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The crown of the head from the beak back to the neck, the back of the neck imbracing reather more than half the circumpherence of the neck, the back and tale, are of bluish dark brown; the two outer feathers of the tale have a little dash of white near their tips not percemtible when the tail is foalded. a fine black forms the ground of the wings; two stripes of the same colour pass on either side of the head from the base of the beak along the side of the head to it's junction with the neck, and imbraces the eye to it's upper edge; a third stripe of the same colour 3/4 of an inch in width passes from the sides of the neck just above the butts of the wings across the croop in the form of a gorget. the throat or under part of the neck brest and belly is of a fine yellowish brick red. a narrow stripe of this colour also commences just above the center of each eye, and extends backwards to the neck as far as the black stripe reaches before discribed, to which, it appears to answer as a border. the feathers which form the 1st and second ranges of the coverts of the two joints of the wing next the body, are beautifully tiped with this brick red; as is also each large feather of the wing on the short side of it's plumage for 1/2 an inch in length commening at the extremity of the feathers which form the first or main covert of the wing. this is a beatifull little bird.
This morning we set out about sunrise after taking breakfast off our venison and fish. we again ascended the hills of the river and gained the level country. the country through which we passed for the first six miles tho more roling than that we had passed yesterday might still with propryety he deemed a level country; our course as yesterday was generally S W. the river from the place we left it appeared to make a considerable bend to the South. from the extremity of this roling country I overlooked a most beatifull and level plain of great extent or at least 50 or sixty miles; in this there were infinitely more buffaloe than I had ever before witnessed at a view. nearly in the direction I had been travling or S. W. two curious mountains presented themselves of square figures, the sides rising perpendicularly to the hight of 250 feet and appeared to be formed of yellow clay; their tops appeared to be level plains; these inaccessible hights appeared like the ramparts of immence fortifications; I have no doubt but with very little assistance from art they might be rendered impregnable. fearing that the river boar to the South and that I might pass the falls if they existed between this an the snowey mountains I altered my course nealy to the South leaving those insulated hills to my wright and proceeded through the plain; I sent Feels on my right and Drewyer and Gibson on my left with orders to kill some meat and join me at the river where I should halt for dinner.
The country is as yesterday beatifull in the extreme.
The vally allong which we passed today, and through which the river winds it's meandering course is from 6 to 8 miles wide and consists of a beatifull level plain with but little timber and that confined to the verge of the river; the land is tolerably fertile, and is either black or a dark yellow loam, covered with grass from 9 inches to 2 feet high. the plain ascends gradually on either side of the river to the bases of two ranges of high mountains, which lye parallel to the river and prescribe the limits of the plains. the tops of these mountains are yet covered partially with snow, while we in the valley are nearly suffocated with the intense heat of the midday sun; the nights are so cold that two blankets are not more than sufficient covering. soon after passing the river this morning Sergt.
The Silver fox this animal is very rare even in the country where it exists; I have never seen more than the Skins of this anamal and those were in the possession of the natives of the woody Country below the great falls of the Columbia from which I think that it is most probably the inhabtant of the woody country exclusively. from the skin it appeared to be about the size of the large red fox of the plains and much of it's form with a large tail. the legs I think somewhat longer. it has a fine long deep fur poll. the poil is of a dark lead colour and the long hairs intermixed with it are either white or black at the lower part and white at the top, the whole mixture forming a beatifull silver grey.
I think it equal to any veal I ever tasted. the Elk now begin to shed their horns. passed one large and two small creeks on the Lard. side, tho neither of them discharge any water at present. the wind blew so hard this evening that we were obliged to halt several hours. we reached the place of incampment after dark, which was on the Lard. side a little above White earth river which discharges itself on the Stard. side. immediately at the mouth of this river it is not more than 10 yards wide being choked up by the mud of the Missouri; tho after leaving the bottom lands of this river, or even sooner, it becomes a boald stream of sixty yards wide and is deep and navigable. the course of this river as far as I could see from the top of Cut bluff, was due North. it passes through a beatifull level and fertile vally about five miles in width.
The valley of the west fork through which we passed for four miles boar a little to N of West and was about 1 mile wide hemned in on either side by rough mountain and steep Clifts of rock at 41/2 miles this stream enters a beatifull and extensive plain about ten miles long and from 5 to six in width. this plain is surrounded on all sides by a country of roling or high wavy plains through which several little rivulets extend their wide vallies quite to the Mountains which surround the whole in an apparent Circular manner; forming one of the handsomest coves I ever saw, of about 16 or 18 miles in diameter. just after entering this cove the river bends to the N. W. and runs close under the Stard. hills. here we killed a deer and encamped on the Stard.,side and made our fire of dry willow brush, the only fuel which the country produces. there are not more than three or four cottonwood trees in this extensive cove and they are but small. the uplands are covered with prickly pears and twisted or bearded grass and are but poor; some parts of the bottom lands are covered with grass and tolerably fertile; but much the greater proportion is covered with prickly pears sedge twisted grass the pulpy leafed thorn southernwood wild sage &c and like the uplands is very inferior in point of soil. we traveled by estimate 30 Ms. today, that is 10 to the Rattle snake Clift, 15 to the forks of Jefferson's river and 5 to our camp in the cove. at the apparent extremity of the bottom above us two perpendicular clifts of considerable hight stand on either side of the river and appers at this distance like a gate, it is about 10 M. due West.
Set out at 7 A.M. N. 75 E. 6 M. with the road through a level beatifull plain on the North side of the river much timber in the bottoms hills also timbered with pitch pine. no longleafed pine since we left the praries of the knobs. crossed a branch of the creek 8 yds. wid. on which we encamped at 1/4 m. also passed a creek 15 yd. wide at 1/4 further.
I passed through the bottoms of the river on the Stard. side. they were partially covered with timber & were extensive, level and beatifull. in my walk which was about 6 miles I passed a small rivulet of clear water making down from the hills, which on tasting, I discovered to be in a small degree brackish. it possessed less of the glauber salt, or alumn, than those little streams from the hills usually do. in a little pond of water fromed by this rivulet where it entered the bottom, I heard the frogs crying for the first time this season; their note was the same with that of the small frogs which are common to the lagoons and swamps of the U States. I saw great quantities of gees feeding in the bottoms, of which I shot one. saw some deer and Elk, but they were remarkably shy.
Musquetoes excessively troublesome insomuch that without the protection of my musquetoe bier I should have found it impossible to wright a moment. the buffaloe are leaving us fast and passing on to the S. East. killed a buffaloe picker a beatifull bird.
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