It is remarked by hunters, and appears to be an established fact, that the odour of a white man is more terrifying to wild animals, particularly the bison, than that of an Indian. This animal, in the course of its periodic migrations, comes into the immediate {168} neighbourhood of the permanent Indian villages, on the Missouri and the Platte. One was seen by our hunters within six miles of the Grand Pawnee village, and immediately about the towns we saw many heads and skeletons of such as had been killed there the preceding spring. They had come in while the Pawnees were absent on their winter's hunt, and at their return, we were informed, they found the bisons immediately about their villages. They disappeared invariably from the neighbourhood of the white settlements within a few years. We are aware that another cause may be found for this than the frightful scent of the white man, which is, the impolitic exterminating war which he wages against all unsubdued animals within his reach.

It would be highly desirable that some law for the preservation of game might be extended to, and rigidly enforced in the country where the bison is still met with; that the wanton destruction of these valuable animals, by the white hunters, might be checked or prevented. It is common for hunters to attack large herds of these animals, and having slaughtered as many as they are able, from mere wantonness and love of this barbarous sport, to leave the carcasses to be devoured by the wolves and birds of prey; thousands are slaughtered yearly, of which no part is saved except the tongues. This inconsiderate and cruel practice is undoubtedly the principal reason why the bison flies so far and so soon from the neighbourhood of our frontier settlements.

It is well known to those in the least degree conversant with the Indians, that the odour which their bodies exhale, though very strong and peculiar, is by no means unpleasant,117 at least to most persons. A negro in the employment of the Missouri Fur Company, and living at Fort Lisa, was often heard to complain of the intolerable scent of the squaws; in like manner, the Indians find the odour of a white man extremely offensive. In the language of the {169} Peruvian Indians, are three words to express their idea of the smell of the European, the aboriginal American, and the negro. They call the first Pezuna, the second Posco, and the third Grajo.118

After passing the range of hills above mentioned, the surface subsides nearly to a plain, having, however, manifestly a greater inclination than below. The velocity of the current of the river is much increased, the bed narrower, and the banks more precipitous. We passed several extensive tracts nearly destitute of vegetation. The surface of these consisted entirely of coarse sand and gravel, with here and there an insulated mass of clay, highly impregnated with salt, and gnawed and licked into various singular shapes, exhibiting the forms of massive insulated columns, huge buttresses, prominent angles, and profound excavations, fortuitously mingled, and which are now gradually diminishing, under the action of the cause which produced them. The present surface upon which they repose, seems to be a stratum of a different earth, which does not afford the condiment so attractive to the animals; the consequence is, that the licking and chewing, principally, heretofore, affecting the surface on which the animal stood, is now directed against the upright portions of this singular grand excavation, and most remarkable of all known salt-licks.

Some extensive portions of the immediate bottom land, along the river, were white with an effloresced salt, but this being impure and but imperfectly soluble, did not appear to have been licked.

Towards evening we passed two springs of transparent, but impure and brackish water. They were the first we had met with on the Platte.119 Among a considerable number of undescribed plants collected on the 27th, are three referable to the family of the rough-leaved plants (asperifoliæ), one of them belonging {170} to a genus not heretofore known in the United States. It has a salver-form corolla, with a large spreading angular, plaited border. Another plant very conspicuously ornamental to these barren deserts, is a lactescent annual, belonging to the family of the convolvulacæ, with a bright purple corolla, as large as that of the common stramonium. We also observed the white-stalked primrose, (œnothera albicaulis, N.) a very small white-flowered species of talinum, and some others. We observed, in repeated instances, several individuals of a singular genus of reptiles (chirotes, Cuv.) which in form resemble short serpents, but are more closely allied to the lizards, by being furnished with two feet. They were so active, that it was not without some difficulty that we succeeded in obtaining a specimen. Of this (as was our uniform custom, when any apparently new animal was presented) we immediately drew out a description. But as the specimen was unfortunately lost, and the description formed part of the zoological notes and observations, which were carried off by our deserters, we are reduced to the necessity of merely indicating the probability of the existence of the chirotes lumbricoides of naturalists, within the territory of the United States.

At night we were again alarmed by a disturbance among our horses, of which we were not able to ascertain the cause. Some of the party had, on the preceding day, reported that they had seen Indians at a distance, that they were on horseback, &c. but of this there could be no certainty, the imagination often representing a herd of antelopes, or other animals, seen at a distance, and perhaps distorted by the looming of the prairie, as so many mounted Indians. We had often found ourselves more grossly abused by our eye-sight, than is supposed in this instance, having mistaken turkies for bisons, wolves for horses, &c.

28th. We breakfasted, and left our encampment {171} before five o'clock. We had not proceeded far when we discovered about thirty wild horses at a distance before us. They had taken our scent, and run off in a fright, when we were a mile distant. Their activity and fleetness surpassed what we had expected from this noble animal in his savage state. In the course of the day we saw other herds, but all at a distance. The country south of the Platte contains, as we are informed, vast numbers of horses. They are of the domesticated stock introduced by the Spaniards, but they multiply rapidly in their present state of regained freedom, and are apparently wilder than any of the native occupants of this country. They are of various colours, and of all sizes, there being many colts, and some mules, among them. Their playfulness, rather than their fears, seemed to be excited by our appearance, and we often saw them, more than a mile distant, leaping and curvetting, involved by a cloud of dust, which they seemed to delight in raising.

About some sandy ridges, which we passed in the middle of the day, several miliary rattle-snakes were seen, two of which were killed. These had been occasionally met with all along the Platte, but were by no means numerous. Mr. Peale killed a female antelope, without leaving our line. The animal had not been able to satisfy its curiosity, and stood at a little distance gazing at us, until it was shot down.

During the day we passed three small creeks discharging into the Platte from the north-west. One of these, called by the Indians Bat-so-ah, or Cherry creek, heads in the Rocky Mountains.120 On these creeks are a few small cotton-wood and willow trees. These trees, as well as all those along the Platte, are low, with very large and branching tops, as is the case with all trees which grow remote from each other.

In the afternoon hunters were sent forward, but it was not without some difficulty that a single bison {172} was killed, those animals having become much less frequent.121

Our small stock of bread was by this time so nearly exhausted, that it was thought prudent to reserve the remainder as a last resort, in case of the failure of a supply of game, or other accident. A quantity of parched maize, equal to a gill per day, to each man, was daily distributed to each of the three messes into which the party was divided. This was thrown into the kettle where the bison meat was boiled, and supplied the place of barley in the soup, always the first and most important dish. Whenever game was plenty we had a variety of excellent dishes, consisting of the choice parts of the bison, the tongue, the hump ribs, the marrow-bones, &c. dressed in various ways. The hump ribs of the bison, which many epicures prefer to any other part of the animal, are the spinous processes of the backbone, and are from eighteen to twenty-four inches in length. They are taken out with a small portion of the flesh adhering to each side, and whether roasted, boiled, or stewed, are certainly very far superior to any part of the flesh of the domestic ox.

