University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XIV.

Sunday, August 11. Captain Lewis again proceeded
on early, but had the mortification to find that the track
which he followed yesterday soon disappeared. He determined
therefore to go on to the narrow gate or pass of the
river which he had seen from the camp, in hopes of being
able to recover the Indian path. For this purpose he
waded across the river, which was now about twelve yards
wide, and barred in several places by the dams of the beaver,
and then went straight forward to the pass, sending one
man along the river to his left, and another on the right,
with orders to search for the road, and if they found it to
let him know by raising a hat on the muzzle of their guns.
In this order they went along for about five miles, when
captain Lewis perceived with the greatest delight a man
on horseback at the distance of two miles coming down the
plain towards them. On examining him with the glass,
captain Lewis saw that he was of a different nation from
any Indians we had hitherto met: he was armed with a bow

and a quiver of arrows; mounted on an elegant horse without
a saddle, and a small string attached to the under jaw
answered as a bridle. Convinced that he was a Shoshonee,
and knowing how much of our success depended on the
friendly offices of that nation, captain Lewis was full of
anxiety to approach without alarming him, and endeavour
to convince him that he was a white man. He therefore,
proceeded on towards the Indian at his usual pace, when
they were within a mile of each other the Indian suddenly
stopt, captain Lewis immediately followed his example,
took his blanket from his knapsack, and holding it with
both hands at the two corners, threw it above his head and
unfolded it as he brought it to the ground as if in the act
of spreading it. This signal which originates in the practice
of spreading a robe or a skin, as a seat for guests to
whom they wish to show a distinguished kindness, is the
universal sign of friendship among the Indians on the Missouri
and the Rocky mountains. As usual, captain Lewis
repeated this signal three times: still the Indian kept his
position, and looked with an air of suspicion on Drewyer
and Shields who were now advancing on each side. Captain
Lewis was afraid to make any signal for them to halt,
lest he should increase the suspicions of the Indian, who
began to be uneasy, and they were too distant to hear his
voice. He, therefore, took from his pack some beads, a
looking-glass and a few trinkets, which he had brought for
the purpose, and leaving his gun advanced unarmed towards
the Indian. He remained in the same position till captain
Lewis came within two hundred yards of him, when he
turned his horse, and began to move off slowly; captain
Lewis then called out to him, in as loud a voice as he could,
repeating the word, tabba bone! which in the Shoshonee
language means white man; but looking over his shoulder
the Indian kept his eyes on Drewyer and Shields, who were
still advancing, without recollecting the impropriety of doing
so at such a moment, till captain Lewis made a signal
to them to halt: this Drewyer obeyed, but Shields did not
observe it, and still went forward: seeing Drewyer halt the
Indian turned his horse about as if to wait for captain
Lewis who now reached within one hundred and fifty paces,
repeating the word tabba bone, and holding up the trinkets
in his hand, at the same time stripping up the sleeve of his
shirt to show the colour of his skin. The Indian suffered
him to advance within one hundred paces, then suddenly
turned his horse, and giving him the whip, leaped across
the creek, and disappeared in an instant among the willow
bushes: with him vanished all the hopes which the sight of
him had inspired of a friendly introduction to his countrymen.
Though sadly disappointed by the imprudence of his
two men, captain Lewis determined to make the incident
of some use, and therefore calling the men to him they all
set off after the track of the horse, which they hoped might
lead them to the camp of the Indian who had fled, or if he
had given the alarm to any small party, their track might
conduct them to the body of the nation. They now fixed
a small flag of the United States on a pole, which was
carried by one of the men as a signal of their friendly intentions,
should the Indians observe them as they were advancing.
The route lay across an island formed by a nearly
equal division of the creek in the bottom: after reaching
the open grounds on the right side of the creek, the track
turned towards some high hills about three miles distant.
Presuming that the Indian camp might be among these
hills, and that by advancing hastily he might be seen and
alarm them, captain Lewis sought an elevated situation
near the creek, had a fire made of willow brush, and took
breakfast. At the same time he prepared a small assortment
of beads, trinkets, awls, some paint and a looking
glass, and placed them on a pole near the fire, in order
that if the Indians returned they might discover that
the party were white men and friends. Whilst making
these preparations a very heavy shower of rain and hail
came on, and wet them to the skin: in about twenty minutes
it was over, and captain Lewis then renewed his pursuit,
but as the rain had made the grass which the horse
had trodden down rise again, his track could with difficulty
be distinguished. As they went along they passed several
places where the Indians seemed to have been digging
roots to-day, and saw the fresh track of eight or ten horses,
but they had been wandering about in so confused a
manner that he could not discern any particular path,
and at last, after pursuing it about four miles along the
valley to the left under the foot of the hills, he lost the
track of the fugitive Indian. Near the head of the valley
they had passed a large bog covered with moss and
tall grass, among which were several springs of pure
cold water: they now turned a little to the left along the
foot of the high hills, and reached a small creek where
they encamped for the night, having made about twenty
miles, though not more than ten in a direct line from their
camp of last evening.

