Overland journeys to the Pacific -- Juvenile fiction; Shawnee Indians -- Juvenile fiction; Siksika Indians -- Juvenile fiction
About the middle of August horses were obtained from the tribe from
which the Indian wife of the interpreter had been stolen. The passage
through the mountains or over the Divide caused the greatest suffering
of the expedition. The men had to cut their way in many places through
the brush, clamber over jagged stones and climb such precipitous walls
that several of their horses were crippled. Then snow began falling and
the nights became very cold. Game seemed to have deserted the country,
and the sufferers had to eat all their supply of flour and parched
corn. Beginning with September 14, they were obliged to kill and eat
some of their horses, and even at that had to be very sparing or the
supply would have been exhausted.
Descending the western side of the mountains, however, they found
abundant edible roots, dried salmon and dried berries at the Indian
villages. The famishing men feasted so ravenously that most of them
became ill. New canoes were constructed, and leaving their horses with
a chief they started down the Clearwater and reached the Columbia on
October 16. Ten days were occupied in making the portage of the falls
and rapids, and on the morning of November 7, when the fog lifted, they
saw in the distance the Pacific Ocean.
A month later the party went into winter quarters. It rained eternally,
the weather was chilly and their condition for a long time was
miserable in the extreme. The shelter built for themselves was called
Fort Clatsop. There they remained until March 23, 1806, when the
explorers set out on their return journey. They had to face
difficulties, hardships and sufferings again, but they had learned from
experience and were better prepared to do so. They embarked on the
Yellowstone July 24, and ten days later reached its junction with the
Missouri. At this point the men were driven almost frantic by the
mosquitoes. At midday, September 23, 1806, they arrived at St. Louis,
where the whole town turned out to welcome them. There the party was
disbanded, and, passing to their various destinations, the Lewis and
Clark expedition took its place in history.
During the latter part of the chat between Lewis and Clark, Deerfoot
came quietly forward and sat down beside the Shelton boys. He listened
closely to all that was said. When the officers asked questions, the
Shawanoe left the answers to the brothers. But more than once they were
in doubt, and turned to him for aid. His prompt response in every
instance was noticed by the officers, who, after a time, addressed
their questions almost wholly to him.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account