The weather still continues cold cloudy and rainy, the wind also has blown all day with more than usual violence for the N.W.  this morning we eat the last of our birds and cows, I therefore directed Drewyer and J. Fields to take a couple of the horses and proceed to the S.E. as far as the main branch of Maria's river [Two Medicine River.] which I expected was at no great distance and indeavour to kill some meat; they set out immediately and I remaned in camp with R. Fields to avail myself of every opportunity to make my observations should any offer, but it continued to rain and I did not see the sun through the whole course of the day   R. Fields and myself killed nine pige[ons] which lit in the trees near our camp  on these we dined.  late in the evening Drewyer and J. Fields returned the former had killed a fine buck on which we now fared sumptuously. they informed me that it was about 10 miles to the main branch of Maria's River, that the vally formed by the river in that quarter was wide extensive and level with a considerable quantity timber; here they found some wintering camps of the natives and a great number of others of a more recent date or that had from appearance been evacuated about 6 weeks; we consider ourselves extreemly fortunate in not having met with these people.  I determined that if tomorrow continued cloudy to set out as I now begin to be apprehensive that I shall not reach the United States within this season unless I make every exertion in my power which I shall certainly not omit when once I leave this place which I shall do with much reluctance without having obtained the necessary data to establish it's longitude as if the fates were against me my chronometer from some unknown cause stoped today, when I set her to going she went as usual.

July 25, 1806
William Clark

July 25, 1806
William Clark

We Set out at Sunrise and proceeded on very well for three hours. Saw a large gange of Buffalow on the Lard Bank. I concluded to halt and kill a fat one, dureing which time Some brackfast was ordered to be Cooked.  we killed 2 Buffalow and took as much of their flesh as I wished. Shields  killed two fat deer and after a delay of one hour and a half we again proceeded on.  and had not proceeded far before a heavy shower of rain pored down upon us, and the wind blew hard from the S W.  the wind increased and the rain <began> continued to fall. I halted on the Stard. Side had Some logs set up on [end?] close together and Covered with deerskins to keep off the rain. and a large fire made to dry ourselves.  the rain continued moderately untill near twelve oClock when it Cleared away and become fair.  the wind Continued high untill 2 P M. I proceeded on after the [NB: rain] lay a little and at 4 P M arived at a remarkable rock situated in an extensive bottom on the Stard Side of the river & 250 paces from it.  this rock I ascended and from it's top had a most extensive view in every direction.

