420 Expedition to the 



grass for our horses, and wood and water for ourselves. 

 Here we were so tormented by the mosquitoes, harassed 

 and goaded by the wood ticks, that we were glad to seek 

 relief by mounting our horses, at the earliest appearance of 

 light on the following morning. The dew had been so heavy, 

 that it was falling in drops from the grass and weeds where 

 we bad lain, and our blankets were dripping as if they had 

 been exposed to a shower. We proceeded on our course 

 about thirty miles, and encamped early in the afternoon. 

 Having ascended Grand river nearly to the point, where we 

 believed Field's trace must cross it, we directed our course 

 more to the west, and had already crossed several streams 

 running to the south, supposed to be the upper branches of 

 the Little Platte. 



The utmost uniformity prevails in the appearance of the 

 country about the sources of the Little Platte, Nishnebottona, 

 and other Northern tributaries of the Missouri. Near one 

 of these small rivers we discovered the trace of an Indian 

 war party, which appeared to have passed very recently to- 

 wards the Missouri. After our arrival at Council Bluff, we 

 had farther information of these Indians, who were a war 

 party of Sauks and Foxes from the Mississippi, and had 

 committed many depredations upon the Missouri Indians, 

 and some upon the whites. We were considered very fortu- 

 nate in not having fallen in with them, as it was believed, 

 they would not have hesitated to rob, and perhaps destroy 

 any party of whites as weak as ours. 



Remains of bisons, as bones, horns, hoofs, and the like, are 

 often seen in these plains; and in one instance, in a low 

 swamp surrounded by forests, we discovered the recent track 

 of a bull, but all the herds of these animals, have deserted 

 the country on this side of Council Bluff. The bones of elk 

 and deer, are very numerous, particularly about certain 

 places, which, from the great number of tent poles, scaffolds, 

 &c, appear to be old Indian hunting camps, and the living 



