Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 14.djvu/298



258 JOURNAL OF E. WILLARD SMITH

30th. We still travel as usual. We had been expecting to overtake Mr. Lupton every day. He is a mountain trader, on his way to the trading post on the river Platte. We overtook him today about noon. His party had stopped to eat dinner and allow their animals to feed. He had six wagons drawn by oxen. They had started about twelve days before us. He mistook us for Indians as we approached, and was somewhat alarmed. We saw three deer today on an island, one of them a buck was very large.

31st. This is the last day of August and of summer. We saw six elk today, one of them being an old one, was quite large. Mr. Lupton encamped with us today as well as last night. He is trying to keep in company with us, but probably will not succeed, as our mules can travel much faster than his oxen. We had a buffalo hunt today. Our men killed one. Mr. Lupton's men another. It is a fine sight to see them running a large herd. This is Saturday. It is difficult to mark the Sabbath as there are no church bells to remind us of it.

September 1st. Today we came in sight of what is called Big Timber, sixty miles from Bent's Fort on the Arkansas. We had no fresh buffalo meat today, and there are no buffalo to be seen.

2nd. Today we left Big Timber at noon. The prairie here is more rolling and sandy than we have seen it before. We had a view of the mountains this afternoon, but they are still one hundred and fifty miles distant. We are enabled to see this great distance on account of the clearness of the atmos- phere. There is no dew at night, the atmosphere being very dry and clear. The weather is very warm. No fresh meat today. Buffalo is very scarce.

3rd. Today we passed Bent's Fort which looks quite like a military fortification. It is constructed of mud bricks after the Spanish fashion, and is quite durable. Mr. Bent had sev- enty horses stolen from the fort this summer by a party of the Comanchee Indians, nine in number. There was a party of these Indians, consisting of three thousand lodges, a few miles distant.