146 NARRATIVE OF A JOURNEY 



the country at this season is subject. Sometimes, as we ap- 

 proached the verges of the cliffs, we could see the river winding 

 its devious course many hundred feet below, rushing and foam- 

 ing in eddies and whirlpools, and fretting against the steep sides 

 of the rocks, which hemmed it in. These are what are called 

 the cut-rocks, the sides of which are in many places as smooth 

 and regular as though they had been worked with the chisel, and 

 the opening between them, through which the river flows, is fre- 

 quently so narrow that a biscuit might be thrown across it. 



We travelled over these rocks until 1 o'clock in the day, 

 when we stopped to rest in a small ravine, where we found a 

 little water, and pasture for our horses. At 3, we were again 

 on the move, making across the hills towards the river, and after 

 a long, circuitous march, we arrived on its banks, considerably 

 wearied, and every horse in our band lamed and completely 

 exhausted. We have not yet found any clue to the trail for which 

 we have been searching so anxiously ; indeed it would be im- 

 possible for a distinguishable trace to be left over these rugged, 

 stony hills, and the difficulty of finding it, or determining its di- 

 rection is not a little increased by a dense fog which constantly 

 envelopes these regions, obscuring the sun, and rendering it im- 

 possible to see an object many hundred yards in advance. 



The next day we were still travelling over the high and steep 

 hills, which, fortunately for our poor horses, were far less 

 stony than hitherto. At about noon we descended to the plain, 

 and struck the river in the midst of a large level prairie. We 

 proceeded up stream for an hour, and to our great joy suddenly 

 came in sight of a broad, open trail stretching away to the S. W. 

 We felt, in some degree, the pleasure of a sailor who has found 

 the port of which he has been long and anxiously in search. 

 We made a noon camp here, at which we remained two hours, 

 and then travelled on in fine spirits over a beautiful, level, and 

 unobstructed country. Our horses seemed to participate in our 



