NARRATIVE OF 1853. 179 
The northern portion of the lake is thickly wooded with pine timber around its shores, and the 
soil is of excellent quality, but grass is scarce until reaching its end, where there is another 
broad, level prairie, extending thirty miles to the north and twenty towards the west. Its 
northern arm was traversed by Mr. Tinkham, on the way to Marias Pass, as already described. 
Ragged, snow-capped mountains still appeared along its east side, and curved westward far to 
the north. 
Crossing the west fork, called Maple river, (although he could find no maple on its banks, ) 
three feet deep, very rapid, and with a rocky bed, he followed it up to the end of the prairie, 
partially through a dense pine forest. Above this prairie he passed through an excessively thick 
forest for a day and a half, reaching the head of Maple river and the summit of the ridge 
separating it from the Koutenay. 
Descending the northern slope the timber was much larger, but not so dense, and the country 
had a much better appearance. 
The country now, again, became a high rolling prairie, which extended along the Koutenay 
and its branch, Tobacco river, for twenty miles or more. The Koutenay was here four hundred 
yards wide, flowing through low banks with a gentle current. North of it is a range of pine- 
clad hills extending to the snowy mountains before mentioned, and towards the northeast these 
appeared to border both of its banks. The soil along the river was very rich, and covered 
with luxuriapt grass and beautiful flowers as early as April 25. Grass is plentiful at all seasons, 
and the winters are represented as very mild, while the waters always supply the Indians with 
abundance of excellent fish. Lead and coal are said to be found on the branches of the river. 
Returning southward, he ascended Tobacco river to its sources, west of the range of mount- 
ains which border Flathead lake on the west side. Twenty miles south the prairies end, and 
he again entered the immense pine forest, travelling for forty miles before meeting grass for 
his animals. 
The soil in this forest appeared poor, and on each side of the valley some of the mountains 
were still capped with snow, though the weather had been very mild and pleasant. At the 
head of the stream was a fall sixty feet high, the water flowing through high vertical walls of 
rock, with an impetuous foaming current, and a noise audible for many miles. Тһе cliffs, several 
hundred feet high on each side, were covered with forest at their summits. 
On the ridge were small prairies containing beautiful little lakes, many of them without outlets, 
formed by the melting of snow on the mountains around. Crossing this, he reached the hoad- 
waters of Hot Spring creek, and again traversed a beautiful rolling prairie country along its 
east side for nearly thirty miles to where he again entered the Kamas prairie, and on the 5 
of May arrived at Cantonment Stevens, in Bitter Root valley, without any difficulties except in 
crossing the flooded rivers, among which, at the Hell-Gate, his whole party and property were 
nearly lost in using a raft unmanageable in the swift current.—(See sketch.) 
Lieutenant Mullan crossed by the Cceur d' Aléne or Stevens's Pass in June, 1854, and reports : 
“ Instead of following the southern trail which you followed, I took the one to the north, and thus 
avoided the steep and high mountain crossed by your party ; and though I found the route mtl 
obstructed by fallen timber, yet the character of the country offered no further obstruction to 
the passage of wagon trains or for a railroad route save the divide itself, which has an estimated 
height of fifteen hundred feet above the level of the valley, and which from base to base 18 
from a mile to a mile and a half long. "The mountain is formed of limestone, schist ески апа 
friable sandstone. At this point a tunnel from a mile to a mile and a half would be inevitable.”’ 
