128 NOTES TAKEN. 
- sumptuous repast off the ribs of the antelope, cooked by the 
inimitable John Hunter, the Shawnee, the very pink of per- 
fection in the art of Indian cookery. 
July 20th.—Our Indian scouts having reported the country 
beyond our camp, in the direction we were traveling, inac- 
cessible to our heavy train, the Captain determined to rest 
during the day, whilst preparations were made to explore 
further with a small party mounted and accompanied by pack 
mules. 
We now found how judicious was the filling of our water- 
barrels. The water in the river was undrinkable by man, 
being salt and bitter. Our animals drank it, but with no 
good results, only as a necessity. It gave them cramps, 
made them restless and emaciated, and in the end would 
have proved fatal. 
We had plenty of water in our barrels and were quite 
comfortable, though the day was oppressively hot; thermo- 
meter over one hundred in the shade; but thanks to the 
delicious breeze of the plains, we suffered but little. This is 
a striking and very agreeable feature in a prairie tour; the © 
morning opens close and sultry until about nine o'clock, when 
a breeze springs up, which, not altering the height of the 
thermometer, renders a grade of one hundred in the shade, 
or higher, not only tolerable but pleasant. This continues 
throughout the day, and the nights are cool enough for a 
blanket. 
