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Chronicles of Oklahoma
can, Dr. East, the American and, probably Captain [?]-As
the traders had gotten within 12 miles and there were no
guessing at, when the water would let them come on, and as
they appeared by the intelligence furnished by Capt. Cooke,
to be in no sort of apprehension of an attack; we prepared
for a move to-morrow.
40th day. 26th day's marching. June 22nd. Thursday.
Started at 7 A. M. and marched 15 miles S. 3 W. and en-
camped on the open prairie on the head of the Creek3" sup-
posed to be the creek on which we encamped on the 4th of
June. No timber in sight since we left the river. The first
7 miles of our journey was through a light sandy soil, the rest
clayey. Saw some buffalo, and passed some of the largest
buffalo roads bearing to the E. S. E. probably to the Salt in
that region. This night we had to resort to buffalo dung for
fuel-it burns like peat-we made furnaces of sod, and found
it to be excellent fuel.
41st day. 27th day's marching. June 23d. Friday.
Marched at 1/2 past 7, and travelled 18 miles S. 10 W. and
encamped again on the open prairie5" on a pond of water-
Country very level the first 6 miles, thro' clayey soil and flat
prairie, the next 6, thro' low sand hill-s, then open prairie
again. We got on one eminence of 20 feet above the level 2
miles before we encamped, and saw a grand sight of perhaps
10,000 buffalo feeding on the plain as far as the eye could
reach. Here we saw a herd of wild horses of a dozen in num-
ber. They ran off through the herds of buffalo, which did not
seem to mind them-Water tonight filled with animalculae
and water insects-used buffalo dung for fires. Encamped
early on account of the grass.
42nd day. 28th day of marching. June 24th Saturday.
Marched at past 7. Travelled 12 miles S. 10 W. and en-
camped on the waters of the Ne-ne-scah [Ninnescah] where
they break out in springs along the banks" and through the
"The command encamped close to the forks of Rattlesnake Creek,
about five miles north of St. John, Kansas.
"The site of the forty-first day's camp seems to have been a little
north of the intersection of the county lines between Stafford and Pratt
Counties, or about four miles northeast of Byers, Kansas.
"This campsite was at the headwaters of the Ninnescah River, and
about midway between Cullison, and Pratt, in Pratt County. Inasmuch
as these springs which feed the Ninnescah River at its sources never
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