History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the river Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. ::

The vegetable productions of the country, which furnish
a large proportion of the food of the Indians, are the roots
of a species of thistle, the fern, the rush, the liquorice, and
a small cylindric root, resembling in flavour and consistency
the sweet potatoe.

1st.

The thistle, called by the natives shanatanque, is a
plant which grows in a deep, rich, dry loam, with a considerable
mixture of sand. The stem is simple, ascending, cylindric,
and hispid, and rising to the height of three or four
feet, The cauline life, which, as well as the stem of the
last season is dead, is simple, crenate, and oblong; rather
more obtuse at its apex than at its insertion, which is decurrent,
and its position declining; whilst the margin is
armed with prickles, and its disk is hairy. The flower too is
dry and mutilated; but the pericarp seems much like that
of the common thistle. The root-leaves, which still possess
their verdure, and are about half grown, are of a pale
green colour. The root, however, is the only part used.
It is from nine to fifteen inches long, about the size of a
man's thumb, perpendicular, fusiform, and with from two to
four radicles. The rind is of a brown colour, and somewhat
rough. When first taken from the earth, it is white,
and nearly as crisp as a carrot, and in this state is sometimes
eaten without any preparation. But after it is prepared
by the same process used for the pasheco quamash,
which is the most usual and the best method, it becomes
black, and much improved in flavour. Its taste is exactly

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that of sugar, and it is indeed the sweetest vegetable employed
by the Indians. After being baked in the kiln, it is
either eaten simply or with train oil; sometimes pounded
fine and mixed with cold water, until it is reduced to the
consistence of sagamity, or Indian mush, which last method
is the most agreeable to our palates.

2.

Three species of fern grow in this neighbourhood, but
the root of only one is eaten. It is very abundant in those
parts of the open lands and prairies which have a deep,
loose, rich, black loam, without any sand. There, it attains
the height of four or five feet, and is a beautiful plant with
a fine green colour in summer. The stem, which is smooth,
cylindric, and slightly grooved on one side, rises erectly
about half its height, when it divides into two branches, or
rather long footstalks, which put forth in pairs from one
side only, and near the edges of the groove, declining backwards
from the grooved side. These footstalks are themselves
grooved and cylindric, and as they gradually taper
toward the extremities, put forth others of a smaller size,
which are alternate, and have forty or fifty alternate, pinnate,
horizontal, and sessile leaves: the leaves are multipartite
for half the length of their footstalk, when they assume
the tongue-like form altogether; being, moreover, revolute,
with the upper disk smooth, and the lower resembling cotton:
the top is annual, and therefore dead at present, but it produces
no flower or fruit: the root itself is perennial and grows
horizontally; sometimes a little diverging, or obliquely descending,
and frequently dividing itself as it proceeds, and
shooting up a number of stems. It lies about four inches
under the surface of the earth, in a cylindrical form, with
few or no radicles, and varies from the size of a goose quill
to that of a man's finger. The bark is black, thin, brittle,
and rather rough, and easily separates in flakes from the
part which is eaten: the centre is divided into two parts by
a strong, flat, and white ligament, like a piece of thin tape;
on each side of which is a white substance, resembling, after

150

the root is roasted, both in appearance and flavour, the
dough of wheat. It has, however, a pungency which is
disagreeable, but the natives eat it voraciously, and it seems
to be very nutritious.

3.

The rush is most commonly used by the Killamucks,
and other Indians on the seacoast, along the sands of which
it grows in greatest abundance. From each root a single
stem rises erectly to the height of three or four feet, somewhat
thicker than a large quill, hollow and jointed; about
twenty or thirty long, lineal, stellate, or radiate and horizontal
leaves surround the stem at each joint, about half
an inch above which, its stem is sheathed like the sand
rush. When green, it resembles that plant also in appearance,
as well as in having a rough stem. It is not
branching; nor does it bear, as far as we can discover,
either flower or seed. At the bottom of this stem, which is
annual, is a small, strong radicle, about an inch long, descending
perpendicularly to the root, while just above the
junction of the radicle with the stem, the latter is surrounded
in the form of a wheel, with six or nine small radicles,
descending obliquely: the root attached to this radicle is a
perennial solid bulb, about an inch long, and of the thickness
of a man's thumb, of an ovate form, depressed on one
or two of its sides, and covered with a thin, smooth, black
rind: the pulp is white, brittle, and easily masticated. It
is commonly roasted, though sometimes eaten raw; but in
both states is rather an insipid root.

4.

The liquorice of this country does not differ from that
common to the United Statss. It here delights in a deep,
loose, sandy soil, and grows very large, and abundantly. It
is prepared by roasting in the embers, and pounding it
slightly with a small stick, in order to separate the strong
ligament in the centre of the root, which is then thrown
away, and the rest chewed and swallowed. In this way it has
an agreeable flavour, not unlike that of the sweet potatoe.
The root of the cattail, or cooper's flag, is eaten by the Indians.

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There is also, a species of small, dry, tuberous root,
two inches in length, and about the thickness of the finger.
They are eaten raw, are crisp, milky, and of an agreeable
flavour.

5.

Beside the small cylindric root mentioned above, is
another of the same form and appearance, which is usually
boiled and eaten with train oil. Its taste, however, is disagreeably
bitter. But the most valuable of all the Indian
roots, is

6.

The wappatoo, or the bulb of the common sagittafolia,
or common arrowhead. It does not grow in this neighbourhood,
but is in great abundance in the marshy grounds
of that beautiful valley, which extends from near Quicksand
river for seventy miles westward, and is a principal article
of trade between the inhabitants of that valley and those
of the seacoast.

The shrub rises to the height of four or five feet; the
stem simple and much branched. The bark is of a reddish
dark brown; the main stem somewhat rough, while that of
the bough is smooth; the leaf is about one tenth of an inch
long, obtuse at the apex, and acute and angular at the insertion
of the pedicle. The leaf is three fourths of an inch in
length, and three eighths in width, smooth, and of a paler
green than evergreens generally are. The fruit is a small
deep purple berry, and of a pleasant flavour; the natives eat
the berry when ripe, but seldom collect such quantities as
to dry for winter use.

The native fruits and berries in use among the Indians,
are what they call the shallun; the solme; the cranberry; a
berry like the black haw; the scarlet berry, of the plant
called sacacommis; a purple berry, like the huckleberry.

1.

The shallun is an evergreen plant, abounding in this
neighbourhood, and its leaves are the favourite food of the
elk. It is a thick growth, cylindrically rising to the height
of three, and sometimes five feet, and varying from the size
of a goose quill, to that of a man's thumb. The stem is simple,

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branching, reclining, and partially fluxuose, with a
bark which, on the elder part, is of a reddish brown colour,
while the younger branches are red where exposed to the
sun, and green elsewhere. The leaf is three fourths of an
inch in length, and two and a half in breadth; of an oval
form; the upper disk of a glossy deep green, the under of a
pale green; the fruit is a deep purple berry, about the size
of a common black cherry, oval, and rather bluntly pointed;
the pericarp is divided into five acute angular points, and
envelops a soft pulp, containing a great number of small
brown seeds.

2.

The solme is a small, pale, red berry, the production
of a plant, resembling in size and shape that which produces
the fruit, called in the United States, Solomon's sealberry.
The berry is attached to the stem in the same manner.
It is of a globular form; containing a soft pulp, which
envelops four seeds about the size of the seed of the common
small grape. It grows amongst the woodland moss,
and is, to all appearance, an annual plant.

3.

The cranberry is of the low and viny kind, and grows
in the marshes or bogs of this neighbourhood: it is precisely
the same as the cranberry of the United States.

4.

The fruit, which, though rather larger, resembles in
shape the black haw, is a light brown berry, the fruit of a
tree about the size, shape, and appearance in every respect,
of that of the United States, called the wild crab-apple. The
leaf is also precisely the same, as also the bark in texture
and colour. The berries grow in clumps at the end of the
small branches; each berry supported by a separate stem,
and as many as from three to eighteen or twenty in a clump:
the berry is ovate, with one of its extremities attached to a
peduncle, where it is to a small degree concave, the wood of
which is excessively hard. The natives make their wedges
of this wood, in splitting their boards, their firewood, and in
hollowing out their canoes; the wedge when driven into solid
dry pine, receives not the slightest injury. Our party

153

made use of it likewise for wedges and axe-handles. The
fruit is exceedingly acid, and resembles the flavour of
the wild crab. The pericarp of the berry contains a soft
pulpy substance, divided into four cells, each containing a
single seed; the outer coat of the pericarp, is a thin smooth
though firm and tough pellicle.

The plant called sacacommis by the Canadian 'traders,
derives its name from this circumstance: that the clerks of
the trading companies are generally very fond of smoking
its leaves, which they carry about with them in a small bag.
It grows generally in an open piny woodland country, or on its
borders. We found this berry in the prairies bordering on
the Rocky mountains, or in the more open woodlands. It is
indiscriminately the growth of a very rich or a very poor
soil, and is found in the same abundance in both. The natives
on the western side of the Rocky mountains are very
fond of this berry, although to us it was a very tasteless and
insipid fruit: the shrub is an evergreen, and retains its verdure
in the same perfection the whole season round. However
inclement the climate, the root puts forth a great number
of stems which separate near the surface of the ground,
each stem from the size of a small quill to that of a man's
finger: these are much branched, the branches forming an
acute angle with the stem, and all more properly procumbent
than creeping: although it sometimes puts forth radicles
from the stems and branches, which strike obliquely
into the ground: these radicles are by no means general or
equable in their distances from each other, nor do they appear
calculated to furnish nutriment to the plant: the bark
is formed of several layers of a smooth, thin, brittle and
reddish substance easily separated from the stem: the leaves
with respect to their position are scattered, yet closely arranged,
and particularly near the extremities of the twigs:
the leaf is about three fourths of an inch in length; oval,
pointed and obtuse; of a deep green, slightly grooved; and
the footstalk is of proportionable length: the berry is attached

154

in an irregular manner to the small boughs among
the leaves, and always supported by separate, small and
short peduncles: the insertion produces a slight concavity in
the berry, while its opposite side is slightly convex. The outer
coat of the pericarp is a thin, firm, tough pellicle: the
inner coat consists of a dry, mealy powder, of a yellowish
white colour, enveloping from four to six large, light, brown
seeds: the colour of the fruit is a fine scarlet: the natives eat
these berries without any preparation: the fruit ripens in
September, and remains on the bushes all winter unaffected
by the frost: they are sometimes gathered and hung in the
lodges in bags, where they are dried without further trouble.

6.

