Friday May 10th. 1805.
Set out at sunrise and proceeded but a short distance ere the
wind became so violent that we were obliged to come too,
which we did on the Lard. side in a suddon or short bend of
the river where we were in a great measure sheltered from the
effects of the wind. the wind continued violent all day, the
clouds were thick and black, had a slight sprinkle of rain
several times in the course of the day. we sent out several
hunters to scower the country, to this we were induced not so
much from the want of provision as to discover the Indians
whome we had reasons to believe were in the neighbourhood,
from the circumstance of one of their dogs comeing to us this
morning shortly after we landed; we still beleive ourselves in
the country usually hunted by the Assinniboins, and as they
are a vicious illy disposed nation we think it best to be on our
guard; accordingly we inspected the arms and accoutrements
of the party and found them all in good order. The hunters
returned this evening having seen no tents or Indians nor any
fresh sign of them; they killed two Mule deer, one common
fallow or longtailed deer, 2 Buffaloe and 5 beaver, and saw
several deer of the Mule kind of immence size, and also three
of the Bighorned anamals. from the appearance of the Mule
deer and the bighorned anamals we beleive ourselves fast approaching
a hilly or mountainous country; we have rarely
found the mule deer in any except a rough country; they
prefer the open grounds and are seldom found in the woodlands
near the river; when they are met with in the woodlands
or river bottoms and are pursued, the[y] invariably run to the
hills or open country as the Elk do. the contrary happens
with the common deer. ther are several esscential differences
between the Mule and common deer as well in form as in
habits. they are fully a third larger in general, and the male
is particularly large; I think there is somewhat greater disparity
of size between the male and female of this species than
there is between the male and female fallow deer; I am convinced
I have seen a buck of this spcies twice the volume of
a buck of any other species. the ears are peculiarly large, I
measured those of a large buck which I found to be eleven
inches long and 3½ in width at the widest part; they are not
so delicately formed, their hair in winter is thicker longer and
of a much darker grey, in summer the hair is still coarser
longer and of a paleer red, more like that of the Elk; in winter
they also have a considerable quantity of a very fine wool intermixed
with the hair and lying next to the skin as the Antelope
has. the long hair which grows on the outer sides of
the 1
st. joint of the hinder legs, and which in the common deer
do not usually occupy more than 2 inches in them occupys
from 6 to eight; their horns also differ, these in the common
deer consist of two main beams from which one or more points
project the beam graduly deminishing as the points procede
from it, with the mule deer the horns consist of two beams
which at the distance of 4 or 6 inches from the head divide themselves
each into two equal branches which again either divide
into two other equal branches or terminate in a smaller, and two
equal ones; having either 2. 4 or 6 points on a beam; the horn
is not so rough about the base as the common deer and are
invariably of a much darker colour. the most striking difference
of all, is the white rump and tale. from the root of the
tail as a center there is a circular spot perfectly white of abot
3 inches radius, which occupys a part of the rump and extremitys
of the buttocks and joins the white of the belley under
neath; the tail which is usually from 8 to 9 inches long, for
the first 4 or 5 inches from it's upper extremity is covered
with sho[r]t white hairs, much shorter indeed than the hairs
of the body; from hence for about one inch further the
hair is still white but gradually becomes longer, the tail then
terminates in a tissue of black hair of about 3 Inches long.
from this black hair of the tail they have obtained among the
French engages the appelation of the black taled deer, but this
I conceive by no means characteristic of the anamal as much
the larger portion of the tail is white. the year and the tail of
this anamal when compared with those of the common deer, so
well comported with those of the mule when compared with
the horse, that we have by way of distinction adapted the appellation
of the mule deer which I think much more appropriate.
on the inner corner of each eye there is a drane or
large recepicle which seems to answer as a drane to the eye
which gives it the appearance of weeping, this in the common
deer of the atlantic states is scarcely perceptable but becomes
more conspicuous in the fallow deer, and still more so in the
Elk; this recepticle in the Elk is larger than in any of the
pecora order with which I am acquainted.
Boils and imposthumes [i. e., abscesses] have been very common
with the party Bratton is now unable to work with one
on his hand; soar eyes continue also to be common to all of
us in a greater or less degree. for the imposthume I use emmolient
poltices, and for soar eyes a solution of white vitriol
and the sugar of lead in the proportion of 2 grs. of the former
and one of the latter to each ounce of water.
Courses and distances May 10th. 1805.
| South |
to a naked point on the Stard. side |
1 1/4 |
| S. 10°. W. |
to a point on the Lard. side opposite to a bluff on Lard.
water strong |
1 3/4 |
| N. 45°. E. |
to the upper part of some timber in a bend on lard.
side, where we encamped |
1 1/4 |
|
Miles |
4 1/4 |
Point of Observation N°. 15.
On the Lard. shore about the middle of the 3rd. course of this day. took
Equal altitudes of ☉ with sextant.
|
h m s |
|
|
| A.M. |
8.58.14 |
P.M. lost by |
Altd. of Sext. |
|
".59.48 |
|
|
|
9.1.31 |
the clouds |
72. 12. 45. |
