[Clark, August 23, 1805]
August 23rd Friday 1805 We Set out early proceed on with great dificuelty as the rocks were So Sharp large and unsettled and the hill sides Steep that the horses could with the greatest risque and dificulty get on, no provisions as the 5 Sammons given us yesterday by the Indians were eaten last night, one goose killed this morning; at 4 miles we came to a place the horses Could not pass without going into the river, we passed one mile to a verry bad riffle the water Confined in a narrow Channel & beeting against the left Shore, as we have no parth further and the Mounts. jut So close as to prevent the possibiley of horses proceeding down, I deturmined to delay the party here and with my guide and three men proceed on down to examine if the river continued bad or was practiable. I Set out with three men directing those left to hunt and fish until my return. I proceeded on Somtims in a Small wolf parth & at other times Climeing over the rocks for 12 miles to a large Creek on the right Side above the mouth of this Creek for a Short distance is a narrow bottom & the first, below the place I left my partey, a road passes down this Creek which I understoode passed to the water of a River which run to Th North & was the ground of another nation, Some fresh Sign about this Creek of horse and Camps. I delayd 2 hours to fish, Cought Some Small fish on which we dined.
The River from the place I left my party to this Creek is almost one continued rapid, five verry Considerable rapids the passage of either with Canoes is entirely impossable, as the water is Confined betwen hugh Rocks & the Current beeting from one against another for Some distance below &c. &c. at one of those rapids the mountains Close So Clost as to prevent a possibility of a portage with great labour in Cutting down the Side of the hill removeing large rocks &c. &c. all the others may be passed by takeing every thing over Slipery rocks, and the Smaller ones Passed by letting down the Canoes empty with Cords, as running them would certainly be productive of the loss of Some Canoes, those dificuelties and necessary precautions would delay us an emince time in which provisions would be necessary. (we have but little and nothing to be precured in this quarter except Choke Cheres & red haws not an animal of any kind to be seen and only the track of a Bear) below this Creek the lofty Pine is thick in the bottom hill Sides on the mountains & up the runs. The river has much the resemblance of that above bends Shorter and no passing, after a few miles between the river & the mountains & the Current So Strong that is dangerous crossing the river, and to proceed down it would rendr it necessarey to Cross almost at every bend This river is about 100 yards wide and can be forded but in a few places. below my guide and maney other Indians tell me that the Mountains Close and is a perpendicular Clift on each Side, and Continues for a great distance and that the water runs with great violence from one rock to the other on each Side foaming & roreing thro rocks in every direction, So as to render the passage of any thing impossible. those rapids which I had Seen he said was Small & trifleing in comparrison to the rocks & rapids below, at no great distance & The Hills or mountains were not like those I had Seen but like the Side of a tree Streight up—Those Mountains which I had passed were Steep Contain a white, a brown, & low down a Grey hard stone which would make fire, those Stone were of different Sises all Sharp and are continuly Slipping down, and in maney places one bed of those Stones inclined from the river bottom to the top of the mountains, The Torrents of water which come down aftr a rain carries with it emence numbers of those Stone into the river about 1/2 a mile below the last mentioned Creek another Creek falls in, my guide informed me that our rout was up this Creek by which rout we would Save a considerable bend of the river to the South. we proceeded on a well beeten Indian parth up this Creak about 6 miles and passed over a ridge 1 mile to the river in a Small vally through which we passed and assended a Spur of the Mountain from which place my guide Shew me the river for about 20 miles lower & pointed out the dificulty we returned to the last Creek & camped about one hour after dark.
