Volume 16 — [273] CHAPTER IV [XI]

[273] CHAPTER IV [XI]

Sufferings of the Party from Stormy Weather and Want of Provisions—Indications of an Approach towards Settlements—Inscribed Rock—Cervus Macrotis—Volcanic Origin of Amygdaloid.

The valley in which we halted, is narrow and bounded on both sides by cliffs of greenstone, having manifestly a tendency to columnar or polyhedral structure. It falls readily into large prismatic masses, but obstinately resists that further progress of disintegration which must take place before it can be removed by the water. For this reason the valley is much obstructed by fallen masses retaining their angular form, and little intermixed with soil. The common choke cherry, and the yellow and black currants, are almost the only woody plants met with in this valley.

The stream which may be supposed to exist in it for a part of the year at least, but which was now dry, runs towards the south-east. Having arrived at that part of the country which has by common consent been represented to contain the sources of the Red river of Louisiana, we were induced, by the general inclination of the surface of the country and the direction of this creek, to consider it as one of those sources; and accordingly resolved to descend along its course, hoping it might soon conduct us to a country abounding in game, and presenting fewer obstacles to our progress than that in which we now were. Our sufferings from the want of provisions, and from the late storm, had given us a little distaste for prolonging farther than was necessary our journey towards the south-west. And our horses [274] failing so rapidly, that we did not now believe they would hold out to bring us to the settlements by the nearest and easiest route.52

The country between the sources of Purgatory creek and the stream on which we were now encamped, is a wide and elevated formation of trap rocks, resting upon horizontal sandstone. It has a loose and scanty soil, in which sand, gravel, and rolled pebbles are rarely seen, except in the vicinity of some parts where the sandstone appears to have been uncovered by the action of currents of water. In traversing it we had collected many new and interesting plants. Among these were a large decumbent mentzelia, an unarmed rubus, with species of astragalus, pentstemon, myosotis, helianthus, &c. Beside the common purslane, one of the most frequent plants about the mountains, we had observed on the Arkansa a smaller species, remarkably pilose about the axils of the leaves, which are also narrower than in P. oleracea. A very small cuscuta also occurs almost exclusively parasitic on the common purslane.

July 31st. In attempting to descend the creek from our last encampment, we found the valley so obstructed with fragments of greenstone as to be wholly impassable. We accordingly ascended into the plain; and continuing along on the brink of the precipice, arrived in a few hours at a point where the substratum of sandstone emerges to light at the base of an inconsiderable hill. It is a fine gray sandstone, having an argillaceous cement, and its lamina are so nearly horizontal, that their inclination is not manifest to the eye. It is smooth and fissile, and in every respect remarkably contrasted to the massive and imperfectly columnar greenstone which it supports.

The greenstone of this district is not universally characterized by any tinge of green in the colouring, but often, as in the instance of which we are speaking, its colour is some shade of gray, varying from light [275] gray to grayish black. The hornblende and felspar which enter into its composition, are minutely and intimately blended. Its minute structure is rarely, if ever distinctly crystalline; most frequently it is compact, and the fracture nearly even.

The hunters were kept constantly forward of the party, and in the course of the morning they killed a small fawn and a heron. At one o'clock we arrived at the confluence of a creek tributary from the east to the stream we were following, and descending into its valley by a precipitous declivity of about four hundred feet, we encamped for the remainder of the day. This valley is bounded by perpendicular cliffs of sandstone, surmounted by extensive beds of greenstone. The fragments of the latter have fallen down into the valley, and being less perishable than the sandstone, they constitute the greater part of the débris accumulated along the base of the cliffs.

The sand-rock, which in some places is exposed in perpendicular precipices, is soft and friable, being very readily scratched with the point of a knife, and has been rudely inscribed, probably by the Indians, with emblematic figures commemorative of some past event. Several of the figures intended to represent men are distinguished by the sign of the cross inscribed near the head; some are represented smoking, and some leading horses, from which we infer, that the inscriptions are intended to commemorate some peaceful meeting of the Indians with the Spaniards of N. Mexico for the purposes of trade, when horses were either given as presents or bartered for other articles. Some meeting of this kind has probably happened here at no very distant period, as corn cobs were found near our encampment. From this circumstance it would appear, that the distance to the Spanish settlements cannot be very great.

