The Journals of Lewis and Clark, 1804-1806 Part 66

The water tolerably clear and Soft in the river, Current jentle and bottoms riseing from the water; no appearance of the river riseing more than a few feet above the falls, as high up as we have yet explored.

but few trees on the Std Side the gra.s.s is high and fine near the river. the winds has blown for Several days from the S. W. I think it possible that those almost perpetial S W. winds, proceed from the agency of the Snowey mountains and the wide leavel and untimbered plains which Streach themselves along their borders for an emence distance, that the air comeing in Contact with the Snow is Suddenly chilled and condensed, thus becomeing heavyer than the air beneath in the plains it glides down the Sides of those mountains and decends to the plains, where by the constant action of the Sun on the face of the untimbered country there is a partial vacuom formed for it's reception I have observed that the winds from this quarter is always the Coaldest and most violent which we experience, yet I am far from giveing full credit to this hypothesis on this Subject; if I find however on the opposit Side of these mountains that the winds take a contrary direction I Shall then have full faith. (The winds take a contrary direction in the morning or from the mountains on the west Side)

[Lewis, July 4, 1805]

Thursday July 4th 1805.

Yesterday we permitted Sergt. Ga.s.s McNeal and several others who had not yet seen the falls to visit them. no appearance of tar yet and I am now confident that we shall not be able to obtain any; a serious misfortune. I employed a number of hands on the boat today and by 4 P.M. in the evening completed her except the most difficult part of the work that of making her seams secure. I had her turned up and some small fires kindled underneath to dry her. Capt. C. completed a draught of the river from Fort Mandan to this place which we intend depositing at this place in order to guard against accedents. not having seen the Snake Indians or knowing in fact whether to calculate on their friends.h.i.+p or hostility or friends.h.i.+p we have conceived our party sufficiently small and therefore have concluded not to dispatch a canoe with a part of our men to St. Louis as we had intended early in the spring. we fear also that such a measure might possibly discourage those who would in such case remain, and might possibly hazzard the fate of the expedition. we have never once hinted to any one of the party that we had such a scheme in contemplation, and all appear perfectly to have made up their minds to suceed in the expedition or purish in the attempt. we all beleive that we are now about to enter on the most perilous and difficult part of our voyage, yet I see no one repining; all appear ready to met those difficulties which wait us with resolution and becoming fort.i.tude. we had a heavy dew this morning. the clouds near these mountains rise suddonly and discharge their contents partially on the neighbouring plains; the same cloud will discharge hail alone in one part hail and rain in another and rain only in a third all within the s.p.a.ce of a few miles; and on the Mountains to the S. E. of us sometimes snow. at present there is no snow on those mountains; that which covered them when we first saw them and which has fallen on them several times since has all disappeared. the Mountains to the N. W. & W. of us are still entirely covered are white and glitter with the reflection of the sun. I do not beleive that the clouds which prevail at this season of the year reach the summits of those lofty mountains; and if they do the probability is that they deposit snow only for there has been no perceptible deminution of the snow which they contain since we first saw them. I have thought it probable that these mountains might have derived their appellation of s.h.i.+ning Mountains, from their glittering appearance when the sun s.h.i.+nes in certain directions on the snow which covers them. since our arrival at the falls we have repeatedly witnessed a nois which proceeds from a direction a little to the N. of West as loud and resembling precisely the discharge of a piece of ordinance of 6 pounds at the distance of three miles. I was informed of it by the men several times before I paid any attention to it, thinking it was thunder most probably which they had mistaken at length walking in the plains the other day I heard this noise very distictly, it was perfectly calm clear and not a cloud to be seen, I halted and listened attentively about an hour during which time I heard two other discharges and tok the direction of the sound with my pocket compa.s.s. I have no doubt but if I had leasure I could find from whence it issued. I have thout it probable that it might be caused by runing water in some of the caverns of those immence mountains, on the princ.i.p.al of the blowing caverns; but in such case the sounds would be periodical & regular, which is not the case with this, being sometimes heard once only and at other times, six or seven discharges in quick succession. it is heard also at different seasons of the day and night. I am at a loss to account for this phenomenon.

