ACROSS THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, ETC. 41 



tation on the broad prairie, or a ramble over the dreary moun- 

 tains where his lot has so long been cast. 



I5th. — We saw to-day several large white wolves, and two 

 herds of antelopes. The latter is one of the most beautiful 

 animals I ever saw. When full grown, it is nearly as large as 

 a deer. The horns are rather short, with a single prong near 

 the top, and anabiupt backward curve at the summit like a hook. 

 The ears are very delicate, almost as thin as paper, and hooked 

 at the tip like the horns. The legs are remarkably light and 

 beautifully formed, and as it bounds over the plain, it seems 

 scarcely to touch the ground, so exceedingly light and agile are 

 its motions. This animal is the Antelope furcifer of zoologists, 

 and inhabits the western prairies of North America exclusively. 

 The ground here is strewn with great quantities of buffalo 

 bones; the skulls of many of them in great perfection. I 

 often thought of my friend Doctor M. and his golgotha, while 

 we were kicking these fine specimens about the ground. We 

 are now travelling along the banks of the Blue river, — a small 

 fork of the Kanzas. The grass is very luxuriant and good, and 

 we have excellent and beautiful camps every night. 



This morning a man was sent ahead to see W. Sublette's 

 camp, and bear a message to him, who returned in the evening 

 with the information that the company is only one day's journey 

 beyond, and consists of about thirty-five men. We see his 

 deserted camps every day, and, in some cases, the fires are not 

 yet extinguished. It is sometimes amusing to see the wolves 

 lurking like guilty things around these camps, seeking for the 

 fragments that may be left ; as our party approaches, they sneak 

 away with a mean, hang-dog air, which often coaxes a whistling 

 bullet out of the rifle of the wayfarer. 



6 



