_Conclusion of_ LEWIS _and_ CLARKE'S _Voyage from St.
Louis to the Source of the Missouri._
As the winter was now fast approaching, the commanders of the expedition
considered it requisite to look out for some convenient place, where
they might pass those months, during which the river would be frozen and
unnavigable. Accordingly, on the 2d of November, they fixed upon a
place, not far distant from the Indian villages. They cut down a
considerable quantity of timber for the formation of huts; and
constructed tolerably comfortable habitations. Food could here be
procured in such abundance, that, in the course of two days, a Mandan
Indian killed as many as two hundred goats.
In the night of the 5th they were awaked by the man on guard, who called
them to witness a peculiarly beautiful appearance of the aurora
borealis, or northern lights. Along the sky, towards the north, a large
space was occupied by a light of brilliant white colour, which rose from
the horizon, and extended itself to nearly twenty degrees above it.
After glittering for some time, its colours were occasionally overcast
and obscured; but again it would burst out with renewed beauty. The
uniform colour was pale; but its shapes were various and fantastic. At
times the sky was lined with light-coloured streaks, rising
perpendicularly from the horizon, and gradually expanding into a body of
light, in which could be seen the trace of floating columns, sometimes
advancing, sometimes retreating, and shaping into an infinite variety of
forms.
Before the middle of November a store-house was completed, in which the
contents of the boats were laid up for the winter. On the 13th, ice
began to float down the river for the first time; and, on the ensuing
day, the ground was covered with snow. In some traps which had been set,
twenty beavers were caught. On the 16th the men moved into the huts,
although they were not finished. Three days after this the hunters
brought in a supply of thirty-two deer, eleven elks, and five buffaloes,
all of which were hung up to be smoked, for future subsistence.
The huts were ranged in two rows, each row containing four rooms,
fourteen feet square, and seven feet high. The place in which they were
erected was called _Fort Mandan_, and was a point of low ground, on the
north side of the Missouri, covered with tall and heavy cotton-wood. The
computed distance from the mouth of the Missouri was sixteen hundred
miles.
In the vicinity of this place were five villages of three distinct
nations: _Mandans_, _Ahanaways_, and _Minnetarees_. Not many years ago
the Mandans were a very numerous race, occupying, in the whole,
eighteen villages; but their numbers had been so much reduced, by the
small-pox and by their wars with the Sioux, that they were compelled to
emigrate in a body, and unite themselves with the Ricara nation; and
they now occupy only two villages, on opposite sides of the Missouri,
and about three miles asunder. Each of these contains forty or fifty
lodges, built in the same manner as those of the Ricaras. The whole
force of the Ahanaways is not, at present, more than fifty men. Their
residence is on an elevated plain, near the mouth of the _Knife river_.
On the south side of the same river, and about half a mile distant from
this people, is a village of the _Minnetarees_; and there are four other
villages of these Indians at a little distance.
The religion of the Mandans consists in the belief that one great Spirit
presides over their destinies; but they also believe that various
beings, some imaginary and some existing in the form of animals, have
the power of interceding for them with the great spirit. To these they
pay their devotion. They believe in a future state; and that, after
death, they shall go to the original seats of their forefathers, which
they suppose to be underground, immediately beneath a spot on the banks
of the Missouri, where they formerly had nine villages.
On the 7th of December, the Missouri was frozen over, and the ice was an
inch and half in thickness. The cold was so intense, that the air was
filled with icy particles resembling a fog; and the snow was several
inches deep. Notwithstanding this, one of the commanders, accompanied by
some of the men, went out almost every day to hunt. On the tenth,
Captain Clarke and his hunters, after having killed nine buffaloes, were
obliged to spend a wretched night on the snow: having no other covering
than a small blanket and the hides of the buffaloes they had killed. The
next day the wind blew from the north; and the ice in the atmosphere was
so thick, as to render the weather hazy, and to give the appearance of
two suns reflecting each other. On the seventeenth, the mercury in the
thermometer fell to seventy-four degrees below the freezing point. The
fort was completed on the day before Christmas.
