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Collins killed two bear this morning and was sent with two others in quest of the meat; with which they returned in the evening; the mail bear was large and fat the female was of moderate size and reather meagre. we had the fat bear fleaced in order to reserve the oil for the mountains. both these bear were of the speceis common to the upper part of the missouri. they may be called white black grzly brown or red bear for they are found of all those colours. perhaps it would not be unappropriate to designate them the variagated bear. we gave the indians who were about 15 in number half the female bear, with the sholder head and neck of the other. this was a great treat to those poor wretches who scarcely taist meat once a month. they immediately prepared a brisk fire of dry wood on which they threw a parsel of smooth stones from the river, when the fire had birnt down and heated the stones they placed them level and laid on a parsel of pine boughs, on these they laid the flesh of the bear in flitches, placing boughs between each course of meat and then covering it thickly with pine boughs; after this they poared on a small quantity of water and covered the whoe over with earth to the debth of four inches. in this situation they suffered it to remain about 3 hours when they took it out.
I think the flood of this spring has been about 12 feet higher than it was at that time; the river is here about 11/2 miles wide; it's general width from the beacon rock which may be esteemed the head of tide water, to the marshey islands is from one to 2 miles tho in many places it is still wider. it is only in the fall of the year when the river is low that the tides are persceptable as high as the beacon rock. this remarkable rock which stands on the North shore of the river is unconnected with the hills and rises to the hight of seven hundred feet; it has some pine or reather fir timber on it's nothern side, the southern is a precipice of it's whole hight. it rises to a very sharp point and is visible for 20 miles below on the river. at the distance of ten miles from our encampment we met with our hunters in the upper end of the bottom to which we had directed them on the South side of the river. they had killed three Elk this morning and wounded two others so badly that they expected to get them. we therefore determined to encamp for the evening at this place in order to dry the meat, in surch of which we sent a party immediately and employed others in preparing scaffoalds and collecting firewood &c against their return. we found some indians with our hunters when we arrived; these people are constantly hanging about us. As has been before mentioned Capt C set out with a party of seven men on 2ed inst. in surch of the entrance of the Multnomah river. he departed at 1/2 after 11 A. M and directed his course along the Southern side of the river. at the distance of 8 miles he passed the village of the Na-cha-co-lee tribe of the E-lute Nation; this village is not large and being situated on the main shore opposite to and S. of the Diamond Island it was concealed by that island from our view both ascending and decending the Columbia as we passed near the Northern shore.
The mouth opens to distance of the eyes- The eye is full and projecting reather, it is 7/10 of half an inch. four joints in the wing Inches 1st joint from body in length 6 2ed Do. 81/4 3rd Do. 31/2 4th Do. 1 1st joint Number of feathers 7 Length of 3 2nd 18 6 3 6 from 10 to 12 4th 5 12
They had neither killed nor seen any Elk. they informed us that the Elk had all gone off to the mountains a considerable distance from us. this is unwelcome information and reather allarming we have only 2 days provision on hand, and that nearly spoiled. we made up a small assortment of articles to trade with the Indians and directed Sergt.
I have seen a few skins among these people which have almost every appearance of the common sheep. they inform me that they finde this animals on the high mountains to the West and S. W. of them. it is about the size of the common sheep, the wool is reather shorter and more intermixed with long hairs particularly on the upper part of the neck. these skins have been so much woarn that I could not form a just Idea of the animal or it's colour. the Indians however inform me that it is white and that it's horns are lunated comprest twisted and bent backward as those of the common sheep. the texture of the skin appears to be that of the sheep.
The Indians who took the horses bent their course reather down the river. the men finished both Canoes by 12 oClock to day, and I sent them to make Oars & get poles after which I sent Shields and Labeech to kill a fat Buffalow out of a gangue which has been in a fiew miles of us all day. I gave Sergt Pryor his instructions and a letter to Mr.
C. who came down Madison's river yesterday and has also seen Jefferson's some distance thinks Madison's reather the most rapid, but it is not as much so by any means as Gallitin's. the beds of all these streams are formed of smooth pebble and gravel, and their waters perfectly transparent; in short they are three noble streams. there is timber enough here to support an establishment, provided it be erected with brick or stone either of which would be much cheaper than wood as all the materials for such a work are immediately at the spot. there are several small sand-bars along the shores at no great distance of very pure sand and the earth appears as if it would make good brick.
The leaves are petiolate, the footstalk Small Short and oppressed; acerose reather more than 1/2 a line in wedth and very uneaqual in length, the greatest length being a little more than half an inch, while others intermixed on every part of the bough are not more than a 1/4 of an inch in length. flat with a Small longitudinal channel in the upper disk which is of a Deep green and glossy, while the under disk is of a whitish green only; two ranked, obtusely pointed, Soft and flexable. this tree affords but little rosin. the Cone is remarkably Small, not larger than the end of a mans thumb Soft, flexable and of an oval form, produced at the end of a Small twig.
Set out early this morning as usual, currant strong, we therefore employ the toe rope when ever the banks permit the use of it; the water is reather deep for the seting pole in most places. at 6 A.M. the hills retreated from the river and the valley became wider than we have seen it since we entered the mountains. some scattering timber on the river and in the valley. consisting of the narrowleafed Cottonwood aspin & pine. vas numbers of the several species of currants goosberries and service berries; of each of these I preserved some seeds.
I think therefore that we shall find that the Missouri enters the rocky mountains to the North of 45° we did take the liberty of placing his discoveries or at least the Southern extremity of them about a degree further N. in the sketh which we sent on to the government this spring mearly from the Indian information of the bearing from Fort Mandan of the entrance of the Missouri into the Rocky Mountains, and I reather suspect that actual observation will take him at least one other degree further North.
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