when we had arrived near a suitable place for our mid-day halt, to
the hunters to go out in pursuit of bisons, and in a short time two
were killed. The choice parts of these were taken and placed upon
pack-horses, to be carried forward to our next encampment, where some
of it might be _jerked_ on the ensuing day, which was Sunday.
Aside from the vast herds of bisons which it contains, the country
along the Platte is enlivened by great numbers of deer, badgers,[111]
hares,[112] prairie wolves, eagles, buzzards,[113] ravens, and owls:
these, with its rare and interesting plants, in some measure relieved
the uniformity of its cheerless scenery. We found a constant source of
amusement in observing the unsightly figure, the cumbrous gait, and
impolitic movements of the bison; we were often delighted by the beauty
and fleetness of the antelope, and the social comfort and neatness of
the prairie dog.
[111] Meles labradoricus.—JAMES.
[112] Lepus variabilis? possibly it may prove to be L. glacialis of
Leach.—JAMES.
[113] Vultur aura.—JAMES.
This barren and ungenial district appeared, at this time, to be filled
with greater numbers of animals than its meagre productions are
sufficient to support. It was, however, manifest that the bisons, then
thronging in such numbers, were moving towards the south. Experience
may have taught them to repair at certain seasons to the more luxuriant
plains of Arkansa and Red river. What should ever prompt them to return
to the inhospitable deserts of the Platte, it is not perhaps, easy to
conjecture. In whatever {161} direction they move, their parasites and
dependants fail not to follow. Large herds are invariably attended by
gangs of meagre, famine-pinched wolves, and flights of obscene and
ravenous birds.
We have frequently remarked broad shallow excavations in the soil, of
the diameter of from five to eight feet, and greatest depth from six
inches to eighteen. These are of rare occurrence near the Missouri,
as far as Engineer cantonment, and in other districts where the bison
is seldom seen at the present day; and when they do exist there, they
are overgrown by grass and nearly obliterated. As you approach the
country, still the constant residence of these animals, the excavations
become more numerous, and are less productive of grass. They now are
so numerous as to be of constant recurrence, offering a considerable
impediment to the traveller, who winds his way amongst them, and are
entirely destitute of grass, their surface being covered with a deep
dust. Until recently, we had no opportunity to observe the cause which
gives rise to these appearances; but we were now convinced that they
were the result of the habit which the bulls have, in common with the
domestic bull, of scraping up the earth with their fore feet, in the
process of dusting themselves: they serve also as places for rolling
and wallowing; a gratification which the bison bull indulges in as
frequently, and in the same manner as the horse.
Some extensive tracts of land along the Platte, particularly those
portions which are a little elevated, with an undulating or broken
surface, are almost exclusively occupied by a scattered growth of
several species of wormwood, (artemisia) some of which are common
to this country, and that on the lower Missouri: we may enumerate
the following—A. ludoviciana, A. longifolia, A. serrata, A.
columbiensis,[114] {162} A. cernua, A. canadensis; most of these
species have simple or finely divided compound leaves, which are long
and slender, and canescent, like those of the A. absynthium, the common
wormwood of the gardens. The peculiar aromatic scent, and the flavor
of this well known plant, is recognized in all the species we have
mentioned. Several of them are eaten by the bisons, and our horses were
sometimes reduced to the necessity of feeding upon them.
[114] A. columbiensis. This is said to be the plant known to the party
of Lewis and Clarke, by the name of "wild sage." It occurs abundantly
in the barren plains of the Columbia river; where it furnishes the
sole article of fuel or of shelter to the Indians who wander in those
woodless deserts. See Nuttall's Genera, vol. ii. p. 142.—JAMES.
The intense reflection of light and heat from the surface of many
tracts of naked sand, which we crossed, added much to the fatigue
and suffering of our journey. We often met with extensive districts
covered entirely with loose and fine sand blown from the adjacent
hills. In the low plains along the river, where the soil is permanent,
it is highly impregnated with saline substances, and too sterile to
produce any thing except a few stinted carices and rushes.
On the evening of the twenty-fourth, after we had encamped, several
bull bisons, being on the windward side, came so near us as to create
a disturbance among our horses, who were not yet so familiarized to
the formidable appearance of those animals, as to regard their near
approach with indifference. The bulls at length became troublesome,
approaching so near to smell at the horses, that some of the latter
broke the cords by which they were fastened, and made their escape.
A man was then sent to frighten away the bisons, who, in their turn,
exhibited as much terror as they had occasioned to our horses.
On Sunday, the twenty-fifth, we remained encamped, and some of the men
were employed in drying a part of the meat killed on the preceding day.
{163} This was done that we might be able to carry constantly with us
a small supply of provisions, in reserve against any occasion when we
might not meet with game.
The magnetic variation equated from two sets of observations, was found
to be 14° east. Observations for longitude were made; it was also
attempted to take the meridian altitude of Antares for ascertaining the
latitude, but the observation was commenced a few minutes too late, we
having been longer occupied in making the preceding observations than
we had anticipated.[115]
[115] There is a considerable error in the longitude of points in
western Nebraska and Colorado as given on the map of the expedition.
For example, the longitude of the town of North Platte, at the
confluence of the forks of the Platte, is 100° 45' 53"; while on the
accompanying map the one hundred and second meridian runs but little
west of the spot. For this reason, and because of the few landmarks
described, the location of the camps of the expedition can only be
approximated; but that of June 26 must have been quite near the
Nebraska-Colorado boundary. The South Platte leaves Colorado almost
exactly at the northeastern corner of the state.—ED.
26th. The weather had now been for some days fair. As we approached the
mountains, we felt or fancied, a very manifest change in the character
of the weather, and the temperature of the air. Mornings and evenings
were usually calm, and the heat more oppressive than in the middle of
the day. Early in the forenoon, a light and refreshing breeze often
sprung up, blowing from the west or south-west, which again subsided
on the approach of night. This phenomenon was so often observed that
we were induced to attribute it to the operation of the same local
cause, which in the neighbourhood of the sea, produces a diurnal
change in the winds, which blow alternately to and from the shore. The
Rocky Mountains may be considered as forming the shore of that sea of
sand, which is traversed by the Platte, and extends northward to the
Missouri, above the great bend.
The rarefaction of the air over this great plain, by the reverberation
of the sun's rays during the day, causes an ascending current, which is
supplied by the rushing down of the condensed air from the mountains.
Though the sun's rays in the middle of the day were scorching and
extremely afflictive to our eyes, the temperature of the air, as
indicated by the thermometer, had hitherto rarely exceeded 80° Fah.
{164} In the forenoon we passed a range of hills more elevated than
any we had seen west of the Missouri. These hills cross the Platte
from north to south, and though inconsiderable in magnitude, they can
be distinguished extending several miles on each side of the river.
They consist principally of gravel, intermixed with small water-worn
fragments of granite and other primitive rocks, but are based on a
stratum of coarse friable sand-stone, of a dark gray colour, which has
been uncovered, and cut through by the bed of the Platte.
This range may perhaps be a continuation or spur from the black hills
mentioned by Lewis and Clarke, as containing the sources of the
Shienne, and other tributaries to the Missouri, at no great distance to
the north of the place where we now were.[116]
[116] The name "Black Hills," which is now associated with the
mountains of southwestern South Dakota, has also been applied somewhat
indefinitely to hills in Nebraska, Wyoming, and Colorado. Lewis and
Clark's map places hills so named along the eastern side of the North
Platte, running well into Nebraska. The name is sometimes given
to the hills enclosed by the circular course of the North Platte,
in southeastern Wyoming; while Frémont (1842) applies it to the
hills through which Cache la Poudre River cuts its way to the South
Platte.—ED.
At evening we arrived at another scattering grove of cotton-wood trees,
among which we placed our camp, immediately on the brink of the river.
The trees of which these insulated groves are usually composed, from
their low and branching figure, and their remoteness from each other,
as they stand scattered over the soil they occupy, revived strongly
in our minds the appearance and gratifications resulting from an
apple orchard; for which from a little distance they might readily be
mistaken, if seen in a cultivated region. At a few rods distant on our
right hand, was a fortified Indian camp, which appeared to have been
recently occupied. It was constructed of such broken half-decayed logs
of wood as the place afforded, intermixed with some skeletons of bisons
recently killed. It is of a circular form, enclosing space enough for
about thirty men to lie down upon. The wall is about five feet high,
with an opening towards the east, and the top uncovered.
At a little distance in front of the entrance of this breastwork, was
a semicircular row of sixteen bison skulls, with their noses pointing
down the river. Near the centre of the circle which this row would
{165} describe, if continued, was another skull marked with a number of
red lines.
Our interpreter informed us that this arrangement of skulls and other
marks here discovered, were designed to communicate the following
information, namely, that the camp had been occupied by a war party
of the Skeeree or Pawnee Loup Indians, who had lately come from an
excursion against the Cumancias, Ietans, or some of the western tribes.
The number of red lines traced on the painted skull indicated the
number of the party to have been thirty-six; the position in which
the skulls were placed, that they were on their return to their own
country. Two small rods stuck in the ground, with a few hairs tied in
two parcels to the end of each, signified that four scalps had been
taken.
A record of facts, which may be important and interesting to others, is
thus left for the benefit of all who may follow. For our part we were
glad to be informed, that one lawless and predatory band of savages
had lately left the country we were about to traverse. We were never
without some anxiety on the subject of Indian war-parties; who are
known frequently to remunerate themselves for any discomfiture or loss
they may have sustained, by making free booty of the property and the
scalps of the first weak or unguarded party they may meet.
At a late hour in the night, after our camp had become quiet, we were
suddenly awakened by a loud rushing noise, which in a moment seemed to
reach the centre of our encampment; immediately a piercing exclamation
of terror was heard from one of our interpreters, which, from the
peculiarity of its tone, seemed to have escaped from a throat under
the grasp of death. It became immediately apparent that the cause of
the alarm proceeded from our horses, all of whom had broken loose from
their stakes, near the Indian fort, and had run in a state of fright
through our camp, with the apparent desire to gain our protection {166}
against something in their rear. We proceeded in a cautious manner to
reconnoitre the environs of the camp, stooping low, in order that the
eye might be directed along the level of the top of the grass, which
was here of a very luxuriant growth, in order to detect in the gloom,
any inimical object that might rise above it; having thus convinced
ourselves that nothing dangerous to our safety remained very near to
us, the horses were again secured, and we betook ourselves to our beds,
with the reflection, that they had probably been alarmed by the too
near approach of bisons.
We had scarce fallen asleep, when we were aroused the second time, by
the discharge of a gun close to our tent. This was the signal which
we had all understood was to be given by the sentinel, in case of
the hostile approach of Indians to the camp. We therefore bestirred
ourselves, being well assured we had other business at hand, than the
securing of horses. Several of the party went to reconnoitre the old
fort above mentioned, but nothing was discovered and they returned.
After all were assembled at camp, Major Long informed us the alarm had
been given by his order, and was intended to test the coolness and
self-possession of the party, and to prepare us in some measure for an
unpleasant occurrence, we all thought too likely to happen, which was
no other than a serious attack from the Indians, to be made according
to their custom at that highly unseasonable hour of the morning.
Since leaving the Missouri, we had never indulged a disposition to
sluggishness, accustoming ourselves to rise every morning long before
the sun; but we still found we left that small spot of earth, on which
we had rested our limbs, and which had become warm and dry by the heat
of our bodies, with as much reluctance as we have felt at quitting
softer beds.
