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Show 158 29tb October, Wcdnesday.-Marched aft r l>reakfast and in the first hours march, passed two fires, where twenty one Indians had recently encan1ped, in which party (by their paintings on the rocks,) there were seven guns. Killed a buffalo, halted, n1ade fire and feasted on the choice pieces of n1eat. About noon discovered two horses feeding with a herd of bufralo; we attempted to surround them, but they soon cleared our fleetest coursers. O.ne appeared to be an cl gant horse ; these were the fir t wtld horses we had seen. 'I'wo or three hours before night, truck the Spanish road; and, as it was snowing, halt0d and encamped the party, at the first woods on the bank of the river. 'The doctor and n1yself then forded it (the ice running very thick) in ord er to discover the course the Spa· niards took, but owing to the many buiillo r oads, could n ot ascertain it; but it evid ntly appeared that they had halted her some time, as the ground was covered with h orse clung, for miles around. R eturned to camp. The snow fell about t\\·o inches deep anJ then it cleared up. Distance 1 2 n1iles. 30tl' Ortobcr, Tlmr.rday.-In the mornillg sent out to kill a buffalo, to have his Jn;uTow bones for breakfast, which was accomplished; after breakf~tst the party march· ed upon the north ~id , and the docLor and myself crossed with considerable difliculty (on account of the icc) to the Spanish camp, where we too k a 1a rge c1· rcm· t m· onl er to discover th Spanish trace and catne in at a point of woods; south of th river, where we found our party encamped. We discover ed also that the Spanish troops had marked the river up, and that a party of savag s had been the.rc not n1ore than three days before. Killed two buffalo. DIS· tance 4· miles. 3 l st October, Friday.--Fine day-marched at three quarters past nine o'clock, on the Spanish road. Encamped, TO THE SOURCES OF THE ARKANSA \V, &c. 159 sun an hour high, after h aving n1ade sixteen 1niles. W e observed this day a species of chry tiliz ation on the road (when the sun was high) in low places where there ha l been water settled, on tasting it found it to be salt ; this g ave in .my mind some auth nticity to the r eport of the prairie bemg covered for leag u s. Discover ed the trace of about twenty savages who had followed our road; and h orses going down the river. Killed one buffalo, one elk, one deer. 1st f!o·vember? Saturdt~y. -Marchcd early, j ust aftet commencu~ our lmc, h eard a g un on our lef t ; the d octor Baroncy an. d. my.s elf being· in ad V'lnce and la . h ' ~ , 'y1ng on t e ground waltlng for the party '. a })an(l of Cab . ~ ' n e came up amo~~~t our horses, .to sa~isfy their curiosity ; we could not l csist the temptatiOn of killing two, although we lnd ~lent~ .of meat. At the r~port of the g un they appear~d <lS~onishcd, and s tood still until we h allowed at thezn to dnve the.m aw·,1 y . 1•'. ncampc d · 1 • 111 t 1e evenmg on an island upon usmg my g l· t b . 1 . ' b clSS I 0 0 ser ve t l e adjacent country I o served on tll c prai· n·e a herd of h or ses . doctor R b.' son and B . . ' o Inwh . ~lOncy, accompanJCJ me to go and view thenl . .. en :vlthm .a quarter of a mile, they discovered us an~ came tmmcth ttcl . · ' d Y t~p n car us, makmg the earth tremble un er them ( I · . b cavalr . T t ll~ ro u~·ht t<~ my r ecollection a charge of th y) hey stop t and gave us an opporlunity to view blcmk,· ~mong them ther e were some very beautiful bays ac s and greys 1 · . 1 1 f' ' l)l a ck hor · h' anc. mucec o all colours. \Vc' fiu ~ c't l a. t a sc, Wlt an Idea of c reasing him b ut d' 1 cecd · th fl . ' Ht n ot suc-whci; ey ounshed r ound and r eturned again to sec us, we returned to camp. 2d November Sundav l tl · POS" f . ' .J .- n 1C Inor nmn· for th" }) Ul'- ~ o trymg th . o -- fleet e cxpcnmcn t, we equipped six of our est coursers with rid . ·' horsn . 'f' · ei s auu r opes, to n oose the wild · \..s J m our p ower, to come among the band. T hey |