Joseph Whitehouse: June 22, 1805
On a fair, breezy morning, the party rose early and most members set out with Captains Lewis and Clark, hauling a wagon loaded with a canoe and baggage up to the upper end of the portage to establish a new camp. Lewis and a few men carried their gear to stay there and prepare the iron boat. Buffalo were abundant near the lower camp; Clark's servant York killed a fat one. Clark reported seeing 40-50 buffalo swimming the river above the falls, with many swept over and drowned, explaining the carcasses seen downstream.
a fair pleasant morning. the wind as usal. the party all
raised up eairly. Cap! Lewis and Clark with all the party
except 3 Set out with a waggon & baggage to take the canoe
& loading which was halled on the hill yesterday up to the
upper end of the portage, where we Shall form a Camp. Capt
Lewis & 3 or 4 men carried all their baggage in order to Stay
up their, in order to git the Iron boat in readiness &c. the
buffalow around the lower Camp verry thick Some gangs
Swam the River Cap! Clarks Servant york killed one which
was verry fat. Cap! Clark informed us that he Saw 40 or 50
Swimming the River ab’ the falls and Some went down over
them which he could not See them rise any more. a nomber
got to Shore half drowned. in this way great numbers of
those animels are lost and accounts for So many as we Saw
lying on the Shores below the falls ever Since we came from
[ 105 ]
LEWIS AND CLARK JOURNALS _ [June 23
the Mandans & Grossvauntares but a vast deal pleantier near
them. the country in general is verry high. no timber back
from the river and but verry little on the river, but bluffs &
high Clifts the most of the Shores. we are a little South of
the Mandans, but have had no verry hot weather as yet.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
A fair, pleasant morning. The wind as usual. The party all rose up early. Capt. Lewis and Clark, with all the party except 3, set out with a wagon and baggage to take the canoe and loading, which was hauled up the hill yesterday, up to the upper end of the portage, where we shall form a camp. Capt. Lewis and 3 or 4 men carried all their baggage in order to stay up there, so as to get the iron boat ready, etc. The buffalo around the lower camp are very thick. Some herds swam the river. Capt. Clark's servant York killed one which was very fat. Capt. Clark informed us that he saw 40 or 50 swimming the river above the falls, and some went down over them, which he could not see rise any more. A number got to shore half drowned. In this way great numbers of these animals are lost, and it accounts for so many as we have seen lying on the shores below the falls ever since we came from the Mandans and Grossvauntares (Gros Ventres), but a vast deal more plentiful near them. The country in general is very high. No timber back from the river, and but very little on the river, but bluffs and high cliffs make up most of the shores. We are a little south of the Mandans, but have had no very hot weather as yet.
This modernization is AI-generated for accessibility. The original above is the authoritative version.
Entities mentioned in this entry
Auto-extracted from the entry text. Hover any entity for context.
