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other timber not the growth of inundated lands. At the foot of the rapids the navigation of the river is impeded by beds of gravel formed in it. The first rapids lie in latitude 31°. 4. 57. 5 N. a little above which there is a high ridge of primitive earth, studded with abundance of fragments of rocks, or stone, which appears to have been thrown up to the surface in a very irregular manner. The stone is of a friable nature, some of it having the appearance of indurated clay; the outside is blackish from exposure to the air, within it is a greyish white; it is said that in the hill the strata are regular and that good grindstones may be here obtained. The last of the ra pids, which is formed by a ledge of rocks crossing the entire bed of the ri ver, was passed in the evening of the 27th; above it the water became again like a mill pond and about one hundred yards wide. The whole of these first shoals, or rapids, en:braced an extent of about a mile and a half; the obstruction was not continued, but felt at short intervals in this distance. On the right, about four leagues from the rapids, they passed the "Bayau Aux Boeufs," a little above a rocky hill: high lands and savanna is seen on the right. On sounding the river they found three fathoms water on a bottom of mud and sand. The banks of the river, above the bayau seem to retain very little alluvial soil; the highland earth, which is a sandy loam of a light grey colour, with streaks of red sand and clay, is seen on the left bank; the soil not rich, bearing pines, interspersed with red oak, hickory and dogwood. The river is from sixty to one hundred yards wide here, but decreases as you advance. The next rapid is made by a ledge of ocks traversing the river, and narrowing the water channel to about thirty yards. The width between the high banks cannot be less than one hundred yards, and the banks from thirty to forty feet high. In latitude 320. 10 13". rapids and shoals again occurred, and the channel was very narrow; the sand bars at every point extended so far into the bend as to leave little more than the breadth of the boat of water sufficiently deep for her passage, although it spreads over a width of seventy or eighty yards upon the shoal.

In the afternoon of the 31st, they passed a little plantation or settlement on the right, and at night arrived at three others adjoining each other. These settlements are on a plain or prairie, the soil of which we may be assured is alluvial from the regular slope which the land has from the river. The bed of the river is now sufficiently deep to free them from the inconvenience of its inundation; yet in the rear the waters of the Mississippi approach, and sometimes leave dry but a narrow stripe along the bank of the river. It is however now more common, that the extent of the fields cultivated (from to mile) remains dry during the season of inundation; the soil here is very good, but not equal to the Mississippi bottoms; it may be esteemed second rate. At a small distance to the east are extensive cypress swamps, over which the waters of the inundation always stand to the depth of from fifteen to twenty-five feet. On the west side, after passing over the valley of the river whose breadth varies from a quarter of a mile to two miles, or more, the land assumes a considerable elevation, from one hundred to three hundred feet, and extends all along to the settlements of the Red river. These high lands are reported to be poor, and badly watered, being chiefly what is termed pine barren. There is here a ferry and road of communication between the post of the Washita, and the Natchez, and a fork of this road passes on to the settlement called the rapids, on Red river, distant from this place by computation one hundred and fifty miles.

On this part of the river lies a considerable tract of land granted by the Spanish government to the marquis of Maison Rouge, a French emigrant, who bequeathed it with all his property to M. Bouligny, son of the late colonel of the Louisiana regiment, and by him sold to Daniel Clarke. It is said to extend from the post of Washita with a breadth of two leagues, including the river, down to the bayau Calumet; the computed distance of

which along the river is called thirty leagues, but supposed not more than twelve in a direct line.

On the 6th of November, in the afternoon, the party arrived at the post of the Washita, in lat. 32° 29′ 37′′. 25 N. where they were politely received by lieut. Bowmar, who immediately offered the hospitality of his dwelling with all the services in his power.

