Chapter III: {i}18 (6)

They resided formerly on the Republican fork of the Konzas river, to which they have given their name; whence they removed a few years since to their present situation, that they might enjoy the protection of their more powerful allies, the Grand Pawnees. Their village is distant four miles from that of the Grand Pawnees, and like it on the immediate bank of the river. Fool Robe, their chief, received us with a little more attention than we had met on the preceding day, shaking us each by the hand. He afterwards conducted us to his lodge, within the village, but excused himself from feasting us, saying, his squaws were all absent at the corn fields.

It was a war party from this band which had plundered the detachment from the steam-boat on the preceding summer near the Konza village. For this outrage they had been compelled, by the prompt and vigorous interference of Major O'Fallon, the Indian agent, to make ample restitution. Whether it was that Fool Robe and his warriors were yet a little sore on account of this affair, or for some other reason, it was evident we were not welcome visitants. We had hitherto entertained exalted ideas of the hospitality of the Pawnees in their manner of receiving strangers, and were consequently a little {130} disappointed at the reception we had met. We stayed but a short time with Fool Robe. Having briefly described to him the outline of our intended journey, and listened to his remarks and advice respecting it, we remounted our horses, and proceeded towards the Loup village.

On our way we were met by the Knife-chief, who, having heard of our intention to visit him, came out on horseback, and met us more than a mile from the village. He gave us a very cordial and friendly reception, frequently rubbing his breast in token of the satisfaction he felt at seeing us. His frank and intelligent countenance, and his impressive gestures, made him easily understood, without the aid of an interpreter. As our cavalcade passed by him, he appeared to examine, with some attention, the physiognomy and appointments of the individuals composing it; but when his rapid eye alighted upon Julien, with whom he could use much freedom, he rode up to him, and eagerly inquired, by means of signs, (v. Nos. 27. and 14.)[86] if we had brought with us any whiskey, which we were grieved to learn, by this intimation, that he was acquainted with, and would indulge in; Julien replied in the negative, by the exhibition of the proper sign, (No. 65.) with which he did not betray any dissatisfaction, although it was evident from his subsequent conversation that he believed it to be false. On the way to the village he pointed out a convenient place for us to dispose of our horses and establish our camp. Here we dismounted, leaving our horses in the care of the guard, and followed the chief to his lodge. Soon after our arrival a large dish was placed before us, according to the custom of the Indians, filled with boiled sweet corn. While we were eating, the Knife-chief, with the principal men of his nation, were sitting silently behind us. Having finished our repast, we gave the Indians an account of ourselves, the occasion of our visit to {131} them, our intended journey to the mountains at the head of the Platte, &c. as in the other villages. To all this the Knife-chief listened with great attention. He expressed himself satisfied with the account we had given of the objects of our enterprize, but feared we should be ill treated by the savages we should meet. "Your heart must be strong," said he, "to go upon so hazardous a journey. May the Master of Life be your protector." The same benediction had been given us by the chiefs of the Republican and Grand Pawnees, probably with nearly the same degree of ingenuousness and sincerity. The Pawnees are at war with the Arrapahoes, Kaskaias,[87] and other erratic bands, who wander about the sources of the Platte and Arkansa. Their war parties are often sent out in that direction, where they sometimes meet a spirited reception from their enemies. It may be on this account that the Pawnees connect the idea of imminent danger to an excursion into those parts of the country which we proposed to visit. It is, however, highly probable their unwillingness to have us pass through their hunting grounds was the most productive cause of all the anxiety, and all the fears they expressed on our account.

[86] See Appendix B.—ED.

[87] The "Kaskaias" were closely akin to the Comanche, if not identical with them. The name is rarely used after the date of the present account, and the term Comanche is extended so as to include the Indians to which it is here applied. Jedidiah Morse, Indian commissioner, reckoned their numbers (1822) at three thousand, and located them along the base of the Rocky Mountains, in the same area over which the Comanche roamed.—ED.

The chief addressed us for some time with great apparent earnestness, but his discourse, as it came to our comprehension by the aid of an interpreter, whom we obtained at this village, seemed directed solely to one object, the exciting our compassion for his poverty.

"Father,—You see me here; I am very poor; my young men are very poor; we hope our Great Father will not forget the red skins, his children, they are poor;" with a great deal more in the same strain. He, however, returned frequently to the subject of our journey to the west. "I will tell my young men," said he, (meaning the war parties which should be sent out in that direction,) "when {132} they meet you, to take you by the hand, and smoke the peace pipe with you."

The Knife-chief, with his son Petalesharoo, celebrated for his filial affection, his valour, and his humanity, visited us at our camp in the afternoon, and we were proud to entertain one whom we thought so worthy of our admiration. We also received a visit from a _Medicine-man_, who, having heard there were great medicine men belonging to our party, requested to be shown some of the mysteries of their profession. We accordingly displayed before him a pair of bullet-forceps, a small case of surgeons' instruments, and some similar articles, and began to explain to him the use of each. He attended for some time to our discourse, but apparently without comprehending any part of it, and at length turned abruptly away, with an air of dissatisfaction and contempt.

