Chapter III: {i}18 (8)

The hair is fine, dense, and soft. The head above is fulvous, drawing on ferruginous, intermixed with gray, the fur being of the first-mentioned colour, and the hair whitish at base; then black; then gray; then brown. The ridge of the nose is somewhat paler, and a more brownish dilated line passes from the eye to near the nostrils, (as in the C. corsac). The margin of the upper lip is white; the orbits are gray; the ears behind are paler than the top of the head, intermixed with black hairs and the margin, excepting at tip, white; the inner side is broadly margined with white hairs; the space behind the ear is destitute of the intermixture of hairs; the neck above has longer hairs, of which the black and gray portions are more conspicuous; beneath the head pure white.

The body is slender, and the tail rather long, cylindrical, and black.

It runs with extraordinary swiftness, so much so, that when at full speed, its course has been by the hunters compared to the flight of a bird skimming the surface of the earth. We had opportunities of seeing it run with the antelope; and appearances sanctioned the belief, that in fleetness it even exceeded that extraordinary animal, famed for swiftness, and for the singularity of its horns. Like the corsac of Asia it burrows in the earth, in a country totally destitute of trees or bushes, and is not known to dwell in forest districts.

If Buffon's figure of the corsac is to be implicitly relied upon, our burrowing fox must be considered as perfectly distinct, and anonymous; we would, therefore, propose for it the name of _velox_.—JAMES.

Our small stock of bread was by this time so nearly exhausted, that it was thought prudent to reserve the remainder as a last resort, in case of the failure of a supply of game, or other accident. A quantity of parched maize, equal to a gill per day, to each man, was daily distributed to each of the three messes into which the party was divided. This was thrown into the kettle where the bison meat was boiled, and supplied the place of barley in the soup, always the first and most important dish. Whenever game was plenty we had a variety of excellent dishes, consisting of the choice parts of the bison, the tongue, the hump ribs, the marrow-bones, &c. dressed in various ways. The hump ribs of the bison, which many epicures prefer to any other part of the animal, are the spinous processes of the backbone, and are from eighteen to twenty-four inches in length. They are taken out with a small portion of the flesh adhering to each side, and whether roasted, boiled, or stewed, are certainly very far superior to any part of the flesh of the domestic ox.

29th. We had proceeded but a few miles from our camp when it was found that Mr. Say's horse was so far exhausted as to be unable to proceed at the same pace as the other horses. Mr. Say accordingly dismounted, and by driving his horse before him, urged the animal along for a few miles; but this being found too laborious, and as several of the horses were near failing, it was determined to halt, which we did at ten o'clock, and remained in camp during the day.

The country, for several miles to the west of the range of hills mentioned above, is as uniformly plain as that on any part of the Platte. It differs from that further to the east only in being of a coarser sand, and in an aspect of more unvaried sterility. The cactus ferox reigns sole monarch, and sole possessor {173} of thousands of acres of this dreary plain. It forms patches which neither a horse nor any other animal will attempt to pass over. The rabbit's foot plantation, and a few brown and withered grasses, are sparingly scattered over the intervening spaces. In depressed and moist situations, where the soil is not so entirely unproductive, the variegated spurge (euphorbia variegata), with its painted involucrum and party-coloured leaves, is a conspicuous and beautiful ornament. The lepidium virginicum, distributed over every part of northern and equinoctial America, from Hudson's Bay to the summit of the Silla of Caraccas,[122] is here of such diminutive size that we were induced to search, though we sought in vain, for some character to distinguish it as a separate species.

[122] See Humb. Pers. Nar. vol. iii. p. 500.—JAMES.

At three o'clock P. M. the planet Venus was distinctly visible. Its distance from the sun at 3h. 45m. was east 36° 15[']. There were a few broken cumulostratose clouds from the south-west, otherwise the sky was clear, and near the zenith, where the star was seen, of a deep and beautiful azure. Our actual elevation, at this time, must have been considerable, and might be supposed to effect, in some degree, the transparency of our atmosphere.

Several magpies were seen about the islands in the river, where it is probable they rear their young.

On the 30th we left the encampment at our accustomed early hour, and at eight o'clock were cheered by a distant view of the Rocky Mountains. For some time we were unable to decide whether what we saw were mountains, or banks of cumulous clouds skirting the horizon, and glittering in the reflected rays of the sun. It was only by watching the bright parts, and observing that their form and position remained unaltered, that we were able to satisfy ourselves they were indeed mountains. They were visible from the lowest parts of the plain, and {174} their summits were, when first discovered, several degrees above our horizon. They became visible by detaching themselves from the sky beyond, and not by emerging from beneath the sensible horizon, so that we might have seen them from a greater distance had it not been for the want of transparency in the atmosphere. Our first views of the mountains were indistinct, on account of some smokiness of the atmosphere, but from our encampment, at noon, we had a very distinct and satisfactory prospect of them. A small part only of the intervening plain was visible, the convexity of the surface intercepting the view from the base of the mountains, and that portion of the plain adjacent to it.

Snow could be seen on every part of them which was visible above our horizon.

The thermometer immersed in the water of the river fell from 80°, the temperature of the atmosphere, to 75°. Observations had been made daily to ascertain the temperature of the water of the Platte.[123] Notwithstanding there were only about five degrees of difference between the temperature of the air and that of the water, it was remarked by several of the party, that a sensation of extreme cold was felt on passing from the one to the other.

