LEWIS AND CLARK
V
The winter was spent chiefly in procuring food and in observing
the natives and the geography of the neighboring country, and the
expedition had not expected to leave their permanent camp, Fort
Clatsop, before the first of April. By the first of March, however, the
elk, on which they chiefly depended for food, had moved away to ascend
the mountains, and their trade goods being almost exhausted, they
were too poor to purchase food from the Indians. It was evident that
they must start back up the river, in the hope of there finding food,
and must reach the point where they had left their horses before the
Indians there should have moved off across the mountains or dispersed
over the country.
During the winter they had worked hard at dressing skins, so that they
were now well clad, and had besides three or four hundred pairs of
moccasins. They still had also one hundred and forty pounds of powder
and about twice that weight of lead, quite enough to carry them back.
On the 23d of March, therefore, after giving certificates to some of
the Indian chiefs, and leaving tacked up on one of their cabins a
notice of their successful crossing of the continent and their start
back, they set out in two canoes up the Columbia. As they passed along
they at first found little difficulty in securing provisions from the
acquaintances they had made while descending the river; and besides
this, the hunters killed some game. Before long, however, they began
to meet Indians coming down the river who informed them that they had
been driven from the Great Rapids by lack of provisions, their winter
store of dried fish having become exhausted, and the salmon not being
expected for a month or more. This was dismal news to people who were
ascending the river in the hope of obtaining provisions, but there was
nothing for them to do except to keep on, living on the country as well
as they could, trying to reach the place where they had left their
horses before the Indians should have departed. Their hunters succeeded
in killing some deer and elk on the south side of the river, though
there seemed no game on the north. Besides that, the deer killed were
so extremely thin in flesh that it hardly seemed worth while to bring
them into camp.
Many of the Indians still stood in great fear of the “medicine” of
the white men; and Captain Clark, returning from a short exploring
trip, saw an example of this. “On entering one of the apartments of
the house, Captain Clark offered several articles to the Indians in
exchange for wappatoo; but they appeared sullen and ill-humored, and
refused to give him any. He therefore sat down by the fire opposite to
the men, and, drawing a portfire match from his pocket, threw a small
piece of it into the flames; at the same time he took out his pocket
compass, and by means of a magnet which happened to be in his inkhorn,
made the needle turn round very briskly. The match immediately took
fire, and burned violently, on which the Indians, terrified at this
strange exhibition, brought a quantity of wappatoo and laid it at his
feet, begging him to put out the bad fire; while an old woman continued
to speak with great vehemence, as if praying and imploring protection.
After receiving the roots, Captain Clark put up the compass, and, as
the match went out of itself, tranquillity was restored, though the
women and children still sought refuge in their beds and behind the
men. He now paid them for what he had used, and, after lighting his
pipe and smoking with them, continued down the river.”
The hunters still were killing some game, but it was so thin as to
be unfit for use; six deer and an elk were left in the timber, while
two deer and a bear were brought in. The wappatoo was now largely the
food of all the Indians. The bulb, which grows in all the ponds of the
interior, is gathered by the women, who, standing in deep water, feel
about in the mud for the roots of the plant and detach the bulbs with
their toes; these rise to the surface and are thrown into the canoe.
The roots are like a small potato and are light and very nutritious.
A few days later they obtained from the Indians the skin of a “sheep”
(mountain goat), which is described so that there is no doubt about
the identification. The hunters also killed three black-tailed deer.
Near Sepulcher Rock, a burial-place for the surrounding tribes, Captain
Clark crossed the river in the endeavor to purchase a few horses, by
which they might transport their baggage and some provisions across the
mountains, but in this he was unsuccessful. However, some Indians were
met, who promised a little later to meet them and furnish some horses.
At the foot of the Great Narrows four were purchased to assist in
carrying the baggage and the outfit over the portage.
