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Peek Inside...Entries For June 18:
1805:
1806:
Captain Lewis (current)
Captain Lewis:
June 18, 1806
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This morning we had considerable difficulty in collecting our horses, they having straggled off to a considerable distance in search of food on the sides of the mountains among the thick timber. At 9 o'clock we collected them all except one of Drouilliard's and one of Shields's. We set out, leaving Shields and Lepage to collect the two lost horses and follow us. We dispatched Drouilliard and Shannon to the Chopunnish Indians in the plains beyond the Kooskooskee in order to hasten the arrival of the Indians who had promised to accompany us, or to procure a guide at all events and rejoin us as soon as possible. We sent by them a rifle, which we offered as a reward to any of them who would engage to conduct us to Traveler's Rest. We also directed them, if they found difficulty in inducing any of them to accompany us, to offer the reward of two other guns to be given them immediately, and ten horses at the Falls of Missouri.
We had not proceeded far this morning before Potts cut his leg very badly with one of the large knives. He cut one of the large veins on the inner side of the leg. I found much difficulty in stopping the blood, which I could not effect until I applied a tight bandage with a little cushion of wood and tow, on the vein below the wound.
Colter's horse fell with him in passing Hungry Creek and himself and horse were driven down the creek a considerable distance rolling over each other among the rocks. Fortunately he escaped without injury or the loss of his gun.
By 1 P.M., we returned to the glade on the branch of Hungry Creek, where we had dined on the 16th inst. Here we again halted and dined. As there was much appearance of deer about this place, we left R. and J. Fields with directions to hunt this evening and tomorrow morning at this place, and to join us in the evening at the meadows of Collins's Creek, where we intend remaining tomorrow in order to rest our horses and hunt. After dinner we proceeded on to Collins's Creek and encamped in a pleasant situation at the upper part of the meadows about 2 miles above our encampment of the 15th inst. We sent out several hunters, but they returned without having killed anything. They saw a number of salmon [trout] in the creek and shot at them several times, without success. We directed Colter and Gibson to fix each of them a gig in the morning and endeavor to take some of the salmon. The hunters saw much fresh appearance of bear but very little of deer. We hope by means of the fish, together with what deer and bear we can kill, to be enabled to subsist until our guide arrives, without the necessity of returning to the quamash flats. There is a great abundance of good food here to sustain our horses.
Reprinted by permission of the American Studies Programs at the University of Virginia.
The complete text can also be downloaded for printing from their website.
