APRIL 15

I heard the frogs crying for the first time this season; their note was the same with that of the small frogs which are common to the lagoons and swam[p]s of the U States.— I saw great quantities of gees feeding in the bottoms, of which I shot one. saw some deer and Elk, but they were remarkably shy. I also met with great numbers of Grouse or prairie hens as they are called by the English traders of the N. W. these birds appeared to be mating;

after breakfast Capt. Clark walked on the Std. shore, and on his return in the evening gave me the following account of his ramble. I assended to the high country, about 9 miles distant from the Missouri. the country consists of beatifull, level and fertile plains, destitute of timber I saw many little dranes, which took their rise in the river hills, from whence as far as I could see they run to the N. E. I saw the remains of several camps of the Assinniboins; near one
of which, in a small ravene, there was a park which they had formed of timber and brush, for the purpose of taking the Cabrie or Antelope. it was constructed in the following manner. a strong pound was first made of timbers, on one side
of which there was a small apparture, sufficiently large to admit an Antelope; from each side of this apparture, a curtain was extended to a considerable distance, widening as they receded from the pound.—

we halted a few minutes at the sepulchre rock, and examined the deposits of the ded at that place. these were constructed in the same manner of those already discribed below the rapids. some of them were more than half filled with dead bodies. there were thirteen sepulchres on this rock which stands near the center of the river and has a surface of about 2 acres above high-water mark.—

from hence we returned to the nothern shore and continued up it about four miles to another village of the same nation with whom we remained last night. here we halted and informed the natives of our wish to purchase horses; the produced us several for sale but would not take the articles which we had in exchange for them. they wanted an instrument which the Northwest traders call an eye-dag [a sort of war hatchet] which we had not. we procured two dogs of them and departed.

a little below the entrance of Cataract river we halted at another village of the same people, at which we were equally unsuccessfull in the purchase of horses. we also halted at the two villages of the Chilluckkittequaws a few miles above with no better success.

at three in the evening we arrived at the entrance of Quinnette creek which we ascended a short distance and encamped at the place we have called rockfort camp. here we were visited by some of the people from the villages at the great narrows and falls. we informed them of our wish to purchase horses, & agreed to meet them on the opposite or North side of the river tomorrow for the purpose of bartering with them. most of them returned to their villages this evening three only remained with us all night.

these people are much better clad than any of the nations below; their men have generally leging mockersons and large robes, many of them wear shirts of the same form those of the Chopunnish and Shoshonees highly ornamented with the quills of the porcupine as are also their mockersons and legings. the dress of their women differs very little from those about the rapids.