hatchet, and a shovel, which he offered to
sell for two dollars, but could not, so he gave the rifle to one of our
party and took the rest along. The soil is poor and sandy here and the
grass short and dry. Distance, twenty-five miles.

MAY 30.

At three o'clock this morning we were under way and continued up the
Platte, and having gone sixteen miles by two o'clock, we stopped for the
night, our cattle being much in need of feed and rest, having traveled
hard and found but little feed in the vicinity of the Fort. Some three
miles before we stopped we left the river and ascended the tableland,
passing over innumerable little knobs, upon which is scattered a little
cedar and pine. In a ravine near the camp is an excellent spring of
water and tolerably good grass. In the afternoon a dark cloud arose in
the west, and soon came thunder and lightning and rain; and now while I
am writing it is dancing upon our tent in a fine manner--a manner
peculiar to this country. At length the clouds cleared away and our
party concluded to proceed a few miles further. Accordingly, we
collected our cattle, yoked them, and drove about five miles further. In
the afternoon we passed some soldiers who were engaged in burning lime
for the Fort. One of them wanted to buy liquor; said he had that day
offered $16 per gallon for brandy to an emigrant but could not get it.
One of our company sold him a drink of whiskey for fifty cents.
Distance, twenty-one miles.

MAY 31.

Going two miles this morning, we came to a little stream called the
Little Cottonweed. Our trail led over a hilly country, presenting every
variety of scenery, from the level plain to the bold bluffs, with here a
few shrubs of pine and cedar. These evergreens are the only objects
generally which enliven the plains in which they are found, as they
usually grow in the moist barrens and indescribable places, deep ravines
and nearly naked rocks. At length we have come into the region of wild
sage so well known and so much hated by the emigrant, as it grows in the
most inhospitable regions. It is a low, bushy shrub, with thick and
light-colored leaves, resembling to some extent the leaf of the
cultivated sage and exhaling a similar scent. Our road is very
circuitous. We have, in a few hours, traveled toward every point of the
compass. Laramie Peak, which we first saw from Scotts Bluffs, is still
in sight, several miles to the south of us. Its snow-capped summit
presents a stro