Rocky Mountains. 253 



day, which was 96 degrees, the state of the atmosphere was 

 extremely oppressive. A short ride brought us to the Neo- 

 sho, or Grand river, better known to the hunters by the sin- 

 gular designation of the Six Bulls, 



It enters the Arkansa very near to the confluence of the 

 Verdigris, and at the ripple, which offers us a facility of cross- 

 ing, is about 80 yards wide, the water clear, above and be- 

 low, moving with a gentle current, and its bed and shores 

 paved with large pebbles. At the entrance of the opposite 

 forest, our guide, to whose tongue the direct and very ob- 

 vious path was so familiar, now became bewildered, and af- 

 ter reconnoitring to his heart's content amongst the entan- 

 gled briars, vines, and nettles, ushered us into a trace which 

 conducted to an old Indian encampment, and terminated 

 there. Further progress was in a great measure intercepted 

 by the cane brake, which, not presenting any path, obliged us 

 to break our passage with much labour. The dusk of the 

 evening found us still pursuing a devious course through a 

 world of vegetation, impenetrable to the eye, vainly seeking 

 a spot upon which an encampment could be fixed; when to 

 our unspeakable joy, and without previous intimation, the 

 prairie of Bayou Menard appeared suddenly before us. The 

 timber of these bottoms is large and various. The extreme 

 heat of the day 96 degrees. Distance, eighteen miles. 



Our pleasure at first seeing civilized white men was of no 

 ordinary kind; it appeared as though we had already arrived 

 at our own homes and families, in anticipation of Belle Point, 

 which had hitherto seemed the utmost boundary, and ter- 

 minus of our pilgrimage. 



6th. A fine morning; and as on the days of the 1st inst. 

 and 30th ultimo, no dew had fallen. Crossed the ravine 

 at the head of Bayou Menard, and ascended the elevated 

 hills, clothed with small oaks, and arrived at a branch of 

 Green Leaf bayou, about nine o'clock, a distance of eight 

 miles. 