The Canadian, who had been engaged before we left the Missouri as a guide, now gave us to understand that it was not his intention to accompany the expedition. Having been informed of other persons in the village who were qualified for this undertaking, Major Long made application to several of these, who at first expressed a willingness to accompany him, but soon afterwards recalled their promises. Finding them disposed to trifle in this manner, he at length assured them that, unless some one was immediately procured to attend the expedition as guide, their refusal, and the breach of engagement on the part of Bijeau, should be made known to the agent, and the whole corps of Canadian traders be deprived of the privilege of residing, or trading among the Pawnees. This representation had the desired effect. A ludicrous degree of consternation and alarm was depicted upon the faces of all the traders, and they immediately made a common concern of a subject which before they had treated with very little attention. Two were immediately selected {133} from their number, and were in a short time ready to attend us. It is probable almost any other method of punishment would have appeared to them less terrible. Having been long resident among the Indians, they have conformed to their mode of life, which certainly is not without its charms to the uninformed and the idle. A tie not less powerful is that of conjugal and paternal affection, they having among the Indians wives and children relying upon their exertions for protection and maintenance.

About the village we saw several parties of young men eagerly engaged at games of hazard. One of these, which we noticed particularly, is played between two persons, and something is staked on the event of each game. The instruments used are a small hoop, about six inches in diameter, which is usually wound with thongs of leather, and a pole, five or six feet long, on the larger end of which a limb is left to project about six inches. The whole bears some resemblance to a shepherd's crook. The game is played upon a smooth beaten path, at one end of which the gamester commences, and running at full speed, he first rolls from him the hoop, then discharges after it the pole, which slides along the path, pursuing the hoop, until both stop together, at a distance of about thirty yards from the place whence they were thrown. After throwing them from him, the gamester continues his pace, and the Indian, the hoop, and the pole arrive at the end of the path about the same time. The effort appears to be to place the end of the pole either in the ring, or as near as possible; and we could perceive that those casts were considered best when the ring was caught by the hook at the end of the pole. What constitutes a point, or how many points are reckoned to the game, we could not ascertain. It is, however, sufficiently evident that they are desperate gamesters, often losing their ornaments, articles of dress, &c. at play.

{134} This game, like some of those described in a former part of this work, requires considerable exertion, and is well calculated for the exhibition of that gracefulness of figure, and that ease and celerity of motion in which the savages so far surpass their civilized neighbours. We saw many young men engaged at these diversions, who had thrown aside their robes, leggins, and all superfluous articles of dress, displaying a symmetry of proportion, and beauty of form, which we have rarely seen surpassed. They were so intent upon their diversion, that in some instances our approach towards them, as we were rambling about the village, did not for a moment call off their attention from the game.

The population of the three Pawnee villages was estimated by Captain Pike, in 1806, at 6,223, and they were at that time supposed to be able to call into the field 1,993 warriors. At present it is believed they would fall short of this estimate, particularly in the number of warriors. They are, however, still numerous, and are said to be increasing, and are respected by the Sioux, and other neighbouring nations, as warlike and powerful.[88]

[88] The Pawnee now number about six hundred and fifty souls.—ED.

About the three villages are six or eight thousand horses, feeding in the plains during the day, but confined at night. These, with a breed of sharp-eared, meagre, wolf-like dogs, are their only domestic animals. On the approach of winter they conceal their stores of corn, dry pumpkins, beans, &c. and with their whole retinue of dogs and horses desert their villages. This they are compelled to do from the want of wood, not only for fuel, but for the support of their numerous horses.

They encamp in their lodges of skins wherever the cotton wood is found in sufficient quantities for their horses, and game for themselves. The horses, in the country bordering the Missouri, are fed during the winter, in the extensive wooded bottoms of that river, and are not, therefore, confined exclusively to {135} the cotton wood, having access to other timber, also to the rushes and coarse grass which abound in the bottoms. We are, however, well assured that the Indian horses, farther to the west, about the upper branches of the Platte, and Arkansa, subsist and thrive during the winter, with no other article of food than the bark and branches of the cotton wood. The winter at the Pawnee villages is said to be uncommonly severe, but is probably little, if any more so, than at Council Bluff, on the Missouri. Thermometric observations at Council Bluff, and at St. Peters[89] on the Mississippi, prove that the climate at these two places does not very widely differ from that of the corresponding latitudes on the Atlantic coast, except that it is at times something colder. The vicissitudes of temperature appear to be equally great and sudden.

[89] The purposes of the Yellowstone expedition included the establishment of this military post at the mouth of Minnesota River; during 1819 barracks were erected and fortifications begun.—ED.

The climate at Council Bluff is beyond the influence of the south-western winds from the Gulf of Mexico, which have been supposed to have so perceptible an effect to soften the rigours of winter in the valley of the Lower Mississippi. The three Pawnee villages, with their pasture grounds and insignificant enclosures, occupy about ten miles in length of the fertile valley of the Wolf river. The surface is wholly naked of timber, rising gradually to the river hills, which are broad and low, and from a mile to a mile and an half distant. The soil of this valley is deep and of inexhaustible fertility. The surface, to the depth of two or three feet, is a dark coloured vegetable mould intermixed with argillaceous loam, and still deeper, with a fine siliceous sand. The agriculture of the Pawnees is extremely rude. They are supplied with a few hoes by the traders, but many of their labours are accomplished with the rude instruments of wood and bone which their own ingenuity supplies. They plant corn and pumpkins in little patches along the sides of deep ravines, and wherever by any accident the grassy {136} turf has been eradicated. Sometimes these little plantations are enclosed with a sort of wicker fence, and in other instances are left entirely open. These last are probably watched by the squaws during the day time, when the horses run at large.

