| OCR Text |
Show [ 17-! J 56 dicnlarly from the water. To that ou t!Je rrgltt bank! whi?h is the lower, the barometer t.ravc :1 llL'ight of three lnmdrl'<l ~ut_d sixty lcet. . Annexed is a vic\\r of tbis place, wllicll will bt' more parllcttlarly t.le~cnbcd hereafter, as we pa-..scd through it on our retnru .. We saw here numerous herds of montllalll sheep, nnJ frequemly heard the volley of rattlit1 o- . tou0s which nccornp, ni ed _their rapid dc>~c ut t.lown the steep bills. This was the first place at _wh~ch we lta.d krlled <li!Y of these ::wimal~ j aiJU, in COIJSt.:qllCllCe 0f tlllS CtrCillll , tHilCt' , rttlU Of the abundance of these heep or goats, (for they arc called by each name,) we gavl.! to our encampnwnt the name of Goat Island. Their fie. h is much e. teemed by the hunters, ancl ltns very ruuch the ilavor ()~the_ Allegany monntain sltecp. I have frc cplCntly SfCll tlw lwrns of tht:-; atlttnul three feet Jono· and seventceu iiJches in ci rcumferenco at the l>as(', weiO'hiug elevcu 1~ounds. But two or three ()f the~c were killed by our party at this place and of these the hom were small. Then e oi these horns seems to be to protect the animal's heaJ in pitcltiug uowu precipices to avoid pursuing wolves-their only safety being in places where they cannot be followed The bones are very trong and soltd, the marrow occupying but a very small pori ion or the bone in the leg, about the thiclwess or a rye straw. The hair is short, reseml>litw the winter color of our common deer, which it nearly approaches iu ,jzr, and appearance. Except in the horn., it has no resemblance whatever to the goat. The luugitnue of this pbce, re ulting from chronometer a11d lunar dist:111ces, and au occulta tiou of E :\rictis, is 107° 13' 29", a11<l the latitude <12° 3!3' 27". One of our horses, which had given ont, we left tn receive strength ou tltc i land, intending to take her, perhaps, on our rctmn. July 31.-This momiug we left the course of the Platte, to cross over to the .... weet \:Vater. Our way, for a few miles, lay up the s<tndy bed qf a dry creek, in which I found several interc tiJJg plants. Leaving this, we wound our way to tbe summit of the hills, of w hi ell the peaks arc hc.re eight l'tllnured feet above the Platte, h<tre and rocky. A long <lltd gradual slope led from these hills to the Sweet Water, wbieh we reacllc~d in fifteen mil0s from Goat Island. I made au early encampment here, in order to give the hnutcrs an opportunity lo procnrc a supply from sevcrall>auds of buffalo, which made their appcaraur,e in tlte val1ey near by. Tile stream here is abont sixty feet wide, and at this time twelve to eiohteen iuche deep, with a vcrv moderate current. 0 The u.djoiuiug· prairies arc Sitndy, uut tlte immediate river bottom is a good· oil which aifo~·t.leu an abundance of soft gn'cn grass to our horse. , and where I found a variety of intere:-,tiug plants, which made their appearauce for the first time. A rain to-uight made it u11pleasantly cold; and th_ere was no tree here, to eunblc u. to pitcb our siuglt• te11t, the poles of wh1ch had been left at Cacltc camp. \Ve had, therefore, no shelter ex<.:ept .what was to be found undt>r cover of' tile a!Jsinl/u: l>usl1eS which g~·ew m many thick patche~, one or two aud sometimes tlll''ee feet htgh . .llugusl 1.-Tite huutcrs went aheatl this moruino- as bumllo appeared t~l~rably abunuant, aiHl I wa dcsirnn · to secure 0~ srnall tack of proVl. wus_; aud we moved about seven tniles np tile valley, aud encamped one nnl.e belo\v Rock ltJdependt!llC"C. This is au isola[f'O gwuite rock. about Sl~ huudred anti fifty yard , lo11o- and forty in heitYht. Except in a dc1)resswn f tl · 0 o 1e sunmut, where a li' ttle soil support.s ao scauty growth |
