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"These Warm Springs Are Situated At The Foot Of A Hill On The North
Side Of Traveller's-Rest Creek, Which
Is ten yards wide at this place.
They issue from the bottoms, and through the interstices of a gray
freestone
Rock, which rises in irregular masses round their lower side.
The principal spring, which the Indians have formed into a bath by
stopping the run with stone and pebbles, is about the same temperature
as the warmest bath used at the hot springs in Virginia. On trying,
Captain Lewis could with difficulty remain in it nineteen minutes,
and then was affected with a profuse perspiration.
The two other springs are much hotter, the temperature being equal
to that of the warmest of the hot springs in Virginia. Our men,
as well as the Indians, amused themselves with going into the bath;
the latter, according to their universal custom, going first into
the hot bath, where they remain as long as they can bear the heat,
then plunging into the creek, which is now of an icy coldness,
and repeating this operation several times, but always ending
with the warm bath."
Traveller's-rest Creek, it will be recollected, is on the summit
of the Bitter Root Mountains, and the expedition had consequently
passed from Idaho into Montana, as these States now exist on the map;
but they were still on the Pacific side of the Great Divide,
or the backbone of the continent. Much game was seen in this region,
and after reaching Traveller's-rest Creek, the hunters killed six deer;
great numbers of elk and bighorn were also seen in this vicinity.
On the thirtieth of July the party were at their old camp of September
9 and 10, 1805, having made one hundred and fifty-six miles from
Quamash flats to the mouth of the creek where they now camped.
Here a plan to divide and subdivide the party was made out as follows:
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