The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1874-08-20
rne s,ack Iss,,s Expeditions.
rus FLORAL Valley

teresting account OK tue eu'i "n.. ;.
s.,ster,s Black Hills expedition into what
atv,ed the Floral Valley of the BACK h'''
copntry. from which We make some eA'
tracts. 80 co,nr,,
7. was on the oath Of July that Genera
Caster discovered the foot OF Tue Lar:
away down at the bsse OF toe io'ss liz w.
The descent was made at great p.,,, ant
halebreed guides declaring thst u lucy III
.lown there they would never ges w sIam.
THE horses were led down ana tte I"o,ho
wore lowered with ropes names y! 'n'
cayalrymen. ..s.,,,.,on of the
valley will show the great sS'ipiiS 'h''
awaited the expeditions: .,..
Nothing beau',,ni or des'rsme,w. ,"uos w, ~,
had been left uninspccsed. but sun, .ot a'
this. nature look Us conlpE'ciy ny sur ~
We had expected cTcrstTng Dus ooun'e,
ons floral welcome. We we're almost sar'ied
nv The unlooked-tor array Whlch met us as
we descended into The valley. sucn ori'-
}iancv, such tea,lty, Sacn variety, such pHo,
fusion! An the glories OF Color, iolin, a"u
fragrance which FAoIa could command had
been weren into acarrct ior our Ieet. nc
whole valley was garden. teemlng WIN
-
an Eden In the sky without the ioroidden
frujt. How we 1eyeied in this new
found beauty. No one, from the
commanding general down TO the hum
hlcst private, or the most profane tcamster,
could withstand the effect. The greed for
gold was forgotten. We ceased to look tor
The nuggets which would make us suddenly
rich. Beauty for the time seemed the only
wealth. aud men who bad never picked
flower since their childhood days bent ana
paid the lopgucglcc'ed homage. Cavalry
mon and teqm,terS decorated their horses
and mules in'autrymen pumed their hats;
officers gathered uoscgays; pockct-bookS ana
notebooks were brought into requisition TO
press and preserve the free gifts of the val
lev. There was something almost affecting
in SeeiEg rough, coarse men Sottened ana
refined by the sweetness Of the n)werS,
taking out worn, totaccC-Scentcd pocket
books and putting in flower or two "Just
10 send the old woman"
For once grumblcIs against camps and
country were blishcd by their own comics.
sion. | know no more powerful testimony
TO the charm Of the valley than this general
acquiescerce, silent or expressed. 1t would
be amusing, indeed, and an original contri-
button 10 criticism, TO record the profane en-
comiums which iiteral enthusiasts bestowed
on this new Florida. The same inadmi>si-
bic adjecti,e> which were used as preiXes 10
the most baspbemous curses against the
barren wastes of Dakota were now traDsier-
red 10 the dialect OF praise. But there was
no mistsking the difference in sentiment.
This side OF California l have never seen
such variety and abundance in Il floral dis
play. Lilies, roses, blue bells, asters, sun
flowers, geraniums, Towering pea, monks
hood, lupep, fax. primroscs, and many flow
ers that cannot pane, were mingled and
repeated in artess and exbuberant profu-
sion. Scarcely moving from his seat on the
ground, General Forsyth collected seven
teen different species of flowers. One of the
commouest and most admired of the whole
pasture isa beautiful white lily with beaded
throat, first noticed by DR.. Williams, which
is not described in the botany books, and
which none OF us have met in the East. A
bright pink and white geranium, the former
present in great abundance, seem to be un-
described varieties OF the oerdntum nlacu-
Zdtunl. A numter of other flowers found
will have to be reserved until our return for
exact classification. Nor had nature forgot
ten her functions as caterer. GooSebcrries,
raspberries. Juneberries {dnselanchior cana
densis), large and sweet, and occasionally q
few strawberries were found on tue hllsides
and freely eaten.
The atmosphere vas so cool that thin Ice
was found to have gathered on the rubber
blankets Of the meH- A march twelve miles
up tine valley proved delightful.
The bills, which at the entrance Of the
valley almost shutit ip, leaving but narrow
passage 70 or 400 yards wide, receded slightly
from each other, but still greatly exceed in
height the width Of the valley. The fora
seemed even 10 increase in richness and
abundance. The little rll1 scarcely two feet
wide at our camp last night, and which a
little further Down was lost in the soil.
and only marked by greener growth
of grass, began to Increase in size
and volume as We aSce1sed the wax
ley. IT seemed strange iRdeed that The
stream sheuh grow deeper, broader, and
more roluminous as weasceBdod than it was
below. il was one OF the ere hantments OF
the valley. Presaie observation broke the
spell by noting that the sandy, porous stream
bed OF the lower Ealleg gupe p!ace gradually
to q hard, constant, smooth rock bed, over
which the water fe&ed clear, cold, and
colorless-as perfect as water could he.
About ak mikes up the stream we found 4
clear, beautiful spring, with temperature
of Az degrees. Six sniles farther up, the
stream suddenly disappeared, but the diSap-
pearance Was only temporary-atfftle game
OF hide and 60 to Seek" forwe found it
higher mp dividing into segesM tribu-
sary ral., led by NOISY spSirsgs, the
water a half \ degree lower in temper
ature than The spring $Ix miles belsw. AS
we assembled the valley, one band. which
Gov tS 90
selections, play ed How 50 Fair anS " The
Maeking gird:' We forgot the knocking
bird ia listening to lhemosking hills, (which
played an .scho fusce WITH the bsnG. The
effect WIS beautiful indeed. Never before
had the echoes sung to .Hufl'aaann or ,EIe.oy.
but they never missed ne:e in their re-
sponge- During our march q large ,saale
crane was seen on roc&y ledge. Presently
it flew down hato the valley. The cokunn
was halted and General Custer with his ntie
advanced under cover Of the busses aud read
she poor bird his death warrant. His wigs
measured from Zip to tip we're .nesrly seven
feet long. Soon after one Of our indians
caught young craze alive. w hich was added
to our Central Park coalecGon.
Camp WAS made by the advance at Ill
O'Clock. The train, basiEg TO bridge thes
stream many times. did not arrive ik some)
four hours later. Meanwhile the tGreidj
clouds above came down to visit us and
bathed the bills in heavy naist. We were
really camped within the clouds. The sa-
marks 23l7. We must now he
nearly 1000 feet above the 2rit,uae counting
roon. The clouds have gone again and the !
sun is glimmering ca the hill-tops. am
sitting at the door of my tent. looking
out upon this lovely vale, no lcngerI
or unknown. Floral Yale is
the merited title which General Custer
has conferred upon it. Myriads Of lilies.
blnebells, and geraniums vie with each |
other in beauty and abundance in the land