CHAPTER XVII. 



Hot Springs of the Washtta — Red river — Exploring Expe- 

 dition of 1806 — Arrival at Cape Girardeau — Dissotution 

 of the party. 



We must now return, to give a hasty account of an ex- 

 cursion from Point Pleasant, in the country of the Chero- 

 kees, to the Hot Springs of the Washita. 



On the morning of the 25th our little party, consisting of 

 Captain Kearney, Lieutenant Swift, and myself, having ta- 

 ken leave of our companions, recrossed the Arkansa from 

 Webber's, and proceeded on our journey without a guide. 



Having mistaken the route we had been directed to fol- 

 low, we were bewildered during a considerable part of the 

 dav, wandering about through a fertile country without 

 settlements, and covered with dense forests. 



Towards evening we arrived at a settlement of Chero- 

 kees, where we engaged a guide to conduct us to the trace 

 leading to the Springs, For this service we paid him two 

 dollars. We encamped in an cpen forest of oak, where we 

 found a sufficient supply of grass for our horses. The next 

 day we commenced our ride at an early hour, our route 

 lying nearly due south, at right angles to the general direc- 

 tion of the Arkansa. As we receded from the river we found 

 the country to become broken and rocky, but no part ot it 

 higly elevated. The hills range from N. E. to S. W.; their 

 sides are sometimes nearly naked, but more commonly cov- 

 ered with small and scattered trees. Several kinds of oak, 

 and the Chinquapin (Castanea pumila. Ph.) attaining the 

 dimensions of a tree, are met with in the sandstone tracts 



