p to the Whitebear
Islands along its banks, in order to supply the deficiency. He there
left one man to guard the baggage, and went on to the falls, accompanied
by his servant York, Chaboneau, and his wife with her young child.

"On his arrival there he observed a very dark cloud rising in the west,
which threatened rain, and looked around for some shelter; but could
find no place where the party would be secure from being blown into the
river, if the wind should prove as violent as it sometimes does in the
plains. At length, about a quarter of a mile above the falls, he found
a deep ravine, where there were some shelving rocks, under which he
took refuge. They were on the upper side of the ravine near the river,
perfectly safe from the rain, and therefore laid down their guns,
compass, and other articles which they carried with them. The shower
was at first moderate; it then increased to a heavy rain, the effects
of which they did not feel; but soon after, a torrent of rain and hail
descended. The rain seemed to fall in a solid mass, and instantly,
collecting in the ravine, came rolling down in a dreadful current,
carrying the mud, rocks, and everything that opposed it. Captain Clark
fortunately saw it a moment before it reached them, and springing up
with his gun and shot-pouch in his left hand, with his right clambered
up the steep bluff, pushing on the Indian woman with her child in her
arms; her husband too had seized her hand and was pulling her tip the
hill, but he was so terrified at the danger that he remained frequently
motionless; and but for Captain Clark, himself and his wife and child
would have been lost. So instantaneous was the rise of the water that,
before Captain Clark had reached his gun and begun to ascend the bank,
the water was up to his waist, and he could scarcely get up faster than
it rose, till it reached the height of fifteen feet, with a furious
current which, had they waited a moment longer, would have swept
them into the river just above the Great Falls, down which they must
inevitably have been precipitated. They reached the plain in safety and
found York, who had separated from them just before the storm to hunt
some buffalo, and was now returning to find his master. They had been
obliged to escape so rapidly that Captain Clark lost his compass (that
is, circumferentor) and umbrella, Chaboneau left his gun, with Captain
Lewis' wiping-rod, shot-pouch, and tomahawk, and the Indian woman ha