A journal of travels into the Arkansa Territory

Journey to Red river—Prairies and mountains of the Pottoe—Pass the dividing ridge—Kiamesha river—Arrival on the banks of Red river—The murder of a Cherokee; attempts to obtain redress—Wild horses—Character, geological structure, and rare vegetable productions of the prairies—Return to the garrison at Belle Point.

May 16th.] This morning I left Fort Smith with major Bradford and a company of soldiers, in order to proceed across the wilderness, to the confluence of the Kiamesha and Red river.⁠[177] The object of the major was to execute the orders of government, by removing all the resident whites out of the territory of the Osages; the Kiamesha river being now chosen as the line of demarkation.⁠[178]

On this route we again proceeded through Cedar prairie, and, after traversing two tiresome ridges of sandstone hills, scattered with oaks and pines, we encamped in the evening near to the base of the Sugar-loaf mountain, having travelled about 25 miles in {147} a south-west direction. After passing the two ridges and crossing two brooks, one of them called James’ Fork, we kept westwardly towards the banks of the Pottoe, and found the whole country a prairie, full of luxuriant grass about knee high, in which we surprised herds of fleeting deer, feeding as by stealth.

The Cavaniol, now clear of mist, appeared sufficiently near to afford some more adequate idea of its form and character. A prominent point which appears on its summit, is, I am told by the Cherokees who accompanied us, a mound of loose stones, thrown up either as a funeral pile or a beacon by the aborigines. The natives and hunters assert that subterraneous rumblings have been heard in this mountain. The Sugar-loaf, covered to its summit with trees and shrubs, is composed of sandstone, and appears now accompanied by three other less elevated conic eminences, all mutually connected at the base by saliant ridges. From what I perceive, I am inclined to consider the Cavaniol as a continuation of the same chain, proceeding west by north. From the garrison to the encampment of this evening, indications of coal are sufficiently obvious in the bituminous shale and carbonaceous reliquiæ.

17th.] The day was delightfully clear and warm, and the whole aspect of nature appeared peculiarly charming. In the morning our party fell in with a favourite amusement, in the pursuit of two bears, harmlessly feeding in the prairies, which, being very fat, were soon overtaken and killed. We proceeded about 20 miles; towards evening passing the Pottoe, which was quite fordable, notwithstanding the late fresh. Our course was principally south-south-west, and this evening, after crossing the Pottoe, more westwardly. We were again in full view of the two picturesque mountains, the Cavaniol and Point Sucre; the latter yet appeared somewhat conic, and scantily wooded, but covered with thickets like the Alleghany {148} mountains. Our route was continued through prairies, occasionally divided by sombre belts of timber, which serve to mark the course of the rivulets. These vast plains, beautiful almost as the fancied Elysium, were now enamelled with innumerable flowers, among the most splendid of which were the azure Larkspur, gilded Coreopsides, Rudbeckias, fragrant Phloxes, and the purple Psilotria. Serene and charming as the blissful regions of fancy, nothing here appeared to exist but what contributes to harmony.

