21 [ 237 1 



I do not pretend, however, to justify his gross exaggeration of the length 

 of the river ; of the numerous population on its banks ; and his pretended 

 information respecting the nations inhabiting the more remote regions. 

 This sort of exaggeration appears to have belonged to the period ; but 

 there is, apparently, a more serious objection to be made to his narrative — 

 namely, that it appears, from his text, he travelled during the months of 

 November and December ; at which period of the year the rivers in these 

 parts are most usually frozen, and the voyage, therefore, impracticable. But 

 the received opinion, on the other hand, is, that it is one of the last to freeze, 

 and is the last resort of the wild fowl. 'Vhe Sionx are said to congregate, 

 in consequence, upon its banks in large numbers ; relying on this resource, 

 whilst they are otherwise collecting their peltries, insomuch that the Amer- 

 ican Fur Department at St. Peter's has always kept up this post for the pur- 

 pose of securing the advantages of this trade. Besides, this river is fed by 

 a great number of springs; and the upper portion of its course is, in a re- 

 markable manner, protected from sudden changes of temperature by high 

 rocky banks, and thick forests that cover them. 



Under all circumstances, 1 have thought proper to notice these facts, that 

 seem to possess sufficient interest in the history of the geography of the 

 west. 1 have stated what appeared to me the true facts in the case; and I 

 may add, in conclusion, that if La Hontan's claims to discoveries are mere 

 fables, he has had the good fortune or the sagacity to have come near the 

 truth. 



Further, in reference to La Hontan river : When the French were in 

 possession of the country, it was known by the name of " Riviere mix 

 Canots^'' or Canoe river ; as it was there that the traders were in the habit 

 of concealmg their canoes. Its present name of Cannon river is evidently 

 a corruption of the French one. The one which it bore among the Sioux 

 in 170U, when Lesueur ascended the Mississippi, (and which it still bears,) 

 was imjan-hosndata^ or Standing Rock. 



This Indian name {Inyanbosndata) is that of a natural obelisk, which 

 Natural occurs on a low and sandy plain four miles to the north of the 

 obelisk, crossing place, on the " north fork of La Hontan river." This 

 heap of disintegrated sandstone rock is 36 feet high. It is a curious speci- 

 men of the weathering of the sandstone of the west, that may be compared 

 to the earth pillars lelt behind by workmen to mark the extent of their ex- 

 cavations, and is possibly a relic of the thickness of the formation previous 

 to the devastating agency of the elements, that has altered the original level 

 of the surface of the country. My friend, the Viscomte de Montmort, (then 

 an attache to the French legation at Washington, who accompanied me in 

 this excursion,) has furnished me with an admirable drawing of it, as well 

 as of the natural monument next to be mentioned. 



Twelve miles north of the natural obelisk which I have just described, 

 near the crossing-place of the Vermillion river, there are other 

 evidences of the great denudation of the surface that has taken 

 place in this region. One of them is also remarkable by its symmetrical 

 outlines, bearing the appearance of a dilapidated castle of feudal limes — 

 such as are seen in the Alps and other places ; hence its name. I have 

 thought it of sufficient importance to indicate their situations on my map. 

 These natural monuments are mentioned by Mr. Featherstonhaugh upon 

 mformation receisred from others ; but he did not visit them. 