The deep purple berry, like the huckleberry, terminates
bluntly, and has a cap or cover at the end: the berries
are attached separately to the sides of the boughs by a short
stem, hanging underneath and they often grow very near
each other, on the same bough: the berry separates very easily
from the stem; the leaves adhere closely: the shrub rises
to the height of six or eight feet, and sometimes grows on
high lands, but more frequently on low marshy grounds: the
shrub is an evergreen, and about ten inches in circumference,
divides into many irregular branches, and seldom
more than one stem springs from one root, although they
associate very thickly: the bark is somewhat rough and of a
reddish brown colour: the wood is very hard: the leaves are
alternate and attached by a short footstalk to the horizontal
sides of the boughs: the form is a long oval, rather more
acute towards the apex than at the point of insertion: its
margin slightly serrate, its sides collapsing, thick, firm,
smooth and glossy: the under surface is of a pale or whitish
green, and the upper of a fine deep green. This beautiful
shrub retains its verdure throughout the year, and is more
peculiarly beautiful in winter. The natives sometimes eat
the berries without preparation: sometimes they dry them
in the sun, and at others in their sweating kilns: they very

155

frequently pound them, and bake them in large loaves,
weighing from ten to fifteen pounds: the bread keeps very
well for one season, and retains its juices better by this mode
of preparation than any other: this bread when broken is
stirred in cold water, until it acquires the consistency of
soup, and then eaten.

The trees of a larger growth are very abundant; the
whole neighbourhood of the coast is supplied with great
quantities of excellent timber. The predominating growth
is the fir, of which we have seen several species. There is
one singular circumstance attending all the pine of this country,
which is, that when consumed it yields not the slightest
particle of ashes. The first species grows to an immense
size, and is very commonly twenty-seven feet in circumference
six feet above the earth's surface: they rise to the
height of two hundred and thirty feet, and one hundred and
twenty of that height without a limb. We have often found
them thirty-six feet in circumference. One of our party
measured one, and found it to be forty-two feet in circumference,
at a point beyond the reach of an ordinary man. This
trunk for the distance of two hundred feet was destitute of
limbs: this tree was perfectly sound, and at a moderate calculation,
its size may be estimated at three hundred feet.
The timber is throughout, and rives better than any other
species; the bark scales off in flakes irregularly round, and
of a reddish brown colour, particularly the younger growth:
the trunk is simple, branching, and not very proliferous.
The leaf is acerose, one tenth of an inch in width, and three
fourths in length, firm, stiff, and accuminate. It is triangular,
a little declining, thickly scattered on all sides of the
bough, and springs from small triangular pedestals of soft,
spongy, elastic bark at the junction of the boughs. The bud
scales continue to encircle their respective twigs for several
years. Captain Lewis has counted as many as the growth
of four years beyond their scales; it yields but little rosin,
and we have never been able to discover the cone, although
we have killed several.

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The second is a much more common species, and constitutes
at least one half of the timber in this neighbourhood.
It seems to resemble the spruce, rising from one hundred
and sixty to one hundred and eighty feet, and is from four to
six in diameter, straight, round, and regularly tapering. The
bark is thin, of a dark colour, much divided in small longitudinal
interstices: the bark of the boughs and young trees is
somewhat smooth, but not equal to the balsam fir: the wood
is white, very soft, but difficult to rive: the trunk is a simple,
branching, and diffuse stem, not so proliferous as the
pines and firs usually are. It puts forth buds from the sides
of the small boughs, as well as from their extremities: the
stem terminates like the cedar, in a slender pointed top: the
leaves are petiolate, the footstalks short, acerose, rather
more than half a line in width, and very unequal in length;
the greatest length seldom exceeds one inch, while other
leaves intermixed on every part of the bough, do not exceed
a quarter of an inch. The leaf has a small longitudinal
channel on the upper disk, which is of a deep and glossy
green, while the under disk is of a whitish green only: it
yields but little rosin. What is remarkable, the cane is not
longer than the end of a man's thumb, it is soft, flexible, of
an ovate form, and produced at the ends of the small twigs.

The third species resembles in all points, the Canadian
balsam fir. It grows from two and a half to four feet in diameter,
and rises to the height of eighty or an hundred feet.
The stem is simple, branching, and proliferous: its leaves
are sessile, acerous, one eighth of an inch in length, and one
sixteenth in width, thickly scattered on the twigs, and adhere
to the three under sides only; gibbous, a little declining,
obtusely pointed, soft, and flexible. The upper disk is longitudinally
marked with a slight channel, of a deep glossy-green;
the under of a pale green and not glossy. This tree
affords in considerable quantities, a fine deep aromatic balsam,
resembling the balsam of Canada in taste and appearance.
The small pistils filled, rise like a blister on the

157

trunk and the branches. The bark that envelops these
pistils, is soft and easily punctured: the general appearance
of the bark is dark and smooth; but not so remarkable
for that quality as the white pine of our country. The wood
is white and soft.

The fourth species in size resembles the second. The
stem is simple, branching, ascending, and proliferous; the
bark is of a reddish dark brown, and thicker than that of
the third species, divided by small longitudinal interstices,
not so much magnified as in the second species. The relative
position of the leaves resemble those of the balsam fir,
excepting that they are only two-thirds the width, and little
more than half the length, and that the upper disk is not
so green and glossy. The wood yields no balsam, and but
little rosin. The wood is white and tough although rather
porous.

The fifth species in size resembles the second, and has
a trunk simple, branching, and proliferous, The bark is of
a thin dark brown, divided longitudinally by interstices,
and scaling off in thin rolling flakes. It yields but little
balsam: two-thirds of the diameter of the trunk in the centre,
presents a reddish white; the remainder is white, porous,
and tough: the twigs are much longer and more slender
than in either of the other species; the leaves are acerose,
one-twentieth of an inch in width, and one inch in length;
sextile, inserted on all sides of the bough, straight, and obliquely
pointing towards the extremities. The upper disk
has a small longitudinal channel, and is of a deep green,
and not so glossy as the balsam fir. The under disk is of
a pale green.

We have seen a species of this fir on low marshy grounds,
resembling in all points the foregoing, except that it branches
more diffusively. This tree is generally thirty feet in
height, and two in diameter. The diffusion of its branches
may result from its open situation, as it seldom grows in
the neighbourhood of another tree. The cone is two and a half

158

inches in length, and three and three quarters in its greatest
circumference. It tapers regularly to a point, and is formed
of the imbricated scales, of a bluntly rounded form.
A thin leaf is inserted in the pith of the cone, which overlays
the centre of, and extends half an inch beyond the
point of each scale.

The sixth species does not differ from what is usually
denominated the white pine in Virginia. The unusual
length of the cone seems to constitute the only difference.
It is sometimes sixteen or eighteen inches in length, and is
about four in circumference, It grows on the north side of
the Columbia, near the ocean.

The seventh, and last species grows in low grounds, and
in places frequently overflown by the tide, seldom rising
higher than thirty-five feet, and not more than from two and
a half to four in diameter: the stem is simple, branching and
proliferous: the bark resembles that of the first species, but
more rugged: the leaves are acerose, two-tenths of an inch
in width, three-fourths in length, firm, stiff, and a little acuminated:
they end in short pointed tendrils, gibbous, and
thickly scattered on all sides of the branch, though they adhere
to the three under sides only: those inserted on the under
side incline sidewise, with upward points, presenting the
leaf in the shape of a sithe: the others are pointing upwards,
sextile and like those of the first species, grow from
the small triangular pedestals, of a bark, spongy, soft and
elastic. The under disk is of a deep glossy green, the other
of a pale whitish green: the boughs retain the leaves of a
six years growth: the bud scales resemble those of the first
species: the cone is of an ovate figure, three and a half
inches in length, and three in circumference, thickest in
the middle, and tapering and terminating in two obtuse
points: it is composed of small, flexible scales, imbricated,
and of a reddish brown colour. Each of these scales covers
two small seeds, and is itself covered in the centre by
a small, thin, inferior scale, acutely pointed: these scales

159

proceed from the sides of the bough, as well as from its extremities.
It was no where seen above the Wappatoo. The
stem of the black alder arrives to a great size. It is simple,
branching, and diffuse: the bark is smooth, of a light colour,
with white spreading spots, resembling those of the beech:
the leaf, fructification, &c. resemble precisely those of
the common alder of our country: the shrubs grow separately
from different roots, and not in clusters, like those of the
United States. The black alder does not cast its leaf until
the first of December. It is sometimes found growing to
the height of sixty or seventy feet, and is from two to four
in diameter.

3.

There is a tree common to the Columbia river, below
the entrance of Cataract river, when devested of its foliage,
much resembling the ash. The trunk is simple, branching,
and diffuse: the leaf is petiolate, plain, divided by four deep
lines, and resembling those of the palm, and considerably
lobate: the lobes terminate in from three to five angular
points, and their margins are indented with irregular and
somewhat circular incissures: the petiolate is cylindrical,
smooth, and seven inches long; the leaf itself eight inches
in length, and twelve in breadth: this tree is frequently
three feet in diameter, and rises from forty to fifty feet: the
fruit is a winged seed, somewhat resembling that of the
maple.

In the same part of the country there is also another
growth, resembling the white maple, though much smaller,
and is seldom to be seen of more than six or seven inches in
diameter. These trees grow in clusters, from fifteen to twenty
feet in height, from the same bed of roots, spreading, and
leaning outwards: the twigs are long and slender, the stem
simple and branching, the bark, in colour, resembling the
white maple, the leaf is petiolate, plain, scattered, nearly
circular, with acute, angular incissures round the margin, of
an inch in length, and from six to eight in number: the acute

160

angular points so formed, are crenate, three inches in length
and four in width: the petiole is cylindric, smooth, and an
inch and a quarter in length, and the fruit is not known.

The undergrowth consists of honeysuckles, alder, seven
bark or nine bark, huckleberry, a shrub like the quillwood,
a plant like the mountain-holley, a green briar, the fern.

1.

The honeysuckle common to the United States we
found in this neighbourhood. We first discovered the honeysuckle
on the waters of the Kooskooskee, near the Chopunnish
nation, and again below the grand rapids.

2.

The alder which is also common to our country, was
found in great abundance in the woodlands, on this side
of the Rocky mountains. It differs in the colour of its berry:
this being of a pale sky blue, while that of the United
States is of a deep purple.

3.

The seven bark, or, as it is usually denominated, the
nine bark of the United States, is also common to this
country.

4.

The huckleberry. There is a species of huckleberry,
common to the highlands, from the commencement of the
Columblan valley to the seacoast, rising to the height of
six or eight feet, branching and diffuse: the trunk is cylindrical,
of a dark brown colour; the collateral branches are
green, smooth, and square, and put forth a number of alternate
branches of the same colour, and from the two horizontal
sides only. The fruit is a small deep purple berry,
held in much esteem by the natives: the leaf is of a pale
green, and small, three-fourths of an inch in length, and
three-eighths in width, oval, terminating more acutely at
the apex than at the insertion of the footstalk: the base is
nearly entire, and but slightly serrate: the footstalks are
short; their relative position is alternate, two-ranked, and
proceeding from the horizontal sides of the boughs only.

5.

