FROM HEADWATERS OF THE MISSOURI TO DALLES OF THE COLUMBIA. 507 



point a sharp shoulder of rock abutted into the river, and the trail wound over the ridge back of 

 it. On the side of the ascent the sun had melted the surface of the frozen ground in course 01 

 the day, and had made it so slippery that, all we could do, we could riot contrive to get our ani 

 mals up it. They would pick their way carefully about two-thirds the way up, and then slide 

 back to the bottom. After abandoning the attempt, we succeeded in getting them round the point 

 of rock on a narrow strip of ice. 



Since last night it has been cloudy, and a little sleet has fallen from time to time. Camped 

 about four miles from &quot; Horse Plain.&quot; 



On the 5th. travelling was unusually bad. The trail, for the most part, threaded along the 

 river bank, through dense thickets of pine, and was often covered with ice, so that the pack- 

 animals were constantly slipping down, or bolting from side to side against trees, and wrenching 

 off their packs and spilling the contents. 



About the middle of the day we came to a place called &quot; Bad Rock,&quot; where a mountain cliff 

 crowds itself into the river, and the trail winds up its jagged side in a serpentine course to the 

 height of about five hundred feet, and down an equally precipitous face on the other side. The 

 ascent is bad enough, under the most favorable circumstances ; but now, ice in the path made a 

 portion of it impassable for animals without assistance ; but ropes were made fast round their 

 necks, and by dint of pulling from above and whipping from below, one by one we forced them 

 up. All these extraordinary proceedings amused Paul very much, and he frequently exclaimed, 

 &quot; Es-em mowela,&quot; (bad rock.) I felt strongly inclined to pitch him down the hill for hinting that 

 I didn t know that without being told. 



After crossing a small stream called by the Indians &quot; In-shanshe,&quot; we camped on &quot;Thomp 

 son s Prairie.&quot; This prairie is an interval between the river and the mountainous country inland, 

 and has been made the depot for the horses of one or two parties which have gone west this win 

 ter, under the impression that, on account of deep snows and want of feed, it would be impossi 

 ble to take them much farther. 



There is some snow here, but not much. To-day has been very clear and pleasant. 



February 6. Remained in camp to give the animals a little rest and recruiting before entering 

 the pine desert before us. Sent Paul and one of the men across the river into a timbered bottom 

 to hunt deer, but they were unable to find any. The deer, what few there were, appear to have 

 been driven back into the mountains, for there are no fresh tracks. 



February 7. Upon leaving &quot; Thompson s Prairie,&quot; we entered that dense pine forest which 

 extends without interruption to Pend d Oreille lake. The influence of the sun, especially in the 

 winter, when his rays fall more obliquely, is very imperfectly felt through the thick foliage, and 

 the snows from the time of their falling lie entirely undisturbed through the winter months. 



From the commencement of snow, at &quot; Thompson s Prairie,&quot; it has been gradually on the 

 increase during the day, and at camp to-night it is one foot deep. Had the ground been bare, it 

 would have been no better for our animals, for the forest, at best very meagre in undergrowth, 

 was overrun by a fire last fall, which swept it clean of every blade of grass and green thing. 

 Without feed, then, the animals were tied to keep them from returning on the trail. 



Early in the afternoon we passed a small camp of five lodges of Pend d Oreille Indians. They 

 were the most destitute, squalid, miserable-looking human beings I think I ever saw. Their 

 lodges, which were low and badly constructed, were made of poles set up in the usual form, 

 covered with rush matting. 



Upon approaching the lodge doors, we were greeted with the usual outburst of yelping dogs, 

 followed by the inmates of the lodges. One-eyed and distorted old men, toothless old women, 

 and naked children, all besmeared with filth, crowded round to shake hands with the tijce. I 

 began to fear we might get short of provisions before getting through, or I should have passed 

 them by unnoticed ; but as it was, I swallowed my disgust, and bought about twenty pounds of 

 venison all they had to spare for which they received in return some powder and balls. 



