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diff --git a/old/7expr10.txt b/old/7expr10.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..ab8ee50 --- /dev/null +++ b/old/7expr10.txt @@ -0,0 +1,17012 @@ +The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky +Mountains, Oregon and California, by Brevet Col. J.C. Fremont + +Copyright laws are changing all over the world. Be sure to check the +copyright laws for your country before downloading or redistributing +this or any other Project Gutenberg eBook. + +This header should be the first thing seen when viewing this Project +Gutenberg file. Please do not remove it. Do not change or edit the +header without written permission. + +Please read the "legal small print," and other information about the +eBook and Project Gutenberg at the bottom of this file. Included is +important information about your specific rights and restrictions in +how the file may be used. You can also find out about how to make a +donation to Project Gutenberg, and how to get involved. + + +**Welcome To The World of Free Plain Vanilla Electronic Texts** + +**eBooks Readable By Both Humans and By Computers, Since 1971** + +*****These eBooks Were Prepared By Thousands of Volunteers!***** + + +Title: The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Oregon and California + To Which Is Added a Description of the Physical Geography of California, + with Recent Notices of the Gold Region from the Latest and Most Authentic + Sources + +Author: Brevet Col. J.C. Fremont + +Release Date: November, 2005 [EBook #9294] +[Yes, we are more than one year ahead of schedule] +[This file was first posted on September 16, 2003] + +Edition: 10 + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK EXPLORING EXPEDITION TO THE ROCKIES*** + + + + +Produced by Larry Mittell and PG Distributed Proofreaders + + + + +FIFTEENTH THOUSAND. + +THE +EXPLORING EXPEDITION +TO THE +ROCKY MOUNTAINS, +OREGON AND CALIFORNIA, + + +BY BREVET COL. J.C. FREMONT. + + +TO WHICH IS ADDED A DESCRIPTION OF THE +PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA. + +WITH RECENT NOTICES OF +THE GOLD REGION +FROM THE LATEST AND MOST AUTHENTIC SOURCES. + +1852 + + +* * * * * + + +PREFACE. + +No work has appeared from the American press within the past few years +better calculated to interest the community at large than Colonel J.C. +Fremont's Narrative of his Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, +Oregon, and North California, undertaken by the orders of the United +States government. + +Eminently qualified for the task assigned him, Colonel Fremont entered +upon his duties with alacrity, and has embodied in the following pages the +results of his observations. The country thus explored is daily making +deeper and more abiding impressions upon the minds of the people, and +information is eagerly sought in regard to its natural resources, its +climate, inhabitants, productions, and adaptation for supplying the wants +and providing the comforts for a dense population. The day is not far +distant when that territory, hitherto so little known, will be intersected +by railroads, its waters navigated, and its fertile portions peopled by an +active and intelligent population. + +To all persons interested in the successful extension of our free +institutions over this now wilderness portion of our land, this work of +Fremont commends itself as a faithful and accurate statement of the +present state of affairs in that country. + +Since the preparation of this report, Colonel Fremont has been engaged in +still farther explorations by order of the government, the results of +which will probably be presented to the country as soon as he shall be +relieved from his present arduous and responsible station. He is now +engaged in active military service in New Mexico, and has won imperishable +renown by his rapid and successful subjugation of that country. + +The map accompanying this edition is not the one prepared by the order of +government, but it is one that can be relied upon for its accuracy. + +July, 1847. + + + +* * * * * + + +ADVERTISEMENT TO THE NEW EDITION. + +The dreams of the visionary have "come to pass!" the unseen El Dorado of +the "fathers" looms, in all its virgin freshness and beauty, before the +eyes of their children! The "set time" for the Golden age, the advent of +which has been looked for and longed for during many centuries of iron +wrongs and hardships, has fully come. In the sunny clime of the south +west--in Upper California--may be found the modern Canaan, a land "flowing +with milk and honey," its mountains studded and its rivers lined and +choked, with gold! + +He who would know more of this rich and rare land before commencing his +pilgrimage to its golden bosom, will find, in the last part of this new +edition of a most deservedly popular work, a succinct yet comprehensive +account of its inexhaustible riches and its transcendent loveliness, and a +fund of much needed information in regard to the several routes which lead +to its inviting borders. + +January 1849. + + + + +* * * * * + + +A REPORT + +ON + +AN EXPLORATION OF THE COUNTRY +LYING BETWEEN THE +MISSOURI RIVER AND THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, + +ON THE LINE OF THE +KANSAS AND GREAT PLATTE RIVERS. + + + +* * * * * + + +Washington, March 1, 1843. + +To Colonel J.J. Abert, _Chief of the Corps of Top. Eng._ + +Sir: Agreeably to your orders to explore and report upon the country +between the frontiers of Missouri and the South Pass in the Rocky +Mountains, and on the line of the Kansas and Great Platte rivers, I set +out from Washington city on the 2d day of May, 1842, and arrived at St. +Louis by way of New York, the 22d of May, where the necessary preparations +were completed, and the expedition commenced. I proceeded in a steamboat +to Chouteau's landing, about four hundred miles by water from St. Louis, +and near the mouth of the Kansas river, whence we proceeded twelve miles +to Mr. Cyprian Chouteau's trading-house, where we completed our final +arrangements for the expedition. + +Bad weather, which interfered with astronomical observations, delayed us +several days in the early part of June at this post, which is on the right +bank of the Kansas river, about ten miles above the mouth, and six beyond +the western boundary of Missouri. The sky cleared off at length and we +were enabled to determine our position, in longitude 90 deg. 25' 46", and +latitude 39 deg. 5' 57". The elevation above the sea is about 700 feet. Our +camp, in the mean time, presented an animated and bustling scene. All were +busily engaged in completing the necessary arrangements for our campaign +in the wilderness, and profiting by this short stay on the verge of +civilization, to provide ourselves with all the little essentials to +comfort in the nomadic life we were to lead for the ensuing summer months. +Gradually, however, every thing--the _materiel_ of the camp--men, +horses, and even mules--settled into its place; and by the 10th we were +ready to depart; but, before we mount our horses, I will give a short +description of the party with which I performed the service. + +I had collected in the neighborhood of St. Louis twenty-one men, +principally Creole and Canadian _voyageurs_, who had become familiar +with prairie life in the service of the fur companies in the Indian +country. Mr. Charles Preuss, native of Germany, was my assistant in the +topographical part of the survey; L. Maxwell, of Kaskaskia, had been +engaged as hunter, and Christopher Carson (more familiarly known, for his +exploits in the mountains, as Kit Carson) was our guide. The persons +engaged in St. Louis were: + +Clement Lambert, J.B. L'Esperance, J.B. Lefevre, Benjamin Potra, Louis +Gouin, J.B. Dumes, Basil Lajeunesse, Francois Tessier, Benjamin Cadotte, +Joseph Clement, Daniel Simonds, Leonard Benoit, Michel Morly, Baptiste +Bernier, Honore Ayot, Francois La Tulipe, Francis Badeau, Louis Menard, +Joseph Ruelle, Moise Chardonnais, Auguste Janisse, Raphael Proue. + +In addition to these, Henry Brant, son of Col. J.B. Brant, of St. Louis, a +young man of nineteen years of age, and Randolph, a lively boy of twelve, +son of the Hon. Thomas H. Benton, accompanied me, for the development of +mind and body such an expedition would give. We were well armed and +mounted, with the exception of eight men, who conducted as many carts, in +which were packed our stores, with the baggage and instruments, and which +were drawn by two mules. A few loose horses, and four oxen, which had been +added to our stock of provisions, completed the train. We set out on the +morning of the 10th, which happened to be Friday, a circumstance which our +men did not fail to remember and recall during the hardships and vexations +of the ensuing journey. Mr. Cyprian Chouteau, to whose kindness, during +our stay at his house, we were much indebted, accompanied us several miles +on our way, until we met an Indian, whom he had engaged to conduct us on +the first thirty or forty miles, where he was to consign us to the ocean +of prairie, which, we were told, stretched without interruption almost to +the base of the Rocky Mountains. + +From the belt of wood which borders the Kansas, in which we had passed +several good-looking Indian farms, we suddenly emerged on the prairies, +which received us at the outset with some of their striking +characteristics; for here and there rode an Indian, and but a few miles +distant heavy clouds of smoke were rolling before the fire. In about ten +miles we reached the Santa Fe road, along which we continued for a short +time, and encamped early on a small stream--having traveled about eleven +miles. During our journey, it was the customary practice to encamp an hour +or two before sunset, when the carts were disposed so as to form a sort of +barricade around a circle some eighty yards in diameter. The tents were +pitched, and the horses hobbled and turned loose to graze; and but a few +minutes elapsed before the cooks of the messes, of which there were four, +were busily engaged in preparing the evening meal. At nightfall, the +horses, mules, and oxen were driven in and picketed,--that is, secured by +a halter, of which one end was tied to a small steel-shod picket, and +driven into the ground; the halter being twenty or thirty feet long, which +enabled them to obtain a little food during the night. When we had reached +a part of the country where such a precaution became necessary, the carts +being regularly arranged for defending the camp, guard was mounted at +eight o'clock, consisting of three men, who were relieved every two hours +--the morning-watch being horse-guard for the day. At daybreak the camp was +roused, the animals turned loose to graze, and breakfast generally over +between six and seven o'clock, when we resumed our march, making regularly +a halt at noon for one or two hours. Such was usually the order of the +day, except when accident of country forced a variation; which, however, +happened but rarely. We traveled the next day along the Santa Fe road, +which we left in the afternoon, and encamped late in the evening on a +small creek, called by the Indians, Mishmagwi. Just as we arrived at camp, +one of the horses set off at full speed on his return, and was followed by +others. Several men were sent in pursuit, and returned with the fugitives +about midnight, with the exception of one man, who did not make his +appearance until morning. He had lost his way in the darkness of the +night, and slept on the prairie. Shortly after midnight it began to rain +heavily, and, as our tents were of light and thin cloth, they offered but +little obstruction to the rain: we were all well soaked, and glad when +morning came. We had a rainy march on the 12th, but the weather grew fine +as the day advanced. We encamped in a remarkably beautiful situation on +the Kansas bluffs, which commanded a fine view of the river valley, here +from four to five miles wide. The central portion was occupied by a broad +belt of heavy timber, and nearer the hills the prairies were of the +richest verdure. One of the oxen was killed here for food. + +We reached the ford of the Kansas late in the afternoon of the 14th, where +the river was two hundred and thirty yards wide, and commenced, +immediately, preparations for crossing. I had expected to find the river +fordable; but it had swollen by the late rains, and was sweeping by with +an angry current, yellow and turbid as the Missouri. Up to this point the +road we had traveled was a remarkably fine one, well beaten, and level-- +the usual road of a prairie country. By our route, the ford was one +hundred miles from the mouth of the Kansas river. Several mounted men led +the way into the stream to swim across. The animals were driven in after +them, and in a few minutes all had reached the opposite bank in safety, +with the exception of the oxen, which swam some distance down the river, +and, returning to the right bank, were not got over till the next morning. +In the mean time, the carts had been unloaded and dismantled, and an +India-rubber boat, which I had brought with me for the survey of the +Platte river, placed in the water. The boat was twenty feet long and five +broad, and on it were placed the body and wheels of a cart, with the load +belonging to it, and three men with paddles. + +The velocity of the current, and the inconvenient freight, rendering it +difficult to be managed, Basil Lajeunesse, one of our best swimmers, took +in his teeth a line attached to the boat, and swam ahead in order to reach +a footing as soon as possible, and assist in drawing her over. In this +manner six passages had been successfully made, and as many carts with +their contents, and a greater portion of the party, deposited on the left +bank; but night was drawing near, and, in our anxiety to have all over +before the darkness closed in, I put upon the boat the remaining two +carts, with their accompanying load. The man at the helm was timid on +water, and in his alarm capsized the boat. Carts, barrels, boxes, and +bales, were in a moment floating down the current; but all the men who +were on the shore jumped into the water, without stopping to think if they +could swim, and almost every thing--even heavy articles, such as guns and +lead--was recovered. + +Two of the men who could not swim came nigh being drowned, and all the +sugar belonging to one of the messes wasted its sweets on the muddy +waters; but our heaviest loss was a large bag of coffee, which contained +nearly all our provision. It was a loss which none but a traveler in a +strange and inhospitable country can appreciate; and often afterward, when +excessive toil and long marching had overcome us with fatigue and +weariness, we remembered and mourned over our loss in the Kansas. Carson +and Maxwell had been much in the water yesterday, and both, in +consequence, were taken ill. The former continuing so, I remained in camp. +A number of Kansas Indians visited us to-day. Going up to one of the +groups who were scattered among the trees, I found one sitting on the +ground, among some of the men, gravely and fluently speaking French, with +as much facility and as little embarrassment as any of my own party, who +were nearly all of French origin. + +On all sides was heard the strange language of his own people, wild, and +harmonizing well with their appearance. I listened to him for some time +with feelings of strange curiosity and interest. He was now apparently +thirty-five years of age; and, on inquiry, I learned that he had been at +St. Louis when a boy, and there had learned the French language. From one +of the Indian women I obtained a fine cow and calf in exchange for a yoke +of oxen. Several of them brought us vegetables, pumpkins, onions, beans, +and lettuce. One of them brought butter, and from a half-breed near the +river, I had the good fortune to obtain some twenty or thirty pounds of +coffee. The dense timber in which we had encamped interfered with +astronomical observations, and our wet and damaged stores required +exposure to the sun. Accordingly, the tents were struck early the next +morning, and, leaving camp at six o'clock, we moved about seven miles up +the river, to a handsome, open prairie, some twenty feet above the water, +where the fine grass afforded a luxurious repast to our horses. + +During the day we occupied ourselves in making astronomical observations, +in order to lay down the country to this place; it being our custom to +keep up our map regularly in the field, which we found attended with many +advantages. The men were kept busy in drying the provisions, painting the +cart covers, and otherwise completing our equipage, until the afternoon, +when powder was distributed to them, and they spent some hours in firing +at a mark. We were now fairly in the Indian country, and it began to be +time to prepare for the chances of the wilderness. + +17th.--The weather yesterday had not permitted us to make the observations +I was desirous to obtain here, and I therefore did not move to-day. The +people continued their target firing. In the steep bank of the river here, +were nests of innumerable swallows, into one of which a large prairie +snake had got about half his body, and was occupied in eating the young +birds. The old ones were flying about in great distress, darting at him, +and vainly endeavoring to drive him off. A shot wounded him, and, being +killed, he was cut open, and eighteen young swallows were found in his +body. A sudden storm, that burst upon us in the afternoon, cleared away in +a brilliant sunset, followed by a clear night, which enabled us to +determine our position in longitude 95 deg. 38' 05", and in latitude 39 deg. 06' +40". + +A party of emigrants to the Columbia river, under the charge of Dr. White, +an agent of the government in Oregon Territory, were about three weeks in +advance of us. They consisted of men, women, and children. There were +sixty-four men, and sixteen or seventeen families. They had a considerable +number of cattle, and were transporting their household furniture in +large, heavy wagons. I understood that there had been much sickness among +them, and that they had lost several children. One of the party who had +lost his child, and whose wife was very ill, had left them about one +hundred miles hence on the prairies; and as a hunter, who had accompanied +them, visited our camp this evening, we availed ourselves of his return to +the States to write to our friends. + +The morning of the 18th was very unpleasant. A fine rain was falling, with +cold wind from the north, and mists made the river hills look dark and +gloomy. We left our camp at seven, journeying along the foot of the hills +which border the Kansas valley, generally about three miles wide, and +extremely rich. We halted for dinner, after a march of about thirteen +miles, on the banks of one of the many little tributaries to the Kansas, +which look like trenches in the prairie, and are usually well timbered. +After crossing this stream, I rode off some miles to the left, attracted +by the appearance of a cluster of huts near the mouth of the Vermilion. It +was a large but deserted Kansas village, scattered in an open wood, along +the margin of the stream, chosen with the customary Indian fondness for +beauty of scenery. The Pawnees had attacked it in the early spring. Some +of the houses were burnt, and others blackened with smoke, and weeds were +already getting possession of the cleared places. Riding up the Vermilion +river, I reached the ford in time to meet the carts, and, crossing, +encamped on its western side. The weather continued cold, the thermometer +being this evening as low as 49 deg.; but the night was sufficiently clear for +astronomical observations, which placed us in longitude 96 deg. 04' 07", and +latitude 39 deg. 15' 19". At sunset, the barometer was at 28.845, thermometer +64 deg.. + +We breakfasted the next morning at half-past five, and left our encampment +early. The morning was cool, the thermometer being at 45 deg.. Quitting the +river bottom, the road ran along the uplands, over a rolling country, +generally in view of the Kansas from eight to twelve miles distant. Many +large boulders, of a very compact sandstone, of various shades of red, +some of them of four or five tons in weight, were scattered along the +hills; and many beautiful plants in flower, among which the _amorpha +canescens_ was a characteristic, enlivened the green of the prairie. At +the heads of the ravines I remarked, occasionally, thickets of _saix +longifolia_, the most common willow of the country. We traveled +nineteen miles and pitched our tents at evening on the head-waters of a +small creek, now nearly dry, but having in its bed several fine springs. +The barometer indicated a considerable rise in the country--here about +fourteen hundred feet above the sea--and the increased elevation appeared +already to have some slight influence upon vegetation. The night was cold, +with a heavy dew; the thermometer at 10 P.M. standing at 46 deg., barometer +28.483. Our position was in longitude 96 deg. 14' 49", and latitude 39 deg. 30' +40". + +The morning of the 20th was fine, with a southerly breeze and a bright +sky; and at seven o'clock we were on the march. The country to-day was +rather more broken, rising still, and covered everywhere with fragments of +silicious limestone, particularly on the summits, where they were small, +and thickly strewed as pebbles on the shore of the sea. In these exposed +situations grew but few plants; though, whenever the soil was good and +protected from the winds, in the creek bottoms and ravines, and on the +slopes, they flourished abundantly; among them the _amorpha_, still +retaining its characteristic place. We crossed, at 10 A.M. the Big +Vermilion, which has a rich bottom of about one mile in breadth, one-third +of which is occupied by timber. Making our usual halt at noon, after a +day's march of twenty-four miles, we reached the Big Blue, and encamped on +the uplands of the western side, near a small creek, where was a fine +large spring of very cold water. This is a clear and handsome stream, +about one hundred and twenty feet wide, running with a rapid current, +through a well-timbered valley. To-day antelope were seen running over the +hills, and at evening Carson brought us a fine deer. Longitude of the camp +96 deg. 32' 35", latitude 39 deg. 45' 08". Thermometer at sunset 75 deg.. A pleasant +southerly breeze and fine morning had given place to a gale, with +indications of bad weather; when, after a march of ten miles, we halted to +noon on a small creek, where the water stood in deep pools. In the bank of +the creek limestone made its appearance in a stratum about one foot thick. +In the afternoon, the people seemed to suffer for want of water. The road +led along a high dry ridge; dark lines of timber indicated the heads of +streams in the plains below; but there was no water near, and the day was +oppressive, with a hot wind, and the thermometer at 90 deg.. Along our route +the _amorpha_ has been in very abundant but variable bloom--in some +places bending beneath the weight of purple clusters; in others without a +flower. It seemed to love best the sunny slopes, with a dark soil and +southern exposure. Everywhere the rose is met with, and reminds us of +cultivated gardens and civilization. It is scattered over the prairies in +small bouquets, and, when glittering in the dews and waving in the +pleasant breeze of the early morning, is the most beautiful of the prairie +flowers. The _artemisia_, absinthe, or prairie sage, as it is +variously called, is increasing in size, and glittering like silver, as +the southern breeze turns up its leaves to the sun. All these plants have +their insect inhabitants, variously colored--taking generally the hue of +the flower on which they live. The _artemisia_ has its small fly +accompanying it through every change of elevation and latitude; and +wherever I have seen the _asclepias tuberosa_, I have always +remarked, too, on the flower a large butterfly, so nearly resembling it in +color as to be distinguishable at a little distance only by the motion of +its wings. Traveling on, the fresh traces of the Oregon emigrants relieve +a little the loneliness of the road; and to-night, after a march of +twenty-two miles, we halted on a small creek which had been one of their +encampments. As we advanced westward, the soil appears to be getting more +sandy; and the surface rock, an erratic deposite of sand and gravel, rests +here on a bed of coarse yellow and gray and very friable sandstone. +Evening closed over with rain and its usual attendant hordes of +mosquitoes, with which we were annoyed for the first time. + +22d.