The daily Madisonian. [volume] (Washington City [i.e. Washington, D.C.]) 1841-1845, 1843-07-07
AUDUBON.

The following extract from letter just received
by DIR. Gideon b. Smith, of Baltimore, from this
distinguished naturost, will be read with great int.
rest by his friends;
MIssotM RlytR May "a, lS43.
My Dear Friend: As it happens that we are now
fast on bar about $50 miles below Fort ST. Pierre
Of the many establishments of the American Fur
Company have taken IT into my head to bore YOU
with anrther letter. and you must make the best of it,
will, however, try TO give 1t interest as far as
can. Since my last TO you, dated Ma, lS the
country has assumed different aspect and that for
the worse. The river has become more contracted
between the bills through which it passes and has
also become more straight; we meet with less water
fewer sn1gs, and many more sand bars. The bluff,
have become more abrupt and more picturesque in
their forms, for the effects OF cold and thaws take
place, their upper portions lose their softer parts and
the harder parts assume the shapes of battements
towers, &c, and when viewed from distance look
not unlike curlously built cities The trees are be-
coming scarcer and of extremely stunted grow IT, aud
in the rasines that wind their way between the bills
the growth is principally red cedar The hills them
selves, which gradually ascend to plains of immense
extent, one and all Of the very poorest descrip-
ton so much that one can scarcely conceive how
millions of butaoes, antelopes, deer, &C. manage TO
subsst and yet they do So and grow fat between this
and autumn. Then, my dear friend, we have reach
ed these Wild, and, to my eye, melancholy looking
districts on which those countless muludes of mon.
strous sized animals live and die more by the arrow
and rifle bullet than even by drowning whilst at
tempting to cross the rapid Missouri The shores
strewed with their carcasses, on which the wolf
the raven, and the yultuie gorge themselves at lei.
sure and unmolested for hunters rarely il ever shoot
at any Of these. We have seen many elks abun
dance Of deer, anleopes, buiiaoes wild cats wolves
and one bear. Our folks have shot buhaloes but
have not done so, simply because they are worth
less through poverty, and when killed only display
mass Of bones aud skin, with very thin portion of
Npa h. anil ghp hill 4
better parts IS quite enough TO revolt the stomach of
all but starving men.
The winter has been so very severe that bunaloes
have been or 400 miles lower down the river than
they had been for twenty years. The calves have
been nearly all DESTROYED. In the way of plantsrwe
have some cactuses unknown to us previously,
and intend TO take plenty Of specimens home with US
We have also found a beautiful dwarf swee-scented
pea, that perfumes the whole atmosphere. Il grows
over all the sandy and grayelly, dreary plains and
hills OF which have spoken. There exists root
called here the white apple which is farinaceous
and makes good mush when dried and pounded
fine. OF these also shall take specimens. We
have collected every thing that was in bloom and
shall continue To do so when IN seed and ripe Tor all
our friends, Far and near In zoology we have done
pretty alr; in ornohology better, as we have already
four nup birds, and will, no doubt, find more We
have felt all the transitions Of weather that we have
at the eastward, the thermometer ranging from IA 10
80 deg m the. same day. We are sadly ANNOYED b,
heaNy ana almost constant winds mat tetard our pro-
gress, more Or less, almost daily. We have caught
only few catfish, aud these do not much RELISH
No otters, beavers, musk-rats, or even minks are
found IN about the turbd waters of this almighty
stream the water Of which looks more like a hog
puddle than any thing else that can compare il to
About one-tenh Of IT'S bulk forms deposit in half an
hour. Springs of magnesla abound IN many Of the
rayines. Sulphur and oxide Of iron show themselves
frequently. immense bluffs Of white blue and yellow
sandstone are also found, as well banks of granite
even on the tops Of the highest hills. But not sim
gle specimen of fossil remains, as yet, although we
we're assured that they abounded along these bluff,
We we're equally assured we should see no small
birds, but We have seen millions Of them, including
almost every species we find in the eastern States