The Journals of Lewis & Clark: Lewis, June 25, 1806
Lewis, June 25, 1806
Wednesday June 25th 1806. last evening the indians entertained us with seting the fir trees on fire. they have a great number of dry lims near their bodies which when set on fire creates a very suddon and immence blaze from bottom to top of those tall trees. they are a beatifull object in this situation at night. this exhibition reminded me of a display of fireworks. the natives told us that their object in seting those trees on fire was to bring fair weather for our journey.- We collected our horses readily and set out at an early hour this morning. one of our guides complained of being unwell, a symptom which I did not much like as such complaints with an indian is generally the prelude to his abandoning any enterprize with which he is not well pleased. we left them at our encampment and they promised to pursue us in a few hours. at 11 A.M. we arrived at the branch of hungary creek where we found R. & J. Feilds. they had not killed anything. here we halted and dined and our guides overtook us. at this place I met with a plant the root of which the shoshones eat. it is a small knob root a good deel in flavor an consistency like the Jerusalem Artichoke. it has two small oval smooth leaves placed opposite on either side of the peduncle just above the root. the scape is only about 4 inches long is round and smooth. the roots of this plant formed one of those collections of roots which Drewyer took from the Shoshones last summer on the head of Jefferson's river. after dinner we continued our rout to hungary Creek and encamped about one and a half miles below our encampment of the 16th inst.- the indians continued with us and I beleive are disposed to be faithfull to their engagement. I gave the sik indian a buffaloe robe he having no other covering except his mockersons and a dressed Elkskin without the hair. Drewyer and Sheilds were sent on this morning to hungry Creek in surch of their horses which they fortunately recovered.
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