The route of Captain Clark from the point where he and Captain Lewis
divided their party, was rather more difficult than that pursued by
the Lewis detachment. But the Clark party was larger, being composed of
twenty men and Sacajawea and her baby. They were to travel up the main
fork of Clark’s River (sometimes called the Bitter Root), to Ross’s
Hole, and then strike over the great continental divide at that point by
way of the pass which he discovered and which was named for him; thence
he was to strike the headwaters of Wisdom River, a stream which this
generation of men knows by the vulgar name of Big Hole River; from this
point he was to go by the way of Willard’s Creek to Shoshonee Cove and
the Two Forks of the Jefferson, and thence down that stream to the
Three Forks of the Missouri, up the Gallatin, and over the divide to the
Yellowstone and down that river to its junction with the Missouri, where
he was to join the party of Captain Lewis. This is the itinerary that
was exactly carried out. The very first incident set forth in the
journal is a celebration of Independence Day, as follows:--
“Friday, July 4. Early in the morning three hunters were sent out.
The rest of the party having collected the horses and breakfasted, we
proceeded at seven o’clock up the valley, which is now contracted to the
width of from eight to ten miles, with a good proportion of pitch-pine,
though its low lands, as well as the bottoms of the creeks, are strewn
with large stones. We crossed five creeks of different sizes, but of
great depth, and so rapid that in passing the last several of the horses
were driven down the stream, and some of our baggage was wet. Near
this river we saw the tracks of two Indians, whom we supposed to be
Shoshonees. Having made sixteen miles, we halted at an hour for
the purpose of doing honor to the birthday of our early country’s
independence. The festival was not very splendid, for it consisted of a
mush made of cows and a saddle of venison; nor had we anything to tempt
us to prolong it. We therefore went on till at the distance of a mile we
came to a very large creek, which, like all those in the valley, had
an immense rapidity of descent; we therefore proceeded up for some
distance, in order to select the most convenient spot for fording. Even
there, however, such was the violence of the current that, though the
water was not higher than the bellies of the horses, the resistance made
in passing caused the stream to rise over their backs and loads. After
passing the creek we inclined to the left, and soon after struck the
road which we had descended last year, near the spot where we dined on
the 7th of September (1805). Along this road we continued on the west
side of Clark’s River, till at the distance of thirteen miles, during
which we passed three more deep, large creeks, we reached its western
branch, where we camped; and having sent out two hunters, despatched
some men to examine the best ford across the west fork of the river. The
game to-day consisted of four deer; though we also saw a herd of ibex,
or bighorn.”
Two days later they were high up among the mountains, although the
ascent was not very steep. At that height they found the weather very
cool, so much so that on the morning of the sixth of July, after a cold
night, they had a heavy white frost on the ground. Setting out on that
day, Captain Clark crossed a ridge which proved to be the dividing line
between the Pacific and the Atlantic watershed. At the same time he
passed from what is now Missoula County, Montana, into the present
county of Beaver Head, in that State. “Beaver Head,” the reader will
recollect, comes from a natural elevation in that region resembling the
head of a beaver. These points will serve to fix in one’s mind the
route of the first exploring party that ever ventured into those wilds;
descending the ridge on its eastern slope, the explorers struck Glade
Creek, one of the sources of the stream then named Wisdom River, a
branch of the Jefferson; and the Jefferson is one of the tributaries of
the mighty Missouri. Next day the journal has this entry:--
“In the morning our horses were so much scattered that, although we sent
out hunters in every direction to range the country for six or eight
miles, nine of them could not be recovered. They were the most valuable
of all our horses, and so much attached to some of their companions that
it was difficult to separate them in the daytime. We therefore presumed
that they must have been stolen by some roving Indians; and accordingly
left a party of five men to continue the pursuit, while the rest went
on to the spot where the canoes had been deposited. We set out at ten
o’clock and pursued a course S. 56'0 E. across the valley, which we
found to be watered by four large creeks, with extensive low and
miry bottoms; and then reached (and crossed) Wisdom River, along the
northeast side of which we continued, till at the distance of sixteen
miles we came to its three branches. Near that place we stopped for
dinner at a hot spring situated in the open plain. The bed of the spring
is about fifteen yards in circumference, and composed of loose, hard,
gritty stones, through which the water boils in great quantities. It is
slightly impregnated with sulphur, and so hot that a piece of meat about
the size of three fingers was completely done in twenty-five minutes.”
