[Clark:]
Wednesday June 11th. 1806
All of our hunters were out by daylight this Morning.
Labeech and Shann[on] was the only suckcess[f]ull hunters,
Labeech killed a Black bear and a large buck, and Gibson
killed a very fat Buck. five of the Indians also turned out and
hunted untill near Meridn. without having killed any thing.
at 3 P.M. they all packed up and returned to their Village.
one of our men exchanged an indifferent horse for a verey
good one with those people before they left us. in the evening
all our hunters turned out in different directions with
a view to find some probable Spot of killing deer and were
directed to lay out all night and hunt in the morning early.
Whitehouse returned this morning to our camp on the Kooskooske
in Serch of his horse.
As I have had frequent occasion to mention the plant which
the Chopunnish and other nations of the Columbia call Quawmash
I shall here give a more particular discription of that
plant and the mode of prepareing it for food as practiced by the
Chopinnish and others in the vicinity of the Rocky Mountains
with whome it forms much the greatest portion of their Subsistence.
we have never met with this plant but in or adjacent
to a piney or fir timbered country, and there always in the open
grounds and glades; in the Columbian Vally and near the coast
it is to be found in small quantities and inferior in size to that
found in this neighbourhood or on those high rich flatts and
vallies within the rocky Mountains. it delights in a black rich
moist soil, and even grows most luxuriently where the lands
remain from 6 to 9 inches under water untill the seed are nearly
perfect, which in this neighbourhood or on those flatts is about
the last of this month. near the river where I had an oppertanity
of observing it, the Seed were beginning to ripen on the
9th. inst. and the soil was nearly dry. it seems devoted to it's
particular soil and situation, and you will Seldom find [it] more
than a fiew feet from an inundated soil tho' within it's limits it
grows very closely. in short almost as much so as the bulbs
will permit. the radix is a tumicated bulb, much the consistence
shape and appearance of the Onion, glutinous or somewhat
slymey when chewed and almost tasteless and without smell in
it's unprepared state; it is white except the thin or outer tumicated
scales which are fiew black and not suculent; this bulb
is from the Size of a nutmeg to that of a hen egg and most
commonly of an intermediate size or about as large as a common
onion of one years growth from the seed. the radicles
are noumerous, reather large, white, flexeable, succulent and
deviding the foliage consists of from one to four seldom five
radicals, line[a]r sessile and revolute pointed leaves; they are
from 12 to 18 inches in length and from 1. to 3/4 of an inch in
widest part which is nearest the middle; the upper disk is
somewhat gro[o]ved of a pale green and marked it's whole
length with a number of small longitudinal channels; the under
disk is of a deep glossy green and smooth. the leaves sheath
the peduncle and each other as high as the surface of the earth
or about 2 inches; they are more succulent than the grasses
and less so than most of the lillies hyisinths &
c. the peduncle
is soletary, proceeds from the root, is columner, smooth and
leafless and rises to the hight of 2 or 2 1/2 feet. it supports
from 10 to 40 flowers which are each surported by a Seperate
footstalk of 1/2 an inch in length scattered without order on the
upper portion of the peduncle. the calix is a partial involucre
or involucret situated at the base of the footstalk of each flower
on the peduncle; it is long thin and begins to decline as soon
as the corrolla expands. the corolla consists of five long oval
obtusely pointed Skye blue or water coloured petals, each about
1 inch in length; the corolla is regular as to the form and size
of the petals but irregular as to their position, five of them are
placed near each other pointing upwards while one stands horozontially,
or pointing downwards, they are inserted with a short
claw on the extremity of the footstalk at the base of the germ;
the corolla is of course inferior; it is also shriveling, and continues
untill the seed are perfect. The Stamens are perfect, six
in number; the falaments each elivate an anther, near their base
are flat on the in side and rounded on the outer, termonate in
a subulate point, and bowed or bent upwards inserted on the
inner side and on the base of the claws of the petals, below the
germ, are equal both with respect to themselves and the corolla,
smooth membranous. the Anther is oblong obtusely pointed,
2 horned or forked at one end and furrowed longitudinally
with four channels, the upper and lower of which seem almost
to divide it into two loabs, incumbent, patent, membranous,
very short, necked, two valved and fertile with pollen, which
last is of a yellow colour. the Anther in a fiew hours after the
corolla unfoalds, bursts discharges it's pollen and becomes very
manute and chrivled; the above discription of the Anther is
therefore to be understood of it, at the moment of it's first
appearance. the pistillum is only one, of which the Germ is
triangular reather swolen on the sides, smooth, superior, sessile,
pedicelled, short in proportion to the corolla tho' wide or
bulky; the style is very long or longer than the stamens,
simple, cilindrical, bowed or bent upwards, placed on the top
of the germ, membranous shrivels and falls off when the
pericarp has obtained it's full size. the Stigma is three clefts
very manute and pubescent. the pericarp is a capsule, triangular,
oblong, obtuse, and trilocular with three longitudinal valves.
