Lewis: July 27, 1805
The expedition pushed upriver against strong currents, the men exhausted, and reached the Three Forks of the Missouri by 9 A.M. Lewis climbed a limestone cliff to survey the three branches—southeast, middle, and southwest forks—each about 90 yards wide and running through beautiful meadows ringed by snow-capped mountains. He chose to camp and wait, determining to fix the location's coordinates. Captain Clark arrived in the afternoon feverish and exhausted from scouting; Lewis dosed him with Rush's pills. Hunters brought in deer, otter, and muskrat. Lewis worried about finding the Shoshone and obtaining horses.
Saturday July 27th 1805. We set out at an early hour and proceeded on but
slowly the current still so rapid that the men are in a continual state of
their utmost exertion to get on, and they begin to weaken fast from this
continual state of violent exertion. at the distance of 13/4 miles the
river was again closely hemned in by high Clifts of a solid limestone rock
which appear to have tumbled or sunk in the same manner of those discribed
yesterday. the limestone appears to be of an excellent quality of deep
blue colour when fractured and of a light led colour where exposed to the
weather. it appears to be of a very fine grain the fracture like that of
marble. we saw a great number of the bighorn on those Clifts. at the
distance of 33/4 ms. further we arrived at 9 A.M. at the junction of the
S. E. fork of the Missouri and the country opens suddonly to extensive and
beatifull plains and meadows which appear to be surrounded in every
direction with distant and lofty mountains; supposing this to be the three
forks of the Missouri I halted the party on the Lard. shore for breakfast
and walked up the S. E. fork about 1/2 a mile and ascended the point of a
high limestone clift from whence I commanded a most perfect view of the
neighbouring country. From this point I could see the S. E. fork about 7
miles. it is rapid and about 70 yards wide. throughout the distance I saw
it, it passes through a smoth extensive green meadow of fine grass in it’s
course meandering in several streams the largest of which passes near the
Lard. hills, of which, the one I stand on is the extremity in this
direction. a high wide and extensive plain succeeds the meadow and extends
back several miles from the river on the Stard. sade and with the range of
mountains up the Lard. side of the middle fork. a large spring arrises in
this meadow about 1/4 of a mile from the S. E. fork into which it
discharges itself on the Stard. side about 400 paces above me. from E to
S. between the S. E. and middle forks a distant range of lofty mountains
rose their snow-clad tops above the irregular and broken mountains which
lie adjacent to this beautifull spot. the extreme point to which I could
see the S. E. fork boar S. 65° E. distant 7 ms. as before observed.
between the middle and S. E. forks near their junctions with the S. W.
fork there is a handsom site for a fortification it consists of a
limestone rock of an oblong form; it’s sides perpendicular and about 25 ft
high except at the extremity towards the middle fork where it ascends
gradually and like the top is covered with a fine terf of greenswoard. the
top is level and contains about 2 Acres. the rock rises from the level
plain as if it had been designed for some such purpose. the extream point
to which I can see the bottom and meandering of the Middle fork bears S.
15 E distant about 14 miles. here it turns to the right around a point of
a high plain and disappears to my view. it’s bottoms are several miles in
width and like that of the S. E. fork form one smoth and beautifull green
meadow. it is also divided into several streams. betwen this and the S. W.
fork there is an extensive plain which appears to extend up both those
rivers many miles and back to the mountains. the extreme point to which I
can see the S. W. fork bears S. 30 W. distant about 12 miles. this stream
passes through a similar country with the other two and is more divided
and serpentine in it’s course than either of the others; it also possesses
abundanly more timber in it’s bottoms. the timber here consists of the
narrowleafed cottonwood almost entirely. but little box alder or sweet
willow the underbrush thick and as heretofore discribed in the quarter of
the missouri. a range of high mountains at a considerable distance appear
to reach from South to West and are partially covered with snow the
country to the right of the S. W. fork like that to the left of the S. E.
