Our provision consisted of two deer which had been killed in the morning." It should be borne in mind that this river, up which the party were making their way, was the Wisdom (now Big Hole), and was the northwest fork of the Jefferson, flowing from southeast to northwest; and near the point where it enters the Jefferson, it has a loop toward the northeast; that is to say, it comes from the southwest to a person looking up its mouth.
After going up the Wisdom River, Clark's party were overtaken by Drewyer, Lewis's hunter, who had been sent across between the forks to notify Clark that Lewis regarded the other fork--the main Jefferson--as the right course to take.

The party, accordingly, turned about and began to descend the stream, in order to ascend the Jefferson.

The journal says:-- "On going down, one of the canoes upset and two others filled with water, by which all the baggage was wet and several articles were irrecoverably lost.

As one of them swung round in a rapid current, Whitehouse was thrown out of her; while down, the canoe passed over him, and had the water been two inches shallower would have crushed him to pieces; but he escaped with a severe bruise of his leg.

In order to repair these misfortunes we hastened (down) to the forks, where we were joined by Captain Lewis.