29th. We had proceeded but a few miles from our camp when it was found that Mr. Say's horse was so far exhausted as to be unable to proceed at the same pace as the other horses. Mr. Say accordingly dismounted, and by driving his horse before him, urged the animal along for a few miles; but this being found too laborious, and as several of the horses were near failing, it was determined to halt, which we did at ten o'clock, and remained in camp during the day.

The country, for several miles to the west of the range of hills mentioned above, is as uniformly plain as that on any part of the Platte. It differs from that further to the east only in being of a coarser sand, and in an aspect of more unvaried sterility. The cactus ferox reigns sole monarch, and sole possessor {173} of thousands of acres of this dreary plain. It forms patches which neither a horse nor any other animal will attempt to pass over. The rabbit's foot plantation, and a few brown and withered grasses, are sparingly scattered over the intervening spaces. In depressed and moist situations, where the soil is not so entirely unproductive, the variegated spurge (euphorbia variegata), with its painted involucrum and party-coloured leaves, is a conspicuous and beautiful ornament. The lepidium virginicum, distributed over every part of northern and equinoctial America, from Hudson's Bay to the summit of the Silla of Caraccas,122 is here of such diminutive size that we were induced to search, though we sought in vain, for some character to distinguish it as a separate species.

At three o'clock P. M. the planet Venus was distinctly visible. Its distance from the sun at 3h. 45m. was east 36° 15[']. There were a few broken cumulostratose clouds from the south-west, otherwise the sky was clear, and near the zenith, where the star was seen, of a deep and beautiful azure. Our actual elevation, at this time, must have been considerable, and might be supposed to effect, in some degree, the transparency of our atmosphere.

Several magpies were seen about the islands in the river, where it is probable they rear their young.

On the 30th we left the encampment at our accustomed early hour, and at eight o'clock were cheered by a distant view of the Rocky Mountains. For some time we were unable to decide whether what we saw were mountains, or banks of cumulous clouds skirting the horizon, and glittering in the reflected rays of the sun. It was only by watching the bright parts, and observing that their form and position remained unaltered, that we were able to satisfy ourselves they were indeed mountains. They were visible from the lowest parts of the plain, and {174} their summits were, when first discovered, several degrees above our horizon. They became visible by detaching themselves from the sky beyond, and not by emerging from beneath the sensible horizon, so that we might have seen them from a greater distance had it not been for the want of transparency in the atmosphere. Our first views of the mountains were indistinct, on account of some smokiness of the atmosphere, but from our encampment, at noon, we had a very distinct and satisfactory prospect of them. A small part only of the intervening plain was visible, the convexity of the surface intercepting the view from the base of the mountains, and that portion of the plain adjacent to it.

Snow could be seen on every part of them which was visible above our horizon.

The thermometer immersed in the water of the river fell from 80°, the temperature of the atmosphere, to 75°. Observations had been made daily to ascertain the temperature of the water of the Platte.123 Notwithstanding there were only about five degrees of difference between the temperature of the air and that of the water, it was remarked by several of the party, that a sensation of extreme cold was felt on passing from the one to the other.

It is possible, that at the elevation we had now attained, the rapidity of evaporation, on account of the diminished pressure of the atmosphere, might be something greater than we had been accustomed to. For several days the sky had been clear, and in the morning we had observed an unusual degree of transparency in every part of the atmosphere. As the day advanced, and the heat of the sun began to be felt, such quantities of vapour were seen to ascend from every part of the plain, that all objects, at a little distance, appeared magnified, and variously distorted. An undulating or tremulous motion in ascending lines was manifest over every part of the {175} surface. Commencing soon after sunrise it continued to increase in quantity until the afternoon, when it diminished gradually, keeping an even pace with the intensity of the sun's heat. The density of the vapour was often such as to produce the perfect image of a pool of water in every valley upon which we could look down at an angle of about ten degrees. This effect was several times seen so perfect and beautiful as to deceive almost every one of our party. A herd of bisons, at the distance of a mile, seemed to be standing in a pool of water; and what appeared to us the reflected image was as distinctly seen as the animal itself. Illusions of this kind are common in the African and Asiatic deserts, as we learn from travellers, and from the language of poets. They are called by the Persians sirraub, "water of the desert;" and in the Sanscrit language, Mriga trichna, "the desire or thirst of the antelope." Elphinstone relates,124 that at Moujgur, in the kingdom of Caubul, towards evening many persons were astonished at the appearance of a long lake enclosing several little islands. Notwithstanding the well known nature of the country, which was a sandy desert, many were positive that it was a lake, and one of the surveyors took the bearings of it. "I had imagined," says he, "this phenomenon to be occasioned by a thin vapour which is spread over the ground in hot weather in India, but this appearance was entirely different, and on looking along the ground no vapour whatever could be perceived. The ground was quite level and smooth, and the weather very hot. It is only found in level, smooth, and dry places; the position of the sun, and the degree of heat, are not material, for it was afterwards seen in Damaun, when the weather was not hotter than in England." On the frontier of Caubul, Elphinstone saw what he calls a most magnificent mirage, {176} which looked like an extensive lake, or a very wide river. The water seemed clear and beautiful, and the figures of two gentlemen, who rode along it, were reflected as distinctly as in real water. "It is common in our own country," says the London Monthly Review, "for ground-mists to assume the appearance of water, to make a meadow seem inundated, and to change a valley into a lake; but these mists never reflect the surrounding trees and hills. Hence, the mirage must consist of a peculiar gas, of which the particles are combined by a stronger attraction of cohesion than the vapours of real water; the liquor silicum of the alchymists is described as exhibiting, in some circumstances, this glassy surface, yet as being equally evanescent."125 It is afterwards suggested, in the same paper, that the gas which occasioned these extraordinary reflections, may probably be the substance of the pernicious wind called Simoom. The explanation here offered will not probably be thought satisfactory. It seems to belong to the epoch of great and brilliant discoveries in pneumatic chymistry, when "a peculiar gas" was thought the agent of every phenomenon.

The images of pools of water, which we saw in the deserts of the Platte, appeared to us similar to those mentioned by Elphinstone, likewise to those observed by Nieburgh126 in Arabia, where inverted images were seen.

To the more common effects of light passing through a medium charged with vapours, we had become familiar. We had, for many days, seen the low bluffs of the valley of the Platte suspended over the verge of our apparent horizon, as distant capes are suspended over the sea; but in viewing these perfect images of lakes, we could scarce believe they were occasioned by refraction, to which the phenomena of mirage have usually been attributed.127 {177} The circumstance that these pools could only be seen when we looked down at a considerable angle upon some valley; the perfect manner in which the image of the sky was returned from the surface, and the inverted position of the objects seen, induced us to inquire whether the effect might not be produced by reflection from the lower stratum of watery vapour.128 These appearances are sufficient to justify the conclusion that the quantity of evaporation is much greater here than in less elevated districts of country, where such things are not seen.

