[Clark:]
Wednesday 21st11 May 1806.
rained this morning. Shields and Gibson set out to hunt
towards the mountains. Collins came in to day and stayed
in about two hours. he has killed nothing since he went out
last. we set 5 men at work to build a canoe for the purpose
of takeing fish and passing the river and for which we can get
a good horse. as our tent is not sufficient to keep off the rain
we are compelled to have some other resort for a security from
the repeeted showers which fall. we have a small half circular
place made and covered with grass which makes a very secure
shelter for us to sleep under. we divided our store of merchindize
amongst our party for the purpose of precureing
some roots &c. of the nativs to each mans part amounted to
about an awl knitting pin a little paint and some thread & 2
Needles which is but a scanty dependance for roots to take us
over those Great snowey Barriers (rocky mountains) which is
and will be the cause of our Detention in this neighbourhood
probably untill the 10 or 15 of June. they are at this time
covered deep with snow. the plains on the high country
above us is also covered with snow. Serjt. Ordway, Goodrich,
& Willard went to the village to day to precure a fiew roots.
we eate the last of our meat for Dinner to day, and our only
certain dependance is the roots we can precure from the
nativs for the fiew articles we have left those roots with what
game we can precure from the wo[o]ds will probably last us
untill the arival of the Salmon. if they should not; we have
a horse in store ready to be killed which the indians have
offered to us. Willard returned from the village. Serg
t.
Ordway and Goodrich continued all night. one of the men
brought me a young sandhill crain which was about 5 or 6
days old it was of a yellowish brown colour, about the size
of a partridge. Those crains are very abundant in every part
of this country in pars of two, and sometimes three together.
