The Captain's Dog: My Journey With the Lewis and Clark Tribe

by Roland Smith

  We had some trouble with some of the Chinooks, who were more than just hungry. Their supply of salmon had run out weeks earlier and they were starving to death. A few of these Indians were so desperate that anything that wasn't tied down or guarded by an armed man was stolen with the hope that it could be traded for food. None of the stolen items amounted to much, but when something disappeared our men got very angry.

  The real trouble started when we reached the narrow chute of water below Celilo Falls. We had to portage around it, of course. The Indians stood on the rim above the men and threw big rocks down on them. A little later that same day Private Shields bought a dog to eat, but before he could get it back to the main party, the Indian who sold it, and some of his friends, tried to take it away from him. Shields pulled a knife on them and they ran away.

  But they weren't done with us yet Later that night I was wandering around looking for something to eat, and that same bunch of Indians jumped on me. Before I knew it, I had two nooses around my neck and they were dragging me away. Captain Lewis got wind of the dognapping and sent men out to retrieve me with orders to shoot the scoundrels that dared to take his dog.

  "Caw! Caw! Caw!"

  White Feather swooped down on the Indians, but they paid him no mind. I tried to help him by biting the Indians, but it was impossible to sink my teeth into them, strung out between the ropes like I was. I could bark, though, which I did with great vigor.

  The men out looking for me heard the commotion from more than a mile away. One of them fired his rifle, and when the Indians heard the report they dropped the ropes and ran for their lives.

  When we got back to camp we found Captain Lewis yelling at a couple of Indians he had caught stealing an ax.

  "The next Indian we catch stealing anything will be instantly put to death!" he shouted.

  A Chinook chief stepped forward and said that the two men who tried to steal the ax were troublemakers and the Captain shouldn't judge all the Chinooks by their bad behavior. The Captain was not inclined to accept this explanation, but I believed the chief. The trouble we'd experienced had been with just a few individual Indians. In their hurry to reach the Pacific, and now in their rush to get home, our men had lost their patience with these river Indians. They hadn't treated the Sioux this way, or the Mandans, or the Shoshones. Most of the Chinooks crowding around us were just curious about us and our goods. They meant us no harm.

  The captains wanted to get off the river as quickly as possible and get back to our Nez Percé friends. I was certainly in agreement with this. They decided to buy as many horses as they could afford from the river Indians and ride overland, which would be faster than fighting the current.

  Unfortunately we had very little left to trade that the Indians were interested in. After a week of hard bargaining we managed to buy just eight very poor mounts.

  June 3, 1806

  We have been back with our friends the Nez Percé for nearly a month, waiting for the snow in the mountains to melt so we can cross.

  We heard a rumor today that a Nez Percé boy was sent over the mountains to Traveler's Rest. If he was able to cross the mountains, I'm confident we can do the same. We are moving our camp closer to the mountains in preparation for our departure....

  EVERY DAY Captain Lewis went to the river and measured the rising level to assure himself that the snow in the mountains was still melting. And every day Twisted Hair and others told him that he would have to wait several weeks before he could proceed on.

  "Still too much snow."

  "Not enough grass for the horses to eat."

  I hoped the snow would stay forever, because when we crossed the mountains I knew I would never see Mountain Dog again.

  Mountain Dog and I had picked up our friendship right where we had left it in the fall. He and his friends moved close to our camp and I spent nearly every day with him, learning more and more about the Nez Percé, whom I admired greatly.

  Once again the captains traded their medical skills for food and other necessities. Captain Clark, whose reputation as a healer had spread, was in high demand. Indians came from a hundred miles away to have the "white healer" fix their sicknesses. He did the best he could, but admitted that often he really wasn't doing much for their afflictions.

  The captains asked Twisted Hair for a guide to take us through the mountains. Twisted Hair agreed but said that he would have to hold a council with the other village chiefs to determine who this would be.

  "When will we get our guide?" Captain Lewis asked every time he saw the chief.

  "Soon," Twisted Hair would reply. "There is no hurry. You cannot leave until the snow is gone."

  June 10, 1806

  We have departed for the camas meadows and from there we will proceed over the mountains whether we have a guide or not. Each member of our party has a horse to ride and leads another behind with supplies. We also have several extra horses for meat if needed, and to serve as replacements should any of the horses become injured...

  MOUNTAIN DOG squatted down and tied a few small shells on my neck. "Be safe, Yahka," he whispered. He scratched my ears, then joined the crowd that had gathered to see us off.

  I was hoping that Mountain Dog would join us at least as far as the camas meadow, a few days' journey from where we were, but the salmon had finally arrived on the Clearwater and he was busy helping with the harvest.

  We proceeded on.

  That night my reluctance to leave was not eased by the conversation I overheard between the captains. They had their maps spread out by the fire and were discussing what the tribe would do after we reached Traveler's Rest.

  Captain Lewis traced his finger along the map. "You and your men will go down to the Jefferson River here, then on to the Three Forks, where you'll build canoes, then you'll float down the Yellowstone to the Missouri.

