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Show Lewis and Cla1•ke"s EXjJeditiol£ phy of the watermen is, that it is occasioned by the burst. ing of the rich mines of silvrr confined within the bosom of the mountain. An elk and a beaver are all that were killed to-day: the buffaloe seemed to ha\'e witlulrawn from our neighbourhood, thouglt several of the men who went to-day to visit the falls for the first time, mention that they are still abun(lant at that Jllaee. 'Ve contrived how~ver to S}H'ead not a very sumptuous but a comfortable table in honour of the day, and in the evening gave the men a drink of spirits~ lVhieh was the last of our stock. Some of them appeared sensible to the effects of even so small a quantity, and as is usual among them on all festivals, the fiddle was produced and a dance begun, which lasted till nine o'clock, when it \vas interrupted by a heavy shower of rain. They continued Jwwever their merriment till a late hour. Friday 5. The boat was brought up into a high situation and fires kindled under her in order to dry her more expNlitiously. Despairing now of procuring any tar, we formed a composition of pounded charcoal with beeswax and buffaloe tallow to supply its place; should tJJis resour ·ce fail us it will be very unfortunate, as in every other resJ>ect the boat answers our purposes completely. Although not quite dry she can be carried with ease by five men; her form is as complete as could be wished; very strong, and will carry at least eight thousand pounds with her complement of hands. Besides our want of tar, we ha,'e been unlucky in sewing the skins with a needle wbich had aharp edges instead of a point merely, although a large thong was used in order to fill the hole, yet it shrinks in drying and leaves the hole open, so that we fear the boat will leak. A large herd of buifaloe came near us and we procured three of them: besides which were killed two wolves and three antelopes. In the cours~ of the day other herds of buffaloe came near our camp on their way down the river: these herds move with ;reat method and regularity. Up t1te .Mi1souri. _\ltbongh ten or twelve herds are seen scattered fi'om each other over a spam~ of many miles. yet if they are undisturbed by pursuit they will be uniformly travelling in the same direction. SatUJ·day 6. Last night there wet·e several showers of rain and hail, attended with thunder and lightning: and about day break a heavy storm came on L't·om the southwest with one continued roar of thunder. and •·ain and hail. 'l'he bail which was as large as musket. balls, covered the ground completely; and on collecting some of it, it lasted du1·jng the day and served to cool the water. 'rhe red aud yellow currant is abundant and now ripe, although still a little acid. 'Ve have seen in this neighbourhood whar we have not met before, a remarkably small fox whieh assoc•iates in bands and burrows in the prairie, like the small wolf. hut have not yet been able to obtain any of them, as they are extremely vigilant, and betake themselves on the slightest alarm to their burrows wl1i<•h are very deep. Sunday 7. The weather is warm but cloudy, so that the moisture retained by the bark after the rain leaves it 8lowJy, though we have small fires constantly umle1· the boat. We have no tents, and therefore arc obliged to usc the sails to keep off the bad 'feather. Out• buftaloc skins too, are scarcely sufficient to cover our baggage, but the men at•e now dressing others to replace their present leather clothing, which soon rots by bejng so constantly e.xposed to water. In the evening the bunters returned with the skins of only three buffaloe, two antelope, fom• deer, and three wolf' skins, and reported that the bu1faloe had gone further down the river; two other hunters who left us this morning could find nothing except one elk: in addition to this we caught a beaver. 'fhe musquitoes still disturb us very much, and the blowing-flies swarm in vast numbers round the boat. At four in the aftet·noon we had a light shower of rain attended with some thunder and lightning. |