Towards evening the air became more clear, and our view of the mountains was more satisfactory, though as yet we could only distinguish their grand outline, imprinted in bold indentations upon the luminous margin of the sky. We soon remarked a particular part of the range divided into three conic summits, each apparently of nearly equal altitude. This we concluded to be the point designated by Pike as the highest peak. Its bearing was taken a short time before we halted for the evening, and found to be south, 73° west.129 As we were about to encamp, some of the party went in pursuit of a herd of bisons, one of which they killed, and returned to camp a little before sunset.

July 1st. Although the temperature indicated by the thermometer for several days had been about 80°, in the middle of the day, the heat, owing to the cool breezes from the mountain, had been by no means oppressive. On the night of the 30th of June, the mercury fell to 55°, and on the following morning the air was chilly, and a strong breeze was felt before sunrise, from the south-east. We left our camp at a very early hour, and travelled over a tract differing in no respect but its greater barrenness from that passed on the preceding day. We halted to dine at the distance of sixteen and a half miles. Many acres of this plain had not vegetation enough to communicate {178} to the surface the least shade of green; a few dwarfish sunflowers and grasses, which had grown here in the early part of the summer, being now entirely withered and brown. In stagnant pools near the river, we saw the common arrow head, (sagittaria sagittifolia,) the alisma plantago, and the small lemna growing together, as in similar situations in the eastern states.

A striking feature of that part of the plain country, we were now passing, is formed by innumerable ant-heaps, rising from twelve to eighteen inches above the common level of the surface. They occur with some uniformity, at intervals of about twenty feet, and are all similar in size and dimensions. They consist so entirely of small grains of flesh-coloured felspar, that they have, all of them, an uniform reddish aspect, and it is not without careful examination, that any other kind of gravel can be detected in them. The entrance to the interior of each of these little mounds is uniformly on the eastward side, and very rarely occurs beyond the boundaries of N. E. and S. E. It is never at the top, nor on a level with the surface of the soil, but is a little elevated above it. It seems highly probable, that the active little architects thus place the entrance of their edifice on the eastward side, in order to escape the direct influence of the cold mountain winds.

At three o'clock, as we were about to resume our journey, there came on a gentle shower of rain, with wind at east, and low broken clouds. In the afternoon we passed some small ridges of sandstone crossing the river from north to south, but very inconsiderable in point of elevation and extent. We travelled this day twenty-seven miles, directly towards the base of the mountains, but they appeared almost as distant in the evening as they had done in the morning. The bearing of the high peak above mentioned, from our encampment, was south, 75° west.

{179} The ensuing day being Sabbath, was devoted to rest. About our camp, which was in the most fertile spot we could select, in a ride of several miles, there was but a very insufficient supply of grass for our horses. A species of cone flower, (rudbeckia columnaris, N.) was here beginning to expand. The showy R. purpurea, very common on the Missouri, and the lower part of the Platte, does not extend into the desolate regions. The common purslane (portulacca oleracea) is one of the most frequent plants about the base of the Rocky Mountains, particularly in places much frequented as licks by the bisons and other animals.

From this encampment, we had a plain but still distant view of the mountains. No inequality occurs in the surface of the subjacent country on the east of the mountains, so that our view was wholly unobstructed. They stretched from north to south like an immense wall, occupying all that portion of the horizon lying to the north-west, west, and south-west. We could now see the surface of the plain, extending almost unvaried to the base of the first ridge, which rises by an abrupt ascent above the commencement of the snow.

A set of observations for longitude was commenced in the morning, but the weather becoming cloudy, we were prevented from completing them. In the afternoon a storm came on from the north, which continued during the night. Much rain fell, accompanied with thunder and high but variable winds. Between twelve o'clock and sunset, the mercury in Fahrenheit's thermometer fell nineteen degrees, from 89° to 60°.

3d. Breakfast was despatched, and we had mounted our horses before five o'clock. We were enabled to have our breakfast thus early, as the sentinel on duty during the night, was directed to put the kettles over the fire at three o'clock, all the processes preparatory {180} to boiling having been finished on the preceding evening.

As we approached the mountains, wood became much more abundant along the Platte. We had often heard our guide, in speaking of the country, two or three days' journey from the mountains, mention the Grand Forest, and were a little surprised on arriving at it, to find no more than a narrow but uninterrupted stripe of timber, extending along the immediate banks of the river, never occupying the space of half a mile in width.

For several days the direction of our course in ascending the Platte, had inclined considerably to the south, varying from due west to south, 20° west.

In the course of the day, we passed the mouths of three large creeks, heading in the mountains, and entering the Platte from the north-west. One of these, nearly opposite to which we encamped, is called Potera's creek, from a Frenchman of that name, who is said to have been bewildered upon it, wandering about for twenty days, almost without food. He was then found by a band of Kiawas, who frequent this part of the country, and restored to his companions, a party of hunters, at that time encamped on the Arkansa.130

Throughout the day we were approaching the mountains obliquely, and from our encampment at evening, we supposed them to be about twenty miles distant. Clouds were hanging about all the higher parts of the mountains, which were sometimes observed to collect together, and descend in showers, circumscribed to a limited district. This state of the weather obstructed the clearness, but added greatly to the imposing grandeur of some of the views which the mountain presented.

4th. We had hoped to celebrate our great national festival on the Rocky Mountains; but the day had arrived, and they were still at a distance. Being extremely impatient of any unnecessary delay, which {181} prevented us from entering upon the examination of the mountains, we did not devote the day to rest, as had been our intention. We did not, however, forget to celebrate the anniversary of our national independence, according to our circumstances. An extra pint of maize was issued to each mess, and a small portion of whiskey distributed.

On leaving the camp in the morning, Major Long and Lieutenant Swift preceded the party, intending to select a suitable place for encampment, where they proposed to commence a set of observations, and to wait the arrival of the remainder of the party. But as they had gone forward about two miles, the point of woods at which they had left the course was mistaken by the main body, which moved on until about eleven o'clock. By this time much anxiety was felt on account of their absence, and persons were sent out to attempt to discover them, but returned unsuccessful. A circumstance tending to increase the anxiety which was felt, was, that Indians were reported to have been seen in the course of the morning by several of the party. Captain Bell was about to despatch as large a force as it was thought prudent to spare from the camp, to search for them in all the distance which had been passed since they were seen, when they arrived at the encampment of the main body, at half past one P.M.

