Cpt. Lewis and his group cross the Dearborn River, pass Haystack Butte—a landmark on the Old North Trail, and find themselves “in the plains of the Missouri which abound with game.”
Cpt. Clark and his group return to Fortunate Camp where provisions and several dugouts are cached. The men immediately dig up a cache of tobacco.
Sgt. Ordway and three others return stray horses 40 miles across the Big Hole Valley. They find a pronghorn head dropped previously by Clark’s party, and the tired men make a dinner of it.[1]For more on the captains’ strategy and various groups after leaving Travelers’ Rest, see Dividing Forces at Travelers’ Rest.
Dearborn River Crossing
© 20 July 2011 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Lewis: Back to the Plains
Crossing Dearborn’s River
passed Dearborne’s river at 3 m. this stream comes form the S. W. out of the mountains which are about 5 Ms. to our left. the bed of the river is about 100 yds. wide tho’ the water occupys only about 30 yds. it appears to spread over it’s bottoms at certain seasons of the year and runs a mear torrent tearing up the trees by the roots which stand in it’s bottom
—Meriwether Lewis
Haystack Butte and Elk Creek
© 20 July 2011 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Shishiquaw Mountain (Haystack Butte)
the Shishiquaw mountain [Haystack Butte] is a high insulated conic mountain standing several miles in advance of the Eastern range of the rocky mountains. Country broken and mountanous to our wright.
—Meriwether Lewis
Return to the Plains
Fields killed a fine buck and a goat; Josh. Fields saw two buffaloe below us some distance which are the first that have been seen . . . . much rejoiced at finding ourselves in the plains of the Missouri which abound with game.—
—Meriwether Lewis
Clark: Fortunate Camp
Bannack Pass
© 26 July 2011 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Sage Country
The Country through which we passed to day was diversified high dry and uneaven Stoney open plains and low bottoms very boggy with high mountains on the tops and North sides of which there was Snow, great quantities of the species of hysoop & shrubs common to the Missouri plains are Scattered in those Vallys and hill Sides.
—William Clark
Fortunate Camp Bonanza
as before mentioned the most of the Party with me being Chewers of Tobacco become So impatient to be chewing it that they Scercely gave themselves time to take their Saddles off their horses before they were off to the deposit.
—William Clark
Dividing the Tobacco
I gave to each man who used tobacco about two feet off a part of a role took one third of the ballance myself and put up ⅔ in a box to Send down with the most of the articles which had been left at this place
—William Clark
Projecting a Wagon Road
The road which we have traveled from travellers rest Creek to this place an excellent road. and with only a few trees being cut out of the way would be an excellent waggon road one Mountain of about 4 miles over excepted which would require a little digging The distance is 164 Miles—
—William Clark
Ordway’s Return
Boiled Venison
Struck the trail of the party at about 12 miles we come to a boiling hot Spring at the edge of this plains which is large and handsom we halted a fiew minutes at this Spring found a peace of vinison in it well boiled which we expect the party left for us.
—John Ordway
Goat Head for Dinner
followed down on the trail of the party a Short distance and Camped at dark on the branch of the creek. hobbled the unruley horses and lay down to Sleep fatigued rideing upwards of 40 miles this day. and nothing to eat this evening but the head of a goat or antelope [pronghorn] which the party had droped on the road.—
—John Ordway
Weather Diaries
State of the weather at rise
Wind at State of the weather at 4 P. M. Wind at 4 P. M. fair S W fair W. heavy white frost last night. very cold.
—Meriwether Lewis
State of the weather at Sun rise Wind at Sun rise State of the weather at 4 P. M Wind at 4 P M. fair after rain W. fair S W a Small Shower of rain a little after dark a heavy rain and wind from S W. at 4 P. M yesterday a heavy Shower of rain accompanied with rain from the S W. from 4 to 5 P M. passed the boiling hot Springs emerced 2 peces of raw meat in the Spring and in 25 Minits the Smallest pece was sufficiently cooked and in 32 the larger was also sufficiently cooked
—William Clark[2]To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is omitted and some abbreviations have been spelled out.