We slept on the night of 12th at our encampment in front of the Pawnee Loup village. During the night all remained at rest except the dogs, who howled in concert, in the same voice, and nearly to the same tune, as the wolves, to whose nightly serenade we were now accustomed.

As soon as the day dawned we observed the surrounding plain filled with groups of squaws, with their small children, trooping to their cornfields in every direction. Some, who passed our encampment, lingered a moment to admire our novel appearance; but the air of serious business was manifest in their countenances, and they soon hurried away to their daily labours. Some of the groups of young females were accompanied by a jolly looking young man as a protector. Their corn is usually gathered before it is entirely ripe, it is then boiled, cut from the cob, and dried. Their cookery consists in boiling it, either with or without the tallow of the bison, according to the state of their supplies. The pumpkins are cut in slips, which are dried in the sun, and afterwards woven into mats for the convenience of carrying. They offered us these articles in exchange for tobacco, vermillion, beads, looking-glasses, and various other trinkets. Also jerked bison beef, and the tallow of that animal, of which we purchased a small quantity. We saw among them the _pomme blanche_, as called by the Canadian traders and boatmen, which is the root of the Psoralea _esculenta_. It is eaten either boiled or roasted, and somewhat resembles the sweet potato.

At ten o'clock, on the morning of the 13th, we commenced crossing the river, opposite the village. This we found an undertaking of some difficulty, as {137} the current was rapid, and the bottom partook something of the nature of quick-sands. Major Long, Mr. Say, and one or two others, who were riding at the head of our line, had nearly crossed, and were wading their horses about midsides deep in the water, when they were suddenly thrown from their saddles by the sinking of their horses' feet in the sand; the horses, however, extricated themselves by their own exertion; and those of the party who had experienced this unexpected immersion, were greeted, upon their standing up in the water, by the shouts and acclamations of the Pawnees who lined the shore we had left. Major Long's gun and jacob-staff, as well as Mr. Say's gun, blanket, and other articles, were dropped into the river; all of these were, however, recovered except the blanket; and Mr. Say, having lost the greater part of his furniture at the river of Souls, by the ill-timed activity of his horse, was now, in a great measure, unencumbered with baggage. At length, by leading our horses, we arrived in safety on the opposite shore, where we encamped, intending to make some further barters with the Pawnees, and to dry some of our baggage, guns, &c. which had been wet in crossing.

The sand of this river, which in the aggregate, has a very white appearance, consists principally of minute grains of transparent quartz, mixed with some which are red, yellow, and variously coloured. The shore, opposite the Loup village, is covered with shrubs and other plants, growing among the loose sands. One of the most common is a large flowering rose, rising to about three feet high, and diffusing a most grateful fragrance. The Symphoria _glomerata_, common in all the country west of the Mississippi thus far, is also a beautiful shrub very frequent at this place; the flowers are white, with a faint and delicate tinge of red, having the inside of the corolla densely villous, like the Mitchilla, to which plant it is manifestly allied. On the hills, at {138} a little distance from the river, we observed the _Cactus fragilis_. This plant, which was first detected on the Missouri by Lewis and Clark, has been accurately described by Mr. Nuttall. The articulations or joints of which it consists, are small, oblong, and tapering, but separate from each other with great readiness, and adhere by means of the barbed spines, with which they are thickly set, to whatever they may happen to touch. This has led to a saying among the hunters, that the plant grows without roots.

In the afternoon a young Indian belonging to the Arikara nation on the Missouri, but who resided among the Pawnees, stopped at our camp, on his return from a solitary excursion to the Arkansa. He had brought with him, from one of the upper branches of that river, two masses of salt, each weighing about thirty pounds. This salt is pure and perfect, consisting of large crystalline grains, so concreted together as to form a mass about twenty inches in diameter and six in thickness. It had evidently been formed by the evaporation of water in some pond or basin, and that surface of the mass, which was its lower in its original position, was intermixed with red sand, indicating the sort of soil in which it is found. Mr. Peale procured some specimens in exchange for tobacco.

This Indian had been many days absent, on his excursion, and as he sat upon his horse before our encampment we had an opportunity to note a trait in the Indian character, which has been the subject of remark by many authors, and which we had previously observed in several instances ourselves; we allude to the apparent coolness which friends, and the nearest relatives, observe to each other when they meet after a long separation. Several of his fellow townsmen, who were about our encampment, hardly noticed him when he first appeared, and it was only after the lapse of a considerable interval {139} that one of them spoke to him, but without any visible ceremony of greeting.

