The journal has this to say about the game of an
island on which the explorers tarried for a day or two, in order to dry
their goods and mend their canoes:--
"This island, which has received from the Indians the appropriate name
of Elalah (Elallah), or Deer Island, is surrounded on the water-side by
an abundant growth of cottonwood, ash, and willow, while the interior
consists chiefly of prairies interspersed with ponds. These afford
refuge to great numbers of geese, ducks, large swan, sandhill cranes,
a few canvas-backed ducks, and particularly the duckinmallard, the most
abundant of all. There are also great numbers of snakes resembling our
garter-snakes in appearance, and like them not poisonous. Our hunters
brought in three deer, a goose, some ducks, an eagle, and a tiger-cat.
Such is the extreme voracity of the vultures, that they had devoured in
the space of a few hours four of the deer killed this morning; and one
of our men declared that they had besides dragged a large buck about
thirty yards, skinned it, and broken the backbone."
The vulture here referred to is better known as the California condor, a
great bird of prey which is now so nearly extinct that few specimens
are ever seen, and the eggs command a great price from those who make
collections of such objects. A condor killed by one of the hunters of
the Lewis and Clark expedition measured nine feet and six inches from
tip to tip of its wings, three feet and ten inches from the point of the
bill to the end of the tail, and six inches and a half from the back of
the head to the tip of the beak.
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