Lewis: February 25, 1806

Tuesday February 25th 1806. It continued to rain and blow so violently
that there was no movement of the party today. the Indians left us in the
morning on their return to their village. Willard somewhat worse the other
Invalledes on the ricovery. I am mortifyed at not having it in my power to
make more celestial observations since we have been at Fort Clatsop, but
such has been the state of the weather that I have found it utterly
impracticable.-

The Rackoon is found in the woody country on this coast in considerable
quantities. the natives take a few of them in snars and deadfalls; tho
appear not to vallue their skins much, and but seldom prepare them for
robes. The large grey squirrel appears to be a native of a narrow tract of
country on the upper side of the mountains just below the grand falls of
Columbia which is pretty well covered in many parts with a species of
white oak. in short I beleive this squirrel to be coextensive with timber
only, as we have not seen them in any part of the country where pine forms
the majority of the timber, or in which the oak dose not appear. this
animal is much larger than the grey squirrel of our country it resembles
it much in form and colours. it is as large as the fox squirrel of the
Southern Atlantic states. the tail is reather longer than the whole length
of the body and head. the hair of which is long and tho inserted on all
sides reispect the horizontal ones only. the eyes are black. whiskers
black and long. the back, sides, head, tail and outer part of the legs are
of a blue lead coloured grey. the breast belley and inner part of the legs
are of a pure white. the hair is short as that of the fox-squirrel but is
much finer and intermixed with a proportion of fur. the natives make great
use of these skins in forming their robes. this squirrel subsists
principally on the acorn and filbird which last also grows abundantly in
the oak country.The small brown squirrel is a beautifull little
animal about the size and form of the red squirrel of the Eastern Atlantic
states and western lakes. the tail is as long as the body and neck, formed
like that of the red squirrel or somewhat flat. the eyes black. whiskers
long and black but not abundant. the back, sides, head, neck and outer
part of the legs are of a redish dark brown. the throat, breast, belley
and inner part of the legs are of a pale brick red. the tail is a mixture
of black and fox coloured red in which the black predominates in the midle
and the other on the edges and extremity. the hair of the body is about
1/2 an inch long and so fine and soft that it has the appearance of fur.
the hair of the tail is coarser and doubly as long. this animal subsists
principally on the seeds of various species of pine, and are always found
in the piny country they are common to the tract of wooddy country on this
coast. they lodge in clifts of rocks, holes in the ground old stumps of
trees and the hollow trunks of fallen timber; in this rispect resembling
the rat, always having their habitatin in or near the earth. the small
grey squirrel common to every part of the rocky mountain which is
timbered, difirs from the dark brown squirrel just discribed only in it’s
colour. it’s back, sides, neck, head tail and outer side of the legs are
of a brown lead coloured grey; the tail has a slight touch of the fox
colour near the extremity of some of the hairs. the throat, breast,
belley, and inner parts of the legs are of the colour of tanner’s ooze and
have a narrow stripe of black, commencing just behide each sholder and
extending longitudinaly for about 3 inches betwen the colours of the sides
and belley. their habids are also the same of the dark brown squirrel of
this neighbourhood and like them are extreemly nimble and active. the
ground squirrel is found in every part of the country, as well the praries
as woodlands, and is one of the few animals which we have seen in every
part of our voyage. it differs not at all from those of the U States. the
barking squirrel and handsome ground squirrel of the plains on the East
side of the rocky mountains are not found in the plains of Columbia.