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Show 162 The Red and Arcansa rivers, whose courses are very long, pass through portions of this , fine. country: They are both navigable to an unknown cltsta.nce by boats of proper construction ; the Arcansa nver ·s however understood to have gn~atly the advan~ l, ' ' . . s tao-e with respect to the facility of navigatiOn. orne difficult places are met with in the Red river below t~1e Nakitosh, after which it is good for one hundred fi!ty leagues (probably computed leagues of .the count:y, about two miles each) ; there the voyager n1eets With a yery serious obstacle, the ~ommencement of ~he " raft," as it is called; that IS, a natural covenng which conceals the whole river for an extent of seven. teen leagues, continually augmentins- by the driftwood brought down by every c.ons1derab~e fresh. This covering, which, for a considerab~e time was only drift-wood, now supports a ~egetatwn of every thing abounding ir:1 the. neighbo~n1g forest, not .excepting trees of a considerable size ; and the nver n1ay be frequently passed without any ~nowled.ge ?f its existence. It is said that the annual muodation IS opening for itself a new passage through the low grounds near the hills; but it must be long. before nature, unaided, will excavate a passage sufficient for the waters of Red river. About fifty leagues above tl1I. s natural brido-e · is the residence of the Cadeaux or Cadadoguies bn a't ion, .whos~ good q~a t•1 t1. es are a 1- ready mentioned. The Inhabttants estinlate the post of Nakitosh to be half way betwe~n ~ew Orlea~s and the Cadeaux nation. Above this pOint the navigation of Red river is said to be embarrasse.d by.mai?Y rapids, falls and shallows. The Arcansa nver IS sa1.d to present a safe, agreeable and uninterrupted navigation as high as it is known. The lands on ea.ch side are of the best quality, and well watered ~Ith springs, brooks and rivulets, a~or~Hn&' many Situations for mill-seats. Fr01n dcscnptwn It would seem that along this river ~here is. a regula: .gradation ?f hill and dale, presentmg the1r cxtrelnitles to the n- 163 ver; the hills are gently swelling eminences and the dales, spacious vallies with livi!1g water me:1ndering through thezn ; the forests cons 1st of handsome trees chiefly w~at is called open ~voods. T'he quality 0 [· the land IS supposed supenor to that on Red river until it ascends. to the prairie country, where th~ lands on both nvcrs are probably similar. About hvo hundred leagues up ~h.e Arcans~ is an interesting place called the Salt praine ; there IS a considerable fork of the river there, and a kind of savanna where the salt wat~~· is continu~ly oozin~ out and spreading over the surf:.tce of a plain. Dunng the dry summer season the sal_t may be raked up in large heaps; a natural crust of a hand breadth In thickness is fonned at this season. 1~his place is not often frequented, on account of the cl<u1g:er fi·on1 the Osage Indians ; much less dare the white hunters venture to ascend higher, where it is generally believed that silver is to be foUI_1d. It i~ furthe~ said, that high up the Arcansa nver salt Is found In form of a solid rock and may be dug out with the crow-bar. 'fhe wat~rs of the .Arcansa, like those of R ed river, are not pot~blc d~1rmg the. dry season, being both charged highly ~vtth a re~ch.sh earth ?r mo.uld, and extrc1nely brackIsh. This Inconvei~Ience 1s not greatly felt upon the Arcansa, where spnngs and brooks of fresh water arc f~equent ; the Heel ri v.er is understood not to be so ~tghly favored. Every ~ccount seems to prove that Immense natural magazmes of salt must exist in the g:reat ~hain of tnountain~ to the westward; as all the nvers In the .sumtner season, which flow from them, are strongly Impregnated with that mineral, and arc only rende~·cd palatable after receiving the nun1erous streams .of fresh water which join them in their cour~e. fhe great western prairies, besides the herds of \VIld cattle, .(bison, coznmonly called buffaloe) are also s~ocked With vast numbers of wild goat (not rese~ blmg the. d~mestic goat) extretnely swift footed. As the descnption given of this goat is not pefect, it \ |