University of Virginia Library

Saturday May 25th. 1805.

The Two canoes which we left behind yesterday to bring on
the meat did not arrive this morning untill 8 A.M. at which
time we set out; the wind being against us we did not proceed
with so much ease or expedition as yesterday, we imployed
the toe line principally which the banks favored the
uce off; the courant [was] strong particularly arround the
points against which the courant happened to set, and at

the entrances of the little gullies from the hills, these rivulets
having brought down considerable quantities of stone and
deposited it at their entrances forming partial barriers to the
water of the river to the distance of 40 or 50 feet from the
shore, arround these the water run with great violence, and
compelled us in some instances to double our force in order to
get a perorogue or canoe by them. as we ascended the river
today I saw several gangs of the bighorned Anamals on the
face of the steep bluffs and clifts on the Stard. side and sent
drewyer to kill one which he accomplished; Capt. Clark and
Bratton who were on shore each killed one of these anamals
this evening. The head and horns of the male which Drewyer
killed weighed 27 lbs. it was somewhat larger than the male
of the common deer, the boddy reather thicker deeper and not
so long in proportion to it's hight as the common deer; the
head and horns are rema[r]kably large compared with the other
part of the anamal; the whole form is much more delicate than
that of the common goat, and there is a greater disparity in
the size of the male and female than between those of either
the deer or goat. the eye is large and prominant, the puple
of a deep sea green and small, the iris of a silvery colour much
like the common sheep; the bone above the eye is remarkably
promenant; the head nostrils and division of the upper lip
are precisely in form like the sheep. there legs resemble the
sheep more than any other animal with which I am acquainted
tho' they are more delicately formed, like the sheep they
stand forward in the knee and the lower joint of the foreleg is
smallest where it joins the knee, the hoof is black & large in
proportion, is divided, very open and roundly pointed at the
toe, like the sheep, is much hollowed and sharp on the under
edge like the Scotch goat, has two small hoofs behind each
foot below the ankle as the goat sheep and deer have. the
belley, inerside of the legs, and the extremity of the rump and
butocks for about two inches arround the but of the tale, are
white, as is also the tale exce[p]t just at it's extremety on the
upper side which is of a dark brown. the tail is about three
inches in length covered with short hair, or at least not longer
than that of the boddy; the outher parts of the anamal are of
a duskey brown or reather a leadcoloured light brown; the
anamal is now sheding it's winter coat which is thick not quite
as long as that of the deer and appears to be intermixed with a
considerable quantity of a fine fur which lyes next to the skin
& conceald by the coarcer hear; the shape of the hair itself
is celindric as that of the antelope is but is smaller, shorter,
and not compressed or flattened as that of the deer's winter
coat is, I believe this anamal only sheds it's hair once a year.
it has eight fore teeth in the under jaw and no canine teeth.
The horns are la[r]gest at their base, and occupy the crown of
the head almost entirely. they are compressed, bent backwards
and lunated; the surface swelling into wavy rings which
incircleing the horn continue to succeed each other from the
base to the extremity and becoming less elivated and more
distant as they recede from the head. the horn for about
two thirds of it's length is filled with a porus bone which is
united with the frontal bone. I obtained the bones of the
upper part of the head of this animal at the big bone lick.[5]
the horns of the female are small, but are also compressed and
bent backwards and incircled with a succession of wavy rings.
the horn is of a light brown colour; when dressed it is almost
white extreemly transparent and very elastic. this horn is
used by the natives in constructing their bows; I have no
doubt but it would [make] eligant and usefull hair combs, and
might probably answer as many valuable purposes to civilized
man, as it dose to the savages, who form their water-cups,
spoons and platters of it. the females have already brought
forth their young, indeed from the size of the young I suppose
that they produce them early in March. they have from
one to two at a birth. they feed on grass but principally on
the arromatic herbs which grow on the clifts and inacessable
hights which they usually frequent. the places they ge[ne]rally
celect to lodg is the cranies or c[r]evices of the rocks in
the faces of inacessable precepices, where the wolf nor bear
can reach them and where indeed man himself would in many
instancies find a similar deficiency; yet these anamals bound
from rock to rock and stand apparently in the most careless
manner on the sides of precipices of many hundred feet. they
are very shye and are quick of both sent and sight.

At the distance of two 3/4 miles above our encampment of
last evening we passed a Creek 20 yard wide affording no runing
water, we also passed 7 Islands in the course of the day.
The Country on either hand is high broken and rockey; the
rock is either soft brown sand stone covered with a thin strata
of limestone, or a hard black rugged grannite, both usually in
horizontal stratas and the Sandy rock overlaying the other.
Salts and quarts still appear, some coal and pumice stone also
appear; the river bottoms are narrow and afford scarcely any
timber. the bars of the river are composed principally of
gravel, but little pine on the hills. We saw a Pole-cat this
evening it is the first we have seen for many days. buffaloe
are now scarce and I begin to fear our harvest of white puddings
are at an end.

Cou[r]ses and distances May 25th 1805.

                       

S. 50° W.	2 3/4	to the entrance of a creek 20 yds. wide in a bend on Lard. Side passing a small Island in a deep bend on Lard. Side.
N. 50°. W.	1 1/4	To the Stard. Side of tea Island, which is seperated from the Stard. shore by a narrow channel
N. 35°. W.	1/2	Along the Stard. side passing a sand Island
N. 15°. W.	2	To a point of woodland on the Lard. side passing the upper point of Tea Island.
N. 30°. W.	2.	to a point of woodland Stard. side, opposite to the lower point of an Island.
N. 25°. W.	1/4	to a bluff bank in a Stard. bend.
N. 65°. W.	3/4	to a bluff point on the Stard. opposite the upper point of the Island.
N. 60°. W.	4 1/2	to a clump of trees in a Stard. bend under a high bluff passing a Lard. point at 2 1/2 Mls. and a Small Island at 3 1/2 Mls.
N. 80°. W.	1	to the point of a high plain on the Stard. side passing an Isld. near the Std. side 3/4 of a Ml. in length.
S. 80°. W.	2	to the lower point of an untimbered Island situated in the middle of the river, passg a Sd. Pt. at 1 1/2 Mls.
S. 60°. W.	1	to a pt. on the Lard. side, passing the head of the Ild. at 3/4 of a mile and incamped on the Lard. Side.
Miles	18