t last I was mounted somehow, but without stirrups, and
set off for Prairie du Chien. After riding about four miles, I had
passed the mountain, and I suddenly came upon the prairie (on which were
feeding several herd of cattle and horses), with the fort in the
distance, and the wide waters of the Upper Mississippi flowing beyond
it. I crossed the prairie, found my way into the fort, stated the
situation of our party, and requested assistance. This was immediately
dispatched, but on their arrival at the landing-place, they found that
the keel-boat had arrived at the ferry without further difficulty.
Before sunset the carriages returned with the whole party, who were
comfortably accommodated in the barracks--a sufficient number of men
being left with the boat to bring it round to the Mississippi, a
distance of about twelve miles.

VOLUME TWO, CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN.

Prairie du Chiens is a beautiful meadow, about eight miles long by two
broad, situated at the confluence of the Wisconsin and the Mississippi;
it is backed with high bluffs, such as I have before described, verdant
two-thirds of the way up, and crowned with rocky summits. The bluffs,
as I must call them, for I know not what other name to give them, rise
very abruptly, often in a sugar-loaf form, from the flat lands, and have
a very striking appearance; as you look up to them, their peculiar
formation and vivid green sides, contrasting with their blue and grey
summits, give them the appearance of a succession of ramparts investing
the prairie. The fort at the prairie, which is named Fort Crawford, is,
like most other American outposts, a mere inclosure, intended to repel
the attacks of Indians; but it is large and commodious, and the quarters
of the officers are excellent; it is, moreover, built of stone, which is
not the case with Fort Winnebago, or Fort Howard at Green Bay. The
Upper Mississippi is here a beautiful clear blue stream, intersected
with verdant islands, and very different in appearance from the Lower
Mississippi, after it has been joined by the Missouri. The opposite
shore is composed of high cliffs, covered with timber, which, not only
in form, but in tint and colour, remind you very much of Glover's
landscapes of the mountainous parts of Scotland and Wales.

I made one or two excursions to examine the ancient mounds which are
scattered all over this district, and which have excited much
speculation as to their origin; some supposin