again wending our way westward up the valley of the Platte, and passing on by the junction of the South and North Platte rivers. The next object of interest was O'Fallon's Bluffs, a point on the south bank of the South Platte, where the bluffs came squarely up to the bank of the river, and the road we tracked was over the top of those bluffs, from which point we soon arrived at the crossing of the South Platte, the usual fording place for the teams of wagons.

Here, of course, all was excitement and extra energy, till the last wagon was got across the river. Two teams, making twelve yoke of cattle, were usually hitched to a wagon-"doubling up," as it was called-to get each wagon through the water and the quick-sands of the stream. But time and perseverance soon had us all over and on our way across the divide between the two Plattes, a distance of about fifteen miles, to a place called Ash Hollow, a canon of the hills bordering the north side of the North Platte valley. Here the hills were so steep and crooked that the utmost care had to be exercised to keep the wagons from capsizing. No calamity happened with us, however, and we were soon at the mouth of the Hollow in sight of an abandoned earth-work, known as Fort Grattan, named after an officer who was killed in an engagement with the Sioux Indians.

From there we tracked up the North Platte river past many curiosities of nature in the hills bordering the river. The first of these, the Court House Rock, looked like the dome of a large building looming up in the sky, with many other formations around it, resembling steeples, turrets, and towers of buildings in a large city. Passing further up the Platte was another freak of nature in the form of a high towering rock on the top of a steep and high hill, the rock being about twenty-five feet or more through and square like a chimney of some factorytowering up into the sky several hundred feet, left there by the great waters that at one time covered this part of

the earth. This was known as Chimney Rock and could be seen a long distance before coming to its base. One more noticeable feature in that interesting country was the formation known as Scott's Bluffs. At this point the road ran through the hills, and close up to a straight, perpendicular wall four or five hundred feet high, after passing which we were soon in sight of the Laramie River. On the banks of this stream was situated Fort Laramie, with the pine-clad Black Hills of the Rocky Mountains in bold relief to the north and west of it.

Once more we were delighted with a view of the star spangled banner as it floated from the flag-staff of that military settlement, at the base of the mountains. Here our journey westward was to end.

It did not take long to view the situation of things, as I looked over, first, the manly figures of our brave soldiers in blue; then the houses and homes of civilized people; then the location of French Indian traders in the neighborhood of the fort; then Indians, squaws and pappooses, here and there; all making a scene long to be remembered in a picture, a scene of the commingling of savage and civilized conditions of human development.

Here at this military post was the first glimpse of any human being since we left Fort Kearney, a distance of about three hundred and fifty miles. Nothing was to be seen in all that distance but the grand prairie of Platte Valley and the tree-covered islands of the Platte River, in localities where they were prevalent, one near Fort Kearney being about sixty miles long-with hundreds of others of all sizes and dimensions near by it.

Fort Laramie was established by the United States Government to protect the emigrants traveling overland to Utah, Oregon, California and other of our far western territories, from attacks and depredations of the powerful bands of the great Sioux Indian Nation, and to keep open the communication between the eastern states and western territories of the Republic, so that American

individual enterprise and progressive development might in no wise be checked or interfered with. And even with this preservation of the military power of the Republic, the attacks of the Brule and Ogallala bands of Sioux continued to annoy, harrass and interfere with our travelling people, so that a special expedition had to be sent against them, under Gen. Harney, who attacked Chief Little Thunder, on the Blue river, near Ash Hollow, in the fall of 1856, severely chastising him and burning his villages.

Considering the hostile temper of the Indians and their interference with the development of American civilization, the importance of the establishment of such military posts as Forts Kearney and Laramie and others, is plainly evident. And in connection also, the important point was that freighting business of these days was the great chain, as it were, that kept them in close proximity to their base of supplies on the Missouri river, and in bonds of hope and sympathy with that great civilization which existed nearly seven hundred miles away...

But we must be moving on. Our freighting expedition. is not yet ended. We have yet to return to Leavenworth. So with the supplies all safely deposited in the Quartermaster's and Commissary's store houses, we prepare to

return.

In the first place the wagons are all parked for the winter, and the cattle driven into winter quarters to be kept over for next year's business, large quantities of hay having been cut for their subsistence. Then with one light wagon to carry our provisions and bedding and six head of horses and mules, we bid farewell to Fort Laramie and are headed again for the point from whence we started, Leavenworth City, taking sufficient provisions to last us to Fort Kearney, where we expected to lay in a further supply to last us till we reached our destination.

So with light hearts and cheerful spirits we entered on our east-bound journey-aiming to travel as much of the

distance as possible every day. I think it was the evening of the third day after leaving Fort Laramie that our party of thirteen men, including the wagon master, John Renick, arrived at the mouth of Ash Hollow, after traveling all day through from six inches to a foot of snow, the result of a recent snow storm. When we arrived there another snow storm had commenced and with a strong north wind, the atmosphere having gone down to below zero. We got into camp as quickly as possible, happening upon a spot where there was a very good supply of dry cedar in the bluffs not far distant. That snow storm developed into a genuine "blizzard," which lasted over two days and nights, and when it was over a thermometer would have indicated about thirty degrees below zero. We crowded ourselves together as well as we could] in the one small tent we had, leaving a large fire burning in front of the tent door all through the night, it being kept burning in good shape by the night watch.

After the storm was over, however, all egress from the canon was impossible, for the great drifts of snow piled against the bluffs we had to pass over. On the level prairie beyond the bluffs we discovered the snow was also too deep for us to travel through, so we had to stay, await a change of weather, and make the best we could of the situation. As soon as we could, we moved our camp a mile or more up into the canon to where the wood was more convenient.

For a time the prospect looked very gloomy, from the fact that our provisions were nearly gone, and there was no possible chance apparently for getting more supplies. About two days after going to our new camp, however, a party of Ogallala Sioux Indians came by with their ponies loaded down with fresh buffalo meat, which they were taking to their camp to dry. The Indians were quite friendly, gave us some fresh meat, and also the information that their camp was but a few miles off, over the bluffs by a spring, at the mouth of another canon

opening into the valley of the North Platte River. They invited us to come over and stay at their village, telling us also that the French traders, Dripps and Madret were there; and could possibly let us have some provisions.

Just as early as possible we found a way to get to the Indian village. Provision was scarce with the traders, but they kindly let us have one sack of flour at $20.00 per hundred, and a little corn meal at a proportionate price. So we had the pleasure of having a small piece of bread twice a day with the buffalo meat, of which we had about all we wanted. The absence of salt, however, made it to our tastes somewhat insipid. The corn meal we got was to make a feast for the Indians of corn meal mush and sugar, which we were advised to do, to gain their general good will, these being the same band of Indians who, together with the Brules, had been severely chastised by Gen. Harney about a year previous. In return for our present to them of corn meal and sugar, a large number of them congregated together, formed a circle, and gave one of their "dances" for our benefit, the squaws also evidenced their good-will by taking two wagon sheets and making them over into a lodge or "wigwam," similar to those made for themselves of buffalo skins. So while our party remained at the Indian village, some lived in the tent and some in the lodge.

Before we had got our lodge made, however, and but a few days after we had arrived at the Indian village, we made an effort to continue our journey cast by packing our animals with bedding and provisions, and starting down on the ice of the North Platte river. In this proceeding, difficulties and obstacles were in the way, which prevented the accomplishment of our purpose. We had not got far from the Indian village before the ice got to be very glassy and slippery, the animals with the packs on their backs, falling down every now and then, necessitating a continual unpacking and repacking, so that when night came on us we had only got about eight miles, and