In the morning at Hungery Creek, they find that the horses have scattered in search of food. Eventually, they continue their retreat from the Bitterroot Mountain snow and return to Eldorado Creek. On the way, John Potts severely cuts his leg, and John Colter and his horse take a bad fall. At camp, they attempt to shoot ‘salmon trout’ swimming in the creek.
Three Horses in the Bitterroots
© Gene Eastman. Used by permission.
Straggling Horses
This morning we had considerable difficulty in collecting our horses they having straggled off to a considerable distance in surch of food on the sides of the mountains among the thick timber
—Meriwether Lewis
Heading Back for Guides
We dispatched Drewyer and Shannon to the Chopunnish [Nez Perce] Indians in the plains beyond the Kooskooske [Clearwater] in order to hasten the arrival of the indians who had promised to accompany us or to procure a gude at all events and rejoin us as soon as possible. we sent by them a rifle which we offered as a reward to any of them who would engage to conduct us to traveller’s rest . . . .
—Meriwether Lewis
Pott’s Bad Cut
we got but a short distance before one of the men Potts who was of the front cut his leg verry bad with a big knife we halted a fiew minutes Capt. Lewis Sowed up the wound and bound it up we then proceeded on
—John Ordway
Colter’s Horse Rolls
Colter‘s horse fel with him in passing hungry [Hungery] creek and himself and horse were driven down the creek a considerable distance rolling over each other among the rocks. he fortunately escaped without injury or the loss of his gun.
—Meriwether Lewis
False California Hellebore
Salmon Trout Camp, Eldorado Creek
© 29 June 2009 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Return to Eldorado Creek
after dinner we proceeded on to Collin’s Creek and encamped in a pleasant situation at the upper part of the meadows about 2 ms. above our encampment of the 15th inst. we sent out several hunters but they returned without having killed anything. they saw a number if salmon in the creek and shot at them several times without success.
—Meriwether Lewis
Weather Diary
State of the weather at rise
Wind at State of the weather at 4 P.M. Wind at 4 P.M. cloudy after rain E cloudy after rain & hail S W obliged to return.
—Meriwether Lewis and William Clark[1]To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is omitted and some abbreviations have been spelled out.
Notes
| ↑1 | To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is omitted and some abbreviations have been spelled out. |
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Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
This page was funded in part by the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, U.S. National Park Service.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
- Montana Committee for the Humanities
- Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- Yellowstone Public Radio
Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).