at almost every camp, while the entire trip resembled more an outing for pleasure than it did the harrowing journey of Major Long. The route up the Canadian afterward became a much-used pathway to New Mexico.[9] When all allowances have been made, much carelessness is evident in the explorations of the Long expedition. The bewilderment of Bell's party was inexcusable in men of science possessing instruments for determining latitude and longitude; their geographical errors to some extent nullified their observations of natural features. Cimarron River, the most important tributary of the Arkansas next to the Canadian, they missed entirely, and the relative size and location of the tributaries of the Arkansas remained uncertain for years after. Upon beginning the descent of the Arkansas they travelled two hundred miles without, so far as James's _Account_ shows, making a note on geography or topography; but possibly some allowance for this omission should be made because of the theft of manuscripts by the deserters. Of the itinerary of the expedition from the Platte to the Canadian, it has been said, "It would be scarcely possible to find in any narrative of Western history so careless an itinerary, and in a scientific report like that of Dr. James it is quite inexcusable."[10] To the account of the country traversed by the expedition, James added information relative to portions of Arkansas and Louisiana, much of which was already accessible to the public through the reports and writings of Hunter and Dunbar, Sibley, Darby, Stoddard, Schoolcraft, and others. However, this portion of James's narrative also draws data from Major Long's manuscript journals, not elsewhere available, and gives the only account of the attempted exploration of Red River under Captain Richard Sparks, based on the memoranda of members of the expedition.