Canoe Camp on Clearwater River — Patrick Gass: September 30, 1805

able were employed in making canoes. About to o’clock the
man came in who had gone to look for the horses, he had
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found one of them and killed a deer. I feel much relieved
from my indisposition.
In the evening the greater part of the war party came in,
and some of the principal men came down to our camp. We
could not understand what they had done, as we could only
converse by signs. Medals were given by the Commanding
Officers to 3 or 4 of them as leading men of their nation; and
they remained about our camp. The river below the fork is
about 200 yards wide; the water is clear as chrystal, from 2 to
5 feet deep, and abounding with salmon of an excellent qual-
ity. The bottom of the river is stony and the banks chiefly
composed of a round hard species of stone.