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OREGON BOUND 1853 131

herded for centuries. Their bleached bones are eveiy where but it is evident that they are slowly retreating before the whites. All the way to the Loupe, the remains were merely the most durable portions of the skeleton; this side of that stream we have seen many of those that perished last year. That stream, however, has been a great barrier to their pass- age eastward from their great crossings on the Platte, above here, and they have never been so abundant there. They are now seldom seen that side of the Loupe.

From the Loupe ferry, we kept the valley of that stream about 45 miles some of the way, for surface, soil, timber and water, as fine a country as is in the world. The flats are in places five miles wide. At 22 miles, where the bluffs ap- proach the river, we go about 3 miles through them, and emerge suddenly upon a great flat extending from the Loupe over to the Platte, 20 miles or over, and 10 miles or more in its other width, on which might be surveyed a square of more than 125,000 acres with hardly a depression or elevation suffi- cient to conceal a horse. The flats of the Loupe are fine for farming, and the stream is all the way where we saw it covered by cottonwood groves. Just before leaving the Loupe valley, we saw the first "alkali" though by testing it we concluded it to be the pure salt. At 45 miles we struck off south and south-west, thro' steep, barren, naked bluffs of clay and sand ; a day's drive, to the Platte bottoms, and another day brought us here. The crossing of the stream is bad, and there is all day a perfect jam and rush of people, teams and wagons ; but a sermon from one of our folks holds a part of them for an hour, and on they go again.

June 23. We have traveled less than 5Vfc days this week and made 1 19 miles, by our guide. We are where the cattle are seized by the infection of westward fever, and without urging go 20 to 26 miles a day. We are encamped near the Platte forks, by some famous springs, which, in this interminable region of "Platte water" and "slou' water," are really gloriously refreshing. There is no point from the Missouri to Fort