was in rapid progress. On the evening of the 30th we encamped in an almost
impenetrable undergrowth on the left bank of the Platte, in the point of
land at its confluence with the Missouri--315 miles, according to our
reckoning, from the junction of the forks, and 520 from Fort Laramie. From
the junction we had found the bed of the Platte occupied with numerous
islands, many of them very large, and all well timbered; possessing, as
well as the bottom lands of the river, a very excellent soil. With the
exception of some scattered groves on the banks, the bottoms are generally
without timber. A portion of these consist of low grounds, covered with a
profusion of fine grasses, and are probably inundated in the spring; the
remaining part is high river prairie, entirely beyond the influence of the
floods. The breadth of the river is usually three-quarters of a mile,
except where it is enlarged by islands. That portion of its course which
is occupied by Grand island has an average breadth, from shore to shore,
of two and a half miles.



OCTOBER.


1st.--I rose this morning long before daylight, and heard with a feeling
of pleasure the tinkling of cow-bells at the settlements on the opposite
side of the Missouri. Early in the day we reached Mr. Sarpy's residence;
and, in the security and comfort of his hospitable mansion, felt the
pleasure of being within the pale of civilization. We found our boat on
the stocks; a few days sufficed to complete her; and, in the afternoon of
the 4th, we embarked on the Missouri. All our equipage--horses, carts, and
the _materiel_ of the camp--had been sold at public auction at
Bellevue. The strength of my party enabled me to man the boat with ten