Next day, July 8, the party reached the forks of the Jefferson River,
where they had cached their goods in August, 1805; they had now
travelled one hundred and sixty-four miles from Traveller’s-rest Creek
to that point. The men were out of tobacco, and as there was some among
the goods deposited in the cache they made haste to open the cache. They
found everything safe, although some of the articles were damp, and a
hole had been made in the bottom of one of the canoes. Here they were
overtaken by Sergeant Ordway and his party with the nine horses that had
escaped during the night of the seventh.
That night the weather was so cold that water froze in a basin to a
thickness of three-quarters of an inch, and the grass around the camp
was stiff with frost, although the month of July was nearly a week old.
The boats taken from the cache were now loaded, and the explorers were
divided into two bands, one to descend the river by boat and the other
to take the same general route on horseback, the objective point being
the Yellowstone. The story is taken tip here by the journal in these
lines:--
“After breakfast (July 10) the two parties set out, those on shore
skirting the eastern side of Jefferson River, through Service (-berry)
Valley and over Rattlesnake Mountain, into a beautiful and extensive
country, known among the Indians by the name of Hahnahappapchah, or
Beaverhead Valley, from the number of those animals to be found in it,
and also from the point of land resembling the head of a beaver. It (the
valley) extends from Rattlesnake Mountain as low as Frazier’s Creek, and
is about fifty miles in length in direct line; while its width varies
from ten to fifteen miles, being watered in its whole course by
Jefferson River and six different creeks. The valley is open and
fertile; besides the innumerable quantities of beaver and otter with
which its creeks are supplied, the bushes of the low grounds are a
favorite resort for deer; while on the higher parts of the valley are
seen scattered groups of antelopes, and still further, on the steep
sides of the mountains, are observed many bighorns, which take refuge
there from the wolves and bears. At the distance of fifteen miles the
two parties stopped to dine; when Captain Clark, finding that the river
became wider and deeper, and that the canoes could advance more rapidly
than the horses, determined to go himself by water, leaving Sergeant
Pryor with six men to bring on the horses. In this way they resumed
their journey after dinner, and camped on the eastern side of the river,
opposite the head of Three-thousand-mile Island. The beaver were basking
in great numbers along the shore; there were also some young wild geese
and ducks. The mosquitoes were very troublesome during the day, but
after sunset the weather became cool and they disappeared.”
Three-thousand-mile Island was so named by the explorers, when they
ascended these streams, because it was at a point exactly three thousand
miles from the mouth of the Missouri. But no such island exists now; it
has probably been worn away by the swift-rushing current of the river.
The route of Captain Clark and his party, up to this time had been a few
miles west of Bannock City, Montana. As the captain was now to proceed
by land to the Yellowstone, again leaving the canoe party, it is well to
recall the fact that his route from the Three Forks of the Missouri to
the Yellowstone follows pretty nearly the present line of the railroad
from Gallatin City to Livingston, by the way of Bozeman Pass. Of this
route the journal says:--
“Throughout the whole, game was very abundant. They procured deer in
the low grounds; beaver and otter were seen in Gallatin River, and elk,
wolves, eagles, hawks, crows, and geese at different parts of the route.
The plain was intersected by several great roads leading to a gap in the
mountains, about twenty miles distant, in a direction E.N.E.; but the
Indian woman, who was acquainted with the country, recommended a gap
more to the southward. This course Captain Clark determined to pursue.”
Let us pause here to pay a little tribute to the memory of “the Indian
woman,” Sacajawea. She showed that she was very observant, had a good
memory, and was plucky and determined when in trouble. She was the guide
of the exploring party when she was in a region of country, as here,
with which she was familiar. She remembered localities which she had
not seen since her childhood. When their pirogue was upset by the
carelessness of her husband, it was she who saved the goods and helped
to right the boat. And, with her helpless infant clinging to her, she
rode with the men, guiding them with unerring skill through the mountain
fastnesses and lonely passes which the white men saw for the first time
when their salient features were pointed out to them by the intelligent
and faithful Sacajawea. The Indian woman has long since departed to the
Happy Hunting-Grounds of her fathers; only her name and story remain
to us who follow the footsteps of the brave pioneers of the western
continent. But posterity should not forget the services which were
rendered to the white race by Sacajawea.
