Lewistown gazette. [volume] (Lewistown, Pa.) 1843-1944, 1867-07-10

a TRIP ACROSS THE pLATvs,

q REF ACROSS THE PLAINS.
Under date of June 10, a correspon.
dent OF the Baltimore american gives
an interesting account of an expedi.
ton through the Indian country, head.
ed by Major General W. S. Hancock,
whose Chief of Staff is our fellow.
townsman, Gen. VIM. G. Mitchell. A
A. G. We make the following ex-
tracts:
We take with us one hundred Uni
ted States infantry, twenty-five wag
ons for troops and stores, fifteen amb1-
lances, IN which the civilians ride. two
guides and two Indian scouts, both of
the Delaware tribe one of them nam.
ed -Four Leaf, and the other one, his
son, named Two Four Leaf.
In our march General Hancock and
Staff took the lead Of the train. all of
them well mounted and armed; the
ambulances containing US civilians
came next, whilst the wagons. contain
ing the forage and stores, and the mil
ltary escort, brought up the rear. The
Indian scouts were generalIya a mile or
two IN advance of the train. on the
look out for Indians and buffalo.
We took along with us various as
tronomlcal instruments to take obser
vations, and to make an exact map of
the road travelled also an adomiter to
measure the number of miles travelled
each day, and practical engineer and
draughtsman to observe and DOT down
the various creeks, rivers, caverns, &c.
on our march.
FIRST DAY ON THE PRAIRIE.
We made but thirteen and half
miles to day owing to the great fall of
rain, which had been descending in
torrents all day, and which had SO
swollen Cow creek as to prevent our
crossing it. At 3 P. NJ. we camped on
the banks of this creek. The WAGONS
we arranged in the shape of square,
the ambulances being on the interior
line. The tents of the General and
Staff, and of the civilians, were pitched
inside Of the square, whilst the tents of
the soldiers were located outside of The
line of wagons.
We had great difficulty in getting
hot supper owing to the scarcity of
wood, and the continued fall of rain. /
But we found no fault with this. and
after partaking of what was in store, |
we fixed up our beds and lay ourselves
for the second time on our soft muddy /
couches to rest.
a BEAUTIFUL SCENE
Sunday, the 9th, dawned bright and |
warm. The whole camp was astir by
5 o'clock, and every one delighted at
the cheerful rays of the sun. General
Hancock sent his scouts over the creek
and ascertained that the stream had /
fallen, and that crossing could be
made in five feet of water. Immedi-
ate preparation was therefore made
for a start, and by o'clock the whole
train had successfully crossed the
stream.
The country through which we trav-
elled to-day was by far the most beau
tiful Of any we have yet seen. The
long stretches of prairie, reaching for
miles on every side, covered with an
carpet of grass, dotted
all over with flowers of various hues
the clear blue sky, as free from clouds
as the earth beneath from trees; the |
sweet bracing breeze making it pleas
ant in spite Of the hot sun; the music
of the birds, all tended to make this q
most glorious Sabbath morning
1t is very hard in these vast and |
boundess solitudes to be surprised by
Indians or buffalos. From the top of
one of these plateaux, or buttes, the eye
can see for five or six miles on every
side, until the vision is stopped by the
horizon or interrupted by another
butte of the same character. The soil
is deep and rich, and is destined to
make the greatest grazing country in
the world
THE PRAIRIE DOGS.
All along our line of march to day
we passed varions villages of prairie
dogs, some of them with two or three
hundred dog mounds or holes On the
top of many of these mounds we no.
ticed the ever watchful owl seated like
a grim sentinel and keeping watch
over the little animals within. 1t is
said that wherever prairie dogs are
there you will find owls and rattle.
snakes. In fact, they all three live to
gether, whether in affinity CT whether
to feed upon one another, is not known.