There are two species of shrubs, first seen at the
grand rapids of the Columbia, and which have since been
seen elsewhere: they grow in rich dry grounds, usually in the

161

neighbourhood of some water course: the roots are creeping
and cylindrical: the stem of the first species is from a foot to
eighteen inches in height, and about as large as an ordinary
goose quill: it is simple, unbranched, and erect: its leaves
are cauline, compound and spreading: the leaflets are jointed,
and oppositely pinnate, three pair, and terminating in
one sextile, widest at the base, and tapering to an acuminate
point: it is an inch and a quarter in its greatest width,
and three inches and a quarter in length: each point of
the margin is armed with a subulate thorn, and from thirteen
to seventeen in number: are veined, glossy, carinated
and wrinkled: their points obliquely tending towards the extremity
of the common footstalk: the stem of the second
species is procumbent, about the size of that of the first species,
jointed and unbranched: its leaves are eauline, compound,
and oppositely pinnate: the rib is from fourteen to
sixteen inches in length, cylindric and smooth: the leaflets
are two inches and a half long, and one inch wide, and of
the greatest width half an inch form the base: this they regularly
surround, and from the same point tapering to an
acute apex: this is usually terminated with a small subulate
thorn: they are jointed and oppositely pinnate, consisting of
six pair, and terminating in one: sessile, serrate, and ending
in a small subulate spire, from twenty-five to twenty-seven
in number: they are smooth, plain, and of a deep green, and all
obliquely tending towards the extremity of the footstalk: they
retain their green all winter. The large leafed thorn, has
a leaf about two inches and a half long, which is petiolate,
and conjugate: the leaflets are petiolate, acutely pointed,
having their margins cut with unequal and irregular incissures:
the shrub, which we had once mistaken for the large
leafed thorn, resembled the stem of that shrub, excepting
the thorn: it bears a large three headed leaf: the briar is
of the class polyandria, and order poligymnia: the flowers
are single: the peduncle long and cylindrical: the calyx is a
perianth, of one leaf, five cleft, and acutely pointed: the perianth

162

is proper, erect, inferior in both petals, and germen:
the corolla consists of five acute, pale scarlet petals, inserted
in the receptacle with a short and narrow cleft: the corolla
is smooth, moderately long, situated at the base of the
germen, permanent, and in shape resembling a cup: the stamens
and filaments are subulate, inserted into the receptacle,
unequal and bent inwards, concealing the pystilium: the
anther is two lobed and influted, situated on the top of the filament
of the pystilium: the germ is conical, imbricated,
superior, sessile and short: the styles are short, compared
with the stamen, capillary smooth and obtuse: they are
distributed over the surface of the germ, and deciduous
without any perceptible stamen.

7.

The green briar grows most abundantly in rich dry
lands, in the vicinity of a water course, and is found in
small quantities in piny lands at a distance from the water.
In the former situation the stem is frequently of
the size of a man's finger, and rises perpendicularly four or
five feet: it then descends in an arch, becomes procumbent,
or rests on some neighbouring plants: it is simple, unbranched,
and cylindric: in the latter situation it grows much
smaller, and usually procumbent: the stem is armed with
sharped and forked briars: the leaf is petiolate, ternate and
resembles in shape and appearance that of the purple raspberry,
so common to the Atlantic states: the fruit is a berry
resembling the blackberry in all points, and is eaten when
ripe by the natives, which they hold in much esteem, although
it is not dried for winter consumption. This shrub
was first discovered at the entrance of Quicksand river: it
grows so abundantly in the fertile valley of Columbia, and
the islands, that the country is almost impenetrable: it retains
its verdure late in summer.

8.

Besides the fern already described, as furnishing a
nutritious root, there are two other plants of the same species,
which may be divided into the large and the small: the
large fern rises three or four feet: the stem is a common

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footstalk, proceeding immediately from the radix, somewhat
flat, about the size of a man's arm, and covered with innumerable
black coarse capillary radicles, issuing from every
part of its surface: one of these roots will send forth from
twenty to forty of these common footstalks, bending outwards
from the common centre: the ribs are cylindric and
marked longitudinally their whole length, with a groove on
the upper side: on either side of this groove, and a little below
its edge the leaflets are inserted: these are shortly petiolate
for about two thirds the length of the middle rib, commencing
from the bottom, and from thence to the extremity
sessile: the rib is terminated by a single undivided lanceolate
leaflet: these are from two to four inches in length, and
have a small acute angular projection, and obliquely cut at
the base: the upper surface is smooth, and of a deep green:
the under surface of a pale green and covered with a brown
protuberance of a woolly appearance, particularly near the
central fibre: the leaflets are alternately pinnate, and in number,
from one hundred and ten to one hundred and forty:
they are shortest at the two extremities of the common
footstalk, largest in the centre, gradually lengthening, and
diminishing as they succeed each other. The small fern
rises likewise with a common footstalk from the radix,
from four to eight in number: from four to eight inches
long: the central rib is marked with a slight longitudinal
groove throughout its whole length: the leaflets are oppositely
pinnate, about one third of the length of the common
footstalk, from the bottom, and thence alternately pinnate:
the footstalk terminates in a simple undivided lanceolate
leaflet: these are oblong, obtuse, convex, absolutely entire,
and the upper disk is marked with a slight longitudinal
groove: near the upper extremity these leaflets are decursively
pinnate, as are all those of the large fern. Both of
these species preserve green during the winter.

The quadrupeds of this country from the Rocky mountains
to the Pacific ocean, may be conveniently divided into

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the domestic and the wild animals. The first embraces the
horse and dog only.

The horse is confined principally to the nations inhabiting
the great plains of Columbia, extending from latitude
forty to fifty north, and occupying the tract of territory lying
between the Rocky mountains, and a range of mountains
which pass the Columbia river about the great falls from
longitude sixteen to one hundred and twenty-one west. The
Shoshonees, the Choppunish, Sokulks, Escheloots, Eneshures,
and Chilluckittequaws, all enjoy the benefit of that
docile, noble, and generous animal; and all of them, except
the three last, possess immense numbers.

They appear to be of an excellent race, lofty, elegantly
formed, active and durable: many of them appear
like fine English coursers; some of them are pied with large
spots of white irregularly scattered, and intermixed with a
dark brown bay: the greater part, however, are of an uniform
colour, marked with stars and white feet, and resemble
in fleetness and bottom, as well as in form and colour,
the best blooded horses of Virginia. The natives suffer
them to run at large in the plains, the grass of which affords
them their only winter subsistence; their masters taking
no trouble to lay in a winter's store for them: notwithstanding,
they will, unless much exercised, fatten on the dry
grass afforded by the plains during the winter. The plains
are rarely if ever moistened by rain, and the grass is consequently
short and thin. The natives, excepting those of the
Rocky mountains, appear to take no pains in selecting their
male horses for breed; and indeed, those of that class appear
much the most indifferent. Whether the horse was
originally a native of this country or not, the soil and climate
appear to be perfectly well adapted to the nature of
this animal. Horses are said to be found wild in many parts
of this extensive country. The several tribes of Shoshonees
who reside towards Mexico, on the waters of the Mutlomah
river, and particularly one of them, called Shaboboah, have

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also a great number of mules, which the Indians prize more
highly than horses. An elegant horse may be purchased of
the natives for a few beads or other paltry trinkets, which
in the United States, would not cost more than one or two
dollars. The abundance and cheapness of horses, will be
extremely advantageous to those who may hereafter attempt
the fur trade to the East Indies, by the way of Columbia
river, and the Pacific ocean.

2.

The dog is unusually small, about the size of an ordinary
cur: he is usually particoloured, amongst which, the
black, white, brown, and brindle are the colours most predominant:
the head is long, the nose pointed, the eyes small,
the ears erect and pointed, like those of the wolf: the hair
is short and smooth, excepting on the tail, where it is long
and straight, like that of the ordinary cur-dog. The natives
never eat the flesh of this animal, and he appears to be in
no other way serviceable to them than in hunting the elk.

The second division comprehends the brown, white, or
grisly bear, the black bear; the deer, common red deer, the
black-tailed fallow deer, the mule deer, the elk, the wolves,
the large brown wolf, the small wolf of the plains, the
large wolf of the plains, the tyger-cat, the foxes, the common
red fox, the silver fox, the fisher or black fox, the large
red fox of the plains, the kit-fox, or small fox of the plains,
the antelope, the sheep, beaver, common otter, sea-otter,
mink, seal, racoon, squirrels, large gray squirrel, small
gray squirrel, small brown squirrel, ground squirrel, braro,
rat, mouse, mole, panther, hare, rabbit, polecat or skunk.

First, the brown, white or grisly bear, which seem to
be of the same family, with an accidental variation of colour
only, inhabit the timbered parts of the Rocky mountains.
There are rarely found on the westerly side, and
are more commonly below the Rocky mountains, in the
plains, or on their borders, amidst copses of brush and underwood,
and near the water courses. We are unable to

166

learn that they inhabit at all in the woody country, bordering
on the coast, as far in the interior as the range of mountains
which pass the Columbia, between the great falls and
the rapids of that river.

2.

The black bear differs in no respect from those common
to the United States. They chiefly inhabit timbered
parts of the Rocky mountains, and likewise the borders of
the great plains of the Columbia. They are sometimes found
in the tract which lies between those plains and the Pacific
ocean. One of our hunters saw one of this species, which
was the only one we have discovered since our residence in
fort Clatsop.

3.

The deer are of three kinds: the common red deer,
the black-tailed fallow deer, and the mule deer.

1.

The common red deer inhabit the rocky mountains,
in the neighbourhood of the Chopunnish, and about the
Columbia, and down the river as low as where the tide water
commences. They do not appear to differ essentially
from those of the United States, being the same in shape,
size, and appearance. The tail is however different, which
is of an unusual length, far exceeding that of the common
deer. Captain Lewis measured one, and found it to be seventeen
inches long.

2.

The black-tailed fallow deer are peculiar to this
coast, and are a distinct species, partaking equally of the
qualities of the mule and the common deer. Their ears
are longer, and their winter coat darker than those of the
common deer. The receptacle of the eye more conspicuous,
their legs shorter, their bodies thicker and larger. The
tail is of the same length with that of the common deer,
the hair on the under side white, and on its sides and top of
a deep jetty black: the hams resembles in form and colour
those of the mule, which it likewise resembles in its gait.
The black-tailed deer never runs at full speed, but bounds
with every foot from the ground, at the same time, like the
mule deer. He sometimes inhabits the woodlands, but more

167

often the prairies and open grounds. It may be generally
said, that he is of a size larger than the common deer, and
less than the mule deer. The flesh is seldom fat, and in flavour
is far inferior to any other of the species.

3.

The mule deer inhabit both the seacoast and the
plains of the Missouri, and likewise the borders of the Kooskooskee
river, in the neighbourhood of the Rocky mountains.
It is not known whether they exist in the interior of
the great plains of the Columbia, or on the lower borders,
near the mountains which pass the river above the great
falls. The properties of this animal have already been noticed.

4.

The elk is of the same species with that which inhabits
much the greatest part of North America. They are
common to every part of this country, as well the timbered
lands as the plains, but are much more abundant in the
former than in the latter. In the month of March we discovered
several which had not cast their horns, and others
where the new horns had grown to the length of six inches.
The latter were in much the best order, and from hence we
draw the inference that the leanest elk retain their horns the
longest.

5.

The wolf is either the large brown wolf, or the wolf
of the plains, of which last there are two kinds, the large and
the small. The large brown wolf inhabits the woody countries
on the borders of the Pacific, and the mountains which
pass the Columbia river, between the great falls and rapids,
and resembles in all points those of the United States.

The large and small wolves of the plains, principally inhabit
the open country and the woodlands on their borders.
They resemble, both in appearance and habit, those of the
Missouri plains. They are by no means abundant in the
plains of the Columbia, as they meet there but very little
game for their subsistence.

