^IW 



THE MISSOURI RIVER JOURNALS 



163 



Wednesday, Gth. Wind blowing harder. Ransacked the 

 point and banks both below and above, but saw only two 

 Wolves ; one a dark gray, the largest I have yet seen. Har- 

 ris shot a young of the Sharp-tailed Grouse; Bell, three 

 Pigeons ; Provost went off to the second point below, about 

 four miles, after Elks ; Sprague found another nest of 

 Doves on the ground, with very small young. The com- 

 mon Bluebird was seen, also a Whip-poor-will and a 

 Night-Hawk. Wind high and from the south. 



Thursday, 7th. About eleven o'clock last night the wind 



shifted suddenly to northwest, and blew so violently that 



we all left the boat in a hurry. Mrs. Culbertson, with her 



child in her arms, made for the willows, and had a shelter 



for her babe in a few minutes. Our guns and ammunition 



were brought on shore, as we were afraid of our boat 



sinking. We returned on board after a while; but I could 



not sleep, the motion making me very sea-sick ; I went 



back to the shore and lay down after mending our fire. 



It rained hard for about two hours ; the sky then became 



clear, and the wind wholly subsided, so I went again to the 



boat and slept till eight o'clock. A second gale now arose ; 



the sky grew dark; we removed our boat to a more secure 



position, but I fear we are here for another day. Bell shot 



a Caprimiilgus} so small that I have no doubt it is the one 



found on the Rocky Mountains by Nuttall, after whom I 



have named it. These birds are now travelling south. 



Mr. Culbertson and I walked up the highest hills of the 



prairie, but saw nothing. The river has suddenly risen 



two feet, the water rises now at the rate of eight inches in 



two and a half hours, and the wind has somewhat moder- 



aced. The little Whip-poor-will proves an old male, but it 



IS now in moult. Left our camp at five, and went down 



rapidly to an island four miles below. Mr. Culbertson, 



Bell, Harris, and Provost went off to look for Elks, but I 



^ Nuttall's Poor-will, now known as Phalanoptilus nuttalli, which has a 

 two syllabled note, rendered " oh-will " in the text beyond. — E. C. 



