238 NARRATIVE OF THE EXPEDITION. 



Darkness fell as we reached an elevation overlooking the river 

 above the Naiwa Eapids, and after some deliberation as to the spot 

 where we should suffer less annoyance from mosquitos, I pro- 

 ceeded to the lower part of the valley near the river, and set up 

 my tent there for the night. On questioning Ozawindib of the 

 Naiwa River, he informed me that it was a stream of considerable 

 size, and that it originated in a lake on a distant part of the pla- 

 teau, which was infested with the copper-head snake ; hence the 

 name. Mr. Allen's estimate of this day's journey was fifty -two 

 miles. "We had reached the second, or Assawa plateau of the 

 Mississippi, which is, barometrically, seventy-six feet above the 

 Queen Anne summit, and now had but one more to surmount. 