6.

The tiger-cat inhabits the borders of the plains, and
the woody country in the neighbourhood of the Pacific.

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This animal is of a size larger than the wild cat of our country,
and much the same in form, agility, and ferocity. The
colour of the back, neck, and sides is of a reddish brown,
irregularly variegated with small spots of dark brown: the
tail is about two inches long, and nearly white, except the
extremity, which is black. It terminates abruptly, as if it
had been amputated: the belly is white, and beautifully variegated
with small black spots: the legs are of the same colour
with the sides, and the back is marked transversely with
black stripes: the ears are black on the outer side, covered
with fine, short hair, except at the upper point, which is
furnished with a pencil of hair, fine, straight, and black,
three-fourths of an inch in length. The hair of this animal
is long and fine, far exceeding that of the wild cat
of the United States, but inferior in that quality to that
of the bear of the northwest. The skin of this animal
is in great demand amongst the natives, for of this they
form their robes, and it requires four to make up the complement.

7.

Of the foxes we have seen several species.
The large red fox of the plains, and the kit-fox or small
red fox of the plains, are the same which are found on the
banks of the Missouri. They are found almost exclusively
in the open plains, or on the tops of brush within the level
country: the common red fox of the United States, inhabits
the country bordering the coast, nor does this animal appear
to have undergone any alteration.

The black fox, or as it is termed in the neighbourhood
of Detroit, the fisher, is found in the woody country bordering
on the coast. How it should have acquired this appellation
it is difficult to imagine, as it certainly does not prey
upon fish. These animals are extremely strong and active,
and admirably expert in climbing: this they perform with
the greatest case, and bound from tree to tree in pursuit of
the squirrel or racoon, their most usual food. Their colour
is of a jetty black, excepting a small white spot upon

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the breast: the body is long, the legs short, and resembling
those of the ordinary turn spit dog. The tail is remarkably
long, and not differing in other particulars from that of the
ordinary fox.

The silver fox is an animal very rare, even in the country
he inhabits. We have seen nothing but the skins of this
animal, and those in the possession of the natives of the
woody country below the Columbia falls, which makes us
conjecture it to be an inhabitant of that country exclusively.
From the skin it appeared to be of the size of the large red
fox of the plains, resembling that animal in form, and particularly
in the dimensions of the tail. The legs captain
Lewis conjectured to be somewhat larger. It has a long
deep lead coloured fur, for foil, intermixed with long hairs,
either of a black or white colour at the lower part, and invariably
white at the top, forming a most beautiful silver
gray. Captain Lewis thought this the most beautiful of the
whole species, excepting one which he discovered on the
Missouri near the natural walls.

8.

The antelope inhabits the great plains of the Columbia,
and resembles those found on the banks of the Missouri,
and indeed in every part of the untimbered country, but they
are by no means so abundant on this as on the other side of
the Rocky mountains. The natives in this place make themselves
robes of their skins, and preserve the hair entire.
In the summer and autumn, when the salmon begin to decline,
the majority of the natives leave the sides of the river,
and reside in the open plains, to hunt the antelope, which
they persue on horseback, and shoot with their arrows.

9.

The sheep is found in many places, but mostly in the
timbered parts of the Rocky mountains. They live in greater
numbers on the chain of mountains forming the commencement
of the woody country on the coast, and passing the
Columbia between the falls and rapids. We have only seen
the skins of these animals, which the natives dress with the
wool, and the blankets which they manufacture from the

170

wool. The animal from this evidence appears to be of the
size of our common sheep, of a white colour: the wool is
fine on many parts of the body, but in length not equal to
that of our domestic sheep. On the back, and particularly
on the top of the head, this is intermixed with a considerable
proportion of long straight hairs. From the Indian account
these animals have erect pointed horns: one of our engagees
informed us that he had seen them in the black hills,
and that the horns were lunated like those of our domestic
sheep. We have nevertheless too many proofs to admit a
doubt of their existing, and in considerable numbers on the
mountains near the coast.

10.

The beaver of this country is large and fat: the flesh
is very palatable, and at our table was a real luxury. On
the 7th of January, 1806, our hunter found a beaver in his
traps, of which he made a bait for taking others: this bait
will entice the beaver to the trap, as far as he can smell it,
and this may be fairly stated to be at the distance of a mile,
as their sense of smelling is very acute. To prepare beaver
bate, the castor or bark stone is first gently pressed from
the bladder-like bag which contains it, into a phial of four
ounces, with a large mouth: five or six of these stones are
thus taken, to which must be added a nutmeg, a dozen or
fifteen cloves, and thirty grains of cinnamon, finely pulverized
and stirred together, and as much ardent spirits added
to the composition as will reduce the whole to the consistency
of mustard. All this must be carefully corked, as it soon
loses its efficacy if exposed to open air. The scent becomes
much stronger in four or five days after preparation, and,
provided proper precaution is exercised, will preserve its
efficacy for months. Any strong aromatic spices will answer;
their sole virtue being to give variety and pungency
to the scent of the bark stone. The male beaver has six
stones, two of which contain a substance much like finely
pulverized bark, of a pale yellow colour, and in smell resembling
tanners oose; these are called bark stones or

171

castors. Two others, which like the bark stone resemble
small bladders, contain pure strong oil, of a strong rank
smell, and are called the oil stone, and the other two are the
testicles. The bark stones are two inches in length: the
others are somewhat smaller, of an oval form, and lie in a
bunch together, between the skin and the root of the tail,
with which they are closely connected, and seem to communicate.
The female brings forth once in a year only, and
has sometimes two and sometimes four at a birth, which
usually happens in the latter end of May and the beginning
of June: at this time she is said to drive the male from the
lodge, who would otherwise destroy the young. They propagate
like the fowl, by the gut, and the male has no other
sexual distinction that we could discover.

11.

The common otter has already been described, and
this species does not differ from those inhabiting the other
parts of America.

12.

The sea-otter resides only on the seacoast, or in the
neighbourhood of the salt water. When fully grown, he arrives
to the size of a large mastiff dog. The ears and eyes,
particularly the former, which are not an inch in length,
are thick, pointed, fleshy, and covered with short hair:
the tail is ten inches long, thick at the point of insertion and
partially covered with a deep fur on the upper side: the
legs are very short, and the feet, which have five toes each,
are broad, large, and webbed: the legs are covered with
fur, and the feet with short hair: the body of this animal is
long, and of the same thickness throughout: from the extremity
of the tail to the nose they measure five feet. The
colour is a uniform dark brown, and, when in good order and
season, perfectly black. This animal is unrivalled for the
beauty, richness, and softness of his fur: the inner part of the
fur, when opened, is lighter than the surface in its natural
position: there are some black and shining hairs intermixed
with the fur, which are rather longer, and add much to its
beauty: the fur about the ears, nose and eyes, in some of
this species, presents a lighter colour, sometimes a brown:

172

their young are often seen of a cream-coloured white about
the nose, eyes and forehead, and which are always much
lighter than their other parts: their fur is however much
inferior to that of the full grown otter.

13.

The mink inhabits the woody country bordering on
the coast, and does not differ in any point from those of the
United States.

14.

The seal are found on this coast in great numbers,
and as far up the Columbia river as the Great Falls, and
none have been discovered beyond them. The skins of such
as captain Lewis examined, were covered with a short,
coarse, stiff, and glossy hair, of a reddish brown colour. This
animal, when in the water, appeared of a black colour, and
sometimes spotted with white. We believe that there are several
species of this animal to be found in this country, but
we could not procure a sufficient number to make the examination:
the skins were precisely of the same kind as our
countrymen employ in the manufacture of trunks.

15.

The raccoon inhabits woody countries bordering on
the coast, in considerable numbers, and are caught by the
natives with snares or pitfalls: they hold their skins in but
little or no estimation, and very seldom make them into
robes.

16.

The squirrels we have seen, are,

The large gray squirrel. This animal appears to be an
inhabitant of a narrow tract of country, well covered with
whiteoak timber, and situated on the upper side of the mountains
just below Columbia falls. This animal we have only
found in those tracts which have been covered with timber;
for in countries where pine is most abundant, he does not appear:
he is much superior in size to the common gray squirrel,
and resembles in form, colour and size, the fox squirrel
of the Atlantie states: the tail exceeds the whole length of
the body and the head: the eyes are dark, the whiskers long
and black: the back sides of the head and tail, and outward
part of the legs, are all of a blue-coloured gray: the breast,

173

belly, and inner part of the body, are all of a pure white: the
hair is short, like that of the fox squirrel, though much
finer, and intermixed with a portion of fur. The natives
hold the skin of this animal in high estimation, which they
use in forming their robes. He subsists on the acorn and
filberts, which last grows in great abundance in the oak
country.

The small gray squirrel is common to every part of the
Rocky mountains where timber abounds. He differs from
the dark brown squirrel in colour only. The back sides,
neck, head, tail and outer side of the legs, are of a brownish
lead-coloured gray: the tail is slightly touched with a
dark reddish colour, near the extremity of some of the
hairs: the throat, breast, belly, and inner parts of the legs,
are of the colour of a tanners' ooze, and have a narrow strip
of black, commencing behind each shoulder, and entering
longitudinally about three inches, between the colours of
the sides and belly. Their habits are precisely those of the
dark brown squirrel, and like them they are extremely
nimble and active.

There is also a species of squirrel, evidently distinct,
which we have denominated the burrowing squirrel. He inhabits
these plains, and somewhat resembles those found on
the Missouri: he measures one foot and five inches in length,
of which the tail comprises two and a half inches only: the
neck and legs are short; the ears are likewise short, obtusely
pointed, and lie close to the head, and the aperture
larger than will generally be found among burrowing ani
mals. The eyes are of a moderate size, the pupil black, and
the iris of a dark sooty brown: the whiskers are full, long, and
black: the teeth, and, indeed, the whole contour, resemble
those of the squirrel: each foot has five toes; the two inner
ones of the fore feet are remarkably short, and are equipped
with blunt nails: the remaining toes on the front feet are
long, black, slightly curved, and sharply pointed: the hair
of the tail is thickly inserted on the sides only, which gives

174

it a flat appearance, and a long oval form: the tips of the
hair forming the outer edges of the tail are white, the other
extremity of a fox red: the under part of the tail resembles an
iron gray; the upper is of a reddish brown: the lower part
of the jaws, the under part of the neck, legs and feet, from
the body and belly downwards, are of a light brick red: the
nose and eyes are of a darker shade, of the same colour: the
upper part of the head, neck and body, are of a curious
brown gray, with a slight tinge of brick red: the longer hairs
of these parts are of a reddish white colour, at their extremities,
and falling together, give this animal a speckled appearance.
These animals form in large companies, like
those on the Missouri, occupying with their burrows sometimes
two hundred acres of land: the burrows are separate,
and each possesses, perhaps, ten or twelve of these inhabitants.
There is a little mound in front of the hole, formed
of the earth thrown out of the burrow, and frequently there
are three or four distinct holes, forming one burrow, with
these entrances around the base of these little mounds.
These mounds, sometimes about two feet in height and four
in diameter, are occupied as watch towers by the inhabitants
of these little communities. The squirrels, one or
more, are irregularly distributed on the tract they thus occupy,
at the distance of ten, twenty, or sometimes from thirty
to forty yards. When any one approaches, they make a
shrill whistling sound, somewhat resembling tweet, tweet,
tweet, the signal for their party to take the alarm, and to
retire into their intrenchments. They feed on the roots of
grass, &c.

