sommon, but no rich ore of that, or any other metal, was found. Some of the hills appear well adapted to the cultivation of the vine; the soil being a sandy loam, with a considerable proportion of gravel, and a superficial covering of good vegetable black earth. The natural productions are, several varieties of oak, pine, dogwood, holly, &c. with a scattering undergrowth of whortleberry, hawthorn, china briar, and a variety of small vines. Above the Isle de Mallon, the country wears another prospect, high lands and rocks frequently approach the river. The rocks in grain, resemble free stone, and are hard enough to be used as hand mill stones, to which purpose they are frequently applied. The quality of the lands improves, the stratum of vegetable earth being from six to twelve inches, of a dark brown colour, with an admixture of loam and sand. Below Deer Island they passed stratum of free stone, fifty feet thick, under which is a quarry of imperfect slate in perpendicular layers. About a league from the river, and a little above the slate quarry, is a considerable plain, called " Prairie de Champig nole," often frequented by buffaloe. Some salt licks are found near it, and in many situations on both sides of this river, there are said to be salines which may hereafter be rendered very productive, and from which the future settlements may be abundantly supplied. About 4 miles below the "chuttes," (falls) they, from a good observation, found the latitude 34°. 21' 25". 5. The land on either hand continues to improve in quality, with a sufficient stratum of dark earth of brownish colour. Hills frequently rise out of the level country, full of rocks and stones, hard and flinty, and often resembling Turkey oil stones. Of this kind was a promontory which came in from the right hand, a little below the chuttes; at a distance it presented the appearance of ruined buildings and fortifications, and several insulated masses of rock conveyed the idea of redoubts and out-works. This effect was heightened by the rising of a flock of swans which had taken their station in the water, at the foot of these walls. As the voyagers approached, the birds floated about majestically on the glassy surface of the water, and in tremulous accents seemed to consult upon means of safety. The whole was a sublime picture. In the afternoon of the third of December, they reached the chuttes, and found the falls to be occasioned by a chain of rocks of the same hard substance seen below, extending in the direction of north-east and south-west, quite across the river. The water passes through a number of branches worn by the impetuosity of the torrent where it forms so many cascades. The chain of rock or hill on the left, appears to have been cut down to its present level by the abrasion of the waters. By great exertion, and lightening the boat, they passed the chuttes this evening and encamped just above the cataracts, and within the hearing of their incessant roar. Immediately above the chuttes, the current of the water is slow, to another ledge of hard free stone; the reach between is spacious, not less than two hundred yards wide, and terminated by a hill, three hundred feet high covered with beautiful pines: this is a fine situation for building. In latitude 34° 25' 48" they passed a very dangerous rapid, from the number of rocks which obstruct the passage of the water, and break it into foam. On the right of the rapid is a high rocky hill covered with very handsome pine woods. The strata of the rock has an inclination of 30° to the horizon in the direction of the river descending. This hill may be three hundred or three hundred and fifty feet high; a border or list of green cane skirts the margin of the river, beyond which generally rises a high and sometimes a barren hill. Near another rapid they passed a hill on the left, containing a large body of blue slate. A small distance above the bayau de Saline they had to pass a rapid of one hundred and fifty yards in length, and four feet and a half fall, which, from its velocity, the French have denominated "La Cascade." Be Wild turkies become more abundant and less difficult of approach than below; and the howl of the wolves is heard during the night. To the "Fourche of Calfat," (Caulker's creek) where the voyage terminates, they found level and good land on the right and high hills on the left hand. After passing over a very precipitous rapid, seemingly divided into four steps or falls, one of which was at least fifteen inches in perpendicular height, and which together could not be less than five and a half feet, they arrived at Ellis's camp, a small distance below the Fourche au Calfat, where they stopped on the sixth of December, as the pilot considered it the most convenient landing from whence to carry their necessary baggage to the hot springs, the distance being about three leagues. There is a creek about two leagues higher up, called "bayau des sources chauds," (hot spring creek) upon the banks of which the hot springs are situated at about two leagues from its mouth. The banks of it are hilly, and the road less eligi ble than from Ellis's camp. On ascending the hill, to encamp, they found the land very level and good, some plants in flower, and a great many evergreen vines; the forest oak with an admixture of other woods. The latitude of this place is 34° 27′ 31′′. 