Lewis and Clark journals Montana's lower Missouri River May 3, 1805

Captain Clark walked on shore and killed an elk, which he caused to be butchered by the time I arrived with the party. Here we halted and dined, it being about 12 o'clock - our usual time of halting for that purpose. After dinner, Captain Clark pursued his walk while I continued with the party, it being a rule which we had established never to be absent at the same time from the party. We saw vast quantities of buffalo, elk, deer-principally of the long-tail kind-antelope or goats, beaver, geese, ducks, brant, and some swan. Near the entrance of the river mentioned in the 10th course 2 Of this day, we saw an unusual number of porcupines, from which we determined to call the river after that animal, and accordingly denominated it Porcupine River. This stream discharges itself into the Missouri on the starboard side, 2,000 miles above the mouth of the latter. It is a beautiful bold, running stream, 40 yards wide at its entrance. The water is transparent, it being the first of this description that I have yet seen discharge itself into the Missouri. -- Captain Meriwether Lewis

May 4, 1805

Rained this morning until about 9 o'clock in order to repair the rudder irons of the red pirogue, which were broken last evening in landing. We then set out, the wind hard against us. I walked on shore this morning. The weather was more pleasant, the snow had disappeared. The frost seems to have affected the vegetation much less than could have been expected. The leaves of the cottonwood, the grass, the box alder, willow, and the yellow flowering pea seem to be scarcely touched. The rosebushes and honeysuckle seem to have sustained the most considerable injury. The country on both sides of the Missouri continues to be open, level, fertile, and beautiful as far as the eye can reach- which, from some of the eminences, is not short of 30 miles. The river bottoms are very extensive and contain a much greater proportion of timber than usual. The fore part of this day, the river was bordered with timber on both sides, a circumstance which is extremely rare, and the first which has occurred of anything like the same extent since we left the Mandans. In the after part of the day, we passed an extensive beautiful plain on the starboard side which gradually ascended from the river. I saw immense quantities of buffalo in every direction, also some elk, deer, and goats. Having an abundance of meat on hand, I passed them without firing on them. They are extremely gentle; the bull buffalo, particularly, will scarcely give way to you. I passed several in the open plain within fifty paces. They viewed me for a moment as something novel, and then very unconcernedly continued to feed. Captain Clark walked on shore this evening, and did not rejoin us until after dark. He struck the river several miles above our camp and came down to us. We saw many beaver, some of which the party shot. We also killed two deer today. Much sign of the brown bear. Passed several old Indian hunting camps in the course of the day. -- Captain Meriwether Lewis

May 5, 1805

A fine rain. I walked on shore until after 8 A.M., when we halted for breakfast, and in the course of my walk killed a deer, which I carried about a mile and a half to the river. It was in good order. Soon after setting out, the rudder irons of the white pirogue were broken by her running foul on a sawyer. She was, however, refitted in a few minutes with some tugs of rawhide and nails. As usual, saw a great quantity of game today: buffalo, elk, and goats or antelopes feeding in every direction. We kill whatever we wish. The buffalo furnish us with fine veal and fat beef. We also have venison and beaver tails when we wish them. The flesh of the elk and goat is less esteemed, and certainly is inferior. We have not been able to take any fish for some time past. The country is, as yesterday, beautiful in the extreme. We saw the carcasses of many buffalo lying dead along the shore, partially devoured by the wolves and bear. Captain Clark found a den of young wolves in the course of his walk today, and also saw a great number of those animals. They are very abundant in this quarter, and are of two species: The small wolf, or burrowing dog of the prairies, are the inhabitants almost invariably of the open plains. They usually associate in bands of ten or twelve, sometimes more, and burrow near some pass or place much frequented by game. Not being able alone to take a deer or goat, they are rarely ever found alone but hunt in bands. They frequently watch and seize their prey near their burrows. In these burrows they raise their young, and to them they also resort when pursued. When a person approaches them, they frequently bark- their note being precisely that of the small dog. They are of an intermediate size, between that of the fox and dog. Very active, fleet, and delicately formed; the ears large, erect, and pointed; the head long and pointed more like that of the fox; tail long and bushy; the hair and fur also resembles the fox, though [it] is much coarser and inferior. They are of a pale, reddish-brown color, the eye of a deep sea-green color, small and piercing. Their talons are rather longer than those of the ordinary wolf, or that common to the Atlantic states, none of which are to be found in this quarter nor, I believe, above the River Platte. The large wolf found here is not as large as those of the Atlantic states. They are lower and thicker-made, shorter legged. Their color, which is not affected by the seasons, is a gray or blackish-brown and every intermediate shade from that to a cream-colored white. These wolves resort to the woodlands and are also found in the plains, but never take refuge in the ground or burrow, so far as I have been able to inform myself. We scarcely see a gang of buffalo without observing a parcel of those faithful shepherds on their skirts, in readiness to take care of the maimed [and] wounded. The large wolf never barks, but howls as those of the Atlantic states do. Captain Clark and Drouilliard killed the largest brown bear this evening which we have yet seen. It was a most tremendous-looking animal, and extremely hard to kill. Notwithstanding he had five balls through his lungs and five others in various parts, he swam more than half the distance across the river, to a sandbar, and it was at least twenty minutes before he died. He did not attempt to attack, but fled, and made the most tremendous roaring from the moment he was shot. We had no means of weighing this monster. Captain Clark thought he would weigh 500 pounds. For my own part, I think the estimate too small by 100 pounds. He measured 8 feet 7 1/2 inches from the nose to the extremity of the hind feet; 5 feet 10 1/2 inches around the breast; 1 foot 11 inches around the middle of the arm; and 3 feet 11 inches around the neck. His talons, which were five in number on each foot, were 4 3/8 inches in length. He was in good order. We therefore divided him among the party, and made them boil the oil and put it in a cask for future use. The oil is as hard as hog's lard when cool-much more so than that of the black bear. This bear differs from the common black bear in several respects: its talons are much longer and more blunt; its tail shorter; its hair, which is of a reddish or bay brown, is longer, thicker, and finer than that of the black bear, his liver, lungs, and heart are much larger, even in proportion with his size. The heart, particularly, was as large as that of a large ox. His maw was also ten times the size of black bear, and was filled with flesh and fish. His testicles were pendent from the belly and placed four inches asunder in separate bags or pouches. This animal also feeds on roots and almost every species of wild fruit. -- Captain Meriwether Lewis

