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Lewis and Clark Expedition Index
Journal
Summaries Index
Lewis and
Clark Journal Summary 20: Dates July 18, 1806 - July
27, 1806
The following
is a summary of the journal entries made by Lewis and
Clark. Dates: July 18, 1806 - July 27, 1806
Clark loses
several horses and Lewis encounters the Blackfeet Indians
July 18,
1806
William Clark saw smoke near the end of the Rockies
in a south, south easterly direction. He thought it
likely that the Crow Indians had spotted them and were
signaling to others to let them know where Clark’s party
was, either to trade with them or to be on their guard.
Lewis’s party arrived at the Marias river having crossed
a high plain from where they could see the following
mountains: The North mountains (now known as the Bears
Paw Mountains), the South Mountains (now known as the
Highwood Mountains), the Falls Mountains (now known
as either the Big Belt or Little Belt Mountains) and
the Tower Mountains (now known as the Sweetgrass Hills).
Clark searched for trees large enough to make canoes,
but struggled to find any.
July 20,
1806
He settled for some
trees which would be sufficient to make 2 small canoes
, 28 feet long, 16 – 24 inches wide and 16-18 inches
deep, which he intended to lash together for stability.
On 21st Clark and his part woke to find that half of
their horses (24) had gone. He sent some men to search
for them, but after traveling 14 miles there was no
sign of them. Clark believed that the Crow Indians had
most likely stolen them.
Lewis traveled through an area where the paths were
gravelly. This caused problems with the horses as their
hooves became sore, resulting in slower progress. The
land was also bare with no wood to make fires, however
buffalo dung proved to be a suitable alternative. Meat
reserves were very low and the hunters were unable to
kill any animals. Lewis suspected that Indians had been
there and driven the animals away by hunting them. They
tried fishing but only managed to catch one small trout.
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