Saturday, April 5, 1806

[Gass]
The weather was plesant. There is a beautiful prairie and a number of ponds below the mouth of Sandy river; and about two miles from the Columbia the soil is rich with white cedar timber, which is very much stripped of its bark, the natives making use of it both for food and clothing. A number of the Indians visit us daily; and the females in general have that leather covering round their loins, which is somewhat in the form of a truss

This morning was so cloudy that I could not obtain any lunar observations with Aquila as I wished. Joseph Fields and Drewyer departed this morning agreeably to their orders of last evening.    at 9 A. M. we Sent Sergt. Ordway and a party to assist Sergt. Pryor in bringing in the meat of four Elk which he had dryed.    at 1 P. M the party returned with the meat.    it had been so illy dryed that we feared it would not keep.    we therefore directed it to be cut thinner and redryed over a fire this evening, as we purpose setting out early in the morning.    the deerskins which we have had cased for the purpose of containing our dryed meat are not themselves sufficiently dryed for that purpose, we directed them to be dryed by the fire also.    the weather has been so damp that there was no possibility of pounding the meat as I wished.—    we were visited today by several parties of the natives as usual; they behaved themselves in a very orderly manner.

Saw the Log cock, {pileated woodpecker}, the hummingbird, gees ducks &c today.    the tick has made it's appearance    it is the same with those of the Atlantic States.    the Musquetoes have also appeared but are not yet troublesome.—    this morning at 10 OClock Sergt. Gass returned with Collins and Windsor    they had not succeeded in killing the female bear tho' they brought the three cubs with them.    the Indians who visited us today fancyed these petts and gave us wappetoe in exchange for them.