g that of the adjoining lands, which
are not inundated; whence we readily infer that the supply is more
precarious than that of the other branch, the waters of which though
more gentle are more constant. This northwest fork we called Wisdom
river.

As soon as the baggage was dried, it was reloaded on board the boats,
but we now found it so much diminished, that we would we able to proceed
with one canoe less. We therefore hauled up the superfluous one into a
thicket of brush where we secured her against being swept away by the
high tide. At one o'clock all set out, except captain Lewis who remained
till the evening in order to complete the observation of equal
altitudes: we passed several bends of the river both to the right and
left, as well as a number of bayous on both sides, and made seven miles
by water, though the distance by land is only three. We then encamped on
a creek which rises in a high mountain to the northeast, and after
passing through an open plain for several miles, discharges itself on
the left, where it is a bold running stream twelve yards wide. We called
it Turf creek, from the number of bogs and the quantity of turf on its
waters. In the course of the afternoon there fell a shower of rain
attended with thunder and lightning, which lasted about forty minutes,
and the weather remained so cloudy all night that we were unable to take
any lunar observations. Uneasy about Shannon, we sent R. Fields in
search of him this morning, but we have as yet no intelligence of either
of them. Our only game to-day was one deer.

Thursday 8. There was a heavy dew this morning. Having left one of the
canoes, there are now more men to spare for the chace; and four were
sent out at an early hour, after which we proceeded. We made five miles
by water along two islands and several bayous, but as the river formed
seven different bends towards the left, the distance by land was only
two miles south of our encampment. At the end of that course we reached
the upper principal entrance of a stream which we called Philanthropy
river. This river empties itself into the Jefferson on the southeast
side, by two channels a short distance from each other: from its size
and its southeastern course, we presume that it rises in the Rocky
mountains near the sources of the Madison. It is thirty yards wide at
its entrance, has a very gentle current, and is navigable for some
distance. One mile above this river we passed an island, a seco