Missouri River above Great Falls, Gates of the Mountains — Patrick Gass: July 17, 1805
On a fine, pleasant day, the party reached Captain Lewis's camp at a rapid stretch of the Missouri and ate breakfast. They combined two canoe crews to haul through the half-mile-long rapids, where the river narrowed sharply. Two springs were noted nearby, one lined with cottonwoods and willows. Pushing on through desert-like mountain terrain with near-vertical rocky peaks rising 700 to nearly 1200 feet, they spotted mountain sheep on the summits but few other animals. The river averaged 100 yards wide. They traveled 11 miles and camped in a small bottom on the north side.
fine and pleasant. At 8 o’clock we came to Captain Lewis’s
camp, at a very rapid place of the river, and took breakfast.
We had here to join the crews of two canoes together, to go
up the rapids which were about half a mile long. The Mis-
souri at this place is very narrow. At the head of these rapids
a fine spring comes in on the south side which rises about a
quarter of a mile from the river; and has a good deal of small
cotton-wood and willows on its banks. There is also another
spring below the rapids, but it sinks before it reaches the
river. We proceeded on through the mountains, a very desert
looking part of the country. Some of the knobs or peaks of
these mountains are 700 (perhaps some nearly 1200) feet high,
all rock; and though they are almost perpendicular, we saw
mountain sheep on the very tops of them. We saw few other
animals to day. The general breadth of the river is 100 yards.
We went 11 miles and encamped in a small bottom on the
north side.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
Fine and pleasant. At 8 o'clock we came to Captain Lewis's camp, at a very rapid place in the river, and had breakfast. Here we had to join the crews of two canoes together to go up the rapids, which were about half a mile long. The Missouri at this place is very narrow. At the head of these rapids a fine spring comes in on the south side, which rises about a quarter of a mile from the river and has a good deal of small cottonwood and willows on its banks. There is also another spring below the rapids, but it sinks before it reaches the river.
We proceeded on through the mountains, a very desert-looking part of the country. Some of the knobs or peaks of these mountains are 700 (perhaps some nearly 1200) feet high, all rock; and though they are almost perpendicular, we saw mountain sheep on the very tops of them. We saw few other animals today. The general width of the river is 100 yards. We went 11 miles and camped in a small bottom on the north side.
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