Lewis: August 3, 1805
The party continued up the valley on foot, traveling about 23 miles through wide plains sparsely timbered with cottonwood, willow, and brush, flanked by mountains bearing small pine. Drewyer killed a doe for breakfast. Lewis suspected the river forked nearby and resolved to investigate the next day. Meanwhile, Clark's group struggled up the shallow, rapid, island-choked river, often dragging canoes over stones. Reubin Fields killed a large panther at a creek they named Panther Creek, and Clark spotted a track he believed belonged to an Indian who had observed their camp.
August the 3rd 1805. Set out this morning at sunrise and continued our
rout through the valley on the Lard. side of the river. at eleven A.M.
Drewyer killed a doe and we halted and took breakfast. the mountains
continue high on either side of the valley, and are but skantily supplyed
with timber; small pine appears to be the prevalent growth. there is no
timber in the valley except a small quantity of the narrow leafed
cottonwood on the verge of the river. the underwood consists of the
narrowleafed or small willow, honeysuckle rosebushes, courant, goosbury
and service bury bushes allso a small quantity of a species of dwarf burch
the leaf of which, oval, deep green, finely indented and very small. we
encamped this evening after sunset having traveled by estimate 23 miles.
from the width and appearance of the valley at this place I concieved that
the river forked not far above me and therefore resolved the next morning
to examine the adjacent country more minutely.
—
Saturday August 3rd 1805. Set out early this morning, or before sunrise;
still continued our march through the level valley on the lard. side of
the river. the valley much as yesterday only reather wider; I think it 12
Miles wide, tho the plains near the mountains rise higher and are more
broken with some scattering pine near the mountain. in the leaveler parts
of the plain and river bottoms which are very extensive there is no timber
except a scant proportion of cottonwood neat the river. the under wood
consists of the narrow leafed or small willow, the small honeysuckle,
rosebushes, currant, serviceberry, and goosbery bushes; also a small
species of berth in but small quantities the leaf which is oval finely,
indented, small and of a deep green colour. the stem is simple ascending
and branching, and seldom rises higher than 10 or 12 feet. the Mountains
continue high on either side of the valley, and are but scantily supplyed
with timber; small pine apears to be the prevalent growth; it is of the
pith kind, with a short leaf. at 11 A.M. Drewyer killed a doe and we
halted about 2 hours and breakfasted, and then continued our rout untill
night without halting, when we arrived at the river in a level bottom
which appeared to spread to greater extent than usual. from the appearance
of the timber I supposed that the river forked above us and resolved to
examine this part of the river minutely tomorrow. this evening we passed
through a high plain for about 8 miles covered with prickley pears and
bearded grass, tho we found this even better walking than the wide bottoms
of the river, which we passed in the evening; these altho apparently
level, from some cause which I know not, were formed into meriads of deep
holes as if rooted up by hogs these the grass covered so thick that it was
impossible to walk without the risk of falling down at every step. some
parts of these bottoms also possess excellent terf or peat, I beleive of
many feet deep. the mineral salts also frequently mentioned on the
Missouri we saw this evening in these uneven bottoms. we saw many deer,
Antelopes ducks, gees, some beaver and great appearance of their work.
also a small bird and the Curlooe as usual. we encamped on the river bank
on Lard. side having traveled by estimate 23 Miles. The fish of this part
of the river are trout and a species of scale fish of a white colour and a
remarkable small long mouth which one of our men inform us are the same
with the species called in the Eastern states bottlenose. the snowey
region of the mountains and for some distance below has no timber or
herbage of any kind; the timber is confined to the lower and middle
regions. Capt. Clark set out this morning as usual. he walked on shore a
small distance this morning and killed a deer. in the course of his walk
he saw a track which he supposed to be that of an Indian from the
circumstance of the large toes turning inward. he pursued the track and
found that the person had ascended a point of a hill from which his camp
of the last evening was visible; this circumstance also confirmed the
beleif of it’s being an Indian who had thus discovered them and ran off.
they found the river as usual much crouded with islands, the currant more
rapid & much more shallow than usual. in many places they were obliged
to double man the canoes and drag them over the stone and gravel. this
morning they passed a small creek on Stard. at the entrance of which
Reubin Fields killed a large Panther. we called the creek after that
animal Panther Creek. they also passed a handsome little stream on Lard.
