ed Gallatin's river, and at the
distance of half a mile reached the confluence of the southwest and
middle branch of the Missouri. Here we found the letter from captain
Clarke, and as we agreed with him that the direction of the southwest
fork gave it a decided preference over the others, we ascended that
branch of the river for a mile, and encamped in a level handsome plain
on the left: having advanced only seven miles. Here we resolved to wait
the return of captain Clarke, and in the meantime make the necessary
celestial observations, as this seems an essential point in the
geography of the western world, and also to recruit the men and air the
baggage. It was accordingly all unloaded and stowed away on shore. Near
the three forks we saw many collections of the mud-nests of the small
martin attached to the smooth faces of the limestone rock, where they
were sheltered by projections of the rock above it: and in the meadows
were numbers of the duck or mallard with their young, who are now nearly
grown. The hunters returned towards evening with six deer, three otter
and a muskrat; and had seen great numbers of antelopes, and much sign of
the beaver and elk.

During all last night captain Clarke had a high fever and chills
accompanied with great pain. He however pursued his route eight miles to
the middle branch, where not finding any fresh Indian track he came down
it and joined us about three o'clock, very much exhausted with fatigue
and the violence of his fever. Believing himself bilious he took a dose
of Rush's pills, which we have always found sovereign in such cases, and
bathing the lower extremities in warm water.

We are now very anxious to see the Snake Indians. After advancing for
several hundred miles into this wild and mountainous country, we may
soon expect that the game will abandon us. With no information of the
route we may be unable to find a passage across the mountains when we
reach the head of the river, at least such a one as will lead us to the
Columbia, and even were we so fortunate as to find a branch of that
river, the timber which we have hitherto seen in these mountains does
not promise us any fit to make canoes, so that our chief dependence is
on meeting some tribe from whom we may procure horses. Our consolation
is, that this southwest branch can scarcely head with any other river
than the Columbia, and that if any nation of Indians can live in the
mountains we are able to endure as much as