[123] The results of several observations are as follows:

Temperature of the water. Temperature of the air.
June 27, 68° 83°
28, 70 79
29, 74 82
30, 75 80
July 1, 71 60

At eleven, A. M.

Before sunrise the mercury fell usually as low as 60°.—JAMES.

It is possible, that at the elevation we had now attained, the rapidity of evaporation, on account of the diminished pressure of the atmosphere, might be something greater than we had been accustomed to. For several days the sky had been clear, and in the morning we had observed an unusual degree of transparency in every part of the atmosphere. As the day advanced, and the heat of the sun began to be felt, such quantities of vapour were seen to ascend from every part of the plain, that all objects, at a little distance, appeared magnified, and variously distorted. An undulating or tremulous motion in ascending lines was manifest over every part of the {175} surface. Commencing soon after sunrise it continued to increase in quantity until the afternoon, when it diminished gradually, keeping an even pace with the intensity of the sun's heat. The density of the vapour was often such as to produce the perfect image of a pool of water in every valley upon which we could look down at an angle of about ten degrees. This effect was several times seen so perfect and beautiful as to deceive almost every one of our party. A herd of bisons, at the distance of a mile, seemed to be standing in a pool of water; and what appeared to us the reflected image was as distinctly seen as the animal itself. Illusions of this kind are common in the African and Asiatic deserts, as we learn from travellers, and from the language of poets. They are called by the Persians _sirraub_, "water of the desert;" and in the Sanscrit language, _Mriga trichna_, "the desire or thirst of the antelope." Elphinstone relates,[124] that at Moujgur, in the kingdom of Caubul, towards evening many persons were astonished at the appearance of a long lake enclosing several little islands. Notwithstanding the well known nature of the country, which was a sandy desert, many were positive that it was a lake, and one of the surveyors took the bearings of it. "I had imagined," says he, "this phenomenon to be occasioned by a thin vapour which is spread over the ground in hot weather in India, but this appearance was entirely different, and on looking along the ground no vapour whatever could be perceived. The ground was quite level and smooth, and the weather very hot. It is only found in level, smooth, and dry places; the position of the sun, and the degree of heat, are not material, for it was afterwards seen in Damaun, when the weather was not hotter than in England." On the frontier of Caubul, Elphinstone saw what he calls a most magnificent mirage, {176} which looked like an extensive lake, or a very wide river. The water seemed clear and beautiful, and the figures of two gentlemen, who rode along it, were _reflected as distinctly as in real water_. "It is common in our own country," says the London Monthly Review, "for ground-mists to assume the appearance of water, to make a meadow seem inundated, and to change a valley into a lake; but these mists never reflect the surrounding trees and hills. Hence, the _mirage_ must consist of a peculiar gas, of which the particles are combined by a stronger attraction of cohesion than the vapours of real water; the _liquor silicum_ of the alchymists is described as exhibiting, in some circumstances, this glassy surface, yet as being equally evanescent."[125] It is afterwards suggested, in the same paper, that the gas which occasioned these extraordinary reflections, may probably be the substance of the pernicious wind called Simoom. The explanation here offered will not probably be thought satisfactory. It seems to belong to the epoch of great and brilliant discoveries in pneumatic chymistry, when "a peculiar gas" was thought the agent of every phenomenon.

[124] Mission to Caubul, p. 179. 4to. Lond.—JAMES.

_Comment by Ed._ Mountstuart Elphinstone (1779-1859), fourth son of the eleventh Baron Elphinstone of the Scottish peerage, was a notable official in the East Indian service, which he entered in 1796. In 1808 he was placed at the head of an embassy sent to Cabul to secure the alliance of the Afghans against a threatened French invasion. The work referred to, _An Account of the Kingdom of Cabul and its Dependencies in Persia and India_ (London, 1815), was one result of the mission. Elphinstone returned to England about 1830, declining the governor-generalship of India.

[125] See Monthly Review for May 1817. p. 3.—JAMES.

The images of pools of water, which we saw in the deserts of the Platte, appeared to us similar to those mentioned by Elphinstone, likewise to those observed by Nieburgh[126] in Arabia, where inverted images were seen.

[126] Karsten Niebuhr (1733-1815) was a Danish scientist and traveller, who visited Egypt, Arabia, India, Palestine, and Syria during the years 1761-67. The first volume of his travels, _Beschreibung von Arabien_ (Copenhagen, 1772), was published by the Danish government; the second and third volumes appeared in 1774 and 1778, bearing the title _Reisebeschreibung von Arabien und anderen umliegenden Ländern_; while a fourth was brought out in 1837, by Niebuhr's daughter.—ED.

To the more common effects of light passing through a medium charged with vapours, we had become familiar. We had, for many days, seen the low bluffs of the valley of the Platte suspended over the verge of our apparent horizon, as distant capes are suspended over the sea; but in viewing these perfect images of lakes, we could scarce believe they were occasioned by _refraction_, to which the phenomena of mirage have usually been attributed.[127] {177} The circumstance that these pools could only be seen when we looked down at a considerable angle upon some valley; the perfect manner in which the image of the sky was returned from the surface, and the inverted position of the objects seen, induced us to inquire whether the effect might not be produced by reflection from the lower stratum of watery vapour.[128] These appearances are sufficient to justify the conclusion that the quantity of evaporation is much greater here than in less elevated districts of country, where such things are not seen.

