238 
JOURNAL. 
by during the afternoon as the rain continued during 
the whole of it. 
Thursday XOth. At dark last evening the weather 
cleared up, and was cold all night. This morning 
was clear and cold, and all the mountains in sight 
were covered with snow, which fell yesterday and 
last night.* At 8 o'clock we started down the river, 
and in the course of the day our hunters killed five 
deer, two elk and a bear. The road was a very mud- 
dy after the rain. The country on both sides is com- 
posed of beautiful plains ; the river about 80 yards 
wide and tolerably sti^ight, with some cotton wood 
timber on its banks ; and plenty of game of different 
kinds ranging through the plains. Having made 24 
miles we encamped for the night. 
Friday 1 \ th. This was a fine morning and M'e set 
out early to cross the point, and having gone eight 
miles, came to the Missouri at the Bear islands, 
nearly opposite our old encampment. Here our 
hunters, in a short time, killed five buffaloe ; and we 
saved the best of the meat ; and of the skinsmade two 
canoes to transport ourselves andfbaggage across the 
river. The buffaloe are in large droves about this place=> 
Saturday \2th. Again a fine morning. We went 
out to collect our horses and found that ten of them 
were missing. I then set out to look for them, went 
seven miles up Medicine river, where I found three 
of them and returned to camp. Two more went to 
hunt for them, and the rest of us crossed the river ia 
cur nev/ craft which we find answer the purpose very 
* It will not be a subject of surprize that snow sIiouk4 
fall here in the middle of summer, when the elevatio4i of this 
part of the countrr, which divides the eastern from the wes- 
tern waters, is taken into view. Every person will be able to 
compreliend, tliat no small degree of elevation, above its 
mouth, will be sufficient to give so rapid a course to t?ie 
Missouri for upwards of 3000 miles^ even supposing there 
were no grexit fulls or ccitarjict^s. 
