e he had killed seven deer and
dried about six hundred pounds of buffaloe meat, but had killed no elk,
the animal chiefly wanted. He knew nothing of his companions except that
on the day of their departure from camp he had left them at the falls
and come on to Medicine river, not having seen them since. As it was too
late to return captain Lewis passed over on a raft which he made for
the purpose and spent the night at Shannon's camp, and the next morning,

Monday, 24, sent J. Fields up the river with orders to go four miles and
return, whether he found the two absent hunters or not; then descending
the southwest side of Medicine river, he crossed the Missouri in the
canoe, and sent Shannon back to his camp to join Fields and bring the
meat which they had killed: this they did, and arrived in the evening at
the camp on Whitebear islands. A part of the men from Portage creek also
arrived with two canoes and baggage. On going down yesterday captain
Clarke cut off several angles of the former route so as to shorten the
Portage considerably, and marked it with stakes: he arrived there in
time to have two of the canoes carried up in the high plain about a mile
in advance. Here they all repaired their moccasins, and put on double
soals to protect them from the prickly pear and from the sharp points of
earth which have been formed by the trampling of the buffaloe during the
late rains: this of itself is sufficient to render the portage
disagreeable to one who had no burden; but as the men are loaded as
heavily as their strength will permit, the crossing is really painful:
some are limping with the soreness of their feet, others are scarcely
able to stand for more than a few minutes from the heat and fatigue:
they are all obliged to halt and rest frequently, and at almost every
stopping place they fall and many of them are asleep in an instant; yet
no one complains and they go on with great cheerfulness. At their camp
Drewyer and Fields joined them, and while captain Lewis was looking for
them at Medicine river, they returned to report the absence of Shannon
about whom they had been very uneasy. They had killed several buffaloe
at the bend of the Missouri above the falls: and dried about eight
hundred pounds of meat and got one hundred pounds of tallow: they had
also killed some deer, but had seen no elk. After getting the party in
motion with the canoes captain Clarke returned to his camp at Portage
creek.

We were now occupi