The morning being rainy and wet we did not set out
with the canoes till after an early breakfast. During the
first three miles we passed three small islands, six bayous
on different sides of the river, and the same number of
bends towards the right. Here we reached the lower
point of a large island which we called Three-thousandmile
island, on account of its being at that distance from
the mouth of the Missouri. It is three miles and a half
in length, and as we coasted along it we passed several
small bends of the river towards the left, and two bayous
on the same side. After leaving the upper point of
Three-thousand-mile island, we followed the main channel
on the left side, which led us by three small islands
and several small bayous, and fifteen bends towards the
right. Then at the distance of seven miles and a half
we encamped on the upper end of a large island near
the right. The river was shallow and rapid, so that we

were obliged to be in the water during a great part of
the day, dragging the canoes over the shoals and ripples.
Its course too was so crooked, that notwithstanding we
had made fourteen miles by water, we were only five
miles from our encampment of last night. The country
consists of a low ground on the river about five miles
wide, and succeeded on both sides by plains of the same
extent which reach to the base of the mountains. These
low grounds are very much intersected by bayous, and in
those on the left side is a large proportion of bog covered
with tall grass, which would yield a fine turf. There are
very few trees, and those small narrow-leafed cottonwood:
the principal growth being the narrow-leafed willow,
and currant bushes, among which were some bunches
of privy near the river. We saw a number of geese,
ducks, beaver, otter, deer and antelopes, of all which
one beaver was killed with a pole from the boat, three
otters with a tomahawk, and the hunters brought in three
deer and an antelope.

Monday, 12. This morning as soon as it was light captain
Lewis sent Drewyer to reconnoitre if possible the route
of the Indians: in about an hour and a half he returned,
after following the tracks of the horse which we had lost
yesterday to the mountains, where they ascended and were
no longer visible. Captain Lewis now decided on making
the circuit along the foot of the mountains which
formed the cove, expecting by that means to find a road
across them, and accordingly sent Drewyer on one side,
and Shields on the other. In this way they crossed four
small rivulets near each other, on which were some bowers
or conical lodges of willow brush, which seemed to have
been made recently. From the manner in which the ground
in the neighbourhood was torn up the Indians appeared to
have been gathering roots; but captain Lewis could not discover
what particular plant they were searching for, nor
could he find any fresh track, till at the distance of four

miles from his camp he met a large plain Indian road which
came into the cove from the northeast, and wound along
the foot of the mountains to the southwest, approaching
obliquely the main stream he had left yesterday. Down this
road he now went towards the southwest: at the distance
of five miles it crossed a large run or creek, which is a principal
branch of the main stream into which it falls, just
above the high cliffs or gates observed yesterday, and which
they now saw below them: here they halted and breakfasted
on the last of the deer, keeping a small piece of pork in
reserve against accident: they then continued through the
low bottom along the main stream near the foot of the mountains
on their right. For the first five miles the valley continues
towards the southwest from two to three miles in
width; then the main stream, which had received two small
branches from the left in the valley, turns abruptly to the
west through a narrow bottom between the mountains.
The road was still plain, and as it led them directly on towards
the mountain the stream gradually became smaller,
till after going two miles it had so greatly diminished in
width that one of the men in a fit of enthusiasm, with one
foot on each side of the river, thanked God that he had
lived to bestride the Missouri. As they went along their hopes
of soon seeing the waters of the Columbia arose almost to
painful anxiety, when after four miles from the last abrupt
turn of the river, they reached a small gap formed by the
high mountains which recede on each side, leaving room for
the Indian road. From the foot of one of the lowest of these
mountains, which rises with a gentle ascent of about half a
mile, issues the remotest water of the Missouri. They had
now reached the hidden sources of that river, which had
never yet been seen by civilized man; and as they quenched
their thirst at the chaste and icy fountain—as they sat down
by the brink of that little rivulet, which yielded its distant
and modest tribute to the parent ocean, they felt themselves
rewarded for all their labours and all their difficulties. They
left reluctantly this interesting spot, and pursuing the Indian
road through the interval of the hills, arrived at the
top of a ridge, from which they saw high mountains partially
covered with snow still to the west of them. The
ridge on which they stood formed the dividing line between
the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. They followed
a descent much steeper than that on the eastern side,
and at the distance of three quarters of a mile reached a
handsome bold creek of cold clear water running to the
westward. They stopped to taste for the first time the waters
of the Columbia; and after a few minutes followed the
road across steep hills and low hollows, till they reached a
spring on the side of a mountain: here they found a sufficient
quantity of dry willow brush for fuel, and therefore
halted for the night; and having killed nothing in the course
of the day supped on their last piece of pork, and trusted to
fortune for some other food to mix with a little flour and
parched meal, which was all that now remained of their
provisions. Before reaching the fountain of the Missouri
they saw several large hawks nearly black, and some of the
heath cocks: these last have a long pointed tail, and are of
a uniform dark brown colour, much larger than the common
dunghill fowl, and similar in habits and the mode of
flying to the grouse or prairie hen. Drewyer also wounded
at the distance of one hundred and thirty yards an animal
which we had not yet seen, but which after falling recovered
itself and escaped. It seemed to be of the fox kind,
rather larger than the small wolf of the plains, and with a
skin in which black, reddish brown, and yellow, were curiously
intermixed. On the creek of the Columbia they
found a species of currant which does not grow as high as
that of the Missouri, though it is more branching, and its
leaf, the under disk of which is covered with a hairy pubescence,
is twice as large. The fruit is of the ordinary size
and shape of the currant, and supported in the usual manner,
but is of a deep purple colour, acid, and of a very inferior
flavour.

