Clark: May 27, 1806

Tuesday 27th May 1806. A cloudy morning. Sergeant Pryor and his party set out at 7 A.M. Sergeant Ordway and two men are ordered to cross this river and proceed through the plains to Lewis's River and procure some salmon on that river, and return tomorrow if possible. He set out at 8 A.M. We sent Reuben Field in search of the horse which the Indians had given us to kill. At 10 A.M. he returned with the horse, and it was killed and butchered; it was large and in good condition. Hohastillpilp told us that most of the horses which we saw running at large in the plains in this neighborhood belonged to himself and his people, and whenever we were in want of meat, he requested that we would kill any of them we wished. This is a piece of liberality which would do honor to such a host of civilization. Sergeant Pryor, Gibson, and Shields returned from the village with a good stock of roots and bread. Charbonneau, Lapage, and York, whom we had sent to purchase roots for ourselves, remained at the village all night. Drouillard, Labiche, and Cruzatte returned at 4 P.M. with 5 deer which they had killed at some distance up Collins's Creek on this side. That stream still continues so high that they could not pass it.

Charbonneau's child is much better today, though I believe the swelling on the side of his neck will turn into an ugly abscess a little below the ear. The Indians were so anxious that the sick chief (who has lost the use of his limbs) should be sweated under our supervision that they requested me to make a 2nd attempt today. Accordingly the hole was enlarged, and his father, a very good-looking old man, performed all the drudgery, etc. We could not make him sweat as profusely as we wished, being compelled to keep him upright in the hole by means of cords. After the operation he complained of considerable pain. I gave him 30 drops of laudanum which soon calmed him, and he rested very well. I observe the strongest marks of parental affection. They all appear extremely attentive to this sick man, nor do they appear to relax in their care toward him, notwithstanding he has been sick and helpless for nearly 5 years. The Chopunnish appear to be very attentive and kind to their aged people, and treat their women with more respect than the natives on the Missouri.

There is a species of whistling squirrel common in these plains which in their habits somewhat resembles those of the Missouri but are a distinct species. This little animal measures 1 foot 5 1/2 inches from the nose to the extremity of the tail, of which the tail occupies 2 1/4 inches only; in girth it is 11 inches. The body is proportionately long, the neck and legs short; the ears are short, bluntly pointed, and lie close to the head; the opening of the ear is proportionately larger than that of most animals that burrow. The eyes are of moderate size, the pupil black and iris of a dark dusky brown. The teeth are like those of the squirrel, as is its whole shape. The whiskers are full, long, and black; it also has some long black hairs above the eye. It has five toes on each foot; the 2 inner toes of the front feet are remarkably short, and have short blunt nails. The remaining toes on these feet are long, slightly curved, black, and sharply pointed. The outer and inner toes of the hind feet are not short, yet they are by no means as long as the three toes in the center of the foot, which are remarkably long; but the nails are not as long as those of the front feet, though of the same form and color. The hairs of the tail, though thickly set on every part, project on the two sides only. This gives it a flat appearance and a long oval form. The tips of the hair which form the outer edges of the tail are white. The bases of the hairs are either black or a fox red. The underside of the tail is an iron gray, the upper a reddish brown. The lower part of the jaws, underside of the neck, legs and feet from the body down, and belly are of a light brick red. The nose as high as the eyes is of a darker brick red. The upper part of the head, neck, and body are of a curious brownish gray color with a cast of brick red. The longer hairs of these parts, being of a reddish white color at their tips, fall together in such a manner as to give it the appearance of being speckled at a little distance. These animals form large associations like those of the Missouri, occupying with their burrows one or sometimes 200 acres of land. The burrows are separate and each is occupied perhaps by 10 or 12 of these animals. 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 what I call one burrow, around the base of the mound, which seems to be occupied as a watch tower in common by the inhabitants of those several holes. These mounds are sometimes as much as 2 feet high and 4 feet in diameter, and are irregularly distributed over the tract they occupy at distances of from ten to 30 or forty yards. When you approach a burrow, the squirrels, one or more, usually sit upright on these mounds and make a kind of shrill whistling noise, something like tweet, tweet, tweet, etc. They do not live on grass as those of the Missouri do, but on roots. One which I examined had in its mouth two small bulbs of a species of grass which resembles very much what is sometimes called the grass nut. The intestines of these little animals are remarkably large for their size; the fur is short and very fine. The grass in their village is not cut down as in those of the plains of the Missouri. I preserved the skins of several of these animals with the heads, feet, and legs entire.

The black woodpecker, which is found in most parts of the Rocky Mountains as well as the Western and S.W. mountains, I had never had an opportunity of examining until a few days since, when we killed and preserved several of them. This bird is about the size of the lark woodpecker or the turtle dove, though its wings are longer than either of these birds. The beak is black, one inch long, rather wide at the base, somewhat curved, and sharply pointed; the upper and lower parts are of equal length. Around the base of the beak, including the eye and a small part of the throat, is crimson red. The neck and as low as the crop in front is of an iron gray. The belly and breast are of a curious mixture of white and blood red which has much the appearance of having been artificially painted or stained that color; the red rather predominates. The top of the head, back, sides, upper surface of the wings, and tail are black; the underside of the wings and tail are black. It has ten feathers in the tail, sharply pointed, and those in the center are rather longest, being 2 1/2 inches in length. The tongue is barbed, pointed, and of an elastic cartilaginous substance. The eye is moderately large, the pupil black and iris of a dark yellowish brown. This bird in its actions when flying resembles the small reddish woodpecker common to the Atlantic states; its note also somewhat resembles that bird's. The pointed tail seems to assist it in sitting with more ease, or in keeping it in its resting position against the perpendicular side of a tree. The legs and feet are black, and covered with overlapping scales. It has four toes on each foot, of which two are in rear and two in front; the nails are much curved, long, and remarkably keen or sharply pointed. It feeds on bugs, worms, and a variety of insects.