DESCRIPTIONS
At the time of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804-06), English
spelling and punctuation had not been standardized. The journal
keepers often spelled phonetically or spelled the same word in two
or three different ways. While Captain Lewis had obtained considerable
formal education for his day, Captain Clark had had much less, and
the enlisted men who kept journals had very little, if any. Moreover
the journal keepers were frequently writing under difficult conditions
where the niceties of spelling and grammar were not of paramount
importance.
Excerpt #1a: Captain Lewis Describes a Big Horn
Sheep
May 25, 1805
Meriwether Lewis
I saw several gangs of the bighorned Anamals on the face of the
steep bluffs and clifts on the Stard. side and sent drewyer to kill
one which he accomplished; Capt. Clark and Bratton who were on shore
each killed one of these anamals this evening. ... the horn is of
a light brown colour; when dressed it is almost white extreemly
transparent and very elastic. this horn is used by the natives in
constructing their bows; I have no doubt but it would [make] eligant
and usefull hair combs, and might probably answer as many valuable
purposes to civilized man, as it dose to the savages, who form their
water-cups, spoons and platters of it. ... the places they ge[ne]rally
celect to lodg is the cranies or c[r]evices of the rocks in the
faces of inacessable precepices, where the wold nor bear can reach
them and where indeed man himself would in many instancies find
a similar deficiency; yet these anamals bound from rock to rock
and stand apparently in the most careless manner on the sides of
precipices of many hundred feet. they are very shye and are quick
of both sent and sight.
Excerpt #1b: Captain Clark Describes the Shoshone
Indians
August 21, 1805
William Clark
Those Indians are mild in their disposition, appear Sincere in their
friendship, punctial, and decided. kind with what they have, to
spare. They are excessive pore, nothing but horses there Enemies
which are noumerous on account of there horses & Defenceless
Situation, have deprived them of tents and all the Small Conveniances
of life. They have only a few indifferent Knives, no ax, made use
of Elk's horn Sharpened to Sp[l]it ther wood, ... The women are
held more sacred among them than any nation we have seen and appear
to have an equal Shere in all conversation, which is not the Case
in any other nation I have seen. their boys & girls are also
admited to speak except in Councels
Excerpt #1c: Sergeant Floyd Describes a Prairie
Landscape
July 04, 1804
Charles Floyd
a Snake Bit Jo. Fieldes on the Side of the foot which Sweled much
apply Barks to Coor [cure] and passed a Creek on the South Side
a bout 15 yards wide Coming out of an extensive Prarie as the Creek
has no name and this Day is the 4th of July we name this Independance
Creek ... saw Grat nomber of Goslins to day nearly Grown ... we
camped at one of the Butifules Praries I ever Saw open and butifulley
Divided with Hills and vallies all presenting themselves
Excerpt #1d: Sergeant Gass records two animals
seen for the first time by expedition members.
April 29, 1805
Patrick Gass
This forenoon we passed some of the highest bluffs I had ever seen;
and on the top of the highest we saw some Mountain sheep, which
the natives say are common about the Rocky mountains. These were
the first we had seen, and we attempted to kill some of them but
did not succeed. Captain Lewis, and one of the men, traveled some
distance by land and killed a white bear. -- The natives call them
white, but they are more of a brown grey. They are longer than the
common black bear, and have much larger feet and talons.
(Note: Private Gass' journal was published in 1807, the first
journal to be published after the expedition. Gass was not highly
educated, so his journal was edited by a school teacher before publication.
That is why the grammar and spelling are so much improved over the
other men's journals. Gass himself would never have spoken this
way.
Excerpt #1e: Sergeant Ordway describes a grizzly bear
May 05, 1805
John Ordway
towards evening Capt Clark and Several more the party killed a verry
large bair which the natives and the french tradors call white but
all of the kind that we have seen is of a light brown only owing
to the climate as we suppose. we shot him as he was Swimming the
River. ... he was verry old ... the measure of the brown bair is
as follows round the head is 3 feet 5 Inches. do the middle of the
arm 1 foot 11 Inches. the length from the nose to the extremity
of the hind toe is 8 feet 7-1/2 Inches. the length of tallons better
than four feet [inches]. we found a cat fish in him which he had
eat. we Camped and rendered out about 6 gallons of the greese of
the brown bair. he was judged to weigh about 4 hundred after [being]
dressed.
Excerpt #1f: Private Whitehouse Describes the Flathead
Indians of the Columbia River
Joseph Whitehouse
We found that Bands of the flatt head Nation of Indians; are far
more numerous than we expected; they extending from the head waters
of the Ki-o-menum River, to the Mouth of the Columbia River; &
to the head of all the Rivers, which runs into the No. fork of Columbia
River; & to the head of the same. This information we received
from numbers of Indians belonging to the different bands of that
Nation. They are called flatt heads from the custom they have among
them, of binding flatt pieces of wood, on the foreheads, & back
parts of the heads of their Children, when born, which occasions
their foreheads & back part of their heads to be flatt.
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