University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER XVII.

Thursday, July 24. The canoes were loaded, and serjeant
Pryor and his party set out with orders to proceed down to
the entrance of the Bighorn river, which was supposed to
be at no great distance, and where they should be taken in
the boats across the Yellowstone. At eight o'clock captain
Clarke embarked in the little flotilla, and proceeded on very
steadily down the river, which continues to be about two
hundred yards wide, and contains a number of islands, some
of which are supplied with a small growth of timber. At
the distance of a mile from the camp, the river passes under
a high bluff for about twenty-three miles, when the bottoms
widen on both sides. At the distance of twenty-nine miles,
a river falls in from the south. This was the river supposed

to be the Bighorn; but afterwards, when the Bighorn
was found, the name of Clarke's fork was given to
this stream. It is a bold river, one hundred and fifty
yards wide at the entrance, but a short distance above,
is contracted to a hundred yards. The water is of a light
muddy colour, and much colder than that of the Yellowstone,
and its general course is south and east of the
Rocky mountains. There is a small island situated immediately
at the entrance; and this or the adjoining main land
would form a very good position for a fort. The country
most frequented by the beaver begins here, and that which
lies between this river and the Yellowstone is, perhaps,
the best district for the hunters of that animal. About a
mile before reaching this river, there is a ripple in the Yellowstone,
on passing which the canoes took in some water.
The party therefore landed to bail the boats, and then proceeded
six miles further to a large island, where they halted
for the purpose of waiting for serjeant Pryor. It is a beautiful
spot with a rich soil, covered with wild rye, and a species
of grass like the blue-grass, and some of another kind,
which the Indians wear in plaits round the neck, on account
of a strong scent resembling that of the vanilla. There is also
a thin growth of cottonwood scattered over the island. In
the centre is a large Indian lodge which seems to have been
built during the last summer. It is in the form of a cone,
sixty feet in diameter at the base, composed of twenty poles,
each forty-five feet long, and two and a half in circumference,
and the whole structure covered with bushes. The
interior was curiously ornamented. On the tops of the poles
were feathers of eagles, and circular pieces of wood, with
sticks across them in the form of a girdle: from the centre
was suspended a stuffed buffaloe skin: on the side fronting
the door was hung a cedar bush: on one side of the lodge a
buffaloe's head; on the other several pieces of wood stuck in
the ground. From its whole appearance, it was more like a
lodge for holding councils, than an ordinary dwelling house.
Serjeant Pryor not having yet arrived, they went on about
fifteen and a half miles further to a small creek on the right,
to which they gave the name of Horse creek, and just below
it overtook serjeant Pryor with the horses. He had found
it almost impossible, with two men, to drive on the remaining
horses, for as soon as they discovered a herd of buffaloe
the loose horses, having been trained by the Indians to hunt,
immediately set off in pursuit of them, and surrounded the
buffaloe herd with almost as much skill as their riders could
have done. At last he was obliged to send one horseman
forward, and drive all the buffaloe from the route. The
horses were here driven across, and sergeant Pryor again
proceeded with an additional man to his party. The river
is now much more deep and navigable, and the current more
regular than above Clarke's fork, and although much divided
by well-wooded islands, when collected, the stream is
between two and three hundred feet in width. Along its
banks are some beaver, and an immense number of deer, elk,
and buffaloe. Towards night they passed a creek from the
southeast, thirty-five yards wide, which they called Pryor's
creek; half a mile below which they encamped, after making
sixty-nine and a half miles during the day. At sunrise
the next morning,

Friday, 25, they resumed their voyage, and passed a
number of islands and small streams, and occasionally high
bluffs, composed of a yellow gritty stone. A storm of rain
and high southwest wind soon overtook them, and obliged
them to land and form a sort of log hut, covered with deer
skins. As soon as it ceased they proceeded, and about four
o'clock, after having made forty-nine miles, captain Clarke
landed to examine a very remarkable rock situated in an
extensive bottom on the right, about two hundred and fifty
paces from the shore. It is nearly four hundred paces in
circumference, two hundred feet high, and accessible only
from the northeast, the other sides being a perpendicular
cliff of a light coloured gritty rock. The soil of the top is

