Travelling in a westerly direction, with a very gradual descent, Captain
Lewis, on the thirteenth of August, came upon two Indian women, a man,
and some dogs. The Indians sat down when the strangers first came in
sight, as if to wait for their coming; but, soon taking alarm, they
all fled, much to the chagrin of the white men. Now striking into a
well-worn Indian road, they found themselves surely near a village. The
journal says:--
“They had not gone along the road more than a mile, when on a sudden
they saw three female Indians, from whom they had been concealed by
the deep ravines which intersected the road, till they were now within
thirty paces of each other. One of them, a young woman, immediately took
to flight; the other two, an elderly woman and a little girl, seeing
they were too near for them to escape, sat on the ground, and holding
down their heads seemed as if reconciled to the death which they
supposed awaited them. The same habit of holding down the head and
inviting the enemy to strike, when all chance of escape is gone, is
preserved in Egypt to this day.
“Captain Lewis instantly put down his rifle, and advancing toward them,
took the woman by the hand, raised her up, and repeated the words ‘tabba
bone!’ at the same time stripping up his shirt-sleeve to prove that he
was a white man--for his hands and face had become by constant exposure
quite as dark as their own. She appeared immediately relieved from her
alarm; and Drewyer and Shields now coming up, Captain Lewis gave them
some beads, a few awls, pewter mirrors, and a little paint, and told
Drewyer to request the woman to recall her companion, who had escaped to
some distance and, by alarming the Indians, might cause them to attack
him without any time for explanation. She did as she was desired, and
the young woman returned almost out of breath. Captain Lewis gave her an
equal portion of trinkets, and painted the tawny checks of all three
of them with vermilion,--a ceremony which among the Shoshonees is
emblematic of peace.
“After they had become composed, he informed them by signs of his wishes
to go to their camp, in order to see their chiefs and warriors; they
readily obeyed, and conducted the party along the same road down the
river. In this way they marched two miles, when they met a troop of
nearly sixty warriors, mounted on excellent horses, riding at full speed
toward them. As they advanced Captain Lewis put down his gun, and went
with the flag about fifty paces in advance. The chief, who with two
men was riding in front of the main body, spoke to the women, who
now explained that the party was composed of white men, and showed
exultingly the presents they had received. The three men immediately
leaped from their horses, came up to Captain Lewis, and embraced him
with great cordiality, putting their left arm over his right shoulder,
and clasping his back, applying at the same time their left cheek to
his, and frequently vociferating ah hi e! ah hi e! ‘I am much pleased, I
am much rejoiced.’ The whole body of warriors now came forward, and our
men received the caresses, and no small share of the grease and paint,
of their new friends. After this fraternal embrace, of which the motive
was much more agreeable than the manner, Captain Lewis lighted a pipe,
and offered it to the Indians, who had now seated themselves in a
circle around the party. But, before they would receive this mark of
friendship, they pulled off their moccasins: a custom, as we afterward
learned, which indicates the sacred sincerity of their professions
when they smoke with a stranger, and which imprecates on themselves
the misery of going barefoot forever if they prove faithless to their
words--a penalty by no means light for those who rove over the thorny
plains of this country. . . .
“After smoking a few pipes, some trifling presents were distributed
among them, with which they seemed very much pleased, particularly with
the blue beads and the vermilion. Captain Lewis then stated to the chief
that the object of his visit was friendly, and should be explained as
soon as he reached their camp; and that, as the sun was oppressive, and
no water near, he wished to go there as soon as possible. They now put
on their moccasins, and their chief, whose name was Cameahwait, made
a short speech to the warriors. Captain Lewis then gave him the flag,
which he informed him was among white men the emblem of peace; and, now
that he had received it, was to be in future the bond of union between
them. The chief then moved on; our party followed him; and the rest of
the warriors, in a squadron, brought up the rear.”
Arriving at the village, the ceremony of smoking the pipe of peace
was solemnly observed; and the women and children of the tribe were
permitted to gaze with wonder on the first white men they had ever seen.
