The Journals
of Lewis and Clark: Dates August 23, 1805 - August 25, 1805
The following
excerpts are taken from entries of the Journals of Lewis
and Clark. Dates: August 23, 1805 - August 25, 1805
August 23, 1805
Friday 23. Captain Clarke set off very early, but as his
route lay along the steep side of a mountain, over irregular
and broken masses of rocks, which wounded the horses' feet,
he was obliged to proceed slowly. At the distance of four
miles he reached the river, but the rocks here became so
steep, and projected so far into the river, that there was
no mode of passing, except through the water. This he did
for some distance, though the river was very rapid, and
so deep that they were forced to swim their horses. After
following the edge of the water for about a mile under this
steep cliff, he reached a small meadow, below which the
whole current of the river beat against the right shore
on which he was, and which was formed of a solid rock perfectly
inaccessible to horses. Here too, the little track which
he had been pursuing terminated. He therefore resolved to
leave the horses and the greater part of the men at this
place, and examine the river still further, in order to
determine if there were any possibility of descending it
in canoes. Having killed nothing except a single goose to-day,
and the whole of our provision being consumed last evening,
it was by no means advisable to remain any length of time
where they were. He now directed the men to fish and hunt
at this place till his return, and then with his guide and
three men he proceeded, clambering over immense rocks, and
along the side of lofty precipices which bordered the river,
when at about twelve miles distance he reached a small meadow,
the first he had seen on the river since he left his party.
A
little below this meadow, a large creek twelve yards wide,
and of some depth, discharges itself from the north. Here
were some recent signs of an Indian encampment, and the
tracks of a number of horses, who must have come along a
plain Indian path, which he now saw following the course
of the creek. This stream his guide said led towards a large
river running to the north, and was frequented by another
nation for the purpose of catching fish. He remained here
two hours, and having taken some small fish, made a dinner
on them with the addition of a few berries. From the place
where he had left the party, to the mouth of this creek,
it presents one continued rapid, in which are five shoals,
neither of which could be passed with loaded canoes; and
the baggage must therefore be transported for a considerable
distance over the steep mountains, where it would be impossible
to employ horses for the relief of the men. Even the empty
canoes must be let down the rapids by means of cords, and
not even in that way without great risk both to the canoes
as well as to the men. At one of these shoals, indeed the
rocks rise so perpendicularly from the water as to leave
no hope of a passage or even a portage without great labor
in removing rocks, and in some instances cutting away the
earth. To surmount these difficulties would exhaust the
strength of the party, and what is equally discouraging
would waste our time and consume our provisions, of neither
of which have we much to spare. The season is now far advanced,
and the Indians tell us we shall shortly have snow: the
salmon too have so far declined that the natives themselves
are hastening from the country, and not an animal of any
kind larger than a pheasant or a squirrel, and of even these
a few only will then be seen in this part of the mountains:
after which we shall be obliged to rely on our own stock
of provisions, which will not support us more than ten days.
These
circumstances combine to render a passage by water impracticable
in our present situation. To descend the course of the river
on horseback is the other alternative, and scarcely a more
inviting one. The river is so deep that there are only a
few places where it can be forded, and the rocks approach
so near the water as to render it impossible to make a route
along the waters' edge. In crossing the mountains themselves
we should have to encounter, besides their steepness, one
barren surface of broken masses of rock, down which in certain
seasons the torrents sweep vast quantities of stone into
the river. These rocks are of a whitish brown, and towards
the base of a gray color, and so hard, that on striking
them with steel, they yield a fire like flint. This somber
appearance is in some places scarcely relieved by a single
tree, though near the river and on the creeks there is more
timber, among which are some tall pine: several of these
might be made into canoes, and by lashing two of them together,
one of tolerable size might be formed.
After dinner he continued his route, and at the distance
of half a mile passed another creek about five yards wide.
