446 THE GEORGE CATLIN INDIAK GALLERY. 



sion of my face, and the agitation of my harried retreat, prematurely unmoored from 

 the shore, and the force of the current carrying them around a huge pile of drift-wood, 

 threw me back for some distance upon my own resources ; though they finally got in 

 near the .shore, and I into the hoat, with the steering oar in my hand ; when we plied 

 our sinews with effect and in silenco, till we were wafted far from the ground which 

 we deemed critical and dangerous to our lives ; for we had been daily in dread of 

 meeting a war-party of the revengeful Riccarees, which we had been told was on the 

 river, in search of the Mandans. From and after this exciting occurrence, the entries 

 in my journal for the rest of the voyage to the village of the Mandans were as fol 

 lows: 



GRAND DETOUR OR BIG BEND OF THE MISSOURI RIVER. 



Saturday, fifth day of our voyage from the mouth of Yellowstone, at 11 o'clock, 

 landed our canoe in the Grand Detour (or Big Bend) as it is called, at the base of a 

 stately clay mound, and ascended, all hands, to the summit level, to take a glance at 

 the picturesque and magnificent works of nature that were about us. Spent the re- 

 mainder of the day in painting a view of this grand scene ; for which purpose Ba'tiste 

 and Bogard carried my easel and canvas to the top of a huge mound, where they 

 left me at my work; and I painted my picture, whilst they amused themselves with 

 their rifles, decoying a flock of antelopes [see No. 390], of which they killed several ; 

 and abundantly added to the stock of our provisions. 



Scarcely anything in nature can bo found, I am sure, more exceedingly picturesque 

 than the view from this place, exhibiting the wonderful manner in which the gorges 

 of the river have cut out its deep channel through these walls of clay on either side, 

 of 200 or 300 feet in elevation, and the imposing features of the high table-lands in 

 distance, standing as a perpetual anomaly in the country, and producing the indis- 

 putable, though astounding evidence of the fact that there has been at some ancient 

 period a super-surface to this country corresponding with the elevation of these tabu- 

 lar hills, whose surface for half a mile or more on their tops is perfectly level, being 

 covered with a green turf, and yet 150 or 200 feet elevated above what may now bo 

 properly termed the summit level of all this section of country, as will be seen stretch- 

 ing off at their base, without furnishing other instances in hundreds of miles of any- 

 thing rising one foot above its surface excepting the solitary group which is shown in 

 the painting. 



The fact that there was once the summit level of this great valley is a stubborn one, 

 however difficult it may be to reconcile it with reasonable causes and results, and the 

 mind of feeble man is at once almost paralyzed in endeavoring to comprehend the 

 process by which the adjacent country, from this to the base of the Rocky Mountains, 

 as well as in other directions, could have been swept away ; and equally so for knowl- 

 edge of the place where its mighty deposits have been carried. 



I recollect to have seen on my way up the river, at the distance'of 600 or 800 miles 

 below, a place called "the Square Hills," and another denominated "the Bijou Hills," 

 which are the only features on. the river seeming to correspond with thi3 strange 

 remain, and which, on my way down, I shall carefully examine, and not fail to add 

 their testimonies (if I am not mistaken in their character) to further speculations on 

 this interesting feature of the geology of the great valley of the Missouri. Whilst my 

 men were yet engaged in their sporting excursions, I left my ease 1 and traveled to the 

 base and summit of these tabular hills, which, to my great surprise, I found to be sev- 

 eral miles from the river and a severe journey to accomplish, getting back to our en- 

 campment at nightfall. 1 found by their sides that they were evidently of an alluvial 

 deposit, composed of a great variety of horizontal layers of clays of different colors — 

 of granitic sand and pebbles (many of which furnished me beautiful specimens of 

 agate, jasper, and carnolians), and here and there large fragments of pumico and cin- 

 ders, which gave, as instances above mentioned, evidences of volcanic remains. — 

 Pages 67-76, vol. 1, Catlin's Eight Years. 



Mr. Catlin painted plates 37-44, vol. 1, Catlin's Eight Years, land- 

 scapes, on this journey. 



