still twelve or fifteen feet deep in many places and knew they would never be able to follow the trail.
It was a bitter blow, “the first time . . . on this long tour that we have ever been compelled to retreat,” wrote Lewis. Leaving most of their baggage piled on scaffolds above the snow, they returned to the valley and waited until they could persuade five Nez Percé to guide them over the mountains.
They followed almost exactly the trail they had taken the previous autumn, moving as fast as they dared, because there would be no grazing for their horses until they crossed the perilous mountains. This time, however, it was easier. Although a slip into a precipice would have plunged a horse to its death, there were no accidents. Even the deepest snow was so firm that the horses’ hoofs sank no more than two or three inches, and it covered many of the rocks and logs that had made previous traveling difficult. “The day was pleasant throughout,” noted Sergeant Patrick Gass on June 27, “but it appeared to me somewhat extraordinary, to be traveling over snow six or eight feet deep in the latter end of June. The most of us, however, had saved our socks, as we expected to find snow in these mountains.” Although food grew scarce, they did not have to kill and eat their horses as they had before.
On June 29, they crossed the Lolo Pass and were over the Bitterroot Mountains. That night, they stopped to camp by some hot springs, where they all bathed. Clark stayed in the hot water for ten minutes; Lewis, sweating profusely, managed nineteen.
The next day, they reached Traveler’s Rest, where they had prepared for the mountain crossing the autumn before. Game was abundant for the first time in weeks, and men and horses rested as the captains paid their guides and planned their next move.
After leaving the Great Falls of the Missouri on their way west, the explorers had swung in a U-shaped path, traveling south up the Missouri and the Jefferson, then west over Lemhi Pass, and finally north, following the Bitterroot River to Traveler’s Rest.
Clark’s map, which he had spent the winter at Fort Clatsop making, became an important asset. Studying it, the expedition members determined it would be more efficient to move east across the open end of the U.
The captains decided that Lewis, with nine men, would try the short cut and use his extra time to explore the Marias River area, while Clark would lead the rest of the party over their original route to the forks of the Jefferson. Once they recovered the canoes and goods cached there, Clark’s group would travel down the Jefferson to the Three Forks. There, Sergeant Ordway would take a canoe party down the Missouri, pick up the baggage at the Great Falls, and meet Lewis at the Marias. Meanwhile, Clark and the rest of the men would cross east to the still-unexplored Yellowstone River, make canoes, and follow the river to the Missouri.
It was dangerous to divide into three small bands just when they were entering hostile Indian country, but the captains felt it was their duty to explore as much of the area as they could before their return to civilization. Lewis expressed his trepidation: “I could not avoid feeling much concern on this occasion although I hoped this separation was only momentary.”
On July 3, Clark and his men began following the Bitterroot to the south as Lewis’s party set off north and then east along the river he had named after his “worthy friend and companion Capt. Clark.” Lewis and his men moved along without much difficulty, save from the mosquitoes, which tormented them constantly. On July 7, they passed through a gap in a low ridge - now called Lewis and Clark Pass - and found that they had crossed the Continental Divide.
Soon they were among herds of bellowing buffalo, and the hungry days were past. They struck the Medicine River (today called the Sun River) on July 8 and followed it to its mouth just above the Great Falls. By July 13,
It was a bitter blow, “the first time . . . on this long tour that we have ever been compelled to retreat,” wrote Lewis. Leaving most of their baggage piled on scaffolds above the snow, they returned to the valley and waited until they could persuade five Nez Percé to guide them over the mountains.
They followed almost exactly the trail they had taken the previous autumn, moving as fast as they dared, because there would be no grazing for their horses until they crossed the perilous mountains. This time, however, it was easier. Although a slip into a precipice would have plunged a horse to its death, there were no accidents. Even the deepest snow was so firm that the horses’ hoofs sank no more than two or three inches, and it covered many of the rocks and logs that had made previous traveling difficult. “The day was pleasant throughout,” noted Sergeant Patrick Gass on June 27, “but it appeared to me somewhat extraordinary, to be traveling over snow six or eight feet deep in the latter end of June. The most of us, however, had saved our socks, as we expected to find snow in these mountains.” Although food grew scarce, they did not have to kill and eat their horses as they had before.
On June 29, they crossed the Lolo Pass and were over the Bitterroot Mountains. That night, they stopped to camp by some hot springs, where they all bathed. Clark stayed in the hot water for ten minutes; Lewis, sweating profusely, managed nineteen.
The next day, they reached Traveler’s Rest, where they had prepared for the mountain crossing the autumn before. Game was abundant for the first time in weeks, and men and horses rested as the captains paid their guides and planned their next move.
After leaving the Great Falls of the Missouri on their way west, the explorers had swung in a U-shaped path, traveling south up the Missouri and the Jefferson, then west over Lemhi Pass, and finally north, following the Bitterroot River to Traveler’s Rest.
Clark’s map, which he had spent the winter at Fort Clatsop making, became an important asset. Studying it, the expedition members determined it would be more efficient to move east across the open end of the U.
The captains decided that Lewis, with nine men, would try the short cut and use his extra time to explore the Marias River area, while Clark would lead the rest of the party over their original route to the forks of the Jefferson. Once they recovered the canoes and goods cached there, Clark’s group would travel down the Jefferson to the Three Forks. There, Sergeant Ordway would take a canoe party down the Missouri, pick up the baggage at the Great Falls, and meet Lewis at the Marias. Meanwhile, Clark and the rest of the men would cross east to the still-unexplored Yellowstone River, make canoes, and follow the river to the Missouri.
It was dangerous to divide into three small bands just when they were entering hostile Indian country, but the captains felt it was their duty to explore as much of the area as they could before their return to civilization. Lewis expressed his trepidation: “I could not avoid feeling much concern on this occasion although I hoped this separation was only momentary.”
On July 3, Clark and his men began following the Bitterroot to the south as Lewis’s party set off north and then east along the river he had named after his “worthy friend and companion Capt. Clark.” Lewis and his men moved along without much difficulty, save from the mosquitoes, which tormented them constantly. On July 7, they passed through a gap in a low ridge - now called Lewis and Clark Pass - and found that they had crossed the Continental Divide.
Soon they were among herds of bellowing buffalo, and the hungry days were past. They struck the Medicine River (today called the Sun River) on July 8 and followed it to its mouth just above the Great Falls. By July 13,
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