The Indians at the upper end were rejoicing over the catching of
the first salmon; and they were so good-natured that they sold the
white men four more horses for two kettles, which reduced the stock
of kettles to one. There was a good deal of trouble here from thefts
by the Indians, and from their practice of trading articles and
then returning and giving back the price that they had received and
demanding articles that had been traded. So annoying did this become,
that Captain Clark declared to the Indians in council assembled that
the next man caught thieving would be shot; and a little bit later
he was obliged to threaten to burn the village. At last, however,
they got away, with ten horses, and proceeding up the river secured
a few others. By this time they had exhausted pretty much all their
trade goods, and the capacity to buy was about at an end. The Indian
tribes that they were passing now did not seem to be particularly
friendly and held themselves aloof; but a chief of the Walla Wallas,
whom they met a little later, treated them most hospitably, and in
striking contrast to the people that they had lately seen. This chief
presented Captain Clark with a fine horse, and received in return a
sword, one hundred balls, some powder, and some other small presents.
The chief helped them cross the river in his canoes, and they camped
on the Columbia, at the mouth of the Walla Walla River. They now
possessed twenty-three horses, and on the whole were in pretty good
shape, except that they had but little food and had nothing left which
they could trade for food. About the first of May they met a party of
Indians, consisting of one of the chiefs of the Nez Percés who had gone
down Lewis River with them the previous year and had been of great
service to them, and had now come to meet them. They were now out of
provisions, but at an Indian camp not far off managed to obtain two
lean dogs and some roots. As they went on they learned that most of the
Nez Percés were scattered out gathering spring roots, but the Indian in
whose charge their horses had been left was not far away.
At this point the explorers were applied to by two or three persons who
were ill, and their simple treatment benefiting the Indians, their fame
greatly increased. The white men were careful to give the Indians only
harmless medicine, trying to assist nature rather than to do anything
that was radical. The Indians who had been benefited gave material
evidence of their gratitude.
Since they had been on the Columbia River the Indians had made great
fun of the white men because they ate dogs, and it was just after
their experience in doctoring, but at another village, that “an Indian
standing by, and looking with great derision at our eating dog’s flesh,
threw a poor half-starved puppy almost into Captain Lewis’s plate,
laughing heartily at the humor of it. Captain Lewis took up the animal
and flung it back with great force into the fellow’s face, and seizing
his tomahawk, threatened to cut him down if he dared to repeat such
insolence. He immediately withdrew, apparently much mortified, and we
continued our dog repast very quietly.” Continuing their journey, they
were again applied to for medical advice and assistance, but declined
to practice without remuneration. One or two small operations were
performed, and a woman who had been treated, declaring the next day
that she felt much better, her husband brought up a horse, which they
at once killed.
Having crossed the river, on the advice of the Indians that more game
was to be found, they kept on their way, and the day after the hunters
brought in four deer, which, with the remains of the horse, gave them
for the moment an abundant supply of food. Here they met Twisted Hair,
in whose charge they had left their horses. He told them that, owing
to the care that he had taken of their horses, he had been obliged to
quarrel with other chiefs, who were jealous of him, and that finally
he had given up the care of the horses, which were now scattered. They
soon recovered twenty-one of their horses--most of which were in good
condition--a part of their saddles, and some powder and lead which had
been put in the cache with them. The Indians gave them two fat young
horses for food, asking nothing in return, and the hospitality and
generosity of these Indians made a great impression on the white men,
who were now disposed to treat them with a great deal more courtesy and
consideration than had been their custom. Captain Lewis at this meeting
is quite enthusiastic about these Chopunnish Indians, whom he describes
as industrious, cleanly, and generous--a report quite different from
that made on the way down the river.
At the village where they camped May 11, the Indians lived in a single
house, one hundred and fifty feet long, built of sticks, straw, and
dried grass. It contained about twenty-four fires, about double that
number of families, and might muster, perhaps, one hundred fighting
men. The difficulty of talking to these Indians was great, for Captains
Lewis and Clark were obliged to speak in English to one of the men, who
translated this in French to Chaboneau, who interpreted to his wife
in Minnetari; she told it in Shoshoni to a young Shoshoni prisoner,
who finally explained it to the Nez Percés in their own tongue. After
the council was over, the wonders of the compass, the spy-glass, the
magnet, the watch, and the air-gun were all shown to the Indians. Here
they were obliged also to do a good deal of doctoring, and finally
another council was held, at which it was agreed by the Indians to
follow the advice of Captains Lewis and Clark. Presents were made by
the Indians to the whites, and to each chief was given a flag, a
pound of powder, and fifty balls, and the same to the young men who
had presented horses to them. They also paid the man who had charge of
their horses, in part, agreeing with him to give the balance so soon as
the remainder of the horses were brought in.
