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.