Monday September 9th. 1805.
Set out at 7 A.M. this morning and proceeded down the
Flathead river leaving it on our left, the country in the valley
of this river is generally a prarie and from five to 6 miles wide
the growth is almost altogether pine principally of the long-leafed
kind, with some spruce and a kind of furr resembleing
the scotch furr. near the wartercourses we find a small proportion
of the narrow leafed cottonwood; some redwood
honeysuckle and rosebushes form the scant proportion of
underbrush to be seen. at 12 we halted on a small branch
which falls into the river on the E. side, where we breakfasted
on a scant proportion of meat which we had reserved from
the hunt of yesterday added to three geese which one of our
hunters killed this morning. two of our hunters have arrived,
one of them brought with him a redheaded woodpecker of the
large kind common to the U States. this is the first of the
kind I have seen since I left the Illinois. just as we were
seting out Drewyer arrived with two deer. we continued our
rout down the valley about 4 miles and crossed the river; it
is hear a handsome stream about 100 yards wide and affords
a considerable quantity of very clear water, the banks are low
and it's bed entirely gravel. the stream appears navigable,
but from the circumstance of their being no sammon in it I
believe that there must be a considerable fall in it below. our
guide could not inform us where this river discharged itself
into the columbia river, he informed us that it continues it's
course along the mountains to the N. as far as he knew it and
that not very distant from where we then were it formed a
junction with a stream nearly as large as itself which took it's
rise in the mountains near the Missouri to the East of us and
passed through an extensive valley generally open prarie which
forms an excellent pass to the Missouri.
[25]
the point of the
Missouri where this Indian pass intersects it, is about 30 miles
above the
gates of the rocky Mountain, or the place where the
valley of the Missouri first widens into an extensive plain after
entering the rockey Mountains. the guide informed us that
a man might pass to the missouri from hence by that rout in
four days. we continued our rout down the W. side of the
river about 5 miles further and encamped on a large creek
which falls in on the West. as our guide inform [ed] me that
we should leave the river at this place and the weather appearing
settled and fair I determined to halt the next day rest our
horses and take some scelestial Observations. we called this
Creek
Travellers rest.
[26]
it is about 20 yards wide a fine bould
clear runing stream the land through which we passed is but
indifferent a could white gravley soil. we estimate our journey
of this day at 19. M.
at the creek where we dined I took the Meridian Altd. of ☉'s U. L.
with Sextant fore obstn. 98°. 1′. 30″.
Latitude deduced from this Observation 46°. 41′. 38.9
Point of observation No. 46.
At our encampment of this evening observed time and distance of
the Moon's western limb from a Aquila *. West. with Sextant.
|
Time |
Distance |
|
Time |
Distance |
|
h m s |
|
|
h m s |
|
| P.M. |
9. 52. 47. |
63°. 33′. -″ |
P.M. |
10. 6. 1. |
63°. 38. 30 |
|
". 56. 58. |
". 35. 15 |
|
". 7. 46. |
". 39. 45 |
|
". 59. 41. |
". 36. 30 |
|
" 9. 24. |
". 40. 30 |
|
10. 3. 48. |
". 37. 45 |
|
" 11. 2. |
". 41. – |
|
". 6. 1. |
". 38. 30 |
|
" 13. 27. |
". 41. 45 |
this set of observations cannot be much depended on as through
mistake I brought the Moons Western limb in contact with the star,
instead of her Eastern limb she having passed into her third quarter and
of course her Western limb somewhat imperfect.
