Lewis: February 19, 1806

Wednesday February 19th 1806. Sergt. Ordway set out again this morning
with a party for the salt works by land. in the evening Sergt. Gass
returned with the flesh of eight Elk, and seven skins; having left one
skin with Shannon and Labuishe who remained over the netul to continue the
chase. we had the Elk skins divided among the messes in order that they
might be prepared for covering our baggage when we set out in the spring.
our sick are recovering but they appear to strengthen but slowly. The
common red deer we found under the rocky mts. in the neighbourhood of the
Chopunnish, and about the great falls of the Columbia river and as low
down the same as the commencement of tide water. these do not appear to
differ essentially from those of our country being about the same size
shape and appearance in every rispect except their great length of tail
which is more than half as long again as our deer I measured one of them
which was 17 inches long. The Black tailed fallow deer are peculiar to
this coast and are a distinct species of deer partaking equally of
peculiarities of the mule deer and the common deer. their ears are reather
larger and their winter coat darker than the common deer; the recepticle
of the eye or drane is mor conspicuous; their legs shorter and body
thicker and larger than the common deer; their tail is about the length of
our deer or from 8 to 10 inches the hair on the underside of which is
white, and that of it’s sides and top quite black the horns resemble in
form and colour those of the mule deer which it also resembles in it’s
gate; that is bounding with all four feet off the ground at the same time
when runing at full speed and not loping as the common deer or antelope
do. they are sometimes found in the woodlands but most frequently in the
praries and open grounds. they may be said generally to be a size larger
than the common deer and that less than the mule deer. they are very
seldom found in good order, or fat, even in the season which the common
deer are so, and their flesh is inferior to any species of deer which I
have ever seen.-