[127] See Humb. Pers. Nar. vol. ii. p. 196. vol. iii. pp. 358, 542.—JAMES.

[128] Rays of light, falling with any degree of obliquity upon the particles of that portion of watery vapour which lies near the surface of the earth, may be reflected, and pass off at an equal corresponding angle; so that if the eye be raised a few feet above the reflecting surface, an image of the corresponding arc of the sky is produced, as in the case of a sheet of water where the image, seen by the reflected light, is not that of the water, but the sky. Hence any object, which obstructs the rays of light in their passage from the parts of the atmosphere beyond the reflecting surface to that surface, is returned to the eye in a darkened image as from water.—JAMES.

Towards evening the air became more clear, and our view of the mountains was more satisfactory, though as yet we could only distinguish their grand outline, imprinted in bold indentations upon the luminous margin of the sky. We soon remarked a particular part of the range divided into three conic summits, each apparently of nearly equal altitude. This we concluded to be the point designated by Pike as the highest peak. Its bearing was taken a short time before we halted for the evening, and found to be south, 73° west.[129] As we were about to encamp, some of the party went in pursuit of a herd of bisons, one of which they killed, and returned to camp a little before sunset.

[129] The party mistook this "highest peak" for Pike's Peak. This mountain, called by the French trappers _Les deux Oreilles_ (Two Ears), is the one now known as Long's Peak, being named for Major S. H. Long, the leader of our party. Frémont found in 1842 that this name had been adopted by the traders, and had become familiar in the country. The elevation of Long's Peak is 14,271 feet, exceeding that of Pike's Peak by one hundred and twenty-four feet.—ED.

July 1st. Although the temperature indicated by the thermometer for several days had been about 80°, in the middle of the day, the heat, owing to the cool breezes from the mountain, had been by no means oppressive. On the night of the 30th of June, the mercury fell to 55°, and on the following morning the air was chilly, and a strong breeze was felt before sunrise, from the south-east. We left our camp at a very early hour, and travelled over a tract differing in no respect but its greater barrenness from that passed on the preceding day. We halted to dine at the distance of sixteen and a half miles. Many acres of this plain had not vegetation enough to communicate {178} to the surface the least shade of green; a few dwarfish sunflowers and grasses, which had grown here in the early part of the summer, being now entirely withered and brown. In stagnant pools near the river, we saw the common arrow head, (sagittaria sagittifolia,) the alisma plantago, and the small lemna growing together, as in similar situations in the eastern states.

A striking feature of that part of the plain country, we were now passing, is formed by innumerable ant-heaps, rising from twelve to eighteen inches above the common level of the surface. They occur with some uniformity, at intervals of about twenty feet, and are all similar in size and dimensions. They consist so entirely of small grains of flesh-coloured felspar, that they have, all of them, an uniform reddish aspect, and it is not without careful examination, that any other kind of gravel can be detected in them. The entrance to the interior of each of these little mounds is uniformly on the eastward side, and very rarely occurs beyond the boundaries of N. E. and S. E. It is never at the top, nor on a level with the surface of the soil, but is a little elevated above it. It seems highly probable, that the active little architects thus place the entrance of their edifice on the eastward side, in order to escape the direct influence of the cold mountain winds.

At three o'clock, as we were about to resume our journey, there came on a gentle shower of rain, with wind at east, and low broken clouds. In the afternoon we passed some small ridges of sandstone crossing the river from north to south, but very inconsiderable in point of elevation and extent. We travelled this day twenty-seven miles, directly towards the base of the mountains, but they appeared almost as distant in the evening as they had done in the morning. The bearing of the high peak above mentioned, from our encampment, was south, 75° west.

{179} The ensuing day being Sabbath, was devoted to rest. About our camp, which was in the most fertile spot we could select, in a ride of several miles, there was but a very insufficient supply of grass for our horses. A species of cone flower, (rudbeckia columnaris, N.) was here beginning to expand. The showy R. purpurea, very common on the Missouri, and the lower part of the Platte, does not extend into the desolate regions. The common purslane (portulacca oleracea) is one of the most frequent plants about the base of the Rocky Mountains, particularly in places much frequented as licks by the bisons and other animals.

From this encampment, we had a plain but still distant view of the mountains. No inequality occurs in the surface of the subjacent country on the east of the mountains, so that our view was wholly unobstructed. They stretched from north to south like an immense wall, occupying all that portion of the horizon lying to the north-west, west, and south-west. We could now see the surface of the plain, extending almost unvaried to the base of the first ridge, which rises by an abrupt ascent above the commencement of the snow.

A set of observations for longitude was commenced in the morning, but the weather becoming cloudy, we were prevented from completing them. In the afternoon a storm came on from the north, which continued during the night. Much rain fell, accompanied with thunder and high but variable winds. Between twelve o'clock and sunset, the mercury in Fahrenheit's thermometer fell nineteen degrees, from 89° to 60°.

