Lewis: February 6, 1806

Thursday February 6th 1806. Sent Sergts. Gass and Ordway this morning with
R. Fields and a party of men to bring in the Elk which Field had killed.
Late in the evening Sergt. Pryor returned with the flesh of about 2 Elk
and 4 skins the Indians having purloined the ballance of seven Elk which
Drewyer killed the other day. I find that there are 2 vilages of Indians
living on the N. side of the Columbia near the Marshy Islands who call
themselves Wackki-a-cum. these I have hertofore Considered as
Cath-lah-mahs. they speak the same language and are the same in every
other rispect.

No. 3 A species of fir which one of my men informs me is precisely the
same with that called the balsam fir of Canada. it grows here to
considerable size, being from 21/2 to 4 feet in diameter and rises to the
hight of eighty or an hundred feet. it’s stem is simple branching,
ascending and proliferous. it’s leaves are sessile, acerose, one 1/8 of an
inch in 1/16th of an inch in width, thickly scattered on all sides of the
twigs as far as the growth of four preceeding years and rispect the three
undersides only the uper side being neglected and the under side but
thinly furnished; gibbous, a little declining, obtusely pointed, soft
flexible, and the upper disk longitudinally marked with a slight channel;
this disk is of a glossy deep green, the under one green tho paler and not
glossy. this tree affords considerable quantities of a fine clear
arromatic balsam in appearance and taste like the Canadian balsam. smal
pustules filled with this balsam rise with a blister like appearance on
the body of the tree and it’s branches; the bark which covers these
pustules is soft thin smoth and easily punctured. the bark of the tree
generally is thin of a dark brown colour and reather smooth tho not as
much so as the white pine of our county. the wood is white and soft.(No.
4) is a species of fir which in point of size is much that of No. 2. the
stem simple branching ascending and proliferous; the bark of a redish dark
brown and thicker than that of No. 3. it is divided with small
longitudinal interstices, but these are not so much ramifyed as in species
No. 2. the leaves with rispect to their position in regard to each other
is the same with the balsam fir, as is the leaf in every other rispect
except that it not more than 2/3ds the width and little more than half the
length of the other, nor is it’s upper disk of so deep a green nor so
glossey. it affords no balsam and but little rosin. the wood also white
soft and reather porus tho tough.No 5. is a species of fir which
arrives to the size of Nos. 2 and 4, the stem simple branching, diffuse
and proliferous. the bark thin, dark brown, much divided with small
longitudinal interstices and sometimes scaleing off in thin rolling
flakes. it affords but little rosin and the wood is redish white 2/3ds of
the diameter in the center, the ballance white, somewhat porus and tough.
the twigs are much longer and more slender than in either of the other
species. the leaves are acerose, 1/20th of an inch in width, and an inch
in length, sessile, inserted on all sides of the bough, streight, their
extremities pointing obliquely toward the extremities of the bough and
more thickly placed than in either of the other species; gibbous and
flexeable but more stif than any except No. 1 and more blontly pointed
than either of the other species; the upper disk has a small longitudinal
channel and is of a deep green tho not so glossy as the balsam fir, the
under disk is of a pale green.No. 65 the white pine; or what is
usually so called in Virginia. I see no difference between this and that
of the mountains in Virginia; unless it be the uncommon length of cone of
this found here, which are sometimes 16 or 18 inches in length and about 4
inches in circumpherence. I do not recollect those of virginia perfectly
but it strikes me that they are not so long. this species is not common I
have only seen it but in one instance since I have been in this
neighbourhood which was on the border of Haley’s bay on the N. side of the
Columbia near the Ocean.