34 WESTERN INCIDENTS. before a cheerful fire, talking over the peculiarities of the country and incidents of the day. A most excellent supper of coffee, warm rolls, boiled potatoes and stewed antelope, together with the fatigues of the day, inclined us to seek early repose; but here a new embarrassment awaited us. There was but one spare bed in the ranch, and there were at least three of our party for whom, with proper deference to age and rank, the enjoyment of this luxury would seem quite appropri- ate; but both Mr. Williams and Gen. Dodge were inex- orable; and I, whose romance had nearly oozed out dur- ing the day, was obliged to submit to the mortifying necessity of occupying the comfortable bed, while they camped down in their robes and blankets upon the floor, in opposite corners of the same room. ANTELOPE PASS AND LARAMIE PLAINS. We were again on our way early the following morn- ing. Having ordered the wagon to halt for lunch at the Willow Springs stage station, we followed up the valley of Dale Creek in the direction of Antelope Pass, which we reached at one Pp. M. This pass is supposed to be the lowest point in a depression extending several miles longitudinally along the crest of the Black Hill range, and is about 8,000 feet above the sea. From this sum- mit we were greeted with our first view of Laramie Plains, extending as far to the northward as the éye could reach, bounded on the east by the Black Hills; and on the west by the much higher range of the Medicine Bow Moun- tains, which form the easterly side of the North Park. This pass was named “ Antelope” by Gen. Case (who first explored it for the Union Pacific Railroad Company in 1864), on account of the numerous herds of antelope