On the morning of the 14th, we left our encampment, opposite the village of the Pawnee Loups, and proceeded on our journey, taking the most direct course towards the Platte. Our party had here received an addition of two men, one named Bijeau, engaged as guide and interpreter, the other, Ledoux, to serve as hunter, farrier, &c. Both were Frenchmen, residing permanently among the Pawnees, and had been repeatedly on the head waters of the Platte and Arkansa, for the purpose of hunting and trapping beaver. Bijeau was partially acquainted with several Indian languages; in particular, that of the Crow nation, which is extensively understood by the western tribes, and, by frequent intercourse with the savages he had gained a complete knowledge of the language of signs, universally current among them. The great number, and the wide dissimilarity of the dialects of the aborigines render this method of communication necessary to them, and it is not surprising it should have arrived at considerable perfection among tribes who, from their situation and manner of life, must often find occasion to make use of it.

Besides these two men, a young Spaniard, a refugee from some of the settlements of New Mexico, joined our party, intending to accompany us as far as his fear of his own countrymen would permit. He had probably been guilty of some misdemeanor, which made it necessary to avoid his former acquaintances, and, on this account, he could not be induced to accompany us into the neighbourhood of the Spanish settlements. The Frenchmen brought with them three horses and a mule, so that our party, which was now supposed to be made up for the journey, consisted, exclusive of the Spaniard, of twenty-two men, thirty-four horses and mules, and two dogs.

{140} We were well armed and equipped, each man carrying a yauger or rifle gun, with the exception of two or three who had muskets; most of us had pistols, all tomahawks and long knives, which we carried suspended at our belts. We believed ourselves about to enter on a district of country inhabited by lawless and predatory bands of savages, where we should have occasion to make use, not only of our arms, but of whatever share of courage and hardihood we might chance to possess.

The country which we passed on the 14th, lying between the Loup fork and the Platte, has a moderately hilly surface, except that portion of it which comprises the bottom lands of the two rivers. The ridges are of little elevation, destitute of stone of any kind, and irregular in direction; the soil is sandy and infertile. The high and barren parts of this tract are occupied by numerous communities of the Prairie dog or Louisiana marmot.[90]

[90] _Arctomys Ludoviciana._ ORD.—This interesting and sprightly little animal has received the absurd and inappropriate name of Prairie dog, from a fancied resemblance of its warning cry to the hurried barking of a small dog. This sound may be imitated with the human voice, by the pronunciation of the syllable cheh, cheh, cheh, in a sibilated manner, and in rapid succession, by propelling the breath between the tip of the tongue and the roof of the mouth. The animal is of a light dirty reddish-brown colour above, which is intermixed with some gray, also a few black hairs. This coating of hair is of a dark lead colour next the skin, then bluish-white, then light reddish, then gray at the tip. The lower parts of the body are of a dirty white colour. The head is wide and depressed above, with large eyes; the iris is dark brown. The ears are short and truncated; the whiskers of moderate length and black; a few bristles project from the anterior portion of the superior orbit of the eye, and a few also from a wart on the cheek: the nose is somewhat sharp and compressed; the hair of the anterior legs, and that of the throat and neck, is not dusky at base. All the feet are five-toed, covered with very short hair, and armed with rather long black nails: the exterior one of the fore foot nearly attains the base of the next, and the middle one is half an inch in length: the thumb is armed with a conic nail, three-tenths of an inch in length; the tail is rather short, banded with brown near the tip, and the hair, excepting near the body, is not plumbeous at base.[91]

The length of the animal, from the tip of the nose to the origin of the tail, is sixteen inches; of the tail, two inches and three-fourths; of the hair at its tip three-fourths of an inch.

As particular districts, of limited extent, are, in general, occupied by the burrows of these animals, such assemblages of dwellings are denominated _Prairie dog villages_ by hunters and others who wander in these remote regions.

These villages, like those of man, differ widely in the extent of surface which they occupy; some are confined to an area of a few acres, others are bounded by a circumference of many miles. Only one of these villages occurred between the Missouri and the Pawnee towns; thence to the Platte they were much more numerous.

The entrance to the burrow is at the summit of the little mound of earth, brought up by the animal during the progress of the excavation below.

These mounds are sometimes inconspicuous, but generally somewhat elevated above the common surface, though rarely to the height of eighteen inches. Their form is that of a truncated cone, on a base of two or three feet, perforated by a comparatively large hole or entrance at the summit or in the side. The whole surface, but more particularly the summit, is trodden down and compacted, like a well-worn pathway. The hole descends vertically to the depth of one or two feet, whence it continues in an oblique direction downward.

A single burrow may have many occupants. We have seen as many as seven or eight individuals sitting upon one mound.

They delight to sport about the entrance of their burrows in pleasant weather; at the approach of danger they retreat to their dens; or when its proximity is not too immediate, they remain, barking, and flourishing their tails, on the edge of their holes, or sitting erect to reconnoitre. When fired upon in this situation, they never fail to escape, or if killed, instantly to fall into their burrows, where they are beyond the reach of the hunter.

As they pass the winter in a lethargic sleep, they lay up no provision of food for that season, but defend themselves from its rigours by accurately closing up the entrance of the burrow. The further arrangements which the Prairie dog makes for its comfort and security are well worthy of attention. He constructs for himself a very neat globular cell with fine dry grass, having an aperture at top, large enough to admit the finger, and so compactly formed that it might almost be rolled over the floor without receiving injury.

The burrows are not always equidistant from each other, though they occur usually at intervals of about twenty feet.[92]—JAMES.

