THE MISSOURI RIVER JOURNALS 4 1 



me he had left a Wolf feeding out of the pig's trough, 

 which is immediately under the side of the fort. The 

 next was from Mr. Larpenteur,^ who opens the gates when 

 the bell rings at sunrise, who told us he saw seven 

 Wolves within thirty yards, or less, of the fort. I have 

 told him since, with Mr. Chardon's permission, to call 

 upon us before he opens these mighty portals, whenever 

 he espies Wolves from the gallery above, and I hope that 

 to-morrow morning we may shoot one or more of these 

 bold marauders. Sprague has been drawing all day, and 

 I a good part of it ; and it has been so chilly and cold 

 that we have had fires in several parts of the fort. Bell 

 and Harris have gone shooting this afternoon, and have 

 not yet returned. Bell cleaned the Wolf shot last night, 

 and the two Antelopes ; old Provost boiled brine, and the 

 whole of them are now in pickle. There are some notions 

 that two kinds of Deer are found hereabouts, one quite 

 small, the other quite large ; but of this I have no proof 

 at present. The weather was too bad for Alexis to go 

 hunting. Young Mr. McKenzie and a companion went 

 across the river, but returned soon afterwards, having 

 seen nothing but one Grizzly Bear. The water is either 

 at a stand, or falling a little. — Later. Harris and Bell 

 have returned, and, to my delight and utter astonishment, 

 have brought two new birds : one a Lark,^ small and 

 beautiful; the other like our common Golden -winged 

 Woodpecker, but with a red mark instead of a black one 

 along the lower mandible running backward.^ I am quite 



1 Charles Larpenteur, whose MS. autobiography I possess. — E. C. 



2 This is the first intimation we have of the discovery of the Missouri 

 Titlark, which Audubon dedicated to Mr. Sprague under the name of 

 Alauda spragueii, B. of Am. vii., 1844, p. 334, pi. 486. It is now well known 

 as Anthus [^Neocorys) spraguei. — E. C. 



' Here is the original indication of the curious Flicker of the Upper 

 Missouri region, which Audubon named Picus ayresii, B. of Am. vii., 1844, 

 p. 348, pi. 494, after W. O. Ayres. It is the Colaptes hybridus of Baird, and 

 the C. aurato-tnexicanus of Hartlaub ; in which the specific characters of the 