5. The ground on which they encamped was above fifty feet above the wa ter in the river, and supposed to be thirty feet higher than the inundations. Hills of considerable height, and clothed with pine were in view, but the land around, and extending beyond their view, lies handsomely for cultiva tion. The superstratum is of a blackish-brown colour, upon a yellow basis, the whole intermixed with gravel and blue schistus, frequently so far decom From their camp, on the Washposed as to have a strong allumnious taste. ita, to the hot springs, a distance of about nine miles, the first six miles of the road is in a westerly direction without many sinuosities, and the remain. der northwardly, which courses are necessary to avoid some very steep hills. In this distance they found 3 principal salt licks, and some inferiour ones, The soil around them is a which are all frequented by buffaloe, deer, &c. white, tenacious clay, probably fit for potters' ware; hence the name of glaise," which the French hunters have bestowed upon most of the licks, frequented by the beast of the forest, many of which exhibit no saline impregnation. The first two miles from the river camp is over level land of the second rate quality; the timber chiefly oak, intermixed with other trees common to the climate, and a few scattering pines. Further on, the lands, on either hand, rise into gently swelling hills, covered with handsome pine woods. The road passes along a valley frequently wet by numerous rills and springs of excellent water which issue from the foot of the hills. Near. the hot springs the hills become more elevated, steeper of ascent and rocky, They are here called mountains, although none of them in view exceed four or five hundred feet in altitude. It is said that mountains of more than five times the elevation of these hills are to be seen in the north-west, toOne of them is called the glass, cryswards the sources of the Washita. sal, or shining mountain, from the vast number of hexagonal prisms of very, 66 transparent & colourless crystal which are found on its surface; they are ge nerally surmounted by pyramids at one end, rarely on both. These crystals do not produce a double refraction of the rays of light. Many searches have been made over these mountains for the precious metals, but it is believed without success. At the hot springs they found an open log cabin, and a few huts of split boards, all calculated for summer encampment, and which had been erected by persons resorting to the springs for the recovery of their health. They slightly repaired these huts, or cabins, for their accommodation dur ing the time of their detention at the springs, for the purpose of examining them and the surrounding country; and making such astronomical observations as were necessary for ascertaining their geographical position. It is understood that the hot springs are included within a grant of some hundred acres, granted by the late Spanish commandant of the Washita, to some of his friends, but it is not believed that a regular patent was ever issued for the place; and it cannot be asserted that residence, with improvement here, form a plea to claim the land upon. On their arrival they immediately tasted the waters of the hot springs, that is, after a few minutes cooling, for it was impossible to approach it with the lips when first taken up, without scalding: the taste does not differ from that of good water rendered hot by culinary fire. On the 10th they visited all the hot springs. They issue on the east side of the valley, where the huts are, except one spring, which rises on the west bank of the creek, from the sides and foot of a hill. From the small quantity of calcareous matter yet deposited, the western spring does not appear to he of long standing: a natural conduit probably passes under the bed of the creek, and supplies it. There are four principal springs rising immediately on the east bank of the creek, one of which may be rath er said to spring out of the gravel bed of the run; a fifth, a smaller one than that above mentioned, as rising on the west side of the creek; and a sixth, of the same magnitude, the most northerly, and rising near the bank of the creek: these are all the sources that merit the name of springs, near the huts; but there is a considerable one below, and all along, at intervals, the warm water oozes