Meriwether Lewis – May 17, 1805

” Set out at an early hour, and proceeded on very well; we employed the toe line the greater part of the day … Capt. Clark narrowly escaped being bitten by a rattlesnake in the course of his walk … this snake is smaller than those common to the middle Atlantic States, being about 2 feet 6 inches long… Capt. Clark saw an Indian fortified camp this evening, which appeared to have been recently occupied, from which we concluded it was probable that it had been formed by a war party of the Menetares who left their village in March last with a view to attack the black foot Indians in consequence of their having killed some of their principal warriors the previous autumn.”