Rocky Mountains. 503 



The British traders annually supply the Minnetarees or 

 Gros ventres of the Missouri with goods; from these they 

 pass to the Shiennes and Crow Indians, who, in their turn, 

 barter them with remoter tribes : in this manner the Indians 

 who wander near the mountains receive their supplies of 

 goods, and they give a decided and well founded preference 

 to those which reach them by this circuitous channel, over 

 those which they receive from any other source. 



Two miles beyond Grand Camp creek, is the mouth of 

 Grape creek, and a little above on the opposite side, that of 

 Defile creek, a tributary to the Platte, from the south, which 

 has its course in a narrow defile, lying along the base of the 

 mountains. 



At eleven o'clock we arrived at the boundary of that 

 vast plain, across which we had journeyed for a distance of 

 near one thousand miles; and encamped at the base of the 

 mountain. The woodless plain is terminated by a range of 

 naked and almost perpendicular rocks, visible at a distance 

 of several miles, and resembling a vast wall, parallel to the 

 base of the mountain. These rocks are sandstone, similar in 

 composition and character, to that on the Cannon-ball creek. 

 They emerge at a great angle of inclination from beneath the 

 alluvial of the plain, and rise abruptly to an elevation of one 

 hundred and fifty, or two hundred feet. Passing within this 

 first range, we found a narrow valley separating it from a 

 second ridge of sandstone, of nearly equal elevation, and ap- 

 parently resting against the base of a high primitive hill be- 

 yond. At the foot of the first range, the party encamped at 

 noon, and were soon scattered in various directions, being 

 eager to commence the examination of that interesting region. 



END OF VOL. I. 