  "I'll take a small party down along the buffalo path to the Great Falls and leave a few men there to dig up our cache of supplies and ready the pirogue we left there. While they're doing that I'll take the rest of my men up north a ways and explore the source of Maria's River."

  Maria's River. The bad-luck river where we'd had so much trouble on our way west. I never thought I would see that place again. I never wanted to see that place again.

  "After we explore Maria's River," the Captain continued, "we'll meet the men we left at the Great Falls and continue downriver with them in the pirogue."

  "But the upper reaches of Maria's River are reported to be firmly in the control of the Blackfeet," Captain Clark said. "I'm concerned about your meeting up with that bunch. I think we were very fortunate not to have run into them on our way here."

  Captain Lewis brushed Captain Clark's concern aside. "If we meet the Blackfeet we'll be fine. I plan to take only a handful of men up Maria's River. With so few of us, the Blackfeet can't possibly mistake us for a war party." He pointed back at the map. "We will all meet again at the junction of the Yellowstone and Missouri and continue down together to Fort Mandan."

  June 14, 1806

  We have waited long enough for Twisted Hair to send us guides. Tomorrow we will leave the meadow for the mountains. I am somewhat concerned by the amount of snow, but there is nothing that can be done about it....

  IN SOME PLACES the snow was ten feet deep, which helped us in one way—the deadfalls were buried and we did not have to climb over or detour around them. But it was cold, very cold. The men's hands and feet went numb. The higher we climbed, the deeper the snow became. Without a guide, we risked losing our way and perishing in those mountains. The fear of this increased with every step, until Captain Lewis called us to a halt.

  June 17, 1806

  We have decided to retreat. There is no grass for the horses to eat. We have left most of our goods at our forward position and will pick them up upon our return. They are secured on a scaffold to keep them away from animals and are covered well. I sent Drouillard and Shannon down ahead to the Nez Percé village to find a guide for us. I gave
them a rifle to offer as payment, with instructions that if the one rifle is not enough we will offer two more rifles and ten horses to the man or men who will lead us to the Great Falls....

  Colter shakes his head. "That was a hard thing, going back down that mountain. Remember my horse falling? That was the worst spill I ever took. Lucky I didn't break my blame neck or the horse's."

  "Potts was the unlucky one," Drouillard says. "The fool cut his thigh with his knife and I thought he'd bleed out."

  CAPTAIN LEWIS stemmed the blood flow with a tourniquet and we proceeded farther down the mountainside and set up a camp in a small glade with barely enough grass to keep the horses alive. The hunters brought in a single deer, and some small fish were caught in a stream. The next day a bear in poor flesh was taken, and another deer.

  This was the first time since our journey began that we had been forced to retreat.

  June 21, 1806

  On the way down the mountain we met two young Indians who were on their way into the mountains. We asked them if they would guide us, but they are reluctant to do so....

  ONE OF THE YOUNG Indians was Mountain Dog! He and his friend were on a vision quest to the mountain, where they would fast and pray, and with luck, find their wyakins. Obtaining a spirit helper is of the utmost importance to the Nez Percé, so Mountain Dog and his companion were reluctant to guide us over the mountains, but they did agree to delay their quest a day or two. They set up a camp a little east of us. I was happy for the extra time with him and spent most of my time lying by his fire.

  Two days later Mountain Dog and his friend headed up into the mountains to find their wyakins. When I got back to our camp the men had gathered the horses and were getting ready to leave. Drouillard and Shannon had returned an hour earlier with three Nez Percé who had agreed to guide us over the mountains for the price of three rifles.

  To my delight we caught up with Mountain Dog the next afternoon, and seeing as we were all going in the same direction, he and his friend decided to travel with us at least as far as Traveler's Rest.

  June 26, 1806

  Arrived at the scaffolds today and repacked our gear but didn't linger long, as our guides insisted that we keep moving....

  Colter looks up from the red book. "I got to tell you, Mountain Dog. We wouldn't have made it over them mountains if it hadn't been for you and the others."

  Drouillard nods in agreement as he translates the words.

  "You fellas knew exactly how far and where we had to go to find enough grass for the horses. I don't know if the Captain's ever thanked you properly for that, but I'm thanking you now."

  Mountain Dog smiles.

  June 29, 1806

  Arrived at the hot springs this evening....

  MOUNTAIN DOG and the other Nez Percé showed the men the proper way to bathe in the pools. It consisted of stripping down to nothing, sitting in the steaming water up to your neck until you were ready to scream in agony, jumping out of the water like a boiled fish, then plunging into the ice-cold creek, at which point it was just fine to scream. The men did so loudly and with a great deal of merriment. I happily joined them.

  June 30, 1806

  We have reached Traveler's Rest. Those tremendous mountains are behind us....

  "IT'S DOWNHILL from here, boys!" Colter shouted at the top of his lungs.

  Having conquered the mountains once again, the men's spirits were high. Even the Captain was smiling—an expression I thought he had lost permanently along the Columbia River.

