*Tuesday, April 8, 1806*
[Lewis] The wind blew so violently this morning that we were obliged to unlode our perogues and canoes, soon after which they filled with water. being compelled to remain during the day at our present station we sent out some hunters in order to add something to our stock of provision; and exposed our dryed meat to the sun and the smoke of small fires.		[Clark] I observed an Indian Woman who visited us yesterday blind of an eye, and a man who was nearly blind of both eyes. the loss of Sight I have observed to be more Common among all the nations inhabiting this river than among any people I ever observed. they have almost invariably Sore eyes at all Stages of life. the loss of an eye is very Common among them; blindness in persons of middle age is by no means uncommon, and it is almost invariably a concammitant of old age. I Know not to what cause to attribute this prevalent deficientcy of the eye except it be their exposure to the reflection of the Sun on the water to which they are constantly exposed in the Occupation of fishing. [Gass] This was a fine morning, but the wind blew so hard from the north-east, that it was impossible to go on; and about 8 o'clock the swells ran so high, that we had to unload our canoes, and haul some of them out of the water to prevent their being injured. Some of the men are complaining of rheumatick pains; which are to be expected from the wet and cold we suffered last winter, during which from the 4th of November 1805 to the 25th of March 1806, there were not more than twelve days in which it did not rain, and of these but six were clear. Two hunters, who had gone out in the morning, returned, but had killed nothing, except a beautiful small duck.
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