TO HORSE-HEAD CROSSING. 
73 
October 23d Got off at six o’clock, an early hour 
for the season ; but it is an advantage for travellers in 
this region to push on as far as possible in the early 
part of the day. Even now the heat of the sun at 
mid-day was great, and the shade of a tree refresh- 
ing. To move at six, it was necessary to call the 
cooks at three o’clock, and to take breakfast before 
day. After this the cooks and servants had to take 
their meal, the cooking utensils were to be washed 
and stowed away, the tents struck, and every thing 
put in its proper place in the wagons. 
Two miles brought us to Kickapoo Creek, and 
three miles more to a small pool, with a river running 
through it, marked on the map as “ Potato Spring,” 
where we stopped to water our animals. Continued 
our route towards an opening or pass in the elevated 
ridge, which stretched across our path, in a direction 
from north to south, called “ the divide.” Noticed a 
sudden shelving off on the north side of the highest 
portion of the ridge, directly in our front, where we 
supposed the pass to be. As we approached we could 
discover no opening; and the point towards which 
we had been moving was so rocky as to seem utterly 
impracticable. To the northward the ridge appeared 
less abrupt and rocky, which induced me to deviate 
from the prescribed course. The ascent was gradual, 
but quite rocky. For six miles or more we held our 
way over the dividing ridge, which proved very tire- 
some to our animals. The hills were entirely desti- 
tute of trees and shrubs ; and as the grass had been 
recently burned off, the prospect before us as far as 
we could see was extremely barren. North of us, at 