{167} The mode of rallying now prescribed was the following;
immediately after an alarm should be given, the party should seize
their arms, and form in front of the tents, in the rear of the line
of packs, and await any orders that might be given. The sentinel
giving the alarm should proceed to the tent of the officers, in order
to acquaint them with the cause. Major Long and Captain Bell should
reconnoitre about the encampment, and if practicable ascertain the
real occasion of the alarm. Farther movements to be regulated as the
emergency might require.
This alarm was the occasion of our starting on the morning of the
26th at an earlier hour than usual. We rode on through the same
uninteresting and dreary country as before, but were constantly amused
at observing the motions of the countless thousands of bisons, by which
we were all the time surrounded. The wind happening to blow fresh
from the south, the scent of our party was borne directly across the
Platte, and we could distinctly note every step of its progress through
a distance of eight or ten miles, by the consternation and terror it
excited among the buffaloes. The moment the tainted gale infected their
atmosphere, they ran with as much violence as if pursued by a party of
mounted hunters, and instead of running from the danger, turned their
heads towards the wind; eager to escape from the terrifying scent, they
pushed forward in an oblique direction towards our party, and plunging
into the river they swam and waded, and ran with the utmost violence,
in several instances breaking through our line of march, which was
immediately along the left bank of the Platte.
It is remarked by hunters, and appears to be an established fact,
that the odour of a white man is more terrifying to wild animals,
particularly the bison, than that of an Indian. This animal, in the
course of its periodic migrations, comes into the immediate {168}
neighbourhood of the permanent Indian villages, on the Missouri and
the Platte. One was seen by our hunters within six miles of the Grand
Pawnee village, and immediately about the towns we saw many heads
and skeletons of such as had been killed there the preceding spring.
They had come in while the Pawnees were absent on their winter's
hunt, and at their return, we were informed, they found the bisons
immediately about their villages. They disappeared invariably from the
neighbourhood of the white settlements within a few years. We are aware
that another cause may be found for this than the frightful scent of
the white man, which is, the impolitic exterminating war which he wages
against all unsubdued animals within his reach.
It would be highly desirable that some law for the preservation of game
might be extended to, and rigidly enforced in the country where the
bison is still met with; that the wanton destruction of these valuable
animals, by the white hunters, might be checked or prevented. It is
common for hunters to attack large herds of these animals, and having
slaughtered as many as they are able, from mere wantonness and love
of this barbarous sport, to leave the carcasses to be devoured by the
wolves and birds of prey; thousands are slaughtered yearly, of which no
part is saved except the tongues. This inconsiderate and cruel practice
is undoubtedly the principal reason why the bison flies so far and so
soon from the neighbourhood of our frontier settlements.
It is well known to those in the least degree conversant with the
Indians, that the odour which their bodies exhale, though very strong
and peculiar, is by no means unpleasant,[117] at least to most persons.
A negro in the employment of the Missouri Fur Company, and living at
Fort Lisa, was often heard to complain of the intolerable scent of
the squaws; in like manner, the Indians find the odour of a white man
extremely offensive. In the language of the {169} Peruvian Indians, are
three words to express their idea of the smell of the European, the
aboriginal American, and the negro. They call the first _Pezuna_, the
second _Posco_, and the third _Grajo_.[118]
[117] We may add on this subject the testimony of Lawson, the early
historian of North Carolina. After describing the huts of the native
inhabitants, he adds, "These dwellings are as hot as stoves, where the
Indians sleep and sweat all night; yet I never felt any ill unsavory
smell in their cabins, whereas should we live in our houses as they
do, we should be poisoned with our own nastiness; which confirms the
Indians to be, as they really are, some of the sweetest people in the
world." New Voyage to Carolina, p. 177. London, 4to. 1709.—JAMES.
[118] See Humboldt's New Spain, vol. i. p. 184.—JAMES.
After passing the range of hills above mentioned, the surface subsides
nearly to a plain, having, however, manifestly a greater inclination
than below. The velocity of the current of the river is much increased,
the bed narrower, and the banks more precipitous. We passed several
extensive tracts nearly destitute of vegetation. The surface of these
consisted entirely of coarse sand and gravel, with here and there an
insulated mass of clay, highly impregnated with salt, and gnawed and
licked into various singular shapes, exhibiting the forms of massive
insulated columns, huge buttresses, prominent angles, and profound
excavations, fortuitously mingled, and which are now gradually
diminishing, under the action of the cause which produced them. The
present surface upon which they repose, seems to be a stratum of a
different earth, which does not afford the condiment so attractive
to the animals; the consequence is, that the licking and chewing,
principally, heretofore, affecting the surface on which the animal
stood, is now directed against the upright portions of this singular
grand excavation, and most remarkable of all known salt-licks.
Some extensive portions of the immediate bottom land, along the river,
were white with an effloresced salt, but this being impure and but
imperfectly soluble, did not appear to have been licked.
Towards evening we passed two springs of transparent, but impure and
brackish water. They were the first we had met with on the Platte.[119]
Among a considerable number of undescribed plants collected on the
27th, are three referable to the family of the rough-leaved plants
(asperifoliæ), one of them belonging {170} to a genus not heretofore
known in the United States. It has a salver-form corolla, with a large
spreading angular, plaited border. Another plant very conspicuously
ornamental to these barren deserts, is a lactescent annual,
belonging to the family of the convolvulacæ, with a bright purple
corolla, as large as that of the common stramonium. We also observed
the white-stalked primrose, (œnothera albicaulis, N.) a very small
white-flowered species of talinum, and some others. We observed, in
repeated instances, several individuals of a singular genus of reptiles
(chirotes, Cuv.) which in form resemble short serpents, but are more
closely allied to the lizards, by being furnished with two feet.
They were so active, that it was not without some difficulty that we
succeeded in obtaining a specimen. Of this (as was our uniform custom,
when any apparently new animal was presented) we immediately drew out
a description. But as the specimen was unfortunately lost, and the
description formed part of the zoological notes and observations, which
were carried off by our deserters, we are reduced to the necessity of
merely indicating the probability of the existence of the chirotes
lumbricoides of naturalists, within the territory of the United States.
[119] There are a number of springs in the ravines south of the Platte
between Ogallala, Nebraska, and Julesburg, Colorado. During this day's
march, the party doubtless crossed the Nebraska-Colorado line.—ED.
At night we were again alarmed by a disturbance among our horses,
of which we were not able to ascertain the cause. Some of the party
had, on the preceding day, reported that they had seen Indians at a
distance, that they were on horseback, &c. but of this there could be
no certainty, the imagination often representing a herd of antelopes,
or other animals, seen at a distance, and perhaps distorted by the
looming of the prairie, as so many mounted Indians. We had often found
ourselves more grossly abused by our eye-sight, than is supposed in
this instance, having mistaken turkies for bisons, wolves for horses,
&c.
28th. We breakfasted, and left our encampment {171} before five
o'clock. We had not proceeded far when we discovered about thirty
wild horses at a distance before us. They had taken our scent, and
run off in a fright, when we were a mile distant. Their activity and
fleetness surpassed what we had expected from this noble animal in
his savage state. In the course of the day we saw other herds, but
all at a distance. The country south of the Platte contains, as we
are informed, vast numbers of horses. They are of the domesticated
stock introduced by the Spaniards, but they multiply rapidly in their
present state of regained freedom, and are apparently wilder than any
of the native occupants of this country. They are of various colours,
and of all sizes, there being many colts, and some mules, among them.
Their playfulness, rather than their fears, seemed to be excited by our
appearance, and we often saw them, more than a mile distant, leaping
and curvetting, involved by a cloud of dust, which they seemed to
delight in raising.
About some sandy ridges, which we passed in the middle of the day,
several miliary rattle-snakes were seen, two of which were killed.
These had been occasionally met with all along the Platte, but were by
no means numerous. Mr. Peale killed a female antelope, without leaving
our line. The animal had not been able to satisfy its curiosity, and
stood at a little distance gazing at us, until it was shot down.
During the day we passed three small creeks discharging into the Platte
from the north-west. One of these, called by the Indians Bat-so-ah, or
Cherry creek, heads in the Rocky Mountains.[120] On these creeks are a
few small cotton-wood and willow trees. These trees, as well as all
those along the Platte, are low, with very large and branching tops, as
is the case with all trees which grow remote from each other.
[120] Cherry Creek is probably the modern Pawnee Creek, of Logan
County, Colorado. The statement in the text relative to its source is
misleading, as no stream debouching in this vicinity heads so far west;
the heads of the several branches of Cherry Creek are all in eastern
Weld County, many miles from the mountains proper. Frémont camped near
Cherry Creek on July 7, 1843.—ED.
In the afternoon hunters were sent forward, but it was not without some
difficulty that a single bison {172} was killed, those animals having
become much less frequent.[121]
[121] A small fox was killed, which appears to be the animal mentioned
by Lewis and Clarke, in the account of their travels, under the name
of the _burrowing fox_, (vol. ii. p. 351.) It is very much to be
regretted, that although two or three specimens of it were killed
by our party, whilst we were within about two hundred miles of the
mountains, yet from the dominion of peculiar circumstances, we were
unable to preserve a single entire skin; and as the description of
the animal taken on the spot was lost, we shall endeavour to make the
species known to naturalists, with the aid of only a head and a small
portion of the neck of one individual, and a cranium of another, which
are now before us.
In magnitude, the animal is hardly more than half the size of the
American red fox, (_Canis Virginianus_, of the recent authors,) to
which it has a considerable resemblance. But, that it is an adult, and
not the young of that species, the presence of the large carnivorous
tooth, and the two posterior molar teeth of the lower jaw, on each
side, sufficiently attest; these teeth, as well as all the others,
being very much worn down, prove that the milk teeth have been long
since shed.
The teeth, in form, correspond to considerable exactness with those
of our red fox; but the anterior three and four false molares of both
these species are sufficiently distinguished from the corresponding
teeth of the gray, or tri-coloured fox (C. cinereo-argenteus) by being
wider at base, and less elongated perpendicularly, and by having the
posterior basal lobe of each, longer and much more distinctly armed
with a tubercle at tip.
Besides this disparity of dentition in the red and gray foxes, the
general form of the cranium, and its particular detailed characters,
as a less elevated occipital, and temporal crest, more profoundly
sinuous junction of the malar with the maxillary bone, the absence
of elevated lines bounding the space between the insertions of the
lateral muscles, passing in a slightly reclivate direction between the
orbital processes, and the anterior tip of the occipital crest, and
in particular the want of an angular process of the lower jaw beneath
the spinous process in the cranium of the red fox, are sufficiently
obvious characters to indicate even by this portion of the osseous
structure alone, its specific distinctness from the gray fox. In these
differences the osteology of the burrowing fox equally participates,
and although besides these characters in common with the red fox, we
may observe a correspondence in many other respects, yet there are
also many distinctions which the cranium of this small species will
present, when more critically compared with that well known animal,
which unequivocally forbid us from admitting their identity. The
common elevated space on the parietal bones between the insertions
of the lateral muscles is one-fourth wider, and extends further
backward, so as to embrace a notable portion of the anterior angle of
the sagitto-occipital crest; the recipient cavity in the inferior jaw
for the attachment of the masseter muscle is more profound, and the
coronoid process, less elevated than the top of the zygomatic arch, is
more obtusely rounded at tip than that of the red fox.
