The Bird-Woman of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Part 6

The grizzly grew frightened.

It ran away.

Then the soldier came down from the tree.

He was glad that his friends had come to his help.

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AT THE TOP OF THE FALLS.

After the men had carried all the goods to the top of the Falls, they made canoes to take them up the river.

They were camping at the top of the Falls on the Fourth of July, 1805.

Captain Lewis wrote that they had a good dinner that day.

He said they had as good as if they were at home.

They had "bacon, beans, buffalo meat, and suet dumplings."

After dinner a soldier played the fiddle.

Captain Lewis wrote: "Such as were able to shake a foot amused themselves in dancing on the green."

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THE CLOUD-BURST.

One day Captain Clark took Sacajawea and her husband with him to look over the top of the Falls.

Sacajawea's baby was in his basket on her back.

Captain Clark saw a black cloud.

He said, "It will rain soon.

Let us go into that ravine."

They sat under some big rocks.

Sacajawea took off the baby's basket and put it at her feet.

All the baby's clothes were in the basket.

Sacajawea took the baby in her lap.

It began to rain a little.

The rain did not get to them.

It rained harder.

Then the cloud burst just over the ravine.

The rain and hail made a big wave in the little ravine.

Captain Clark saw the wave coming.

He jumped up and caught his gun in his left hand.

With his right hand he pushed Sacajawea up the bank.

The wave was up to their waists.

They ran faster and got to the top of the bank.

Then the wave was fifteen feet high.

It made a big noise as it ran down the ravine.

Soon it would have caught them and carried them over the Falls.

It did carry away the baby's basket and his clothes, and Captain Clark's compa.s.s.

The next day a soldier found the compa.s.s in the mud.

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AT THE SOURCE OF THE MISSOURI.

When the canoes were ready, the party started up the river above the Falls.

As they reached the mountains, the river grew narrow.

It was not deep, but it was rapid.

The soldiers had to pull the canoes with ropes.

The river did not run straight.

One day the men dragged the canoes twelve miles.

Then they were only four miles from where they had started.

They had to walk in the river all day.

Their feet were cut by the rocks.

They were ill from being wet so much.

It was hot in the day and cold at night.

They had no wood but willow.

They could not make a good fire.

But they had enough to eat.

Then the river grew very narrow.

The canoes could not go up it.

The soldiers put the canoes under water with rocks in them.

They made another cache.

In it they put skins, plants, seeds, minerals, maps, and some medicines.

Captain Lewis and some men went ahead.

They were looking for Indians.

They wanted to buy some horses.

After a time the river grew so narrow that a soldier put one foot on one bank and his other foot on the other bank.

Then he said, "Thank G.o.d, I am alive to bestride the mighty Missouri."

Before this, people did not know where the Missouri began.

A little way off was the beginning of the mighty Columbia River.

The soldiers reached this place in August.

Captain Lewis was very happy as he drank some cold water from the beginnings of these two rivers.

Captain Clark and the other men were coming behind.

Sacajawea was with them.

They had all the goods and walked slowly.

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