The Sun.
London, England, 1832-06-22 00:00:00

AMERICAN EXPEDITION.

The expedition sent out by the American Go-
vernment in 1820-21, to explore the Rocky Moun-
tains, ar.d North from the Numean Line, has at
length been heard of, after an absence of eleven
years. The company landed at Green Bay, and
wintered ; went by Prairie du Chien to St Antho-
ny's Falls, Mississippi; went up St. Peter's two
hundred miles in search of lead mines, where they
discovered several very valuable ones ; wintered
there; went down the same river and down the
Mississippi to the mouth of the Missouri; then up
the Missouri to the foot of the Rocky Mountains ;
wintered there, and continued to the middle of
August; then crossed the mountains and were west
eight years. While travelling by the Frozen Ocean,
and having been into Asia South, towards the head
of the Colombia River, they were overtaken by a
storm, and compelled to build houses, and stay
there nine months, six of which the sun never rose,
and the darkness was as great as during our nights.
The snow, part of the time, was fourteen feet deep,
and the company were compelled to eat forty-one of
their pack-horses to prevent starving, while the only
food the horses had was birch bark, which the com-
pany cut and carried to them by walking on the
snow with snow-shoes. After passing the moun-
tains, they passed three hundred and eighty-six
different Indian tribes, some perfectly white, some
entirely covered with hair (denominated the
Esau Indians) who were amongst the most
singular, and so wild, that the company were com-
pelled to run them down with horses to take their di-
mensions, which was part of their duty, whilst others
evinced the most friendly disposition. While west
of the mountains they fell in with a tribe called the
Copper Indians, who receive their names from own-
ing extensive copper mines; 300 of them, armed
with bows and copper darts, copper knives and axes,
attacked the company in day time: a severe action
ensued, and only about oof the Indians escaped;
the rest were killed or wounded, with a loss of two
the company, and 17 wounded.
Among the various discoveries made by the com-
pany we have only room to mention those of exten-
sive beds of pure salt, the largest of which was 47
acres, several inches deep, on the borders, found to
be pure and wholesome; also innumerable beds of
alum, iron, lead, copper, gold, and silver ore, the
gold almost pure. Among the animals the grisley
bear is the most ferocious. The weight of several
killed by the company varied from 601bs. to 1251154.
Of the company five died by sickness, one by
breaking a wild horse, one by the fail of a tree, and
fifteen were killed by the Indians—total twenty-two.
Ten of the nineteen survivors are lame, some by ac-
cident. Captain Leavensworth is among the num-
ber. He was on horseback half a mile distant from
the camp when he was shot by an Indian, which
broke his thigh, and dropped his horse; the horse
fell upon the injured leg, and broke it again below
the knee. The horse continued to hold him thus,
whilst the Indian ran up to scalp him, when Lea-
vensworth seized a pistol from his saddle and shot
him dead; after which he was got safe to the camp.

DOLL'S EYES,—lnsigniflcant as may appear
this petty article of commerce, it is well known to keep in
employ several thousands hands, and goes to show the vast
importance of trifles to a country of decided commercial-
ists. Mr. OsmEx, an intelligent manufacturer of Bir-
mingham, gave the following statement before the Com-
mittee of the House of Commons in 1824. " Eighteen
Years ago, on my first journey to London, a respectable
looking man in the city asked me if I could supply him
with doll's eyes, and I was foolish enough to feel half
offended ; I thought it derogatory to my new dignity as,
manufacturer, to make doll's eyes. He took me into a
room quite as wide, and twice the length of this, (one of
the large rooms fur Committees in the House of Corn.
moos,) and we had just room to walk between the stacks,
from the floor the ceiling, of parts of dolls. He said these
are only the legs and arms, the trunks are below, but I saw
enough to convince me that he wanted a great many eyes;
and as the article appeared quite in my own line of busi-
ness, I said I would take an order by way of experiment,
and he showed me several specimens. I copied the order,
and on returning to the Tavistcck Hotel, I found it
amounted to upwards of 5001,"..—Mirror,