day-break, some Indians came to our camp from the village, amongst whom was my friend the young warrior. As I happened to be on guard, he came to me, and by signs invited me to go and breakfast with him. Whilst we were sitting together, he suddenly jumped up, and pointed to the bluffs, at the distance of three or four miles down the river. On looking, 1 observed a numerous crowd of Indians. He gave me to understand that it was a war party on their return, and immediately ran to the village. In a few minutes the tops of the lodges were crowded with Indians, who appeared much agitated. Soon after an Indian gallopped past our camp, who I understand was a chief. In a few minutes after wards parties began to come out of the village, on their way to meet the warriors, or rather to join them, as it is the custom for a war party to wait at a distance from the village when a victory has been gained, that their friends may join in the parade of a triumphal entry; and on such occasions all their finery and decorations are displayed: some time also is requisite to enable the warriors at home and their friends to paint themselves, so as to appear with proper eclat. During the time that elapsed before the arrival of the procession, I walked into the village, where an universal stillness prevailed. No business seemed to be going on, excepting the preparing of something for the warriors to eat on their return. The squaws were employed in that business in all the lodges into which I entered, and I noticed that not one of the

poor squaws seemed in the least solicitous about her own person : they are too insignificant to be thought an appendage to a

triumph. It was nearly the middle of the day before the procession came in sight, when I went to meet it, in order that my view might be prolonged. A number of the old men and squaws were also moving down from the town, to meet them. At the head of the procession were four standardbearers, followed by a band of warriors on foot ; after which came a party on horseback: to these succeeded two of the principal chiefs, betwixt whom was a young warrior, who I understood had been severely wounded. Then came two other standard-bearers, who were succeeded by another band of foot and horse, which order was observed until the four bands of which the party consisted had passed. They were about

300 in number: each man carried a shield; a few were armed with guns, some with bows, and others with war clubs. They were painted in a manner that seemed as if they had studied to make themselves hideous. Many of them had the mark which indicates that they had drank the blood of an enemy. This mark is made by rubbing the hand all over with vermilion, and by laying it on the mouth, it leaves a complete impression on the face, which is designed to resemble and indicate a bloody hand. With every band some scalps were carried, elevated on long sticks; but it was easy to perceive, on a close examination, that the scalps had been divided, to increase the apparent number. The number of the enemy that were killed we supposed

supposed did not exceed seven or eight, and they had themselves lost two, so that this engagement had not been a very bloody one. As the body approached the town, the squaws and old men began to meet them, and excepting the lamentations of those whose relatives had been killed or wounded, the expressions of joy became general, but without disturbing in the least the order of the procession. I walked into the village, which assumed a busy air. On the entrance of the party the warriors were conducted to the different lodges, that they might refresh themselves, and the old men went about shaking hands with some, and seemingly bestowing praises on others, who had conducted themselves well in the battle."

Buffaloes." On my return to the boats, as the wind had in some degree abated, we proceeded, and had not gone more than five or six miles before we were surprised by a dull hollow sound, the cause of which we could not possibly imagine. It seemed to be one or two miles below us; but as our descent was very rapid, it increased every moment in loudness, and before we had proceeded far, our ears were able to catch some distinct tones, indicating the bellowing of buffaloes. When opposite to the place from whence it proceeded, we landed, ascended the bank, and entered a small skirting of trees and shrubs, that separated the river from an extensive plain. On gaining a view of it, such a scene opened to us as will fall to the lot of few travellers to witness. This plain was literally covered with buffaloes as far as we could see, and we soon dis

covered that it consisted in part of females. The males were fighting in every direction, with a fury which I have never seen paralleled, each having singled out his antagonist. We judged that the number must have amounted to some thousands, and that there were many hundreds of these battles going on at the same time, some not eighty yards from us. It will be recollected that at this season the females would naturally admit the society of the males. From attentively observing some of the combats nearest to us, I am persuaded that our domestic bull would almost invariably be worsted in a contest with this animal, as he is inferior to him both in strength and ferocity. A shot was fired amongst them, which they seemed not to notice. Mr. Brackenridge joined me in preventing a volley being fired, as it would have been useless, and therefore wanton; for if we had killed one, I am certain the weight of his carcass in gold would not have bribed us to fetch him. I shall only observe farther, that the noise occasioned by the trampling and bellowing was far beyond description. In the evening, before we encamped, another immense herd made its appearance, running along the bluffs at full speed, and although at least a mile from us, we could distinctly hear the sound of their feet, which resembled distant thunder."

