Fortunately, As He Was
Rushing On, The Hunter Shot Him Through The Heart Within Twenty
Paces And He Fell, Which Enabled Drewyer To Get Out Of His Way.
We Then Followed Him One Hundred Yards, And Found That The Wound
Had Been Mortal.
"Not being able to discover any more of these animals, we returned
to camp.
Here, in turning over some of the baggage, we caught a rat
somewhat larger than the common European rat, and of a lighter color;
the body and outer parts of the legs and head of a light lead color;
the inner side of the legs, as well as the belly, feet, and ears, white;
the ears are not covered with hair, and are much larger than those of
the common rat; the toes also are longer; the eyes are black and prominent,
the whiskers very long and full; the tail is rather longer than the body,
and covered with fine fur and hair of the same size with that on
the back, which is very close, short, and silky in its texture.
This was the first we had met, although its nests are very frequent
in the cliffs of rocks and hollow trees, where we also found large
quantities of the shells and seed of the prickly-pear."
The queer rat discovered by Lewis and Clark was then unknown to science.
It is now known in the Far West as the pack-rat. It lives in holes and
crevices of the rocks, and it subsists on the shells and seeds of the prickly
pear, which is usually abundant in the hunting grounds of the little animal.
The explorers were now constantly in full view of the Rocky Mountain,
on which, however, their present title had not then been conferred.
Under date of July 2, the journal says:
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