^ KIOWAY INDIANS. 43 



west beyond the ninety-ninth degree of longitude, there has been but 

 very little dew during the same period. The water in most of the 

 streams was, at the same time, absorbed by the parched and porous soil 

 over which it passed, and vegetation suffered much from the drought. 



On the contrary, we have this season been favored with frequent and 

 copious rains, and heavy dews. The streams have everywhere furnished 

 a plentiful supply of good water, and the whole face of the prairies has 

 been cheered with a rich and verdant vegetation. Near the place where 

 we have pitched our tents this evening is an old Indian encampment, 

 where John Bushman, our Delaware interpreter, has discovered that a 

 battle has been fought within the past two months. The evidences of 

 this are apparent from the fact that the remains of a large fire were 

 found, upon which the victorious party had piled up and burned the 

 lodges and effects of the vanquished. Pieces of the lodge-poles, and a 

 quantity of fused glass beads, with small pieces of iron and other 

 articles pertaining to their domestic economy, which had partialiy 

 escaped the conflagration, were found scattered about the encampment. 

 The number of lodge-fires indicated that the vanquished party was 

 small. 



The trail of a large party of Kioways, travelling to the north just 

 before the last rain, has been seen to-day ; and we are continually 

 meeting with evidences of their having frequently resorted to this 

 branch of the river. Their old camping-places and their trails are seen 

 almost every day. They are probably at this time north of the Cana? 

 dian, with the buffaloes ; but are attracted to the waters of Eed river 

 in the autumn and winter, where the exuberant and rich grama grasses 

 which everywhere abound in the river bottoms afford the finest pastur- 

 age to their numerous animals. 



We have been gradually and regularly ascending in our progress 

 westward, until now our approximate elevation above the sea, as indi- 

 cated by the barometer, is two thousand seven hundred and two feet. 



Our route to-day along the river valley has been populous with prairie 

 dogs, their towns occupying almost the entire valley of the river. I 

 was anxious to obtain a good specimen, and killed several of the largest 

 I could find ; but my rifle-ball mutilated them so much, that we did not 

 think them worth preserving. 



Our hunters brought in two deer and a turkey this evening, and their 

 auxiliaries, the greyhounds, have added another deer to the list. 



June 23. — This morning being dark, cloudy, and threatening rain, 

 we did not leave camp until a late hour, when we continued our march 

 down the left bank of the river for some four or five miles, directly at 