The dimensions of the cranium, as taken by the calipers:
The entire length from the insertion of the superior incisores to
the tip of the occipital crest, is rather more than four inches
and three-tenths. The least distance between the orbital cavities,
nine-tenths. Between the tips of the orbital processes less than one
inch and one-tenth. Between the insertions of the lateral muscles, at
the junction of the frontal and parietal bones, half an inch. Greatest
breadth of this space on the parietal bones thirteen-twentieths of an
inch.
The hair is fine, dense, and soft. The head above is fulvous,
drawing on ferruginous, intermixed with gray, the fur being of the
first-mentioned colour, and the hair whitish at base; then black; then
gray; then brown. The ridge of the nose is somewhat paler, and a more
brownish dilated line passes from the eye to near the nostrils, (as in
the C. corsac). The margin of the upper lip is white; the orbits are
gray; the ears behind are paler than the top of the head, intermixed
with black hairs and the margin, excepting at tip, white; the inner
side is broadly margined with white hairs; the space behind the ear
is destitute of the intermixture of hairs; the neck above has longer
hairs, of which the black and gray portions are more conspicuous;
beneath the head pure white.
The body is slender, and the tail rather long, cylindrical, and black.
It runs with extraordinary swiftness, so much so, that when at full
speed, its course has been by the hunters compared to the flight of a
bird skimming the surface of the earth. We had opportunities of seeing
it run with the antelope; and appearances sanctioned the belief, that
in fleetness it even exceeded that extraordinary animal, famed for
swiftness, and for the singularity of its horns. Like the corsac of
Asia it burrows in the earth, in a country totally destitute of trees
or bushes, and is not known to dwell in forest districts.
If Buffon's figure of the corsac is to be implicitly relied upon, our
burrowing fox must be considered as perfectly distinct, and anonymous;
we would, therefore, propose for it the name of _velox_.—JAMES.
Our small stock of bread was by this time so nearly exhausted, that
it was thought prudent to reserve the remainder as a last resort,
in case of the failure of a supply of game, or other accident. A
quantity of parched maize, equal to a gill per day, to each man, was
daily distributed to each of the three messes into which the party
was divided. This was thrown into the kettle where the bison meat was
boiled, and supplied the place of barley in the soup, always the first
and most important dish. Whenever game was plenty we had a variety
of excellent dishes, consisting of the choice parts of the bison, the
tongue, the hump ribs, the marrow-bones, &c. dressed in various ways.
The hump ribs of the bison, which many epicures prefer to any other
part of the animal, are the spinous processes of the backbone, and
are from eighteen to twenty-four inches in length. They are taken out
with a small portion of the flesh adhering to each side, and whether
roasted, boiled, or stewed, are certainly very far superior to any part
of the flesh of the domestic ox.
29th. We had proceeded but a few miles from our camp when it was found
that Mr. Say's horse was so far exhausted as to be unable to proceed
at the same pace as the other horses. Mr. Say accordingly dismounted,
and by driving his horse before him, urged the animal along for a few
miles; but this being found too laborious, and as several of the horses
were near failing, it was determined to halt, which we did at ten
o'clock, and remained in camp during the day.
The country, for several miles to the west of the range of hills
mentioned above, is as uniformly plain as that on any part of the
Platte. It differs from that further to the east only in being
of a coarser sand, and in an aspect of more unvaried sterility.
The cactus ferox reigns sole monarch, and sole possessor {173} of
thousands of acres of this dreary plain. It forms patches which
neither a horse nor any other animal will attempt to pass over. The
rabbit's foot plantation, and a few brown and withered grasses, are
sparingly scattered over the intervening spaces. In depressed and
moist situations, where the soil is not so entirely unproductive, the
variegated spurge (euphorbia variegata), with its painted involucrum
and party-coloured leaves, is a conspicuous and beautiful ornament.
The lepidium virginicum, distributed over every part of northern and
equinoctial America, from Hudson's Bay to the summit of the Silla of
Caraccas,[122] is here of such diminutive size that we were induced to
search, though we sought in vain, for some character to distinguish it
as a separate species.
[122] See Humb. Pers. Nar. vol. iii. p. 500.—JAMES.
At three o'clock P. M. the planet Venus was distinctly visible. Its
distance from the sun at 3h. 45m. was east 36° 15[']. There were a few
broken cumulostratose clouds from the south-west, otherwise the sky
was clear, and near the zenith, where the star was seen, of a deep and
beautiful azure. Our actual elevation, at this time, must have been
considerable, and might be supposed to effect, in some degree, the
transparency of our atmosphere.
Several magpies were seen about the islands in the river, where it is
probable they rear their young.
On the 30th we left the encampment at our accustomed early hour,
and at eight o'clock were cheered by a distant view of the Rocky
Mountains. For some time we were unable to decide whether what we saw
were mountains, or banks of cumulous clouds skirting the horizon, and
glittering in the reflected rays of the sun. It was only by watching
the bright parts, and observing that their form and position remained
unaltered, that we were able to satisfy ourselves they were indeed
mountains. They were visible from the lowest parts of the plain, and
{174} their summits were, when first discovered, several degrees above
our horizon. They became visible by detaching themselves from the sky
beyond, and not by emerging from beneath the sensible horizon, so
that we might have seen them from a greater distance had it not been
for the want of transparency in the atmosphere. Our first views of
the mountains were indistinct, on account of some smokiness of the
atmosphere, but from our encampment, at noon, we had a very distinct
and satisfactory prospect of them. A small part only of the intervening
plain was visible, the convexity of the surface intercepting the view
from the base of the mountains, and that portion of the plain adjacent
to it.
Snow could be seen on every part of them which was visible above our
horizon.
The thermometer immersed in the water of the river fell from 80°, the
temperature of the atmosphere, to 75°. Observations had been made
daily to ascertain the temperature of the water of the Platte.[123]
Notwithstanding there were only about five degrees of difference
between the temperature of the air and that of the water, it was
remarked by several of the party, that a sensation of extreme cold was
felt on passing from the one to the other.
[123] The results of several observations are as follows:
Temperature of the water. Temperature of the air.
June 27, 68° 83°
28, 70 79
29, 74 82
30, 75 80
July 1, 71 60
At eleven, A. M.
Before sunrise the mercury fell usually as low as 60°.—JAMES.
It is possible, that at the elevation we had now attained, the
rapidity of evaporation, on account of the diminished pressure of the
atmosphere, might be something greater than we had been accustomed
to. For several days the sky had been clear, and in the morning we
had observed an unusual degree of transparency in every part of the
atmosphere. As the day advanced, and the heat of the sun began to
be felt, such quantities of vapour were seen to ascend from every
part of the plain, that all objects, at a little distance, appeared
magnified, and variously distorted. An undulating or tremulous motion
in ascending lines was manifest over every part of the {175} surface.
Commencing soon after sunrise it continued to increase in quantity
until the afternoon, when it diminished gradually, keeping an even
pace with the intensity of the sun's heat. The density of the vapour
was often such as to produce the perfect image of a pool of water in
every valley upon which we could look down at an angle of about ten
degrees. This effect was several times seen so perfect and beautiful
as to deceive almost every one of our party. A herd of bisons, at the
distance of a mile, seemed to be standing in a pool of water; and what
appeared to us the reflected image was as distinctly seen as the animal
itself. Illusions of this kind are common in the African and Asiatic
deserts, as we learn from travellers, and from the language of poets.
They are called by the Persians _sirraub_, "water of the desert;" and
in the Sanscrit language, _Mriga trichna_, "the desire or thirst of the
antelope." Elphinstone relates,[124] that at Moujgur, in the kingdom of
Caubul, towards evening many persons were astonished at the appearance
of a long lake enclosing several little islands. Notwithstanding the
well known nature of the country, which was a sandy desert, many were
positive that it was a lake, and one of the surveyors took the bearings
of it. "I had imagined," says he, "this phenomenon to be occasioned
by a thin vapour which is spread over the ground in hot weather in
India, but this appearance was entirely different, and on looking
along the ground no vapour whatever could be perceived. The ground was
quite level and smooth, and the weather very hot. It is only found
in level, smooth, and dry places; the position of the sun, and the
degree of heat, are not material, for it was afterwards seen in Damaun,
when the weather was not hotter than in England." On the frontier
of Caubul, Elphinstone saw what he calls a most magnificent mirage,
{176} which looked like an extensive lake, or a very wide river. The
water seemed clear and beautiful, and the figures of two gentlemen,
who rode along it, were _reflected as distinctly as in real water_.
"It is common in our own country," says the London Monthly Review,
"for ground-mists to assume the appearance of water, to make a meadow
seem inundated, and to change a valley into a lake; but these mists
never reflect the surrounding trees and hills. Hence, the _mirage_
must consist of a peculiar gas, of which the particles are combined
by a stronger attraction of cohesion than the vapours of real water;
the _liquor silicum_ of the alchymists is described as exhibiting,
in some circumstances, this glassy surface, yet as being equally
evanescent."[125] It is afterwards suggested, in the same paper, that
the gas which occasioned these extraordinary reflections, may probably
be the substance of the pernicious wind called Simoom. The explanation
here offered will not probably be thought satisfactory. It seems to
belong to the epoch of great and brilliant discoveries in pneumatic
chymistry, when "a peculiar gas" was thought the agent of every
phenomenon.
[124] Mission to Caubul, p. 179. 4to. Lond.—JAMES.
_Comment by Ed._ Mountstuart Elphinstone (1779-1859), fourth son of
the eleventh Baron Elphinstone of the Scottish peerage, was a notable
official in the East Indian service, which he entered in 1796. In
1808 he was placed at the head of an embassy sent to Cabul to secure
the alliance of the Afghans against a threatened French invasion.
The work referred to, _An Account of the Kingdom of Cabul and its
Dependencies in Persia and India_ (London, 1815), was one result of
the mission. Elphinstone returned to England about 1830, declining the
governor-generalship of India.
[125] See Monthly Review for May 1817. p. 3.—JAMES.
The images of pools of water, which we saw in the deserts of the
Platte, appeared to us similar to those mentioned by Elphinstone,
likewise to those observed by Nieburgh[126] in Arabia, where inverted
images were seen.
[126] Karsten Niebuhr (1733-1815) was a Danish scientist and traveller,
who visited Egypt, Arabia, India, Palestine, and Syria during the years
1761-67. The first volume of his travels, _Beschreibung von Arabien_
(Copenhagen, 1772), was published by the Danish government; the
second and third volumes appeared in 1774 and 1778, bearing the title
_Reisebeschreibung von Arabien und anderen umliegenden Ländern_; while
a fourth was brought out in 1837, by Niebuhr's daughter.—ED.
To the more common effects of light passing through a medium charged
with vapours, we had become familiar. We had, for many days, seen the
low bluffs of the valley of the Platte suspended over the verge of
our apparent horizon, as distant capes are suspended over the sea;
but in viewing these perfect images of lakes, we could scarce believe
they were occasioned by _refraction_, to which the phenomena of mirage
have usually been attributed.[127] {177} The circumstance that these
pools could only be seen when we looked down at a considerable angle
upon some valley; the perfect manner in which the image of the sky was
returned from the surface, and the inverted position of the objects
seen, induced us to inquire whether the effect might not be produced
by reflection from the lower stratum of watery vapour.[128] These
appearances are sufficient to justify the conclusion that the quantity
of evaporation is much greater here than in less elevated districts
of country, where such things are not seen.
[Illustration: Distant View of the Rocky Mountains]
[127] See Humb. Pers. Nar. vol. ii. p. 196. vol. iii. pp. 358,
542.—JAMES.