Mr. Peale, who had been unwell since the cold storm of the 28th, now found some relief in the [276] opening of an abscess which had formed upon his jaw. As several of our horses had been lamed in descending into the valley, and by the rough journey of the preceding day, it was thought necessary to allow ourselves a day of rest. Since arriving in the country inhabited by the hitherto undescribed animal called the black-tailed or mule deer, we had been constantly attentive to the important object of procuring a complete specimen for preservation and description. Hitherto, though several had been killed, none had been brought to camp possessing all the characters of the perfect animal. Supposing we should soon pass beyond their range, a reward had been offered to the hunter who should kill and bring to camp an entire and full-grown buck.

Verplank killed one of this description, on the afternoon of the 1st of August, near enough our camp to call for assistance, and bring it in whole. They did not arrive until dark, and we had such pressing necessity for the flesh of the animal, that we could not defer dressing it until the next morning. The dimensions were accordingly taken, and a drawing made by Mr. Peale, the requisite light being furnished by a large fire. Verplank informed us, that in company with the buck which he killed, were five does, two of the common red deer, (C. virginianus) and three of the other kind.53

We observed about this camp, a yellow-flowering sensitive plant, apparently a congener to the saw-brier, (schrankia uncinata) of the Platte and Arkansa. Its leaves are twice pinnated, and manifestly irritable. We also added to our collection, two new species of gaura, smaller than G. mollis, which is also found here.

Several rattle-snakes were seen, and many orbicular lizards. These are evidently of two different species, differing from each other in the length of the spines and position of the nostrils. Scarce any two of either species are precisely similar in colour, but the markings are permanent. Both species possess, in a slight [277] degree, the power of varying the shades of colour. We can find no conspicuous difference, marking the different sexes in the species with long spines; the other we have not had sufficient opportunity to examine.

Wednesday, August 2d. The rain which had fallen during great part of the preceding day and night, had considerably raised the water in the small creek on which we were encamped. At sunrise we collected our horses and proceeded down the valley, the direction of our course south, 30° east. At the distance of two or three miles we found the valley much expanded in width, and observed a conspicuous change in the sandstone precipices which bound it. This change is the occurrence of a second variety of sand-rock, appearing along the base of the cliff, and supporting the slaty argillaceous stratum already described. These rocks have precisely the same position relative to each other, and nearly the same aggregate elevation, as the two very similar varieties observed in the valley of Purgatory creek; indeed, the conclusion that they are the continuation of the same strata as appeared similarly exposed in that valley, can scarcely be avoided. The lowermost, or red sand-rock, is here very friable and coarse. Its prevailing colour is a yellowish grey or light brown. It is often made up almost exclusively of large rounded particles of white or transparent quartz, united by a scanty cement, which usually contains lime, and sometimes, but not always, oxide of iron. In some instances the cement seems to be wanting. Its stratifications are very indistinct compared to those of the gray sandstone, and like them disposed horizontally.

On entering the wider part of the valley, we perceived before us, insulated in the middle of the plain, an immense circular elevation, rising nearly to the level of the surface of the sandstone table, and apparently inaccessible upon all sides. On its summit [278] is a level area of several acres, bearing a few cedar bushes, probably the habitation of birds only.

Leaving this, we passed three others in succession similar to it in character, but more elevated and remarkable. Of one of them, Mr. Peale has preserved a drawing. After passing the last of these, the hills ceased abruptly, and we found ourselves once more entering a vast unvaried plain of sand. The bed of the creek had become much wider, but its water had disappeared. Meeting at length with a stagnant pool, we halted to dine, but found the water more bitter and nauseous than that of the ocean. As it could neither be used for cooking or to drink, we made but a short halt, dining on a scanty allowance of roasted venison, which we ate without bread, salt, water, or any thing else. Some fragments of amygdaloid were strewed along the bed of the stream, but we saw no more of that rock, or of the other members of the fletz trap formation in place. They may extend far towards the south-west, but of this we have no conclusive evidence. The aspect of these rocks, particularly of the amygdaloid or toad stone, is so peculiar, and its disposition so remarkably dissimilar to that of the sandstones with which it is associated, that nothing seems more natural than that it should be referred to a different origin.

In the midst of one of the violent storms we encountered in passing this trap formation, we crossed the point of a long and inconsiderable elevated ridge of amygdaloid, so singularly disposed as to suggest to every one of the party the idea that the mass had once been in a fluid state; and that, when in that state, it had formed a current, descending along the bed of a narrow ravine, which it now occupied, conforming to all the sinuosities and inequalities of the valley, as a column of semifluid matter would do. Its substance was penetrated with numerous vasicular cavities, which were observed to be elongated in the direction of the ridge. Its colour is nearly [279] black, and when two masses are rubbed together, they yield a smell somewhat like the soot of a chimney. These appearances are so remarkable, that it is not at all surprising these rocks should have been considered of volcanic origin; and it is this supposition unquestionably from which has originated the statement contained in the late map of the United States by Mellish,54 that the district about the sources of Red river is occupied by volcanic rocks; the information having probably been derived from the accounts of hunters.

