THE MISSOURI RIVER JOURNALS 493 



the heronry that Harris had seen yesterday afternoon ; 

 for we had moved only one mile above the place of our 

 wooding before we were again forced on shore. Here we 

 killed four fine individuals, all on the wing, and some 

 capital shots they were, besides a Raven. Unfortunately 

 we had many followers, who destroyed our sport ; there- 

 fore we returned on board, and at half-past four left 

 our landing-place, having cut and piled up between forty 

 and fifty cords of wood for the return of the " Omega." 

 The wind has lulled down considerably, we have run seven 

 or eight miles, and are again fast to the shore. It is re- 

 ported that the water has risen two feet, but this is some- 

 what doubtful. We saw abundance of tracks of Elk, Deer, 

 Wolf, and Bear, and had it been anything like tolerably 

 dry ground, we should have had a good deal of sport. 

 Saw this evening another dead Buffalo floating down the 

 river. 



May 16, Tuesday. At three o'clock this fair morning 

 we were under way, but the water has actually risen a 

 great deal, say three feet, since Sunday noon. The cur- 

 rent therefore is very strong, and impedes our progress 

 greatly. We found that the Herons we had killed yester- 

 day had not yet laid the whole of their eggs, as we found 

 one in full order, ripe, and well colored and conditioned. 

 I feel assured that the Ravens destroy a great many of 

 their eggs, as I saw one helping itself to two eggs, at two 

 different times, on the same nest. We have seen a great 

 number of Black-headed Gulls, and some Black Terns, 

 some Indians on the east side of the river, and a Prairie 

 Wolf, dead, hung across a prong of a tree. After a while 

 we reached a spot where we saw ten or more Indians who 

 had a large log cabin, and a field under fence. Then we 

 came to the establishment called that of Vermilion River, ^ 

 and met Mr. Cerre, called usually Pascal, the agent of the 



1 Vermilion is still the name of this river, and also of the town at its 

 mouth which has replaced old Fort Vermilion, and is now the seat of Clay 



