worthy and zealous companion, to the gentlemen of the fort and their good employees, all of whom had showed me much civility and kindness, and to those of the Blackfeet also who were present, who had not ceased to give me sincere evidences of their attachment. Our departure was saluted by the discharge of the guns of the fort and a large number of small arms. Amid a thousand good wishes for a successful voyage, we launched our bark upon the rapid current of the Missouri, at about goo Flemish leagues (2,850 miles) [2,285 ] from the mouth of the river. It was noon when we lost sight of the fort. We soon passed Shonkin creek [la Riviere du Chantier]s and camped twenty-five miles further down, near Bird island.
The next day, as we passed between two ranges of high and abrupt bluffs, on which several large herds of bighorn or mountain sheep were grazing, we surprised an old buck, large and fat, which our hunter secured; the first victim sacrificed to our necessities on the Missouri. His antlers were about three feet long and eighteen inches in circum ference at their bases. The habits of the mountain sheep are not like those of any other creature. He chooses for his favorite dwelling the ruggedest spots of the inaccessible mountains. The cold of winter drives him down into one of the numerous valleys [parks] where the verdure of spring rarely fades, but he returns as the season advances to the snow-covered tops of the mountains. After passing the Marias and Sandy rivers, where we saw in immense plains countless herds of buffalo, and several times grizzly bears came within rifle range, we entered a very remarkable region, where formations of yellow sandstone are presented on both sides of the river, exhibiting most fantastic shapes and fissures and offering to the astonished imagination a vast variety of comparisons; think of urns of all figures and forms; of round and square tables of all dimensions; of pil
3 Shonkin is a corruption of Chantier, boat yard. The Fort Benton or Fort Lewis boat yard was at the mouth of this stream.