they were lost in the prairie. But behind them 
reddish cliffs arose, steeper and more imposing than 
we had yet seen. The sand formation prevails in them 
also. Several such rows of cliffs are crowded togeth- 
er en echelon, with a grassy embankment in front of 
each, flattening down at the end of the chain. Each 
chain consists of more or less broken down (weather 
worn) rocks, often presenting the strangest of shapes. 
So the first cliff in the first chain, perhaps eight miles 
from the river, presented quite the appearance of an 
old castle or citadel. More remarkable still is the 
last cliff of the same chain. Its tower-like top is seen 
from a distance of thirty or forty miles, for which 
reason it has been called the chimney. It is only a 
mile from the river. The cone-shaped base consti- 
tutes about three-fourths of its height, the pyramidal 
top one-quarter of it. The foundation is limestone; 
above it is crumbling sandstone. The height of the 
whole is given as 525 feet; that of the top part as 125 
feet. 
Heavy down-pourings of rain often interrupted 
our journey. Almost daily we had thunderstorms, 
for which the Platte is notorious. One time we had 
to stay in camp almost all day on account of the rain; 
but by way of compensation we found a quantity of 
pine wood and cedar wood, washed down from the 
rocks on which it grows sparsely; and beside the 
blazing fire we laughed at the weather and forgot all 
discomfort. The next day the sky cleared. We 
traveled somewhat away from the river, toward the 
Journey up 
the North 
Fork—The 
Prairie Dog 
—Fort 
Laramie 