five or six feet deep, of a good quality, and covered with
short grass. The Indians have carved the figures of animals
and other objects on the sides of the rock, and on the
top are raised two piles of stones. From this height the eye
ranged over a large extent of variegated country:—On the
southwest the Rocky mountains covered with snow; a low
mountain, about forty miles distant, bearing south 15° east,
and in a direction north 55° west; and at the distance of
thirty-five miles, the southern extremity of what are called
the Littlewolf mountains. The low grounds of the
river extend nearly six miles to the southward, when
they rise into plains reaching to the mountains, and watered
with a large creek, while at some distance below
a range of highland, covered with pine, stretches on both
sides of the river, in a direction north and south. The
north side of the river, for some distance, is surrounded by
jutting romantic cliffs; these are succeeded by rugged hills,
beyond which the plains are again open and extensive; and
the whole country is enlivened by herds of buffaloe, elk and
wolves. After enjoying the prospect from this rock, to which
captain Clarke gave the name of Pompey's pillar, he descended,
and continued his course. At the distance of six or
seven miles, he stopped to get two bighorns, which were
shot from the boat; and while on shore, saw in the face of
the cliff on the left, about twenty feet above the water, the
fragment of a rib of a fish, three feet long, and nearly three
inches round, incrusted in the rock itself, and though neither
decayed nor petrified is very rotten. After making
fifty-eight miles they reached the entrance of a stream on
the right, about twenty-two yards wide, and which discharges
a great quantity of muddy water. Here they encamped
rather earlier than usual, on account of a heavy squall,
accompanied with some rain. Early next morning,

Saturday, 26, they proceeded. The river is now much
divided by stony islands and bars; but the current, though
swift, is regular, and there are many very handsome islands
covered with cottonwood. On the left shore the bottoms

are very extensive; the right bank is formed of high cliffs of
a whitish gritty stone; and beyond these, the country on
both sides is diversified with waving plains, covered with
pine. At the distance of ten miles is a large creek on the
right, about forty yards in width, but containing very little
water; and in the course of the day, two smaller streams on
the left, and a fourth on the right. At length, after coming
sixty-two miles, they landed at the entrance of the Bighorn
river; but finding the point between the two composed
of soft mud and sand, and liable to be overflowed, they ascended
the Bighorn for half a mile, then crossed and formed
a camp on its lower side. Captain Clarke then walked up
the river. At the distance of seven miles, a creek, twenty
yards wide, which from the colour of the water he called
Muddy creek, falls in on the northeast, and a few miles
further, the river bends to the east of south. The bottoms
of the river are extensive, and supplied chiefly with cottonwood
trees, variegated with great quantities of rosebushes.
The current is regular and rapid; and like the Missouri, constantly
changes so as to wash away the banks on one side,
leaving sandbars on the other. Its bed contains much less
of the large gravel than that of the Yellowstone, and its water
is more muddy, and of a brownish colour, while the Yellowstone
has a lighter tint. At the junction, the two rivers
are nearly equal in breadth, extending from two hundred to
two hundred and twenty yards, but the Yellowstone contains
much more water, being ten or twelve feet deep. while the
depth of the Bighorn varies from five to seven feet. This is
the river which had been described by the Indians as rising
in the Rocky mountains, near the Yellowstone, and the
sources of the river Platte, and then finds its way through
the Cote Noir, and the eastern range of the Rocky mountains.
In its long course it receives two large rivers, one
from the north and the other from the south, and being unobstructed
by falls, is navigable in canoes for a great distance,
through a fine rich open country, supplied with a great
quantity of timber, and inhabited by beaver, and by numerous
species of animals, among which are those from which
it derives the name of Bighorn. There are no permanent
settlements near it; but the whole country which it waters,
is occasionally visited by roving bands of hunters from the
Crow tribe, the Paunch, a band of Crows, and the Castahana,
a small band of Snake Indians.

