nly widen to a greater extent than they have been since we
entered the mountains. At this place was some scattered timber,
consisting of the narrow-leafed cottonwood, the aspen, and pine. There
are also vast quantities of gooseberries, serviceberries, and several
species of currant, among which is one of a black colour, the flavour of
which is preferable to that of the yellow, and would be deemed superior
to that of any currant in the United States. We here killed an elk which
was a pleasant addition to our stock of food. At a mile from the Gates,
a large creek comes down from the mountains and empties itself behind an
island in the middle of a bend to the north. To this stream which is
fifteen yards wide we gave the name of Potts's creek, after John Potts,
one of our men. Up this valley about seven miles we discovered a great
smoke, as if the whole country had been set on fire; but were at a loss
to decide whether it had been done accidentally by captain Clarke's
party, or by the Indians as a signal on their observing us. We
afterwards learnt that this last was the fact; for they had heard a gun
fired by one of captain Clarke's men, and believing that their enemies
were approaching had fled into the mountains, first setting fire to the
plains as a warning to their countrymen. We continued our course along
several islands, and having made in the course of the day fifteen miles,
encamped just above an island, at a spring on a high bank on the left
side of the river. In the latter part of the evening we had passed
through a low range of mountains, and the country became more open,
though still unbroken and without timber, and the lowlands not very
extensive: and just above our camp the river is again closed in by the
mountains. We found on the banks an elk which captain Clarke had left
us, with a note mentioning that he should pass the mountains just above
us and wait our arrival at some convenient place. We saw but could not
procure some redheaded ducks and sandhill cranes along the sides of the
river, and a woodpecker about the size of the lark-woodpecker, which
seems to be a distinct species: it is as black as a crow with a long
tail, and flies like a jaybird. The whole country is so infested by the
prickly pear that we could scarcely find room to lie down at our camp.

Captain Clarke on setting out this morning had gone through the valley
about six miles to the right of the river. He soon fell into an old
Indian road w