59 



though riding a mule, found it difficult to keep up in this way with 

 the wagons, which slowly wound their way through and over the 

 sand hills. Our camps at night were here always on the main river. 

 After passing the Rapid creek the sand hills gave us no longer any 

 trouble, (except for about twenty miles on the point between the 

 Niobrara and Keya Paha,) but the ravines and precipices still pre- 

 vented the wagons from travelling within from five to eight miles of 

 the Niobrara, and here Mr. Engel continued the sketch as before. 

 Dr. Hayden also travelled along the immediate banks of the river, 

 examining the character of the rocks and collecting fossils. 



On reaching the mouth of the Keya Paha, the main party, with the 

 wagons, proceeded direct to Fort Randall, and a separate party, under 

 Mr. Engel, travelled down the Niobrara to its mouth, completing the 

 examination of that stream. It was my intention for Dr. Hayden to 

 accompany him, but on arriving at the place of separation we found 

 the same geological ibrmation and characteristics as we knew to exist 

 at the mouth ; and as the intervening distance was only sixty miles, 

 he did not deem it necessa-y to go over it. 



Fort Randall was reached on the 1st of November, and the escort 

 was returned to the regiment. We were most hospitably received by 

 Major Day, commanding the post, and the other officers of the 2d 

 infantry, and I take this occasion to acknowledge my indebtedness to 

 this regiment for the aid and protection they have afforded me in all 

 my explorations. 



Two sets of observations for moon culminations were obtained here, 

 but cloudy weather prevented more. The longitude, as calculated 

 from them, is 98° 34', with a probable limit of error of about 8'. 



The party set out from Fort Randall on the 7th of November, and 

 surveyed the route to Sioux City, which was reached on the 16th. 

 The season being far advanced, no steamboat was expected, and the 

 river was full of floating ice. The weather, as we travelled on 

 towards Fort Leavenworth, became very severe, and the river became 

 frozen over as far down as St. Joseph's. During this time we made 

 rapid progress, but a mild spell of weather coming on made the road 

 so heavy that with the greatest exertion we hardly accomplished ten 

 miles a day. During this time the health of the party suffered severely 

 from influenza. We reached Fort Leavenworth on the 4th of December, 

 and were fortunate enough to meet there with a steamboat, by which 

 we proceeded to St. Louis, and thence by railroad to Washington. 



CHAPTER IT. 



Physical geography of Nebraska ; character cf the soil and resources 



of the country. 



Though my personal examinations have nowhere extended west of 

 the 106th meridian, there are certain points west of it to which I would 

 direct attention. The positions of the Missouri and Yellowstone west 



