GEOGRAPHICAL MEMOIR. 233 
In the vicinity of this lake and to its southward are many salt lakes, and there are from time 
to time saline effervescences on the soil; but there are always numerous ponds of fresh water, 
and my own experience and that of the voyageurs of the country is, that fresh water will 
always be found, at short distances apart, either for camps or for the use of settlements. The 
country immediately to the southwest of the Miniwakan lake, and in the general vicinity of 
this saline region, is the most indifferent that is met with coming from the east. The James 
river has its source near the eastern border of this region, in about latitude 47° 40’, and 
flowing in a southerly course finds its way to the Missouri a great distance above its confluence 
with the Mississippi. From the head of James river to the nearest point of Mouse river is 
seventy-five miles. Mouse river has its source in British territory, flows below our boundary 
a hundred miles east of the meridian of the Yellowstone, finally reaches nearly to the 48th 
parallel, and then, flowing to the northwestward, joins its waters with those of the Assiniboine 
river, which again flows into the Red River of the North. The Mouse has no considerable 
tributaries from the south, and the information which Lewis and Clark derived from voyageurs 
that its source was within one or two miles of the Missouri is erroneous. From the Céteau 
du Missouri a great many little streams trickle down, gather up water, and pass into Mouse 
river; but it has between it and the cóteau a broad, open, beautifully grassed valley, with 
plenty of wood in all the coulées which border these numerous streams. Opinions differ on 
the part of voyageurs as to whether Mouse river is to any considerable extent navigable, but 
all concur in the judgment that there is a large quantity of fine arable land to the north, and 
they all speak of the heavy forest growth in its general vicinity, known as the Bois de Chip- 
pewas. In the Mouse River valley is found the trail from the Pembina settlement to the 
mouth of the Yellowstone. This portion of country is described by the voyageurs, many 
of whom I met and conversed with concerning it, as being well grassed, well watered, and 
a large part of it well adapted to farming. This is notoriously the case with the country 
on the Assiniboine in immediate connexion and to a short distance north of it. Indeed, there 
is but little country between the Red River of the North and the Mouse River valley which 
is not adapted to almost continuous settlement; for I hold that when a country is so well 
watered, and its arable and grazing lands are in such connexion, small farms can be opened 
over nearly the entire surface for the sustenance of man; that such a country is a cultivable 
country. The term small farms is used in contradistinction with large farming operations or 
plantations where the owner has to employ many hands. I have to say, therefore, that over 
this country you can plant farms of from 160 to 640 acres, furnishing all the arable and grazing 
land required to make agriculture profitable. 
The Mouse River valley has a general elevation of 1,400 to 1,800 feet, being about the same 
height with the corresponding valley of the Missouri. Its most western tributary is the River 
of the Lakes, which passes along the northern side of the Cóteau du Missouri, and furnishes a 
line of gentle ascent to cross the côteau. On this tributary are found specimens of lignite. 
Тһе cóteau itself, between the Mouse River valley and the mouth of the Yellowstone, has a 
height of about from 200 to 400 feet above the former valley, and its general width may be 
estimated at 35 miles. The country immediately north of Fort Union to the White Earth river 
is much of it of a very indifferent character, furnishing some grazing. The grazing, however, 
gradually improves, and is quite good for twenty to thirty miles below our parallel. None of the 
streams in this general vicinity, the White Earth river, the Sandy creek, and the Little Muddy, 
are navigable, and on their banks are but scattered groves of wood. They are almost entirely 
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