four, and sometimes six miles. Fifteen miles from the Chimney rock we
reached one of those places where the river strikes the bluffs, and forces
the road to make a considerable circuit over the uplands. This presented
an escarpment on the river of about nine hundred yards in length, and is
familiarly known as Scott's bluffs. We had made a journey of thirty miles
before we again struck the river, at a place where some scanty grass
afforded an insufficient pasturage to our animals. About twenty miles from
the Chimney rock we had found a very beautiful spring of excellent and
cold water; but it was in such a deep ravine, and so small, that the
animals could not profit by it, and we therefore halted only a few
minutes, and found a resting-place ten miles further on. The plain between
Scott's bluffs and Chimney rock was almost entirely covered with drift-
wood, consisting principally of cedar, which, we were informed, had been
supplied from the Black hills, in a flood five or six years since.

"12th.--Nine miles from our encampment of yesterday we crossed Horse
creek, a shallow stream of clear water, about seventy yards wide, falling
into the Platte on the right bank. It was lightly timbered, and great
quantities of drift-wood were piled up on the banks, appearing to be
supplied by the creek from above. After a journey of twenty-six miles, we
encamped on a rich bottom, which afforded fine grass to our animals.
Buffalo have entirely disappeared, and we live now upon the dried meat,
which is exceedingly poor food. The marl and earthy limestone, which
constituted the formation for several days past, had changed, during the
day, into a compact white or grayish-white limestone, sometimes containing
hornstone; and at the place of our encampment this evening, some strata in
the river hills cropped out to the height of thirty or forty feet,
consisting of fine-grained granitic sandstone; one of the strata closely
resembling gneiss.