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[[underlined]] Rapid City to Cheyenne R. [[/underlined]]

and the black bank of pines covering the Black Hills in the distance. After passing out of the gap at Rapid City the country is grassy prairie with long slopes & high ridges & broad valleys The soil is hard & dry & in places is mainly gumbo. Tried to set traps at camp but could find no signs of anything but Thomomys & S. 13tineatus.  Saw a few Cynomys along road but no other mammals.  A ranchman says he saw a few antelope near here not long ago. 

Saw a flicker in morning but did not get it.  Have seen a few every day but could not get near any of them.

We each killed a bird from horseback with horse walking & bird flying. 

Aneroid at camp at 6 PM 2725.

[[underlined]] May 30 [[/underlined]]. Caught nothing. Started at 7:30 & struck across rolling prairie to Elk Creek down Elk Creek among numerous ranches & then over the prairie to the Cheyenne R. 4 miles above Smithville & camped by river at old crossing of Rapid & Pierre stage road ^[[insertion]] at Smiths ranch [[/insertion]]. Came about 37 miles. Good roads. Prairie all the way, often no trees in sight. Water holes all along but mostly very alkaline water. Small trees along Elk Creek, Cottonwood, boxelder, Ash, & willow. Splendid grass all the way. Edge of prairie drops off abruptly in to river valley, & shows badland formation. Lots of gumbo in the soil all along. Top of prairie 3200 feet, bottom of river valley 1800 feet. The broken & uneven bank of valley is full of nitches - ravines which are full of trees & brush.

Transcription Notes:
S. 13tineatus = S. 13lineatus Smithsonian Archives has requested the [[insertion]] markup rather than using the markup used for handwritten insertions in typed pages. Edited nitches to add in t. -@siobhanleachman