We proceeded on in the boats, but as the river was very
shallow and rapid, the navigation is extremely difficult, and
the men who are almost constantly in the water are getting
feeble and sore, and so much wore down by fatigue that
they are very anxious to commence travelling by land. We
went along the main channel which is on the right side, and
after passing nine bends in that direction, three islands and
a number of bayous, reached at the distance of five and a
half miles the upper point of a large island. At noon there
was a storm of thunder which continued about half an hour;
after which we proceeded, but as it was necessary to drag
the canoes over the shoals and rapids, made but little progress.
On leaving the island we passed a number of short
bends, several bayous, and one run of water on the right
side, and having gone by four small and two large islands,
encamped on a smooth plain to the left near a few cottonwood
trees: our journey by water was just twelve miles,
and four in a direct line. The hunters supplied us with
three deer and a fawn.

Tuesday 13. Very early in the morning captain Lewis
resumed the Indian road, which led him in a western direction,
through an open broken country; on the left was a deep
valley at the foot of a high range of mountains running from
southeast to northwest, with their sides better clad with
timber than the hills to which we have been for some time
accustomed, and their tops covered in part with snow. At
five miles distance, after following the long descent of another
valley, he reached a creek about ten yards wide, and on
rising the hill beyond it had a view of a handsome little valley
on the left, about a mile in width, through which they
judged, from the appearance of the timber, that some stream
of water most probably passed. On the creek they had just
left were some bushes of the white maple, the sumach of the
small species with the winged rib, and a species of honeysuckle,

resembling in its general appearance and the shape
of its leaf the small honeysuckle of the Missouri, except
that it is rather larger, and bears a globular berry, about the
size of a garden pea, of a white colour, and formed of a
soft white mucilaginous substance, in which are several
small brown seeds irregularly scattered without any cell,
and enveloped in a smooth thin pellicle.

They proceeded along a waving plain parallel to this valley
for about four miles, when they discovered two women,
a man and some dogs on an eminence at the distance of a
mile before them. The strangers first viewed them apparently
with much attention for a few minutes, and then two
of them sat down as if to await captain Lewis's arrival. He
went on till he reached within about half a mile, then ordered
his party to stop, put down his knapsack and rifle, and unfurling
the flag advanced alone towards the Indians. The
females soon retreated behind the hill, but the man remained
till captain Lewis came within a hundred yards from him,
when he too went off, though captain Lewis called out tabba
bone! loud enough to be heard distinctly. He hastened to
the top of the hill, but they had all disappeared. The dogs
however were less shy, and came close to him; he therefore
thought of tying a handkerchief with some beads round
their necks, and then let them loose to convince the fugitives
of his friendly disposition, but they would not suffer him to
take hold of them and soon left him. He now made a signal
to the men, who joined him, and then all followed the track
of the Indians, which led along a continuation of the same
road they had been already travelling. It was dusty and
seemed to have been much used lately both by foot passengers
and horsemen. They had not gone along it more than
a mile when on a sudden they saw three female Indians,
from whom they had been concealed by the deep ravines
which intersected the road, till they were now within thirty
paces of each other; one of them a young woman immediately
took to flight, the other two, an elderly woman and a

