Sunday August 11th. 1805.—
WE set out very early this morning; but the track
which we had pursued last evening soon disappeared.
I therefore resolved to proceed to the narrow pass
on the creek about 10 miles West in hopes that I should again
find the Indian road at the place, accordingly I passed the
river which was about 12 yards wide and bar[r]ed in several
places entirely across by beaver dams. and proceeded through
the level plain directly to the pass. I now sent Drewyer to
keep near the creek to my right and Shields to my left, with
orders to surch for the road which if they found they were to
notify me by placing a hat in the muzzle of their gun. I kept
McNeal with me; after having marched in this order for
about five miles I discovered an Indian on horse back about
two miles disant coming down the plain towards us. with my
glass I discovered from his dress that he was of a different
nation from any that we had yet seen, and was satisfyed of his
being a Sosone; his arms were a bow and quiver of arrows, and
was mounted on an eligant horse without a saddle, and a small
string which was attached to the under jaw of the horse which
answered as a bridle. I was overjoyed at the sight of this
stranger and had no doubt of obtaining a friendly introduction
to his nation provided I could get near enough to him to convince
him of our being whiteman. I therefore proceeded
towards him at my usual pace. when I had arrived within
about a mile he mad[e] a halt which I did also and unloosing
my blanket from my pack, I mad[e] him the signal of friendship
known to the Indians of the Rocky mountains and those
of the Missouri, which is by holding the mantle or robe in
your hands at two corners and then th[r]owing [it] up in the
air higher than the head bringing it to the earth as if in the act
of spreading it, thus repeating three times. this signal of the
robe has arrisen from a custom among all those nations of
spreading a robe or skin for the gests to set on when they
are visited. this signal had not the desired effect, he still kept
his position and seemed to view Drewyer an[d] Shields who
were now comiming in sight on either hand with an air of suspicion,
I wo[u]ld willingly have made them halt but they
were too far distant to hear me and I feared to make any
signal to them least it should increase the suspicion in the mind
of the Indian of our having some unfriendly design upon him.
I therefore haistened to take out of my sack some b[e]ads a
looking glas and a few trinkets which I had brought with me
for this purpose and leaving my gun and pouch with M
c. Neal
advanced unarmed towards him. he remained in the same
stedfast poisture untill I arrived in about 200 paces of him
when he turn[ed] his ho[r]se about and began to move off
slowly from me; I now called to him in as loud a voice as I
could command repeating the word
tab-ba-bone, which in their
language signifyes
white-man. but l[o]oking over his sholder
he still kept his eye on Drewyer and Sheilds who wer still
advancing neither of them haveing segacity enough to recollect
the impropriety of advancing when they saw me thus in parley
with the Indian. I now made a signal to these men to halt,
Drewyer obeyed but Shields who afterwards told me that he
did not obse[r]ve the signal still kept on the Indian halted
again and turned his hor[s]e about as if to wait for me, and
I beleive he would have remained untill I came up whith him
had it not been for Shields who still pressed forward. whe[n]
I arrived within about 150 paces I again repepeated the word
tab-ba-bone and held up the trinkits in my hands and striped
up my shirt sleve to give him an opportunity of seeing the
colour of my skin and advanced leasure[ly] towards him but
he did not remain untill I got nearer than about 100 paces
when he suddonly turned his ho[r]se about, gave him the whip
leaped the creek and disappeared in the willow brush in an
instant and with him vanished all my hopes of obtaining horses
for the preasent. I now felt quite as much mortification and
disappointment as I had pleasure and expectation at the first
sight of this indian. I fe[l]t soarly chargrined at the conduct
of the men particularly Sheilds to whom I principally attributed
this failure in obtaining an introduction to the natives. I now
called the men to me and could not forbare abraiding them a
little for their want of attention and imprudence on this occasion.
