NAVIGABILITY OF THE MISSOURI. 
243 
those plains or terraces. In shape they are sometimes conical or truncated, sometimes dome¬ 
shaped, and occasionally have the form of ridges. 
The steamboat did not halt on the night of the 24th. 
On the 25th, the land appeared richer than on the 24th. The hills, it was observed, were not 
as high nor so irregular, and produced better grass. Very little or no lignite was seen. The 
“Burnt Hills” almost entirely disappeared. The bottoms were wide and well wooded. Besides 
the cotton-wood, there were noticed the ash, elm, willow, and in the ravines the cedar, all of 
which were small in size except the cotton-wood. 
On the 26th, the river was narrow, tortuous, and swift. Being high, it had in several places 
overflowed the wide bottoms at the bends. In the afternoon we noticed, at some distance from 
the river, high hills shaped somewhat like a sugar-loaf, and which were entirely bare of vegeta¬ 
tion. The great number of grasshoppers that we saw in this portion of country was remark¬ 
able. At one point they might be said literally almost 1o cover the ground. By their motion in 
the grass, they made quite a loud noise. I was informed that often they frustrate the attempts 
at cultivation made by the Indians, and at the trading-posts. 
On the 27th, we passed the “Square Buttes,” which rise from the plain at angles of about 45°. 
They are truncated, and average about three hundred and fifty feet high. In the afternoon we 
were compelled to halt, on account of a high wind. During the night it was very cool, and the 
wind blew furiously from the northwest. 
On the 2Sth, we did not travel on account of the storm. The day was so cool that at noon 
the thermometer stood at 54° above zero. There were several pieces of ice seen floating down 
the river. I was furnished with the following explanation of this fact: In winter, the river being 
frozen, the ice occasionally breaks up at some points, as between Fort Union and Fort Benton, in 
consequence of which an accumulation takes place at points below, where the same “ breaking 
up” does not occur. Some fragments of this ice are thrown ashore, and perhaps by high winds 
become subsequently covered with sand. In this way they are preserved from melting, and 
when the river rises in June are carried down the stream. 
We reached Fort Clark early on the morning of the 29th. The Indians at this place cultivate, 
with tolerable success, corn and some vegetables. The country for some distance above this 
post may be thus described: While on the left bank there were wide bottoms and extensive 
prairies producing fine grass, on the right were bluffs one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet 
high, and nearly vertical, containing lignite and red clay, and having near them a number of 
hillocks bare of vegetation, and in shape somewhat resembling a sugar-loaf. The “ Burnt Hills” 
reappeared in some places. 
We reached Fort Berthold at 1 o’clock on the 30th. The Indians here cultivate the land to 
some extent. In the vicinity of this post, as well as above Fort Union, it is characteristic that 
many ranges of nearly vertical bluffs, one hundred and fifty to three hundred feet high, and bare 
of vegetation, occur, rising from the plains or terraces of which mention has been made. By the 
variety of colors imparted to them by the red clay, lignite, and a white substance they contain, 
they present a picturesque appearance. The white is sometimes the color of a rocky stratum, 
and sometimes it is from a mere incrustation. These bluffs occasionally run parallel to the river, 
but generally make an acute angle with its course. They sometimes have quaint forms, remind¬ 
ing one of the appearance which old towns or castles have when seen in the distance. They are 
often called by the traders “les mauvaises terres,” on account of the species of quagmire they 
contain. These are depressions filled with clay, which is covered with a white incrustation, 
giving the surface the appearance of being firm. 
On the 1st of July we passed the mouths of the Little Missouri and White Earth rivers. The 
extent of the forests of dead trees to be seen near the latter stream is remarkable. 
On the morning of the 2d the river was overhung by a dense fog. 
We passed Fort William and the mouth of the Yellowstone in the afternoon of the third. The 