From the ferry to this place the navigation of the river is, at this season, interrupted by many shoals and rapids. The general width is from eighty to a hundred yards. The water is extremely agreeable to drink, and much elearer than that of the Ohio. In this respect it is very unlike its two. heighbours, the Arkansa and Red rivers, whose waters are loaded with earthy matters of a reddish brown color, giving to them a chocolate-like appearance; and, when those waters are low, are not potable, being brackish from the great number of salt springs which flow into them, and probably from the beds of rock salt over which they may pass. The banks of the river presented very little appearance of alluvial land,but furnished an infinitude of beautiful landscapes, heightened by the vivid coloring they derive from the autumnal changes of the leaf. Mr. Dunbar observes, that the change of colour in the leaves of vegetables, which is probably occasion. ed by the oxygen of the atmosphere acting on the vegetable matter, deprived of the protecting power of the vital principle, may serve as an excellent guide to the naturalist who directs his attention to the discovery of new objects for the use of the dyer. For he has always remarked that the leaves of those trees whose bark or wood are known to produce a dye, are changed in autumn to the same color which is extracted in the dyers vat from the woods; more especially by the use of mordants, as allum, &c. which yields oxygen: thus the foliage of the hickory, and oak, which produces the quercitron bark, is changed before its fall into a beautiful yellow; other oaks assume a fawn color, a liver color, or a blood color, and are known to yield dyes of the same complexion.

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In lat. 32° 18 N. doct. Hunter discovered along the river side a substance nearly resembling mineral coal its appearance was that of the carbonated wood described by Kirwan. It does not easily burn; but on being applied to the flame of a candle, it sensibly increased it, and yielded a faint smell, resembling in a slight degree, that of the gum lac of common sealing wax.

Soft friable stone is common, and great quantities of gravel and sand, upon the beaches in this part of the river. A reddish clay appears in the strata, much indurated and blackened by exposure to the light and

air.

The position called fort Miro being the property of a private person, who was formerly civil commandant here, the lieutenant has taken post about four hundred yards lower; has built himself some log houses, and inclosed them with a slight stockade. Upon viewing the country cast of the river, it is evidently alluvial; the surface has a gentle slope from the river to the rear of the plantations. The land is of excellent quality, being a rich black mould to the depth of a foot, under which there is a friable loam of a brownish liver colour.

At the post of the Washita, they procured a boat of less draught of water than the one in which they ascended the river thus far; at noon, on the 11th of November, they proceeded on the voyage, and in the evening encamped at the plantation of Baron Bastrop.

This small settlement on the Washita, and some of the creeks falling into it, contains not more than five hundred persons, of all ages and sexes. It is reported, however, that there is a great quantity of excellent land upon these creeks, and that the settlement is capable of great extension, and may be expected, with an accession of population, to become very flourishing. There are three merchants settled at the post, who supply, at very

exorbitant prices, the inhabitants with their necessaries; these, with the garrison, two small planters, and a tradesman or two, constitute the present village. A great proportion of the inhabitants continue the old practice of hunting, during the winter season, and they exchange their peltry for necessaries, with the merchants, at a low rate. During the summer these people content themselves with raising corn, barely sufficient for bread during the year. In this manner they always remain extremely poor › some few who have conquered that habit of indolence, which is always the consequence of the Indian mode of life, and attend to agriculture, live more comfortably, and taste a little the sweets of civilized life.

The lands along the river above the post, are not very inviting, being a thin poor soil, and covered with pine wood. To the right, the settlements on the bayau Barthelemi and Siard, are said to be rich land.

On the morning of the 13th, they passed an island and a strong rapid, and arrived at a little settlement below a chain of rocks, which cross the channel between an island and the main land, called Roque Raw. The Spaniard and his family, settled here, appear, from their indolence, to live miserably. The river acquires here a more spacious appearance, being about one hundred and fifty yards wide. In the afternoon they passed the bayau Barthelemi on the right, above the last settlements, and about twelve computed leagues from the post. Here commences Baron Bastrop's great grant of land from the Spanish government, being a square of twelve leagues on each side, a little exceeding a million of French acres. The banks of the river continue about thirty feet high, of which eighteen feet from the water are a clayey loam of a pale ash colour, upon which the water has deposited twelve feet of light sandy soil, apparently fertile, and of a dark brown color. This description of land is of small breadth, not exceeding half a mile on each side of the river, and may be called the valley of the Washita, beyond which there is high land covered with pines.