_Comment by Ed._ The scientific name of the prairie-dog is now _cynomys ludovicianus_; see Bradbury's _Travels_, in our volume v, note 61.

[91] This description is drawn chiefly from a well-prepared specimen belonging to the Philadelphia museum, the tail of which, if we may decide from memory, is somewhat too short.

[92] In these villages, where the grass is fed close, and where much fresh earth is brought up and exposed to the air, is the peculiar habitat of a species of Solanum approaching the _S. triflorum_ of Nuttall, which, he says, occurs as a weed "about the gardens of the Mandans and Minatarees of the Missouri, and in no other situations." It appears to differ from the S. triflorum in being a little hirsute, with flat, runcinate, pinnatifid leaves, and the peduncles alternating with the leaves. The Solanum _heterandrum_ of Pursh, now referred to the new genus Androcera of Nuttall, is also very common, but is not confined, like the plant just mentioned, to the marmot villages. We collected also the Psoralea _cuspidata_, Ph. P. _esculenta_, N. P. _incana_, N. also a species of Hieracium—H. _runcinatum_. Plant hirsute, leaves all radical, elliptic-oblong, runcinate; scape few-flowered, somewhat compressed, and angular; glands on the hairs of the calix, very small and diaphanous; about one foot high; flower small. Hab. in depressed, grassy situations along the Platte.

On arriving near the Platte we observed a species of prickly pear (_Cactus ferox. N._) to become very numerous. It resembles the common prickly pear of New Jersey, (_C. opuntia._) but is larger, and protected by a more formidable armature of thorns. Our Indian horses were so well acquainted with this plant, and its properties, that they used the utmost care to avoid stepping near it. The flowers are of a sulphur yellow, and when fully expanded are nearly as large as those of the garden pæony, and crowded together upon the summits of the terminal articulations of which the plant consists. These articulations, (or segments contained between the joints,) are oblong and flattened, being longer and thicker than a man's hand. A second species, the _C. mamillaris, N._ occurs on the dry sandy ridges between the Pawnee villages and the Platte. The beautiful cristaria _coccinea. Ph._ (malva _coccinea. N._) is very frequent in the low plains along the Platte. Its flowers {141} have nearly the aspect of those of the common wild rose, except that they are more deeply coloured.

We arrived at the Platte, a little before sun-set, the distance from the Pawnees being, according to our computation, twenty-five miles. After entering the valley of the river, we travelled several miles across an unvaried plain, and at length passing down by a gradual descent of a few feet, we came upon a second level tract, extending to the river.

The soil of the first of these portions is a bed of sand, intermixed with small water-worn pebbles and gravel; that of the latter is more fertile, and produces a luxuriant vegetation.

Our guide informed us that the Platte, opposite the point where we entered its valley, contains an island which is more than one day's journey across, and about thirty miles in length.[93]

[93] Known as Grand Island. It extends from Buffalo County on the west through Hall into Merrick County. The dimensions given in the text are not accurate; it has an average width of only a mile and three-quarters, but is more than fifty miles in length. Frémont described it (1842) as well timbered, fertile, and above high water level; he noted it as the most suitable site on the lower Platte for a military post. See _Report of Exploring Expedition to Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842_ (Washington, 1845), p. 78. Fort Kearney was established in 1848, in Kearney County, near the upper end of the island.—ED.

At no great distance from our camp, which was placed immediately on the brink of the river, we found the body of a horse lying dead in the edge of the water. The animal had, in all probability, been recently lost by a war party of Indians.

15th. Soon after leaving our camp we crossed a small stream, tributary to the Platte, from the north. It is called Great Wood river, and has some timber along its banks.[94]

[94] Now Wood River. It rises in Custer County, flows southeast through Dawson and western Buffalo counties, then turns and flows east by northeast to central Hall County, where it empties into the channel of the Platte, which runs north of Grand Island. The timber on its banks, from which it obtained its name, was consumed in building the Union Pacific Railroad.—ED.

Our provisions being nearly exhausted, two of the hunters were sent forward in search of game; but after some time they rejoined the party, having killed nothing.

Shortly afterwards a single bison was discovered some miles ahead of the party, and travelling apparently in the same direction. Four of our hunters, having disencumbered their horses of all their baggage, spurred forward in the pursuit, but none of them were able to overtake the animal, except the young Spaniard, who came near enough to wound it with an arrow; but his horse being exhausted, he {142} was compelled to desist from the pursuit, and suffer the bison to escape.

Having ascended the Platte about sixteen miles, we halted, to make such a dinner as the condition of our stores would allow; and here the Spaniard took his leave of us to return to the Pawnees.

In the scenery of the Platte there is the utmost uniformity; a broad plain, unvaried by any object on which the eye can rest, lies extended before us; on our right are the low and distant hills which bound the valley, and on our left the broad Platte, studded with numerous small but verdant islands. On these islands is usually a little timber, which is not met with in other situations. We were fortunate in finding, towards evening, an old Indian encampment, where were poles, stakes, &c. which had been brought from the islands, and here we placed our camp. Some antelopes were seen during the day, but so wild and vigilant that all our efforts to take them proved unsuccessful. Our supper, therefore, was not of the choicest kind, and, what was infinitely more vexatious to us, was limited in quantity.