--We enjoyed at breakfast this morning a luxury, very unusual in this +country, in a cup of excellent coffee, with cream, from our cow. Being +milked at night, cream was thus had in the morning. Our mid-day halt was +at Wyeth's creek, in the bed of which were numerous boulders of dark, +ferruginous sandstone, mingled with others of the red sandstone already +mentioned. Here a pack of cards, lying loose on the grass, marked an +encampment of our Oregon emigrants; and it was at the close of the day +when we made our bivouac in the midst of some well-timbered ravines near +the Little Blue, twenty-four miles from our camp of the preceding night. +Crossing the next morning a number of handsome creeks, with water clear +and sandy beds we reached, at 10 A.M., a very beautiful wooded stream, +about thirty-five feet wide, called Sandy creek, and sometimes, as the +Ottoes frequently winter there, the Otto fork. The country has become very +sandy, and the plants less varied and abundant, with the exception of the +_amorpha_, which rivals the grass in quantity, though not so forward +as it has been found to the eastward. + +At the Big Trees, where we had intended to noon, no water was to be found. +The bed of the little creek was perfectly dry, and, on the adjacent sandy +bottom, _cacti_, for the first time made their appearance. We made +here a short delay in search of water; and, after a hard day's march of +twenty-eight miles, encamped, at 5 o'clock, on the Little Blue, where our +arrival made a scene of the Arabian desert. As fast as they arrived men +and horses rushed into the stream, where they bathed and drank together in +common enjoyment. We were now in the range of the Pawnees, who were +accustomed to infest this part of the country, stealing horses from +companies on their way to the mountains; and, when in sufficient force, +openly attacking and plundering them, and subjecting them to various kinds +of insult. For the first time, therefore, guard was mounted to-night. Our +route the next morning lay up the valley, which, bordered by hills with +graceful slopes, looked uncommonly green and beautiful. The stream was +about fifty feet wide, and three or four deep, fringed by cotton-wood and +willow, with frequent groves of oak, tenanted by flocks of turkeys. Game +here, too, made its appearance in greater plenty. Elk were frequently seen +on the hills, and now and then an antelope bounded across our path, or a +deer broke from the groves. The road in the afternoon was over the upper +prairies, several miles from the river, and we encamped at sunset on one +of its small tributaries, where an abundance of prele (_equisetum_) +afforded fine forage to our tired animals. We had traveled thirty-one +miles. A heavy bank of black clouds in the west came on us in a storm +between nine and ten, preceded by a violent wind. The rain fell in such +torrents that it was difficult to breathe facing the wind; the thunder +rolled incessantly, and the whole sky was tremulous with lightning--now +and then illuminated by a blinding flash, succeeded by pitchy darkness. +Carson had the watch from ten to midnight, and to him had been assigned +our young _compagnons de voyage_, Messrs. Brant and R. Benton. This +was their first night on guard, and such an introduction did not augur +very auspiciously of the pleasures of the expedition. Many things +conspired to render their situation uncomfortable; stories of desperate +and bloody Indian fights were rife in the camp; our position was badly +chosen, surrounded on all sides by timbered hollows, and occupying an area +of several hundred feet, so that necessarily the guards were far apart; +and now and then I could hear Randolph, as if relieved by the sound of a +voice in the darkness, calling out to the sergeant of the guard, to direct +his attention to some imaginary alarm; but they stood it out, and took +their turn regularly afterwards. + +The next morning we had a specimen of the false alarms to which all +parties in these wild regions are subject. Proceeding up the valley, +objects were seen on the opposite hills, which disappeared before a glass +could be brought to bear upon them. A man who was a short distance in the +rear, came springing up in great haste, shouting "Indians! Indians!" He +had been near enough to see and count them, according to his report, and +had made out twenty-seven. I immediately halted; arms were examined and +put in order; the usual preparations made; and Kit Carson, springing upon +one of the hunting horses, crossed the river, and galloped off into the +opposite prairies, to obtain some certain intelligence of their movements. + +Mounted on a fine horse, without a saddle, and scouring bare-headed over +the prairies, Kit was one of the finest pictures of a horseman I have ever +seen. A short time enabled him to discover that the Indian war-party of +twenty-seven consisted of six elk, who had been gazing curiously at our +caravan as it passed by, and were now scampering off at full speed. This +was our first alarm, and its excitement broke agreeably on the monotony of +the day. At our noon halt, the men were exercised at a target; and in the +evening we pitched our tents at a Pawnee encampment of last July. They had +apparently killed buffalo here, as many bones were lying about, and the +frames where the hides had been stretched were yet standing. The road of +the day had kept the valley, which is sometimes rich and well timbered, +though the country generally is sandy. Mingled with the usual plants, a +thistle (_carduus leucographus_) had for the last day or two made its +appearance; and along the river bottom, _tradescantia_ (virginica) +and milk plant (_asclepias syriaca_) [Footnote: This plant is very +odoriferous, and in Canada charms the traveler, especially when passing +through woods in the evening. The French there eat the tender shoots in +the spring, as we do asparagus. The natives make a sugar of the flowers, +gathering them in the morning when they are covered with dew, and collect +the cotton from their pods to fill their beds. On account of the silkiness +of this cotton, Parkinson calls the plant Virginian silk.--_Loudon's +Encyclopaedia of Plants_. + +The Sioux Indians of the Upper Platte eat the young pods of this plant, +boiling them with the meat of the buffalo.] in considerable quantities. + +Our march to-day had been twenty-one miles, and the astronomical +observations gave us a chronometric longitude of 98 deg. 22' 12", and latitude +40 deg. 26' 50". We were moving forward at seven in the morning, and in about +five miles reached a fork of the Blue, where the road leaves that river, +and crosses over to the Platte. No water was to be found on the dividing +ridge, and the casks were filled, and the animals here allowed a short +repose. The road led across a high and level prairie ridge, where were but +few plants, and those principally thistle, (_carduus leucographus_,) +and a kind of dwarf artemisia. Antelope were seen frequently during the +morning, which was very stormy. Squalls of rain, with thunder and +lightning, were around us in every direction; and while we were enveloped +in one of them, a flash, which seemed to scorch our eyes as it passed, +struck in the prairie within a few hundred feet, sending up a column of +dust. + +Crossing on the way several Pawnee roads to the Arkansas, we reached, in +about twenty-one miles from our halt on the Blue, what is called the coast +of the Nebraska, or Platte river. This had seemed in the distance a range +of high and broken hills; but on a nearer approach was found to be +elevations of forty to sixty feet into which the wind had worked the sand. +They were covered with the usual fine grasses of the country, and bordered +the eastern side of the ridge on a breadth of about two miles. Change of +soil and country appeared here to have produced some change in the +vegetation. _Cacti_ were numerous, and all the plants of the region +appeared to flourish among the warm hills. Among them the _amorpha_, +in full bloom, was remarkable for its large and luxuriant purple clusters. +From the foot of the coast, a distance of two miles across the level +bottom brought us to our encampment on the shore of the river, about +twenty miles below the head of Grand Island, which lay extended before us, +covered with dense and heavy woods. From the mouth of the Kansas, +according to our reckoning, we had traveled three hundred and twenty-eight +miles; and the geological formation of the country we had passed over +consisted of lime and sand stone, covered by the same erratic deposits of +sand and gravel which forms the surface rock of the prairies between the +Missouri and Mississippi rivers. Except in some occasional limestone +boulders, I had met with no fossils. The elevation of the Platte valley +above the sea is here about two thousand feet. The astronomical +observations of the night placed us in longitude 98 deg. 45' 49", latitude 40 deg. +41' 06". + +27th.--The animals were somewhat fatigued by their march of yesterday, +and, after a short journey of eighteen miles along the river bottom, I +encamped near the head of Grand Island, in longitude, by observation, 99 deg. +05' 24", latitude 40 deg. 39' 32". The soil was here light but rich, though in +some places rather sandy; and, with the exception of scattered fringe +along the bank, the timber, consisting principally of poplar, (_populus +moniliefera_,) elm, and hackberry, (_celtis crassifolia_,) is +confined almost entirely to the islands. + +28th.--We halted to noon at an open reach of the river, which occupies +rather more than a fourth of the valley, here only about four miles broad. +The camp had been disposed with the usual precaution, the horses grazing +at a little distance, attended by the guard, and we were all sitting +quietly at our dinner on the grass, when suddenly we heard the startling +cry, "Du monde!" In an instant, every man's weapon was in his hand, the +horses were driven in, hobbled and picketed, and horsemen were galloping +at full speed in the direction of the newcomers, screaming and yelling +with the wildest excitement. "Get ready, my lads!" said the leader of the +approaching party to his men, when our wild looking horsemen were +discovered bearing down upon them--"nous allons attraper des coups de +baguette." They proved to be a small party of fourteen, under the charge +of a man named John Lee, and, with their baggage and provisions strapped +to their backs, were making their way on foot to the frontier. A brief +account of their fortunes will give some idea of navigation in the +Nebraska. Sixty days since, they had left the mouth of Laramie's fork, +some three hundred miles above, in barges laden with the furs of the +American Fur Company. They started with the annual flood, and, drawing but +nine inches water, hoped to make a speedy and prosperous voyage to St. +Louis; but, after a lapse of forty days, found themselves only one hundred +and thirty miles from their point of departure. They came down rapidly as +far as Scott's bluffs, where their difficulties began. Sometimes they came +upon places where the water was spread over a great extent, and here they +toiled from morning until night, endeavoring to drag their boat through +the sands, making only two or three miles in as many days. Sometimes they +would enter an arm of the river, where there appeared a fine channel, and, +after descending prosperously for eight or ten miles, would come suddenly +upon dry sands, and be compelled to return, dragging their boat for days +against the rapid current; and at others, they came upon places where the +water lay in holes, and, getting out to float off their boat, would fall +into water up to their necks, and the next moment tumble over against a +sandbar. Discouraged at length, and finding the Platte growing every day +more shallow, they discharged the principal part of their cargoes one +hundred and thirty miles below Fort Laramie, which they secured as well as +possible, and, leaving a few men to guard them, attempted to continue +their voyage, laden with some light furs and their personal baggage. After +fifteen or twenty days more struggling in the sands, during which they +made but one hundred and forty miles, they sunk their barges, made a +_cache_ of their remaining furs and property in trees on the bank, +and, packing on his back what each man could carry, had commenced, the day +before we encountered them, their journey on foot to St. Louis. We laughed +then at their forlorn and vagabond appearance, and, in our turn, a month +or two afterwards, furnished the same occasion for merriment to others. +Even their stock of tobacco, that _sine qua non_ of a voyageur, +without which the night fire is gloomy, was entirely exhausted. However, +we shortened their homeward journey by a small supply from our own +provision. They gave us the welcome intelligence that the buffalo were +abundant some two days' march in advance, and made us a present of some +choice pieces, which were a very acceptable change from our salt pork. In +the interchange of news, and the renewal of old acquaintanceships, we +found wherewithal to fill a busy hour; then we mounted our horses and they +shouldered their packs, and we shook hands and parted. Among them, I had +found an old companion on the northern prairie, a hardened and hardly +served veteran of the mountains, who had been as much hacked and scarred +as an old moustache of Napoleon's "old guard." He flourished in the +sobriquet of La Tulipe, and his real name I never knew. Finding that he +was going to the States only because his company was bound in that +direction, and that he was rather more willing to return with me, I took +him again into my service. We traveled this day but seventeen miles. + +At our evening camp, about sunset, three figures were discovered +approaching, which our glasses made out to be Indians. They proved to be +Cheyennes--two men, and a boy of thirteen. About a month since, they had +left their people on the south fork of the river, some three hundred miles +to the westward, and a party of only four in number had been to the Pawnee +villages on a horse-stealing excursion, from which they were returning +unsuccessful. They were miserably mounted on wild horses from the Arkansas +plains, and had no other weapons than bows and long spears; and had they +been discovered by the Pawnees, could not, by any possibility, have +escaped. They were mortified by their ill-success, and said the Pawnees +were cowards, who shut up their horses in their lodges at night. I invited +them to supper with me, and Randolph and the young Cheyenne, who had been +eyeing each other suspiciously and curiously, soon became intimate +friends. After supper we sat down on the grass, and I placed a sheet of +paper between us, on which they traced, rudely, but with a certain degree +of relative truth, the water-courses of the country which lay between us +and their villages, and of which I desired to have some information. Their +companions, they told us, had taken a nearer route over the hills; but +they had mounted one of the summits to spy out the country, whence they +had caught a glimpse of our party, and, confident of good treatment at the +hands of the whites, hastened to join company. Latitude of the camp 40 deg. +39' 51". + +We made the next morning sixteen miles. I remarked that the ground was +covered in many places with an efflorescence of salt, and the plants were +not numerous. In the bottoms were frequently seen tradescantia, and on the +dry lenches were carduus, cactus, and amorpha. A high wind during the +morning had increased to a violent gale from the northwest, which made our +afternoon ride cold and unpleasant. We had the welcome sight of two +buffaloes on one of the large islands, and encamped at a clump of timber +about seven miles from our noon halt, after a day's march of twenty-two +miles. + +The air was keen the next morning at sunrise, the thermometer standing at +44 deg., and it was sufficiently cold to make overcoats very comfortable. A +few miles brought us into the midst of the buffalo, swarming in immense +numbers over the plains, where they had left scarcely a blade of grass +standing. Mr. Preuss, who was sketching at a little distance in the rear, +had at first noted them as large groves of timber. In the sight of such a +mass of life, the traveler feels a strange emotion of grandeur. We had +heard from a distance a dull and confused murmuring, and, when we came in +view of their dark masses, there was not one among us who did not feel his +heart beat quicker. It was the early part of the day, when the herds are +feeding; and everywhere they were in motion. Here and there a huge old +bull was rolling in the grass, and clouds of dust rose in the air from +various parts of the bands, each the scene of some obstinate fight. +Indians and buffalo make the poetry and life of the prairie, and our camp +was full of their exhilaration. In place of the quiet monotony of the +march, relieved only by the cracking of the whip, and an "avance donc! +enfant de garce!" shouts and songs resounded from every part of the line, +and our evening camp was always the commencement of a feast, which +terminated only with our departure on the following morning. At any time +of the night might be seen pieces of the most delicate and choicest meat, +roasting _en appolas_, on sticks around the fire, and the guard were +never without company. With pleasant weather and no enemy to fear, an +abundance of the most excellent meat, and no scarcity of bread or tobacco, +they were enjoying the oasis of a voyageur's life. Three cows were killed +to-day. Kit Carson had shot one, and was continuing the chase in the midst +of another herd, when his horse fell headlong, but sprang up and joined +the flying band. Though considerably hurt, he had the good fortune to +break no bones; and Maxwell, who was mounted on a fleet hunter, captured +the runaway after a hard chase. He was on the point of shooting him, to +avoid the loss of his bridle, (a handsomely mounted Spanish one,) when he +found that his horse was able to come up with him. Animals are frequently +lost in this way; and it is necessary to keep close watch over them, in +the vicinity of the buffalo, in the midst of which they scour off to the +plains, and are rarely retaken. One of our mules took a sudden freak into +his head, and joined a neighboring band to-day. As we were not in a +condition to lose horses, I sent several men in pursuit, and remained in +camp, in the hope of recovering him; but lost the afternoon to no purpose, +as we did not see him again. Astronomical observations placed us in +longitude 100 deg. 05' 47", latitude 40 deg. 49' 55" + + + +JULY. + + +1st.--Along our road to-day the prairie bottom was more elevated and dry, +and the river hills which border the right side of the river higher, and +more broken and picturesque in the outline. The country, too, was better +timbered. As we were riding quietly along the bank, a grand herd of +buffalo, some seven or eight hundred in number, came crowding up from the +river, where they had been to drink, and commenced crossing the plain +slowly, eating as they went. The wind was favorable; the coolness of the +morning invited to exercise; the ground was apparently good, and the +distance across the prairie (two or three miles) gave us a fine +opportunity to charge them before they could get among the river hills. It +was too fine a prospect for a chase to be lost; and, halting for a few +moments, the hunters were brought up and saddled, and Kit Carson, Maxwell, +and I, started together. They were now somewhat less than half a mile +distant, and we rode easily along until within about three hundred yards, +when a sudden agitation, a wavering in the band, and a galloping to and +fro of some which were scattered along the skirts, gave us the intimation +that we were discovered. We started together at a hand gallop, riding +steadily abreast of each other; and here the interest of the chase became +so engrossingly intense, that we were sensible to nothing else. We were +now closing upon them rapidly, and the front of the mass was already in +rapid motion for the hills, and in a few seconds the movement had +communicated itself to the whole herd. + +A crowd of bulls, as usual, brought up the rear, and every now and then +some of them faced about, and then dashed on after the band a short +distance, and turned and looked again, as if more than half inclined to +fight. In a few moments, however, during which we had been quickening our +pace, the rout was universal, and we were going over the ground like a +hurricane. When at about thirty yards, we gave the usual shout, (the +hunter's _pas de charge_,) and broke into the herd. We entered on the +side, the mass giving way in every direction in their heedless course. +Many of the bulls, less active and fleet than the cows, paying no +attention to the ground, and occupied solely with the hunter, were +precipitated to the earth with great force, rolling over and over with the +violence of the shock, and hardly distinguishable in the dust. We +separated on entering, each singling out his game. + +My horse was a trained hunter, famous in the West under the name of +Proveau; and, with his eyes flashing and the foam flying from his mouth, +sprang on after the cow like a tiger. In a few moments he brought me +alongside of her, and rising in the stirrups, I fired at the distance of a +yard, the ball entering at the termination of the long hair, and passing +near the heart. She fell headlong at the report of the gun; and, checking +my horse, I looked around for my companions. At a little distance, Kit was +on the ground, engaged in tying his horse to the horns of a cow he was +preparing to cut up. Among the scattered bands, at some distance below, I +caught a glimpse of Maxwell; and while I was looking, a light wreath of +smoke curled away from his gun, from which I was too far to hear the +report. Nearer, and between me and the hills, towards which they were +directing their course, was the body of the herd; and, giving my horse the +rein, we dashed after them. A thick cloud of dust hung upon their rear, +which filled my mouth and eyes, and nearly smothered me. In the midst of +this I could see nothing, and the buffalo were not distinguishable until +within thirty feet. They crowded together more densely still as I came +upon them, and rushed along in such a compact body, that I could not +obtain an entrance--the horse almost leaping upon them. In a few moments +the mass divided to the right and left, the horns clattering with a noise +heard above every thing else, and my horse darted into the opening. Five +or six bulls charged on us as we dashed along the line, but were left far +behind; and, singling out a cow, I gave her my fire, but struck too high. +She gave a tremendous leap, and scoured on swifter than before. I reined +up my horse, and the band swept on like a torrent, and left the place +quiet and clear. Our chase had led us into dangerous ground. A prairie-dog +village, so thickly settled that there were three or four holes in every +twenty yards square, occupied the whole bottom for nearly two miles in +length. Looking around, I saw only one of the hunters, nearly out of +sight, and the long, dark line of our caravan crawling along, three or +four miles distant. After a march of twenty-four miles, we encamped at +nightfall, one mile and a half above the lower end of Brady's Island. The +breadth of this arm of the river was eight hundred and eighty yards, and +the water nowhere two feet in depth. The island bears the name of a man +killed on this spot some years ago. His party had encamped here, three in +company, and one of the number went off to hunt, leaving Brady and his +companion together. These two had frequently quarreled, and on the +hunter's return he found Brady dead, and was told that he had shot himself +accidentally. He was buried here on the bank; but, as usual, the wolves +tore him out, and some human bones that were lying on the ground we +supposed were his. Troops of wolves that were hanging on the skirts of the +buffalo, kept up an uninterrupted howling during the night, venturing +almost into camp. In the morning, they were sitting at a short distance, +barking, and impatiently waiting our departure, to fall upon the bones. + +2d.