The small brown squirrel is a beautiful little animal, about
the size and form of the red squirrel of the eastern Atlantic
states and western lakes. The tail is as long as the body and
neck, and formed like that of the red squirrel: the eyes are
black, the whiskers long and black but not abundant: the back,
sides, head, neck, and outer part of the legs are of a reddish
brown: the throat, breast, belly, and inner part of the legs

175

are of a pale red: the tail is a mixture of black and fox-coloured
red, in which the black predominates in the middle,
and the other on the edges and extremity: the hair of the
body is about half an inch long, and so fine and soft it has
the appearance of fur: the hair of the tail is coarser and
double in length. This animal subsists chiefly on the seeds of
various species of pine and is always found in the pine country.

The ground squirrel is found in every part of this country,
as well in the prairies as in the woodlands, and is one
of the few animals which we have seen in every part of our
journey, and differs in no respect from those of the United
States.

There is still another species, denominated by captain
Lewis, the barking squirrel, found in the plains of the
Missouri. This animal commonly weighs three pounds: the
colour is a uniform bright brick red and gray, and the former
predominates: the under side of the neck and belly are
lighter than the other parts of the body: the legs are short,
and the breast and shoulders wide: the head is stout and
muscular, and terminates more bluntly, wider, and flatter
than that of the common squirrel: the ears are short, and
have the appearance of amputation: the jaw is furnished with
a pouch to contain his food, but not so large as that of the
common squirrel: the nose is armed with whiskers on each
side, and a few long hairs are inserted on each jaw, and directly
over the eyes: the eye is small and black: each foot
has five toes, and the two outer ones are much shorter than
those in the centre. The two inner toes of the fore-feet are
long, sharp, and well adapted to digging and scratching.
From the extremity of the nose to the end of the tail this
animal measures one foot and five inches, of which the tail
occupies four inches. Notwithstanding the clumsiness of his
form, he is remarkably active, and he burrows in the ground
with great rapidity. These animals burrow and reside in their
little subterraneous villages like the burrowing squirrel. To
these apartments, although six or eight usually associate

176

together, there is but one entrance. They are of great
depth, and captain Lewis once pursued one to the depth of
ten feet, and did not reach the end of the burrow. They
occupy, in this manner, several hundred acres of ground,
and when at rest their position is generally erect on their
hinder feet and rump: they sit with much confidence, and
bark at the intruder as he approaches, with a fretful and
harmless intrepidity. The note resembles that of the little
toy-dog; the yelps are in quick and angry succession, attented
by rapid and convulsive motions, as if they were determined
to sally forth in defence of their freehold. They
feed on the grass of their village, the limits of which they
never venture to exceed. As soon as the frost commences,
they shut themselves up in their caverns, and continue until
the spring opens. The flesh of this animal is not unpleasant
to the taste.

17.

Sewellel is a name given by the natives to a small
animal found in the timbered country on this coast. It is
more abundant in the neighbourhood of the great falls and
rapids of the Columbia than on the coast which we inhabit.

The natives make great use of the skins of this animal
in forming their robes, which they dress with the fur on,
and attach them together with sinews of the elk or deer:
the skin, when dressed, is from fourteen to eighteen inches
long, and from seven to nine in width: the tail is always
separated from the skin by the native swhen making their
robes. This animal mounts a tree and burrows in the
ground precisely like a squirrel: the ears are short, thin,
and pointed, and covered with a fine short hair, of a uniform
reddish brown: the bottom or the base of the long
hairs, which exceed the fur but little in length, as well as
the fur itself, are of a dark colour next to the skin for two
thirds of the length of this animal: the fur and hair are very
fine, short, thickly set, and silky: the ends of the fur and
tip of the hair are of a reddish brown, and that colour predominates
in the usual appearance of the animal. Captain

177

Lewis offered considerable rewards to the Indians, but was
never able to procure one of these animals alive.

18.

The braro, so called from the French engagees, appears
to be an animal of the civet species, and much resembles
the common badger. These animals inhabit the open
plains of the Columbia, sometimes those of the Missouri,
and are sometimes found in the woods: they burrow in hard
grounds with susprising ease and dexterity, and will cover
themselves in a very few moments: they have five long fixed
nails on each foot; those on the fore feet are much the
longest, and one of those on each hind foot is double, like
that of the beaver: they weigh from fourteen to eighteen
pounds: the body is long in proportion to its thickness: the
fore legs are remarkably large, muscular, and are formed
like those of the turnspit dog, and, as well as the hind legs,
are short: these animals are broad across the shoulders and
breast: the neck is short, the mouth wide, and furnished
with sharp, straight teeth, both above and below, with four
sharp, straight, pointed tusks, two in the upper, and two in
the lower jaw: the eyes are black and small; whiskers are
placed in four points on each side near the nose, and on the
jaws near the opening of the mouth: the ears are short,
wide, and oppressed, as if a part had been amputated: the
tail is four inches in length, the hair of which is longest at
the point of the junction with the body, and growing shorter
until it ends in an acute point: the hairs of the body are
much shorter on the sides and rump than those on any other
part, which gives the body an apparent flatness, particularly
when the animal rests upon his belly: the hair is upwards
of three inches in length, especially on the rump, where it
extends so far towards the point of the tail, it conceals the
shape of that part, and gives to the whole of the hinder parts
of the body the appearance of a right angled triangle, of
which the point of the tail forms an acute angle: the small
quantity of coarse fur intermixed with the hair is of a reddish
pale yellow.

178

19.

The rat which inhabits the Rocky mountains, like
those on the borders of the Missouri, in the neighbourhood
of the mountains, have the distinguishing traits of possessing
a tail covered with hair like the other parts of the body.
These animals are probably of the same species with those
of the Atlantic states, which have not this characteristic
distinction: the ordinary house rat we found on the banks of
the Missouri, as far up as the woody country extends, and
the rat, such as has been described, captain Lewis found
in the state of Georgia, and also in Madison's cave in Virginia.

20.

The mouse which inhabits this country are precisely
the same with those which inhabit the United States.

21.

The mole. This animal differs in no respect from
the species so common in the United States.

22.

The panther is found indifferently, either in the
great plains of the Columbia, the western side of the Rocky
mountains, or on the coast of the Pacific. He is the same
animal so well known on the Atlantic coast, and most commonly
found on the frontiers, or unsettled parts of our country.
He is very seldom found, and when found, so wary, it
is difficult to reach him with a musket.

23.

The hare on this side of the Rocky mountains inhabits
the great plains of the Columbia. On the eastward of
those mountains they inhabit the plains of the Missouri. They
weigh from seven to eleven pounds: the eye is large and
prominent, the pupil of a deep sea-green, occupying one
third of the diameter of the eye; the iris is of a bright yellowish
and silver colour; the ears are placed far back, and
very near each other, which the animal can, with surprising
easc and quickness, dilate, and throw forward, or contract,
and hold upon his back at pleasure: the head, neck, back,
shoulders, thighs, and outer part of the legs and thighs
are of a lead colour: the sides, as they approach the belly,
become gradually more white: the belly, breast, and inner
part of the legs and thighs are white, with a light shade of

179

lead colour: the tail is round and bluntly pointed, covered
with white, soft, fine fur, not quite so long as on the other
parts of the body: the body is covered with a deep, fine, soft,
close fur. The colours here described are those which the
animal assumes from the middle of April to the middle of
November; the rest of the year he is of a pure white, except
the black and reddish brown of the ears, which never
change. A few reddish brown spots are sometimes intermixed
with the white, at this season (February 26, 1806)
on their heads and the upper part of their necks and shoulders:
the body of the animal is smaller and longer in proportion
to its height than the rabbit: when he runs he conveys
his tail straight behind, in the direction of his body:
he appears to run and bound with surprising agility and
ease: he is extremely fleet, and never burrows or takes
shelter in the ground when pursued. His teeth are like
those of the rabbit, as is also his upper lip, which is divided
as high as the nose. His food is grass, herbs, and in winter
he feeds much on the bark of several aromatic herbs,
growing on the plains. Captain Lewis measured the leaps
of this animal, and found them commonly from eighteen to
twenty-one feet: they are generally found separate, and are
never seen to associate in greater numbers than two or three.

24.

The rabbit is the same with those of our own country,
and are found indifferently, either on the prairies of the
woodlands, and are not very abundant.

25.

The polecat is also found in every part of this 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 they live in the cliffs along the
river, and feed on the offal of the Indian fishing shores.
They are of the same species as those found in the other
parts of North America.

The birds which we have seen between the Rocky mountains
and the Pacific may be divided into two classes, the
terestrial and the aquatic. In the former class are to be
arranged,

180

1.

The grouse or prairie-hen. This is peculiarly the inhabitant
of the great plains of the Columbia, and does not differ
from those of the upper portion of the Missouri. The tail
is pointed, the feathers in the center, and much longer than
those on the sides. This species differs essentially in the
formation of the plumage from those of the Illinois, which
have their tales composed of feathers of an equal length. In
the winter season this bird is booted to the first joint of the
toes; the toes are curiously bordered on their lower edges
with narrow hard scales, which are placed very close to each
other, and extend horizontally about one eighth of an inch
on each side of the toes, adding much to the broadness of
the feet, a security which bounteous nature has furnished
them for passing over the snows with more ease, and what
is very remarkable, in the summer season these scales drop
from the feet. This bird has four toes on each foot, the
colour is a mixture of dark brown, reddish and yellowish
brown, with white confusedly mixed. In this assemblage of
colours, the reddish brown prevails most on the upper parts
of the body, wings, and tail, and the white underneath the
belly, and the lower parts of the breast and tail. These
birds associate in large flocks in autumn and winter, and
even in summer are seen in companies of five or six. They
feed on grass, insects, leaves of various shrubs in the
plains, and on the seeds of several species of speth and wild
rye, which grow in richer soils. In winter their food consists
of the buds of the willow and cotton-wood, and native
berries.

2.

The cock of the plains is found on the plains of the
Columbia in great abundance, from the entrance of the southeast
fork of the Columbia to that of Clarke's river. It is
about two and three quarter inches the size of our ordinary
turkey: the beak is large, short, covered and convex, the
upper exceeding the lower chop: the nostrils are large, and
the back black; the colour is an uniform mixture of a dark
brown, resembling the dove, and a reddish and yellowish

181

brown, with some small black specks. In this mixture the
dark brown prevails, and has a slight cast of the dove-colour:
the wider side of the large feathers of the wings are of a dark
brown only. The tail is composed of nineteen feathers, and
that inserted in the centre is the longest, the remaining nine
on each side gradually diminish. The tail when folded comes
to a very sharp point, and appears proportionably long, when
compared with the other parts of the body. In the act of flying,
the tail resembles that of the wild pigeon, although the
motion of the wings is much like that of the pheasant and
grouse. This bird has four toes on each foot, of which the
hindmost is the shortest, and the leg is covered with feathers
about half the distance between the knee and foot.
When the wing is expanded there are wide openings between
its feathers, the plumage being too narrow to fill up the vacancy:
the wings are short in comparison with those of the
grouse or pheasant. The habits of this bird resemble those
of the grouse, excepting that his food is that of the leaf and
buds of the pulpy-leafed thorn. Captain Lewis did not remember
to have seen this bird but in the neighbourhood of
that shrub, which they sometimes feed on, the prickly pear.
The gizzard is large, and much less compressed and muscular
than in most fowls, and perfectly resembles a maw. When
this bird flies he utters a cackling sound, not unlike that of
the dunghill fowl. The flesh of the cock of the plains is
dark, and only tolerable in point of flavour, and is not so palateable
either as that of the pheasant or grouse. The feathers
about the head are pointed and stiff and short, fine and
stiff about the ears; at the base of the beak several hairs are
to be seen. This bird is invariably found in the plains.

