Lewis: August 13, 1805

Tuesday August 13th 1805. We set out very early on the Indian road, which still led us through an open, broken country in a westerly direction. A deep valley appeared to our left at the base of a high range of mountains that extended from S.E. to N.W., having their sides better clad with pine timber than we had been accustomed to see. The mountains and their tops were also partially covered with snow. At the distance of five miles, the road, after leading us down a long descending valley for 2 miles, brought us to a large creek about 10 yards wide. We crossed this, and on rising the hill beyond it, I had a view of a handsome little valley to our left of about a mile in width, through which, from the appearance of the timber, I conjectured that a river passed. I saw near the creek some bushes of the white maple, the sumac of the small species with the winged rib, and a species of honeysuckle much like the small honeysuckle of the Missouri in its growth and leaf, only rather larger, that bears a globular berry as large as a garden pea and as white as wax. This berry is formed of a thin, smooth skin that envelops a soft white mucilaginous substance, in which there are several small brown seeds irregularly scattered or intermixed, without any shell or perceptible membranous covering.

We had proceeded about four miles through a wavy plain parallel to the valley or river bottom when, at the distance of about a mile, we saw two women, a man, and some dogs on an eminence immediately before us. They appeared to view us with attention, and two of them, after a few minutes, sat down as if to wait our arrival. We continued our usual pace toward them. When we had arrived within half a mile of them, I directed the party to halt, and leaving my pack and rifle, I took the flag, which I unfurled, and advanced singly toward them. The women soon disappeared behind the hill; the man continued until I arrived within a hundred yards of him and then likewise absconded, though I frequently repeated the word tab-ba-bone sufficiently loud for him to have heard it. I now hastened to the top of the hill where they had stood but could see nothing of them. The dogs were less shy than their masters; they came about me pretty close. I therefore thought of tying a handkerchief about one of their necks with some beads and other trinkets and then letting them loose to search for their fugitive owners, thinking by this means to convince them of our peaceful disposition toward them. But the dogs would not allow me to take hold of them; they also soon disappeared. I now made a signal for the men to come on. They joined me, and we pursued the back track of these Indians, which led us along the same road we had been traveling. The road was dusty and appeared to have been much traveled lately, both by men and horses. These prairies are very poor; the soil is of a light yellow clay, intermixed with small smooth gravel, and produces little else but prickly pears and bearded grass about 3 inches high. The prickly pear are of three species: that with a broad leaf common to the Missouri; that of a globular form, also common to the upper part of the Missouri and more especially after it enters the Rocky Mountains; and also a 3rd peculiar to this country. It consists of small circular thick leaves with a much greater number of thorns. These thorns are stronger and appear to be barbed. The leaves grow from the margins of each other as in the broad-leafed pear of the Missouri, but are so slightly attached that when the thorn touches your moccasin it adheres and brings with it the leaf, covered in every direction with many others. This is much the most troublesome plant of the three.

We had not continued our route more than a mile when we were so fortunate as to meet with three female natives. The short and steep ravines we passed concealed us from each other until we arrived within 30 paces. A young woman immediately took to flight; an elderly woman and a girl of about 12 years old remained. I instantly laid down my gun and advanced toward them. They appeared much alarmed but saw that we were too near for them to escape by flight, so they seated themselves on the ground, holding down their heads as if reconciled to die, which they no doubt expected would be their fate. I took the elderly woman by the hand and raised her up, repeated the word tab-ba-bone, and stripped up my shirt sleeve to show her my skin, to prove to her the truth of the assertion that I was a white man, for my face and hands, which have been constantly exposed to the sun, were quite as dark as their own. They appeared instantly reconciled, and the men coming up, I gave these women some beads, a few moccasin awls, some pewter looking-glasses, and a little paint. I directed Drewyer to request the old woman to recall the young woman who had run off to some distance by this time, fearing she might alarm the camp before we approached and might so exasperate the natives that they would perhaps attack us without inquiring who we were. The old woman did as she was requested, and the fugitive soon returned almost out of breath. I bestowed an equivalent portion of trinkets on her with the others. I now painted their tawny cheeks with some vermillion, which with this nation is emblematic of peace. After they had become composed, I informed them by signs that I wished them to conduct us to their camp, that we were anxious to become acquainted with the chiefs and warriors of their nation. They readily obeyed, and we set out, still pursuing the road down the river.

