CHAPTER VII.

A general description of the beasts, birds and plants, &c.

found by the party in this expedition.

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 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, pinate,

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 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 States. 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. 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, 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 seal-berry. 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 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 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 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.

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; acerose, 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 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 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 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 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 Columbian 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 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 cauline, 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 from 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, acutely pointed: the perianth

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 Colombia, 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 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 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 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. These 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 learn that they inhabit

at all in the woody country, bordering on the coasts, 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 resemble 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 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. 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 ease, 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 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 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 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: 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 Atlantic

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, 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 animals. 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 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 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 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 natives when 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 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 surprising 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.

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 ease 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 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 or 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,

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 cottonwood,

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 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 proportionally 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:

1. 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 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.

2. 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.

3. The small brown pheasant is an inhabitant of the same country, and

is of the same size and shape of the speckled 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 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 commences 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. 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.

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, 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 south-western 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.

20. The calumet 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.

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. 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.

2. 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.

3. 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 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 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 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 elliptical

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 brick reddish brown; the

beak is straight and pointed: the feet are of the same form with the

other species: the leg 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.

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 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

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 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 fuci. 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 fuci 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 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 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.