The Grand Saline." The Grand Saline is situated about two hundred and eighty miles south-west of Fort Osage, between two forks of a small branch of the Arkansas, one of which washes its southern extremity; and the

other

other principal one, runs nearly parallel, within a mile of its opposite side. It is a hard level plain, of reddish coloured sand, and of an irregular or mixed figure. Its greatest length is from north-west to south-east, and its circumference full thirty miles. From the appearance of drift-wood that is scattered over, it would seem that the whole plain is at times inundated by the overflowing of the streams that pass near it. This plain is entirely covered in hot dry weather, from two to six inches deep, with a crust of beautiful clean white salt, of a quality rather superior to the imported blown salt: it bears a striking resemblance to a field of brilliant snow after a rain, with a light crust on its top. On a bright sunny morning, the appearance of this natural curiosity is highly picturesque it possesses the quality of looming, or magnifying objects, and this in a very striking degree, making the small billets of wood appear as formidable as trees. Numbers of buffaloes were on the plain. The Saline is environed by a stripe of marshy prairie, with a few scattered trees, mostly of cotton wood; behind these is a range of sand hills, some of which are perfectly naked, others thinly clothed with verdure and dwarf plum bushes, not more than thirty inches in height, from which we procured abundance of the most delicious plums I ever tasted."

above the entrance into the channel. After supper, we went to sleep as usual about ten o'clock, and in the night I was awakened by a most tremenduous noise, accompanied by an agitation of the boat so violent, that it appeared in danger of upsetting. Before I could quit the bed, or rather the skin, upon which I lay, the four men who slept in the other cabin rushed in and cried out in the greatest terror, O mon Dieu ! Monsieur Bradbury, qu'est ce? qu'il ya?' I passed them with some difficulty, and ran to the door of the cabin, where I could distinctly see the river as if agitated by a storm; and although the noise was inconceivably loud and terrific, I could distinctly hear the crash of falling trees, and the screaming of the wild fowl on the river, but found that the boat was still safe at her moorings. I was followed out by the men and the patron, still in accents of terror, inquiring what it was: I tried to calm them by saying, Restez vous tranquil, c'est un tremblement de terre,' which they did not seem to understand.

"By the time we could get to our fire, which was on a large flag, in the stern of the boat, the shock had ceased; but immediately the perpendicular banks, both above and below us, began to fall into the river in such vast masses, as nearly to sink our boat by the swell they occasioned; and our patron, who seemed more terrified even than the men, began to cry out, 'O mon Dieu! nous perirons!'

what we could do to preserve ourselves and the boat, but could get no answer except O mon Dieu !

nous

nous perirons!' and 'Allons à terre! Allons à terre!' As I found Mr. Bridge the only one who seemed to have retained any presence of mind, we consulted, and agreed to send two of the men with a candle up the bank, in order to examine if it had separated from the island, a circumstance that we suspected, from hearing the snapping of the limbs of some drift trees, which were deposited betwixt the margin of the river, and the summit of the bank. The men, on arriving at the edge of the river, cried out 'Venez à terre! Venez à terre! and told us there was a chasm formed already, so wide that it would be difficult to pass it, to attain the firm ground. I ordered them to go upon the island and make a fire, and desired Mr. Bridge and the patron to follow them; and as it now occurred to me that the preservation of the boat in a great measure depended on the depth of the river, I tried with a sounding pole, and to my great joy, found it did not exceed eight or ten feet. "Immediately after the shock we noticed the time, and found it was near two o'clock. It was nearly half past, and I determined to go ashore myself, after securing some papers and money, and was employed in taking them out of my trunks, when another shock came on, terrible indeed, but not equal to the first. Morin, our patron, called out from the island, 'Monsieur Bradbury! sauvez vous, sauvez vous !' I went ashore, and found the chasm really frightful, as it was not less than four feet in width, and besides the bank had sunk at least two feet. I took the candle, and examined to determine its length, and concluded

