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Updated: May 27, 2025
The indians formed themselves this evening into two large parties and began to gamble for their beads and other ornaments. the game at which they played was that of hiding a stick in their hands which they frequently changed acompanying their opperations with a song. this game seems common to all the nations in this country, and dose not differ from that before discribed of the Shoshonees on the S. E. branch of Lewis's river. we are anxious to procure some guides to accompany us on the different routs we mean to take from Travellers rest; for this purpose we have turned our attention to the Twisted hair who has several sons grown who are well acquainted as well as himself with the various roads in those mountains. we invited the old fellow to remove his family and live near us while we remained; he appeared gratifyed with this expression of our confidence and promissed to do so. shot at a mark with the indians, struck the mark with 2 balls. distn. 220 yds.
The river bluffs still continue to get lower and the plains leveler and more extensive; the timber on the river increases in quantity; the country in all other rispects much as discribed yesterday. I think we are now completely above the black hills we had a small shower of rain today but it lasted only a few minutes and was very moderate.
Continued a South-East Course until' 8 o'Clock p.m. at which time we had run 7 Leagues since Noon, and were between 3 and 4 Leagues from the Land which appear'd to be low and Sandy such as I have before Discribed, and we then steer'd South-East by East in a Parrallel direction with the Coast, our Depth of Water from 48 to 34 fathoms; a black sandy bottom; at daylight found ourselves between 2 and 3 Leagues from the land which was of a Moderate height and Cloathed with Wood and Verdure.
This bird fly's very clumsily. nor do I know whether it ever Seizes it's prey alive, but am induced to believe it does not. we have Seen it feeding on the remains of the whale and other fish which have been thrown up by the waves on the Sea Coast. these I believe constitute their principal food, but I have no doubt but that they also feed on flesh. we did not meet with this bird untille we had decended the Columbia below the great falls; and have found them more abundant below tide water than above. this is the Same Species of Bird which R. Field killed on the 18th of Novr. last and which is noticed on that day tho not fully discribed then I thought this of the Buzzard Specis.
The Vulture has already been discribed. There are two Species of fly Catch, a Small redish brown with a Short tail, round body, Short neck, and Short pointed beak, and the Same as that with us sometimes called the Wren. the 2d Species does not remain all winter they have just returned and are of a Yellowish brown Colour.
I preserved the skin of this bird retaining the wings feet and head which I hope will give a just idea of the bird. it's loud note is single and consists of a loud squall, intirely different from the whistling of our quales or partridge. it has a cherping note when allarmed something like ours. today there was a second of these birds killed by Capt C. which precisely resembled that just discribed.
The dress of the women consists of a robe, tissue, and sometimes when the weather is uncommonly cold, a vest. their robe is much smaller than that of the men, never reaching lower than the waist nor extending in front sufficiently far to cover the body. it is like that of the men confined across the breast with a string and hangs loosly over the sholders and back. the most esteemed and valuable of these robes are made of strips of the skins of the Sea Otter net together with the bark of the white cedar or silk-grass. these strips are first twisted and laid parallel with each other a little distance assunder, and then net or wove together in such manner that the fur appears equally on both sides, and unites between the strands. it make a warm and soft covering. other robes are formed in a similar manner of the skin of the Rackoon, beaver &c. at other times the skin is dressed in the hair and woarn without any further preperation. in this way one beaver skin, or two of those of the Raccoon or tiger catt forms the pattern of the robe. the vest is always formed in the manner first discribed of their robes and covers the body from the armpits to the waist, and is confined behind, and destitute of straps over the sholder to keep it up. when this vest is woarn the breast of the woman is concealed, but without it which is almost always the case, they are exposed, and from the habit of remaining loose and unsuspended grow to great length particularly in aged women in many of whom I have seen the hubby reach as low as the waist.
Maney of the nativs of the Columbia were hats & most commonly of a conic figure without a brim confined on the head by means of a String which passes under the chin and is attached to the two opposit Sides of a Secondary rim within the hat- the hat at top termonates in a pointed knob of a conic form, or in this Shape. these hats are made of the bark of Cedar and beargrass wrought with the fingers So closely that it Casts the rain most effectually in the Shape which they give them for their own use or that just discribed, on these hats they work various figures of different colours, but most commonly only black and white are employed. these figures are faint representations of the whales, the Canoes, and the harpooners Strikeing them.
The small Brown Pheasant is an inhabitant of the Same Country and is of the Size and Shape of the Speckled Pheasant, which it also resembles in it's economy and habits, the Stripe above the eye in this Species is scercely preceptable and is when closely examined of a yellow or orrange colour in Sted of the vermillion of the others. it's colour is of a uniform mixture of dark and yellowish brown with a Slight mixture of brownish white on the breast belley and the feathers under the tail. the whole Compound is not unlike that of the Common quaile only darker. this is also booted to the toes. the flesh is tolerable and that of the breast is as white as the Pheasant of the atlantic coast. the redish brown Pheasant has been previously discribed..
I presume the success of their winters hunt has produced this change in their attire. they all cut their hair in their forehead and most of the men wear the two cews over each sholder in front of the body; some have the addition of a few small plats formed of the earlocks and others tigh a small bundle of the docked foretop in front of the forehead. their ornaments are such as discribed of the nations below and are woarn in a similar manner. they insisted on our dancinq this evening but it rained a little the wind blew hard and the weather was cold, we therefore did not indulge them.
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