[128] Rays of light, falling with any degree of obliquity upon the
particles of that portion of watery vapour which lies near the surface
of the earth, may be reflected, and pass off at an equal corresponding
angle; so that if the eye be raised a few feet above the reflecting
surface, an image of the corresponding arc of the sky is produced, as
in the case of a sheet of water where the image, seen by the reflected
light, is not that of the water, but the sky. Hence any object, which
obstructs the rays of light in their passage from the parts of the
atmosphere beyond the reflecting surface to that surface, is returned
to the eye in a darkened image as from water.—JAMES.
Towards evening the air became more clear, and our view of the
mountains was more satisfactory, though as yet we could only
distinguish their grand outline, imprinted in bold indentations upon
the luminous margin of the sky. We soon remarked a particular part of
the range divided into three conic summits, each apparently of nearly
equal altitude. This we concluded to be the point designated by Pike as
the highest peak. Its bearing was taken a short time before we halted
for the evening, and found to be south, 73° west.[129] As we were about
to encamp, some of the party went in pursuit of a herd of bisons, one
of which they killed, and returned to camp a little before sunset.
[129] The party mistook this "highest peak" for Pike's Peak. This
mountain, called by the French trappers _Les deux Oreilles_ (Two Ears),
is the one now known as Long's Peak, being named for Major S. H. Long,
the leader of our party. Frémont found in 1842 that this name had been
adopted by the traders, and had become familiar in the country. The
elevation of Long's Peak is 14,271 feet, exceeding that of Pike's Peak
by one hundred and twenty-four feet.—ED.
July 1st. Although the temperature indicated by the thermometer for
several days had been about 80°, in the middle of the day, the heat,
owing to the cool breezes from the mountain, had been by no means
oppressive. On the night of the 30th of June, the mercury fell to 55°,
and on the following morning the air was chilly, and a strong breeze
was felt before sunrise, from the south-east. We left our camp at a
very early hour, and travelled over a tract differing in no respect but
its greater barrenness from that passed on the preceding day. We halted
to dine at the distance of sixteen and a half miles. Many acres of this
plain had not vegetation enough to communicate {178} to the surface the
least shade of green; a few dwarfish sunflowers and grasses, which had
grown here in the early part of the summer, being now entirely withered
and brown. In stagnant pools near the river, we saw the common arrow
head, (sagittaria sagittifolia,) the alisma plantago, and the small
lemna growing together, as in similar situations in the eastern states.
A striking feature of that part of the plain country, we were now
passing, is formed by innumerable ant-heaps, rising from twelve to
eighteen inches above the common level of the surface. They occur with
some uniformity, at intervals of about twenty feet, and are all similar
in size and dimensions. They consist so entirely of small grains of
flesh-coloured felspar, that they have, all of them, an uniform reddish
aspect, and it is not without careful examination, that any other kind
of gravel can be detected in them. The entrance to the interior of each
of these little mounds is uniformly on the eastward side, and very
rarely occurs beyond the boundaries of N. E. and S. E. It is never at
the top, nor on a level with the surface of the soil, but is a little
elevated above it. It seems highly probable, that the active little
architects thus place the entrance of their edifice on the eastward
side, in order to escape the direct influence of the cold mountain
winds.
At three o'clock, as we were about to resume our journey, there came
on a gentle shower of rain, with wind at east, and low broken clouds.
In the afternoon we passed some small ridges of sandstone crossing
the river from north to south, but very inconsiderable in point of
elevation and extent. We travelled this day twenty-seven miles,
directly towards the base of the mountains, but they appeared almost
as distant in the evening as they had done in the morning. The bearing
of the high peak above mentioned, from our encampment, was south, 75°
west.
{179} The ensuing day being Sabbath, was devoted to rest. About our
camp, which was in the most fertile spot we could select, in a ride
of several miles, there was but a very insufficient supply of grass
for our horses. A species of cone flower, (rudbeckia columnaris, N.)
was here beginning to expand. The showy R. purpurea, very common on
the Missouri, and the lower part of the Platte, does not extend into
the desolate regions. The common purslane (portulacca oleracea) is one
of the most frequent plants about the base of the Rocky Mountains,
particularly in places much frequented as licks by the bisons and other
animals.
From this encampment, we had a plain but still distant view of the
mountains. No inequality occurs in the surface of the subjacent country
on the east of the mountains, so that our view was wholly unobstructed.
They stretched from north to south like an immense wall, occupying
all that portion of the horizon lying to the north-west, west, and
south-west. We could now see the surface of the plain, extending almost
unvaried to the base of the first ridge, which rises by an abrupt
ascent above the commencement of the snow.
A set of observations for longitude was commenced in the morning, but
the weather becoming cloudy, we were prevented from completing them.
In the afternoon a storm came on from the north, which continued
during the night. Much rain fell, accompanied with thunder and high
but variable winds. Between twelve o'clock and sunset, the mercury in
Fahrenheit's thermometer fell nineteen degrees, from 89° to 60°.
3d. Breakfast was despatched, and we had mounted our horses before
five o'clock. We were enabled to have our breakfast thus early, as the
sentinel on duty during the night, was directed to put the kettles
over the fire at three o'clock, all the processes preparatory {180} to
boiling having been finished on the preceding evening.
As we approached the mountains, wood became much more abundant along
the Platte. We had often heard our guide, in speaking of the country,
two or three days' journey from the mountains, mention the Grand
Forest, and were a little surprised on arriving at it, to find no more
than a narrow but uninterrupted stripe of timber, extending along the
immediate banks of the river, never occupying the space of half a mile
in width.
For several days the direction of our course in ascending the Platte,
had inclined considerably to the south, varying from due west to south,
20° west.
In the course of the day, we passed the mouths of three large creeks,
heading in the mountains, and entering the Platte from the north-west.
One of these, nearly opposite to which we encamped, is called Potera's
creek, from a Frenchman of that name, who is said to have been
bewildered upon it, wandering about for twenty days, almost without
food. He was then found by a band of Kiawas, who frequent this part of
the country, and restored to his companions, a party of hunters, at
that time encamped on the Arkansa.[130]
[130] At this point it becomes difficult to follow exactly the
movements of the party, as the nomenclature of the region has in the
interim changed almost entirely. Moreover, the itinerary is carelessly
recorded and the map of the expedition is inaccurate. The journey of
twenty-seven miles on July 1, reckoned from the camp of June 30, near
the Bijeau, as shown on the map, brought the party nearly to the Cache
la Poudre River, which flows from the northwest, reaching the South
Platte below the bend where its course turns eastward. Cache la Poudre
is shown but not named on the map, which, apparently erring, places
the camp of July 1 and 2 above its mouth; for it is evidently the
first of the large creeks passed on the third. At the bend is Thompson
Creek, also unnamed on Long's map; and just above is St. Vrain Creek.
Both of these flow from the west and the latter evidently corresponds
to Potera's Creek of the text. The bend in the river, passed July 3,
is the point of nearest approach to Long's Peak, still forty miles
distant. Near the camp of that evening, at the mouth of St. Vrain's
Creek, the important fur-trading firm of Bent and St. Vrain built St.
Vrain's Fort about twenty years later. In favorable weather, Pike's
Peak is visible from this point.—ED.
Throughout the day we were approaching the mountains obliquely, and
from our encampment at evening, we supposed them to be about twenty
miles distant. Clouds were hanging about all the higher parts of the
mountains, which were sometimes observed to collect together, and
descend in showers, circumscribed to a limited district. This state of
the weather obstructed the clearness, but added greatly to the imposing
grandeur of some of the views which the mountain presented.
4th. We had hoped to celebrate our great national festival on the
Rocky Mountains; but the day had arrived, and they were still at a
distance. Being extremely impatient of any unnecessary delay, which
{181} prevented us from entering upon the examination of the mountains,
we did not devote the day to rest, as had been our intention. We did
not, however, forget to celebrate the anniversary of our national
independence, according to our circumstances. An extra pint of maize
was issued to each mess, and a small portion of whiskey distributed.
On leaving the camp in the morning, Major Long and Lieutenant
Swift preceded the party, intending to select a suitable place for
encampment, where they proposed to commence a set of observations, and
to wait the arrival of the remainder of the party. But as they had gone
forward about two miles, the point of woods at which they had left
the course was mistaken by the main body, which moved on until about
eleven o'clock. By this time much anxiety was felt on account of their
absence, and persons were sent out to attempt to discover them, but
returned unsuccessful. A circumstance tending to increase the anxiety
which was felt, was, that Indians were reported to have been seen in
the course of the morning by several of the party. Captain Bell was
about to despatch as large a force as it was thought prudent to spare
from the camp, to search for them in all the distance which had been
passed since they were seen, when they arrived at the encampment of the
main body, at half past one P.M.
The observations which had been made were, of course, lost, as the
corresponding equal altitudes for the correction of time could not be
had.
In the evening, the meridional altitude of Antares was taken for
latitude.
Several valuable plants were here collected, and, among others, a large
suffruticose species of lupine. The long-leaved cotton-wood[131] of
Lewis and Clarke, which is, according to their suggestion, a species
of populus, is here of very common occurrence. It is {182} found
intermixed with the common cotton-wood, resembling it in size and
general aspect. Its leaves are long and narrow; its trunk smoother,
and its branches more slender and flexile than those of the populus
angulata. Some of its fruit was fortunately still remaining, affording
us an opportunity to be entirely satisfied of its relation to this
genus.
[131] Populus angustifolia, J.—JAMES.
Here we also observed both species of the splendid and interesting
Bartonia, and B. nuda in full flower, the ornata not yet expanded.
These most singular plants are interesting on several accounts,
particularly the regular expansion of their large and beautiful flowers
towards the evening of several successive days. In the morning the long
and slender petals, and the petal-like nectaries, which compose the
flower, are found accurately closed upon each other, forming a cone of
about an inch in length. In this situation they remain, if the weather
be clear, until about sunset, when they gradually expand. If the
weather be dark and cloudy, with a humid atmosphere, they are awakened
from their slumbers at an earlier hour. We have, in some instances,
seen them fully expanded early in the afternoon; but this has always
been in stormy or cloudy weather. In this particular the Bartonia bears
some resemblance to the great night-flowering cereus, to which it is
closely allied; but the gaudy petals of the cereus, once unfolded, fall
into a state of irretrievable collapse, whereas, the Bartonia closes
and expands its flowers for many days in succession.[132]
[132] Other plants were collected about this encampment, among which
we distinguished an interesting species of ranunculus, having a flower
somewhat larger than that of R. fluviatilis with which it grows,
often extending, however, to some distance about the margins of the
pools in which it is principally found. R. _amphibius_; slender,
floating or decumbent, leaves reniform, four or five lobed, divisions
cuneate, oblong, margin crenate, petioles long and alternate. The
submersed leaves are, in every respect, similar to the floating ones.
Pentstemon _erianthera_, N., Poa _quinquefida_, Potentilla _anserina_,
Scrophularia _lanceolata_, Myosotis _glomerata_, N.? &c. were also seen
here.—JAMES.
A number of young magpies were seen in the bushes about the river; also
the nests and young of the mockingbird, (turdus orpheus, Vieil.)
The prairie-dog villages we had observed to become more frequent and
more extensive as we approached the mountains; and we had now constant
opportunities of contrasting the stupendous elevations of the Andes
with the humble mounds cast up by this interesting little animal.
