The cotton-wood varies in magnitude, in proportion to the fertility of the soil, and on the Ohio, the Mississippi, and the Arkansa, it attains the size of our largest forest trees. It is sometimes exceeded in girth, and in the number and extent of its branches, by the majestic sycamore, but in forests where the two are intermixed, as is commonly the case, it is seen to overtop all other trees.

A cotton-wood tree mentioned in the Journal of the Exploring Party, who ascended Red river in ,806, and spoken of as one of many similar trees,, standing in a cornfield, three or four days journey above Natchito-

sind from the necessity of our situation, thought ourselves justified in seizing, and converting it to our own use. Our pack-horses had become much weakened, and reduced by long fatigue, and in crossing the river, as we had often to do, we felt that our collections, the only valuable part of our 8Sge were constantly exposed to the risk of being wetted. We accordingly made prize of the canoe, and putting on board our packs and heavy baggage, manned it with two men, designing that they should navigate it down to the settlements. Not far from this canoe, we discovered in the adjoining woods, the remains of an old camp, which we perceived had been occupied by white men, and saw other convincing proofs, that we were coming near some inhabited country.

We halted at evening in a small prairie, on the north side of the river, the first we had seen for some time. The difficulties of navigation, arising from the shallowness of the water, prevented the arrival of the canoe and baggage, until a

ohes, measured one hundred and forty-one feet and six inches in height, and five feet in diameter, which is exceeded by few trees, except the sycamore, in the temperate parts of North America. [Freeman MS, Journal.] Though we have not actual admeasurements to compare with this, we are of opinion, that many trees on the Arkansa, would rather exceed, than fall short of these dimensions. The cotton-wood affords a light and soft thnber, not very durable, except when protected from the weather. Before expansion, the buds of this tree are partially covered with a Tiscid resinous exudation, resembling that so conspicuous on the buds of the P. balsaniifera, and diffusing in spring and the early part of summer, an extremely grateful balsamic odour.

According to Pennant, the gran or JVorwayfir, (Pinus abies, P.) the loftiest of European trees attains only the height of one hundred and sixty feet, [bee Introd. to his Arctic Zoology, p. 103.] The pines of Nootka Sound are one hundred and twenty feet high. [Barriugton's Misc. 290.] Gov. Phillip relates, that the pines of Norfolk island, are sometimes one hundred and eighty feet high, and nine or ten in diameter at the bottom of the trunk, but these are considered trees of astonishing magnitude. Can it be credited, that a species of pine on the Columbia, is commonly twenty-seven feet in circumference, six feet above the earth's surface, and two hundred and thirty feet high, rising one hundred and twenty feet without a limb.' We have it on the unquestioned authority of Lewis and Clark, p. 156, V. 2, that they found one tree, whose trunk rose two hundred feet without limbs, and whose entire height was three hundred feet. This tree appears, from their description, to hare been an Abies,

late hour. The men had been compelled to wade a great part of the way, and drag the canoe over the sand.

9th. We had proceeded a mile or two from our encampment, when we discovered a herd of twenty or thirty elk, some standing in the water, and some lying upon the sand beach, at no great distance before us. The hunters went forward, and singling out one of the finest bucks, fired upon him; at which the whole herd plunged into the thicket, and disappeared. We had, however, too much confidence in the skill of the hunter, to doubt but his shot had been fatal, and several of the party dismounting, pursued the herd into the woods, where they soon overtook the wounded buck. I'he noble animal, finding his pursuers at his heels, turned upon the foremost, who saved himself by springing into a thicket, which the elk could not penetrate, but in which he soon became entangled by his enormous antlers, and fell an easy victim. His head was enveloped in such a quantity of cissus, smilax, and other twining vines, that scarce the tips of his horns could be seen: thus blindfolded, he stood until most of those, who had followed into the woods, had discharged their pieces, and did not finally yield to his foes, until he was stabbed to the heart with a knife. He was found in excellent condition, having more than two inches of fat on the brisket. The meat was carried to the river, and deposited on a projecting point of rocks, with a note addressed to the men who were behind with the canoe, directing them to add this supply of provisions to their cargo.

At this point, and again at an inconsiderable distance below, a soft green slaty sandstone forms the bed of the river, and occasions a succession ot rapids.

At noon an observation by the meridian altitude of the sun's lower limb gave us ZS" 80' as an approximation to our latitude. This was much greater than we had anticipated, from the position assigned to Red river on the maps, and ♦ended to confirm the unpleasant fears we had entertained of

having mistaken some tributary of the Arkansa for the Red river.

Thick and extensive cane brakes occurred on all sides, and though the bottoms were wide and covered with heavy forests, we could see, at intervals, the distant sandstone hills with their scattered forests of cedar and oak.

