The grapes and plums, so abundant in this portion of the country, are eaten by turkies and black bears, and the plums by wolves or jackals, as we conclude, from observing plumstones in the excrement of one of those animals. It is difficult to conceive whence such numbers of predatory animals and birds, as exist in every part of the country where the bisons are present, can derive sufficient supplies for the sustenance of life; and it is indeed sufficiently evident, their existence is but a protraction of the sufferings of famine.
The great flowering hibiscus is here a conspicuous and highly ornamental plant among the scattering trees in the low grounds. The occurrence of the black walnut, for the first time since we left the Missouri, indicates a soil somewhat adapted to the purposes of agriculture. Portions of the river valley, which are not covered with loose sands, have a red soil, resulting from the disintegration of the prevailing rocks (red sandstone and gypsum) intermixed with clay, and are covered with a dense growth of fine and nutritious grasses. Extensive tracts of the great woodless plain, at a distance from the river, appear to be based upon a more compact variety of sandstone, which is usually of a dark gray colour, and less pervious to water than the red. For this reason some copious springs are found upon it, and a soil by no means destitute of fertility, yielding sustenance to inconceivable numbers of herbivorous animals, and through them to innumerable birds and beasts of prey. It must be supposed, however, that the herds of bisons daily seen about the river, range over a much greater extent of country than was comprised within our limited views. The want of water in many places may compel them to resort [318] frequently to the river in dry weather; though at other times they may be dispersed in the high plains.
August 18th. In speaking of a country whose geography is so little known as that of the region S. W. of the Arkansa, we feel very sensibly the want of ascertained and fixed points of reference. Were we to designate the locality of a mineral, or any other interesting object, as found twenty or thirty days' journey from the Rocky Mountains, we should do nearly all in our power; yet this sort of information would probably be thought vague and useless. The smaller rivers of this region have as yet received no names from white hunters; if they have names among the Indians, these are unknown to us. There are no mountains, hills, or other remarkable objects to serve as points of departure, nearer than the Rocky Mountains and the Arkansa. The river itself, which we supposed to be the Red river of Natchitoches, is a permanent landmark; but it is a line and not a point; and aids us only in one direction, in our attempts to designate locality. The map accompanying this work was projected in conformity to the results of numerous astronomical observations for latitude and longitude; but many of these observations were made at places which are not, and at present cannot be known by any names we might attempt to fix upon them.64 More extensive and minute examination than we have been able to bestow might establish something like a sectional division, founded on the distribution of certain remarkable plants. The great cylindric cactus, the ligneous rooted cucumis, the small-leaved elm, might be used in such an attempt; but it is easy to see that the advantages resulting from it, would be for the most part imaginary.
Discussions of this sort have been much insisted on of late, and may be important as aiding in the geography of climates and soils, but can afford little assistance to topography.
[319] The geognostic features of the region under consideration, afford some foundation for a natural division, but this division must be so extremely general as to afford little satisfaction. We could only distinguish the red sandstone, the argillaceous sandstone, and the trap districts, and though each of these have distinctive characters not easy to be mistaken, they are so irregular in form and position, as to be in no degree adapted to aid in the description and identifying of particular places. On the contrary, it is to be regretted there are no established points to which we might refer, in communicating what we have observed of the position of these formations, and indicating the particular localities of some of the valuable minerals they contain.
The red sandstone, apparently the most extensive of the rocky formations of this region, has, wherever it occurs, indications of the presence of muriate of soda, and almost as commonly discloses veins and beds of sulphate of lime. The substance last mentioned had been growing more and more abundant since we left the region of the trap rocks at the sources of the river. It was now so frequent as to be conspicuous in all the exposed portions of the sand-rock, and was often seen from a distance of several miles. It occurs under various forms, sometimes we meet with the most beautiful selenite, disposed in broad reticulating veins, traversing the sandstone; the granular and fibrous varieties, whose snowy whiteness contrasts strongly with the deep red and brown of the sandstone, are sometimes seen in thin horizontal lamina, or scattered about the surface, sometimes included in larger masses of the common amorphous plaister-stone. This last is usually of a colour approaching to white, but the exposed surfaces are more or less tinged with the colouring matter of the sand-rock, and all the varieties are so soft as to disintegrate rapidly when exposed to the air. Recent surfaces show no ferruginous tinge; [320] or rather, we would say, this colour does not appear to have been contemporaneous to the formation of the sulphate of lime, but derived from the cement of the sandstone, and to have penetrated no farther than it has been carried by the impetration of water.
We left our encampment at 5 o'clock, the morning fair; thermometer at 62°. Our courses regulated entirely by the direction of the river, were north fifty-five east, eleven miles; then north, ten east, seven miles; in all eighteen miles before dinner.65 The average direction of our courses for some days had been rather to the north, than south of east. This did not coincide entirely with our previous ideas of the direction of Red river, and much less of the Faux Ouachitta, or False Washita,66 which being the largest of the upper branches of the Red river from the north, we believed, might be the stream we were descending. From observations taken at several points along the river we had ascertained, that we must travel three or four days' journey to the south, in order to arrive at the parallel of the confluence of the Kiamesha with the Red river,67 and we were constantly expecting a change in the direction of our courses. The confident assurance of the Kaskaias, that we were on the Red river, and but a few days march above the village of the Pawnee Piquas, tended to quiet the suspicions we began to feel on this subject. We had now travelled, since meeting the Indians, a greater distance than we could suppose they had intended to indicate by the admeasurement of ten "lodge days," but we were conscious our communications with them had been made through inadequate interpreters, and it was not without reason, we began to fear we might have received erroneous impressions. In the afternoon, however, the river inclined more [321] to the direction we wished to travel, and we had several courses to the south of east. At sunset we pitched our tent on the north side of the river, and dug a well in the sand, which afforded a sufficient supply of wholesome, though brackish, water. Throughout the night the roaring of immense herds of bisons, and the solemn notes of the hooting owl were heard, intermixed with the desolate cries of the jackal and the screech-owl. The mulberry, and the guilandina, growing near our camp, with many of the plants and birds we had been accustomed to see in the frontier settlements of the United States, reminded us of the comforts of home and the cheering scenes of civilized society, giving us at the same time the assurance that we were about to arrive at the point where we should take leave of the desert.
Saturday, August 19th. The mercury at sunrise stood at 71°. The morning was calm, and the sky tinged with that intense and beautiful blue which marks many of our summer skies, and is seen with greater pleasure by those who know that home or a good tavern is near, than by such as have no prospect of shelter save what a tent or a blanket can afford. We were now looking with much impatience for something to indicate an approach towards the village of the Pawnee Piqua, but instead of this the traces of Indians seemed to become less and less frequent. Notwithstanding the astonishing numbers of bison, deer, antelopes, and other animals, the country is less strewed with bones than almost any we have seen; affording an evidence that it is not a favourite hunting ground of any tribe of Indians. The animals also appear wholly unaccustomed to the sight of men. The bisons and wolves move slowly off to the right and left, leaving a lane for the party to pass, but those on the windward side often linger for a long time, almost within the reach of our rifles, regarding us with little appearance of alarm. We had now nothing to suffer either from the apprehension [322] or reality of hunger, and could have been content that the distance between ourselves and the settlements should have been much greater than we supposed it to be.
