Great Falls of the Missouri — Patrick Gass: June 16, 1805
The party hauled canoes up a mile-long rapid and then brought up the pirogue, pausing to scout another major rapid ahead. A messenger sent the previous night to Captain Lewis returned around noon with Lewis and his group, along with the hunters who had gone out that morning. Lewis reported that the falls extended 15 miles upstream, featuring five perpendicular drops of 40 feet or more separated by fast water. Determining the south side was better for portaging, the men crossed over, unloaded, and towed the empty canoes upstream about a mile to a small river mouth, completing the difficult and dangerous task safely.
taking the canoes over the rapid about a mile in length, which
having accomplished they returned and took up the periogue,
where we halted to examine another great rapid close ahead.
One man had been sent on last night to Captain Lewis, to find
out what discoveries he had made. We remained here some
time, and a few of the men went out to hunt. About noon
Captain Lewis and the party with him joined us, and the
hunters came in. Captain Lewis had been up the falls 15
miles above the first shoot or pitch, and found the falls con-
tinue all that distance, in which there were 5 different shoots
40 or $0 feet perpendicular each, and very rapid water between
them. As we found the south side the best to carry our
canoes up, we crossed over and unloaded our craft. We then
had to take the empty canoes to the side we had left, and to
LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION tor
tow them up by a line about a mile, in order to get them up
to the mouth of a small river on the south side, as a more
convenient place to take them up the bank. This business
was attended with great difficulty as well as danger, but we
succeeded in getting them all over safe.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
We took the canoes over the rapid, which was about a mile in length. Having accomplished this, we returned and took up the pirogue, where we halted to examine another great rapid close ahead. One man had been sent on last night to Captain Lewis (Capt. Lewis) to find out what discoveries he had made. We remained here some time, and a few of the men went out to hunt. About noon Captain Lewis and the party with him joined us, and the hunters came in. Captain Lewis had been up the falls 15 miles above the first shoot or pitch, and found the falls continued all that distance. In them there were 5 different shoots of 40 or 50 feet perpendicular each, with very rapid water between them.
As we found the south side the best for carrying our canoes up, we crossed over and unloaded our craft. We then had to take the empty canoes to the side we had left, and tow them up by a line about a mile, in order to get them to the mouth of a small river on the south side, as a more convenient place to take them up the bank. This business was attended with great difficulty as well as danger, but we succeeded in getting them all over safely.
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