 |
 |
Peek Inside...Entries For July 7:
1804:
1806:
Captain Clark (current)
Captain Clark:
July 7, 1806
| << Previous Entry (7/5/1806) | (7/8/1806) Next Entry >> |
This morning our horses were very much scattered. I sent out men in every direction in search of them. They brought all except 9 by 6 o'clock, and informed me that they could not find those 9. I then ordered 6 men to take horses and go different directions and at a greater distance. Those men all returned by 10 A.M., and informed me that they had made circles in every direction to 6 or 8 miles around camp and could not see any signs of them. That they had reasons to believe that the Indians had stolen them in the course of the night, and founded their reasons on the quality of the horses, all being the most valuable horses we had, and several of them so attached to horses of inferior quality which we have, they could not be separated from each other when driving with their loads on in the course of the day.
I thought it probable that they might be stolen by some skulking Shoshones; but, as it was yet possible that they might have taken our back route or rambled to a greater distance, I determined to leave a small party to hunt for them today and proceed on with the main party and all the baggage to the canoes, raise them out of the water, and expose them to the sun to dry by the time this party should overtake me.
I left Sergeant Ordway, Shannon, Gibson, Collins, and Labiche, with directions to hunt this day for the horses without [i.e., unless] they should discover that the Indians had taken them into the mountains, and pursue our trail, &c.
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.