In the afternoon, finding the course of the river again bending towards the north, and becoming more and more circuitous, we turned off on the right hand side, and choosing an east course, travelled across the hills, not doubting but we should soon arrive again at the river. We found the country at a distance from the bed of the river, somewhat elevated and broken, but upon climbing some of the highest hills, we again saw the landscape of the unbounded and unvaried grassy plain spread out before us. All the inequalities of the surface have evidently been produced by the excavating operation of currents of water, and they are consequently most considerable near the channels of the large streams. This remark is applicable to the vallies of all the large rivers in the central portions of the great horizontal formation west of the Alleghanies. We find accordingly, that on the Ohio, the Missouri, the Platte, the Konzas, and many of the rivers tributary to the Mississippi, the surface becomes broken in proportion as we proceed from the interior towards the bed of the river, and all the hills bear convincing evidence that they have received their existence and their form from the action of the currents of water which have removed the soil and other matters formerly occupying the vallies and elevating the whole surface of the country nearly to a common level. Regarding in this view the extensive vallies of the Mississippi and its tributaries, we naturally inquire how great a length of time must have been spent in the production of such an effect, the cause operating as it now does. It is scarcely necessary to remark, that where tributaries of the rivers in question are bounded on both sides, as they often are, by perpendicular cliffs of sandstone or limestone [323] in horizontal strata, the seams and markings on one side correspond with those on the other, indicating the stratifications to have been originally continuous.
A ride of a few miles in a direction passing obliquely from the river, brought us to a point which overlooked a large extent of the surrounding country. From this we could distinguish the winding course of a small stream, uniting numerous tributaries from the ridge we occupied, and pursuing its course towards the south-east, along a narrow and well-wooded valley. The dense and verdant foliage of the poplars and elms contrasted strongly with the bright red of the sandstone cliffs, which rose on both sides, far surpassing the elevation of the tallest trees, and disclosing here and there masses of sulphate of lime of a snowy whiteness.68 Looking back upon the broad valley of the river we had left, the eye rested upon insulated portions of the sandy bed disclosed by the inflections of its course or the opening of ravines, and resembling pools of blood, rather than wastes of sand. We had been so long accustomed to the red sands, that the intensity of the colouring ceased to excite any attention until a distant view afforded us the opportunity of contrasting it with the general aspect of the country.
The elevated plains we found covered with a plenteous but close-fed crop of grasses, and occupied by extensive marmot villages. The red soil is usually fine and little intermixed with gravel and pebbles, but too sandy to retain moisture enough for the purposes of agriculture. The luxuriance and fineness of the grasses, as well as the astonishing number and good condition of the herbivorous animals of this region, clearly indicate its value for the purposes of pasturage. There can be little doubt that more valuable and productive grasses than the native species can with little trouble be introduced. This may easily be effected by burning the prairies at a proper season of the year, and sowing the seeds [324] of any of the more hardy cultivated gramina. Some of the perennial plants common in the prairies will undoubtedly be found difficult to exterminate, their strong roots penetrating to a great depth and enveloping the rudiments of new shoots placed beyond the reach of a fire on the surface. The soil of the more fertile plains is penetrated with such numbers of these as to present more resistance to the plough than the oldest cultivated pastures.
We had continued our march until near sunset, expecting constantly to come in view of the river, which we were persuaded must soon make a great bend to the south, but perceiving the night would overtake us in the plains, we began to search for a place to encamp. The bison paths in this country are as frequent and almost as conspicuous as the roads in the most populous parts of the United States. These converge from all directions to the places where water is to be found, and by following their guidance we were soon led to a spot where was found a small spring dripping from the side of a cliff of sandstone. The water collected in a little basin at the foot of the cliff, and flowing a few rods down a narrow ravine, disappeared in the sand. Having established our camp, we travelled down this ravine, searching for plants, while any daylight remained. The rocks were beautifully exposed, but exhibited no appearance unlike what we had been accustomed to see along the river—the red indistinctly stratified sand-rock, spotted and veined with plaster-stone and selenite. About the shelvings and crevices of the rocks, the slender corolla of the œnothera macrocarpa, and the purple blossoms of the pentstemon bradburis, lay withering together, while the fading leaves and the ripening fruit seemed to proclaim the summer near its end.
On the morning following we resumed our march, altering our course from S. E. to N. E. The want of water in the hills compelled us again to seek the river. Falling in with a large bison path, which we [325] knew would conduct us by the easiest and most direct route, we travelled about fifteen miles, and encamped at noon on the bank of the river. In returning to the low grounds, we passed some grassy pastures, carpeted with the densest and finest verdure, and sprinkled with herds of deer, antelopes, and bisons. In some places the ground was covered with a purple mat of the aculeate leaves and branches of a procumbent eryngo; here rose the tall and graceful head of the centaurea speciosa,69 there, in more retiring beauty, crept a humble dalea, or an ascending petalostemum.
As we approached the river, we discovered a fine herd of bisons, in the grove where we intended to place our camp, some lying down in the shade, others standing in the pool of water, which extended along under the bank. Dismounting from our horses, and approaching under cover of the bushes, we shot two of the fattest, but before we had time to reload our pieces, after the second fire, we perceived a bull running towards us, evidently with the design to make battle; we, however, gave him the slip, by escaping into the thick bushes, and he turned off to follow the retiring herd.
It is only in the seasons of their loves, that any danger is to be apprehended from the strength and ferocity of the bison. At all other times, whether wounded or not, their efforts are to the last directed solely towards an escape from their pursuers; and at this time it does not appear that their rage is provoked, particularly by an attack upon themselves, but their unusual intrepidity is directed indiscriminately against all suspicious intruders.
We had now for some days been excessively annoyed with large swarms of blowing-flies, which had prevented our carrying fresh game along with us for more than a single day. It had been our custom at meals, to place our boiled or roasted bison-meat on the grass or the broken boughs of a tree, in the middle [326] of our circle; but this practice we now found it inexpedient to continue, as, before we could finish our repast, our table often became white with the eggs deposited by these flies. We were commonly induced to dispense with our roast meats, unless we chose to superintend the cooking ourselves, and afterwards to devote the exertions of one hand to keep away the flies, while with the other we helped ourselves to what we wished to eat. Our more common practice was to confine ourselves to the single dish of hunter's soup, suffering the meat to remain immersed in the kettle until we were ready to transfer it to our mouths.
Gnats had been rather frequent, and we began to feel once more the persecutions of the ticks, the most tormenting of the insects of this country.
The little pool near our tent afforded all the water that could be found within a very considerable distance. The bisons came in from every direction to drink, and we almost regretted that our presence frighted away the suffering animals with their thirst unslaked.
