Route from Fort Kearny to Fort Laramie.

Distance froa

Fort Kearny. August 24, 1855.--Marched 10 miles over fine road, and en

camped on the Platte; grass good; no road on south side

of the river August 25.-Road fine ; buffalo numerous. Camped on the

Platte; good grass, but no wood; day's march 19} miles 291 August 26.—Road fine; crossed Plum creek about 4 miles

from morning camp ; buffalo along the route ; camped on

the Platte; good grass, no wood; day's march 18 miles - 471 August 27.—Road good ; camped on the Platte near the foot

of Brady's island ; buffalo plenty ; day's march 17} miles 65 August 28.-Road good ; camped at Cottonwood spring, a fine

hole of cool water ; no water in the Platte this side of the
island; some little wood; cedar plenty on the bluffs south

;
of the road; buffalo to-day all bulls; day's march 231
miles

81 August 29.-Road fine ; camped at a water hole about 2 miles

from the south fork; grass good ; no wood ; buffalo scarce
and all of them bulls ; day's march 184 miles

107 August 30.-Road good; crossed O'Fallen's bluff, (not high,)

and camped about 2 miles beyond, on a slough ; wood
plenty ; grass good; day's march 21 miles

128 August 31.–Road good; camped on the south fork; grass good ; no wood ; day's march 15} miles

1431 September 1.-Road to-day somewhat muddy from last night's

rain ; camped on the river ; grass good; no wood ; day's
march 214
miles

161 September 2.- Reached crossing of south fork, 5 miles from .

morning camp; stream about 700 yards wide, crossing
easy, water 18 inches to 2 feet deep; camped just above
Ash Hollow on the north fork; grass thin; a little cedar
wood on the bluffs ; day's march 24 miles

1891 The descent into Ash Hollow is very steep, and much labor

would be required to improve it permanently, as the slope
is in part of rock. I examined the locality for a half a
day, and found no place naturally superior to the one now

used.
September 4.-Crossed the north fork, about 800 yards wide,

with ease, water very shallow, and camped at the mouth
of Blue Water creek, a clear running stream 15 yards
wide at the mouth ; grass good; no wood; day's march
3 miles

192 September 5, 6, 7 and 8–Were spent in recruiting the animals,

reconnoitering, and constructing Fort Grattan, &c. September 9.-Road fine; camped on the river ; good grass ; no wood ; day's march 204 miles

2121 September 10. —About 8 miles from morning camp crossed a

Distance from
Fort Kearny.

231

2491

2744

fine cool stream of water ; 8 miles further came to Ancient
Ruins bluffs, which are so close to the river that we were
obliged to go over the ridge; the slopes are gradual, but
on the west side the sand is thick ; road to-day in places
heavy with sand; camped on the river; grass fine ; day's

march 184 miles
September 11.-Road good ; river makes considerable bend and

there is a fine grassed bottom between it and the road;
there were many deer in it; we passed Court House rock
on the south side ; camped on the river, with good grass,

but no wood ; day's march 18} miles
September 12.–To-day passed Chimney Rock on the south side

of the stream; the river forms here another large bend,
making the road near the bluffs some 2 to 3 miles off; there is
another road not much longer, near the river, which is
good in dry weather; camped on the Platte; grass good;

a little wood ; day's march 254 miles
September 13.–After marching 12 miles, we came to a piace

where the bluffs approach close to the stream, and here is
a fine spring creek with good grass and wood, extending
along south of the road for 3 miles ; we passed on, and
camped on a sedgy slough, with good water and grass,

but no wood ; day's march 174 miles
Road to-day good; passed Scott's Bluffs about half way.
September 14.-Road good ; day's march 18 miles
Passed another fine spring creek, which runs parallel with the

road, on the south side, for 4 miles, and camped on the
river about one mile from the source of the creek; grass
tolerable ; some wood. The hay for Fort Laramie is cut

at the head of this creek.
September 15.—Road to-day in places heavy with sand; wood

all along the Platte, but no grass ; crossed the dry sandy
bed of Raw-hide creek, about 9 miles from camp ; camped
opposite the mouth of Laramie river; no grass ; day's

march 25 miles
September 16.—Nearly all the animals were sent about 15 miles

up the Laramie river to pasture, but even there grass was

poor.
The distance from Ash Hollow to Fort Laramie, on the south

side of the north fork, as given in Captain Stansbury's
report, is 1494 miles; by the north side it is 145.2 miles.