3.

The pheasant, of which we distinguish the large black
and white pheasant, the small speckled pheasant, the small
brown pheasant:
- The large black and white pheasant differs but little
  from those of the United States; the brown is rather brighter,
  and has a more reddish tint. This bird has eighteen
  
  182
  
  feathers in the tail, of about six inches in length. He is also
  booted to the toes: the two tufts of long black feathers on
  each side of the neck, so common in the male of this species
  inhabiting the United States, are no less observable in
  this pheasant: the feathers on the body are of a dark brown,
  tipped with white and black, in which mixture the black
  predominates; the white are irregularly intermixed with
  those of the black and dark brown in every part, but in
  greater proportion about the neck, breast, and belly: this
  mixture makes this bird resemble much that kind of dunghill
  fowl, which the housewives of our country call Domminicker.
  On the breast of some of these species the white
  predominates: the tufts on the neck leave a space about
  two and a half inches long, and one inch in width, where no
  feathers grow, though concealed by the plumage connected
  with the higher and under parts of the neck; this space enables
  them to contract or dilate the feathers on the neck
  with more ease: the eye is dark, the beak is black, curved,
  somewhat pointed, and the upper exceeds the under chop:
  a narrow vermillion stripe runs above each eye, not protuberant
  but uneven, with a number of minute rounded dots.
  The bird feeds on wild fruits, particularly the berry of the
  sacacommis, and exclusively resides in that portion of the
  Rocky mountains watered by the Columbia.
- The small speckled pheasant resides in the same country
  with the foregoing, and differs only in size and colour.
  He is half the size of the black and white pheasant, associates
  in much larger flocks, and is very gentle: the black
  is more predominant, and the dark brown feathers less frequent
  in this than in the larger species: the mixture of white
  is more general on every part. This bird is smaller than
  our pheasant, and the body more round: the flesh of both
  this species is dark, and with our means of cooking, not well
  flavoured.
- The small brown pheasant is an inhabitant of the same
  country, and is of the same size and shape of the speckled
  
  183
  
  pheasant, which he likewise resembles in his habits. The
  stripe above the eye in this species is scarcely perceptible,
  and is, when closely examined, of a yellow or orange colour,
  instead of the vermillion of the other species: the colour
  is a uniform mixture of dark yellowish brown, with a
  slight aspersion of brownish white on the breast, belly, and
  feathers underneath the tail: the whole appearance has
  much the resemblance of the common quail: this bird is also
  booted to the toes: the flesh of this is preferable to the
  other two.

4.

The buzzard is, we believe, the largest bird of North
America. One which was taken by our hunters was not in
good condition, and yet the weight was twenty-five pounds.
Between the extremity of the wings the bird measured nine
feet and two inches: from the extremity of the beak to
the toe, three feet nine and a half inches; from the hip to
the toe, two feet; the circumference of the head was nine
and three-quarter inches: that of the neck seven and a half
inches; that of the body inclusive of two feet three inches:
the diameter of the eye is four and a half tenths of an inch;
the iris is of a pale scarlet red, and the pupil of a deep sea-green:
the head and part of the neck are uncovered by feathers:
the tail is composed of twelve feathers of equal length,
each of the length of fourteen inches: the legs are uncovered
and not entirely smooth: the toes are four in number,
three forward, and that in the centre much the largest; the
fourth is short, inserted near the inner of the three other
toes, and rather projecting forward: the thigh is covered
with feathers as low as the knee, the top or upper part of
the toes are imbricated with broad scales, lying transversely:
the nails are black, short, and bluntly pointed: the under
side of the wing is covered with white down and feathers:
a white stripe of about two inches in width marks the outer
part of the wing, embracing the lower points of the plumage,
covering the joints of the wing: the remainder is of a
deep black: the skin of the beak and head to the joining

184

of the neck, is of a pale orange colour; the other part, destitute
of plumage, is of a light flesh colour. It is not known
that this bird preys upon living animals: we have seen him
feeding on the remains of the whale and other fish thrown
upon the coast by the violence of the waves. This bird was
not seen by any of the party until we had descended Columbia
river, below the great falls, and he is believed to be of
the vulture genus, although the bird lacks some of the characteristics,
particularly the hair on the neck, and the plumage
on the legs.

5.

The robin is an inhabitant of the Rocky mountains:
the beak is smooth, black, and convex; the upper chop exceeds
the other in length, and a few small black hairs garnish
the sides of its base: the eye is of a uniform deep sea-green
colour: the legs, feet, and talons are white, of which the
front one is of the same length of the leg, including the talon;
these are slightly imbricated, curved, and sharply pointed:
the crown, from the beak back to the neck, embracing
more than half the circumference of the neck, the back,
and tail, are all of a bluish dark brown: the two outer feathers
of the tail are dashed with white near their tips,
imperceptible when the tail is folded: a fine black forms the
ground of their wings; two stripes of the same colour pass
on either side of the head, from the base of the beak to the
junction, and embrace the eye to its upper edge: a third
stripe of the same colour passes from the sides of the neck
to the tips of the wings, across the croop, in the form of a
gorget: the throat, neck, breast, and belly, are of a fine
brick red, tinged with yellow; a narrow stripe of this colour
commenees just above the centre of each eye, and extends
backwards to the neck till it comes in contact with the
black stripe before mentioned, to which it seems to answer
as a border: the feathers forming the first and second ranges
of the coverts of the two joints of the wing next to the body,
are beautifully tipped with this brick red, as is also each
large feather of the wing, on the short side of its plumage.

185

This beautiful little bird feeds on berries. The robin is an
inhabitant exclusively of the woody country; we have never
heard its note, which the coldness of the season may perhaps
account for.

The leather-winged bat, so common to the United States,
likewise inhabits this side of the Rocky mountains.

6.

The crow and raven is exactly the same in appearance
and note as that on the Atlantic, except that it is much
smaller on the Columbia.

7.

The hawks too of this coast do not differ from those
of the United States. We here see the large brown hawk,
the small or sparrow hawk, and one of an intermediate size,
called in the United States, the hen hawk, which has a long
tail and blue wings, and is extremely fierce, and rapid in its
flight. The hawks, crows, and ravens are common to
every part of this country, their nests being scattered in
the high cliffs, along the whole course of the Columbia
and its southeastern branches.

8.

The large blackbird is the same with those of our
country, and are found every where in this country.

9.

The large hooting owl we saw only on the Kooskooskee
under the Rocky mountains. It is the same in form and
size with the owl of the United States, though its colours,
particularly the reddish brown, seem deeper and brighter.

10.

The turtle-dove and the robin (except the Columbian
robin already described) are the same as those of the United
States, and are found in the plains as well as in the common
broken country.

11.

The magpie is most commonly found in the open
country, and resemble those of the Missouri, already described.

12.

The large woodpecker or laycock, the lark woodpecker,
and the common small white woodpecker, with a
red head, are the inhabitants exclusively of the timbered
lands, and differ in no respect from birds of the same species
in the United States.

186

13.

The lark, which is found in the plains only, and is
not unlike what is called in Virginia, the old field lark, is
the same with those already described as seen on the Missouri.

14.

The flycatcher is of two species.
The first is of a small body, of a reddish brown colour:
the tail and neck short, and the beak pointed: some fine
black specks are intermingled with the reddish brown.
This is of the same species with that which remains all winter
in Virginia, where it is sometimes called the wren.

The second species has recently returned, and emigrates
during the winter. The colours of this bird are, a yellowish
brown, on the back, head, neck, wing and tail; the breast
and belly are of a yellowish white; the tail is in the same
proportion as that of the wren, but the bird itself is of a size
smaller than the wren: the beak is straight, pointed, convex,
rather large at the base, and the chops are of equal
length. The first species is smaller, and in fact the smallest
bird which captain Lewis had ever seen excepting the
humming bird. Both of this species are found exclusively
in the woody country.

15.

Corvus. The blue-crested, and the small white-breasted
corvus, are both natives of the piny country, and
are invariably found as well on the Rocky mountains as on
this coast. They have already been described.

16.

The snipe, &c. The common snipe of the marshes,
and the common sand snipe, are of the same species as
those so well known in the United States. They are by no
means found in such abundance here as they are on the
coast of the Atlantic.

17.

The leathern winged bat, so familiar to the natives
of the United States, is likewise found on this side of the
Rocky mountains.

18.

The white woodpecker, likewise frequents these regions,
and reminds our party of their native country, by his
approaches. The head of this bird is of a deep red colour.

187

like that of the United States. We have conjectured that
he has lately returned, as he does not abide in this country
during the winter. The large woodpecker, and the lark
woodpecker, are found in this country, and resemble those
of the United States.

19.

The black woodpecker is found in most parts of
the Rocky mountains, as well as in the western and southwestern
mountains. He is about the size of the lark woodpecker,
or turtle-dove, although his wings are longer than
the wings of either of those birds: the beak is one inch
in length, black, curved at the base, and sharply pointed:
the chops are the same in length; around the base of the
beak, including the eye and a small part of the throat, there
is a fine crimson red: the neck, as low down as the crook in
front, is of an iron gray: the belly and breast present a
curious mixture of white and blood-red, which has much the
appearance of paint, where the red predominates: the
top of the head, back, sides, and upper surface of the
wings and tail, exhibit the appearance of a glossy green,
in a certain exposure to the light: the under side of the
wings and tail, is of a sooty black: the tail is equipped with
ten feathers, sharply pointed, and those in the centre the
longest, being about two and a half inches in length: the
tongue is barbed and pointed, and of an elastic and cartilagenous
substance: the eye is rather large, the pupil black,
and the iris of a dark and yellowish brown: the bird in its
actions when flying, resembles the small red-headed woodpecker
common to the United States, and likewise in its
notes: the pointed tail renders essential service when the
bird is sitting and retaining his resting position against the
perpendicular sides of a tree: the legs and feet are black,
and covered with wide imbricated scales: he has four toes
on each foot, two in the rear and two in front, the nails of
which are much curved and pointed remarkably sharp: he
feeds on bugs and a variety of insects.

188

20.

