Monday 12th. May 1806
a fine morning great numbers of Indians flock about us
as usial. after brackfast I began to administer eye water and
in a fiew minits had near 40 applicants with sore eyes, and
maney others with other complaints most common Rhumatic
disorders & weaknesses in the back and loins perticularly the
womin. the Indians had a grand Council this morning after
which we were presented each with a horse by two young men
at the instance of the nation. we caused the chiefs to be
seated and gave them each a flag a pint of Powder and 50 balls
to the two young men who had presented the horses we also
gave powder and ball. The broken arm or Tunnachemootoolt
pulled off his leather shirt and gave me. In return gave
him a shirt. We retired into the Lodge and the natives spoke
to the following purpote, i.e. they had listened to our advice
and that the whole nation were deturmined to follow it, that
they had only one heart and one tongue on this subject. explained
the cause of the War with the
Shoshones. they wished
to be at peace with all nations &
c. Some of their men would
accompany us to the Missouri &
c. &
c. as a great number of
men women & children were wateing and requesting medical
assistance maney of them with the most simple complaints
which could be easily releived, independent of maney with
disorders intirely out of the power of Medison all requesting
something, we agreed that I should administer and Cap
t L to
here and answer the Indians. I was closely employed untill
2 P.M. administering eye water to about 40 grown persons.
some simple cooling medicenes to the disabled Chief, to several
women with rhumatic effections & a man who had a swelled
hip. &
c. &
c. in the evening three of our horses were brought
all in fine order. we have now only Six remaining out. We
gave to each a Chief a pint of Powder and 50 Balls a small
flag and to the two young men who delivered us the horses
we gave also powder & Ball and some blue wompom & ribin.
all appeared much pleased. Those people are much affraid
of the blackfoot indians, and the Big bellies of
Fort de prarie
establishment. those indians kill great numbers of this nation
whenever they pass over to hunt on the Missouri. one of
our men bought a horse for a fiew small articles of an Indian.
The Indians brought up a fat horse and requested us to kill
and eate it as they had nothing else to offer us to eate. The
Cut Nose made a present of a horse to Drewyer at the same
time the two horses were offered to Cap
t. Lewis & my self.
The horses of those people are large well formed and active.
Generally in fine order. sore backs caused by rideing them
either with out saddles, or with pads which does not prevent
the wate of the rider pressing imediately on the back bone,
and weathers [withers] of the horse. the Indians formed two
parti[e]s and plaied for their beeds. we gave the twisted hair
a gun, powder & 100 ball in part for takeing care of our horses
&
c. and wish him to camp near us untill we crossed the mountains
which he agreed to do, and was much pleased we have
turned our attentions towards the
twisted hair who has several
sons grown who are well acquainted as well as himself with the
various roads through the rocky Mountains and will answer
very well as guides to us through those mountains. In the
council to day the father of Hohâstillpilp said the Chopunnish
were fully convinced of the advantages of peace and ardently
wished to cultivate peace with their neighbours. early last
Summer 3 of their brave men were sent with a pipe to the
Shoshones on the S E. fork of Lewis's river in the Plains of
Columbia, their pipe was disregearded and their 3 men murdered,
which had given rise to the War expedition against
that nation last fall; that their warriers had fallen in with and
killed 42 of the Shoshones with the loss of 3 men only on
their part; that this had satisfied the blood of the deceased
friends and they would never again make war against the
Shoshones, but were willing to receve them as friends. That
as we had not seen the Indians towards
Fort de Prarie they did
not think it safe to venture over to the Plains of the Missouri,
where they would fondly go provided those nations would not
kill them. I gave a vial of eye water to the Broken arm for
to wash the eyes of all who applied to him and told him when
it was out we would replenish it again.