The Indians were not much better provided with food than were their
half-famished visitors. But some cakes made of service-berries and
choke-berries dried in the sun were presented to the white men “on
which,” says Captain Lewis, “we made a hearty meal.” Later in the day,
however, an Indian invited Captain Lewis into his wigwam and treated
him to a small morsel of boiled antelope and a piece of fresh salmon
roasted. This was the first salmon he had seen, and the captain was now
assured that he was on the headwaters of the Columbia. This stream was
what is now known as the Lemhi River. The water was clear and limpid,
flowing down a bed of gravel; its general direction was a little north
of west. The journal says:--
“The chief informed him that this stream discharged, at the distance
of half a day’s march, into another (Salmon River) of twice its size,
coming from the southwest; but added, on further inquiry, that there
was scarcely more timber below the junction of those rivers than in
this neighborhood, and that the river was rocky, rapid, and so closely
confined between high mountains that it was impossible to pass down it
either by land or water to the great lake (Pacific Ocean), where, as he
had understood, the white men lived.
“This information was far from being satisfactory, for there was no
timber here that would answer the purpose of building canoes,--indeed
not more than just sufficient for fuel; and even that consisted of
the narrow-leaved cottonwood, the red and the narrow-leaved willow,
chokecherry, service-berry, and a few currant bushes, such as are common
on the Missouri. The prospect of going on by land is more pleasant, for
there are great numbers of horses feeding in every direction round the
camp, which will enable us to transport our stores, if necessary, over
the mountains.”
While Captain Lewis was thus engaged, his companions in the canoes were
slowly and laboriously ascending the river on the other side of the
divide. The character of the stream was much as it had been for several
days, and the men were in the water three-fourths of the time, dragging
the boats over the shoals. They had but little success in killing game,
but caught, as they had done for some days before, numbers of fine
trout.
“August 14. In order to give time for the boats to reach the forks of
Jefferson River,” proceeds the narrative, “Captain Lewis determined to
remain where he was, and obtain all the information he could collect
in regard to the country. Having nothing to eat but a little flour and
parched meal, with the berries of the Indians, he sent out Drewyer and
Shields, who borrowed horses from the natives, to hunt for a few hours.
About the same time the young warriors set out for the same purpose.
There are but few elk or black tailed deer in this neighborhood; and as
the common red deer secrete themselves in the bushes when alarmed, they
are soon safe from the arrows, which are but feeble weapons against any
animals which the huntsmen cannot previously run down with their horses.
The chief game of the Shoshonees, therefore, is the antelope, which,
when pursued, retreats to the open plains, where the horses have full
room for the chase. But such is its extraordinary fleetness and wind,
that a single horse has no possible chance of outrunning it or tiring it
down, and the hunters are therefore obliged to resort to stratagem.
“About twenty Indians, mounted on fine horses, and armed with bows
and arrows, left the camp. In a short time they descried a herd of ten
antelope: they immediately separated into little squads of two or three,
and formed a scattered circle round the herd for five or six miles,
keeping at a wary distance, so as not to alarm them till they were
perfectly enclosed, and selecting, as far as possible, some commanding
eminence as a stand. Having gained their positions, a small party rode
towards the animals, and with wonderful dexterity the huntsmen preserved
their seats, and the horses their footing, as they ran at full speed
over the hills, down the steep ravines, and along the borders of the
precipices. They were soon outstripped by the antelopes, which, on
gaining the other extremity of the circle, were driven back and pursued
by the fresh hunters. They turned and flew, rather than ran, in another
direction; but there, too, they found new enemies. In this way they
were alternately pursued backward and forward, till at length,
notwithstanding the skill of the hunters, they all escaped and the
party, after running for two hours, returned without having caught
anything, and their horses foaming with sweat. This chase, the greater
part of which was seen from the camp, formed a beautiful scene; but to
the hunters it is exceedingly laborious, and so unproductive, even when
they are able to worry the animal down and shoot him, that forty or
fifty hunters will sometimes be engaged for half a day without obtaining
more than two or three antelope.
“Soon after they returned, our two huntsmen came in with no better
success. Captain Lewis therefore made a little paste with the flour, and
the addition of some berries formed a very palatable repast. Having now
secured the good will of Cameahwait, Captain Lewis informed him of his
wish that he would speak to the warriors, and endeavor to engage them
to accompany him to the forks of Jefferson River; where by this time
another chief (Clark), with a large party of white men, was awaiting his
(Lewis’) return; that it would be necessary to take about thirty horses
to transport the merchandise; that they should be well rewarded for
their trouble; and that, when all the party should have reached the
Shoshonee camp, they would remain some time among them to trade for
horses, as well as concert plans for furnishing them in future with
regular supplies of merchandise. He readily consented to do so, and
after collecting the tribe together, he made a long harangue. In about
an hour and a half he returned, and told Captain Lewis that they would
be ready to accompany him in the morning.”
