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Show IU4 JOUR~AL OF A VOYAGE (.b. an's m. tox.i cau. on a t thi's pla< ce ' for they • were all drunk. They had tolcn a horse from the estabh hment, and of. t.c rcu. l to 1w m. g h'm 1 back for liquor ' but laughed at them when oflc·red a blanket and powder. Passc~l two canoes an d two l) arges. .LAl t tl1e es, t·c: tbiishment rec J, Ved two let-ters f rom Mr s,. I">I'l'·-e , tool''" with us corporal }.ddy and t.h e other soldier whom capt. Many had left. Rowed With four oars all night. A citizen took pass:tge with me . . 28tb April, Monday.-ln the morrung pass J a wm- ten.n g ground, w h ere f1·o n1 appe,a r· ·c:1 nce , th•e re must have been at least seven or eight cliff rent estabhs~ments.' At 12 o'clock arrived at the Fronch house, mentiOned m our voyage up, about t I1 e l 6 t h o f A ugus t . Iler e we landed our cl. l.l zen, Iu.s name was --, ·(m d he belonged to the settlement on Copper river. He informed me there were about 25 families in the settlement. Stopped at some i~lands about 10 m1· 1e s a b ove s a 1t n·v e1·, where there were pidgcon roosts, and m· about fi f.t een mm· ute,s my men had knocked on the head and brought on board 2~8. I had frequently heard of the fecundity of this bird, but never gave credit to what l then thought m· e1 m· e<. l t 0 the marvellous ; but really the most 1c erv1'd 1· mag·m at w' n cannot conceive their numbers. Their noise in the woods was like the continued roaring of the wind, and the groun.d may be said to have been absolutely covered with their excrement. The young ones whi·c h we 1<. 1·1 1 ed were nearl.r as large as the old, they could fly about ten steps, and were one mass of fat; their craws were filled w1· tI1 ac orns and the wild pea. They were still repo!>ing on their ncs.ts, which were merely small bunches of sticks joined, With which all the small trees were covered. Met four canoes of the Sac , with wicker baskets filled with young pidgco~~ They made motions to exchange them for liquor, to whtc I r turned the back of my hand. Indeed ~ho~e ~cou:f drels had become so insolent through the mst1gauon TO TJIE SOUHCES OF THE l\JISSlSSII'PI. tu.; the traders, that nothing but the lenity of our govern. mcnt and humanity for the poor devils, could have restrJincd me on my descent from carrying some of their towns by surprize, which I was determined to have done had the information of their firing on capt. Many proved to have been correct. Put into the mouth of Salt river to cook supper, after which although raining, we put off and set our watches, but so violent a gale and thunder stonn came on about 12 o'clock, that we put ashore; discovered that one of my sleigh dogs was missing. 29th April, Tuesday.-In the morning still rainin()' d . b' an wmd up the river, hoisted sail, and returned to the mouth of the river; but neither here nor on the shore ~ould we find my dog ; this was no little 1nortification, as 1t broke the match, whose important services I had already experienced, after having brought thcn1 so ncar home. We continued on until I 2 o'clock, when it ceased raining for a little time, and we put ashore for breakfast. Rowed till sun-down, when I set the watch. Night fine and mild. 30th April, Wednesday.-By day light found our~~ vcs, at the Portage de Sio.ux. I here landed captain any s two men, and onlercd them across by land to the cantonment. As 1 had never seen the village, I walked up and through it; there arc not n1orc than twenty-one ~ouses, at furthest, which are built of squar~ logs. Met heut. Hughes , al)o u t 1c 0ur. nu'I cs a b ove S t. I ...om.s wl.t h more than twenty Osage prisoners, conveying then1 to the can-tonment on th M' · h · c · · e 1ssoun ; c In1onned me n1y fnends ~ere all well. Arrived about l 2 o'clock at th~ town a,ter an abs f · 1 ' enc~ o etg 1t Inonths and twenty two days. (S1gned) Z. M. PIKE, Lieut. |