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Show 180 JOURNAL OF .:\ VOYAGE owing to the waters running . over the .icc. Distance 8 1nilcs. Crossed our horses tvnce on the 1c '. 31st December, fVedncsday.-Marched ; had frc. quently to cross the river on the icc, hors~s fallin? do~vn, we were obliged to pull them over on t~1e It.:C. 1 he nver turned so much to the north, as almost mduccd us to be. lievc it was the Arkansaw. Distance 10 3-4· miles. 1st January 1 807, Tbur.rday.-Thc doctor an~ one man marched early, in order to precede the party untll they should kill a supply of provision. We had great diffi.culty in g tting our horses along, som: of the p~or ammal' having nearly killed themselves falhng on the 1cc. Found on the way one of the mountain ran1s which th~ docto.r and Brown had killed and left in the road. Skmned Jt with horns &c. At night ascended a 1nountain, and ~is· covered a prairie ahead about eight miles, the news of which gave great joy to the party. 2d January, Friday.-Laboured all day, but. made only one mile, many of our horses much wounded m falling on the rocks. Provision growing short, left Stoute and Miller with two loads, to come on with a sled on the ice which was on the water in some of the coves. Find· in; it almost impossible to proceed any further with theh.or· ses by the bed of the river, ascended the mountain and Iffi· n1cdiately after were again obliged to descend an aln:ost perpendi.c ular s1. de of t I1 c mountai.n ; .u 1 c f}'e c t.n 1 g whJch ' one horse fell down the precipice, and bruised himself 50 miserably, that I conceived it mercy to cause the p~or animal to be shot. Many others were nearly killed wtth falls received : left two more tnen with loads and tools to make sleds. The 1 wo n1en we had left in the morning had passed us. k :3d January, Saturday.- Lcft two n1ore men to 1n a• 'e <;led<> and come on. W c pursued the n·v cr, an d WJth TO THE SOURCES OF TliE ARKANSA \V, &.c. 18 1 great d~fliculty made ~ix .miles by frequently cutting roads on t?~ Icc, and co~cnng H with earth, in order to go round precipices, &c. 1 he men left in the n1orning encamp 'd with us at night, but those of the day before, we saw nothing off. ~.,his day. two of the horses became senseless, fi·om the brmses received on the rocks, and were obliged to be left. 4th January, Sunday.-W c n1adc the prairie ·tbout thre: o'cl~ck, when I detached Mr. Baroncy andc two soldiers with the horses, in order to find son1c practicable w~~ for them to g:t out of the tnountains light ; I then dzvided the others Into two parties of two n1cn ea~h, to ma~e sleds and bring on tlte baggage. I dctcrmm~ d to commue down the river alone, until 1 could kill som.e sustenance, and find the two nlen who left us on the 2d mst .. ~r the doctor and his companion, for we had ~o provis~on, and every one had then to depend on his d~ ex~rt10n for safety and subsistance. Thus we were lVId~d mto eight different parties, viz. 1st. The doctor and his companion; 2d. The two men with the first sled . 3dh T h · , 4 c Interpreter and the two n1cn with the horses . 1t • Myse~f; 5th. 6th. 7th. and 8th. two n1en each wiLl; s eds at d1ffi · r 1 d ~H~nt c zstauccs ; all of whon1 except the last Ia orders If th ki'll,,d . ' · . ' ey ..... any game, to secure son1e part m a conspicuous place, for their companions in the rear I rnar~hcd on about five r.1iles on the river, which was ;nc croan·t mued fall thro h ug a narrow channel and immense c 1 8 on both sides N · h I th · car mg t came to a place where e rocks were d'. 1 . ( pcrpcn Icu ar on both szd\.:s and no icc except a narr b . 1 ) ' .ab o ut, m. or'd ero wt do.r ucr on th. e water. 1 bcg·an to look co . 0 I~cover wh1ch way the doctor and hi~ mpanton had mana ,d d fi the t 1 . c 'ge ' an to 1nd what had become ol 11..e 1wo ad~ WHh the first sled, when I discover~d one ol' <~J atter ci b · un mg np the side of the rocks ; I cctil<'d (ci |