Wednesday 26. Two men were sent on the opposite side of the river for
bark and timber, of which they procured some, but by no means enough
for our purposes. The bark of the cottonwood is too soft, and our only
dependence is on the sweet willow, which has a tough strong bark; the
two hunters killed seven buffaloe. A party arrived from below with two
canoes and baggage, and the wind being from the southeast, they had made
considerable progress with the sails. On their arrival one of the men
who had been considerably heated and fatigued, swallowed a very hearty
draught of water, and was immediately taken ill; captain Lewis bled him
with a penknife, having no other instrument at hand, and succeeded in
restoring him to health the next day. Captain Clarke formed a second
cache or deposit near the camp, and placed the swivel under the rocks
near the river. The antelopes are still scattered through the plains;
the females with their young, which are generally two in number, and the
males by themselves.

Thursday 27. The party were employed in preparing timber for the boat,
except two who were sent to hunt. About one in the afternoon a cloud
arose from the southwest and brought with it violent thunder, lightning,
and hail: soon after it passed the hunters came in from about four miles
above us. They had killed nine elk, and three bear. As they were hunting
on the river they saw a low ground covered with thick brushwood, where
from the tracks along shore they thought a bear had probably taken
refuge: they therefore landed, without making a noise, and climbed
a tree about twenty feet above the ground. Having fixed themselves
securely, they raised a loud shout, and a bear instantly rushed towards
them. These animals never climb, and therefore when he came to the tree
and stopped to look at them, Drewyer shot him in the head; he proved to
be the largest we have yet seen, his nose appeared to be like that of a
common ox, his fore feet measured nine inches across, and the hind feet
were seven inches wide, and eleven and three quarters long, exclusive of
the talons. One of these animals came within thirty yards of the camp
last night, and carried off some buffaloe meat which we had placed on
a pole. In the evening after the storm the water on this side of the
river became of a deep crimson colour, probably caused by some stream
above washing down a kind of soft red stone, which we observed in the
neighbouring bluffs and gullies. At the