292

310

335

Route from Fort Laramie to Fort Pierre.

Distance from
Fort Laramie.

Fort Laramie is situated on the north side of Laramie river,

1 mile from the Platte. There are two ways of reaching
White river from this fort that have been travelled with

Distance from

Fort Laramie. wagons; one of them, as described to me by Mr. Bordeaux, is to go down the Platte about 8 miles, then north, crossing Raw-hide creek in 8 miles; thence to first fork of Spoon-hill creek, 12 miles; thence to the second fork, four miles; thence to l'Eau qui Court river, 12 miles; travel down l'Eau qui Court, 12 miles; then go north 12 miles to head of Deadman's creek; then along it 6 miles to White river; the last 6 miles are bad ; this route then joins the other, and is probably preferable. The army took the other route, which strikes White river near its source.

The
route is as follows:
September 29, 1855.-Crossed the north fork of the Platte 1

mile from the fort; river about 130 yards wide, water in
places 3 feet deep, current strong, bottom hard with small
boulders, stream not fordable when high : camped at a
spring hole; grass bad, no wood ; road good, a little hilly
and sandy ; day's march 13 miles

13 September 30.- Marched to Raw-hide creek, 74 miles ; grass

here tolerable, with some rushes; small cottonwood along
the banks; formerly large groves existed, which have been
used up by the Indians; stream 10 feet wide, water plenty,
containing fish

201 October 1.-Marched 231 miles to l'Eau qui Court river, road

good ; no intermediate camping place ; a little water can
be had 4 miles from morning camp. L'Eau qui Court here
is from 10 to 15 feet wide; clear running water, containing
fish, bottom sandy; grass fine; no wood—formerly there
was plenty, but it has been used up by the Indians ; stream
heads near Raw-hide peak; saw numerous bands of buffalo
to-day

431 October 2.–Marched 114 miles to near the head of White river;

road good ; descent to the stream very steep ; stream 4 to
5 feet wide, with large holes, water clear, bottom sandy ;
grass good; no wood, except small willows ; fuel plenty i
mile further down; bluffs 150 feet high, and close to each

other. Exact source of the river not known.
October 3.-Marched 11 miles down White river, crossing it 11

times ; immediate banks not high and bottom hard ; the
road is so bad that it is next to impracticable for loaded
wagons; it requires much working, and then would proba-
bly not be passable when the stream is flooded. The bluffs
are high, precipitous, and close to the stream, and covered
with scattering pine; ash, elm, willows and cottonwood
line the banks : camp was on the left bank, at the foot of
a tall cliff, and here we buried a soldier ; the valley be-
gins now to widen out; grass good

661 October 4.-Crossed the stream, marched 44 miles and camped

on the right bank at the mouth of Deadman's creek ; grass
good

ho

Distance from
Fort Laramie.

88

104

1231

1391

Along White river good grass and wood will be found at almost

every point the remainder of the way; the road is gen-
erally fine in dry weather, but, being clayey, is very heavy
in wet seasons. The high rocky bluffs recede on the south
side to a distance of from five to twenty miles, and in the
north are only occasionally to be seen. Beaver abound in
all the streams, and deer along the banks; the bottom of
the stream is generally muddy and care must be used in
approaching it. The route continues along the stream till

forced away by the high bluffs of the Bad Lands.
October 5.-Crossed White Clay creek with ease, 8f miles from

morning camp; water of a milky color. White river, be-
fore clear, now assumes a white tinge; crossed White river
8} miles further on. Days march 174 miles; road good,

