truck into it, and followed it for two days. It led them over rough
hills, and through broken gullies, during which time they suffered great
fatigue from the ruggedness of the country. The weather, too, which had
recently been frosty, was now oppressively warm, and there was a
great scarcity of water, insomuch that a valuable dog belonging to Mr.
M'Kenzie died of thirst.

At one time they had twenty-five miles of painful travel, without a
drop of water, until they arrived at a small running stream. Here they
eagerly slaked their thirst; but, this being allayed, the calls of
hunger became equally importunate. Ever since they had got among these
barren and arid hills where there was a deficiency of grass, they had
met with no buffaloes; those animals keeping in the grassy meadows near
the streams. They were obliged, therefore, to have recourse to their
corn meal, which they reserved for such emergencies. Some, however,
were lucky enough to kill a wolf, which they cooked for supper, and
pronounced excellent food.

The next morning they resumed their wayfaring, hungry and jaded, and had
a dogged march of eighteen miles among the same kind of hills. At length
they emerged upon a stream of clear water, one of the forks of Powder
River, and to their great joy beheld once more wide grassy meadows,
stocked with herds of buffalo. For several days they kept along the
banks of the river, ascending it about eighteen miles. It was a hunter's
paradise; the buffaloes were in such abundance that they were enabled
to kill as many as they pleased, and to jerk a sufficient supply of meat
for several days' journeying. Here, then, they reveled and reposed after
their hungry and weary travel, hunting and feasting, and reclining upon
the grass. Their quiet, however, was a little marred by coming upon
traces of Indians, who, they concluded, must be Crows: they were
therefore obliged to keep a more vigilant watch than ever upon their
horses. For several days they had been directing their march towards
the lofty mountain descried by Mr. Hunt and Mr. M'Kenzie on the 17th of
August, the height of which rendered it a landmark over a vast extent of
country. At first it had appeared to them solitary and detached; but
as they advanced towards it, it proved to be the principal summit of a
chain of mountains. Day by day it varied in form, or rather its lower
peaks, and the summits of others of the chain emerged above the clear
horizon, and finally the i