3d. Breakfast was despatched, and we had mounted our horses before five o'clock. We were enabled to have our breakfast thus early, as the sentinel on duty during the night, was directed to put the kettles over the fire at three o'clock, all the processes preparatory {180} to boiling having been finished on the preceding evening.

As we approached the mountains, wood became much more abundant along the Platte. We had often heard our guide, in speaking of the country, two or three days' journey from the mountains, mention the Grand Forest, and were a little surprised on arriving at it, to find no more than a narrow but uninterrupted stripe of timber, extending along the immediate banks of the river, never occupying the space of half a mile in width.

For several days the direction of our course in ascending the Platte, had inclined considerably to the south, varying from due west to south, 20° west.

In the course of the day, we passed the mouths of three large creeks, heading in the mountains, and entering the Platte from the north-west. One of these, nearly opposite to which we encamped, is called Potera's creek, from a Frenchman of that name, who is said to have been bewildered upon it, wandering about for twenty days, almost without food. He was then found by a band of Kiawas, who frequent this part of the country, and restored to his companions, a party of hunters, at that time encamped on the Arkansa.[130]

[130] At this point it becomes difficult to follow exactly the movements of the party, as the nomenclature of the region has in the interim changed almost entirely. Moreover, the itinerary is carelessly recorded and the map of the expedition is inaccurate. The journey of twenty-seven miles on July 1, reckoned from the camp of June 30, near the Bijeau, as shown on the map, brought the party nearly to the Cache la Poudre River, which flows from the northwest, reaching the South Platte below the bend where its course turns eastward. Cache la Poudre is shown but not named on the map, which, apparently erring, places the camp of July 1 and 2 above its mouth; for it is evidently the first of the large creeks passed on the third. At the bend is Thompson Creek, also unnamed on Long's map; and just above is St. Vrain Creek. Both of these flow from the west and the latter evidently corresponds to Potera's Creek of the text. The bend in the river, passed July 3, is the point of nearest approach to Long's Peak, still forty miles distant. Near the camp of that evening, at the mouth of St. Vrain's Creek, the important fur-trading firm of Bent and St. Vrain built St. Vrain's Fort about twenty years later. In favorable weather, Pike's Peak is visible from this point.—ED.

Throughout the day we were approaching the mountains obliquely, and from our encampment at evening, we supposed them to be about twenty miles distant. Clouds were hanging about all the higher parts of the mountains, which were sometimes observed to collect together, and descend in showers, circumscribed to a limited district. This state of the weather obstructed the clearness, but added greatly to the imposing grandeur of some of the views which the mountain presented.

4th. We had hoped to celebrate our great national festival on the Rocky Mountains; but the day had arrived, and they were still at a distance. Being extremely impatient of any unnecessary delay, which {181} prevented us from entering upon the examination of the mountains, we did not devote the day to rest, as had been our intention. We did not, however, forget to celebrate the anniversary of our national independence, according to our circumstances. An extra pint of maize was issued to each mess, and a small portion of whiskey distributed.

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.

These most singular plants are interesting on several accounts, particularly the regular expansion of their large and beautiful flowers towards the evening of several successive days. In the morning the long and slender petals, and the petal-like nectaries, which compose the flower, are found accurately closed upon each other, forming a cone of about an inch in length. In this situation they remain, if the weather be clear, until about sunset, when they gradually expand. If the weather be dark and cloudy, with a humid atmosphere, they are awakened from their slumbers at an earlier hour. We have, in some instances, seen them fully expanded early in the afternoon; but this has always been in stormy or cloudy weather. In this particular the Bartonia bears some resemblance to the great night-flowering cereus, to which it is closely allied; but the gaudy petals of the cereus, once unfolded, fall into a state of irretrievable collapse, whereas, the Bartonia closes and expands its flowers for many days in succession.[132]

[132] Other plants were collected about this encampment, among which we distinguished an interesting species of ranunculus, having a flower somewhat larger than that of R. fluviatilis with which it grows, often extending, however, to some distance about the margins of the pools in which it is principally found. R. _amphibius_; slender, floating or decumbent, leaves reniform, four or five lobed, divisions cuneate, oblong, margin crenate, petioles long and alternate. The submersed leaves are, in every respect, similar to the floating ones. Pentstemon _erianthera_, N., Poa _quinquefida_, Potentilla _anserina_, Scrophularia _lanceolata_, Myosotis _glomerata_, N.? &c. were also seen here.—JAMES.

A number of young magpies were seen in the bushes about the river; also the nests and young of the mockingbird, (turdus orpheus, Vieil.)

The prairie-dog villages we had observed to become more frequent and more extensive as we approached the mountains; and we had now constant opportunities of contrasting the stupendous elevations of the Andes with the humble mounds cast up by this interesting little animal. We observed in the {183} numerous burrows an appearance of greater antiquity than in those more remote from the mountains. Many of the mounds occupy an extent of several yards in diameter, though of but inconsiderable elevation, and with the exception of the present entrance, overgrown with a scanty herbage, which always marks the area of the prairie-dog villages. Indeed we have observed several large villages, with scarce a trace of vegetation about them. The food of the marmot consisting of grasses and herbaceous plants, it is not perhaps easy to assign a reason for the preference which, in selecting the site of his habitation, he always shows for the most barren places, unless it be that he may enjoy an unobstructed view of the surrounding country, in order to be seasonably warned of the approach of wolves, or other enemies.

