SOURCE 05" ST. PETER's RIVER. 337 



for eur horses. The spot, upon which we encamped, 

 has received the name of the Crescent, from a beautiful 

 bend which the river makes at this place. The two par- 

 ties having united here, a day was spent in drying the 

 baggage, and separating the damaged provisions from those 

 that were still fit for use. The acetous fermentation hav- 

 ing commenced in our biscuit, such parts of it as were not 

 too much injured were roasted over the fire. 



As this was the highest spot on the St. Peter which we 

 reached in canoes, it may be well to recapitulate the ge- 

 neral characters of this stream, as we observed it from 

 its mouth to the Crescent, a distance of one hundred and 

 thirty miles by water. 



The breadth of the river varies from sixty to eightjr 

 yards, but averages about seventy ; its depth is such that it 

 cannot be forded for about forty -five miles from its mouth. 

 At Fort St. Anthony the St. Peter is said to be about six- 

 teen feet deep. The depth diminished rapidly as we pro- 

 ceeded up the river, and in some places our canoes had 

 barely water enough to float them ; yet the river was not 

 considered very low at that season. In times of floods it 

 can be ascended much higher, without inconvenience, by 

 loaded canoes. The current, which is almost imperceptible 

 at Fort St. Anthony, increases, and in some places is quite 

 rapid ; during the three last days it was found to average 

 about one mile and a half an hour. The bed of the river is 

 chiefly sand, arising from the destruction of the sandstone 

 in which it is excavated. The banks usually rise to about 

 twelve or fifteen feet, and are chiefly, if not altogether, 

 composed of sandstone. On the last day, we saw a bluff 

 that rises to sixty or eighty feet; it consists of white 

 sandstone, and is called the white rock; limestone is, 

 however, found in the country in various places. The gra- 



VoL. I. 43 



