the
16th of September, they passed the mouth of the _Sauteaux_ or _Chippeway
river_, a deep and majestic stream, which has a communication, by a
short passage, with the Montreal river, and, by this river, with Lake
Superior. The shores of the Mississippi were here, in many places, bold
and precipitous, forming a succession of high perpendicular cliffs and
low valleys; and they exhibited some of the most romantic and
picturesque views imaginable. But this irregular scenery was sometimes
interrupted by wide and extensive plains, which brought to the minds of
the voyagers the verdant lawns of civilized countries, and almost
induced them to imagine themselves in the midst of a highly-cultivated
plantation. The timber of this part of the country was generally birch,
elm, and cotton-wood; and all the cliffs were bordered with cedars. The
prevailing species of game were deer and bears.

On the 21st of September, the voyagers breakfasted at a Sioux village,
on the eastern side of the river. It consisted of eleven lodges, and was
situated at the head of an island, just below a ledge of rocks; but the
inhabitants had all left it. About two miles beyond this village, they
saw three bears, swimming over the river, but beyond the reach of
gun-shot.

In a camp of Sioux, which they afterwards passed, Mr. Pike was
astonished by the garrulity of the women. At the other camps the women
had not opened their lips; but here they flocked around the strangers,
and talked without cessation. The cause of this freedom is supposed to
have been the absence of their husbands. In a spot at which the voyagers
arrived this day, the Mississippi was so narrow that Mr. Pike crossed
it, in a boat, with forty strokes of his oars.

From the _Canoe river_ to the _St. Croix_, it becomes still narrower,
and the navigation is less obstructed by islands, than below. From the
_Cannon river_ it is bounded on the east, by high ridges; but the left
shore consists of low ground. The timber is generally ash and maple;
except the cedars of the cliffs, the sugar-tree, and ash. Mr. Pike this
day observed, on the shore, a white flag, and, on landing, he discovered
it to be of silk. It was suspended over a scaffold, on which were laid
four dead bodies; two enclosed between boards, and two between pieces of
bark. They were wrapped in blankets, which appeared quite new; and were
the bodies of two Sioux women, a child, and a relative. This is the
manner in which the Sioux