Rattle-snakes of a particular species[133] are sometimes seen in these villages. They are found between the Mississippi and the Rocky Mountains, and appear to prefer an unproductive soil, where their sluggish gait may not be retarded by the opposing obstacles of grass and weeds. Whilst exploring Bowyer creek of the Missouri, in the spring of 1820, our party met with six or eight of them during one day's march on the prairie; and on our subsequent journey to the Rocky Mountains, we several times encountered equal, or even greater numbers, in the same space of time. This is the species of serpent which travellers have observed to frequent the villages of the prairie dogs, and to which they have attributed the unnatural habit of voluntary domiciliation with that interesting animal. It is true that the tergeminus, like many other serpents, will secure a refuge from danger in any hole of the earth, rock, or fallen tree that may present itself, regardless of the rightful occupant; but we witnessed no facts which could be received as a proof that it was an acceptable inmate of the dwelling of the arctomys.

[133] _Crotalus tergeminus_, S.—_Body_ dusky cinereous, a triple series of deep brown spots; beneath with a double series of black spots.

_Body_ pale cinereous brown, a triple series of fuscous spots, dorsal series consisting of about forty-two large, transversely oblong-oval spots, each widely emarginate before, and obsoletely edged with whitish lateral series, spots transversely oval, opposite to those of back; between the dorsal and lateral series is a series of obsolete, fuliginous spots, alternating those of the two other series; _head_ above with nine plates on the anterior part, on which are a band and about three spots, two undulated vittæ terminating and confluent with the first spot of the neck, a black vittæ passes through the eye, and terminates on the neck each side; _beneath_ white, a double irregular series of black spots, more confused towards the tail; _tail_ above, with five or six fuscous fasciæ, beneath white irrorate with black points, six terminal plates bifid.

Length 2 ft. 2⅛ in.
tail 2⅛ in.
Plates of body 151
of tail 19
Bifid plates at tip 6

Another specimen, much smaller, Pl. 152. subcaudal, 20. scales at tip 3.—JAMES.

{184} From the disparity in the number of plates and scales, and from the greater size of the vertebral spots in this species than in the C. miliaris, we have been induced to consider this as a distinct species. Specimens are in the Philadelphia museum.

On the 5th of July we left our camp at an early hour, and ascended the Platte about ten miles. Here the party encamped for the day;[134] and Mr. Peale and Dr. James, with two riflemen, went out for an excursion on foot, intending to ascend the Cannon-ball creek to the mountains, which appeared to be about five miles distant.

[134] The journey of July 4, and the ten miles travelled on the fifth, would carry the party thirty-five or forty miles up the river from the mouth of St. Vrain's Creek; this would, for their camp of the fifth, bring them near the site of Denver. Vermillion Creek, which was crossed early on the sixth, is evidently Cherry Creek, which flows through the present city.—ED.

This creek is rapid and clear, flowing over a bed paved with rounded masses of granite and gneiss. It is from a supposed resemblance of these masses to cannon balls that the creek has received its name from the French hunters. The channel is sunk from fifty to one hundred feet below the common level of the plain.

This plain consists of a bed of coarse pebbles, gravel, and sand; and its surface is thinly covered with prickly pears, and a scanty growth of starved and rigid grasses. Among these the hygrometric stipa, (s. juncea, s. barbata,) is extremely troublesome, its barbed and pointed seeds adhering and penetrating, like the quills of the porcupine, into every part of the dress with which they come in contact. The long and rigid awn is contorted or straight, in proportion to the humidity or dryness of the atmosphere; indicating the changes in this respect with the precision of the nicest hygrometer.

The detached party extended their walk about eight miles without finding that they had very considerably diminished the apparent distance to the base of the mountain. They had unluckily forgotten to make any provision for dinner, and now found themselves fatigued and hungry at the distance of eight miles from the encampment of the main body and so far from the mountains, that it was evidently {185} impossible they should reach them and return on the same day. It was therefore determined to relinquish the attempt, and Mr. Peale was fortunate enough to kill a couple of curlews, which were roasted and eaten without loss of time.

Near the place of this halt they observed some small sandstone ridges similar to those on the Platte below, and collected, among other plants, the species of currant (ribes aureum?) so often mentioned by Lewis and Clarke, the fruit of which formed an important article of the subsistence of their party while crossing the Rocky Mountains.[135]

[135] The ripened fruit of this widely-distributed shrub is variable in colour. In dry and exposed situations about the higher parts of the mountains, we have met with the berries of a deep purple, while in the low grounds, they are fulvous or nearly white. On the Cannon-ball creek we saw also the common virgin's bower. Clematis _virginica_, Ph. Lycopus _europeus_, Liatris _graminifolia_, Sium _latifolium_, Œnothera _diennis_, and other plants, common in the east, with the more rare Linum _Lewisii_, Ph. and Eriogonum _sericeum_, &c.—JAMES.

They also saw about the shelvings of the sandstone rocks, which formed for some distance the banks of the stream, innumerable nests of the cliff swallows, similar to those seen on the Missouri. In returning to the camp by a different route, they were much annoyed by the prickly pears, covering the ground so closely, that their feet were frequently wounded by the thorns, against which their mockasins presented but a very inadequate protection.