On the fifteenth of July the party arrived at the ridge that divides
the Missouri and the Yellowstone, nine miles from which they reached
the river itself, about a mile and a half from the point where it
issues from the Rocky Mountains. Their journey down the valley of the
Yellowstone was devoid of special interest, but was accompanied with
some hardships. For example, the feet of the horses had become so sore
with long travel over a stony trail that it was necessary to shoe them
with raw buffalo hide. Rain fell frequently and copiously; and often,
sheltered at night only by buffalo hides, they rose in the morning
drenched to the skin. The party could not follow the course of the river
very closely, but were compelled often to cross hills that came down to
the bank, making the trail impassable for horses. Here is the story of
July 18 and 19:--
“Gibson, one of the party, was so badly hurt by falling on a sharp point
of wood that he was unable to sit on his horse, and they were obliged
to form a sort of litter for him, so that he could lie nearly at full
length. The wound became so painful, however, after proceeding a short
distance, that he could not bear the motion, and they left him with two
men, while Captain Clark went to search for timber large enough to form
canoes. He succeeded in finding some trees of sufficient size for small
canoes, two of which he determined to construct, and by lashing them
together hoped to make them answer the purpose of conveying the party
down the river, while a few of his men should conduct the horses to the
Mandans. All hands, therefore, were set busily to work, and they were
employed in this labor for several days. In the mean time no less than
twenty-four of their horses were missing, and they strongly suspected
had been stolen by the Indians, for they were unable to find them,
notwithstanding they made the most diligent search.”
“July 23. A piece of a robe and a moccasin,” says the journal, “were
discovered this morning not far from the camp. The moccasin was worn out
in the sole, and yet wet, and had every appearance of having been left
but a few hours before. This was conclusive that the Indians had taken
our horses, and were still prowling about for the remainder, which
fortunately escaped last night by being in a small prairie surrounded by
thick timber. At length Labiche, one of our best trackers, returned from
a very wide circuit, and informed Captain Clark that he had traced
the horses bending their course rather down the river towards the open
plains, and from their tracks, must have been going very rapidly. All
hopes of recovering them were now abandoned. Nor were the Indians the
only plunderers around our camp; for in the night the wolves or dogs
stole the greater part of the dried meat from the scaffold. The wolves,
which constantly attend the buffalo, were here in great numbers, as this
seemed to be the commencement of the buffalo country. . . .
“At noon the two canoes were finished. They were twenty-eight feet long,
sixteen or eighteen inches deep, and from sixteen to twenty-four inches
wide; and, having lashed them together, everything was ready for setting
out the next day, Gibson having now recovered. Sergeant Pryor was
directed, with Shannon and Windsor, to take the remaining horses to the
Mandans, and if he should find that Mr. Henry (a trading-post agent)
was on the Assiniboin River, to go thither and deliver him a letter, the
object of which was to prevail on the most distinguished chiefs of the
Sioux to accompany him to Washington.”
On a large island near the mouth of a creek now known as Canyon Creek,
the party landed to explore an extensive Indian lodge which seems to
have been built for councils, rather than for a place of residence. The
lodge was shaped like a cone, sixty feet in diameter at the base and
tapering towards the top. The poles of which it was constructed were
forty-five feet long. The interior was strangely decorated, the tops of
the poles being ornamented with eagles’ feathers, and from the centre
hung a stuffed buffalo-hide. A buffalo’s head and other trophies of
the chase were disposed about the wigwam. The valley, as the explorers
descended the river, was very picturesque and wonderful. On the north
side the cliffs were wild and romantic, and these were soon succeeded by
rugged hills, and these, in turn, by open plains on which were descried
herds of buffalo, elk, and wolves. On the twenty-seventh of July, having
reached the Bighorn, one of the largest tributaries of the Yellowstone,
the party have this entry in their journal:--
“They again set out very early, and on leaving the Bighorn took a last
look at the Rocky Mountains, which had been constantly in view from the
first of May. The (Yellowstone) river now widens to the extent of from
four hundred to six hundred yards; it is much divided by islands and
sandbars; its banks are generally low and falling in; it thus resembles
the Missouri in many particulars, but its islands are more numerous,
its waters less muddy, and the current is more rapid. The water is of
a yellowish-white, and the round stones, which form the bars above the
Bighorn, have given place to gravel. On the left side the river runs
under cliffs of light, soft, gritty stone, varying in height from
seventy to one hundred feet, behind which are level and extensive
plains. On the right side of the river are low extensive bottoms,
bordered with cottonwood, various species of willow, rose-bushes,
grapevines, redberry or buffalo-grease bushes, and a species of sumach;
to these succeed high grounds supplied with pine, and still further on
are level plains. Throughout the country are vast quantities of buffalo,
which, as this is the running-season, keep up a continued bellowing.
