uld be impossible to navigate it. He continued along the left side for
a mile and a half, when the mountains came close on the river, and rise
to a considerable height with a partial covering of snow. From this
place the course of the river was to the east of north. After ascending
with some difficulty a high point of the mountain, he had a pleasing
view of the valley he had passed, and which continued for about twenty
miles further on each side of the middle fork, which then seemed to
enter the mountains, and was lost to the view. In that direction,
however, the hills which terminate the valley are much lower than those
along either of the other forks, particularly the rapid one, where they
continue rising in ranges above each other us far as the eye could
reach. The general course too of the middle fork, as well as that of the
gap which it forms on entering the mountains, is considerably to the
south of west; circumstances which gave a decided preference to this
branch as our future route. Captain Lewis now descended the mountain,
and crossed over to the middle fork, about five miles distant, and found
it still perfectly navigable. There is a very large and plain Indian
road leading up it, but it has at present no tracks, except those of
horses which seem to have used it last spring. The river here made a
great bend to the southeast, and he therefore directed his course, as
well as he could, to the spot where he had directed Chaboneau and Gass
to repair, and struck the river about three miles above their camp. It
was now dark, and he, therefore, was obliged to make his way through the
thick brush of the pulpy-leafed thorn and the prickly pear, for two
hours before he reached their camp. Here he was fortunate enough to find
the remains of some meat, which was his only food during the march of
twenty-five miles to-day. He had seen no game of any sort except a few
antelopes who were very shy. The soil of the plains is a meagre clay, of
a light yellow colour, intermixed with a large proportion of gravel, and
producing nothing but twisted or bearded grass, sedge and prickly pears.
The drier parts of the low grounds are also more indifferent in point of
soil than those further down the river, and although they have but
little grass, are covered with southern wood, pulpy-leafed thorn, and
prickly pears, while the moist parts are fertile, and supplied with fine
grass and sandrushes.

We passed within the first four and a quart