University of Virginia Library

Wednesday May 7th. 1806.

This morning we collected our horses and set out early
accompanyed by the brother of the twisted hair as a guide;
Wearkkoomt and his party left us. we proceeded up the
river 4 miles to a lodge of 6 families just below the entrance
of a small creek[12] , here our guide recommended our passing the
river. he informed us that the road was better on the South
side and that game was more abundant also on that side near
the entrance of the Chopunnish river.[13] we determined to
pursue the rout recommended by the guide and accordingly
unloaded our horses and prepared to pass the river which we
effected by means of one canoe in the course of 4 hours. a
man of this lodge produced us two canisters of powder which
he informed us he had found by means of his dog where they
had been buried in a bottom near the river some miles above,
they were the same which we had buryed as we decended the
river last fall. as he kept them safe and had honesty[14] enough
to return them to us we gave him a fire steel by way of compensation.
during our detention at the river we took dinner,
after which or at 3 P.M. we renewed our march along the
river about 2 Ms over a difficult stony road, when we left the

river and asscended the hills to the wright which are here
mountains high. the face of the country when you once have
ascended the river hills is perfectly level and partially covered
with the long-leafed pine. the soil is a dark rich loam thickly
covered with grass and herbatious plants which afford a delightfull
pasture for horses. in short it is a beautifull fertile and
picturesque country. Neeshneparkeeook overtook us and
after riding with us a few miles turned off to the wright to
visit some lodges of his people who he informed me were
geathering roots in the plain at a little distance from the road.
our guide conducted us through the plain and down a steep
and lengthey hill to a creek which we called Musquetoe Creek
in consequence of being infested with swarms of those insects
on our arrival at it. this is but an inconsiderable stream about
6 yds. wide heads in the plains at a small distance and discharges
itself into the Kooskoo[s]ke 9 miles by water below the entrance
of the Chopunnish river. we struck this creek at the distance
of 5 ms. from the point at which we left the river our cour[s]e
being a little to the S. of East. ascending .the creek one mile
on the S.E. side we arrived at an indian incampment of six
lodges which appeared to have been recently evacuated. here
we remained all night [15] having traveled 12 miles only. the
timbered country on this side of the river may be said to commence
near this creek, and on the other side of the river at a
little distance from it the timber reaches as low as Colter's
Creek. the earth in many parts of these plains is thrown up
in little mounds by some animal whose habits are similar to
the Sallemander, like that animal it is also invisible;[16] notwithstanding
I have observed the work of this animal th[r]oughout
the whole course of my long tract from St. Louis to the Pacific
ocean I have never obtained a view of this animal. the Shoshone
man of whom I have before made mention overtook us
this evening with Neeshneparkeeook and remained with us
this evening. we suped this evening as we had dined on
horse-beef. we saw several deer this evening and a great
number of the tracks of these animals we determined to
remain here untill noon tomorrow in order to obtain some
venison and accordingly gave orders to the hunters to turn
out early in the morning. The Spurs of the Rocky Mountains
which were in view from the high plain today were perfectly
covered with snow. the Indians inform us that the snow
is yet so deep on the mountains that we shall not be able to
pass them untill the next full moon or about the first of June;
others set the time at still a more distant period. this [is]
unwelcom inteligence to men confined to a diet of horsebeef
and roots, and who are as anxious as we are to return to the
fat plains of the Missouri and thence to our native homes.
The Chopunnish bury their dead in Sepulchres formed of
boards like the roofs of houses. the corps[e] is rolled in skin
and laid on boards above the surface of the earth. they are laid
in several teer [tiers] one over another being seperated by a
board only above and below from other corps. I did observe
some instances where the body was laid in an indifferent
wo[o]den box which was placed among other carcases rolled
in skin in the order just mentioned. they sacrifice horses
canoes and every other speceis of property to their ded. the
bones of many horses are seen laying about those sepulchres.
this evening was cold as usual.