our work being at an end this evening, we gave the men a drink of sperits, it being the last of our stock, and some of them appeared a little sensible of it's effects the fiddle was plyed and they danced very merrily untill 9 in the evening when a heavy shower of rain put an end to that part of the amus.e.m.e.nt tho they continued their mirth with songs and festive jokes and were extreemly merry untill late at night.

we had a very comfortable dinner, of bacon, beans, suit dumplings & buffaloe beaf &c. in short we had no just cause to covet the sumptuous feasts of our countrymen on this day.--one Elk and a beaver were all that was killed by the hunters today; the buffaloe seem to have withdrawn themselves from this neighbourhood; tho the men inform us that they are still abundant about the falls.

[Clark, July 4, 1805]

,July the 4th Thursday 1805 A fine morning, a heavy dew last night, all hands employed in Completeing the leather boat, gave the Party a dram which made Several verry lively, a black Cloud came up from the S. W, and rained a fiew drops I employ my Self drawing a Copy of the river to be left at this place for fear of Some accident in advance, I have left buried below the falls a Map of the Countrey below Fort Mandan with Sundery private papers the party amused themselves danceing untill late when a Shower of rain broke up the amus.e.m.e.nt, all lively and Chearfull, one Elk and a beaver kill'd to day. our Tar kill like to turn out nothing from the following cause.

The climate about the falls of Missouri appears to be Singular Cloudy every day (Since our arrival near them) which rise from defferent directions and discharge themselves partially in the plains & mountains, in Some places rain others rain & hail, hail alone, and on the mountains in Some parts Snow. a rumbling like Cannon at a great distance is heard to the west if us; the Cause we Can't account

[Lewis, July 5, 1805]

Friday July 5th 1805.

This morning I had the boat removed to an open situation, scaffold her off the ground, turned her keel to the sun and kindled fires under her to dry her more expeditiously. I then set a couple of men to pounding of charcoal to form a composition with some beeswax which we have and buffaloe tallow now my only hope and resource for paying my boat; I sincerely hope it may answer yet I fear it will not. the boat in every other rispect completely answers my most sanguine expectation; she is not yet dry and eight men can carry her with the greatest ease; she is strong and will carry at least 8,000 lbs. with her suit of hands; her form is as complete as I could wish it. the st.i.tches begin to gape very much since she has began to dry; I am now convinced this would not have been the case had the skins been sewed with a sharp point only and the leather not cut by the edges of a sharp nedle. about 8 A M. a large herd of buffaloe came near our camp and Capt. Clark with a party of the hunters indeavoured to get a shoot at them but the wind proved unfavourable and they ran off; the hunters pursued and killed three of them; we had most of the meat brought in and set a party to drying it.

their skins were all brought in and streached to dry for the purpose of covering the baggage. 2 Wolves and three Antelopes also killed today.

we permitted three other men to visit the falls today; these were the last of the party who had not as yet indulged themselves with this grand and interesting seen. the buffaloe again appear in great numbers about our camp and seem to be moving down the river. it is somewhat remarkable that altho you may see ten or a douzen herds of buffaloe distinctly scattered and many miles distant yet if they are undisturbed by pursuit, they will all be traveling in one direction. the men who were permitted to visit the falls today returned in the evening and reported that the buffaloe were very numerous in that quarter; and as the country is more broken near the river in that quarter we conclude to dispatch a couple of canoes tomorrow with some hunters to kill as many as will answer our purposes.

