Saturday (Friday) January 17th. 1806.
This morning we were visited by Comowool and 7 of the
Clatsops our nearest neighbours, who left us again in the
evening. They brought with them some roots and buries for
sale, of which however they disposed of but very few as they
asked for them such prices as our stock in trade would not
license us in giving. the Chief Comowool gave us some roots
and buries for which we gave him in return a mockerson awl
and some thread; the latter he wished for the purpose of making
a skiming net. one of the party was dressed in t[h]ree
very eligant Sea Otter skins which we much wanted; for these
we offered him many articles but he would not dispose of them
for any other consideration but blue beads, of these we had
only six fathoms left, which being 4 less than his price for each
skin he would not exchange nor would a knife or an equivalent
in beads of any other colour answer his purposes, these coarse
blue beads are their f [av]orite merchandize, and are called by
them
tia Commáshuck′ or Chiefs beads. the best wampum is not
so much esteemed by them as the most inferior beads. Sent
Coalter out to hunt this morning, he shortly after returned
with a deer, venison is a rarity with us we have had none for
some weeks. Drewyer also set out on a hunting excertion and
took one man with him. he intends both to hunt the Elk and
trap the beaver.
The Culinary articles of the Indians in our neighbourhood
consist of wooden bowls or throughs, baskets, wooden spoons
and woden scures or spits. Their wooden bowls and troughs
are of different forms and sizes, and most generally dug out of
a solid piece; they are ither round or semi-globular, in the
form of a canoe, cubic, and cubic at top terminating in a globe
at bottom; these are extreemly well executed and many of them
neatly carved, the larger vessels with hand-holes to them; in
these vessels they boil their fish or flesh by means of hot stones
which they immerce in the water with the article to be boiled.
they also render the oil of fish or other anamals in the same
manner. their baskets are formed of cedar bark and beargrass
so closely interwoven with the fingers that they are watertight
without the aid of gum or rosin; some of these are highly
ornamented with strans of beargrass which they dye of several
colours and interweave in a great variety of figures; this serves
them the double perpuse of holding their water or wearing on
their heads; and are of different capacities from that of the
smallest cup to five or six gallons; they are generally of a
conic form or reather the segment of a cone of which the
smaller end forms the base or bottom of the basket. these
they make very expediciously and dispose off for a mear trifle.
it is for the construction of these baskets that the beargrass
becomes an article of traffic among the natives this grass
grows only on their high mountains near the snowey region;
the blade is about 3/8 of an inch wide and 2 feet long, smoth
pliant and strong; the young blades which are white from not
being exposed to the sun or air, are those most commonly
employed, particularly in their neatest work. Their spoons
are not remarkable nor abundant, they are generally large and
the bole brawd. their meat is roasted with a sharp scure, one
end of which is incerted in the meale with the other is set erect
in the ground. the spit for roasting fish has it's upper extremity
split, and between it's limbs the center of the fish is
inscerted with it's head downwards and the tale and extremities
of the scure secured with a string, the sides of the fish, which
was in the first instance split on the back, are expanded by
means of small splinters of wood which extend crosswise the
fish. a small mat of rushes or flags is the usual plate or dish
on which their fish, flesh, roots or burries are served. they
make a number of bags and baskets not watertight of cedar
bark, silk-grass, rushes, flags and common coarse sedge. in
these they secure their dryed fish, roots, buries. &c.