18th.] To-day, in a journey of about 25 miles, we passed several very rocky pine ridges, but over which a loaded wagon had been dragged as far as the Kiamesha, accompanied by a family of emigrants, who had been obliged to remove from the settlement of Mulberry creek, on the arrival of the Cherokees. At breakfast time, we were regaled with the wild honey of the country, taken from a tree which the guide had discovered for us. Our course was still to the south of south-west, in which direction we twice crossed the meanders of a branch of the Pottoe, called Fourche Malin.⁠[179] About 2 o’clock we passed the dividing ridge⁠[180] of the Pottoe and Kiamesha, nearly the height of the Alleghany in Pennsylvania, very rocky, and thinly scattered with pines and oaks; the rock sandstone, and destitute of organic remains. This ridge forms part of the principal chain called Mazern mountains by Darby.⁠[181] In the rivulets and ravines I was gratified by the discovery of a new shrubby plant allied to the genus Phyllanthus. After crossing the mountain, we proceeded, at first, a little east of south, to clear the subsidiary ridges, afterwards westwardly, the mountains passing north-west; we then came upon an extensive prairie cove considerably diversified with hills and groves of trees. To the west continued a proximate chain of piney hills, with remarkable serrated summits, known by the familiar name of the Potatoe hills, and to the north-west backed by a more {149} distant and more lofty chain equally piney. On the summit of the dividing ridge, we observed a pile of stones in the bison path that we travelled, which, I was informed, had been thrown up as a monument by the Osages when they were going to war, each warrior casting a stone upon the pile. Discovering herds of Bison in the prairie, the soldiers immediately commenced the chase, and the bulls, now lean and agile, galloped along the plain with prodigious swiftness, like so many huge lions. The pendant beard, large head hid in bushy locks, with the rest of the body nearly divested of hair, give a peculiar and characteristic grace to this animal when in motion. We discovered them in a state of repose, and could perceive the places where they had been gratifying themselves by wallowing or rolling in the dust. The bison, entirely distinct from the buffalo of Europe, notwithstanding the surmises of Doctor Robertson, can scarcely be domesticated. The male, infuriate and jealous in his amours, gores every thing which falls in his way, and becomes totally unmanageable.

Perhaps no animal employs a greater diversity of diet than the bear; the common American species feeds upon fruits, honey, wasps, and bees; they will turn over large logs in quest of other insects, and are also destructive to pigs and fawns, by which means the hunters, imitating the bleat of the latter, will sometimes decoy them within gunshot.

Panthers are said to be abundant in the woods of Red river, nor are they uncommon on the banks of the Arkansa. A somewhat curious anecdote of one of these animals was related to me by our guide. A party of hunters in the morning missed one of their dogs from the encampment, and after a fruitless search were proceeding on their route, when one of the other dogs obtaining a scent, discovered to the hunters, dead beneath a tree, the dog which had strayed, together with a deer and a wolf in the same condition. {150} It appeared, that the panther, having killed a deer, and eat his fill, got into a tree to watch the remainder, and had, in his own defence, successively fallen upon the wolf and the dog as intruders on his provision.

19th.] This morning we set out late in consequence of the rain, which had continued throughout the night. We proceeded a little west of south, along the hills and prairies which divide the three principal branches of the Kiamesha, skirting the south side of the bare serrated hills already noticed scattered with pine and post-oak, in order to shorten the distance which we should have been obliged to make by keeping more into the level prairies. In this course we passed a number of little rivulets or torrents with rocky beds. The hills abounded with a kind of slaty petrosilex, which, as well as the slate-clay with which it alternates, appears destitute of organic remains. Some of the fragments were greenish, and appeared to be of the same character with the hone-slate of the Washita. At the junction of its three branches, the Kiamesha is hemmed in by very lofty ridges, partly covered with pine and oak. On one of the most conspicuous summits we had observed, for many miles, a beacon of the Osages, being a solitary tree fantastically trimmed like a broom. Our path now became difficult and obstructed by fallen rocks; that which we had pursued in the earlier part of the day was one of those, which, from time immemorial, had been trodden out by the bison. We still continued in a south-south-west direction, along the rocky valley of the Kiamesha, which this evening we crossed. The wooded hills prevailed on either hand without any prospect of termination, and strongly resemble the mountains of the Blue ridge, at Harper’s Ferry, in Virginia.

20th.] This morning we proceeded four or five miles before breakfast through a pathless thicket, equal in difficulty to any in the Alleghany mountains. The {151} hills now approached the river in cliffs and inaccessible acclivities, and we concluded to leave the impassable windings of the river by the first gap of the mountain. Having now left the almost impenetrable barriers of the river, we proceeded along a blind bison trace, but at length descended into a rocky ravine, scarcely passable for goats, but which at length we cleared, after being some hours dispersed from each other, and came again into hilly open woods, near the head of Field’s cove and creek, deriving its name from an outlaw who here sought refuge from justice. This cove was a kind of hilly prairie land interspersed with small plains, presenting rocky terraces where most elevated, and covered with herbage. Lofty wooded hills, scarcely inferior to those of the river, hemmed in this cove on either hand. I am informed that the sources of all the rivers in this part of the Arkansa territory, however closely locked betwixt mountains, present extensive prairies or plains, where they divaricate to their sources.

