[Clark:]
Thursday February 6th. 1806
Sent Sergts Gass and party this morning with Ru Field to
bring in the Elk which Field had killed. late in the evening
Serjt. Pryor returned with the fl[e]sh of about 2 Elk and four
skins the Indians haveing taken the ballance of seven Elk
which Drewyer killed the other day. I find that those people
will all steal.
N°. 3 a species of fir, which one of my men inform me is
presisely the same with that called the balsam fir of Canada.
it grows here to considerable size, being from 2 1/2 to 4 feet in
diameter and rises to the hight of 100 or 120 feet. it's stem
is simple branching assending and proliferous. it's leaves are
cessile, acerose, 1/8 of an inch in length and 1/l6 of an inch in
width, thickly scattered on all sides of the twigs as far as the
groth of four proceeding years, and respects the three undersides
only, the upper side being neglected and the under side
but thinly furnished; gibbous a little declineing, obtusely
pointed, soft flexable, and the upper disk longitudinally marked
with a slight channel; this disk is of a glossy deep green, the
under one green tho paler and not glossy. this tree affords a
considerable quantity of a fine clear arromatic Balsom in appearance
and taste like the Canadian balsom, small pustuls
filled with the balsom rise with a blister like appearance on the
body of the tree and its branches; the bark which covers these
pustules is soft thin smoth and easily punctured. the bark of
the [tree] is generally thin of a dark brown colour and reather
smooth tho' not as much so as the white pine of the U. States
the wood is white and soft.
N°. 4 a species of fir which in point of size is much that of
N°. 2. the stem simple branching assending and proliferous;
the bark of a redish dark brown and thicker than that of
N°. 3. it is divided with small longitudinal interstices, but
these are not so much ramefied as in the species N°. 2. the
leaves with respect to their possition in reguard to each other
is the same with the balsam fir, as is the leaf in every other
respect than that, it is not more than 2/3ds. the width and little
more than half the length of the other, nor is it's upper disk
of so deep a green nor glossy. it affords no balsam, and but
little rosin. the wood also white soft and reather porus tho'
tough. N°. 5. is a species of fir which arives to the size of
N°. 2, and N°. 4. the stem simple branching, diffuse and proliferous.
the bark thin dark brown, much divided with small
longitudinal interstices scaleing off in thin rolling flakes. it
affords but little rosin and the wood is redish white 2/3ds. of the
diamieter in the center the ballance white somewhat porus and
tough. the twigs are much longer and more slender than in
either of the other species. the leaves are acerous 1/20 of an
inch in width, and an inch in length, sessile, inserted on all
sides of the bough, streight, their extremities pointing obliquely
towards the extremities of the bough and more thickly placed
than in either of the other species; gibbous and flexable but
more stiff than any except N°. 1 and more blontly pointed than
either of the other species; the upper disk has a small longitudinal
channel and is of a deep green tho' not so Glossy as
the balsam fir, the under disk is of a pail green. N°. 6 the
white pine; or what is usially so called in Virginia. I see no
difference between this and that of the mountains in Virginia;
unless it be the uncommon length of the cone of this found
here, which are sometimes 16 or 18 inches in length, and about
4 inches in surcumfrance. I do not recollect those of Virginia,
but it strikes me that they are not so long. this species is not
common I have seen it only in three instances since I have
been in this neighbourhood, I saw a few on Haleys bay on
the North side of the Columbia River, a fiew scattering on the
sea coast to the North on one of which I engraved my name,
and some on the S S E side of
Ecola Creek near the Kilâmox
nation, at which place I saw the white & red cedar.