fork is high broken and mountainous as is that also down the missouri
behind us, through which, these three rivers after assembling their united
force at this point seem to have forced a passage these bottom lands tho
not more than 8 or 9 feet above the water seem never to overflow. after
making a draught of the connection and meanders of these streams I
decended the hill and returned to the party, took breakfast and ascended
the S. W. fork 13/4 miles and encamped at a Lard. bend in a handsome level
smooth plain just below a bayou, having passed the entrance of the middle
fork at 1/2 a mile. here I encamped to wait the return of Capt. Clark and
to give the men a little rest which seemed absolutely necessary to them.
at the junction of the S. W. and Middle forks I found a note which had
been left by Capt. Clark informing me of his intended rout, and that he
would rejoin me at this place provided he did not fall in with any fresh
sighn of Indians, in which case he intended to pursue untill he over took
them calculating on my taking the S. W. fork, which I most certainly
prefer as it’s direction is much more promising than any other. beleiving
this to be an essential point in the geography of this western part of the
Continent I determined to remain at all events untill I obtained the
necessary data for fixing it’s latitude Longitude &c. after fixing my
camp I had the canoes all unloaded and the baggage stoed away and securely
covered on shore, and then permitted several men to hunt. I walked down to
the middle fork and examined and compared it with the S. W. fork but could
not satisfy myself which was the largest stream of the two, in fact they
appeared as if they had been cast in the same mould there being no
difference in character or size, therefore to call either of these streams
the Missouri would be giving it a preference wich it’s size dose not
warrant as it is not larger then the other. they are each 90 yds. wide. in
these meadows I saw a number of the duckanmallad with their young which
are now nearly grown. Currants of every species as well as goosberries are
found here in great abundance and perfection. a large black goosberry
which grows to the hight of five or six feet is also found here. this is
the growth of the bottom lands and is found also near the little rivulets
which make down from the hills and mountains it puts up many stems from
the same root, some of which are partialy branched and all reclining. the
berry is attatched seperately by a long peduncle to the stem from which
they hang pendant underneath. the berry is of an ovate form smooth as
large as the common garden goosberry when arrived at maturity and is as
black as jet, tho the pulp is of a cimson colour. this fruit is extreemly
asced. the leaf resembles the common goosberry in form but is reather
larger and somewhat proportioned to the superior size of it’s stem when
compared with the common goosberry. the stem is covered with very sharp
thorns or bryers. below the tree forks as we passed this morning I
observed many collections of the mud nests of the small martin attatched
to the smooth face of the limestone rocks sheltered by projections of the
same rock above. Our hunters returned this evening with 6 deer 3 Otter and
a musk rat. they informed me that they had seen great numbers of
Antelopes, and much sign of beaver Otter deer Elk, &c. at 3 P.M. Capt
Clark arrived very sick with a high fever on him and much fatiegued and
exhausted. he informed me that he was very sick all last night had a high
fever and frequent chills & constant aking pains in all his mustles.
this morning notwithstanding his indisposition he pursued his intended
rout to the middle fork about 8 miles and finding no recent sign of
Indians rested about an hour and came down the middle fork to this place.
Capt. C. thought himself somewhat bilious and had not had a passage for
several days; I prevailed on him to take a doze of Rushes pills, which I
have always found sovereign in such cases and to bath his feet in warm
water and rest himself. Capt. C’s indisposition was a further inducement
for my remaining here a couple of days; I therefore informed the men of my
intention, and they put their deer skins in the water in order to prepare
them for dressing tomorrow. we begin to feel considerable anxiety with
rispect to the Snake Indians. if we do not find them or some other nation
who have horses I fear the successfull issue of our voyage will be very
doubtfull or at all events much more difficult in it’s accomplishment. we
are now several hundred miles within the bosom of this wild and mountanous
country, where game may rationally be expected shortly to become scarce
and subsistence precarious without any information with rispect to the
country not knowing how far these mountains continue, or wher to direct
our course to pass them to advantage or intersept a navigable branch of
the Columbia, or even were we on such an one the probability is that we
should not find any timber within these mountains large enough for canoes
if we judge from the portion of them through which we have passed. however
I still hope for the best, and intend taking a tramp myself in a few days
to find these yellow gentlemen if possible. my two principal consolations
are that from our present position it is impossible that the S. W. fork
can head with the waters of any other river but the Columbia, and that if
any Indians can subsist in the form of a nation in these mountains with
the means they have of acquiring food we can also subsist. Capt. C.