Our course was a little west of south, and the distance we travelled probably 20 miles. We calculated upon arriving at Red river on the succeeding evening, being somewhere about 30 miles distant. The woods were now disgustingly infested with ticks, though free from musquetoes.

21st.] We continued about five miles over dreary and rocky pine hills, without the good fortune of a bison trace, when, after taking a frugal breakfast, our hunters again surprised a herd of Bison lying down, but which were quickly roused into an active gallop. Deer were uncommonly abundant, and scarcely timid, or conscious of the aim of their destroyers. At length getting rid of the pine hills, we proceeded through a shrubby prairie, but, by continuing too much to the westward, again came inadvertently to the Kiamesha, and were obliged to leave it some miles directly behind us, in order to keep clear of the swampy alluvions {152} and ponds by which it was bordered. We now continued south-east, about 20 miles, over hilly woods covered with dwarfish post and black oaks, which having been burnt were extremely difficult to penetrate, lashing and tearing every thing with which they came in contact; we had also to encounter the additional embarrassment of ponds and wet prairies.

The rock was still sandstone, containing appearances indicative of coal. For the last two days I was busily employed in collecting new and curious plants, which continually presented themselves.

22d.] This morning we kept two or three miles to the south-east, and on turning to the south, had the good fortune to enter upon a beaten path, recognised by our guide, which, in the distance of about three miles, brought us to Mr. Styles’s,⁠[182] where we had the gratification of obtaining milk and butter for breakfast. This was the emigrant whose traces we had discovered, and who had encountered the Mazern mountains with a loaded wagon, women, and children, among whom was the mother of his wife, blind, and 90 years of age! Mr. Styles had chosen the margin of the prairie for his residence, at a short distance from whence commences the usual bushy hills. After breakfast we continued our route, parallel with Red river, over an extensive prairie to the confluence of the Kiamesha. The people appeared but ill prepared for the unpleasant official intelligence of their ejectment. Some who had cleared considerable farms were thus unexpectedly thrust out into the inhospitable wilderness. I could not but sympathise with their complaints, notwithstanding the justice and propriety of the requisition. Would it had always been the liberal policy of the Europeans to act with becoming justice, and to reciprocate the law of nations with the unfortunate natives!

A flagrant act of injustice to the Indians now, however, came to our knowledge. It was, no doubt, the hopes of employing the present opportunity of gaining {153} redress, which had instigated the journey of the two civilized Cherokees (Messrs. Rodgers), who had accompanied us; one of whom acted as the state interpreter. The information which we obtained concerning this affair gives it almost an incredible air of atrocity. It appears, that about three months ago, one of the Cherokees, returning from hunting in this quarter, saw some horses in the possession of two brothers named Gibbs, which he recognised to have belonged to Monsieur Vaugin, of the Arkansa, and which had been stolen by these renegadoes. For fear he should convict them of the theft, they treacherously took an opportunity of way-laying the Indian, and shot him dead with a rifle. The same two brothers, this very evening, inadvertently passed by our camp, but in the absence of the major and the Cherokees, and though our circumstantial knowledge of this horrid fact was purely accidental, yet such is the self-condemning nature of guilt, that no sooner had they learnt who we were, than they rushed into the adjoining cane-brake, and effected their escape into the neighbouring province of Texas. A party, indeed, went out instantly in pursuit of them, but were obliged to return in consequence of the darkness of the night, and the extreme difficulty of the way. Orders for their apprehension were left with the magistrate of the district, accompanied by a reward from the Cherokees. They returned after an absence of three weeks, when an attempt was made to bring them to justice by two hunters armed with rifles; and one of the brothers, who had not actually committed the murder, in the act of warning the other, was shot dead by one of the hunters, whom he had formerly injured in the most indelicate manner. With this revenge, though not sufficiently discriminate, I afterwards learnt, that the Cherokees had expressed themselves satisfied, as it accorded probably with their own ideas of diverging retaliation.

