[Clark, first draft:]
April 20th. 1806
This morning very cold hills covered with snow. I showed
the nativs what I had to give for their horses and attempted to
purchase them. they informed me that they would not Sell
any horses to me, that their horses were at a [place a] long
ways off and they would not trade them. my offer was a blue
robe, callico shirt, a handkerchef, 5 parcels of paint a knife, a
wampom moon 4 braces of ribin, a pice of Brass and about 6
braces of yellow beeds; and to that amount for what I had I
also offered my large blue blanket for one, my coat Sword &
Plume none of which seem to entice those people to give
horses if they had any. they set in their huts which is of mats
supported on poles without fire. at night when they want a
light they burn dry straw & some fiew small dry willows.
they speak different from those below, have but little to eate,
some roots & Dryed fish is to be found in their houses. I am
half frozed at this inhospitable village which is moved from its
position above the falls to one below and contains 19 large
houses, a village is also established on the other side imedeately
above the falls. all the natives who was established above the
Falls for some distance has removed Those people are much
better dressed than they were at the time we went down the
river. They have all new Deer, Elk, Ibex Goat & Wolf
skin robes, their children also the large squirel skin robes.
maney of them have Legins and mockersons, all of which they
precure of the Indians at a distance in exchange for their
pounded fish & Beeds. they also purchase silk grass of
which they make their nets & Sanes [seines] for takeing fish
they also purchase Bear grass and maney other things for their
fish. those people gave me roots and berries prepared in
different ways for which I gave some small articles in return.
Great numbers of skiming knets on their houses. Those
people are Pore and kind durty & indolent. They ware their
hair loose flowing the men cut in the foward [fore head]
which the Skilloots do not &
c. &
c. I could not precure a single
horse of those people, dureing this day at any price, they
offered me 2 for 2 kittles of which we could not spear. I
used every artifice decent & even false statements to enduce
those pore devils to sell me horses. in the evening two different
men offered to sell me three horses which they informed me
was a little distance off and they would bring them imediately.
those two persons as I found went imediately off up the river
to their tribe without any intention to find or sell their horses.
a little before Sunset 3 men arived from some distance above,
and informed me that they came to see me. at Sunset finding
no probability of Cap
t Lewis arival, packed up the articles and
took them into the lodge in which I lay last night. Great
numbers of those people geathered around me to smoke. I
gave them 2 pipes and lay down in the back part of the
house with Sg
t. P. & the men with our arms in a situation as
to be ready in case of any alarm. those pore people appear
entirely harmless. I purchased a dog and some wood with a
little pounded fish and chappalels. made a fire on the rocks
and cooked the dogs on which the men breckfast & Dined.
wind hard all day cold from N W.