May 6, 1805

A bear swim the river above us, he disappeared before we could get in reach of him. I find that the curiosity of our party is pretty well satisfied with respect to this animal. The formidable appearance of the male bear killed on the 5th, added to the difficulty with which they die, even when shot through the vital parts, has staggered the resolution of several of them [i.e., the men.] Others, however, seem keen for action with the bear. I expect these gentlemen will give us some amusement shortly as they [the bears] soon begin now to copulate. Saw a great quantity of game of every species common here. Captain Clark walked on shore and killed two elk. They were not in very good order; we therefore took a part of the meat only. It is now only amusement for Captain Clark and myself to kill as much meat as the party can consume. I hope it may continue thus through our whole route, but this I do not much expect. Two beaver were taken in traps this morning, and one since shot by one of the party. Saw numbers of these animals peeping at us as we passed, out of their holes which they form of a cylindrical shape, by burrowing in the face of the abrupt banks of the river. -- Captain Meriwether Lewis

May 8, 1805

A very black cloud to the S.W. We set out under a gentle breeze from the N.E. About 8 o'clock began to rain but not sufficient to wet. We passed the mouth of a large river on the starboard side, 150 yards wide, and appears to be navigable. The country through which it passes, as far as could be seen from the top of a very high hill on which I was, is a beautiful level plain. This river forks about N.W. from its mouth 12 or 15 miles. One fork runs from the north and the other to the west of N.W. The water of this river will justify a belief that it has its source at a considerable distance, and waters a great extent of country. We are willing to believe that this is the river the Minnetarees call The River Which Scolds at All Others. The country on the larboard side is high, and broken with much stone scattered on the hills. In walking on shore with the interpreter and his wife, the squaw gathered, on the sides of the hills, wild licorice, and the white apple, so called by the engagés, and gave me to eat. The Indians of the Missouri make great use of the white apple dressed in different ways. Saw great numbers of buffalo, elk, antelope, and deer, also black-tailed deer, beaver, and wolves. I killed a beaver which I found on the bank, and a wolf. The party killed three beaver, one deer. I saw where an Indian had taken the hair off a goat skin a few days past. Camped early on the larboard side. The river we passed today we call Milk River from the peculiar whiteness of its water, which precisely resembles tea with a considerable mixture of milk. -- Captain William Clark

May 11, 1805

About 5 P.M. my attention was struck by one of the party running at a distance toward us, and making signs and hallooing as if in distress. I ordered the pirogues to put to, and waited until he arrived. I now found that it was Bratton, the man with the sore hand whom I had permitted to walk on shore. He arrived so much out of breath that it was several minutes before he could tell what had happened. At length he informed me that in the woody bottom on the larboard side, about 1l/2 miles below us, he had shot a brown bear which immediately turned on him and pursued him a considerable distance, but he had wounded it so badly that it could not overtake him. I immediately turned out with seven of the party in quest of this monster. We at length found his trail and pursued him about a mile, by the blood, through very thick brush of rosebushes and the large-leafed willow. We finally found him concealed in some very thick brush, and shot him through the skull with two balls. We proceeded to dress him as soon as possible. We found him in good order. It was a monstrous beast, not quite so large as that we killed a few days past but in all other respects much the same. The hair is remarkably long, fine, and rich, though he appears partially to have discharged his winter coat. We now found that Bratton had shot him through the center of the lungs, notwithstanding which, he had pursued him near half a mile and had returned more than double that distance, and with his talons had prepared himself a bed in the earth about 2 feet deep and five long, and was perfectly alive when we found him, which could not have been less than two hours after he received the wound. These bears, being so hard to die, rather intimidate us all. I must confess that I do not like the gentlemen and had rather fight two Indians than one bear. There is no other chance to conquer them by a single shot but by shooting them through the brains, and this becomes difficult in consequence of two large muscles which cover the sides of the forehead, and the sharp projection of the center of the frontal bone, which is also of a pretty good thickness. The fleece and skin were as much as two men could possibly carry. By the time we returned, the sun had set, and I determined to remain here all night, and directed the cooks to render the bear's oil and put it in the kegs, which was done. There was about eight gallons of it. -- Captain Meriwether Lewis Source: University of Virginia Library, Journals of Lewis and Clark

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