Rutland herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1823-1847, 1843-07-20
Prem the Boston Atlas.
uOcKY MOUNTAIN EXPEDITION.
LITTER IRON Mn AUDupoS.

l,ncr from ,bis distinguished Naturalist has
,..i, been received by one OF the editors OF the
Ahaf, siuag an interesting account Of the pro-
r,,s, gl the Exploring Expedition With which he 4
!, ,aanccod, and Of tho country through which he
4 s..d Having been kindly permitted 10 make
4 ,,-,cis by the writer, we avail ourselves OF the \
,.rn,s,.on with pleasure, in which NC are assur-
q cur reader, wall no, tail TO participate.
The principal portion OF the letter is written
bon about $50 miles below st Pierre. post
..,p, dated "Fou Pierre, Missouri" about 1900
: \. above St LOUIS, June Isl, ls43, announces
| asH safe arrival i
ASH happens that we are now fast on q sand 1
~. scout tsa miles below Fort Pierre one OF the
nany establishments Of the American Fur Com
pany have taken il into my head TO bore you With
IN sher Letter and you must make the best OF II
viii however, Try to give 1t some interest so far
a. can Since my las, OF the 18th inst, the gen
eral appearance OF the country has assumed dii
ieftui aspoci-and one for tho worse. The nver
has become more contracted between the sides
through which its channel passes, and has also be-
,ont slaughter. We NEE, with less water, fewer
ssags and many more sandbars The Bluffs be-
tome more abrupt aud more picturesque in their
forms for as the ,h,cis OF cold and thaw take
p,sce, the upper portions lose their softer parts
sDi leave the hard parts, assuming The shapes OF
bsRlemenls towers &c and when viewed from
gance do no, look unlike curionsly built cities.
The trees are becoming scarce AMI OF an extreme
ly stuntcd growth, and IN the raynes that WIND
their way between the hills, the growth is princi'
Il pay red cedar 80
E The bills themselves, which gradually ascend
10 plains of immense extent, are all Of the very
noores, description so much that scarce
il conceive how millions Of buiialoes, deer, ante
"a lopcs &c manage TO subsis and yet they do so,
n and grow lat between this time and autumn
a This is wild and melancholy looking district,
n but upon il countless muhudes of huifaloos live
q and die, even more by the arrow and the rfe-bui
4 e than by drowning while attempting TO cross
4 the rapid Missouri. The shores are often s.rewed
/ with their carcnsses, on which the wolf the buzz
zard aud raven gorge themselves, at leisure and
undisiurbed for hunters rarely, if ever shoot any
n Of them. We have seen many elk., abundance
Of deer, Wildcats an,elopes, buialoes aud wolves
I end one bear Our folkes have .ho, many buffa
les, bu, have not done so, simply because these
ue now worthless when killed through poverty
ai displaying only mass Of bone and skin, COW
I'D only by very thin portion Of flesh and il
Tan shoot a bull tho rankness of the flesh even Of
is best parts is quite enough TO raise revolt IN the
sonachs OF all but starving men, The winter
las been so very severe that buffalocs have been
800 miles lower down the river than they have
teen before for 90 years The calves have been
/ nelrly all destroyed.
n In the way of plants we have seen several spc-
b ces Of cactus unknown to us previously, and we
81 intend 10 take plenty Of them home We have
also found beautiful dwarf swee,-scented pea that
4 perfumes the whole atmosphere. 1t grows over
4 all the sandy aud droary hills and plains which |
n have spokcn There exists root here called the
II raHc apple, which is farnaceous and makes n
4 good mush when dried and pounded fine. or
! these also we will take some home We have col.
|4 eclCd every thing that was in blossom, and will
III continue TO do so when in seed and ripe. We IN
end to ill up boxes Of the seed for all our friends
10Th far and near
81 In zoology we have done pretty well, in ornith-
a doggy better as we have already four new species
4 Of birds, and have no doub, we shall find more.
We have felt all transitions of weather we have
q Al the eastward, the thermometer ranging from
II "a degrees TO % degrees The same day.
n We are sadly annoyed by heavy and almost
cons,an, winds that re,ard our progress more or
less daily We have caught only few catfish,
A and these I do not much relish. No others beav-
M er, muskra,s. or even mink, is seen in or about
k he lurbh waters of this mighty stream, the wa
b ien OF which look more like that of hogpud
die than any thing else TO which can compare II
a present About oneIen,h Of il falls in deposre
N half an hour. Springs Of mngnCsia abound
IN many Of the rayines Sui phur and oxide ol
iron show themselves frequently. Immense bluffs
|4 Of white blue, and yellow sandstone are also
iauai, as well as bolders OF granite even on the
@p Of the highest hills, but not single specimen
M o. iassll remains as yet although we were assur
81 iha. they abounded around these bluffs, on
inc contrary we were equally assured that we
should seq no small birds, and we have seen
millions Of them--ineluding almos, every spe
eies found in the Eastern States, and that q
great number more particularly adapted 10 th'
region that we are now in.
90 May.
We are now a, Fort George not more than q
miles from Feu Pierre but may have 10 pu
ashore bali our cargo as the water is as low now
as II was high when we icf S, Louis
This Is grea, Disappointment, 10 US all. as For
Pierre Is the place where one half Of the cargS
was TO be delivered
No one can form an idea Of the quantity O
bufalocs we have seen since wrote above Tn
+ prAiries, the hills and the rsynes are all doue,
With these heavy looking animals. We had
pleasant excursion across the Great Bead when
81 tic riyer was 30 miles, and our walk no, exceed
ing three ami half We eneamped one nigh
and led entirely on the bes venson | ever eat
VAS enc Of that species Of deer called The blse
t'iled OF mule deer. We saw the next day W
wsris Of 5000 bufaloss feeding on iha, prairie
around US bullhey are TOO poor al present 10 ea
al iof lbs, reason few OF none are killed
A pos,scriP dated Fou Pierre June Isl, state