Friday February 7th. 1806.
This evening Sergt. Ordway and Wiser returned with a part
of the meat which R. Fields had killed; the ballance of the
party with Sergt. Gass remained in order to bring the ballance
of the meat to the river at a point agreed on where the canoe
is to meat them again tomorrow morning.
This evening we had what I call an excellent supper it consisted
of a marrowbone a piece and a brisket of boiled Elk that
had the appearance of a little fat on it. this for Fort Clatsop
is living in high stile. In this neighbourhood I observe the
honeysuckle common in our country I first met with it on
the waters of the Kooskooske near the Chopunnish nation, and
again below the grand rappids In the Columbian Valley on
tide-water.[25]
The Elder also common to our country grows
in great abundance in the rich woodlands on this side of the
rocky Mountains; tho' it differs here in the colour of it's
berry, this being of a pale sky blue while that of the U' States
is a deep perple. The seven bark or nine bark as it is called
in the U'States is also common in this quarter.[26]
There is a
species of huckleberry common to the piny lands from the
commencement of the Columbian valley to the seacoast; it
rises to the hight of 6 or 8 feet. is a simple branching somewhat
defuse stem; the main body or trunk is cilindric and of
a dark brown, while the colateral branches are green smooth,
squar, and put forth a number of alternate branches of the
same colour and form from the two horizontal sides only.
the fruit is a small deep perple berry which the natives inform
us is very good. the leaf is thin of a pale green and small
being 3/4 of an inch in length and 3/8 in width; oval terminateing
more accutely at the apex than near the insertion of the
footstalk which is at the base; [
veined, nearly] entire, serrate
but so slightly so that it is scarcely perceptible; footstalk short
and there position with rispect to each other is alternate and
two ranked, proceeding from the horizontal sides of the bough
only.
[27]
The small pox has distroyed a great number of the
natives in this quarter. it prevailed about 4 years since among
the Clatsops and destroy[ed] several hundred of them, four of
their chiefs fell victyms to it's ravages. those Clatsops are
deposited in their canoes on the bay a few miles below us. I
think the late ravages of the small pox may well account for
the number of remains of vilages which we find deserted on
the river and Sea coast in this quarter.
