The Bird-Woman of the Lewis and Clark Expedition | Page 4

Katherine Chandler
the rudder again. He straightened the boat again. Then Sacajawea caught the maps that were on top of the river.

Crook ed Mon ta na wide hand some saved yards
SACAJAWEA'S RIVER.
As the maps and books were wet, the soldiers had to camp two days. They put the maps and the books and the compass in the sun. When these were dry, they went on again. Ten days after, they came to a river that no white man had seen before. Captain Lewis wrote in his book, "It is a handsome river about 50 yards wide." They did not know the Indian name for it. The captains were so glad Sacajawea had saved their things that they named it for her. They said, "We will call it the Sacajawea or Bird-Woman's River." This river is still running. Look on a map of Montana. Do you see a stream named "Crooked Creek?" That is the stream Lewis and Clark named Sacajawea's River. Which do you think is the prettier name? Which do you think we should call it?

blew elk pleas ure cross plains steep buf fa lo mos qui toes sight
THE FIRST SIGHT OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
Going up the Missouri, the party had to drink the river water. It was not good and it made them ill. The sand blew in their eyes. The mosquitoes bit them all the time. But still the soldiers were happy. They carried their goods in boats. They walked when they wished to. They hunted buffalo and elk on the plains near the river. They had all they wanted to eat. One day in May, Captain Lewis was out hunting. He went up a little hill. Then far off to the West he saw the Rocky Mountains high and steep. Captain Lewis was the first white man to see these mountains. He wrote in his book that he felt a great pleasure on first seeing them. He knew they would be very hard to cross. They were all white with snow. But he was ready to go on so as to get to the West. He went back to the boats and told the others about the mountains. The men were happy and worked harder to get near them.

grew fell hot sul phur worse
SACAJAWEA IS ILL.
Going up the Missouri, Sacajawea fell ill. She could not eat. She grew worse each day. Captain Clark gave her some medicine. It did not make her well. The soldiers had to camp until she could go on. They could not go on without her. They wanted her with them to make friends with her tribe. One day the soldiers found a hot sulphur spring. They carried Sacajawea to this spring. The water made her well. In a week she could go on.

bank killed hole to ward
HOW THE INDIANS HUNTED BUFFALO.
On the plains of the Missouri there were many buffaloes. Sacajawea told the soldiers how the Indians hunted them. An Indian put on a buffalo skin. The buffalo's head was over his head. He walked out to where the buffaloes were eating. He stood between them and a high bank of the river. The other Indians went behind the buffaloes. The buffaloes ran toward the man in the buffalo skin. He ran fast toward the river. Then the buffaloes ran fast toward the river. At the high bank the man ran down and hid in a hole. The buffaloes came so fast that they could not stop at the bank. They fell over the bank on to the rocks near the river. Many were killed. Then the Indians came around the bank. They skinned the buffaloes. They dried the meat. They dried the skins to make blankets and houses.

June won der ful draw pic ture spray write cache
THE FALLS OF THE MISSOURI.
One June day Captain Lewis was walking ahead of the boats. He heard a great noise up the River. He pushed on fast. After walking seven miles, he came to the great Falls of the Missouri. He was the first white man to see these Falls. He sat down on a rock and watched the water dash and spray. He tried to draw a picture of the Falls. He tried to write about it in his book. But he said it was so wonderful that he could not draw it well nor picture it in words. When the men came up, they could not take their boats near the Falls. The Falls are very, very high. The highest fall is eighty-seven feet high, and the water comes down with a great rush. So the soldiers had to go around the Falls. That was a long, long way. It would be hard to carry all their things around the Falls. The captains said, "We will make a cache here. "We will put in
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