60 THE CHIMNEY. 



cept his present, and go to our lodges, and there tell to our children how- 

 kind the Long-knife is to the red man." 



The speech was received in silence, — no one expressing either approba- 

 tion or dissent, as the old man resumed his seat. The Brave Bear hung 

 his head sullenly, but said nothing. 



The talk had evidently come to a close. At last. Bull Tail arose, and, 

 shaking hands with the commandant and each of the company, took the 

 tobacco and left for the village. The others soon after, one by one, follow- 

 ed his example, and we were finally rid of 'their unwelcome presence ; — 

 not, however, until they had stolen an axe and several other articles, de- 

 spite the strictness of our vigilance. 



CHAPTER VII. 



The Chimney. — A bet. — Spur of the Rocky Mountains. — Scott's Bluff. — Romantic 

 scenery. — Mimic city. — A pyramid. — A monument. — An elevated garden. — 3Ioun- 

 tain sheep. — A.n Eden. — Death in camp. — The wanderer's grave. — Horse Creek 

 and gold. — Goche's hole. — Arrival at Fort Platte. — Remarks by the way. — 

 Prairie travel. — Locality and description of the Fort. — Indian lodges. — Migratory 

 habits of mountain and prairie tribes. — Scenes at Fort. — Drunken Indians.— Tra- 

 gical event. — Indian funeral.— Speech of Etespa-huska on the death of his 

 father. 



Oct. 26lh. Raising camp at daylight we resumed our way, and soon 

 afterwards arrived opposite the " Chimney," an extraordinary natural curi- 

 osity that had continued in view and excited our admiration for some four 

 days past. 



This singular formation surmounts a conical eminence which rises, isola- 

 ted and lonely, in the open prairie, reaching a height of three hundred feet. 

 It is composed of terrene limestone and marl, quadrangularly shaped, like 

 the spire of some church, six feet by ten at its base, with an altitude of 

 more than two hundred feet, — making, together with the mound, an eleva- 

 tion of five hundred feet.* A grand and imposing spectacle, truly ; — a 

 wonderful display of the eccentricity of Nature ! 



How came such an immense pile so singularly situated ? What causes 

 inited their aid to throw up this lone column, so majestic in its solitude, to 

 overlook the vast and unbroken plains that surround it ? 



The " Chimney " is situated about three miles to the left of the moun- 

 tain trail, though it seems no more than eight hundred yards distant. Upon 

 this question our party entertained no small diversity of opinion. Some 

 of the less knowing were confident it could not exceed a half mile; and 

 one fellow offered to bet five dollars he could run to it in fifteen minutes. 



* Formerly the " Chimney " was much higher than at present, and could be dis- 

 Unctly seen in a clear day as far as Ash creek. The wind and the rain are continu- 

 ally reducing it; and it is said to be full fifty feet less than it was nine years ago. 

 Calculating from this datum, what must have been its altitude no longer remote than a 

 couole of centuries ! 



