The Journals
of Lewis and Clark: Dates September 4, 1804 - September
14, 1804
The following
excerpts are taken from entries of the Journals of Lewis
and Clark. Dates: September 4, 1804 - September 14,
1804
September
4, 1804
September 4. We set out early, with a very cold wind
from S.S.E. and at one mile and a half, reached a small
creek, called Whitelime creek, on the south side. Just
above this is a cliff, covered with cedar trees, and
at three miles a creek, called Whitepaint creek, of
about thirty yards wide: on the same side, and at four
and a half miles distance from the Whitepaint creek,
is the Rapid river, or, as it is called by the French,
la Riverequi Court; this river empties into the Missouri,
in a course S.W. by W. and is one hundred and fifty-two
yards wide, and four feet deep at the confluence. It
rises in the Black mountains, and passes through a hilly
country, with a poor soil. Captain Clark ascended three
miles to a beautiful plain, on the upper side, where
the Pawnees once had a village: he found that the river
widened above its mouth, and much divided by sands and
islands, which, joined to the great rapidity of the
current, makes the navigation very difficult, even for
small boats. Like the Platte its waters are of a light
color; like that river too it throws out into the Missouri,
great quantities of sand, coarser even than that of
the Platte, which form sandbars and shoals near its
mouth.
We encamped just above it, on the south, having made
only eight miles, as the wind shifted to the south,
and blew so hard that in the course of the day we broke
our mast: we saw some deer, a number of geese, and shot
a turkey and a duck: the place in which we halted is
a fine low-ground, with much timber, such as red cedar,
honeylocust, oak, arrowwood, elm and coffeenut.
September 5, 1804
September 5, Wednesday. The wind was again high
from the south. At five miles, we came to a large island,
called Pawnee island, in the middle of the river; and
stopped to breakfast at a small creek on the north,
which has the name of Goat creek, at eight and a half
miles. Near the mouth of this creek the beaver had made
a dam across so as to form a large pond, in which they
built their houses. Above this island the river Poncara
falls into the Missouri from the south, and is thirty
yards wide at the entrance. Two men whom we dispatched
to the village of the same name, returned with information
that they had found it on the lower side of the creek;
but as this is the hunting season, the town was so completely
deserted that they had killed a buffalo in the village
itself. This tribe of Poncaras, who are said to have
once numbered four hundred men, are now reduced to about
fifty, and have associated for mutual protection with
the Mahas, who are about two hundred in number. These
two nations are allied by a similarity of misfortune;
they were once both numerous, both resided in villages,
and cultivated Indian corn; their common enemies, the
Sioux and small-pox, drove them from their towns, which
they visit only occasionally for the purposes of trade;
and they now wander over the plains on the sources of
the Wolf and Quieurre rivers. Between the Pawnee island
and Goat creek on the north, is a cliff of blue earth,
under which are several mineral springs, impregnated
with salts: near this we observed a number of goats,
from which the creek derives its name. At three and
a half miles from the creek, we came to a large island
on the south, along which we passed to the head of it,
and encamped about four o'clock. Here we replaced the
mast we had lost, with a new one of cedar: some bucks
and an elk were procured to-day, and a black tailed
deer was seen near the Poncara's village.
September 6, 1804
Thursday, September 6. There was a storm this
morning from the N.W. and though it moderated, the wind
was still high, and the weather very cold; the number
of sandbars too, added to the rapidity of the current,
obliged us to have recourse to the towline: with all
our exertions we did not make more than eight and a
half miles, and encamped on the north, after passing
high cliffs of soft, blue, and red colored stone, on
the southern shore. We saw some goats, and great numbers
of buffalo, in addition to which the hunters furnished
us with elk, deer, turkies, geese, and one beaver: a
large catfish too was caught in the evening. The ground
near the camp, was a low prarie, without timber, though
just below is a grove of cottonwood.
September 7, 1804
Friday, September 7. The morning was very cold
and the wind southeast. At five and a half miles, we
reached and encamped at the foot of a round mountain,
on the south, having passed two small islands. This
mountain, which is about three hundred feet at the base,
forms a cone at the top, resembling a dome at a distance,
and seventy feet or more above the surrounding highlands.
As we descended from this dome, we arrived at a spot,
on the gradual descent of the hill, nearly four acres
in extent, and covered with small holes: these are the
residence of a little animal, called by the French,
petit chien (little dog) who sit erect near the mouth,
and make a whistling noise, but when alarmed take refuge
in their holes. In order to bring them out, we poured
into one of the holes five barrels of water without
filling it, but we dislodged and caught the owner. After
digging down another of the holes for six feet, we found,
on running a pole into it, that we had not yet dug half
way to the bottom: we discovered, however, two frogs
in the hole, and near it we killed a dark rattlesnake,
which had swallowed a small prairie dog: we were also
informed, though we never witnessed the fact, that a
sort of lizard, and a snake, live habitually with these
animals. The petit chien are justly named, as they resemble
a small dog in some particulars, though they have also
some points of similarity to the squirrel. The head
resembles the squirrel in every respect, except that
the ear is shorter, the tail like that of the ground-squirrel,
the toe-nails are long, the fur is fine, and the long
hair is gray.
September 8, 1804
Saturday, September 8. The wind still continued
from the southeast, but moderately. At seven miles we
reached a house on the north side, called the Pawnee
house, where a trader, named Trudeau, wintered in the
year 1796-7: behind this, hills, much higher than usual,
appear to the north, about eight miles off. Before reaching
this house, we came by three small islands, on the north
side, and a small creek on the south; and after leaving
it, reached another, at the end of seventeen miles,
on which we encamped, and called it Boat island: we
here saw herds of buffalo, and some elk, deer, turkies,
beaver, a squirrel, and a prairie dog. The party on
the north represent the country through which they passed,
as poor, rugged, and hilly, with the appearance of having
been lately burnt by the Indians; the broken hills,
indeed, approach the river on both sides, though each
is bordered by a strip of woodland near the water.
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