Lewis: May 18, 1806

Sunday May 18th 1806. Twelve hunters turned out this morning in different
directions agreeably to the order of last evening. Potts and Whitehouse
accompanied Collins to the bear he had killed on the 16th inst. with which
they returned in the afternoon. the colours of this bear was a mixture of
light redish brown white and dark brown in which the bey or redish brown
predominated, the fur was bey as well as the lower pertion of the long
hairs, the white next succeeded in the long hairs which at their
extremites were dark brown, this uncommon mixture might be termed a bey
grizzle.

our indian woman was busily engaged today in laying in a store of the
fennel roots for the Rocky mountains. these are called by the Shoshones
year-pah. at 2 P.M. 3 Indians who had been hunting towards the place at
which we met with Chopunnish last fall, called by them the quawmash
grounds, called at our camp; they informed us that they had been hunting
several days and had killed nothing; we gave them a small peice of meat
which they told us they would reserve for their small children who were
very hungary; we smoked with them and they shortly after departed. early
this morning the natives erected a lodge on the opposite side of the river
near a fishing stand a little above us. no doubt to be in readiness for
the salmon, the arrival of which they are so ardently wishing as well as
ourselves. this stand is a small stage are warf constructed of sticks and
projecting about 10 feet into the river and about 3 feet above the surface
of the water on the extremity of this the fisherman stands with his
scooping net, which differ but little in their form from those commonly
used in our country it is formed thus. the fisherman exercised himself
some hours today but I believe without success. at 3 P.M. J. Fields
returned very unwell having killed nothing. shortly after an old man and
woman arrived; the former had soar eyes and the latter complained of a lax
and rheumatic effections. we gave the woman some creem of tartar and flour
of sulpher, and washed the old man’s eyes with a little eyewater. a little
before dark Drewyer R. Fields and LaPage returned having been also
unsuccessfull they had killed a hawk only and taken the part of a salmon
from an Eagle, the latter altho it was of itself not valuable was an
agreeable sight as it gave us reason to hope that the salmon would shortly
be with us. these hunters had scowered the country between the Kooskooske
and Collins’s Creek from hence to their junction about 10 miles and had
seen no deer or bear and but little sign of either. shortly after dark it
began to rain and continued raining moderately all night. the air was
extreemly cold and disagreeable and we lay in the water as the preceeding
night.