the river between highlands on both sides. At eighteen and a half
miles is an island called Grouse island, on which are the walls of an
old village; the island has no timber, but is covered with grass and
wild rye, and owes its name to the number of grouse that frequent it. We
then went on till our journey for the day was twenty-two miles: the
country presented the same appearance as usual. In the low timbered
ground near the mouth of the Sawawkawna, we saw the tracks of large
white bear, and on Grouse island killed a female blaireau, and a deer of
the black-tailed species, the largest we have ever seen.

Monday, October 8. We proceeded early with a cool northwest wind, and at
two and a half miles above Grouse island, reached the mouth of a creek
on the south, then a small willow island, which divides the current
equally; and at four and a half miles came to a river on the southern
side where we halted. This river, which our meridian altitude fixes at
45 degrees 39' 5" north latitude, is called by the Ricaras Wetawhoo; it
rises in the Black mountains, and its bed which flows at the mouth over
a low soft slate stone, is one hundred and twenty yards wide, but the
water is now confined within twenty yards, and is not very rapid,
discharging mud with a small proportion of sand: here as in every bend
of the river, we again observe the red berries resembling currants,
which we mentioned before. Two miles above the Wetawhoo, and on the same
side, is a small river called Maropa by the Indians; it is twenty yards
in width, but so dammed up by mud that the stream creeps through a
channel of not more than an inch in diameter, and discharges no sand.
One mile further we reached an island close to the southern shore, from
which it is separated by a deep channel of sixty yards. About half way a
number of Ricara Indians came out to see us. We stopped and took a
Frenchman on board, who accompanied us past the island to our camp on
the north side of the river, which is at the distance of twelve miles
from that of yesterday. Captain Lewis then returned with four of the
party to see the village; it is situated in the centre of the island,
near the southern shore, under the foot of some high, bald, uneven
hills, and contains about sixty lodges. The island itself is three miles
long, and covered with fields in which the Indians raise corn, beans,
and potatoes. Several Frenchmen living among these Indians as
interpreters, or traders, came bac