The observations which had been made were, of course, lost, as the corresponding equal altitudes for the correction of time could not be had.

In the evening, the meridional altitude of Antares was taken for latitude.

Several valuable plants were here collected, and, among others, a large suffruticose species of lupine. The long-leaved cotton-wood131 of Lewis and Clarke, which is, according to their suggestion, a species of populus, is here of very common occurrence. It is {182} found intermixed with the common cotton-wood, resembling it in size and general aspect. Its leaves are long and narrow; its trunk smoother, and its branches more slender and flexile than those of the populus angulata. Some of its fruit was fortunately still remaining, affording us an opportunity to be entirely satisfied of its relation to this genus.

Here we also observed both species of the splendid and interesting Bartonia, and B. nuda in full flower, the ornata not yet expanded.

These most singular plants are interesting on several accounts, particularly the regular expansion of their large and beautiful flowers towards the evening of several successive days. In the morning the long and slender petals, and the petal-like nectaries, which compose the flower, are found accurately closed upon each other, forming a cone of about an inch in length. In this situation they remain, if the weather be clear, until about sunset, when they gradually expand. If the weather be dark and cloudy, with a humid atmosphere, they are awakened from their slumbers at an earlier hour. We have, in some instances, seen them fully expanded early in the afternoon; but this has always been in stormy or cloudy weather. In this particular the Bartonia bears some resemblance to the great night-flowering cereus, to which it is closely allied; but the gaudy petals of the cereus, once unfolded, fall into a state of irretrievable collapse, whereas, the Bartonia closes and expands its flowers for many days in succession.132

A number of young magpies were seen in the bushes about the river; also the nests and young of the mockingbird, (turdus orpheus, Vieil.)

The prairie-dog villages we had observed to become more frequent and more extensive as we approached the mountains; and we had now constant opportunities of contrasting the stupendous elevations of the Andes with the humble mounds cast up by this interesting little animal. We observed in the {183} numerous burrows an appearance of greater antiquity than in those more remote from the mountains. Many of the mounds occupy an extent of several yards in diameter, though of but inconsiderable elevation, and with the exception of the present entrance, overgrown with a scanty herbage, which always marks the area of the prairie-dog villages. Indeed we have observed several large villages, with scarce a trace of vegetation about them. The food of the marmot consisting of grasses and herbaceous plants, it is not perhaps easy to assign a reason for the preference which, in selecting the site of his habitation, he always shows for the most barren places, unless it be that he may enjoy an unobstructed view of the surrounding country, in order to be seasonably warned of the approach of wolves, or other enemies.

Rattle-snakes of a particular species133 are sometimes seen in these villages. They are found between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, and appear to prefer an unproductive soil, where their sluggish gait may not be retarded by the opposing obstacles of grass and weeds. Whilst exploring Bowyer creek of the Missouri, in the spring of 1820, our party met with six or eight of them during one day's march on the prairie; and on our subsequent journey to the Rocky Mountains, we several times encountered equal, or even greater numbers, in the same space of time. This is the species of serpent which travellers have observed to frequent the villages of the prairie dogs, and to which they have attributed the unnatural habit of voluntary domiciliation with that interesting animal. It is true that the tergeminus, like many other serpents, will secure a refuge from danger in any hole of the earth, rock, or fallen tree that may present itself, regardless of the rightful occupant; but we witnessed no facts which could be received as a proof that it was an acceptable inmate of the dwelling of the arctomys.

{184} From the disparity in the number of plates and scales, and from the greater size of the vertebral spots in this species than in the C. miliaris, we have been induced to consider this as a distinct species. Specimens are in the Philadelphia museum.

On the 5th of July we left our camp at an early hour, and ascended the Platte about ten miles. Here the party encamped for the day;134 and Mr. Peale and Dr. James, with two riflemen, went out for an excursion on foot, intending to ascend the Cannon-ball creek to the mountains, which appeared to be about five miles distant.

This creek is rapid and clear, flowing over a bed paved with rounded masses of granite and gneiss. It is from a supposed resemblance of these masses to cannon balls that the creek has received its name from the French hunters. The channel is sunk from fifty to one hundred feet below the common level of the plain.

This plain consists of a bed of coarse pebbles, gravel, and sand; and its surface is thinly covered with prickly pears, and a scanty growth of starved and rigid grasses. Among these the hygrometric stipa, (s. juncea, s. barbata,) is extremely troublesome, its barbed and pointed seeds adhering and penetrating, like the quills of the porcupine, into every part of the dress with which they come in contact. The long and rigid awn is contorted or straight, in proportion to the humidity or dryness of the atmosphere; indicating the changes in this respect with the precision of the nicest hygrometer.

The detached party extended their walk about eight miles without finding that they had very considerably diminished the apparent distance to the base of the mountain. They had unluckily forgotten to make any provision for dinner, and now found themselves fatigued and hungry at the distance of eight miles from the encampment of the main body and so far from the mountains, that it was evidently {185} impossible they should reach them and return on the same day. It was therefore determined to relinquish the attempt, and Mr. Peale was fortunate enough to kill a couple of curlews, which were roasted and eaten without loss of time.

Near the place of this halt they observed some small sandstone ridges similar to those on the Platte below, and collected, among other plants, the species of currant (ribes aureum?) so often mentioned by Lewis and Clarke, the fruit of which formed an important article of the subsistence of their party while crossing the Rocky Mountains.135

They also saw about the shelvings of the sandstone rocks, which formed for some distance the banks of the stream, innumerable nests of the cliff swallows, similar to those seen on the Missouri. In returning to the camp by a different route, they were much annoyed by the prickly pears, covering the ground so closely, that their feet were frequently wounded by the thorns, against which their mockasins presented but a very inadequate protection.

Having killed a young antelope, they recrossed the Platte, which was here about three feet deep, and clear, and rapid, and arrived at camp at sun-set.

Here a complete set of observations, for latitude, longitude, &c., had been taken. Major Long and Lieutenant Swift having preceded the party in the morning, and arrived before seven o'clock for that purpose. In the evening, observations were attempted, but without success, as the sky soon became cloudy.

Robins, which we had not seen since we left the Missouri, here occurred in considerable numbers.

On the following morning, soon after leaving the encampment, we crossed Vermilion creek, a considerable tributary from the south. Its upper branches interlock with those of a tributary of the Arkansa. In some part of its course, its valley is bounded by {186} precipitous cliffs of a red sand-rock, whence the name of the creek.

Our guide informed us that the Indians, a few years since, destroyed every individual of a large herd of bisons, by driving them over the brink of one of these precipices.