Having killed a young antelope, they recrossed the Platte, which was here about three feet deep, and clear, and rapid, and arrived at camp at sun-set.

Here a complete set of observations, for latitude, longitude, &c., had been taken. Major Long and Lieutenant Swift having preceded the party in the morning, and arrived before seven o'clock for that purpose. In the evening, observations were attempted, but without success, as the sky soon became cloudy.

Robins, which we had not seen since we left the Missouri, here occurred in considerable numbers.

On the following morning, soon after leaving the encampment, we crossed Vermilion creek, a considerable tributary from the south. Its upper branches interlock with those of a tributary of the Arkansa. In some part of its course, its valley is bounded by {186} precipitous cliffs of a red sand-rock, whence the name of the creek.

Our guide informed us that the Indians, a few years since, destroyed every individual of a large herd of bisons, by driving them over the brink of one of these precipices.

Opposite the mouth of Vermilion creek is a much larger stream, from the north-west, which is called medicine-lodge creek,[136] from an old Indian medicine lodge, which formerly stood near its mouth. A few miles further, on the same side, is Grand Camp creek, heading also in the mountains. About four years previous to the time of our visit, there had been a large encampment of Indians and hunters on this creek. On that occasion, three nations of Indians, namely, the Kiawas, Arrapahoes, and Kaskaias or Bad-hearts, had been assembled together, with forty-five French hunters in the employ of Mr. Choteau and Mr. Demun of St. Louis.[137] They had assembled for the purpose of holding a trading council with a band of Shiennes. These last had been recently supplied with goods by the British traders on the Missouri, and had come to exchange them with the former for horses. The Kiawas, Arrapahoes, &c. who wander in the fertile plains of the Arkansa and Red river, have always great numbers of horses, which they rear with much less difficulty than the Shiennes, whose country is cold and barren.

[136] Medicine Lodge Creek, Cannon Ball Creek, mentioned above, and Grand Camp and Grape creeks, referred to a few lines below, cannot be certainly identified. Streams most nearly answering the descriptions given are now called Clear, Bear, and Deer creeks.—ED.

[137] A. P. Chouteau and Julius De Munn formed a partnership in 1815, for trading on the upper Platte and Arkansas. De Munn soon after went to Santa Fé, where he sought permission to trap within Spanish territory; but the negotiations, which at first promised to be successful, took an unfavorable turn, with the result that both partners were arrested in 1817, and after a short confinement deprived of their goods and ejected from the Spanish dominions. The Santa Fé route was not fully open to trade until after the downfall of Spanish power in 1821.—ED.

The British traders annually supply the Minnetarees or Gros-ventres of the Missouri with goods; from these they pass to the Shiennes and Crow Indians, who, in their turn, barter them with remoter tribes: in this manner the Indians who wander near the mountains receive their supplies of goods, and they give a decided and well founded preference to those which reach them by this circuitous channel, to those which they receive from any other source.

Two miles beyond Grand Camp creek, is the mouth of Grape creek, and a little above, on the {187} opposite side, that of Defile creek,[138] a tributary to the Platte, from the south, which has its course in a narrow defile, lying along the base of the mountains.

[138] Defile Creek is the modern Plum Creek, which flows north through Douglas County.—ED.

At eleven o'clock we arrived at the boundary of that vast plain, across which we had held our weary march for a distance of near one thousand miles, and encamped at the base of the mountain. The woodless plain is terminated by a range of naked and almost perpendicular rocks, visible at a distance of several miles, and resembling a vast wall, parallel to the base of the mountain. These rocks are sandstone similar in composition and character to that on the Cannon-ball creek. They emerge at a great angle of inclination from beneath the alluvial of the plain, and rise abruptly to an elevation of one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet. Passing within this first range, we found a narrow valley separating it from a second ridge of sandstone, of nearly equal elevation, and apparently resting against the base of a high primitive hill beyond. At the foot of the first range, the party encamped at noon, and were soon scattered in various directions, being eager to commence the examination of that interesting region.

Our camp was immediately in front of the chasm, through which the Platte issues from the mountains. A little to the south is a commanding eminence, from which the view of the chasm was taken.[139]

[139] See p. 283.—ED.

{188} CHAPTER IX {VII}

Sandstone Formation at the Base of the Rocky Mountains—The
Platte within the Mountains—Granitic Mountains Between the
Platte and Arkansa—Castle Rock—Birds—Plants.

THE district occupied by the inclined sandstone, at the base of the mountains, we found much wider, and the rocky summits incomparably more elevated, than from a remote view we had supposed.

July 6. This extensive range, rising abruptly from the plain, skirts the base of the mountains like an immense rampart, and to a spectator placed near it, intercepts the view of the still more grand and imposing features of the granitic ridge beyond. It is made up of rocks composed of the broken down and comminuted fragments of preexisting aggregates embosoming reliquæ of the animals of a former world, known to us only by the monuments which these remains exhibit. Though rugged and precipitous, its elevation is small, when compared to that of the stupendous Andes, which rise above it far into the regions of perpetual winter. The stratifications with which it is distinctly seamed, penetrate the mass with various degrees of obliquity, sometimes running perpendicularly to the horizon; seeming unequivocally to prove, that the whole has receded from its original position, and that these immense rocky masses have, by the operation of some powerful agent, been broken off from their original continuity with the strata now found in a horizontal position in the plains.