little girl, seeing we were too near for them to escape, sat
on the ground, and holding down their heads seemed as if
reconciled to the death which they supposed awaited them.
The same habit of holding down the head and inviting the
enemy to strike, when all chance of escape is gone is preserved
in Egypt to this day. Captain Lewis instantly put
down his rifle, and advancing towards them, took the woman
by the hand, raised her up, and repeated the word tabba
bone! at the same time stripping up his shirt sleeve to prove
that he was a white man, for his hands and face had become
by constant exposure quite as dark as their own. She appeared
immediately relieved from her alarm, and Drewyer
and Shields now coming up, captain Lewis gave them some
beads, a few awls, pewter mirrors, and a little paint, and
told Drewyer to request the woman to recall her companion
who had escaped to some distance, and by alarming the Indians
might cause them to attack him without any time for
explanation. She did as she was desired, and the young woman
returned almost out of breath: captain Lewis gave her
an equal portion of trinkets, and painted the tawny cheeks
of all three of them with vermillion, a ceremony which
among the Shoshonees is emblematic of peace. After they
had become composed, he informed them by signs of his wish
to go to their camp in order to see their chiefs and warriors;
they readily obeyed, and conducted the party along the
same road down the river. In this way they marched two
miles, when they met a troop of nearly sixty warriors mounted
on excellent horses riding at full speed towards them.
As they advanced captain Lewis put down his gun, and
went with the flag about fifty paces in advance. The chief
who with two men were riding in front of the main body,
spoke to the women, who now explained that the party was
composed of white men, and showed exultingly the presents
they had received. The three men immediately leaped from
their horses, came up to captain Lewis and embraced him
with great cordiality, putting their left arm over his right
shoulder and clasping his back, applying at the same time
their left cheek to his, and frequently vociferating ah hi e!
ah hi e! "I am much pleased, I am much rejoiced." The
whole body of warriors now came forward, and our men received
the caresses, and no small share of the grease and
paint of their new friends. After this fraternal embrace, of
which the motive was much more agreeable than the manner,
captain Lewis lighted a pipe and offered it to the Indians
who had now seated themselves in a circle around the party.
But before they would receive this mark of friendship
they pulled off their moccasins, a custom as we afterwards
learnt, which indicates the sacred sincerity of their professions
when they smoke with a stranger, and which imprecates
on themselves the misery of going barefoot forever if
they are faithless to their words, a penalty by no means
light to those who rove over the thorny plains of their country.
It is not unworthy to remark the analogy which some
of the customs of those wild children of the wilderness bear
to those recorded in holy writ. Moses is admonished to pull
off his shoes, for the place on which he stood was holy
ground. Why this was enjoined as an act of peculiar reverence;
whether it was from the circumstance that in the
arid region in which the patriarch then resided, it was
deemed a test of the sincerity of devotion to walk upon the
burning sands barefooted, in some measure analogous to the
pains inflicted by the prickly pear, does not appear. After
smoking a few pipes, some trifling presents were distributed
amongst them, with which they seemed very much pleased,
particularly with the blue beads and the vermillion. Captain
Lewis then informed the chief that the object of his
visit was friendly, and should be explained as soon as he
reached their camp; but that in the meantime as the sun
was oppressive, and no water near, he wished to go there as
soon as possible. They now put on their moccasins, and
their chief, whose name was Cameahwait, made a short
speech to the warriors. Captain Lewis then gave him the
flag, which he informed him was among white men the emblem
of peace, and now that he had received it was to be in
future the bond of union between them. The chief then
moved on, our party followed him, and the rest of the warriors
in a squadron, brought up the rear. After marching
a mile they were halted by the chief, who made a second
harangue, on which six or eight young men rode forward to
their camp, and no further regularity was observed in the
order of march. At the distance of four miles from where
they had first met, they reached the Indian camp, which
was in a handsome level meadow on the bank of the river.
Here they were introduced into an old leathern lodge which
the young men who had been sent from the party had fitted
up for their reception. After being seated on green boughs
and antelope skins, one of the warriors pulled up the grass
in the centre of the lodge so as to form a vacant circle of
two feet diameter, in which he kindled a fire. The chief
then produced his pipe and tobacco, the warriors all pulled
off their moccasins, and our party was requested to take off
their own. This being done, the chief lighted his pipe at the
fire within the magic circle, and then retreating from it began
a speech several minutes long, at the end of which he
pointed the stem towards the four cardinal points of the
heavens, beginning with the east and concluding with the
north. After this ceremony he presented the stem in the
same way to captain Lewis, who supposing it an invitation
to smoke, put out his hand to receive the pipe, but the chief
drew it back, and continued to repeat the same offer three
times, after which he pointed the stem first to the heavens,
then to the centre of the little circle, took three whiffs himself,
and presented it again to captain Lewis. Finding that
this last offer was in good earnest, he smoked a little, the
pipe was then held to each of the white men, and after they
had taken a few whiffs was given to the warriors. This
pipe was made of a dense transparent green stone, very
highly polished, about two and an half inches long, and of an
oval figure, the bowl being in the same situation with the
stem. A small piece of burnt clay is placed in the bottom
of the bowl to separate the tobacco from the end of the stem,
and is of an irregularly round figure, not fitting the tube
perfectly close, in order that the smoke may pass with facility.
The tobacco is of the same kind with that used by the Minnetarees,
Mandans and Ricaras of the Missouri. The Shoshonees
do not cultivate this plant, but obtain it from the
Rocky mountain Indians, and some of the bands of their
own nation who live further south. The ceremony of
smoking being concluded, captain Lewis explained to the
chief the purposes of his visit, and as by this time all the
women and children of the camp had gathered around the
lodge to indulge in a view of the first white men they had
ever seen, he distributed among them the remainder of the
small articles he had brought with him. It was now late in
the afternoon, and our party had tasted no food since the
night before. On apprising the chief of this circumstance,
he said that he had nothing but berries to eat, and presented
some cakes made of serviceberry and chokecherries
which had been dried in the sun. On these captain Lewis
made a hearty meal, and then walked down towards the river:
he found it a rapid clear stream forty yards wide and three
feet deep; the banks were low and abrupt, like those of the
upper part of the Missouri, and the bed formed of loose
stones and gravel. Its course, as far as he could observe it,
was a little to the north of west, and was bounded on each
side by a range of high mountains, of which those on the
east are the lowest and most distant from the river.

The chief informed him that this stream discharged itself
at the distance of half a day's march, into another of
twice its size, coming from the southwest; but added, on
further inquiry, that there was scarcely more timber below
the junction of those rivers than in this neighbourhood,
and that the river was rocky, rapid, and so closely confined
between high mountains, that it was impossible to pass down