Sunday, 27. They again set out very early, and on leaving
the Bighorn, took a last look at the Rocky mountains,
which had been constantly in view from the first of May. The
river now widens to the extent of from four to six hundred
yards; is much divided by islands and sandbars; its banks
generally low and falling in, and resembles the Missouri
in many particulars; but its islands are more numerous,
its waters less muddy, and the current more rapid. The
water too is of a yellowish-white, and the round stones,
which form the bars above the Bighorn, have given place to
gravel. On the left side the river runs under cliffs of
light, soft, gritty stone, varying in height from seventy to an
hundred feet, behind which are level and extensive plains.
On the right side of the river are low extensive bottoms,
bordered with cottonwood, various species of willow, rosebushes,
grape-vines, the redberry or buffaloe-grease bushes,
and a species of sumach; to these succeed high grounds,
supplied with pine, and still further on are level plains.
Throughout the country are vast quantities of buffaloe,
which, as this is the running season, keep a continued bellowing.
Large herds of elk also are lying in every point, and
are so gentle that they may be approached within twenty paces
without being alarmed. Several beaver were seen in the
course of the day; indeed, there is a greater appearance of
those animals than there was above the Bighorn. Deer,
however, are by no means abundant, and the antelopes, as
well as the bighorns, are scarce.

Fifteen miles from the Bighorn river they passed a large
dry creek on the left, to which they gave the name of Elk

creek, and halted for breakfast about three miles further, at
the entrance of Windsor's river, a stream from the left,
which though fifty yards wide, contains scarcely any water.
Forty-eight miles from the Bighorn is a large bed of a
stream sixty yards wide, but with very little water. They
called it Labiche's river. Several other smaller streams, or
rather beds of creeks, were passed in the course of the day,
and after coming eighty and a half miles, they encamped on
a large island. At daylight the next morning,

Monday, 28, they proceeded down the smooth gentle current,
passing by a number of islands and several creeks,
which are now dry. These are, indeed, more like torrents,
and like the dry brooks of the Missouri, merely serve to
carry off the vast quantities of water which fall in the plains,
and bring them also a great deal of mud, which contributes
to the muddiness of the Yellowstone. The most distinguished
of these are at the distance of six miles, a creek
of eighty yards in width, from the northwest, and called by
the Indians, Littlewolf river: twenty-nine miles lower another
on the left, seventy yards in width, which they call
Table creek, from several mounds in the plains to the northwest,
the tops of which resemble a table. Four miles further
a stream of more importance enters behind an island
from the south. It is about one hundred yards in width,
with a bold current of muddy water, and is probably the river
called by the Indians the Little Bighorn; and another
stream on the right, twenty-five yards wide, the Indian
name of which is Mashaskap. Nearly opposite to this creek
they encamped after making seventy-three miles. The river
during part of the route is confined by cliffs, which on the
right are of a soft, yellowish, gritty rock, while those on the
left are harder, and of a lighter colour. In some of these
cliffs were several stratas of coal of different thickness and
heights above the water; but like that of the Missouri, is of
an inferior quality.

Tuesday, 29. During the night there was a storm of
thunder and lightning, with some rain, a high northeast wind,
which continued during the morning, and prevented the party
from making more than forty-one miles. The country
resembles that passed yesterday; the dry beds of rivers continue,
and large quantities of coal are seen in the sides of the
cliffs. The river itself is now between five hundred yards
and half a mile in width, and has more sand and bars of gravel
than above. The beaver are in great numbers; and in
the course of the day some catfish and a soft-shelled turtle
were procured. In the evening they encamped on the left,
opposite to the entrance of a stream, called by the Indians
Lazeka, or Tongue river. This stream rises in the Cote
Noir, and is formed of two branches, one having its sources
with the heads of the Chayenne, the other with one of the
branches of the Bighorn. It has a very wide bed, and a channel
of water a hundred and fifty yards wide, but the water
is of a light brown colour, very muddy, and nearly milk-warm.
It is shallow, and its rapid current throws out great
quantities of mud and some coarse gravel. Near the mouth
is a large proportion of timber, but the warmth of the water
would seem to indicate that the country through which
it passed was open and without shade.

