course and the quantity of water, which indicates that it
passes through a large extent of country, we are led to presume that it
may approach the Saskashawan and afford a communication with that river.
The water has a peculiar whiteness, such as might be produced by a
tablespoon full of milk in a dish of tea, and this circumstance induced
us to call it Milk river. In the evening we had made twenty-seven miles,
and encamped on the south. The country on that side consists in general
of high broken hills, with much gray, black and brown granite scattered
over the surface of the ground. At a little distance from the river
there is no timber on either side, the wood being confined as below to
the margin of the river; so that unless the contrary is particularly
mentioned, it is always understood that the upland is perfectly naked,
and that we consider the low grounds well timbered if even a fifth be
covered with wood. The wild liquorice is found in great abundance on
these hills, as is also the white apple. As usual we are surrounded by
buffaloe, elk, common and blacktailed deer, beaver, antelopes and
wolves. We observed a place where an Indian had recently taken the hair
off an antelope's skin, and some of the party thought they distinguished
imperfectly some smoke and Indian lodges up Milk river, marks which we
are by no means desirous of realizing, as the Indians are probably
Assiniboins, and might be very troublesome.

Thursday, 9th. We again had a favourable wind and sailed along very
well. Between four and five miles we passed a large island in a deep
bend to the north, and a large sandbar at the upper point. At fifteen
and a quarter miles we reached the bed of a most extraordinary river
which presents itself on the south: though as wide as the Missouri
itself, that is about half a mile, it does not discharge a drop of water
and contains nothing but a few standing pools. On ascending it three
miles we found an eminence from which we saw the direction of the
channel, first south for ten or twelve miles, then turning to the east
of southeast as far as we could see; it passes through a wide valley
without timber, and the surrounding country consists of waving low hills
interspersed with some handsome level plains; the banks are abrupt and
consist of a black or yellow clay; or of a rich sandy loam, but though
they do not rise more than six or eight feet above the bed, they exhibit
no appearance of being overflowed: the bed