Thursday 15th. of May 1806
This morning Reubin Fields went out to hunt his horse
very early and saw a large bear and no great distance from
Camp. Several men went in pursute of the bear, and prosued
his trail some time without gitting sight of this monster.
Shannon went out with Labeach to hunt and continued out 3
days, Gibson and Hall accompanied them for the meat Labeech
killed yesterday which they brought in by 11 A. M. this morning
the female was black with white hares intermixed and a
white spot on the breast the Cubs were about the size of a
dog also pore. one of them very black and the other a light
redish brown or bey colour. These bear give me a stronger
evidence of the various coloured bear of this country being one
specie only, than any I have heretofore had. Several other
colours have been seen. Drewyer and Peter Crusat went up
the river. John Shields, R. Fields and Willard hunted in the
hills near camp and returned before 2 P. M. without killing
any thing except a fiew Grows. they saw but few deer. some
bear sign. Frazur Jo. Fields and Peter Wizer complain of a
violent pain in their heads. Howard and York with violent
cholicks. the cause of those disorders we are unable to account
for. their diet and the sudin change of climate must contribute.
The Great Chief Tin-nach-e-moo-tolt (or broken arm) and 12
of the young men of his nation left us to day about 11 oClock
and crossed the river to his Village Hoh-hâst-ill-pilt and 3
old men continued with us untill about 5 P.M. when they left
us and returned to their village. a party of 14 Indians passed
our camp about 1 P M on their way to the leavel uplands to
run and kill the deer with their horses and Bows and arrows.
Some of them were also provided with deers heads cased for
the purpose of decoying the deer. those men continued with
us but a fiew minits and proceeded on. Those people hunt
most commonly on horse back seround the Deer or Goat which
they find in the open plains & kill them with their arrows, tho'
they sometimes hunt the deer on foot & decoy them. we had
all of our horses drove together to day with a view to fermilurize
them to each other. those that were cut yesterday are stiff
and several of them much swelled. we had all our baggage
secured and covered with a rouf of straw. our little fortification
also completely secured with brush around which our camp
is formed. the Greater part of our security from the rains &
c.
is the grass which is formed in a kind of ruff so as to turn the
rain completely and is much the best tents we have.
[5]
as the
days are worm &
c.. we have a bowry made to write under which
we find not only comfortable but necessary, to keep off the
intence heet of the sun which has great effect in this low bottom.
on the high plains off the river the climate is entirely different
cool, some snow on the north hill sides near the top and vegetation
near 3 weeks later than in the river bottoms, and the
rocky Mountains imediately in view covered several say 4 & 5
feet deep with snow. here I behold three different climats
within a fiew miles a little before dark Hoh-hâst-ill-pilt and
the 3 old men & one other returned to our camp and informed
us the canoe was a great way off and they could not cross this
evening.
