Tuesday July 1st 1806 on Clark's river We Sent out all the hunters very early this morning by 12 OClock they all returned haveing killd. 12 Deer Six of them large fat Bucks, this is like once more returning to the land of liveing a plenty of meat and that very good. as Capt. Lewis and Myself part at this place we make a division of our party and such baggage and provisions as is Souteable. the party who will accompany Capt L. is G. Drewyer, Sergt. Gass, Jo. & R. Fields, Frazier & Werner, and Thompson Goodrich & McNear as far as the Falls of Missouri at which place the 3 latter will remain untill I Send down the Canoes from the head of Jeffersons river. they will then join that party and after passing the portage around the falls, proceed on down to the enterance of Maria where Capt. Lewis will join them after haveing assended that river as high up as Laid. 50° North. from the head of Jeffersons river I shall proceed on to the head of the Rockejhone with a party of 9 or 10 men and desend that river. from the R Rockejhone I Shall dispatch Sergt. Pryor with the horses to the Mandans and from thence to the Tradeing Establishments of the N. W. Co on the Assinniboin River with a letter which we have written for the purpose to engage Mr. H. Haney to endeaver to get Some of the principal Chiefs of the Scioux to accompany us to the Seat of our government &. we divide the Loading and apportion the horses. Capt L. only takes 17 horses with him, 8 only of which he intends to take up the Maria &c. One of the Indians who accompaned us Swam Clarks river and examined the Country around, on his return he informed us that he had discovered where a Band of the Tushepaws had encamped this Spring passed of 64 Lodges, & that they had passed Down Clarks river and that it was probable that they were near the quawmash flatts on a Easterly branch of that river. those guides expressed a desire to return to their nation and not accompany us further, we informed them that if they was deturmined to return we would kill some meat for them, but wished that they would accompy Capt. Lewis on the rout to the falls of Missouri only 2 nights and show him the right road to cross the Mountains. this they agreed to do. we gave a medal of the Small Size to the young man Son to the late Great Chief of the Chopunnish Nation who had been remarkably kind to us in every instance, to all the others we tied a bunch of blue ribon about the hair, which pleased them very much. the Indian man who overtook us in the Mountain, presented Capt. Lewis with a horse and said that he opened his ears to what we had said, and hoped that Cap Lewis would see the Crovanters of Fort De Prarie and make a good peace that it was their desire to be at peace. Shew them the horse as a token of their wishes &c.
[Lewis, July 2, 1806]
Wednesday July 2ed 1806. We sent out the hunters early this morning, they returned not so succesfull as yesterday having killed 2 deer only. Sheilds continued repairing the gunns which he compleated by evening. all arrangements being now compleat we determined to set out in the morning. in the course of the day we had much conversation with the indians by signs, our only mode of communicating our ideas. they informed us that they wished to go in surch of the Ootslashshoots their friends and intended leaving us tomorrow morning, I prevailed on them to go with me as far as the East branch of Clark's River and put me on the road to the Missouri. I gave the Cheif a medal of the small size; he insisted on exchanging names with me according to their custom which was accordingly done and I was called Yo-me-kol-lick which interpreted is the white bearskin foalded. in the evening the indians run their horses, and we had several foot races betwen the natives and our party with various success. these are a race of hardy strong athletic active men. nothin worthy of notice transpired in the course of the day. Goodrich and McNeal are both very unwell with the pox which they contracted last winter with the Chinnook women this forms my inducement principally for taking them to the falls of the Missouri where during an intervail of rest they can use the murcury freely. I found two speceis of native clover here, the one with a very narrow small leaf and a pale red flower, the other nearly as luxouriant as our red clover with a white flower the leaf and blume of the latter are proportionably large. I found several other uncommon plants specemines of which I preserved. The leaf of the cottonwood on this river is like that common to the Columbia narrower than that common to the lower part of the Missouri and Mississippi and wider than that on the upper part of the Missouri. the wild rose, servise berry, white berryed honeysuckle, seven bark, elder, alder aspin, choke cherry and the broad and narrow leafed willow are natives of this valley. the long leafed pine forms the principal timber of the neighbourhood, and grows as well in the river bottoms as on the hills. the firs and larch are confined to the higher parts of the hills and mountains. the tops of the high mountains on either side of this river are covered with snow. the musquetoes have been excessively troublesome to us since our arrival at this place.
