OCR Text |
Show I • [ 23] 110 f or J ea· v1· ng tl1e sic·k ' the number of whom hacl . increased to s.e ven , and for obtaining provisions for the rest ~f the JOUrney. Owtng to the gre~t facilities aff?rded me by ~aptain Eno.s, I was enabled to conclude my preparatiOns that even1n~, so t!1at 1t would· I;lot bene. cessary to detain the wagon on the following day for more than one or two hours. The thermometer has been all day se~en degrees below zero; and I was told that, for several days prevwus, the temperature of the air had been of the same degree ?f coldness. Jan1tary 20.-This morning was b1tt~r ~old, although there was no wind. At eleven o'clock, my party arnved.. We at once commenced cro sing the Arka~sas river. 'I'? do th.Is, we were obliged to carry sand and spread It ?ver the slippery I~e on .the route. we bad stlectcd. Although the Ice was S'enerally e'ght. mches thtck, yet in one place,. for. the breadth ?f stx feet, the :a piu curr~nt was running clear; this ctrcumstance mcreased the d1ffir.ulty or cross, lil g. . As soon as we reacheJ the fort, the sick were carried into a com· fortable room ·where they were to remain until next spring, when they might re~urn to the United States. Our axes and tools were sharpened, our wagons examined, and we took. the pre~aution to obtain an extra axletree. In two hours we were agam on the march, antl at evening formed our camp six miles to the eastward of the fort. My friends at Bent's Fort cautioned me with regard to the want of grass on the burnt prairies between Pawnee Fork and Council Grove. I therefore determined to save my corn until we should reach the burnt prairies, and until then permitting he animals to run loose .. \Ve had already used eight of the fourteen fanegas; which we haJ obtained at "Las Vegas." . January 21.-The sun was half an hour high before we left camp; we had an excellent road, it was smooth ancl very hard, wherefore, although we moved at an easy gait, we reached the "Big Timbers," and encamped an hour before sunset. Not far from our camp, th.ere are the ruins of some old trading houses. Here were some Immense cotton wood trees, which were already felleo; with them w_ebuilt roaring fires. We were now twenty-seven miles from Ben~'S Fort, and bad sped our way so pleasantly, that we conceived bnllian t hopes of our future progress. January 22.-We soon came in sight of the Cheyenne lodges. 'fhe Ind1ans had all gathered here, where they might have shelter from the storms of winter. Thoughout our day's journey, we. saw their lodge~ lining the banks and covering tre islands of the nver. The" Big Timbers'' affor1l an endless supply of wood, and on t.he plains, on the south side of the river, the grass is very good, ~v~1le the unfailing waters of the Arkansas, in addition to the requ1s1tes already mentioned, make this spot one of the most eligible for the ere.ctio~ ?f ~ military de~ot, in case the government intends to mamtam 1ts 1ntercourse wlth New Mexico. We met a white trade],' amongst the Cheyennes, who warned us • Ill [ 23 J against the Arrapahoes, who, he s~id, were uaily coming in with herds of cattle and numbers of Mex1can scalps. . About sunset, .as we were travelling .slowly along the banks of the river, a~ Indian approached us, making signs to have us encamp; he sa:d t?at he h.ad a large supply of dried J3uffalo meat, and he could. brmg It to us If we would encamp near his vi11age. In th~ e~'entng a number of squaws ~arne to our camp, bringing the prom1scd meat. Although we paid them well with such trinkets as we possessed, yet t~ey could not have been perfectly contended for we founu, af~cr their departure, that they had carri ed off all au:. axes, together With two guns and a bulJ ct pouch. These thefts occurred after my men had been warned to be upon their O'Uart.l· r.ertainly, no people can be more skillful in. thieving than bthe bheyennes. Janua1·y 23.-This morning, as soon as we arose we saw the Jn, dians returning. In front came the chief of the 'village, and as soon as 11~ was ne~r enough, we saw that he carried some of the stolen articles. 'Ihe squaws brought more meat but I refused to take any of it until all the missing articles wer~ re stor ed. The chief told me that if ~ would go up t? the village with him, he would get them; the village was two mdes dJstant, but rath er than loose our axes I consented to go. As soon as we approached. the lo~ges the chief ~om.menced I:uuang~ing his people in a stentorian totce, anu then InVIted me Into hts lodge. In a little while the Incliaus came running to us, and every arttclc was restored. Shortly after leaving camp we met a company of men who had 1been .sent from .Bent's For~, with a wagon load of corn, to meet Captatu Murphy at the crossmg o.f the A.rkansas; impeded by heavy snows, they had only succeeded In gettmg thus far on their return to the fort. At sundown we reached a spot where the river bottoms we:-e a I burnt; no wood was to be had. We crossed over to an i ·d:11• , 1 which was covered ~ith :viii ow bushes; here we were pret t_y ,,.,-:!. S~Jeltered, but the willow brush was so light and consum ed ;-. ,, r;: ptdly that we found not much comfort by our camp fires. At the mouth of "Big Sand creek," I obtained a very curious fossil sup-posed to be an inoceramus. ' January 24.-0n account of the prairies having been burnt, our mu~es wandered off for five or six miles. vVe did not get away untd.eleven o'clock. Thus we were obliged to lose the best part ~f t.his day, on account of the i!l.excusable negligence of some pre· cedmg travellers who had not extinguished their camp fires. W After the first three miles, our road became extremely difficult. . e had to march through snow which had laid on the ground some ~tme. It had thawed, and had afterwards frozen, sometimes bearIng up the wagons and mules; sometimes giving way so as to render our progress slow and difficult. lc'lro-day we saw some buffaloes. I sent out some of the men to 1~ one of them, but they were very shy, and the snow upon He ~rounll prevents one from approaching without being perceived •• ·' avwg marched 22 miles, we reached ''Little Sand creek.'' We |