We had marched about 2 miles when we met a party of about 60 warriors mounted on excellent horses, who came on at nearly full speed. When they arrived, I advanced toward them with the flag, leaving my gun with the party about 50 paces behind me. The chief and two others, who were a little in advance of the main body, spoke to the women, and they informed them who we were and exultingly showed the presents that had been given them. These men then advanced and embraced me very affectionately in their way, which is by putting their left arm over your right shoulder and clasping your back, while they apply their left cheek to yours and frequently cry out the word ah-hi'-e, ah-hi'-e, that is, "I am much pleased, I am much rejoiced." Both parties now advanced, and we were all caressed and besmeared with their grease and paint until I was heartily tired of the national hug. I now had the pipe lit and gave them a smoke. They seated themselves in a circle around us and pulled off their moccasins before they would receive or smoke the pipe. This is a custom among them, as I afterwards learned, indicative of a sacred obligation of sincerity in their profession of friendship given by the act of receiving and smoking the pipe of a stranger; or, which is as much as to say, that they wish they may always go barefoot if they are not sincere—a pretty heavy penalty if they are to march through the plains of their country. After smoking a few pipes with them, I distributed some trifles among them, with which they seemed much pleased, particularly the blue beads and vermillion.

I now informed the chief that the object of our visit was a friendly one; that after we should reach his camp I would undertake to explain to him fully those objects—who we were, from where we had come, and where we were going; and that in the meantime I did not care how soon we were in motion, as the sun was very warm and there was no water at hand. They now put on their moccasins, and the principal chief Ca-me-ah-wait (Cameahwait) made a short speech to the warriors. I gave him the flag, which I informed him was an emblem of peace among white men, and now that it had been received by him it was to be respected as the bond of union between us. I asked him to march on, which he did, and we followed him; the dragoons moved on in squadron in our rear. After we had marched about a mile in this order, he halted them and gave a second harangue; after which six or eight of the young men rode forward to their encampment, and no further regularity was observed in the order of march. I afterwards understood that the Indians we had first seen this morning had returned and alarmed the camp; these men had come out armed cap-a-pie for action, expecting to meet with their enemies the Minnetares of Fort de Prairie, whom they call Rah'-kees. They were armed with bows, arrows, and shields, except three whom I observed with small guns such as the N.W. Company furnishes the natives with, which they had obtained from the Rocky Mountain Indians on the Yellowstone River, with whom they are at peace.

On our arrival at their encampment on the river, in a handsome level and fertile bottom at the distance of 4 miles from where we had first met them, they introduced us to a lodge made of willow brush and an old leather lodge that had been prepared for our reception by the young men whom the chief had dispatched for that purpose. Here we were seated on green boughs and the skins of antelopes. One of the warriors then pulled up the grass in the center of the lodge, forming a small circle of about 2 feet in diameter. The chief next produced his pipe and native tobacco and began a long ceremony of the pipe, when we were requested to take off our moccasins, the chief having previously taken off his, as well as all the warriors present. This we complied with. The chief then lit his pipe at the fire kindled in this little magic circle, and standing on the opposite side of the circle, uttered a speech of several minutes in length, at the conclusion of which he pointed the stem to the four cardinal points of the heavens, first beginning at the east and ending with the north. He now presented the pipe to me as if desirous that I should smoke, but when I reached my hand to receive it, he drew it back and repeated the same ceremony three times, after which he pointed the stem first to the heavens, then to the center of the magic circle, smoked himself with three whiffs, and held the pipe until I took as many as I thought proper; he then held it to each of the white persons and then gave it to be consumed by his warriors. This pipe was made of a dense semi-transparent green stone, very highly polished, about 2½ inches long and of an oval figure, the bowl being in the same direction as the stem. A small piece of burned clay is placed in the bottom of the bowl to separate the tobacco from the end of the stem, and is of an irregularly rounded figure, not fitting the tube perfectly close, in order that the smoke may pass. This is the form of the pipe. Their tobacco is of the same kind as that used by the Minnetares, Mandans, and Ricares of the Missouri. The Shoshonees do not cultivate this plant but obtain it from the Rocky Mountain Indians and some of the bands of their own nation who live further south.