Opposite the mouth of Vermilion creek is a much larger stream, from the north-west, which is called medicine-lodge creek,136 from an old Indian medicine lodge, which formerly stood near its mouth. A few miles further, on the same side, is Grand Camp creek, heading also in the mountains. About four years previous to the time of our visit, there had been a large encampment of Indians and hunters on this creek. On that occasion, three nations of Indians, namely, the Kiawas, Arrapahoes, and Kaskaias or Bad-hearts, had been assembled together, with forty-five French hunters in the employ of Mr. Choteau and Mr. Demun of St. Louis.137 They had assembled for the purpose of holding a trading council with a band of Shiennes. These last had been recently supplied with goods by the British traders on the Missouri, and had come to exchange them with the former for horses. The Kiawas, Arrapahoes, &c. who wander in the fertile plains of the Arkansa and Red river, have always great numbers of horses, which they rear with much less difficulty than the Shiennes, whose country is cold and barren.

The British traders annually supply the Minnetarees or Gros-ventres of the Missouri with goods; from these they pass to the Shiennes and Crow Indians, who, in their turn, barter them with remoter tribes: in this manner the Indians who wander near the mountains receive their supplies of goods, and they give a decided and well founded preference to those which reach them by this circuitous channel, to those which they receive from any other source.

Two miles beyond Grand Camp creek, is the mouth of Grape creek, and a little above, on the {187} opposite side, that of Defile creek,138 a tributary to the Platte, from the south, which has its course in a narrow defile, lying along the base of the mountains.

At eleven o'clock we arrived at the boundary of that vast plain, across which we had held our weary march for a distance of near one thousand miles, and encamped at the base of the mountain. The woodless plain is terminated by a range of naked and almost perpendicular rocks, visible at a distance of several miles, and resembling a vast wall, parallel to the base of the mountain. These rocks are sandstone similar in composition and character to that on the Cannon-ball creek. They emerge at a great angle of inclination from beneath the alluvial of the plain, and rise abruptly to an elevation of one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet. Passing within this first range, we found a narrow valley separating it from a second ridge of sandstone, of nearly equal elevation, and apparently resting against the base of a high primitive hill beyond. At the foot of the first range, the party encamped at noon, and were soon scattered in various directions, being eager to commence the examination of that interesting region.

Our camp was immediately in front of the chasm, through which the Platte issues from the mountains. A little to the south is a commanding eminence, from which the view of the chasm was taken.139

{188} CHAPTER IX {VII}

Sandstone Formation at the Base of the Rocky Mountains—The Platte within the Mountains—Granitic Mountains Between the Platte and Arkansa—Castle Rock—Birds—Plants.

The district occupied by the inclined sandstone, at the base of the mountains, we found much wider, and the rocky summits incomparably more elevated, than from a remote view we had supposed.

July 6. This extensive range, rising abruptly from the plain, skirts the base of the mountains like an immense rampart, and to a spectator placed near it, intercepts the view of the still more grand and imposing features of the granitic ridge beyond. It is made up of rocks composed of the broken down and comminuted fragments of preexisting aggregates embosoming reliquæ of the animals of a former world, known to us only by the monuments which these remains exhibit. Though rugged and precipitous, its elevation is small, when compared to that of the stupendous Andes, which rise above it far into the regions of perpetual winter. The stratifications with which it is distinctly seamed, penetrate the mass with various degrees of obliquity, sometimes running perpendicularly to the horizon; seeming unequivocally to prove, that the whole has receded from its original position, and that these immense rocky masses have, by the operation of some powerful agent, been broken off from their original continuity with the strata now found in a horizontal position in the plains.

It is difficult, when contemplating the present appearance and situation of these rocks, to prevent the {189} imagination from wandering back to that remote period, when the billows of an ocean lashed the base of the Andes, depositing, during a succession of ages, that vast accumulation of rounded fragments of rocks, alternating with beds of animal remains, which now extends without interruption from the base of this range to the summits of the Alleghany mountains; and endeavouring to form some idea of that great subsequent catastrophe, by which this secondary formation has so changed its elevation, in relation to the primitive, that its margin has been broken off and thrown into an inclined or vertical position.

The valley which intervenes between this huge parapet of sand-rock and the first range of the primitive is nearly a mile in width; it is ornamented with numerous insulated columnar rocks, sometimes of a snowy whiteness, standing like pyramids and obelisks, interspersed among mounds and hillocks, which seem to have resulted from the disintegration of similar masses. This range of sandstone would appear to have been originally of uniform elevation and uninterrupted continuity, running along the base of the mountains from north to south; but it has been cut through by the bed of the Platte, and all the larger streams in their descent to the plains.

From our camp, we had expected to be able to ascend the most distant summits then in sight, and return the same evening; but night overtook us, and we found ourselves scarcely arrived at the base of the mountain.140 The lower part of the sandstone stratum, being exposed at the western declivities of the hills, and in the parts nearest the granite, contains extensive beds of coarse conglomeratic, or pudding-stone, often of a reddish colour. The more compact parts of the rock contain the remains of terebratulæ, and other submarine animals. Among these, few are entire or in good preservation. We observed here several singular scorpion-like, spider-formed {190} animals, inhabiting under stones and dried bisons' dung. They have a formidable appearance, and run actively. They belong to the class arachnoides, genus galeodes, which has been heretofore observed only in warm climates; not one was known to inhabit this continent.141

About the sandstone ledges we collected a geranium142 intermediate between the crane's-bill and herb-robert, the beautiful calochortus (C. elegans, Ph.) and a few other valuable plants.

The Platte, at the foot of the mountains, is twenty-five yards wide, having an average depth of about three feet, its water clear and cool, and its current rapid. Its descent for twenty miles below cannot be less than ten feet per mile. Its valley is narrow and serpentine, bounded by steep and elevated hills, embosoming innumerable little lawns, often of a semicircular form, ornamented by the narrow margin of shrubbery along the Platte.

The narrow valley between the ridges of sandstone is a little more fertile than the plains along the river. It is covered with fine and short grasses, and is varied with here and there a copse of small oaks or hazels. There are also some columnar masses of white sandstone, twenty or thirty feet high, standing remote from each other, having the débris around their bases covered with shrubby oaks. As we were passing near one of these, an uncommonly large and beautiful buck deer sprung out from the bushes, and stood gazing on us, until he received in his side the ball, which brought him instantly to the earth.

We observed here the obscure wren,143 a bird more closely related to the great Carolina wren of Wilson than any other we have seen; but the characters drawn from the primaries, and from the marking of the tail, sufficiently distinguish it from that species. The bill is somewhat longer, and the general tint of the plumage of a much more sombre hue. It frequents the arid country in this vicinity, {191} and is often seen hopping about upon the branches, and singular compressed semi-procumbent trunks of the juniperus depressa. The bill of this species approaches the form which characterizes the genus certhia, in which Wilson has placed its kindred species, the Carolina wren.

