rch, they ascended the stream about eighteen miles, where
they found a fording-place and crossed over to the northern bank. Here
there opened before them a rich and beautiful prairie, bordered with
gentle eminences on the north and the south. This prairie extended about
twenty miles along the banks of the river and was nearly six miles wide.
Its vast expanse was almost as smooth as a gentleman's lawn, and was
waving with a luxuriant growth of grass and flowers. The river was skirted
with a slight fringe of willow and cottonwood trees.

As Lieutenant Fremont intended to return by the same route, he concealed
here for his homeward journey, in what is called a _cache_, a barrel of
pork. They encamped in the evening upon the open prairie. As there was no
wood at hand, they built their fires of the dry excrement of the buffalo.
This substance, which was called buffalo chips, burns like turf and forms
a very good substitute for wood. Immense numbers of wolves surrounded the
camp at night, with an incessant and hideous howling and barking. In the
morning, while the explorers were sitting quietly at breakfast, a small
buffalo calf rushed frantic with terror through the camp, pursued by two
wolves. The helpless little thing, separated from the herd, had probably
mistaken the animals of the caravan for a herd of buffaloes. The
frightened creature, discovering its error, continued its precipitate
flight. The wolves, too wary to enter the camp, made a circuit around it,
thus the calf got a little the start. It strained every nerve to reach a
large herd of buffaloes at the foot of the hills, about two miles distant.
Wolf after wolf joined in the chase until more than thirty were yelping in
the hot pursuit.

A bull came out to the rescue of the little one, but was overpowered and
driven back. Soon the foremost of the pack fastened their fangs into the
calf, the rest were instantly upon him, and the quivering animal was
pulled down, torn to pieces and devoured almost before he was dead. Every
reader will sympathize with the remark of Lieutenant Fremont:

"We watched the chase with the interest always felt for the weak. Had
there been a saddled horse at hand he would have fared better."

As the caravan was slowly advancing that afternoon, vast clouds of dust on
their right near the hills attracted their attention. Several enormous
herds of buffalo seemed to emerge from these clouds, galloping down
towards the river. By the time the f