[Clark, first draft:]
November 30th. Saturday 1805.
Some rain and hail with intervales of fair weather for 1 and
2 hours dureing the night and untill 9 oClock this morning at
which time it cleared up fair and the sun shown, I send 5
men in a canoe in the Deep bend above the Peninsulear to
hunt fowls, & 2 men in the thick woods to hunt Elk had all our
wet articles dried & the men all employed dressing their skins,
I observe but few birds in this countrey of the small kinds
great numbers of wild fowl, The large Buzzard with white
under their wings Grey & Bald eagle large red tailed hawk
ravins, crows, & a small brown bird which is found about logs
&
c. but fiew small hawks or other smaller birds to be seen at
this time Snakes, Lizzards, Small bugs worms spiders, flies,
& insects of different kinds are to be seen in plenty at this
time. The squar gave me a piece of Bread to day made of
some flower she had cearfully kept for her child, and had unfortunately
got wet. The hunters killed only 3 hawks, saw 3
Elk but could not git a shot at them, The fowlers, killed
3 black ducks, with white sharp bills, a brown spot in their
foward, some white under the tail, which is short, and a fiew
of the tips of the wing feathers white, Their toes are long
seperated and flaped, no craw, keep in emence large flocks in
the shallow waters & feed on Grass &
c. Several men complaining
of being unwell to day. a Broock comes in to the bend
above the 1
st point above. and a river falls in the next nitch
above this river is small. I observe rose bushes Pine, a kind
of ash a species of Beech and a species of Maple, in addition to
the pine Lorrel and under groth common to the woods in this
Lower Countrey the hills are not high & slope to the river
Saturday 30th. of November 1805
Some rain and hail with intervales of fair weather for the
Space of one or two hours at a time dureing the night untill
9 oClock this morning, at which time it cleared away and the
Sun Shewn for [blank space in MS.] hours, Several men out
hunting I send 5 men in the bend above to hunt fowl &c.
in a Canoe, employ all the others in drying our wet articles
by the fire. Several men Complain of a looseness and griping
which I contribute to the diet, pounded fish mixed with Salt
water, I derect that in future that the party mix the pounded
fish with fresh water. The squar gave me a piece of bread
made of flour which She had reserved for her child and carefully
Kept untill this time, which has unfortunately got wet,
and a little Sour, this bread I eate with great satisfaction, it
being the only mouthful! I had tasted for Several months past.
my hunters killed
three Hawks, which we found fat and delicious,
they Saw 3 Elk but could not get a Shot at them.
The fowlers killed 3 black Ducks with Sharp White beeks
Keep in large flocks & feed on Grass, they have no Craw
and their toes are seperate, Common in the U. States
[15]
The Chinnooks Cath lâh mâh & others in this neighbourhood
bury their dead in their Canoes. for this purpose 4
pieces of Split timber are Set erect on end, and sunk a fiew
feet in the ground, each brace having their flat Sides opposit
to each other and sufficiently far assunder to admit the width
of the Canoe in which the dead are to be deposited; through
each of those perpindicular posts, at the hight of 6 feet a mortice
is cut, through which two bars of wood are incerted; on
those cross bars a Small canoe is placed, in which the body is
laid after beaing Carefully roled in a robe of Some dressed
Skins; a paddle is also deposited with them; a larger Canoe
is now reversed, overlaying and imbracing the Small one, and
resting with its gunnals on the cross bars; one or more large
mats of flags or rushes are then rold. around the Canoe and the
whole securely lashed with a long cord usially made of the
bark of the arbar. vita or white cedar. on the cross bars
which support the Canoes is frequently hung or laid various
articles of Clothing culinary utensils &c. we cannot understand
them Sufficiently to make any enquiries relitive to their religious
opinions, from their depositing Various articles with
their dead, [they] beleve in a State of future ixistance.
(Copy for Dr. Barton) I walked on the point and observed
rose bushes different Species of pine, a Sp[e]cies of ash, alder,
a Species of wild Crab Loral.[16]
and Several Species of under
groth common to this lower part of the Columbia river. The
hills on this coast rise high and are thickly covered with lofty
pine maney of which are 10 & 12 feet through and more than
200 feet high, hills have a Steep assent.
