THE MISSOURI AND PLATTE RIVERS, ETC. — 95 
Distance from 
Fort Pierre. 
White river, and is a tributary to Rapid river. White 
lake lies about half-way from the Dog’s Ears to Turtle 
Hill; there are a few trees on its banks ; the beach is white 
sand. Tracks of buffalo bulls had now become frequent, 
Sa and in White lake basin we saw a wild horse. - . 
_ August, 14.—Route passes along the right bank of Turtle Hill 
iver for 6 miles, crossing a little branch with running 
; ater ; gradually leaving the river we strike a branch 4 
miles further on, with running water, but no wood, and 
ursue it to near its source; thence over sandy prairie to 
apid river, 244 miles, all the way sandy; a little wild 
rice-was seen. Rapid river—l’Eau qui Court, or Nio- 
brara, is a name given it by the Ponca Indians; the Daco- 
tas eall it ‘‘ Mini Tanka”’ or Big Water. It flows witha | a 
very swift current over a sandy bed, and between blufis os! 
140 feet high, which here approach each other so closely as 
to leave but a very narrow intermediate valley, not aver- 
aging one quarter of a mile. - - - - 1254 
stream is from 180 to 250 yards wide at the ford, 3} to 4 "s 
eet deep in the deepest places, and the current so strong — 
i ’s feet ; the intermediate bot-+ 
100% 
ae 
© 
springs of water. All the ravines are filled with pine, 
(some of it 60 to 70 feet high,) scrubby oak and some ash ; 
on the low bottom lands there is some little cottonwood. 
but, as we were likely in pursuing it to meet war parties 
of savages, we determined to take the more direct and un-— 