We observed in the {183} numerous burrows an appearance of greater
antiquity than in those more remote from the mountains. Many of the
mounds occupy an extent of several yards in diameter, though of but
inconsiderable elevation, and with the exception of the present
entrance, overgrown with a scanty herbage, which always marks the area
of the prairie-dog villages. Indeed we have observed several large
villages, with scarce a trace of vegetation about them. The food of the
marmot consisting of grasses and herbaceous plants, it is not perhaps
easy to assign a reason for the preference which, in selecting the
site of his habitation, he always shows for the most barren places,
unless it be that he may enjoy an unobstructed view of the surrounding
country, in order to be seasonably warned of the approach of wolves, or
other enemies.
Rattle-snakes of a particular species[133] are sometimes seen in
these villages. They are found between the Mississippi and the Rocky
Mountains, and appear to prefer an unproductive soil, where their
sluggish gait may not be retarded by the opposing obstacles of grass
and weeds. Whilst exploring Bowyer creek of the Missouri, in the
spring of 1820, our party met with six or eight of them during one
day's march on the prairie; and on our subsequent journey to the Rocky
Mountains, we several times encountered equal, or even greater numbers,
in the same space of time. This is the species of serpent which
travellers have observed to frequent the villages of the prairie dogs,
and to which they have attributed the unnatural habit of voluntary
domiciliation with that interesting animal. It is true that the
tergeminus, like many other serpents, will secure a refuge from danger
in any hole of the earth, rock, or fallen tree that may present itself,
regardless of the rightful occupant; but we witnessed no facts which
could be received as a proof that it was an acceptable inmate of the
dwelling of the arctomys.
[133] _Crotalus tergeminus_, S.—_Body_ dusky cinereous, a triple series
of deep brown spots; beneath with a double series of black spots.
_Body_ pale cinereous brown, a triple series of fuscous spots, dorsal
series consisting of about forty-two large, transversely oblong-oval
spots, each widely emarginate before, and obsoletely edged with
whitish lateral series, spots transversely oval, opposite to those of
back; between the dorsal and lateral series is a series of obsolete,
fuliginous spots, alternating those of the two other series; _head_
above with nine plates on the anterior part, on which are a band and
about three spots, two undulated vittæ terminating and confluent with
the first spot of the neck, a black vittæ passes through the eye, and
terminates on the neck each side; _beneath_ white, a double irregular
series of black spots, more confused towards the tail; _tail_ above,
with five or six fuscous fasciæ, beneath white irrorate with black
points, six terminal plates bifid.
Length 2 ft. 2⅛ in.
tail 2⅛ in.
Plates of body 151
of tail 19
Bifid plates at tip 6
Another specimen, much smaller, Pl. 152. subcaudal, 20. scales at tip
3.—JAMES.
{184} From the disparity in the number of plates and scales, and from
the greater size of the vertebral spots in this species than in the C.
miliaris, we have been induced to consider this as a distinct species.
Specimens are in the Philadelphia museum.
On the 5th of July we left our camp at an early hour, and ascended the
Platte about ten miles. Here the party encamped for the day;[134] and
Mr. Peale and Dr. James, with two riflemen, went out for an excursion
on foot, intending to ascend the Cannon-ball creek to the mountains,
which appeared to be about five miles distant.
[134] The journey of July 4, and the ten miles travelled on the fifth,
would carry the party thirty-five or forty miles up the river from the
mouth of St. Vrain's Creek; this would, for their camp of the fifth,
bring them near the site of Denver. Vermillion Creek, which was crossed
early on the sixth, is evidently Cherry Creek, which flows through the
present city.—ED.
This creek is rapid and clear, flowing over a bed paved with rounded
masses of granite and gneiss. It is from a supposed resemblance of
these masses to cannon balls that the creek has received its name from
the French hunters. The channel is sunk from fifty to one hundred feet
below the common level of the plain.
This plain consists of a bed of coarse pebbles, gravel, and sand; and
its surface is thinly covered with prickly pears, and a scanty growth
of starved and rigid grasses. Among these the hygrometric stipa, (s.
juncea, s. barbata,) is extremely troublesome, its barbed and pointed
seeds adhering and penetrating, like the quills of the porcupine, into
every part of the dress with which they come in contact. The long and
rigid awn is contorted or straight, in proportion to the humidity or
dryness of the atmosphere; indicating the changes in this respect with
the precision of the nicest hygrometer.
The detached party extended their walk about eight miles without
finding that they had very considerably diminished the apparent
distance to the base of the mountain. They had unluckily forgotten
to make any provision for dinner, and now found themselves fatigued
and hungry at the distance of eight miles from the encampment of the
main body and so far from the mountains, that it was evidently {185}
impossible they should reach them and return on the same day. It was
therefore determined to relinquish the attempt, and Mr. Peale was
fortunate enough to kill a couple of curlews, which were roasted and
eaten without loss of time.
Near the place of this halt they observed some small sandstone ridges
similar to those on the Platte below, and collected, among other
plants, the species of currant (ribes aureum?) so often mentioned by
Lewis and Clarke, the fruit of which formed an important article of the
subsistence of their party while crossing the Rocky Mountains.[135]
[135] The ripened fruit of this widely-distributed shrub is variable
in colour. In dry and exposed situations about the higher parts of the
mountains, we have met with the berries of a deep purple, while in
the low grounds, they are fulvous or nearly white. On the Cannon-ball
creek we saw also the common virgin's bower. Clematis _virginica_, Ph.
Lycopus _europeus_, Liatris _graminifolia_, Sium _latifolium_, Œnothera
_diennis_, and other plants, common in the east, with the more rare
Linum _Lewisii_, Ph. and Eriogonum _sericeum_, &c.—JAMES.
They also saw about the shelvings of the sandstone rocks, which formed
for some distance the banks of the stream, innumerable nests of the
cliff swallows, similar to those seen on the Missouri. In returning to
the camp by a different route, they were much annoyed by the prickly
pears, covering the ground so closely, that their feet were frequently
wounded by the thorns, against which their mockasins presented but a
very inadequate protection.
Having killed a young antelope, they recrossed the Platte, which was
here about three feet deep, and clear, and rapid, and arrived at camp
at sun-set.
Here a complete set of observations, for latitude, longitude, &c., had
been taken. Major Long and Lieutenant Swift having preceded the party
in the morning, and arrived before seven o'clock for that purpose. In
the evening, observations were attempted, but without success, as the
sky soon became cloudy.
Robins, which we had not seen since we left the Missouri, here occurred
in considerable numbers.
On the following morning, soon after leaving the encampment, we crossed
Vermilion creek, a considerable tributary from the south. Its upper
branches interlock with those of a tributary of the Arkansa. In some
part of its course, its valley is bounded by {186} precipitous cliffs
of a red sand-rock, whence the name of the creek.
Our guide informed us that the Indians, a few years since, destroyed
every individual of a large herd of bisons, by driving them over the
brink of one of these precipices.
Opposite the mouth of Vermilion creek is a much larger stream, from
the north-west, which is called medicine-lodge creek,[136] from an
old Indian medicine lodge, which formerly stood near its mouth. A
few miles further, on the same side, is Grand Camp creek, heading
also in the mountains. About four years previous to the time of our
visit, there had been a large encampment of Indians and hunters on
this creek. On that occasion, three nations of Indians, namely, the
Kiawas, Arrapahoes, and Kaskaias or Bad-hearts, had been assembled
together, with forty-five French hunters in the employ of Mr. Choteau
and Mr. Demun of St. Louis.[137] They had assembled for the purpose of
holding a trading council with a band of Shiennes. These last had been
recently supplied with goods by the British traders on the Missouri,
and had come to exchange them with the former for horses. The Kiawas,
Arrapahoes, &c. who wander in the fertile plains of the Arkansa and Red
river, have always great numbers of horses, which they rear with much
less difficulty than the Shiennes, whose country is cold and barren.
[136] Medicine Lodge Creek, Cannon Ball Creek, mentioned above, and
Grand Camp and Grape creeks, referred to a few lines below, cannot be
certainly identified. Streams most nearly answering the descriptions
given are now called Clear, Bear, and Deer creeks.—ED.
[137] A. P. Chouteau and Julius De Munn formed a partnership in
1815, for trading on the upper Platte and Arkansas. De Munn soon
after went to Santa Fé, where he sought permission to trap within
Spanish territory; but the negotiations, which at first promised to
be successful, took an unfavorable turn, with the result that both
partners were arrested in 1817, and after a short confinement deprived
of their goods and ejected from the Spanish dominions. The Santa Fé
route was not fully open to trade until after the downfall of Spanish
power in 1821.—ED.
[Illustration: View of the Chasm through which the Platte issues from
the Rocky Mountains]
The British traders annually supply the Minnetarees or Gros-ventres
of the Missouri with goods; from these they pass to the Shiennes and
Crow Indians, who, in their turn, barter them with remoter tribes: in
this manner the Indians who wander near the mountains receive their
supplies of goods, and they give a decided and well founded preference
to those which reach them by this circuitous channel, to those which
they receive from any other source.
Two miles beyond Grand Camp creek, is the mouth of Grape creek, and a
little above, on the {187} opposite side, that of Defile creek,[138]
a tributary to the Platte, from the south, which has its course in a
narrow defile, lying along the base of the mountains.
[138] Defile Creek is the modern Plum Creek, which flows north through
Douglas County.—ED.
At eleven o'clock we arrived at the boundary of that vast plain, across
which we had held our weary march for a distance of near one thousand
miles, and encamped at the base of the mountain. The woodless plain
is terminated by a range of naked and almost perpendicular rocks,
visible at a distance of several miles, and resembling a vast wall,
parallel to the base of the mountain. These rocks are sandstone similar
in composition and character to that on the Cannon-ball creek. They
emerge at a great angle of inclination from beneath the alluvial of the
plain, and rise abruptly to an elevation of one hundred and fifty or
two hundred feet. Passing within this first range, we found a narrow
valley separating it from a second ridge of sandstone, of nearly equal
elevation, and apparently resting against the base of a high primitive
hill beyond. At the foot of the first range, the party encamped at
noon, and were soon scattered in various directions, being eager to
commence the examination of that interesting region.
Our camp was immediately in front of the chasm, through which the
Platte issues from the mountains. A little to the south is a commanding
eminence, from which the view of the chasm was taken.[139]
[139] See p. 283.—ED.
{188} CHAPTER IX {VII}
Sandstone Formation at the Base of the Rocky Mountains—The
Platte within the Mountains—Granitic Mountains Between the
Platte and Arkansa—Castle Rock—Birds—Plants.
THE district occupied by the inclined sandstone, at the base of the
mountains, we found much wider, and the rocky summits incomparably more
elevated, than from a remote view we had supposed.
July 6. This extensive range, rising abruptly from the plain, skirts
the base of the mountains like an immense rampart, and to a spectator
placed near it, intercepts the view of the still more grand and
imposing features of the granitic ridge beyond. It is made up of rocks
composed of the broken down and comminuted fragments of preexisting
aggregates embosoming reliquæ of the animals of a former world, known
to us only by the monuments which these remains exhibit. Though rugged
and precipitous, its elevation is small, when compared to that of
the stupendous Andes, which rise above it far into the regions of
perpetual winter. The stratifications with which it is distinctly
seamed, penetrate the mass with various degrees of obliquity, sometimes
running perpendicularly to the horizon; seeming unequivocally to prove,
that the whole has receded from its original position, and that these
immense rocky masses have, by the operation of some powerful agent,
been broken off from their original continuity with the strata now
found in a horizontal position in the plains.
