fleets under sail, garlanded with verdure and festooned th flowers; and the rapid flow of the river past them .de them seem to be flying over the water, this appearance motion completing the charm of the illusion. Neither lk of the river is wooded; the trees which the isles chiefly educe are a species of white poplar, commonly called cotiwoods ; the savages cut them down in winter and the rk serves as fodder for their horses.
Antelope are very plentiful in the plain of the Platte; I ve often seen several hundred in sight at one time. It the most agile animal of the prairies. Hunters make use a trick to come near him: they run at him full gallop, d the animal is off like a flash, leaving the horseman far hind; but soon it stops to look at him, being a very curis creature; meanwhile the hunter dismounts and lays him.f flat on the ground; here he makes all kinds of flourishes th his arms and legs, now and then waving his handkerief, or a red cap, on the end of his ramrod. The antelope aws slowly near, to watch and investigate him; and as on as it is within gunshot, the hunter fires and lays it low. Eten one will get as many as six before the band scatters. :her animals are rare in this region, but there are evident lications that game has not always been lacking.
For several days' journeys, we found the whole plain coved with buffalo bones and skulls arranged in circles or .If-moons and painted with various devices. It is in the idst of these skulls that the Pawnees are wont to practice eir superstitious divinations, when they go forth to war or the chase. After a long sea-voyage, the sailor rejoices at e sight of floating weeds, or of some little land birds that ay alight for rest on the ship's cordage, sure signs to him at the end of his voyage is near. Even so in this desert, e traveler, wearied of living so long on salt meat, is reiced at sight of these weather-bleached bones, which aniunce to him the vicinity of the buffalo. Nothing, accordgly, but shouts of joy was heard in our camp; our hunters ~rceived that the buffalo plains were not far off, and they