But the Indians were suspicious and reluctant to take the word of the
white man. Captain Lewis, almost at his wits’ end, appealed to their
courage. He said that if they were afraid of being led into a trap, he
was sure that some among them were not afraid.
“To doubt the courage of an Indian is to touch the tenderest string of
his mind, and the surest way to rouse him to any dangerous achievement.
Cameahwait instantly replied that he was not afraid to die, and mounting
his horse, for the third time harangued the warriors. He told them that
he was resolved to go if he went alone, or if he were sure of perishing;
that he hoped there were among those who heard him some who were not
afraid to die, and who would prove it by mounting their horses and
following him. This harangue produced an effect on six or eight only
of the warriors, who now joined their chief. With these Captain Lewis
smoked a pipe; and then, fearful of some change in their capricious
temper, set out immediately.”
The party now retraced the steps so lately taken by Captain Lewis and
his men. On the second day out, one of the spies sent forward by the
Indians came madly galloping back, much to the alarm of the white men.
It proved, however, that the spy had returned to tell his comrades that
one of the white hunters (Drewyer) had killed a deer. An Indian riding
behind Captain Lewis, fearful that he should not get his share of
the spoil, jumped off the horse and ran for a mile at full speed. The
journal says:--
“Captain Lewis slackened his pace, and followed at a sufficient distance
to observe them. When they reached the place where Drewyer had thrown
out the intestines, they all dismounted in confusion and ran tumbling
over each other like famished dogs. Each tore away whatever part he
could, and instantly began to eat it. Some had the liver, some the
kidneys--in short, no part on which we are accustomed to look with
disgust escaped them. One of them, who had seized about nine feet of the
entrails, was chewing at one end, while with his hand he was diligently
clearing his way by discharging the contents at the other. It was indeed
impossible to see these wretches ravenously feeding on the filth of
animals, the blood streaming from their mouths, without deploring how
nearly the condition of savages approaches that of the brute creation.
Yet, though suffering with hunger, they did not attempt, as they might
have done, to take by force the whole deer, but contented themselves
with what had been thrown away by the hunter. Captain Lewis now had the
deer skinned, and after reserving a quarter of it gave the rest of the
animal to the chief, to be divided among the Indians, who immediately
devoured nearly the whole of it without cooking. They now went toward
the (Prairie) creek, where there was some brushwood to make a fire, and
found Drewyer, who had killed a second deer. The same struggle for the
entrails was renewed here, and on giving nearly the whole deer to the
Indians, they devoured it even to the soft part of the hoofs. A fire
being made, Captain Lewis had his breakfast, during which Drewyer
brought in a third deer. This too, after reserving one-quarter, was
given to the Indians, who now seemed completely satisfied and in good
humor.”
They now approached the forks of the Jefferson, where they had expected
to meet Clark and his party with the canoes. Not seeing any signs of
them, the Lewis party were placed in a critical position. The Indians
were again alarmed and suspicious. Here Captain Clark’s journal says:--
“As they went on towards the point, Captain Lewis, perceiving how
critical his situation had become, resolved to attempt a stratagem,
which his present difficulty seemed completely to justify. Recollecting
the notes he had left at the point for us, he sent Drewyer for them with
an Indian, who witnessed his taking them from the pole. When they were
brought, Captain Lewis told Cameahwait that, on leaving his brother
chief at the place where the river issues from the mountains, it was
agreed that the boats should not be brought higher than the next forks
we should meet; but that, if the rapid water prevented the boats from
coming on as fast as they expected, his brother chief was to send a note
to the first forks above him, to let him know where they were: that this
note had been left this morning at the forks, and mentioned that
the canoes were just below the mountains, and coming up slowly in
consequence of the current. Captain Lewis added that he would stay at
the forks for his brother chief, but would send a man down the river;
and that if Cameahwait doubted what he said, one of their young men
could go with him, while he and the other two remained at the forks.