It is difficult, when contemplating the present appearance and
situation of these rocks, to prevent the {189} imagination from
wandering back to that remote period, when the billows of an ocean
lashed the base of the Andes, depositing, during a succession of ages,
that vast accumulation of rounded fragments of rocks, alternating with
beds of animal remains, which now extends without interruption from
the base of this range to the summits of the Alleghany mountains; and
endeavouring to form some idea of that great subsequent catastrophe,
by which this secondary formation has so changed its elevation, in
relation to the primitive, that its margin has been broken off and
thrown into an inclined or vertical position.
The valley which intervenes between this huge parapet of sand-rock
and the first range of the primitive is nearly a mile in width; it
is ornamented with numerous insulated columnar rocks, sometimes of a
snowy whiteness, standing like pyramids and obelisks, interspersed
among mounds and hillocks, which seem to have resulted from the
disintegration of similar masses. This range of sandstone would
appear to have been originally of uniform elevation and uninterrupted
continuity, running along the base of the mountains from north to
south; but it has been cut through by the bed of the Platte, and all
the larger streams in their descent to the plains.
From our camp, we had expected to be able to ascend the most distant
summits then in sight, and return the same evening; but night overtook
us, and we found ourselves scarcely arrived at the base of the
mountain.[140] The lower part of the sandstone stratum, being exposed
at the western declivities of the hills, and in the parts nearest
the granite, contains extensive beds of coarse conglomeratic, or
pudding-stone, often of a reddish colour. The more compact parts of the
rock contain the remains of terebratulæ, and other submarine animals.
Among these, few are entire or in good preservation. We observed here
several singular scorpion-like, spider-formed {190} animals, inhabiting
under stones and dried bisons' dung. They have a formidable appearance,
and run actively. They belong to the class arachnoides, genus galeodes,
which has been heretofore observed only in warm climates; not one was
known to inhabit this continent.[141]
[140] The deceptiveness of Colorado distances, owing to the rarefied
atmosphere, is one of the commonest observations of tourists. Pike, in
1806, thought it would be possible to ascend the peak which now bears
his name, and return to camp in the course of one day. From Colorado
Springs it is apparently only a short walk to the summit; but the
air-line distance is twelve miles, and that which must actually be
travelled is two and a half times as great.—ED.
[141] Genus _Galeodes_, OLIV.—1. G. _pallipes_, SAY.—Hairy, mandibles
horizontal, fingers regularly arquated, abdomen sub-depressed livid.
_Body_ pale yellowish-brown, hairy; _feet_ paler, whitish, first pair
smallest, fourth pair largest and longest; _abdomen_ livid, hairy,
sub-depressed; _palpi_ more robust than the three anterior pairs of
feet, of subequal diameter, but rather thicker towards the tip; more
hairy than the feet; _eyes_ and _tubercle_ blackish; _mandibles_
dilated, with numerous rigid setæ, and with parallel setæ projected
over the fingers; _fingers_ regularly arquated, reddish-brown at tip,
and with a reddish-brown line above and beneath, within armed with many
robust teeth; thorax with a deep sinus at the anterior angles.
2. G. _subulata_, SAY.—Hairy; _mandibles_ horizontal; _thumb_ nearly
rectilinear, destitute of teeth. This species has the strongest
resemblance to the preceding, both in form, magnitude, and colouring;
but the superior finger of the mandibles is unarmed, and rectilinear or
very slightly flexuous; the inferior finger is arquated, with about two
robust teeth.—JAMES.
About the sandstone ledges we collected a geranium[142] intermediate
between the crane's-bill and herb-robert, the beautiful calochortus
(C. elegans, Ph.) and a few other valuable plants.
[142] G. _intermedium_, I.—Cespitose, sub-erect, pubescent, sparingly
branched above. Radical leaves reniform deeply 5/7 cleft. The flower is
a little larger than that of G. _robertianum_, and similarly coloured,
having whitish lines towards the base of the corolla. We also saw here
the Campanula _decipiens_, _Tens_. Lysimachia _ciliata_, Ph. Troximon
_glaucum_, N., with two or three belonging to Geneva, with which we
were unacquainted.—JAMES.
The Platte, at the foot of the mountains, is twenty-five yards wide,
having an average depth of about three feet, its water clear and cool,
and its current rapid. Its descent for twenty miles below cannot be
less than ten feet per mile. Its valley is narrow and serpentine,
bounded by steep and elevated hills, embosoming innumerable little
lawns, often of a semicircular form, ornamented by the narrow margin of
shrubbery along the Platte.
The narrow valley between the ridges of sandstone is a little more
fertile than the plains along the river. It is covered with fine and
short grasses, and is varied with here and there a copse of small oaks
or hazels. There are also some columnar masses of white sandstone,
twenty or thirty feet high, standing remote from each other, having
the _débris_ around their bases covered with shrubby oaks. As we were
passing near one of these, an uncommonly large and beautiful buck deer
sprung out from the bushes, and stood gazing on us, until he received
in his side the ball, which brought him instantly to the earth.
We observed here the obscure wren,[143] a bird more closely related
to the great Carolina wren of Wilson than any other we have seen;
but the characters drawn from the primaries, and from the marking of
the tail, sufficiently distinguish it from that species. The bill is
somewhat longer, and the general tint of the plumage of a much more
sombre hue. It frequents the arid country in this vicinity, {191} and
is often seen hopping about upon the branches, and singular compressed
semi-procumbent trunks of the juniperus depressa. The bill of this
species approaches the form which characterizes the genus certhia, in
which Wilson has placed its kindred species, the Carolina wren.
[143] Genus _Troglodytes_. CUV.—T. _obsoleta_, _Say_.—Above
dusky-brownish, slightly undulated with pale, tinted with dull
ferruginous on the top of the head, and superior portion of the back;
_sides of the head_ dull whitish, with a broad brown line passing
through the eye to the origin of the neck; _primaries_ plain, being
entirely destitute of undulations or spots; _tail coverts_ pale, each
with four or five fuscous bands; _chin_, _neck beneath_, and _breast_
whitish, each feather marked by a longitudinal line of light brown;
_belly_ white; _flanks_ a little tinged with ferruginous; _inferior
tail coverts_ white, each feather bifasciate with black-brown; _tail_
simple, broadly tipped with ferruginous-yellow, and with black before
the tip, the remaining portion colour of wings, and obsoletely banded;
these bands are more distinct on the two middle feathers, which are
destitute of the black and yellowish termination; exterior plume marked
by four yellowish white spots on the exterior web, and by two larger
ones on the inner web; the tip is dusky, length six inches; bill, from
the corner of the mouth, rather more than one inch.—JAMES.
On the morning of the 7th of July, the party remaining in the
encampment of the preceding day, Dr. James and Mr. Peale, accompanied
by two riflemen, were sent out to examine the mountains. These
appeared most accessible on the north side of the river, opposite our
encampment. The river was here about four feet deep, and the strength
of the current such as to render it impossible for a man to keep his
feet in the deepest part of the stream. As some of the party destined
for the mountains could not swim, it was thought hazardous for them to
attempt to cross the river by fording. To obviate this difficulty, two
men were sent with a long rope, which they were directed to stretch
across the river, making the ends fast on either shore. This was
readily accomplished, one of the men swimming across with an end of the
rope in his teeth. By the aid of this, the detachment were enabled to
keep their feet in crossing, though with extreme difficulty, as the bed
of the river was uneven and rocky. They all, however, arrived in safety
on the left-hand bank by about sunrise.
After passing the region of inclined sandstone, which is about two
miles in width, they began to rise upon what may be considered the
base of the mountain. As the day advanced, the heat became oppressive,
and they found themselves somewhat exhausted before they had crossed
the sandstone hills, which appeared so inconsiderable from our
encampment, that the labour of crossing them had been almost forgotten
in estimating the toils of the day. The first range of primitive rocks
they found far more abrupt and rugged than what they had already
passed. Its sides are destitute of vegetation, except a few prickly
{192} pears and yuccas, with here and there a stinted oak or juniper,
and so steep that great exertion as well as the utmost caution, are
necessary in ascending.
The rock is an aggregate of felspar and hornblende, approaching in
character some of the common varieties of sienite. On the eastern side,
where the felspar is in the greatest proportion, it is flesh-coloured,
and its structure crystalline; the fractured surface of the mass
being uneven like that of coarse granite. Advancing towards the west,
hornblende was found to become more and more predominant, and so
arranged as to have in the mass a laminated appearance. The natural
fissures or cleavages between the lamina run nearly in a perpendicular
direction, giving the rock the columnar structure of trap or greenstone.
As the detachment proceeded, a few interesting insects and plants
occurred to reward their labours. But these impenetrable and naked
rocks, are the abodes of few living beings, either animal or vegetable.
In the crevices of the rocks where a scanty soil has accumulated, is
here and there planted a hardy evergreen, whose short and gnarled
trunk, recurved and inflexible branches, proclaim the storms it has
withstood, and the centuries during which it has vegetated.
The design of the party had been to cross the first range of the
mountains and gain the valley of the Platte beyond, but this they
found themselves unable to accomplish. After climbing successively to
the summit of several ridges which they had supposed to be the top of
the mountain, they still found others beyond higher and more rugged.
They therefore relinquished the intention of crossing, and began to
look for the best way to descend to the bed of the river, which lay
on their left hand. Here they halted to rest for a few moments, and
exposed a thermometer in the shade of a large rock. The mercury fell
to 72°; in camp, at the same hour it stood at {193} 86°. They were so
much elevated above the river, that although they could see it plainly,
it appeared like a small brook of two or three yards in width, and
though white with foam and spray, caused by the impetuosity of its
current, and the roughness of its channel, its "idle chiding could not
be heard so high." They could distinguish two principal branches of
the Platte—one coming from the north-west, the other from the south; a
little below the confluence of these branches, the river turns abruptly
to the S. E., bursting through a chasm in a vast mural precipice of
naked columnar rocks.[144]
[144] The North Fork of the South Platte encloses South Park on the
north, flowing from west to east; while the other branch, which retains
the name South Platte, encircles South Park on the south and east.
The Denver, Leadville, and Gunnison Railroad now enters the mountain
district through Platte Cañon. It is probable that Pike entered
South Park in 1806 (see volume xvi, note 14); but Long's failure to
penetrate the mountains at this point left the famous park unknown,
save to wandering hunters, until Frémont's time, more than twenty years
later.—ED.
About noon the detachment commenced their descent, which cost them
no less exertion than their ascent in the morning. Their fatigue
was aggravated by thirst, as they met with no water, nor any shade
excepting that of projecting rocks in the higher parts of the mountain.
They chose a different route from that which they had taken in
ascending, intending to descend to the river, with the hope of being
able to travel along its bed. They were obliged to assist each other
in lowering themselves down precipices; they would have found it
impossible to pass singly. On the southern declivity of the mountain,
they met with a few ripe currants, but these were hard and juiceless,
of a sweetish taste, and aggravated, instead of alleviating their
thirst, and were probably the cause of a violent head-ache, with which
several of the party were affected soon after eating them. There
were also found a few large and delicious raspberries, of a species
approaching the flowering raspberry (rubus odoratus), but with smaller
leaves, and a more branching stem.
After descending from the more precipitous parts about the summit of
the mountain, they crossed along a rugged tract, buried and rendered
almost impassable by boulders and fragments which had fallen from
above, and were at length so fortunate as to {194} find a spring of
cool water, and a shade, in a narrow ravine; where they sat down to
rest and dine on the provision they had brought.
