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109 ' prey 
On the 19th, in the afternoon, we crossed the Pawnee road to the Ar- 
kansas, and, travelling a few miles onward, the monotony of the prairies 
was suddenly dispelled by the appearance of five or six buffalo bulls, form- 
ing a vanguard of immense herds, among which we were travelling a few 
days afterwards. Prairie dogs were seen for the first’ time during the day; 
and we had the good fortune to obtain an antelope for supper. Our eleva- 
tion had now increased to 1,900 feet. Sida coccinea was a characteristic 
on the creek ee? and buffalo grass is becoming abundant on the higher 
parts - the ridge — 
June 21. Daring the forenoon we travelled up a branch of the creek on® 
whine we had encamped, in a broken country, where, however, the dividing 
ridges always afforded a good rad. Plants were few; and with the 
short sward of the buffalo grass, which now prevailed every where, giving 
to the prairies a smooth and mossy appearance, were mingled frequent 
patches of a beautiful red grass, Ae paliens,) which had made its ap- 
gp: only within the last few days. 
e halted to noon at a solitary bi beer ee in a hollow, near which was ~ 
Killed. the first buffalo, a large old bull. 
Antelope appeared in bands during the day. Crossing here to the affluents 
of the Republican, we encamped on a fork, about forty feet wide and one 
foot deep, flowing with a swift current over a sandy bed, and well w oded 
with ash-leaved maple, (negundo Srazxintfolium,) elm,’ sittan w olMRA a” 
few white oaks. e were visited in the evening by a very violent storm, 
accompanied by wind, lightning, and thunder; a cold rain falling in torrents, 
According to the barometer, our elevation was 2,130 feet above the gulf. 
At noon, on the 23d, we descended into the valley of a principal fork of | 
the Republican, a beautiful stream with a dense border of wood ease 
principally of varieties of ash, forty feet wide and four feet deep. Tt was mu- 
sical with the notes of many ‘birds, which, from the vast expanse of silent 
prairie acorn; seemed all to have collected here. We continued during 
the afternoon our route along the river, which was populous with prairie — 
dogs, (the bottoms being entirely occupied with their villages,) and late in.” 
the evening encamped on its banks. The prevailing timber i isa ie ole 3 
ash, (frazinus, near F. Americana,) ind ash-leaved maple. With these ~ 
were fravinus Americana, cottonwood, and long-leaved willow. We gave 
to this stream the name of Prairie Dog river. Elevation 3,350 feet. Our 
road on the 25th lay over high smooth ridges, 3,100 feet above the sea; 
buffalo in great numbers, absolutely covering the face of the country, At 
evening we encamped within a few miles of the main Republican, on a lit- 
tle creek, where the air was fragrant with the perfume of artemisia filifolia 
which we here saw for the first time, and which was now in bloom. Shortly 
after leaving our encampment on the 26th, we found suddenly that the na- 
ture of the country had entirely changed. Bare sand hills every where sur- _ 
rounded us in the undulating ground along bani ed ‘We were moving; and 
the plants peculiar to a sandy “soil made thei ce in abundance. a. 
few miles further we entered the valley of al ra sea Gilet watts known 
to be the Republican fork of the Kansas, whose shallow waters, witha 
depth of only a few inches, were spread out over a bed of yellowish white - 
sand 600 yards wide. With the exception of one or two distant and - 
groves, no timber of any kind was to be seen; and the feat 
the country assumed a*desert character, with which the broad river, . 
gling for existence among quicksands along the trecless pee werk. 
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