which is form of several large springs which rise in the bottoms and along
the base of the mountains with some little rivulets from the melting
snows. the beaver have formed many large dams on this stream. they saw
some deer Antelopes and the common birds of the country. in the evening
they passed a very bad rappid where the bed of the river is formed entrely
of solid rock and encamped on an island just above. the Panther which
Fields killed measured seven and 1/2 feet from the nose to the extremity
of the tail. it is precisely the same animal common to the western part of
our country. the men wer compelled to be a great proportion of their time
in the water today; they have had a severe days labour and are much
fortiegued.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
August 3rd, 1805. Set out this morning at sunrise and continued our route through the valley on the Lard. (larboard) side of the river. At eleven A.M. Drewyer (Drouillard) killed a doe and we halted and took breakfast. The mountains continue high on either side of the valley, and are only scantily supplied with timber; small pine appears to be the prevalent growth. There is no timber in the valley except a small quantity of the narrow-leafed cottonwood on the edge of the river. The underwood consists of the narrow-leafed or small willow, honeysuckle, rosebushes, currant, gooseberry, and serviceberry bushes, also a small quantity of a species of dwarf birch, the leaf of which is oval, deep green, finely indented, and very small. We camped this evening after sunset, having traveled by estimate 23 miles. From the width and appearance of the valley at this place, I concluded that the river forked not far above me, and therefore resolved the next morning to examine the adjacent country more closely.
Saturday, August 3rd, 1805. Set out early this morning, before sunrise; still continued our march through the level valley on the lard. (larboard) side of the river. The valley is much as yesterday, only rather wider; I think it is 12 miles wide, though the plains near the mountains rise higher and are more broken, with some scattered pine near the mountains. In the more level parts of the plain and the river bottoms, which are very extensive, there is no timber except a scant proportion of cottonwood near the river. The underwood consists of the narrow-leafed or small willow, the small honeysuckle, rosebushes, currant, serviceberry, and gooseberry bushes; also a small species of birch in small quantities, the leaf of which is oval, finely indented, small, and of a deep green color. The stem is simple, ascending and branching, and seldom rises higher than 10 or 12 feet. The mountains continue high on either side of the valley, and are only scantily supplied with timber; small pine appears to be the prevalent growth; it is of the pitch kind, with a short leaf.
At 11 A.M. Drewyer (Drouillard) killed a doe, and we halted about 2 hours and breakfasted, and then continued our route until night without halting, when we arrived at the river in a level bottom that appeared to spread to a greater extent than usual. From the appearance of the timber, I supposed that the river forked above us and resolved to examine this part of the river closely tomorrow.
This evening we passed through a high plain for about 8 miles covered with prickly pears and bearded grass, though we found this to be even better walking than the wide bottoms of the river, which we passed through later in the evening. These bottoms, although apparently level, from some cause which I do not know, were formed into myriads of deep holes, as if rooted up by hogs. These holes the grass covered so thickly that it was impossible to walk without the risk of falling down at every step. Some parts of these bottoms also possess excellent turf or peat, I believe of many feet deep. The mineral salts that I have frequently mentioned on the Missouri we also saw this evening in these uneven bottoms. We saw many deer, antelopes, ducks, geese, some beaver, and great signs of their work, also a small bird and the curlew as usual. We camped on the riverbank on the lard. (larboard) side, having traveled by estimate 23 miles.
The fish in this part of the river are trout and a species of scale fish of a white color with a remarkably small, long mouth, which one of our men informs us is the same as the species called bottlenose in the Eastern states. The snowy region of the mountains, and for some distance below, has no timber or herbage of any kind; the timber is confined to the lower and middle regions.
Capt. Clark (Captain Clark) set out this morning as usual. He walked on shore a short distance this morning and killed a deer. In the course of his walk, he saw a track which he supposed to be that of an Indian, from the circumstance of the large toes turning inward. He pursued the track and found that the person had ascended a point of a hill from which his camp of the previous evening was visible; this circumstance also confirmed the belief that it was an Indian who had thus discovered them and run off. They found the river, as usual, much crowded with islands, the current more rapid and much more shallow than usual. In many places they were obliged to double-man the canoes and drag them over the stones and gravel.
This morning they passed a small creek on the stard. (starboard) side, at the entrance of which Reubin Fields killed a large panther. We named the creek after that animal—Panther Creek. They also passed a handsome little stream on the lard. (larboard) side, which is formed of several large springs that rise in the bottoms and along the base of the mountains, with some little rivulets from the melting snows. The beaver have formed many large dams on this stream. They saw some deer, antelopes, and the common birds of the country. In the evening they passed a very bad rapid where the bed of the river is formed entirely of solid rock, and they camped on an island just above it.
The panther that Fields killed measured seven and a half feet from the nose to the tip of the tail. It is precisely the same animal common to the western part of our country. The men were compelled to be in the water for a great part of the day; they have had a severe day's labor and are very fatigued.
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