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Show [ 174 ] 34 r [ 11 14 -The wind continued fresh from the same quarter in the morn- · ,, u ·' ' · I d . I I . 1g. the tla'"· bei11 o- clca1 with the Pxcrption of a few c CHI s m t te wn-ll ' J b ' . f I b zotl. ~'\tour camp nt 6 o'clock, the he1gbt o t ~c nron~cter was .<...) _I.IJ . 830 , the ntlached thermometer G 1°. Onr course tlus mormng w~s du:ef'tly north by compass, the v:uialiou br ing 15° or 16° ea t('r)y. A n~lc o{ four miles brought ns to Lodge Pole crock, which we had sc?n ~t 1ts nw.uth 011 the Son111 f'ork; cros~iug on the way two dry stream , 1.11 eJgltlcen t~lll cs from our encampment of the pa t ni~llt, we reached a lngh bl~alc ndge, composed 0 ntircly of 1hc same 'n:llty lill.1C~t?nc ulld marl prev1ously described. I hud nevrr SL'en any 1l11ng wlll ch Impressed ~o strongly on my 111ind a feelir1g of drsolation. The vullejr, throug.ll wh1clJ ran til? waters of Jlorsc cret'k, luv in view to the north. bnt too fill' to have nny lllfitw.ucc on 1he immediatl' \rir.w. On the peak of' the r idge wlto.re I was s~a ndlllg, sonw ~ix or seven llundrrtl feet ahove til\: river, tbe wmd wa · b1gh nnd bl al\ · the barren and arid country scented as if it !Jud been swept by .fires, .~ nd in every directioll the same unll a~h.colorcd hue, dt'rivcd. ~rom the formatio11, met th~· eye .. On tile sumn11ts were ome tnu~ccl pm~s, many of them dead, all wcanng the same ashen hue of dcsolattotl. \\ e left the place with pleasure; and. after we bad uc' ccndeJ severallm~1dred feet, halted i11 oue of the raviJJc~ , which, at th distance of every mile or two, cnt the fb11ks of the ridge with little rn~bing streams, wcnrmg sometltino- of a mountain cl1aracter. We had already beguu to excha11ge the comparatively barn·n lands f(1r !}JOse or a ltlOre fertile cllaractl'r. Tlwugh tile sand to11e formed 1he broke11 battks of the rrcelc, yet they were covered with a thin gras::;; a11cl the fif'ty Ol' sixty fl~Ct which formed the bottom land of the little stream wrre clothed with very lu xuriaut gra~s, among which I remarked willow and cherry, (cerasus 1•irginiana ;) alld a qnan~ tity of goo eberry and currant bn bes occupied the greater part. . The creek was tiHf'e or four feet broad, and about si:A i11clles deep, w1th a swift curreut of clear water, nml tolerably cool. We had . tmck it too low down to f.nd 1llc cold water, whi ·ll we 1-bonltl ltuvc enjoyed nearer to its sources. At 2, p. m., the baron1et0r was n t 25.050, the attached tltet mometer 104°. A day of hot .. nn~hine, with cloud~, and a moderate breeze (rom the south. Continuing clown tile stream, in abont four miles we r~ac hed it mouth, nt one of tb r. ma.i11 branches of Hot se creek. Lookiug back npnn the ridge, wh o~-e direction appeared to be a little to the north of east, we saw it ~eamed al frcqnent intervals with tlte dark lines of wooded .. trcnms, aflinents or the 1 ivcr that flowed so far as we conld see along ils ba~e. \Ve cros .. ed, in the ~race of twelve miles from onr noon halt, three or four furks of Horse crcd~, aJHl encamped ut sunset ou the most ca terly. The fork on which we encamped appearetl to have followed an easterly direction up to this place; but here it makes a very sudden bend to the north, passing betwecu two ranges of precipitous hills, called, as I was informed, Goshen's hole. There is somewhere in ot· ncar this locality a place so called, bnt 1 am not certain !hat it wa. the place of our eucampmeut. Looking buck upou tbc spol, at the distance of a few miles to tbc northward, the hills appear to slnlt in the prairie, tl1rongh which rnus the creek. wiLh a senti-circular sweep, which might very naturally be called a hoi~ in lbe 1.1ill:;:. The geological compo ition of the ridge is the ame whiCh c~ustltntcs the rock of the Conrt.Jtonse and Chimney, on the North fo rk, whiCh appeared to me a continuation of tltis ridg<!. The wiuds and ruins work this formation into a variety of singular forms. Tbe pass iuLo 35 [ 174 ] Goshen's hole is nbont two miles wide n nd the r11'11 on tlle , ., ·a I• m·t 1.• \ 1e •s , · • .. 