  He told the guides about his plan to explore Maria's River, which they thought was about the most foolish idea they had ever heard. They tried everything they could to talk him out of the plan, but the Captain would not listen.

  "Are you saying you won't guide us there?" the Captain asked.

  "We will take you a little way and point you in the right direction. But we are afraid of the Blackfeet and you should be, too."

  Mountain Dog and his friend decided to delay their quest a few more days and accompany us as far as the guides were willing to take us. They did this to help their friends, knowing they would be safer from attack if they traveled back to the mountains in a bigger band.

  Before we left Traveler's Rest I took a ramble with Mountain Dog to the place where I had first laid eyes on him. When we arrived, Mountain Dog looked up at the boulder he had been sitting on and said, "The next time I go up there I will find my wyakin"

  As we started back down I heard the familiar call.

  "Caw! Caw! Caw!"

  I turned to look and saw White Feather sitting on Mountain Dog's boulder. I barked.

  "Come, Yahka," Mountain Dog called. "The men are getting ready to leave."

  As I followed Mountain Dog down the steep hillside White Feather continued to call.

  July 3, 1806

  We have divided our party and we are on our way to explore Maria's River via White Bear Island. My party consists of nine men and our Nez Percé guides....

  AND A DOG WHO knew with every fiber in his being that we were heading for trouble up on Maria's River.

  That night we camped next to a small stream. The mosquitoes were thick and very hungry. The guides told the Captain that this was as far as they were willing to go. Once again they asked him to reconsider his plan. The Captain refused.

  At noon the next day Mountain Dog and the other guides headed back to the mountains.

  July 15, 1806

  We have reached White Bear Island and the caches we left. Nearly everything has been ruined by the high water—everything but the skeleton of my experiment....

  "The Captain underlined the word twice," Colter says.

  Twisted Hair asks what this experiment was.

  "A boat that would not float," Watkuweis explains.

  ...I expected to leave this evening for Maria's River, but McNeal whom I sent to the lower portage camp, has not returned with my horse.

  The mosquitoes are terrible. My dog howls with the torture he experiences from them. They are so numerous we get them caught in our throats when we breathe....

  IT WASN'T THE mosquitoes, it was the number of grizzlies and wolves in the vicinity that had me riled—that and the prospect of going back to Maria's River.

  McNeal didn't return until after dark The Captain was upset, until McNeal explained the reason for his delay.

  "I was checking the pirogue at the lower portage and a grizzly snuck up on me. Your horse bucked me off and I landed right in front of the beast!

  "The bear reared up on its hind legs, which gave me a chance to scramble out from under him and stand up. I clubbed him in the head with my rifle as hard as I could swing it. Must've hurt him, 'cause he grabbed his head with his paws and started rolling on the ground. I took the opportunity to climb a willow tree, and that bear sat under that tree until the sun went down."

  "That's about the best excuse for being late I've ever heard, Private," the Captain said.

  July 18, 1806

  Arrived at Maria's River this evening. With me are Drouillard and the Fields brothers. We will meet the other men at the mouth of Maria's River when we finish here. We are all taking turns standing sentry duty....

  WE HAD PROCEEDED north, cutting across a treeless prairie. On the way we came across a buffalo that was leaking a lot of blood. Knowing that we had not wounded it, Captain Lewis sent Drouillard after the buffalo to see if it was the work of Blackfeet.

  After talking with Mountain Dog and the other Nez Percé, the Captain no longer wanted to encounter the Blackfeet with such a small party of men. Drouillard returned and said he could not find the buffalo.

  July 20, 1806

  Very few trees. We walked along the top of the bluff, which was nearly 200 feet above the river. Made 28 miles.

  July 22, 1806

  After 29 miles we arrived at a grove of cottonwood in the river bottom. I can see 20 miles ahead, to the foot of the Rocky Mountains. We will camp here so I can make the necessary observations with my instrument
s. The game here is very shy, an indication that there are Indians in the vicinity hunting them.

  July 26, 1806

  We have met a group of Blackfeet Indians.

  Colter closes the red book. "That's all the Captain wrote." He looks at Drouillard.

  "But that's not the end of the story," Drouillard says. It's clear that Mountain Dog, Watkuweis, and the others all want to hear what happened when we met the Blackfeet...

  "We had gone as far up Maria's River as Captain Lewis wanted. We had just turned south and were heading back across the prairie toward the Great Falls...," Drouillard begins.

  DROUILLARD WAS riding along the bank of a small river, hunting, and we were above him walking on the prairie. We had climbed a hill above the river and stopped to look around.

  "Horses," Captain Lewis said. "About a mile distant."

  Joe Fields followed the Captain's gaze. "Sure enough. A whole herd of them."

  The Captain took his eagle eye out for a closer look. "Indians," he said. "But I don't think they see us yet They seem to be looking down at the river bottom."

  "Drouillard," Reubin said.

  The Captain frowned. "There are at least thirty horses. If there are as many Indians we may be in for an unpleasant time, gentlemen."