of water—the little which we found being strongly impregnated with a kind of Salt, prevalent almost everywhere in the neighborhood of the waters of the Platte. At one of these Salt Springs, there are numerous sinks, into which the Buffalo sometimes fall and perish. The surfaces of them are dry, and appear firm; but in many places they would mire a man, so that it would be impossible for him to extricate himself or escape, without assistance.
On the 25th we came to Willow Springs, where we found a beautiful spring, of very clear cold water, rising in a little green valley, through which its water flow about one mile, and sink in the sand. We also found here, an abundance of Willow wood. The hunters, who had been out while we were traveling, had seen several bands of Buffalo; and as they were the first we had met with since we left the South Fork, we remained in camp nearly a day, in order to recruit our stock of provisions. The great scarcity of the Buffalo, through this country—a circumstance which afterwards was the cause of much suffering to the Emigrants—was attributable, in a great degree, to the presence of Sir William Stewart, with his pleasure party, and fifty or sixty fine horses for the chase; who, while we were passing through the Buffalo country, constantly kept several days ahead of us—running, killing and driving the game out of our reach. It was cheap sport to them, but dear to us; and we were led to conclude, that, if ever again an English or Scottish nobleman sees fit to look for pleasure in the Rocky Mountains, while an emigrating party is passing over them, it will be prudent to place him in the rear, instead of the van.
On the 20th we encamped on Sweet Water, one of the tributaries of the North Fork, near the Independence Rock; which is a huge isolated mass of coarse granite, about three fourths of a mile in circumference, one hundred feet high, rather oblong, and rounded on the top.
