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I took two men and walked down three miles to examine the Shute and river below proceeded along an old Indian path, passd. an old village at 1 mile on an ellevated Situation of this village contained verry large houses built in a different form from any I had Seen, and laterly abandoned, and the most of the boads put into a pond of water near the village, as I conceived to drown the flees, which was emencely noumerous about the houses-. I found by examonation that we must make a portage of the greater perpotion of our Stores 21/2 miles, and the Canoes we Could haul over the rocks, I returned at Dark Capt Lewis and 5 men had just returned from the village, Cap L. informed me that he found the nativs kind, they gave him berries, nuts & fish to eate; but he could get nothing from them in the way of information.
The Situation of this place which we Call Council Bluff which is handsom ellevated a Spot well Calculated for a Tradeing establishment, the Bank high & leavel on top well Calculated for a fort to Command the Countrey and river the low bottom above high water & well Situated under the Command of the Hill for Houses to trade with the Natives a butifull Plain both abov and below at no other bend on either Side does the High land touch the river for Some distance up, as I am told.
Short of the encampment we halted by the request of the Guides a fiew minits on an ellevated point and Smoked a pipe on this eminance the nativs have raised a conic mound of Stons of 6 or 8 feet high and erected a pine pole of 15 feet long. from hence they informed us that when passing over with their families some of the men were usually Sent on foot by the fishery at the enterance of Colt Creek in order to take fish and again meet the party at the quawmash glade on the head of Kooskoske river. from this place we had an extencive view of these Stupendeous Mountains principally Covered with Snow like that on which we Stood; we were entirely Serounded by those mountains from which to one unacquainted with them it would have Seemed impossible ever to have escaped, in short without the assistance of our guides, I doubt much whether we who had once passed them could find our way to Travellers rest in their present Situation for the marked trees on which we had placed Considerable reliance are much fewer and more difficuelt to find than we had apprehended. those indians are most admireable pilots; we find the road wherever the Snow has disappeared tho it be only for a fiew paces. after haveing Smoked the pipe and Contemplating this Scene Sufficient to have dampened the Spirits of any except Such hardy travellers as we have become, we continued our march and at the dist.