Tuesday (Monday) January 27th. 1806.
This morning Collins set out for the Salt works. in the
evening Shannon returned and reported that himself and party
had killed ten Elk. he left Labuche and R. fields with the
Elk. two of those Elk he informed us were at the distance
of nine miles from this place near the top of a mountain, that
the rout by which they mus[t] be brought was at least four
miles by land through a country almost inaccessible from the
fallen timber, brush and sink-holes, which were now disgu[i]sed
by the snow; we therefore concluded to relinquish those two
Elk for the present, and ordered every man who could be
speared from the fort to go early in the morning in surch of
the other eight.
Goodrich has recovered from the Louis Veneri [lues veneris]
which he contracted from an amorous contact with a Chinnook
damsel. I cured him as I did Gibson last winter by the uce
of murcury. I cannot learn that the Indians have any simples
which are sovereign specifics in the cure of this disease; and
indeed I doubt very much whet[h]er any of them have any
means of effecting a perfect cure. when once this disorder is
contracted by them it continues with them during life; but
always ends in dec[r]ipitude, death, or premature old age; tho'
from the uce of certain simples together with their diet, they
support this disorder with but little inconvenience for many
years, and even enjoy a tolerable share of health; particularly
so among the Chippeways who I believe to be better skilled in
the uce of those simples than any nation of Savages in North
America. The Chippeways use a decoction of the [root of the]
Lobelia, and that of a species of sumac common to the Atlantic
states and to this country near and on the Western side of the
Rocky Mountains. this is the smallest species of the sumac,
readily distinguished by it's winged rib, or common footstalk,
which supports it's oppositely pinnate leaves. these decoctions
are drank freely and without limitation. the same decoctions
are used in cases of the gonnærea and are effecatious and sovereign.
notwithstanding that this disorder dose exist among
the Indians on the Columbia yet it is witnessed in but few
individuals, at least the males who are always sufficiently exposed
to the observations or inspection of the phisician. in
my whole rout down this river I did not see more than two or
three with the gonnærea and about double that number with
the pox.
The berry which the natives call Solme is the production of
a plant about the size and much the shape of that common to
the atlantic states which produces the berry commonly called
Sollomon's seal berry. this berry also is attatched to the top of
the stem in the same manner; and is of a globelar form, consisting
of a thin soft pellicle which encloses a soft pulp inveloping
from three to four seeds, white, firm, smothe, and in the
form of a third or quarter of a globe, and large in proportion
to the fruit or about the size of the seed of the common small
grape. this berry when grown and unripe is not specked as
that of the Solomon's Seal berry is; this last has only one
globular smoth white firm seed in each berry. the Solme
grows in the woodlands among the moss. and is an annual
plant to all appearance.
[9]
