[Clark]

July 15th Monday 1805

rained all the last night, I was wet all night, this morning wind hard from the S.W. we Set out at 10 oClock and proceeded on verry well passed a river on the Lard1 Side about 80 yards wide which we call after the Secty of the Navey Smiths River.2 the river verry crooked bottoms extensive rich and Passes thro’ a butifull Vally between 2 Mts [and] Conts high grass, our Canoes being so Small Several of the men Capt. Lewis & myself Compelled to walk on Shore & cross the bends to keep up with the Canoes a round mountain on our right abt. 10 miles appears inaxcessable we call fort mountain. The Prickley Pear in bloom but fiew other flowers. Sunflowrs are common, also lambs quarter & Nettles. Capt Lew[is] killed 2 Elk & the hunters killed 2 Deer & a ortter,3 we camped on the Stard4 Side at which place I saw many beaver, the timber on the edge of the river more Common than below the falls. as I am compelled to walk on Shore find it verry difficuelt to take the Courses of the river as it is verry crooked more so than below

Point of observation No 30.
Observed Meridian Altd of O ’s L. L. with Octant by the back Observation.	} 56° 38' -".
Latitude deduced from this observation.	N. 46. 46. 50.2

after this observation we pursued our rout through a high roling plain to a rappid immediately at the foot of the mountain where the Missouri first enters them. the current of the missouri below these rappids is strong for several miles, tho’ just above there is scarcely any current, the river very narrow and deep abo[u]t 70 y^ds wide only and seems to be closely hemmed in by the mountains on both sides, the bottoms only a few yards in width. an Indian road enters the mountain at the same place with the river on the Star^d side and continues along it’s border under the steep clifts these mountains appear to be only about 800 feet above the river and are formed almost entirely of a hard black grannite. with a few dwarf pine and cedar scattered on them. at this place there is a large rock of 400 feet high w[h]ich stands immediately in the gap which the missouri makes on it’s passage from the mountains; it is insulated from the neighbouring mountains by a handsome little plain which surrounds it[s] base on 3 sides and the Missouri washes it’s base on the other, leaving it on the Lar^d. as it decends. this rock I called the tower. it may be ascended with some difficulty nearly to it’s summit, and from it there is a most pleasing view of the country we are now about to leave. from it I saw this evening immence herds of buffaloe in the plains below. near this place we killed a fat elk on which we both dined and suped. the Musquetoes⁸ are extreemly troublesome this evening and I had left my bier,⁹ of course suffered considerably, and promised in my wrath that I never will be guil[t]y of a similar piece of negligence while on this voyage.

I camped on the head of a Small Island near the Stard Shore at the Rockey Mountains this Range of mountains appears to run NW & SE and is about 800 feet higher than the Water in the river faced with a hard black rock the current of the River from the Medison river to the Mountain is gentle, bottoms low and extensive, and its General Course is S.10° W. about 30 miles on a direct line.