out, or drops from the bank into the creek, as appears from the condensed vapour floating along the margin of the creek where the drippings occur. The hill from which the hot springs issue is of a conical form, terminating at the top with a few loose fragments of rock, covering a flat space twentyfive feet in diameter. Although the figure of the hill is conical it is not entirely insulated, but connected with the neighbouring hills by a very narrow ridge. The primitive rock of this hill, above the base, is principally silicious, some part of it being of the hardest flint, others a freestone extremely compact and solid, and of various colours. The base of the hill, and for a considerable extent, is composed of a blackish blue schistus, which divides into perpendicular lamina like blue slate. The water of the hot springs is, therefore, delivered from the silicious rock, generally invisible at the surface from the mass of calcareous matter with which it is incrusted, or rather buried, and which is perpetually precipitating from the water of the springs : a small proportion of iron, in the form of a red calx, is also deposited; the colour of which is frequently distinguishable in the lime. In ascending the hill several patches of rich black earth are found, which appear to be formed by the decomposition of the calcareous matter in other situations the superficial earth is penetrated, or encrusted, by limestone, with fine lamina, or minute fragments of iron ore. The water of the hot springs must formerly nave issued at a greater ele. Fation in the hill, and run over the surfaee, having formed a mass of calca reous rock one hundred feet perpendicular, by its deposition. In this high situation they found a spring, whose temperature was 140 of Farenheit's thermometer. After passing the calcareous region they found the primitive hill covered by a forest of not very large trees, consisting chiefly of oak, pine, cedar, holly, hawthorn, and others common to the climate, with a great variety of vines, some said to produce black, and others yellow grapes, both excellent in their kinds. The soil is rocky, interspersed with gravel, sand, and fine vegetable mould. On reaching the height of two hundred feet per pendicular, a considerable change in the soil was observable; it was stony and gravelly, with a superficial coat of black earth, but immediately under it lies a stratum of fat, tenacious, soapy, red clay, inclining to the colour of bright Spanish snuff, homogeneous, with scarcely any admixture of sand, no saline, but rather a soft agreeable taste: the timber diminishes, and the rocks increase in size to the summit. The whole height is estimated at three hundred feet above the level of the valley. On examining the four principal springs, or those which yield the greatest quantity of water, or of the highest temperature, No. 1 was found to raise the mercury to 1509. No. 2 to 154°. No. 3 to 136°. and No, 4 to 132 degrees of Farenheit's thermometer: the last is on the west side of the creek: No.3 is a small basin in which there is a considerable quantity of green matter, having much the appearance of a vegetable body, but detached from the bottom, yet connected with it by something like a stem, which rests in calcareous matter. The body of one of these pseudo plants was from 4 to 5 feet in diameter; the bottom a smooth film of some tenacity, and the upper surface divided into ascending fibres of or of an inch long, resembling the gills of a fish, in transverse rows. A little further on was another small muddy basin, in which the water was warm to the finger: in it was a vermes about an inch long, with a moving serpentine or vermicular motion. It was invariably observ ed, that the green matter forming on stones & the leaves covered a stratum ef calcareous earth,sometimes a little hard,or brittle,at others soft and imperfect. From the bottom of one of the hot springs a frequent ebullition of gas was observed, which not having the means of collecting, they could not ascertain its nature: it was not inflammable, and there is little doubt of its being car bonic acid, from the quantity of lime,& the iron,held in solution by the water. They made the following rough estimate of the quantity of water delive ered by the springs. There are four principal springs, two of inferiour note; one rising out of the gravel, and a number of drippings and drainings, all issu ing from the margin, or from under the rock which overhangs the creek. Of the four first mentioned, three deliver nearly equal quantities, but No. 1 the most considerable, delivers about five times as much as one of the other three; the two of inferiour note may, together, be equal to one; and all the droppings, and small springs, are probably underrated at double the quanti ty of one of the three; that is, all together, they will deliver a quantity equal to eleven