SILK PLANT — SPRINa BAY. 175 



Both are of a very close texture, and would make excellent build- 

 ing-stone. 



Around the springs was found, growing in considerable quantity, 

 a plant I had not before seen — called by some of the men silk- 

 plant. It somewhat resembles the sumac in appearance, and has 

 at its top a cluster of long slender pods, which, when ripe, split 

 open longitudinally, disclosing a number of seeds, each attached 

 to a fascicle of long silky fibres, resembling very fine threads of 

 spun glass. The bark is tough, strong, and very much like that 

 of flax. The root and the plant, when broken, exudes a milky 

 viscous substance — that from the root is intensely bitter. The 

 Ottoes and Omahas make lariats of the bark, which are said to be 

 stronger and better than those made of hide. It is said to grow 

 abundantly near Council Bluffs, in Missom^i. My Frenchman 

 called it vache a lait. The Mexican negro cook calls it capote 

 des acarte. He says that the Pueblo Indians call it noche. They 

 cut it down when ripe, rub it so as to separate the fibres, and make 

 of it beautiful and very strong fishing-lines and fine sewing-thread. 

 They also use a decoction of the root for medicinal purposes — the 

 root itself is put into liquor to make bitters. 



Beyond these springs the lake makes a wide, deep bay, stretch- 

 ing far to the northward, near the head of which the promontory 

 range bounding it on the east seems to sink away. On the west, 

 the bay is bounded by a low range of rocky hills, stretching to the 

 north. Between these hills the country is much lower, and ascends 

 northwardly, by a gentle rise, to a belt of low hills far off in the 

 distance ; over which, farther to the north-west, is seen a range 

 of snow-capped mountains. 



Starting from the springs with the boats, we attempted to make 

 our way to the point where the eastern range seemed to terminate ; 

 but found the water so shallow that it was impracticable. After 

 many fruitless attempts, the boat was brought as near the shore 

 as possible, part of the baggage loaded into the skifi", and pushed 

 toward the land. It was impossible, however, to bring even this 

 light barque nearer than within a quarter of a mile of the beach, 

 and the luggage was transported to shore on our shoulders. On 

 landing, we found ourselves on the margin of an immense flat of 

 sand, destitute of the least sign of vegetation, and only a few 

 inches above the level of the water, which covers a large portion 

 of it whenever a fresh wind prevails from the south. It stretches 

 across the head of the bay from near the springs to the southern 



