he was, and by what authority he came to disturb his possession.  The Osage answered that the river was his own, for he had once lived on its borders.  As they stood disputing, the daughter of the beaver came, and having by her entreaties reconciled her father to this young stranger, it was proposed that the Osage should marry the young beaver, and share with her family the enjoyment of the river.  The Osage readily consented, and from this happy union there soon came the village and the nation of the Wasbasha, or Osages, who have ever since preserved a pious reverence for their ancestors, abstaining from the chace of the beaver, because in killing that animal, they killed a brother of the Osage.  Of late years, however, since the trade with the whites has rendered beaver skins more valuable, the sanctity of these maternal relatives has visibly reduced, and the poor animals have nearly lost all the privileges of kindred.

On the afternoon of June 3, we proceeded, and at three miles distant, reached a creek called Cupboard creek, from a rock of that appearance near its entrance.  Two miles further we encamped at Moreau creek, a stream of twenty yards width, on the southern side.  The next morning, we passed at an early hour, Cedar island on the north, so called from the abundance of the tree of that name; near which is a small creek, named Nightingale creek, from a bird of that species, who sang for us during the night.  Beyond Cedar island, are some others of a smaller extent, and at seven miles distance a creek fifteen or twenty yards wide, entering from the north, and known by the name of Cedar creek.  At seven and a half miles further, we passed on the south side another creek, which we called Mast creek, from the circumstance of our mast being broken by running under a concealed tree; a little above is another creek on the left, one mile beyond which we encamped on the southern shore under high projecting cliffs.  The French had reported that lead ore was to be found in this place, but on examining the hills, we could discern no appearance of that mineral.  Along the river on the south, is a low land covered with rushes, and high nettles, and near the mouths of the creeks, supplied with oak, ash, and walnut timber.  On the north the land is rich and well situated.  We made seventeen and a half miles this day.  The river is falling slowly.  We continued our route the next morning early:  a small creek called Lead creek, on the south; another on the north, known to the French by the name of Little Good Woman’s creek, and again Big Rock creek on the south were the only streams we passed this morning.  At eleven o’clock we met a raft made of two canoes joined together, in which two French traders were descending, from eighty leagues up the river Kanzas, where they had wintered, and caught great quantities of beaver, but had lost much of their game by fires from the prairies.  They told us that the Kanzas nation is now hunting buffaloe in the plains,