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Show 832 Lewis and Cla1•ke's Expedition vented itt the ground was divided by bayous, which are dammed up by the beaver, which are very nun1crous here. We made twelve and a quarter miles. and encamped on the north side. Captain Lewis procerded after dinner, through an extensive low ground of timber· and meadow land intermixed; but tlie bayous 'vcre so obstructed by beaver dams, that in order to avoid them he directed his cout·se towat·ds the high plain on the right. This be gained with some difficulty. after wading up to his waist through the mud and water of a number of beaver dams. \Vhen ho desired to rejoin the canoes he found the underbrush so thick, and the rivel' so Cl'ooked, that tltis, joined to the difficulty of passing· the beaver dams, induced him to go on and endeavour to intercept the river at some point where it might be more collected into one channel and approach nearer to the high plain. He at·rived at the bank about sunset, having gone only six miles in a direct course ft·om the canoes: but he saw no traces of the men, nor did he receive any aBswer to his shouts nor the firing of his gun. It was now nearly dark; a duck lighted neat· him and he shot it. He then went on the head of a small island where he found some driftwood, which enabled him to cook his duck for supper, and he laid down to sleep on some willow brush. The night 'vas cool, but the driftwood gave him a good fire, ami he suffered no inconvenience except from the mosquitoes. Wednesday 31. The next morning he waited till after seven o'clock, when he became uneasy lest we should have gone beyond his camp last evening and determined to follow us. Just as he hatl set out with this intention, he saw one of the party in advance of the canoes; although our camp was only two miles below him, in a straight line, we could not reach him sooner, in consequence of the rapidity of the 'vater and the circuitous course of the t•iver. We halted for breakfast, after which captain Lewis continued his route. At the distance of one mile from our encampment we passefl the principal entrance ef a stream on the left, which rises in Up tlte Jtli1sow-i. the snowy mountains to the southwest, between Jefferson and Madison rivers, and dischargP.s itself by seven mouths, five below, and one three miles above this, which is the largest, and about thirty yards wide: we called it Philosophy river. The water of it is abundant and perfectly clear, and the bed like that of the Jefferson consists of pebble and gl'avel. 'rher·c is some timber in the bottoms of the river. and vast numbers of otter and beave1·, which build on its smaller mouths and the bayous of its neighboul'hood. The Jefferson eontinues as yesterday, shoaly and rapid, but as the islands though numerous are small, it is howevct• more collected in· to one current than it was below, and is from ninety to one hundred and twenty yards in width. The low ground has a fertile soil of rich black loam, and contains a considerable quantity of timber, with the bullrusb and cattail flag very abundant in the moist parts, while the drier situations are eovered with fine grass, tansy, thistles, onions, and flax. The uplands are barren, and without timber: the soil is a light yellow clay intermixed with small smooth pebble and gravel, ami the only produce is the pa·ickly-pear, the sedge, and tl1e bearded grass, which is as dry and inflammable as tinder. As we proceeded the low grounds became narrower, and the · timber more scarce, till at tlte distance of ten miles the high bills approach and overhang the I·iver on both sides, forming cliffs of a hard black granite, like almost all those below the limestone elitfs at the three forks of the 1\Iissom·i: they continue so for a mile and three quarters, where we came to a point of rock on the right side, at which place the hiJls again retire, and the valley widens to the distance of a mile and a half. Within the next five miles we passed four islands, and reached the foot of a mountain in a bend of the river to the left: from this place we went a mile and a quarter to the entrance or a small run discharging itself on the left, and encamped on an island just above it, after making seventeen and three quarter miles. \Ve observe some pine on the hills on both sides of ou1· encampment, which are very |