172 FORMATIONS OF 
is at the northwest end, which opens almost immediately into the sixth lake. This 
bears at first to the south, and then bends off to the northwest, where the chan- 
nel of the outlet meanders through a wide expanse of water, filled with rushes 
and water-lilies. After leaving this, the river sweeps in a bend of a mile to the 
southwest, into the seventh lake, which, is bordered by woods of birch and tamerack. 
The bearing of this lake is south. Half a mile beyond this, is the eighth lake, run- 
ning from northeast to southwest, and supporting, in some places, a growth of wild 
rice (Zizania aquatica). The ninth lake is two miles beyond the last. It is a mile 
long, half a mile wide, and bears about east and west. The land rises here higher 
than previously, the north bank being upwards of a hundred feet high. The tenth 
and last lake, two miles below this, is one mile and a half long, from northeast to 
southwest, and half a mile wide. 
Soon after leaving these lakes, Red River descends in a succession of rapids, some 
of which are long and swift; one required fifteen minutes to run over it. They 
are full of erratic blocks of igneous rocks. On the southeast side of the river are 
banks of drift, eighty to a hundred feet high, supporting a growth of oak, birch, and 
aspen poplar. From the lakes to these rapids, the course of the stream is at first 
south or south by east; after which, it turns westwardly, which may be considered 
its general bearing. 
Soon after passing these rapids, about four or five miles below the last lake, the 
woods on the shore give place to prairie, with groves of dwarfish aspen. Many of 
these groves having been destroyed by the wild fires sweeping through them, are 
left as bare, blackened poles, standing so thick upon the ground, as to make it 
a difficult matter to penetrate among them. The river here takes a southeasterly 
course, to another succession of small rapids, and then bears away southwest and 
west. 
The prairie is elevated on this part of Red River, thirty to forty feet above the 
water-level. Four and a half miles beyond the last-mentioned rapids, is another, and 
a rather difficult one, running south ; and about four miles further on, in a south- 
east course, are again other rapids, with a high sand-bank on the east side. This 
was about a mile from our encampment of the night of the 19th, which was ascer- 
tained to be in latitude 46° 18’ 50”. Here, from some high ground on the right 
bank, we had an extensive prospect of the surrounding country, which is a fine 
rolling prairie, extending down to the river bank, with here and there a grove of 
oak and aspen, and frequented by herds of elk. A high ridge of land could be 
seen far away to the southeast. The river is from forty to fifty feet wide at this 
place. 
For the distance of six miles more, are alternate rapids and gentle current; the 
general course of the river being southeast. Here a stream, nearly as large as the 
branch we were navigating, comes in on the left, which is doubtless the one laid 
down by Nicollet, as proceeding from a lake lying east of the main stream ; but its 
confluence with Red River is certainly represented on his map too far to the south 
by twelve or fourteen miles, since it cannot be more than three or four miles 
farther south than our encampment of the night of the 19th, which was in latitude 
46° 18’ 50”. 
