The Journals of Lewis & Clark: Clark, July 3, 1805

Updated May 14, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Clark, July 3, 1805

July 3rd Wednesday 1805

A fine morning wind from the S. W all the party employd, Some about the boat, attaching the Skins & Sowing them to the Sections, others prepareing timber, Some, burning tar of the drift pine, Some airring and repacking the Stores & Goods, & others hunting for Meet to make pemitigon & for the use of their Skins to Cover the Canoes & boat,-. a Small Shower at 1 oClock which did Scercely wet the grass-. one buffalow and two Antilopes Killed this evening. Six beaver & 2 orters has been Killed at this camp within a fiew days we discover no fish above the falls as yet- the only timber in this part of the Countrey is willow, a fiew Cotton trees which is neither large nor tall, Boxalders and red wood. (Boil roche arrow wood)

The water tolerably clear and Soft in the river, Current jentle and bottoms riseing from the water; no appearance of the river riseing more than a few feet above the falls, as high up as we have yet explored. but few trees on the Std Side the grass is high and fine near the river. the winds has blown for Several days from the S. W. I think it possible that those almost perpetial S W. winds, proceed from the agency of the Snowey mountains and the wide leavel and untimbered plains which Streach themselves along their borders for an emence distance, that the air comeing in Contact with the Snow is Suddenly chilled and condensed, thus becomeing heavyer than the air beneath in the plains it glides down the Sides of those mountains and decends to the plains, where by the constant action of the Sun on the face of the untimbered country there is a partial vacuom formed for it's reception I have observed that the winds from this quarter is always the Coaldest and most violent which we experience, yet I am far from giveing full credit to this hypothesis on this Subject; if I find however on the opposit Side of these mountains that the winds take a contrary direction I Shall then have full faith. (The winds take a contrary direction in the morning or from the mountains on the west Side)