it, either by land or water to the great lake, where as he
had understood the white men lived. This information
was far from being satisfactory; for there was no timber
here that would answer the purpose of building canoes, indeed
not more than just sufficient for fuel, and even that
consisted of the narrow-leafed cottonwood, the red and the
narrow-leafed willow, the chokecherry, serviceberry and a
few currant bushes such as are common on the Missouri.
The prospect of going on by land is more pleasant; for there
are great numbers of horses feeding in every direction
round the camp, which will enable us to transport our
stores if necessary over the mountains. Captain Lewis
returned from the river to his lodge, and on his way an
Indian invited him into his bower and gave him a small
morsel of boiled antelope and a piece of fresh salmon
roasted. This was the first salmon he had seen, and perfectly
satisfied him that he was now on the waters of the
Pacific. On reaching this lodge, he resumed his conversation
with the chief, after which he was entertained with
a dance by the Indians. It now proved, as our party had
feared, that the men whom they had first met this morning
had returned to the camp and spread the alarm that their
enemies, the Minnetarees of fort de Prairie, whom they call
Pahkees, were advancing on them. The warriors instantly
armed themselves and were coming down in expectation of
an attack, when they were agreeably surprised by meeting
our party. The greater part of them were armed with
bows and arrows, and shields, but a few had small fusils,
such as are furnished by the northwest company traders,
and which they had obtained from the Indians on the Yellowstone,
with whom they are now at peace. They had
reason to dread the approach of the Pahkees, who had attacked
them in the course of this spring and totally defeated
them. On this occasion twenty of their warriors were either
killed or made prisoners, and they lost their whole camp
except the leathern lodge which they had fitted up for us,
and were now obliged to live in huts of a conical figure
made with willow brush. The music and dancing, which
was in no respect different from those of the Missouri Indians,
continued nearly all night; but captain Lewis retired
to rest about twelve o'clock, when the fatigues of the day
enabled him to sleep though he was awaked several times
by the yells of the dancers.

Whilst all these things were occurring to captain Lewis
we were slowly and laboriously ascending the river. For
the first two and a half miles we went along the island opposite
to which we encamped last evening, and soon reached
a second island behind which comes in a small creek on the
left side of the river. It rises in the mountains to the east
and forms a handsome valley for some miles from its mouth,
where it is a bold running stream about seven yards wide:
we called it M'Neal's creek, after Hugh M'Neal one of our
party. Just above this stream and at the distance of four
miles from our camp is a point of limestone rock on the
right, about seventy feet high, forming a cliff over the river.
From the top of it the Beaver's-head bore north 24° east
twelve miles distant, the course of Wisdom river, that is
the direction of its valley through the mountains is north
25° west, while the gap through which the Jefferson enters
the mountains is ten miles above us on a course south 18°
west. From this limestone rock we proceeded along several
islands, on both sides, and after making twelve miles
arrived at a cliff of high rocks on the right, opposite to
which we encamped in a smooth level prairie, near a few
cottonwood trees; but were obliged to use the dry willow
brush for fuel. The river is still very crooked, the
bends short and abrupt, and obstructed by so many shoals,
over which the canoes were to be dragged, that the men
were in the water three fourths of the day. They saw
numbers of otter, some beaver, antelopes, ducks, geese,
and cranes, but they killed nothing except a single deer.
They, however, caught some very fine trout, as they have

done for several days past. The weather had been cloudy
and cool during the forepart of the day, and at eight o'clock
a shower of rain fell.

Wednesday 14. In order to give time for the boats to
reach the forks of Jefferson river, captain Lewis determined
to remain here and obtain all the information he could
collect with regard to the country. Having nothing to eat
but a little flour and parched meal, with the berries of the
Indians, he sent out Drewyer and Shields, who borrowed
horses from the natives, to hunt for a few hours. About
the same time the young warriors set out for the same purpose.
There are but few elk or blacktailed deer in this
neighbourhood, and as the common red-deer secrete themselves
in the bushes when alarmed, they are soon safe from
the arrows, which are but feeble weapons against any animals
which the huntsmen cannot previously run down
with their horses. The chief game of the Shoshonees,
therefore, is the antelope, which when pursued retreats to
the open plains, where the horses have full room for the
chase. But such is its extraordinary fleetness and wind
that a single horse has no possible chance of outrunning it,
or tiring it down; and the hunters are therefore obliged to
resort to stratagem. About twenty Indians, mounted on
fine horses, and armed with bows and arrows, left the camp;
in a short time they descried a herd of ten antelopes: they
immediately separated into little squads of two or three,
and formed a scattered circle round the herd for five or six
miles, keeping at a wary distance, so as not to alarm them
till they were perfectly inclosed, and usually selecting some
commanding eminence as a stand. Having gained their
positions, a small party rode towards the herd, and with
wonderful dexterity the huntsman preserved his seat, and
the horse his footing, as he ran at full speed over the hills,
and down the steep ravines, and along the borders of the
precipices. They were soon outstripped by the antelopes,
which on gaining the other extremity of the circle were driven

back and pursued by the fresh hunters. They turned
and flew, rather than ran in another direction; but there too,
they found new enemies. In this way they were alternately
pursued backwards and forwards, till at length, notwithstanding
the skill of the hunters, they all escaped, and the
party after running for two hours returned without having
caught anything, and their horses foaming with sweat.
This chase, the greater part of which was seen from the
camp, formed a beautiful scene; but to the hunters is exceedingly
laborious, and so unproductive, even when they
are able to worry the animal down and shoot him, that forty
or fifty hunters will sometimes be engaged for half a day
without obtaining more than two or three antelopes. Soon
after they returned, our two huntsmen came in with no better
success. Captain Lewis therefore made a little paste
with the flour, and the addition of some berries formed a
very palatable repast. Having now secured the good will
of Cameahwait, captain Lewis informed him of his wish
that he would speak to the warriors and endeavour to engage
them to accompany him to the forks of Jefferson river,
where by this time another chief with a large party of
white men were waiting his return: that it would be necessary
to take about thirty horses to transport the merchandize;
that they should be well rewarded for their trouble;
and that when all the party should have reached the Shoshonee
camp they would remain some time among them,
and trade for horses, as well as concert plans for furnishing
them in future with regular supplies of merchandize. He
readily consented to do so, and after collecting the tribe together
he made a long harangue, and in about an hour and
a half returned, and told captain Lewis that they would be
ready to accompany him in the morning.