On the 14th of May they crossed the river and made a camp, where they
purposed to wait until the snow had melted in the mountains. The
hunters killed two bears and some small game, much of which they gave
to the Indians, to whom it was a great treat, since they seldom had a
taste of flesh. Many patients continued to be brought to them, whom
they doctored, and with some success.
Early in June they began to make preparations to cross the mountains,
though the Indians told them it would be impossible to do this before
about the first of July. They were now well provided with animals,
each man having a good riding horse, with a second horse for a pack,
and some loose horses to be used in case of accident or for food. The
salmon had not yet come up the river. They started on the 15th of June
in a rain, and on the way found three deer, which their hunters had
killed. They soon began to climb the mountains, and before long found
themselves travelling over hard snow, which bore up their horses well;
but it was evident that the journey would be too long to make, since
for several days’ travel there would be no food for the animals. So
they were obliged to turn back and wait for the warmer weather.
Two men who had been sent back to the Indian village to hurry up the
Indians who had promised to cross the mountains with them, and make
peace with the Indians on the upper Missouri, returned with three
Indians who agreed to go with them to the falls of the Missouri. A
little later they started again, usually keeping on the divide, in
order to head all streams and not cross any running water. The country
was completely covered with snow. On the 26th of June they camped high
up on the mountains, where there was good food for the horses. The
travelling was pleasant, the snow hard. Their provisions had now about
given out, however, except that they still had some roots; but now and
then a deer was killed, which kept them from absolute starvation.
By July 1 they had reached a country where game was quite abundant,
deer, elk, and big-horn being plenty in the neighborhood. It was
determined to divide the party and to cover more country on the return
than they had when coming out. Captain Lewis, with nine men, was to go
to the falls of the Missouri, leave three men there to prepare carts
for transporting baggage and canoes across the portage, and with the
remaining six to ascend Maria’s River and explore the country there.
The remainder of the party were to go to the head of the Jefferson
River, where nine men under Sergeant Ordway should descend it with the
canoes. Captain Clark’s party was to go to the Yellowstone, there build
canoes, and go down that river with seven men; while Sergeant Pryor,
with two others, should take the horses overland to the Mandans, and
thence go north to the British posts on the Assiniboine and induce
Mr. Henry to persuade some of the Sioux chiefs to go with him to
Washington. This plan was carried out.
Captain Lewis kept on to the Dearborn River. This was a good game
country and they made rapid progress, and before long found themselves
at their old station, White Bear Island. During the flood of the river
the water had entered their cache and spoiled much of their property.
They had much trouble here with lost horses, and one of their men,
riding suddenly upon a bear, his horse wheeled and threw him, and the
bear drove him up a tree where he was kept all day.
Captain Lewis now started to explore the Maria’s River, and, following
it up, almost reached the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Here they met a
band of Indians, who stated that they were Gros Ventres of the Prairie,
or, as Lewis and Clark put it, Minnetari of Fort de Prairie, and who,
after some hesitation, appeared to be friendly enough, and smoked with
Captain Lewis. They expressed themselves as willing to be at peace
with the Indians across the mountains, but said that those Indians had
lately killed a number of their relations. Captain Lewis kept a very
close watch, fearing that the Indians would steal his horses. This did
not happen, but on the following day, July 27, the Indians seized the
rifles of four of the party. As soon as Fields and his brother saw
the Indian running off with their two rifles they pursued him, and,
overtaking him, stabbed him through the heart with a knife. The other
guns were recovered without killing any of the Indians; but as they
were trying to drive off the horses, Captain Lewis ordered the men to
follow up the main party, who were driving the horses, and shoot them.