The valleys which penetrate into the sandstone supporting these trap rocks, have usually a sandy soil, while that of the more elevated portions, though inconsiderable in quantity, is not sandy nor intermixed with pebbles or gravel. Among the few scattered and scrubby trees met with in this district, are oaks, willows, and the cotton-wood; also a most interesting shrub or small tree, rising sometimes to the height of twelve or fourteen feet. It has dioecious flowers, and produces a leguminous fruit, making in several particulars a near approach to gladitschia; from which, however, it is sufficiently distinguished by the form of the legume, which is long and nearly cylindric, and by the seeds, which are enclosed in separate cells, immersed in a saccharine pulp, but easily detached from the valves of the legume. In these particulars it discovers an affinity to the tamarind of the West Indies. The legume or pod, which is from six to ten inches long, and near half an inch in diameter, contains a considerable quantity of a sugar-like pulp, very grateful to the taste when ripe. The leaves are pinnated, and the trunk beset with spines, somewhat like the honey locust, but the spines are simple. Our Spanish interpreter informs us, that it is found about Monterrey, and other parts of the internal provinces, where it must have been noticed by Humboldt, but we have not been able to have access to his account of it. In the afternoon we travelled [280] thirteen miles, descending along the valley in a south-east direction. We extended our ride farther than we had wished, finding no suitable place to encamp. After sunset we found a small puddle of stagnant water in the bed of the creek, which, though extremely impure, was not as bitter as that near which we halted in the middle of the day. Neither wood nor bison dung could be found, so that being unable to kindle a fire, we were compelled to rest satisfied with the eighth part of a sea biscuit each for supper, that being the utmost our supplies would allow. In the afternoon one of our hunters had killed a badger; this was all the game we had, and this we were compelled to reserve until we could make a fire to cook it.

Thursday, 3d. Little delay was occasioned by our preparations for breakfast. The fourth part of a biscuit, which had been issued to each man on the preceding evening, and which was to furnish both supper and breakfast, would have required little time had all of it remained to be eaten, which was not the case. We were becoming somewhat impatient on account of thirst, having met with no water which we could drink for near twenty-four hours; accordingly, getting upon our horses at an early hour, we moved down the valley, passing an extensive tract, whose soil is a loose red sand, intermixed with gravel and small pebbles, and producing nothing but a few sunflowers and sand cherries, still unripe. While we should remain upon a soil of this description, we could scarcely expect to meet with water or wood, for both of which we began to feel the most urgent necessity; and as the prospect of the country before us promised no change, it is not surprising we should have felt a degree of anxiety and alarm, which, added to our sufferings from hunger and thirst, made our situation extremely unpleasant. We had travelled great part of the day enveloped in a burning atmosphere, sometimes letting fall upon [281] us the scorching particles of sand, which had been raised by the wind, sometimes almost suffocating by its entire stagnation, when we had the good fortune to meet with a pool of stagnant water, which, though muddy and brackish, was not entirely impotable, and afforded us a more welcome treat than it is in the power of abundance to supply. Here was also a little wood, and our badger, with the addition of a young owl, was very hastily cooked and eaten.

Numbers of cow buntings had been seen a little before we arrived at this encampment, flying so familiarly about the horses that the men killed several with their whips.

August 4th. We were still passing through a barren and desolate region, affording no game, and nearly destitute of wood and water. Its soil is evidently the detritus of a stratum of red sandstone and coarse conglomeratic, which is still the basis and prevailing rock. It appears to contain a considerable proportion of lime, and fragments of plaster stone and selenite are often seen intermixed with it.

