[Clark, August 28, 1806]
Thursday 28th of August 1806 Capt Lewis had a bad nights rest and is not very well this morning. we Set out early and proceded on very well, Saw a number of Buffalow bulls on the banks in different places. passd the 3 rivers of the Seioux pass at 9 A.M. a Short distance below on the S W Side Sent out Reubin & Joseph Feild to hunt for the Mule deer or the antilope neither of which we have either the Skins or Scellitens of, we detected those two men to proceed on down to the places we encamped the 16th & 17th of Septr. 1804 and which place the party had called pleasant Camp from the great abundance of Game Such as Buffalow Elk, antilopes, Blacktail or mule deer, fallow deer, common deer wolves barking Squirels, Turkies and a variety of other animals, aded to which there was a great abundance of the most delicious plumbs and grapes. this Situation which is a Short distance above the enterance of Corvus Creek we are deturmined to delay one day for the purpose of prcureing the sceletins of the Mule deer & antilope, and Some barking Squirels. a fiew miles below the place the 2 Fields were Set on Shore we Set Drewyer and Labeech on Shore with the Same directions which had been given to the 2 field's at 12 oClock we Landed on the S W. Side at the Same Spot which we had encamped on the 16th and 17th of September 1804, and formed a Camp, Sent out Serjt. Pryor, Shields, Go. Gibson, Willard and Collins to hunt in the plains up Corvus Creek for the Antilope and Mule deer Sent out Bratten and Frazier to kill the barking Squirel, and Gave directions to all of them to kill the Magpye if they Should See any of them Several of the men and the Squaws of the enterpreter Jessomme and the Mandan Chief went to Some plumb bushes in the bottom and geathered more plumbs than the party Could eate in 2 days, those blumbs are of 3 Speces, the most of them large and well flavored. our Situation is pleasent a high bottom thinly timbered and covered with low grass without misquitors. at 3 P. M Drewyer and Labeech arived, the latter haveing killd. a Deer of the Common Speceis only. in the evening late all the hunters returned without any Speces of animal we were in want of, they killed 4 Common deer and two buffalow a part of the best of the meat of those animals they brought in. we precured two of the barking Squirels only. as we Could not precere any Mule deer or antelope we concluded to Send the hunters on a head early in the morning and delay untill 10 A. M to give them time to hunt. I derected Shannon & Collins to go on the opposit Side, and Labeech and Willard to proceed down on this Side at Some distance from the river and join the party at the round Island &c. and R. Field to proceed on Slowly in the Small Canoe to that place and take in any thing which the hunters might kill. Made 32 miles to day
The hunters informed me that they Saw great numbers of Buffalow in the plains. I Saw Several herds of those animals on either Side to day at a distance.
[Clark, August 29, 1806]
Friday 29th August 1806 a cloudy morning the hunters proceeded on agreeable to their orders of last night. I Sent out two men to the village of barking Squirels with direcitions to kill Some of them. they after 2 hours returned and informed me that not one of those Squirels were to be Seen out of their holes. the Skins of the party which they had been dressing Since yesterday being now completely dressed I derected all loose baggage to be put on board the Canoes and at 10 A.M. Set out and proceeded on passed the white river at 12 oClock and halted below the enterance of Shannons Creek where we were joined by Labeech Shannon and Willard, they had killed 2 common der but no Mule deer or antilopes. Willard informed me that he Saw 2 antilopes but Could not get near to them. Willard and Labiech waded white river a fiew miles above its enterance and inform me that they found it 2 feet water and 200 yards wide. the water of this river at this time nearly as white as milk. put Drewyer out to hunt on the S W. Side and proceeded on below the round Island and landed on the N. E. Side I with Several of the men went out in pursute of Buffalow. the men killed 2 Bulls near me they were very por I assended to the high Country and from an eminance, I had a view of the plains for a great distance. from this eminance I had a view of a greater number of buffalow than I had ever Seen before at one time. I must have Seen near 20,000 of those animals feeding on this plain. I have observed that in the country between the nations which are at war with each other the greatest numbers of wild animals are to be found- on my return to the river I killed 2 young deer. after Dinner we proceeded down the river about 3 mile to the Camp of Jo. & Rubin fields and Collins, and encamped on the S W. Side a little below our encampment of 13th Septr. 1804, haveing made 20 Miles only. neither of the hunters killed either a Black tail deer or an antilope. Jo. Fields & Shields each killed a porcupin and two others of the hunters Killed Deer, Drewyer did not join us untill 10 P.M. he informed that he Saw some antilopes and Mule deer but Could kill none of them. Jo. Field informed that he wounded female of the Mule deer a little below our Camp late in the evening and could not prosue her I directed him to Set out with 3 others and follow the Deer and get her if possible early in the morning.
