But No Such Island Exists Now;
It Has Probably Been Worn Away By The Swift-Rushing Current Of The River.
The Route Of Captain Clark And His Party, Up To This Time Had Been A Few
Miles West Of Bannock City, Montana.
As the captain was now to proceed
by land to the Yellowstone, again leaving the canoe party, it is
Well
to recall the fact that his route from the Three Forks of the Missouri
to the Yellowstone follows pretty nearly the present line of the railroad
from Gallatin City to Livingston, by the way of Bozeman Pass. Of this
route the journal says: -
"Throughout the whole, game was very abundant. They procured deer
in the low grounds; beaver and otter were seen in Gallatin River,
and elk, wolves, eagles, hawks, crows, and geese at different parts
of the route. The plain was intersected by several great roads
leading to a gap in the mountains, about twenty miles distant,
in a direction E.N.E.; but the Indian woman, who was acquainted
with the country, recommended a gap more to the southward.
This course Captain Clark determined to pursue."
Let us pause here to pay a little tribute to the memory of "the
Indian woman," Sacajawea. She showed that she was very observant,
had a good memory, and was plucky and determined when in trouble.
She was the guide of the exploring party when she was in a
region of country, as here, with which she was familiar.
She remembered localities which she had not seen since her childhood.
When their pirogue was upset by the carelessness of her husband,
it was she who saved the goods and helped to right the boat.
And, with her helpless infant clinging to her, she rode with
the men, guiding them with unerring skill through the mountain
fastnesses and lonely passes which the white men saw for
the first time when their salient features were pointed out
to them by the intelligent and faithful Sacajawea. The Indian
woman has long since departed to the Happy Hunting-Grounds
of her fathers; only her name and story remain to us who follow
the footsteps of the brave pioneers of the western continent.
But posterity should not forget the services which were rendered
to the white race by Sacajawea.
On the fifteenth of July the party arrived at the ridge that divides
the Missouri and the Yellowstone, nine miles from which they reached
the river itself, about a mile and a half from the point where it issues
from the Rocky Mountains. Their journey down the valley of the Yellowstone
was devoid of special interest, but was accompanied with some hardships.
For example, the feet of the horses had become so sore with long travel
over a stony trail that it was necessary to shoe them with raw buffalo hide.
Rain fell frequently and copiously; and often, sheltered at night
only by buffalo hides, they rose in the morning drenched to the skin.
The party could not follow the course of the river very closely,
but were compelled often to cross hills that came down to the bank,
making the trail impassable for horses. Here is the story of July
18 and 19: -
"Gibson, one of the party, was so badly hurt by falling on a sharp point
of wood that he was unable to sit on his horse, and they were obliged to form
a sort of litter for him, so that he could lie nearly at full length.
The wound became so painful, however, after proceeding a short distance,
that he could not bear the motion, and they left him with two men,
while Captain Clark went to search for timber large enough to form canoes.
He succeeded in finding some trees of sufficient size for small canoes,
two of which he determined to construct, and by lashing them together hoped
to make them answer the purpose of conveying the party down the river,
while a few of his men should conduct the horses to the Mandans. All hands,
therefore, were set busily to work, and they were employed in this
labor for several days. In the mean time no less than twenty-four
of their horses were missing, and they strongly suspected had been stolen
by the Indians, for they were unable to find them, notwithstanding they
made the most diligent search."
"July 23. A piece of a robe and a moccasin," says the journal,
"were discovered this morning not far from the camp.
The moccasin was worn out in the sole, and yet wet, and had
every appearance of having been left but a few hours before.
This was conclusive that the Indians had taken our horses, and were
still prowling about for the remainder, which fortunately escaped
last night by being in a small prairie surrounded by thick timber.
At length Labiche, one of our best trackers, returned from a
very wide circuit, and informed Captain Clark that he had traced
the horses bending their course rather down the river towards
the open plains, and from their tracks, must have been going
very rapidly. All hopes of recovering them were now abandoned.
Nor were the Indians the only plunderers around our camp;
for in the night the wolves or dogs stole the greater part of
the dried meat from the scaffold. The wolves, which constantly
attend the buffalo, were here in great numbers, as this seemed
to be the commencement of the buffalo country. . . .
"At noon the two canoes were finished. They were twenty-eight
feet long, sixteen or eighteen inches deep, and from sixteen
to twenty-four inches wide; and, having lashed them together,
everything was ready for setting out the next day, Gibson having
now recovered. Sergeant Pryor was directed, with Shannon
and Windsor, to take the remaining horses to the Mandans,
and if he should find that Mr. Henry [a trading-post agent] was
on the Assiniboin River, to go thither and deliver him a letter,
the object of which was to prevail on the most distinguished
chiefs of the Sioux to accompany him to Washington."
On a large island near the mouth of a creek now known as
Canyon Creek, the party landed to explore an extensive Indian
lodge which seems to have been built for councils, rather than
for a place of residence.
Enter page number
PreviousNext
Page 96 of 105
Words from 100058 to 101115
of 110166
