176 



FORMATIONS OF 



chiefly of oak, elm, and ash. The low banks support only a growth of willows and 

 alders. 



To latitude 46° 23', the waters of Red River continue comparatively clear, beyond 

 this they gradually become more turbid, as the stream cuts deeper into the stiff 

 clay, which forms the substratum for three hundred miles, until, finally, they 

 appear quite milky, from the suspended particles of argillaceous matter. 



Boulders are not visible in the bed of the river, after leaving the rapids, for a 

 distance of sixty or seventy miles. About twenty-five or thirty miles, after rounding 

 the South Bend, in latitude 46° 20', a few again make their appearance in the bank 

 and bed of the stream. Several of those observed in latitude 46° 30' 30", and from 

 this point to 47° 30', are ground flat, grooved, and even planished on one or more 

 sides, either by the grating of the ice, which accumulates each winter in vast piles 

 on this stream, or by some more general action during the drift period. 



The air along Red River, from the mouth of the Psihu to the settlements, is 

 scented, during the months of June and July, with a delightful perfume arising 

 from the wild roses, which form a thick shrubbery along its banks. 



The current, after passing the rapids, is moderate, running about a mile and a 

 half an hour. The temperature of the water, at two o'clock p. m., on the 23d of 

 June, was 69° F., whilst the temperature of the air in the sun was 80°. On the 

 24th of June, the temperature of the water was 72°, while that of the air in the sun 

 was at the same time 93°. 



In latitude 46° 41' 12", the level of the prairie, above the river, was found to be 

 thirty feet. Putting the descent of the river, after rounding the South Bend, at 

 three and a half inches per mile, which is probably very near the truth, this thirty 

 feet is due entirely to the cutting down of the bank, and not to any elevation of 

 the land. 



The tributaries of Red River are few and of small size : Psihu River is only 

 eight or ten yards wide at its mouth ; the Shayenne, the principal tributary on the 

 west side, about double that width ; Buffalo River is about the same width ; Elm 

 River hardly deserves the name of a river, being only about six yards wide. Wild 

 Rice River is only about double that width ; Goose River hardly so much ; and 

 Sandhill River still less. The Red Fork is, in fact, the only tributary of any size 

 that flows into Red River between the South Bend and Pembina River. Though 

 the relative position of these streams is tolerably well preserved on Nicollet's map, 

 still the location of the mouths of some of them requires some correction. The 

 Shayenne, at its junction with Red River, is, according to my observations, in lati- 

 tude 47° 1', instead of 46° 59' 30"; that of Elm River in 47° 17', instead of 47° 9'; 

 that of Wild Rice in 47° 18' 30", instead of 47° 13' ; that of Goose River in 47° 25', 

 instead of 47° 32' ; that of Sandhill in 47° 26', instead of 47° 33'. These positions 

 were determined not only from observations for latitude near their mouths, but 

 were corroborated by the observed courses, time, and distances. 



The Bed Fork of Red River, which flows from Red Lake, is a considerable stream, 

 being about a hundred feet wide, whilst the width of the East branch is about one 

 hundred and twenty feet. The former is the stream to which the name of Bed 

 River properly belongs. The stream which we navigated is known to the Indians 