{154} The change of soil in the great Prairie of Red river now appeared obvious. It was here that I saw the first calcareous rock charged with shells, &c. since my departure from the banks of the Ohio. Nothing could at this season exceed the beauty of these plains, enamelled with such an uncommon variety of flowers of vivid tints, possessing all the brilliancy of tropical productions.

After passing through a swamp, we crossed the Kiamesha in boats, and swam our horses. Five or six miles from Styles’s we, at length, obtained sight of Red river, appearing here scarcely more than 100 yards wide, passing to the south-east, with the water very red and turbid. I was told that the river was here 1100 miles from its confluence by the meanders, or 900 above Natchitoches.

Here, for the first time, I saw the Maclura (or Bow wood) in abundance, but almost a month past flowering, at least with the staminiferous plant.

We found in this country two poisonous species of Coluber, or common snake, one of them very small, and finely marbled with vivid colours. The other frequents waters, and is called the water-mockasin, and poisonous black-snake; it is nearly black, two or three feet long, and thick in proportion, the head triangular and compressed at the sides. Both of them were furnished with the mortal fangs.

24th.] To-day we continued to the Horse-prairie, 15 miles above the mouth of the Kiamesha. In our way we proceeded for about three miles through the fertile alluvion of Red river to Mr. Varner’s, where we breakfasted, and at length arriving at our destination on the banks of Red river, we remained there the whole of the following day. This prairie derives its name from the herds of wild horses, which till lately frequented it, and of which we saw a small gang on our return. It is very extensive, but flat, and in some {155} places swampy. In these depressions we saw whole acres of the Crinum americanum of the West Indies, besides extensive glaucous fields of a large leaved and new species of Rudbeckia. The Sus tajassu or Mexican hog, is not uncommon some distance higher up Red river. A great part of the skin of one of these animals was shown me by Mr. Varner; so that we need not go to Mexico, in order to account for the head of this animal which was found in one of the saltpetre caves of Kentucky. That a continual intercourse was also kept up by the natives of the east and west sides of the Mississippi, is evident from the authority of Du Pratz, who tells us that the Mobilian or Chicasaw language was even spoken by the natives of Red river.

On the banks of Red river, nearly on a level with the water, as it appeared at the present depression, I noticed a dark greenish-grey sandstone, resembling trap, and occasionally interspersed with pebbles of agate, jasper, and chalcedony; the cement of this curious conglomerate proved to be calcareous spar.

26th.] To-day we prepared to return by the route which we had come. Knowing that we should arrive early at Mr. Styles’s, and spend the remainder of the day there, I delayed about two hours behind the party, for the purpose of collecting some of the new and curious plants interspersed over these enchanting prairies. It was not, however, my fortune ever again to overtake the party. Deceived by the continued traces of two strangers who had accompanied us, I passed the place of rendezvous, and was, in fact, so much engaged as to travel along no less than seven miles below Mr. Styles’s, which I ascertained by enquiring at another house, to which accident had directed me. Night began to approach, and I had proceeded but about three miles on my return when the sun set. By pursuing a new path which now opened, I had the good fortune to arrive at the {156} house of Mr. Davis, contiguous to Gates’s creek,⁠[183] which I had crossed. Here I was kindly requested to remain for the night, as the path from hence was even difficult to trace by daylight. Four guns were fired at major Bradford’s camp as signals to me, which were answered by Mr. Davis, but unfortunately they were never heard.