Wednesday, 30. They set out at an early hour, and after
passing, at the distance of twelve miles, the bed of a river
one hundred yards wide, but nearly dry at present,
reached two miles below it a succession of bad shoals, interspersed
with a hard, dark brown, gritty rock, extending
for six miles, the last of which stretches nearly across the
river, and has a descent of about three feet. At this
place they were obliged to let the canoes down with the hand,
for fear of their splitting on a concealed rock; though when
the shoals are known a large canoe could with safety pass
through the worst of them. This is the most difficult part
of the whole Yellowstone river, and was called the Buffaloe
shoal, from the circumstance of one of those animals being

found in them. The neighbouring cliffs on the right are
about one hundred feet high; on the left the country is low,
but gradually rises, and at some distance from the shore
present the first appearance of burnt hills which have been
seen on the Yellowstone. Below the Buffaloe shoals the
river is contracted to the width of three or four hundred
yards, the islands less numerous, and a few scattering trees
only are seen either on its banks or on the highlands: twenty
miles from those shoals is a rapid, caused by a number
of rocks strewed over the river; but though the waves are
high, there is a very good channel on the left, which renders
the passage secure. There was a bear standing on one of
these rocks, which occasioned the name of the Bear rapid. As
they were descending this rapid a violent storm from the northwest
obliged them to take refuge in an old Indian lodge near
the mouth of a river on the left, which has lately been very
high, has widened to the distance of a quarter of a mile, but
though its present channel is eighty-eight yards wide, there
is not more water in it than would easily pass through a
hole of an inch in diameter. It was called York's dry river.
As soon as the rain and wind had abated, they resumed
their journey, and at seven miles encamped under a spreading
cottonwood tree on the left side, after making forty-eight
miles. A mile and a half above on the opposite side is a river
containing one hundred yards width of water, though the
bed itself is much wider. The water is very muddy, and like
its banks of a dark brown colour. Its current throws out
great quantities of red stones; and this circumstance, with
the appearance of the distant hills, induced captain Clarke
to call it the Redstone, which he afterwards found to be the
meaning of its Indian name, Wahasah.

Saturday, 31. During the whole night the buffaloe
were prowling about the camp, and excited much alarm,
lest in crossing the river they should tread on the boats and
split them to pieces. They set out as usual, and at the distance

of two miles passed a rapid of no great danger, which
they called Wolf rapid, from seeing a wolf in them. At
this place commences a range of highlands. These highlands
have no timber, and are composed of earth of different
colours, without much rock, but supplied throughout
with great quantities of coal, or carbonated wood. After
passing these hills the country again opens into extensive
plains, like those passed yesterday, and the river is diversified
with islands, and partially supplied with water by a
great number of wide, but nearly dry brooks. Thus eighteen
miles below the camp is a shallow, muddy stream on
the left, one hundred yards wide, and supposed to be that
known among the Indians by the name of Saasha, or Littlewolf
river: five miles below on the right side is another
river, forty yards wide, and four feet in depth, which, from
the steep coal banks on each side, they called Oaktaroup, or
Coal river; and at eighteen miles further a third stream of
sixty yards in width, to which they gave the name of Gibson's
river. Having made sixty-six miles, they halted for
the night, and just as they landed, saw the largest white
bear that any of the party had ever before seen, devouring
a dead buffaloe on a sandbar. They fired two balls into
him, and he then swam to the main land and walked along
the shore. Captain Clarke pursued him, and lodged two
more balls in his body; but though he bled profusely he made
his escape, as night prevented them from following him.
The next day,

Sunday, August 1, a high wind from ahead made the water
rough, and retarded their progress, and as it rained during
the whole day, their situation in the open boats was
very disagreeable. The country bears in every respect the
same appearance as that of yesterday, though there is some
ash timber in the bottom, and low pine and cedar on the
sides of the hills. The current of the river is less rapid,
has more soft mud, and is more obstructed by sandbars,
and the rain has given an unusual quantity of water to the

brooks. The buffaloe now appear in vast numbers. A herd
happened to be on their way across the river. Such was the
multitude of these animals, that although the river, including
an island, over which they passed was a mile in length,
the herd stretched as thick as they could swim, completely
from one side to the other, and the party was obliged to stop
for an hour. They consoled themselves for the delay by
killing four of the herd, and then proceeded till at the distance
of forty-five miles on an island, below which two other
herds of buffaloe, as numerous as the first, soon after crossed
the river.