We now formed our camp just below the junction of the forks on the Lar^d side in a level smooth bottom covered with a fine terf of greenswoard.¹² here we unloaded our canoes and arranged our baggage on shore; formed a canopy of one of our large sails and planted some willow brush in the ground to form a shade for the Indians to set under while we spoke to them, which we thought it best to do this evening. acordingly about 4 pm we called them together and through the medium of Labuish, Charbono and Sah-cah-gar-weah, we communicated to them fully the objects which had brought us into this distant part of the country, in which we took care to make them a conspicuous object of our own good wishes and the care of our government. we made them sensible of their dependance on the will of our government for every species of merchandize as well for their defence & comfort; and apprized¹³ them of the strength of our government and it’s friendly dispositions towards them. we also gave them as a reason why we wished to pe[ne]trate the country as far as the ocean to the west of them was to examine and find out a more direct way to bring merchandize to them. that as no trade could be carryed on with them before our return to our homes that it was mutually advantageous to them as well as to ourselves that they should render us such aids as they had it in their power to furnish in order to haisten our voyage and of course our return home. that such were their horses to transport our baggage without which we could not subsist, and that a pilot to conduct us through the mountains was also necessary if we could not decend the river by water. but that we did not ask either their horses or their services without giving a satisfactory compensation in return. that at present we wished them to collect as many horses as were necessary to transport our baggage to their village on the Columbia where we would then trade with them at our leasure for such horses as they could spare us. They appeared well pleased with what had been said. the chief thanked us for friendship towards himself and nation & declared his wish to serve us in every rispect. that he was sorry to find that it must yet be some time before they could be furnished with firearms but said they could live as they had done heretofore untill we brought them as we had promised. he said they had not horses enough with them at present to remove our baggage to their village over the mountain, but that he would return tomorrow and encourage his people to come over with their horses and that he would bring his own and assist us. this was complying with all we wished at present. we next enquired who were chiefs among them. Cameahwait pointed out two others whom he said were Chiefs. we gave him a medal of the small size with the likeness of M^r Jefferson the President of the U’ States in releif on one side and clasp hands with a pipe and tomahawk on the other, to the other Chiefs we gave each a small medal which were struck in the Presidency of George Washing[ton] Esq^r we also gave small medals of the last description to two young men whom the 1^st Chief informed us wer good young men and much rispected among them. we gave the 1^st Chief an uniform coat shirt a pair of scarlet legings a carrot of tobacco and some small articles to each of the others we gave a shi[r]t leging[s] handkerchief a knife some tobacco and a few small articles we also distributed a good quantity paint mockerson awles knives beads looking-glasses &c among the other Indians and gave them a plentifull meal of lyed (hull taken off by being boiled in lye) corn which was the first they had ever eaten in their lives. they were much pleased with it. every article about us appeared to excite astonishment in ther minds; the appearance of the men, their arms, the canoes, our manner of working them, the b[l]ack man york and the sagacity of my dog were equally objects of admiration. I also shot my air-gun which was so perfectly incomprehensible that they immediately denominated it the great medicine. the idea which the indians mean to convey by this appellation is something that eminates from or acts immediately by the influence or power of the great sperit; or that, in which, the power of god is manifest by it’s incomprehensible power of action. our hunters killed 4 deer and an Antelope this evening of which we also gave the Indians a good proportion…

Cap^t Lewis informed me he found those people on the Columbia River about 40 miles from the forks at that place there was a large camp of them, he had purswaded those with him to Come and see that what he said was the truth, they had been under great apprehension all the way, for fear of their being deceived. The Great Chief of this nation proved to be the brother of the woman with us and is a man of Influence Sence & easey & reserved manners, appears to possess a great deel of Cincerity. The Canoes arrived & unloaded. every thing appeared to astonish those people. the appearance of the men, their arms, the Canoes, the Clothing my black Servent & the Segassity of Cap^t Lewis’s Dog. we spoke a fiew words to them in the evening respecting our rout intentions our want of horses &c. & gave them a fiew presents & medals. we made a number of enquires of those people about the Columbia River the Countrey game &c. The account they gave us was verry unfavourable, that the River abounded in emence falls, one perticularly much higher than the falls of the Missouri & at the place the mountains Closed so Close that it was impracticable to pass, & that the ridge Continued on each Side of perpendicular Clifts inpenetratable, and that no Deer Elk or any game was to be found in that Countrey, aded to that they informed us that there was no timber on the river Sufficiently large to make Small Canoes, This information (if true is alarming) I deturmined to go in advance and examine the Countrey, See if those dificueltes presented themselves in the gloomey picture in which they painted them, and if the river was practi[c]able and I could find timber to build Canoes, those Ideas & plan appear[e]d to be agreeable to Cap^t Lewis’s Ideas on this point, and I selected 11 men, directed them to pack up their baggage Complete themselves with amunition, take each an ax and Such tools as will be Soutable to build Canoes, and be ready to Set out at 10 oClock tomorrow morning. Those people greatly pleased. our hunters killed three Deer & an antilope which was eaten in a Short time the Indians being so harrassed & compelled to move about in those rugid mountains that they are half Starved liveing at this time on berries & roots which they geather in the plains. Those people are not begerley but generous, only one has asked me for anything and he for powder.

This nation Call themselves Cho-shon-nê the Chief is name Too-et-te-con’l Black Gun is his war name Ka-me-ah-wah or come & Smoke. this Chief gave me the following name and pipe Ka-me-ah-wah. (exchange names, custom I was called by this name af^d by the Snake In^ns.)