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Show too had come down to hunt in the flats, though we fear the . ex}>ect. that we will provide foa· t.larm during thci•· stay. • ".rhe country through which we pa.sscd is gcnea·ally free rrom stone, cxf remcly fertile, and supplied with timllcr, consisting of sc,·cral species of fir, long-lrafcd pine and Ia1·ch. The undergrowth is chokcchrrt·y, n(.>ar the water cout·scs, and sca.tterell through the country, black alder, a large S{>Ccies of red t•oot now in bloom, a plant resrmhling the l>aw l'aw in its leaf. and bl'aring a bert·y with flvc valves or a. dl•cp vurplc colour. There were also two species of sumach, the purple haw, seven bark, scrviccbet·ry, gooscbrny, th . honrysuckle, braa·ing a white bm·ry. ami a species of dwal'f l)ine, t~n or twelve fret hir;h, whid1 might be confounde£1 'vith the young pine of the long-leafed species, excrpt that the former bears a cone of a glolmlar form, with small "'icales, and that its leaves arc in thscicles oft wo resembling in length and appearance the common Jlitch pine. 'V c also f)hiCl'V{'d two species of wild l'OSC, both C}Uill(jUCpr.taJous, both of a damask red colout·, and similar in the stem; lm1 one of th<·m is as la•·gc a · Htc eommo11 a·ed t•osc or om· gardens; its leaf too is somewhat lal'l!'('l' than that of the other ol species of wild rose, and the apex, as we saw them last ymu~, wca·c more than three times the size of the common wild rose. ' 'Ve saw many sandhill et·ancs, and some dueks in the marshes near ou1· camp. ami a p;t·eatcr number of lmrrowiug ~(Iuirt•cls, some of which we killed, and found them as ten tier and well 11avourcd as our gTay squil'l'<'ls. 'Vednesday, 11. All ou1· hunU·rs setout bJ daJlight; but on theit· r·etut·n to dinnet·, had killed nothing ·e:xee1Jt a ()Jack bear ami two deer. I~'ive of the Indians also l>rgan to hunt, but they wct·c quite unsue<>cssful, and in the afternoon rc~ turned to thcil· village. }?iuding 'hat the game had become shy and scarce, the hunters s<·t out afte1· dinnl't' willa ordt>rs to stay out during the night, and hunt at a gt•e.ttl~•· di tancc from the camp, in ground less fr{'qucntcd. But the next Up the Missouri. day tl1cy rcturnNl with nothing except two dcet•. Tbey wcrG tlwt·rfot·e again sent out, and auout noon the following day, seven of them came io with eight deet· out of a number, as well as a bea1·, which they had wounded. hut could not take. In the meantime we had sent two men forwar(l aLout eight Uliles to a prairi<> on this ~ide or Collins's Cl'eck, with orders to hunt till ouJ• anival. Two other huntc..·t·s r{•turncd to\ nwds nigltt. but they had killed only our deer. wbicb thry had bung up iu the morning, aml it had been tlcvon•·Nl hy the buzzal'ds. An Indian \l ho IJad s1•cnt the Ja~t en·nin~ "ith us. cxchanr;cd a ho1·M~ for onr of l)ut·s, which being sick. we ga.vc a small axe and a knife in addition. llc !:!el'ult'd vt•ry mu<~h pleased, and set out immedjatdy to his villat.;e. lest we should ehangc om· minds and give up the bargain, whi<'b i'\ perfectly allowable in lntliu,n t1·a.tfic. ~L,ho hunlet'l:! t'e.; umml the chase in the mot·niuf.!;, but the game is now so scarce fhat they killed only one deer. 'Vc therefot·c cut Ull and (h·icd all the mea.t we had co!lectcd, patkcd up all out• baggage, and hobbled om· horses to be in readiness to set out. nut in the morning. Suntlay, 15, they had stt·ag!;h·d to such a distance, that we could not collect them without great llifliculty, and as it rained very ha.l'd, we waited till it ·hould abate. It soon, however, showed every appeat·a.ucc or a settled rain~ and wo thcrrfot•c set. out at ten o'clock. 'V t~ cr·ossed thc prah·ie at the distance of eight miles, whl're we had sent our hunters, and found two deer which they llad huug up fos· us. Two and a hal{' mi~es farther·, '''e ovcr1ool\. the two men at Collins's creek. They had killed a t.hi1·d deer, aud had sct•n one Jar·ge and another white bear. AfLeJ· dining we 1n·oeeeded up the creek about half a mile, then crossing through a high broken country for a.lJout ten miles, readted an eastern branch or the same creek, near which we encamped in the bottom, after a l'ide of twenty-two miles. ~rlle ra.ins during the day made the roads very slippe•·y. and joined to the quantitv ot' fallen timber, •·eudered our p1·og1'ess !:!low anti labori~us to the YOI.. IT. , |