On the morning of the 7th of July, the party remaining in the encampment of the preceding day, Dr. James and Mr. Peale, accompanied by two riflemen, were sent out to examine the mountains. These appeared most accessible on the north side of the river, opposite our encampment. The river was here about four feet deep, and the strength of the current such as to render it impossible for a man to keep his feet in the deepest part of the stream. As some of the party destined for the mountains could not swim, it was thought hazardous for them to attempt to cross the river by fording. To obviate this difficulty, two men were sent with a long rope, which they were directed to stretch across the river, making the ends fast on either shore. This was readily accomplished, one of the men swimming across with an end of the rope in his teeth. By the aid of this, the detachment were enabled to keep their feet in crossing, though with extreme difficulty, as the bed of the river was uneven and rocky. They all, however, arrived in safety on the left-hand bank by about sunrise.

After passing the region of inclined sandstone, which is about two miles in width, they began to rise upon what may be considered the base of the mountain. As the day advanced, the heat became oppressive, and they found themselves somewhat exhausted before they had crossed the sandstone hills, which appeared so inconsiderable from our encampment, that the labour of crossing them had been almost forgotten in estimating the toils of the day. The first range of primitive rocks they found far more abrupt and rugged than what they had already passed. Its sides are destitute of vegetation, except a few prickly {192} pears and yuccas, with here and there a stinted oak or juniper, and so steep that great exertion as well as the utmost caution, are necessary in ascending.

The rock is an aggregate of felspar and hornblende, approaching in character some of the common varieties of sienite. On the eastern side, where the felspar is in the greatest proportion, it is flesh-coloured, and its structure crystalline; the fractured surface of the mass being uneven like that of coarse granite. Advancing towards the west, hornblende was found to become more and more predominant, and so arranged as to have in the mass a laminated appearance. The natural fissures or cleavages between the lamina run nearly in a perpendicular direction, giving the rock the columnar structure of trap or greenstone.

As the detachment proceeded, a few interesting insects and plants occurred to reward their labours. But these impenetrable and naked rocks, are the abodes of few living beings, either animal or vegetable. In the crevices of the rocks where a scanty soil has accumulated, is here and there planted a hardy evergreen, whose short and gnarled trunk, recurved and inflexible branches, proclaim the storms it has withstood, and the centuries during which it has vegetated.

The design of the party had been to cross the first range of the mountains and gain the valley of the Platte beyond, but this they found themselves unable to accomplish. After climbing successively to the summit of several ridges which they had supposed to be the top of the mountain, they still found others beyond higher and more rugged. They therefore relinquished the intention of crossing, and began to look for the best way to descend to the bed of the river, which lay on their left hand. Here they halted to rest for a few moments, and exposed a thermometer in the shade of a large rock. The mercury fell to 72°; in camp, at the same hour it stood at {193} 86°. They were so much elevated above the river, that although they could see it plainly, it appeared like a small brook of two or three yards in width, and though white with foam and spray, caused by the impetuosity of its current, and the roughness of its channel, its "idle chiding could not be heard so high." They could distinguish two principal branches of the Platte—one coming from the north-west, the other from the south; a little below the confluence of these branches, the river turns abruptly to the S. E., bursting through a chasm in a vast mural precipice of naked columnar rocks.144

About noon the detachment commenced their descent, which cost them no less exertion than their ascent in the morning. Their fatigue was aggravated by thirst, as they met with no water, nor any shade excepting that of projecting rocks in the higher parts of the mountain.

They chose a different route from that which they had taken in ascending, intending to descend to the river, with the hope of being able to travel along its bed. They were obliged to assist each other in lowering themselves down precipices; they would have found it impossible to pass singly. On the southern declivity of the mountain, they met with a few ripe currants, but these were hard and juiceless, of a sweetish taste, and aggravated, instead of alleviating their thirst, and were probably the cause of a violent head-ache, with which several of the party were affected soon after eating them. There were also found a few large and delicious raspberries, of a species approaching the flowering raspberry (rubus odoratus), but with smaller leaves, and a more branching stem.

After descending from the more precipitous parts about the summit of the mountain, they crossed along a rugged tract, buried and rendered almost impassable by boulders and fragments which had fallen from above, and were at length so fortunate as to {194} find a spring of cool water, and a shade, in a narrow ravine; where they sat down to rest and dine on the provision they had brought.

The men who were with them stopped in the same ravine, a few rods below. One of these was violently attacked, immediately after drinking of the water, with headache, vomiting, and purging, which increased to such an alarming degree, that he was presently unable to stand upon his feet. As it was feared he would not soon be able to walk, Mr. Peale undertook to return alone to camp, and give notice of his situation, and return with medicine and assistance.

He descended along a rough and obstructed ravine, until he arrived at the Platte, but found the valley so confined as to be impassable, and again directed his course towards the north-east, attempting to regain the route which the party had taken in ascending. After a most rugged and fatiguing march of about six miles, he arrived at camp late in the afternoon. Here he found a number of the party suffering in a similar manner, but not so severely as the man he had left in the mountains. Two men were immediately despatched in search of the disabled party.

Mr. Peale had left them but a short time, when their attention was called to the noise as of some large animal running up the narrow defile in which they were sitting; on turning round they perceived a large bear advancing at full speed towards the place where they were. Seizing their rifles, they fired upon him at the distance of about ten steps, but the bear, without stopping or turning his head, mounted an almost perpendicular precipice of about thirty feet, and was out of sight in an instant.

At this spot, which was several miles within the mountains, and elevated nearly to the limit of phænogamous vegetation, the common hop (H. lupulus) was growing in perfection; also the box elder (acer negundo, Ph.), the common sarsaparilla of the eastern {195} States (aralia nudicaulis), the spikenard (A. vacemora), and many other common plants.

After waiting about two hours, they found the sick man so far recovered as to be able to stand upon his feet and walk a little. They therefore relieved him of his gun and other luggage, and moved by short stages towards camp, where they arrived at a late hour in the evening.145

The men who had been sent out to their assistance returned some time afterwards, having sought for them without success.