--The morning was cool and smoky. Our road led closer to the hills, +which here increased in elevation, presenting an outline of conical peaks +three hundred to five hundred feet high. Some timber, apparently pine, +grows in the ravines, and streaks of clay or sand whiten their slopes. We +crossed, during the morning, a number of hollows, timbered principally +with box, elder, (_acer negundo_,) poplar, and elm. Brady's Island is +well wooded, and all the river along which our road led to-day, may, in +general, be called tolerably well timbered. We passed near the encampment +of the Oregon emigrants, where they appeared to have reposed several days. +A variety of household articles were scattered about, and they had +probably disburdened themselves here of many things not absolutely +necessary. I had left the usual road before the mid-day halt, and in the +afternoon, having sent several men in advance to reconnoitre, marched +directly for the mouth of the South fork. On our arrival, the horsemen +were sent in and scattered about the river to search for the best fording- +places, and the carts followed immediately. The stream is here divided by +an island into two channels. The southern is four hundred and fifty feet +wide, having eighteen or twenty inches water in the deepest places. With +the exception of a few dry bars, the bed of the river is generally +quicksands, in which the carts began to sink rapidly so soon as the mules +halted, so that it was necessary to keep them constantly in motion. + +The northern channel, two thousand two hundred and fifty feet wide, was +somewhat deeper, having frequently three feet water in the numerous small +channels, with a bed of coarse gravel. The whole breadth of the Nebraska, +immediately below the junction, is five thousand three hundred and fifty +feet. All our equipage had reached the left bank safely at six o'clock, +having to-day made twenty miles. We encamped at the point of land +immediately at the junction of the North and South forks. Between the +streams is a low rich prairie extending from their confluence eighteen +miles westwardly to the bordering hills, where it is five and a half miles +wide. It is covered with a luxuriant growth of grass, and along the banks +is a slight and scattered fringe of cottonwood and willow. In the buffalo- +trails and wallows, I remarked saline efflorescences, to which a rapid +evaporation in the great heat of the sun probably contributes, as the soil +is entirely unprotected by timber. In the vicinity of these places there +was a bluish grass, which the cattle refuse to eat, called by the +voyageurs "herbe salee," (salt grass.) The latitude of the junction is 41 deg. +04' 47", and longitude, by chronometer and lunar distances, 100 deg. 49' 43". +The elevation above the sea is about two thousand seven hundred feet. The +hunters came in with a fat cow; and, as we had labored hard, we enjoyed +well a supper of roasted ribs and boudins, the chef d'oeuvre of a prairie +cook. Mosquitoes thronged about us this evening; but, by ten o'clock, when +the thermometer had fallen to 47 deg., they had all disappeared. + +3d.--As this was to be a point in our homeward journey, I made a cache (a +term used in all this country for what is hidden in the ground) of a +barrel of pork. It was impossible to conceal such a proceeding from the +sharp eyes of our Cheyenne companions, and I therefore told them to go and +see what it was they were burying. They would otherwise have not failed to +return and destroy our cache in expectation of some rich booty; but pork +they dislike and never eat. We left our camp at nine, continuing up the +South fork, the prairie-bottom affording us a fair road; but in the long +grass we roused myriads of mosquitoes and flies, from which our horses +suffered severely. The day was smoky, with a pleasant breeze from the +south, and the plains on the opposite side were covered with buffalo. +Having traveled twenty-five miles, we encamped at six in the evening; and +the men were sent across the river for wood, as there is none here on the +left bank. Our fires were partially made of the _bois de vache_, the +dry excrement of the buffalo, which, like that of the camel in the Arabian +deserts, furnishes to the traveler a very good substitute for wood, +burning like turf. Wolves in great numbers surrounded us during the night, +crossing and recrossing from the opposite herds to our camp, and howling +and trotting about in the river until morning. + +4th.--The morning was very smoky, the sun shining dimly and red, as in +thick fog. The camp was roused by a salute at daybreak, and from our +scanty store a portion of what our Indian friends called the "red fire- +water" served out to the men. While we were at breakfast, a buffalo-calf +broke through the camp, followed by a couple of wolves. In its fright, it +had probably mistaken us for a band of buffalo. The wolves were obliged to +make a circuit round the camp, so that the calf got a little the start, +and strained every nerve to reach a large herd at the foot of the hills, +about two miles distant; but first one and then another, and another wolf +joined in the chase, until his pursuers amounted to twenty or thirty, and +they ran him down before he could reach his friends. There were a few +bulls near the place, and one of them attacked the wolves and tried to +rescue him; but was driven off immediately, and the little animal fell an +easy prey, half devoured before he was dead. We watched the chase with the +interest always felt for the weak; and had there been a saddled horse at +hand, he would have fared better. Leaving camp, our road soon approached +the hills, in which strata of a marl like that of the Chimney rock, +hereafter described, made their appearance. It is probably of this rock +that the hills on the right bank of the Platte, a little below the +junction, are composed, and which are worked by the winds and rains into +sharp peaks and cones, giving them, in contrast to the surrounding level +region, something of a picturesque appearance. We crossed, this morning, +numerous beds of the small creeks which, in the time of rains and melting +snow, pour down from the ridge, bringing down with them, always, great +quantities of sand and gravel, which have gradually raised their beds four +to ten feet above the level of the prairie, which they cross, making each +one of them a miniature Po. Raised in this way above the surrounding +prairie, without any bank, the long yellow and winding line of their beds +resembles a causeway from the hills to the river. Many spots on the +prairie are yellow with sunflower, (_helianthus_.) + +As we were riding slowly along this afternoon, clouds of dust in the +ravines, among the hills to the right, suddenly attracted our attention, +and in a few minutes column after column of buffalo came galloping down, +making directly to the river. By the time the leading herds had reached +the water, the prairie was darkened with the dense masses. Immediately +before us, when the bands first came down into the valley, stretched an +unbroken line, the head of which was lost among the river hills on the +opposite side; and still they poured down from the ridge on our right. +From hill to hill, the prairie bottom was certainly not less than two +miles wide; and, allowing the animals to be ten feet apart, and only ten +in a line, there were already eleven thousand in view. Some idea may thus +be formed of their number when they had occupied the whole plain. In a +short time they surrounded us on every side, extending for several miles +in the rear, and forward as far as the eye could reach; leaving around us, +as we advanced, an open space of only two or three hundred yards. This +movement of the buffalo indicated to us the presence of Indians on the +North fork. + +I halted earlier than usual, about forty miles from the junction, and all +hands were soon busily engaged in preparing a feast to celebrate the day. +The kindness of our friends at St. Louis had provided us with a large +supply of excellent preserves and rich fruit-cake; and when these were +added to a macaroni soup, and variously prepared dishes of the choicest +buffalo-meat, crowned with a cup of coffee, and enjoyed with prairie +appetite, we felt, as we sat in barbaric luxury around our smoking supper +on the grass, a greater sensation of enjoyment than the Roman epicure at +his perfumed feast. But most of all it seemed to please our Indian +friends, who, in the unrestrained enjoyment of the moment, demanded to +know if our "medicine-days came often." No restraint was exercised at the +hospitable board, and, to the great delight of his elders, our young +Indian lad made himself extremely drunk. + +Our encampment was within a few miles of the place where the road crosses +to the North fork, and various reasons led me to divide my party at this +point. The North fork was the principal object of my survey; but I was +desirous to ascend the South branch, with a view of obtaining some +astronomical positions, and determining the mouths of its tributaries as +far as St. Vrain's fort, estimated to be some two hundred miles farther up +the river, and near to Long's Peak. There I hoped to obtain some mules, +which I found would be necessary to relieve my horses. In a military point +of view, I was desirous to form some opinion of the country relative to +the establishment of posts on a line connecting the settlements with the +south pass of the Rocky Mountains, by way of the Arkansas and the South +and Laramie forks of the Platte. Crossing the country northwestwardly from +St. Vrain's fort, to the American Company's fort at the mouth of the +Laramie, would give me some acquaintance with the affluents which head-in +the mountain between the two; I therefore determined to set out the next +morning, accompanied by four men--Maxwell, Bernier, Ayot, and Basil +Lajeunesse. Our Cheyennes, whose village lay up this river, also decided +to accompany us. The party I left in charge of Clement Lambert, with +orders to cross to the North fork; and at some convenient place, near to +the _Coulee des Frenes_, make a cache of every thing not absolutely +necessary to the further progress of our expedition. From this point, +using the most guarded precaution in his march through the country, he was +to proceed to the American Company's fort at the mouth of the Laramie's +fork, and await my arrival, which would be prior to the 16th, as on that +and the following night would occur some occultations which I was desirous +to obtain at that place. + +5th.--Before breakfast all was ready. We had one led horse in addition to +those we rode, and a pack-mule, destined to carry our instruments, +provisions, and baggage; the last two articles not being of great weight. +The instruments consisted of a sextant, artificial horizon, &c., a +barometer, spy-glass, and compass. The chronometer I of course kept on my +person. I had ordered the cook to put up for us some flour, coffee, and +sugar, and our rifles were to furnish the rest. One blanket, in addition +to his saddle and saddle blanket, furnished the materials for each man's +bed, and every one was provided with a change of linen. All were armed +with rifles or double-barrelled guns; and, in addition to these, Maxwell +and myself were furnished with excellent pistols. Thus accoutred, we took +a parting breakfast with our friends; and set forth. + +Our journey the first day afforded nothing of any interest. We shot a +buffalo towards sunset, and having obtained some meat for our evening +meal, encamped where a little timber afforded us the means of making a +fire. Having disposed our meat on roasting-sticks, we proceeded to unpack +our bales in search of coffee and sugar, and flour for bread. With the +exception of a little parched coffee, unground, we found nothing. Our cook +had neglected to put it up, or it had been somehow forgotten. Tired and +hungry, with tough bull-meat without salt, (for we had not been able to +kill a cow,) and a little bitter coffee, we sat down in silence to our +miserable fare, a very disconsolate party; for yesterday's feast was yet +fresh in our memories, and this was our first brush with misfortune. Each +man took his blanket, and laid himself down silently; for the worst part +of these mishaps is, that they make people ill-humored. To-day we had +traveled about thirty-six miles. + +6th.--Finding that our present excursion would be attended with +considerable hardship, and unwilling to expose more persons than +necessary, I determined to send Mr. Preuss back to the party. His horse, +too, appeared in no condition to support the journey; and accordingly, +after breakfast, he took the road across the hills, attended by one of my +most trusty men, Bernier. The ridge between the rivers is here about +fifteen miles broad, and I expected he would probably strike the fork near +their evening camp. At all events he would not fail to find their trail, +and rejoin them the next day. + +We continued our journey, seven in number, including the three Cheyennes. +Our general course was southwest, up the valley of the river, which was +sandy, bordered on the northern side of the valley by a low ridge; and on +the south, after seven or eight miles, the river hills became higher. Six +miles from our resting-place we crossed the bed of a considerable stream, +now entirely dry--a bed of sand. In a grove of willows, near the mouth, +were the remains of a considerable fort, constructed of trunks of large +trees. It was apparently very old, and had probably been the scene of some +hostile encounter among the roving tribes. Its solitude formed an +impressive contrast to the picture which our imaginations involuntarily +drew of the busy scene which had been enacted here. The timber appeared to +have been much more extensive formerly than now. There were but few trees, +a kind of long-leaved willow, standing; and numerous trunks of large trees +were scattered about on the ground. In many similar places I had occasion +to remark an apparent progressive decay in the timber. Ten miles farther +we reached the mouth of Lodge Pole creek, a clear and handsome stream, +running through a broad valley. In its course through the bottom it has a +uniform breadth of twenty-two feet and six inches in depth. A few willows +on the banks strike pleasantly on the eye, by their greenness, in the +midst of hot and barren sands. + +The _amorpha_ was frequent among the ravines, but the sunflower +(_helianthus_) was the characteristic; and flowers of deep warm +colors seem most to love the sandy soil. The impression of the country +traveled over to-day was one of dry and barren sands. We turned in towards +the river at noon, and gave our horses two hours for food and rest. I had +no other thermometer than the one attached to the barometer, which stood +at 89 deg., the height of the column in the barometer being 26.235 at +meridian. The sky was clear, with a high wind from the south. At 2 we +continued our journey; the wind had moderated, and it became almost +unendurably hot, and our animals suffered severely. In the course of the +afternoon, the wind rose suddenly, and blew hard from the southwest, with +thunder and lightning, and squalls of rain; these were blown against us +with violence by the wind; and, halting, we turned our backs to the storm +until it blew over. Antelope were tolerably frequent, with a large gray +hare; but the former were shy, and the latter hardly worth the delay of +stopping to shoot them; so, as the evening drew near, we again had +recourse to an old bull, and encamped at sunset on an island in the +Platte. + +We ate our meat with a good relish this evening, for we were all in fine +health, and had ridden nearly all of a long summer's day, with a burning +sun reflected from the sands. My companions slept rolled up in their +blankets, and the Indians lay in the grass near the fire; but my sleeping- +place generally had an air of more pretension. Our rifles were tied +together near the muzzle, the butts resting on the ground, and a knife +laid on the rope, to cut away in case of an alarm. Over this, which made a +kind of frame, was thrown a large India-rubber cloth, which we used to +cover our packs. This made a tent sufficiently large to receive about half +of my bed, and was a place of shelter for my instruments; and as I was +careful always to put this part against the wind, I could lie here with a +sensation of satisfied enjoyment, and hear the wind blow, and the rain +patter close to my head, and know that I should be at least half dry. +Certainly I never slept more soundly. The barometer at sunset was 26.010, +thermometer at 81 deg., and cloudy; but a gale from the west sprang up with +the setting sun, and in a few minutes swept away every cloud from the sky. +The evening was very fine, and I remained up to take astronomical +observations, which made our position in latitude 40 deg. 51' 17", and +longitude 103 deg. 07' 00". + +7th.--At our camp this morning, at six o'clock, the barometer was at +26.183, thermometer 69 deg., and clear, with a light wind from the southwest. +The past night had been squally, with high winds, and occasionally a few +drops of rain. Our cooking did not occupy much time, and we left camp +early. Nothing of interest occurred during the morning. The same dreary +barrenness, except that a hard marly clay had replaced the sandy soil. +Buffalo absolutely covered the plain, on both sides of the river, and +whenever we ascended the hills, scattered herds gave life to the view in +every direction. A small drove of wild horses made their appearance on the +low river bottoms, a mile or two to the left, and I sent off one of the +Indians (who seemed very eager to catch one) on my led horse, a spirited +and fleet animal. The savage manoeuvred a little to get the wind of the +horses, in which he succeeded--approaching within a hundred yards without +being discovered. The chase for a few minutes was interesting. My hunter +easily overtook and passed the hindmost of the wild drove, which the did +not attempt to _lasso_; all his efforts being directed to capture the +leader. But the strength of the horse, weakened by insufficient +nourishment of grass, failed in a race, and all the drove escaped. We +halted at noon on the bank of the river, the barometer at that time being +26.192, and thermometer 103 deg., with a light air from the south and clear +weather. + +In the course of the afternoon, dust rising among the hills, at a +particular place, attracted our attention; and, riding up, we found a band +of eighteen or twenty buffalo bulls engaged in a desperate fight. Though +butting and goring were bestowed liberally, and without distinction, yet +their efforts were evidently directed against one--a huge, gaunt old bull, +very lean, while his adversaries were all fat and in good order. He +appeared very weak, and had already received some wounds; and, while we +were looking on, was several times knocked down and badly hurt, and a very +few moments would have put an end to him. Of course, we took the side of +the weaker party, and attacked the herd; but they were so blind with rage, +that they fought on, utterly regardless of our presence although on foot +and on horseback we were firing, in open view, within twenty yards of +them. But this did not last long. In a very few seconds, we created a +commotion among them. One or two, which were knocked over by the balls, +jumped up and ran off into the hills; and they began to retreat slowly +along a broad ravine to the river, fighting furiously as they went. By the +time they had reached the bottom, we had pretty well dispersed them, and +the old bull hobbled off to lie down somewhere. One of his enemies +remained on the ground where we had first fired upon them, and we stopped +there for a short time to cut from him some meat for our supper. We had +neglected to secure our horses, thinking it an unnecessary precaution in +their fatigued condition; but our mule took it into his head to start, and +away he went, followed at full speed by the pack-horse, with all the +baggage and instruments on his back. They were recovered and brought back, +after a chase of a mile. Fortunately, everything was well secured, so that +nothing, not even the barometer, was in the least injured. + +The sun was getting low, and some narrow lines of timber, four or five +miles distant, promised us a pleasant camp, where, with plenty of wood for +fire, and comfortable shelter, and rich grass for our animals, we should +find clear cool springs, instead of the warm water of the Platte. On our +arrival, we found the bed of a stream fifty to one hundred feet wide, sunk +some thirty feet below the level of the prairie, with perpendicular banks, +bordered by a fringe of green cottonwood, but not a drop of water. There +were several small forks to the stream, all in the same condition. With +the exception of the Platte bottom, the country seemed to be of a clay +formation, dry, and perfectly devoid of any moisture, and baked hard by +the sun. Turning off towards the river, we reached the bank in about a +mile, and were delighted to find an old tree, with thick foliage and +spreading branches, where we encamped. At sunset, the barometer was at +25.950, thermometer 81 deg., with a strong wind from S. 20 deg. E., and the sky +partially covered with heavy masses of cloud, which settled a little +towards the horizon by ten o'clock, leaving it sufficiently clear for +astronomical observations, which placed us in latitude 40 deg. 33' 26", and +longitude 103 deg. 30' 37". + +8th.