University of Virginia Library

[Clark:]

Sunday 18th11 May 1806

Cloudy morning 12 hunters turned out this morning in
different directions agreeably to the order of yesterday. Potts
and Whitehouse accompanied Collins to the bear which he
had killed on the 16th. and brought in the flesh and skins.
this bear was not large but remarkably light coloured the
hair of it as also the hair of all those which has been killed is
very thick and long. The Squar wife to Shabono busied her
self gathering the roots of the fenel called by the Snake Indians
Year-pah for the purpose of drying to eate on the Rocky


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mountains. those roots are very paliatiable either fresh rosted
boiled or dried and are generally between the size of a quill
and that of a mans fingar and about the length of the latter.
at 2 P. M. 3 Indians who had been out hunting towards the
place we met with the Chopunnish last fall, which place they
call the quarmash grounds. those men had been out several
days and killed nothing. we gave them a small piece of meat
which they told us they would reserve for their small children
who was very hungary. we smoked with them and they departed.
The nativs made a lodge on the opposit bank of the
river a little above us at a fishing place. as all communication
is cut off between us and the nativs on the opposit side of the
river, we cannot say by whome or for what service that lodge
has been errected as no one has been near it since it was errected
this morning. at 3 P M Jo. Field returned from the chase
without killing any thing he complains of being unwell.
so[o]n after an old man and a woman arived the man with
sore eyes, and woman with a gripeing and rhumatic effections.
I gave the woman a dose of creme of tarter and flour
of Sulphur, and the man some eye water. a little before night
Rueben Field Drewyer and Lapage returned haveing killed
nothing but a large hawk they had hunted in the point
between the Kooskooske and Collins's Creek and saw but little
sign of either deer or Bear. the evening Cloudy, soon after
dark it began to rain and rained moderately all night. Lapage
took a Salmon from an Eagle at a short distance below our
camp. this is induces us to believe that the Salmon is in this
river and most probably will be here in great numbers in the
course of a fiew days.