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Side a little below the mouth of which is an Old Village which is now abandaned-; here the river is about one and a half miles wide, and deep, The high Hills which run in a N W. & S E. derection form both banks of the river the Shore boald and rockey, the hills rise gradually & are Covered with a thick groth of pine &c.
Hood and extend themselves in a S Eastwardly direction terminateing near the Southern banks of Lewis's river Short of the rockey Mountains.
Shabono our intrepreter nearly tired one of his ankles falling him- The bottoms are extencive and tolerable land Covered with tall grass & prickley pears The hills & mountains are high Steep & rockey. The river verry much divided by Islands Some Elk Bear & Deer and Some Small timber on the Islands.
Side, & again contracts into a narrow chanel divided by a rock I returned through a rockey open countrey infested with pole-cats to the village where I met with Capt.
Our rout lay through a thick forrest of large pine the general course being S. 25 W. and distance about 15 miles. our road was much obstructed by fallen timber particularly in the evening we encamped on a ridge where ther was but little grass for our horses, and at a distance from water. however we obtained as much as served our culinary purposes and suped on our beef. the soil as you leave the hights of the mountains becomes gradually more fertile. the land through which we passed this evening is of an excellent quality tho very broken, it is a dark grey soil. a grey free stone appearing in large masses above the earth in many places. saw the hucklebury, honeysuckle, and alder common to the Atlantic states, also a kind of honeysuckle which bears a white bury and rises about 4 feet high not common but to the western side of the rockey mountains. a growth which resembles the choke cherry bears a black bury with a single stone of a sweetish taste, it rises to the hight of 8 or 10 feet and grows in thick clumps. the Arborvita is also common and grows to an immence size, being from 2 to 6 feet in diameter.
Seven canoes of Indians came out from this large village to view and trade with us, they appeared orderly and well disposed, they accompanied us a fiew miles and returned back. about 111/2 miles below this village on the Lard Side behind a rockey Sharp point, we passed a Chanel 1/4 of a mile wide, which I take to be the one the Indian Canoe entered yesterday from the lower point of Immage Canoe Island a Some low clifts of rocks below this Chanel, a large Island Close under the Stard Side opposit, and 2 Small Islands, below, here we met 2 canoes from below, below those Islands a range of high hills form the Stard.
Our hunters had killed two of the Bighorned Anamals since I had left them. we also passed another creek a few miles below Turtle Creek on the Stard. 30 yds in width which also had runing water bed rockey. late this evening we passed a very bad rappid which reached quite across the river, the party had considerable difficulty in ascending it altho they doubled their crews and used both the rope and the pole. while they were passing this rappid a female Elk and it's fawn swam down throught the waves which ran very high, hence the name of Elk rappids which they instantly gave this place, these are the most considerable rappids which we have yet seen on the missouri and in short the only place where there has appeared to be a suddon decent. opposite to these rappids there is a high bluff and a little above on Lard. a small cottonwood bottom in which we found sufficient timber for our fires and encampment. here I rejoined the party after dark.
The Country is timbered with Pine Generally the bottoms have a variety of Srubs & the fur trees in Great abundance. hills high & rockey on each Side, in the after part of the day the high mountains closed the Creek on each Side and obliged us to take on the Steep Sides of those Mountains, So Steep that the horses Could Screcly keep from Slipping down, Several Sliped & Injured themselves verry much, with great dificuelty we made miles & Encamped on a branh of the Creek we assended after Crossing Several Steep points & one mountain, but little to eate I killed 5 Pheasents & The huntes 4 with a little Corn afforded us a kind of Supper, at dusk it began to Snow at 3 oClock Some rain.
The Chief then directed his wife to hand him his medison bag which he opened and Showed us 14 fingers which he Said was the fingers of his enemies which he had taken in war, and pointed to S. E. from which direction I concluded they were Snake Indians; this is the first Instance I ever knew of the Indians takeing any other trofea of their exploits off the dead bodies of their Enimies except the Scalp. The Chief painted those fingers with Several other articles which was in his bag red and Securely put them back, haveing first mad a Short harrang which I Suppose was bragging of what he had done in war. we purchased 12 Dogs and 4 Sacks of fish, & Some fiew ascid berries, after brackfast we proceeded on, the mountains are high on each Side, containing Scattering pine white oake & under groth, hill Sides Steep and rockey; at 4 miles lower we observed a Small river falling in with great rapidity on the Stard.
The country on either side is high broken and rockey a dark brown hard rugid Stone intermixed with a Soft white Sand Stone. the hills contain Coal or cabonated wood as below and Some Scattering pumistone. the Sides of the river is bordered with coars gravel, which in maney places have washed either together or down Small brooks and forms bars at Some distance in the water, around which the current passes with great valocity. the bottoms between hills and river are narrow and Contain Scercely any timber.
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