There my guide Shewed me a road from the N Which Came into the one I was in which he Said went to a large river which run to the north on which was a Nation he called Tushapass, he made a map of it
[Lewis, August 24, 1805]
Saturday August 24th 1805. As the Indians who were on their way down the Missouri had a number of spare hoses with them I thought it probable that I could obtain some of them and therefore desired the Cheif to speak to them and inform me whether they would trade. they gave no positive answer but requested to see the goods which I was willing to give in exchange. I now produced some battle axes which I had made at Fort Mandan with which they were much pleased. knives also seemed in great demand among them. I soon purchased three horses and a mule. for each horse I gave an ax a knife handkercheif and a little paint; & for the mule the addition of a knife a shirt handkercheif and a pair of legings; at this price which was quite double that given for the horses, the fellow who sold him made a merit of having bestoed me one of his mules. I consider this mule a great acquisition. These Indians soon told me that they had no more horses for sale and I directed the party to prepare to set out. I had now nine horses and a mule, and two which I had hired made twelve these I had loaded and the Indian women took the ballance of the baggage. I had given the Interpreter some articles with which to purchase a horse for the woman which he had obtained. at twelve Oclock we set out and passed the river below the forks, directing our rout towards the cove along the track formerly mentioned. most of the horses were heavily laden, and it appears to me that it will require at least 25 horses to convey our baggage along such roads as I expect we shall be obliged to pass in the mountains. I had now the inexpressible satisfaction to find myself once more under way with all my baggage and party. an Indian had the politeness to offer me one of his horses to ride which I accepted with cheerfullness as it enabled me to attend better to the march of the party. I had reached the lower part of the cove when an Indian rode up and informed me that one of my men was very sick and unable to come on. I directed the party to halt at a small run which falls into the creek on Lard. at the lower part of the Cove and rode back about 2 Miles where I found Wiser very ill with a fit of the cholic. I sent Sergt. Ordway who had remained with him for some water and gave him a doze of the essence of Peppermint and laudinum which in the course of half an hour so far recovered him that he was enabled to ride my horse and I proceeded on foot and rejoined the party. the sun was yet an hour high but the Indians who had for some time impatiently waited my return at length unloaded and turned out their horses and my party had followed there ex-ample. as it was so late and the Indians had prepared their camp for the night I thought it best to acquiess and determined also to remain. we had traveled only about six miles. after we encamped we had a slight shower of rain. Goodrich who is our principal fisherman caught several fine trout. Drewyer came to us late in the evening and had not killed anything. I gave the Indians who were absolutely engaged in transporting the baggage, a little corn as they had nothing to eat. I told Cameahwait that my stock of provision was too small to indulge all his people with provision and recommended it to him to advise such as were not assisting us with our baggage to go on to their camp to morrow and wait our arrival; which he did accordingly. Cameahwait literally translated is one who never walks. he told me that his nation had also given him another name by which he was signalized as a warrior which was Too-et'-te-con'-e or black gun. these people have many names in the course of their lives, particularly if they become distinguished characters. for it seems that every important event by which they happen to distinguish themselves intitles them to claim another name which is generally scelected by themselves and confirmed by the nation. those distinguishing acts are the killing and scalping an enemy, the killing a white bear, leading a party to war who happen to be successfull either in destroying their enemies or robing them of their horses, or individually stealing the horses of an enemy. these are considered acts of equal heroism among them, and that of killing an enemy without scalping him is considered of no importance; in fact the whole honour seems to be founded in the act of scalping, for if a man happens to slay a dozen of his enemies in action and others get the scalps or first lay their hand on the dead person the honor is lost to him who killed them and devolves on those who scalp or first touch them. Among the Shoshones, as well as all the Indians of America, bravery is esteemed the primary virtue; nor can any one become eminent among them who has not at some period of his life given proofs of his possessing this virtue. with them there can be no preferment without some warelike achievement, and so completely interwoven is this principle with the earliest Elements of thought that it will in my opinion prove a serious obstruction to the restoration of a general peace among the nations of the Missouri. while at Fort Mandan I was one day addressing some cheifs of the Minetares wo visited us and pointing out to them the advantages of a state of peace with their neighbours over that of war in which they were engaged. the Chiefs who had already geathered their havest of larals, and having forceably felt in many instances some of those inconveniences attending a state of war which I pointed out, readily agreed with me in opinon. a young fellow under the full impression of the Idea I have just suggested asked me if they were in a state of peace with all their neighhours what the nation would do for Cheifs?, and added that the cheifs were now oald and must shortly die and that the nation could not exist without cheifs. taking as granted that there could be no other mode devised for making Cheifs but that which custom had established through the medium of warlike acievements.
