On the 14th of June, one of the men was sent to Captain Clarke, with an account of the discovery of the falls; and Captain Lewis proceeded to examine the rapids above. From the falls, he directed his course, south-west, up the river. After passing one continued rapid, and three small cascades, each three or four feet high, he reached, at the distance of five miles, a second fall. Above this, the river bends suddenly towards the north. Here captain Lewis heard a loud roar above him; and, crossing the point of a hill, for a few hundred yards, he saw one of the most beautiful objects in nature: the whole Missouri is suddenly stopped by one shelving rock, which, without a single niche, and with an edge as straight and regular as if formed by art, stretches from one side of the river to the other, for at least a quarter of a mile. Over this, the water precipitates itself, in an even, uninterrupted sheet, to the perpendicular depth of fifty feet; whence, dashing against the rocky bottom, it rushes rapidly down, leaving behind it a spray of the purest foam. The scene here presented was indeed singularly beautiful; since, without any of the wild, irregular, sublimity of the lower falls, it combined all the regular elegancies which the fancy of a painter would select to form a beautiful cataract. Captain Lewis now ascended the hill which was behind him, and saw, from its top, a delightful plain, extending from the river to the base of the Snowy Mountains. Along this wide, level country, the Missouri pursued its winding course, filled with water, to its even and grassy banks; while, about four miles above, it was joined by a large river, flowing from the north-west, through a valley three miles in width, and distinguished by the timber which adorned its shores: the Missouri itself stretched to the south, in one unruffled stream of water; and bearing on its bosom, vast flocks of geese, while numerous herds of buffaloes were feeding on the plains which surround it.