[Lewis:]
Friday February 28th. 1806.
Reubin Fields and Collins set out this morning early on a
hunting excurtion. Kuskelar a Clatsop man and his wife visited
us today. they brought some Anchovies, Sturgeon, a beaver
robe, and some roots for sail tho' they asked so high a price
for every article that we purchased nothing but a part of a
Sturgeon for which we gave a few fishing hooks, we suffered
them to remain all night. Shields Jo
s. Fields and Shannon
returned late this evening having killed five Elk. tho' two of
them ar[e] on a mountain at a considerable distance. we
ordered these hunters to return early in the morning and continue
their hunt, and Serg
t. Gass to take a party and go in quest
of the Elk which they had killed. the hunters inform us that
the Elk are tolerable plenty near the mountains about 9 or ten
miles distant. Kuskelar brought a dog which Cruzatte had
purchased.
The hare on this side of the Rocky mountains is exclusively
the inhabitant of the great Plains of Columbia, as they are of
those of the Missouri East of these mountains. they weigh
from 7 to eleven pounds.[59]
the measure of one which weighed
ten lbs. was as follows. from the extremity of the hinder, to that
of the fore feet when extended 3 F. length from nose to the
extremity of the tail 2 F. 2.I. hight when standing erect 1 F.
3 I. girth of the body 1 F. 4 I. length of tail 6 1/2 I. length of
ear 5 1/2 I. width of d°. 3 1/8 I. from the hip to the extremity of
toe of the hind foot 1 F. 4 1/4 I. the eye is large and prominent.
the pupil is circular, of a deep sea green and occupys
one third of the diameter of the eye, the iris is of a bright
yellowish silver colour. the ears are placed far back on the
head and very near each other, they are flexable and the animal
moves them with great ease and quickness, and can dilate and
throw them forward, or contract and fold them on his back at
pleasure. the fold of the front of the ear is of a redish brown
colour, the inner folds or those which lie together when the
ears are th[r]own back, and which occupy 2/3rds. of the width of
the ears are of a pure white except the tips of the ears for about
an inch. the hinder folds or those which lie on the back are
of a light grey. the head, neck, back, sholders, sides, & outer
part of the legs and thyes are of a lead coloured grey; the sides
as they approach the belley become gradually more white. the
belley, brest, and inner part of the legs and thyes are white,
with a slight shade of the lead colour. the tail is round and
bluntly pointed, covered with fine soft white fur not quite as
long as on the other parts of the body. the body is covered
with a deep fine soft close for. the colours here discribed are
those which the animal assumes from the middle of April to
the middle of November, the ballance of the year they are of a
pure white, except the black and redish brown of the ears which
never changes, a few redish brown spots are sometimes seen
intermixed with the white, at this season, on their heads and
upper part of the neck and sholders. the body of this animal
is smaller and longer in proportion to it's hight than the rabbit.
when it runs it carrys it's tail streight behind in the direction
of it's body. they appear to run with more ease and bound
with greater agility than any animal I ever saw. they are
extreemly fleet and never burrow or take she[l]ter in the
ground when pursued, it's teeth are like those of the rabbit
as is also it's upper lip which is divided as high as the nose.
it's food is grass, herbs, and in winter feeds much on the bark
of several aromatic shrubs which grow in the plains and the
young willow along the rivers and other watercourses. I have
measured the leaps of this animal and find them commonly
from 18 to 21 feet. they are generally found seperate, and
never seen to asscociate in any number or more than two or
three. the rabbit are the same of our country and are found
indifferently either in the praries or woodlands. they are not
very abundant in this country. The Pole-cat is also found in
every part of the country, they are very abundant on some
parts of the Columbia, particularly in the neighbourhood of the
great falls and narrows of that river, where the[y] live in the
clifts along the river and feed on the offal of the Indian fishing
shores. these are the same as those of other parts of North
America.