This story satisfied the chief and the greater part of the Indians; but
a few did not conceal their suspicions, observing that we told different
stories, and complaining that their chief exposed them to danger by
a mistaken confidence. Captain Lewis now wrote, by the light of some
willow-brush, a note to Captain Clark, which he gave to Drewyer, with
an order to use all possible expedition in descending the river, and
engaged an Indian to accompany him by the promise of a knife and some
beads.
“At bedtime the chief and five others slept round the fire of
Captain Lewis, and the rest hid themselves in different parts of the
willow-brush to avoid the enemy, who, they feared, would attack them in
the night. Captain Lewis endeavored to assume a cheerfulness he did not
feel, to prevent the despondency of the savages. After conversing gayly
with them he retired to his mosquito-bier, by the side of which the
chief now placed himself. He lay down, yet slept but little, being
in fact scarcely less uneasy than his Indian companions. He was
apprehensive that, finding the ascent of the river impracticable,
Captain Clark might have stopped below Rattlesnake bluff, and the
messenger would not meet him. The consequence of disappointing the
Indians at this moment would most probably be that they would retire
and secrete themselves in the mountains, so as to prevent our having
an opportunity of recovering their confidence. They would also spread
a panic through all the neighboring Indians, and cut us off from the
supply of horses so useful and almost so essential to our success.
He was at the same time consoled by remembering that his hopes of
assistance rested on better foundations than their generosity--their
avarice and their curiosity. He had promised liberal exchanges for their
horses; but what was still more seductive, he had told them that one of
their countrywomen, who had been taken with the Minnetarees, accompanied
the party below; and one of the men had spread the report of our having
with us a man (York) perfectly black, whose hair was short and curled.
This last account had excited a great degree of curiosity, and they
seemed more desirous of seeing this monster than of obtaining the most
favorable barter for their horses.”
On the following day, August 17, the two parties of explorers finally
met. Under that date the journal has this interesting entry:--
“Captain Lewis rose very early and despatched Drewyer and the Indian
down the river in quest of the boats. Shields was sent out at the same
time to hunt, while M’Neal prepared a breakfast out of the remainder of
the meat. Drewyer had been gone about two hours, and the Indians were
all anxiously waiting for some news, when an Indian, who had straggled
a short distance down the river, returned with a report that he had seen
the white men, who were only a short distance below, and were coming on.
The Indians were transported with joy, and the chief, in the warmth of
his satisfaction, renewed his embrace to Captain Lewis, who was quite
as much delighted as the Indians themselves. The report proved most
agreeably true.
“On setting out at seven o’clock, Captain Clark, with Chaboneau and his
wife, walked on shore; but they had not gone more than a mile before
Captain Clark saw Sacajawea, who was with her husband one hundred yards
ahead, begin to dance and show every mark of the most extravagant joy,
turning round to him and pointing to several Indians, whom he now
saw advancing on horseback, sucking her fingers at the same time, to
indicate that they were of her native tribe. As they advanced, Captain
Clark discovered among them Drewyer dressed like an Indian, from whom he
learned the situation of the party. While the boats were performing the
circuit, he went toward the forks with the Indians, who, as they went
along, sang aloud with the greatest appearance of delight.
“We soon drew near the camp, and just as we approached it a woman made
her way through the crowd toward Sacajawea; recognizing each other, they
embraced with the most tender affection. The meeting of these two young
women had in it something peculiarly touching, not only from the ardent
manner in which their feelings were expressed, but also from the real
interest of their situation. They had been companions in childhood; in
the war with the Minnetarees they had both been taken prisoners in the
same battle; they had shared and softened the rigors of their captivity
till one of them had escaped from their enemies with scarce a hope of
ever seeing her friend rescued from their hands.
“While Sacajawea was renewing among the women the friendships of former
days, Captain Clark went on, and was received by Captain Lewis and
the chief, who, after the first embraces and salutations were over,
conducted him to a sort of circular tent or shade of willows. Here he
was seated on a white robe; and the chief immediately tied in his hair
six small shells resembling pearls, an ornament highly valued by these
people, who procure them in the course of trade from the seacoast.