informed me that there is a part of this bottom on the West side of the
Middle fork near the plain, which appears to overflow occasionally and is
stony.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
Saturday, July 27th, 1805. We set out at an early hour and proceeded on, but slowly, the current still so rapid that the men are in a continual state of their utmost exertion to get on, and they begin to weaken fast from this continual state of violent exertion. At the distance of 1¾ miles, the river was again closely hemmed in by high cliffs of solid limestone rock, which appear to have tumbled or sunk in the same manner as those described yesterday. The limestone appears to be of an excellent quality, of a deep blue color when fractured and of a light lead color where exposed to the weather. It appears to be of a very fine grain, the fracture like that of marble. We saw a great number of bighorn on those cliffs.
At the distance of 3¾ miles further, we arrived at 9 A.M. at the junction of the S.E. fork of the Missouri, and the country opens suddenly to extensive and beautiful plains and meadows, which appear to be surrounded in every direction with distant and lofty mountains. Supposing this to be the Three Forks of the Missouri, I halted the party on the larboard shore for breakfast and walked up the S.E. fork about half a mile and ascended the point of a high limestone cliff, from which I commanded a most perfect view of the neighboring country.
From this point I could see the S.E. fork about 7 miles. It is rapid and about 70 yards wide. Throughout the distance I saw it, it passes through a smooth, extensive green meadow of fine grass, in its course meandering in several streams, the largest of which passes near the larboard hills, of which the one I stand on is the extremity in this direction. A high, wide, and extensive plain succeeds the meadow and extends back several miles from the river on the starboard side, and joins the range of mountains up the larboard side of the middle fork. A large spring arises in this meadow about a quarter of a mile from the S.E. fork, into which it discharges itself on the starboard side about 400 paces above me. From east to south, between the S.E. and middle forks, a distant range of lofty mountains rose their snow-clad tops above the irregular and broken mountains which lie adjacent to this beautiful spot. The extreme point to which I could see the S.E. fork bore S. 65° E., distant 7 miles, as before observed.
Between the middle and S.E. forks, near their junctions with the S.W. fork, there is a handsome site for a fortification. It consists of a limestone rock of an oblong form; its sides perpendicular and about 25 feet high, except at the extremity towards the middle fork, where it ascends gradually and, like the top, is covered with a fine turf of greensward. The top is level and contains about 2 acres. The rock rises from the level plain as if it had been designed for some such purpose.
The extreme point to which I can see the bottom and meandering of the middle fork bears S. 15° E., distant about 14 miles. Here it turns to the right around a point of a high plain and disappears from my view. Its bottoms are several miles in width and, like that of the S.E. fork, form one smooth and beautiful green meadow. It is also divided into several streams. Between this and the S.W. fork there is an extensive plain which appears to extend up both those rivers many miles and back to the mountains.
The extreme point to which I can see the S.W. fork bears S. 30° W., distant about 12 miles. This stream passes through a similar country to the other two and is more divided and serpentine in its course than either of the others; it also possesses abundantly more timber in its bottoms. The timber here consists of the narrow-leafed cottonwood almost entirely, with little box elder or sweet willow. The underbrush is thick and as heretofore described in the quarter of the Missouri. A range of high mountains at a considerable distance appears to reach from south to west and are partially covered with snow. The country to the right of the S.W. fork, like that to the left of the S.E. fork, is high, broken, and mountainous, as is that also down the Missouri behind us, through which these three rivers, after assembling their united force at this point, seem to have forced a passage. These bottom lands, though not more than 8 or 9 feet above the water, seem never to overflow.
After making a draft of the connection and meanders of these streams, I descended the hill and returned to the party, took breakfast, and ascended the S.W. fork 1¾ miles and camped at a larboard bend in a handsome, level, smooth plain just below a bayou, having passed the entrance of the middle fork at half a mile. Here I camped to wait the return of Capt. Clark and to give the men a little rest, which seemed absolutely necessary to them.
