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Show 560 Lewi$ and Clarke's Exped-ition left reluctantly this interesting spo't, and pursuing the Indian road through the interval of the hills, arrived at the top of a ridge, from which they saw high mountains par. tially covered with snow still to the west of them. The 1·idge on which they stootl formed the dividing line between the w~\ters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. 'l'hey followed a descent much steeper than that on the eastern side, and at the distance of three quarters of a mile reached a handsome bold creek of cold clear watet~ running to the westward. They stopped to taste for the first time tlte wa. ters of the Columbia; and after a few minutes followed the road across steep hills and low hollows, till they reached a s1ning on the side of a mountain: here they found a sufficient quantity of dry willow brush for fuel, and therefore halted for the night; and having killed nothing in the com·sc of the day supped on their last piece of pork, and trusted to fortune for some other food to mix with a little flour ru1d parched meal, which was all that now remained of thch· 1n·ovisions. Before reaching the fountain of the .Missouri they aw several large hawks ueat•ly black, and some of the heath cock:;: these last have a long pointed tail, and are of a uniform dark brown colour, much larger than the common dunghill fowl, and similar in habits and the mode of flying to t.he grouse or prairie hen. Drewyer also wounded at the distance of one hundred and thirty yards an animal which we had not yet seen, but which after falling rcco· vcred itself and escaped. It seemed to be of the fox kin!l, rathet•larget• than the small wolf of the plains, and witl..t a skin in which black, reddish lJrown, and yellow, were euI ·iously intermixed. On the creek of the Columbia they found a species of currant which does not grow as high as that of the Missouri, though it is more branching, and its leaf, the under disk of which is covered with a hairy pubescence, is twice as large. The fruit is of the ordinary size and shape of the curraBt, and supported in the usual man- Up tire Missouri. 861 net•, but is of a deep purple colom~, acid, and of a very inferior fiayom~. 'Ve proceeded on in the boats, but as the river was very shallow and t•apid, the navigation is extremely difficult, and t,he men who are almost constantly in the watt••· are getting feeble and sore, and so much wore down by fatigue that they are very anxious to commence travelling by lantl. We went along the main channel which is on the right side, and after 1,assing nine bends in that direction, three islands and a numbea· of bayous, reached at the distance of five and a half miles the uppet~ point of a large island. At noon there was a storm of thunder which continued about half an hour; after which we Jll'Ocecded, but as it was necessary to drag the canoes over the shoals and rapids. made but little progress. On leaving the island we passctl a numbet• of short bends, several bayous, and one run of water on the right side, and having gone by four small and two large islands, encamped on a smooth plain to the left near a few cottonwood trees: our journey by water was just twelve mHes, and four in a direct line. The hunters supt>lied us with three deer and a fawn. Tuesday 13. Very early in the morning captain Lewis resumed the Indian road, which led him in a western direction, through an open broken country; on the left was a deep valley at the foot of a high range of mountains running ft·om southeast to northwest, with thcit· sides better clad witlt timber than the hills to which we have been for some time accustomed, and theil' to}>S covered in part with snow. At :five miles distance, after following the long descent of another valley, he reached a ct•eek abolJt tenyaa·ds wide, and on rising the hill beyond it had a view of a handsome little valley on the left, about a mile in width, through which they Judged, ft·om the appearance of the tjmber, that ::;ome stream of water most probably passed. On the creeli they bad just lef't were some bushes of the white maple, the sumach of the small species with the winged rib, and a »peci~ of boncy- YOL. I. 3 A |