Nez Perce villages on Clearwater — Patrick Gass: September 24, 1805
The party spent the morning rounding up horses and set out around 10 a.m., traveling along a ridge through difficult terrain choked with dead and fallen timber. The weakened, exhausted horses struggled, and one fell into a swamp, soaking a bale of merchandise. By 4 p.m. they descended to a southwest-flowing creek, which seemed a promising route, and camped about a mile downstream in a small fertile bottom. They killed a duck, a few pheasants, and a wolf, eating these along with their last horse meat. The hunters and two men searching for a stray horse had not yet rejoined the group.
before we got our horses collected. About 10 o’clock we
were ready to start; and passed along the ridge with a great
deal of difficulty and fatigue, our march being much impeded
by the fallen timber. A great portion of the timber through
which we passed along this ridge is dead, and a considerable
part fallen; and our horses are weak and much jaded. One
LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION — 147
of them got into a small swamp, and wet a bale of merchan-
dize. About 4 o’clock in the afternoon we got down the
mountain to a creek, which runs nearly southwest. This
course we suppose is a very good one for us. We went down
this creek about a mile, and encamped on it for the night in a
small rich bottom. Here we killed a duck and two or three
pheasants; and supped upon them and the last of our horse
meat. We also killed a wolf and eat it. The hunters did not
join us this evening, nor the two men who went to look for
the horse.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
before we got our horses collected. About 10 o'clock we were ready to start, and passed along the ridge with a great deal of difficulty and fatigue, our march being much hindered by the fallen timber. A great portion of the timber through which we passed along this ridge is dead, and a considerable part has fallen; and our horses are weak and much worn out. One of them got into a small swamp and wet a bale of merchandise. About 4 o'clock in the afternoon we got down the mountain to a creek, which runs nearly southwest. We suppose this course is a very good one for us. We went down this creek about a mile, and camped on it for the night in a small rich bottom. Here we killed a duck and two or three pheasants, and supped on them and the last of our horse meat. We also killed a wolf and ate it. The hunters did not join us this evening, nor the two men who went to look for the horse.
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