--The morning was very pleasant. The breeze was fresh from S. 50 deg. E., +with few clouds; the barometer at six o'clock standing at 25.970, and the +thermometer at 70 deg.. Since leaving the forks our route had passed over a +country alternately clay and sand, each presenting the same naked waste. +On leaving camp this morning, we struck again a sandy region, in which the +vegetation appeared somewhat more vigorous than that which we had observed +for the last few days; and on the opposite side of the river were some +tolerably large groves of timber. + +Journeying along, we came suddenly upon a place where the ground was +covered with horses' tracks, which had been made since the rain, and +indicated the immediate presence of Indians in our neighborhood. The +buffalo, too, which the day before had been so numerous were nowhere in +sight--another sure indication that there were people near. Riding on, we +discovered the carcass of a buffalo recently killed--perhaps the day +before. We scanned the horizon carefully with the glass, but no living +object was to be seen. For the next mile or two, the ground was dotted +with buffalo carcasses, which showed that the Indians had made a surround +here, and were in considerable force. We went on quickly and cautiously, +keeping the river bottom, and carefully avoiding the hills; but we met +with no interruption, and began to grow careless again. We had already +lost one of our horses, and here Basil's mule showed symptoms of giving +out, and finally refused to advance, being what the Canadians call +_reste_. He therefore dismounted, and drove her along before him; but +this was a very slow way of traveling. We had inadvertently got about half +a mile in advance, but our Cheyennes, who were generally a mile or two in +the rear, remained with him. There were some dark-looking objects among +the hills, about two miles to the left, here low and undulating, which we +had seen for a little time, and supposed to be buffalo coming in to water; +but, happening to look behind, Maxwell saw the Cheyennes whipping up +furiously, and another glance at the dark objects showed them at once to +be Indians coming up at speed. + +Had we been well mounted and disencumbered of instruments, we might have +set them at defiance; but as it was, we were fairly caught. It was too +late to rejoin our friends, and we endeavored to gain a clump of timber +about half a mile ahead; but the instruments and tired state of our horses +did not allow us to go faster than a steady canter, and they were gaining +on us fast. At first, they did not appear to be more than fifteen or +twenty in number, but group after group darted into view at the top of the +hills, until all the little eminences seemed in motion; and, in a few +minutes from the time they were first discovered, two or three hundred, +naked to the breechcloth, were sweeping across the prairie. In a few +hundred yards we discovered that the timber we were endeavoring to make +was on the opposite side of the river; and before we reach the bank, down +came the Indians upon us. + +I am inclined to think that in a few seconds more the leading man, and +perhaps some of his companions, would have rolled in the dust; for we had +jerked the covers from our guns, and our fingers were on the triggers. Men +in such cases generally act from instinct, and a charge from three hundred +naked savages is a circumstance not well calculated to promote a cool +exercise of judgment. Just as he was about to fire, Maxwell recognised the +leading Indian, and shouted to him in the Indian language, "You're a fool, +G---- damn you--don't you know me?" The sound of his own language seemed +to shock the savage; and, swerving his horse a little, he passed us like +an arrow. He wheeled, as I rode out towards him, and gave me his hand, +striking his breast and exclaiming "Arapaho!" They proved to be a village +of that nation, among whom Maxwell had resided as a trader a year or two +previously, and recognised him accordingly. We were soon in the midst of +the band, answering as well as we could a multitude of questions; of which +the very first was, of what tribe were our Indian companions who were +coming in the rear? They seemed disappointed to know that they were +Cheyennes, for they had fully anticipated a grand dance around a Pawnee +scalp that night. + +The chief showed us his village at a grove on the river six miles ahead, +and pointed out a band of buffalo on the other side of the Platte, +immediately opposite us, which he said they were going to surround. They +had seen the band early in the morning from their village, and had been +making a large circuit, to avoid giving them the wind, when they +discovered us. In a few minutes the women came galloping up, astride on +their horses, and naked from their knees down and the hips up. They +followed the men, to assist in cutting up and carrying off the meat. + +The wind was blowing directly across the river, and the chief requested us +to halt where we were for awhile, in order to avoid raising the herd. We +therefore unsaddled our horses, and sat down on the bank to view the +scene; and our new acquaintances rode a few hundred yards lower down, and +began crossing the river. Scores of wild-looking dogs followed, looking +like troops of wolves, and having, in fact, but very little of the dog in +their composition. Some of them remained with us, and I checked one of the +men, whom I found aiming at one, which he was about to kill for a wolf. +The day had become very hot. The air was clear, with a very slight breeze; +and now, at 12 o'clock, while the barometer stood at 25.920, the attached +thermometer was at 108 deg.. Our Cheyennes had learned that with the Arapaho +village were about twenty lodges of their own, including their own +families; they therefore immediately commenced making their toilette. +After bathing in the river, they invested themselves in some handsome +calico shirts, which I afterwards learned they had stolen from my own men, +and spent some time in arranging their hair and painting themselves with +some vermilion I had given them. While they were engaged in this +satisfactory manner, one of their half-wild horses, to which the crowd of +prancing animals which had just passed had recalled the freedom of her +existence among the wild droves on the prairie, suddenly dashed into the +hills at the top of her speed. She was their pack-horse, and had on her +back all the worldly wealth of our poor Cheyennes, all their +accoutrements, and all the little articles which they had picked up among +us, with some few presents I had given them. The loss which they seemed to +regret most were their spears and shields, and some tobacco which they had +received from me. However, they bore it all with the philosophy of an +Indian, and laughingly continued their toilette. They appeared, however, +to be a little mortified at the thought of returning to the village in +such a sorry plight. "Our people will laugh at us," said one of them, +"returning to the village on foot, instead of driving back a drove of +Pawnee horses." He demanded to know if I loved my sorrel hunter very much; +to which I replied, he was the object of my most intense affection. Far +from being able to give, I was myself in want of horses; and any +suggestion of parting with the few I had valuable, was met with a +peremptory refusal. In the mean time, the slaughter was about to commence +on the other side. So soon as they reached it, Indians separated into two +bodies. One party proceeded across the prairie, towards the hills, in an +extended line, while the other went up the river; and instantly as they +had given the wind to the herd, the chase commenced. The buffalo started +for the hills, but were intercepted and driven back towards the river, +broken and running in every direction. The clouds of dust soon covered the +whole scene, preventing us from having any but an occasional view. It had +a very singular appearance to us at a distance, especially when looking +with the glass. We were too far to hear the report of the guns, or any +sound; and at every instant, through the clouds of dust, which the sun +made luminous, we could see for a moment two or three buffalo dashing +along, and close behind them an Indian with his long spear, or other +weapon, and instantly again they disappeared. The apparent silence, and +the dimly seen figures flitting by with such rapidity, gave it a kind of +dreamy effect, and seemed more like a picture than a scene of real life. +It had been a large herd when the _cerne_ commenced, probably three +or four hundred in number; but, though I watched them closely, I did not +see one emerge from the fatal cloud where the work of destruction was +going on. After remaining here about an hour, we resumed our journey in +the direction of the village. + +Gradually, as we rode on, Indian after Indian came dropping along, laden +with meat; and by the time we had neared the lodges, the backward road was +covered with the returning horsemen. It was a pleasant contrast with the +desert road we had been traveling. Several had joined company with us, and +one of the chiefs invited us to his lodge. The village consisted of about +one hundred and twenty-five lodges, of which twenty were Cheyennes; the +latter pitched a little apart from the Arapahoes. They were disposed in a +scattering manner on both sides of a broad, irregular street, about one +hundred and fifty feet wide, and running along the river. As we rode +along, I remarked near some of the lodges a kind of tripod frame, formed +of three slender poles of birch, scraped very clean, to which were affixed +the shield and spear, with some other weapons of a chief. All were +scrupulously clean, the spear-head was burnished bright; and the shield +white and stainless. It reminded me of the days of feudal chivalry; and +when, as I rode by, I yielded to the passing impulse, and touched one of +the spotless shields with the muzzle of my gun, I almost expected a grim +warrior to start from the lodge and resent my challenge. The master of the +lodge spread out a robe for me to sit upon, and the squaws set before us a +large wooden dish of buffalo meat. He had lit his pipe in the mean while, +and when it had been passed around, we commenced our dinner while he +continued to smoke. Gradually, however, five or six other chiefs came in, +and took their seats in silence. When we had finished, our host asked a +number of questions relative to the object of our journey, of which I made +no concealment; telling him simply that I had made a visit to see the +country, preparatory to the establishment of military posts on the way to +the mountains. Although this was information of the highest interest to +them, and by no means calculated to please them, it excited no expression +of surprise, and in no way altered the grave courtesy of their demeanor. +The others listened and smoked. I remarked, that in taking the pipe for +the first time, each had turned the stem upward, with a rapid glance, as +in offering to the Great Spirit, before he put it in his mouth. A storm +had been gathering for the past hour, and some pattering drops in the +lodge warned us that we had some miles to our camp. An Indian had given +Maxwell a bundle of dried meat, which was very acceptable, as we had +nothing; and, springing upon our horses, we rode off at dusk in the face +of a cold shower and driving wind. We found our companions under some +densely foliaged old trees, about three miles up the river. Under one of +them lay the trunk of a large cottonwood, to leeward of which the men had +kindled a fire, and we sat here and roasted our meat in tolerable shelter. +Nearly opposite was the mouth of one of the most considerable affluents of +the South fork, _la Fourche aux Castors_, (Beaver fork,) heading off +in the ridge to the southeast. + +9th.--This morning we caught the first faint glimpse of the Rocky +mountains, about sixty miles distant. Though a tolerably bright day, there +was a slight mist, and we were just able to discern the snowy summit of +"Long's peak," ("_les deux oreilles_" of the Canadians,) +showing like a cloud near the horizon. I found it easily distinguishable, +there being a perceptible difference in its appearance from the white +clouds that were floating about the sky. I was pleased to find that among +the traders the name of "Long's peak" had been adopted and become familiar +in the country. In the ravines near this place, a light brown sandstone +made its first appearance. About 8, we discerned several persons on +horseback a mile or two ahead, on the opposite side of the river. They +turned in towards the river, and we rode down to meet them. We found them +to be two white men, and a mulatto named Jim Beckwith, who had left St. +Louis when a boy, and gone to live with the Crow Indians. He had +distinguished himself among them by some acts of daring bravery, and had +risen to the rank of chief, but had now, for some years, left them. They +were in search of a band of horses that had gone off from a camp some +miles above, in charge of Mr. Chabonard. Two of them continued down the +river, in search of the horses, and the American turned back with us, and +we rode on towards the camp. About eight miles from our sleeping-place, we +reached Bijou's fork, an affluent of the right bank. Where we crossed it, +a short distance from the Platte, it has a sandy bed about four hundred +yards broad; the water in various small streams, a few inches deep. Seven +miles further brought us to the camp of some four or five whites, (New +Englanders, I believe,) who had accompanied Captain Wyeth to the Columbia +river, and were independent trappers. All had their squaws with them, and +I was really surprised at the number of little fat, buffalo-fed boys that +were tumbling about the camp, all apparently of the same age, about three +or four years old. They were encamped on a rich bottom, covered with a +profusion of rich grass, and had a large number of fine-looking horses and +mules. We rested with them a few minutes, and in about two miles arrived +at Chabonard's camp, on an island in the Platte. On the heights above, we +met the first Spaniard I had seen in the country. Mr. Chabonard was in the +service of Bent and St. Vrain's company, and had left their fort some +forty or fifty miles above, in the spring, with boats laden with the furs +of the last year's trade. He had met the same fortune as the voyageurs on +the North fork; and, finding it impossible to proceed, had taken up his +summer's residence on this island, which he had named St. Helena. The +river hills appeared to be composed entirely of sand, and the Platte had +lost the muddy character of its waters, and here was tolerably clear. From +the mouth of the South fork, I had found it occasionally broken up by +small islands; and at the time of our journey, which was at a season of +the year when the waters were at a favorable stage, it was not navigable +for any thing drawing six inches water. The current was very swift--the +bed of the stream a coarse gravel. From the place at which we had +encountered the Arapahoes, the Platte had been tolerably well fringed with +timber, and the island here had a fine grove of very large cottonwoods, +under whose broad shade the tents were pitched. There was a large drove of +horses in the opposite prairie bottom; smoke was rising from the scattered +fires, and the encampment had quite a patriarchal air. Mr. C. received us +hospitably. One of the people was sent to gather mint, with the aid of +which he concocted very good julep; and some boiled buffalo tongue, and +coffee with the luxury of sugar, were soon set before us. The people in +his employ were generally Spaniards, and among them I saw a young Spanish +woman from Taos, whom I found to be Beckwith's wife. + +10th.--We parted with our hospitable host after breakfast the next +morning, and reached St. Vrain's fort, about forty-five miles from St. +Helena, late in the evening. This post is situated on the South fork of +the Platte, immediately under the mountains, about seventeen miles east of +Long's peak. It is on the right bank, on the verge of the upland prairie, +about forty feet above the river, of which the immediate valley is about +six hundred yards wide. The stream is divided into various branches by +small islands, among which it runs with a swift current. The bed of the +river is sand and gravel, the water very clear, and here may be called a +mountain-stream. This region appears to be entirely free from the +limestones and marls which give to the Lower Platte its yellow and dirty +color. The Black hills lie between the stream and the mountains, whose +snowy peaks glitter a few miles beyond. At the fort we found Mr. St. +Vrain, who received us with much kindness and hospitality. Maxwell had +spent the last two or three years between this post and the village of +Taos; and here he was at home, and among his friends. Spaniards frequently +came over in search of employment; and several came in shortly after our +arrival. They usually obtain about six dollars a month, generally paid to +them in goods. They are very useful in a camp, in taking care of horses +and mules; and I engaged one, who proved to be an active, laborious man, +and was of very considerable service to me. The elevation of the Platte +here is five thousand four hundred feet above the sea. The neighboring +mountains did not appear to enter far the region of perpetual snow, which +was generally confined to the northern side of the peaks. On the southern, +I remarked very little. Here it appeared, so far as I could judge in the +distance, to descend but a few hundred feet below the summits. + +I regretted that time did not permit me to visit them; but the proper +object of my survey lay among the mountains farther north; and I looked +forward to an exploration of their snowy recesses with great pleasure. The +piney region of the mountains to the south was enveloped in smoke, and I +was informed had been on fire for several months. Pike's peak is said to +be visible from this place, about one hundred miles to the southward; but +the smoky state of the atmosphere prevented my seeing it. The weather +continued overcast during my stay here, so that I failed in determining +the latitude, but obtained good observations for the time on the mornings +of the 11th and 12th. An assumed latitude of 40 deg. 22' 30" from the evening +position of the 12th, enabled me to obtain for a tolerably correct +longitude, 105 deg. 12' 12". + +12th.--The kindness of Mr. St. Vrain enabled me to obtain a couple of +horses and three good mules; and, with a further addition to our party of +the Spaniard whom I had hired, and two others, who were going to obtain +service at Laramie's fork, we resumed our journey at ten, on the morning +of the 12th. We had been able to procure nothing at the post in the way of +provision. An expected supply from Taos had not yet arrived, and a few +pounds of coffee was all that could be spared to us. In addition to this +we had dried meat enough for the first day; on the next, we expected to +find buffalo. From this post, according to the estimate of the country, +the fort at the mouth of Laramie's fork, which was our next point of +destination, was nearly due north, distant about one hundred and twenty- +five miles. + +For a short distance our road lay down the valley of the Platte, which +resembled a garden in the splendor of fields of varied flowers, which +filled the air with fragrance. The only timber I noticed consisted of +poplar, birch, cottonwood, and willow. In something less than three miles +we crossed Thompson's creek, one of the affluents to the left bank of the +South fork--a fine stream about sixty-five feet wide, and three feet deep. +Journeying on, the low dark line of the Black hills lying between us and +the mountains to the left, in about ten miles from the fort, we reached +_Cache a la Poudre_, where we halted to noon. This is a very +beautiful mountain-stream, about one hundred feet wide, flowing with a +full swift current over a rocky bed. We halted under the shade of some +cottonwoods, with which the stream is wooded scatteringly. In the upper +part of its course, it runs amid the wildest mountain scenery, and, +breaking through the Black hills, falls into the Platte about ten miles +below this place. In the course of our late journey, I had managed to +become the possessor of a very untractable mule--a perfect vixen--and her +I had turned over to my Spaniard. It occupied us about half an hour to-day +to get saddle upon her; but, once on her back, Jose could not be +dismounted, realizing the accounts given of Mexican horses and +horsemanship; and we continued our route in the afternoon. + +At evening, we encamped on Crow creek, having traveled about twenty-eight +miles. None of the party were well acquainted with the country, and I had +great difficulty in ascertaining what were the names of the streams we +crossed between the North and South forks of the Platte. This I supposed +to be Cow creek. It is what is called a salt stream, and the water stands +in pools, having no continuous course. A fine-grained sandstone made its +appearance in the banks. The observations of the night placed us in +latitude 40 deg. 42', longitude 104 deg. 57' 49". The barometer at sunset was +25.231; attached thermometer at 66 deg.. Sky clear, except in the east, with a +light wind from the north. + +13th.--There being no wood here, we used last night the _bois de +vache_, which is very plentiful. At our camp this morning, the +barometer was at 25.235; the attached thermometer 60 deg.. A few clouds were +moving through a deep-blue sky, with a light wind from the west. After a +ride of twelve miles, in a northerly direction, over a plain covered with +innumerable quantities of _cacti_, we reached a small creek in which +there was water, and where several herds of buffalo were scattered about +among the ravines, which always afford good pasturage. We seem now to be +passing along the base of a plateau of the Black hills, in which the +formation consists of marls, some of them white and laminated; the country +to the left rising suddenly, and falling off gradually and uniformly to +the right. In five or six miles of a northeasterly course, we struck a +high ridge, broken into conical peaks, on whose summits large boulders +were gathered in heaps. The magnetic direction of the ridge is northwest +and southeast, the glittering white of its precipitous sides making it +visible for many miles to the south. It is composed of a soft earthy +limestone and marls, resembling that hereafter described in the +neighborhood of the Chimney rock, on the North fork of the Platte, easily +worked by the winds and rains, and sometimes moulded into very fantastic +shapes. At the foot of the northern slope was the bed of a creek, some +forty feet wide, coming, by frequent falls, from the bench above. It was +shut in by high, perpendicular banks, in which were strata of white +laminated marl. Its bed was perfectly dry, and the leading feature of the +whole region is one of remarkable aridity, and perfect freedom from +moisture. In about six miles we crossed the bed of another dry creek; and, +continuing our ride over high level prairie, a little before sundown we +came suddenly upon a beautiful creek, which revived us with a feeling of +delighted surprise by the pleasant contrast of the deep verdure of its +banks with the parched desert we had passed. We had suffered much to-day, +both men and horses, for want of water; having met with it but once in our +uninterrupted march of forty miles; and an exclusive meat diet creates +much thirst. + +"_Les bestias tienen mucha hambre_," said the young Spaniard, +inquiringly: "_y la gente tambien_," said I, "_amiago_, we'll +camp here." A stream of good and clear water ran winding about through the +little valley, and a herd of buffalo were quietly feeding a little +distance below. It was quite a hunter's paradise; and while some ran down +towards the band to kill one for supper, others collected _bois de +vache_ for a fire, there being no wood; and I amused myself with +hunting for plants among the grass. + +It will be seen, by occasional remarks on the geological formation, that +the constituents of the soil in these regions are good, and every day +served to strengthen the impression in my mind, confirmed by subsequent +observation, that the barren appearance of the country is due almost +entirely to the extreme dryness of the climate. Along our route, the +country had seemed to increase constantly in elevation. According to the +indication of the barometer, we were at our encampment 5,440 feet above +the sea. + +The evening was very clear, with a fresh breeze from the south, 50 deg. east. +The barometer at sunset was 24.862, the thermometer attached showing 68 deg.. +I supposed this to be a fork of Lodge Pole creek, so far as I could +determine from our uncertain means of information. Astronomical +observations gave for the camp a longitude of 104 deg. 39' 37", and latitude +41 deg. 08' 31". + +14th.