crossed the river and galloped over the prairie.

"Mounted on a fine horse without a saddle," says Fremont, "and
scouring, bareheaded, over the prairies, Kit was one of the finest
pictures of a horseman I have ever seen. He soon returned quite
leisurely, and informed them that the party of twenty-seven Indians
had resolved itself into a herd of six elk who, having discovered
us, had scampered off at full speed."



CHAPTER XIX.


On the Platte -- A False Alarm -- The Cheyennes -- Fremont's Account
of his Buffalo Hunt -- Division of the Party -- Fremont's Journey
up the South Fork -- The Band of Indians -- Arrival at St. Vrain's
Fort -- The Journey to Fort Laramie.

Fremont and his party, after traveling something over three hundred
miles from the mouth of the Kansas reached the Platte river, where
they encamped in a charming place near Grand Island. The country
was most beautiful, though they suffered somewhat from the violent
storms which frequently broke over them.

The noon halt was made and all were lounging about the camp, when
one of the men on guard called an alarm. Everybody sprang to his
feet and grasped his rifle, expecting an attack from Indians. A
strange wild looking company were seen approaching, but, as they
came closer, they were discovered to be white men. They were a