[Lewis:]
Monday February 10th. 1806.
Drewyer visited his traps today but caught no beaver.
Collins and Wiser returned had killed no Elk. Willard arrived
late in the evening from the Saltworks, had cut his knee
very badly with his tommahawk. he had killed four Elk not
far from the Salt works the day before yesterday, which he had
butch[er]ed and took a part of the meat to camp, but having
cut his knee was unable to be longer ucefull at the works and
had returned. he informed us that Bratton was very unwell,
and that Gibson was so sick that he could not set up or walk
alone and had desired him to ask us to have him brought to
the Fort. Coalter also returned this evening. continue the
operation of drying our meat.
There is a tree common to the Columbia river below
the entrance of cataract river which in it's appearance when
divested of it's foliage, much resembles the white ash; the
appearance of the wood and bark is also that of the ash. it's
stem is simple branching and diffuse. the leaf is petiolate,
plane, scattered, palmate lobate, divided by four deep sinuses;
the lobes are repand, or terminate in from 3 to 5 accute angular
points, while their margins are indented with irregular
and somewhat circular incissures. the petiole is celendric
smooth and 7 inches long. the leaf 8 inches in length and 12
in bredth. this tree is frequently 3 feet in diameter and rises
to 40 or 50 feet high. the fruit is a winged seed somewhate
like the maple. in the same part of the country there is also
another growth which resembles the white maple in it's appearance,
only that it is by no means so large; seldom being more
than from 6 to 9 inches in diamater, and from 15 to 20 feet
high; they frequently grow in clusters as if from the same bed
of roots spreading and leaning outwards. the twigs are long
and slender, the stems simple branching. the bark smooth
and in colour resembling that of the white maple. the leaf is
petiolate, plane, scattered nearly circular, with it's margin cut
with accute angular incissures of an inch in length and from six
to 8 in number the accute angular points formed by which incissures
are crenate, or cut
[ILLUSTRATION] with small accute angular
incissures. or in this form. it is three inches in length,
and 4 in width. the petiole celindric smooth and one
and a 1/4 inches long. the fruit or flower not known.
[31]
