... 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.

April 05, 1806
William Clark

The Hunters & Serjt. Pryor informe us that they had measured a tree on the upper side of quick sand River 312 feet long and about 4 feet through at the stump.

April 05, 1806
John Ordway

Sergt. Gass & 2 other of the hunters returnd. with 3 Small black cubs which was sold to the Savages  I and 5 more men went over to the S. Side and climbed a high River hill on which is excelent rich land.  went to the Camp of our hunters and brought in the jurked meat.  three more hunters Sent on a head with their Small canoe a hunting great numbers of Savages visited the Camp continually Since we have lay at this Camp, who were passing down with their famillys from the country above into the vally of Columbia in Search of food.  they inform us that the natives above the great falls have no provisions and many are dieing with hunger.  this information has been so repeatedly given by different parties of Indians that it does not admit of any doubt and is the cause of our delay in this neighbourhood for the purpose of procureing as much dryed Elk meat as will last us through the Columbia plains in which we do not expect to find any thing to kill &C.  the River hills are high above Quick Sand River Some of the clifts is 200 feet high.  on the tops of those hills the land is excessively rich and thickly timbred with different Species of Fir intermixed with white cedder. I Saw one of the Fir trees which is 100 and 4 feet in length. Some dog wood [Nuttall's dogwood, Cornus nuttallii] and Small Shrubs, in the River bottoms of the fertile valley of Columbia which we are now leaveing, and which extends for about 70 miles on the River below, the growth is ash [Oregon ash, Fraxinus latifolia] cottonwood [Black cottonwood], large leaffed ash [Bigleaf maple, Acer macrophyllum] & Sweet willow [Pacific willow, Salix lasiandra] principally with sundry other Shrubs and bushes many of which bear a fruit which the natives make use of for food.  those bottoms also produce various Species of plants.  the roots of many of which the natives make use of prepared in different ways for food. Such as the root of the anual rush [Giant horsetail, Equisetum telmateria] pasnaque wa pa toe which is the common arrow head & a Species of Fern [Western bracken fern, Pteridium aquilinium] the wapatoes they geather in the ponds but all other grow spontaineously in every part of the Columbia valley--

April 05, 1806
Patrick Gass

The weather was pleasant. 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.