As the early part of the day was cold, and the men stiff
and sore from the fatigues of yesterday: we did not set
out till seven o'clock. At the distance of a mile we passed
a bold stream on the right, which comes from a snowy

mountain to the north, and at its entrance is four yards
wide, and three feet in depth: we called it Track creek: at
six miles further we reached another stream which heads
in some springs at the foot of the mountains on the left.
After passing a number of bayous and small islands on each
side, we encamped about half a mile by land below the Rattlesnake
cliffs. The river was cold, shallow, and as it approached
the mountains formed one continued rapid, over
which we were obliged to drag the boats with great labour
and difficulty. By using constant exertions we succeeded
in making fourteen miles, but this distance did not
carry us more than six and a half in a straight line: several
of the men have received wounds and lamed themselves
in hauling the boats over the stones. The hunters supplied
them with five deer and an antelope.

Thursday 15. Captain Lewis rose early, and having eaten
nothing yesterday except his scanty meal of flour and
berries felt the inconveniences of extreme hunger. On inquiry
he found that his whole stock of provisions consisted
of two pounds of flour. This he ordered to be divided into
two equal parts, and one half of it boiled with the berries
into a sort of pudding: and after presenting a large share
to the chief, he and his three men breakfasted on the remainder.
Cameahwait was delighted at this new dish he
took a little of the flour in his hand tasted and examined it
very narrowly, asking if it was made of roots; captain Lewis
explained the process of preparing it, and he said it was the
best thing he had eaten for a long time.

This being finished, captain Lewis now endeavoured to
hasten the departure of the Indians who still hesitated, and
seemed reluctant to move, although the chief addressed
them twice for the purpose of urging them: on inquiring
the reason, Cameahwait told him that some foolish person
had suggested that he was in league with their enemies the
Pahkees, and had come only to draw them into ambuscade,
but that he himself did not believe it: captain Lewis felt

uneasy at this insinuation: he knew the suspicious temper of
the Indians, accustomed from their infancy to regard every
stranger as an enemy, and saw that if this suggestion were
not instantly checked, it might hazard the total failure of the
enterprise. Assuming therefore a serious air, he told the
chief that he was sorry to find they placed so little confidence
in him, but that he pardoned their suspicions because
they were ignorant of the character of white men, among
whom it was disgraceful to lie or entrap even an enemy by
falsehood; that if they continued to think thus meanly of us
they might be assured no white men would ever come to
supply them with arms and merchandize; that there was at
this moment a party of white men waiting to trade with
them at the forks of the river; and that if the greater part
of the tribe entertained any suspicion, he hoped there were
still among them some who were men, who would go and
see with their own eyes the truth of what he said, and who,
even if there was any danger, were not afraid to die. To
doubt the courage of an Indian is to touch the tenderest
string of his mind, and the surest way to rouse him to any
dangerous achievement. Cameahwait instantly replied,
that he was not afraid to die, and mounting his horse, for the
third time harangued the warriors: he told them that he was
resolved to go if he went alone, or if he were sure of perishing;
that he hoped there were among those who heard him
some who were not afraid to die, and who would prove it
by mounting their horses and following him. This harangue
produced an effect on six or eight only of the warriors, who
now joined their chief. With these captain Lewis smoked a
pipe, and then fearful of some change in their capricious
temper set out immediately. It was about twelve o'clock
when his small party left the camp, attended by Cameahwait
and the eight warriors: their departure seemed to spread
a gloom over the village; those who would not venture to
go were sullen and melancholy, and the woman were crying
and imploring the Great Spirit to protect their warriors as
if they were going to certain destruction: yet such is the
wavering inconstancy of these savages, that captain Lewis's
party had not gone far when they were joined by ten or
twelve more warriors, and before reaching the creek which
they had passed on the morning of the 13th, all the men of
the nation and a number of women had overtaken them,
and had changed from the surly ill temper in which they
were two hours ago, to the greatest cheerfulness and gayety.
When they arrived at the spring on the side of the mountain
where the party had encamped on the 12th, the chief
insisted on halting to let the horses graze; to which captain
Lewis assented and smoked with them. They are excessively
fond of the pipe, in which however they are not able to indulge
much as they do not cultivate tobacco themselves, and
their rugged country affords them but few articles to exchange
for it. Here they remained for about an hour, and
on setting out, by engaging to pay four of the party, captain
Lewis obtained permission for himself and each of his
men to ride behind an Indian; but he soon found riding without
stirrups more tiresome than walking, and therefore
dismounted, making the Indian carry his pack. About sunset
they reached the upper part of the level valley in the
cove through which he had passed, and which they now
called Shoshonee cove. The grass being burnt on the north
side of the river they crossed over to the south, and encamped
about four miles above the narrow pass between the hills
noticed as they traversed the cove before. The river was
here about six yards wide, and frequently dammed up by
the beaver. Drewyer had been sent forward to hunt, but
he returned in the evening unsuccessful, and their only supper
therefore was the remaining pound of flour stirred in a
little boiling water, and then divided between the four white
men and two of the Indians.

