On leaving the camp in the morning, Major Long and Lieutenant Swift preceded the party, intending to select a suitable place for encampment, where they proposed to commence a set of observations, and to wait the arrival of the remainder of the party. But as they had gone forward about two miles, the point of woods at which they had left the course was mistaken by the main body, which moved on until about eleven o'clock. By this time much anxiety was felt on account of their absence, and persons were sent out to attempt to discover them, but returned unsuccessful. A circumstance tending to increase the anxiety which was felt, was, that Indians were reported to have been seen in the course of the morning by several of the party. Captain Bell was about to despatch as large a force as it was thought prudent to spare from the camp, to search for them in all the distance which had been passed since they were seen, when they arrived at the encampment of the main body, at half past one P.M. The observations which had been made were, of course, lost, as the corresponding equal altitudes for the correction of time could not be had. In the evening, the meridional altitude of Antares was taken for latitude. Several valuable plants were here collected, and, among others, a large suffruticose species of lupine. The long-leaved cotton-wood[131] of Lewis and Clarke, which is, according to their suggestion, a species of populus, is here of very common occurrence. It is {182} found intermixed with the common cotton-wood, resembling it in size and general aspect. Its leaves are long and narrow; its trunk smoother, and its branches more slender and flexile than those of the populus angulata. Some of its fruit was fortunately still remaining, affording us an opportunity to be entirely satisfied of its relation to this genus. [131] Populus angustifolia, J.—JAMES. Here we also observed both species of the splendid and interesting Bartonia, and B. nuda in full flower, the ornata not yet expanded.