On the following day we passed a number of prairie dog villages, some of them extending from two to three miles along the river. Though much in want of game, most of our exertions to take these animals were without success. A number were killed, but we were able to possess ourselves of no more than two of them. These we found to be in good condition and well flavoured. Their flesh nearly resembles that of the ground hog, or woodchuck (Arctomys Marylandica.)

In some small ponds near the Platte we saw the common species of pond weed (Potamogeton _natans_ and P. _fluitans_. Ph.) also the Utricularia longirostris, of Leconte, and an interesting species of Myriophillum.[95]

[95] Among other plants collected along the Platte on the 15th and 16th June, are the Cherianthus _asper_, N., Helianthemum _canadense_, Atheropogon _apludoides_, N., Myosotis _scorpioides_, Pentstemon _gracile_. N. The Cherianthus asper is intensely bitter in every part, particularly the root, which is used as medicine by the Indians. In depressed and moist places along the river, we observed a species of Plantago, which is manifestly allied to P. _eriophora_ of Wallich, Flor. Ind. p. 423, also to P. _attenuata_ of the same work, p. 422. The base of the scape and leaves is invested with a dense tuft of long fine wool, of a rusty brown colour. Before the plant is taken up this tuft is concealed in the soil, being a little below the surface, but it adheres closely to the dried specimen. Its leaves, which are the size of those of P. _lanceolata_, are smooth, fine nerved, with a few remote denticulations. Scape slender, exceeding the leaves; bractæas ovate, spike slender, few-flowered—P. _attenuata_, Bradbury?—JAMES.

By observations at morning and evening the magnetic variation was found thirteen and an half degrees{143} east. In the middle of the day the heat was excessive, and we were under the necessity of halting at a place where no shade could be found to shelter us from the scorching rays of the sun, except what was afforded by our tents, which were set up for this purpose. Here we remained until 4 P. M. when we resumed our journey. We crossed towards evening a small creek, three miles beyond which we arrived at an old Indian camp, where we halted for the night. We had not been long here before a tremendous storm of wind assailed our tents with such violence, that it was only by stationing ourselves outside, and holding the margin to the ground, that we were able to keep them standing.

Two of the hunters who had been sent out during the afternoon, returned to camp late in the evening, bringing in a buck antelope, a highly acceptable acquisition to us, as we had been for some time restricted to short commons. The flesh we found palatable, being very similar in every respect to that of the common deer.

We had proceeded but a few miles from our camp, on the following morning, when we perceived a number of antelopes, at a little distance in the prairie. Being on the windward side of the party, they were not able, by their sense of smelling, to inform themselves of the nature of the danger which was approaching. One of them, leaving his companions, came so near our line as to be within the reach of a rifle ball, and was killed by Lieutenant Swift.

The antelope possesses an unconquerable inquisitiveness, of which the hunters often take advantage, to compass the destruction of the animal. The attempt to approach immediately towards them in the open plain, where they are always found, rarely proves successful. Instead of this, the hunter, getting as near the animal as is practicable, without exciting alarm, conceals himself by lying down, then fixing a handkerchief or cap upon the end of his {144} ramrod, continues to wave it, still remaining concealed. The animal, after a long contest between curiosity and fear, at length approaches near enough to become a sacrifice to the former.[96]

[96] See Bradbury, p. 113.—JAMES.

_Comment by Ed._ See reprint in volume v of our series, p. 123.

In the afternoon a single bison was seen at the distance of several miles, being the second since we had left the Pawnee villages, which were now about a hundred miles distant, and we were beginning to fear that the representations of the Indians, in relation to the difficulty of procuring game to subsist so large a party as ours, would prove true. We found, however, that every part of the country, which we had recently passed, had, at no distant period, been occupied by innumerable herds of bisons. Their tracks and dung were still to be seen in vast numbers; and the surface of the ground was strewed with skulls and skeletons, which were yet undecayed.

At 4 o'clock P. M. we arrived at an old Indian encampment, opposite an island, on which was some wood, and perceiving that none would be met with for many miles a-head, we determined to halt here for the night.

The 18th, being Sunday, we remained in camp. This indulgence was not only highly acceptable to the soldiers and men who accompanied us, they being much harassed and fatigued by their exertions during the week, but was necessary for our horses, which, not being in good condition when we left the Missouri, were perceptibly failing under the laborious services they were made to perform. At our nightly encampments we found it necessary to confine them, as we had not always a plentiful supply of grass in the immediate vicinity of our camp, and if left at large they would wander in search of better pasture, and occasion us great trouble to collect them again in the morning. Accordingly, long ropes had been provided, {145} which were carried constantly on the necks of the horses, and by these they were made fast during the night to stakes driven into the ground. After having eaten all the grass within his reach, the horse was removed to another place, and this was done several times during the night, by a guard kept constantly on duty, both for the performance of this service, and also to give timely notice in case of the approach of Indians to the camp. Notwithstanding this care, on our part, our horses were sometimes but poorly fed, as we were often compelled to encamp in places where little grass was to be found. When we remained in camp during the day, they were suffered to range more at liberty, a watch being kept out to prevent their wandering too great a distance. Notwithstanding the sabbath was devoted to the refreshment of our horses, and the relaxation of the men who accompanied us, some attention was given to the great objects of the expedition. Astronomical observations for the correction of our time-piece, and for other purposes, were made. At Engineer Cantonment we had furnished ourselves with portfolios of paper, to receive specimens of such plants as we might collect; but we found that the precautions which had been used to protect these from the weather had been insufficient, some of our collections being in part wet, and others having been made during the heavy rains, which fell before we reached the Pawnee villages, required much attention. The sabbath also afforded us an opportunity to devote a little attention to the important objects of personal cleanliness and comfort. The plain about our encampment was strewed with the bones of the bison, and other animals; and among the rest we distinguished some of men. We picked up a number of human skulls, one of which we thought it no sacrilege to compliment with a place upon one of our pack-horses. Our guides could give us no satisfactory information of the time and manner in which the several persons, {146} to whom these bones formerly belonged, had been compelled to lay them down in this place; it is certain, however, that at no very distant period, a battle had been fought, or a massacre committed, on this spot.

