14 Expedition to the 



are large and detached easily; consequently, the rock is in a 

 state of rapid disintegration. This granite rises abruptly in 

 immense mountain masses, and, undoubtedly, extends far to 

 the west. 



The little river, on which we encamped, pours down the 

 side of this granitic mountain through a deep, inaccessible 

 chasm, forming a continued cascade of several hundred feet. 

 From an elevation of one or two thousand feet, on the side 

 of the mountain, we were able to overlook a great extent of 

 secondary region at its base. The surface appeared broken 

 for several miles, and in many of the vallies we could discern 

 columnar and pyramidal masses of sandstone, sometimes en- 

 tirely naked, and sometimes bearing little tufts of bushes 

 about their summits.* 



* A female bird was shot oq the mountain which closely resembles, both 

 in size and figure, the female of the black game (Tetrao <e<«T). It is, 

 however, of a darker colour, and the plumage is not so much banded, Ihe 

 tail also seems rather longer, and the feathers of it do not exhibit any ten- 

 dency to curve outward, which, if we mistake not, is exhibited by the in- 

 ner feathers of the taiJ of the corresponding sex of the black game 



Its general colour is a black-brown, with narrow bars of pale ocraceous; 

 plumage near the base of the beak above tinged with ferruginous; each 

 feather on the head with a single band and slight tip; those of the neck, 

 back, tail-coverts, and breast, two bands and tip; the tips on the upper part 

 of the back and on the tail-coverts are broad and spotted with black, with 

 the inferior band often obsolete; the throat and inferior portion oi the 

 upper sides of the neck are covered with whitish feathers, on each side of 

 which is a black band or spot; a white band on each feather of the breast, 

 becoming broader on those nearer the belly; on the belly the plumage is 

 dull cinereous with concealed white lines on the shafts; the wing coverts 

 and scapulars, about twu-banded with a spotted tip and second baud, and 

 with the tip of the shaft white; the primaries and secondaries have whitish 

 zig-zag spots on their outer web.=, the first feather of the former short, the 

 second longer, the third, fourth, and fifth equal, longest; feathers of the 

 sides with two or three bands and white spot at the tip of the shaft; infe- 

 rior tail coverts white with a black band and base, and slightly tinged 

 with ocraceous on their centres; legs feathered to the toes, and with the 

 thighs pale, undulated with dusky; tail rounded, with a broad terminal 

 band of cinereous, on which are black zig zag spots; on the intermediate 

 feat hers are several ocraceous spotted bands, but these become obsolete and 

 confined to the exterior webs on the lateral feathers, until they are linrd- 

 ly perceptible on the exterior pair; a. naked space above and beneath (he 

 eyes. It may be distinguished by the name of the dusky grouse ( Tetrao 

 obscurun). 



When this bird flew it uttered a cackling note a littl- like that of the 

 domestic fowl: this note was noticed by Lewis and Clark in the bird which 