Large herds of elk also are lying on every point, so gentle that they
may be approached within twenty paces without being alarmed. Several
beaver were seen in the course of the day; indeed, there is a greater
appearance of those animals than there was above the Bighorn. Deer,
however, are by no means abundant, and antelopes, as well as bighorns,
are scarce.”
It is noticeable that the explorers, all along their route, gave to
streams, rocks, mountains, and other natural features of the country
many names that appear to us meaningless and trifling. It would appear
that they used up all the big names, such as Jefferson, Gallatin,
Philosophy, Philanthropy, and the like, and were compelled to use,
first, the names of their own party, and then such titles as were
suggested by trifling incidents. For example, when they reached a
difficult shoal on the Yellowstone River, they named that Buffalo Shoal
because they found a buffalo on it; and Buffalo Shoal it remains unto
this day. In like manner, when they reached a dangerous rapid, twenty
miles below that point, they saw a bear standing on a rock in the
stream; and Bear Rapid the place was and is named. Bear and buffalo
were pretty numerous all the way along that part of the river which they
navigated in July. They had now rejoined the boats, and on the last day
of July, when camped at a point two miles above Wolf Rapid (so called
from seeing a wolf there), the buffalo were continually prowling about
the camp at night, exciting much alarm lest they should trample on the
boats and ruin them. In those days, buffalo were so numerous that they
were a nuisance to travellers; and they were so free from fear of man
that they were too familiar with the camps and equipage. On the first of
August we find this entry in the journal of the party:--
“The buffalo now appear in vast numbers. A herd happened to be on their
way across the river. Such was the multitude of these animals that,
though the river, including an island over which they passed, was a mile
wide, the herd stretched, as thickly as they could swim, from one
side to the other, and the party was obliged to stop for an hour. They
consoled themselves for the delay by killing four of the herd; and then
having proceeded for the distance of forty-five miles (in all to-day)
to an island, below which two other herds of buffalo, as numerous as the
first, soon after crossed the river.”
Again, on the very next day, we find this entry:--
“The river was now about a mile wide, less rapid, and more divided by
islands, and bars of sand and mud, than heretofore; the low grounds,
too, were more extensive, and contained a greater quantity of
cottonwood, ash, and willows. On the northwest was a low, level plain,
and on the southeast some rugged hills, on which we saw, without being
able to approach them, some bighorns. Buffalo and elk, as well as their
pursuers, the wolves, were in great numbers. On each side of the
river there were several dry beds of streams, but the only one of any
considerable size was one to which they gave the name of Ibex River,
on the right, about thirty yards wide, and sixteen miles from their
encampment of the preceding night. The bear, which had given them so
much trouble at the head of the Missouri, they found equally fierce
here. One of these animals, which was on a sand-bar as the boat passed,
raised himself on his hind feet, and after looking at the party for a
moment, plunged in and swam towards them; but, after receiving three
balls in the body, he turned and made for the shore. Towards evening
they saw another enter the water to swim across; when Captain Clark
directed the boat towards the shore, and just as the animal landed shot
it in the head. It proved to be the largest female they had ever seen,
and was so old that its tusks were worn quite smooth. The boats escaped
with difficulty between two herds of buffalo that were crossing the
river, and came near being again detained by them. Among the elk of this
neighborhood they saw an unusual number of males, while higher up the
herds consisted chiefly of females.”
It is almost incredible that these wild animals should have been so
nearly exterminated by hunters and other rovers of the plains, very soon
after travel set in across the continent. The writer of these lines, who
crossed the plains to California so lately as 1856, saw buffalo
killed for the sake of their tongues, or to give rifle practice to
the wayfarers. After the overland railroad was opened, passengers shot
buffalo from the car-windows, well knowing that they could not get their
game, even if they should kill as they flew by a herd. There are no
buffalo nor elk where millions once roamed almost unmolested.
