Lewis: August 14, 1805

Wednesday August 14th. In order to give Capt. Clark time to reach the forks of Jefferson's River, I decided to spend this day at the Shoshone Camp and gather what information I could about the country. As we had nothing but a little flour and parched meal to eat, except for the berries the Indians furnished us, I directed Drewyer and Shields to hunt a few hours and try to kill something. The Indians furnished them with horses, and most of their young men also turned out to hunt. The game they principally hunt is the antelope, which they pursue on horseback and shoot with their arrows. This animal is so extremely fleet and enduring that a single horse has no possible chance to overtake or run them down. The Indians are therefore obliged to resort to strategy. When they discover a herd of antelope, they separate and scatter themselves to a distance of five or six miles in different directions around them, generally selecting some commanding height for a stand. One or two then pursue the herd at full speed over hills, valleys, gullies, and the sides of precipices that are tremendous to view. Thus, after running them from five to six or seven miles, the fresh horses that were in waiting head them off and drive them back, pursuing them as far or perhaps farther, quite to the other extreme of the hunters, who now in turn pursue on their fresh horses, thus wearing the poor animals down and finally killing them with their arrows. Forty or fifty hunters will be engaged for half a day in this manner and perhaps not kill more than two or three antelopes. They have but few elk or black-tailed deer, and the common red deer they cannot take, as they hide themselves in the brush when pursued, and the Indians have only the bow and arrow, which is a very slender means of killing any game except such as they can run down with their horses. I was very much entertained by the view of this Indian chase; it was after a herd of about 10 antelope and involved about 20 hunters. It lasted about 2 hours, and a considerable part of the chase was in view from my tent. About 1 P.M. the hunters returned, not having killed a single antelope, their horses foaming with sweat. My hunters returned soon after and had been equally unsuccessful. I then directed McNeal to make me a little paste with the flour, and I added some berries to it, which I found very palatable.

The means I had of communicating with these people was through Drewyer, who perfectly understood the common language of gesticulation, or signs, which seems to be universally understood by all the nations we have yet seen. It is true that this language is imperfect and liable to error, but much less so than would be expected. The main parts of the ideas are seldom mistaken.

I now prevailed on the Chief to instruct me about the geography of his country. He undertook this very cheerfully, by drawing the rivers on the ground. But I soon found that his information fell far short of my expectations or wishes. He drew the river on which we now are, placing two branches just above us, which he showed me from the openings of the mountains were in view. He then showed it discharging itself into a large river that flowed from the S.W. about ten miles below us, then continued this joined stream in the same direction of this valley, or N.W., for one day's march, and then inclined it to the west for 2 more days' march. Here he placed a number of heaps of sand on each side, which he told me represented the vast mountains of rock eternally covered with snow through which the river passed. He said that the perpendicular and even jutting rocks so closely hemmed in the river that there was no possibility of passing along the shore; that the bed of the river was obstructed by sharp-pointed rocks, and the rapidity of the stream was such that the whole surface of the river was beaten into perfect foam as far as the eye could reach. He said that the mountains were also inaccessible to man or horse. He said that, this being the state of the country in that direction, neither he nor any of his nation had ever been farther down the river than these mountains. I then asked about the state of the country on either side of the river, but he could not inform me. He said there was an old man of his nation a day's march below who could probably give me some information about the country to the N.W., and he referred me to an old man then present for information about the country to the S.W. The Chief further informed me that he had understood from the Pierced Nose Indians, who inhabit this river below the Rocky Mountains, that it ran a great way toward the setting sun and finally lost itself in a great lake of water that was ill-tasting, and where the white men lived. I next began my inquiries of the old man to whom I had been referred for information about the country S.W. of us. He depicted this country with horrors and obstructions scarcely inferior to the one just mentioned. He informed me that the band of this nation to which he belonged resided at the distance of 20 days' march from here, not far from the white people with whom they traded for horses, mules, cloth, metal, beads, and the shells they wore as ornaments, being those of a species of pearl oyster. He said the course to his relations was a little to the west of south. He said that in order to get to his relations, the first seven days we would have to climb over steep and rocky mountains where we could find no game to kill nor anything but roots, such as a fierce and warlike nation lived on, whom he called the Broken Moccasins or Moccasins with Holes, and said they inhabited those mountains and lived like the bears of other countries among the rocks, and fed on roots or the flesh of such horses as they could take or steal from those who passed through their country. He said that in passing through this country, the feet of our horses would be so much wounded by the stones that many of them would give out. The next part of the route was about 10 days through a dry and parched sandy desert in which there was no food at this season for either man or horse, and where we would suffer if not perish for want of water. He said that the sun had now dried up the little pools of water that existed throughout this desert plain in the spring, and had also scorched all the grass. He said no animal inhabited this plain on which we could hope to subsist. He said that about the center of this plain a large river passed from S.E. to N.W., which was navigable but afforded neither salmon nor timber. He said that beyond this plain, three or four days' march, his relations lived in a country that was tolerably fertile and partially covered with timber, on another large river that ran in the same direction as the former. He said this last river discharged itself into a large river on which many numerous nations lived, with whom his relations were at war, but whether this last river discharged itself into the great lake or not, he did not know. He said that from his relations, it was yet a great distance to the great or stinking lake, as they call the ocean. He said the way that those of his nation who had been to the Stinking Lake traveled was up the river on which they lived and over to that on which the white people lived, which last river they knew discharged itself into the ocean, and that this was the way he would advise me to travel if I was determined to proceed to the ocean. But he advised me to put off the journey until the next spring, when he would conduct me. I thanked him for his information and advice and gave him a knife, with which he appeared to be much gratified. From this narrative, I was convinced that the streams he had spoken of as running through the plains, and that on which his relations lived, were southern branches of the Columbia, heading with the rivers Apostles and Colorado, and that the route he had pointed out was to the Vermilion Sea, or Gulf of California. I therefore told him that this route was more to the south than I wished to travel, and asked if there was no route on the left of this river on which we now are, by which I could intercept it below the mountains through which it passes. But he could not inform me of any except that of the barren plain, which he said joined the mountain on that side and through which it was impossible for us to pass at this season, even if we were fortunate enough to escape from the Broken Moccasin Indians. I then asked Cameahwait by what route the Pierced Nose Indians, who he had informed me inhabited this river below the mountains, came over to the Missouri. He informed me this was to the north, but added that the road was a very bad one, as he had been informed by them, and that they had suffered excessively from hunger on the route, being obliged to subsist for many days on berries alone, as there was no game in that part of the mountains, which were broken, rocky, and so thickly covered with timber that they could scarcely pass. However, knowing that Indians had passed, and did pass, at this season on that side of this river to the same below the mountains, my route was instantly settled in my own mind, provided the account of this river should prove true upon an investigation of it, which I was determined should be made before we would undertake the route by land in any direction. I felt perfectly satisfied that if the Indians could pass these mountains with their women and children, then we could also pass them; and that if the nations on this river below the mountains were as numerous as they were said to be, then they must have some means of subsistence which it would be equally in our power to procure in the same country. They informed me that there was no buffalo on the west side of these mountains; that the game consisted of a few elk, deer, and antelope; and that the natives subsisted on fish and roots principally. In this manner I spent the day smoking with them and acquiring what information I could about their country. They informed me that they could pass to the Spaniards by way of the Yellowstone River in 10 days. I can discover that these people are by no means friendly to the Spaniards. Their complaint is that the Spaniards will not let them have firearms and ammunition, that they put them off by telling them that if they suffer them to have guns, they will kill each other, thus leaving them defenseless and an easy prey to their bloodthirsty neighbors to the east of them, who, being in possession of firearms, hunt them up and murder them without respect to sex or age and plunder them of their horses on all occasions. They told me that to avoid their enemies, who were eternally harassing them, they were obliged to remain in the interior of these mountains at least two-thirds of the year, where they suffered, as we then saw, great hardships from want of food, sometimes living for weeks without meat and only a little fish, roots, and berries. "But this," added Cameahwait, with his fierce eyes and lank jaws grown meager from want of food, "would not be the case if we had guns. We could then live in the country of buffalo and eat as our enemies do, and not be compelled to hide ourselves in these mountains and live on roots and berries as the bears do. We do not fear our enemies when placed on an equal footing with them." I told them that the Minnetares, Mandans, and Arikaras of the Missouri had promised us to stop making war on them, and that we would endeavor to find the means of making the Minnetares of Fort de Prairie, or as they call them, the Pahkees, stop waging war against them as well. I told them that after our final return to our homes towards the rising sun, white men would come to them with an abundance of guns and every other article necessary to their defense and comfort, and that they would be able to supply themselves with these articles on reasonable terms in exchange for the skins of the beaver, otter, and ermine so abundant in their country. They expressed great pleasure at this information and said they had long been anxious to see the white men that traded guns; and that we might rest assured of their friendship, and that they would do whatever we wished them to do.

