Rivers and there, under very much pleasanter conditions, we made our 

 permanent camp and remained there, until we started homeward. Our 

 water we drew from Ash, or Harney, Spring; the latter name given 

 in commemoration of the burning of General Harney's wagons, when 

 the Sioux surprised his train at that spot. Several rusty wagon tires 

 were still lying about, when we camped there. The water of the spring, 

 though cold, had an unpleasant taste of rotting vegetation and, to guard 

 against malaria, we all dosed ourselves with quinine, for belief that 

 the infection of malaria was transmitted by drinking water was preva- 

 lent then and for ten years later. 



Needing some supplies, I took the escort wagon and mules and drove 

 back to the agency and, as the distance was fifty miles or more, it was 

 necessary to make one camp on the way. While we were sitting around 

 the campfire, an Indian appeared and, after we had given him some 

 supper, he handed me his papers, as was then the universal custom 

 of his people. The papers showed that the bearer had been a regularly 

 enlisted scout of the 7th Cavalry and had been honourably discharged. 

 He knew a little English and I made him understand that the 7th was 

 the regiment of my brother. Lieutenant Scott. The Indians called him 

 "Captain Metal Eyes," because of his spectacles, which were much less 

 common in the army then than they are now. When this Sioux war- 

 rior learned who I was, he showed great excitement and fairly ran 

 through the fire to embrace me. This was the first of many occasions, 

 when I learned how great were the reputation and influence of my 

 brother among the Indians. 



The expedition was very successful in collecting fossils, obtaining an 

 excellent representative series of the White River fauna, though there 

 was but little in it that was new to science. One discovery, however, 

 of capital importance we did make, the finding of the first five-toed 

 Artiodactyl that had ever been seen. The Artiodactyla, I should, perhaps, 

 explain, are the group of hoofed animals which includes the rumi- 

 nants, camels, pigs, etc., and our discovery was so unexpected, that for 

 some time I did not venture to publish it, fearing that our specimen 

 was abnormal, like a six-toed cat. The finding of other individuals con- 

 firmed our discovery, which overthrew the theory of Kowalevsky, the 

 great Russian palaeontologist, concerning the evolution of the hoofed 

 animals. On the other hand, our collections were of great value to 

 the Museum which had before had nothing representing that period 

 of geological time. We boxed our fossils at the Agency and shipped 



C 156 ] 