We had now arrived at a point about two hundred miles distant from the confluence of the Platte and Missouri, yet the character of the former river was but little changed. It was still from one to three miles in breadth, containing numerous islands, covered with a scanty growth of cotton-wood willows, the amorpha fruticosa, and other shrubs.

{147} CHAPTER VIII {VI}

The Platte—Desert Plains—Mirage—Arrival at the Rocky Mountains.

THE Platte, called by the Otoes Ne-braska, (Flat river, or water,) is, as its name imports, almost uniformly broad and shoal. It is fordable at almost any place, except when swollen by freshets, which occur in the spring season, from the melting of snow, and occasionally during the other portions of the year, from excessive rain. Its bed is composed almost exclusively of sand, forming innumerable bars, which are continually changing their position, and moving downward, till at length they are discharged into the Missouri, and swept away to the ocean by that rapid and turbulent river.

The range of the Platte, from extreme low to extreme high water is very inconsiderable, manifestly not exceeding six or eight feet. This is about the usual height of its banks above the surface of the sand which forms its bed. The banks are sometimes overflowed, but evidently to no great extent. The rapidity of the current, and the great width of the bed of the river, preclude the possibility of any extensive inundation of the surrounding country. The bottom lands of the river rise by an imperceptible ascent on each side, extending laterally to a distance of from two to ten miles, where they are terminated by low ranges of gravelly hills, running parallel to the general direction of the river. Beyond these the surface is an undulating plain, having an elevation of from fifty to one hundred feet, and presenting the aspect of hopeless and irreclaimable sterility.

The Missouri, in compliance with the usage of boatmen, hunters, &c., has been usually considered under two divisions; the lower extending from the {148} Mississippi to the confluence of the Platte, and the upper, comprehending all above that point. As might be expected, the influx of so large and so peculiar a river as the Platte, gives a new character to the Missouri below. It is more rapid, more difficult of navigation, and the water more turbid than above.

Among other plants observed about our encampment, was the wild liquorice, (glycyrhiza lepidota, N.) which is believed to be the plant mentioned by Sir A. Mackenzie,[97] which is used as food by the savages of the north-west. The root is large and long, spreading horizontally to a great distance. In taste it bears a very slight resemblance to the liquorice of the shops, but is bitter and nauseous. The leaves are frequently covered with a viscid exudation.

[97] For sketch of Sir Alexander Mackenzie, see Franchère's _Narrative_, in our volume vi, note 4.—ED.

We were prevented from continuing our astronomical observations, in the afternoon, the weather becoming cloudy, and at evening a thunder-storm commenced, which continued with short intermissions during the night. The lightning exhibited an incessant glare, and peals of thunder which seemed to shake the earth to its centre, followed each other in rapid succession.

On Monday the 19th, we moved on, and ascending the Platte about thirty miles, arrived in the evening at a place where the hills on the north side close in, quite to the bed of the river. On both sides they became more broken and elevated, and on the north, they approached so near to the bed of the Platte, that we were under the necessity of travelling across them. We were glad, however, of any change of scene. The monotony of a vast unbroken plain, like that in which we had now travelled nearly one hundred and fifty miles, is little less tiresome to the eye, and fatiguing to the spirit, than the dreary solitude of the ocean.[98]

[98] The Sand Hills begin at about the hundredth meridian, which crosses the Platte in western Dawson County.—ED.

With this change of the surface, some change is observed in the vegetable products of the soil. Here {149} we first saw a new species of prickly poppy,[99] with a spreading white flower, as large as that of the common poppy of the gardens. The aspect of this plant is very similar to that of the common poppy, except that the leaves are covered with innumerable large and strong prickles. When wounded it exudes a thick yellowish sap, intensely bitter to the taste. On the summits of some of the dry sandy ridges, we saw a few of the plants called Adam's needles, (yucca angustifolia) thriving with an appearance of luxuriance and verdure, in a soil which bids defiance to almost every other species of vegetation. Nature has, however, fitted the yucca for the ungenial soil it is destined to occupy. The plant consists of a large tuft of rigid spear-pointed leaves, placed immediately upon the root, and sending up in the flowering season, a stalk bearing a cluster of lilliaceous flowers as large as those of the common tulip of the gardens. The root bears more resemblance to the trunk of a tree, than to the roots of ordinary plants. It is two or three inches in diameter, descending undivided to a great depth below the surface, where it is impossible the moisture of the earth should ever be exhausted, and there terminates in numerous spreading branches. In some instances, the sand is blown from about the root, leaving several feet of it exposed, and supporting the dense leafy head, at some distance from the surface.[100]

[99] Argemone alba, a large plant, very distinct from A. mexicana.—JAMES.