The plains in this part of the country are not so fertile as below the entrance of the c.o.c.kkle or missel sh.e.l.l river and from thence down the Missouri there is also much more stone on the sides of the hills and on the broken lands than below.-

[Clark, July 5, 1805]

July 5th Friday 1805 A fine morning and but little wind, worm and Sultrey at 8 oClock--I Saw a large gangue of Buffalow and prosued them with Several men the wind was unfavourable and we Could not get near them, the party Scattered & Killed 3 buffalow and brought in their Skins and Some meat, Killed 2 wolves & 3 Antilopes for their Skins, Capt. Lewis much engaged in Completeing the Leather boat. Three men went to See the Falls, Saw great numbers of Buffalow on both Sides of the river. great numbers of young black birds

[Lewis, July 6, 1805]

Sat.u.r.day July 6th 1805 In the couse of last night had several showers of hail and rain attended with thunder and lightning. about day a heavy storm came on from the S W attended with hail rain and a continued roar of thunder and some lightning. the hail was as large as musket b.a.l.l.s and covered the ground perfectly. we hand some of it collected which kept very well through the day and served to cool our water. These showers and gusts keep my boat wet in dispite of my exertions. she is not yet ready for the grease and coal. after the hail and rain was over this morning we dispatched 4 hunters and two canoes to the head of the rappids as we had determined last evening. the red and yellow courants are now ripe and abundant, they are reather ascid as yet. There is a remarkable small fox which ascociate in large communities and burrow in the praries something like the small wolf but we have not as yet been able to obtain one of them; they are extreemly watchfull and take reffuge in their burrows which are very deep; we have seen them no where except near these falls.

[Clark, July 6, 1805]

July 6th Satt.u.r.day 1805 a heavy wind from the S W and Some rain about mid night last, at day light this morning a verry black Cloud from the S W, with a Contined rore of thunder & Some lightening and rained and hailed tremendiously for about 1/2 an hour, the hail was the Size of a musket ball and Covered the ground. this hail & rain was accompand. by a hard wind which lasted for a fiew minits. Cloudy all the forepart of the day, after Part Clear. dispatched 4 men in 2 Canoes to the falls, to kill Buffalow, for their Skins & Meat others employd about the boat, I cought Some Small fish this evening.

[Lewis, July 7, 1805]

Sunday July 7th 1805.

The weather warm and cloudy therefore unfavourable for many operations; I keep small fires under the boat; the blowing flies are innumerable about it; the moisture retained by the bark prevents it from drying as fast as it otherwise would. we dispatched two other hunters to kill Elk or buffaloe for their skins to cover our baggage. we have no tents; the men are therefore obliged to have recourse to the sails for shelter from the weather and we have not more skins than are sufficient to cover our baggage when stoed away in bulk on land. many of the men are engaged in dressing leather to cloath themselves. their leather cloathes soon become rotton as they are much exposed to the water and frequently wet. Capt. Clarks black man York is very unwell today and he gave him a doze of tartar emettic which operated very well and he was much better in the evening. this is a discription of medecine that I nevr have recourse to in my practice except in cases of the intermittent fever. this evening the hunters returned with the canoes and brought thre buffaloe skins only and two Antelope 4 deer and three wolf skins; they reported that the buffaloe had gone further down the river. the two hunters whom we sent out from hence returned also without having killed anything except one Elk. I set one of the party at work to make me some sacks of the wolf skins, to transport my Instruments when occasion requirs their being carried any distance by land.--we had a light shower of rain about 4 P.M. attended with some thunder and lightning. one beaver caught this morning. the musquetoes are excessively troublesome to us. I have prepared my composition which I should have put on this evening but the rain prevented me.

[Clark, July 7, 1805]

July 7th Sunday 1805 A Warm day wind from the S. W Cloudy as usial, the four men hunters did not return last night. dispatched 2 men to kill Elk for the use of their Skin for the boat. my man York Sick, I give him a dosh of Tarter.

Some rain in the after part of the day in the evining the hunters returned with three buffalow Skins two goat Skins, four Deer Skins, two deer, & 3 wolve Skins, to be used in Covering the boat Canoes & to make mockersons, one Elk also killed to day

[Lewis, July 8, 1805]

Monday July 8th 1805.

