The party was very ceremoniously received by Chief Cameahwait, and
all hands began to explain to the white men the difficulties of the
situation. How to transport the canoes and baggage over the mountains
to some navigable stream leading into the Columbia was now the serious
problem. The Indian chief and his old men dwelt on the obstacles in the
way and argued that it was too late in the season to make the attempt.
They even urged the white men to stay with them until another spring,
when Indian guides would be furnished them to proceed on their journey
westward.
On the twenty-first, Clark passed the junction of two streams, the
Salmon and the Lemhi, which is now the site of Salmon City, Idaho. As
Captain Lewis was the first white man who had seen these waters,
Clark gave to the combined water-course the name of Lewis' River. The
mountains here assumed a formidable aspect, and the stream was too
narrow, rapid, and rock-bound to admit of navigation. The journal says
of Captain Clark:--
"He soon began to perceive that the Indian accounts had not been
exaggerated. At the distance of a mile he passed a small creek (on the
right), 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, without detaining them
a moment.
Pages:
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
180
181
182
183
184
185
186