Lewis: fight with Blackfeet at Two Medicine River — Patrick Gass: July 26, 1806

went back to Willow creek for the other canoe, and the rest
of the party were employed in taking down the canoes and
baggage to the lower end of the portage, where the periogue
had been left. It rained very hard all night, which has made
the plains so muddy that it is with the greatest difficulty we
LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION — 265
can get along with the canoe; though in the evening, after a
hard day’s labour, we got her safe to Portage river, and the
men run her down to the lower landing place, where we en-
camped. A few drops of rain fell in the course of the day.
266 GASS’S JOURNAL OF THE
CHAP. XXIV.
UNDAY 27th. Ina fine clear pleasant morning myself and
one of the men crossed the river with the horses, in order
to go by land to the mouth of Maria’s river: the rest of the
party here are to go by water. We proceeded on through
the, plains about twenty miles, and in our way saw a great
many buffaloes. We then struck Tansy or Rose river, which
we kept down about ten miles and encamped. The land
along this river 1s handsomely covered with cotton wood tim-
ber, and there is an abundance of game of different kinds.
In our way we killed a buffaloe and a goat. The wolves in
packs occasionally hunt these goats, which are too swift to
be run down and taken by a single wolf. The wolves having
fixed upon their intended prey and taken their stations, a part
of the pack commence the chase, and running it in a circle,
are at certain intervals relieved by others. In this manner
they are able to run a goat down. At the falls where the
wolves are plenty, I had an opportunity of seeing one of these
hunts.