MISSOURI RIVER FROM GREAT FALLS TO MOUTH OF MILK RIVER. 495 



at that time to be kept up the most of the night watching our &quot;traps&quot; and talking about the &quot;Great 

 Father at Washington,&quot; which would have been the case had we been discovered, I gave them 

 the slip by dropping down about two miles, and camping upon the foot of an island. Distance 

 travelled to-day 28.7 miles. 



October 2. There are very few points now in the channel where a rocky bottom is to be found. 

 The water is quite turbid, and snags and sawyers are of frequent occurrence. The general course 

 of the river after passing the mouth of the Muscle Shell about two miles, is nearly due north for 

 about ten ; so that a long tongue of land is formed by the great southern bend of the river, which 

 is not more than four miles wide. The banks on the south side of the river are still quite high 

 and much broken, and a few scrubby pines and dwarf cedars are to be seen near their tops. 

 Incrustations of glauber salt whiten the banks in many places ; a peculiarity by no means local, 

 but, on the contrary, of very general occurrence all along the river. On landing at noon we 

 picked up some more specimens of fossil shell-fish, also some conglomerated fossil marine shells, 

 in which the cementing substance was carbonate of lime. This fossiliferous region appears 

 pretty extensive. What specimens I collected I picked up accidentally, as it was not my object 

 to make a collection, had I had the means of carrying them. This afternoon we again entered 

 the Mauvaise Terre, very similar to the Bad Lands already passed, except that the bluffs do not 

 crowd the river so closely. Game is very abundant, especially beaver. One point was passed 

 to-day, \vhere, for more than a mile, they had cut down all the available trees on the banks : the 

 diameter of some of those felled was at least 16 inches. Wolves and large gray owls are more 

 plenty than they have been, judging from the din they keep up all night. Distance travelled 

 to-day 29.5 miles. 



October 3. There was a slight frost last night, and this morning was bright and clear ; and il 

 has been fair all day, but to-night it is dark and murky in the west, as if preparing for rain. The 

 adjacent country preserves the broken, barren character of yesterday. Fossils, similar to those 

 collected yesterday, were noticed to-day ; also spherical nodules of argillaceous iron ore, about 

 as big as oranges, were found lying about on the surface in some localities. Some of these were 

 simply spherical, made up of concentric layers ; while others consisted of a number of spheres in 

 combination, or of a scoriaceous mass of imperfect spheres about the size of a pea, or a little 

 larger. 



About 3 o clock we passed a conical-shaped mountain, about a mile and a half from the river, 

 which is so peculiar on account of its position and regularity of form, that it has become a land 

 mark, and is called half-way between Fort Benton and the Yellowstone, though its distance is 

 somewhat greater from the former than from the latter place. A great number of buffalo have 

 been seen to-day, but no other game of any consequence. Distance travelled, 32.4 miles. 



October 4 To-day has been quite pleasant, notwithstanding the untoward appearance of last 

 night. The river has now become quite similar, in every respect, to the Lower Missouri. It is 

 nearly as wide; its bottom is sandy, and broad, shifting sand-bars render the channel about as 

 uncertain. The adjacent bottoms increase in width, richness of soil, and density of growth. 

 The bluffs on the north side have declined and receded very much, being now nothing more than 

 the breaking down of the high rolling prairie to the immediate valley of the river. But to the 

 south they are still quite high and abrupt, but have more grass on them. Several bands of elk, 

 and some buffalo, were seen on the banks to-day, and one fine cow was killed soon after going 

 into camp. Distance made, 31.3 miles. 



October 5. Was a warm, hazy day. The regimen of the river and topographical features of 

 the banks remain the same as noted yesterday. 



About 11 o clock, as we turned a bend in the river, we saw a grizzly bear about a mile and a 

 half below us, walking leisurely towards the river, probably after a drink. He appears to have 

 discovered us, too, about the same time, and to have been somewhat confused in his own mind 

 as to what to make of us. He probably had never seen such a craft as ours before ; and con- 



