356 
ITINERARY OF ROUTE FROM ST. PAUL TO FORT UNION. 
July 6.—Country wet and marshy ; not a tree in sight; prairie with low ridges 
and knolls, and great number of ponds and marshes; night’s camp by a small 
pond ; no wood, but plenty of “ bois de vache grass good. 
July 7.—Approaching the Shayenne ; country as yesterday for some half-dozen 
miles; bordering on the river the ground is broken with deep coulees and ravines, 
and to keep away from them the train kept at some distance from the river, en¬ 
camping by a small marshy pond; no wood ; plenty of “bois de vache;” grass good; 
water tolerable; first buffalo killed to-day. 
July 8.—Prairie swelling with ridges ; descend to the Shayenne, which flows 
some 150 to 200 feet below the prairie by a steep hill; camp in the bottom of the 
river; wood and water good; grass rather poor; the bottom of the Shayenne, some 
half a mile wide, is often soft and miry, but when crossed by the train, firm and 
dry -. 
July 9.—Cross the Shayenne, 50 feet wide, 3£ feet deep; immediate banks some 
10 feet high, and requiring some digging to give passage to the wagons. f 
Prairie with swelling ridges and occasional marshes to camp, to a slough afford¬ 
ing water and grass, no wood ; buffalo very abundant. 6 J 
July 10.—Prairie swelling into ridges and hills, with a frequency of marshes, 
ponds, and sloughs; camp at a pretty lake, near Lake Jessie; fairly wooded, with 
water slightly saline; grass scanty, having been consumed by the buffalo; prairies 
covered with buffalo. 
July 11.—Pass over the high hills resting on the western shore of lake of the 
encampment and Lake Jessie. 1£ 
Level prairie, with small ponds and marshes, to a bad slough, 100 yards wide 
and 3 feet deep, the passage of which caused a good deal of delay, the wagons be¬ 
ing drawn through by oxen, by means of long ropes reaching across the slough. — 41 
Rolling and hilly, with small marshes and ponds, to camp near some small ponds, 
surrounded with knolls; water tolerable; grass good; no wood; “bois de vache” 
plenty; prairies covered with buffalo, running oft’ several horses and mules during 
the day’s march, which were never recovered. 4£ 
July 12.—Smooth prairie, generally dry; many small lakes and marshes to be 
seen on either side. 
Night camp by a marsh, affording tolerable water; grass good; no wood ; “bois 
de vache” for fuel... 
July 13.—Smooth prairie, abounding in marshy spots. Cross and recross 
Riviere a Jaques, a small stream, destitute of wood, with a firm bottom, and easy 
of passage with wagons... 14 J 
Prairie to camp on the river; water good ; grass fair; no wood. 5£ 
July 14.—Hilly and marshy prairie, with many small ponds ; camp by a small 
lake or pond ; water tolerable ; grass good ; no wood. 
July 15.—Marshy prairie, abounding with ponds; camp near a small pond ; 
water tolerable; sufficient grazing ; no wood. At this camp, were joined by a large 
band of Red River hall-breeds. The buffalo have continued plenty, and the 
“bois de vache” has, without inconvenience, been substituted for wood at the 
camp-fires .. 
July 17.—But little change of country ; undulating prairie, with a thin soil, and, 
excepting in marshy spots, a thin and short grass. Night camp near a small 
rivulet affording water and grass.-. 
20 
15 
m 
7 
10 
10 £ 
18£ 
20 
21 £ 
9J 
