[Lewis:]
Sunday June 30th. 1805.
We had a heavy dew this morning which is a remarkable
event. Fraizer and Whitehouse still continued their opperation
of sewing the skins together. I set Shields and gass to shaving
bark and Fields continued to make the cross brases. Drewyer
and myself rendered a considerable quantity of tallow and
cooked. I begin to be extremely impatient to be off as the
season is now waisting a pace nearly three months have now
elapsed since we left Fort Mandan and not yet reached the
Rocky Mountains I am therefore fully preswaded that we
shall not reach Fort Mandan again this season if we even return
from the ocean to the Snake Indians. wherever we find timber
there is also beaver; Drewyer killed two today. There are a
number of large bat or goatsucker here I killed one of them
and found that there was no difference between them and those
common to the U' States; I have not seen the leather winged
bat for some time nor is there any of the small goatsuckers in
this quarter of the country. we have not the whip-poor-will
either. this last is by many persons in the U'States confounded
with the large goat-sucker or night-hawk as it is called
in the Eastern States, and are taken for the same bird. it is
true that there is a great resemblance but they are distinct
species of the goatsucker. here the one exists without the
other. the large goat sucker lays it's eggs in these open plains
without the preperation of a nest. we have found their eggs in
several instances they lay only two before they set nor do I
beleive that they raise more than one brood in a season; they
have now just hatched their young. This evening the bark
was shaved and the leather covering for the sections were also
completed and I had them put into the water, in order to
toughen the bark, and prepare the leather for sewing on the
sections in the morning. it has taken 28 Elk skins and 4
Buffaloe skins to complete her. the cross bars are also finished
this evening; we have therefore only the way strips now to
obtain in order to complete the wood work, and this I fear will
be a difficult task. The party have not returned from the
lower camp I am therefore fearfull that some uncommon
accedent has happened.
Occurrences with Capt. Clark and Party.
This morning Capt. Clark dispatched two men to kill some
small buffaloe, two others to the falls to surch for the articles
lost yesterday, one he retained to cook and sent the others for
the baggage left in the plains yesterday. the hunters soon
returned loaded with meat those sent for the baggage brought
it up in a few hours, he then set four men at work to make
axeltrees and repare the carrages; the others he employed in
conveying the baggage over the run on their sholders it having
now fallen to about 3 feet water. the men complained much
today of the bruises and wounds which they had received yesterday
from the hail. the two men sent to the falls returned
with the compas which they found covered in the mud and
sand near the mouth of the revene the other articles were irrecoverably
lost. they found that part of [the] rivene in which
Capt. C. had been seting yesterday filled with huge rocks. at
11 A. M. Capt. Clark dispatched the party with a load of baggage
as far as the 6 mile stake, with orders to deposit it there
and return with the carriages which they did accordingly. they
experienced a heavy gust of wind this evening from the S.W.
after which it was a fair afternoon. more buffaloe than usual
were seen about their camp; Capt. C. assured me that he
beleives he saw at least ten thousand at one view.
Point of Observation No. 29. June 30th. 1805.
At our camp on the Lard. side of the Missouri opposite to the White
bear Islands observed Equal Altitudes of the Sun with Sextant.
Equal Altitudes of ☉'s. L. L.
|
h m s |
|
|
h m s |
| A.M. |
8. 50 19. |
— |
P.M. |
5. 51. 54. |
I have made several attempts to obtain Equal altitudes since my
arrival here but have been uniformly defeated untill now by the flying
clouds and storms in the evening.
