[Clark:]
Monday March 3rd. 1806
Two of our canoes have been lately injured very much in
consequence of the tide leaveing them partially on shore.
they split by this means with their own weight. we had them
drawn out on shore. our convalessents are slowly on the
recovery. Lapage is taken sick. gave him some of Scotts
Pills which did not opperate. no movement of the party to
day worthey of notice. every thing moves on in the old way
and we are counting the days which seperate us from the 1st.
of April, & which bind us to Fort Clatsop.
The Small Speckled Pheasant found in the Rocky Mountains,
and differ from the large black and white pheasant only
in point of size, and somewhat in colour. it is scercely half
the size of the other; assosiates in much larger flocks and is
also very gentle. the black is more predominate and the dark
brown feathers less frequent in this than the larger species.
the mixture of white is also more general on every part of this
bird. it is considerably smaller than our Pheasant and the
body reather more round. in other particulars they differ not
at all, from the large black and white Pheasant. this by way
of distinction I have called the Speckled Pheasant. the flesh
of both these species of party coloured Pheasant is of a dark
colour, and with the means we had of cooking them were
only tolerably flavoured tho' these birds would be fine well
cooked.
The small Brown Pheasant is an inhabitant of the same
country and is of the size and shape of the Speckled Pheasant,
which it also resembles in it's economy and habits, the stripe
above the eye in this species is scercely preceptable and is
when closely examined of a yellow or orrange colour insted of
the vermillion of the others. it's colour is of a uniform mixture
of dark and yellowish brown with a slight mixture of
brownish white on the brest belley and the feathers under the
tail. the whole compound is not unlike that of the common
quaile only darker. this is also booted to the toes. the flesh
is tolerable and that of the breast is as white as the Pheasant
of the atlantic coast. the redish brown Pheasant has been
previously described.
The Crow Ravin and large Blackbird are the same as those
of our country, only that the crow here is much smaller, yet
its note is the same. I observe no difference between the
Hawk of this coast and those of the Atlantic. I have observed
the large brown Hawk, the small or sparrow hawk, and a hawk
of an intermediate size with a long tail and blewish coloured
wings, remarkably swift in flight and very ferce. Sometimes
called in the Un. States the hen Hawk. those birds seam to
be common to every part of this country in greater or smaller
numbers, and the Hawks, Crows, and ravins build their nests
in great numbers along the high & inaxcessable clifts of the
Columbia, and Lewis's rivers when we passd. along them. we
also met with the large hooting Owl under the Rocky mountains
on the Kooskooske R. it's colour reather deeper than
with us, but differ in no other respect from those of the
U States.