[Clark, August 30, 1806]
Saturday 30th of August 1806 Capt. Lewis is mending Slowly. we set out at the usial hour and proceeded on very well a fiew miles Jo Field who was on the Shore being behind I derected one of the Small Canoes with R. Fields & Shannon to continue on the point of a Sand bar untill he corns up. I took 3 hunters and walked on the N E Shore with a view to kill Some fat meet. we had not proceeded far before Saw a large plumb orchd of the most deelicious plumbs, out of this orchard 2 large Buck Elks ran the hunters killed them. I Stoped the Canoes and brought in the flesh which was fat and fine. here the party Collected as many plumbs as they could eate and Several pecks of which they put by &c. after a delay of nearly 2 hours we again proceeded on downwards passed 3 Small Islands and as we were about to land at the place appointed to wait for the 2 fields and Shannon, I saw Several men on horseback which with the help of a Spie glass I found to be Indians on the high hills to the N E we landed on the S. W. Side and I sent out two men to a village of Barking Squirels to kill Some of those animals imedeatily after landing about 20 indians was discovered on an eminanc a little above us on the opposite Side. one of those men I took to be a freinch man from his a blanket Capoe & a handkerchief around his head. imediately after 80 or 90 Indian men all armed with fusees & Bows & arrows Came out of a wood on the opposite bank about 1/4 of a mile below us. they fired of their guns as a Salute we returned the Salute with 2 rounds. we were at a loss to deturmin of what nation those indians were. from their hostile appearance we were apprehensive they were Tetons. but from the Country through which they roved we were willing to believe them eithe the Yanktons, Ponars or Mahars either of which nations are well disposed towards the white people. I deturmined to find out who they were without running any resque of the party and indians, and therefore took three french men who could Speak the Mahar Pania and some Seioux and in a Small canoe I went over to a Sand bar which extended Sufficently near the opposite Shore to Converse. imedeately after I Set out 3 young men Set out from the opposite Side and Swam next me on the Sand bar. I derected the men to Speak to them in the Pania and mahar Languages first neither of which they could understand I then derected the man who could Speak a fiew words of Seioux to inquire what nation or tribe they belong to they informed me that they were Tetons and their Chief was Tar-tack-kah-sabbar or the black buffalow This Chief I knew very well to be the one we had seen with his band at Teton river which band had attempted to detain us in the fall of 1804 as we assended this river and with whome we wer near comeing to blows. I told those Indians that they had been deef to our councils and ill treated us as we assended this river two years past, that they had abused all the whites who had visited them since. I believed them to be bad people & Should not Suffer them to cross to the Side on which the party lay, and directed them to return with their band to their Camp, that if any of them come near our camp we Should kill them certainly. I lef them on the bear and returned to th party and examined the arms &c. those indians seeing Some Corn in the Canoe requested Some of it which I refused being deturmined to have nothing to do with those people. Several others Swam across one of which understood pania, and as our pania interpreter was a very good one we had it in our power to inform what we wished. I told this man to inform his nation that we had not forgot their treatment to us as we passed up this river &c. that they had treated all the white people who had visited them very badly; robed them of their goods, and had wounded one man whome I had Seen. we viewed them as bad people and no more traders would be Suffered to come to them, and whenever the white people wished to visit the nations above they would Come Sufficiently Strong to whip any vilenous party who dare to oppose them and words to the Same purpote. I also told them that I was informed that a part of all their bands were gorn to war against the Mandans &c, and that they would be well whiped as the Mandans & Menetarres & had a plenty of Guns Powder and ball, and we had given them a Cannon to defend themselves. and derected them to return from the Sand bar and inform their Chiefs what we had Said to them, and to keep away from the river or we Should kill every one of them &c. &c. those fellows requested to be allowed to Come across and make Cumerads which we positively refused and I directed them to return imediately which they did and after they had informed the Chiefs &c. as I Suppose what we had Said to them, they all Set out on their return to their Camps back of a high hill. 7 of them halted on the top of the hill and blackguarded us, told us to come across and they would kill us all &c. of which we took no notice. we all this time were extreamly anxious for the arival of the 2 fields & Shannon whome we had left behind, and were Some what consd. as to their Safty. to our great joy those men hove in Sight at 6 P.M. Jo. Fields had killed 3 black tail or mule deer. we then Set out, as I wished to See what those Indians on the hill would act. we Steared across near the opposit Shore, this notion put them Some agitation as to our intentions, some Set out on the direction towards their Camps others walked about on the top of the hill and one man walked down the hill to meet us and invited us to land to which invitation I paid no kind of attention. this man I knew to be the one who had in the fall 1804 accompaned us 2 days and is Said to be the friend to the white people. after we passd. him he returned on the top of the hill and gave 3 Strokes with the gun he had in his hand this I am informed is a great oath among the indians. we proceeded on down about 6 miles and encamped on a large Sand bar in the middle of the river about 2 miles above our encampment on Mud Island on the 10th Septr. 1804 haveing made 22 miles only to Day. Saw Several Indians on the hills at a distance this evening viewing us. our encampment of this evening was a very disagreable one, bleak exposed to the winds, and the Sand wet. I pitched on this Situation to prevent being disturbed by those Scioux in the Course of the night as well as to avoid the Musquetors-. Killed 9 whistleing squirels.