Page:Early western travels, 1748-1846 V13.djvu/222

 I was told that the river was here 1100 miles from its confluence by the meanders, or 900 above Natchitoches.

Here, for the first time, I saw the Maclura (or Bow wood) in abundance, but almost a month past flowering, at least with the staminiferous plant.

We found in this country two poisonous species of Coluber, or common snake, one of them very small, and finely marbled with vivid colours. The other frequents waters, and is called the water-mockasin, and poisonous black-snake; it is nearly black, two or three feet long, and thick in proportion, the head triangular and compressed at the sides. Both of them were furnished with the mortal fangs.

24th.] To-day we continued to the Horse-prairie, 15 miles above the mouth of the Kiamesha. In our way we proceeded for about three miles through the fertile alluvion of Red river to Mr. Varner's, where we breakfasted, and at length arriving at our destination on the banks of Red river, we remained there the whole of the following day. This prairie derives its name from the herds of wild horses, which till lately frequented it, and of which we saw a small gang on our return. It is very extensive, but flat, and in some {155} places swampy. In these depressions we saw whole acres of the Crinum americanum of the West Indies, besides extensive glaucous fields of a large leaved and new species of Rudbeckia. The Sus tajassu or Mexican hog, is not uncommon some distance higher up Red river. A great part of the skin of one of these animals was shown me by Mr. Varner; so that we need not go to Mexico, in order to account for the head of this animal which was found in one of the saltpetre caves of Kentucky. That a continual intercourse was also kept up by the natives of the east and west sides of the Mississippi,