12 
captain gunnison’s party. 
the 23d the creeks and branches were still swollen by the rain of the previous day, and the 
roads slippery and soft. The advance, however, was ordered, and we pursued the usual Santa 
Fe road for eight miles, and encamped for the night on Indian creek, a small timbered stream; 
the character of the country being that already described—as beautiful and fertile rolling prairies 
as the eye ever rested upon. 
The party, (the escort having been already mentioned,) which this day made its first marching 
essay for the exploration of the Central Pacific Railroad route, was composed of Captain J. W. 
Gunnison, Topographical Engineers, commander; First Lieutenant E. G. Beckwith, Third 
Artillery, assistant; Mr. R. H. Kern, topographer and artist; Mr. Sheppard Homans, astronomer; 
Dr. James Schiel, surgeon, geologist, &c.; Mr. F. Creutzfeldt, botanist; Mr. J. A. Snyder, assist¬ 
ant topographer, &c.; and Mr. Charles Taplin, wagon-master; besides the necessary teamsters 
and employes for the performance of the labors of the route. 
The party was provided with the following instruments, viz: two sextants, two artificial 
horizons, one theodolite, two Schmalcalder’s compasses, two spy-glasses, two surveyors’ chains, 
two Bunten’s barometers, two aneroid barometers, two thermo-barometers, one hygrometer, one 
box chronometer, one compensating balance watch, two viameters, and one grade instrument, 
besides thermometers and small pocket-compasses. Of these one of the Schmalcalder’s com¬ 
passes proved imperfect and worthless, as did the thermo-barometer which was graduated to high 
altitudes; and we were soon above the scale of the other, so that these instruments were of 
no use to us. 
The civil engineer, whose services had been engaged by Captain Gunnison for the explora¬ 
tion, fell sick on the road before reaching St. Louis; and two barometers which he had in charge 
were necessarily left behind, as the season was already too considerably advanced to admit of 
further delay, especially as we were already well supplied with these instruments, should they 
prove good and no accident befall them. 
The train consisted, for the party and escort, of eighteen wagons ; sixteen of which were six- 
mule wagons, an instrument carriage drawn by four mules, and an ambulance by two horses, 
which were, however, changed for four mules before we had reached the mountains, the horses 
being broken down. 
This method of transportation was determined upon in order, should the train pass successfully 
over the route, to demonstrate its practicability, at least for a wagon road. 
The road to-day followed the general level of the country, leaving the Kansas river bottom 
(a favorable route for a railroad from the Missouri river) to our right. Nine miles: from Westport 
we passed a finely wooded creek, near which was observed a fine spring of cool water, and 
near it a small cultivated field. 
June 24.—A cool bright morning, with the thermometer at sunrise at 52° Fahrenheit. We 
were at an early hour again on the Santa Fe road, and arrived at 10 a. m. (not without several 
accidents to our loaded wagons, resulting in nothing serious, however,) at Cedar creek, which has 
more water than Indian creek of our last camp, but is skirted with less timber. This creek has 
worn for itself a small ravine in the limestone which underlies this section of country, and which 
is here left in escarpments on either side of the stream. In this narrow ravine is the timber 
of the border, which can therefore be seen only at a short distance on the prairie. I observed 
among it oak and walnut, and cedar is said to appear a few miles below and continue to its mouth. 
The marked feature of the country to-day, as heretofore, is the graceful grassy swells which 
extend as far as the eye can compass, and are lost in the blue line of the horizon. The latitude 
of this camp, as determined by Mr. Homans, is 38° 52' 41". 
June 25.—Following the Santa Fe road, we encamped this morning, at 10 o’clock, on Bull 
creek, the counterpart of that at our preceding camp. The road has thus far been very fine, 
following the general level of the country between the waters of the Kansas and Osage rivers. 
The country to-day was more than usually level, and the timber less abundant—if, indeed, 
