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Show Lewis atul Cla1·T~e' s Ea:pedition the hunters kiiJed i wo deer, some geese and ducks, and the party saw antelOJles, et'anes, beaver and ottel'. .1\fonday 5. This morning Chaboneau complained ol' being unable to march far to-day, and captain Lewis therefore ordet·ed him and set:jcant Gass to {lass the rapid 1•iver and pt·ocecd tht·ough the level low gt•ound, to a point of high timbet• on the middle fork, seven miles distant, and wait his return. He then went along the north side of the rapid river about four miles, where he waded it, and found it so rapid and shallow that it would he impossible to navigate it. He continued along the left side for a mile ami a half, when the mountains came close on the rivet·, 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. Aftet· 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, whic.h.. 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 othet· forks, particularly the rapid one, where they continue rising in ranges above each other as far as Hte eye could reach. 'l'he gcnet·al course too of the middle fork, as well as that of the gap which it forms on entel'ing the mountains, is considerably to the south of west; circumstances wJtich gaye a decided prefcl'ence to this bl'ancb as our future route. Captain Lewis now descended the mountain, and m·osscd over to the middle fork, about .fh'e miles distant, and found it still perfectly navigable. There is a very large and plain lmlian road leading up it, hut it. has at pt·cscnt no tracks, except those of horses which seem to have used it last spring. 'l"'he 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 Gac;s to repair, and struck the river about three miles abovt Up the JJlisstJul-i. 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 )>rick1y pear, for two hours before he reached their· camp. Here he was fortunate enough to find the remains or 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 antcloi>es who were very shy. The soil of the Jllains is a meagt·e clay, of a ligltt yellow colour, intermixed with a large proportion of gravel, and producing nothing but twisted or bearded grass, sedge an(l prickly pears. The drier pat·ts of the low grounds are also more indifferent in point of soil than those further down the river, and although they have but little gl'ass, are covered with southern wood, pulpy-leafed thorn, and pt·icldy pears, "\\- hile t.hc ruoist I>at'ts are fertile, and supplied with fine grass and sandt·ushes. \Ve passed within the first four and a (}Harter miles three small islands, and the same number of bad rapids. At the distance of tln·ec quarters of a mile is another rapid of difficult passage: three miles and three quarters beyond this are the forks of the l'iver, in reaching which we had two islands and several bayous on diffet·cnt sides to pass. Here we had come nine miles ami a quarter. 'l'hc river was straighter aml more J'apid than yesterday, the labour of the navigation proportionally increased, and we thet·eforc proceeded very slowly, as the feet of several of the men were swollen, and all were Janguid wHh fatigue. \Ve arrived at the fo1·lis about four o'clock, but unluckily captain Lewis's note had been left on a green pole which the beaver had cut dowu aml carried ofl' with the note, an accident which deprived us of all information as to the character of the twa branches of the river. Observing therefore that the northwest fork was most in our direction, and contained as much water as the other, we ascended it; we found it extremely l'apid, and its waters were. scattered in such a manner, that 1br a qum·ter of' a mile we were forced to cut a passage |