now

that it could not be less than eighty yards; and where it terminated at each end, the banks had fallen into the river. I now saw clearly that our lives had been saved by having moored to a sloping bank. Before we had completed our fire, we had two more shocks, and they occurred during the whole night, at intervals of from six to ten minutes, but slight in comparison with the first and second. At four o'clock I took a candle, and again examined the bank, and found to my great satisfaction that no material alteration had taken place; I also found the boat safe, and secured my pocket compass. I had already noticed that the sound which was heard at the time of every shock, always preceded it at least a second, and that it always proceeded from the same point, and went off in an opposite direction. I now found that the shock came from a little northward of east, and proceeded to the westward. At daylight we had counted twenty-seven shocks, during our stay on the island, but still found the chasm so that it might be passed. The river was covered with foam and drift timber, and had risen considerably, but our boat was safe. Whilst we were waiting till the light became sufficient for us to embark, two canoes floated down the river, in one of which we could perceive some Indian corn and some clothes. We considered this as a melancholy proof that some of the boats we passed the preceding day had perished. Our conjectures were afterwards confirmed, as three had been overwhelmed, and all on board perished. When the day-light appeared

to

to be sufficient for us, I gave orders to embark, and we all went on board. Two men were in the act of loosening the fastenings, when a shock occurred nearly equal to the first in violence. The men ran up the bank, in order to save themselves on the island, but before they could get over the chasm, a tree fell close by them, and stopped their progress. The bank appeared to me to be moving rapidly into the river, and I called out to the men in the boat Coupez les cordes!' on hearing this, the two men ran down the bank, loosened the cords, and jumped into the boat. We now found ourselves again on the river: the Chenal du Diable was in sight, and appeared absolutely impassable, from the quantity of trees and drift wood, that had lodged duging the night against the planters fixed in the bottom of the river; and in addition to our difficulties, I noticed that the patron and the men appeared to be so terrified and confused, as to be almost incapable of action. I determined to stop, previous to passing the channel, in order that the men might have time to become more composed. I had the good fortune to discover a bank, rising with a gentle slope, where we again moored, and prepared to breakfast on the island. Whilst that was preparing, I walked down the island, in company with Morin, our patron, to view the channel, in order to ascertain the safest part, which we soon agreed upon. Whilst we were thus employed, we experienced a very severe shock, and found some difficulty in preserving ourselves from being thrown down; another occurred during

the time we were at breakfast, and a third as we were preparing to reimbark. In the last, Mr. Bridge, who was standing within the declivity of the bank, narrowly escaped being thrown into the river, as the sand continued to give way under his feet. As I observed that the men were still very much under the influence of tertor, I desired Morin to give to each a glass of spirits, and reminded them that their safety depended on their exertions, and we pushed out into the river. The danger we had now to encounter was of a nature which they understood : the nearer we approached it, the more confidence they appeared to gain; and, indeed, all their strength, and all the skill of Morin, was necessary, as there was no direct channel through the trees, and we were several times under the necessity of changing our course in the space of a few seconds, and that instantaneously, not a moment being left for deliberation. Immediately after we had cleared all danger, the men dropped their oars, crossed themselves, and gave a shout, congra tulating each other on our safety.

"We continued on the river till eleven o'clock, when there was a violent shock, which seemed to affect us as sensibly as if we had been on land The trees on both sides of the river were most violently agitated, and the banks fell in, in several places, within our view, carrying with them innumerable trees, the crash of which falling into the river, mixed with the terrible sound attending the shock, and the screaming of the geese, and other wild-fowl, prcduced an idea that all nature was