It is difficult, when contemplating the present appearance and situation of these rocks, to prevent the {189} imagination from wandering back to that remote period, when the billows of an ocean lashed the base of the Andes, depositing, during a succession of ages, that vast accumulation of rounded fragments of rocks, alternating with beds of animal remains, which now extends without interruption from the base of this range to the summits of the Alleghany mountains; and endeavouring to form some idea of that great subsequent catastrophe, by which this secondary formation has so changed its elevation, in relation to the primitive, that its margin has been broken off and thrown into an inclined or vertical position.

The valley which intervenes between this huge parapet of sand-rock and the first range of the primitive is nearly a mile in width; it is ornamented with numerous insulated columnar rocks, sometimes of a snowy whiteness, standing like pyramids and obelisks, interspersed among mounds and hillocks, which seem to have resulted from the disintegration of similar masses. This range of sandstone would appear to have been originally of uniform elevation and uninterrupted continuity, running along the base of the mountains from north to south; but it has been cut through by the bed of the Platte, and all the larger streams in their descent to the plains.

From our camp, we had expected to be able to ascend the most distant summits then in sight, and return the same evening; but night overtook us, and we found ourselves scarcely arrived at the base of the mountain.[140] The lower part of the sandstone stratum, being exposed at the western declivities of the hills, and in the parts nearest the granite, contains extensive beds of coarse conglomeratic, or pudding-stone, often of a reddish colour. The more compact parts of the rock contain the remains of terebratulæ, and other submarine animals. Among these, few are entire or in good preservation. We observed here several singular scorpion-like, spider-formed {190} animals, inhabiting under stones and dried bisons' dung. They have a formidable appearance, and run actively. They belong to the class arachnoides, genus galeodes, which has been heretofore observed only in warm climates; not one was known to inhabit this continent.[141]

[140] The deceptiveness of Colorado distances, owing to the rarefied atmosphere, is one of the commonest observations of tourists. Pike, in 1806, thought it would be possible to ascend the peak which now bears his name, and return to camp in the course of one day. From Colorado Springs it is apparently only a short walk to the summit; but the air-line distance is twelve miles, and that which must actually be travelled is two and a half times as great.—ED.

[141] Genus _Galeodes_, OLIV.—1. G. _pallipes_, SAY.—Hairy, mandibles horizontal, fingers regularly arquated, abdomen sub-depressed livid.

_Body_ pale yellowish-brown, hairy; _feet_ paler, whitish, first pair smallest, fourth pair largest and longest; _abdomen_ livid, hairy, sub-depressed; _palpi_ more robust than the three anterior pairs of feet, of subequal diameter, but rather thicker towards the tip; more hairy than the feet; _eyes_ and _tubercle_ blackish; _mandibles_ dilated, with numerous rigid setæ, and with parallel setæ projected over the fingers; _fingers_ regularly arquated, reddish-brown at tip, and with a reddish-brown line above and beneath, within armed with many robust teeth; thorax with a deep sinus at the anterior angles.

2. G. _subulata_, SAY.—Hairy; _mandibles_ horizontal; _thumb_ nearly rectilinear, destitute of teeth. This species has the strongest resemblance to the preceding, both in form, magnitude, and colouring; but the superior finger of the mandibles is unarmed, and rectilinear or very slightly flexuous; the inferior finger is arquated, with about two robust teeth.—JAMES.

About the sandstone ledges we collected a geranium[142] intermediate between the crane's-bill and herb-robert, the beautiful calochortus (C. elegans, Ph.) and a few other valuable plants.

[142] G. _intermedium_, I.—Cespitose, sub-erect, pubescent, sparingly branched above. Radical leaves reniform deeply 5/7 cleft. The flower is a little larger than that of G. _robertianum_, and similarly coloured, having whitish lines towards the base of the corolla. We also saw here the Campanula _decipiens_, _Tens_. Lysimachia _ciliata_, Ph. Troximon _glaucum_, N., with two or three belonging to Geneva, with which we were unacquainted.—JAMES.

The Platte, at the foot of the mountains, is twenty-five yards wide, having an average depth of about three feet, its water clear and cool, and its current rapid. Its descent for twenty miles below cannot be less than ten feet per mile. Its valley is narrow and serpentine, bounded by steep and elevated hills, embosoming innumerable little lawns, often of a semicircular form, ornamented by the narrow margin of shrubbery along the Platte.

The narrow valley between the ridges of sandstone is a little more fertile than the plains along the river. It is covered with fine and short grasses, and is varied with here and there a copse of small oaks or hazels. There are also some columnar masses of white sandstone, twenty or thirty feet high, standing remote from each other, having the _débris_ around their bases covered with shrubby oaks. As we were passing near one of these, an uncommonly large and beautiful buck deer sprung out from the bushes, and stood gazing on us, until he received in his side the ball, which brought him instantly to the earth.

We observed here the obscure wren,[143] a bird more closely related to the great Carolina wren of Wilson than any other we have seen; but the characters drawn from the primaries, and from the marking of the tail, sufficiently distinguish it from that species. The bill is somewhat longer, and the general tint of the plumage of a much more sombre hue. It frequents the arid country in this vicinity, {191} and is often seen hopping about upon the branches, and singular compressed semi-procumbent trunks of the juniperus depressa. The bill of this species approaches the form which characterizes the genus certhia, in which Wilson has placed its kindred species, the Carolina wren.

