close it are of extremely varied aspect. It receives its waters principally from two fine rivers, named Saint Joseph and Coeur d'Alene, which have a tranquil and limpid flow, barely perceptible in the fall. Each of them is about loo yards wide, and each valley one to three miles. Here and there lovely little lakes may be admired, three to six miles in circumference, at the feet of high mountains which set off their full beauty. Two of the valleys inclose considerable portions of fertile lands and rich pasturages. The upper valleys are full of camas, a very nutritious roo,,
which requires no cultivation. The mountains which border the valleys are mainly of conical form, often resembling
sugar-loaves. Some have their summits covered with snow
throughout a good part of the year. The most picturesque
sites abound. The grazing grounds near the lakes, as well as those of the valleys and the verdant sides of the hills and mountains, would be ample for the maintenance of thousands of cattle, sheep and horses. They would have to be carried over through the severe winter, however, for during four months of the year the country presents merely the aspect of a desert covered with deep snow, and cannot be crossed save on snowshoes.
Diligent Indians find a good living on their lands in the great variety of roots and fruits that they can gather. At the same time the lakes, rivers and smaller streams, at almost all seasons of the year, but especially at the melting of the snows, swarm with various kinds of fish, principally the handsome salmon trout. The Coeur d'Alenes in general cultivate sundry small patches of yams, carrots, peas and beans, wheat and barley. They catch fish, and have no lack of wild animals.
I had forty miles yet to make to reach the Mission of the Sacred Heart. When we reached the great lake, on the 18th, the sky was covered with clouds and seemed to announce the approach of bad weather. It set in, in fact, with a heavy snowfall and a steady rain, which continued all night, to such an extent that part of my tent was under