20 ELK CREEK. 



these faces will be found the following inscriptions : upon the north 

 side, " Texas, 100° longitude ;" upon the south side, " Choctaw Nation, 

 100° longitude ;" upon the east side, "Meridian of 100°, May 29, 1852 ;" 

 and upon the west side Captain McClellan marked my name, with the 

 date. At the base of the sand-hill will be found four cotton-wood trees, 

 upon one of which is marked " Texas," and upon another will be found 

 inscribed " 20 miles from Otter creek." 



Red river at this place is a broad, shallow stream, six hundred and 

 fifty yards wide, running over a bed of sand. Its course is nearly due 

 west to the forks, and thence the course of the south branch, is WNW. 

 for eight rqiles, when it turns to nearly NW. The two branches are 

 apparently of about eqilal magnitude, and between them, at the conflu- 

 ence, is a very high bluff, which can be seen for a long distance around. 

 We are encamped to-night near two mountains, about three miles' from 

 the river, and one mile west of the head of the west branch of Otter creek, 

 near a spring of pure cold water, which rises in the mountains and runs 

 down past our camp. Our road leads along near the creek valley, which 

 is from one to two miles wide, with a very productive soil, covered with 

 a dense coating of grass, and skirted with a variety of hard timber. 



May 31. — Our course to-day was northwest until we encountered a 

 bold running stream of good water, forty feet wide and three feet deep, 

 flowing between very high and almost vertical red clay banks, through 

 a broad, flat valley about two miles wide, of a dark alluvial soil, the 

 fertility of which is obvious from the dense vegetation which it sup- 

 ports. 



There is a narrow fringe of pecan, elm, hackberry, black walnut, and 

 cotton- wood, along the banks of the creek; but the timber is not so 

 abundant, or of as good a quality, as that upon Otter creek. The 

 abrupt banks made it necessary for us to let our wagons down with 

 ropes. We, however, crossed in a short time, and marched about three 

 miles further, encamping near a small spring of good water, where the 

 wood and grass were abundant. 



From the circumstance of having seen elk tracks upon the stream we 

 passed in our march to day, I have called it " Elk creek." I am in- 

 formed by our guide that five years since elk were frequently seen in 

 the Witchita mountains ; but now they are seldom met with in this part 

 of the country. 



The deer and antelopes still continue plenty, but turkeys are scarce. 



One that our greyhounds caught to-day is the first we have seen for 

 several days. The pinnated grouse, quail, lark, mocking-bird, and 

 swallow-tailed fly-catcher, are also frequently seen. 



