INDIAN TRIBES OF THE MISSOURI VALLEY. 251 
such as osier (Cornus), rose, and bluewood, with patches of cherry, plum, and service- 
berry shrubs. On the eastern side of the Missouri, berries are not abundant, but along 
the base of the mountains, they are very plentiful. Plums and cherries are the most 
abundant, and are eagerly sought after by the Indians, and regarded as great delicacies. 
Gooseberries, wild currants, and grain de beeuf can also be found, but not in large quanti- 
ties. None of the trees bear nuts that can be eaten, and in consequence, the supply of 
fruit cannot be considered a safe resource, should game become scarce. ; 
The soil of this portion of the western territory is not generally more than three or 
four inches in depth, and in the “ Bad Lands,” or more rugged portions, there is com- 
paratively little grass, and the rocks are composed mostly of clays, sands, and sandstones. 
The valleys and level plains are quite well clothed with the short, curly buffalo grass, and 
other prairie grasses. None of these grasses grow more than eighteen inches or two feet in 
height, but they are very nutritious. No great variety of flowers adorns these endless plains, 
and we look in vain for the beautiful display so often seen along the lower portion of the 
Missouri. ‘The whole extent of country presents a dreary, desolate aspect, especially 
when parched up by the hot sun of midsummer, or covered with the deep snow of winter. 
There is nothing inviting to the eye of the traveller, except, perhaps, the herds of buffalo, 
some one of whom may furnish him a repast, after he has spent the day traversing the 
prairie in search of wood and water sufficient to cook his meal. 
The climate near the mountains is much milder than that lower down the Missouri : 
the rivers close later, and open much sooner than at the mouth of the Yellowstone. 
Leaves put forth from two weeks to a month earlier in the spring, and sometimes the vege- 
tation exhibits the full bloom of spring at the Blackfoot Fort, while the hills around Fort 
Union are covered with snow, and the trees show no sign of leaves. Snow-storms are 
not so violent and cold, nor of so long duration, and in the level country, the snow rarely 
falls more than eighteen inches in depth, but it is soon blown into the ravines, leaving the 
tops of the hills bare, and the valleys impassable on horseback. 
The degree of cold at the Blackfoot trading post is seldom lower than 20° below zero; 
usually above that point, while at Fort Union, the thermometer ranges from 25° to 40° 
below zero for three or four weeks at a time. War parties of Assiniboins, going to the 
Blackfeet from the latter place, have travelled as far as Milk River on snow-shoes, over 
three feet of snow, and above that point, found the surface scarcely covered. Ducks and 
geese pass the winter at the foot of the mountains, in springs and streams which are never 
frozen over. On the summits of the mountains, snow often continues the year round, 
while that collected on their sides and in the valleys, melts away about the middle of 
May, which causes the annual rise of the Missouri. It is said by the Indians and voya- 
gcurs, that this rise almost invariably occurs about the time when the roses are in bloom. 
