Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 (1907 Volume 6).djvu/97

 Saw some buffaloe to day, and with Mr. Lisa, went several miles in pursuit of them, but without success.

Passed a beautiful island L'isle[P2 L'isle] a bon homme, upon which there are the remains of an ancient fortification.[34] In the evening our hunter killed a buffaloe, upon which we all feasted.

It is becoming very warm in the middle of the day, and our men suffer considerably from the heat of the sun. As we had no wind this morning, and ascended with the cordelle, I made my escape from the boat with my rifle. Passed through a most delightful prairie, the grass short and close, of a deep blue, and intermixed with a great variety of beautiful flowers. With what delight could I roam over these lovely meads, if not under restraint from the fear of meeting some party of Indians, who {103} may be lurking about. The plain was strewed with the ordure of the buffaloe, which gave it the appearance of an immense pasture field. We discovered this morning, a great deal of smoke up the river, which we suppose to have been made by the Indians, in order to give notice of our approach; some of their scouts having probably discovered us. This is the usual mode of giving warning; the ordure of the buffaloe is gathered up in heaps, and fire set to it; and such is the clearness of the atmosphere, that this smoke can be easily discerned at the distance of ten or twenty miles.

The scenery this evening is beautiful beyond any thing I ever beheld. In spite of every injunction to the contrary, I could not help wandering a few miles from the boat. The sky as clear as that represented in Chinese painting. The face of the country enchanting. The flowery mead, the swelling ground, the romantic hill, the bold river, the