He himself ran after two other Indians, who were driving away another
bunch of horses, and so nearly overtook them that they left twelve
of their own animals but continued to drive off one belonging to the
white men. Captain Lewis had now run as far as he could, and calling to
the Indians several times that unless they gave up the horse he would
shoot, he finally did so, and killed an Indian. The other men now began
to come up, having recovered a considerable number of the horses; they
had lost one of their own horses and captured four belonging to the
Indians. They now retreated down the river with the horses that they
had, but took nothing from the Indians’ camp.
These Indians were probably not Gros Ventres, as stated in the Lewis
and Clark journal. Precisely the same story was told me in the year
1888 by the oldest Indian in the Blackfoot camp, as having been
witnessed by him in his boyhood on Birch Creek, a branch of the
Maria’s. Wolf Calf, the narrator, was considered much the oldest Indian
in the Piegan camp, and was supposed to be more than ninety-five years
old. The Indian killed by Fields was named Side Hill Calf. He said that
he was a boy with the Indian war party.
Captain Lewis, believing that they would be promptly pursued by a
much larger party of Indians and attacked, at once began a retreat.
The Indian horses which had been captured proved good ones, the
plains were level, and they rode hard for more than eighty miles, only
stopping twice to kill a buffalo and to rest their horses. They stopped
at two o’clock in the morning, and at daylight started on again, and at
last when they reached the Missouri they heard the report of a gun, and
then a number of reports and before long had the satisfaction of seeing
their friends going down the river. They landed, and Captain Lewis’s
party, after turning loose the horses, embarked, with the baggage,
and kept on down the stream. Before long they met Sergeants Gass and
Willard, who were bringing down horses from the falls, and now the
whole party had come together, except Captain Clark’s outfit, which had
gone down the Yellowstone.
The journey down the Missouri was quickly made, and at the mouth of the
Yellowstone a note was found from Captain Clark, who had gone on before
them. Not far below this Captain Lewis, while hunting elk on a willow
grove sand-bar, was shot in the thigh by his companion, Cruzatte, who
apparently mistook him for an elk, he being clad in buckskin. At first
Captain Lewis thought that they had been attacked by Indians, but no
signs of Indians being found, the conclusion that Cruzatte had shot
him, apparently by mistake, seemed inevitable. On August 12 they met
Captain Clark’s party, whose adventures had been much less startling
than theirs. His party had started up Wisdom River, on the west side
of the mountains, and, crossing over to the head of the Jefferson, had
passed through a beautiful country--the Beaverhead--very lovely in its
surroundings, with fertile soil, and abounding in game.
Most of the party had gone down the river in canoes, but a few men
had been left on the land to drive down the horses. A part of these,
under Sergeant Ordway, kept on down the river, while at the mouth
of the Madison, Captain Clark, with ten men and the wife and child
of Chaboneau, taking the fifty horses, crossed over to go to the
Yellowstone and descend it. When they reached the Yellowstone, they
followed it down for some little time, through a country abounding in
buffalo, deer, and elk. Very likely they would have gone on farther
but for an accident to one of the men, who was so badly hurt that he
could not sit on his horse. Small timber being found, canoes were
constructed, which were lashed together and loaded preparatory to
setting out. While all this was being done, twenty-four of their horses
disappeared, and a little search showed a piece of rope and a moccasin,
which made it clear that the horses had been run off by the Indians.
Sergeant Pryor, with two men, was ordered to take the remaining horses
down the river to the mouth of the Bighorn, where they could cross and
from there he was to take them to the Mandans. The canoes which went on
down the river passed various streams, and at one point came upon what
appeared to have been a medicine lodge of the Blackfeet. At a stream
to which they gave the name of Horse Creek, they found Pryor with his
animals. He had had much trouble in driving the horses, since, as many
of them had been used by the Indians in hunting buffalo, whenever
they saw a bunch of buffalo they would set off in pursuit of them. To
prevent this, Sergeant Pryor was obliged to send one man ahead of the
horse herd to drive away the buffalo.