10th. We left our camp at the usual hour, and, after riding eight or ten miles, arrived at the confluence of our supposed Red river with another of a much greater size, which we at once perceived to be the Arkansa. Our disappointment and chagrin, at discovering the mistake we had so long laboured und r, was little alleviated by the consciousness that the season was so far advanced, our horses and our means so far exhausted, as to place it beyond our power to return and attempt the discovery of the sources of Red river. We had been misled by some little reliance on the maps, and the current statements concerning the position of the upper branches of Red river, and more particularly by the confident assurance we had received from the Kaskaia Indians, whom we did not suspect of a wish to deceive us in an affair of such indifference to them. Knowing there was a degree of ambiguity and confusion in the nomenclature of the rivers, we had insisted particularly on being informed whether the river we were descending, was the one on which the Pawnee Piquas had their permanent residence, and this we were re peatedly assured was the case. Several other circumstances, which have been already mentioned, led us to the commission of this unfortunate mistake.

According to our estimate of distances on our courses, it is seven hundred ninety-six and a half miles from the point where we first struck the Canadian to its confluence with the Arkansa. If we make a reasonable allowance for the meanders of the river, and for the extension of its upper branches some distance to the west of the place where we commenced our descent, the entire length of the Canadian will appear to

be about one thousand miles. Our journey upon it had occupied a space of seven weeks, travelling with the utmost diligence the strength of our horses would permit.

On arriving at the Arkansa, we waited a short time for our canoe, in which we carried across our heavy baggage, and then swimming our horses, ascended the bank in search of a place to encamp, but soon found ourselves surrounded by a dense and almost impenetrable cane-brake, where no vestige of a path could be found. In this dilemma, no alternative remained but to force our way forward, by the most laborious exertions. The canes were of a large size, and stood so close together, that a horse could not move forward the length of his body without breaking, by main force, a great number of them. Making our way, with excessive toil, among these gigantic gramina, our party might be said to resemble a company of rats traversing a sturdy field of grass. The cane stalks, after being trod to the earth, often inflicted, in virtue of their elasticity, blows as severe as they were unexpected. It is not to be supposed, that our horses alone felt the inconvenience of this sort of travelling. We received frequent blows and bruises on all parts of our bodies, had our sweaty faces and hands scratched by the rough leaves of the cane, and, oftentimes, as our attention was otherwheres directed, we caught with our feet, and had dragged across our shins the flexible and spiny stalks of the green briar.

This most harrassing ride was commenced at eleven in the morning, and continued, without a moment's intermission, till sunset, when finding we were not about to extricate ourselves, we returned near a mile and a half on our track, to a spot where we had passed a piece of open woods, large enough to spread our blankets on. Here we laid ourselves down at dark, much exhausted by our day's journey.

Our fatigue was sufficient to overcome the irritation of the ticks, and we slept soundly until about midnight, when we

were awakened by the commencement of a heavy fall of rain, from which, as we had not been able to setup our tent, we had no shelter.

On the following morning, after several hours spent in most laborious travelling, like that of the preceding day, we found ourselves emerging from the river bottom, and, to our great satisfaction, exchanging the cane-brakes for open woods. At the foot of the hill, lay a deep morass, covered with the Nelumbo and other aquatic plants. It had, probably, been the former bed of the Arkarisa. Observing water in some parts of it, several of the party attempted to penetrate to it, to drink, but the quaking bog was found so deep and soft as to be wholly impassable.

After ascending the hills, we pursued our course nearly due north, through open woods of oak and nyssa, until we reached the prairie, and soon after discovered a large and frequented path, which we knew could be no other than that leading to Fort Smith. On emerging from the low grounds, we had no longer the prospect of boundless and monotonous plains. We were in a region of mountains and forests interspersed wit-h open plains, but these were of limited extent.

12th. We resumed our journey at sunrise. The weather was cool and the morning fair. The wide and densely wooded valley of the Arkansa lay on our right. The course of the river was marked by a long and undulating line of mist, brightening in the beams of the rising sun. Beyond, rose the blue summits of the Point Sucre and Cavaniol mountains, " in the clear light, above the dews of morn." Though the region about us had all the characters of a mountain district, we could discover little uniformity in the direction of the ranges. The Cavaniol and Point Sucre mountains stand on opposite sides of the Poteau, near the mouth of the Meline fork, and are parts of low ridges running from southwest to northeast. On the north side of the Ar-

kansa is a ridge of considerable elevation, nearly parallel in direction to the general course of the river.

In the path we were travelling, we observed tracks indicating that men on horseback had recently passed, and in the course of the morning we met a party of six or eight Indians who informed us they were of the Cherokee nation, and that we should be able to arrive at the military post at Belle Point on the following morning. They were on horseback, carrying guns, kettles, and other articles suited to a: hunting excursion, which it v/as their purpose to make in the territory of the Osages. Two or three of them had round hats; all had calico shirts, or some other article of foreign fabric, as part of their dress, and, in all, a mean and squalid appearance, indicated that they had been in habits of frequent intercourse with the whites. They were unable to speak or understand our language, but communicated with considerable ease by means of signs.