August 21st. The day was warm and somewhat rainy. Soon after leaving our camp we saw three black bears, and killed one of them. This is the first animal of the kind we have eaten since we left the Missouri; and the flesh, though now not in the best condition, we found deserving the high encomiums commonly lavished upon it. Experienced hunters prefer it to the bison, and indeed to almost every thing except the tail of the beaver.
Black bears had been frequent in the country passed since the 15th. At this season they feed principally upon grapes, plums, the berries of the cornus alba, and C. circinata, and the acorns of a small scrubby oak, common about the sand hills.
They are also fond of the flesh of animals; and it is not uncommon to see them disputing with the wolves and buzzards, for their share of the carcasses [327] of bisons and other animals, which have been left by the hunters or have died of disease. Grapes had evidently been very abundant here, but had been devoured, and the vines torn in pieces by the bears and turkies.
In the middle of the day we found the heat more oppressive, with the mercury at 96°, than we had known it in many instances when the thermometer had indicated a higher temperature by six or eight degrees. This sultry calm, was, however, soon succeeded by thunder-showers, attended with their ordinary effects upon the atmosphere. In the afternoon the country we passed was swarming with innumerable herds of bison, wild horses, deer, elk, &c. while great numbers of minute sand-pipers, yellow-shanked snipes, killdeer plovers, (charadrius vociferus,) and telltale godwits about the river, seemed to indicate the vicinity of larger bodies of water than we had been accustomed of late to see. During the afternoon and the night there was a continual and rapid alternation of bright calm and cloudless skies, with sudden and violent thunder-storms. Our horizon was a little obscured on both sides by the hills and the scattered trees which skirted along the sides of the valley. As we looked out of our tent to observe the progress of the night, we found sometimes a pitchy darkness veiling every object; at others, by the clear light of the stars and the constant flashing from some unseen cloud, we could distinguish all the features of the surrounding scene: our horses grazing quietly about our tent, and the famished jackal prowling near, to seize the fragments of our plentiful supper. The thunder was almost incessant, but its low and distant mutterings were at times so blended with the roaring of the bisons, that more experienced ears than ours might have found a difficulty in distinguishing between them. At a late hour in the night some disturbance was perceived among the horses, occasioned by a herd of wild horses, who had [328] come in, and struck up a hasty acquaintance with their enslaved fellow brutes.
As it was near daylight, we forbore to do any thing to frighten away the intruders, hoping, as soon as the light should be sufficient, to have an opportunity to prove our skill in the operation of "creasing." A method sometimes adopted by hunters for taking the wild horses, is to shoot the animal through the neck, using the requisite care not to injure the spine. There is a particular part of the neck through which a horse may receive a rifle ball without sustaining any permanent injury; the blow is, however, sufficient to produce a temporary suspension of the powers of life, during which the animal is easily taken: this is called creasing, and requires for its successful performance a very considerable degree of skill and precision in the use of the rifle. A valuable but rather refractory mule belonging to our party, escaped from the cantonment near Council Bluffs, a few days before we left that place. He was pursued by two men through the prairies of the Papillon, across the Elk Horn, and finally to the Platte, where, as they saw no prospect of taking him by other means, they resolved upon creasing. The ball, however, swerved an inch or two from its aim, and broke the neck of the animal.
Inconveniences Resulting from Want of Water—Wood Ticks—Plants—Loss of One of the Party—Honey Bees—Forests—Gray Sandstone—Indications of Coal—Limestone.
August 22d. So much rain had fallen during the night, that, soon after commencing our morning march, we enjoyed the novel and pleasing sight of a running stream of water. It had been only two weeks since the disappearance of running water in the river above, but during this time we had suffered much from thirst, and had been constantly tantalized with the expectation of arriving at the spot where the river should emerge from the sand. By our computation of distances we had travelled more than one hundred and fifty miles along the bed of this river without having once found it to contain running water. We had passed the mouths of many large tributaries, but they, like the river itself, were beds of naked sand. The narrative of Lewis and Clarke has been thought deserving of ridicule, on account of the frequent mention of "dry rivers;" but if not rivers, what are these extensive drains, [2] carrying off the occasional surplus of water from large districts, to be called? It is to be remembered also, that all the more considerable of them are constantly conveying away, silent and unseen, in the bottom of their deep beds, streams of water of no trifling magnitude. This is probably the case with all such as have their sources in the primitive country of the Rocky Mountains, likewise with those which traverse any great extent of the floetz trap district, as both of these formations afford a more abundant supply of water than the sandstone tracts.
In the afternoon we saw a dense column of smoke rising suddenly from the summit of a hill at some distance, on the right hand side of the river. As at the moment the air happened to be calm, the smoke rose perpendicularly in a defined mass, and after continuing for a few minutes, ceased suddenly. Having recently observed the signs of Indians, we took this as a confirmation of our suspicions, that an encampment or a village was not far distant. We have observed that parties of Indians, whether stationary or on their marches, are never without videttes, kept constantly at a distance from the main body, for the purpose of giving timely notice of the approach of enemies. Several methods of telegraphic communication are in use among them, one of which is this, of raising a sudden smoke; and for this purpose they are said to keep in constant readiness a supply of combustibles. During the remainder of this and the day following we were in constant expectation of falling in with Indians. Towards evening, on the 23d, we saw an unusual number of horses, probably four or five hundred, standing among the scattered trees along the river bottom. We saw them while more than a mile distant; and from the dispersed manner of their feeding, and the great intermixture of colours among them, we concluded they must be the horses belonging to a band of Indians. We accordingly halted, and put our guns in order for [3] immediate use; then, approaching cautiously, arrived within a few rods of the nearest before we discovered them to be wild horses. They took fright, and dispersing in several directions, disappeared almost instantly.
At eleven P. M. the double meridian altitude of the moon's lower limb, observed for latitude, was 72° 18′ 15″, index error 0° 8′ 0″. For the two last days our average course had inclined considerably to the south; the water, visible in the river, had increased rapidly in quantity, and the apparent magnitude of the stream was nearly equal to what it had been four hundred miles above.
August 24. Our supply of parched corn meal was now entirely exhausted. Since separating from our companions on the Arkansa, we had confined ourselves to the fifth part of a pint each per day, and the discontinuance of this small allowance was at first sensibly felt. We however became gradually accustomed to the hunter's life in its utmost simplicity, eating our bison or bear meat without salt or condiments of any kind, and substituting turkey or venison, both of which we had in the greatest plenty, for bread. The few hungry weeks we had spent about the sources of the river had taught us how to dispense with superfluous luxuries, so the demands of nature could be satisfied.
