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 wolf accosted our ears amidst the tranquil solitude, and the whole night we were serenaded with the vociferations of the two species of whip-poor-will.

The dawn of a cloudy day, after to us a wakeful night, was ushered in by the melodious chorus of many thousands of birds, agreeably dispersing the solemnity of the ambiguous twilight.

Amongst other objects of nature, my attention was momentarily arrested by the curious appearance of {146} certain conic hillocks, about three feet high, generally situated in denudated places, and covered over with minute pebbles; these on closer examination proved to be the habitations of swarms of large red ants, who entered and came out by one or two common apertures.

On the wooded margin of the prairie, the doctor and myself were gratified by the discovery of a very elegant plant, which constitutes a new genus allied reciprocally to Phacelia and Hydrophyllum.[176]

CHAPTER IX

Journey to Red river—Prairies and mountains of the Pottoe—Pass the dividing ridge—Kiamesha river—Arrival on the banks of Red river—The murder of a Cherokee; attempts to obtain redress—Wild horses—Character, geological structure, and rare vegetable productions of the prairies—Return to the garrison at Belle Point.

May 16th.] This morning I left Fort Smith with major Bradford and a company of soldiers, in order to proceed across the wilderness, to the confluence of the Kiamesha