The soil of the "Bayau des Buttes," continues thin with a growth of small timber. This creek is named from a number of Indian mounts discovered by the hunters along its course. The margin of the river begins to be covered with such timber as usually grows on inundated land, particularly a species of white oak, vulgarly called the over-cup oak; its timber is remarkably hard, solid, ponderous and durable, and it produces a large acorn in great abundance, upon which the bear feeds, and which is very fattening to hogs. In lat. 32° 50′ N. they passed a long and narrow island. The face of the country begins to change; the banks are low and steep; the river deeper and more contracted, from thirty to fifty yards in width. The soil in the neighborhood of the river is a very sandy loam, and covered with such vegetables as are found on the inundated lands of the Mississippi. The tract presents the appearance of a new soil, very different from what they passed below. This alluvial tract may be supposed the site of a great lake, drained by a natural channel, from the abrasion of the waters since which period the annual inundations have deposited the superior soil; eighteen or twen. ty feet is wanting to render it habitable for man. It appears, nevertheless, well stocked with the beasts of the forest, several of which were seen.

Quantities of water fowl are beginning to make their appearance, which are not very numerous here until the cold rains and frost compel them to leave a more northern climate. Fish is not so abundant as might be expect ed, owing, it is said, to the inundation of the Mississippi, in the year 1799, which dammed up the Washita, some distance above the post, and produc ed a stagnation and consequent corruption of the waters that destroyed all the fish within its influence.

At noon on the 15th November, they passed the island of Mallet, and at ninety yards north-east from the upper point of the island, by a good observation ascertained their latitude to be 32° 59' 27" 5 N. or two seconds and a half of latitude south of the dividing line between the territories of Or

leans and Louisiana. The bed of the river along this alluvial country, is generally covered with water, and the navigation uninterrupted; but in the afternoon of this day, they passed three contiguous sand bars, or beaches, called "les trois battures," and before evening the "bayau de grand Marais," or great marsh creek on the right, and "la Cypreri Chattelran," a point of high land on the other side, which reaches within half a mile of the river. As they advanced towards the marais de saline, on the right, a stratum of dirty white clay under the alluvial tract, shewed them to be leaving the sunken, and approaching the high land country. The salt lick marsh does not derive its name from any brackishness in the water of the lake or marsh, but from its contiguity to some of the licks, sometimes called "saline," and sometimes "glaise," generally found in a clay, compact enough for potters' ware. The bayau de la Tulipe forms a communication between the lake and the river. Opposite to this place, there is a point of high land, forming a promontory, advancing within a mile of the river, and to which boats resort when the low grounds are under water. A short league above is the mouth of the grand bayau de la Saline (Salt Lick creek). This creek is of a considerable length, and navigable for small boats. The hunters ascend it, to one hundred of their leagues, in pursuit of game, and all agree that none of the springs which feed this creek are salt. It has obtained its name from the many buffaloc salt licks which have been discovered in its vicinity. Although most of these licks, by digging, furnish water which holds marine salt in solution, there exists no reason for believing that many of them would produce nitre. Notwithstanding this low alluvial tract appears in all respects well adapted to the growth of the long moss (tilandsia), none was obsered since entering it in latitude 32° 52, and as the pilot informed them none would be seen in their progress up the river, it is probable that the latitude of thirty-three degrees is about the northern limit of vegetation. The long-leaf pine, frequently the growth of rich and even inundated land, was here observed in great abundance the short-leaved or pitch pine, on the contrary, is always found upon arid lands and generally in sandy and lofty situations.