The Indians, inured to the severity of the climate, are able to support
the rigours of the season, in a way which Captains Lewis and Clarke had
hitherto considered impossible. Many parts of their bodies were exposed;
and one of the Indians, in particular, although his dress was very thin,
was known to have passed the night on the snow, without a fire; and yet
he did not suffer the slightest inconvenience.
After having spent nearly five months in this dreary abode, the ice
broke up, the boats were repaired and once more got into the river; and
other preparations were made for the voyagers to pursue their course
towards the sources of the Missouri.
In the afternoon of Sunday, the 7th of April, the arrangements being all
completed, the party, consisting of thirty-two persons, once more
embarked. They now occupied six small canoes and two large pirogues. The
barge was sent down the river, to the United States, with presents of
natural curiosities, which had been collected, and with dispatches to
the president.
At some distance from Fort Mandan, the land, on each side of the
Missouri, after ascending the hills near the water, exhibits the
appearance of one fertile and unbroken plain, which extends as far as
the eye can reach, without a solitary tree or shrub, except in moist
situations, or in the steep declivities of hills. In some parts the
plains were on fire; for, every spring, as soon as the ice breaks up in
the river, these plains are set on fire by the Indians, for the purpose
of driving out and attacking the buffaloes, and other wild animals which
inhabit them. Beavers were here very abundant. A herd of antelopes, and
the track of a large white bear, were seen in the plain: geese and
swans were observed, in great numbers. The musquitoes now began to be
very troublesome.
Before the middle of April, the weather became so warm, that, in the
day-time, the men worked with no clothes on, except round their waist.
On the twelfth, the voyagers reached the mouth of the _Little Missouri_,
where they remained during the day, for the purpose of making celestial
observations. This river falls into the Missouri, on its south side, and
at the distance of sixteen hundred and ninety-three miles above its
confluence with the Mississippi. Its current is strong, and its width a
hundred and thirty-four yards; but its greatest depth is only two feet
and half. The adjacent country is hilly and irregular; and the soil is,
for the most part, a rich dark-coloured loam, intermixed with a small
proportion of sand.
On the thirteenth, the voyagers passed the remains of forty-three
temporary lodges, which were supposed to have belonged to the Assiniboin
Indians. The waters of many of the creeks were found to be so strongly
impregnated with mineral salts, that they were not fit to be drunk. On
each bank of the Missouri the country presented the appearance of low
plains and meadows; bounded, at the distance of a few miles, by broken
hills, which end in high, level, and fertile lands: the quantity of
timber was increasing. In the timbered-grounds, higher up the river, the
voyagers observed a great quantity of old hornets' nests. Many of the
hills exhibited a volcanic appearance, furnishing great quantities of
lava and pumice stone: of the latter, several pieces were observed
floating down the river. In all the copses there were remains of
Assiniboin encampments.
On the twentieth, near an Indian camp, the voyagers observed a scaffold,
about seven feet high, on which were two sleds, with their harness; and
under the scaffold was the body of a female, carefully wrapped in
several dressed buffalo-skins. Near it lay a bag, made of buffalo-skin,
and containing some articles of apparel, scrapers for dressing hides,
some dried roots, plats of sweet grass, and a small quantity of tobacco.
These, as well as the body, had probably fallen down by accident, as it
is customary to place the dead bodies on scaffolds. At a little distance
was the body of a dog, not yet decayed: he had, no doubt, been employed
in dragging, in the sled, the body of his mistress, and, according to
the Indian usage, had been sacrificed to her.
From the sand-bars in the river, the wind sometimes blew such vast
quantities of sand into the air, as to appear like clouds, and even to
conceal the opposite bank from view. These clouds of sand floated, like
columns of thick smoke, to the distance of many miles; and the particles
were so penetrating, that nothing could be kept free from them.
Near the junction of _Yellow-stone river_ with the Missouri, the country
was much more woody than it had been in any other part, since the
voyagers had passed the Chayenne; and the trees were chiefly of
cotton-wood, elm, ash, box, and alder. In the low grounds were
rose-bushes, the red-berry, service-berry, red-wood, and other shrubs;
and among the bushes on the higher plains, were observed willows,
gooseberry-trees, purple currant-trees, and honeysuckles. The sources of
Yellow-stone river are said to be in the Rocky Mountains, near those of
the Missouri and the Platte; and this river is navigable, in canoes,
almost to its head.
