Clark: January 28, 1806

Thursday 28th January 1806 Drewyer and Baptiest Lapage Set out this
morning on a hunting excurtion. about noon Howard & Werner returned
with a Supply of Salt; the badness of the weather and the dificuelty of
the road had detained them. they informed us that the Salt makers are
Still much Stratened for provisions haveing killed two deer only in the
last Six days; and that there are no Elk in their neighbourhood.

The party that was Sent up the Netul river for the Elk returned this
evening with three of them only; The Elk had been killed just before the
Snow fell which had Covered them and So altered the apparant face of the
Countrey that the hunters Could not find them. The River on which Fort
Clat Sop Stands we now call Netul, this being the name by which the
Clatsops Call it.

The Cranberry of this neighbourhood is precisely the Same Common to the
united States, and is the production of boggy or mashey grounds.-.

The light-brown berry, is the fruit of a tree, about the Size Shape and
appearance in every respect with that in the united States called the wild
Crab apple; the leaf is also presisely the Same as is also the bark in
textue and colour. the berry grows in Clumps at the ends of the Smaller
branches; each berry Supported by a Stem, and as maney as from 3 to 18 or
20 in a Clump. the berry is oval with one of its extremitis attatched to
the peduncle, where it is in a Small degree Concave like the insersion of
the Stem of the Crab apple. I know not whether this fruit Can properly be
denomonated a berry, it is a pulpy pericarp, the outer coat of which is a
thin Smothe, capsule with from three to four Cells, each containing a
Seperate Single Seed in form and Colour like that of the wild Crab apple
The wood of this tree is excessively hard when Seasoned. The nativs make
great use of it to form their wedges of which they Split their boards of
Pine for the purpose of building houses. those wedges they employ in
common with those formed of the Elks horn, in Splitting their fire wood
and in hollowing out their Canoes. I have Seen the nativs drive the wedges
of this wood into a solid dry pine which it cleft without fractureing
injuring the wedge in the Smallest degree. we have also found this wood
useful) to us for ax handles, as well as glutt or wedges. The bark of this
tree is chewed by our party in place of tobacco.

The fruit is exceedingly ascid and resembles the flavor of the wild Crab.