--The wind continued fresh from the same quarter in the morning; the +day being clear, with the exception of a few clouds in the horizon. At our +camp, at six o'clock, the height of the barometer was 24.830, the attached +thermometer 61 deg.. Our course this morning was directly north by compass, +the variation being 15 deg. or 16 deg. easterly. A ride of four miles brought us +to Lodge Pole creek, which we had seen at the mouth of the South fork; +crossing on the way two dry streams, in eighteen miles from our encampment +of the past night, we reached a high bleak ridge, composed entirely of the +same earthy limestone and marl previously described. I had never seen any +thing which impressed so strongly on my mind a feeling of desolation. The +valley, through which ran the waters of Horse creek, lay in view to the +north, but too far to have any influence on the immediate view. On the +peak of the ridge where I was standing, some seven hundred feet above the +river, the wind was high and bleak; the barren and arid country seemed as +if it had been swept by fires, and in every direction the same dull ash- +colored hue, derived from the formation, met the eye. On the summits were +some stunted pines, many of them dead, all wearing the same ashen hue of +desolation. We left the place with pleasure; and, after we had descended +several hundred feet, halted in one of the ravines, which, at the distance +of every mile or two, cut the flanks of the ridge with little rushing +streams, wearing something of a mountain character. We had already begun +to exchange the comparatively barren lands for those of a more fertile +character. Though the sandstone formed the broken banks of the creek, yet +they were covered with a thin grass; and the fifty or sixty feet which +formed the bottom land of the little stream were clothed with very +luxuriant grass, among which I remarked willow and cherry, (_cerasus +virginiana_,) and a quantity of gooseberry and currant bushes occupied +the greater part. + +The creek was three or four feet broad, and about six inches deep, with a +swift current of clear water, and tolerably cool. We had struck it too low +down to find the cold water, which we should have enjoyed nearer to its +sources. At two, P.M., the barometer was at 25.050, and the attached +thermometer 104 deg.. A day of hot sunshine, with clouds, and moderate breeze +from the south. Continuing down the stream, in about four miles we reached +its mouth, at one of the main branches of Horse creek. Looking back upon +the ridge, whose direction appeared to be a little to the north of east, +we saw it seamed at frequent intervals with the dark lines of wooded +streams, affluents of the river that flowed so far as we could see along +its base. We crossed, in the space of twelve miles from our noon halt, +three or four forks of Horse creek, and encamped at sunset on the most +easterly. + +The fork on which we encamped appeared to have followed an easterly +direction up to this place; but here it makes a very sudden bend to the +north, passing between two ranges of precipitous hills, called, as I was +informed, Goshen's hole. There is somewhere in or near this locality a +place so called, but I am not certain that it was the place of our +encampment. Looking back upon the spot, at the distance of a few miles to +the northward, the hills appear to shut in the prairie, through which runs +the creek, with a semicircular sweep, which might very naturally be called +a hole in the bills. The geological composition of the ridge is the same +which constitutes the rock of the Court-house and Chimney, on the North +fork, which appeared to me a continuation of this ridge. The winds and +rains work this formation into a variety of singular forms. The pass into +Goshen's hole is about two miles wide, and the hill on the western side +imitates, in an extraordinary manner, a massive fortified place, with a +remarkable fulness of detail. The rock is marl and earthy limestone, +white, without the least appearance of vegetation, and much resembles +masonry at a little distance; and here it sweeps around a level area two +or three hundred yards in diameter, and in the form of a half moon, +terminating on either extremity in enormous bastions. Along the whole line +of the parapets appear domes and slender minarets, forty or fifty feet +high, giving it every appearance of an old fortified town. On the waters +of White river, where this formation exists in great extent, it presents +appearances which excite the admiration of the solitary voyageur, and form +a frequent theme of their conversation when speaking of the wonders of the +country. Sometimes it offers the perfectly illusive appearance of a large +city, with numerous streets and magnificent buildings, among which the +Canadians never fail to see their _cabaret_--and sometimes it takes +the form of a solitary house, with many large chambers, into which they +drive their horses at night, and sleep in these natural defences perfectly +secure from any attack of prowling savages. Before reaching our camp at +Goshen's hole, in crossing the immense detritus at the foot of the Castle +rock, we were involved amidst winding passages cut by the waters of the +hill; and where, with a breadth scarcely large enough for the passage of a +horse, the walls rise thirty and forty feet perpendicularly. This +formation supplies the discoloration of the Platte. At sunset, the height +of the mercurial column was 25.500, the attached thermometer 80 deg., and wind +moderate from S. 38 deg. E. Clouds covered the sky with the rise of the moon, +but I succeeded in obtaining the usual astronomical observations, which +placed us in latitude 41 deg. 40' 13", and longitude 104 deg. 24' 36". + +15th.--At six this morning, the barometer was at 25.515 the thermometer +72 deg.; the day was fine, with some clouds looking dark on the south, with a +fresh breeze from the same quarter. We found that in our journey across +the country we had kept too much to the eastward. This morning, +accordingly, we traveled by compass some 15 or 20 to the west of north, +and struck the Platte some thirteen miles below Fort Laramie. The day was +extremely hot, and among the hills the wind seemed to have just issued +from an oven. Our horses were much distressed, as we had traveled hard; +and it was with some difficulty that they were all brought to the Platte, +which we reached at one o'clock. In riding in towards the river, we found +the trail of our carts, which appeared to have passed a day or two since. + +After having allowed our animals two hours for food and repose, we resumed +our journey, and towards the close of the day came in sight of Laramie's +fork. Issuing from the river hills, we came first in view of Fort Platte, +a post belonging to Messrs. Sybille, Adams & Co., situated immediately in +the point of land at the junction of Laramie with the Platte. Like the +post we had visited on the South fork, it was built of earth, and still +unfinished, being enclosed with walls (or rather houses) on three of the +sides, and open on the fourth to the river. A few hundred yards brought us +in view of the post of the American Fur Company, called Fort John, or +Laramie. This was a large post having more the air of military +construction than the fort at the mouth of the river. It is on the left +bank, on a rising ground some twenty-five feet above the water; and its +lofty walls, whitewashed and picketed, with the large bastions at the +angles, gave it quite an imposing appearance in the uncertain light of +evening. A cluster of lodges, which the language told us belonged to Sioux +Indians, was pitched under the walls; and, with the fine background of the +Black hills and the prominent peak of Laramie mountain, strongly drawn in +the clear light of the western sky, where the sun had already set, the +whole formed at the moment a strikingly beautiful picture. From the +company at St. Louis I had letters for Mr. Boudeau, the gentleman in +charge of the post, by whom I was received with great hospitality and an +efficient kindness, which was invaluable to me during my stay in the +country. I found our people encamped on the bank, a short distance above +the fort. All were well; and, in the enjoyment of a bountiful supper, +which coffee and bread made luxurious to us, we soon forgot the fatigues +of the last ten days. + +16th.--I found that, during my absence, the situation of affairs had +undergone some change; and the usual quiet and somewhat monotonous +regularity of the camp had given place to excitement and alarm. The +circumstances which occasioned this change will be found narrated in the +following extract from the journal of Mr. Preuss, which commences with the +day of our separation on the South fork of the Platte: + +"6th.--We crossed the plateau or highland between the two forks in about +six hours. I let my horse go as slow as he liked, to indemnify us both for +the previous hardship; and about noon we reached the North fork. There was +no sign that our party had passed; we rode, therefore, to some pine trees, +unsaddled the hoses, and stretched our limbs on the grass, awaiting the +arrival of our company. After remaining here two hours, my companion +became impatient, mounted his horse again, and rode off down the river to +see if he could discover our people. I felt so marode yet, that it was a +horrible idea to me to bestride that saddle again; so I lay still. I knew +they could not come any other way, and then my companion, one of the best +men of the company, would not abandon me. The sun went down--he did not +come. Uneasy I did not feel, but very hungry. I had no provisions, but I +could make a fire; and as I espied two doves in a tree, I tried to kill +one. But it needs a better marksman than myself to kill a little bird with +a rifle. I made a fire, however, lighted my pipe--this true friend of mine +in every emergency--lay down, and let my thoughts wander to the far east. +It was not many minutes after when I heard the tramp of a horse, and my +faithful companion was by my side. He had found the party, who had been +delayed by making their _cache_, about seven miles below. To the good +supper which he brought with him I did ample justice. He had forgotten +salt, and I tried the soldier's substitute in time of war, and used +gunpowder; but it answered badly--bitter enough, but no flavor of kitchen +salt. I slept well; and was only disturbed by two owls, which were +attracted by the fire, and took their place in the tree under which we +slept. Their music seemed as disagreeable to my companion as to myself; he +fired his rifle twice, and then they let us alone. + +"7th.--At about 10 o'clock, the party arrived; and we continued our +journey through a country which offered but little to interest the +traveler. The soil was much more sandy than in the valley below the +confluence of the forks, and the face of the country no longer presented +the refreshing green which had hitherto characterized it. The rich grass +was now found only in dispersed spots, on low grounds, and on the bottom +land of the streams. A long drought, joined to extreme heat, had so +parched up the upper prairies, that they were in many places bald, or +covered only with a thin growth of yellow and poor grass. The nature of +the soil renders it extremely susceptible to the vicissitudes of the +climate. Between the forks, and from their junction to the Black hills, +the formation consists of marl and a soft earthy limestone, with granitic +sandstone. Such a formation cannot give rise to a sterile soil; and, on +our return in September, when the country had been watered by frequent +rains, the valley of the Platte looked like a garden; so rich was the +verdure of the grasses, and so luxuriant the bloom of abundant flowers. +The wild sage begins to make its appearance, and timber is so scarce that +we generally made our fires of the _bois de vache_. With the +exception of now and then an isolated tree or two, standing like a +lighthouse on the river bank, there is none to be seen. + +"8th.--Our road to-day was a solitary one. No game made its appearance-- +not even a buffalo or a stray antelope; and nothing occurred to break the +monotony until about 5 o'clock, when the caravan made a sudden halt. There +was a galloping in of scouts and horsemen from every side--a hurrying to +and fro in noisy confusion; rifles were taken from their covers; bullet +pouches examined: in short, there was the cry of 'Indians,' heard again. I +had become so much accustomed to these alarms, that they now made but +little impression on me; and before I had time to become excited, the +newcomers were ascertained to be whites. It was a large party of traders +and trappers, conducted by Mr. Bridger, a man well known in the history of +the country. As the sun was low, and there was a fine grass patch not far +ahead, they turned back and encamped for the night with us. Mr. Bridger +was invited to supper; and, after the _table-cloth_ was removed, we +listened with eager interest to an account of their adventures. What they +had met, we would be likely to encounter; the chances which had befallen +them, would probably happen to us; and we looked upon their life as a +picture of our own. He informed us that the condition of the country had +become exceedingly dangerous. The Sioux, who had been badly disposed, had +broken out into open hostility, and in the preceding autumn his party had +encountered them in a severe engagement, in which a number of lives had +been lost on both sides. United with the Cheyenne and Gros Ventre Indians, +they were scouring the upper country in war parties of great force, and +were at this time in the neighborhood of the _Red Buttes_, a famous +landmark, which was directly in our path. They had declared war upon every +living thing that should be found westward of that point; though their +main object was to attack a large camp of whites and Snake Indians, who +had a rendezvous in the Sweet Water valley. Availing himself of his +intimate knowledge of the country, he had reached Laramie by an unusual +route through the Black hills, and avoided coming into contact with any of +the scattered parties. This gentleman offered his services to accompany us +as far as the head of the Sweet Water; but the absence of our leader, +which was deeply regretted by us all, rendered it impossible for us to +enter upon such arrangements. In a camp consisting of men whose lives had +been spent in this country, I expected to find every one prepared for +occurrences of this nature; but, to my great surprise, I found, on the +contrary, that this news had thrown them all into the greatest +consternation; and, on every side, I heard only one exclamation, '_Il +n'y aura pas de vie pour nous_.' All the night, scattered groups were +assembled around the fires, smoking their pipes, and listening with the +greatest eagerness to exaggerated details of Indian hostilities; and in +the morning I found the camp dispirited, and agitated by a variety of +conflicting opinions. A majority of the people were strongly disposed to +return; but Clement Lambert, with some five or six others, professed their +determination to follow Mr. Fremont to the uttermost limit of his journey. +The others yielded to their remonstrances, and somewhat ashamed of their +cowardice, concluded to advance at least as far as Laramie fork, eastward +of which they were aware no danger was to be apprehended. Notwithstanding +the confusion and excitement, we were very early on the road, as the days +were extremely hot, and we were anxious to profit by the freshness of the +morning. The soft marly formation, over which we were now journeying, +frequently offers to the traveler views of remarkable and picturesque +beauty. To several of these localities, where the winds and the rain have +worked the bluffs into curious shapes, the voyageurs have given names +according to some fancied resemblance. One of these, called the _Court- +house_, we passed about six miles from our encampment of last night, +and towards noon came in sight of the celebrated _Chimney rock_. It +looks, at this distance of about thirty miles, like what it is called--the +long chimney of a steam factory establishment, or a shot tower in +Baltimore. Nothing occurred to interrupt the quiet of the day, and we +encamped on the river, after a march of twenty-four miles. Buffalo had +become very scarce, and but one cow had been killed, of which the meat had +been cut into thin slices, and hung around the carts to dry. + +"10th.--We continued along the same fine plainly beaten road, which the +smooth surface of the country afforded us, for a distance of six hundred +and thirty miles, from the frontiers of Missouri to the Laramie fork. In +the course of the day we met some whites, who were following along in the +train of Mr. Bridger; and, after a day's journey of twenty-four miles, +encamped about sunset at the Chimney rock. It consists of marl and earthy +limestone, and the weather is rapidly diminishing its height, which is not +more than two hundred feet above the river. Travelers who visited it some +years since, placed its height at upwards of 500 feet. + +"11th.--The valley of the North fork is of a variable breadth, from one to +four, and sometimes six miles. Fifteen miles from the Chimney rock we +reached one of those places where the river strikes the bluffs, and forces +the road to make a considerable circuit over the uplands. This presented +an escarpment on the river of about nine hundred yards in length, and is +familiarly known as Scott's bluffs. We had made a journey of thirty miles +before we again struck the river, at a place where some scanty grass +afforded an insufficient pasturage to our animals. About twenty miles from +the Chimney rock we had found a very beautiful spring of excellent and +cold water; but it was in such a deep ravine, and so small, that the +animals could not profit by it, and we therefore halted only a few +minutes, and found a resting-place ten miles further on. The plain between +Scott's bluffs and Chimney rock was almost entirely covered with drift- +wood, consisting principally of cedar, which, we were informed, had been +supplied from the Black hills, in a flood five or six years since. + +"12th.--Nine miles from our encampment of yesterday we crossed Horse +creek, a shallow stream of clear water, about seventy yards wide, falling +into the Platte on the right bank. It was lightly timbered, and great +quantities of drift-wood were piled up on the banks, appearing to be +supplied by the creek from above. After a journey of twenty-six miles, we +encamped on a rich bottom, which afforded fine grass to our animals. +Buffalo have entirely disappeared, and we live now upon the dried meat, +which is exceedingly poor food. The marl and earthy limestone, which +constituted the formation for several days past, had changed, during the +day, into a compact white or grayish-white limestone, sometimes containing +hornstone; and at the place of our encampment this evening, some strata in +the river hills cropped out to the height of thirty or forty feet, +consisting of fine-grained granitic sandstone; one of the strata closely +resembling gneiss. + +"13th.--To-day, about four o'clock, we reached Fort Laramie, where we were +cordially received. We pitched our camp a little above the fort, on the +bank of the Laramie river, in which the pure and clear water of the +mountain stream looked refreshingly cool, and made a pleasant contrast to +the muddy, yellow waters of the Platte." + +I walked up to visit our friends at the fort, which is a quadrangular +structure, built of clay, after the fashion of the Mexicans, who are +generally employed in building them. The walls are about fifteen feet +high, surmounted with a wooden palisade, and form a portion of ranges of +houses, which entirely surround a yard of about one hundred and thirty +feet square. Every apartment has its door and window,--all, of course, +opening on the inside. There are two entrances, opposite each other, and +midway the wall, one of which is a large and public entrance; the other +smaller and more private--a sort of postern gate. Over the great entrance +is a square tower with loopholes, and, like the rest of the work, built of +earth. At two of the angles, and diagonally opposite each other, are large +square bastions, so arranged as to sweep the four faces of the walls. + +This post belongs to the American Fur Company, and, at the time of our +visit, was in charge of Mr. Boudeau. Two of the company's clerks, Messrs. +Galpin and Kellogg, were with him, and he had in the fort about sixteen +men. As usual, these had found wives among the Indian squaws; and, with +the usual accompaniment of children, the place had quite a populous +appearance. It is hardly necessary to say, that the object of the +establishment is trade with the neighboring tribes, who, in the course of +the year, generally make two or three visits to the fort. In addition to +this, traders, with a small outfit, are constantly kept amongst them. The +articles of trade consist, on the one side, almost entirely of buffalo +robes; and, on the other, of blankets, calicoes, guns, powder and lead, +with such cheap ornaments as glass beads, looking-glasses, rings, +vermilion for painting, tobacco, and principally, and in spite of the +prohibition, of spirits, brought into the country in the form of alcohol, +and diluted with water before sold. While mentioning this fact, it is but +justice to the American Fur Company to state, that, throughout the +country, I have always found them strenuously opposed to the introduction +of spirituous liquors. But in the present state of things, when the +country is supplied with alcohol--when a keg of it will purchase from an +Indian every thing he possesses--his furs, his lodge, his horses, and even +his wife and children--and when any vagabond who has money enough to +purchase a mule can go into a village and trade against them successfully, +without withdrawing entirely from the trade, it is impossible for them to +discontinue its use. In their opposition to this practice, the company is +sustained, not only by their obligation to the laws of the country and the +welfare of the Indians, but clearly, also, on grounds of policy; for, with +heavy and expensive outfits, they contend at manifestly great disadvantage +against the numerous independent and unlicensed traders, who enter the +country from various avenues, from the United States and from Mexico, +having no other stock in trade than some kegs of liquor, which they sell +at the modest price of thirty-six dollars per gallon. The difference +between the regular trader and the _coureur des bois_, (as the French +call the itinerant or peddling traders,) with respect to the sale of +spirits, is here, as it always has been, fixed and permanent, and growing +out of the nature of their trade. The regular trader looks ahead, and has +an interest in the preservation of the Indians, and in the regular pursuit +of their business, and the preservation of their arms, horses, and every +thing necessary to their future and permanent success in hunting: the +_coureur des bois_ has no permanent interest, and gets what he can, +and for what he can, from every Indian he meets, even at the risk of +disabling him from doing any thing more at hunting. + +The fort had a very cool and clean appearance. The great entrance, in +which I found the gentlemen assembled, and which was floored, and about +fifteen feet long, made a pleasant, shaded seat, through which the breeze +swept constantly; for this country is famous for high winds. In the course +of the conversation, I learned the following particulars, which will +explain the condition of the country. For several years the Cheyennes and +Sioux had gradually become more and more hostile to the whites, and in the +latter part of August, 1841, had had a rather severe engagement with a +party of sixty men, under the command of Mr. Frapp of St. Louis. The +Indians lost eight or ten warriors, and the whites had their leader and +four men killed. This fight took place on the waters of Snake river; and +it was this party, on their return under Mr. Bridger, which had spread so +much alarm among my people. In the course of the spring, two other small +parties had been cut off by the Sioux--one on their return from the Crow +nation, and the other among the Black hills. The emigrants to Oregon and +Mr. Bridger's party met here, a few days before our arrival. Divisions and +misunderstandings had grown up among them; they were already somewhat +disheartened by the fatigue of their long and wearisome journey, and the +feet of their cattle had become so much worn as to be scarcely able to +travel. In this situation, they were not likely to find encouragement in +the hostile attitude of the Indians, and the new and unexpected +difficulties which sprang up before them. They were told that the country +was entirely swept of grass, and that few or no buffalo were to be found +on their line of route; and, with their weakened animals, it would be +impossible for them to transport their heavy wagons over the mountains. +Under these circumstances, they disposed of their wagons and cattle at the +forts; selling them at the prices they had paid in the States, and taking +in exchange coffee and sugar at one dollar a pound, and miserable worn-out +horses, which died before they reached the mountains. Mr. Boudeau informed +me that he had purchased thirty, and the lower fort eighty head of fine +cattle, some of them of the Durham breed. Mr. Fitzpatrick, whose name and +high reputation are familiar to all who interest themselves in the history +of this country, had reached Laramie in company with Mr. Bridger; and the +emigrants were fortunate enough to obtain his services to guide them as +far as the British post of Fort Hall, about two hundred and fifty miles +beyond the South Pass of the mountains. They had started for this post on +the 4th of July, and immediately after their departure, a war party of +three hundred