Saturday May 31st. 1806
Goodrich and Willard visited the indian village this morning
and returned in the evening Willard brought with him
the dressed skin of a bear which he had purchased for me.
this skin was of a uniform pale redish brown colour, the
indians inform us that it was not the Hoh-host or white bear,
that it was the Yâck-kâh this distinction of the indians induced
us to make further enquiry relitive to their oppinions of the
different species of bear in this country. we produced the
several skins of the bear which our hunters had killed at this
place and one very nearly white which Capt Lewis had purchased.
the white, the deep and pale red grizzle, the dark
brown grizzle, and all those that had the extremities of the
hair of a white or frosty colour without regard to the colour
of the ground of the poil, they disignated Hoh-host and assured
us that they were the same with the white bear, that they
associated together, were very vicisious, never climb the trees,
and had much longer nails than the others. The black skins,
those which were black with a number of entire white hairs
intermixed, the black with a white breast, the uniform bey,
brown and light redish brown, they disignated the Yâck-kâh;
said that they climb the trees had short nails and were not
viscisious, that they could prosue them and kill them in safty,
they also affirmed that they were much smaller than the white
bear. I am disposed to adopt the indians distinction with
respect to these bear and consider them two distinct species.
the white and the Grizzly of this neighbourhood are the same
as those found on the upper part of the Missouri where the
other species are not, and that the uniform redish brown black
&c. of this neighbourhood are a species distinct from both
species of our black bear, and from the black bear of the
Pacific Coast which I believe to be the same with those of the
Atlantic Coast, and that the common black bear do not exist
here. I had previously observed that the claws of some of the
bear which we had killed here had much shorter tallons than
the varigated or white bear usially have but supposed that they
had worn them out by scratching out roots, and these were
those which the indians call Yâhkâh. on enquiry I found also
that a Cub of a uniform redish brown colour pup to a female
black bear intermixed with entire white hairs, had climbed a
tree. I think this a distinct species from the common black
bear becaus we never find the latter of any other colour than a
uniform black, and also that the poil of this bear is much
finer thicker and longer with a greater proportion of fur mixed
with the hair, in other respects they are much the same.
This evening Joseph and Reuben Fields returned with the
three deer they had killed. The indians brought us another
of our original stock of Horses; there are only two absent now
of these horses, and these the indians inform us that our
Sho-sho-ne guide rode back when he returned. We have
sixty five horses at this time, most of them in excellent order
and fine strong active horses.
The Indians pursued a mule deer to the river opposit to our
Camp this evening; the deer swam over and one of our
hunters killed it. there being a large party of indians assembled
on this occasion on the opposit side with Tin-nach-e-moo-tolt
they attempted to rais our canoe which was sunk on that
side of the river yesterday; they made the attempt but were
unable to effect it.
[Clark:] This [accompanying] Sketch was given by Sundary Indians
of the Chopunnish Nation on the 29th. 30th and 31st. of May 1806. on
the Flat Head River. Notes From the Chopunish information.[32]
The Sket-so-mish Nation reside in 6 villages and are about 70 miles
distant from the Chopunnish Nation & beyond a Mountain which that
river heads in.
The Waytom Lake is 10 days around it, has 2 Islands in it and is 7
days from the Chopunnish.
The Falls of the Lartow R a little below the Lake is 150 feet nearly
perpendicular or there abouts.
The falls of Clarks river which is only half a days ride from the
latter falls between 4 and 500 feet and leaves a continued Sprey.
The roads which pass up Clarks River from the falls and that which
intersect it from the falls of Lar-tow River are hilly and bad
The Sket-so-mish reside 30 miles up their river. they as well as those
at the falls of Clarks river are in allience with the Big bellies &c. &c.
The Skeetsomish reside also [o]n the borders of the Wavtom Lake
and on 2 Islands within the Same.
Note.
The Indians inform us that roads passes in every direction where it is
dotted in the Sketch.
d'. that a large river waters the country beyond the Mountains to the
S.W. of the Chopunnish Nation.
d'. that the Shoshones reside on the principal fork of Lewis's river in a
great number of Villages &c. a good roade to the buffalow.
