Journal Aug 17 1805
by Meriwether Lewis
This morning I arrose very early and dispatched Drewyer and the
Indian down the river. . . Drewyer had been gone about 2 hours when
an Indian who had straggled some little distance down the river
returned and reported that the whitemen were coming, that he had
seen them just below. they all appeared transported with joy, & the
chef repeated his fraturnal hug. I felt quite as much gratifyed at
this information as the Indians appeared to be. Shortly after Capt.
Clark arrived with the Interpreter Charbono, and the Indian woman,
who proved to be a sister of the Chif Cameahwait. the meeting of
those people was really affecting, particularly between Sah cah-gar-we-ah
and an Indian woman, who had been taken prisoner at the same time
with her, and who had afterwards escaped from the Minnetares and
rejoined her nation. At noon the Canoes arrived, and we had the
satisfaction once more to find ourselves all together, with a
flattering prospect of being able to obtain as many horses shortly
as would enable us to prosicute our voyage by land should that by
water be deemed unadvisable.
We now formed our camp just below the junction of the forks on the
Lard. side in a level smooth bottom covered with a fine terf of
greenswoard. here we unloaded our canoes and arranged our baggage on
shore; formed a canopy of one of our large sails and planted some
willow brush in the ground to form a shade for the Indians to set
under while we spoke to them, which we thought it best to do this
evening. acordingly about 4 P. M. we called them together and
through the medium of Labuish, Charbono and Sah-cah-gar-weah, we
communicated to them fully the objects which had brought us into
this distant part of the country. . . we made them sensible of
their dependance on the will of our government for every species of
merchandize as well for their defence & comfort; and apprized them
of the strength of our government and it's friendly dispositions
towards them. we also gave them as a reason why we wished to petrate
the country as far as the ocean to the west of them was to examine
and find out a more direct way to bring merchandize to them. that as
no trade could be carryed on with them before our return to our
homes that it was mutually advantageous to them as well as to
ourselves that they should render us such aids as they had it in
their power to furnish in order to haisten our voyage and of course
our return home. that such were their horses to transport our
baggage without which we could not subsist, and that a pilot to
conduct us through the mountains was also necessary if we could not
decend the river by water. but that we did not ask either their
horses or their services without giving a satisfactory compensation
in return. that at present we wished them to collect as many horses
as were necessary to transport our baggage to their village on the
Columbia where we would then trade with them at our leasure for such
horses as they could spare us. They appeared well pleased with what
had been said. said they had not horses enough with them at present
to remove our baggage to their village over the mountain, but that
he would return tomorrow and encourage his people to come over with
their horses and that he would bring his own and assist us. this was
complying with all we wished at present. we next enquired who were
chiefs among them. Cameahwait pointed out two others whom he said
were Chiefs we gave him a medal of the small size with the likeness
of Mr. Jefferson the President of the U' States in releif on one
side and clasp hands with a pipe and tomahawk on the other, to the
other Chiefs we gave each a small medal which were struck in the
Presidency of George Washinton. Every article about us appeared to
excite astonishment in ther minds; the appearance of the men, their
arms, the canoes, our manner of working them, york and the segacity
of my dog were equally objects of admiration. I also shot my air-gun
which was so perfectly incomprehensible that they immediately
denominated it the great medicine. the idea which the indians mean
to convey by this appellation is something that eminates from or
acts immediately by the influence or power of the great sperit; or
that in which the power of god is manifest by it's incomprehensible
power of action. our hunters killed 4 deer and an Antelope this
evening of which we also gave the Indians a good proportion. the
cerimony of our council and smoking the pipe was in conformity of
the custom of this nation perfomed bearfoot. on those occasions
points of etiquet are quite as much attended to by the Indians as
among scivilized nations. To keep indians in a good humour you must
not fatiegue them with too much business at one time. therefore
after the council we gave them to eat and amused them a while by
shewing them such articles as we thought would be entertaining to
them, and then renewed our enquiries with rispect to the country.
the information we derived was only a repetition of that thy had
given me before and in which they appeared to be so candid that I
could not avoid yealing confidence to what they had said. Capt.
Clark and myself now concerted measures for our future operations,
and it was mutually agreed that he should set out tomorrow morning
with eleven men furnished with axes and other necessary tools for
making canoes, their arms accoutrements and as much of their baggage
as they could carry. also to take the indians Carbono and the indian
woman with him; that on his arrival at the Shoshone camp he was to
leave Charbono and the Indian woman to haisten the return of the
Indians with their horses to this place, and to proceede himself
with the eleven men down the Columbia in order to examine the river
and if he found it navigable and could obtain timber to set about
making canoes immediately. In the mean time I was to bring on the
party and baggage to the Shoshone Camp, calculating that by the time
I should reach that place that he would have sufficiently informed
himself with rispect to the state of the river &c. as to determine
us whether to prosicute our journey from thence by land or water. in
the former case we should want all the horses which we could
perchase, the latter only to hire the Indians to transport our
baggage to the place at which we made the canoes. . . this plan
being settled we gave orders accordingly and the men prepared for an
early march.
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