The Alexandria herald. [volume] (Alexandria [Va.]) 1811-1826, 1813-07-05

Saint Louis IN the beginning of March,
1911, for the Pacific Ocean, reached the
A,icoras village on the 18th day of June,
where meeting with some American hun.
tiers, who had been the preceding year on
the waters Of the Columbia with Mr.. Hen.
ry' and VINO giving such an account of the
route by which they passed, as being far pre.
fcrabie IN the point of procuring with facility
an abundant supply OF food at all times, as
we'll as avoiding even the probability of
seeing their enemies, the Black Feet, than
by the track of capts. Lewis and Clark !;
the gentlemen Of the expedition at once
abandoned their former ideas OF PASSING bv
the falls OF Missouri, and made the neces-
safy arrangements for commencing their
journey over land from this place.
Eighty horses were purchased & euuipp-
ed by the 18th OF July, and on the day fol-
lowing they departed from the Aricoras,
sixty persons III number, all on foot, ex
cept the partners of the company. In this
situation they proceeded for five DAYS, hay
ing crossed In that time two considerable
streams which Joined the Missouri below
ihe Ar'eoras, when finding an inland tribe
of Indians calling themselves Shawhays.
but known among the whites by the appel.
lation Of Cheynnes, they procured from
these people an accession of many horses
which enabled the gentlemen to furnish
horse tor every two men. Steering about
w. s. w. they passed the smal2 branches
OF Big River, the Little Missouri above IFS
forks, and several of the tributary streams
OF Powder River; one of which FOLLOWING
up, they found band of the Absaroka, or
Crow nation, encaInped on its banks 2, the
foot of the Big Horn mountain.
For ammunition and some small articles.
they exchanged all their lame for sound
horses With these savages; but although
that this band has been allowed, by everv
one who knew them, to be by far the best be-
haved OF their tribe, ii was only by that un-
alterable determination of the gentlemen
to avoid jeopardizing the safety of the par
| ~, without at the same moment submittipe
to Intentional insults, that they left this
camp mot possessing greater force than
| the whites) without coming to blows.
The distance from the Aricoras to this
| mountain is about 45s miles, over an ex-
tremely rugged tract, by no means furnish
ing sufficient supply of water; but dur.
ing the twenty-eight days they were getting
| TO the base OF the mountain, they were on.
ly in very few instances without abund-
ance of buffaioe meat.
Three days took them over TO the plains
OF Mad river the name given the Big Horn
above this mountaIn) which following for
number Of days they left it where it was re.
duced 70 thirty yards in width, and the
same evening reached the banks of the CO.
dorado or Spanish river Finding flocks
Of buflaloc at the end of the third DAVIS ira
vel on this stream, the party passed a week
in drying buffaloe meat for the residue of
the voyage, as in all probability those were
the last animals of the kind they would
meet with. From this camp, in one day,
they crossed the dividing mountain and
pitched their tents on Hoback's Fork Of
Mad river, where 1t was near so feet
broad, and In eight days more having pass
ed several stupendous ridges, they en-
campcd in the vicinity Of the establish
ment made by MIR. Henry in the fall of
1910, on fork about seventy yards wide,
bearing the name of that gentleman hav-
ing travelled from the main Missouri about
900 miles III 81 days.
Here abandoning their horses, the par
ty constructed canoes, and descended the
Snake or Ky-eye-Dem river (made by the
junction of Mad river, south of Henry's
fork) 400 miles, in the course of which they
were obliged by the Intervention of impas-
sable rapids to make number of portages,
till at length they found the river confined
between gloomy precipices at least 200 feet
perpendicular, whose banks for the most
part were washed by this turbulent stream,
which for 80 miles was a continual success
sion of falls, cascades and rapids. Mr..
Cooks canoe had split and upset in the
middle of rapid, by which one man was
drowned, named Antonio Clappin, and that
gentleman saved himself only by exfreme