they had neglected to bring my spye-glass which in
haist I had droped in the plain with the blanket where I made
the signal before mentioned. I sent Drewyer and Shields back
to surche it, they soon found it and rejoined me. we now set
out on the track of the horse hoping by that means to be lead
to an indian camp, the trail of inhabitants of which should they
abscond we should probably be enabled to pursue to the body
of the nation to which they would most probably fly for safety.
this rout led us across a large Island framed by nearly an equal
division of the creek in this bottom; after passing to the open
ground on the N. side of the creek we observed that the track
made out toward the high hills about 3 M. distant in that
direction. I thought it probable that their camp might probably
be among those hills & that they would reconnoiter us
from the tops of them, and that if we advanced haistily towards
them that they would become allarmed and probably run off;
I therefore halted in an elivated situation near the creek had a
fire kindled of willow brush cooked and took breakfast. during
this leasure I prepared a small assortment of trinkits consisting
of some mockkerson awls a few strans of several kinds
of b[e]ads some paint a looking glass &c which I attached to
the end of a pole and planted it near our fire in order that
should the Indians return in surch of us the[y] might from
this token discover that we were friendly and white persons.
before we had finis[h]ed our meal a heavy shower of rain came
on with some hail w[h]ich continued abo[u]t 20 minutes and
wet us to the skin, after this shower we pursued the track of
the horse but as the rain had raised the grass which he had
trodden down it was with difficulty that we could follow it.
we pursued it however about 4 miles it turning up the valley
to the left under the foot of the hills. we pas[sed] several
places where the Indians appeared to have been diging roots
today and saw the fresh tracks of 8 or ten horses but they had
been wandering about in such a confused manner that we not
only lost the track of the ho[r]se which we had been pursuing
but could make nothing of them. in the head of this valley
we passed a large bog covered with tall grass and moss in which
were a great number of springs of cold pure water, we now
turned a little to the left along the foot of the high hills and
arrived at a small branch on which we encamped for the night,
having traveled in different directions about 20 Miles and
about 10 from the camp of last evening on a direct line. after
meeting with the Indian today I fixed a small flag of the U.S.
to a pole which I made M
c. Neal carry. and planted in the
ground where we halted or encamped.
This morning Capt Clark dispatched several hunters a head;
the morning being rainy and wet did not set out untill after an
early breakfast. he passed a large Island which he called the
3000 mile Island from the circumstance of it's being that distance
from the entrance of the Missouri by water.[1]
a considerable
proportion of the bottom on Lard side is a bog covered
with tall grass and many parts would afford fine turf; the
bottom is about 5 Ms. wide and the plains which succeed it on
either side extend about the same distance to the base of the
mountains. they passed a number of small Islands and bayous
on both sides which cut and intersect the bottoms in various
directions. found the river shallow and rapid, insomuch that
the men wer compelled to be in the water a considerable proportion
of the day in drageing the canoes over the shoals and
riffles. they saw a number of geese ducks beaver & otter, also
some deer and antelopes. the men killed a beaver with a seting
pole and tommahawked several Otter. the hunters killed
3 deer and an Antelope. Capt. C. observed some bunches of
privy [privet] near the river. there are but few trees in this
botom and those small narrow leafed Cottonwood. the principal
growth is willow with the narrow leaf and Currant bushes.
they encamped this evening on the upper point of a large Island
near the Star
d shore.
Courses and distances traveled by Capt Clark August 11th 1805.
| S. 20°. W. |
1. |
to the lower point of 3000 M. Island. distance by
water being 3. M. passing three small Islds 6 bends
on Stard and 6 bayous on either side. |
| S. 25°. W. |
1 1/2 |
to the head of the Island, distance by water 3 1/2 M.
passing 7 bends on Lard opposite to the Island &
two bayous on the same side. the Stard Channel
passes near the Stard bluff. |
| South |
2 1/2 |
to the upper point of a large Island, distance by water
7 1/2. the main channel on the Lard side passing 3 |
| Miles |
5 |
small Islands, and several small bayous and 15 bends
on the Stard side. |