[100] Other plants found here, were the great sunflower Helianthus _giganteus_, Asclepias _obtusifolia_, Ph., A. _viridiflora_, Ph., A. _syriaca_, and A. _incarnata_, Amorpha _canescens_, N., Erigeron _pumilum_, N., A. Veronica approaching V. _deccabunga_ Scuttellaria _galericulata_, Rumex _venosus_, N., and several which are believed to be undescribed.—JAMES.

Several bisons and other game, had been seen in the course of the day, but nothing taken. As our provisions were now exhausted, it was resolved to remain encamped where we were, while parties were sent out in different directions to hunt.[101]

[101] In rain water puddles, we remarked a new species of Branchiopode belonging to the genus Apus; small crustaceous animals, which exhibit a miniature resemblance to the King or Horse-shoe Crab, (Himulus polyphemus,) of our sea coast, but which are furnished with about sixty pairs of feet, and swim upon their back. The basins of water, which contained them, had been very much diminished by evaporation and infiltration, and were now crowded to excess, principally with the apus, great numbers of which were dying upon the surrounding mud, whence the water had receded. This species is distinguished from the _productus_ of Bosc, and _montagui_ of Leach, by not having the dorsal carina prolonged in a point behind; and from _cancriformis_, by the greater proportional width of the thorax, and more obtuse emargination behind. The length of the thorax along the middle, is three-tenths of an inch, and its greatest breadth somewhat more. It may be named _Apus obtusus_.

A very large species of Cypris, also inhabits these small rainwater pools in great numbers, of which the valves are more than one-fifth of an inch in length.—JAMES.

Being now at a place where, as our guide informed us, the Pawnees often cross the Platte, and as it was our intention to ascend on the other side of the river, Major Long rode across to ascertain the practicability {150} of fording; but the summer freshet being now at its height, it was found the river could not be crossed without swimming, and the design was relinquished. Six of our party, including the hunters, were sent out in pursuit of game.

At camp, observations were taken for ascertaining longitude and other purposes. At evening, Mr. Peale returned, having killed an antelope at the distance of ten miles from the camp, and brought it within about four, where being fatigued and hungry, he had made a fire, cooked and ate part of the animal, and left the remainder, suspending a handkerchief near it, to protect it from the wolves. Soon afterwards others returned, and when all were collected, it appeared there had been killed one bison, two antelopes, and a hare, all at a distance from camp. Horses were accordingly sent out to bring in the meat, a part of which we attempted to dry during the night, by cutting it in thin pieces and exposing it over a slow fire, but a storm of wind and rain, which continued greater part of the night, prevented our success in this attempt.

21st. The storm continued throughout the night, and the following day was cold, with a heavy mist from the south-east.

After travelling this day our customary distance, which was about twenty-five miles, we were compelled to halt at a place where we could find no poles to set up our tents. We were fortunate in finding part of a tree which had drifted down the Platte, and which sufficed to make a fire for the cooking of our supper. An Indian dog, who had made his appearance at the encampment on the preceding day, had followed us thus far, but kept aloof, not allowing us to come within one or two hundred yards of him.

On the following morning, six miles from our camp, we arrived at the confluence of the north and south fork of the Platte. We had halted here, and were making preparations to examine the north fork, with a view of crossing it, when we saw two elk plunge into the river a little above us on the same {151} side. Perceiving it was their design to cross the river, we watched them until they arrived on the other side, which they did without swimming. We accordingly chose the same place they had taken, and putting a part of our baggage in a skin canoe, waded across, leading our horses, and arrived safely on the other side; no accident having happened, except the wetting of such of our baggage as was left on the horses.

The north fork at its confluence is about eight hundred yards wide, is shoal and rapid like the Platte, and has a sandy bed. We were informed by our guide, who had been repeatedly to its sources, that it rises within the Rocky Mountains, about one hundred and twenty miles north of the sources of the Platte.

It is probably the river which was mistaken by Captain Pike for the Yellow-stone, and has been laid down as such on his map, whence the mistake has been copied into several others. It has its source in numerous small streams, which descend from the hill surrounding a circumscribed valley within the mountains, called the Bull-pen. This basin is surrounded by high and rugged mountains, except at the place where the north fork passes into the plains. On each side of this strait, or pass, are high and abrupt rocky promontories, which confine the river to a narrow channel. The diameter of the circumscribed valley, called the Bull-pen, is one day's travel, about twenty miles.[102] The upper branches of the north fork have some timber, mostly cotton-wood and willow, and abound in beaver.[103]

[102] North Platte River rises in Laramie County, Colorado, in the high valley called North Park, enclosed by the Park Range and the Medicine Bow Mountains. It flows north to Natrona County, in central Wyoming, and thence turns to the southeast.—ED.