Jake Smith has sent the first demoralizing shot into the camp by announcing that he doesn’t think there is any necessity for standing guard.  Jake is the only one of our party who shows some sign of baldness, and he probably thinks that his own scalp is not worth the taking by the Indians.

Did we act wisely in permitting him to join our party at the last moment before leaving Helena?  One careless man, no less than one who is easily discouraged by difficulties, will frequently demoralize an entire company.  I think we have now taken all possible precautions for our safety, but our numbers are few; and for me to say that I am not in hourly dread of the Indians when they appear in large force, would be a braggart boast.

Mr. Everts was taken sick this afternoon.  All day we have had a cool breeze and a few light showers, clearing off from time to time, revealing the mountains opposite us covered from their summits half way down with the newly fallen snow, and light clouds floating just below over the foot hills.  Until we reached the open valley of the Yellowstone our route was over a narrow trail, from which the stream, Trail creek, takes its name.  The mountains opposite the point where we entered the valley are rugged, grand, picturesque and immense by turns, and colored by nature with a thousand gorgeous hues.  We have traveled all this day amid this stupendous variety of landscape until we have at length reached the western shore of that vast and solitary river which is to guide us to the theatre of our explorations.  From the “lay of the land” I should judge that our camp to-night is thirty-five to forty miles above the point where Captain William Clark, of the famous Lewis and Clark expedition, embarked with his party in July, 1806, in two cottonwood canoes bound together with buffalo thongs, on his return to the states.  It was from that point also that some six hundred residents of Montana embarked for a trip to the states, in forty-two flat boats, in the autumn of 1865.[C] We learn from Mr. Boteler that there are some twenty-five lodges of Crow Indians up the valley.[D]

Wednesday, August 24.—­It rained nearly all of last night, but Lieutenant Doane pitched his large tent, which was sufficiently capacious to accommodate us all by lying “heads and tails,” and we were very comfortable.  Throughout the forenoon we had occasional showers, but about noon it cleared away, and, after getting a lunch, we got under way.  During the forenoon some of the escort were very successful in fishing for trout.  Mr. Everts was not well enough to accompany us, and it was arranged that he should remain at Boteler’s ranch, and that we would move about twelve miles up the river, and there await his arrival.  Our preparations for departure being completed, General Washburn detailed a guard of four men to accompany the pack train, while the rest of the party rode on ahead.  We broke camp at 2:30 p.m. with the pack train and moved up the