Near the junction of the Yellow-stone and Missouri rivers, there is a
high plain, which extends three miles in width, and seven or eight miles
in length; and which Captain Lewis says might be rendered a very
advantageous station for a trading establishment.
Beyond this place, the hills were rough and high, and almost overhung
the river. As the voyagers advanced, the low grounds were fertile and
extensive, with but little timber, and that cotton-wood. On the 3d of
May, they reached the mouth of a river, which; from the unusual number
of porcupines that were seen near it, they called _Porcupine river_. For
several days after this, they continued their progress without much
interruption. In many places the river was, at least, half a mile wide.
During their excursions on the shore, in pursuit of food, they
encountered many perils in shooting at bears. Some of these were of vast
size and strength: one of them weighed nearly six hundred pounds, and
measured eight feet seven inches and a half, from the nose to the
extremity of the hind feet.
Beyond the _Muscle-shell river_, which the voyagers reached on the 21st,
the shores of the Missouri were abrupt and bold, and composed of a black
and yellow clay.
After a navigation of two months, and a progress of more than a thousand
miles from their winter camp, the party became considerably embarrassed,
at the conflux of two rivers, which were, apparently, of equal
magnitude. It was important for them to decide which of the streams in
question was the true Missouri; because the river, which it was their
object to ascend, was described to be at no great distance from the head
waters, running, from the opposite side of the Rocky Mountains, towards
the Pacific ocean. Two canoes, with three men, were consequently
dispatched, to survey each of these doubtful streams; and parties were
sent out by land, to discover, if possible, from the rising grounds, the
distant bearings of the lofty ranges of mountains, which were
conspicuous in the west; and some of which, though it was now the month
of June, were covered with snow. Hence, there was no doubt of their
vicinity to the great central ridge of American mountains; but the
direction of the rivers just mentioned, could not be distinguished to
any considerable distance. Of the two, the one coming from the north,
had the brown colour and thick appearance of the Missouri; while the
southern river had a rapid current, a pebbly bed, and transparent
water, as if it issued from a mountainous country. The resemblance of
the former to the river already navigated, led nearly all the privates
of the party to consider it as the Missouri; but the clearness of the
other stream induced the two captains to the conclusion that it
proceeded from those central mountains, which were the grand objects of
their search. After a further investigation, they resolved to pursue the
course of the latter.
It was, however, requisite to make a deposit of all the heavy baggage,
that could possibly be spared, as the increasing shallowness of the
water would soon render the navigation much more laborious than it had
hitherto been. They accordingly adopted a plan, common among traders who
bring merchandise into the country of Indians of doubtful integrity,
that of digging a hole in the ground, small at the top, but widened in
the descent, somewhat like the shape of a kettle. Choice was made of a
dry situation; and the sod, being carefully removed, the excavation was
completed, a flooring of wood and hides was laid at the bottom, and the
goods were covered with skins: the earth was then thrown into the river,
and the sod laid on again with so much care, that not the slightest
appearance remained of the surface having been disturbed.
These arrangements being completed, Captain Clarke took charge of the
canoes; while Captain Lewis, with four men, proceeded by land, in hopes
of soon putting it beyond a doubt that the river which they were now
ascending was the Missouri. The decisive proof was to be sought in its
falls, which the Indians had described as not remote from the Rocky
Mountains, and as of remarkable grandeur. Captain Lewis passed along the
direction of the river, during two days, and, on the next day, found
himself in a position which overlooked a most beautiful plain.
Finding that the river here bore considerably to the south; and fearful
of passing the falls before he reached the Rocky Mountains, he now
changed, his course towards the south, and, leaving these hills to the
right, proceeded across the plain. In this direction he had gone about
two miles, when his ears were saluted with the agreeable sound of a fall
of water; and, as he advanced, a spray, which seemed to be driven by the
high south-west wind, arose above the plain, like a column of smoke, and
vanished in an instant. Towards this point he directed his steps; and
the noise, increasing as he approached, soon became too tremendous to be
mistaken for any thing but the _Great Falls of the Missouri_. Having
travelled seven miles after he first heard the sound, he at length
reached the falls.
