TOPOGRAPHY OF ROUTE FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE COLUMBIA. 173 



miles of sward and timber called Thompson s prairie, and here we pause once more to admire the 

 noble prospect. 



This prairie is a succession of grassy terraces on the north from the river to the frowning 

 mountains which enclose it, and which on the south rise steeply from the immediate bank; 

 the slopes between the different levels are covered with timber, of which the youngest growth 

 extends irregularly on the open plateaux. Standing on the river-bank and looking up the valley, 

 the view embraces all the elements of grandeur and beauty that can be imagined in mountain 

 scenery, and in an extent which an artist would choose for a single picture. Here, as in many 

 places, the mountains close in upon the river, making a stupendous gateway to the open prai 

 rie, into which pours a brawling stream through one of the numerous gorges from the north. 

 It is late in the morning when the sun overtops the crowded mountains and lights their deep re 

 cesses, gilding the autumnal foliage of the little islands, which derive additional beauty from 

 their clear reflection in the still backwater created by the meeting of the rivers; the massive 

 outlines of the foreground are still enveloped in shade, while in the mighty opening, rocks and 

 trees, and pool and torrent, are glowing in a blaze of light. Such are the scenes that reward the 

 way-worn tourist throughout this great region, and it is almost sorrowful to reflect that the very 

 purpose of our explorations will soon dispel the &quot;enchantment that distance lends,&quot; when it will 

 be no longer an event in life to have crossed the mountains. 



The character of the valley of Clark s fork, from Thompson s prairie to Pend d Oreille lake, 

 has already been perhaps sufficiently indicated in the general review of the mountains. The 

 course and distance arc about sixty-five miles northwest, in the course of which the only new 

 features are a few small canons, as they may be termed, through which the river suddenly dis 

 appears, but soon emerging and meandering through the dense timber, and making several re 

 markable horse-shoe bends. Of the canons, that called the Cabinet, about thirteen or fourteen 

 miles from the lake, is rather remarkable, but wanting the interest of novelty to those who have 

 seen the wonders of the mountains from their eastern base. The traveller through the valley 

 frequently passes through tracts of timber where the tall trunks stand denuded of their limbs and 

 foliage, scarred and blackened by destructive fires which are sometimes started by lightning, but 

 as probably by negligence or the nefarious purposes of hostile Indians. It is one of the grandest 

 sights by night to watch the progress of the fearful element through the close-grown trees ; the 

 hissing of the flames enveloping the green limbs; the crashing of falling logs, and the clouds of 

 belching smoke that darken the star-lit sky ; the lurid glare and fitful light, in which the outlines 

 of the hills and woods are seen starting from obscurity into view, to sink again into thicker dark 

 ness: these, with all the minor concomitants of such a scene, make an impression on the mind 

 which can never be effaced. Though these fires be so terrible in appearance, they are rarely 

 of any great extent, as the mountain-spurs and jutting rocks, with the winding of the river, form 

 impassable checks to the most furious fire; they are soon succeeded by a growth of young trees, 

 and are of but slight importance, compared to the devastating effects of a fire on the prairies. 



Among the few disagreeables of such a mountain trip is one, it should be hoped of rare occur 

 rence, which perhaps may not improperly be mentioned here. While the studious observer of 

 nature is feasting his imagination with the varied scenery of the mountains, he suddenly stum 

 bles on the scalped remains of some poor Indian warrior, left hastily on his last battle-ground by 

 his vanquished tribe, his horse having shared his fate, lying near by ; horribly mutilated by obscene 

 birds and beasts, the loathsome objects are found, it may be, festering in the sun or stiffened in 

 the frost the most deplorable evidence of the unceasing hostilities which seem to be the most 

 important purpose of the red man s life. 



At the end of the most thickly wooded section of Clark s fork is Pend d Oreille lake, encircled 

 by a zone of romantic hills of diminishing elevation, and dotted with a few lovely islands like 

 gems upon the breast of beauty. It is of very irregular form, with a varied shore-line of rocky 

 bluff and sandy beach, a large section of which exhibits unmistakable indications of iron. Going 