On the morning,146 soon after the departure of Dr. James's detachment, two of the party passed into the mountains on the left side of the river; they experienced much difficulty, and underwent much labour in scaling the steep ascents, and some hazard in descending the precipitous declivities which marked their course. The timber was small, scrubby, and scattered in the most favoured situation; and many of the solitary pines which occupied an elevated position, had evidently been the sport of furious tempests, being rived and seamed by lightning. Upon surmounting one of the elevations, they observed on a projecting ledge of the succeeding mountain two elk grazing, which seemed to be at a very short distance; and in consequence of this deceptive appearance were magnified into a vast size. The party were surprized at the apparent heedlessness of these animals, which remained peacefully feeding, whilst the party was clambering along the rocks in full view, until at length they majestically bounded off, leaving the authors of their alarm to measure the unexpected distance to the position they had occupied. To the right, and easy of access, was a projecting rock supporting a single humble cedar in one of its fissures, from which a stone let fall was received into the torrent of the river which washed its base. The huge rampart of naked rock which had been seen from below to stretch across {196} the valley, was now in nearer view, the river whirling abruptly around the acute angle of its extremity, and offering at its superior edge an embattled outline. They ascended a primitive mountain, which seemed to be of a superior elevation, in order to overlook the western ranges; but found their horizon bounded by the succeeding mountains towering majestically above them. To the east, over the tops of a few inferior elevations, lay expanded the vast interminable prairie over which we had so long held our mountainous march. The undulations which swell its surface now disappeared, and the whole lay like a map before the observer. They could trace the course of the Platte, and number the streams they had crossed, and others which they had before passed near, by the slight fringing of timber or bushes which margined their banks, and by an occasional glimpse of their streams shining like quicksilver, and interrupting and varying the continuity of the plain as they pursued their serpentine course. The atmosphere was remarkably serene, small clouds were coursing over the surface of the heavens, casting their swiftly moving shadows upon the earth, and enhancing the beauty of the contrast which the long lines of timber afforded to the general glare of light. After contemplating for some time the beauty and extent of the scene, their attention was attracted by a moving point, which occasionally became visible by reflecting the rays of the retiring sun. This object was our white flag, waving in a gentle breeze, and revealing the position of our camp, the only spot in the boundless landscape where the eye could rest on the work of human hands. The descent towards the river from this pinnacle was so precipitous, that much caution was requisite in attempting to gain the river towards which they now directed their course. Upon a step or resting place were several ponderous masses of rock, which, by the application of a little force, were readily overturned down the steep; and {197} we were amused by marking their impetuous and rapidly increasing motion as they rolled and bounded onward, until a surge and wide-thrown spray announced their reception into the bed of the river. Arriving at the river, it was found necessary to pass along in the stream, the margin not admitting sufficient foot-hold; this mode of progression, however, soon proved too painful and laborious, as the very unequal rocks with which the bottom was paved, were invested with a slime, and refused repose to the foot, the uncertain motion of which was only arrested by the opposition of an angular fragment, or the intervention of an interstice; we therefore again ascended the mountain side, and at length regained the plain.

Astronomical observations were attempted at camp, but in the middle of the day the moon was found to be too near the sun, and in the evening the sky was cloudy.

The sickness experienced by almost all the party was probably occasioned by eating of currants, which were abundant about the camp. It is not to be supposed this illness was caused by any very active deleterious quality in the fruit, but that the stomach, by long disuse, had in a great measure lost the power of digesting vegetable matter. Several continued unwell during the night.

On the morning of the 9th [8th] of July147 we resumed our journey, travelling somewhat east of south along a small tributary of the Platte. The bed of this stream lies from south to north along a narrow valley, bounded on each side by high cliffs of sandstone. The rock is similar to that already mentioned, its strata having, however, less inclination than is observed nearer the base of the mountain. It is the margin of that great formation of secondary which occupies the plain, and appears as if broken off and thrown into an inclined position by some convulsion which changed the relative elevation of {198} the stratum. It is of great thickness, its laminæ in an almost vertical position, covering a surface of two or three, and sometimes many miles in width. On the eastern declivities of the first ranges of hills in places which may be supposed to have occupied the surface of the stratum in its original position, the rock is usually of a close grain and compact texture, and of a yellowish white or light gray colour.

We observed, in various parts of the valley which traverse this sandstone district, several detached columnar masses, many of them bearing a striking resemblance to colossal ruins; also some insulated hills with perpendicular sides and level summits. These seem to be the remains of an extensive portion of the sandstone stratum which formerly covered the country to the level of their highest summits. They occur at considerable distance from the base of the primitive mountain, and their summits are occupied by horizontal strata of sandstone; for a small portion of the upper part of their elevation their sides are nearly perpendicular, but their bases are surrounded by an extensive accumulation of débris sometimes rising nearly to the summit. After ascending the small stream before mentioned to its source, we crossed an inconsiderable ridge which separates it from the valley of Defile Creek. This we ascended to the place where its principal branch descends from the mountains. Here we encamped with the intention of resting on the following day, which was Sunday.148

July 10th [9th]. A beautiful species of pigeon was shot near the mountain. The head is of a purplish cinereous colour; the back of the neck, and its sides, brilliant golden-green; the feathers at base brownish purple; above this patch, and at base of head, is a white semi-band; the under part of the neck is pale vinaceous purplish; this colour becomes paler as it approaches the vent, which, with the inferior tail coverts, is white; anterior portion of the back, the {199} wing coverts and scapulars are brownish ash; the larger wing feathers dark brown, approaching black; the exterior edges whitish; the lower part of the back, the rump and tail coverts, inferior wing coverts and sides, bluish ash; paler beneath the wings; the shafts of the body-feathers and tail coverts are remarkably robust, tapering rather suddenly near the tips; the tail is medial, rounded at tip, consisting of twelve feathers, a definite black band at two-thirds their length from the base, before which the colour is bluish ash, and behind it dirty whitish; the bill is yellow, tipped with black, and somewhat gibbous behind the nostrils; the irides red; the feet yellow; claws black.

This species seems to be most intimately connected to the ring-tailed pigeon (C. caribæa), from which it differs in the colour of the legs and bill, and in not having the gibbosity at the base of the latter so remarkable. It is possible that it may be an intermediate link between the ring-tailed pigeon and the stock pigeon of Europe, with the latter of which it has, in common, the exterior white edging to the greater wing feathers. It may be distinguished by the name of band-tailed pigeon (columba fasciata, Say); and may be seen, with other specimens of natural objects collected on this expedition, in the Philadelphia Museum.

Several of the tributaries to Defile creek appear to discharge as much water as is seen in the stream below their junction. This appearance is common to many of the larger creeks, their broad and sandy beds allowing much of the water to sink, and pass off through the sand. In the evening, a favourable opportunity, the first for several days, presented, and observations for latitude were taken.

That part of Defile creek, near which we encamped, is filled with dams, thrown across by the beaver, causing it to appear rather like a succession of ponds than a continued stream. As we ascended {200} farther towards the mountains, we found the works of these animals still more frequent. The small willows and cotton-wood trees, which are here in considerable numbers, afford them their most favourite food.

At no great distance to the east of our camp was one of these peculiar hills above mentioned. In visiting it we crossed a ridge of sandstone, about three hundred feet in height, with strata inclined to the west. To this succeeds a valley, about one mile wide, having a scanty growth of pine and oak. The ascent of the hill is steep and rugged. Horizontal strata of sandstone and coarse conglomerate are exposed on its sides, and the summit is capped by thin stratum of compact sandstone, surmounted by a bed of greenstone trap, or trappea porphyry. The loose and splintery fragments of this rock sometimes cover the surface, making a clinking noise under the feet, like fragments of pottery.

