ewis was the first white
man who visited its waters, captain Clarke gave it the name of Lewis's
river. The low grounds through which he had passed to-day were rich and
wide, but at his camp this evening the hills begin to assume a
formidable aspect. The cliff under which he lay is of a reddish brown
colour, the rocks which have fallen from it are a dark brown flintstone.
Near the place are gullies of white sandstone, and quantities of a fine
sand, of a snowy whiteness: the mountains on each side are high and
rugged, with some pine trees scattered over them.

Thursday 22. He soon began to perceive that the Indian accounts had not
exaggerated: at the distance of a mile he passed a small creek, and the
points of four mountains, which were rocky, and so high that it seemed
almost impossible to cross them with horses. The road lay over the sharp
fragments of rocks which had fallen from the mountains, and were strewed
in heaps for miles together, yet the horses altogether unshod,
travelled across them as fast as the men, and without detaining them a
moment. They passed two bold-running streams, and reached the entrance
of a small river, where a few Indian families resided. They had not been
previously acquainted with the arrival of the whites, the guide was
behind, and the wood so thick that we came upon them unobserved, till at
a very short distance. As soon as they saw us, the women and children
fled in great consternation; the men offered us every thing they had,
the fish on the scaffolds, the dried berries and the collars of elk's
tushes worn by the children. We took only a small quantity of the food,
and gave them in return some small articles which conduced very much to
pacify them. The guide now coming up, explained to them who we were, and
the object of our visit, which seemed to relieve the fears, but still a
number of the women and children did not recover from their fright, but
cryed during our stay, which lasted about an hour. The guide, whom we
found a very intelligent friendly old man, informed us that up this
river there was a road which led over the mountains to the Missouri. On
resuming his route, he went along the steep side of a mountain about
three miles, and then reached the river near a small island, at the
lower part of which he encamped; he here attempted to gig some fish, but
could only obtain one small salmon. The river is here shoal and rapid,
with many rocks scattered in various directions through i