The inconvenience we felt from another source was more serious. All our clothing had become so dirty as to be offensive both to sight and smell. Uniting in our own persons the professions of traveller, hostler, butcher, and cook, sleeping on the ground by night, and being almost incessantly on the march by day; it is not to be supposed we could give as much attention to personal neatness as might be wished. Notwithstanding this, we had kept ourselves in comfortable condition as long as we had met with water in which to wash our clothes. This had not now been the case for some weeks. The sand of the river [4] bed approaches in character so near to a fluid, that it is in vain to search for or to attempt to produce any considerable inequalities on its surface. The utmost we had been able to accomplish, when we had found it necessary to dig for water, was to scoop a wide and shallow excavation, in the bottom of which a few gills would collect, but in so small a quantity, that not more than a pint could be dipped up at a time; and since the water had appeared above the sand, it was rare to find it more than an inch or two in depth, and so turbid as to be unfit for use. The excessive heat of the weather aggravated the inconvenience resulting from the want of clean clothing, and we were not without fears that our health might suffer.
The common post oak, the white oak, and several other species, with gymnocladus or coffee-bean tree, the cercis and the black walnut, indicate here a soil of very considerable fertility; and game is so abundant, that we have it at any time in our power to kill as many bison, bear, deer, and turkies as we may wish, and it is not without some difficulty we can restrain the hunters from destroying more than sufficient to supply our wants. Our game to-day has been two bears, three deers, one turkey, a large white wolf, and a hare. Plums and grapes are very abundant, affording food to innumerable bears and turkies.
August 25. Our eventless journey affords little to record, unless we were to set down the names of the trees we pass, and of the plants and animals which occur to our notice. Our horses have become so exhausted by the great fatigues of the trip, that we find it necessary to content ourselves with a slower progress than formerly. According to our expectations when we first commenced the descent of this river, we should ere this time have arrived near the settlements; these, however, we can plainly perceive, are still far distant. The country we are traversing has [5] a soil of sufficient fertility to support a dense population; but the want of springs and streams of water must long oppose a serious obstacle to its occupation by permanent residents. A little water is to be seen in the river, but that is stagnant, the rise occasioned by the late rains having subsided.71
Leaving our camp at an early hour, we moved down the valley towards the south-east, passing some large and beautiful groves of timber. The fox squirrel, which we had not seen since we left the Missouri, the cardinal and summer red bird, the forked-tail tyrant, and the pileated wood-pecker, with other birds and animals belonging to a woody country, now became frequent. The ravens, common in all the open plains, began to give place to crows, now first noticed. Thickets of oak, elm, and nyssa, began to occur on the hills, and the fertile soil of the low plains to be covered with a dense growth of ambrosia, helianthus, and other heavy weeds. As we were riding forward, at a small distance from the river, two noble bucks and a fawn happened to cross our path, a few rods in front of the party. As the wind blew from them to us, they could not take our scent, and turned to gaze at us without the least appearance of alarm. The leader was shot down by one of the party, when his companion and the fawn, instead of taking fright, came nearer to us, and stood within pistol-shot, closely watching our movements, while the hunters were butchering the one we had killed. This unusual degree of tameness we could discover more or less in all the animals of this region; and it seems to indicate that man, the enemy and destroyer of all things, is less known here than in any portions of the country we have passed. In some parts of our route we have seen the antelopes take fright when we were more than a mile to the windward of them, when they could have received no intimation from us only by sight, yet it does not appear that their powers of [6] vision are in any degree superior to those of most other ruminant animals.
Sunday, August 27th. We were able to select for this day's rest a delightful situation at the confluence of a small creek from the south. The wide valley of the river here presented a pleasing alternation of heavy forests, with small but luxuriant meadows, affording a profuse supply of grass for our horses. The broad hills, swelling gently one above another as they recede from the river, are diversified with nearly the same intermixture of field and forest as in the most highly cultivated portions of the eastern states. Herds of bisons, wild horses, elk and deer, are seen quietly grazing in these extensive and fertile pastures; the habitations and the works of man alone seem wanting to complete the picture of rural abundance.
We found, however, the annoyance of innumerable multitudes of minute, almost invisible, wood ticks, a sufficient counterpart to the advantages of our situation. These insects, unlike the mosquitoes, gnats, and sand flies, are not to be turned aside by a gust of wind or an atmosphere surcharged with smoke, nor does the closest dress of leather afford any protection from their persecutions. The traveller no sooner sets foot among them, than they commence in countless thousands their silent and unseen march; ascending along the feet and legs, they insinuate themselves into every article of dress, and fasten, unperceived, their fangs upon every part of the body. The bite is not felt until the insect has had time to bury the whole of his head, and in the case of the most minute and most troublesome species, nearly his whole body, under the skin, where he fastens himself with such tenacity, that he will sooner suffer his head and body to be dragged apart than relinquish his hold. It would perhaps be advisable, when they are once thoroughly planted, to suffer them to remain unmolested, [7] as the head and claws left under the skin produce more irritation than the living animal; but they excite such intolerable itching, that the finger nails are sure very soon to do all finger nails can do for their destruction. The wound, which was at first almost imperceptible, swells and inflames gradually, and being enlarged by rubbing and scratching, at length discharges a serous fluid, and finally suppurates to such an extent as to carry off the offending substance. If the insect is suffered to remain unmolested, he protracts his feast for some weeks, when he is found to have grown of enormous size, and to have assumed nearly the colour of the skin on which he has been feeding; his limbs do not enlarge, but are almost buried in the mass accumulated on his back, which extending forward bears against the skin, and at last pushes the insect from his hold. Nothing is to be hoped from becoming accustomed to the bite of these wood ticks. On the contrary, by long exposure to their venomous influence, the skin acquires a morbid irritability, which increases in proportion to the frequency and continuance of the evil, until at length the bite of a single tick is sufficient to produce a large and painful phlegmon. This may not be the case with every one; it was so with us.
The burning and smarting of the skin prompted us to bathe and wash whenever we met with water; but we had not long continued this practice, when we perceived it only to augment our sufferings by increasing the irritation it was meant to allay.72
It is not on men alone that these blood-thirsty insects fasten themselves. Horses, dogs, and many wild animals are subject to their attacks. On the necks of horses they are observed to attain a very large size. It is, nevertheless, sufficiently evident that, like mosquitoes and other bloodsucking insects, by far the greater number of wood ticks must spend their lives without ever establishing themselves as parasites on any animal, and even without a single [8] opportunity of gratifying that thirst for blood which, as they can exist and perform all the common functions of their life without its agency, would seem to have been given them merely for the annoyance of all who may fall in their way.