and crossing easy.
October 6.—Marched 16 miles; last 8 miles of road very bad,

several wagons being overturned, and many things broken

about the gearing. October 7.—Marched 19} miles; road good, except a few cross

ings of side ravines; these might be much improved ;

there are two or three considerable hills. October 8.-Marched 16 miles; road good. Sharp-tailed grouse

quite numerous.
October 9.—Passed Butte Caché about 2 miles from morning

camp; this is so low as to be hidden by the trees; the
locality is a favorite resort for the Indians in winter, and
the Fur Company have built trading houses here, which are
now abandoned. Crossing White river at a good ford
half a mile further on, we encamped on the right bank;

day's march 14 miles; road good -
October 10.—Passed through a small portion of the Bad Lands;

day's march 6} miles. Camped on the right bank, one mile
above Wounded Knee creek, a favorite resort of the In-
dians. Two miles below this, a very high ridge of the
Bad Lands comes down to the river.. The road now leaves
White river and, proceeding directly through the Bad
Lands, gains the side branch of the Shyenne. White river
continues its way through the high precipitous bluffs of
the Bad Lands, from which it emerges near the south fork,
a distance in a straight line of 95 miles. There are no
streams of any size running into it on the left bank, but
on the south or right bank there are many, from 20 to
40 miles long, with clear running water, and are much

resorted to by the Indians.
October 11.-Crossed White river, here 40 yards wide, at a

good ford, and fairly entered the Bad Lands; road fair in
dry weather, but crooked; camped at Ash Grove spring,
situated on a ridge; grass good; ash wood plenty, and
good water. There are very deceptive miry places in the

1531

160

Distance from
Fort Laramie

neighborhood and the animals require watching; day's

march, 184 miles; no intermediate camp.
October 12.-Had to go down a long steep hill, (one mile from

morning camp,) sandy and easy to descend, but must make
a very hard pull up. Marched to Bear creek, a branch of
the Shyenne; banks here high, and hard to get up with
loaded wagons; water in holes, but salt; will do for the
animals. Spring on the side hill furnishing good water,
but quantity limited. Some ash wood around the spring;

grass indifferent. Day's march 13} miles.
October 13.—Nine miles from morning camp, crossed Sage

creek, about one mile above its forks; banks on Sage creek
high and hard to pull up; water in holes, tolerable ; grass
good; wood plenty; marched to Bull creek, 11} miles on,

,
here grass good, wood sufficient, water in holes, good;

day's travel 20 miles, road being over high prairie. October 14.–Marched to Pinos spring, one of the head branches

of Bad river ; descent to the valley of the stream quite
steep ; valley here three to five miles broad; water in a
hole, a little salt; wood one mile off; grass indifferent;

day's march, over good road, 17 miles.
October 15.- Marched to Grindstone Buttes creek (Buttes aux

Gres creek) 184 miles; road good ; passed several good
camping places; at camp, grass and water good ; wood

212

23.02

scarce.

248

October 16.—Passed some wood after going 41 miles, and Big

Cotton wood creek 44 miles further on; here no wood;
camped at Mitchell's creek; water good,.in holes; no wood;

grass good. Day's march 14 miles ; road good.
October 17.-Passed Aricaree creek, in 7 miles; here no wood,

but some trees visible half a mile down; camped on La
Chapaille creek; a little wood; water in holes, bad; grass

good; day's march 214 miles, road good.
October 18.–Passed tolerable camping place in six miles ;

marched to Water Holes creek; water good ; grass fair ;
no wood; trees about one mile down stream , day's march

144 miles ; road good.
October 19.-Good road to crossing of Willow creek, 17 miles,

, , the banks of which are high, and give a long hard pull; wood here plenty, but no water. There is a small hole, always filled with water, about half a mile east of the creek, slightly salt; camped at Fort Pierre ; day's march 25 miles ; bluffs of the Missouri not steep where the road descends.