The Journals
of Lewis and Clark: Dates May 8, 1805 - May 11, 1805
The following
excerpts are taken from entries of the Journals of Lewis
and Clark. Dates: May 8, 1805 - May 11, 1805
May 8, 1805
Wednesday 8. A light breeze from the east carried us sixteen
miles, till we halted for dinner at the entrance of a river
on the north. Captain Clarke who had walked on the south,
on ascending a high point opposite to its entrance discovered
a level and beautiful country which it watered; that its
course for twelve or fifteen miles was N.W. when it divided
into two nearly equal branches, one pursuing a direction
nearly north, the other to the W. of N.W: its width at the
entrance is one hundred and fifty yards, and on going three
miles up, Captain Lewis found it to be of the same breadth,
and sometimes more; it is deep, gentle, and has a large
quantity of water; its bed is principally of mud, the banks
abrupt, about twelve feet in height, and formed of a dark,
rich loam and blue clay; the low grounds near it are wide
and fertile, and possess a considerable proportion of cottonwood
and willow. It seems to be navigable for boats and canoes,
and this circumstance joined to its course and the quantity
of water, which indicates that it passes through a large
extent of country, we are led to presume that it may approach
the Saskashawan and afford a communication with that river.
The
water has a peculiar whiteness, such as might be produced
by a tablespoon full of milk in a dish of tea, and this
circumstance induced us to call it Milk river. In the evening
we had made twenty-seven miles, and encamped on the south.
The country on that side consists in general of high broken
hills, with much gray, black and brown granite scattered
over the surface of the ground. At a little distance from
the river there is no timber on either side, the wood being
confined as below to the margin of the river; so that unless
the contrary is particularly mentioned, it is always understood
that the upland is perfectly naked, and that we consider
the low grounds well timbered if even a fifth be covered
with wood. The wild liquorice is found in great abundance
on these hills, as is also the white apple. As usual we
are surrounded by buffalo, elk, common and black tailed
deer, beaver, antelopes and wolves. We observed a place
where an Indian had recently taken the hair off an antelope's
skin, and some of the party thought they distinguished imperfectly
some smoke and Indian lodges up Milk river, marks which
we are by no means desirous of realizing, as the Indians
are probably Assiniboines, and might be very troublesome.
May 9,
1805
Thursday, 9th.
We again had a favorable wind and sailed along very well.
Between four and five miles we passed a large island in
a deep bend to the north, and a large sandbar at the upper
point. At fifteen and a quarter miles we reached the bed
of a most extraordinary river which presents itself on the
south: though as wide as the Missouri itself, that is about
half a mile, it does not discharge a drop of water and contains
nothing but a few standing pools. On ascending it three
miles we found an eminence from which we saw the direction
of the channel, first south for ten or twelve miles, then
turning to the east of southeast as far as we could see;
it passes through a wide valley without timber, and the
surrounding country consists of waving low hills interspersed
with some handsome level plains; the banks are abrupt and
consist of a black or yellow clay; or of a rich sandy loam,
but though they do not rise more than six or eight feet
above the bed, they exhibit no appearance of being overflowed:
the bed is entirely composed of a light brown sand, the
particles of which like [212]those of the Missouri are extremely
fine.
Like
the dry rivers we passed before, this seemed to have discharged
its waters recently, but the watermark indicated that its
greatest depth had not been more than two feet: this stream,
if it deserve the name, we called Bigdry river. About a
mile below is a large creek on the same side, which is also
perfectly dry: the mineral salts and quartz are in large
quantities near this neighborhood. The sand of the Missouri
from its mouth to this place has been mixed with a substance
which we had presumed to be a granulated chalk, but which
is most probably this quartz. The game is now in great quantities,
particularly the elk and buffalo, which last is so gentle
that the men are obliged to drive them out of the way with
sticks and stones. The ravages of the beaver are very apparent:
in one place the timber was entirely prostrated for a space
of three acres in front on the river and one in depth, and
great part of it removed, although the trees were in large
quantities, and some of them as thick as the body of a man.
At the distance of twenty-four miles we encamped, after
making twenty-five and a half miles, at the entrance of
a small creek in a bend on the north; to which we gave the
name of Werner's creek after one of our men.