Monday, 2. The river is now about a mile wide, less
rapid, and more divided by islands and bars of sand and mud
than hitherto: the low grounds too are more extensive, and
contain a greater quantity of cottonwood, ash, and willow
trees. On the northwest is a low, level plain; on the southeast
some rugged hills, on which we saw, without being able
to approach, some of the bighorns. The buffaloe and elk,
as well as the pursuers of both, the wolves, are in great numbers.
On each side of the river are several dry brooks; but
the only stream of any size is that they called Ibex river,
on the right, about thirty yards wide, and sixteen miles from
the camp. The bear which gave so much trouble on the
head of the Missouri, are equally fierce in this quarter. This
morning one of them, which was on a sandbar as the boat
passed, raised himself on his hind feet, and after looking at
the party, plunged in and swam towards them. He was received
with three balls in the body; he then turned round and
made for the shore. Towards evening another entered the
water to swim across. Captain Clarke ordered the boat towards
the shore, and just as the bear landed, shot the animal
in the head. It proved to be the largest female they
had ever seen, and so old that its tusks were worn quite
smooth. The boats escaped with difficulty between two
herds of buffaloe, which were crossing the river, and would
probably have again detained the party. Among the elk of

this neighbourhood are an unusual number of males, while
higher up the river the numerous herds consist of females
chiefly. After making eighty-four miles, they encamped
among some ash and elm trees on the right. They, however,
rather passed the night than slept there, for the musquitoes
were so troublesome, that scarcely any of the party
could close their eyes during the greater part of the time.
They therefore set out early in the morning,

Tuesday, 3, to avoid the persecution of those insects. At
the distance of two miles they passed Fields's creek, a
stream thirty-five yards wide, which enters on the right, immediately
above a high bluff, which is rapidly sinking into
the river. Here captain Clarke went ashore in pursuit of
some bighorns, but the musquitoes were so numerous, that
he was unable to shoot with certainty. He therefore returned
to the canoes; and soon after observing a ram of the
same animals, sent one of the hunters, who shot it, and it was
preserved entire as a specimen. About two o'clock they reached,
eight miles below Fields's creek, the junction of the Yellowstone
with the Missouri, and formed a camp on the point
where they had encamped on the 26th of April, 1805. The
canoes were now unloaded, and the baggage exposed to dry,
as many of the articles were wet, and some of them spoiled.

The Rochejaune, or Yellowstone river, according to Indian
information, has its remote sources in the Rocky mountains,
near the peaks of the Rio del Norde, on the confines of
New Mexico, to which country there is a good road during
the whole distance along the banks of the Yellowstone. Its
western waters are probably connected with those of Lewis's
river, while the eastern branches approach the heads of
Clarke's river, the Bighorn, and the Platte; so that it waters
the middle portion of the Rocky mountains for several hundred
miles from northwest to southeast. During its whole
course from the point at which captain Clarke reached it
to the Missouri, a distance which he computed at eight hundred
and thirty-seven miles, this river is large and navigable

for periogues, and even batteaux, there being none of the
moving sandbars which impede the navigation of the Missouri,
and only a single ledge of rocks, which, however, is
not difficult to pass. Even its tributary waters, the Bighorn,
Clarke's fork, and Tongue river, may be ascended in boats
for a considerable distance. The banks of the river are low,
but bold, and no where subject to be overflowed, except for
a short distance below the mountains. The predominating
colour of the river is a yellowish-brown; that of the Missouri,
which possesses more mud, is of a deep drab colour; the
bed of the former being chiefly composed of loose pebble;
which, however, diminish in size in descending the river,
till after passing the Lazeka, the pebble cease as the river
widens, and the mud and sand continue to form the greater
part of the bottom. Over these the water flows with a velocity
constantly and almost equally decreasing in proportion
to its distance from the mountains. From the mountains
to Clarke's fork, the current may be estimated at four
and a half miles per hour; thence as low as the Bighorn, at
three and a half miles; between that and the Lazeka at three
miles; and from that river to the Wolf rapid, at two and
three quarter miles; from which to its entrance, the general
rapidity is two miles per hour. The appearance and character
of the country present nearly similar varieties of fertile,
rich, open lands. Above Clarke's fork, it consists of
high waving plains bordered by stony hills, partially supplied
with pine; the middle portion, as low as the Buffaloe
shoals, contains less timber, and the number diminishes still
lower, where the river widens, and the country spreads itself
into extensive plains. Like all the branches of the Missouri
which penetrate the Rocky mountains, the Yellowstone and
its streams, within that district of country beyond Clarke's
fork, abound in beaver and otter; a circumstance which
strongly recommends the entrance of the latter river as a judicious
position for the purposes of trade. To an establishment
at that place, the Shoshonees, both within and westward
of the Rocky mountains, would willingly resort, as they
would be farther from the reach of the Blackfoot Indians,
and the Minnetarees of Fort de Prairie, than they could be
in trading with any factories on the Missouri. The same
motive of personal safety, would most probably induce many
of the tribes on the Columbia and Lewis's river to prefer this
place to the entrance of Maria's river, at least for some
years; and as the Crow and Paunch Indians, the Castahanahs,
and the Indians residing south of Clarke's fork, would
also be induced to visit it, the mouth of that river might
be considered as one of the most important establishments
for the western fur trade. This too may be the more easily
effected, as the adjacent country possesses a sufficiency of
timber for the purpose, an advantage which is not found on
any spot between Clarke's fork and the Rocky mountains.

