"As soon as we camped at noon, two Indians came to the camp. They were Sioux and well dressed and clean. We gave them dinner and they left. We camped at night near the Quicksand Mountain, making sixteen and one half miles that day. I rode about two miles forward to find grass and a camping ground, and on my return saw about thirty Sioux plunge their horses into the river on the opposite side and made towards us. I rode with several others to the river and met them as they came out. They shook hands with us very friendly. The chief unfurled a large American flag with the eagle, stars, and stripes and presented me a letter written in French which we, however, made out. They were all well dressed and the chief was in a military coat. The brethren brought a white flag and planted it by the side of theirs. They wanted to go into camp. We proposed for five of them to go and the rest to remain, but they all wished to go, so we let them and gave them supper. They were in camp all night, but were good and stole nothing. "Some trading was done with the Sioux next morning and we gave them breakfast. They behaved well also when we started across the river. I had to keep my carriage today having the rheumatism in my shoulders and back, and my teeth ached. "We nooned next day, Tuesday, May 25th, in good grass two miles above Chimney Rock; and I rode with Brothers Kimball and Benson to look out a road. By our imperfect measurement by a trigonometrical observation by the sextant, Professor Pratt made Chimney Rock to be two hundred and sixty feet above the level of the river. "Just before camping at noon while traveling on a smooth prairie, an Indian horse that was bought of the Sioux ran away with a singletree at his heels and gave tremendous fright to the cows, oxen and horses. In an instant a dozen or more wagons were darting by each other like lightning and the horses and mules dashing over the ground, some turning to the right and some to the left and some ran into other wagons. The horses and mules that Brother Fowler was driving leaped by my carriage like electricity and came within one inch of a collision with my wheels which would have made a wreck. Another wagon with a pair {289} of mules and a yoke of cattle dashed by which would also have smashed my carriage had they locked. By this time, my own horses started to run, but were held back by the driver. Fowler's wagon continued regardless of rough or smooth ground about fifty rods, he being dragged the whole distance by the bit which was the case with many others; but all were soon stopped and returned to their lines without accident which appeared truly a miracle. A person can hardly conceive the power manifested by animals, especially mules, in such a fright. It gave us some idea of what an Indian yell would do in a camp with teams hitched to wagons.