University of Virginia Library

[Clark:]

Sunday February 16th. 1806.

Sent Shannon Labiesh and frazier on a hunting excurtion up
the Kil-haw-a-nak-kle river which discharges itself into the
head of Meriwethers Bay. no word yet of Sergt. Gass and
party. Bratten is verry weak and complains of a pain in the

lower part of the back when he moves which I suppose proceeds
from debility. I gave him barks and saltpeter. Gibsons
fever still continues obstinate tho' not verry high; we gave
him a dose of Dr. Rushes pills which in maney instancis I have
found extreamly effecasious in fevers which are in any measure
caused by the presence of boil. the niter has produced a
perfuse perspiration this evening and the pils opperated late at
night his feaver after which abated almost intirely and he had
a good nights rest.

The Indian Dogs are usually small or much more so than
the common cur. they are party coloured; black white brown
and brindle are the more usual colours. the head is long and
nose pointed eyes small, ears erect and pointed like those of
the Wolf, hair short and smooth except on the tail where it is
as long as that of the curdog and streight. the nativs do not
eate them, or make any further use of them than in hunting
the Elk as has been before observed. Shannon an[d] Labiesh
brought in to us today a Buzzard or Vulture of the Columbia
which they had wounded and taken alive. I believe this to
be the largest Bird of North America. it was not in good
order and yet it wayed 25lbs.. had it have been so it might very
well have weighed 10lb. more or 35lbs.. between the extremities
of the wings it measured 9 feet 2 Inches; from the extremity
of the beak to that of the toe 3 feet 9 inches and a half. from
hip to toe 2 feet, girth of the head 9 inches 3/4. Girth of the
neck 7 1/2 inches; Girth of the body exclusive of the wings
2 feet 3 inches; girth of the leg 3 inches. the diameter of
the eye 41/2ths/10 of an inch, the iris of a pale scarlet red, the puple
of a deep sea green or black and occupies about one third of
the diameter of the eye the head and part of the neck as low
as the figures 1.2. is uncovered with feathers except that portion
of it represented by dots foward and under the eye. the
tail is composed of twelve feathers of equal length, each 14
inches, the legs are 4 3/4 inches in length and of a whitish
colour uncovered with feathers, they are not entirely smooth
but not Imbricated; the toes are four in number three of which
are foward and that in the center much the longest; the fourth
is short and is inserted near the inner of the three other toes and

reather projecting foward. the thye is covered with feathers
as low as the knee. the top or upper part of the toes are imbricated
with broad scales lying transversly, the nails are black
and in proportion to the size of the bird comparitively with
those of the Hawk or Eagle, short and bluntly pointed. the
under side of the wing is covered with white down and feathers.
a white stripe of about 2 inches in width, also marks the outer
part of the wing, imbraceing the lower points of the feathers,
which [c]over the joints of the wing through their whole
length or width of that part of the wing. all the other feathers
of whatever part are of a Glossy shineing black except the
down, which is not glossy, but equally black. the skin of the
beak and head to the joining of the neck is of a pale orrange
Yellow, the other part uncovered with feathers is of a light
flesh colour. the skin is thin and wrinkled except on the beak
where it is smooth. This bird fly's very clumsily, nor do I
know whether it ever seizes it's prey alive, but am induced to
believe it does not. we have seen it feeding on the remains
of the whale and other fish which have been thrown up by the
waves on the sea coast these I believe constitute their principal
food, but I have no doubt but that they also feed on
flesh. we did not meet with this bird un[t]ill we had decended
the Columbia below the great falls, and have found them more
abundant below tide water than above. this is the same species
of Bird which R. Field killed on the 18th.. of Novr. last and
which is noticed on that day tho' not fully discribed then I
thought this of the Buzzard speces. I now believe that this
bird is reather of the Vulture genus than any other, tho' it
wants some of their characteristics particularly the hair on the
neck, and the feathers on the legs.[43] this is a handsom bird at
a little distance it's neck is proportionably longer than those
of the Hawks or Eagle. Shannon also brought a Grey Eagle
which appeared to be of the same kind common to the
U. States. it weighed 15 pds. and measured 7 feet 7 inches
between the extremities of the wings. Shannon and Labiesh
informed us that when he approached this Vulture after wounding

Head of a Vulture, by Clark.

it. that it made a loud noise very much like the barking
of a Dog. the tongue is long firm and broad, filling the under
Chap and partakeing of its transvirs curvature, or its sides
forming a longitudinal Groove; obtuse at the point, the
Margin armed with firm cartelagenous prickkles pointed and
bending inwards.