Wednesday, 4. The camp became absolutely uninhabitable,
in consequence of the multitude of musquetoes; the
men could not work in preparing skins for clothing, nor hunt
in the timbered low grounds; in short, there was no mode of
escape, except by going on the sandbars in the river; where,
if the wind should blow, the insects do not venture; but
when there is no wind, and particularly at night, when the
men have no covering except their worn-out blankets, the
pain they suffer is scarcely to be endured. There was also
a want of meat, for the buffaloe were not to be found; and
though the elk are very abundant, yet their fat and flesh is
more difficult to dry in the sun, and is also much more easily
spoiled than the meat or fat of either deer or buffaloe.
Captain Clarke therefore determined to go on to some spot
which should be free from musquetoes, and furnish more
game. After having written a note to captain Lewis, to inform
him of his intention, and stuck it on a pole, at the confluence
of the two rivers, he loaded the canoes at five in the
afternoon, and proceeded down the river to the second point
and encamped on a sandbar, but here the musquetoes seemed
to be even more numerous than above. The face of the

Indian child is considerably puffed up and swollen with the
bites of these animals, nor could the men procure scarcely
any sleep during the night, and they continued to harrass
them the next morning,

Thursday 5, as they proceeded. On one occasion captain
Clarke went on shore and ascended a hill after one of the
bighorns; but the musquetoes were in such multitudes that
he could not keep them from the barrel of his rifle long
enough to take aim. About ten o'clock, however, a light
breeze sprung up from the northwest, and dispersed them
in some degree. Captain Clarke then landed on a sandbar,
intending to wait for captain Lewis, and went out to hunt.
But not finding any buffaloe, he again proceeded in the afternoon,
and having killed a large white bear, encamped under
a high bluff exposed to a light breeze from the southwest,
which blew away the musquetoes. About eleven o'clock,
however, the wind became very high and a storm of rain
came on, which lasted for two hours, accompanied with
sharp lightning and loud peals of thunder. The party therefore
rose,

Friday, 6, very wet, and proceeded to a sandbar below
the entrance of Whiteearth river. Just above this place,
the Indians had, apparently within seven or eight days past,
been digging a root which they employ in making a kind of
soup. Having fixed their tents, the men were employed in
dressing skins and hunting. They shot a number of deer;
but only two of them were fat, owing probably to the great
quantities of musquetoes who annoy them whilst feeding.
The next day,

Saturday, 7, after some severe rain, they proceeded at
eleven o'clock, through intervals of rain and high wind till
six in the evening, when they encamped on a sandbar. Here
they had a very violent wind, for two hours, which left the
air clear and cold, so that the musquetoes completely disappeared.
On the following morning,

