in fact very little stone or rock of any kind is to be seen on the
hills. The bed of the Missouri is much narrower than usual, being not
more than between two and three hundred yards in width, with an
uncommonly large proportion of gravel; but the sandbars, and low points
covered with willows have almost entirely disappeared: the timber on the
river consists of scarcely any thing more than a few scattered
cottonwood trees. The saline incrustations along the banks and the foot
of the hills are more abundant than usual. The game is in great
quantities, but the buffaloe are not so numerous as they were some days
ago: two rattlesnakes were seen to-day, and one of them killed: it
resembles those of the middle Atlantic states, being about two feet six
inches long, of a yellowish brown on the back and sides, variegated with
a row of oval dark brown spots lying transversely on the back from the
neck to the tail, and two other rows of circular spots of the same
colour on the sides along the edge of the scuta: there are one hundred
and seventy-six scuta on the belly, and seventeen on the tail. Captain
Clarke saw in his excursions a fortified Indian camp which appeared to
have been recently occupied, and was, we presumed, made by a party of
Minnetarees who went to war last March.

Late at night we were roused by the sergeant of the guard in consequence
of a fire which had communicated to a tree overhanging our camp. The
wind was so high, that we had not removed the camp more than a few
minutes when a large part of the tree fell precisely on the spot it had
occupied, and would have crushed us if we had not been alarmed in time.

Saturday 18. The wind continued high from the west, but by means of the
towline we were able to make nineteen miles, the sandbars being now few
in number, the river narrow and the current gentle; the willow has in a
great measure disappeared, and even the cottonwood, almost the only
timber remaining, is growing scarce. At twelve and three quarter miles
we came to a creek on the north, which was perfectly dry. We encamped on
the south opposite the lower point of an island.

Sunday 19. The last night was disagreeably cold; and in the morning
there was a very heavy fog which obscured the river so much as to
prevent our seeing the way. This is the first fog of any degree of
thickness which we have experienced: there was also last evening a fall
of dew, the second which we have seen since entering this extensi