184 * The Ottawa Naturalist. [November 



are as distinct as if only made a few months ag-o. All the buffalo 

 trails crossing- the plains lead to water, and are narrow, showing- 

 that when they travelled they always went in single file or as it is 

 called, in Indian file. Occasionally when the river widens out 

 considerably the water is very shallow, passing over beds of quick- 

 sand and ooze, in which our boats frequently stuck, causing: 

 trouble to get them out before the drifting sand accumulated 

 around and imbedded them. An incident which occurred to the 

 writer a little later in our journey, may be mentioned here. In 

 one of the great coulees of these Bad Lands I found it necessary 

 to cross the bed ot a small brook which leads from the table-land 

 but which, like most small creeks at this season of the year, was 

 dry, with a bottom apparently of hard sandy clay, on which I 

 stepped, reaching about the middle of the brook, when to my sur- 

 prise my leg sank up to my knee ; placing- my other foot down 

 that also sank, and before I could throw myself forward I had 

 sunk up to the bottom of my waistcoat. Fortunately, however, 

 I managed to grab a sage-bush on the margin of the brook and 

 with difficulty pull myself out of the cold slimy sandy ooze. One 

 of my men after sounding the depth with a ten-foot pole remarked : 

 " If you had not grabbed tnat bush only your hat would have 

 been left, but we should have known where you had gone." 



Islands. 



We passed many small islands, all more or less wooded and 

 covered with rich verdure of grasses and shrubs. Towards sun- 

 set as our boats glide past some of these green spots, often sur- 

 rounded by clear rippling water, we hear the cooing of the dove 

 and the songs of numerous small birds, and forget the troubles 

 and anxieties we have had in bringing our boats through the 

 shallow waters and quicksands. 



" Bad Lands." 



For the past two or three days we have been passing through 

 the " Bad Lands" of this locality. The river averages about 900 

 feet wide with valleys 500 to 700 feet deep. On both sides are 

 high buttes and long stretches of steep banks composed of sands, 

 clays and sandstones. Wild sage, cactus and a few grasses appear 

 to be all the vegetation these lands will support. These desert 



I 