and fifty braves set out upon their trail. As their +principal chief or partisan had lost some relations in the recent fight, +and had sworn to kill the first whites on his path, it was supposed that +their intention was to attack the party, should a favorable opportunity +offer; or, if they were foiled in their principal object by the vigilance +of Mr. Fitzpatrick, content themselves with stealing horses and cutting +off stragglers. These had been gone but a few days previous to our +arrival. + +The effect of the engagement with Mr. Frapp had been greatly to irritate +the hostile spirit of the savages; and immediately subsequent to that +event, the Gross Ventre Indians had united with the Oglallahs and +Cheyennes, and taken the field in great force--so far as I could +ascertain, to the amount of eight hundred lodges. Their object was to make +an attack on a camp of Snake and Crow Indians, and a body of about one +hundred whites, who had made a rendezvous somewhere in the Green river +valley, or on the Sweet Water. After spending some time in buffalo hunting +in the neighborhood of the Medicine Bow mountain, they were to cross over +to the Green river waters, and return to Laramie by way of the South Pass +and the Sweet Water valley. According to the calculation of the Indians, +Mr. Boudeau informed me they were somewhere near the head of the Sweet +Water. I subsequently learned that the party led by Mr. Fitzpatrick were +overtaken by their pursuers near Rock Independence, in the valley of the +Sweet Water; but his skill and resolution saved them from surprise; and, +small as his force was; they did not venture to attack him openly. Here +they lost one of their party by an accident, and, continuing up the +valley, they came suddenly upon the large village. From these they met +with a doubtful reception. Long residence and familiar acquaintance had +given to Mr. Fitzpatrick great personal influence among them, and a +portion of them were disposed to let him pass quietly; but by far the +greater number were inclined to hostile measures; and the chiefs spent the +whole of one night, during which they kept the little party in the midst +of them, in council, debating the question of attacking them the next day; +but the influence of "the Broken Hand," as they called Mr. Fitzpatrick, +(one of his hands having been shattered by the bursting of a gun,) at +length prevailed, and obtained for them an unmolested passage; but they +sternly assured him that this path was no longer open, and that any party +of the whites which should hereafter be found upon it would meet with +certain destruction. From all that I have been able to learn, I have no +doubt that the emigrants owe their lives to Mr. Fitzpatrick. + +Thus it would appear that the country was swarming with scattered war +parties; and when I heard, during the day, the various contradictory and +exaggerated rumors which were incessantly repeated to them, I was not +surprised that so much alarm prevailed among my men. Carson, one of the +best and most experienced mountaineers, fully supported the opinion given +by Bridger of the dangerous state of the country, and openly expressed his +conviction that we could not escape without some sharp encounters with the +Indians. In addition to this, he made his will; and among the +circumstances which were constantly occurring to increase their alarm, +this was the most unfortunate; and I found that a number of my party had +become so much intimidated, that they had requested to be discharged at +this place. I dined to-day at Fort Platte, which has been mentioned as +situated at the junction of Laramie river with the Nebraska. Here I heard +a confirmation of the statements given above. The party of warriors, which +had started a few days since on the trail of the emigrants, was expected +back in fourteen days, to join the village with which their families and +the old men had remained. The arrival of the latter was hourly expected; +and some Indians have just come in who had left them on the Laramie fork, +about twenty miles above. Mr. Bissonette, one of the traders belonging to +Fort Platte, urged the propriety of taking with me an interpreter and two +or three old men of the village; in which case, he thought there would be +little or no hazard in encountering any of the war parties The principal +danger was in being attacked before they should know who we were. + +They had a confused idea of the numbers and power of our people, and +dreaded to bring upon themselves the military force of the United States. +This gentleman, who spoke the language fluently, offered his services to +accompany me so far as the Red Buttes. He was desirous to join the large +party on its return, for purposes of trade, and it would suit his views, +as well as my own, to go with us to the Buttes; beyond which point it +would be impossible to prevail on a Sioux to venture, on account of their +fear of the Crows. From Fort Laramie to the Red Buttes, by the ordinary +road, is one hundred and thirty-five miles; and, though only on the +threshold of danger, it seemed better to secure the services of an +interpreter for the partial distance, than to have none at all. + +So far as frequent interruption from the Indians would allow, we occupied +ourselves in making some astronomical calculations, and bringing the +general map to this stage of our journey; but the tent was generally +occupied by a succession of our ceremonious visitors. Some came for +presents, and others for information of our object in coming to the +country; now and then, one would dart up to the tent on horseback, jerk +off his trappings, and stand silently at the door, holding his horse by +the halter, signifying his desire to trade. Occasionally a savage would +stalk in with an invitation to a feast of honor, a dog feast, and +deliberately sit down and wait quietly until I was ready to accompany him. +I went to one; the women and children were sitting outside the lodge, and +we took our seats on buffalo robes spread around. The dog was in a large +pot over the fire, in the middle of the lodge, and immediately on our +arrival was dished up in large wooden bowls, one of which was handed to +each. The flesh appeared very glutinous, with something of the flavor and +appearance of mutton. Feeling something move behind me, I looked round and +found that I had taken my seat among a litter of fat young puppies. Had I +been nice in such matters, the prejudices of civilization might have +interfered with my tranquillity; but, fortunately, I am not of delicate +nerves, and continued quietly to empty my platter. + +The weather was cloudy at evening, with a moderate south wind, and the +thermometer at six o'clock 85 deg.. I was disappointed in my hope of obtaining +an observation of an occultation, which took place about midnight. The +moon brought with her heavy banks of clouds, through which she scarcely +made her appearance during the night. + +The morning of the 18th was cloudy and calm, the thermometer at six +o'clock at 64 deg.. About nine, with a moderate wind from the west, a storm of +rain came on, accompanied by sharp thunder and lightning, which lasted +about an hour. During the day the expected village arrived, consisting +principally of old men, women, and children. They had a considerable +number of horses, and large troops of dogs. Their lodges were pitched near +the fort, and our camp was constantly crowded with Indians of all sizes, +from morning until night, at which time some of the soldiers generally +came to drive them all off to the village. My tent was the only place +which they respected. Here only came the chiefs and men of distinction, +and generally one of them remained to drive away the women and children. +The numerous strange instruments, applied to still stranger uses, excited +awe and admiration among them; and those which I used in talking with the +sun and stars they looked upon with especial reverence, as mysterious +things of "great medicine." + +Of the three barometers which I had brought with me thus far successfully, +I found that two were out of order, and spent the greater part of the 19th +in repairing them--an operation of no small difficulty in the midst of the +incessant interruptions to which I was subjected. We had the misfortune to +break here a large thermometer, graduated to show fifths of a degree, +which I used to ascertain the temperature of boiling water, and with which +I had promised myself some interesting experiments in the mountains. We +had but one remaining, on which the graduation extended sufficiently high; +and this was too small for exact observations. During our stay here, the +men had been engaged in making numerous repairs, arranging pack-saddles, +and otherwise preparing for the chance of a rough road and mountain +travel. All things of this nature being ready, I gathered them around me +in the evening, and told them that "I had determined to proceed the next +day. They were all well armed. I had engaged the services of Mr. +Bissonette as interpreter, and had taken, in the circumstances, every +possible means to ensure our safety. In the rumors we had heard, I +believed there was much exaggeration; that they were men accustomed to +this kind of life and to the country; and that these were the dangers of +every-day occurrence, and to be expected in the ordinary course of their +service. They had heard of the unsettled condition of the country before +leaving St. Louis, and therefore could not make it a reason for breaking +their engagements. Still, I was unwilling to take with me, on a service of +some certain danger, men on whom I could not rely; and I had understood +that there were among them some who were disposed to cowardice, and +anxious to return; they had but to come forward at once, and state their +desire, and they would be discharged, with the amount due to them for the +time they had served." To their honor be it said, there was but one among +them who had the face to come forward and avail himself of the permission. +I asked him some few questions, in order to expose him to the ridicule of +the men, and let him go. The day after our departure, he engaged himself +to one of the forts, and set off with a party to the Upper Missouri. I did +not think that the situation of the country justified me in taking our +young companions, Messrs. Brant and Benton, along with us. In case of +misfortune, it would have been thought, at the least, an act of great +imprudence; and therefore, though reluctantly, I determined to leave them. +Randolph had been the life of the camp, and the "_petit garcon_" was +much regretted by the men, to whom his buoyant spirits had afforded great +amusement. They all, however, agreed in the propriety of leaving him at +the fort, because, as they said, he might cost the lives of some of the +men in a fight with the Indians. + +21st.--A portion of our baggage, with our field-notes and observations, +and several instruments, were left at the fort. One of the gentlemen, Mr. +Galpin, took charge of a barometer, which he engaged to observe during my +absence; and I in trusted to Randolph, by way of occupation, the regular +winding up of two of my chronometers, which were among the instruments +left. Our observations showed that the chronometer which I retained for +the continuation of our voyage had preserved its rate in a most +satisfactory manner. As deduced from it, the longitude of Fort Laramie is +7h 01' 21", and from Lunar distance 7h 01' 29"; giving for the adopted +longitude 104 deg. 47' 43". Comparing the barometrical observations made +during our stay here, with those of Dr. G. Engleman at St. Louis, we find +for the elevation of the fort above the Gulf of Mexico 4,470 feet. The +winter climate here is remarkably mild for the latitude; but rainy weather +is frequent, and the place is celebrated for winds, of which the +prevailing one is the west. An east wind in summer, and a south wind in +winter, are said to be always accompanied with rain. + +We were ready to depart; the tents were struck, the mules geared up, and +our horses saddled, and we walked up to the fort to take the _stirrup +cup_ with our friends in an excellent home-brewed preparation. While +thus pleasantly engaged, seated in one of the little cool chambers, at the +door of which a man had been stationed to prevent all intrusion from the +Indians, a number of chiefs, several of them powerful, fine-looking men, +forced their way into the room in spite of all opposition. Handing me the +following letter, they took their seats in silence:-- + +"FORT PLATTE, Juillet 21, 1842. + +"Mr. Fremont:--Les chefs s'etant assembles presentement me disent de vous +avertir de ne point vous mettre en route, avant que le parti de jeunes +gens, qui est en dehors, soient de retour. De plus, ils me disent qu'ils +sont tres-certains qu'ils feront feu a la premiere rencontre. Ils doivent +etre de retour dans sept a huit jours. Excusez si je vous fais ces +observations, mais il me semble qu'il est mon devoir de vous avertir du +danger. Meme de plus, les chefs sont les porteurs de ce billet, qui vous +defendent de partir avant le retour des guerriers. + +"Je suis votre obeissant serviteur, +"JOSEPH BISSONETTE, +"Par L.B. CHARTRAIN. + + +"_Les noms de quelques chefs_.--Le Chapeau de Loutre, le Casseur de +Fleches, la Nuit Noir, la Queue de Boeuf." + +[Translation.] + +"FORT PLATTE, July 21, 1842. + +"MR. FREMONT:--The chiefs having assembled in council, have just told me +to warn you not to set out before the party of young men which is now out +shall have returned. Furthermore, they tell me that they are very sure +they will fire upon you as soon as they meet you. They are expected back +in seven or eight days. Excuse me for making these observations, but it +seems my duty to warn you of danger. Moreover, the chiefs who prohibit +your setting out before the return of the warriors are the bearers of this +note. + +"I am your obedient servant, +"JOSEPH BISSONETTE, +"By L.B. CHARTRAIN. + + +"_Names of some of the chiefs_.--The Otter Hat, the Breaker of +Arrows, the Black Night, the Bull's Tail." + +After reading this, I mentioned its purport to my companions; and, seeing +that all were fully possessed of its contents, one of the Indians rose up, +and, having first shaken hands with me, spoke as follows: + +"You have come among us at a bad time. Some of our people have been +killed, and our young men, who are gone to the mountains, are eager to +avenge the blood of their relations, which has been shed by the whites. +Our young men are bad, and, if they meet you, they will believe that you +are carrying goods and ammunition to their enemies, and will fire upon +you. You have told us that this will make war. We know that our great +father has many soldiers and big guns, and we are anxious to have our +lives. We love the whites, and are desirous of peace. Thinking of all +these things, we have determined to keep you here until our warriors +return. We are glad to see you among us. Our father is rich, and we +expected that you would have brought presents to us--horses, guns, and +blankets. But we are glad to see you. We look upon your coming as the +light which goes before the sun; for you will tell our great father that +you have seen us, and that we are naked and poor, and have nothing to eat; +and he will send us all these things." He was followed by others to the +same effect. + +The observations of the savage appeared reasonable; but I was aware that +they had in view only the present object of detaining me, and were +unwilling I should go further into the country. In reply, I asked them, +through the interpretation of Mr. Boudeau, to select two or three of their +number to accompany us until we should meet their people--they should +spread their robes in my tent, and eat at my table, and on their return I +would give them presents in reward of their services. They declined, +saying, that there were no young men left in the village, and that they +were too old to travel so many days on horseback, and preferred now to +smoke their pipes in the lodge, and let the warriors go on the war-path. +Besides, they had no power over the young men, and were afraid to +interfere with them. In my turn I addressed them. + +"You say that you love the whites; why have you killed so many already +this spring? You say that you love the whites, and are full of many +expressions of friendship to us; but you are not willing to undergo the +fatigue of a few days' ride to save our lives. We do not believe what you +have said, and will not listen to you. Whatever a chief among us, tells +his soldiers to do, is done. We are the soldiers of the great chief, your +father. He has told us to come here and see this country, and all the +Indians, his children. Why should we not go? Before we came, we heard that +you had killed his people, and ceased to be his children; but we came +among you peaceably, holding out our hands. Now we find that the stories +we heard are not lies, and that you are no longer his friends and +children. We have thrown away our bodies, and will not turn back. When you +told us that your young men would kill us, you did not know that our +hearts were strong, and you did not see the rifles which my young men +carry in their hands. We are few, and you are many, and may kill us all; +but there will be much crying in your villages, for many of your young men +will stay behind, and forget to return with your warriors from the +mountains. Do you think that our great chief will let his soldiers die, +and forget to cover their graves? Before the snows melt again, his +warriors will sweep away your villages as the fire does the prairie in the +autumn. See! I have pulled down my _white houses_, and my people are +ready: when the sun is ten paces higher, we shall be on the march. If you +have any thing to tell us, you will say it soon." + +I broke up the conference, as I could do nothing with these people; and, +being resolved to proceed, nothing was to be gained by delay. Accompanied +by our hospitable friends, we returned to the camp. We had mounted our +horses, and our parting salutations had been exchanged, when one of the +chiefs (the Bull's Tail) arrived to tell me that they had determined to +send a young man with us; and if I would point out the place of our +evening camp, he should join us there. "The young man is poor," said he; +"he has no horse, and expects you to give him one." I described to him the +place where I intended to encamp, and, shaking hands, in a few minutes we +were among the hills, and this last habitation of whites shut out from our +view. + +The road led over an interesting plateau between the North fork of the +Platte on the right, and Laramie river on the left. At the distance of ten +miles from the fort, we entered the sandy bed of a creek, a kind of +defile, shaded by precipitous rocks, down which we wound our way for +several hundred yards, to a place where, on the left bank, a very large +spring gushes with considerable noise and force out of the limestone rock. +It is called the "Warm Spring," and furnishes to the hitherto dry bed of +the creek a considerable rivulet. On the opposite side, a little below the +spring, is a lofty limestone escarpment, partially shaded by a grove of +large trees, whose green foliage, in contrast with the whiteness of the +rock, renders this a picturesque locality. The rock is fossiliferous, and, +so far as I was able to determine the character of the fossils, belongs to +the carboniferous limestone of the Missouri river, and is probably the +western limit of that formation. Beyond this point I met with no fossils +of any description. + +I was desirous to visit the Platte near the point where it leaves the +Black hills, and therefore followed this stream, for two or three miles, +to its mouth, where I encamped on a spot which afforded good grass and +_prele (equisetum)_ for our animals. Our tents having been found too +thin to protect ourselves and the instruments from the rains, which in +this elevated country are attended with cold and unpleasant weather, I had +procured from the Indians at Laramie a tolerably large lodge, about +eighteen feet in diameter, and twenty feet in height. Such a lodge, when +properly pitched, is, from its conical form, almost perfectly secure +against the violent winds which are frequent in this region, and, with a +fire in the centre, is a dry and warm shelter in bad weather. By raising +the lower part, so as to permit the breeze to pass freely, it is converted +into a pleasant summer residence, with the extraordinary advantage of +being entirely free from musquitoes, one of which I never saw in an Indian +lodge. While we were engaged very unskilfully in erecting this, the +interpreter, Mr. Bissonette, arrived, accompanied by the Indian and his +wife. She laughed at our awkwardness, and offered her assistance, of which +we were frequently afterwards obliged to avail our selves, before the men +acquired sufficient expertness to pitch it without difficulty. From this +place we had a fine view of the gorge where the Platte issues from the +Black hills, changing its character abruptly from a mountain stream into a +river of the plains. Immediately around us the valley of the stream was +tolerably open; and at the distance of a few miles, where the river had +cut its way through the hills, was the narrow cleft, on one side of which +a lofty precipice of bright red rock rose vertically above the low hills +which lay between us. + +22d.