Lewis: February 16, 1806
At Fort Clatsop, Lewis spent the day calibrating his octant against his sextant, determining its error to be 2°1'45" additive beyond the fracture. He sent Shannon, Labiche, and Frazier hunting up the Kilhawanakkle River, with no word yet from Sergeant Gass's party. Lewis treated two ailing men: Bratton, weak with back pain, received bark, while Gibson's persistent fever was eased by a dose of Dr. Rush's pills and niter, bringing relief by night. Lewis also recorded observations on Indian dogs, grizzly bears, and black bears in the region.
Sunday February 16th 1806. By several trials made today in order to adjust
my Octant and ascertain her error in the direct observation, I found that
it was 2° 1′ 45″ + or additive beyond the fracture; this error was
ascertained by a comparison with my sextant the error of which had been
previously ascertained. the error of Octant in the direct observation on
the broken limb next to 0 or below 55° 20 inclusive is 2° additive only.Sent
Shannon Labuish and Frazier this morning on a hunting excurtion up the
Kil-haw’-a-nak-kle river which discharges itself into the head of the bay.
no tidings yet of Sergt. Gass and party. Bratton is still very weak and
complains of a pain in the lower part of the back when he moves which I
suppose procedes from dability. I gave him barks. Gibson’s fever still
continues obstenate tho not very high; I gave him a doze of Dr. Rush’s
which in many instances I have found extreemly efficatious in fevers which
are in any measure caused by the presence of boil. the nitre has produced
a profuse perspiration this evening and the pills operated late at night
his fever after which abated almost entirely and he had a good night’s
rest.
The Indian dog is usually small or much more so than the common cur. they
are party coloured; black white brown and brindle are the most usual
colours. the head is long and nose pointed eyes small, ears erect and
pointed like those of the wolf, hair short and smooth except on the tail
where it is as long as that of the curdog and streight. the natives do not
eat them nor appear to make any other use of them but in hunting the Elk
as has been before observed.The brown white or grizly bear are
found in the rocky mountains in the timbered parts of it or Westerly side
but rarely; they are more common below the rocky Mountain on the borders
of the plains where there are copses of brush and underwood near the
watercouses. they are by no means as plenty on this side of the rocky
mountains as on the other, nor do I beleive that they are found atall in
the woody country, which borders this coast as far in the interior as the
range of mountains which, pass the Columbia between the Great Falls and
rapids of that river. the black bear differs not any from those common to
the United states and are found under the rocky Mountains in the woody
country on the borders of the great plains of columbia and also in this
tract of woody country which lie between these plains and the Pacific
Ocean. their oconimy and habits are also the same with those of the United
States.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
Sunday, February 16th, 1806. After several trials today to adjust my octant and determine its error in the direct observation, I found that it was 2° 1' 45" additive beyond the fracture. This error was determined by comparison with my sextant, the error of which had been previously established. The error of the octant in the direct observation on the broken limb next to 0, or below 55° 20' inclusive, is 2° additive only. I sent Shannon, Labuish (Labiche), and Frazier this morning on a hunting excursion up the Kil-haw'-a-nak-kle River, which empties into the head of the bay. There is still no word from Sergt. Gass (Sergeant Gass) and his party. Bratton is still very weak and complains of a pain in the lower part of his back when he moves, which I suppose comes from debility. I gave him bark. Gibson's fever still remains stubborn, though not very high; I gave him a dose of Dr. Rush's pills, which in many cases I have found extremely effective in fevers that are in any way caused by the presence of bile. The niter produced a heavy sweat this evening, and the pills took effect late at night, after which his fever abated almost entirely and he had a good night's rest.
The Indian dog is usually small, or much more so than the common cur. They are parti-colored; black, white, brown, and brindle are the most common colors. The head is long and the nose pointed, eyes small, ears erect and pointed like those of the wolf, hair short and smooth except on the tail, where it is as long as that of the cur dog, and straight. The natives do not eat them, nor do they appear to make any other use of them except in hunting elk, as has been mentioned before. The brown, white, or grizzly bear is found in the Rocky Mountains in the timbered parts on the western side, but rarely; they are more common below the Rocky Mountains on the borders of the plains, where there are thickets of brush and underwood near the watercourses. They are by no means as plentiful on this side of the Rocky Mountains as on the other, nor do I believe they are found at all in the wooded country bordering this coast as far inland as the range of mountains that crosses the Columbia between the Great Falls and the rapids of that river. The black bear does not differ from those common in the United States and is found beneath the Rocky Mountains in the wooded country on the borders of the great plains of the Columbia, and also in this stretch of wooded country lying between those plains and the Pacific Ocean. Their economy and habits are also the same as those in the United States.
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