oads very hilly, sandy, & dusty, quite warm
weather, nights cool, light showers occasionly. We bought a cow to-day
to work with our odd steer; gave 16 dollars & a half; some of the rest
of the company bought 3 or 4, for people trade all along the road
selling brandy, hardbread, flour, bacon, sugar &c, for most of those
packing now are out of provisions, & b[u]y of the waggons, or get their
meals at the tents. people do not charge very high for whatever they
have to spare, for they do not like to haul it. [June 17--65th day] The
roads still sandy; we are about 100 ms. above Ft. Laramie saw a horned
frog[59] which appears to be the link between the toad and the terapin,
or mud turtle; it is about the size of a small toad, his body very flat
& round, light colored but specked with red & black specs; has two
knots, or horns on his head, a short peaked tail, & crawles around very
lively, but does not jump, like a frog or toad. Where we nooned today,
as we started out, we saw some men on the opposite side of the river
chaseing a buffalo, which on coming to the river, plunged in, & made for
our side; the men gathered their guns, ran for the bank, stationed
themselves by some trees, the buffalo coming to a sandbar in the middle
of the river, halted a while, & those on the other shore, poured out
upon him a shower of bullets. I looked for him to fall every moment, but
they overshot him, for their balls struck the water on this side; a dog
was sent into the river, he made for the buffalo, & seizing him by the
tail, he made for our shore & as he neared it, the dog still hanging to
his tail, & swimming, as he rose upon the bank, he commenced to gallop
away, when several guns were discharged at him, he halted, one lead
entered the seat of life, the red blood spouted from his side; an ounce
& a half ball from Georges double barrel shot gun, had done the deed; he
walked on a little farther to some water, went into it, fell down,
struggled & died in a few minutes. Twenty men with as many knives in as
many minutes, had him in pieces ready for the stewkettle. One old
mountaineer made choice of a _delicate_ part, observing that no one
would probably quarrel with him for his (part) piece. He was a fine male
buffalo, eight years old (judging from his horns) hair short, & nearly
black. I never saw a more noble looking animal, his eye looked green &
firy in death, such strength did his enormous neck, & great muscles
exhibit, that all wished the