very day when the people of the United States celebrate the anniversary of their emancipation from Great Britain. We reached this spot on the day that immediately succeeds this celebration. We had in our company a young Englishman, [Romaine] as jealous of the honor of his nation as the Americans; hence we had a double reason not to cry " Hurrah for Independence." Still, on the following day, lest it might be said that we passed this lofty monument of the desert with indifference, we cut our names on the south side of the rock under initials (I. H. S.) which we would wish to see engraved everywhere, and along with a great number of others, some of which perhaps ought not to be found anywhere. On account of all these names, and of the dates that accompany them, as well as of the hieroglyphics of Indian warriors, I called this rock on my first journey " the Great Record of the Desert."
I shall add a few remarks about the buttes that are seen in the vicinity of the Platte River. The most remarkable of all, at least that which is best known to the generality of travelers, is the one to which they have given the name of
" Chimney." It is called so on account of its extraordinary form; but instead of applying to it an appellation which is rather unworthy this wonder of nature, just because it bears some resemblance to the object after which it is named, it would have been more proper to call it " the inverted fun nel," as there is no object which it resembles more. Its whole height, including the base, body and column, is scarce less than 4oo or 500 feet; the column or chimney is only about 130 feet high, so that there is nothing striking in the loftiness of its dimensions. But what excites our astonishment is the manner in which this remnant of a mountain composed of sand and clay has been so shaped, and how it has for such a length of time preserved this form in spite of the winds that are so violent in these parts. It is true that this mound, and all those that are found near it, is composed of a successive number of horizontal and perpendicular strata, and has about the middle a zone or belt, consist-