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Show 466 CATERPILLARS-BEES CALLED " THE WHITE MAN'S FLY." ash, hazel-bushes, cornus, &c, entwined with Vitis hederacea and other parasitic plants. The stems are tall, straight, and closely crowded together; many were lying on the ground decayed, covered with moss and lichens, which frequently impeded our progress. Here we soon shot a variety of birds, and saw some parrots, which Gardner had already observed on Weeping-water River. In short we might have found here ample employment for a long time, A particular species of caterpillar abounded to such a degree in these forests, that all the branches of the trees, especially the willows and poplars, were thickly loaded with them. As soon as we entered the copses our clothes were covered with these caterpillars and their webs. We lay-to for the night about a mile below Little Nemawha Creek, where Dauphin caught a catfish weighing 15 lbs. On the 15th we were about five miles from our night's quarters to the mouth of the Nishne-bottoneh, which we reached at eight o'clock. In the fine forest at this spot our hunters shot only one rabbit, and wounded a deer, which we did not obtain. At noon we lay-to on the right bank, Gardner having promised to look for some wild honey. I may remark by the way, that though the bee was not known in America till it was introduced by the Europeans, it is now spread over the whole continent. The Indians are said to call it " the white man's fly." It is now common far up the Missouri, where the honey is eagerly sought for by both Whites and Indians, who cut it out of the hollow trunks of the trees. The spot where we rested and prepared our dinner was below the beautiful verdant wooded hills, and was shaded by high trees, inhabited by the most brilliant birds, which afforded much sport to our hunters. Along the bank and distant hills extended a splendid forest, through which winded a solitary Indian path, where the grey squirrels were very numerous. We found much recreation in this solitary wilderness, but here, too, the caterpillars annoyed us greatly; they were of a bluish-green colour, with a double row of green and yellow spots. We afterwards passed the Grand Nemawha, and lay-to, for the night, opposite Solomon's Island, six miles above Wolf River. On the 16th of May the river was covered with a thick fog, which prevented our proceeding on our voyage as early as usual. At half-past seven o'clock we were opposite the mouth of Wolf River, where we saw a herd of six or seven deer, and lay-to at nine o'clock on the right bank. The lofty forest here had a thick undergrowth of box-alder and cornus, which was completely covered with caterpillars and their webs. At noon we reached Nadaway River, and were charmed with the prospect of the sublime forest scenery of the banks, and the picturesque islands in this river. Luxuriant woods appeared on every side, covered to the summits of their highest branches with graceful light green climbing plants, so that the trunks looked like verdant columns. Their foliage was shining and juicy, like the whole of the luxuriant vegetation that surrounded them. Even from our boat we could see, in the dark forest, the scarlet plumage of the beautiful red tangara, which the French on the Mississippi call the pope, the splendid cardinal, and the bright red baltimore. The meridian sun shed a glorious effulgence over this magnificent scene; where, |