TO YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK, 33 
September 10.—The train came in at 2 p. m., having camped on Buffalo Creek the night before. 
September 11.—Pulled out at 8 a. m., and in a couple of hours met the Carroll stage at Warm 
Spring Creek. I was informed that the steamer Josephine would probably leave i ; 
amp on Armell’s 
Carroll on the 18th or 19th, but was likely to make another trip, certainly if the Creek. 
stage of the river would admit, Camp was made on Armell’s Creek, twenty-five miles from Lewis, 
with excellent wood, water, and grass. Opposite camp, on the othe side of the creek, was a 
plantation of wild nape in full bearing. Mr. Grinnell was exceedingly desirous of examining for 
fossils the lower extremity of the Judith Basin near the Musselshell River. As there was still a 
margin of seven or eight days, with the chance of a later trip of the boat, I determined to divide the 
party, sending a portion of it, under command of Lieutenant Thompson, to the mouth of the 
Judith River, while I should go on to Carroll, ascertain as exactly as possible the probabilities of a 
later boat, and send out word at what time the party should re-assemble. Mr. Dana concluded to 
accompany me to Carroll; his engagements at the East not admitting of any further delay on his 
part. The wagons were ‘therefore reloaded with the view of sending one six-mule team and the 
greater part of the cavalry escort to the Judith. 
September 12.—The six-mule team was loaded with fifteen days’ rations; all superfluous baggage 
being loaded into the others. The supposed best route to the mouth of the 
Judith was to incline southwest from camp for a few miles, until the divide 
between Warm Spring and Armell’s Creeks was reached, thence west and north to the head of 
Dog River, and along the divide between that and Judith River, through a certain pass in the Bad 
Lands, of which we had general information only, to Claggett’s Ranch or Camp Cooke, at the mouth of 
the Judith. At 8.30 the load was completed, and the two parties separated ; Mr. Danaand myself, 
with a sergeant and one man of the cavalry escort aud a sergeant and four men of the engineer 
detachment, proceeding on the road to Carroll, while all the others started for the 
Judith. We reached Box Elder Station nine miles from camp, the edge of the Bad 
Lands at sixteen miles, and Crooked Creek at thirty-two miles. 
The day had been very hot and dusty, and we found no water between Box Elder and Crooked 
Creek. The bed of the creek was absolutely dry, and the single pool near the road had been trampled 
into a thick mud by the thirsty animals unhitched from two mule-trains and one bull-train, which 
had halted for the night on the creek. We had brought no water with us, and Gaia eltenaaea 
the prospects of a camp were wholly uninviting. About a mile farther down the Crooked Creek. 
creek-bed I observed two or three cottonwood-trees, and an examination of the locality resulted in 
the pleasing discovery of three small but undisturbed pools of water, tepid and alkaline, but 
much better than none. The grass in the vicinity too, though exceedingly poor and thin, had not 
been grazed by the freight-trains. Numbers of antelope had been seen all day, and from the high 
ground on the edge of the Bad Lands small herds of buffalo dotted the broken landscape toward 
the river. 
September 13.—Pulled out at 8 a.m. Crossed Little Crooked Creek, and soon after ascended 
upon the high, rolling prairie, winding over which the road eventually leads out upon a high, narrow 
._ ridge near the river, where, turning to the eastward, the steep descent of 900 feet 
is made into the river-valley, where Carroll is situated. It was ascertained that 
the boat would probably reach Carroll on the 19th, and leave next day. 
There was a possibility that a later trip would be made; but, as this depended entirely upon the 
stage of water, which was very low and still falling, reliance could not be placed uponit. The 
week’s heavy rains in the upper valleys had caused a rise of about six inches in the channel at 
Carroll, but this rise had been already exhausted, and more rain could hardly be looked for. I 
therefore dispatched a megssenSer to Lieutenant Mirompeou to be back in Carroll on the night of the 
19th. 
September 14.—Mr. Dana was desirous of examining the Little Rocky Mountains some thirty 
miles to the north and west, and we accordingly made preparations for a trip to them. The ambu- 
lance was placed in a Mackinac boat ready for transportation across the river in the morning. 
September 15.—Crossed theriver in the Mackinac, swimming the animals. The party consisted of 
Mr. Dana and myself and four men; one driving a pait of mules in the ambulance, Trip to the. Tide 
which carried the rations and scanty allowance of bedding. Some of the Carroll Rocky Mountains. 
5 Ww 
The party divided, 
Box Elder Creek. 
Return to Carroll. 
