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Show [ 243] 20 we~c p<~rtially mnde of the bois de vachc, tLe dry excrement of the buffalo wluch !Jke that of the en mel . , . I , l . in the A. r1( bi~a n de. ..., e1 ts ' f lll·l ll·~· Il es to t l1 e trave~l l er' tl vc•y gooc su > tllu. t c for wood ' burnmoo- 11ke tlltf· \\ o 1' .e s 1·n o-rc·tt n t 1 b surrounded l•S durmg the nicrht cro><sirw .111 (1 •·cc t·o-... · f· 0 1'" 1 n ?rs I . ·' P ' t) l. • s"tn.q- wm t 1e opposite ~erus to our cn n1p, nnd ho\\'l11w and trouin{T ·1botJt 1• J.u l? 4· .-Tl . b 0 ( 11 tl le.. _ I.J· Ve l. llrl tl· 1 rnornm· cr 1e n~o;·nmg wns very smoky , the ~un shin in{T dinJl an ,b' ns m :~ tl11ck f~g. I he _nunp was roused with u salute at dt~ybreaJ' anf f;~~ ourt s~~ult~ sdtoJC a ponton of what our Indian fri ends call ed the:, red fit·e wa e1 se1 \'e out to the men \VI ·1 - hroke through the camp fo·ll ~wcd ~~ e awc~u;l:r~tt ,b;-enkfasi, a . bufJ~llo ca~f had probably mistaken l'ls for a b~HH.l of bu{r•tl) ~;r\ o, vcs. I n II S fngh_t, lt t k · · 1'- < • le wo \'cs were oblw u o 1~1a e a c1rcu1t around the camp, so that the calf got a littl 1 be st~ame(~ every nerve to reach a large herd at the foot of tJ ' Je· l\ le. ~art, and mtl es distant; but first one and rh ll "notlJ I I tc II _s,_ ~l out t"wo t . . u er nne nnot 1er wolf JOI 1 · 1 cnace, until Ills pursuers llOIOUilted to twenty or tbirt r • t I llC( 111 l_lc d O\"H1 before he could rcnch his fri.CildS rfl 'j ' ,\!)( t ley ran hun l · tere were ·t few 0 11, • } P ~cc, and _one of them attackccl tlte wolves and tried t , . ~ s_ ne.tr l1e dnven ofT lmme<.liatcly , antlthe little auimal fell an c·l~ rcs~ue lurn ' but was before he was dead. \V e watched the rhace witl l l ' '/ pt_cy, hal_: devoured the weak, and had there been a saddled horse at~~ lelmtclc"t al'».tys felt for ~e~~~l lit:~ h~~~,~~ ~~p ~ 1~;~,', ~~~d r~~~~ ~~;:~~~~' ~~.~~f ~ 1 ;~:~~ ~;~~~~~\~;-~ ~~~ ,[.~:'~ Ja~I:tet. Itl. Irsi pbrolbably of _this ~ock that the hills, on t~le' ~~~l~~ ~~~:~ ngf~ahr-a e, a II e e ow the J uncllon ar d d . o e the wi nds and rains into Qharp pe~ks :~~~~g~:~ 'f~ (}"Which n:e worked by the surroundin<T level rc{Tion sorneth' f '· g \ 10 o th em, Ill contrast to d I . o . o , mg o a p1 c turc~qu e appea ·a u r cro~se l liS mornuw numerous beds of tl e ll ... 1 .. . ~ ~ nee. n o of mins and meltint~ snow, pour down fr~msr:;: rf;~e \s, ~-vht~h Ill the tir_nothe~ n always great q unnt ities of sand and ravel- ~ t?~' lb·t mgwg down ~rllh thmr beds four to ten feet ·tbove the le lg f h w uc.1 .1.we ~radually ra1sed making each one of th em~ rn iniature I~~ oR~.: f.rallil~ wluch they cross, rounding prairie, without any bank the lo.n (T at:set Ill t liS _way ab~ve the surheels re~embles a cau~cwny ft·or~ t'lle I "II btyelhlow_and wrnflmg lme of their • • ' ' c .-. 11 s o t e nver M h prame are yellow with sunflower (lu:lia t' ) · any spots on t e \ .d n tWS. • J s we were n ing Rlowly alon{T this aftern l , . 1ncs, nmong the hi!Is to the rio·h~ sudd I ~on, c ouds of du_ t m the rav-fi! W ruiuute:J column after colu~lll'or bte~ ly a tracted lolur _attention, and in a j . I 1ua o came g·1 opmcr c] k" ( !reel y to the river. lly the time the I d. h u ll ,., own, ma mg the prairie was darkened with tt,e de en mg cr sl wd reached the water, I '' nse masses rnmed·· t l , b r \ll' H~n the bauds first came down into the II . J.t e ) CJOre uB, the hcau of which wus lost amon T the riv;;hfi1~ stretched an_ un~>roken lin~, they poured down from the rid cre ;,1 our ri {Tht F on til~lop~~~~le ~Ide, ~l!d sun tom was certainly not le~s tlw~ two mil e~ wide rom ~~ to _ll the pr~ rn e bothe tt=n feet atmrt and only tetl 1 · n a 1. t} 'anti c:dlowmg the ammals to ,, . r ' • c rnc 1ere were alre J L L 001) · · ::;nan(> tdca may thus be formed of thei.' b f ~ ac y ' Ill VIew. ~ holt"~ plain. In a ~hort time they s t nun~ ~r w l en they ha? occupied the .fot ~·~v•·ml mile~:~ in I he rei..tr ~nd for ur~oun ; us on C\'ery Slue, extending ju~ around us as we advan~~d an ow~~ ' as . nr n::; the eye could reach' leavyard~. This mo\'cment of th~ buff~! . 