THE MISSOURI RIVER JOURNALS 53 I 



call them, Prairie Marmots. The wind blew violently 

 till we had run several miles; at one period we were 

 near stopping. We have had many difficulties with 

 the sand-bars, having six or seven times taken the 

 wrong channel, and then having to drop back and try our 

 luck again. The three Marmots had been killed with shot 

 quite too large, and not one of them was fit for draw- 

 ing, or even skinning. Sprague and I have taken meas- 

 urements of all their parts, which I give at once. {^Here 

 follow forty-two measurejnents, all external, of the male and 

 female.^ I received no further intelligence about the 

 habits of this species, except that they are quite numer- 

 ous in every direction. We passed four rivers to-day ; the 

 Little Chayenne,^ the Moroe, the Grand, and the Ram- 

 part. The Moroe is a handsome stream and, I am told, 

 has been formerly a good one for Beaver. It is navigable 

 for barges for a considerable distance. Just before dinner 

 we stopped to cut drift-wood on a sand-bar, and a Wolf was 

 seen upon it. Bell, Harris, and some one else went after 

 it. The wily rascal cut across the bar and, hiding itself 

 under the bank, ran round the point, and again stopped. 

 But Bell had returned towards the very spot, and the fel- 

 low was seen swimming off, when Bell pulled the trigger 

 and shot it dead, in or near the head. The captain sent 

 the yawl after it, and it was brought on board. It was 

 tied round the neck and dipped in the river to wash it. 

 It smelled very strong, but I was heartily glad to have it 

 in my power to examine it closely, and to be enabled to 

 take very many measurements of this the first Wolf Ave 

 have actually procured. It was a male, but rather poor; 

 its general color a grayish yellow; its measurements are 



1 This is spelt thus in the Journal, and also on Tanner's map of 1829: 

 see also Lewis and Clark, ed. of 1893, P- 'S^- The " Moroe" River of the 

 above text is present Moreau River, falling into the Missouri from the 

 west in Dewey Co., S. Dak. Grand River was also known by its Arikara 

 name, Weterhoo, or Wetarhoo. Rampart River is about two miles aboye 

 Grand River; it was also called Maropa River. — E. C. 