The summit of this hill is of an oval form, about eight hundred yards in length and five hundred in breadth. Its surface is undulating, and is terminated on all sides by perpendicular precipices. The elevation of the hill is about one thousand feet, and the height of the perpendicular precipices, from the summit of the débris to the top of hill, about fifty.

From the top of this hill, the high peak mentioned by Captain Pike, was discovered, and its bearing found to be S. 50. W.

Several of the party ascended Defile creek until they arrived at the mountains, into which they penetrated as far as was found practicable. As they travelled along the bed of this, they found the several rock formations beautifully exposed, and in the following order.

Commencing from the alluvial of the plain on the east, they saw:

First, Horizontal sandstone, embracing extensive {201} beds of coarse conglomeratic, and commonly of a light gray or reddish yellow colour.

Second, Fine compact gray sandstone, containing a few impressions of organized remains, resembling those in the sandstones of coal formations. This rock is inclined at an angle of near twenty degrees towards the west. It forms continuous ranges of hills, not difficult of ascent from the east, but their western declivities are abrupt and precipitous.

Third, Lofty and detached columns of sandstone, of a reddish or deep brown colour. These are irregularly scattered throughout a narrow untimbered valley. Some of them rise probably three hundred feet above the common level of the plain, and are so steep on all sides as to preclude the possibility of ascent. Others are accessible at some points, and one of these we ascended. Sketches of these singular rocks have been preserved both by Mr. Peale and Mr. Seymour.

Fourth, Coarse white pudding-stone or conglomeratic and sandstone, of a deep red colour, alternating with each other, and with beds of fine white sandstone, and resting against the granite in a highly inclined position. This rock contains well preserved remains of terebratulæ, productus, and other bivalve shells. These are usually found on or near the surface of large nodules of a fine flinty stone, closely resembling petrosilex. The same rock also contains an extensive bed of iron ore; and from its eastern side flows a copious brine spring.

About this spring, which had evidently been much frequented by animals, we saw the skulls of the male and female big horn, the bones of elk, bisons, and other animals.

The granite, which succeeds the sandstone last mentioned, is of a dark reddish brown colour, containing a large proportion of felspar, of the flesh-coloured variety, and black mica. The crystalline grains, or fragments of the felspar, are large, and {202} detached easily, so that the rock is in a state of rapid disintegration. This granite rises abruptly in immense mountain masses, and undoubtedly extends far to the west.

The little river, on which our camp is situated, pours down from the rugged side of the granitic mountain through a deep inaccessible chasm, forming a continued cascade of several hundred feet. From an elevation of one or two thousand feet on the side of the mountain, we were able to overlook a considerable extent of secondary region at its base. The surface appeared broken for several miles; and in many of the valleys we could discern columnar and pyramidal masses of sand-rock, sometimes entirely naked, and sometimes bearing little tufts of bushes about their summits.

Here met with a female bird, which closely resembles, both in size and figure, the female of the black game (tetrao tetrix); it is, however, of a darker colour, and the plumage is not so much banded; the tail also seems rather longer, and the feathers of it do not exhibit any tendency to curve outward, which, if we mistake not, is exhibited by the inner feathers of the tail of the corresponding one of the black game.

Its general colour is a black brown, with narrow bars of pale ocraceous; plumage near the base of the beak above tinged with ferruginous; each feather on the head, with a single band and slight tip, those of the neck, back, tail coverts, and breast, two bands and tip, the tips on the upper part of the back and on the tail coverts are broad and spotted with black, with the inferior band often obsolete; the throat and inferior portion of the upper sides of the neck are covered with whitish feathers, on each of which is a black band or spot; a white band on each feather of the breast, becoming broader on those nearer the belly; on the belly, the plumage is dull cinereous with concealed white lines on the shafts; {203} the wing coverts and scapulars, about two banded with a spotted tip and second band, and with the tip of the shaft white; the primaries and secondaries have whitish zigzag spots on their outer webs, the first feather of the former short, the second longer, the third, fourth, and fifth equal, longest feathers of the sides with two or three bands and white spot at the tip of the shaft; inferior tail coverts, white with a black band and base, and slightly tinged with ocraceous on their centres; legs feathered to the toes, and with the thighs pale, undulated with dusky; tail rounded with a broad terminal band of cinereous, on which are black zigzag spots; on the intermediate feathers are several ocraceous spotted bands, but these become obsolete and confined to the exterior webs on the lateral feathers, until they are hardly perceptible on the exterior pair; a naked space above and beneath the eyes. It may be distinguished by the name of the Dusky Grouse (tetrao obscurus, S.).

When this bird flew, it uttered a cackling note a little like that of the domestic fowl; this note was noticed by Lewis and Clarke in the bird which they speak of under the name of the cock of the plains, and to which Mr. Ord has applied the name of tetrao fusca; a bird which, agreeably to their description, appears to be different from this, having the legs only half booted; the "fleshy protuberance about the base of the upper chop," and "the long pointed tail" of that bird may possibly be sexual distinctions.

It appears by the observations of Lewis and Clarke, that several species of this genus inhabit the country which they traversed, particularly in this elevated range of mountains, from whence, amongst other interesting animals, they brought to Philadelphia a specimen of the spotted grouse (T. canadensis); which, together with the above described bird, are now preserved in the Philadelphia Museum, thus proving that the spotted grouse is an inhabitant of a portion of the territory of the United States.

{204} In the evening, a thunder-storm rose in the east. It appeared for some time to approach, the thunder being loud and frequent, but at length moved off towards the south-east, continuing visible in the horizon during great part of the night.

July 11th [10th and 11th]. From our encampment we travelled nearly south, and crossing a small ridge dividing the waters of the Platte from those of the Arkansa, we halted to dine on a tributary of the latter river.149 In an excursion from this place, we collected a large species of columbine, somewhat resembling the common one of the gardens. It is heretofore unknown to the flora of the United States, to which it forms a splendid acquisition. If it should appear not to have been described, it may receive the name of aquilegia cœrulea.150 Our road during the morning lay for about twelve miles close along the foot of the primitive mountain, having on our left some of the sandstone ridges and hills already described. On our right, the brown and naked granite rose in shapeless masses far above our heads; and occasionally, as we passed the deep fissures worn by the descending torrents, we caught a view of the distant summits glittering with eternal frosts. In the valleys towards the east were many insulated and lofty hills, with perpendicular sides, and level table-like summits. They are sometimes disposed in parallel, but interrupted ranges, and sometimes irregularly scattered, without any appearance of order. In every instance they were found to be the remains of extensive beds of sandstone; insulated portions of which had been preserved from disintegration, while all the contiguous parts had crumbled down and been washed away.