New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1843-07-10
Rocky Mountain Expedition.
LETTER FROM Mr.. AUDuboN'

| Atlas, giylng an ui1e4e''it's
oress Of the Exploring Expedition with which ne
: connected, and of the country through which
ao has passed. Having been kindly permitted TO
make extracts by the writer, we avail ourselves
If the permission with pleasure, in which we are
assured our readers will not fail to participate.
The principal portion of the letter is written
from about $50 miles below st. Pierre. a post
script, dated 9" Fort Pierre, Missouri about
1900 miles above st. Louis, June |, 1913, an
nounces their safe arrival.
Gas it happens that we arc now fast on a
SIND bar about $50 miles below Fort Pierre, one
of the many establishments of the American Fur
Company, have taken it into my head to bore
you with another, and you must make the best OF
it. | will, however, try to give 1t some interest,
so far as can. Since my last of the 18th INST.
the general appearance olthc country has assumed
different aspect-and one for the worse. The
river has become more contracted between the
sides through which It's channel passes, and has
also become straightcr We meet with less wa
ter, fewer snags, and many more sandbars. The
bluffs become more abrupt and more picturesque
in their forms, for the effects OF cold and thaw
take place, the upper portions lose their softer
parts and leave the hard parts, assuming the
shapes of battlelncntS, towers, NC. and when
viewed from Il distance do not look unlike curl
ously built cities. The trees arc becoming scarce
and OF an extremely stunted growth, and Ill the
ravines that wind their way between the hills,
the growth is principally red cedar Tho hills
themselves which gradually ascend to plains of
immense extent, are all Of the very poorest dc
scription, so much so that one can scarcely con-
ccivc how millions of bufialocs, deer, antclopes
SC manage to sllbsist, and yet they do so, and
a.,
This is wild and melancholy looking district,
but upon it countless multi,udes OF buhalocs live
and die, even more by the arrow and the rife
bullet than by drowning, while attempting to
cross the rapid Missouri. The shores are often
strcwcd with their carcases, on which the wolf,
the buzzard and the raven gorge themselves, at
leisure and undisturbcd for hunters rarely if ever
shoot at any Of them. We have seen many elks,
abundance Of deer, wildcats, antelopes, buffaloes
and wolves, and one bear. Our folks have shot
many buffaloes, but have not done so, simply
because these are now worthless when killed.
through poverty, and displaying only mass of
bone and skin, covered only by very thin por-
ton Of flesh and if you shoot bull, the rank
ness of the flesh even Of its best parts is quite
enough TO raise a revolt in the stomachs of all
but starving men. The winter has been so very
severe that buff;lloes have been 400 miles lower
down the river than they had been for 20 years
The calves have been nearly all destroyed.
In the way Of plants we have seen several
species Of cactus unknown to us previously, and
we intend to take plenty of them home. We
have also found beautiful dwarf sweet-sccnted
pea that perfumes the whole atmosphere. 1t
grows over all the sandy and dreary hills and
plains of which | have spoken. There exists a
root here called the ,ohiie apple, which Is farna
ccous and makes good mush, when dried and
pounded fine. OF these also we will take some
home. We have collected every thing that was
or is in blossom, and will continue to do so when
in seed and ripe We intend to fill up boxes Of
the seed for all our friends both far and near.
In zoology we have done pretty well, IN ornl-
thology better, we have already four new spe-
cics of birds, and have no doubt we shall find
more.
We have felt the transitions of weather we
have at the eastward the thermometer ranging
from 40 to 92o in the same day.
We are sadly annoyed by heavy and almost
constant winds that rctard our progress more or
less daily. We have caught only few catfish,
and these do not much relish No offers, bca-
yer, muslsrats, or even mink, is seen in or about
the turbid waters of this mighty stream, the wa
tiers of which look more like a hog-puddlc than
any thing else to which | Can compare it at pre-
sent About onc-tcnth of it falls in dcpositc III
half an hour. Springs Of magncsia abound in
many of the ravincs. Sulphur and OXIDE OF IRON
show themselves frequently. Immense bluffs CT
white, blue, and yellow sandstone arc also found,
as we'll as boulders of granite even OH the top OF
the highest hills, but not a single specimen Of
fossil remains as yet, although wc were assured
they abounded around these bluffs. On the con-
IL
sec no small birds, and we have seen millions of
them, including almost every species found in
the Eastern States, and great number more
particularly adapted 10 the region we now are IN.
May 30.
We are now at Fort George, not more than 70
miles from Fort Pierre, but may have to put
ashore half of our cargo, Is the water IS as low
now as it was high when VIC left st. Louis.
This is great disappointment to us all, as
Fort Pierre is the place where one halt OF tic
cargo was to be delivered.
No one can form an idea of the quantity of
buffaoes we have seen since | wrote above. The
prairieS, the hills and the rayincs are all dotted
with these heavy looking animals. We had "a
pleasant excursion across the =" Great Bend,
where the river was 90 miles, and our walk not
exceeding three and u half We cncampcd one
night, and fed entirely on the best vcnison | ever
ale. 1t was OF that species Of deer called the
hlack,aed or mulcd deer We saw the next
day upward of 5000 bu.ialoes feeding on the
prairies around us, but they are TOO poor at pre-
sent to cat, and for that reason few or none are
killed"
\ postscript dated Fort Pierre, June lst, states
that the party had reached that place IN excellent
health and spirits. The letter further states that
they expected to reach the Yellow Stone IN about
togtnight that they had been emlnently sue
ccsslul in the way OF specimens, among which
were 4 new species OF birds, , new species OF