Among many other plants, common to the low and fertile parts of the United States, we observed the acalypha, and the splendid lobelia cardinalis, also the cardiospermum halicacabum, sometimes cultivated in the gardens, and said to be a native of the East Indies. It is a delicate climbing vine, conspicuous by its large inflated capsules. The acacia (robinia pseudoacacia), the honey locust, and the ohio æsculus are among the forest trees, but are confined to the low grounds. The common black haw (viburnum lentago), the persimmon or date plum, and a vitis unknown to us, occur frequently, and are all loaded with unripe fruit. The mistletoe, whose range of elevation and latitude seems to correspond very nearly with that of the miegia and the cypress, occurs here parasitic on the branches of elms. In the sandy soils of the hills, the formidable satropha stimulosa is sometimes so frequent as to render the walking difficult; it is covered with long and slender prickles, capable of inflicting a painful and lasting wound, which is said to prove ruinous to the feet of the blacks in the West Indies. The cacti and the bartonias had now disappeared, as also the yucca, the argemone, and most of the plants which had been conspicuous in the country about the mountains. The phytolacca decandria, an almost certain indication of a fertile soil, the diodia tetragonia, a monarda, and several new plants, were collected in an excursion from our encampment. The red sandrock is disclosed in the sides of the hills, but appears less frequently and contains less gypsum than above, though it still retains the same peculiar marks, distinguishing it as the depository of fossil salt; extensive beds of red argillaceous soil occur, and are almost [9] invariably accompanied by saline efflorescences or incrustations. We search in vain, both in the rocks and the soils, for the remains of animals; and it is rare in this salt formation to meet with the traces of organic substances of any kind. The rock itself, though fine and compact, disintegrates rapidly, producing a soil which contains so much alumine as to remain long suspended in water, tinging with its peculiar colour all the rivers of this region. It has been remarked, that the southern tributaries of the Arkansa, particularly the Canadian, the Ne-gracka, and the Ne-sew-ke-tonga, discharge red waters at the time of high freshets, in such quantity as to give a colouring to the Arkansa all the way to its confluence with the Mississippi; from this it is inferred that those rivers have their sources in a region of red sandstone, whose north-eastern limit is not very far removed from the bed of the Arkansa.73 We attempted to take sets of equal altitudes, but failed on account of a trifling inaccuracy in our watch; the variation of the magnetic needle was found to be the same as on the 25th, namely 11° 30′ east.
Our hunters had been sent out in quest of game, as, notwithstanding the plenty we had enjoyed, and the great number of animals we had killed, we found it impossible, on account of the heat of the weather, and the frequency of the blowing flies, to keep a supply of meat for more than one day. At evening they returned, having killed a large black bear; the animal finding himself wounded, had turned with great fury upon the hunter, who, being alone, was compelled to seek his safety by climbing into a tree. It is well known that the black bear will sometimes turn upon his pursuers, and this it is probable is more frequently the case at this season than at any other, as they are now unincumbered with that profusion of fat, which for a part of the year renders them clumsy and inactive, and the males are moreover [10] excited by that uncommon ferocity which belongs to the season of their loves.
August 28th. The weather during the night had been stormy, a thunder-shower from the north-west on the preceding evening had been succeeded by rain and high winds; the morning was cool, the thermometer at 64°.
We had observed, that the sand-drifts, extending along all that part of the river we had passed in the three last weeks, were piled almost exclusively along the northern bank. The country we were now passing is too fertile, and too closely covered with vegetation, to admit the drifting of the sand, except from the uncovered bed of the river; yet along the northern side of the valley we frequently saw naked piles of sand, which had been wafted to considerable distance by the winds. From the position of these sand-banks, as well as from our experience, we were induced to believe, that the high winds of this region are mostly from the south, at least during the dry season.
We left our encampment at half-past five in the morning, and followed the river; the aggregate of our courses for the day was about east, and the distance twenty-one miles. Our last course led us out of the river valley, and for a few miles lay across the open plain. Here we passed a large and uncommonly beautiful village of the prairie marmots, covering an area of about a mile square, having a smooth surface, and sloping almost imperceptibly towards the east. The grass which covers this plain is fine, thick, and close fed. As we approached the village, it happened to be covered with a herd of some thousands of bisons; on the left were a number of wild horses, and immediately before us twenty or thirty antelopes, and about half as many deer. As it was near sunset the light fell obliquely upon the grass, giving an additional brilliancy to its dark verdure. [11] The little inhabitants of the village were seen running playfully about in all directions, and as we approached they perched themselves on their burrows, and proclaimed their terror in the customary note of alarm. A scene of this kind comprises most of what is beautiful and interesting to the passing traveller in the wide unvaried plains of the Missouri and Arkansa.
In the course of the day we passed two large creeks, one entering from the south, the other from the north; also several springs on the south side at the base of a rocky hill, rising abruptly from the bed of the river; but notwithstanding all these tributary supplies, no running water appeared above the sands of the river bed.
We passed great numbers of carcasses of bisons recently slaughtered, and the air was darkened by flights of carrion birds, among which we distinguished the obscene vulture aura, and the vulture atrata, the black vulture of the Southern States. From the great number of carcasses and skeletons, we were induced to believe ourselves on the hunting ground of some nation of Indians, and our expectations of seeing the Pawnees of Red river began to revive. Our hunters killed two fine bucks, both in uncommonly good condition for the season. The fat on the ribs of either of them was more than an inch thick. They were both changing their hair to what is called the blue, which at this season is a sure indication that the animal is in good condition.
August 29th. Finding the valley of the river somewhat contracted in width and extremely circuitous, we ascended into the open country on the north side, and made our way across the hills, taking a course a little south of east. At the distance of a mile or two from the river we enjoyed a delightful view of the elevated country, beautifully varied with gentle hills, broad vallies, fertile pastures, and extensive woodlands. The soil we found superior, the timber more abundant than that of any region we had passed since [12] we left the Missouri. Extensive forests appeared in the distant horizon, and the prairies in every direction intersected by creeks and ravines, distinguished by lines of trees. The surface of the country is undulating, very similar to that of Grand river and the lower part of the Missouri, but the soil is more fertile. The first elevations rise from forty to fifty feet above the bed of the river, and these are succeeded by others, ascending by an almost imperceptible slope towards the interior. Among the trees on the uplands are the black cherry, the linden, and the honey locust, all affording indications of a fertile soil.
A little before we halted to dine, Adams, our interpreter of Spanish, having dropped some article of baggage, returned on the track for the purpose of recovering it; and as he did not join us again, we concluded he must have missed his way.
At evening we returned to the valley of the river, and placed our camp under a small cotton-wood tree, upon one of whose branches a swarm of bees were hanging. These useful insects reminded us of the comforts and luxuries of a life among men, and at the same time gave us the assurance that we were drawing near the abodes of civilization. Bees, it is said by the hunters and the Indians, are rarely if ever seen more than two hundred and fifty or three hundred miles in advance of the white settlements.
On receiving the first intimation of the absence of Adams, who had been following in the rear of the party, a man was sent back to search for and bring him to our encampment; but as he could not be found, we concluded he had missed our trail, and probably gone forward. We were confirmed in this belief when, on the following morning, we discovered the track of a solitary mule which had passed down along the bed of the river. This we accordingly followed, not doubting but Adams must soon perceive he had passed us, and would wait until we should overtake him.