The calamut eagle, sometimes inhabits this side of
the Rocky mountains. This information captain Lewis
derived from the natives, in whose possession he had seen
their plumage. These are of the same species with those of
the Missouri, and are the most beautiful of all the family of
eagles in America. The colours are black and white, and
beautifully variegated. The tail feathers, so highly prized
by the natives, are composed of twelve broad feathers of unequal
length, which are white, except within two inches of
their extremities, where they immediately change to a jetty
black: the wings have each a large circular white spot in
the middle, which is only visible when they are extended:
the body is variously marked with black and white: in form
they resemble the bald eagle, but they are rather smaller,
and fly with much more rapidity. This bird is feared by all
his carniverous competitors, who, on his approach, leave
the carcase instantly, on which they had been feeding. The
female breeds in the most inaccessible parts of the mountains,
where she makes her summer residence, and descends
to the plains only in the fall and winter seasons. The natives
are at this season on the watch, and so highly is this
plumage prized by the Mandans, the Minnetarees, and the
Ricaras, that the tail feathers of two of these eagles will be
purchased by the exchange of a good horse or gun, and such
accoutrements. Amongst the great and little Osages, and
those nations inhabiting the countries where the bird is
more rarely seen, the price is even double of that above mentioned.
With these feathers the natives decorate the stems
of their sacred pipes or calumets, from whence the name of
the calumet eagle is derived. The Ricaras have domesticated
this bird in many instances, for the purpose of obtaining
its plumage. The natives, on every part of the continent,
who can procure the feathers, attach them to their
own hair, and the manes and tails of their favourite horses,
by way of ornament. They also decorate their war caps or
bonnets with these feathers.

189

As to the aquatic birds of this country, we have to repeat
the remark, that, as we remained near the coast during the
winter only, many birds, common both in the summer and
autumn, might have retired from the cold, and been lost to
our observation. We saw, however,

The large blue, and brown herron; the fishing hawk; the
blue-crested fisher; several species of gulls; the cormorant;
two species of loons; brant of two kinds; geese; swan; and several
species of ducks.

1.

The large blue and brown herrons, or cranes, as they
are usually termed in the United States, are found on the
Columbia below tide-water. They differ in no respect from
the same species of bird in the United States. The same
may be observed of

2.

The fishing hawk, with the crown of the head white,
and the back of a mealy white, and

3.

Of the blue-crested or king-fisher, both of which are
found every where on the Columbia and its tributary waters;
though the fishing hawk is not abundant, particularly
in the mountains.

4.

Of gulls, we have remarked four species on the coast
and the river, all common to the United States.

5.

The cormorant is, properly speaking, a large black
duck that feeds on fish. Captain Lewis could perceive no
difference between this bird and those ducks which inhabit
the Potomack and other rivers on the Atlantic coast. He
never remembered to have seen those inhabiting the Atlantic
states, so high up the river as they have been found in
this quarter. We first discovered the corvus on the Kooskooskee,
at the entrance of Chopunish river: they increased
in numbers as we descended, and formed much the greatest
portion of the water-fowl which we saw until we reached
the Columbia at the entrance of the tides. They abound
even here, but bear no proportion to the number of other
water-fowl seen at this place.

6.

The loon: there are two species of loons: the speckled
loon, found on every part of the rivers of this country.

190

They are of the same size, colour and form, with those of
the Atlantic coast.

The second species we found at the falls of Columbia,
and from thence downwards to the ocean. This bird
is not more than half the size of the speckled loon; the neck
is, in front, long slender and white: the plumage on the body
and back of the head and neck are of a dun or ash colour:
the breast and belly are white, the beak like that of the
speckled loon; and like them, it cannot fly, but flutters along
on the surface of the water, or dives for security when pursued.

7.

The brant are of three kinds; the white, the brown,
and the pied. The white brant are very common on the
shores of the Pacific, particularly below the water, where
they remain in vast numbers during the winter: they feed
like the swan-geese, on the grass, roots, and seeds which
grow in the marshes: this bird is about the size of the brown
brant, or a third less than the common Canadian wild goose:
the head is rather larger, the beak thicker than that of the
wild goose, shorter, and of much the same form, being of a
yellowish white colour, except the edges of the chops,
which are frequently of a dark brown: the legs and feet are
of the same form of the goose, and are of a pale flesh colour:
the tail is composed of sixteen feathers of equal length
as those of the geese and brown brant are, and bears about
the same proportion in point of length: the eye is of a dark
colour, and nothing remarkable in size: the wings are larger
when compared with those of the geese, but not so much so
as in the brown brant: the colour of the plumage is a pure
uniform white, except the large feathers at the extremity
of the wings, which are black: the large feathers at the first
joint of the wing next to the body are white: the note of this
bird differs essentially from that of the goose; it more resembles
that of the brown brant, but is somewhat different;
it is like the note of a young domestic goose, that has not
perfectly attained its full sound: the flesh of this bird is exceedingly
fine, preferable to either the goose or brown brant.

191
- The brown brant are much of the same colour, form,
  and size as the white, only that their wings are considerably
  longer and more pointed: the plumage of the upper part
  of the body, neck, head, and tail, are much the colour of the
  Canadian goose, but somewhat darker, in consequence of
  some dark feathers irregularly scattered throughout: they
  have not the same white on the neck and sides of the head
  as the goose, nor is the neck darker than the body: like the
  goose, they have some white feathers on the rump at the
  joining of the tail: the beak is dark, and the legs and feet
  also dark with a greenish cast: the breast and belly are of a
  lighter colour than the back, and is also irregularly intermixed
  with dark brown and black feathers, which give it a
  pied appearance: the flesh is darker and better than that of
  the goose: the habits of these birds resemble those of the
  geese, with this difference, that they do not remain in this climate
  in such numbers during the winter as the others, and
  that they set out earlier in the fall season on their return
  to the south, and arrive later in the spring than the goose.
  There is no difference between this bird and that called simply
  the brant, so common on the lakes, on the Ohio and Mississippi.
  The small goose of this country is rather less than
  the brant; its head and neck like the brant.
- The pied brant weigh about eight and a half pounds,
  differing from the ordinary pied brant in their wings, which
  are neither so long nor so pointed: the base of the beak is
  for a little distance white, suddenly succeeded by a narrow
  line of dark brown: the remainder of the neck, head, back,
  wings and tail, all except the tips of the feathers, are of a
  bluish brown of the common wild goose: the breast and
  belly are white, with an irregular mixture of black feathers,
  which give those parts a pied appearance. From the legs
  back underneath the tail and around its junction with the
  body above, the feathers are white: the tail is composed of
  eighteen feathers, the longest in the centre, and measures
  
  192
  
  six inches with the barrel of the quill: those on the sides of
  the tail are something shorter, and bend with the extremities
  inwards towards the centre of the tail: the extremities
  of these feathers are white: the beak is of a light flesh colour:
  the legs and feet, which do not differ in structure from
  those of the goose or brant of other species, are of an orange
  colour: the eye is small, the iris of a dark yellowish
  brown, and pupil black: the note is much that of the common
  pied brant, from which in fact, they are not to be
  distinguished at a distance, although they certainly are of a
  distinct species: the flesh is equally palatable with that of
  common pied brant. They do not remain here during the
  winter in such numbers as the bird above mentioned: this bird
  is here denominated the pied brant, on account of the near
  resemblance, and for want of another appellation.

8.

The geese are either the large or small kind: the large
goose resembles our ordinary wild or Canadian goose; the
small is rather less than the brant, which it resembles in the
head and neck, where it is larger in proportion than that of
the goose: the beak is thicker and shorter; the note like that
of a tame goose. In all other points it resembles the large
goose, with which it associates so frequently, that it was
some time before it was discovered to be of a distinct species.

9.

The swan are of two kinds, the large and the small:
the large swan is the same common to the Atlantic states:
the small differs only from the large in size and in note: it
is about one fourth less, and its note is entirely different. It
cannot be justly imitated by the sound of letters; it begins
with a kind of whistling sound, and terminates in a round
full note, louder at the end: this note is as loud as that
of the large species; whence it might be denominated the
whistling swan: its habits, colour, and contour, appears to
be precisely those of the larger species: these birds were
first found below the great narrows of the Columbia, near
the Chilluckittequaw nation: they are very abundant in this
neighbourhood, and remained with the party all winter, and

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in number they exceed those of the larger species in the proportion
of five to one.

10.

Of ducks, we enumerate many kinds: the duckinmallard;
the canvass-back duck; the red-headed fishing duck,
the black and white duck; the little brown duck; black duck;
two species of divers, and blue-winged teal.

1.

The duckinmallard, or common large duck, resembles
the domestic duck, are very abundant, and found in every
part of the river below the mountains: they remain here all
winter, but during this season do not continue much above
tide-water.

2.

The canvass-back duck is a most beautiful fowl, and most
delicious to the palate: it is found in considerable numbers
in this neighbourhood. It is of the same species with those
of the Delaware, Susquehannah and Potomack, where it is
called the canvass-back duck, and in James' river it is known
by the name of the shelled drake. From this last mentioned
river, it is said, however, that they have almost totally disappeared.
To the epicure of those parts of the United
States, where this game is in plenty, nothing need be said in
praise of its exquisite flavour, and those on the banks of the
Columbia are equally delicious. We saw nothing of them
until after we had reached the marshy islands.

3.

The-red headed fishing duck is common to every part of
the river, and was likewise found in the Rocky mountains,
and was the only duck discovered in the waters of the Columbia
within those mountains. They feed chiefly on crawfish,
and are the same in every respect as those on the rivers
and the mountains bordering on the Atlantic ocean.

4.

The black and white duck is small, and a size larger
than the teal. The male is beautifully variegated with
black and white: the white occupies the side of the head,
breast and back, the tail, feathers of the wings, and two
tufts of feathers which cover the upper part of the wings,
when folded, and likewise the neck and head: the female is
darker. This is believed to be the same species of duck

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common to the Atlantic coast, and called the butter-box
the beak is wide and short, and, as well as the legs, of a
dark colour, and the flesh extremely well flavoured. In form
it resembles the duckinmallard, although not more than
half the size of that bird. It generally resorts to the grassy
marshes, and feeds on grass seeds, as well as roots.

5.

The black duck is about the size of the blue-winged teal;
the colour of a dusky black; the breast and belly somewhat
lighter, and of a dusky brown: the legs stand longitudinally
with the body, and the bird when on shore, stands very
erect: the legs and feet are of a dark brown: it has four toes
on each foot, and a short one at the heel: the long toes are
in front, unconnected with the web: the webs are attached
to each side of the several joints of the toe, and divided by
several sinews at each joint, the web assuming in the intermediate
part an eliptical form: the beak is about two inches
long, straight, fluted on the sides, and tapering to a sharp
point: the upper chop is the longest, and bears on its base,
at its junction with the head, a little conic protuberance of
a cartilagenous substance, being of a reddish brown at the
point: the beak is of an ivory colour; the eye dark. These
ducks usually associate in large flocks, are very noisy, and
have a sharp shrill whistle: they are fat and agreeably flavoured;
feed principally on moss and vegetable productions
of the water: they are not exclusively confined to the water
at all seasons, captain Lewis has noticed them on many parts
of the rivers Ohio and Mississippi.

6.