The men who were with them stopped in the same ravine, a few rods
below. One of these was violently attacked, immediately after drinking
of the water, with headache, vomiting, and purging, which increased to
such an alarming degree, that he was presently unable to stand upon his
feet. As it was feared he would not soon be able to walk, Mr. Peale
undertook to return alone to camp, and give notice of his situation,
and return with medicine and assistance.
He descended along a rough and obstructed ravine, until he arrived at
the Platte, but found the valley so confined as to be impassable, and
again directed his course towards the north-east, attempting to regain
the route which the party had taken in ascending. After a most rugged
and fatiguing march of about six miles, he arrived at camp late in the
afternoon. Here he found a number of the party suffering in a similar
manner, but not so severely as the man he had left in the mountains.
Two men were immediately despatched in search of the disabled party.
Mr. Peale had left them but a short time, when their attention was
called to the noise as of some large animal running up the narrow
defile in which they were sitting; on turning round they perceived a
large bear advancing at full speed towards the place where they were.
Seizing their rifles, they fired upon him at the distance of about ten
steps, but the bear, without stopping or turning his head, mounted an
almost perpendicular precipice of about thirty feet, and was out of
sight in an instant.
At this spot, which was several miles within the mountains, and
elevated nearly to the limit of phænogamous vegetation, the common
hop (H. lupulus) was growing in perfection; also the box elder (acer
negundo, Ph.), the common sarsaparilla of the eastern {195} States
(aralia nudicaulis), the spikenard (A. vacemora), and many other common
plants.
After waiting about two hours, they found the sick man so far recovered
as to be able to stand upon his feet and walk a little. They therefore
relieved him of his gun and other luggage, and moved by short stages
towards camp, where they arrived at a late hour in the evening.[145]
[145] Among many plants collected in this excursion, some of them new
to us, we recognized an old acquaintance in the bearberry (Arbutus
_uva-ursi_, L.) an inhabitant of the mountainous districts of New
York and New England; also the Dodecatheon _integrifolium_, Ph.; and
a beautiful little plant referable to the genus Mentzelia of Plumier.
On the higher parts of the mountain an oak is common, approaching in
character to the Quercus _banisteri_, Mx. Also a small undescribed
acer, the Juniperus _communis_ and I. _virginiana_; in the ravines,
the Rhus _toxicodendron_, Spiræa _opulifolia_, olc; and at the base of
the mountains the Prenanthes _runcinata, leaves runcinate pinnatifid,
⅔ inches long, five lines wide_. Resembles P. _Juncea_, Saxifraga
_nivales_, L. A. cerastium, olc.—JAMES.
The men who had been sent out to their assistance returned some time
afterwards, having sought for them without success.
On the morning,[146] soon after the departure of Dr. James's
detachment, two of the party passed into the mountains on the left side
of the river; they experienced much difficulty, and underwent much
labour in scaling the steep ascents, and some hazard in descending
the precipitous declivities which marked their course. The timber was
small, scrubby, and scattered in the most favoured situation; and
many of the solitary pines which occupied an elevated position, had
evidently been the sport of furious tempests, being rived and seamed
by lightning. Upon surmounting one of the elevations, they observed
on a projecting ledge of the succeeding mountain two elk grazing,
which seemed to be at a very short distance; and in consequence of
this deceptive appearance were magnified into a vast size. The party
were surprized at the apparent heedlessness of these animals, which
remained peacefully feeding, whilst the party was clambering along the
rocks in full view, until at length they majestically bounded off,
leaving the authors of their alarm to measure the unexpected distance
to the position they had occupied. To the right, and easy of access,
was a projecting rock supporting a single humble cedar in one of its
fissures, from which a stone let fall was received into the torrent of
the river which washed its base. The huge rampart of naked rock which
had been seen from below to stretch across {196} the valley, was now
in nearer view, the river whirling abruptly around the acute angle of
its extremity, and offering at its superior edge an embattled outline.
They ascended a primitive mountain, which seemed to be of a superior
elevation, in order to overlook the western ranges; but found their
horizon bounded by the succeeding mountains towering majestically
above them. To the east, over the tops of a few inferior elevations,
lay expanded the vast interminable prairie over which we had so long
held our mountainous march. The undulations which swell its surface
now disappeared, and the whole lay like a map before the observer.
They could trace the course of the Platte, and number the streams they
had crossed, and others which they had before passed near, by the
slight fringing of timber or bushes which margined their banks, and by
an occasional glimpse of their streams shining like quicksilver, and
interrupting and varying the continuity of the plain as they pursued
their serpentine course. The atmosphere was remarkably serene, small
clouds were coursing over the surface of the heavens, casting their
swiftly moving shadows upon the earth, and enhancing the beauty of the
contrast which the long lines of timber afforded to the general glare
of light. After contemplating for some time the beauty and extent of
the scene, their attention was attracted by a moving point, which
occasionally became visible by reflecting the rays of the retiring
sun. This object was our white flag, waving in a gentle breeze, and
revealing the position of our camp, the only spot in the boundless
landscape where the eye could rest on the work of human hands. The
descent towards the river from this pinnacle was so precipitous, that
much caution was requisite in attempting to gain the river towards
which they now directed their course. Upon a step or resting place
were several ponderous masses of rock, which, by the application of
a little force, were readily overturned down the steep; and {197} we
were amused by marking their impetuous and rapidly increasing motion
as they rolled and bounded onward, until a surge and wide-thrown spray
announced their reception into the bed of the river. Arriving at the
river, it was found necessary to pass along in the stream, the margin
not admitting sufficient foot-hold; this mode of progression, however,
soon proved too painful and laborious, as the very unequal rocks with
which the bottom was paved, were invested with a slime, and refused
repose to the foot, the uncertain motion of which was only arrested
by the opposition of an angular fragment, or the intervention of an
interstice; we therefore again ascended the mountain side, and at
length regained the plain.
[146] The words "of the same day" should here be inserted; so reads the
Philadelphia edition.—ED.
Astronomical observations were attempted at camp, but in the middle of
the day the moon was found to be too near the sun, and in the evening
the sky was cloudy.
The sickness experienced by almost all the party was probably
occasioned by eating of currants, which were abundant about the camp.
It is not to be supposed this illness was caused by any very active
deleterious quality in the fruit, but that the stomach, by long disuse,
had in a great measure lost the power of digesting vegetable matter.
Several continued unwell during the night.
On the morning of the 9th [8th] of July[147] we resumed our journey,
travelling somewhat east of south along a small tributary of the
Platte. The bed of this stream lies from south to north along a narrow
valley, bounded on each side by high cliffs of sandstone. The rock is
similar to that already mentioned, its strata having, however, less
inclination than is observed nearer the base of the mountain. It is the
margin of that great formation of secondary which occupies the plain,
and appears as if broken off and thrown into an inclined position by
some convulsion which changed the relative elevation of {198} the
stratum. It is of great thickness, its laminæ in an almost vertical
position, covering a surface of two or three, and sometimes many miles
in width. On the eastern declivities of the first ranges of hills
in places which may be supposed to have occupied the surface of the
stratum in its original position, the rock is usually of a close grain
and compact texture, and of a yellowish white or light gray colour.
[147] A series of erroneous dates begins here. The expedition
undoubtedly left Platte Cañon July 8, of which day the text gives no
account. July 9 was Sunday, instead of July 10, as the text states
below. A compensating error is introduced by giving the date July 12 to
accounts of the journeys of parts of two days. The Philadelphia edition
also has the erroneous dating of the ninth, tenth, and eleventh,
but includes the remainder of the chapter under the last date, thus
failing entirely to account for the twelfth, and really including the
operations of three days (tenth, eleventh, and twelfth) under date of
July 11. The itinerary for these days is more accurately indicated on
the map.—ED.
We observed, in various parts of the valley which traverse this
sandstone district, several detached columnar masses, many of them
bearing a striking resemblance to colossal ruins; also some insulated
hills with perpendicular sides and level summits. These seem to be the
remains of an extensive portion of the sandstone stratum which formerly
covered the country to the level of their highest summits. They occur
at considerable distance from the base of the primitive mountain, and
their summits are occupied by horizontal strata of sandstone; for a
small portion of the upper part of their elevation their sides are
nearly perpendicular, but their bases are surrounded by an extensive
accumulation of _débris_ sometimes rising nearly to the summit. After
ascending the small stream before mentioned to its source, we crossed
an inconsiderable ridge which separates it from the valley of Defile
Creek. This we ascended to the place where its principal branch
descends from the mountains. Here we encamped with the intention of
resting on the following day, which was Sunday.[148]
[148] The camp of July 8 and 9 was probably near the site of Sedalia,
at the confluence of the east and west forks of Plum (here called
Defile) Creek.—ED.
July 10th [9th]. A beautiful species of pigeon was shot near the
mountain. The head is of a purplish cinereous colour; the back of the
neck, and its sides, brilliant golden-green; the feathers at base
brownish purple; above this patch, and at base of head, is a white
semi-band; the under part of the neck is pale vinaceous purplish;
this colour becomes paler as it approaches the vent, which, with the
inferior tail coverts, is white; anterior portion of the back, the
{199} wing coverts and scapulars are brownish ash; the larger wing
feathers dark brown, approaching black; the exterior edges whitish;
the lower part of the back, the rump and tail coverts, inferior wing
coverts and sides, bluish ash; paler beneath the wings; the shafts of
the body-feathers and tail coverts are remarkably robust, tapering
rather suddenly near the tips; the tail is medial, rounded at tip,
consisting of twelve feathers, a definite black band at two-thirds
their length from the base, before which the colour is bluish ash, and
behind it dirty whitish; the bill is yellow, tipped with black, and
somewhat gibbous behind the nostrils; the irides red; the feet yellow;
claws black.
This species seems to be most intimately connected to the ring-tailed
pigeon (C. caribæa), from which it differs in the colour of the legs
and bill, and in not having the gibbosity at the base of the latter so
remarkable. It is possible that it may be an intermediate link between
the ring-tailed pigeon and the stock pigeon of Europe, with the latter
of which it has, in common, the exterior white edging to the greater
wing feathers. It may be distinguished by the name of band-tailed
pigeon (columba fasciata, Say); and may be seen, with other specimens
of natural objects collected on this expedition, in the Philadelphia
Museum.
Several of the tributaries to Defile creek appear to discharge as much
water as is seen in the stream below their junction. This appearance
is common to many of the larger creeks, their broad and sandy beds
allowing much of the water to sink, and pass off through the sand. In
the evening, a favourable opportunity, the first for several days,
presented, and observations for latitude were taken.
That part of Defile creek, near which we encamped, is filled with
dams, thrown across by the beaver, causing it to appear rather like
a succession of ponds than a continued stream. As we ascended {200}
farther towards the mountains, we found the works of these animals
still more frequent. The small willows and cotton-wood trees, which are
here in considerable numbers, afford them their most favourite food.
At no great distance to the east of our camp was one of these peculiar
hills above mentioned. In visiting it we crossed a ridge of sandstone,
about three hundred feet in height, with strata inclined to the west.
To this succeeds a valley, about one mile wide, having a scanty growth
of pine and oak. The ascent of the hill is steep and rugged. Horizontal
strata of sandstone and coarse conglomerate are exposed on its sides,
and the summit is capped by thin stratum of compact sandstone,
surmounted by a bed of greenstone trap, or trappea porphyry. The loose
and splintery fragments of this rock sometimes cover the surface,
making a clinking noise under the feet, like fragments of pottery.