8~~cc of only two or three hundred 4.J:~ws on the North fork. 0 m Icated lo us the presence of In- J hultrd earlier than usual nb ~ . Lands were ~oon bu8ily en~ng' ed ?Ut orty _rmles from tho junction, and nH 0 10 prepnrmg n feast to celebla·e the duy. I \ ,, 21 [ 243] r-rhe kindness of our fri ends at St. Louis had provided us with a large sup· ply of excellent prese rves and 1 ich fruit cake ; and when these were added to a mncnroni soup and variously prepared dishes of the choicest buffalo meat, crowned with a cup of coffee, and enjoyed wi th prai rie appetite, we felt, as we sat in barl.mric luxury around our smoking supper on the grass, a greater sensation of en joyrnent than the Roman epicure at his perfumed feast. But most of all it eern ed to pl en~e our Ind ian friends, who in the unrestrained joyrnent of the moment, demunded to know if our "Medi cine duys carne often." No restraint was exercised at the hospitable boanl, and, to the great delight of his elders, our young Indian !au made himself extremely drunk. Our encnmpmcnt was within a few llliles of the place where the road cross.:s to the North fork, and varions reasons led me to eli vide my party at th is point. 'rhe North fork was the principal obj ct of my survey, bnt I was desirous to a cctH:l the South branch, with a view of obtaining some astronomical positions, and determi niug the mouths of its tributaries as far as St. Vrain's for t: est imated to be some two hundred tniles fn rther np th e river, and ncar to L oner's peale There 1 hoped to obtain sorr.e mnles, which I found tvonld be necessary to rel ieve my hor.:Scs. In n. mi litary point of view, 1 was desirous to form some opinion of the country relative to the establishment of posts on a line connecting the settlements with tile Son th pass of the Rocky monntains, by way of the Arkansa~, the Sonth and L aramie forks of the P latte. Crossing the couut ry north westwardly from St. Y rain's fort, to the American company's fort at the mouth of Laramie, would give me some acquaintance with the nffin ents which head in the mountains between the two ; I therefore determined to sel out the next morning, a.ccomp:- wied by Mr. Preuss and four men, Maxwell, Bernier, Ayot, and llnsil Lajeunesse. Our Cheyennes, whose v illngc lay up this r iver, also dccid· ed to accompauy us. The party I left in charge of Clement Lambert, with orders to cross to the North fork; and at some coveni r.nt place, nenr to the Oouleo. des F}·encs, make a cache of every thing not absolu tely n ecessary to the fn rther progress of our expedition. From th is point, nsing the most g nardccl precaution in his march th rough the count ry, he was to proceed to the Amaicun company's fort at the mouth of L oramie's fork, nnd await my arrival, which would be prior to the 16th, as on that and the following night would occur some occultations which I was desirous to obtnin at that place. J uly 5.- 13efore breakfast all was read y. We had one led horse in ad~ <l it ion to those we rode, and a pack mule, destined to carry our instruments, provisions, and baggage; tile last two articles not bei ng of vPry great weight. 'rhe instruments consisted of a sextant, artificial horizon, &c., a barometer, spy·glnss, and compass. The chronomoter I of course kept on my person. I lind ordered the cook to put up for us some flou r, coffee, and sngar, and our rifles were to furnish the rest. One blanket, in adcl i~ tion to his saddle and sadd le blanket, furnished the muteri als for each man's bed, and every one was provided with a. chnncre of liuen. All were armed wi th rifles or donble barrcll cu gu ns; and, in addition to the ·e, 1\lax~ well and n1yself were furn ished with excellent pistols. 'r hus accoutred, \ VC took a part ing breakfast with onr friends, nncl set forth . Our jonnwy the fi rst day af[i rded nothing of any interest. \ Ve shot a buf1'alo toward sunset, and havi ng obtai ne(l some mc:tt for onr even· ing- meal, encamped where a little timber n{fordrd. liR the rncnns of mak ing a fi re. Having disposed our meat on roasting sticks, we proceeded. to uu.- ' |