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June 24 we drove across the sand hills to Dismal River, 15 miles 
south of Thedford, in our two-horse spring wagon, our outfit consisting 
of asmall A tent, 7 by 7 feet, two collecting cases, six presses with driers 
and specimen sheets, and the necessary bedding, clothing, provisions, 
and cooking utensils. The presses, which were found well adapted to 
our field work, were made of heavy wire netting supported by a stout 
frame of hard wood, with two crossbars. The parts are drawn together 
by means of strings, somewhat as in the Acme press of the trade. 
These presses have the advantage over board presses that they give 
free access of air to the driers and thus materially facilitate the dry- 
ing, while at the same time the pressure may be regulated at pleasure. 
Our first camp was pitched on the top of the sand hills, about half a 
mile from the river, a few miles below the point at which we first 
reached it. We remained here till the 30th of June, when we moved 
10 or 12 miles up the stream to a place known as Plummer Ford. Here 
we stayed till July 10, enjoying the best collecting found anywhere 
during the summer. As there were no settlers in the neighborhood we 
were obliged to visit Thedford onee a week to replenish our food 
supply, which incidentally afforded a good opportunity to study the 
sand hills. 
July 10 we moved our camp to a place near the “forks” of the 
Dismal River, collecting there until July 15. Then we crossed the 
sand hills at a third point, and returning to the Middle Loup Valley, 
pitched our camp near the river, 14 miles north of Mullen, the county 
seat of Hooker County. 
On the 25th we again broke camp, and as there was no road along 
the river we drove to Mullen, and thence followed the dry valley 
through which the Burlington and Missouri River Railroad passes to 
Hecla, a flag station about 8 miles west of Mullen. Here we turned 
northward and struck the south branch, or as it is called here, “south 
prong,” of the Middle Loup, a few miles above the junction, and a 
mile or two over the Cherry County line. 
July 28 we broke camp again and followed up the south prong. The 
river, Which was here only a small brook, soon disappeared from the 
surface, and was succeeded by a sand draw running through a valley, 
the grass of which became better and better as we proceeded. At the 
head of this draw we found a valley having in its eastern end a lake, 
at this time of the year only a small pool filled with Batrachium divari- 
catum. Here we pitched our camp near Mr, Taylor’s ranch, about 3 
miles northeast of Whitman. 
In this locality we collected until August 2, when we drove south, 
passing through Whitman, Along the road there were no settlers and 
no springs, but 15 miles south of Whitman, near a windmill erected for 
the purpose of watering cattle, we found a suitable camping place. Dutr- 
ing this and the following nights a heavy dew fell, a phenomenon not 
observed again during the summer. The thermometer was only 57° F, 
at 9 o’clock the next morning. 