[143] Genus _Troglodytes_. CUV.—T. _obsoleta_, _Say_.—Above dusky-brownish, slightly undulated with pale, tinted with dull ferruginous on the top of the head, and superior portion of the back; _sides of the head_ dull whitish, with a broad brown line passing through the eye to the origin of the neck; _primaries_ plain, being entirely destitute of undulations or spots; _tail coverts_ pale, each with four or five fuscous bands; _chin_, _neck beneath_, and _breast_ whitish, each feather marked by a longitudinal line of light brown; _belly_ white; _flanks_ a little tinged with ferruginous; _inferior tail coverts_ white, each feather bifasciate with black-brown; _tail_ simple, broadly tipped with ferruginous-yellow, and with black before the tip, the remaining portion colour of wings, and obsoletely banded; these bands are more distinct on the two middle feathers, which are destitute of the black and yellowish termination; exterior plume marked by four yellowish white spots on the exterior web, and by two larger ones on the inner web; the tip is dusky, length six inches; bill, from the corner of the mouth, rather more than one inch.—JAMES.

On the morning of the 7th of July, the party remaining in the encampment of the preceding day, Dr. James and Mr. Peale, accompanied by two riflemen, were sent out to examine the mountains. These appeared most accessible on the north side of the river, opposite our encampment. The river was here about four feet deep, and the strength of the current such as to render it impossible for a man to keep his feet in the deepest part of the stream. As some of the party destined for the mountains could not swim, it was thought hazardous for them to attempt to cross the river by fording. To obviate this difficulty, two men were sent with a long rope, which they were directed to stretch across the river, making the ends fast on either shore. This was readily accomplished, one of the men swimming across with an end of the rope in his teeth. By the aid of this, the detachment were enabled to keep their feet in crossing, though with extreme difficulty, as the bed of the river was uneven and rocky. They all, however, arrived in safety on the left-hand bank by about sunrise.

After passing the region of inclined sandstone, which is about two miles in width, they began to rise upon what may be considered the base of the mountain. As the day advanced, the heat became oppressive, and they found themselves somewhat exhausted before they had crossed the sandstone hills, which appeared so inconsiderable from our encampment, that the labour of crossing them had been almost forgotten in estimating the toils of the day. The first range of primitive rocks they found far more abrupt and rugged than what they had already passed. Its sides are destitute of vegetation, except a few prickly {192} pears and yuccas, with here and there a stinted oak or juniper, and so steep that great exertion as well as the utmost caution, are necessary in ascending.

The rock is an aggregate of felspar and hornblende, approaching in character some of the common varieties of sienite. On the eastern side, where the felspar is in the greatest proportion, it is flesh-coloured, and its structure crystalline; the fractured surface of the mass being uneven like that of coarse granite. Advancing towards the west, hornblende was found to become more and more predominant, and so arranged as to have in the mass a laminated appearance. The natural fissures or cleavages between the lamina run nearly in a perpendicular direction, giving the rock the columnar structure of trap or greenstone.

As the detachment proceeded, a few interesting insects and plants occurred to reward their labours. But these impenetrable and naked rocks, are the abodes of few living beings, either animal or vegetable. In the crevices of the rocks where a scanty soil has accumulated, is here and there planted a hardy evergreen, whose short and gnarled trunk, recurved and inflexible branches, proclaim the storms it has withstood, and the centuries during which it has vegetated.

The design of the party had been to cross the first range of the mountains and gain the valley of the Platte beyond, but this they found themselves unable to accomplish. After climbing successively to the summit of several ridges which they had supposed to be the top of the mountain, they still found others beyond higher and more rugged. They therefore relinquished the intention of crossing, and began to look for the best way to descend to the bed of the river, which lay on their left hand. Here they halted to rest for a few moments, and exposed a thermometer in the shade of a large rock. The mercury fell to 72°; in camp, at the same hour it stood at {193} 86°. They were so much elevated above the river, that although they could see it plainly, it appeared like a small brook of two or three yards in width, and though white with foam and spray, caused by the impetuosity of its current, and the roughness of its channel, its "idle chiding could not be heard so high." They could distinguish two principal branches of the Platte—one coming from the north-west, the other from the south; a little below the confluence of these branches, the river turns abruptly to the S. E., bursting through a chasm in a vast mural precipice of naked columnar rocks.[144]

[144] The North Fork of the South Platte encloses South Park on the north, flowing from west to east; while the other branch, which retains the name South Platte, encircles South Park on the south and east. The Denver, Leadville, and Gunnison Railroad now enters the mountain district through Platte Cañon. It is probable that Pike entered South Park in 1806 (see volume xvi, note 14); but Long's failure to penetrate the mountains at this point left the famous park unknown, save to wandering hunters, until Frémont's time, more than twenty years later.—ED.

About noon the detachment commenced their descent, which cost them no less exertion than their ascent in the morning. Their fatigue was aggravated by thirst, as they met with no water, nor any shade excepting that of projecting rocks in the higher parts of the mountain.