Sunday May 18th. 1806.
Twelve hunters turned out this morning in different directions
agreeably to the order of last evening. Potts and Whitehouse
accompanied Collins to the bear he had killed on the
16th. inst. with which they returned in the afternoon. the
colours of this bear was a mixture of light redish brown white
and dark brown in which the bey or redish brown predominated,
the fur was bey as well as the lower portion of the long
hairs, the white next succeeded in the long hairs which at their
extremit[i]es were dark brown, this uncommon mixture might
be termed a bey grizzle. our indian woman was busily engaged
today in laying in a store of the fennel roots for the
Rocky mountains. these are called by the Shoshones Year-pah.
at 2 P.M. 3 Indians who had been hunting towards the
place at which we met with Chopunnish last fall, called by
them the quawmash ground, called at our camp; they informed
us that they had been hunting several days and had killed
nothing; we gave them a small peice of meat which they told
us they would reserve for their small children who were very
hungary; we smoked with them and they shortly after departed.
early this morning the natives erected a lodge on
the opposite side of the river near a fishing stand a little above
us. no doubt to be in readiness for the salmon, the arrival of
which they are so ardently wishing as well as ourselves. this
stand is a small stage ore warf constructed of sticks and projecting
about 10 feet into the river and about 3 feet above
the surface of the water on the extremity of this the fisherman
stands with his scooping net, which differ but little in
their form from those commonly used in our country it is
formed thus
[ILLUSTRATION] the fisherman exercised himself
some hours today but I believe without success.
at 3 P.M. J. Fields returned, very unwell
having killed nothing. shortly after an
old man and woman arrived; the former had soar eyes and
the latter complained of a lax and rheumatic effections. we
gave the woman some creem of tartar and flour of sulpher,
and washed the oldman's eyes with a little eyewater. a little
before dark Drewyer R. Fields and LaPage returned having
been also unsuccessfull they had killed a hawk only and taken
the part of a salmon from an Eagle, the latter altho' it was of
itself not valuable was an agreeable sight as it gave us reason
to hope that the salmon would shortly be with us. these
hunters had scowered the country between the Kooskooske
and Collins's Creek from hence to their junction about 10
miles and had seen no deer or bear and but little sign of
either. shortly after dark it began to rain and continued
raining moderately all night. the air was extreemly cold and
disagreeable and we lay in the water as the preceeding night.
