Companion to the Botanical Magazine. 579 



his taste for objects of natural history both at sea and the various coasts and is- 

 lands on which he occasionally landed, he reached the Columbia river on the 7 th 

 of April 1834, and lost no time in commencing his researches. Fortunately for 

 the interests of botanical science, Mr Douglas, while exploring these remote 

 and hitherto untrodden regions, kept a regular journal of his proceedings, and 

 from this, as given in the Memoir, we shall now present our readers with some 

 interesting extracts. 



" I may mention some birds of this country (vicinity of the Columbia) that 

 came under my notice ; and first, the silver-headed eagle, fAquila leucocephala 

 of Richardson and Swainson ?) a grand creature, abundant wherever there are 

 rivers containing fish. These birds perch on dead trees and stumps overhang- 

 ing the water, and are invariably found near cascades and falls ; they are wary 

 and difficult to be killed, although other species of eagle do sometimes overcome 

 them. The voice is a shrill whistle : they build their nests in large trees, not 

 confining themselves to dead trunks, and appear always to select the most con- 

 spicuous situations, such as the tops of steep rocks, points and necks of land, 

 where they may be almost certainly looked for. Two, three, and even four 

 young ones are hatched at a time, which keep the nest, and continue on the tree 

 much longer than most birds, seldom quitting the vicinity of the place where 

 they were reared. The colour of the first plumage is a brownish-black, which 

 in the first spring assumes a mottled grey, lighter on the head and tail ; the se- 

 cond year, these parts become perfectly white and the body black. I killed one 

 of these birds dying last July ; it was a fine large male, and was perched on a 

 stump close to the village of Cockqua, one of the principal chiefs of the Chenook 

 nation. This tribe was at war with the Clatsops, and some other Indians, and 

 many were the feats of strength and dexterity which they performed in order to 

 show their superior powers, among which were hitting a mark with a bow and 

 arrow, and a gun. One individual passed the arrows through a small hoop of 

 grass six inches in diameter, thrown up into the air by another person, and then 

 with his rifle struck a mark one hundred and ten yards distant, exclaiming that 

 none of King George's chiefs could do the like any more than chaunt the death- 

 song and dance war-dances with him. On this bravado, deeming it a good op- 

 portunity to show myself a fair marksman, the poor silver-headed eagle was 

 made to pay for it. I lifted my gun, which was charged with swan-shot, walked 

 to within forty-five yards of the bird, and throwing a stone to raise him, brought 

 him down when flying. This had the desired effect ; many of the natives, who 

 never think of the possibility of shooting an object in motion, laid their hands 

 on their mouths in token of fear, a common gesture with them. The fellow, 

 however, still shewing himself inclined to maintain his superiority, gave me a 

 shot at his hat, which he threw up himself, when my shot carried away all the 

 crown, leaving nothing but the brim. My fame was hereupon sounded through 

 the whole country, and a high value attached to my gun. Ever since, I have 

 found it of the utmost importance to bring down a bird flying when I go near 

 any of their lodges, at the same time taking care to make it appear as a little 

 matter, not done on purpose to be observed. With regard to the hat in ques- 

 tion, I may mention that it was woven of the roots of Helonias tenax, which the 

 Indians of the Columbia call Quip- Quip ,■ and on my observing the tissue with 

 attention, Cockqua promised that his little girl, twelve years of age, should make 

 me three or four after the European shape, giving me at the same time his own 



