174 NOTES TAKEN. 
Rock Creek, where the natural advantages formed for us by 
far the most inviting and pleasant resting place to recover 
from our fatigue and toil that we had had during our whole 
trip. : ‘ 
A grove of stately and gigantic elms lined the bank of the 
stream for a quarter of a mile. Under the trees grew a rich 
growth of wild rye. In front stretched a rolling prairie; our 
rear closed in and defended by the clear, deep waters of the 
In a semicircle in front, and springing from the two 
wings of camp, were parked our wagons to defend our front, 
enclosing a space in which to herd our oxen and tether our 
mules and horses. Under the trees were pitched our white 
tents, a bright moon shining over all. Such was our camp 
at Flat Rock Creek, a cozy picture of safety and comfort, 
which to us, the returned vagabonds of the wilderness, had 
even more of romance than our late bivouacs had of reality. - 
The stream was filled with catfish, eels and turtles. I 
caught three varieties of the latter, viz., the snapper, the soft 
shell and a black mud turtle, striped with yellow and red on 
the head, body and legs. Of these the soft turtle was best 
and more delicate than the green turtle, either in soup or 
fricasee. It has an oval, dorsal shell—hard in the centre, 
with a broad, soft rim. The umbilical shell is, like the green 
turtle, white. It has claws instead of flippers, but the most 
striking peculiarity is the head, terminated with a snout: like 
a hog, about half an inch long, 
