Clark: October 10, 1805

October 10th Wednesday Thursday. A fine morning. Loaded and set out at 7 o'clock. At 2½ miles passed a run on the starboard side, having passed 2 islands and two bad rapids. At 3 miles lower passed a creek on the larboard side with wide cottonwood and willow bottoms, having passed an island and a rapid, and an Indian camp of three lodges below the creek. At 8½ miles lower we arrived at the head of a very bad riffle, at which place we landed near 8 lodges of Indians on the larboard side to view the riffle, having passed two islands and six rapids, several of them very bad. After viewing this riffle, two canoes were taken over very well; the third stuck on a rock, which took us an hour to get her off. This was accomplished without her receiving any greater injury than a small split in her side, which was repaired in a short time. We purchased fish and dogs from those people, dined, and proceeded on. Here we met with an Indian from the falls, at which place he says he saw white people, and he expressed an inclination to accompany us. We passed, a few miles above this riffle, 2 lodges and an Indian bathing in a hot bath made by hot stones thrown into a pond of water. At this riffle, which we call Ragged Rapid, I took the meridian altitude of the sun's upper limb with the sextant: 74° 26' 0". Latitude produced ____ North.

At five miles lower, and sixty miles below the forks, we arrived at a large southerly fork, which is the one we were on with the Snake or So-So-nee nation (having passed 5 rapids). This south fork, or Lewis's River, has two forks which fall into it on the south, the first small, the upper large and about 2 days' march up, immediately parallel to the first villages we came to, and is called by those Indians Par-nash-te. On this fork, a little above its mouth, resides a chief who, as the Indians say, has more horses than he can count. They further say that Lewis's River is navigable about 60 miles up, with many rapids, at which places the Indians have fishing camps and lodges built of an oblong form with flat roofs. Below the first river on the south side there are ten established fishing places. On the first fork which falls in on the south side is one fishing place; between that and the Par-nash-te River, five fishing places; above, two; and one on that river — all of the Cho-pun-nish or Pierced Nose Nation. Many other Indians reside high up those rivers. The country about the forks is an open plain on either side. I can observe at a distance on the lower starboard side a high ridge of thinly timbered country. The water of the south fork is a greenish blue; the north is as clear as crystal.

Immediately in the point is an Indian cabin, and in the south fork a small island. We came to on the starboard side below, with a view to make some lunar observations. The night proved cloudy, and we were disappointed. The Indians came down all the courses of this river on each side on horses to view us as we were descending. The man whom we saw at the Ragged Rapid and who expressed an inclination to accompany us to the great rapids came up with his son in a small canoe and persisted in his intentions. Worthy of remark, there is not one stick of timber on the river near the forks, and but a few trees for a great distance up the river we descended. I think Lewis's River is about 250 yards wide, the Kooskooske River about 150 yards wide, and the river below the forks about 300 yards wide. A misunderstanding took place between Shabono (one of our interpreters) and Jo. and R. Fields, which appears to have originated in jest. Our diet is extremely bad, having nothing but roots and dried fish to eat. All the party have greatly the advantage of me, inasmuch as they all relish the flesh of the dogs, several of which we purchased from the natives to add to our store of fish and roots, etc.

The Cho-pun-nish or Pierced Nose Indians are stout, likely men, with handsome women, and very dressy in their way. The dress of the men is a white buffalo robe or elk skin dressed with beads, which are generally white, and sea shells — i.e., mother of pearl — hung to their hair and on a piece of otter skin about their necks. Their hair is queued in two parcels hanging forward over their shoulders. They wear feathers and different colored paints which they find in their country, generally white, green, and light blue. Some few wear a shirt of dressed skins, and long leggings, and moccasins painted, which appears to be their winter dress, with a plait of twisted grass about their necks.

The women dress in a shirt of ibex or goat skins, which reach quite down to their ankles, with a girdle. Their heads are not ornamented. Their shirts are ornamented with quilled brass, small pieces of brass cut into different forms, beads, shells, and curious bones, etc. The men expose those parts which are generally kept from view by other nations, but the women are more particular than any other nation which I have passed in screening those parts.

Their amusements appear but few, as their situation requires the utmost exertion to procure food. They are generally employed in that pursuit: all the summer and fall fishing for the salmon, the winter hunting the deer on snowshoes in the plains and taking care of their immense numbers of horses, and in the spring crossing the mountains to the Missouri to get buffalo robes and meat, etc., at which time they frequently meet with their enemies and lose their horses and many of their people.

Their disorders are but few, and those few of a scrofulous nature. They make great use of sweating, and of hot and cold baths. They are very selfish and stingy of what they have to eat or wear, and they expect in return something for everything they give as presents or for the services which they do, let it be however small, and they fail to make those returns on their part.