Several savages
immediately started off in different directions, and before night
the rifles of Crooks and Day were produced; several of the
smaller articles pilfered from them, however, could not be
recovered.
The bands of the culprits were then removed, and they lost no
time in taking their departure, still under the influence of
abject terror, and scarcely crediting their senses that they had
escaped the merited punishment of their offenses.
The country on each side of the river now began to assume a
different character. The hills, and cliffs, and forests
disappeared; vast sandy plains, scantily clothed here and there
with short tufts of grass, parched by the summer sun, stretched
far away to the north and south. The river was occasionally
obstructed with rocks and rapids, but often there were smooth,
placid intervals, where the current was gentle, and the boatmen
were enabled to lighten their labors with the assistance of the
sail.
The natives in this part of the river resided entirely on the
northern side. They were hunters, as well as fishermen, and had
horses in plenty. Some of these were purchased by the party, as
provisions, and killed on the spot, though they occasionally
found a difficulty in procuring fuel wherewith to cook them. One
of the greatest dangers that beset the travellers in this part of
their expedition, was the vast number of rattlesnakes which
infested the rocks about the rapids and portages, and on which
the men were in danger of treading.