Capt. Clark Determined to make a second effort to replace the notes which he had made with rispect to the river and falls accordingly he set out after an early breakfast and took with him the greater part of the men with a view also to kill buffaloe should there be any in that quarter. after geting some distance in the plains he divided the party and sent them in different directions and himself and two others struck the Missouri at the entrance of medicine river and continued down it to the great Cataract, from whence he returned through the plains to camp where he arrived late in the evening. the hunters also returned having killed 3 buffaloe 2 Antelopes and a deer. he informed me that the immence herds of buffaloe which we had seen for some time past in this neighbourhood have almost entirely disappeared and he beleives are gone down the river.

The day being warm and fair about 12 OCk. the boat was sufficiently dry to receive a coat of the composition which I accordingly applyed. this adds very much to her appearance whether it will be effectual or not.

it gives her hull the appearance of being formed of one solid piece.

after the first coat had cooled I gave her a second which I think has made it sufficiently thick. The mountains which ly before us from the South, to the N. W. still continue covered with snow. one hunter also pa.s.sed the river to hunt this morning in the evening he returned having killed a Buck and a male Antelope. The party who were down with Capt.

Clark also killed a small fox which they brought with them. it was a female appeared to give suck, otherwise it is so much like the comm small fox of this country commonly called the kit fox that I should have taken it for a young one of that species; however on closer examination it did apear to differ somewhat; it's colour was of a lighter brown, it's years proportionably larger, and the tale not so large or the hair not so long which formed it. they are very delicately formed, exceedingly fleet, and not as large as the common domestic cat.

their tallons appear longer than any species of fox I ever saw and seem therefore prepared more amply by nature for the purpose of burrowing.

there is sufficient difference for discrimination between it and the kit fox, and to satisfy me perfectly that it is a distinct species. the men also brought me a living ground squirrel which is something larger than those of the U States or those of that kind which are also common here. this is a much hadsomer anamal. like the other it's princ.i.p.al colour is a redish brown but is marked longitudinally with a much greater number of black or dark bron stripes; the s.p.a.ces between which is marked by ranges of pure white circular spots, about the size of a brister blue shot. these colours imbrace the head neck back and sides; the tail is flat, or the long hair projecting horizontally from two sides of it only gives it that appearance. the belly and breast are of much lighter brown or nearly white. this is an inhabitant of the open plain altogether, wher it burrows and resides; nor is it like the other found among clifts of rocks or in the woodlands. their burrows sometimes like those of the mole run horizontally near the surface of the ground for a considerable distance, but those in which they reside or take refuge strike much deeper in the earth.--Slight rain this afternoon. musquetoes troublesome as usual.

[Clark, July 8, 1805]

July 8th Monday 1805 A worm morning flying Clouds I deturmin take the width of the river at the falls & the Medison river and to take the greater part of the men which Can be Speared to Kill Buffalow for their Skins as well as meat, devided the party & Sent them in different directions to hunt & proceeded my Self to the mouth of Medison river measured it and found it to be 137 yards wide, in the narrowest part of the Missouri imediately above Medison river the Missouri is 300 yards wide, below and a little above the falls 1440 yards wide with the direction of the upper great fall 580 yards wide, at the great Spring 270 yards wide, at the handsom falls of 47 ft. 8 I. the river is 473 yards wide, at the lower great falls the river is confined within 280 yards, below the falls the water occupies 93 yards only--after takeing the wedth of the river at those Sundery placies I returned thro the plains in a direct line to Camp. Some rain this evening after a verry hot day.--the mountains which are in view to the South & N W. are Covered with Snow.

those nearer us and forma 3/4 Circle around us is not Covered with Snow at this time. The hunters killed 3 buffalow, two antelopes, & a Deer to day--the emence herds of buffalow which was near us a fiew days ago, has proceeded on down the river, we Can See but a fiew Bulls in the plains

[Lewis, July 9, 1805]

Tuesday July 9th 1805.

