It drains a portion of the Sand Hills, and has sevéral large tribu- 
THE MISSOURI AND PLATTE RIVERS, ETC. 1s 
hamper, wheels well forward, and considerable breadth of beam, so as 
to give as much control over her motions as possible. The Clara was 
the reverse of all this, but Captain Cheever, her commander, was a 
most skilful river man, and his untiring efforts overcame all difficul- 
ties. 
The main rise on the Missouri occurs between April 20, and June 1. 
The Platte river is the most important tributary of the Missouri in 
the region under consideration ; its broad and grass-covered valley lead- 
ing to the west, furnishes one of the best wagon roads of its length in 
America. From its mouth to the forks, the bluffs are from two to 
five miles from the water, making an intermediate bottom valley of 
from four to eight miles wide. From the forks to Fort Laramie, the 
bluffs occasionally come down to the water’s edge, and the road has 
to cross the points of the ridges. From Ash Hollow to Fort Laramie, 
the road is sometimes heavy with sand. Fine cotton wood grows 
along the banks, and on the islands, from the mouth to Fort Kearny ; 
from here up it is scarce, and of small size. Cedat§jis found in the 
ravines of the bluffs, in the neighborhood of the forks, and above. 
The river is about a mile wide, and flows oter a sandy bottem; when 
the banks are full, it is about six feet deep throughout, having a re- 
markably level bed; but it is of no use for navigation, as the’ bed is 
so broad that the water seldom attains sufficient depth} and then the 
rise is of short duration. 
The water is sometimes so low, as was the case last season, that it 
can be crossed anywhere without difficulty, the only care requisite 
being to avoid quicksands. 
The manner in which this stream spreads out over its entire bed in 
low water, is one éf its most striking features, and it is peculiar to 
the rivers of the sandy region. short distance above Fort Laramie, 
the Platte comes out from among the gorges and caiions, and its char- 
acter there is that of a mountain stream. 
Loup river, a large branch of the Platte, some 200 yards wide, is, 
where I saw it, in every respect similar to the latter below the forks, 
and a fine road could, without doubt, be made along its valley, which is 
about two miles wide. Its banks are low, like those of the Platte, but 
ter wooded. THe Pawnees lived in numbers on this 
are much ; 
‘stream, till the hostility of the Dacotas drove them from their homes. 
I have no knowledge of how far west this stream heads, but judge 
from its size that it must, be about the meridian of Ash Hollow. 