[13] The loose soft sands of the river-bed yielding to our horses feet, made the travelling extremely laborious; and the intense reflection of the rays of the sun almost deprived us of the use of our eyes. Mr. Peale's horse soon became unable to proceed at an equal pace with the remainder of the party; but as no suitable place for encampment appeared, he dismounted, and by great exertions was able to urge his animal along in the rear. The travelling in the bed of the river became so extremely inconvenient, that we resolved upon attempting to penetrate the thick woods of the bottom, and ascend to the open plains. We found, however, the woods so thick, and so interlined with scandent species of smilax cissus, and other climbing vines, as greatly to retard our progress, and we were soon induced to wish ourselves again upon the naked sands. Notwithstanding the annoyance they gave us, we took a pleasure in observing the three American species of cissus growing almost side by side. The cissus quinquefolia,74 the common woodbine, cultivated as an ornament about yards and summer-houses, grows here to an enormous size, and, as well as the cissus hederacea, seems to prefer climbing on elms. The remaining species, the cissus bipinnata, is a smaller plant, and, though much branched, is rarely scandent. All of them abound in ripe fruit, which, notwithstanding its external resemblance and its close affinity to the grape, is nauseous to the taste, and does not appear to be sought with avidity even by the bears. In ascending the hills, we found them based upon a variety of sandstone, unlike the red rock of the salt formation, to which we had been so long accustomed. With this change a corresponding change takes place in the conformation of the surface and the general aspect of the country. The hills are higher and more abrupt, the forests more extensive, the streams of water more copious [14] and more serpentine in their direction; in other words, we here begin to recognize the features of a mountainous region. The sandstone which appears in the beds of the streams, and the sides of the hills, is coarse and hard, of a dark gray colour, and a horizontally laminated structure. It is deeply covered with a soil of considerable fertility, sustaining heavy forests of oak. Among these trees the upland white oak is common, but is of rather diminutive size, and often hollow. In a tree of this description we observed, as we passed, the habitation of a swarm of bees, and as it was not convenient at that time to stop, we fixed a mark upon it, and proceeded to make the best of our way towards the river. On descending the hills, we found the valley of the river much contracted in width, and the bed itself occupying less space by half than where we had left it above.
On the following day the party remained encamped to take observations, and afford an opportunity for rest to the horses. Some of the men went back about six miles to the bee-tree we had passed on the preceding day, and brought in a small quantity of honey enclosed in the skin of a deer recently killed. About our camp we examined several lodges of sandstone, of the coarse dark grey variety above mentioned; in some instances we found it nearly approaching in character the glittering crystalline variety of the lead mines, but we sought in vain for an opportunity to observe the manner of its connexion with red sandstone.
As we were now at the western base of that interesting group of hills, to which we have attempted to give the name of the almost extinct tribe of the Ozarks,75 and as we believed ourselves near the extreme southern bend of the river we were descending, we thought it important to ascertain our latitude and longitude by as complete sets of observations as was in our power to make; and this the favourable [15] position of the moon enabled us to do in the most satisfactory manner. The results will be seen on the map.
During the extreme heat of the day the mercury stood at 99° in a fair exposure. This extraordinary degree of heat may have been in some degree connected with the stagnation of the air between the hills, and possibly with the reverberation of the sun's rays from the naked sands; but the instrument was one of an approved character, and was exposed in the deep shade of an extensive grove of trees.
As yet no running water appeared in the river; but as the pools were large, and some of them little frequented by the bisons, we were no longer under the necessity of digging.
September 1st. The sycamore, the æsculus, the mistletoe, and the paroquet,76 are conspicuous objects in the deep and heavy forests of the Ohio and Mississippi; with these we now found ourselves surrounded. Bisons were comparatively scarce along this part of the river, but whether this was owing to the near approach of inhabited countries, or to the great extent and almost impenetrable density of the forests on each side of the river, we were unable to determine; at night we still heard the growling of the herds in the distant prairies, and occasionally saw bisons in small bodies crossing the river.
The Kaskaia Indians had told us, that before we arrived at the village of the Pawnee Piquas, we should pass a range of blue hills. These we concluded could be no other than hills whose sides were covered with forests, like those we were now passing, and accordingly we watched with some anxiety for the appearance of something which should indicate the vicinity of an Indian village. As we pursued our way along the serpentine bed of the river, the valley became narrower, the hills more elevated, and as we crossed the rocky points of their bases, we could not [16] but observe that the sandstone was of a different character from any we had before seen. It contains more mica than that of the Alleghanies, or that of the secondary hills along the base of the Rocky Mountains; it glitters conspicuously, like mica-slate when seen in the sunshine; and this, as we found by examination, does not depend entirely on the great proportion of mica it contains, but also in some degree upon the crystalline surfaces of the minute particles. Its cement is often argillaceous, and this, as well as the impressions of some organic relics77 we observed in it, induced us to expect the occurrence of coal-beds.
On ascending the hills from the place of our midday encampment, we found this sandstone at an elevation of about two hundred feet (according to our estimate) from the bed of the river, succeeded by a stratum of limestone of the common compact blue variety, abounding in casts of anomias, entrochi, &c. This rests horizontally upon the summits of the hills, and disintegrating less rapidly than the sandstone which forms their bases, it is sometimes left projecting in such a manner as to render access impossible. Climbing to the summit of some of the hills near the river, we had the view towards the south and east of a wild and mountainous region, covered with forests, where, among the brighter verdure of the oak, the nyssa, and the castanea pumila, we distinguished the darker shade of the juniper, and others of the coniferæ.
A little before arriving at the place of our evening encampment, we observed the track of a man who had passed on foot, and with bare feet, down the river. This we were confident could be no other than the track of our lost interpreter Adams. What accident could have deprived him of his mule we [17] were at a loss to conjecture. We found it equally difficult to account for his pushing forward with such perseverance, when he must have had every reason to believe we were behind him.
September 2d. The morning was fair, and we had commenced our journey by sunrise. At a little distance below our encampment, we passed the mouth of a large tributary from the south. It was about sixty yards wide, and appeared to contain a considerable quantity of water, which was absorbed in the sands immediately at its junction with the larger stream.78 About the mouth of this creek we saw the remains of several gar-fish (esox osseus); this fish is protected by a skin so flinty and incorruptible, as to be invulnerable to the attacks of birds and beasts of prey; and even when the internal soft parts have been dissolved and removed by the progress of putrefaction, the bony cuticle retains its original shape, like that of the trunk and limbs of the canoe birch, after the wood has rotted away. The gar is usually found in deep water, lying concealed in the places where small fish resort, and seizing them between his elongated jaws, which are armed with numerous small and sharp teeth. This fish, though not held in high estimation as an article of food, is little inferior, as we have often found by experiment, to the boasted sturgeon of the Hudson. Its unsightly aspect produces a prejudice against it; and in countries of such abundance as those watered by the Mississippi and its tributaries, a creature so disgusting in appearance and of so unpromising a name is rarely eaten. We had passed the creek above mentioned about a mile, when we discovered a little column of smoke ascending among some scattered oaks on the right hand bank of the river; approaching the spot, we perceived our lost interpreter, who had parted from us five days previous, sitting a few feet in advance of his fire. When we discovered him, his appearance was peculiarly striking, and indicative of the deepest despondency. [18] He had kindled a fire upon a little rocky eminence projecting to the verge of the river, and seated himself near it on the ground, with his face turned up the river, as if in expectation of relief from that quarter. His elbows rested upon his knees, and his hands supported his head. Having sat in long expectation of seeing us, he had fallen asleep; and on being waked, it was some minutes before he recovered entire self-possession and consciousness. His long sunburnt hair hung loosely about a face it could scarcely be said to shade, and on which famine and terror had imprinted a frightful expression of ghastliness. Perhaps some consciousness of having acted an imprudent and reprehensible part, prevented any demonstrations of joy he might otherwise have shown at sight of us. Under the apprehension that accidents of this kind might occur, it had repeatedly been enjoined upon all of the party, never to lose sight of the main body when on the march. But on this occasion no regard was paid to this necessary regulation.
