s it passes through a green
extensive meadow of fine grass dividing itself into several streams, the
largest passing near the ridge of hills on which he stood. On the right
side of the Missouri a high, wide and extensive plain succeeds to this
low meadow which reaches the hills. In the meadow a large spring rises
about a quarter of a mile from this Southeast fork, into which it
discharges itself on the right side about four hundred paces from where
he stood. Between the southeast and middle forks a distant range of
snow-topped mountains spread from east to south above the irregular
broken hills nearer to this spot: the middle and southwest forks unite
at half a mile above the entrance of the southeast fork. The extreme
point at which the former can be seen, bears S. 15 degrees E. and at the
distance of fourteen miles, where it turns to the right round the point
of a high plain and disappears from the view. Its low grounds are
several miles in width, forming a smooth and beautiful green meadow, and
like the southeast fork it divides itself into several streams. Between
these two forks and near their junction with that from the southwest, is
a position admirably well calculated for a fort. It is a limestone rock
of an oblong form, rising from the plain perpendicularly to the height
of twenty-five feet on three of its sides; the fourth towards the middle
fork being a gradual ascent and covered with a fine green sward, as is
also the top which is level and contains about two acres. An extensive
plain lies between the middle and southwest forks, the last of which
after watering a country like that of the other two branches, disappears
about twelve miles off, at a point bearing south 30 degrees west. It is
also more divided and serpentine in its course than the other two, and
possesses more timber in its meadows. This timber consists almost
exclusively of the narrow-leafed cottonwood, with an inter-mixture of
box alder and sweet-willow, the underbrush being thick and like that of
the Missouri lower down. A range of high mountains partially covered
with snow is seen at a considerable distance running from south to west,
and nearly all around us are broken ridges of country like that below,
through which those united streams appear to have forced their passage:
after observing the country captain Lewis descended to breakfast. We
then left the mouth of the southeast fork, to which in honour of the
secretary of the treasury we call