--In the morning, while breakfast was being prepared, I visited this +place with my favorite man, Basil Lajeunesse. Entering so far as there was +footing for the mules, we dismounted, and, tying our animals, continued +our way on foot. Like the whole country, the scenery of the river had +undergone an entire change, and was in this place the most beautiful I +have ever seen. The breadth of the stream, generally near that of its +valley, was from two to three hundred feet, with a swift current, +occasionally broken by rapids, and the water perfectly clear. On either +side rose the red precipices, and sometimes overhanging, two and four +hundred feet in height, crowned with green summits, on which were +scattered a few pines. At the foot of the rocks was the usual detritus, +formed of masses fallen from above. Among the pines that grew here, and on +the occasional banks, were the cherry, (_cerasus virginiana_,) +currants, and grains de boeuf, (_shepherdia argentea_.) Viewed in the +sunshine of a pleasant morning, the scenery was of a most striking and +romantic beauty, which arose from the picturesque disposition of the +objects, and the vivid contrast of colors. I thought with much pleasure of +our approaching descent in the canoe through such interesting places; and, +in the expectation of being able at that time to give to them a full +examination, did not now dwell so much as might have been desirable upon +the geological formations along the line of the river, where they are +developed with great clearness. The upper portion of the red strata +consists of very compact clay, in which are occasionally seen imbedded +large pebbles. Below was a stratum of compact red sandstone, changing a +little above the river into a very hard silicious limestone. There is a +small but handsome open prairie immediately below this place, on the left +bank of the river, which would be a good locality for a military post. +There are some open groves of cottonwood on the Platte. The small stream +which comes in at this place is well timbered with pine, and good building +rock is abundant. + +If it is in contemplation to keep open the communication with Oregon +territory, a show of military force in this country is absolutely +necessary; and a combination of advantages renders the neighborhood of +Fort Laramie the most suitable place, on the line of the Platte, for the +establishment of a military post. It is connected with the mouth of the +Platte and the Upper Missouri by excellent roads, which are in frequent +use, and would not in any way interfere with the range of the buffalo, on +which the neighboring Indians mainly depend for support. It would render +any posts on the Lower Platte unnecessary; the ordinary communication +between it and the Missouri being sufficient to control the intermediate +Indians. It would operate effectually to prevent any such coalitions as +are now formed among the Gros Ventres, Sioux, Cheyennes, and other +Indians, and would keep the Oregon road through the valley of the Sweet +Water and the South Pass of the mountains constantly open. It lies at the +foot of a broken and mountainous region, along which, by the establishment +of small posts in the neighborhood of St. Vrain's fort, on the South fork +of the Platte, and Bent's fort, on the Arkansas, a line of communication +would be formed, by good wagon-roads, with our southern military posts, +which would entirely command the mountain passes, hold some of the most +troublesome tribes in check, and protect and facilitate our intercourse +with the neighboring Spanish settlements. The valleys of the rivers on +which they would be situated are fertile; the country, which supports +immense herds of buffalo, is admirably adapted to grazing; and herds of +cattle might be maintained by the posts, or obtained from the Spanish +country, which already supplies a portion of their provisions to the +trading posts mentioned above. + +Just as we were leaving the camp this morning, our Indian came up, and +stated his intention of not proceeding any further until he had seen the +horse which I intended to give him. I felt strongly tempted to drive him +out of the camp; but his presence appeared to give confidence to my men, +and the interpreter thought it absolutely necessary. I was therefore +obliged to do what he requested, and pointed out the animal, with which he +seemed satisfied, and we continued our journey. I had imagined that Mr. +Bissonette's long residence had made him acquainted with the country; and, +according to his advice, proceeded directly forward, without attempting to +gain the usual road. He afterwards informed me that he had rarely ever +lost sight of the fort; but the effect of the mistake was to involve us +for a day or two among the hills, where, although we lost no time, we +encountered an exceedingly rough road. + +To the south, along our line of march to-day, the main chain of the Black +or Laramie hills rises precipitously. Time did not permit me to visit +them; but, from comparative information, the ridge is composed of the +coarse sandstone or conglomerate hereafter described. It appears to enter +the region of clouds, which are arrested in their course, and lie in +masses along the summits. An inverted cone of black cloud (cumulus) rested +during all the forenoon on the lofty peak of Laramie mountain, which I +estimated to be about two thousand feet above the fort, or six thousand +five hundred above the sea. We halted to noon on the _Fourche Amere_, +so called from being timbered principally with the _liard amere_, (a +species of poplar,) with which the valley of the little stream is +tolerably well wooded, and which, with large expansive summits, grows to +the height of sixty or seventy feet. + +The bed of the creek is sand and gravel, the water dispersed over the +broad bed in several shallow streams. We found here, on the right bank, in +the shade of the trees, a fine spring of very cold water. It will be +remarked that I do not mention, in this portion of the journey, the +temperature of the air, sand, springs, &c.--an omission which will be +explained in the course of the narrative. In my search for plants, I was +well rewarded at this place. + +With the change in the geological formation on leaving Fort Laramie, the +whole face of the country has entirely altered its appearance. Eastward of +that meridian, the principal objects which strike the eye of a traveler +are the absence of timber, and the immense expanse of prairie, covered +with the verdure of rich grasses, and highly adapted for pasturage. +Wherever they are not disturbed by the vicinity of man, large herds of +buffalo give animation to this country. Westward of Laramie river, the +region is sandy, and apparently sterile; and the place of the grass is +usurped by the _artemisia_ and other odoriferous plants, to whose +growth the sandy soil and dry air of this elevated region seem highly +favorable. + +One of the prominent characteristics in the face of the country is the +extraordinary abundance of the _artemisias_. They grow everywhere--on +the hills, and over the river bottoms, in tough, twisted, wiry clumps; +and, wherever the beaten track was left, they rendered the progress of the +carts rough and slow. As the country increased in elevation on our advance +to the west, they increased in size; and the whole air is strongly +impregnated and saturated with the odor of camphor and spirits of +turpentine which belongs to this plant. This climate has been found very +favorable to the restoration of health, particularly in cases of +consumption; and possibly the respiration of air so highly impregnated +with aromatic plants may have some influence. + +Our dried meat had given out, and we began to be in want of food; but one +of the hunters killed an antelope this evening, which afforded some +relief, although it did not go far among so many hungry men. At eight +o'clock at night, after a march of twenty-seven miles, we reached our +proposed encampment on the _Fer-a-Cheval_, or Horse-shoe creek. Here +we found good grass, with a great quantity of _prele_, which +furnished good food for our tired animals. This creek is well timbered, +principally with _liard amere_, and, with the exception of Deer +creek, which we had not yet reached, is the largest affluent of the right +bank between Laramie and the mouth of the Sweet Water. + +23d.--The present year had been one of unparalleled drought, and +throughout the country the water had been almost dried up. By availing +themselves of the annual rise, the traders had invariably succeeded in +carrying their furs to the Missouri; but this season, as has already been +mentioned, on both forks of the Platte they had entirely failed. The +greater number of the springs, and many of the streams, which made halting +places for the _voyageurs_, had been dried up. Everywhere the soil +looked parched and burnt, the scanty yellow grass crisped under the foot, +and even the hardest plants were destroyed by want of moisture. I think it +necessary to mention this fact, because to the rapid evaporation in such +an elevated region, nearly five thousand feet above the sea, almost wholly +unprotected by timber, should be attributed much of the sterile appearance +of the country, in the destruction of vegetation, and the numerous saline +efflorescences which covered the ground. Such I afterwards found to be the +case. + +I was informed that the roving villages of Indians and travelers had never +met with difficulty in finding abundance of grass for their horses; and +now it was after great search that we were able to find a scanty patch of +grass sufficient to keep them from sinking; and in the course of a day or +two they began to suffer very much. We found none to-day at noon; and, in +the course of our search on the Platte, came to a grove of cottonwood, +where some Indian village had recently encamped. Boughs of the cottonwood +yet green covered the ground, which the Indians had cut down to feed their +horses upon. It is only in the winter that recourse is had to this means +of sustaining them; and their resort to it at this time was a striking +evidence of the state of the country. We followed their example, and +turned our horses into a grove of young poplars. This began to present +itself as a very serious evil, for on our animals depended altogether the +further prosecution of our journey. + +Shortly after we had left this place, the scouts came galloping in with +the alarm of Indians. We turned in immediately towards the river, which +here had a steep, high bank, where we formed with the carts a very close +barricade, resting on the river, within which the animals were strongly +hobbled and picketed. The guns were discharged and reloaded, and men +thrown forward under cover of the bank, in the direction by which the +Indians were expected. Our interpreter, who, with the Indian, had gone to +meet them, came in, in about ten minutes, accompanied by two Sioux. They +looked sulky, and we could obtain from them only some confused +information. We learned that they belonged to the party which had been on +the trail of the emigrants, whom they had overtaken at Rock Independence, +on the Sweet Water. Here the party had disagreed, and came nigh fighting +among themselves. One portion were desirous of attacking the whites, but +the others were opposed to it; and finally they had broken up into small +bands, and dispersed over the country. The greatest portion of them had +gone over into the territory of the Crows, and intended to return by way +of the Wind River valley, in the hope of being able to fall upon some +small parties of Crow Indians. The remainder were returning down the +Platte, in scattered parties of ten and twenty; and those whom we had +encountered belonged to those who had advocated an attack on the +emigrants. Several of the men suggested shooting them on the spot; but I +promptly discountenanced any such proceeding. They further informed me +that buffalo were very scarce, and little or no grass to be found. There +had been no rain, and innumerable quantities of grasshoppers had destroyed +the grass. The insects had been so numerous since leaving Fort Laramie, +that the ground seemed alive with them; and in walking, a little moving +cloud preceded our footsteps. This was bad news. No grass, no buffalo-- +food for neither horse nor man. I gave them some plugs of tobacco, and +they went off, apparently well satisfied to be clear of us; for my men did +not look upon them very lovingly, and they glanced suspiciously at our +warlike preparations, and the little ring of rifles which surrounded them. +They were evidently in a bad humor, and shot one of their horses when they +had left us a short distance. + +We continued our march; and after a journey of about twenty-one miles, +encamped on the Platte. During the day, I had occasionally remarked among +the hills the _psoralea esculenta_, the bread root of the Indians. +The Sioux use this root very extensively, and I have frequently met with +it among them, cut into thin slices and dried. In the course of the +evening we were visited by six Indians, who told us that a large party was +encamped a few miles above. Astronomical observations placed us in +longitude 104 deg. 59' 59", and latitude 42 deg. 29' 25". + +We made the next day twenty-two miles, and encamped on the right bank of +the Platte, where a handsome meadow afforded tolerably good grass. There +were the remains of an old fort here, thrown up in some sudden emergency, +and on the opposite side was a picturesque bluff of ferruginous sandstone. +There was a handsome grove a little above, and scattered groups of trees +bordered the river. Buffalo made their appearance this afternoon, and the +hunters came in, shortly after we had encamped, with three fine cows. The +night was fine, and observations gave for the latitude of the camp, 42 deg. +47' 40". + +25th.--We made but thirteen miles this day, and encamped about noon in a +pleasant grove on the right bank. Low scaffolds were erected, upon which +the meat was laid, cut up into thin strips, and small fires kindled below. +Our object was to profit by the vicinity of the buffalo, to lay in a stock +of provisions for ten or fifteen days. In the course of the afternoon the +hunters brought in five or six cows, and all hands were kept busily +employed in preparing the meat, to the drying of which the guard attended +during the night. Our people had recovered their gayety, and the busy +figures around the blazing fires gave a picturesque air to the camp. A +very serious accident occurred this morning, in the breaking of one of the +barometers. These had been the object of my constant solicitude, and, as I +had intended them principally for mountain service, I had used them as +seldom as possible, taking them always down at night, and on the +occurrence of storms, in order to lessen the chances of being broken. I +was reduced to one, a standard barometer of Troughton's construction. This +I determined to preserve, if possible. The latitude is 42 deg. 51' 35", and by +a mean of the results from chronometer and lunar distances, the adopted +longitude of this camp is 105 deg. 50' 45". + +26th.--Early this morning we were again in motion. We had a stock of +provisions for fifteen days carefully stored away in the carts, and this I +resolved should only be encroached upon when our rifles should fail to +procure us present support. I determined to reach the mountains, if it +were in any way possible. In the mean time, buffalo were plenty. In six +miles from our encampment (which, by way of distinction, we shall call +Dried Meat camp) we crossed a handsome stream, called _La Fourche +Boisce_. It is well timbered, and, among the flowers in bloom on its +banks, I remarked several _asters_. + +Five miles further, we made our noon halt on the banks of the Platte, in +the shade of some cottonwoods. There were here, as generally now along the +river, thickets of _hippophae_, the _grains de boeuf_ of the +country. They were of two kinds--one bearing a red berry, (the +_shepherdia argentea_ of Nuttall;) the other a yellow berry, of which +the Tartars are said to make a kind of rob. + +By a meridian observation, the latitude of the place was 42 deg. 50' 08". It +was my daily practice to take observations of the sun's meridian altitude; +and why they are not given, will appear in the sequel. Eight miles further +we reached the mouth of Deer creek, where we encamped. Here was abundance +of rich grass, and our animals were compensated for past privations. This +stream was at this time twenty feet broad, and well timbered with +cottonwood of an uncommon size. It is the largest tributary of the Platte, +between the mouth of the Sweet Water and the Laramie. Our astronomical +observations gave for the mouth of the stream a longitude of 106 deg. 08' 24", +and latitude 42 deg. 52' 24". + +27th.--Nothing worthy of mention occurred on this day; we traveled later +than usual, having spent some time searching for grass, crossing and +recrossing the river before we could find a sufficient quantity for our +animals. Towards dusk we encamped among some artemisia bushes, two and +three feet in height, where some scattered patches of short tough grass +afforded a scanty supply. In crossing, we had occasion to observe that the +river was frequently too deep to be forded, though we always succeeded in +finding a place where the water did not enter the carts. The stream +continued very clear, with two or three hundred feet breadth of water, and +the sandy bed and banks were frequently covered with large round pebbles. +We had traveled this day twenty-seven miles. The main chain of the Black +hills was here only about seven miles to the south, on the right bank of +the river, rising abruptly to the height of eight and twelve hundred feet. +Patches of green grass in the ravines on the steep sides marked the +presence of springs, and the summits were clad with pines. + +28th.--In two miles from our encampment, we reached the place where the +regular road crosses the Platte. There was two hundred feet breadth of +water at this time in the bed, which has a variable width of eight to +fifteen hundred feet. The channels were generally three feet deep, and +there were large angular rocks on the bottom, which made the ford in some +places a little difficult. Even at its low stages, this river cannot be +crossed at random, and this has always been used as the best ford. The low +stage of the water the present year had made it fordable in almost any +part of its course, where access could be had to its bed. + +For the satisfaction of travelers, I will endeavor to give some +description of the nature of the road from Laramie to this point. The +nature of the soil may be inferred from its geological formation. The +limestone at the eastern limit of this section is succeeded by limestone +without fossils, a great variety of sandstone, consisting principally of +red sandstone and fine conglomerates. The red sandstone is argillaceous, +with compact white gypsum or alabaster, very beautiful. The other +sandstones are gray, yellow, and ferruginous, sometimes very coarse. The +apparent sterility of the country must therefore be sought for in other +causes than the nature of the soil. The face of the country cannot with +propriety be called hilly. It is a succession of long ridges, made by the +numerous streams which come down from the neighboring mountain range. The +ridges have an undulating surface, with some such appearance as the ocean +presents in an ordinary breeze. + +The road which is now generally followed through this region is therefore +a very good one, without any difficult ascents to overcome. The principal +obstructions are near the river, where the transient waters of heavy rains +have made deep ravines with steep banks, which renders frequent circuits +necessary. It will be remembered that wagons pass this road only once or +twice a year, which is by no means sufficient to break down the stubborn +roots of the innumerable artemisia bushes. A partial absence of these is +often the only indication of the track; and the roughness produced by +their roots in many places gives the road the character of one newly +opened in a wooded country. This is usually considered the worst part of +the road east of the mountains; and, as it passes through an open prairie +region, may be much improved, so as to avoid the greater part of the +inequalities it now presents. + +From the mouth of the Kansas to the Green River valley west of the +mountains, there is no such thing as a mountain road on the line of +communication. + +We continued our way, and four miles beyond the ford Indians were +discovered again; and I halted while a party were sent forward to +ascertain who they were. In a short time they returned, accompanied by a +number of Indians of the Oglallah band of Sioux. From them we received +some interesting information. They had formed part of the great village, +which they informed us had broken up, and was on its way home. The greater +part of the village, including the Arapahoes, Cheyennes, and Oglallahs, +had crossed the Platte eight or ten miles below the mouth of the Sweet +Water, and were now behind the mountains to the south of us, intending to +regain the Platte by way of Deer creek. They had taken this unusual route +in search of grass and game. They gave us a very discouraging picture of +the country. The great drought, and the plague of grasshoppers, had swept +it so that scarce a blade of grass was to be seen, and there was not a +buffalo to be found in the whole region. Their people, they further said, +had been nearly starved to death, and we would find their road marked by +lodges, which they had thrown away in order to move more rapidly, and by +the carcasses of the horses which they had eaten, or which had perished by +starvation. Such was the prospect before us. + +When he had finished the interpretation of these things, Mr. Bissonette +immediately rode up to me, and urgently advised that I should entirely +abandon the further prosecution of my exploration. "_Le meilleure avis +que je pourrais vous donner c'est de virer de suite_." "The best advice +I can give you, is to turn back at once." It was his own intention to +return, as we had now reached the point to which he had engaged to attend +me. In reply, I called up my men, and communicated to them fully the +information I had just received. I then expressed to them my fixed +determination to proceed to the end of the enterprise on which I had been +sent; but as the situation of the country gave me some reason to apprehend +that it might be attended with an unfortunate result to some of us, I +would leave it optional with them to continue with me or to return. + +Among them were some five or six who I knew would remain. We had still ten +days' provisions; and should no game be found, when this stock was +expended, we had our horses and mules, which we could eat when other means +of subsistence failed. But not a man flinched from the undertaking. "We'll +eat the mules," said Basil Lajeunesse; and thereupon we shook hands with +our interpreter and his Indians, and parted. With them I sent back one of +my men, Dumes, whom the effects of an old wound in the leg rendered +incapable of continuing the journey on foot, and his horse seemed on the +point of giving out. Having resolved to disencumber ourselves immediately +of every thing not absolutely necessary to our future operations, I turned +directly in towards the river, and encamped on the left bank, a little +above the place where our council had been held, and where a thick grove +of willows offered a suitable spot for the object I had in view. + +The carts having been discharged, the covers and wheels were taken off, +and, with the frames, carried into some low places, among the willows, and +concealed in the dense foliage in such a manner that the glitter of the +iron-work might not attract the observation of some straggling Indian. In +the sand, which had been blown up into waves among the willows, a large +hole was then dug, ten feet square and six feet deep. In the mean time, +all our effects had been spread out upon the ground, and whatever was +designed to be carried along with us separated and laid aside, and the +remaining part carried to the hole and carefully covered up. As much as +possible, all traces of our proceedings were obliterated, and it wanted +but a rain to render our _cache_ safe beyond discovery. All the men +were now set at work to arrange the pack-saddles and make up the packs. + +The day was very warm and calm, and the sky entirely clear, except where, +as usual along the summits of the mountainous ridge opposite, the clouds +had congregated in masses. Our lodge had been planted, and, on account of +the heat, the ground-pins had been taken out, and the lower part slightly +raised. Near to it was standing the barometer, which swung in a tripod +frame; and within the lodge, where a small fire had been built, Mr. Preuss +was occupied in observing temperature of boiling water. At this instant, +and without any warning until it was within fifty yards, a violent gust of +wind dashed down the lodge, burying under it Mr. Preuss and about a dozen +men, who had attempted to keep it from being carried away. I succeeded in +saving the barometer, which the lodge was carrying off with itself, but +the thermometer was broken. We had no others of a high graduation, none of +those which remained going higher than 135 deg. Fahrenheit. Our astronomical +observations gave to this place, which we named _Cache_ camp, a +longitude of 106 deg. 38' 26", latitude 42 deg. 50' 53". + +29th.--All our arrangements having been completed, we left the encampment +at 7 o'clock this morning. In this vicinity the ordinary road leaves the +Platte, and crosses over to the Sweet Water river, which it strikes near +Rock Independence. Instead of following this road, I had determined to +keep the immediate valley of the Platte so far as the mouth of the Sweet +Water, in the expectation of finding better grass. To this I was further +prompted by the nature of my instructions. To Mr. Carson was assigned the +office of guide, as we had now reached a part of the country with which, +or a great part of which, long residence had made him familiar. In a few +miles we reached the Red Buttes, a famous landmark in this country, whose +geological composition is red sandstone, limestone, and calcareous +sandstone and pudding-stone. + +The river here cuts its way through a ridge; on the eastern side of it are +the lofty escarpments of red argillaceous sandstone, which are called the +Red Buttes. In this passage the stream is not much compressed or pent up, +there being a bank of considerable though variable breadth on either side. +Immediately on entering, we discovered a band of buffalo. The hunters +failed to kill any of them; the leading hunter being thrown into a ravine, +which occasioned some delay, and in the mean time the herd clambered up +the steep face of the ridge. It is sometimes wonderful to see these +apparently clumsy animals make their way up and down the most broken +precipices. We halted to noon before we had cleared this passage, at a +spot twelve miles distant from _Cache_ camp, where we found an +abundance of grass. So far, the account of the Indians was found to be +false. On the banks were willow and cherry trees. The cherries were not +yet ripe, but in the thickets were numerous fresh tracks of the grizzly +bear, which are very fond of this fruit. The soil here is red, the +composition being derived from the red sandstone. About seven miles +brought us through the ridge, in which the course of the river is north +and south. Here the valley opens out broadly, and high walls of the red +formation present themselves among the hills to the east. We crossed here +a pretty little creek, an affluent of the right bank. It is well timbered +with cottonwood in this vicinity, and the absinthe has lost its shrub-like +character, and becomes small trees six and eight feet in height, and +sometimes eight inches in diameter. Two or three miles above this creek we +made our encampment, having traveled to-day twenty-five miles. Our animals +fared well here, as there is an abundance of grass. The river bed is made +up of pebbles, and in the bank, at the level of the water, is a +conglomerate of coarse pebbles, about the size of ostrich eggs, and which +I remarked in the banks of the Laramie fork. It is overlaid by a soil of +mixed clay and sand, six feet thick. By astronomical observations, our +position is in longitude 106 deg. 54' 32", and latitude 42 deg. 38'. + +30th.