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Updated: June 17, 2025
"But we couldn't stay here two or three days," said John. "We might do worse," replied Alex. "This isn't a bad camping place, and besides, it seems to me good country to make a little hunt, if we care to do that." "It certainly would be a fine place for beaver," said Rob, "if it weren't against the law to kill them." "Yes, or other things also bear or bighorns, I should think very likely."
The rain still continued this morning it was therefore unnecessary to remain as we could not dry our baggage I Consequently set out early as usual and pursued my rout downwards. the currant being strong and the men anxious to get on they plyed their oars faithfully and we went at the rate of about seven miles an hour. we halted several times in the course of the day to kill some bighorns being anxious to procure a few more skins and skeletons of this animal; I was fortunate enough to procure one other malle and female for this purpose which I had prepared accordingly. seven others were killed by the party also 2 buffaloe one Elk 2 beaver with & a female brown bear with tallons 61/4 inches in length.
I placed the two Fieldses and Colter and Collins in the two smallest canoes with orderes to hunt, and kill meat for the party and obtain as many Elkskins as are necessary to cover our canoes and furnish us with shelters from the rain. we set out early and the currant being strong we proceeded with great rapidity. at 11 A.M. we passed that very interesting part of the Missouri where the natural walls appear, particularly discribed in my outward bound journey. we continued our rout untill late in the evening and encamped on the N. E. side of the river at the same place we had encamped on the 29th of May 1805. on our way today we killed 9 bighorns of which I preserved the skins and skeletons of 2 females and one male; the flesh of this aninmal is extreemly delicate tender and well flavored, they are now in fine order. their flesh both in colour and flavor much resembles mutton though it is not so strong as our mutton. the eye is large and prominant, the puple of a pale sea green and iris of a light yellowish brown colour. these animals abound in this quarter keeping themselves principally confined to the steep clifts and bluffs of the river. we saw immence hirds of buffaloe in the high plains today on either hand of the river. saw but few Elk. the brown Curloo has left the plains I presume it has raised it's young and retired to some other climate and country. as I have been very particular in my discription of the country as I ascended this river I presume it is unnecesssesary here to add any-thing further on that subject. the river is now nearly as high as it has been this season and is so thick with mud and sand that it is with difficulty I can drink it. every little rivulet now discharges a torrant of water bringing down immece boddies of mud sand and filth from the plains and broken bluffs.
Hundreds of thousands of years ago the bighorns, which originated in Asia, crossed into Alaska by way of the Bering Sea, where there was probably a land connection at that time From Alaska they gradually worked southward, along the mountains of the western coast, into Mexico and Lower California.
They are bighorns, or mountain sheep, and are considered the chief game of these regions. The animals appear to partake both of the nature of the deer and of the goat. They resemble the latter more especially in their habits, and in frequenting the most lofty and inaccessible regions, whence, except in the severest weather, they seldom descend to the upland valleys.
On Oppapago, which is also called Sheep Mountain, one finds not far from the beds of cassiope the ice-worn, stony hollows where the bighorns cradle their young. These are above the wolf's quest and the eagle's wont, and though the heather beds are softer, they are neither so dry nor so warm, and here only the stars go by. No other animal of any pretensions makes a habitat of the alpine regions.
Early in the morning, before we were ready to start, Jerry called my attention to several "bighorns," or, more properly speaking, Rocky-Mountain sheep, that stood perched upon a high cliff which overhung our camp several hundred feet in the air.
I walked along shore today and killed an Antelope. whever we get a view of the lofty summits of the mountains the snow presents itself, altho we are almost suffocated in this confined vally with heat. the pine cedar and balsum fir grow on the mountains in irregular assemleages or spots mostly high up on their sides and summits. this evening we entered much the most remarkable clifts that we have yet seen. these clifts rise from the waters edge on either side perpendicularly to the hight of 1200 feet. every object here wears a dark and gloomy aspect. the towering and projecting rocks in many places seem ready to tumble on us. the river appears to have forced it's way through this immence body of solid rock for the distance of 53/4 miles and where it makes it's exit below has thown on either side vast collumns of rocks mountains high. the river appears to have woarn a passage just the width of it's channel or 150 yds. it is deep from side to side nor is ther in the 1st 3 miles of this distance a spot except one of a few yards in extent on which a man could rest the soal of his foot. several fine springs burst out at the waters edge from the interstices of the rocks. it happens fortunately that altho the current is strong it is not so much so but what it may be overcome with the oars for there is hear no possibility of using either the cord or Setting pole. it was late in the evening before I entered this place and was obliged to continue my rout untill sometime after dark before I found a place sufficiently large to encamp my small party; at length such an one occurred on the lard. side where we found plenty of lightwood and pichpine. this rock is a black grannite below and appears to be of a much lighter colour above and from the fragments I take it to be flint of a yelloish brown and light creemcolourd yellow. from the singular appearance of this place I called it the gates of the rocky mountains. the mountains higher today than yesterday, saw some Bighorns and a few Antelopes also beaver and Otter; the latter are now very plenty one of the men killed one of them today with a setting pole. musquetoes less troublesome than usual. we had a thundershower today about 1 P.M. which continued about an hour and was attended with som hail. we have seen no buffaloe since we entered the mounts. this morning early Capt.
The bars of the river are composed principally of gravel; the river low grounds are narrow, and afford scarcely any timber; nor is there much pine on the hills. The bighorned animals, the first of which were killed here, were sometimes called "Rocky Mountain sheep." But sheep they were not, bearing hair and not wool. As we have said, they are now more commonly known as bighorns.
Between the argali and the antelope, we had provision enough to last us for a week at least; but when that was done, what likelihood was there of our procuring a further supply of either? Not much, thought we; for although there might be a few more antelopes and a few more `bighorns' about the place, there could not be many with so little appearance of anything for them to feed upon.
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