28 Ex. Doc. No. 41. 



crossed over to an island, where there was plenty of fine timber. 

 %Ve also found here se^'eral Indian wigwams, which had been made 

 of brush and covered with grass ihat l^ad been cut in the summer. 

 This grass was just what we could have wished for our mules, and 

 there was enough of.it to have sufficed them for a week. In the 

 evening we saw a fine '^ bald-headed eagle.'' It lit upon a neigh- 

 boring island, which could not be approached without wading 

 through an open space in the river, or else I should have sacrificed 

 its lite to obtain its skin. 



Januaiy 25. — Some of our mules got off of the islnnd durinf; the 

 night, but we caught them again without much difficulty. Soon 

 after starling we met an Indian travelling along the road on foot. 

 I asked him if he was a Chyennej he answered with a nod, and 

 "Went on. 



At two o'clock, after a hard drive of 16 miles through snow, we 

 encamped under the shelter of some cotton wood trees which grew 

 near a dry creek. 



Our present location had been lately occupied by Indians. On 

 every side were to be seen circular spaces, which had been covered 

 "by their lodges, and the pieces of bark that they had placed under 

 their beds. • • 



One Indian came to our camp. As he said, the village was near, 

 1 sent one of my men to it, who purchased some winter mocasins. 

 These are made of buffalo robe, with the hair side in; by invelop- 

 ing the feet with slips ot blanket, and putting on these moccasins, 

 "We were able to keep comfortably warm. 



January 26. — We had a bad start this morning. In passing 

 through a deep snow-drift, one of our mules, not being able to ex- 

 tricate its ft-tt, was- thrown across'the tongue of the wagon. . There 

 •was a hard crust on the snow, which, breaking through btneath the 

 -wheels of our wagons, impeded us very much. The air was ex- 

 ceedingly cold, and the wagon wheels made a noise in the frosty 

 sijO-;\^ like the screan.ing of a large flock of blackbirds. Our 

 muks had a terrible time of it; where the crust on the snow bore 

 them up, their feet were slipping about and wrenching their limbs 

 violently, and when it broke through, they were plunging up to 

 their knees, and scraping their legs against the sharp crust. They 

 -were soon smoking with sweat, and puffing and blowing with the 

 Tiolence o£ their exertions; every little while we were obliged to 

 stop. But our difficulties decreased somewhat towards the°latter 

 part of the day, and we succeeded in making a march of fourteen 

 inile!=, when we found a good camping place, with plenty of wood, 

 and on the islands m the Arkansas, as there was good grass for our 

 animals. 



January 27.~As the day was very cold, and the deep snow gave 

 a great dea of trouble, we were not able to accomplish more 

 than ntnc miles of our journey. We encamped near the spot 

 where one Q. P. Gibs- n had been buried. A piece of board, bear- 

 ing the name of the deceased, and dated January 1, 1847 points oat 

 to the traveller the resting place of this poor man, whose death 



»dds one more to the many which have occurred upon the prairie* 



tw 



