Nez Perce villages on Clearwater — Patrick Gass: September 24, 1805

Patrick Gass · Nez Perce villages on Clearwater · Thwaites Vol. Gass 1807 First Edition

That night's camp, per the NPS campsite reconstruction (Bergantino): near Orofino, ID

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.