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The nativs have ingraved on the face of this rock the figures of animals &c. near which I marked my name and the day of the month & year. From the top of this Tower I Could discover two low Mountains & the Rocky Mts. covered with Snow S W. one of them appeard to be extencive and bore S. 15° E. about 40 miles. the other I take to be what the indians Call the Little wolf Mtn.
The river bottoms are extencive rich and Covered with tall large timber, and the hollows of the reveins may be Said to be covered with timber Such as Oake ash Elm and Some walnut & hickory. our party appears extreamly anxious to get on, and every day appears produce new anxieties in them to get to their Country and friends.
The plains to the South rise from the distance of about 6 miles the width of the bottom gradually to the mountains in that derection. a large Creek with an extencive Vally the direction of which is S. 25° E. meanders boutifully through this plain. a range of high land Covered with pine appears to run in a N. & S. direction approaching the river below. on the Northerly Side of the river high romantic Clifts approach &jut over the water for Some distance both above and below. a large Brooks which at this time has Some running muddy water falls in to the Rochejhone imediately opposit Pompys Tower. back from the river for Some distance on that Side the hills are ruged & some pine back the plains are open and extensive. after Satisfying my Self Sufficiently in this delightfull prospect of the extensive Country around, and the emence herds of Buffalow, Elk and wolves in which it abounded, I decended and proceeded on a fiew miles, Saw a gang of about 40 Big horn animals fired at them and killed 2 on the Sides of the rocks which we did not get.
The Courses as I assended it as follows Viz: The bottoms of the Big Horn river are extencive and Covered with timber principally Cotton. it's Current is regularly Swift, like the Missouri, it washes away its banks on one Side while it forms extensive Sand bars on the other.
Side low and exteneive and Covered with timber near the river such as Cotton wood willow of the different Species rose bushes and Grapevines together with the red berry or Buffalow Grees bushes & a species of shoemake with dark brown back of those bottoms the Country rises gradually to about 100 feet and has Some pine. back is leavel plains. on the Lard Side the river runs under the clifts and Bluffs of high which is from 70 to 150 feet in hight and near the river is Some Scattering low pine back the plains become leavel and extencive. the Clifts are Composed of a light gritty Stone which is not very hard. and the round stone which is mixed with the Sand and formes bars is much Smaller than they appeared from above the bighorn, and may here be termed Gravel. the Colour of the water is a yellowish white and less muddy than the Missouri below the mouth of this river.
C. named Marthas river Capt Lewis & one man walkd on Shore and he killed a yellow Bear & the man with him wounded one other, after getting the flesh of the bear on bord which was not far from the place we brackfast, we proceeded on Saw 4 gangus of buffalow and great numbers of Antelopes in every direction also Saw Elk and Several wolves, I walked on Shore in the evening & killed a Deer which was So meager as to be unfit for use The hills Contain more Coal, and has a greater appearance of being burnt that below, the burnt parts appear on a parrilel with the Stratiums of Coal, we Came too in the mouth of a Little river on the S. S. which is about 50 or 60 yards from bank to bank, I was up this Stream 3 miles it continues its width and glides with a gentle Current, its water is about 15 yards wide at this time, and appears to be navagable for Canoes &c. it meanders through a butifull & extencive vallie as far as can be Seen about N 30° W. I saw only a Single tree in this fertile vallie The water of the River is clear of a yellowish Colour, we call this river Martheys river in honor to the Selebrated M. F
Westerly, from this bend I with 2 men went forward towards the Camp of the party to examine the best ground for the portage, the little Creek has verry extencive bottoms which Spread out into a varriety of leavl rich bottoms quite to the mountains to the East, between those bottoms is hills low and Stoney on this declivity where it is Steep.
Shabono our intrepreter nearly tired one of his ankles falling him- The bottoms are extencive and tolerable land Covered with tall grass & prickley pears The hills & mountains are high Steep & rockey. The river verry much divided by Islands Some Elk Bear & Deer and Some Small timber on the Islands.
Musquetors very troublesom this morning I Set out early river wide and very much divided by islands and Sand and Mud bars. the bottoms more extencive and contain more timber Such as Cotton wood ash willow &c. The Country on the N W. Side rises to a low plain and extends leavel for great extent.
Short of the encampment we halted by the request of the Guides a fiew minits on an ellevated point and Smoked a pipe on this eminance the nativs have raised a conic mound of Stons of 6 or 8 feet high and erected a pine pole of 15 feet long. from hence they informed us that when passing over with their families some of the men were usually Sent on foot by the fishery at the enterance of Colt Creek in order to take fish and again meet the party at the quawmash glade on the head of Kooskoske river. from this place we had an extencive view of these Stupendeous Mountains principally Covered with Snow like that on which we Stood; we were entirely Serounded by those mountains from which to one unacquainted with them it would have Seemed impossible ever to have escaped, in short without the assistance of our guides, I doubt much whether we who had once passed them could find our way to Travellers rest in their present Situation for the marked trees on which we had placed Considerable reliance are much fewer and more difficuelt to find than we had apprehended. those indians are most admireable pilots; we find the road wherever the Snow has disappeared tho it be only for a fiew paces. after haveing Smoked the pipe and Contemplating this Scene Sufficient to have dampened the Spirits of any except Such hardy travellers as we have become, we continued our march and at the dist.
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