University of Virginia Library

[Lewis:]

Friday May 2nd. 1806.

THIS morning we dispatched two hunters a head. we
had much difficulty in collecting our horses. at
8 A.M. we obtained them all except the horse we
obtained from the Chopunnish man whom we seperated from
yesterday. we apprehended that this horse would make some
attempts to rejoin the horses of this man and accordingly had
him as we thought securely hubbled both before and at the
side, but he broke the strings in the course of the night and
absconded. we sent several men in different directions in surch
of him. I engaged one of the young indians who overtook
us last evening to return in surch of him. at half after 1 P.M.
The indian and Joseph Feilds returned with the horse, they
had found him on his way back about 17 Ms. I paid the
indian the price stipulated for his services and we immediately
loaded up and set forward. steered East 3 M. over a hilly
road along the N. side of the Creek, wide bottom on the S.
side. a branch falls in on S. side which runs south towards
the. S.W. mountains which appear to be about 25 Ms. distant
low yet covered with snow. N. 75. E. 7. through an extensive
level bottom. more timber than usual on the creek, some
pine of the long leafed kind appears on the sides of the creek
hills, also about 50 acres of well timbered pine land where we
passed the creek at 4 M. on this course. N. 45. E. 9 Ms. repassed
the creek at 4 M. and continued up a N. E. branch of
the same which falls in about a mile below where we passed

the main creek. the bottoms th[r]ough which we passed were
wide. the main creek boar to the S. and heads in the Mountains;
it's bottoms are much narrower above where we passed
it and the hills appear high. we passed the small creek at
8 3/4 from the commencement of this course and encamped on
the N. side in a little bottom, having traveled 19 miles today.[1]
at this place the road leaves the creek and takes the open high
plain. this creek is about 4 yds. wide and bears East as far as
I could observe it. I observed considerable quantities of the
quâmash in the bottoms through which we passed this evening
now in blume. there is much appearance of beaver and otter
along these creeks. saw two deer at a distance; also observed
many sandhill crains Curloos and other fowls common to the
plains. the soil appears to improve as we advance on this
road. our hunters killed a duck only. the three young men
of the Wallahwollah nation continued with us. in the course
of the day I observed them eat the inner part of the young
and succulent stem of a large coarse plant with a ternate leaf,
the leafets of which are three loabed and covered with a woolly
pubersence. the flower and fructification resembles that of the
parsnip this plant is very common in the rich lands on the
Ohio and it's branches the Mississippi &c. I tasted of this
plant found it agreeable and eat heartily of it without feeling
any inconvenience.[2]