Sunday, 8, serjeant Pryor, accompanied by Shannon,
Hall, and Windsor, arrived, but without the horses. They
reported that on the second day after they left captain Clarke,
they halted to let the horses graze near the bed of a large
creek, which contained no running water; but soon after a
shower of rain fell, and the creek swelled so suddenly, that
several horses which had straggled across the dry bed of the
creek, were obliged to swim back. They now determined
to form their camp; but the next morning were astonished
at not being able to find a single one of their horses. They
immediately examined the neighbourhood, and soon finding
the track of the Indians who had stolen the horses, pursued
them for five miles, where the fugitives divided into two
parties. They now followed the largest party five miles
further, till they lost all hopes of overtaking the Indians,
and returned to the camp; and packing the baggage on
their backs, pursued a northeast course towards the Yellowstone.
On the following night a wolf bit serjeant Pryor
through the hand as he lay asleep, and made an attempt to
seize Windsor, when Shannon discovered and shot him.
They passed over a broken open country, and having reached
the yellowstone near Pompey's pillar, they determined
to descend the river, and for this purpose made two skin canoes,
such as they had seen among the Mandans and Ricaras.
They are made in the following manner:—Two sticks
of an inch and a quarter in diameter are tied together so as
to form a round hoop, which serves for the brim, while a
second hoop, for the bottom of the boat, is made in the same
way, and both secured by sticks of the same size from the
sides of the hoops, fastened by thongs at the edges of the
hoops and at the interstices of the sticks: over this frame
the skin is drawn closely and tied with thongs, so as to form
a perfect basin, seven feet and three inches in diameter,
sixteen inches deep, and with sixteen ribs or cross-sticks,
and capable of carrying six or eight men with their loads.
Being unacquainted with the river, they thought it most

prudent to divide their guns and ammunition, so that in case
of accident all might not be lost, and therefore built two canoes.
In these frail vessels they embarked, and were surprised
at the perfect security in which they passed through
the most difficult shoals and rapids of the river, without
ever taking in water, even during the highest winds.

In passing the confluence of the Yellowstone and Missouri,
he took down the note from the pole, supposing that
captain Lewis had passed; and now learning where the party
was, pressed on in the skin canoes to join them. The
day was spent in hunting, so as to procure a number of
skins to trade with the Mandans; for having now neither
horses nor merchandise, our only resort in order to obtain
corn and beans, is a stock of skins, which those Indians very
much admire.

Monday, 9. A heavy dew fell this morning. Captain
Clarke now proceeded slowly down the river, hunting
through the low grounds in the neighbourhood after the
deer and elk, till late in the afternoon he encamped on the
southeast side. Here they remained during the next day,

Tuesday, 10, attempting to dry the meat, while the
hunters were all abroad; but they could obtain nothing
except an antelope and one blacktailed deer; those animals
being very scarce on this part of the river. In the low
grounds of the river captain Clarke found to-day a species
of cherry which he had never seen before, and which seems
peculiar to this small district of country, though even there
it is not very abundant.

The men also dug up quantities of a large and very insipid
root, called by the Indians hankee, and by the engagees,
the white apple. It is used by them in a dry and
pounded state, so as to mix with their soup; but our men
boiled it and eat it with meat. In descending the river yesterday,
the squaw brought in a large well-flavoured gooseberry,
of a rich crimson colour; and a deep purple berry of

a species of currant, common on this river as low as the
Mandans, and called by the engagees, the Indian currant.

Wednesday, 11. The next morning captain Clarke set
out early, and landed on a sandbar about ten o'clock for the
purpose of taking breakfast and drying the meat. At noon
they proceeded on about two miles, when they observed a
canoe near the shore. They immediately landed, and were
equally surprised and pleased at discovering two men by the
names of Dickson and Hancock, who had come from the Illinois
on a hunting excursion up the Yellowstone. They
had left the Illinois in the summer of 1804, and had spent
the last winter with the Tetons, in company with a Mr.
Ceautoin, who had come there as a trader, but whom they
had robbed, or rather they had taken all his merchandise
and given him a few robes in exchange. These men had
met the boat which we had despatched from fort Mandan,
on board of which they were told there was a Ricara chief
on his way to Washington; and also another party of Yankton
chiefs, accompanying Mr. Durion on a visit of the same
kind. We were sorry to learn that the Mandans and Minnetarees
were at war with the Ricaras, and had killed two
of them. The Assiniboins too, are at war with the Mandans.
They have, in consequence, prohibited the Northwestern
company from trading to the Missouri, and even
killed two of their traders near the Mouse river, and are
now lying in wait for Mr. M'Kenzie of the Northwestern
company, who had been for a long time among the Minnetarees.
These appearances are rather unfavourable to the
project of carrying some of the chiefs to the United States;
but we still hope, that by effecting a peace between the Mandans,
Minnetarees, and Ricaras, the views of our government
may be accomplished.

After leaving these trappers, captain Clarke went on and
encamped nearly opposite the entrance of Goatpen creek,
where the party were again assailed by their old enemies,
the musquetoes.