party of men for the
dryed meat which we had made. I finde a very heavy due on
the grass about my camp every morning which no doubt procedes
from the mist of the falls, as it takes place no where in
the plains nor on the river except here.
