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 saliant ridges. From what I perceive, I am inclined to consider the Cavaniol as a continuation of the same chain, proceeding west by north. From the garrison to the encampment of this evening, indications of coal are sufficiently obvious in the bituminous shale and carbonaceous reliquiæ.

17th.] The day was delightfully clear and warm, and the whole aspect of nature appeared peculiarly charming. In the morning our party fell in with a favourite amusement, in the pursuit of two bears, harmlessly feeding in the prairies, which, being very fat, were soon overtaken and killed. We proceeded about 20 miles; towards evening passing the Pottoe, which was quite fordable, notwithstanding the late fresh. Our course was principally south-south-west, and this evening, after crossing the Pottoe, more westwardly. We were again in full view of the two picturesque mountains, the Cavaniol and Point Sucre; the latter yet appeared somewhat conic, and scantily wooded, but covered with thickets like the Alleghany {148} mountains. Our route was continued through prairies, occasionally divided by sombre belts of timber, which serve to mark the course of the rivulets. These vast plains, beautiful almost as the fancied Elysium, were now enamelled with innumerable flowers, among the most splendid of which were the azure Larkspur, gilded Coreopsides, Rudbeckias, fragrant Phloxes, and the purple Psilotria. Serene and charming as the blissful regions of fancy, nothing here appeared to exist but what contributes to harmony.

18th.] To-day, in a journey of about 25 miles, we passed several very rocky pine ridges, but over which a loaded wagon had been dragged as far as the Kiamesha, accompanied by a family of emigrants, who had been