At sunset we reached the island where the hunters had been
left on the 22d. They had been unsuccessful, having killed only two deer
since that time, and two of them were very sick. A little below this
island is a larger one on which we camped, and administered Rush's pills
to the sick."
The illness of the party continued for several days, and not much
progress was made down-stream. Having camped, on the twenty-seventh of
September, in the Kooskooskee River, at a place where plenty of good
timber was found, preparations for building five canoes were begun. From
this time to the fifth of October, all the men capable of labor were
employed in preparing the canoes. The health of the party gradually
recruited, though they still suffered severely from want of food; and,
as the hunters had but little success in procuring game, they were
obliged on the second to kill one of their horses. Indians from
different quarters frequently visited them, but all that could be
obtained from them was a little fish and some dried roots. This diet was
not only unnutritious, but in many cases it caused dysentery and nausea.
Chapter XV -- Down the Pacific Slope
The early days of October were spent in making preparations for the
descent of the river,--the Kooskooskee. Here they made their canoes, and
they called their stopping-place Canoe Camp. This was at the junction
of the north fork of the river with the main stream; and all below that
point is called the Lower Kooskooskee, while that above is known as the
upper river.
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