For several days past the river has been as wide as it generally
is near its mouth, but as it is much shallower, crowded
with sandbars, and the color of the water has become much
clearer, we do not yet despair of reaching the Rock mountains,
for which we are very anxious.
May 10,
1805
Friday, 10th.
We had not proceeded more than four and a quarter miles
when the violence of the wind forced us to halt for the
day under some timber in a bend on the south side. The wind
continued high, the clouds thick and black, and we had a
slight sprinkling of rain several times in the course of
the day. Shortly after our landing a dog came to us, and
as this induced us to believe that we are near the hunting
grounds of the Assiniboines, who are a vicious [213]ill-disposed
people, it was necessary to be on our guard: we therefore
inspected our arms which we found in good order, and sent
several hunters to scour the country, but they returned
in the evening having seen no tents, nor any recent tracks
of Indians. Biles and imposthumes are very common among
the party, and sore eyes continue in a greater or less degree
with all of us; for the imposthumes we use emollient poultices,
and apply to the eyes a solution of two grains of white
vitriol and one of sugar of lead with one ounce of water.
May 11,
1805
Saturday, 11th.
The wind blew very hard in the night, but having abated
this morning we went on very well, till in the afternoon
the wind arose and retarded our progress; the current too
was strong, the river very crooked, and the banks as usual
constantly precipitating themselves in large masses into
the water. The highlands are broken and approach nearer
the river than they do below. The soil however of both hills
and low grounds appear as fertile as that further down the
river: it consists of a black looking loam with a small
portion of sand, which cover the hills and bluffs to the
depth of twenty or thirty feet, and when thrown in the water
dissolves as readily as loaf-sugar, and effervesces like
marle; there are also great appearances of quartz and mineral
salts: the first is most commonly seen in the faces of the
bluffs, the second is found on the hills as well as the
low grounds, and in the gullies which come down from the
hills; it lies in a crust of two or three inches in depth,
and may be swept up with a feather in large quantities.
There is no longer any appearance of coal burnt earth or
pumice stone.
We
saw and visited some high hills on the north side about
three miles from the river, whose tops were covered with
the pitch-pine: this in the first pine we have seen on the
Missouri, and it is like that of Virginia, except that the
leaves are somewhat longer; among this pine is also a dwarf
cedar, sometimes between three or four feet high, but generally
spreading itself like a vine along the surface of the earth,
which it covers very closely, putting out roots from the
under side. The fruit and smell resemble those of the common
red cedar, but the leaf is finer and more delicate. The
tops of the hills where these plants grow have a soil quite
different from that just described, the basis of it is usually
yellow or white clay, and the general appearance light colored,
sandy, and barren, some scattering tufts of sedge being
almost its only herbage. About five in the afternoon one
of our men who had been afflicted with biles, and suffered
to walk on shore, came running to the boats with loud cries
and every symptom of terror and distress: for some time
after we had taken him on board he was so much out of breath
as to be unable to describe the cause of his anxiety, but
he at length told us that about a mile and a half below
he had shot a brown bear which immediately turned and was
in close pursuit of him; but the bear being badly wounded
could not overtake him.
Captain
Lewis with seven men immediately went in search of him,
and having found his track followed him by the blood for
a mile, and found him concealed in some thick brushwood,
and shot him with two balls through the skull. Though somewhat
smaller than that killed a few days ago, he was a monstrous
animal and a most terrible enemy: our man had shot him through
the centre of the lungs, yet he had pursued him furiously
for half a mile, then returned more than twice that distance,
and with his talons had prepared himself a bed in the earth
two feet deep and five feet long, and was perfectly alive
when they found him, which was at least two hours after
he received the wound. The wonderful power of life which
these animals possess render them dreadful: their very track
in the mud or sand, which we have sometimes found eleven
inches long and seven and a quarter wide, exclusive of the
talons, is alarming; and we had rather encounter two Indians
than meet a single brown bear. There is no chance of killing
them by a single shot unless the ball goes through the brains,
and this is very difficult [215]on account of two large
muscles which cover the side of the forehead, and the sharp
projection of the centre of the frontal bone, which is also
thick. Our encampment was on the south at the distance of
sixteen miles from that of last night; the fleece and skin
of the bear were a heavy burden for two men, and the oil
amounted to eight gallons.
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