As Captain Lewis
Was The First White Man Who Had Seen These Waters, Clark Gave To The Combined
Water-Course The Name Of Lewis' River.
The mountains here assumed
a formidable aspect, and the stream was too narrow, rapid, and rock-bound
to admit of navigation.
The journal says of Captain Clark: -
He soon began to perceive that the Indian accounts had not
been exaggerated. At the distance of a mile he passed a small creek
[on the right], and the points of four mountains, which were rocky,
and so high that it seemed almost impossible to cross them with horses.
The road lay over the sharp fragments of rocks which had fallen
from the mountains, and were strewed in heaps for miles together;
yet the horses, altogether unshod, travelled across them as fast
as the men, without detaining them a moment. They passed two
bold running streams, and reached the entrance of a small river,
where a few Indian families resided, who had not been previously
acquainted with the arrival of the whites; the guide was behind,
and the woods were so thick that we came upon them unobserved,
till at a very short distance. As soon as they saw us the women
and children fled in great consternation; the men offered us
everything they had - the fish on the scaffolds, the dried berries,
and the collars of elks' tushes worn by the children.
We took only a small quantity of the food, and gave them in return
some small articles which conduced very much to pacify them.
The guide now coming up, explained to them who we were and
the object of our visit, which seemed to relieve their fears;
still a number of the women and children did not recover from
their fright, but cried during our stay, which lasted about an hour.
The guide, whom we found a very intelligent, friendly old man,
informed us that up this river there was a road which led over
the mountains to the Missouri."
To add to their difficulties, game had almost entirely disappeared,
and the abundant fish in the river could not be caught for lack
of proper fishing-tackle. Timber from which canoes could be made,
there was none, and the rapids in the rivers were sharp and violent.
With his Indian guide and three men, Captain Clark now pressed on his route
of survey, leaving the remainder of his men behind to hunt and fish.
He went down the Salmon River about fifty-two miles, making his way
as best he could along its banks. Finding the way absolutely blocked
for their purposes, Captain Clark returned on the twenty-fifth of August
and rejoined the party that he had left behind. These had not been able
to kill anything, and for a time starvation stared them in the face.
Under date of August 27, the journal says: -
"The men, who were engaged last night in mending their moccasins,
all except one, went out hunting, but no game was to be procured.
One of the men, however, killed a small salmon, and the Indians made
a present of another, on which the whole party made a very slight breakfast.
These Indians, to whom this life is familiar, seem contented, although they
depend for subsistence on the scanty productions of the fishery.
But our men, who are used to hardships, but have been accustomed to
have the first wants of nature regularly supplied, feel very sensibly
their wretched situation; their strength is wasting away; they begin
to express their apprehensions of being without food in a country
perfectly destitute of any means of supporting life, except a few fish.
In the course of the day an Indian brought into the camp five salmon,
two of which Captain Clark bought and made a supper for the party."
Two days later, Captain Clark and his men joined the main party, having met
the only repulse that was suffered by the expedition from first to last.
Eluding the vigilance of the Indians, caches, or hiding-places, for
the baggage were constructed, filled, and concealed, the work being done
after dark. The weather was now very cold, although August had not passed.
Ink froze in the pen during the night, and the meadows were white with frost;
but the days were warm, even hot.
In the absence of Captain Clark, his colleague and party had been visited
by Cameahwait and about fifty of his band, with their women and children.
Captain Lewis' journal says: -
"After they had camped near us and turned loose their horses,
we called a council of all the chiefs and warriors,
and addressed them in a speech. Additional presents were
then distributed, particularly to the two second chiefs, who had,
agreeably to their promises, exerted themselves in our favor.
The council was then adjourned, and all the Indians were
treated with an abundant meal of boiled Indian corn and beans.
The poor wretches, who had no animal food and scarcely anything
but a few fish, had been almost starved, and received this new
luxury with great thankfulness. Out of compliment to the chief,
we gave him a few dried squashes, which we had brought from
the Mandans, and he declared it was the best food he had ever
tasted except sugar, a small lump of which he had received from
his sister Sacajawea. He now declared how happy they should
all be to live in a country which produced so many good things;
and we told him that it would not be long before the white
men would put it in their power to live below the mountains,
where they might themselves cultivate all these kinds of food,
instead of wandering in the mountains. He appeared to be much pleased
with this information, and the whole party being now in excellent
temper after their repast, we began our purchase of horses.
We soon obtained five very good ones, on very reasonable terms -
that is, by giving for each horse merchandise which cost us
originally about $6.
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