Paul Kane's Journal of his Western Travels, 1846-1848 - History and ...

Paul Kane. LOWER FALLS ON THE PELOUSE RlVER.July 14,1847. Watercolor on paper, 5 J/2x9 J/4". Collection, Stark Museum oJ Art.
rane, the river rose 12 or 15 inshes
in the night, Strange to see after a
rane in the valley of the river that
it has ben snowing on top of the surou
ding Mountains
~ Fine morning started a boan our sa
= w Carabou got a fine vue of the rocke
Mountains pased the daU de More. this
raped derives its name from 3 men
an eraquay (the Father of the guide that
I crossed the Mountains with) and 2
French men Pellaw, the other, doant
know
they ware gowing down with the Expr
=ess and had arived at mouth of the river
S ~ Martin they had to lowr thare boa
= t down with a roap, the boat got
a shere and ran outside of a rock
the Men not strong anuph to holl
her back they let go the roap the
boat went down the rapped and
was dashed to peses they men loosing
thare provishions blankets and ever
- y thing. they had, they had know alter
46
= native but prosede on foot they
could not go along the shore for the
rocks that progect into the river
at intervills so the tuck to the ba
=ck cuntrey over high mountains
after proseding for 2 or 3 days witho
= ut anney thing to eate, one of the m
=en got affrade and deserted
nothing ben her
= d of him after, the Eraquay and Pallaw
proseded on untill the arived at the
da1l de More, whare they layed down
to Sleap in the night the Eraqua got
up and nocked the brains out of the
others, next morning went to work
in true Indian stile to cut the bodd
= y up into thin slises and dry it
after making his mete up into a pac
= k he proseded on his jumey after
proseding for several days he arived
at a part of the river not so ra
= ped whare he made a raft of dri
= ft wood and bound it together
with willows he plased his mete
on this and put a pese of burch
bark on top which he sat apon
he pased threw the river and nerley
thrugh the second lake wen he mit
a canew and 3 Indians from the Spok
= an Fort whough ware sent to asist
them with prvisions, they asked wha
=re his companions ware he infonned
them of thare axedent and said that
1 had deserted him and the
other had died of starvation he embar
= ked in the Canew in shoveing ofIfrom
the raft one of the Indians said that
the pese of bark on the raft would
do for him to knele apon and went
to take it, whin the Eraqua shoved the
raft away apering rather confused this
gave rise to sespishion the Indian
paddeled up to the raft and tuck
the bark when he saw the dried mete
they enquired whare he got it he
said he had cilled a Carrubue swiming
a cross the river the Indians apered
satesfied but on axemening the
Kane I J oumal