27th.] It was scarcely day-break when I arose, impatient to join my companions; but now my horse was not to be found, and it was not until we had made two or three unsuccessful searches, that he was at length discovered two miles on the path I had yesterday travelled. By this time it was near eight o’clock, and nine when I arrived at the major’s camp, where I found they had departed about half an hour. It is unnecessary to pourtray my apprehensions on this occasion; not a moment was to be lost, and I offered one of Mr. Styles’s sons two dollars to accompany me for a few hours to find their trace, and, if possible, to overtake them. We travelled as fast as possible for about 10 miles through a horrid brake of scrubby oaks, but all to no purpose, and, after firing a gun, which was neither heard nor answered, we returned again, as I dared not to venture alone and unprepared through such a difficult and mountainous wilderness. My botanical acquisitions in the prairies, proved, however, so interesting as almost to make me forget my situation, cast away as I was amidst the refuse of society, without money and without acquaintance; for calculating upon nothing more certain than an immediate return, I was consequently unprovided with every means of subsistence.

I was informed by the hunters, that these prairies, partially divided by groves and strips of timber, bordering the water courses, continued with little interruption to the hot springs of the Washita, to which, from hence, there is a plain and direct road.⁠[184] The surface of these woodless expanses was gently undulated, {157} and thickly covered with grass knee high, even to the summits of the hills, offering an almost inexhaustible range to cattle. The flowers, which beautify them at this season of nature’s vigour, communicated all the appearance of a magnificent garden, fantastically decked with innumerable flowers of the most splendid hues. The soil appears to be universally calcareous, with the limestone nearly white and full of shells, among which there was abundance of a small species of gryphite, and in the more compact beds some species of terebratulites. This calcareous rock, different from the mountain limestone, often contains uncemented or loose shells immersed in beds of friable clay, and is more analogous to that of South Carolina and Georgia, than that of St. Louis and the Ohio.

Along the further edge of the prairie, relative to Red river, there were, in the distance of 10 miles, five or six families settled, or rather encamped, upon the lands of the United States, which have not yet been surveyed or offered for sale.

June 1st.–5th.] I still remained at the house of Mr. Styles, without any very obvious prospect of regaining fort Smith. On the 4th I walked over the adjoining prairie to a more considerable hill than any which I had yet visited, near Red river. Its north-western declivity was thinly wooded; here I found the limestone more compact than usual, containing also smaller shells, but still presenting scarcely any perceptible dip. The summit was scattered with coarse quartzy and petrosiliceous pebbles, originating from the disintegration of a ferruginous conglomerate, of which large masses still lay on the surface compact. A similar overlay, though much more abundant, and continuous, occurs over the calcareous rock of South Carolina and Georgia.

The singular appearance of these vast meadows, now so profusely decorated with flowers, as seen from {158} a distance, can scarcely be described. Several large circumscribed tracts were perfectly gilded with millions of the flowers of Rudbeckia amplexicaulis, bordered by other irregular snow-white fields of a new species of Coriandrum. The principal grasses which prevail are Kœleria cristata of Europe, Phalaris canariensis (Canary birdseed), Tripsacum dactyloides, which is most greedily sought after by the horses, Elymus virginicus (sometimes called wild rye), a new Rotbolia, one or two species of Stipa and Aristida, with the Agrostis arachnoides of Mr. Elliott, and two species of Atheropogon. The common Milfoil, and sorrel (Rumex acetocella), are as prevalent, at least the former, as in Europe. In these plains there also grew a large species of Centaurea, scarcely distinct from C. austriaca; and along the margin of all the rivulets we met with abundance of the Bow-wood (Maclura aurantiaca), here familiarly employed as a yellow dye, very similar to fustic.

6th.] To-day I went five or six miles to collect specimens of the Centaurea, which, as being the only species of this numerous genus indigenous to America, had excited my curiosity. All the lesser brooks and neighbouring springs were now already dried up, and the arid places appeared quite scorched with the heat. Still there prevailed throughout these prairies, as over the sea, a refreshing breeze, which continued for the greatest part of the day. The swarms of musquitoes, which prove so troublesome along the banks of the Mississippi and the Missouri are here almost unknown, and never met with except on the immediate alluvial borders of the rivulets.