times the water issuing from the one most commodiously situated for measurement. This spring filled a vessel of eleven quarts in 11 seconds, hence the whole quantity of hot water delivered from the springs at the base of the hill is 165 gallons a minute, or 37714 hogsheads in 24 hours, which is equal to a handsome brook, and might work an over-shot mill. In cool weather condensed vapour is seen rising out of the gravel bed of the creek, from springs which cannot be taken into account. During the sum mer and fall the creek receives little or no water but what supplied by the hot springs at that season itself is a hot bath, too hot, indeed, near the springs so that a person may choose the temperature most agreeable to himself, by selecting a natural basin near to, or farther from, the principal spring. At three or four miles below the springs the water is tepid and inpleasant to drink. . From the western mountain, estimated to be of equal height with that from which the hot springs flow, there are several fine prospects. The valley of the Washita, comprehended between the hills on either side seemed to be a perfect flat, and about twelve miles wide. On all hands were seen the hills, or mountains, as they are here called, rising behind each other. In the direction of north, the most distant were estimated to be fifty miles off, and are supposed to be those of the Arkansa river, or the rugged mountains which divide the waters of the Arkansa from those of the Washita, and prevent the Osage Indians from visiting the latter, of whom they are supposed ignorant, otherwise their excursions here would prevent this place from being visited by white persons, or other Indians. south west direction, at about forty miles distance, is seen a perfectly level ridge, supposed to be the high prairies of the Red river. In a Notwithstanding the severity of the weather, a considerable number, and some variety of plants were in flower, and others retained their verdure: indeed the ridge was more temperate than the valley below; there it was cold, damp, and penetrating; here dry, and the atmosphere mild. Of the plants growing here was a species of cabbage: the plants grow with expanded leaves spreading on the ground, of a deep green, with a shade of purple : the taste of the cabbage was plainly predominant, with an agreeable warmth, inclining to that of the radish; several tap-roots penetrated into the soil, of a white colour, having the taste of horse-radish, but much milder. A quantity of them taken to the camp and dressed, proved palatable and mild. It is not probable that cabbage seed has been scattered on this ridge; the hunters ascending this river have always had different objects. Until further elucidation, this cabbage must be considered as indigenous to this sequestered quarter, and may be denominated the cabbage radish of the Washita. They found a plant, then green, called by the French "racine rouge," (red root), which is said to be a specifick in female obstructions; it has also been used, combined with the China root, to dye red, the last probably acting as a mordant. The top of this ridge is covered with rocks of a finty kind, and so very hard as to be improper for gun-flints, for when applied to that use it soon digs cavities in the hammer of the lock. This hard stone is generally white, but frequently clouded with red, brown, black, and other colours. Here and there fragments of iron stone were met with, and where a tree had been overturned, its roots brought to view fragments of schistus, which were suffering decomposition from exposure to the atmosphere. On. digging where the stope of the hill was precipitous, they found the second, stratum to be a reddish clay, resembling that found on the conical hill, east of the camp. At two-thirds down the hill, the rock was a hard freestone," intermixed with fragments of flint, which had probably rolled from above, Still lower was found a blue schistus, in a state tending to decomposition where exposed to the atmosphere, but hard and resembling coarse slate in the interiour. Many stones had the appearance of Turkey oil stones: at the foot of the hill it expands into good farming lands. Dr. Hunter, upon examining the waters of the hot springs, obtained the following results: It differed nothing from the hot water in smell or taste, but caused a slight eructation shortly after drinking it. Its specifick gravity is equal to rain or distilled water. It gave to litamus paper, a slight degree of redness, evincing the presence of the carbonick acid, or fixed air sulphurick, and threw down a few detached particles. Oxylat of ammoniack caused a deposition and white cloud, shew. ing the presence of a small portion of lime. Prusiat of potash produced a slight and scarcely perceptible tinge of blue, designating the presence of a small quantity of iron. Vol. III. Appendix. L |