Tuesday July 1st. 1806
on Clarks river
We Sent out all the hunters very early this morning by
12 oClock they all returned haveing killd. 12 Deer six of them
large fat Bucks, this is like once more returning to the land of
liveing a plenty of meat and that very good. as Capt. Lewis
and Myself part at this place we make a division of our party
and such baggage and provisions as is Souteable. the party
who will accompany Capt. L. is G. Drewyer, Sergt. Gass, Jo.
& R. Fields, Frazier & Werner, and Thompson Goodrich &
Mc. Near[l] as far as the Falls of Missouri at which place the 3
latter will remain untill I send down the Canoes from the
head of Jeffersons river. they will then join that party and
after passing the portage around the falls, proceed on down to
the enterance of Maria where Capt. Lewis will join them after
haveing assended that river as high up as Latd. 50°. North.
from the head of Jeffersons river I shall proceed on to the
head of the Rockejhone [i. e., Yellowstone] with a party of 9
or 10 men and desend that river. from the R Rockejhone I
shall dispatch Sergt. Pryor with the horses to the Mandans and
from thence to the Tradeing Establishments of the N.W.C°. on
the Assinniboin River with a letter which we have written for
the purpose to engage Mr. H. Haney to endeaver to get some
of the principal Chiefs of the Scioux to accompany us to the
Seat of our government &c. we divide the Loading and apportion
the horses. Capt. L. only takes 17 horses with him, 8
only of which he intends to take up the Maria &c. one of
the Indians who accompanied us swam Clarks river and examined
the country around, on his return he informed us that
he had discovered where a Band of the Tushepaws had encamped
this Spring passed of 64 Lodges, & that they had
passed Down Clarks river and that it was probable that they
were near the quawmash flatts on a Easterly branch of that
river. those guides expressed a desire to return to their nation
and not accompany us further, we informed them that if they
was deturmined to return we would kill some meat for them,
but wished that they would accompy Capt Lewis on the rout
to the falls of Missouri only 2 nights and show him the
right road to cross the Mountains. this they agreed to do.
we gave a medal of the small size to the young man son to the
late Great Chief of the Chopunish Nation who had been remarkably
kind to us in every instance, to all the others we
tied a bunch of blue ribon about the hair, which pleased them
very much the Indian man who overtook us in the Mountain,
presented Cap
t Lewis with a horse and said that he opened
his ears to what we had said, and hoped that Cap
t Lewis would
see the Crovanters [Gros Ventres] of Fort de Prarie and make
a good peace that it was their desire to be at peace. shew them
the horse as a token of their wishes &
c.
