Montgomery County sentinel., 1891-01-09

l
aud plums were found in great quaint.
ties all along the river, as was for the
most part the wonderful cactus plant.
which Is tolerablc good substitute for
water. The deer and other animals tear
this plant and chew the Aeshy parts,
which yield mucilaginous juice that
allays thirst. On our route we saw
droves upon drovesof wild horses. but
could never get within nile of them.
We had four large tents capable Of hold
ing from eight to ten men cuch. and for
convenience our party was divided into
four messcs. each Of which had their
own tent Now, the location of the
camp was an item in our work, and It's
position was defined aud recorded With
mathematical exactness. The latitude
was taken every clear day by means Of
the scxtant, using either the meridian
sun or some bright star Us u point OF
reckoning Longitude was fosnd by
means of the chronometers. which we're
guarded with great care. The location
Of alI tho camps were put pfapn III chart.
and formed an important factor in tho
report which | afterwards made to the
War Department at Washington The
manner of locating our camp required
great care, AS you probably know,
prairie fires are n constant menace to
exploring parties. When ready to camp,
the site selected was surrounded by all
the men but one He would go into
the centre of the ring and fire tho grass.
Each man outside was armed with
buffalo robe or skin of some kind aud
when the required site was burned off
all would set to work aud put out the
fire. This done, the tents would be
pitched and the camp got in readiness
for the night | remember one time
the fire got beyond control and burned
across u valley and off into II highland
region where il spent itself in short
grass We traversed this burnt district
the next day for distance Of twenty
miles, part of the time being only few
feet distant from the burning grass. The
burning of that valley was one of the
most sublime sights have ever wit
messed, and the intense heat produced
heavy clouds which shortly afterwards
deluged the plains, thus checking the
FIRE. A rain storm always follows
prairie fire, this being one way nes1re
has of protecting herself.
Zone day while wo were at s1er
great black bear invaded the camp. It
was Immediately pursued by almost the
whole force of men but managed to es-
cadc to the woods uninjured. At an
other time party Of the men tried to
shoot some wild horses that had ap-
preached the camp out of curiosity. They.
also escaped apparently without any be-
ing bit BY the shower Of bullets that
were sent after them. While in camp |
made many interesting sketches which
were inserted in my report that was
printed by the Government and which
was simply diary Of events that were
narrated on tho spot'a as they occurred
along the route--a distance of 1000
miles, extending from Independence,
Mo. 10 Fort Gibsenyl Indian( Ierritory.
This report covered a;. jod Of about
three months, and endese when VIC had
fixed the mouth of the Canadian riverl
on October 90
"The number of miles travelled werk
recorded by an odometer which was al
tached to one Of the wagon wheels. and
which Indicated on dial the number of
revolutions made by the wheel In
survey this method is much more salts
factory than chaining, which is often i'm
practicable We averaged about twenr
miles per day, but, as | said, this
tancc depended upon the water SUPP
After leaving Fort Gibson, tho exped,
ton proceeded to St. Louis. where IL
disbanded. and by November p was
again 10 Washington and had filed my
report with the War Department.
During the whole time the expedi-
ton was out, the weather was fne with
very little rain, and the usual heat of
that region was tempered by the fall
winds The men we're healthy and, |
think, without a single exception, en-
joyed the trip. We visited several In
dian tribes, among which were the Chey-
ennes, ,Comanches, Kiowas and Apaches.
These tribes at that time occupied their
native lands aud lived in state of greas
freedom. They we're for the most part
friendly, but several times while in New
Mexico we corraled the animals and for
tilted ourselves against attack as we saw
signal fires on the tops Of hills and
mountains which undoubtedly had ref
crence to us. Another time pag'y OF
Mcxicans approached very nei IS and
we spent considerable time IN fellis
cottonwood trees, which grew in the VI
ciuity of camp But il was q false
alarm. Just why the Mexican govern
meut sl!owcd US to invade their territory
unmoested was not clear to me, and we
were glad to get out of il as we contin-
ually suspected treachery. No excuse
was ever given by our Government for
thus invading another country, but
think there was feeling that Eew.Mex
leo ought to belong to this country and
the survey was an invasion that was
made simply 10 afford prctext for tax
ing general inventory Of the region,
IN anticipation Of the Mexican war.
maps have since been ma
same region, but | find that
done by our party correspN>\
closely to surveys made later
ter conditions We found ind
gold in all parts of the territor
as we'll as signs Of iron, coppe
yer, and so | reported. TbS
trees were cottonwood, whic
tho borders Of tho strea.,
"While ut Fort Bent,
witnessed an Indian coun
held by tho Cheyennssne
six Dolawares with
had, few months
rival made an alta
Delawares aud killed
When they saw US the
object Of our trip was