The hills became difficult of access, and were two hundred feet high.
Down these he hurried with impatience; and, seating himself on some
rocks under the centre of the falls, he enjoyed the sublime spectacle of
this stupendous object; which, since the creation of the world, had been
lavishing its magnificence on the desert, unknown to civilization. For
ninety or a hundred yards from the left cliff, the water falls in one
smooth, even sheet, over a precipice of at least eighty feet. The
remaining part of the river precipitates itself with a more rapid
current; but, being received, as it falls, by the irregular and somewhat
projecting rocks below, it forms a splendid prospect of perfectly white
foam, two hundred yards in length, and eighty yards in perpendicular
elevation. This spray is dissipated into a thousand shapes, sometimes
flying up in columns fifteen or twenty feet high; and then being
oppressed by larger masses of white foam, which exhibit all the
brilliant colours of the rainbow.
On the 14th of June, one of the men was sent to Captain Clarke, with an
account of the discovery of the falls; and Captain Lewis proceeded to
examine the rapids above. From the falls, he directed his course,
south-west, up the river. After passing one continued rapid, and three
small cascades, each three or four feet high, he reached, at the
distance of five miles, a second fall. Above this, the river bends
suddenly towards the north. Here captain Lewis heard a loud roar above
him; and, crossing the point of a hill, for a few hundred yards, he saw
one of the most beautiful objects in nature: the whole Missouri is
suddenly stopped by one shelving rock, which, without a single niche,
and with an edge as straight and regular as if formed by art, stretches
from one side of the river to the other, for at least a quarter of a
mile. Over this, the water precipitates itself, in an even,
uninterrupted sheet, to the perpendicular depth of fifty feet; whence,
dashing against the rocky bottom, it rushes rapidly down, leaving behind
it a spray of the purest foam.
The scene here presented was indeed singularly beautiful; since, without
any of the wild, irregular, sublimity of the lower falls, it combined
all the regular elegancies which the fancy of a painter would select to
form a beautiful cataract. Captain Lewis now ascended the hill which was
behind him, and saw, from its top, a delightful plain, extending from
the river to the base of the Snowy Mountains. Along this wide, level
country, the Missouri pursued its winding course, filled with water, to
its even and grassy banks; while, about four miles above, it was joined
by a large river, flowing from the north-west, through a valley three
miles in width, and distinguished by the timber which adorned its
shores: the Missouri itself stretched to the south, in one unruffled
stream of water; and bearing on its bosom, vast flocks of geese, while
numerous herds of buffaloes were feeding on the plains which surround
it.
Captain Lewis then descended the hills, and directed his course towards
the river. Here he met a herd of at least a thousand buffaloes; and,
being desirous of providing for his supper, he shot one of them. The
animal immediately began to bleed; and the captain, having forgot to
reload his rifle, was intently watching to see him fall, when he beheld
a large brown bear, cautiously approaching him, and already within
twenty yards. In the first moment of surprise, he lifted his rifle;
but, recollecting that it was not charged, and that he had no time to
reload, he felt that there was no safety but in flight. He was in an
open, level plain; not a bush nor a tree was within three hundred yards
of him; and the bank of the river was sloping, and not more than three
feet high, so that there was no possible mode of concealment. Captain
Lewis therefore thought of retreating, in a quick walk. He did so, but
the bear approached, open mouth and at full speed, upon him. He ran
about eighty yards; but finding that the animal gained on him fast, he
plunged into the river, about waist deep, and, then facing about,
presented the point of an espontoon or kind of spear, which he had
carried in his hand. The bear arrived at the water's edge, within twenty
feet of him; but, as soon as the captain put himself in this posture of
defence, the animal seemed frightened, and, wheeling about, retreated
with as much precipitation as he had pursued.