The divers are the same with those of the United States.
The smaller species have some white feathers about the
rump, with no perceptible tail, and are very acute and quick
in their motion: the body is of a reddish brown; the beak
sharp, and somewhat curved, like that of the pheasant: the
toes are not connected, but webbed, like those of the black
duck. The larger species are about the size of the teal,
and can fly a short distance, which the smaller but seldom
attempt: they have a short tail; their colour is also a uniform

195

brick reddish brown: the beak is straight and pointed: the
feet are of the same form with the other species: the legs remarkably
thin and flat, one edge being in front. The food of
both species is fish and flesh: their flesh is unfit for use.

7.

The blue-winged teal is an excellent duck, and in all
respects the same as those of the United States. One of our
hunters killed a duck which appeared to be a male. It was
of a size less than the duckinmallard; the head, the neck
as low as the croup, the back, tail, and covert of the wings
were all of a deep fine black, with a slight mixture of purple
about the head and neck: the belly and breast are white:
some long feathers which lie underneath the wings, and cover
the thighs, were of a pale dove colour, with fine black
specks: the large feathers of the wings are of a dove colour:
the legs are dark; the feet are composed of four toes, of
which three are in front connected by a web: the fourth
is short and flat, and placed high on the heel behind the leg:
the tail is composed of fourteen short pointed feathers: the
beak of this duck is remarkably wide, and two inches in
length: the upper chop exceeds the under one, both in length
and width, insomuch, that when the beak is closed, the
under chop is entirely concealed by the upper: the tongue indenture
on the margin of the chops, are like those of the
mallard: the nostrils are large, longitudinal, and connected:
a narrow strip of white garnishes the base of the upper chop:
this is succeeded by a pale sky-blue colour, occupying about
an inch; which again is succeeded by a transverse stripe of
white, and the extremity is a fine black: the eye is moderately
large, the pupil black, and of a fine orange colour: the
feathers on the crown of the head are longer than those on
the upper part of the neck and other parts of the head,
which give it the appearance of being crested.

The fish, which we have had an opportunity of seeing,
are, the whale, porpoise, skait, flounder, salmon, red char,
two species of salmon trout, mountain, or speckled trout,
bottlenose, anchovy, and sturgeon.

196

1.

The whale is sometimes pursued, harpooned and taken
by the Indians, although it is much more frequently killed
by running foul of the rocks in violent storms, and thrown
on shore by the action of the wind and tide. In either case,
the Indians preserve and eat the blubber and oil; the bone
they carefully extract and expose to sale.

2.

The porpoise is common on this coast, and as far up
the river as the water is brackish. The Indians sometimes
gig them, and always eat their flesh when they can procure
it.

3.

The skait is also common in the salt water: we saw
several of them which had perished, and were thrown on
shore by the tide.

4.

The flounder is also well known here, and we have
often seen them left on the beach after the departure of the
tide. The Indians eat this fish, and think it very fine.
These several species of fish are the same with those on the
Atlantic coast.

5.

The common salmon and red char are the inhabitants
of both the sea and rivers; the former are usually the largest,
and weigh from five to fifteen pounds: they extend themselves
into all the rivers and little creeks on this side of the
continent, and to them the natives are much indebted for
their subsistence: the body of the fish is from two and an half
to three feet long, and proportionably broad: it is covered
with imbricated scales, of a moderate size, and gills: the eye
is large, and the iris of a silvery colour: the pupil is black,
the rostrum or nose extends beyond the under jaw, and
both jaws are armed with a single series of long teeth,
which are subulate and inflected near the extremities of the
jaws, where they are also more closely arranged: they
have some sharp teeth of smaller size, and some sharp points
placed on the tongue, which is thick and fleshy: the fins of
the back are two; the first is placed nearer the head than
the ventral fins, and has several rays: the second is placed
far back, near the tail, and has no rays. The flesh of this

197

fish is, when in order, of a deep flesh-coloured red, and
every shade from that to an orange yellow: when very
meagre it is almost white: the roes of this fish are in high
estimation among the natives, who dry them in the sun, and
preserve them for a great length of time: they are of the
size of a small pea, nearly transparent, and of a reddish
yellow cast; they resemble very much, at a little distance,
our common garden currants, but are more yellow. Both
the fins and belly of this fish are sometimes red, particularly
the male: the red char are rather broader, in proportion
to their length, than the common salmon: the scales
are also imbricated, but rather larger; the rostrum exceeds
the under jaw more, and the teeth are neither so large or
so numerous as those of the salmon: some of them are almost
entirely red on the belly and sides; others are much
more white than the salmon, and none of them are variegated
with the dark spots which mark the body of the other:
their flesh, roes, and every other particular, with regard to
the form, is that of the salmon.

6.

Of the salmon trout, we observe two species, differing
only in colour; they are seldom more than two feet in length,
and narrow in proportion to their length, much more so than
the salmon or red char. The jaws are nearly of the same
length, and are furnished with a single series of small subulate
straight teeth, not so long nor as large as those of the salmon.
The mouth is wide, and the tongue is also furnished
with some teeth: the fins are placed much like those of the
salmon. At the great falls we found this fish of a silvery white
colour on the belly and sides, and a bluish light brown on the
back and head; the second species is of a dark colour on its
back, and its sides and belly are yellow, with transverse
stripes of dark brown; sometimes a little red is intermixed
with these colours on the belly and sides towards the head.
The eye, flesh, and roe, are like those described of the salmon:
the white species found below the falls, were in excellent
order, when the salmon were entirely out of season and

198

not fit for use. They associate with the red char, in little
rivulets and creeks: the Indians say that the salmon begin
to run early in May. The white salmon trout is about two
feet and eight inches long, and weighs ten pounds: the eye is
moderately large, the pupil black, with a small admixture
of yellow, and iris of a silvery white, and a little turbid near
its border with a yellowish brown. The fins are small in
proportion to the fish; are bony but not pointed, except the
tail and back fins, which are pointed a little: the prime back
fin and ventral ones contain each ten rays, those of the gills
thirteen, that of the tail twelve, and the small fin placed
near and above the tail has no bony rays, but is a tough flexible
substance, covered with smooth skin. It is thicker in
proportion to its width than the salmon: the tongue is thick
and firm, beset on each border with small subulate teeth, in
a single series: the teeth and the mouth are as before described.
Neither this fish nor the salmon are caught with the
hook, nor do we know on what they feed.

7.

The mountain or speckled trout are found in the waters
of the Columbia within the mountains: they are the
same with those found in the upper part of the Missouri,
but are not so abundant in the Columbia as on that river.
We never saw this fish below the mountains, but from the
transparency and coldness of the Kooskooskee, we should not
doubt of its existence in that stream as low as its junction
with the southeast branch of the Columbia.

8.

The bottlenose is the same with that before mentioned
on the Missouri, and is found exclusively within the
mountains.

Of shell fish we observe the clam, periwinkle, common
muscle, the cockle, and a species with a circular flat shell.
The clam of this coast are very small; the shell consists of
two valves, which open with hinges: the shell is smooth, thin,
of an oval form like that of the common muscle, and of sky-blue
colour. It is about one and a half inches in length
and hangs in clusters to the moss of the rocks: the natives

199

sometimes eat them. The periwinkle both of the river and
the ocean, are similar to those found in the same situation
on the Atlantic coast. The common muscle of the river
are also the same with those on the rivers of the Atlantic
coast: the cockle is small, and resembles much that
of the Atlantic: there is also an animal that inhabits a
shell perfectly circular, about three inches in diameter,
thin and entire on the margin, convex and smooth on the
upper side, plain on the under part, and covered with a number
of minute capillary fibres, by means of which it attaches
itself to the sides of the rocks: the shell is thin, and consists
of one valve; a small circular aperture is formed in the
centre of the under shell: the animal is soft and boneless.

The pellucid substance and fuei. The pellucid jelly-like
substance, called the sea-nettle, is found in great abundance
along the strand, where it has been thrown up by the waves
and tide: there are two species of the fuei thrown up in that
manner: the first species at one extremity consists of a
large vesicle or hollow vessel, which will contain from one
to two gallons: it is of a conic form, the base of which
forms the extreme end, and is convex and globular, bearing
at its centre some short, broad, and angular fibres: the substance
is about the consistence of the rind of a citron mellon,
and three-fourths of an inch thick: the rind is smooth from
the small extremity of the cone; a long hollow cylindric
and regular tapering tube extends to twenty or thirty feet,
and is then terminated with a number of branches, which
are flat, half an inch in width, rough, particularly on the
edges, where they are furnished with a number of little
ovate vesicles or bags of the size of a pigeon's egg: this plant
seems to be calculated to float at each extremity, while the
little end of the tube, from whence the branches proceed,
lie deepest in the water: the other species seen on the
coast towards the Killamucks, resembles a large pumpkin;
it is solid, and its specific gravity is greater than the water,
though sometimes thrown out by the waves: it is of

200

a yellowish brown colour; the rind smooth, and its consistence
is harder than that of the pumpkin; but easily
cut with a knife: there are some dark brown fibres, rather
harder than any other part, which pass longitudinally
through the pulp or fleshy substance which forms the
interior of this marine production.

The reptiles of this country are the rattlesnake, the
gartersnake, lizard, and snail.

The gartersnake appears to belong to the same family
with the common gartersnakes of the Atlantic coast, and
like that snake they inherit no poisonous qualities: they have
one hundred and sixty scuta on the abdomen, and seventy
on the tail: those on the abdomen near the head and jaws
as high as the eye, are of a bluish white, which, as it recedes
from the head, becomes of a dark brown: the field of
the back and sides black: a narrow stripe of a light yellow
runs along the centre of the back; on each side of this stripe
there is a range of small transverse, oblong spots, of a pale
brick red, diminishing as they recede from the head, and
disappear at the commencement of the tail: the pupil of the
eye is black, with a narrow ring of white bordering on its
edge; the remainder of the iris is of a dark yellowish brown.

The horned lizard, called, and for what reason we never
could learn, the prairie buffaloe, is a native of these plains,
as well as those on the Missouri: they are of the same size,
and much the same in appearance as the black lizard: the
belly is however broader, the tail shorter, and the action
much slower: the colour is generally brown intermixed with
yellowish brown spots: the animal is covered with minute
scales, interspersed with small horny points, like blunt
prickes on the upper surface of the body: the belly and
throat resemble those of the frog, and are of a light yellowish
brown: the edge of the belly is likewise beset with small
horny projections, imparting to those edges a serrate appearance:
the eye is small and dark: above and behind the
eyes there are several projections of that bone, and their extremities

201

also being armed with a firm black substance,
resemble the appearance of horns sprouting from the head:
these animals are found in greatest numbers in the sandy
open plains, and appear in the greatest abundance after a
shower of rain: they are sometimes found basking in the
sunshine, but conceal themselves in little holes of the earth
in much the greatest proportion of the time: this may account
for their appearance in such numbers after the rain,
as their holes may thus be rendered untenantable.

9.

The anchovy, which the natives call olthen, is so delicate
a fish that it soon becomes tainted, unless pickled or
smoked: the natives run a small stick through the gills and
hang it up to dry in the smoke of their lodges, or kindle
small fires under it for the purpose of drying: it needs no
previous preparation of gutting, and will be cured in twenty-four
hours: the natives do not appear to be very scrupulous
about eating them when a little fœtid.

	CHAPTER VII. History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the river Columbia to the Pacific Ocean.

University of Virginia Library

CHAPTER VII.

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