The morning was fair and pleant. the Islands seem crouded with blackbirds; the young brude is now completely feathered and flying in common with the others. we corked the canoes and put them in the water and also launched the boat, she lay like a perfect cork on the water.

five men would carry her with the greatest ease. I now directed seats to be fixed in her and oars to be fitted. the men loaded the canoes in readiness to depart. just at this moment a violent wind commenced and blew so hard that we were obliged to unload the canoes again; a part of the baggage in several of them got wet before it could be taken out.

the wind continued violent untill late in the evening, by which time we discovered that a greater part of the composition had seperated from the skins and left the seams of the boat exposed to the water and she leaked in such manner that she would not answer. I need not add that this circ.u.mstance mortifyed me not a little; and to prevent her leaking without pich was impossible with us, and to obtain this article was equally impossible, therefore the evil was irraparable I now found that the section formed of the buffaloe hides on which some hair had been left, answered much the best purpose; this leaked but little and the parts which were well covered with hair about 1/8th of an inch in length retained the composition perfectly and remained sound and dry.

from these circ.u.mstances I am preswaided, that had I formed her with buffaloe skins singed not quite as close as I had done those I employed, that she would have answered even with this composition. but to make any further experiments in our present situation seemed to me madness; the buffaloe had princ.i.p.ally dserted us, and the season was now advancing fast. I therefore relinquished all further hope of my favorite boat and ordered her to be sunk in the water, that the skins might become soft in order the better to take her in peices tomorrow and deposite the iron fraim at this place as it could probably be of no further service to us. had I only singed my Elk skins in stead of shaving them I beleive the composition would have remained and the boat have answered; at least untill we could have reached the pine country which must be in advance of us from the pine which is brought down by the water and which is probably at no great distance where we might have supplyed ourselves with the necessary pich or gum. but it was now too late to introduce a remidy and I bid a dieu to my boat, and her expected services.--The next difficulty which presented itself was how we should convey the stores and baggage which we had purposed carrying in the boat. both Capt. Clark and myself recollected having heard the hunters mention that the bottoms of the river some few miles above us were much better timbered than below and that some of the trees were large. the idea therefore suggested itself of building two other canoes sufficiently large to carry the surplus baggage. on enquiry of the hunters it seemed to be the general opinion that trees sufficiently a large for this purpose might be obtained in a bottom on the opposite side about 8 miles distant by land and reather more than double that distance by water; accordingly Capt. Clark determined to set out early in the morning with ten of the best workmen and proceede by land to that place while the others would in the mean time be employed by myself in taking the Boat in peices and depositing her, together with the articles which we had previously determined to deposit at this place, and also in trasporting all the baggage up the river to that point in the six small canoes. this plan being settled between us orders were accordingly given to the party, and the ten men who were to accompany Capt. Clark had ground and prepared their axes and adds this evening in order to prepare for an early departure in the morning. we have on this as well as on many former occasions found a small grindstone which I brought with me from Harper's ferry extreemly convenient to us. if we find trees at the place mentioned sufficiently large for our purposes it will be extreemly fortunate; for we have not seen one for many miles below the entrance of musselsh.e.l.l River to this place, which would have answered.-

[Clark, July 9, 1805]

July 9th Tuesday 1805 a clear worm morning wind from the S W. Lanced the Leather boat, and found that it leaked a little; Corked Lanced & loaded the Canoes, hurried our truk wheels, & made a Carsh for a Skin & a fiew papers I intend to leave here on trial found the leather boat would not answer without the addition of Tar which we had none of, haveing Subst.i.tuted Cole & Tallow in its place to Stop the Seams &c. which would not answer as it Seperated from the Skins when exposed to the water and left the Skins naked & Seams exposed to the water this falire of our favourate boat was a great disapointment to us, we haveing more baggage than our Canoes would Carry. Concluded to build Canoes for to Carry them; no timber near our Camp. I deturmined to proceed on up the river to a bottom in which our hunters reported was large Trees &c.