University of Virginia Library

Thursday July 4th. 1805.

Yesterday we permitted Sergt. Gass McNeal and several
others who had not yet seen the falls to visit them. no appearance
of tar yet and I am now confident that we shall not
be able to obtain any; a serious misfortune. I employed a
number of hands on the boat today and by 4 P.M. in the
evening completed her except the most difficult part of the
work that of making her seams secure. I had her turned up
and some small fires kindled underneath to dry her. Capt. C.
completed a draught of the river from Fort Mandan to this
place which we intend depositing at this place in order to
guard against accedents. not having seen the Snake Indians
or knowing in fact whether to calculate on their friendship or
hostility or friendship we have conceived our party sufficiently
small and therefore have concluded not to dispatch a canoe
with a part of our men to St. Louis as we had intended early
in the spring. we fear also that such a measure might possibly
discourage those who would in such case remain, and might
possibly hazzard the fate of the expedition. we have never
once hinted to any one of the party that we had such a scheme
in contemplation, and all appear perfectly to have made up
their minds to suceed in the expedition or purish in the attempt.
we all beleive that we are now about to enter on the most
perilous and difficult part of our voyage, yet I see no one
repining; all appear ready to me[e]t those difficulties which
await us with resolution and becoming fortitude. we had a
heavy dew this morning. the clouds near these mountains
rise suddonly and discharge their contents[10] partially on the
neighbouring plains; the same cloud will discharge hail alone
in one part hail and rain in another and rain only in a third

within the space of a few miles; and on the Mountains to the
S.E. of us sometimes snow. at present there is no snow on
those mountains; that which covered them when we first saw
them and which has fallen on them several times since has all
disappeared. the Mountains to the N.W. & W. of us are still
entirely covered are white and glitter with the reflection of the
sun. I do not beleive that the clouds which prevail at this season
of the year reach the summits of those lofty mountains; and
if they do the probability is that they deposit snow only for there
has been no perceptible deminution of the snow which they contain
since we first saw them. I have thought it probable that
these mountains might have derived their appellation of shining
Mountains, from their glittering appearance when the sun shines
in certain directions on the snow which covers them. since
our arrival at the falls we have repeatedly witnessed a nois
which proceeds from a direction a little to the N. of West as
loud and resembling precisely the discharge of a piece of ordinance
of 6 pounds at the distance of three miles. I was
informed of it by the men several times before I paid any
attention to it, thinking it was thunder most probably which
they had mistaken at length walking in the plains the other
day I heard this noise very disti[n]ctly, it was perfectly calm
clear and not a cloud to be seen, I halted and listened attentively
about an hour during which time I heard two other
discharges and t[o]ok the direction of the sound with my
pocket compass. I have no doubt but if I had leasure I could
find from whence it issued. I have thou[gh]t it probable
that it might be caused by runing water in some of the caverns
of those immence mountains, on the principal of the blowing
caverns; but in such case the sounds would be periodical &
regular, which is not the case with this, being sometimes heard
once only and at other times, six or seven discharges in quick
succession. it is heard also at different seasons of the day and
night. I am at a loss to account for this phenomenon. our
work being at an end this evening, we gave the men a drink
of Sperits, it being the last of our stock, and some of them
appeared a little sensible of it's effects the fiddle was plyed
and they danced very merrily untill 9 in the evening when a

The Handsom Falls of the Missouri River,
sketch-map by Clark.

heavy shower of rain put an end to that part of the amusement
tho' they continued their mirth with songs and festive jokes and
were extreemly merry untill late at night. we had a very
comfortable dinner, of bacon, beans, suit dumplings & buffaloe
beaf &c. in short we had no just cause to covet the sumptuous
feasts of our countrymen on this day. one Elk and a beaver
were all that was killed by the hunters today; the buffaloe
seem to have withdrawn themselves from this neighbourhood;
the men inform us that they are still abundant about the falls.