Monday February 24th. 1806.
Our sick are still on the recovery. Shannon & Labuishe
returned in the forenoon; they had killed no Elk and reported
that they beleived the Elk have retired from their former
haunts and gone further back in the country to a considerable
distance from this place. this is very unwelcome information
for poor and inferior as the flesh of this animal is it is our
principal dependance for subsistence.
This evening we were visited by Comowooll the Clatsop
Chief and 12 men women and children of his nation. Drewyer
came a passenger in their canoe, and brought with him two
dogs. The chief and his party had brought for sail a Sea
Otter skin some hats, stergeon and a species of small fish
which now begin to run, and are taken in great quantities in
the Columbia R. about 40 miles above us by means of skiming
or scooping nets. on this page I have drawn the likeness
of them as large as life; it [is] as perfect as I can make it with
my pen and will serve to give a general idea of the fish.[53]
. the
rays of the fins are boney but not sharp tho' somewhat pointed.
the small fin on the back next to the tail has no rays of bone
being a thin membranous pellicle. the fins next to the gills
have eleven rays each. those of the abdomen have eight each,
those of the pinna-ani are 20 and 2 half formed in front. that
of the back has eleven rays. all the fins are of a white colour.
the back is of a bluish duskey colour and that of the lower
part of the sides and belley is of a silvery white. no spots on
any part. the first bone of the gills next behi[n]d the eye is
of a bluis[h] cast, and the second of a light goald colour nearly
white. the puple of the eye is black and the iris of a silver
white. the under jaw exceeds the uper; and the mouth opens
to great extent, folding like that of the herring. it has no
teeth. the abdomen is obtuse and smooth; in this differing
from the herring, shad, anchovey &c. of the Malacopterygious
Order & Class Clupea, to which however I think it more
nearly allyed than to any other altho' it has not their accute
and serrate abdomen and the under jaw exceeding the upper.
the scales of this little fish are so small and thin that without
minute inspection you would suppose they had none. they
are filled with roes of a pure white colour and have scarcely
any perceptable alimentary duct. I find them best when
cooked in Indian stile, which is by roasting a number of them
together on a wooden spit without any previous preperation
whatever. they are so fat they require no additional sauce,
and I think them superior to any fish I ever tasted, even
more delicate and lussious than the white fish of the lakes
which have heretofore formed my standart of excellence among
the fishes. I have heard the fresh anchovey much extolled
but I hope I shall be pardoned for beleiving this quite as good.
the bones are so soft and fine that they form no obstruction
in eating this fish. we purchased all the articles which these
people brought us; we suffered these people to remain all
night as it rained, the wind blew most violently and they had
their women and children with them; the latter being a sure
pledge of their pacific dispositions, the Sturgeon which they
brought us was also good of it's kind. we determine to send
a party up the river to procure some of those fish, and another
in some direction to hunt Elk as soon as the weather will
permit.