With respect to Captain Clarke, he and his canoes advanced up the river,
but they proceeded very slowly; for the rapidity of the current, the
number of large stones, and the numerous shoals and islands, greatly
impeded their progress. After they had passed a stream, to which he gave
the name of _Maria's river_, they redoubled their exertions. It,
however, soon became necessary for them once more to lighten the canoes.
They did so, and filled another hole, with a portion of their provisions
and ammunition.
On the 29th of June, Captain Clarke left the canoes, and went on to the
falls, accompanied by a black servant, named York, an Indian and his
wife, with her young child. On arriving there, they observed a very dark
cloud rising in the west, which threatened rain. They therefore looked
around for shelter, but could find no place where they would be secure
from being blown into the river, if the wind should prove as violent as
it sometimes does in the plains. At length, about a quarter of a mile
above the falls, they found a deep ravine, where there were some
shelving rocks; and under these they took refuge. Being now perfectly
safe from the rain, they laid down their guns and compass, and the other
articles which they had brought with them. The shower was, at first,
moderate; but it increased to a heavy rain, the effects of which they
did not feel: soon afterwards, a torrent of intermingled hail and rain
was poured from the clouds: the rain seemed to fall in a solid mass;
and, collecting in the ravine, it came rolling down, like a cataract,
carrying along with it mud and rocks, and every thing that opposed it.
Captain Clarke saw the torrent a moment before it reached them; and,
springing up, with his gun and shot-pouch in his left hand, he, with his
right, clambered up the steep cliff, pushing on before him the Indian
woman, with her child in her arms. Her husband, too, had seized her
hand, and was dragging her up the hill; but he was so terrified at the
danger, that, but for Captain Clarke, himself and his wife and child
would have been lost. So instantaneous was the rise of the water, that
before Captain Clarke had reached his gun, and had begun to ascend the
bank, the water was up to his waist; and he could scarcely get up faster
than it rose, till it reached the height of fifteen feet. Had they
waited a moment longer, it would have swept them all into the river,
just above the great cataract, down which they must inevitably have been
precipitated. They had been obliged to escape so rapidly, that Captain
Clarke lost his compass and umbrella: the Indian left his gun,
shot-pouch, and tomahawk; and the Indian woman had just time to grasp
her child, before the net, in which it had lain at her feet, was carried
down the current.
After the storm was over, they proceeded to a fountain, perhaps the
largest in America. It is situated in a pleasant, level plain, and about
twenty-five yards from the river, into which it falls over some steep,
irregular rocks.
In this part of the country a remarkable phenomenon was noticed. A loud
report, precisely resembling the sound of a cannon, was repeatedly heard
from the mountains, at different times, both of the day and night;
sometimes in one stroke; at others, in five or six successive
discharges. This report was occasionally heard when the air was
perfectly still and without a cloud; and it was supposed to be
occasioned by the bursting of rocks.
The party, continuing indefatigable in their exertions, dragged the
canoes, or pushed them along with poles, up the current of the Missouri.
This they did, day after day, until the 27th of June, when they arrived
at the _Three forks of the river_; that is, at the point at which three
rivers, each of considerable size, flow together, and form the great
stream. As it was difficult to determine the largest of the three,
Captains Lewis and Clarke decided on discontinuing here the appellation
of Missouri; and named the streams, respectively, Jefferson's,
Madison's, and Gallatin's river. As the first of these flowed from the
west, they ascended it in preference to the others; but they continued
to experience great difficulty with the canoes, in consequence of the
rapidity of the current.
They were now approaching the termination of the first great division of
their journey. The river continued to lessen as they proceeded: its
width, in the part at which they arrived on the 8th of July, was not
more than forty yards; and, on the 11th, it was diminished to twelve, so
as to admit of being waded over without hazard. They had now proceeded,
by computation, three thousand miles from the mouth of the Missouri; and
they, not long afterwards, reached its extreme navigable point, in
latitude 43 degrees 30 minutes, and nearly in longitude 112 degrees west
from Greenwich.
Here they laid up their canoes, until they should return from the
Pacific ocean; and, proceeding by land, had the gratification of tracing
the current to its _fountain head_, in the midst of the Rocky Mountains.
Seventeenth Day's Instruction.