Spending the winter of 1805-6 at Fort Clatsop. near Astoria, the party on the return journey ascended the Columbia to the Willamette river, whence Clark explored the latter to the suburbs of Portland. Then, with some changes of route, the expedition returned to the mouth of Lolo creek. From that point Lewis, with a sub-party, cut across the mountains via the Hellgate and Big Blackfoot rivers and the Lewis and Clark’s pass to Great Falls, and, after
Livingston, Montana, Baldy Peak, and Yellowstone River. Captain Clark first struck the Yellowstone River, here in July, 1806.
exploring the Marias river nearly to the mountains and having a fight with the Blackfeet Indians, descended the Missouri to the mouth of the Yellowstone. Clark and the remainder, with another change of route, retraced their old course to the Missouri fiver proper at Three Forks, near Logan, Montana, and then, crossing the mountains by way of the Bozeman pass to Yellowstone river at Livingston, descended that stream to its mouth, where they made junction with Lewis. The reunited party then
