Louisiana and Aaron Burr 359 



tonwoods with shimmering, rustling leaves, or away 

 from the river where the sunny prairie stretched into 

 seas of brown grass, or where groups or rugged hills 

 stood, fantastic in color and outline, and with stunted 

 pines growing on the sides of their steep ravines. 

 The only real suffering was that which occasionally 

 befell some one who got lost, and was out for days 

 at a time, until he exhausted all his powder and lead 

 before finding the party. 



Fall had nearly come when they reached the head- 

 waters of the Missouri. The end of the holiday- 

 time was at hand, for they had before them the labor 

 of crossing the great mountains so as to strike the 

 head-waters of the Columbia. Their success at this 

 point depended somewhat upon the Indian wife of 

 the Frenchman who had joined them at Mandan. 

 She had been captured from one of the Rocky Moun- 

 tain tribes, and they relied on her as interpreter. 

 Partly through her aid, and partly by their own 

 exertions, they were able to find, and make friends 

 with, a band of wandering Shoshones, from whom 

 they got horses. Having cached their boats and 

 most of their goods they started westward through 

 the forest-clad passes of the Rockies; before this 

 they had wandered and explored in several direc- 

 tions through the mountains and the foothills. The 

 open country had been left behind, and with it the 

 timeyOf plenty. In the mountain forests the game 

 was far less abundant than on the plains and far 

 harder to kill ; though on the tops of the high peaks 

 there was one new game animal, the white antelope- 