The moccasins of the whole party were then taken off, and, after much
ceremony, the smoking began. After this the conference was to be opened;
and, glad of an opportunity of being able to converse more intelligibly,
Sacajawea was sent for: she came into the tent, sat down, and was
beginning to interpret, when in the person of Cameahwait she recognized
her brother. She instantly jumped up, and ran and embraced him, throwing
over him her blanket, and weeping profusely: the chief was himself
moved, though not in the same degree. After some conversation between
them she resumed her seat, and attempted to interpret for us; but
her new situation seemed to overpower her, and she was frequently
interrupted by her tears. After the council was finished, the
unfortunate woman learned that all her family were dead except two
brothers, one of whom was absent, and a son of her eldest sister, a
small boy, who was immediately adopted by her.”
The two parties, Indian and white, now went into a conference, the white
chiefs explaining that it would be needful for their Indian friends
to collect all their horses and help to transport the goods of the
explorers over the Great Divide. The journal says:--
“The speech made a favorable impression. The chief, in reply, thanked
us for our expressions of friendship toward himself and his nation, and
declared their willingness to render us every service. He lamented that
it would be so long before they should be supplied with firearms,
but that till then they could subsist as they had heretofore done. He
concluded by saying that there were not horses enough here to transport
our goods, but that he would return to the village to-morrow, bring all
his own horses, and encourage his people to come over with theirs.
The conference being ended to our satisfaction, we now inquired of
Cameahwait what chiefs were among the party, and he pointed out two of
them. We then distributed our presents: to Cameahwait we gave a medal of
small size, with the likeness of President Jefferson, and on the reverse
a figure of hands clasped with a pipe and tomahawk; to this was added an
uniform coat, a shirt, a pair of scarlet leggings, a carrot (or twist)
of tobacco, and some small articles. Each of the other chiefs received a
small medal struck during the presidency of General Washington, a shirt,
handkerchief, leggings, knife, and some tobacco. Medals of the same sort
were also presented to two young warriors, who, though not chiefs, were
promising youths and very much respected in the tribe. These honorary
gifts were followed by presents of paint, moccasins, awls, knives,
beads, and looking-glasses. We also gave them all a plentiful meal of
Indian corn, of which the hull is taken off by being boiled in lye; as
this was the first they had ever tasted, they were very much pleased
with it. They had, indeed, abundant sources of surprise in all they
saw--the appearance of the men, their arms, their clothing, the canoes,
the strange looks of the negro, and the sagacity of our dog, all in turn
shared their admiration, which was raised to astonishment by a shot from
the air-gun. This operation was instantly considered ‘great medicine,’
by which they, as well as the other Indians, mean something emanating
directly from the Great Spirit, or produced by his invisible and
incomprehensible agency. . . .
“After the council was over we consulted as to our future operations.
The game did not promise to last here for many days; and this
circumstance combined with many others to induce our going on as soon as
possible. Our Indian information as to the state of the Columbia was of
a very alarming kind; and our first object was, of course, to ascertain
the practicability of descending it, of which the Indians discouraged
our expectations. It was therefore agreed that Captain Clark should set
off in the morning with eleven men, furnished, besides their arms, with
tools for making canoes: that he should take Chaboneau and his wife
to the camp of the Shoshonees, where he was to leave them, in order to
hasten the collection of horses; that he should then lead his men
down to the Columbia, and if he found it navigable, and the timber in
sufficient quantity, begin to build canoes. As soon as he had decided
as to the propriety of proceeding down the Columbia or across the
mountains, he was to send back one of the men with information of it to
Captain Lewis, who by that time would have brought up the whole
party, and the rest of the baggage, as far as the Shoshonee village.
Preparations were accordingly made at once to carry out the
arrangement. . . .”
“In order to relieve the men of Captain Clark’s party from the heavy
weight of their arms, provisions, and tools, we exposed a few articles
to barter for horses, and soon obtained three very good ones, in
exchange for which we gave a uniform coat, a pair of leggings, a few
handkerchiefs, three knives, and some other small articles, the whole
of which did not, in the United States, cost more than twenty dollars;
a fourth was purchased by the men for an old checkered shirt, a pair
of old leggings, and a knife. The Indians seemed to be quite as well
pleased as ourselves at the bargain they had made. We now found that the
two inferior chiefs were somewhat displeased at not having received a
present equal to that given to the great chief, who appeared in a dress
so much finer than their own. To allay their discontent, we bestowed on
them two old coats, and promised them if they were active in assisting
us across the mountains they should have an additional present. This
treatment completely reconciled them, and the whole Indian party, except
two men and two women, set out in perfect good humor to return to their
home with Captain Clark.”