From the top of Pompey’s Pillar Captain Clark had a wide and beautiful
prospect over the country, dotted everywhere by herds of buffalo, elk,
and wolves. Bighorn were abundant here and farther down the stream,
and the noise of the buffalo--for this was now the rutting season--was
continuous. The large herds of elk were so gentle that they might be
approached within twenty paces without being alarmed. The abundance of
buffalo was so great that the travellers were in great fear, either
that they would come into their camp at night and destroy their boats
by trampling on them, or that the herds, which were constantly crossing
the river, would upset the boats. Bears, also, were very abundant,
and quite as fierce as they had been on the Missouri. Captain Clark
killed one, the largest female that they had seen, and so old that the
canine teeth had been worn quite smooth. Mosquitoes here were terribly
abundant; several times, it is said, they alighted on the rifle barrels
in such numbers that it was impossible to take sight.
On August 8 they were joined by Sergeant Pryor and his men, who had no
horses; every one of them had been taken off the second day after they
left the party by Indians. They followed them for a short distance,
but without overtaking them; and finally coming back to the river,
built two row-boats, in which they came down the stream with the utmost
safety and comfort. On the 11th of August they met two trappers who
had left Illinois in the summer of 1804, and had spent the following
winter with the Tetons, where they had robbed and swindled a French
trader out of all his goods. They told Captain Clark that the Mandans
and Minnetaris were at war with the Arikaras, and had killed two of
them, and also that the Assiniboines were at war with the Mandans, news
which could not have been very pleasing to the explorers, whose efforts
on their way up the river had been so strong for peace.
The party having come together on August 12, they kept on down the
river, and two days later reached the village of the Mandans. Here
they had protracted councils with the Mandans and Minnetaris, and
tried hard to persuade some of them to go on with them to Washington.
Colter applied to the commanding officers for permission to join the
two trappers who had come down the river to this point, and he was
accordingly discharged, supplied with powder and lead, and a number of
other articles which might be useful to him. The next day he started
back up the river. What Colter’s subsequent adventures were is well
known to any one who has followed the course of early exploration in
the West. Colter’s Hell, if we recollect right, was the first name ever
applied to the geyser basins of the Yellowstone Park.
Though the Mandans and Minnetaris were as friendly and hospitable as
possible, and gave them great stores of corn, none of the principal men
would consent to go to Washington. They promised, however, to be more
attentive to the requests of the white men, to keep the peace with
their neighbors, and were greatly pleased and proud of the gift to the
chief of the Minnetaris, Le Borgne, of the swivel, for which Captain
Clark no longer had any use, as it could not be discharged from the
canoes on which they were travelling. Here, too, they discharged their
interpreter, Chaboneau, who wished to remain with his wife and child.
One of the chiefs, Big White, consented, with his wife and child, to
accompany the white men. Before the expedition finally left the village
there was a last talk with the Indians, who sent word to the Arikaras
by Captain Clark, inviting them to come up and meet them, and saying
that they really desired peace with the Arikaras, but that they could
place no dependence on anything that the Sioux might say.
Keeping on down the river, they found game plenty and the mosquitoes
troublesome. At the Arikara village they were well received, and
found there a camp of Cheyennes, also friendly. The Rees expressed
willingness to follow the advice that Captain Clark had given them,
but made many excuses for the failure to follow their counsels of the
year before. The Cheyenne chief invited the white men to his lodge,
and Captain Clark presented a medal to the chief, to that individual’s
great alarm, for he feared that it was “medicine” and might in some way
harm him. The Cheyennes are described as friendly and well-disposed,
though shy.
The trip down the river was unmarked by adventure. Enormous quantities
of buffalo were seen, and on the 30th of August they came upon a party
of Teton Sioux, under a chief called Black Bull. Other Sioux were seen,
and on September 3 they came to the trading post of a Mr. James Airs,
who presented each of the party with as much tobacco as he could use
for the rest of the voyage, and also gave them a barrel of flour. Below
the mouth of the Big Sioux River they passed Floyd’s grave, which they
found had been opened. Two days later they passed the trading post of
one of the Choteaus and a little later the Platte, and at last, on
September 20, reached the little village of La Charette. On September
23 they reached St. Louis and went on shore, where they received “a
most hearty and hospitable welcome from the whole village.”