some places rather sandy; and, with the exception of scattered fringe
along the bank, the timber, consisting principally of poplar, (_populus
moniliefera_,) elm, and hackberry, (_celtis crassifolia_,) is
confined almost entirely to the islands.

28th.--We halted to noon at an open reach of the river, which occupies
rather more than a fourth of the valley, here only about four miles broad.
The camp had been disposed with the usual precaution, the horses grazing
at a little distance, attended by the guard, and we were all sitting
quietly at our dinner on the grass, when suddenly we heard the startling
cry, "Du monde!" In an instant, every man's weapon was in his hand, the
horses were driven in, hobbled and picketed, and horsemen were galloping
at full speed in the direction of the newcomers, screaming and yelling
with the wildest excitement. "Get ready, my lads!" said the leader of the
approaching party to his men, when our wild looking horsemen were
discovered bearing down upon them--"nous allons attraper des coups de
baguette." They proved to be a small party of fourteen, under the charge
of a man named John Lee, and, with their baggage and provisions strapped
to their backs, were making their way on foot to the frontier. A brief
account of their fortunes will give some idea of navigation in the
Nebraska. Sixty days since, they had left the mouth of Laramie's fork,
some three hundred miles above, in barges laden with the furs of the
American Fur Company. They started with the annual flood, and, drawing but
nine inches water, hoped to make a speedy and prosperous voyage to St.
Louis; but, after a lapse of forty days, found themselves only one hundred
and thirty miles from their point of departure. They came down rapidly as
far as Scott's bluffs, where their difficulties began. Sometimes they came
upon places where the water was spread over a great extent, and here they
toiled from morning until night, endeavoring to drag their boat through
the sands, making only two or three miles in as many days. Sometimes they