Captain Lewis, On The Thirteenth Of July, Followed Captain Clark Up
The River; Crossing The Stream To The North Bank, With His Six Canoes
And All His Baggage, He Overtook The Other Party On The Same Day
And Found Them All Engaged In Boat-Building.
"On his way he passed a very large Indian lodge, which was probably
designed as a great council-house;
But it differed in its construction
from all that we had seen, lower down the Missouri or elsewhere.
The form of it was a circle two hundred and sixteen feet in circumference
at the base; it was composed of sixteen large cottonwood poles about
fifty feet long and at their thicker ends, which touched the ground,
about the size of a man's body. They were distributed at equal distances,
except that one was omitted to the cast, probably for the entrance.
From the circumference of this circle the poles converged toward the centre,
where they were united and secured by large withes of willow-brush. There
was no covering over this fabric, in the centre of which were the remains
of a large fire, and around it the marks of about eighty leathern lodges.
He also saw a number of turtle-doves, and some pigeons, of which he shot one,
differing in no respect from the wild pigeon of the United States.
. . . . . . . . .
The buffalo have not yet quite gone, for the hunters brought in three,
in very good order. It requires some diligence to supply us plentifully,
for as we reserve our parched meal for the Rocky Mountains,
where we do not expect to find much game, our principal article
of food is meat, and the consumption of the whole thirty-two persons
belonging to the party amounts to four deer, an elk and a deer,
or one buffalo, every twenty-four hours.
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