the seed so far as I could judge are noumerous not very manute
and globilar. Soon after the seed are mature the peduncle and
foliage of this plant perishes, the ground becoms dry or nearly
so and the root increases in size and shortly becoms fit for use;
this happens about the middle of July when the nativs begin
to collect it for use which they continue untill the leaves of the
plant obtain some size in the Spring of the year. when they
have collected a considerable quantity of these roots or 20 or
30 bushels which they readily do by means of Sticks Sharpened
at one end, they dig away the surface of the earth forming a cercular
concavity of 2 1/2 feet in the center and 10 feet in diameter;
they next collect a parcel of dry split wood with which they
cover this bason from the bottom perhaps a foot thick, they
next collect a parcel of Stones from 4 to 6
lb. weight which are
placed on the dry wood; fire is then set to the wood which
burning heats the Stones; when the fire has subsided and the
Stones are sufficiently heated which are nearly a red heat, they
are adjusted in such manner in the hole as to form as leavel
a surface as possible, a small quantity of earth is sprinkled
over the Stones, and a layer of grass about an inch thick is
laid over the stone; the roots which have been previously
devested of the black or outer coat and radicles which rub off
easily with the fingers, are now laid on in a circular pile, are
then covered with a layer of grass about 2 or 3 inches thick;
water is then thrown on the Summit of the pile and passes
through the roots and to the hot Stones at bottom; Some
water is also pored around the edges of the hole, and also
find[s] it's way to the hot Stones. they cover the roots and
grass over with earth to the debth of four inches and then
build a fire of dry wood all over the connical mound which
they continue to renew through the course of the night or for
10 or 12 hours, after which it is suffered to cool, 2 or three
hours, when the earth and grass are removed. and the roots
thus Sweated are cooled with steam or taken out, and most
commonly exposed to the Sun on Scaffolds untill they become
dry. when they are black and of a sweet agreeable flavor. these
roots are fit for use when first taken from the pitt, are Soft of
a Sweetish taste and much the consistancy of a roasted onion;
but if they are Suffered to remain in bulk 24 hours after being
cooked they Spoil, if the design is to make bread or cakes of
those roots they undergo a second preperation of baking being
previously pounded after the first baking between two stones
untill they are reduced to the consistancy of dough and then
rolled in grass in cakes of 8 or 10 pounds, are returned to the
Sweat intermixed with fresh roots in order that the steam may
get freely to those loaves of bread. when taken out the Second
time the Ind
n. woman make up this dough into cakes of various
shapes and sizes, usually from 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch thick and
expose it on sticks to dry in the Sun, or place it over the smoke
of their fires. The bread thus prepared if kept free from moisture
will [keep] Sound for a great length of time. this bread
or the dryed roots are frequently eaten alone by the nativs
without further preperation, and when they have them in
abundance they form an ingrediant in almost every dish they
prepare. this root is palateable but disagrees with us in every
shape we have ever used it. the nativs are extreemly fond of
this root and present it [to] their visiters as a great treat. when
we first arrived at the Chopunnish last fall at this place our
men who were half Starved made so free a use of this root the
it made them all sick for several days after.