I now told Cameahwait that I wished him to speak to his people and persuade them to go with me tomorrow to the forks of Jefferson's River, where our baggage had by this time arrived with another Chief and a large party of white men who would wait for my return at that place. I told him I wished them to take with them about 30 spare horses to transport our baggage to this place, where we would then remain some time among them and trade with them for horses, and finally arrange our future plans for getting on to the ocean and the trade that would be extended to them after our return home. He complied with my request and made a lengthy speech to his village. He returned in about an hour and a half and informed me that they would be ready to accompany me in the morning. I promised to reward them for their trouble. Drewyer, who had had a good view of their horses, estimated them at 400. Most of them are fine horses. Indeed, many of them would make a figure on the south side of the James River, or the land of fine horses. I saw several with Spanish brands on them, and some mules, which they told me they had also obtained from the Spaniards. I also saw a bridle bit of Spanish manufacture and various other articles which I have no doubt were obtained from the same source. Notwithstanding the extreme poverty of these poor people, they are very merry. They danced again this evening until midnight. Each warrior keeps one or more horses tied by a cord to a stake near his lodge both day and night, and are always prepared for action at a moment's warning. They fight on horseback altogether. I observe that the large flies are extremely troublesome to the horses as well as to ourselves.

The morning being cold and the men stiff and sore from yesterday's exertions, Capt. Clark did not set out this morning until 7 A.M. The river was so crooked and rapid that they made little progress. At one mile, he passed a bold running stream on the starboard side, which heads in a mountain to the north, on which there is snow. This we called Track Creek. It is 4 yards wide and 3 feet deep. At 7 miles they passed a stout stream that heads in some springs under the foot of the mountains on the larboard side. The river near the mountain they found to be one continuous rapid, which was extremely laborious and difficult to ascend. This evening Charbono struck his Indian woman, for which Capt. C. gave him a severe reprimand. Joseph and Reubin Fields killed 4 deer and an antelope, and Capt. C. killed a buck. Several of the men have injured themselves by various accidents while working the canoes through this difficult part of the river, and Capt. C. was obliged to personally assist them in this labor. They camped this evening on the larboard side near the rattlesnake cliff.