From his statement we learned, that after separating from us, on the morning of the 29th August, he had returned a mile or two to search for his canteen; but not finding it, in his hurry to rejoin the party, he had missed the trail, and presently found himself bewildered. Taking the bed of the river as his guide, he urged on his mule, without allowing it time to rest or to feed, till, on the third day, it refused to proceed, and was left. He then took his baggage, musket, &c. and pushed forward on foot, evidently with the hope of arriving at the Pawnee village, but by the end of the day found his strength so exhausted that he could go no farther, and was compelled to encamp. Having expended his ammunition in unsuccessful attempts to shoot turkies, he had been trying to make a substitute for fish-hooks by bending up some needles; but this project he had not brought to perfection, and assured us he had not tasted food since the breakfast of the 29th, a period of more than five days.
[19] The small-leaved and the white elm,79 the nettle-tree or hackberry, the cotton-wood, mulberry, black walnut, pecan, ash, sycamore, and indeed most of the trees common to the low grounds of the Mississippi, are intermixed here to form the dense forests of the river valley, while, in the more scattered woods of the highlands, the prevailing growth is oak, with some species of nyssa, the dyospiros, and a few other small trees. At evening a large flock of white pelicans passed us on their way up the river.
On the morning of the 3d, not having been able to select a suitable place for a Sunday encampment, we moved on, searching for a supply of grass, that we might halt for the day. The hunters preceded the party, and meeting with a herd of bisons and good pasturage in the same place, they killed a bull of a most gigantic stature, and waited until the remainder of the party came up, and encamped near the carcass. We have often regretted that we had not taken the dimensions of this animal, as it appeared to surpass in size any we had before killed, and greatly to exceed the ordinary stature of the bison.
Having arranged our camp, and done in the way of washing, dressing, &c. the little in our power to do, we made an excursion into the adjoining forest to collect plants, and to search for honey, which, from the great number of bees we had seen, we were conscious must be abundant. Since leaving the open country, we had remarked a very great change in the vegetation. The dense shade, and perhaps the somewhat confined air of the forest, are unfavourable to the growth of many of those grasses, and those robust perennials, which seem to delight in the arid soils and the scorching winds of the sandy deserts. The sensitive (cassia nictitans), the favourite food of the bees, some species of hedysarum, and a few [20] other legumina, are, however, common to both regions.
Our search for bee-trees was unsuccessful; but in our way we saw great numbers of gray squirrels, and killed a fat buck, one of whose quarters we found a heavy load to carry a mile or two to our camp.
A considerable part of the day we spent in unavailing contest with the ticks. The torment of their stings increased upon us if we were a moment idle, or attempted to rest ourselves under the shadow of a tree. We considered ourselves peculiarly fortunate when we could find the shade of a tree extending some distance on to the naked sands of the river-bed, for then the ticks were less numerous. In the middle of the day the mercury again rose to 97°, and the blowing flies swarmed in such numbers about our blankets and clothing as to allow us no rest.
About the pools near our camp we saw the little white egret; the snowy heron had been common for some days. Great numbers of cranes, ducks, pelicans, and other aquatic birds, induced us to believe that larger bodies of water than we had recently seen must be near.
Bears and wolves were still frequent; among the latter we observed a black one of a small size, which we believed to be specifically different from any one of those we had seen above. All our attempts to capture this watchful animal were without success. Since entering the region of forests, we had found the number of small animals, birds, and insects considerably increased. An enormous black hairy spider, resembling the mygale avicularia of South America, was often seen; and it was not without shuddering that we sometimes perceived this formidable insect looking out from his hole within a few feet of the spot on which we had thrown ourselves down to rest.
[21] On the 4th we met with nothing interesting except the appearance of running water in the bed of the river. Since the 13th of the preceding month, we had travelled constantly along the river, and in all the distance passed in that time, which could not have been less than five hundred miles, we had seen running water in the river in one or two instances only, and in those it had evidently been occasioned by recent rains, and had extended but a mile or two, when it disappeared.
Osage Orange—Birds—Falls of the Canadian—Green Argillaceous Sandstone—Northern and Southern Tributaries of the Canadian—Cotton-wood—Arrival at the Arkansa—Cane Brakes—Cherokees—Belle Point.
September 5th. The region we were now traversing is one of great fertility, and we had daily occasion to regret that our visit to it had not been made earlier in the season. Many unknown plants were observed, but their flowering season having passed, the fruit of many of them had ripened and fallen. We were deprived of the means of ascertaining the name and place of such as had been heretofore described, and of describing such as were new. We had, however, the satisfaction to recognize some interesting productions, among which we may enumerate a very beautiful species of bignonia, and the bow-wood or osage orange.80 The rocky hills abound in trees of a small size, and the cedars are sometimes so numerous, as to give their peculiar and gloomy colouring to the landscape. We listened as we rode forward to the note of a bird, new to some of us, and bearing a singular resemblance to the noise of a child's toy trumpet; this we soon found to be the cry of the great ivory-billed wood-pecker (picus principalis), the largest of the North American species, and confined to the warmer parts. The picus pileatus we had seen on the 25th of August, more than one hundred miles above, and this with the picus erythrocephalus were now common. Turkies were very numerous. The paroquet, chuck-wills-widow, wood-robin, mocking bird, and many other small birds, filled the woods with life and music. [23] The bald eagle, the turkey buzzard, and black vulture, raven and crow, were seen swarming like the blowing flies about any spot where a bison, an elk, or a deer had fallen a prey to the hunter. About the river were large flocks of pelicans, with numbers of snowy herons, and the beautiful ardea egretta.
Soon after we had commenced our morning ride, we heard the report of a gun at the distance of a mile, as we thought, on our left; this was distinctly heard by several of the party, and induced us to believe that white hunters were in the neighbourhood. We had recently seen great numbers of elk, and killed one or two, which we had found in bad condition.
