noon
The mountains , the summits of which we had perceived the evening before , were now plainly visible , and answered to the descriptions of the Wakoes , as those in the neighbourhood of the narrows of the Red River . We now considered that we were near the end of our journey . That night we swallowed a very scanty supper , laid down to sleep , and dreamed of beaver tail and buffalo hump and tongues . The next day , at noon , we crossed the bed of a stream , which was evidently a large river during the rainy season . At that time but little water was found in it , and that so salt , it was impossible even for our horses to drink it . Towards night , we came to the banks of a clear stream , the waters of which were bubbling along , over a bed of golden sand , running nearly north and south , while , at a distance of some six miles , and to our left , was the chain of hills I have previously mentioned ; rising above the rest , were three peaks , which really deserved the name of mountains . We crossed the stream and encamped on the other side .