In my solitary, but amusing rambles over these delightful prairies, I now, for the first time in my life, notwithstanding my long residence and peregrinations in North America, hearkened to the inimitable notes of the mocking-bird (Turdus polyglottus). After amusing itself in ludicrous imitations of other birds, {159} perched on the topmost bough of a spreading elm, it at length broke forth into a strain of melody the most wild, varied, and pathetic, that ever I had heard from any thing less than human. In the midst of these enchanting strains, which gradually increased to loudness, it oftentimes flew upwards from the topmost twig, continuing its note as if overpowered by the sublimest ecstasy.

On the 8th I went down to the Red river settlement, to inquire concerning some company, which I had heard of, on my returning route to the Arkansa; and, on conferring together, we concluded to take our departure on Sunday next, a day generally chosen by these hunters and voyagers on which to commence their journeys. In our way to this settlement we crossed Gates’s and Lemon’s creek and another smaller brook. The width of the prairie to the banks of Red river might be about five miles, and the contracted alluvial lands, which by the crops of corn and cotton appeared to be exceedingly fertile, were nearly inhabited to their full extent. The wheat planted here produced about 80 bushels to the acre, for which some of the inhabitants had now the conscience to demand three dollars and a half per bushel, in consequence of the scarcity of last season. Along the borders of this part of Red river a chain of low hills appears, on which I observed large dislocated masses of a ferruginous conglomerate, inclined towards the river, and incumbent on the usual calcareous rock.

These people, as well as the generality of those who, till lately, inhabited the banks of the Arkansa, bear the worst moral character imaginable, being many of them renegadoes from justice, and such as have forfeited the esteem of civilized society. When a further flight from justice became necessary, they passed over into the Spanish territory, towards St. Antonio, where it appears encouragement was given to all sorts of refugees. From these people we frequently heard {160} disrespectful murmurs against the government of the United States. There is, indeed, an universal complaint of showing unnecessary and ill-timed favours to the Indians. It is true that the Osages and Cherokees have been permitted, almost without molestation, to rob the people on this river, not only of their horses and cattle, but even occasionally of their household furniture. It does not appear from experiment, that the expensive forts, now established and still extending, possess any beneficial influence over the savages which could not be answered by the interference of the territorial government.

It is now also the intention of the United States government, to bring together, as much as possible, the savages beyond the frontier, and thus to render them, in all probability, belligerent to each other, and to the civilized settlements which they border. To strengthen the hands of an enemy by conceding to them positions favourable to their designs, must certainly be far removed from prudence and good policy. To have left the aborigines on their ancient sites, rendered venerable by the endearments and attachments of patriotism, and surrounded by a condensed population of the whites, must either have held out to them the necessity of adopting civilization, or at all events have most effectually checked them from committing depredations. Bridled by this restraint, there would have been no necessity for establishing among them an expensive military agency, and coercing them by terror.

14th.] According to our appointment, my traveling companions called upon me, and, although about the middle of a Sunday afternoon, it was not possible to persuade them to wait for Monday morning. So, without almost any supply of provision, I was obliged to take a hasty departure from my kind host and family, who, knowing from the first my destitute situation, separated from pecuniary resources, could {161} scarcely be prevailed upon to accept the trifling pittance which I accidentally possessed. I shall always remember, with feelings of gratitude, the sincere kindness and unfeigned hospitality, which I so seasonably experienced from these poor and honest people, when left in the midst of the wilderness.

The evening was pleasant, and, after proceeding about eight miles through oak thickets in a path of the hunters, we reposed without further trouble by a brook, beneath the shade of the forest, and under the serene canopy of a cloudless sky.

