36 ANTI-SCORBUTICS. 



This creek appears to be a place of winter resort for large numbers 

 of the prairie Indians. We found many old camps along the stream, 

 and the ground for several miles was thickly strewn with cotton-wood 

 sticks, the bark of which had been eaten off by their animate. The 

 prairie tribes are in the habit of feeding their favorite horses with the 

 cotton-wood bark in the winter ; and it is probably the abundance of 

 this wood that has attracted them here. We found the stumps of the 

 trees they had cut from year to year in various stages of decay — some 

 entirely rotten, and others that had been cut during the past winter. 

 The fine mezquite and grama grass furnishes pasturage for their animals 

 during a great part of the winter ; and the cotton-wood is a never-failing 

 resort when the grass is gone. 



As we are now nearly opposite the country on the Canadian river 

 occupied by the Kioway Indians, it is quite probable that some of that 

 nation winter at this place ; and I have no doubt but that they could 

 be found here at any time during that season. I have called the creek 

 Kioioay creek. 



Game is abundant in this vicinity ; and our hunters keep the entire 

 command constantly supplied with fresh meat, so that we have not yet 

 had occasion to kill one of our beef-cattle. Seven deer and one antelope 

 were killed to day. For months previous to leaving Fort Belknap, with 

 the exception of a few wild onions, my men had eaten no vegetables. 

 Some of them had been attacked with scurvy, and all were more or less 

 predisposed to it. I have, therefore, been exceedingly anxious to take all 

 possible precautions for warding off this most dreaded disease. As I 

 had no anti-scorbutic, with the exception of a very few dried apples and 

 a little citric acid, I was obliged to make use of everything the country 

 afforded as a substitute for vegetables. I caused the men to eat greens 

 whenever they could be obtained, with the 'green grapes occasionally ; 

 and to-day we were so fortunate as to discover a fine bed of wild onions 

 (a most excellent anti-scorbutic) upon some sand-hills over which we 

 passed. A quantity were collected by the men and made use of freely. 



