even with murder. Having approached within two leagues of the Kansas river, we encamped. Large sand bars now make their appearance at every point of the river; some of them a mile or two in length, and a quarter of a mile in width in the widest place; but they are uniformly in the shape of a crescent. It is very pleasant to walk on them; towards the bank there is a border of willows and young cotton-wood trees; the rest is a smooth sand beach.
{64} Sunday 28th. A cool morning—somewhat foggy on the river. A light breeze from the east, but not sufficient to enable us to carry sail. Passed Highland, N. E. side, with some rocks on the shore; we are constantly delighted with the gentle hills, or rather elevated upland, of the Missouri. In this part of the river deer are very numerous; while out this morning I counted thirty sporting on a sand bar.
This morning we passed the Kansas, a large river, which enters from the S. W. side. The ground is low and flat at its mouth, and covered with a profusion of willows; this tree is observed to become more abundant than below, but the size is very small. The Kansas takes its rise in the open plains between the Platte and the Arkansas; and passes through a country almost devoid of wood. The patron of our boat informs me, that he has ascended it upwards of nine hundred miles, with a tolerable navigation. The Kansas tribe live in the country through which it passes. It has a number of considerable tributary streams.
In the evening we passed the little river Platte, navigable with canoes fifty or sixty miles, and said to abound with beaver. We {65} encamped near a mile above it, having made about fifteen miles.
In the course of this day, we find the river, in most places, extremely narrow, and the sand bars very extensive.
Monday 29th. Somewhat cloudy this morning—A