Early in the afternoon of August 3, the party reached the junction of
the Yellowstone and the Missouri, and camped on the same spot where they
had pitched their tents on the 26th of April, 1805. They were nearing
the end of their long journey.
But their troubles thickened as they drew near the close of their many
miles of travel. The journal for August 4 has this record:--
“The camp became absolutely uninhabitable in consequence of the
multitude of mosquitoes; the men could not work in preparing skins for
clothing, nor hunt in the timbered low grounds; there was no mode of
escape, except by going on the sand-bars in the river, where, if the
wind should blow, the insects do not venture; but when there is no wind,
and particularly at night, when the men have no covering except their
worn-out blankets, the pain they suffer is scarcely to be endured. There
was also a want of meat, for no buffalo were to be found; and though elk
are very abundant, yet their fat and flesh is more difficult to dry in
the sun, and is also much more easily spoiled than the meat or fat of
either deer or buffalo.
“Captain Clark therefore determined to go on to some spot which should
be free from mosquitoes and furnish more game. Having written a note to
Captain Lewis, to inform him of his intention, and stuck it on a pole
at the confluence of the two rivers, he loaded the canoes at five in the
afternoon, proceeded down the river to the second point, and camped on
a sand-bar; but here the mosquitoes seemed to be even more numerous
than above. The face of the Indian child was considerably puffed up
and swollen with their bites; the men could procure scarcely any sleep
during the night, and the insects continued to harass them next morning,
as they proceeded. On one occasion Captain Clark went on shore and
ascended a hill after one of the bighorns; but the mosquitoes were in
such multitudes that he could not keep them from the barrel of his rifle
long enough to take aim. About ten o’clock, however, a light breeze
sprung up from the northwest, and dispersed them in some degree. Captain
Clark then landed on a sand-bar, intending to wait for Captain Lewis,
and went out to hunt. But not finding any buffalo, he again proceeded in
the afternoon; and having killed a large white bear, camped under a high
bluff exposed to a light breeze from the southwest, which blew away the
mosquitoes. About eleven o’clock, however, the wind became very high and
a storm of rain came on, which lasted for two hours, accompanied with
sharp lightning and loud peals of thunder.
“The party rose, next day, very wet, and proceeded to a sand-bar below
the entrance of Whiteearth River. Just above this place the Indians,
apparently within seven, or eight days past, had been digging a root
which they employ in making a kind of soup. Having fixed their tents,
the men were employed in dressing skins and hunting. They shot a number
of deer; but only two of them were fat, owing probably to the great
quantities of mosquitoes which annoy them while feeding.”
On the eleventh of August the Clark party came up with the two white
traders from Illinois, of whom we have already made mention as having
been met by the Lewis party on their way down the river. These were the
first white men they had seen (except themselves) since they parted with
the three French trappers, near the Little Missouri, in April, 1805,
From them the wayworn voyagers received the latest news from the United
States. From them they also had some unfavorable tidings. The journal
says:--
“These men had met the boat which we had despatched from Fort Mandan,
on board of which, they were told, was a Ricara chief on his way to
Washington; and also another party of Yankton chiefs, accompanying Mr.
Durion on a visit of the same kind. We were sorry to learn that the
Mandans and Minnetarees were at war with the Ricaras, and had killed two
of them. The Assiniboins too are at war with the Mandans. They have,
in consequence, prohibited the Northwestern Company from trading to the
Missouri, and even killed two of their traders near Mouse River; they
are now lying in wait for Mr. McKenzie of the Northwestern Company, who
has been for a long time among the Minnetarees. These appearances are
rather unfavorable to our project of carrying some of the chiefs to the
United States; but we still hope that, by effecting a peace between the
Mandans, Minnetarees, and Ricaras, the views of our Government may be
accomplished.”
Next day, August 12, 1806, the party, slowly descending the river, were
overjoyed to see below them the little flotilla of Captain Lewis and his
men. But they were alarmed when they discovered that Lewis was not with
them; as the boats landed at the shore, the captain was not to be seen.
Captain Clark’s party, on coming up with their friends, were told that
Lewis was lying in the pirogue, having been accidentally wounded. The
whole party were now happily reunited, and they were soon joined by the
two Illinois traders whom they had met up the river; these men wished to
accompany the expedition down the river as far as the Mandan nation,
for the purpose of trading; they were more secure with a large party of
white men than they would be if left to themselves.