There He Will Build Canoes,
Go Down That River With Seven Of His Party, And Wait At Its Mouth Till
The Rest Of The Party Join Him.
Sergeant Pryor, with two others,
will then take the horses by land to the Mandans.
From that nation
he will go to the British posts on the Assiniboin with a letter
to Mr. Alexander Henry, to procure his endeavors to prevail on some
of the Sioux chiefs to accompany him to the city of Washington.
. . . . . . . . .
The Indians who had accompanied us intended leaving us in order
to seek their friends, the Ootlashoots; but we prevailed on them
to accompany Captain Lewis a part of his route, so as to show him
the shortest road to the Missouri, and in the mean time amused
them with conversation and running races, on foot and with horses,
in both of which they proved themselves hardy, athletic, and active.
To the chief Captain Lewis gave a small medal and a gun,
as a reward for having guided us across the mountains; in return
the customary civility of exchanging names passed between them,
by which the former acquired the title of Yomekollick,
of White Bearskin Unfolded."
Chapter XXIV
The Expedition Subdivided
On the third of July, accordingly, Captain Lewis, with nine of his men
and five Indians, proceeded down the valley lying between the Rocky and
the Bitter Root ranges of mountains, his general course being due northwest
of Clark's fork of the Columbia River. Crossing several small streams that
make into this river, they finally reached and crossed the Missoula River from
west to east, below the confluence of the St. Mary's and Hell-gate rivers,
or creeks; for these streams hardly deserve the name of rivers.
The party camped for the night within a few miles of the site of the present
city of Missoula, Montana. Here they were forced to part from their good
friends and allies, the Indians, who had crossed the range with them.
These men were afraid that they would be cut off by their foes, the Pahkees,
and they wanted to find and join some band of the Indian nation with whom they
were on terms of friendship. The journal gives this account of the parting: -
"We now smoked a farewell pipe with our estimable companions,
who expressed every emotion of regret at parting with us;
which they felt the more, because they did not conceal their
fears of our being cut off by the Pahkees. We also gave them
a shirt, a handkerchief, and a small quantity of ammunition.
The meat which they received from us was dried and left
at this place, as a store during the homeward journey.
This circumstance confirms our belief that there is no route
along Clark's River to the Columbian plains so near or so good
as that by which we came; for, though these people mean to go
for several days' journey down that river, to look for the
Shalees [Ootlashoots], yet they intend returning home by the same
pass of the mountains through which they have conducted us.
This route is also used by all the nations whom we know west
of the mountains who are in the habit of visiting the plains
of the Missouri; while on the other side, all the war-paths
of the Pahkees which fall into this valley of Clark's River
concentre at Traveller's-rest, beyond which these people have
never ventured to the west."
During the next day or two, Captain Lewis kept on the same
general course through a well-watered country, the ground
gradually rising as be approached the base of the mountains.
Tracks of Indians, supposed to be Pahkees, became more
numerous and fresh. On the seventh of July, the little
company went through the famous pass of the Rocky Mountains,
now properly named for the leaders of the expedition.
Here is the journal's account of their finding the Lewis
and Clark Pass: -
"At the distance of twelve miles we left the river, or rather
the creek, and having for four miles crossed two ridges in a
direction north fifteen degrees east, again struck to the right,
proceeding through a narrow bottom covered with low willows
and grass, and abundantly supplied with both deer and beaver.
After travelling seven miles we reached the foot of a ridge, which we
ascended in a direction north forty-five degrees east, through a
low gap of easy ascent from the westward; and, on descending it,
were delighted at discovering that this was the dividing ridge between
the waters of the Columbia and those of the Missouri. From this gap
Fort Mountain is about twenty miles in a northeastern direction.
We now wound through the hills and mountains, passing several
rivulets which ran to the right, and at the distance of nine
miles from the gap encamped, having made thirty-two miles.
We procured some beaver, and this morning saw tracks of buffalo,
from which it appears that those animals do sometimes penetrate
a short distance among the mountains."
Next day the party found themselves in clover, so to speak.
Game was plenty, and, as their object now was to accumulate
meat for the three men who were to be left at the falls
(and who were not hunters), they resolved to strike the Medicine,
or Sun, River and hunt down its banks. On that river the journal,
July 10, has this to say: -
"In the plains are great quantities of two species of
prickly-pear now in bloom. Gooseberries of the common red kind
are in abundance and just beginning to ripen, but there are
no currants. The river has now widened to one hundred yards;
it is deep, crowded with islands, and in many parts rapid.
At the distance of seventeen miles, the timber disappears
totally from the river-bottoms. About this part of the river,
the wind, which had blown on our backs, and constantly put
the elk on their guard, shifted round; we then shot three of
them and a brown bear.
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