—7]/— 
Platte, and some days back had crossed a brook 
where water tasted quite like Epsom salts. But here w. 
it was very marked. We passed along several salt 
lakes in the prairie, all along whose shores there lay 
crystallized Epsom salt. At noon we camped on the 
river for the last time. A herd of buffalo were graz- 
ing comfortably on the opposite shore, and were not 
disturbed by our arrival, for the wind was favorable 
tous. The river twists here in a southwesterly direc- 
tion toward the Platte Mountains, from which it 
issues. Where it issues from the mountains some 
reddish rocks arise, called the red buttes or hills. 
Here we left the river, to go more northwesterly to- 
ward the Sweet Waters. Moving over monotonous 
sand hills, we reached at evening a little brook, 
whose sandy bed had absorbed all the water; but by 
digging some feet we collected clear water in ade- 
quate quantity. During the day we had had thun- 
der storms; at night there came a cold rain mingled 
with snow; the next morning it was unpleasantly 
cold. The country continued hilly, sandy, poor as to 
grass, but so much the richer in sage bush. Buffalo 
became more and more common. In the sandy soil 
of this region I found a new strange animal, the 
so-called horn-frog (Phrynosoma cornuta). It is a 
kind of lizard with thick head and body and short 
tail. It is of grayish color. Its whole length 
amounts to three or four inches. The whole back 
Journey 
along the 
River 
Mountains 
