the falls is five days' journey further: on
all the forks as well as on the main river great numbers of Indians
reside, and at the falls are establishments of whites. This was the
story of the Twisted-hair.

Monday 23. The chiefs and warriors were all assembled this morning, and
we explained to them where we came from, the objects of our visiting
them, and our pacific intentions towards all the Indians. This being
conveyed by signs, might not have been perfectly comprehended, but
appeared to give perfect satisfaction. We now gave a medal to two of the
chiefs, a shirt in addition to the medal already received by the
Twisted-hair, and delivered a flag and a handkerchief for the grand
chief on his return. To these were added a knife, a handkerchief and a
small piece of tobacco for each chief. The inhabitants did not give us
any provisions gratuitously. We therefore purchased a quantity of fish,
berries (chiefly red haws) and roots; and in the afternoon went on to
the second village. The Twisted-hair introduced us into his own tent,
which consisted however of nothing more than pine bushes and bark, and
gave us some dried salmon boiled. We continued our purchases, and
obtained as much provision as our horses could carry in their present
weak condition as far as the river. The men exchanged a few old
canisters for dressed elk skins, of which they made shirts: great crowds
of the natives are round us all night, but we have not yet missed any
thing except a knife and a few other articles stolen yesterday from a
shot pouch. At dark we had a hard wind from the southwest accompanied
with rain which lasted half an hour, but in the morning,

Tuesday 24, the weather was fair. We sent back Colter in search of the
horses lost in the mountains, and having collected the rest set out at
ten o'clock along the same route already passed by captain Clarke
towards the river. All round the village the women are busily employed
in gathering and dressing the pasheco root, of which large quantities
are heaped up in piles over the plain. We now felt severely the
consequence of eating heartily after our late privations: captain Lewis
and two of the men were taken very ill last evening, and to-day he could
scarcely sit on his horse, while others were obliged to be put on
horseback, and some from extreme weakness and pain, were forced to lie
down along side of the road for some time. At sunset we reached the
island where the hunters had been left on