1 • . ' • v cs l c r n ~ 1 c 111 an cxlr.toJulllaJv manner 'l 11 t·l~'"lve r0 rt'fi d 1 · 1 • • • . J • ' • ,,,, I ~ I l(' p <ll'l' WI( l '1 re-ma. rIk able fulIn,c. s-.; nt de.r a.t l. TIH' rock i ·. tli'''1J 'I ·111d ·t ·tl 1 ' '1 · ' l 1 ty llllt'Stonc, w tl((> wit lOUt the cast nppc.uatlcc of n•rrct·t(IOil 't tl •l 11111 cJ1 · 11 ' I. 1 d' . 0 ' '' ~ 1escm > c's ma .. oury at a 111 c 1SI:1ncc; and !Jc·rc It sweeps arottltcl " 1 1 1 1 d . . · · .. PVt, a rea two or 1 1rce lUll, . rPd, . y ,' r Is. •1 11 . dta.m ctcr ' and itt the. fonn of a 1t . It' · · ' t1 1l1 0 0 ll, I c r lllll Hlllll o-on ct .. tel c~tlelllltV 111 c·rJormons basiJOJis \ lo 11 rr tl,., 1 1 1· f 1° . .. , , . · '. '· ~ · b 1~. \Vl0(' llleO {IC p,u.tpc ts appc at dome~ and slc·JH1cr llli!J<Hets, forty or fi fty feet ]1jo-J1 ivincr 1~ rvcry appcar?nce o! ~rt old fortified towtJ. On 11 10 • waters ~f,~VI ·t~ nver, where tills furmatJOil exi~ts in crrcut cxtcnl 1·t f>t·c ·e 1 • . ' \1 e I · 1 · 1 1 · · ~ ' s 11 s appearances w llC l exc1tc I 1c ac nnrnt1on of the solit~ ry voy·lcrctl l' ., 11 -r (. . ( 1 f' 1 · · < ' :> ' "' u <H 111 a r e q u c 11 t t 1emc.o t 1?1r c~nvcr:mt1011 when speaking of tltc wonder' of til, c 1. Some11m~s 1t oilers tl tc jH.: rrl:e tly ill11~ivc appearance of a Iaro-e ~it;Lll\~~[r; lllliL,te rro. n·1s trccts ancl tu agntficc!ll( buildinns a 1nono- wlliclt tJt0e (' 'd. t • · ... 0 ::> ana Jatls never at o s~e tne1r crtbaJ'Ct: and som.eLimcs it lakes th, form of a oli-tary. house, Wltlt lll~lll)' largr cltamhers, tnto which they drive their horses at .'11gltt, ancl ~leer~ 111 thesL' natnral dcfcn.ce · pNfectly secure frt) lll any att~ cl~ . ?f prow.ltng s,tvagl' ... Before reaciHng our ca r11p at Coshcu's hole in CIOSslllg th.e 1 111111.en~c ddrilll~ at thP foot of the Castle roc:lc, we were 'inv~ lved <lliliUSt \VIlldlllg passage~ C.: llt by the Wllters or tile hi ll · and where \~l~h a. ~lrcatltlt s.carC(?ly largn ('llOll.!.;lt for the passage or a IJO;.se, the wall~ n.s_c tl1ll.,tY. anu forty f'..:t·t pcrpvndJcularly. T !lis forlllalion supplies the dtscolot,lllOtl of tile Platte. At Sllllset, the height or the llH'l'l'l ll'iai columtt was 25.50'), the attached tlwrmometl'r 80°, allu winu moJcnte from s ~so 1•~ .. ~louds covered the sk~ with I he rise of the moon, hut I uccced~d 111 ~bta,uHn.¥ the m;qaJ· '' tronolntcal observations, which placed u~ iu latitude 41 40 13 anrllongttudc 10·1° 2'1' 36". .lu~11 15.-At G this morllillg-, the barometer w•1s at 25.515 the thermometer 7~0 ; the day was fine, with ::-:omc clonds loo kin o- dark on ~he. so nth w'tl a fresh breeze from the snn1e quarter. \Ve fout1d tltut in onr j ourney <;cr~s~ ~IJC country we had ln•pt too nmcb to the ea::.tward. This moming,accordlll?' ly,_ we travelled Ly co.mpass S?tnc 15 or 20° to the west of no rth, and ~tm-~1\ the Plaltc some tlllrtcen n.ulcs belo\~ Fort Laramie. Th (1ay was cx tt c~ncly hot, and ~lll()ttg the !nils the wJ~Hl ~ •emcd to ltave ju ·t issued fr.o~n .'lll ov?u. Om. hor~cs wc~e. 111uch dt ·tres ed, as w' lwc.l travelled lt.l.ld, and ~t was witll some dllhcnlty that lhey were alll>rotwht to tho Plcttte; wlr.lch \~e r~a clted at 1 o'clock. In tiditlg in towards ~he river, we fo.und t11e tratl o( onr carts, which appeareJ to have passed a day or tWO SlllCe. . After llavin$ allowed our auimals two hums for fo oclt1nd repo e, we Iesume.J onr Jnw·ney, ancl towards the close of the dr:y cumc in sio-ht o[ Lnramw's fork. ls ·uing ftym the river hil ls, we came firs t in vi~w of ;ort ,P·I.utte, ?- post U<'~ongmg to .1\IJC' ·srs. ~ybil.lc, Adn m~, & Co., ituated -~rncdlcttely ll1 the pomt of land at tlw JllllCtwu of Laramie with tho : l~ttc. Llk~ the ro.~t we h~d visircd Oil the Sonth fo rk, it was built of caJth, and stil.l Ullfilllshed, belllg enclosed with walls (or ruther houses) on thr?e. of the s1des~ an~ open on the fourth to tile river. A few hundred ya1~s bronght us m v1ew of the post of the Amcricau Fur Company called. ~1 ?rt John, or ~uramie. Thi was a la rge post, having more the ~ir of ~Illlitury constrnct1on than the fort at the mouth CJ[ the river. It is on the _eft 1 ba11k, on a rising ground some twenty five feet above the water. and lts ofty walls, whitc~wHsh~d n11d picketed, with tho Jargr bastions ~t the |
