37 [i747 
of the forks, and the face of the. country: no | longer presented. the refresh- 
ing green which had hitherto: peeeeenne: it. The rich grass was now 
_found only in dispers ts, on low grounds, and on the bottom land of. 
the streams, Along drought foined to extreme heat, had so parched up 
the upper prairies, that they were in parte places bald, or covered only’ 
witha thin growth of yellow and poor The nature of the soil ren- 
ders it Saeed susceptible to the <iaaetunase of the climate. Between. 
the forks, and from their junetion to the Black hills, the formation con- 
sists of mar! and a soft earthy limestone, with granitic sandstone. Syeh . = 
formation cannot give rise to a sterile soil; and, on our return in Septem- 
the valley o; 
the Platte looked like a garden; so rich was the verdure of the gr rasses,” 
and so luxuriant the bloom of abundant flowers. The wild sage begins to 
make its appearance, and timber is so scarce _that we generally made our * 
fires of the bois de vache. With the exception of now and then an isolated - 
tree or two, standing like a light-house on’ the river bank, there is none — 
whatever to be seen 
“July 8.—Our road ada wasa solitary one. No game made its aspen. ; 
ance—not even a buffalo or a stray antelope ; and nothing occurred to break 
the monotony until _—— 5 o’clock, when the caravan made a sudden halt. 
There was a galloping in of scouts ‘and horsemen from every side—a hur- 
rying to and fro in adsy confusion ; rifles were taken from their cover;.— 
bullet pouches examined : in short, there was the ery of ‘ Indian: ? heard 
again. I had. become so much accustomed to these alarms, that now they _ 
made but little i impression on me; and before I had time to become ex- — 
cited, the new comers were neeene to be whites. ‘It was a large ty pA 
of traders and trappers, conducted by Mr. Bridger, a man well known in 
the history of the country. As the sun was low, and there was a fine grass. 
patch not ad ahead, they turned back and encamped for the night with 
us. Mr. Bridger was invited to supper; and, after the table cloth was — 
removed, we listened with eager interest to an account of their adventures. 
‘What thoy had met, we would be likely to nto oa Speen 
a them, would probably “po ama apes we looked upon 
their life as a pict ure. of: our own. He informed hat spat abe care sen of of 
been badly ’ disposed, ‘had br preken oar into: cai s liey in ie pot 3 
spliced his party had encountered them in a severe engagement, in — 
which a number of lives had been lost on both sides. ae with the — 
Cheyenne aud Gros Ventre Indians, they were scourin the up) : 
in war parties of great force, and were at this time in the ni 
the Red Buttes, a famous landmark, which was: direct! 
They had declared war upon every. living thing which s : 
westward of that point:; aera their main pe was to. attack a large = 
Went toy hites ane. eee ie dians, 1 rendezvous in the Swank” 
‘his peeeee Goh: athe head of the Sweet. 
» absence of our Begeas ee was deep! ; tted by : 