September 6th. Numerous ridges of rocky hills traverse the country from north-east to south-west, crossing the direction of the river obliquely. They are of a sandstone, which bears sufficient evidence of belonging to a coal formation. At the spot where we halted to dine, one of these ranges, crossing the river, produces an inconsiderable fall. As the whole width of the channel is paved with a compact horizontal sandstone, we believed all the water of the river must be forced into view, and were a little surprised to find the quantity something less than it had been almost six hundred miles above in the same stream. It would appear, that all the water which falls in rains or flows from springs in an extent of country larger than Pennsylvania, is not sufficient to supply the evaporation of so extensive a surface of naked and heated sands.
If the river of which we speak should at any season of the year contain water enough for the purposes of navigation, it is probable the fall occasioned by the rocky traverse above mentioned will be sufficient to prevent the passage upwards. The point is a remarkable one, as being the locality of a rare and beautiful variety of sandstone. The rock which appears in the bed of the river is a compact slaty [24] sandstone, of a deep green colour, resembling some varieties of chloritic slate.
Whether the colour depends upon epidote, chlorite, or some other substance, we were not able to determine. The sandstone is micaceous, but the particles of mica, as well as those of the other integrant minerals, are very minutely divided. The same rock, as we found by tracing it to some distance, becomes of a light grey colour, and contains extensive beds of bituminous clay-slate. Its stratifications are so little inclined, that their dip cannot be estimated by the eye.
This point, though scarce deserving the name of a cataract, is so marked by the occurrence of a peculiar bed of rocks crossing the river, and by the rapid descent of the current, that it may be readily recognized by any who shall pass that way hereafter. In this view we attach some importance to it, as the only spot in a distance of six hundred miles we can hope to identify by description. In ascending, when the traveller arrives at this point, he has little to expect beyond, but sandy wastes and thirsty inhospitable steppes. The skirts of the hilly and wooded region extend to a distance of fifty or sixty miles above, but even this district is indifferently supplied with water. Beyond commences the wide sandy desert, stretching westward to the base of the Rocky Mountains. We have little apprehension of giving too unfavourable an account of this portion of the country. Though the soil is in some places fertile, the want of timber, of navigable streams, and of water for the necessities of life, render it an unfit residence for any but a nomade population. The traveller who shall at any time have traversed its desolate sands, will, we think, join us in the wish that this region may for ever remain the unmolested haunt of the native hunter, the bison, and the jackall.81
One mile below this point (which we call the Falls or the Canadian, rather for the sake of a name than [25] as considering it worthy to be thus designated), is the entrance, from the south, of a river fifty yards wide. Its banks are lined with tall forests of cotton-wood and sycamore, and its bottoms are wide and fertile. Its bed is less choked with sand than that of the river to which it is tributary. Six or eight miles farther down, and on the other side, is the confluence of the Great North Fork, discharging at least three times as much water as we found at the falls above mentioned. It is about eighty yards wide. The beds of both these tributaries are covered with water from shore to shore, but they have gentle currents, and are not deep, and neither of them have in any considerable degree that red tinge which characterizes the Canadian. We have already mentioned that what we consider the sources of the North Fork are situated in the floetz trap country, nearly opposite those of the Purgatory Creek of the Arkansa.82 Of one of its northern tributaries we have received some information from the recent work of Mr. Nuttall, who crossed it in his journey to the Great Salt river of Arkansa in 1819.83 "Still proceeding," says he, "a little to the north of west, about ten miles further, we came to a considerable rivulet of clear and still water, deep enough to swim our horses. This stream was called the Little North Fork (or Branch) of the Canadian, and emptied into the main North Fork of the same river, nearly 200 miles distant, including its meanders, which had been ascended by the trappers of beaver." From his account it appears that the banks of this stream are wooded, and that the "superincumbent rock" is a sandstone, not of the red formation, but probably belonging to a coal district.
Its water, like that of the Arkansa, and its northern tributaries, when not swelled by rains, is of a greenish [26] colour. This colouring is sometimes so intense in the rivers of this region as to suggest the idea that the water is filled with minute confervas or other floating plants, but when we see it by transmitted light, as when a portion of it is held in a glass vessel, the colour disappears.
Three and a half miles below the confluence of the North Fork is a remarkable rock, standing isolated in the middle of the river, like the Grand Tower in the Mississippi. It is about twenty-five feet high, and fifty or sixty in diameter, and its sides so perpendicular as to render the summit inaccessible. It appears to have been broken from a high promontory of gray sandstone overhanging the river on the north side.
Not being able to find grass for pasture, we rode later than usual, and were finally compelled to encamp on a sandy beach, which afforded nothing but rushes for our horses.
September 8th. The quantity of water in the river had now become so considerable as to impede our descent along the bed; but the valley was narrow, and so filled with close and entangled forests, and the uplands so broken and rugged, that no other path appeared to remain for us. We therefore continued to make our way, though with great difficulty, and found our horses much incommoded by being kept almost constantly in the water, as we were compelled to do to cross from the point of a sand-bar on one side the river, to the next on the other. Quicksands also occurred, and in places where we least expected it, our horses and ourselves were thrown to the earth without a moment's notice. These sudden falls, occasioned by sinking in the sand, and the subsequent exertion necessary to extricate themselves, proved extremely harassing to our jaded horses, and we had reason to fear that these faithful servants would fail us almost at the end of our journey.
[27] Above the falls, the width of the river, that is of the space included between its two banks, varies from three hundred yards to two miles; below it is uniformly narrower, scarce exceeding four hundred yards. The beaches are sloping, and often covered with young cotton-wood or willow trees. In the Missouri, Mississippi, and to some extent in the Arkansa and its tributaries, the islands, sand-bars, and even the banks, are constantly shifting place. In the progress of these changes, the young willows and cotton-wood trees which spring up wherever a naked beach is exposed, may be supposed to have some agency, by confining the soil with their roots, and arresting the dirt and rubbish in times of high water. On the Missouri, the first growth which springs up in these places, is so commonly the willow, that the expressions "willow-bar" and "willow-island" have passed into the language of the boatmen, and communicate the definite idea of a bar, or an island recently risen from the water. These willows become intermixed with the cotton-wood, and these trees are often almost the exclusive occupants of extensive portions of the low grounds. The foliage of the most common species of willow (S. angustata) is of a light green colour, and, when seen under certain angles, of a silvery gray, contrasting beautifully with the intense and vivid green of cotton-wood.84 Within a few yards of the spot where we halted to dine, we were so fortunate as to find a small log canoe made fast on shore. From its appearance we were assured it had been some months deserted by its rightful owner; and from the necessity of our situation, thought ourselves justified in seizing and converting it to our use. Our pack-horses had become much weakened, and reduced by long fatigue; and in crossing the river, as we had often to do, we felt that our collections, the only valuable part of our baggage, were constantly exposed to the risk of being wetted. We accordingly made prize of the [28] canoe, and putting on board our packs and heavy baggage, manned it with two men, designing that they should navigate it down to the settlements. Aside from this canoe, we discovered in the adjoining woods the remains of an old camp, which we perceived had been occupied by white men, and saw other convincing proofs that we were coming near some inhabited country.