15th.] My companions, three in number, appeared to be men of diligence and industry, and were up by break of day. The object of their journey was the recovery of horses stolen from them by the Cherokees. After proceeding about six miles from the place of departure, the trace or path could no longer easily be followed, as we now began to enter upon the pine hills scattered with loose rocks. Our first object was to have entered Field’s cove; we got, however, too far to the east, and crossed a considerable brook of the Kiamesha. All ignorant of the country, except myself, we had taken the precaution to mark down the reported bearings and distances, from the information of Mr. Styles. Our proper course was now north-north-east, but the man who took the lead, embarrassed by the accumulation of the mountains, which appeared in succeeding ridges for 40 miles before us, and too confidently considering the proposed route impracticable, kept towards the west in direct opposition to our proper course, so that on the 16th, about noon, we obtained sight of Field’s cove, which we ought now to have left, and crossing the Kiamesha, much too low down, found it running nearly due west, and very low. Our labour and distance was thus doubled, and we passed and repassed several terrific ridges, over which our horses could scarcely keep their feet, and which were, {162} besides, so overgrown with bushes and trees half-burnt, with ragged limbs, that every thing about us, not of leather, was lashed and torn to pieces. We now relinquished the mountains, and kept up along the banks of the Kiamesha, by a bison path, frequently crossing the river, which was almost uniformly bordered by mountains or inaccessible cliffs. Having killed a fat bison bull, we encamped at an early hour in a small prairie, in order to jerk or dry some of the beef for our future subsistence, it being now all the provision on which we had to depend.

All the rock we saw since our departure from Mr. Styles’s, consisted of a fine-grained sandstone, with no inconsiderable dip, and, as far as visible, destitute of organic remains.

18th.] We continued across the great cove of the Kiamesha, towards the dividing ridge of mountains which separates the waters of the Arkansa and Red river, and which had been visible to us on the very day after our departure. We now kept a course rather too much south of east, and encamped on the banks of a creek that appeared to issue from a conspicuous gap in the mountains. The prairie, though in many places open and hilly, was still divided by small torrents, now generally dry, and lined with thickets, laced with thorns and green briers. Towards the middle of this fertile cove, we passed over a large tract formed like a lake, and, except a southern outlet towards the Kiamesha, surrounded with low hills. In one of these rich alluvial bottoms, we saw abundance of tumuli. On the hills of the prairies of Red river, I also saw them of stone, and containing, according to custom, fragments of earthen pots. All the hills in this cove, which abound with pine, present slaty rocks of the petrosilex already mentioned, apparently forming partial beds, alternating with a soft slaty or shale rock, which occasionally exhibits balls of argillaceous iron ore, and the fibrous mineral production which has been called cone coralloid.⁠[185]

To-day we came very near losing our horses, for, while reposing at noon, though as usual hobbled, the torments of the large flies which appear at this time of the day and in the evening, became so extreme, as to excite them to run away, and with some difficulty we traced them for five or six miles, through woods and prairies, to the banks of the Kiamesha, into which {164} they had rushed for alleviation. We here also found, by the bell, a horse which had been lost by some hunters. In consequence of this unexpected delay, we did not proceed more than about 20 miles.

19th.] We continued across the cove towards the mountains, and began the ascent, but totally missing the gap, arrived at length, with much difficulty, upon one of the highest summits of the dividing ridge. Towards the Pottoe, the descent was altogether impracticable: for miles we could perceive nothing but one continued precipice of the most frightful elevation. After proceeding, however, with difficulty for about three miles along the summit of the mountain, high as any part of the Blue ridge, through thickets of dwarf oaks (Quercus chinquapin, Q. montana, and Q. alba), none of them scarcely exceeding the height of a man, we began the descent, which we still found extremely steep and broken, and, after toiling four or five hours in the mountains, had, at last, the unexpected satisfaction of entering upon, and pursuing the wagon trace, so recently trod by the major’s party. We now clearly saw, a little to the north-west, the right gap of the mountain which we ought to have sought.

In the course of the afternoon, we passed over three pine ridges, and two creeks, and then re-entering the prairie, proceeded before night about ten miles from the mountain, which, as well as the lesser ridges, consisted of sandstone.

20th.] This morning we passed the Pottoe, and proceeded along the trace, some distance beyond the Sugarloaf mountain. The prairies were now horribly infested with cleg flies, which tormented and stimulated our horses into a perpetual gallop. In the evening, we encamped in the valley of the third oak ridge that separated us from Cedar prairie.

21st.] Passing the fourth ridge, I again entered Cedar prairie, and before noon arrived at the garrison, {165} where I had been long expected, and was very cordially welcomed by the Doctor and the Major.

To the end of the month, I now remained at the garrison.