Lewis: February 11, 1806
At Fort Clatsop, Sergeant Gass, Reubin Fields, and Thompson crossed the Netul River to hunt. Sergeant Pryor and four men were sent to bring the ailing Gibson back to the fort, while Colter and Wiser were dispatched to the salt works to assist Joseph Fields, with Bratton given the option to return if he wished. Lewis devoted most of the entry to describing local plants, including a shrub resembling Virginia quillwood, a thorny raspberry-like plant, and an evergreen shrub bearing small purple berries eaten by the natives.
Tuesday February 11th 1806. This morning Sergt. Gass Reubin Fields and
Thompson passed the Netul opposite to us on a hunting expedition. sent
Sergt Pryor with a party of four men to bring Gibson to the fort. also
sent Colter and Wiser to the Salt works to carry on the business with
Joseph Fields; as Bratton had been sick we desired him to return to the
Fort also if he thought proper; however in the event of his not coming
Wiser was directed to return.
There is a shrub which grows commonly in this neighbourhood which is
precisely the same with that in Virginia some times called the quillwood.
also another which grows near the water in somewhat moist grounds &
rises to the hight of 5 or 6 feet with a large, peteolate spreading plane,
crenate and somewhat woolly leaf like the rose raspberry. it is much
branched the bark of a redish brown colour and is covered with a number of
short hooked thorns which renders it extreemly disagreeable to pass among;
it dose not cast it’s foliage untill about the 1st of December. this is
also the case with the black alder. There is also found in this
neighbourhood an evergreen shrub which I take to be another variety of the
Shallun and that discribed under that name in mistake on the 26th of
January. this shrub rises to the hight of from four to five feet, the stem
simple branching, defuse and much branched. the bark is of a redish dark
brown, that of the mane stein is somewhat rough while that of the boughs
is smooth. the leaves are petiolate the petiole 1/40 of an inch long;
oblong, obtuse at the apex and accute angular at the insertion of the
petiole; 3/4 of an inch in length and Ysths in width; convex, somewhat
revolute, serrate, smoth and of a paler green than the evergreens usually
are; they are also opposite and ascending. the fruit is a small deep
perple berry like the common huckleberry of a pleasent flavor. they are
seperately scattered & attatched to the small boughs by short
peduncles.-. the natives eat this berry when ripe but seldom collect it in
such quantities as to dry it for winter uce.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
Tuesday, February 11th, 1806. This morning Sergeant Gass, Reubin Fields, and Thompson crossed the Netul opposite us on a hunting expedition. I sent Sergeant Pryor with a party of four men to bring Gibson to the fort. I also sent Colter and Wiser to the salt works to carry on the business with Joseph Fields; as Bratton had been sick, we asked him to return to the fort as well if he thought it proper; however, in the event that he did not come, Wiser was directed to return.
There is a shrub that grows commonly in this neighborhood which is exactly the same as one in Virginia sometimes called the quillwood. There is also another which grows near the water in somewhat moist ground and rises to a height of 5 or 6 feet, with a large, petiolate, spreading, flat, crenate, and somewhat woolly leaf like the rose raspberry. It is much branched, the bark is a reddish brown color, and it is covered with a number of short hooked thorns which make it extremely unpleasant to pass through; it does not shed its foliage until about the 1st of December. This is also the case with the black alder. There is also found in this neighborhood an evergreen shrub which I take to be another variety of the Shallun (Shallon), and the one described under that name by mistake on the 26th of January. This shrub rises to a height of from four to five feet; the stem is simple-branching, diffuse, and much branched. The bark is a reddish dark brown; that of the main stem is somewhat rough, while that of the boughs is smooth. The leaves are petiolate, the petiole 1/40 of an inch long; oblong, obtuse at the apex and acute-angular at the insertion of the petiole; 3/4 of an inch in length and 5/8ths in width; convex, somewhat revolute, serrate, smooth, and of a paler green than evergreens usually are; they are also opposite and ascending. The fruit is a small deep purple berry like the common huckleberry, of a pleasant flavor. They are separately scattered and attached to the small boughs by short peduncles. The natives eat this berry when ripe but seldom collect it in such quantities as to dry it for winter use.
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