CHAPTIEKs #2L£GH LY 
JOURNEY UP THE NORTH FORK— 
THE PRAIRIE DOG— 
FORT LARAMIE 
HE left bank of the southern Platte, 
which we are now ascending, is very 
sandy; the vegetation is scant. The 
bluffs close at hand are also of sand- 
stone. A tower-like column of pure 
a river sand rises in noticeable promi- 
nence. For some days we went up the river. We 
observed very many bitter herbs, especially worm- 
wood; also Pomme Blanche (Psoralea esculenta), 
whose knobby root contains much starch, has a pleas- 
ant taste, and is gathered by the Indians. Long gar- 
lands of blooming wild roses frequently extended 
along the river. We saw no buffalo, but our hunters 
shot on the bluffs several antelope, so that we suffered 
no want. On the third day (June 6th) we left the 
river, going across a plateau in a northwesterly direc- 
tion toward the North Fork. On this plateau we 
saw for the first time wild horses. They were very 