Our morning's ride of sixteen miles brought us to a place where the water of the river emerges to view, rising to the surface of that bed of sand beneath which it had been concealed for a distance of more than one hundred miles. The stream is still very inconsiderable in magnitude; the water brackish, and holds suspended so large a quantity of red earth as to give it the colour of florid blood. The general direction of its course inclining still towards the south-east, we were now induced to believe it must be one of the most considerable of the upper tributaries of Red river. A circumstance tending to confirm this opinion was our falling in with a large and much frequented Indian trace, crossing the creek from the west, and following down along the east bank. This trace consisted of more than twenty parallel paths, and bore sufficient marks of having been recently travelled, affording an explanation of [282] the cause of the alarming scarcity of game we had for some time experienced. We supposed it to be the road leading from the Pawnee Piqua village on Red river to Santa Fé.55

Two shrubby species of cactus, smaller than the great cylindric prickly pear noticed near the Rocky Mountains, occur in the sandy plains we were now traversing. One of these, which is about four feet high, and very much branched, has long and solitary spines, a small yellow flower, and its fruit, which is about as large as the garden cherry, is very pleasant to the taste. The fruit of the C. ferox, which was also found here, was now ripe, being nearly as large as an egg, and of a deep purple colour. The jatropha stimulosa, a congener to the manihot or cassada of the West Indies, a cassia, an amorpha, and many new plants, were here added to our collection.

The hunters were kept constantly out during the day, but nothing was killed until evening, when Verplank brought in a young buck, which enabled us to make a full meal, the first we had eaten for several days.

Game in this portion of the country is extremely scarce, and few traces of bisons are to be seen; and as we were travelling along a frequented road, we had some reason to fear this want of game might continue.

A few wild horses had been observed in the course of the day, and towards evening one was seen following the party, but keeping at a distance. At night, after our horses had been staked in the usual manner, near our camp, we perceived him still lingering about, and at length approaching the tent so closely, that we began to entertain some hopes of capturing him alive. In attempting this we stationed a man with a long-noosed rope in the top of a cotton-wood tree, under which we tied a few of our horses; but this plan did not succeed.

[283] On the following morning [5th] one of our hunters fortunately discovered the same horse standing asleep under the shade of a tree, and having shot him, returned immediately to camp with the intelligence. We had all suffered so severely from hunger, and our present want of provisions was so great, that instead of questioning whether we should eat the flesh of a horse, we congratulated ourselves on the acquisition of so seasonable a supply. We felt a little regret at killing so beautiful an animal, who had followed us several miles on the day before, and had lingered with a sort of confidence about our camp; but our scruples all yielded to the loud admonitions of hunger. The [next] day being Sunday, and the plain about our camp affording a supply of grass for our jaded horses, we resolved to remain encamped, seizing the opportunity of making observations for latitude, &c. The morning was calm and clear; the mercury at 69° Fah. For five mornings preceding this it had been at 58°, and in the middle of each day rose to above 90°. The moon was now too near the sun to admit of observations by lunar distances; but the meridional altitude of the sun's lower limb was taken with great care, and under circumstances favourable to accuracy, gave 35° 16′ 19″ for the latitude of our encampment.

The river bed in the front of our camp was found by admeasurement to be sixty yards in width, twenty of which were naked sand-bar, the remaining forty covered with water, having an average depth of about ten inches. The current is moderate, the water intensely red, having nearly the temperature and the saltness of new milk. It suspends a great quantity of clay, derived from the cement of the sand-rock; but notwithstanding its impurities, it is more grateful to the taste than any we had met with since leaving the mountains, and though drank in large quantities, produces no unpleasant effect.

[284] Some spots in the low plains had here considerable fertility, depending probably, in some degree, upon the intermixture of a large proportion of calcareous matter with the soil, resulting from the disintegrated sand-rock. Though no extensive formation, a limestone appears, yet the sandstone has, in many instances, a calcareous cement; but is traversed by numerous veins, both of gypsum and carbonate of lime.

The occurrence of the elm and the diospyros indicated a soil at least approaching towards one adapted to the purposes of agriculture. Among great numbers of interesting plants, we found here a gentian, with a flower much larger than G. crinita, an orobanche (probably the O. ludoviciana, N.) a new croton, an ipomopsis, and many others. Notwithstanding the scarcity of game which we had so long felt, we daily saw considerable numbers of antelopes, with some signs of bear, deer, and turkies; but these animals had acquired all the vigilance which results from the habit of being often hunted, and the entire want of thick forests, and even of solitary trees or inequalities of the surface, to conceal the approach of the hunter, rendered abortive most of our attempts to take them.

The common partridge (perdix virginianus) was seen near this encampment; also the dove, which had never disappeared entirely in all the country we had passed.

Rising at the customary hour on the morning of the 7th, we perceived that a part of our horses were missing. As we were apprehensive that they had been stolen by Indians, a small party was immediately sent to discover the route they had taken; pursuing along their path, the men overtook them at the distance of two or three miles, as they were straying on in search of pasture.

