Lewis/Clark descending Missouri/Yellowstone to reunion — Patrick Gass: July 28, 1806

an early hour we proceeded down the river. In our way we
killed six goats or antelopes and seven buffaloes; and about
one o’clock came to the point at the mouth of Maria’s river,
where we met with the party who had come down from the
LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION — 267
falls by water, and who had just arrived; and also unexpect-
edly with Captain Lewis and the three men who had gone
with him. They had joined the party descending the river
this forenoon, after riding one hundred and twenty miles
since yesterday morning, when they had a skirmish with a
party of the Prairie Grossventress, or Bigbellied Indians who
inhabit the plains up Maria’s river; of which they gave the
following account. On the evening of the 26th Captain Lewis
and his party met with eight of those Indians, who seemed
very friendly and gave them two robes. In return Captain
Lewis gave one of them, who was a chief, a medal: and they
all continued together during the night; but after break of
day the next morning, the Indians snatched up three of our
men’s guns and ran off with them. One Indian had the guns
of two men, who pursued and caught him, and one of them
killed him with his knife; and they got back the guns. An-
other had Captain Lewis’s gun, but immediately gave it up.
The party then went to catch their horses, and found the
Indians driving them off; when Captain Lewis shot one of
them, and gave him a mortal wound; who notwithstanding
returned the fire, but without hurting the Captain. So our
men got all their own horses, but one, and a number of those
belonging to the Indians, as they ran off in confusion and left
every thing they had. Our men then saddled their horses,
and made towards the Missouri as fast as possible; after
Captain Lewis had satisfied himself with respect to the geo-
graphy of the country up Maria’s river.
We this day took the articles out of the place of deposit,
268 GASS’S JOURNAL OF THE
and examined the large red periogue we left here, and found
it too rotten to take down the river. We therefore took what
nails out of it we could, left our horses on the plains and pro-
ceeded down the river. About the time we started, a heavy
gust of rain and hail accompanied with thunder and lightning
came on and lasted about an hour, after which we had a cloudy
wet afternoon, and in the evening we encamped about twenty
five miles below the forks.