This Explanation
Is Needed To The Proper Understanding Of The Narrative That Follows;
For We Now Have To Keep Track Of Three Parties Of The Explorers.
Captain Lewis and his men, having travelled northwest about twenty
miles from the great falls of the Missouri, struck the trail of a
wounded buffalo.
They were dismayed by the sight, for that assured
them that there were Indians in the vicinity; and the most natural
thing to expect was that these were Blackfeet, or Minnetarees;
both of these tribes are vicious and rascally people, and they would
not hesitate to attack a small party and rob them of their guns,
if they thought themselves able to get away with them.
They were now in the midst of vast herds of buffalo, so numerous that the
whole number seemed one immense herd. Hanging on the flanks were many wolves;
hares and antelope were also abundant. On the fourth day out, Captain Lewis
struck the north fork of Maria's River, now known as Cut-bank River,
in the northwest corner of Montana. He was desirous of following up
the stream, to ascertain, if possible, whether its fountain-head was below,
or above, the boundary between the United States and the British possessions.
Bad weather and an accident to his chronometer prevented his accomplishing
his purpose, and, on the twenty-sixth of July, he turned reluctantly back,
giving the name of Cape Disappointment to his last camping-place.
Later in that day, as they were travelling down the main stream
(Maria's River), they encountered the Indians whom they had hoped to avoid.
Let us read the story as it is told in the journal of the party:
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