fim) 286 
attempt to retich | it, which would have involved & uperee length of time 
than no eens at my disposal 
Ina er of an hour, ed Jed from th it of the Pass 
into the foe below, our road having been — much controlled and inter- 
rupted by the pines and springs on the mountain side. Turning up the 
Siem, we da ager na bottom of good grass near its head, which al 
poms of which, eneretore, i is the Food of the iixannes river. The aemecien 
on which we had enca mped is the head of either the Fontaine-qui- bouit, 
a branch of the Arkansas, or the remotest head of the south fork of the 
Platte; as which, you will find it laid down on the map. But descending 
it only’ through a “aera of its course, we have not been able to settle this 
point satisfactoril: 
Inthe evening band of buffalo furnished a little excitement, by charging 
through the cam 
On the following day, we descended the stream by an excellent buffalo 
trail, along the open grassy bottom of the river. On our right, the bayou 
was ‘bordered by a mountainous a crested with rocky and naked peaks; 
and below, it had a beautiful park-like character of pretty level prairies, in- 
terspersed among low spurs, ae openly with pine and quaking:asp, 
_ contrasting well with the denser pines which swept around on the moun- 
tain. ing always the valley of the stream; towards noon we 
descried a mounted party descending the point of a spur, and, judging them 
to be Arapahoes—who, defeated or Victorious, were equally dangerous to 
Ww vider they arrived, proving to be a party of Utah women, 
who edi us s that’ on the other side of the ridge their village was fighting 
with the Arapahoes. As soon as they had given us this information, they 
ed the air with criés and lamentations, which made us understand that 
some of their chiefs had been killed. 
Extending along the river, directly ahead of us, was a low piney a 
leaving between ‘it and the stream a small open Speed on which the 
ad very i ly placed their paren 8 Ai ich, according to the 
sonnen tabard _ cen warriors in the Sovew te 
pines, 
5a mi 
reviowsly fo 
ttacked th: 
‘hee ies, which we 
