Journal of a Tour into the Interior of Missouri and Arkansaw | Page 9

are

secondary limestone. This sand-stone appears to be, in fact, the rock
upon which the great secondary limestone formation of this country
rests. It has appeared as the lowest stratum in almost every high bluff,
and forming the surface of almost every deep valley, from the banks of
the Mississippi at the cornice rock, a little below Herculaneum, to the
place of our present encampment, a distance in a south-west course of
about 150 miles. How far it extends south and west it is impossible to
say. Every appearance tends, however, to justify an opinion, that it
reaches far to the west, and that it overlays those primitive rocks which
are supposed to extend eastwardly from the rocky mountains.Ê Four
miles beyond this stream we arrived on the banks of another, and a
larger stream, running also toward the north-west, and spent several
hours in attempting to cross it. We succeeded at last in getting our
baggage and our horse safely over, at the expense only of the time we
had lost, and a handsome wetting. Three miles farther brought us to the
banks of the third stream, little inferior in size to the one last passed,
and winding off also in a general course toward the north-west. Upon
the banks of this stream we encamped for the night, the afternoon being
nearly spent, and feeling somewhat fatigued from the labour of crossing
so many streams, and tearing our way through the brush and
green-briar so thickly interwoven on their borders, while the
intervening ridges were little else but a pile of angular stones, with here
and there an oak-tree, set as if all the ingenuity of the stonemason had
been exercised upon it.Ê When the Edinburgh Reviewer estimated that
Louisiana only cost three cents per acre, on the average of the whole
number of square miles in the territory, he probably had no idea that
there was any part of it which could be considered dear at that price.
Yet, I think it would be money dearly expended in the purchase of such
lands as we have this day traversed. Distance twelve miles.
Tuesday, Nov. 17th
We have been at a loss to know what river the streams we yesterday
passed are tributary. Their course shows them to belong to the Missouri,
through some of its lowermost southern tributary rivers. We conclude
ourselves too far south for the Gasconade, and that we have
consequently fallen upon the head waters of the Little Osage. This

opinion is strengthened by the distance we have travelled, and by our
having previously passed what we considered as the head waters of the
Gasconade. If on the Little Osage we are farther north than we wish,
and, under this impression, we this morning altered our course from
south-west to south-south-west, which carried us directly up die valley
of the creek on which we encamped. In travelling two or three miles,
however, it bent off too far west, and we again entered upon the
highlands. We had not travelled far when we discovered, in a ravine
below, four bears upon trees. We have not heretofore sought to go out
of our way for the pur- pose of hunting, but this was directly in our
course, and too fine an opportunity to exercise our skill in hunter sport
to be neglected. We accordingly determined to give them battle. To
prevent the effects of a fright, we tied our horse to a sapling, and
putting balls on top of the charge already in our fowling-pieces, began
cautiously to get within shooting distance. Unluckily we had no dog,
and as the country was open, the bears soon perceived us. The only
hope now was to run immediately to the foot of the trees to keep them
up; but while attempting this, they began, one after the other, to come
down; my companion sprained his ankle in running, and fell, while I
arrived within fifty yards of the tree, and had the mortification to snap
my gun at the last one, just as he had gained the foot of the tree. They
fled across an adjacent ridge, and we in pursuit, but the tall grass
screened them from our sight; and, after spending an hour in fruitless
search, gave up the chase, returned to bring up our pack-horse, and
pursued our way, considerably fatigued by an adventure, in which the
bears certainly were victorious. The most serious evil, however, was to
come. Pettibone had sprained his ankle, but not conscious of the hurt at
first, had considerably inflamed it in the pursuit of the bear. He now
began to feel its effects, and in travelling two miles farther, the pain
became so severe, that he was unable to proceed, and we encamped in a
valley, where we found both wood and