A bird was taken, closely resembling in point of colouring a species preserved in the Philadelphia Museum, under the name of _ruby-crowned flycatcher_, said to be from the East Indies; but the bill differs in being much less dilated. We can hardly think it a new species, yet in the more common books we do not find any distinct description of it. It is certainly allied to the tyrannus griseus and sulphuratus of Vieillot; but in addition to other differential characters, it is distinguished from the former by its yellow belly, and from the latter by the simplicity of the colouring of the wing and tail feathers, and the absence of bands on the side of the head; the bill also is differently formed from that of either of those species, if we may judge from Vieillot's figures.[36] Friday, July 21st. We left our encampment at five A. M., and having descended six or eight miles along the river, met an Indian and squaw, who were, as they informed us, of the tribe called Kaskaia; by the French, Bad-hearts. They were on horseback; and the squaw led a third horse of uncommon beauty. They were on their way from the Arkansa below to the mountains near the sources of the Platte, where their nation sometimes resides. They informed us that the greater part of six nations of Indians were encamped about nineteen days' journey below us, on the Arkansa. These were the Kaskaias, Shiennes, Arrapahoes, Kiawas, the Bald-heads, and a few Shoshones or Snakes. These nations, the Kaskaia {248} informed us, had been for some time embodied, and had been engaged in a warlike expedition against the Spaniards. They had recently met a party of Spaniards on Red river, when a battle was fought, in which the Spaniards were defeated with considerable loss. We now understood the reason of a fact which had appeared a little remarkable; namely, that we should have traversed so great an extent of Indian country as we had done since leaving the Pawnees, without meeting a single savage. The bands above enumerated are supposed to comprise nearly the whole erratic population of the country about the sources of the Platte and Arkansa; and they had all been absent from their usual haunts on a predatory excursion against the Indians of New Mexico. At our request, the Kaskaia and his squaw returned with us several miles, to point out a place suitable for fording the Arkansa, and to give us any other information or assistance in their power to communicate. Being made to understand that it was the design of some of the party to visit the sources of Red river, he pretended to give us information and advice upon that subject; also to direct us to a place where we might find a mass of rock salt, which he described as existing on one of the upper branches of Red river.