Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 3.djvu/97

River to a government agency there. The country was mostly hilly, the hills being of shell-filled sandstone and boulders of quartz and granite. The last white man we saw was a blacksmith for the Indians, who had his smithy on the Kansas, near where Lawrence now is.

We passed an Indian village, which was entirely deserted, as all had gone buffalo hunting. The Indians always go out for buffalo once a year and bring home the meat to dry for winter. Their wigwams were made by sticking poles in the ground in circular form, covering the whole with buffalo skins, and leaving an opening at the top for the smoke to get out. Here we found game and honey in abundance, but no Indians.

May 21—We encamped on a branch of the Kansas called the Big Blue, which we crossed the next day and passed Captain Bonneville's party on a trading excursion by wagon. We stopped a few moments to salute and passed on. The next day we passed another Indian village, probably winter quarters. There were holes dug in the ground some five or six feet deep and covered with split plank or brush, so making warm quarters in severe weather. But this, too, was deserted. We kept up the waters of the Blue to its source, and thence reached the Platte in one day's march of twenty-five miles over barren, dry prairie.

We found no timber of any amount after leaving the waters of the Blue. We could not carry our percussion caps on our guns for fear of discharging them, the air was so very dry. We reached the Platte opposite a big island, probably Grand Island, on May 28, and continued up the Platte a hundred and sixty-five miles to junction of the forks, which we reached June 2.

The Platte is a broad, turbulent stream and warm. Its bed is a mile or two wide. Here we saw the first buffalo and ate our last meal of packed provisions.

There was a great deal of grumbling among Captain Wyeth's men. Some deserted and turned back. We all felt gnawings of hunger and were very thirsty. The warm water of the Platte was not refreshing. June 3 we saw a frightful drove of buffalo appearing as far as the eye could reach, as if the ground was a sea of them. Such armies of them see and fear nothing. Sublette's men killed ten or twelve, of which we had only two. The others the wolves carried off.

The warm water of the Platte caused diarrhoea. Dr. Jacob Wyeth, the captain's brother, was quite ill. But for the guidance of Captain Sublette we must have perished for the want of subsistence in this desert of the Missouri.

June 4—We crossed the south branch after we had gone some fifty miles from the forks, and a short ride of ten miles over the bluffs brought us to the North Platte. There was little timber along this stream. We continued up this river two hundred and eighty-seven