On leaving our camp, we endeavoured to regain the trace on which we had for several days travelled; [285] but though we spent considerable time in the search, and travelled several miles off our course, we were not able to find it. This we had occasion to regret, as the surface of the country is mostly of a loose sand, bearing turfs of wormwood and other plants, rendering the travelling difficult where there is no road. In order to shun the numerous ravines which now began to occur, we chose our route at some distance from the bank of the river, where we found the vallies deeper and more abrupt, though less frequent.

In the course of our morning's ride of twenty miles, we saw several gangs of wild horses, and with these we distinguished numbers of colts and some mules. In passing through a village of prairie dogs, of which we saw great numbers, Mr. Peale killed a burrowing owl. The bird, though killed instantly, had fallen into one of the marmot's burrows; but had luckily lodged within the reach of the arm. On opening it, the intestines were found filled with the fragments of grasshoppers' wings, and the hard parts of other insects. We have never been able, from examination, to discover any evidence that these owls prey upon the marmots, whose villages they infest.

After proceeding near twenty miles, we directed our course towards the river, which we kept at some distance on our left; arriving at it at two o'clock, we encamped and sent out the hunters; as we had some hopes of procuring a supply of provisions less repugnant to our prejudices than horse-flesh; the hunters, however, as well as others of the party, spent the remaining part of the afternoon in an unavailing search after game.

The hills which bound the immediate valley of the river at this place, have an elevation of from one to two hundred feet above the surface of the water. They are usually covered with a deep sandy soil, but disclose in their sides, points, and precipices of red sandstone, containing large quantities of very beautiful selenite. The other more common varieties [286] of sulphate of lime are also of frequent occurrence, crystals of carbonate of lime are also met with in veins traversing the sandstone.

The cenchrus tribuloides, a most annoying grass, which is common here, supplies the place of the cactus ferox; and the troublesome stipas of the Platte now become less abundant. The cenchrus bears its seed in small spikelets, which consist of a number of rigid radiating spines. These clusters of barbed thorns are detached at the slightest touch, falling into our mockasins, adhering to our blankets and clothing, and annoying us at every point. The cloth-bur (xanthium strumianum), which had occurred in every part of our route, began now to ripen, and cast off its muricated fruit, adding one more to the sources of constant molestation.

A formidable centipede (scolopendra) was caught near the camp, and brought in alive by one of the engagees. It was about eight inches in length, and nearly three-fourths of an inch in breadth, being of a flattened form, and of a dark brown colour. While kept alive, it showed great viciousness of disposition, biting at every thing which came within its reach. Its bite is said to be venomous.

On the morning of the 8th, we continued our journey, crossing and recrossing the river several times. This we found necessary, as the occurrence of steep and rocky ravines made it impossible to pass along the bank, parallel to the course of the river, which here became more meandering, winding about the points of rocky and impassable promontories.

Few trees occur along this part of the valley; but grape vines were becoming numerous, and some of them loaded with fruit. Among these, we saw numerous signs of the black bear, and one of these animals was this morning seen and shot at, but not killed. We also saw some recent tracks of bison, reviving us with the hope of a return of the days of plenty. We constantly met with the remains of Indian [287] encampments; trees which had been felled with the tomahawk, and other evidences that the country had been recently occupied by savages.

We passed in the afternoon to a more plain and fertile country than that we had been for some days traversing. The river valley became wide, and bounded on both sides by low and rounded hills instead of abrupt and perpendicular precipices. The interior of the country is but little elevated above the river, and its surface is nearly unbroken.

We crossed the beds of several creeks, apparently of large streams in the wet season, but now entirely destitute of water. As yet we had not a single tributary discharging any water into the river, nor had we been able to discover any augmentation of the volume of water, which appeared to have been derived from tributaries entering on the other side. The channels of all the creeks hitherto observed, were beds of sand without water. Several of these "dry rivers," which we passed in the course of the day, have broad valleys, which, if we may judge from a comparison with that we are descending, must have an extent of more than one hundred miles, draining a wide expanse of country of the surplus water in the rainy season, but remaining dry during great part of the year. At five o'clock we encamped, having travelled twenty-six miles due east. The hunters were immediately sent out, but returned without game, having seen nothing.

A beautiful white-flowered gaura,56 had been for several days observed along the bank of the river. It is undescribed, and has, before flowering, a very distinct resemblance to common flax.