The summit of this hill is of an oval form, about eight hundred yards
in length and five hundred in breadth. Its surface is undulating,
and is terminated on all sides by perpendicular precipices. The
elevation of the hill is about one thousand feet, and the height of the
perpendicular precipices, from the summit of the _débris_ to the top of
hill, about fifty.
From the top of this hill, the high peak mentioned by Captain Pike, was
discovered, and its bearing found to be S. 50. W.
Several of the party ascended Defile creek until they arrived at the
mountains, into which they penetrated as far as was found practicable.
As they travelled along the bed of this, they found the several rock
formations beautifully exposed, and in the following order.
Commencing from the alluvial of the plain on the east, they saw:
First, Horizontal sandstone, embracing extensive {201} beds of coarse
conglomeratic, and commonly of a light gray or reddish yellow colour.
Second, Fine compact gray sandstone, containing a few impressions
of organized remains, resembling those in the sandstones of coal
formations. This rock is inclined at an angle of near twenty degrees
towards the west. It forms continuous ranges of hills, not difficult
of ascent from the east, but their western declivities are abrupt and
precipitous.
Third, Lofty and detached columns of sandstone, of a reddish or deep
brown colour. These are irregularly scattered throughout a narrow
untimbered valley. Some of them rise probably three hundred feet above
the common level of the plain, and are so steep on all sides as to
preclude the possibility of ascent. Others are accessible at some
points, and one of these we ascended. Sketches of these singular rocks
have been preserved both by Mr. Peale and Mr. Seymour.
Fourth, Coarse white pudding-stone or conglomeratic and sandstone, of
a deep red colour, alternating with each other, and with beds of fine
white sandstone, and resting against the granite in a highly inclined
position. This rock contains well preserved remains of terebratulæ,
productus, and other bivalve shells. These are usually found on or near
the surface of large nodules of a fine flinty stone, closely resembling
petrosilex. The same rock also contains an extensive bed of iron ore;
and from its eastern side flows a copious brine spring.
About this spring, which had evidently been much frequented by animals,
we saw the skulls of the male and female big horn, the bones of elk,
bisons, and other animals.
The granite, which succeeds the sandstone last mentioned, is of a dark
reddish brown colour, containing a large proportion of felspar, of
the flesh-coloured variety, and black mica. The crystalline grains,
or fragments of the felspar, are large, and {202} detached easily, so
that the rock is in a state of rapid disintegration. This granite rises
abruptly in immense mountain masses, and undoubtedly extends far to the
west.
The little river, on which our camp is situated, pours down from the
rugged side of the granitic mountain through a deep inaccessible chasm,
forming a continued cascade of several hundred feet. From an elevation
of one or two thousand feet on the side of the mountain, we were able
to overlook a considerable extent of secondary region at its base. The
surface appeared broken for several miles; and in many of the valleys
we could discern columnar and pyramidal masses of sand-rock, sometimes
entirely naked, and sometimes bearing little tufts of bushes about
their summits.
Here met with a female bird, which closely resembles, both in size and
figure, the female of the black game (tetrao tetrix); it is, however,
of a darker colour, and the plumage is not so much banded; the tail
also seems rather longer, and the feathers of it do not exhibit any
tendency to curve outward, which, if we mistake not, is exhibited by
the inner feathers of the tail of the corresponding one of the black
game.
Its general colour is a black brown, with narrow bars of pale
ocraceous; plumage near the base of the beak above tinged with
ferruginous; each feather on the head, with a single band and slight
tip, those of the neck, back, tail coverts, and breast, two bands and
tip, the tips on the upper part of the back and on the tail coverts are
broad and spotted with black, with the inferior band often obsolete;
the throat and inferior portion of the upper sides of the neck are
covered with whitish feathers, on each of which is a black band or
spot; a white band on each feather of the breast, becoming broader on
those nearer the belly; on the belly, the plumage is dull cinereous
with concealed white lines on the shafts; {203} the wing coverts and
scapulars, about two banded with a spotted tip and second band, and
with the tip of the shaft white; the primaries and secondaries have
whitish zigzag spots on their outer webs, the first feather of the
former short, the second longer, the third, fourth, and fifth equal,
longest feathers of the sides with two or three bands and white spot at
the tip of the shaft; inferior tail coverts, white with a black band
and base, and slightly tinged with ocraceous on their centres; legs
feathered to the toes, and with the thighs pale, undulated with dusky;
tail rounded with a broad terminal band of cinereous, on which are
black zigzag spots; on the intermediate feathers are several ocraceous
spotted bands, but these become obsolete and confined to the exterior
webs on the lateral feathers, until they are hardly perceptible on the
exterior pair; a naked space above and beneath the eyes. It may be
distinguished by the name of the Dusky Grouse (tetrao obscurus, S.).
When this bird flew, it uttered a cackling note a little like that of
the domestic fowl; this note was noticed by Lewis and Clarke in the
bird which they speak of under the name of the cock of the plains, and
to which Mr. Ord has applied the name of tetrao fusca; a bird which,
agreeably to their description, appears to be different from this,
having the legs only half booted; the "fleshy protuberance about the
base of the upper chop," and "the long pointed tail" of that bird may
possibly be sexual distinctions.
It appears by the observations of Lewis and Clarke, that several
species of this genus inhabit the country which they traversed,
particularly in this elevated range of mountains, from whence, amongst
other interesting animals, they brought to Philadelphia a specimen of
the spotted grouse (T. canadensis); which, together with the above
described bird, are now preserved in the Philadelphia Museum, thus
proving that the spotted grouse is an inhabitant of a portion of the
territory of the United States.
{204} In the evening, a thunder-storm rose in the east. It appeared
for some time to approach, the thunder being loud and frequent, but at
length moved off towards the south-east, continuing visible in the
horizon during great part of the night.
July 11th [10th and 11th]. From our encampment we travelled nearly
south, and crossing a small ridge dividing the waters of the Platte
from those of the Arkansa, we halted to dine on a tributary of the
latter river.[149] In an excursion from this place, we collected a
large species of columbine, somewhat resembling the common one of the
gardens. It is heretofore unknown to the flora of the United States,
to which it forms a splendid acquisition. If it should appear not to
have been described, it may receive the name of aquilegia cœrulea.[150]
Our road during the morning lay for about twelve miles close along
the foot of the primitive mountain, having on our left some of the
sandstone ridges and hills already described. On our right, the brown
and naked granite rose in shapeless masses far above our heads; and
occasionally, as we passed the deep fissures worn by the descending
torrents, we caught a view of the distant summits glittering with
eternal frosts. In the valleys towards the east were many insulated and
lofty hills, with perpendicular sides, and level table-like summits.
They are sometimes disposed in parallel, but interrupted ranges, and
sometimes irregularly scattered, without any appearance of order. In
every instance they were found to be the remains of extensive beds
of sandstone; insulated portions of which had been preserved from
disintegration, while all the contiguous parts had crumbled down and
been washed away.
[149] The route described on the next few pages is an impossible one.
Chittenden characterizes it as "wholly indefinite and unsatisfactory"
(_American Fur Trade_, p. 59). The date "July 12th," on the next
page, does not appear in the Philadelphia edition, and was apparently
inserted to remedy the confusion; it increases it, however, since the
accounts of the journeys of two days (July 10 and 11) are intermingled
in the text itself. From the camp of July 8 and 9, the party might, by
noon of the tenth, have arrived opposite Castle Rock, which gives its
name to the present seat of justice of Douglas County. This, however,
would not bring them to a tributary of the Arkansas; by noon of July
11 they could have reached the upper waters of Monument, a branch of
Fountain Creek, which unites with the Arkansas at Pueblo. The camp of
July 10 is probably accurately located on the map, a short distance
below Castle Rock. On the morning of the eleventh, the direction taken
was almost due south, across the watershed between the Platte and
Arkansas, which at this point is almost on the line between Douglas
and El Paso counties. The map exaggerates the length of Boiling Spring
Creek (see succeeding volume, note 10), or Fountain Creek, a branch
of which (Monument Creek) they first encountered almost on the county
line. The afternoon march carried them somewhat south of the base of
Pike's Peak, necessitating the retracing of their route on the morning
of the twelfth. The route on the eleventh probably lay through the
region now famous as the Garden of the Gods.—ED.
[150] A. _cœrulea_, JAMES.—Leaves twice ternate; flowers terminal,
remote, nectaries strait and very long. It inhabits shady woods
of pine and spruce within the mountains, rising sometimes to the
height of three feet. In passing from the headwaters of the branch
of the Platte, called Defile creek, to those of one of the northern
tributaries of the Arkansa, we noticed some change in the soil, and
soon met with many plants we had not before seen. Several of these, as
the common juniper and the red cedar, (Juniperus _virginiana_, Ph.)
the black and hemlock-spruce, (Abies _nigra_ and A. _canadensis_) the
red maple (Acer rubrum, Mx.) the hop horn-beam (Ostrya Virginica, L.)
the Populus _tremuloides_, Mx. Pinus _resinosa_, Pyrola _secunda_,
Orchis _dilatata_, olc. are common to mountainous districts in all the
northern parts of the territory of the United States; many others are
here found, which require more careful and extensive comparison with
the plants of Mexico, Siberia, and other countries, than have yet had
the opportunity to make.—JAMES.
One of these singular hills, of which Mr. Seymour has preserved
a sketch, was called the Castle Rock, on account of its striking
resemblance to a work of art. It has columns, and porticoes and arches,
and {205} when seen from a distance has an astonishingly regular and
artificial appearance.
July 12th. [10th and 11th cont'd.]. On approaching it, the base is
found enveloped in an extensive accumulation of soil, intermixed with
fragments of rapidly disintegrating sandstone. The lower portions
of the perpendicular sides of the rock are of loosely cemented
pudding-stone, but the summit is capped by a compact and somewhat
durable sand-rock. This is surmounted by a scanty soil, in which are a
few stinted oaks and junipers.
We had seen no bisons for several days, but in the afternoon a few were
discovered at a distance from our course, and three men despatched
in pursuit of them. They were grazing on the side of a hill near a
mile distant. As provisions were growing scarce with us, we watched
the progress of the hunters with some anxiety. At length the firing
commenced, and we enjoyed a distant, though distinct view of the
animating spectacle of a bison hunt. In a short time the hunters joined
us with their horses loaded with meat.
We halted to dine on the tributary of the Arkansa before mentioned,
nearly opposite the Castle Rock. Intermixed with the grass upon
which we sat down to our dinner, we observed a small campanula, with
a solitary terminal flower, about as large as that of the common
hare-bell (C. decipiens). This species we believe to be identical with
the C. uniflora of Europe, which has not been heretofore noticed in the
United States.
In the afternoon we moved on, descending the little stream on which we
had halted for dinner. Like the small branches of the Platte, it is
inhabited by great numbers of beavers; but it has more timber, and a
more fertile soil than any stream of similar magnitude we had lately
passed. Some light showers occurred in the middle of the day, and at
evening a thunder-storm was observed, in the same manner {206} as on
the preceding day, to collect in the east, and after we had listened
to its thunders for some time, it moved off in the direction of the
Arkansa, but no rain fell where we were. In the course of the day
several elk were seen, and at evening we killed an antelope. Robins
are here frequent, and a jerboa was seen resembling the gerbillus
canadensis; many fine plants were collected, several of which are
hitherto undescribed.[151]