In order not to exhaust the strength of the men, captain
Clarke did not leave his camp till after breakfast. Although
he was scarcely half a mile below the Rattlesnake cliffs he

was obliged to make a circuit of two miles by water before
he reached them. The river now passed between low and
rugged mountains and cliffs formed of a mixture of limestone
and a hard black rock, with no covering except a few scattered
pines. At the distance of four miles is a bold little
stream which throws itself from the mountains down a steep
precipice of rocks on the left. One mile further is a second
point of rocks, and an island, about a mile beyond which is
a creek on the right, ten yards wide and three feet three
inches in depth, with a strong current: we called it Willard's
creek after one of our men, Alexander Willard.
Three miles beyond this creek, after passing a high cliff on
the right opposite to a steep hill, we reached a small meadow
on the left bank of the river. During its passage through
these hills to Willard's creek the river had been less tortuous
than usual, so that in the first six miles to Willard's
creek we had advanced four miles on our route. We continued
on for two miles, till we reached in the evening a
small bottom covered with clover and a few cottonwood
trees: here we passed the night near the remains of some
old Indian lodges of brush. The river is as it has been for
some days shallow and rapid; and our men, who are for
hours together in the river, suffer not only from fatigue,
but from the extreme coldness of the water, the temperature
of which is as low as that of the freshest springs in our
country. In walking along the side of the river, captain
Clarke was very near being bitten twice by rattlesnakes,
and the Indian woman narrowly escaped the same misfortune.
We caught a number of fine trout; but the only game
procured to-day was a buck, which had a peculiarly bitter
taste, proceeding probably from its favourite food, the willow.

Friday, 16. As neither our party nor the Indians had
any thing to eat, captain Lewis sent two of his hunters
ahead this morning to procure some provision: at the same
time he requested Cameahwait to prevent his young men

from going out, lest by their noise they might alarm the
game; but this measure immediately revived their suspicions:
it now began to be believed that these men were sent
forward in order to apprise the enemy of their coming, and
as captain Lewis was fearful of exciting any further uneasiness,
he made no objection on seeing a small party of Indians
go on each side of the valley under pretence of hunting,
but in reality to watch the movements of our two men: even
this precaution however did not quiet the alarms of the Indians,
a considerable part of whom returned home, leaving
only twenty-eight men and three women. After the hunters
had been gone about an hour, captain Lewis again mounted
with one of the Indians behind him, and the whole party
set out; but just as they passed through the narrows they
saw one of the spies coming back at full speed across the
plain: the chief stopped and seemed uneasy, the whole band
were moved with fresh suspicions, and captain Lewis himself
was much disconcerted, lest by some unfortunate accident
some of their enemies might have perhaps straggled
that way. The young Indian had scarcely breath to say a
few words as he came up, when the whole troop dashed
forward as fast as their horses could carry them; and captain
Lewis astonished at this movement was borne along for
nearly a mile before he learnt with great satisfaction that
it was all caused by the spy's having come to announce that
one of the white men had killed a deer. Relieved from his
anxiety he now found the jolting very uncomfortable; for
the Indian behind him being afraid of not getting his share
of the feast had lashed the horse at every step since they
set off; he therefore reined him in and ordered the Indian
to stop beating him. The fellow had no idea of losing time
in disputing the point, and jumping off the horse ran for a
mile at full speed. Captain Lewis slackened his pace, and
followed at a sufficient distance to observe them. When
they reached the place where Drewyer had thrown out the
intestines, they all dismounted in confusion and ran tumbling
over each other like famished dogs: each tore away
whatever part he could and instantly began to eat it; some
had the liver, some the kidneys, in short no part on which
we are accustomed to look with disgust escaped them: one
of them who had seized about nine feet of the entrails was
chewing at one end, while with his hand he was diligently
clearing his way by discharging the contents at the other.
It was indeed impossible to see these wretches ravenously
feeding on the filth of animals, and the blood streaming
from their mouths, without deploring how nearly the condition
of savages approaches that of the brute creation: yet
though suffering with hunger they did not attempt, as they
might have done, to take by force the whole deer, but contented
themselves with what had been thrown away by the
hunter. Captain Lewis now had the deer skinned, and after
reserving a quarter of it gave the rest of the animal to
the chief to be divided among the Indians, who immediately
devoured nearly the whole of it without cooking. They now
went forward towards the creek where there was some
brushwood to make a fire, and found Drewyer who had killed
a second deer: the same struggle for the entrails was
renewed here, and on giving nearly the whole deer to the
Indians, they devoured it even to the soft part of the hoofs.
A fire being made captain Lewis had his breakfast, during
which Drewyer brought in a third deer: this too, after reserving
one quarter, was given to the Indians, who now
seemed completely satisfied and in good humour. At this
place they remained about two hours to let the horses graze,
and then continued their journey, and towards evening
reached the lower part of the cove, having on the way shot
an antelope, the greater part of which was given to the Indians.
As they were now approaching the place where they
had been told by captain Lewis they would see the white
men, the chief insisted on halting: they therefore all dismounted,
and Cameahwait with great ceremony and as if
for ornament, put tippets or skins round the necks of our
party, similar to those worn by themselves. As this was
obviously intended to disguise the white men, captain Lewis
in order to inspire them with more confidence put his cocked
hat and feather on the head of the chief, and as his own
over-shirt was in the Indian form, and his skin browned by
the sun, he could not have been distinguished from an Indian:
the men followed his example, and the change seemed
to be very argeeable to the Indians.

