September 20th, 1805

September 20th, 1805

   Oh my word! I am so ill I can barley move. It must of been that Camas root we ate yesterday, it was so delicious and I was so hungry I couldn't stop eating it! the pain in my stomach is so bad I had to contemplate getting a glass of water for nearly 2o minutes. I decided not to the pain was to bad. thank god the captain let us stay in today I would not have been able to budge and I don't think my comrades would be able to either. Today was also a very hard day not because I was in so much pain but because I had nothing to  do, I was used to having something to do every minute of every day, I began to let my mind wander to all of the possible things that could go wrong with the mission. To take my mind off of my anxiety I decided t educate my self about Camas root. this is what I came up with:

The bulbs must have flowered before they are harvested

To harvest, a piece of turf must be lifted out systematically and then replaced after only the larger bulbs were removed

The bulbs were dug with a sharp pointed stick

Harvesting took anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months for all of the bulbs to be harvested

After harvesting some of the bulbs were broken into pieces and replanted

Harvesting only happened every few years

September 14, 1805

September 14, 1805

We are in bad condition, I mean pretty bad.... We have killed two of our colts and old Toby ( our guide had gotten us perfectly LOST! This is in my opinion our lowest point along this mission, this is the most haggard I have ever seen my comrade. Days passed this way, until the captains decided it would be best is we split up, one party would go ahead with our best hunters and try for some game on the other side and then bring it back to the party who would be back behind. then captain Clark said something that shook me so much I began to breath heavily and my face was burning with fear. He said that they better get the meat back to us before we didn't need it anymore, and that's when I imagined coming back to bring my comrades and my captain meat to just see their motionless bodies laying in the snow. What then?

  

September 3rd, 1805

September 3rd, 1805

I am so tired, cold and hungry.  We are covered in snow and sleet and there is no sign  of a break. we have had barley any food along the way, last nights dinner was two small birds cooked with some corn. I saw our guide sharing some of his little teeny meal with the captains dog seaman. Perhaps he has lost his mind i have no idea how he will make it with our days travel on the small amount of food he is eating, acctually how can any of us? we are going to need to get some food and we are going to need to get it fast.

August 17th, 1805

August 17th, 1805

Surprise Surprise! Remember when when I told you about Sacajawea story of how she was kidnapped? well i forgot to include the fact that her brother had tried to come to her aid but he had been attacked by the Hidastas and she believed him dead. Turns out, that the Shoshone chief is her brother! what a nice reunion, I even had a few tears in my eyes. She was  also reunited with her long lost friend Jumping Fish. All of the  chiefs doubts about us were washed away and he said  that eh would take us to the trial that the Indians used to cross the mountains. 

P.s. pomp has grown considerably since I saw him last

August 15th, 1805

August 15th, 1805

After quite a trek, we have got to the Shoshones. At first they were afraid of us, but after we gave them some blue beads the became very friendly.  they have many horses more than enough to get us over the mountains, but when the captains discussed the journey over the mountains we didn't like what we heard. 1st of all there was defiantly no float able river over them, and the Shoshones had never actually been on the journey over the mountains due to the danger. Captain Lewis didn't believe them he thought that they just wanted us there to protect them with our rifles and such. I think that he is mistaken, I think that the Shoshones realize how important this mission is and they wouldn't do that. we were told that there was actually one man who had been over the mountains. Captain Lewis and Drouillard went to speak with him, he confirmed that there was northwest passage, he said things that scared me very much. He told us that horses fall from cliffs, there is no way to get food and that we all might very well get frozen to death by the snow, or at least be crippled by frost bite on our toes and fingers. After hearing this the captain thought that maybe having the old man along with us might be a good help. He did not consent but said he would think about it. I don't think that inviting him was a good idea, i think that he would slow us down and another mouth to feed, but I suppose that the captain knows best. At least the Shoshone chief agreed to lend us 30 horses! 

When we started out the men from the Shoshone village were afraid that we were leading them into a death trap but after some harsh words and a disgraceful speech from their chief nearly half the village joined us. We had more luck while hunting Drouillard shot three deer and we all ate till our stomachs were full, that was very nice. Finally we reached the fork in the Jefferson river, there was a big bush that could easily hide an ambush, the Indians were all very suspicious, so to calm them captain Lewis made us give them our rifles and told them if we deceived them they could shoot us. HAS HE LOST IS MIND?! But it seemed to work they went ahead with us and we decided to stay at the fork for the night until we had captain Clark return.  But the Indians were still suspicious and they slept in a big ring around us so we couldn't leave in the night. I see where we stand with these people.

July 30th, 1805

July 30th, 1805

today we heard Sacajawea story. So sad, I can barley imagine having that happen to me at such a young age. She told us that she and her friend, Jumping Fish were running away from the invading Hidastas. as she ran she tripped over a root and twisted her ankle so she couldn't walk, the very root she was standing next to. she was pulled by her hair onto a horse, from that point she saw old men and women slaughtered. Young boys and men cut down right before her eyes. Just imagine.

  

July 8th, 1805

July 8th, 1805

  The iron boat captain Lewis has been working on for so long has failed, he was the only person who was surprised by this. He had been so sure it would work and we had stayed behind for two weeks so he could work on this boat. Thankfully captain Clark was ready for this and had marked several trees for dugouts when captain Lewis would come to his senses. After the sinking of the boat captain Lewis went on a walk alone with his dog Seaman, after a little bit captain Clark sent Drouillard after Captain Lewis to look after him. Hours later when captain Lewis returned he asked about Drouillard, captain Clark told him that he had gone to sleep out with the men tonight. A lie, the first lie I had heard from captain Clark to captain Lewis ever. Next time, said captain Lewis, William if you catch me doing something as prideful as this boat for gods sake stop me. Ill try replied captain Clark, I hope he does!