This rock which I shall call Pompy's Tower is 200 feet high and 400 paces in secumpherance and only axcessable on one Side which is from the N.E the other parts of it being a perpendicular Clift of lightish Coloured gritty rock on the top there is a tolerable Soil of about 5 or 6 feet thick Covered with Short grass. The Indians have made 2 piles of Stone on the top of this Tower. The nativs have ingraved on the face of this rock the figures of animals &c. near which I marked my name and the day of the month & year.  [This sandstone formation is one-half mile north of Interstate Highway 94, between the villages of Nibbe and Pompeys Pillar, and about twenty-eight miles northeast of Billings.  Apparently the first white man to see it was Francois-Antoine Larocque (see November 27, 1804) on his trip to the Yellowstone in September 1805, some ten months before Clark.  Clark named the rock "Pompy's Tower" for little Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, whom he had nicknamed "Pomp."  In the 1814 history Biddle altered this to a more classical "Pompey's Pillar," the name which has persisted.  Clark's inscription of his name and date are still visible, the only surviving physical evidence of the expedition along its route. In 1876 a soldier participating in the campaign against the Sioux reportedly carved his name over the "k," and when reprimanded declared that he did not believe that there had been a white man in the country seventy years earlier. The inscription has since been deepened and is now protected by shatterproof glass.]  From the top of this Tower I Could discover two low Mountains & the Rocky Mts. covered with Snow S W.  one of them appeard to be extenecive and bore S. 15^o E. [The same bearing appears in Biddle's history. On Clark's map however, "S. 15^o W. 40 m" is noted by Pompys Tower. On another of Clark's maps no bearing is given, but a straight, dotted line runs from the tower southwesterly in the general direction of the Pryor Mountains which are in fact southwest of Pompeys Pillar. The Bighorn Mountains lie southeast of the position. The mountains to the northwest are the Bull Mountains, the "Southern extremity" of which would be Dunn Mountain.] about 40 miles.   the other I take to be what the indians Call the Little wolf Mtn. I can only see the Southern extremity of it which bears N 55^o W about 35 Miles. The plains to the South rise from the distance of about 6 miles the width of the bottom gradually to the mountains in that derection.  a large Creek [Fly Creek, "Shannons River" after George Shannon of the party.] with an extencive Vally the direction of which is S. 25^o E. meanders boutifully through this plain.  a range of high land Covered with pine [Pine Ridge, just west of the Bighorn River.] appears to run in a N. & S. direction approaching the river below. on the Northerly Side of the river high romantic Clifts approach & jut over the water for Some distance both above and below.  a large Brook [Clark's "River Baptieste," present Pompeys Pillar Creek, which meets the Yellowstone directly opposite Pompeys Pillar.] which at this time has Some running muddy water falls in to the Rochejhone imediately opposit Pompys Tower.  back from the river for Some distance on that Side the hills are ruged & some pine back the plains are open and extensive.   after Satisfying my Self sufficiently in this delightfull prospect of the extensive Country around, and the emence herds of Buffalow, Elk and wolves in which it abounded, I decended and proceeded on a fiew miles, Saw a gang of about 40 Big horn animals fired at them and killed 2 on the Sides of the rocks which we did not get. I directed the Canoes to land, and I walked up through a crevis in the rocks almost inaxcessiable and killed 2 of those animals one a large doe and the other a yearlin Buck. I wished very much to kill a large buck, had there been one with the gang I Should have killd. him.  dureing the time the men were getting the two big horns which I had killed to the river I employed my Self in getting pieces of the rib of a fish which was Semented within the face of the rock    this rib is [NB: about 3] inchs <diame> in Secumpherance about the middle   [NB: the fallen rock is near the water--   the face   of the rock where rib is in perpendr.--  4 is. lengthwise, a little barb projects]   it is 3 feet in length tho a part of the end appears to have been broken off   I have Several peces of this rib   the bone is neither decayed nor petrified but very rotten. [Gary E. Moulton: Clark found the fossilized rib in the uppermost Cretaceous Hell Creek Formation; the rib probably came from a terrestrial dinosaur. The most common terrestrial dinosaurs of that period in this area were hadrosaurus, Triceratops, Albertosaurus, and Tyrannosaurus, many examples of which have been found in the Hell Creek Formation.]   the part which I could not get out may be Seen, it is about 6 or 7 Miles below Pompys Tower in the face of the Lard. Clift about 20 feet above the water.  after getting the big horn on board &C I proceeded on a Short distance and encamped [On the south side of the Yellowstone just below the mouth of Fly Creek (Shannons River) and about two miles northeast of the village of Pompeys Pillar.], an earlyer than I intended on accout of a heavy cloud which was comeing up from the S. S W. and Some appearance of a Violent wind. I walked out and killed a Small buck for his Skin which the party are in want of for Clothes.  about Sunset the wind blew hard from the W. and Some little rain. I encamped on the Stard. side imediately below the enterance Shannons River about 22 Yards wide, and at this time discharges a great portion of water which is very Muddy.  emence herds of Buffalow about our as it is now running time with those animals the bulls keep Such a grunting nois which is very loud and disagreeable Sound that we are compelled to Scear them away before we can Sleep.  the men fire Several Shot at them and Scear them away.

[Gary E. Moulton: Clark's route maps show great distortion of the Yellowstone River bend between Billings and Pompeys Pillar, a distortion repeated in his Western map of 1810 and its published version of 1814. This distortion appears also in the courses and distances for the day, notably the first, which should be more nearly due north.]