In order to guard however against any disappointment
captain Lewis again explained the possibility of our not
having reached the forks in consequence of the difficulty
of the navigation, so that if they should not find us at that
spot they might be assured of our not being far below.
They again all mounted their horses and rode on rapidly,
making one of the Indians carry their flag, so that we might
recognise them as they approached us; but to the mortification
and disappointment of both parties on coming within
two miles of the forks, no canoes were to be seen. Uneasy
lest at this moment he should be abandoned, and all his
hopes of obtaining aid from the Indians be detroyed, captain
Lewis gave the chief his gun, telling him that if the enemies
of his nation were in the bushes he might defend himself
with it; that for his own part he was not afraid to die,
and that the chief might shoot him as soon as they discovered
themselves betrayed. The other three men at the
same time gave their guns to the Indians, who now seemed
more easy, but still wavered in their resolutions. As they
went on towards the point, captain Lewis perceiving how
critical his situation had become, resolved to attempt a
stratagem which his present difficulty seemed completely
to justify. Recollecting the notes he had left at the point
for us, he sent Drewyer for them with an Indian who witnessed
his taking them from the pole. When they were
brought, captain Lewis told Cameahwait that on leaving
his brother chief at the place where the river issues from
the mountains, it was agreed that the boats should not be

brought higher than the next forks we should meet; but
that if the rapid water prevented the boats from coming on
as fast as they expected, his brother chief was to send a note
to the first forks above him to let him know where the boats
were; that this note had been left this morning at the forks,
and mentioned that the canoes were just below the mountains,
and coming slowly up in consequence of the current.
Captain Lewis added, that he would stay at the forks for
his brother chief, but would send a man down the river,
and that if Cameahwait doubted what he said, one of their
young men would go with him whilst he and the other two
remained at the forks. This story satisfied the chief and
the greater part of the Indians, but a few did not conceal
their suspicions, observing that we told different stories,
and complaining that the chief exposed them to danger by a
mistaken confidence. Captain Lewis now wrote by the light
of some willow brush a note to captain Clarke, which he
gave to Drewyer, with an order to use all possible expedition
in ascending the river, and engaged an Indian to accompany
him by a promise of a knife and some beads. At
bedtime the chief and five others slept round the fire of
captain Lewis, and the rest hid themselves in different parts
of the willow brush to avoid the enemy, who they feared
would attack them in the night. Captain Lewis endeavoured
to assume a cheerfulness he did not feel to prevent the
despondency of the savages: after conversing gayly with
them he retired to his musquitoe bier, by the side of which
the chief now placed himself: he lay down, yet slept but little,
being in fact scarcely less uneasy than his Indian companions.
He was apprehensive that finding the ascent of
the river impracticable, captain Clarke might have stopped
below the Rattlesnake bluff, and the messenger would not
meet him. The consequence of disappointing the Indians at
this moment would most probably be, that they would retire
and secrete themselves in the mountains, so as to prevent
our having an opportunity of recovering their confidence:
they would also spread a panic through all the
neighbouring Indians, and cut us off from the supply of
horses so useful and almost so essential to our success: he
was at the same time consoled by remembering that his
hopes of assistance rested on better foundations than their
generosity—their avarice, and their curiosity. He had promised
liberal exchanges for their horses; but what was still
more seductive, he had told them that one of their country-women
who had been taken with the Minnetarees accompanied
the party below; and one of the men had spread the
report of our having with us a man perfectly black, whose
hair was short and curled. This last account had excited
a great degree of curiosity, and they seemed more desirous
of seeing this monster than of obtaining the most favourable
barter for their horses.

In the meantime we had set out after breakfast, and although
we proceeded with more ease than we did yesterday,
the river was still so rapid and shallow as to oblige us to
drag the large canoes during the greater part of the day.
For the first seven miles the river formed a bend to the
right so as to make our advance only three miles in a straight
line; the stream is crooked, narrow, small, and shallow, with
highlands occasionally on the banks, and strewed with
islands, four of which are opposite to each other. Near this
place we left the valley, to which we gave the name of Serviceberry
valley, from the abundance of that fruit now ripe
which is found in it. In the course of the four following
miles we passed several more islands and bayous on each
side of the river, and reached a high cliff on the right. Two
and a half miles beyond this the cliffs approach on both
sides and form a very considerable rapid near the entrance
of a bold running stream on the left. The water was now
excessively cold, and the rapids had been frequent and troublesome.
On ascending an eminence captain Clarke saw the
forks of the river and sent the hunters up. They must
have left it only a short time before captain Lewis's arrival,

but fortunately had not seen the note which enabled him to
induce the Indians to stay with him. From the top of this
eminence he could discover only three trees through the
whole country, nor was there along the sides of the cliffs
they had passed in the course of the day, any timber except
a few small pines: the low grounds were supplied with
willow, currant bushes, and serviceberries. After advancing
half a mile further we came to the lower point of
an island near the middle of the river, and about the centre
of the valley: here we halted for the night, only four miles
by land, though ten by water, below the point where captain
Lewis lay. Although we had made only fourteen miles, the
labours of the men had fatigued and exhausted them very
much: we therefore collected some small willow brush for
a fire, and lay down to sleep.