TOPOGRAPHY OF ROUTE FROM THE MISSISSIPPI TO THE COLUMBIA. 173 
miles of sward and timber called Thompson’s prairie, and here we pause once more to admire the 
noble prospect. 
This prairie is a succession of grassy terraces on the north from the river to the frowning 
mountains which enclose it, and which on the south rise steeply from the immediate bank; 
the slopes between the different levels are covered with timber, of which the youngest growth 
extends irregularly on the open plateaux. Standing on the river-bank and looking up the valley, 
the view embraces all the elements of grandeur and beauty that can be imagined in mountain 
scenery, and in an extent which an artist would choose for a single picture. Here, as in many 
places, the mountains close in upon the river, making a stupendous gateway to the open prai¬ 
rie, into which pours a brawling stream through one of the numerous gorges from the north. 
It is late in the morning when the sun overtops the crowded mountains and lights their deep re¬ 
cesses, gilding the autumnal foliage of the little islands, which derive additional beauty from 
their clear reflection in the still backwater created by the meeting of the rivers; the massive 
outlines of the foreground are still enveloped in shade, while in the mighty opening, rocks and 
trees, and pool and torrent, are glowing in a blaze of light. Such are the scenes that reward the 
way-worn tourist throughout this great region, and it is almost sorrowful to reflect that the very 
purpose of our explorations will soon dispel the “enchantment that distance lends,” when it will 
be no longer an event in life to have crossed the mountains. 
The character of the valley of Clark’s fork, from Thompson’s prairie to Pend d’Oreille lake, 
has already been perhaps sufficiently indicated in the general review of the mountains. The 
course and distance are about sixty-five miles northwest, in the course of which the only new 
features are a few small canons, as they may be termed, through which the river suddenly dis¬ 
appears, but soon emerging and meandering through the dense timber, and making several re¬ 
markable horse-shoe bends. Of the canons, that called the Cabinet, about thirteen or fourteen 
miles from the lake, is rather remarkable, but wanting the interest of noveltjr to those who have 
seen the wonders of the mountains from their eastern base. The traveller through the valley 
frequently passes through tracts of timber where the tall trunks stand denuded of their limbs and 
foliage, scarred and blackened by destructive fires which are sometimes started by lightning, but 
as probably by negligence or the nefarious purposes of hostile Indians. It is one of the grandest 
sights by night to watch the progress of the fearful element through the close-grown trees; the 
hissing of the flames enveloping the green limbs; the crashing of falling logs, and the clouds of 
belching smoke that darken the star-lit sky; the lurid glare and fitful light, in which the outlines 
of the hills and woods are seen starting from obscurity into view, to sink again into thicker dark¬ 
ness: these, with all the minor concomitants of such a scene, make an impression on the mind 
which can never be effaced. Though these fires be so terrible in appearance, they are rarely 
of any great extent, as the mountain-spurs and jutting rocks, with the winding of the river, form 
impassable checks to the most furious fire; they are soon succeeded by a growth of young trees, 
and are of but slight importance, compared to the devastating effects of a fire on the prairies. 
Among the few disagreeables of such a mountain trip is one, it should be hoped of rare occur¬ 
rence, which perhaps may not improperly be mentioned here. While the studious observer of 
nature is feasting his imagination with the varied scenery of the mountains, he suddenly stum¬ 
bles on the scalped remains of some poor Indian warrior, left hastily on his last battle-ground by 
his vanquished tribe, his horse having shared his fate, lying near by ; horribly mutilated by obscene 
birds and beasts, the loathsome objects are found, it may be, festering in the sun or stiffened in 
the frost—the most deplorable evidence of the unceasing hostilities which seem to be the most 
important purpose of the red man’s life. 
At the end of the most thickly wooded section of Clark’s fork is Pend d’Oreille lake, encircled 
by a zone of romantic hills of diminishing elevation, and dotted with a few lovely islands like 
gems upon the breast of beauty. It is of very irregular form, with a varied shore-line of rocky 
bluff and sandy beach, a large section of which exhibits unmistakable indications of iron. Going 