	Course distance and remarks July 25th 1806	mils
N. 20o W.	to the head of a large Island in the middle of the river, haveing passed an island.	2
East	to a low Clift on the Lard. Side    passed a large Island	2
N. 25o E.	passing under the Lard Bluff, passed rock Creek [Five Mile Creek which meets the Yellowstone in northeast Billings.]  (Small) on the Lard. Side but a Small quantity of water	1 1/2
N. 45o E.	to a igh point of land on the Stard. Side, passed a large island at 1 mile and Several Small islds. <N 6 W>  passed the enterance of a small river [EC: Pryor's Creek] [Present Pryor Creek which meets the Yellowstone just southwest of Huntley, MT.] on Stard. Side	5
N. 20o W.	to a low Clift on the Lard. Side  passed 3 islands	2
N. 25o E.	to the head of an Island in the Stard. Bend    passed for islands	4
N. 15o W.	to a low black bluff on the Lard. Side, haveing passed a large Brook [Crooked Creek entering the Yellowstone a few miles northeast of Huntley.] on the Lard Side	3
N. 60o E.	to a Lard point passing a Bluff on the Lard Side.	1
N. 45o E.	to a point of woodland on the Stard. Side opposite to a bluff bank which we passed under on the Lard Side passed a large brook at 1/4 of a mile, one at 5 and one at 7 and a Small one at 8 1/2 miles all on the Lard Side. [The first two are apparently Razor and Cabin creeks.]  passed 6 islands and Several Stoney bars	10
N. 65o E.	to a Stard. Bend passing the head of an island at 2 miles	3
North	to a Larboard Bluff below the island	1
N 70o E.	to a Bluff on the Lard. Side which has Sliped into the river and filled up 1/2 of the river  on the top a yellowish Gritty Stone of 20 feet thick [Clark's "Tumbling Bluff".]	2 1/2
N. 80o E.	to the point of a Bluff on the Lard Side   passed Several Stoney bars	3
East	to a rugid bluff latterly Slipped into the river on the Lard Side opposit to the head of an island	2
South	to the Lower point of an island on Stard. Side	1
N. 62o E.	to the point of a Lard. Bluff  passed the Island	3
East	to Pompys Tower.  200 feet high.  400 paces around from the top of which the rocky mountains Covered with Snow can be Seen S W.   also two low mountains one S. 15 E. and the other N. 55o W this rock is Situated 250 paces from the water on the Stard Side of the river, and opposit to a large Brook on the Lard Side I call baptiests Creek	3
N. 66o E.	to high Clift point of rocks on the Lard Side passed a point of the Clift at 2 miles and 2 Stoney bars or islands	5
S. 60o E.	to the enterance of Shannon Creek  22 yds wide on the Stard. Side  passed the Lard Clifts at 3 Miles passed Several Stoney bars	4
	Miles	58

July 25, 1806
John Ordway

we procd. on to portage Creek [Belt Creek]   met the other men returning.   we formed a Camp at portage Creek   left 2 men one to Cook & one to hunt and returnd. to willow Creek   hard rain comd. about noon and continued the remainder part of the day, but did not Stop us from our urgent labours.    halted as much as we were able to help the horses as the place So amazeing muddy & bad.   in the evening we got to portage Creek and Camped.    rained verry hard and we having no Shelter Some of the men and myself turned over a canoe & lay under it   others Set up by the fires.   the water run under us and the ground was covred with water. the portage River raises fast    Collins killed a buffaloe and a brarow.--

July 25, 1806
Patrick Gass

This was a fine morning with very heavy dew. The party set out early to Portage river with the canoe; and in a short time the men with the other waggon came back; I was by this time so much recovered as to be able to return with the party for another canoe; which is all we will bring over, as the other is very heavy and will be sufficient to carry ourselves and baggage down the Missouri. About 2 o'clock the waggons met at Willow creek, when we had another very heavy shower of rain accompanied with thunder and lightning. At 3 o'clock we set out with both the waggons and 2 canoes to Portage river; it rained on us hard all the way, and the road was so muddy that the horses were not able to haul the loads, without the assistance of every man at the waggons. At night we arrived at Portage river [Belt Creek, a mile or so above its mouth on the Missouri River.], and then had four canoes there safe.