I now explained to them the objects of our journey, etc. All the women and children of the camp were shortly collected about the lodge to indulge themselves with looking at us, we being the first white persons they had ever seen. After the ceremony of the pipe was over, I distributed the remainder of the small articles I had brought with me among the women and children. By this time it was late in the evening, and we had not tasted any food since the evening before. The chief informed us that they had nothing but berries to eat and gave us some cakes of serviceberries and chokecherries that had been dried in the sun; of these I made a hearty meal, and then walked to the river, which I found about 40 yards wide, very rapid, clear, and about 3 feet deep. The banks are low and abrupt, like those of the upper part of the Missouri, and the bed is formed of loose stones and gravel. Cameahwait informed me that this stream discharged itself into another doubly as large at the distance of half a day's march, which came from the S.W.; but he added on further inquiry that there was but little more timber below the junction of those rivers than I saw here, and that the river was confined between inaccessible mountains, was very rapid and rocky, so much so that it was impossible for us to pass either by land or water down this river to the great lake where the white men lived, as he had been informed. This was unwelcome information, but I still hoped that this account had been exaggerated with a view to detain us among them. As to timber, I could discover none that would answer the purpose of constructing canoes, or in short any more than was barely necessary for fuel, consisting of the narrow-leafed cottonwood and willow, also the red willow, chokecherry, serviceberry, and a few currant bushes such as were common on the Missouri.

These people had been attacked by the Minnetares of Fort de Prairie this spring, and about 20 of them killed and taken prisoners. On this occasion they lost a great part of their horses and all their lodges except the one they had erected for our accommodation; they were now living in lodges of a conical figure made of willow brush. I still observe a great number of horses feeding in every direction around their camp, and therefore entertain little doubt that we shall be able to furnish ourselves with an adequate number to transport our stores, even if we are compelled to travel by land over these mountains. On my return to my lodge, an Indian called me into his bower and gave me a small morsel of the flesh of an antelope boiled, and a piece of fresh salmon roasted; both of which I ate with a very good relish. This was the first salmon I had seen and perfectly convinced me that we were on the waters of the Pacific Ocean. The course of this river is a little to the north of west as far as I can discover it, and is bounded on each side by a range of high mountains, though those on the east side are lowest and more distant from the river.

This evening the Indians entertained us with their dancing nearly all night. At 12 o'clock I grew sleepy and retired to rest, leaving the men to amuse themselves with the Indians. I observe no essential difference between the music and manner of dancing among this nation and those of the Missouri. I was several times awakened in the course of the night by their yells but was too fatigued to be deprived of a tolerably sound night's repose.

This morning Capt Clark (Capt. Clark) set out early, having previously dispatched some hunters ahead. It was cool and cloudy all the forepart of the day. At 8 A.M. they had a slight rain. They passed a number of shoals over which they were obliged to drag the canoes; the men were in the water three-quarters of the day. They passed a bold running stream 7 yards wide on the larboard side just below a high point of limestone rocks. This stream we call McNeal's Creek, after Hugh McNeal, one of our party. This creek heads in the mountains to the east and forms a handsome valley for some miles between the mountains. From the top of this limestone cliff above the creek, the Beaver's Head bore N 24° E, 12 miles. The course of Wisdom River, or that which the opening of its valley makes through the mountains, is N 25° W. To the gap through which Jefferson's River enters the mountains above is S 18° W, 10 miles. They killed only one deer today. They saw a number of otter, some beaver, antelopes, ducks, geese, and cranes. They caught a number of fine trout, as they have every day since I left them. They camped on the larboard side in a smooth level prairie near a few cottonwood trees, but were obliged to make use of the dry willow brush for fuel.