We tasted of it, but couldn’t see that it was much different from other water.

“Boil it down a little, and give it a lower crust, and I should think it would make a very good custard-pie,” said Jack.

We found Niobrara to be a little place of a few hundred houses.  We went into camp on the edge of the town, where we stayed the next day, as it was Sunday.  Early Monday morning we were out on the road which led along the banks of the Niobrara River.  We were somewhat surprised at the smallness of this stream.  It was of considerable width but very shallow, and in many places bubbled along over the rocks like a wide brook.  We spoke of its size to a man whom we met.  Said he: 

“Yes, it ain’t no great shakes down here around its mouth, but you just wait till you get up in the neighborhood of its head-waters.  It’s a right smart bit of a river up there.”

“But I thought a river was usually bigger at its mouth than at its source,” I said.

“Depends on the country it runs through,” answered the man.  “Some rivers in these parts peter out entirely, and don’t have no mouth a’ tall—­just go into the ground and leave a wet spot.  This here Niobrara comes through a dry country, and what the sun don’t dry up and the wind blow away the sand swallers mostly, though some water does sneak through, after all; and in the spring it’s about ten times as big as it is now.  The Niobrara goes through the Sand Hills.  Anything that goes through the Sand Hills comes out small.  You fellers are going through the Sand Hills—­you’ll come out smaller than you be now.”

This was the first time we had heard of the Sand Hills, but after this everybody was talking about them and warning us against them.

“Why,” said one man, “you know that there Sarah Desert over in Africa somewhere?  Well, sir, that there Sarah is a reg’lar flower-garden, with fountains a-squirting and the band playing ‘Hail Columbia,’ ‘longside o’ the Newbraska Sand Hills.  You’ll go through ’em for a hundred miles, and you’ll wish you’d never been born!”

This was not encouraging, but as they were still several days’ travel ahead, we resolved not to worry about them.

But the country rapidly began to grow drier and more sandy, especially after the road ceased to follow the river.  Before we left the river valley, however, Ollie made an important discovery in a thicket on the edge of the bank.  This was a number of wild plum-trees full of fruit.  We gathered at least a half-bushel of plums, and several quarts of wild grapes.

About the middle of the afternoon we came up on a great level prairie stretching away to the west as far as we could see.  There seemed to be but few houses, and the scattering fields of corn were stunted and dried up.  It had apparently been an extremely dry season, though the prospects for rain that night were good, and grew better.  It was hot, and a strong south wind was blowing.