On July 18, 1806, while traveling downstream on the north side of the Yellowstone River, 13 members of the divided Corps of Discovery led by William Clark arrived on horseback in what is now Stillwater County, Montana. Camped about three miles west of present-day Columbus that Friday evening, they faced mounting urgency to return to water travel after Pvt. George Gibson badly injured his thigh in a fall while mounting his horse and “Sharbono” was still badly bruised from an earlier horse fall near Big Timber. Continuing east on July 19, they passed the mouth of the Itch-ke-pe ar-ja, now the Stillwater River, saw an Indian fort just downstream and opposite the Itch-ke-pe, and found suitable cottonwood trees about 10-12 miles east of that fort. That evening the men made chokecherry handles for three axes, sharpened them with a file, felled two large trees, and began building two dugout canoes. By the evening of July 21 one canoe was nearly finished, and the canoe camp stood near today’s Wimsett’s and Young’s Points. After the party retired on July 20 with 49 horses and one colt, Crow Indians stole 24 during the night, while the rest of the herd ran off into a small prairie surrounded with thick timber and were not found for three days. Wolves ate the fresh supply of jerky prepared for the canoe trip on the night of July 22. Late on July 23 the two dugouts were finished, launched, and lashed together for departure the next morning. The plan called for four members to trail the remaining horses to the Mandan villages while the other nine floated down the Yellowstone River, but two nights later the herders also lost the rest of the horses to Crow Indians, forcing them to build bullboats and catch up. Early on July 24, 1806, the party proceeded on.