This is the season when the poor settlers on the Washita turn out to make their annual hunt. The deer is now fat and the skins in perfection; the bear is now also in his best state, with regard to the quality of his fur, and the quantity of fat or oil he yields, as he has been feasting luxuriantly on the antumnal fruits of the forest. It is here well known that he does not confine himself, as some writers have supposed, to vegetable food; he is particularly fond of hogs flesh; sheep and calves are frequently his prey, and no animal escapes him which comes within his power, and which be is able to conquer. He often destroys the fawn when chance throws it in his way; he cannot however, discover it by smelling, notwithstanding the excellence of his scent, for nature has, as if for its protection, denied the fawn the property of leaving any effluvium upon its track, a property so powerful in the old deer. The bear, unlike most other beasts of prey, does not kill the animal he has seized upon before he eats it; but regardless of its straggles, cries and lamentations, fastens upon, and if the expression is allowable, devours it alive. The hunters count much on their profits from the oil drawn from the bears fat, which, at New Orleans, is always of ready sale, and much esteemed for its wholesomeness in cooking, being preferred to butter or hogs lard. It is found to keep longer than any other animal oil without becoming rancid; and boiling it, from time to time, upon sweet bay leaves, restores it sweetness, or facilitates its conservation.

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* It may not be generally known to naturalifts, that between the hoof of the deer, &c. there is found a fack, with its mouth inclining upwards, containing more or lefs of mufk, and which, by escaping over the opening, in proportion to the fecretion, caufes the foot to leave a fcent on the ground wherever it paffes. During the rutting feafon this mufk is fo abundant, particularly in old males, as to be smelt by the hunters at a confiderable distance.

In the afternoon of the 17th they passed some sand beaches, and over a few rapids. They had cane brakes on both sides of the river; the canes were small but demonstrate that the water does not surmount the bank more than a few feet. The river begins to widen as they advance: the banks of the river shew the high land soil, with a stratum of three or four feet of alluvion deposited by the river upon it. This superstratum is greyish,and very sandy, with a small admixture of loam, indicative of the poverty of the mountains and uplands where the river rises. Near this they passed through a new and very narrow channel, in which all the water of the river passes, except in time of freshes, when the interval forms an island. A little above this pass is a small clearing, called "Cache la Tulipe" (Tulip's hiding place); this is the name of a French hunter who here concealed his property. It continues the practice of both the white and red hunters to leave their skins, &c. often suspended to poles, or laid over a pole placed upon two forked posts, in sight of the river, until their return from hunting. These deposits are considered as sacred, and few examples exist of their being plundered. After passing the entrance of a bay, which within must form a great lake during the inundation, great numbers of the long leaf pine were observed; and the increased size of the canes along the river's bank, denoted a better and more elevated soil; on the left was a high hill (300 feet) covered with lofty pine trees.

The banks of the river present more the appearance of upland soil, the under stratum being a pale yellowish clay, and the alluvial soil of a dirty white, surmounted with a thin covering of a brown vegetable earth. The trees improve in appearance, growing to a considerable size and height, though yet inferiour to those on the alluvial banks of the Mississippi. After passing the "Bayau de Hachis," on the left, points of high land, not subject to be overflowed, frequently touch the river and the valley is said to be more than a league in breadth on both sides. On the left are pine hills called "Code de Champignole." The river is not more than fifty or sixty yards wide. On the morning of the 20th they passed a number of sand beaches, and some rapids, but found good depth of water between them. A creek called "Chemin Couvert," which forms a deep ravine in the high lands, here enters the river; almost immediately above this is a rapid where the water in the river is confined to a channel of about forty yards in width; above it they had to quit the main channel, on account of the shallowness and rapidity of the water, and pass along a narrow channel of only sixty feet wide without a guide a stranger might take this passage for a creek.

Notwithstanding the lateness of the season, and the northern latitude they were in, they this day met with an alligator. The banks of the river are covered with cane, or thick under brush, frequently so interwoven with thorns and briars as to be impenetrable. Birch, mapie, holly, and two kinds of wood to which names have not yet been given, except "water side wood," are here met with; as also persimons and small black grapes. The margin of the river is fringed with a variety of plants and vines, among which are several species of convolvulus.

On the left they passed a hill and cliff one hundred feet perpendicular, crowned with pines, and called "Cote de Finn" (Fin's hill) from which a chain of high land continues some distance. The cliff presents the appearance of an ash coloured clay. A little farther to the right is the Bayau d'Acasia (Locust creek). The river varies here from eighty to an hundred yards in width, presenting frequent indications of iron along its banks, and some thin strata of iron ore. The ore is from half an inch to three inches

in thickness.

Vol. III. Appendix.

K

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