Here his guide informed him that by ascending the creek
for some distance he would have a better road, and cut off
a considerable bend of the river towards the south. He therefore
pursued a well-beaten Indian track up this creek for about
six miles, when leaving the creek to the right he passed
over a ridge, and after walking a mile again met the river,
where it flows through a meadow of about eighty acres in
extent. This they passed and then ascended a high and steep
point of a mountain, from which the guide now pointed out
where the river broke through the mountains about twenty
miles distant. Near the base of the mountains a small river
falls in from the south: this view was terminated by one
of the loftiest mountains captain Clarke had ever seen,
which was perfectly covered with snow. Towards this formidable
barrier the river went directly on, and there it was, as
the guide observed, that the difficulties and dangers of
which he and Cameahwait had spoken commenced.
After
reaching the mountain, he said, the river continues its
course towards the north for many miles, between high perpendicular
rocks, which were scattered through its bed: it then penetrated
the mountain through a narrow gap, on each side of which
arose perpendicularly a rock as high as the top of the mountain
before them; that the river then made a bend which concealed
its future course from view, and as it was alike impossible
to descend the river or clamber over that vast mountain,
eternally covered with snow, neither he nor any of his nation
had ever been lower than at a place where they could see
the gap made by the river on entering the mountain. To that
place he said he would conduct captain Clarke if he desired
it by the next evening. But he was in need of no further
evidence to convince him of the utter impracticability of
the route before him. He had already witnessed the difficulties
of part of the road, yet after all these dangers his guide,
whose intelligence and fidelity he could not doubt, now
assured him that the difficulties were only commencing,
and what he saw before him too clearly convinced him of
the Indian's veracity. He therefore determined to abandon
this route, and returned to the upper part of the last creek
we had passed, and reaching it an hour after dark encamped
for the night: on this creek he had seen in the morning
an Indian road coming in from the north.
Disappointed
in finding a route by water, captain Clarke now questioned
his guide more particularly as to the direction of this
road which he seemed to understand perfectly. He drew a
map on the sand, and represented this road as well as that
we passed yesterday on Berry creek as both leading towards
two forks of the same great river, where resided a nation
called Tushepaws, who having no salmon on their river, came
by these roads to the fish weirs on Lewis's river. He had
himself been among these Tushepaws, and having once accompanied
them on a fishing party to another river he had there seen
Indians who had come across the rocky mountains. After a
great deal of conversation, or rather signs, and a second
and more particular map from his guide, captain Clarke felt
persuaded that his guide knew of a road from the Shoshone
village they had left, to the great river to the north,
without coming so low down as this on a route impracticable
for horses. He was desirous of hastening his return, and
therefore set out early,
August
24, 1805
Saturday 24, and
after descending the creek to the river, stopped to breakfast
on berries in the meadow above the second creek. He then
went on, but unfortunately fell from a rock and injured
his leg very much; he however walked on as rapidly as he
could, and at four in the afternoon rejoined his men. During
his absence they had killed one of the mountain cocks, a
few pheasants, and some small fish, on which with haws and
serviceberries they had subsisted. Captain Clarke immediately
sent forward a man on horseback with a note to Captain Lewis,
apprising him of the result of his inquiries, and late in
the afternoon set out with the rest of the party and encamped
at the distance of two miles. The men were much disheartened
at the bad prospect of escaping from the mountains, and
having nothing to eat but a few berries which have made
several of them sick, they all passed a disagreeable night,
which was rendered more uncomfortable by a heavy dew.
August 25, 1805
Sunday 25. The
want of provisions urged captain Clarke to return as soon
as possible; he therefore set out early, and halted an hour
in passing the Indian camp near the fish weirs. These people
treated them with great kindness, and though poor and dirty
they willingly give what little they possess; they gave
the whole party boiled salmon and dried berries, which were
not however in sufficient quantities to appease their hunger.
They soon resumed their old road, but as the abstinence
or strange diet had given one of the men a very severe illness,
they were detained very much on his account, and it was
not till late in the day they reached the cliff under which
they had encamped on the twenty-first. They immediately
began to fish and hunt, in order to procure a meal. We caught
several small fish, and by means of our guide, obtained
two salmon from a small party of women and children, who,
with one man, were going below to gather berries. This supplied
us with about half a meal, but after dark we were regaled
with a beaver which one of the hunters brought in. The other
game seen in the course of the day were one deer, and a
party of elk among the pines on the sides of the mountains.
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