At the junction of the S.W. and middle forks, I found a note which had been left by Capt. Clark informing me of his intended route, and that he would rejoin me at this place provided he did not fall in with any fresh sign of Indians, in which case he intended to pursue until he overtook them, calculating on my taking the S.W. fork, which I most certainly prefer, as its direction is much more promising than any other. Believing this to be an essential point in the geography of this western part of the continent, I determined to remain at all events until I obtained the necessary data for fixing its latitude, longitude, etc.
After fixing my camp, I had the canoes all unloaded and the baggage stowed away and securely covered on shore, and then permitted several men to hunt. I walked down to the middle fork and examined and compared it with the S.W. fork, but could not satisfy myself which was the larger stream of the two. In fact, they appeared as if they had been cast in the same mold, there being no difference in character or size; therefore, to call either of these streams the Missouri would be giving it a preference which its size does not warrant, as it is not larger than the other. They are each 90 yards wide.
In these meadows I saw a number of the duckinmallard with their young, which are now nearly grown. Currants of every species, as well as gooseberries, are found here in great abundance and perfection. A large black gooseberry, which grows to the height of five or six feet, is also found here. This is the growth of the bottom lands and is found also near the little rivulets which run down from the hills and mountains. It puts up many stems from the same root, some of which are partially branched and all reclining. The berry is attached separately by a long peduncle to the stem, from which they hang pendant underneath. The berry is of an ovate form, smooth, as large as the common garden gooseberry when arrived at maturity, and is as black as jet, though the pulp is of a crimson color. This fruit is extremely acid. The leaf resembles the common gooseberry in form, but is rather larger and somewhat proportioned to the superior size of its stem when compared with the common gooseberry. The stem is covered with very sharp thorns or briers.
Below the tree forks as we passed this morning, I observed many collections of the mud nests of the small martin attached to the smooth face of the limestone rocks, sheltered by projections of the same rock above.
Our hunters returned this evening with 6 deer, 3 otter, and a muskrat. They informed me that they had seen great numbers of antelope and much sign of beaver, otter, deer, elk, etc.
At 3 P.M. Capt. Clark arrived very sick, with a high fever on him and much fatigued and exhausted. He informed me that he was very sick all last night, had a high fever and frequent chills, and constant aching pains in all his muscles. This morning, notwithstanding his indisposition, he pursued his intended route to the middle fork about 8 miles, and, finding no recent sign of Indians, rested about an hour and came down the middle fork to this place. Capt. C. thought himself somewhat bilious and had not had a passage for several days. I prevailed on him to take a dose of Rush's pills, which I have always found sovereign in such cases, and to bathe his feet in warm water and rest himself.
Capt. C.'s indisposition was a further inducement for my remaining here a couple of days. I therefore informed the men of my intention, and they put their deerskins in the water in order to prepare them for dressing tomorrow.
We begin to feel considerable anxiety with respect to the Snake Indians. If we do not find them or some other nation who have horses, I fear the successful issue of our voyage will be very doubtful, or at all events much more difficult in its accomplishment. We are now several hundred miles within the bosom of this wild and mountainous country, where game may rationally be expected shortly to become scarce and subsistence precarious, without any information with respect to the country, not knowing how far these mountains continue, or where to direct our course to pass them to advantage or intersect a navigable branch of the Columbia. Or even were we on such a one, the probability is that we should not find any timber within these mountains large enough for canoes, if we judge from the portion of them through which we have passed. However, I still hope for the best, and intend taking a tramp myself in a few days to find these yellow gentlemen if possible. My two principal consolations are that, from our present position, it is impossible that the S.W. fork can head with the waters of any other river but the Columbia, and that if any Indians can subsist in the form of a nation in these mountains with the means they have of acquiring food, we can also subsist.
Capt. C. informed me that there is a part of this bottom on the west side of the middle fork near the plain, which appears to overflow occasionally and is stony.
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