[Clark, July 2, 1806]
Wednesday July 2nd 1806 Sent out 2 hunters this morning and they killed 2 Deer. the Musquetors has been So troublesom day and night Since our arrival in this Vally that we are tormented very much by them and Cant write except under our Bears. We gave the Second gun to our guides agreeable to our promis, and to each we gave Powder & ball I had the greater part of the meat dried for to Subsist my party in the Mountains between the head of Jeffersons & Clarks rivers where I do not expect to find any game to kill. had all of our arms put in the most prime order two of the rifles have unfortunately bursted near the muscle, Shields Cut them off and they Shute tolerable well one which is very Short we exchanged with the Indian whoe we had given a longer gun to induc them to pilot us across the Mountains. we caused every man to fill his horn with powder & have a sufficincy of Balls &c. the last day in passing down Travellers rest Creek Capt Lewis fell down the Side of a Steep Mountain near 40 feet but fortunately receved no dammage. his hors was near falling on him but fortunately recovered and they both escaped unhurt. I killed a Small grey squurel and a Common pheasant. Capt L. Showed me a plant in blume which is Sometimes called the ladies Slipper or Mockerson flower. it is in shape and appearance like ours only that the corolla is white marked with Small veigns of pale red longitudinally on the inner Side, and much Smaller. The Indians and Some of our men amused themselves in running races on foot as well as with their horses.
[Lewis, July 3, 1806]
Thursday July 3rd 1806. All arrangements being now compleated for carrying into effect the several scheemes we had planed for execution on our return, we saddled our horses and set out I took leave of my worthy friend and companion Capt. Clark and the party that accompanyed him. I could not avoid feeling much concern on this occasion although I hoped this seperation was only momentary. I proceeded down Clark's river seven miles with my party of nine men and five indians. here the Indians recommended our passing the river which was rapid and 150 yds. wide. 2 miles above this place I passed the entrance of the East branch of Clark's River which discharges itself by two channels; the water of this river is more terbid than the main stream and is from 90 to 120 yds. wide. as we had no other means of passing the river we busied ourselves collecting dry timber for the purpose of constructing rafts; timber being scarce we found considerable difficulty in procuring as much as made three small rafts. we arrived at 11 A.M. and had our rafts completed by 3 P.M. when we dined and began to take over our baggage which we effected in the course of 3 hours the rafts being obliged to return several times. the Indians swam over their horses and drew over their baggage in little basons of deer skins which they constructed in a very few minutes for that purpose. we drove our horses in after them and they followed to the opposite shore. I remained myself with two men who could scarcely swim untill the last; by this time the raft by passing so frequently had fallen a considerable distance down the river to a rapid and difficult part of it crouded with several small Islands and willow bars which were now overflown; with these men I set out on the raft and was soon hurried down with the current a mile and a half before we made shore, on our approach to the shore the raft sunk and I was drawn off the raft by a bush and swam on shore the two men remained on the raft and fortunately effected a landing at some little distance below. I wet the chronometer by this accedent which I had placed in my fob as I conceived for greater security. I now joined the party and we proceeded with the indians about 3 Ms. to a small Creek and encamped at sunset. I sent out the hunters who soon returned with three very fine deer of which I gave the indians half These people now informed me that the road which they shewed me at no great distance from our Camp would lead us up the East branch of Clark's river and a river they called Cokahlarishkit or the river of the road to buffaloe and thence to medicine river and the falls of the Missouri where we wished to go. they alledged that as the road was a well beaten track we could not now miss our way and as they were affraid of meeting with their enimies the Minnetares they could not think of continuing with us any longer, that they wished now to proceed down Clark's river in surch of their friends the Shalees. they informed us that not far from the dividing ridge between the waters of this and the Missouri rivers the roads forked they recommended the left hand as the best rout but said they would both lead us to the falls of the Missouri. I directed the hunters to turn out early in the morning and indeavour to kill some more meat for these people whom I was unwilling to leave without giving them a good supply of provision after their having been so obliging as to conduct us through those tremendious mountains. the musquetoes were so excessively troublesome this evening that we were obliged to kindle large fires for our horses these insects tortured them in such manner untill they placed themselves in the smoke of the fires that I realy thought they would become frantic. about an hour after dark the air become so coald that the musquetoes disappeared.