The Journals
of Lewis and Clark: Dates June 8, 1805 - June 10, 1805
The following
excerpts are taken from entries of the Journals of Lewis
and Clark. Dates: June 8, 1805 - June 10, 1805
June 8, 1805
Saturday 8. It continued to rain moderately all last night,
and the morning was cloudy till about ten o'clock, when
it cleared off, and became a fine day. They breakfasted
about sunrise and then proceeded down the river in the same
way as they had done yesterday, except that the traveling
was somewhat better, as they had not so often to wade, though
they passed some very dangerous bluffs. The only timber
to be found is in the low grounds which are occasionally
on the river, and these are the haunts of innumerable birds,
who, when the sun began to shine, sang very delightfully.
Among these birds they distinguished the brown thrush, robin,
turtledove, linnet, goldfinch, the large and small blackbird,
the wren, and some others. As they came along, the whole
of the party were of opinion that this river was the true
Missouri, but Captain Lewis being fully persuaded that it
was neither the main stream, nor that which it would be
advisable to ascend, gave it the name of Maria's river.
After traveling all day they reached the camp at five o'clock
in the afternoon, and found captain Clarke and the party
very anxious for their safety, as they had staid two days
longer than had been expected, and as captain Clarke had
returned at the appointed time, it was feared that they
had met with some accident.
June 9, 1805
Sunday, 9th. We now consulted upon the course to
be pursued. On comparing our observations, we were more
than ever convinced of what we already suspected, that Mr.
Arrowsmith is incorrect in laying down in the chain of Rocky
mountains one remarkable mountain called the Tooth, nearly
as far south as 45°, and said to be so marked from the discoveries
of Mr. Fidler. We are now within one hundred miles of the
Rocky mountains and in the latitude of 47° 24' 12" 8, and
therefore it is highly improbable that the Missouri should
make such a bend to the south before it reaches the Rocky
mountains, as to have suffered Mr. Fidler to come as low
as 45° along the eastern borders without touching that river:
yet the general course of Maria's river from this place
for fifty-nine miles, as far as Captain Lewis ascended,
was north 69° west, and the south branch, or what we consider
the Missouri, which captain Clarke had examined as far as
forty-five miles in a straight line, ran in a course south
29° west, and as far as it could be seen went considerably
west of south, whence we conclude that the Missouri itself
enters the Rocky mountains to the north of 45°. In writing
to the president from our winter quarters, we had already
taken the liberty of advancing the southern extremity of
Mr. Fidler's discoveries about a degree to the northward,
and this from Indian information as to the bearing of the
point at which the Missouri enters the mountain; but we
think actual observation will place it one degree still
further to the northward.
This
information of Mr. Fidler however, incorrect as it is, affords
an additional reason for not pursuing Maria's river; for
if he came as low even as 47° and saw only small streams
coming down from the mountains, it is to be presumed that
these rivulets do not penetrate the Rocky mountains so far
as to approach any navigable branch of the Columbia, and
they are most probably the remote waters of some northern
branch of the Missouri. In short, being already in latitude
47° 24' we cannot reasonably hope by going farther to the
northward to find between this place and the Saskashawan
any stream which can, as the Indians assure us the Missouri
does, possess a navigable current for some distance in the
Rocky mountains: the Indians had assured us also that the
water of the Missouri was nearly transparent at the falls;
this is the case with the southern branch; that the falls
lay a little to the south of sunset from them; this too
is in favor of the southern fork, for it bears considerably
south of this place which is only a few minutes to the northward
of fort Mandan; that the falls are below the Rocky mountains
and near the northern termination of one range of those
mountains: now there is a ridge of mountains which appear
behind the South mountains and terminates to the southwest
of us, at a sufficient distance from the unbroken chain
of the Rocky mountains to allow space for several falls,
indeed we fear for too many of them. If too the Indians
had ever passed any stream as large as this southern fork
on their way up the Missouri, they would have mentioned
it; so that their silence seems to prove that this branch
must be the Missouri. The body of water also which it discharges
must have been acquired from a considerable distance in
the mountains, for it could not have been collected in the
parched plains between the Yellowstone and the Rocky mountains,
since that country could not supply nourishment for the
dry channels which we passed on the south, and the travels
of Mr. Fidler forbid us to believe that it could have been
obtained from the mountains towards the northwest.
These observations which satisfied our mind completely we
communicated to the party: but every one of them were of
a contrary opinion; and much of their belief depended on
Crusatte, an experienced waterman on the Missouri, who gave
it as his decided judgment that the north fork was the genuine
Missouri. The men therefore mentioned that although they
would most cheerfully follow us wherever we should direct,
yet they were afraid that the south fork would soon terminate
in the Rocky mountains and leave us at a great distance
from the Columbia. In order that nothing might be omitted
which could prevent our falling into an error, it was agreed
that one of us should ascend the southern branch by land
until we reached either the falls or the mountains. In the
meantime in order to lighten our burdens as much as possible,
we determined to deposit here one of the pirogues and all
the heavy baggage which we could possibly spare, as well
as some provision, salt, powder, and tools: this would at
once lighten the other boats, and give them the crew which
had been employed on board the pirogue.
June 10, 1805
Monday, 10. The weather being fair and pleasant we
dried all our baggage and merchandize and made our deposit.
These holes or caches as they are called by the Missouri
traders are very common, particularly among those who deal
with the Sioux, as the skins and merchandize will keep perfectly
sound for years, and are protected from robbery: our cache
is built in this manner: In the high plain on the north
side of the Missouri and forty yards from a steep bluff,
we chose a dry situation, and then describing a small circle
of about twenty inches diameter, removed the sod as gently
and carefully as possible: the hole is then sunk perpendicularly
for a foot deep, or more if the ground be not firm. It is
now worked gradually wider as they descend, till at length
it becomes six or seven feet deep, shaped nearly like a
kettle or the lower part of a large still with the bottom
somewhat sunk at the centre.
As
the earth is dug it is handed up in a vessel and carefully
laid on a skin or cloth, in which it is carried away and
usually thrown into the river or concealed so as to leave
no trace of it. A floor of three or four inches in thickness
is then made of dry sticks, on which is thrown hay or a
hide perfectly dry. The goods being well aired and dried
are laid on this floor, and prevented from touching the
wall by other dried sticks in proportion as the merchandize
is stowed away: when the hole is nearly full, a skin is
laid over the goods, and on this earth is thrown and beaten
down until with the addition of the sod first removed the
whole is on a level with the ground, and there remains not
the slightest appearance of an excavation. In addition to
this we made another of smaller dimensions, [257]in which
we placed all the baggage, some powder, and our blacksmith's
tools, having previously repaired such of the tools we carry
with us as require mending. To guard against accident, we
hid two parcels of lead and powder in the two distinct places.
The red pirogue was drawn up on the middle of a small island
at the entrance of Maria's river, and secured by being fastened
to the trees from the effect of any floods. In the evening
there was a high wind from the southwest accompanied with
thunder and rain. We now made another observation of the
meridian altitude of the sun, and found that the mean latitude
of the entrance of Maria's river, as deduced from three
observations, is 47° 25' 17" 2 north. We saw a small bird
like the blue thrush or catbird which we had not before
met, and also observed that the beemartin or kingbird is
common to this country although there are no bees here,
and in fact we have not met with the honey-bee since leaving
the Osage river.
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