Page 241

CHAPTER XIX.
              HALF-RATIONS AND HORSE MEAT.
   We made two marches north on Beaver creek, about
thirty-two miles, and, finding, no Sioux, moved up Andrew's
creek, nearly due east, about twenty miles. Crook became
satisfied that the Indians had crossed to the Little Missouri,
and, on September 4, we marched to that river on Custer's
trail of 1874, perhaps eighteen miles east, and crossed it at
2 o'clock in the afternoon. The stream is sullen and muddy,
lik1e its large namesake, and has tremendous bluffs or
"ibuttes," which are filled with coal and iron veins on both sides.
Wild cherries, plums, and " buffalo berries " grow in profusion
on the banks, so our soldiers had quite a feast that evening.
MAany men were suffering from internal ailments, and this
timely fruit supply checked sickness of that nature to a great
extent. It rained all day, as usual, and made night a thing
of horror. We camped where Sully camped in 1862, and
where Custerdid ten years afterward, and on some of his later
scouts. It was an amphitheatrical valley, "' rock enchaliced,"
as it were, and would have been an excellent thing for some
artist to sketch. By the way, our artistic brethren were not
very enterprising on that campaign. A man capable of
producing good sketches could have made a small fortune.
But hard campaigning, on very coarse food and sometimes
jisufficjent, would hardly enliven the genius of a city man
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