Page:A Topographical Description of the State of Ohio, Indiana Territory, and Louisiana.djvu/203

191 Buffaloe were plenty, but as we had secured as much meat as we could carry, we seldom troubled them. On the 16th, we proceeded about ten miles further, and continued here until the 24th, when having loaded our horses, we crossed over a mountain, and encamped on a branch of Big-horn river. The weather was cold, and frequent showers of snow made the travelling difficult. Here the stream was rapid, about thirty yards wide, and winding its way amongst the steep mountains. We were however obliged frequently to cross it ourselves, with our horses loaded with as much as they could carry. On the 28th, we came to a camp of the Crow Indians, where we rested until the 30th, when we continued our course down the river.

The Crow Indians speak either the Mandan or Gross-Ventres tongue, or both of those languages. They left the camp and accompanied us. Here we found the travelling less difficult than it had been. On the 3d of October, we passed two camps, and on the 5th, several more camps, on our way to Big-horn river, where we arrived at night. On the south side is a winter camp of the Crow Indians, consisting of forty-three huts. These huts were sunk three feet below the surface of the ground, but otherwise are built nearly similar to those of the Gross-Ventres. In the centre a post is erected, with notches cut in it for steps, and a hole is left open at the top of it, sufficiently large for a man to crawl out, which is their