f with the note on it: an accident which deprived us
of all information as to the character of the two branches of the river.
Observing, therefore, that the northwest fork was most in our direction,
we ascended it. We found it extremely rapid, and its waters were
scattered in such a manner that for a quarter of a mile we were forced
to cut a passage through the willow-brush that leaned over the little
channels and united at the top. After going up it for a mile, we
encamped on an island which had been overflowed, and was still so wet
that we were compelled to make beds of brush to keep ourselves out of
the mud. Our provision consisted of two deer which had been killed in
the morning."

It should be borne in mind that this river, up which the party were
making their way, was the Wisdom (now Big Hole), and was the northwest
fork of the Jefferson, flowing from southeast to northwest; and near the
point where it enters the Jefferson, it has a loop toward the northeast;
that is to say, it comes from the southwest to a person looking up its
mouth.

After going up the Wisdom River, Clark's party were overtaken by
Drewyer, Lewis's hunter, who had been sent across between the forks to
notify Clark that Lewis regarded the other fork--the main Jefferson--as
the right course to take. The party, accordingly, turned about and began
to descend the stream, in order to ascend the Jefferson. The journal
says:--

"On going down, one of the canoes upset and two others filled with
water, by which all the baggage was wet and several articles were
irrecoverably lost. As one of them swung round in a rapid current,
Whitehouse was thrown out of her; while down, the canoe passed over him,
and had the water been two inches shallower would have crushed him to
pieces; but he escaped with a severe bruise of his leg. In order to
repair these misfortunes we hastened (down) to the forks, where we were
joined by Captain Lewis. We then passed over to the left (east) side,
opposite the entrance of the rapid fork, and camped on a large gravelly
bar, near which there was plenty of wood. Here we opened, and exposed
to dry, all the articles which had suffered from the water; none of them
were completely spoiled except a small keg of powder; the rest of the
powder, which was distributed in the different canoes, was quite safe,
although it had been under the water for upward of an hour. The air is
indeed so pure and dry that any wood-work immediately shrink