The few guns which the Shoshones have are reserved for war almost exclusively and the bow and arrows are used in hunting. I have seen a few skins among these people which have almost every appearance of the common sheep. they inform me that they finde this animals on the high mountains to the West and S. W. of them. it is about the size of the common sheep, the wool is reather shorter and more intermixed with long hairs particularly on the upper part of the neck. these skins have been so much woarn that I could not form a just Idea of the animal or it's colour. the Indians however inform me that it is white and that it's horns are lunated comprest twisted and bent backward as those of the common sheep. the texture of the skin appears to be that of the sheep. I am now perfectly convinced that the sheep as well as the Bighorn exist in these mountains.
The usual caparison of the Shoshone horse is a halter and saddle. the 1st consists either of a round plated or twisted cord of six or seven strands of buffaloe's hair, or a throng of raw hide made pliant by pounding and rubing. these cords of bufaloe's hair are about the size of a man's finger and remarkably strong. this is the kind of halter which is prefered by them. the halter of whatever it may be composed is always of great length and is never taken from the neck of the horse which they commonly use at any time. it is first attatched at one end about the neck of the horse with a knot that will not slip, it is then brought down to his under jaw and being passed through the mouth imbaces the under jaw and tonge in a simple noose formed by crossing the rope inderneath the jaw of the horse. this when mounted he draws up on the near side of the horse's neck and holds in the left hand, suffering it to trail at a great distance behind him sometimes the halter is attatched so far from the end that while the shorter end serves him to govern his horse, the other trails on the grond as before mentioned. they put their horses to their full speed with those cords trailing on the ground. when they turn out the horse to graze the noose is mearly loosed from his mouth. the saddle is made of wood and covered with raw hide which holds the parts very firmly together. it is made like the pack saddles in uce among the French and Spaniards. it consists of two flat thin boards which fit the sides of the horses back, and are held frirm by two peices which are united to them behind and before on the outer side and which rise to a considerable hight terminating sometimes in flat horizontal points extending outwards, and alwas in an accute angle or short bend underneath the upper part of these peices. a peice of buffaloe's skin with the hair on, is usually put underneath the saddle; and very seldom any covering on the saddle. stirrups when used are made of wood and covered with leather. these are generally used by the elderly men and women; the young men scarcely ever use anything more than a small pad of dressed leather stuffed with hair, which is confined with a leather thong passing arond the body of the horse in the manner of a girth. they frequently paint their favorite horses, and cut their ears in various shapes. they also decorate their mains and tails, which they never draw or trim, with the feathers of birds, and sometimes suspend at the breast of the horse the finest ornaments they possess. the Spanish bridle is prefered by them when they can obtain them, but they never dispence with the cord about the neck of the horse, which serves them to take him with more ease when he is runing at large. They are excellent horsemen and extreemly expert in casting the cord about the neck of a horse. the horses that have been habituated to be taken with the cord in this way, however wild they may appear at first, surrender the moment they feel the cord about their necks.—There are no horses in this quarter which can with propriety be termed wild. there are some few which have been left by the indians at large for so great a length of time that they have become shye, but they all shew marks of having been in possession of man. such is that one which Capt. Clark saw just below the three forks of the Missouri, and one other which I saw on the Missouri below the entrance of the Mussle shell river.—Capt. Clark set out very early this morning on his return, he traveled down the creek to it's entrance by the same Indian track he had ascended it; at the river he marked his name on a pine tree, then ascended to the bottom above the second creek, and brekfasted on burries, which occupyed them about one hour. he now retraced his former track and joined the party where he had left them at 4 P.M. on his way Capt. C. fell from a rock and injured one of his legs very much. the party during his absence had killed a few pheasants and caught a few small fish on which together with haws and Serviceburies they had subsisted. they had also killed one cock of the Mountains Capt. Clark now wrote me a discription of the river and country, and stated our prospects by this rout as they have been heretofore mentioned and dispatched Colter on horseback with orders to loose no time reaching me. he set out late with the party continued his rout about two miles and encamped. Capt Clark had seen some trees which would make small canoes but all of them some distance below the Indian Caps which he passed at the entrance of fish Creek.