very serious accident occurred this morning, in the breaking of one of the
barometers. These had been the object of my constant solicitude, and, as I
had intended them principally for mountain service, I had used them as
seldom as possible, taking them always down at night, and on the
occurrence of storms, in order to lessen the chances of being broken. I
was reduced to one, a standard barometer of Troughton's construction. This
I determined to preserve, if possible. The latitude is 42 deg. 51' 35", and by
a mean of the results from chronometer and lunar distances, the adopted
longitude of this camp is 105 deg. 50' 45".

26th.--Early this morning we were again in motion. We had a stock of
provisions for fifteen days carefully stored away in the carts, and this I
resolved should only be encroached upon when our rifles should fail to
procure us present support. I determined to reach the mountains, if it
were in any way possible. In the mean time, buffalo were plenty. In six
miles from our encampment (which, by way of distinction, we shall call
Dried Meat camp) we crossed a handsome stream, called _La Fourche
Boisce_. It is well timbered, and, among the flowers in bloom on its
banks, I remarked several _asters_.

Five miles further, we made our noon halt on the banks of the Platte, in
the shade of some cottonwoods. There were here, as generally now along the
river, thickets of _hippophae_, the _grains de boeuf_ of the
country. They were of two kinds--one bearing a red berry, (the
_shepherdia argentea_ of Nuttall;) the other a yellow berry, of which
the Tartars are said to make a kind of rob.

By a meridian observation, the latitude of the place was 42 deg. 50' 08". It
was my daily practice to take observations of the sun's meridian altitude;
and why they are not given, will appear in the sequel. Eight miles further