The Kennewick courier-reporter. [volume] (Kennewick, Wash.) 1939-1949, 1945-08-16
Lewis and Clark
The Great American Odyssey
Copyright 1945 by
Walter Meacham
CHAPTER 9
E~-I~ <>& cha MSRRoaaYS


The boats kept up their daily,
toilsome task of battling the cur
rent Of the Missouri. The journals
Of the party recorded the high
winds which they encountered and
of the swarms Of mosquitoes
which infested them day and
night. Game was becoming scarcer
the closer they got to the noun
tains and the problem OF pro-
viding food for 50 many persons
was becoming a serious problem.
On Thursday, July Is, Captain
Clark and his land party arrived
at the three forks Of the Missouri.
Their feet were in bad condition,
being pricked by the spines OF
prickly pear which grew in great
iprofusion. Captain Lewis and his
river party arrived at the forks
on July q. Lewis and Clark soon
attached names to the three
streams which converged at this
point. The southwest fork was
named the jefferson, in. honor OF
President Jeffersons the middle
branch was called the Madison,
for James Madison, secretary Of
State; the southeast branch was
named Gallatin, for Albert Gala
tin, secretary of the Treasury. At
! the forks is located the present
town of Three Forks, Montana.
Sacajawea recognized this spot
as the place where she was cap
tured by the Miniatures five years
before. After brief survey, Lew
is and Clark decided that the
jefferson was the stream for them
to follow. The famous landmark,
known as the Beaverhead, was
reached on August Z. It is located
a few miles south of the present
Twin Bridges. SacaJawea told the
captains this was the summer re-
treat of the Shoshones. From here,
the river to the present Arm
stead is known as the Beaver
head. Another formation south OF
Dillon, also known as the Beaver
head, bears q stronger resem-
blance to beaver than the one
farther north. This was fine
beaver country and, in later years,
was favorite trapping ground.
It being imperative that some
village of the Shoshones be reach
ed in order to secure horses to con-
tinue the journey, Captain Lewis
and three Of the men went ahead
to try to contact the Indians. The
Iheadwaters Of the Missouri were
reached on August II. McNeal
straddled the stream, waved his
arms and thanked God that he
had lived to see the day when he
could bestride the great Missouri.
Lewis but smiled at this youthful
Indulgence and they hurried on.
Soon they stood on the backbone
of the continent. Behind them
lay the sources Of the winding
Missouri, ahead lay the Oregon
the Great River of the West.
| Descending the western slope
Of the mountains, Lewis and his
men drank from the Lemhi. one Of
the farflung tributaries Of the
columbia.
The following day Lewis came
upon two Shoshone women, who
guided him to the Shoshone camp,
where he was received in a friendly
manner. Captain Lewis smoked
the pipe of peace with the Ind
ians, distributed small presents
among the chiefs, and explained to
them as best he could that his
mission was a friendly one. He
told the Indians that a large party
of white men was on the other side
of the mountains and would soon
be with them. He set out with
Cameawait, chief of the Sho--
shones, and a number of his war
riors to meet Captain Clark, who
wss laboring up the current of the
Jefferson with his boats.
Captain Clark followed the riv-
er to the site of the present Arm
stead, Montana, where he turned
to the west and, on August IL,
met Captain Lewis and the Ind
ians at Shoshone Cove, a beau
tiful little mountain valley, on the
present Horse Prairie creek. II
was happy meeting and an i'm
portant one, for upon the success
they had in securing horses de-
pended the result of the expedi-
ton. -
Go be continueO
/ Hinhlands