--After traveling about twelve miles this morning, we reached a place +where the Indian village had crossed the river. Here were the poles of +discarded lodges and skeletons of horses lying about. Mr. Carson, who had +never been higher up than this point on the river, which has the character +of being exceedingly rugged, and walled in by precipices above, thought it +advisable to encamp near this place, where we were certain of obtaining +grass, and to-morrow make our crossing among the rugged hills to the Sweet +Water river. Accordingly we turned back and descended the river to an +island near by, which was about twenty acres in size, covered with a +luxuriant growth of grass. The formation here I found highly interesting. +Immediately at this island the river is again shut up in the rugged hills, +which come down to it from the main ridge in a succession of spurs three +or four hundred feet high, and alternated with green level +_prairillons_ or meadows, bordered on the river banks with thickets +of willow, and having many plants to interest the traveler. The island +lies between two of these ridges, three or four hundred yards apart, of +which that on the right bank is composed entirely of red argillaceous +sandstone, with thin layers of fibrous gypsum. On the left bank, the ridge +is composed entirely of silicious pudding-stone, the pebbles in the +numerous strata increasing in size from the top to the bottom, where they +are as large as a man's head. So far as I was able to determine, these +strata incline to the northeast, with a dip of about 15 deg.. This pudding- +stone, or conglomerate formation, I was enabled to trace through an +extended range of country, from a few miles east of the meridian of Fort +Laramie to where I found it superposed on the granite of the Rocky +mountains, in longitude 109 deg. 00'. From its appearance, the main chain of +the Laramie mountain is composed of this rock; and in a number of places I +found isolated hills, which served to mark a former level which had been +probably swept away. + +These conglomerates are very friable, and easily decomposed; and I am +inclined to think this formation is the source from which was derived the +great deposite of sand and gravel which forms the surface rock of the +prairie country west of the Mississippi. + +Crossing the ridge of red sandstone, and traversing the little prairie +which lies to the southward of it, we made in the afternoon an excursion +to a place which we called the Hot Spring Gate. This place has much the +appearance of a gate, by which the Platte passes through a ridge composed +of a white and calcareous sandstone. The length of the passage is about +four hundred yards, with a smooth green prairie on either side. Through +this place, the stream flows with a quiet current, unbroken by any rapid, +and is about seventy yards wide between the walls, which rise +perpendicularly from the water. To that on the right bank, which is the +lower, the barometer gave a height of three hundred and sixty feet. This +place will be more particularly described hereafter, as we passed through +it on our return. + +We saw here numerous herds of mountain sheep, and frequently heard the +volley of rattling stones which accompanied their rapid descent down the +steep hills. This was the first place at which we had killed any of these +animals; and, in consequence of this circumstance, and of the abundance of +these sheep or goats, (for they are called by each name,) we gave our +encampment the name of Goat Island. Their flesh is much esteemed by the +hunters, and has very much the flavor of Alleghany mountain sheep. I have +frequently seen the horns of this animal three feet long and seventeen +inches in circumference at the base, weighing eleven pounds. But two or +three of these were killed by our party at this place, and of these the +horns were small. The use of these horns seems to be to protect the +animal's head in pitching down precipices to avoid pursuing wolves--their +only safety being in places where they cannot be followed. The bones are +very strong and solid, the marrow occupying but a very small portion of +the bone in the leg, about the thickness of a rye straw. The hair is +short, resembling the winter color of our common deer, which it nearly +approaches in size and appearance. Except in the horns, it has no +resemblance whatever to the goat. The longitude of this place, resulting +from chronometer and lunar distances, and an occultation of Arietis, is +107 deg. 13' 29", and the latitude 42 deg. 33' 27". One of our horses, which had +given out, we left to receive strength on the island, intending to take +her, perhaps, on our return. + +31st.--This morning we left the course of the Platte, to cross over to the +Sweet Water. Our way, for a few miles, lay up the sandy bed of a dry +creek, in which I found several interesting plants. Leaving this, we +wended our way to the summit of the hills, of which the peaks are here +eight hundred feet above the Platte, bare and rocky. A long and gradual +slope led from these hills to the Sweet Water, which we reached in fifteen +miles from Goat Island. I made an early encampment here, in order to give +the hunters an opportunity to procure a supply from several bands of +buffalo, which made their appearance in the valley near by. The stream is +about sixty feet wide, and at this time twelve to eighteen inches deep, +with a very moderate current. + +The adjoining prairies are sandy, but the immediate river bottom is a good +soil, which afforded an abundance of soft green grass to our horses, and +where I found a variety of interesting plants, which made their appearance +for the first time. A rain to-night made it unpleasantly cold; and there +was no tree here, to enable us to pitch our single tent, the poles of +which had been left at our _Cache camp_. We had, therefore, no +shelter except what was to be found under cover of the _absinthe_ +bushes, which grew in many thick patches, one or two and sometimes three +feet high. + + + +AUGUST. + + +1st.--The hunters went ahead this morning, as buffalo appeared tolerably +abundant, and I was desirous to secure a small stock of provisions; and we +moved about seven mules up the valley, and encamped one mile below Rock +Independence. This is an isolated granite rock, about six hundred and +fifty yards long, and forty in height. Except in a depression of the +summit, where a little soil supports a scanty growth of shrubs, with a +solitary dwarf pine, it is entirely bare. Everywhere within six or eight +feet of the ground, where the surface is sufficiently smooth, and in some +places sixty or eighty feet above, the rock is inscribed with the names of +travelers. Many a name famous in the history of this country, and some +well known to science, are to be found mixed among those of the traders +and travelers for pleasure and curiosity, and of missionaries among the +savages. Some of these have been washed away by the rain, but the greater +number are still very legible. The position of this rock is in longitude +107 deg. 56', latitude 42 deg. 29' 36". We remained at our camp of August 1st +until noon of the next day, occupied in drying meat. By observation, the +longitude of the place is 107 deg. 25' 23", latitude 42 deg. 29' 56". + +2d.--Five miles above Rock Independence we came to a place called the +Devil's Gate, where the Sweet Water cuts through the point of a granite +ridge. The length of the passage is about three hundred yards, and the +width thirty-five yards. The walls of rock are vertical, and about four +hundred feet in height; and the stream in the gate is almost entirely +choked up by masses which have fallen from above. In the wall, on the +right bank, is a dike of trap-rock, cutting through a fine-grained gray +granite. Near the point of this ridge crop out some strata of the valley +formation, consisting of a grayish micaceous sandstone, and fine-grained +conglomerate, and marl. We encamped eight miles above the Devil's Gate. +There was no timber of any kind on the river, but good fires were made of +drift wood, aided by the _bois de vache_. + +We had to-night no shelter from the rain, which commenced with squalls of +wind about sunset. The country here is exceedingly picturesque. On either +side of the valley, which is five miles broad, the mountains rise to the +height of twelve and fifteen hundred or two thousand feet. On the south +side, the range appears to be timbered, and to-night is luminous with +fires--probably the work of the Indians, who have just passed through the +valley. On the north, broken and granite masses rise abruptly from the +green sward of the river, terminating in a line of broken summits. Except +in the crevices of the rock, and here and there on a ledge or bench of the +mountain, where a few hardy pines have clustered together, these are +perfectly bare and destitute of vegetation. + +Among these masses, where there are sometimes isolated hills and ridges, +green valleys open in upon the river, which sweeps the base of these +mountains for thirty-six miles. Everywhere its deep verdure and profusion +of beautiful flowers is in pleasing contrast with the sterile grandeur of +the rock and the barrenness of the sandy plain, which, from the right bank +of the river, sweeps up to the mountain range that forms its southern +boundary. The great evaporation on the sandy soil of this elevated plain, +and the saline efflorescences which whiten the ground, and shine like +lakes reflecting in the sun, make a soil wholly unfit for cultivation. + +3d.--We were early on the road the next morning, traveling along the upper +part of the valley, which is overgrown with _artemisia_. Scattered +about on the plain are occasional small isolated hills. One of these which +I have examined, about fifty feet high, consisted of white clay and marl, +in nearly horizontal strata. Several bands of buffalo made their +appearance to-day, with herds of antelope; and a grizzly bear--the only +one we encountered during the journey--was seen scrambling up among the +rocks. As we passed over a slight rise near the river, we caught the first +view of the Wind River mountains, appearing, at this distance of about +seventy miles, to be a low and dark mountainous ridge. The view dissipated +in a moment the pictures which had been created in our minds, by many +descriptions of travelers, who have compared these mountains to the Alps +in Switzerland, and speak of the glittering peaks which rise in icy +majesty amidst the eternal glaciers nine or ten thousand feet into the +region of eternal snows. The nakedness of the river was relieved by groves +of willows, where we encamped at night, after a march of twenty-six miles; +and numerous bright-colored flowers had made the river bottom look gay as +a garden. We found here a horse, which had been abandoned by the Indians, +because his hoofs had been so much worn that he was unable to travel; and +during the night a dog came into the camp. + +4th.--Our camp was at the foot of the granite mountains, which we climbed +this morning to take some barometrical heights; and here among the rocks +was seen the first magpie. On our return, we saw one at the mouth of the +Platte river. We left here one of our horses, which was unable to proceed +farther. A few miles from the encampment we left the river, which makes a +bend to the south, and traversing an undulating country, consisting of a +grayish micaceous sandstone and fine-grained conglomerates, struck it +again, and encamped after a journey of twenty-five miles. Astronomical +observations placed us in latitude 42 deg. 32' 30", and longitude 108 deg. 30' +13". + +5th.--The morning was dark, with a driving rain, and disagreeably cold. We +continued our route as usual and the weather became so bad, that we were +glad to avail ourselves of the shelter offered by a small island, about +ten miles above our last encampment, which was covered with a dense growth +of willows. There was fine grass for our animals, and the timber afforded +us comfortable protection and good fires. In the afternoon, the sun broke +through the clouds for a short time, and the barometer at 5 P.M. was +23.713, the thermometer 60 deg., with the wind strong from the northwest. We +availed ourselves of the fine weather to make excursions in the +neighborhood. The river, at this place, is bordered by hills of the valley +formation. They are of moderate height; one of the highest peaks on the +right bank being, according to the barometer, one hundred and eighty feet +above the river. On the left bank they are higher. They consist of a fine +white clayey sandstone, a white calcareous sandstone, and coarse sandstone +or pudding-stone. + +6th.--It continued steadily raining all day; but, notwithstanding, we left +our encampment in the afternoon. Our animals had been much refreshed by +their repose, and an abundance of rich, soft grass, which had been much +improved by the rains. In about three miles, we reached the entrance of a +_kanyon_, where the Sweet Water issues upon the more open valley we +had passed over. Immediately at the entrance, and superimposed directly +upon the granite, are strata of compact calcareous sandstone and chert, +alternating with fine white and reddish-white, and fine gray and red +sandstones. These strata dip to the eastward at an angle of about 18 deg., and +form the western limit of the sandstone and limestone formations on the +line of our route. Here we entered among the primitive rocks. The usual +road passes to the right of this place; but we wound, or rather scrambled, +our way up the narrow valley for several hours. Wildness and disorder were +the character of this scenery. The river had been swollen by the late +rains, and came rushing through with an impetuous current, three or four +feet deep, and generally twenty yards broad. The valley was sometimes the +breadth of the stream, and sometimes opened into little green meadows, +sixty yards wide, with open groves of aspen. The stream was bordered +throughout with aspen, beech, and willow; and tall pines grow on the sides +and summits of the crags. On both sides the granite rocks rose +precipitously to the height of three hundred and five hundred feet, +terminating in jagged and broken pointed peaks; and fragments of fallen +rock lay piled up at the foot of the precipices. Gneiss, mica slate, and a +white granite, were among the varieties I noticed. Here were many old +traces of beaver on the stream; remnants of dams, near which were lying +trees, which they had cut down, one and two feet in diameter. The hills +entirely shut up the river at the end of about five miles, and we turned +up a ravine that led to a high prairie, which seemed to be the general +level of the country. Hence, to the summit of the ridge, there is a +regular and very gradual rise. Blocks of granite were piled up at the +heads of the ravines, and small bare knolls of mica slate and milky quartz +protruded at frequent intervals on the prairie, which was whitened in +occasional spots with small salt lakes, where the water had evaporated, +and left the bed covered with a shining incrustation of salt. The evening +was very cold, a northwest wind driving a fine rain in our faces; and at +nightfall we descended to a little stream, on which we encamped, about two +miles from the Sweet Water. Here had recently been a very large camp of +the Snake and Crow Indians; and some large poles lying about afforded the +means of pitching a tent, and making other places of shelter. Our fires +to-night were made principally of the dry branches of the artemisia, which +covered the slopes. It burns quickly, and with a clear oily flame, and +makes a hot fire. The hills here are composed of hard, compact mica slate, +with veins of quartz. + +7th.--We left our encampment with the rising sun. As we rose from the bed +of the creek, the _snow_ line of the mountains stretched gradually +before us, the white peaks glittering in the sun. They had been hidden in +the dark weather of the last few days, and it had been _snowing_ on +them, while it _rained_ in the plains. We crossed a ridge, and again +struck the Sweet Water--here a beautiful, swift stream, with a more open +valley, timbered with beech and cottonwood. It now began to lose itself in +the many small forks which make its head; and we continued up the main +stream until near noon, when we left it a few miles, to make our noon halt +on a small creek among the hills, from which the stream issues by a small +opening. Within was a beautiful grassy spot, covered with an open grove of +large beech-trees, among which I found several plants that I had not +previously seen. + +The afternoon was cloudy, with squalls of rain; but the weather became +fine at sunset, when we again encamped on the Sweet Water, within a few +miles of the SOUTH PASS. The country over which we have passed to-day +consists principally of the compact mica slate, which crops out on all +ridges, making the uplands very rocky and slaty. In the escarpments which +border the creeks, it is seen alternating with a light-colored granite, at +an inclination of 45 deg.; the beds varying in thickness from two or three +feet to six or eight hundred. At a distance, the granite frequently has +the appearance of irregular lumps of clay, hardened by exposure. A variety +of _asters_ may how be numbered among the characteristic plants, and +the artemisia continues in full glory; but _cacti_ have become rare, +and mosses begin to dispute the hills with them. The evening was damp and +unpleasant--the thermometer, at ten o'clock, being at 36 deg., and the grass +wet with a heavy dew. Our astronomical observations placed this encampment +in longitude 109 deg. 21' 32", and latitude 42 deg. 27' 15". + +Early in the morning we resumed our journey, the weather, still cloudy, +with occasional rain. Our general course was west, as I had determined to +cross the dividing ridge by a bridle-path among the country more +immediately at the foot of the mountains, and return by the wagon road, +two and a half miles to the south of the point where the trail crosses. + +About six miles from our encampment brought us to the summit. The ascent +had been so gradual, that, with all the intimate knowledge possessed by +Carson, who had made the country his home for seventeen years, we were +obliged to watch very closely to find the place at which we had reached +the culminating point. This was between two low hills, rising on either +hand fifty or sixty feet. When I looked back at them, from the foot of the +immediate slope on the western plain, their summits appeared to be about +one hundred and twenty feet above. From the impression on my mind at this +time, and subsequently on our return, I should compare the elevation which +we surmounted immediately at the Pass, to the ascent of the Capitol hill +from the avenue, at Washington. It is difficult for me to fix positively +the breadth of this Pass. From the broken ground where it commences, at +the foot of the Wind River chain, the view to the southeast is over a +champaign country, broken, at the distance of nineteen miles, by the Table +rock; which, with the other isolated hills in its vicinity, seem to stand +on a comparative plain. This I judged to be its termination, the ridge +recovering its rugged character with the Table rock. It will be seen that +it in no manner resembles the places to which the term is commonly +applied--nothing of the gorge-like character and winding ascents of the +Alleghany passes in America; nothing of the Great St. Bernard and Simplon +passes in Europe. Approaching it from the mouth of the Sweet Water, a +sandy plain, one hundred and twenty miles long, conducts, by a gradual and +regular ascent, to the summit, about seven thousand feet above the sea; +and the traveler, without being reminded of any change by toilsome +ascents, suddenly finds himself on the waters which flow to the Pacific +ocean. By the route we had traveled, the distance from Fort Laramie is +three hundred and twenty miles, or nine hundred and fifty from the mouth +of the Kansas. + +Continuing our march, we reached, in eight miles from the Pass, the Little +Sandy, one of the tributaries of the Colorado, or Green river of the Gulf +of California. The weather had grown fine during the morning, and we +remained here the rest of the day, to dry our baggage and take some +astronomical observations. The stream was about forty feet wide, and two +or three deep, with clear water and a full swift current, over a sandy +bed. It was timbered with a growth of low bushy and dense willows, among +which were little verdant spots, which gave our animals fine grass, and +where I found a number of interesting plants. Among the neighboring hills +I noticed fragments of granite containing magnetic iron. Longitude of the +camp was 109 deg. 37' 59", and latitude 42 deg. 27' 34". + +9th.--We made our noon halt on Big Sandy, another tributary of Green +river. The face of the country traversed was of a brown sand of granite +materials, the _detritus_ of the neighboring mountain. Strata of the +milky quartz cropped out, and blocks of granite were scattered about, +containing magnetic iron. On Sandy creek the formation was of parti- +colored sand, exhibited in escarpments fifty to eighty feet high. In the +afternoon we had a severe storm of hail, and encamped at sunset on the +first New Fork. Within the space of a few miles, the Wind mountains supply +a number of tributaries to Green river, which are called the New Forks. +Near our camp were two remarkable isolated hills, one of them sufficiently +large to merit the name of mountain. They are called the Two Buttes, and +will serve to identify the place of our encampment, which the observations +of the evening placed in longitude 109 deg. 58' 11", and latitude 42 deg. 42' 46". +On the right bank of the stream, opposite to the large hill, the strata +which are displayed consist of decomposing granite, which supplies the +brown sand of which the face of the country is composed to a considerable +depth. + +10th.--The air at sunrise is clear and pure, and the morning extremely +cold, but beautiful. A lofty snowy peak of the mountain is glittering in +the first rays of the sun, which have not yet reached us. The long +mountain wall to the east, rising two thousand feet abruptly from the +plain, behind which we see the peaks, is still dark, and cuts clear +against the glowing sky. A fog, just risen from the river, lies along the +base of the mountain. A little before sunrise, the thermometer was at 35 deg., +and at sunrise 33 deg.. Water froze last night, and fires are very +comfortable. The scenery becomes hourly more interesting and grand, and +the view here is truly magnificent; but, indeed, it needs something to +repay the long prairie journey of a thousand miles. The sun has shot above +the wall, and makes a magical change. The whole valley is glowing and +bright, and all the mountain peaks are gleaming like silver. Though these +snow mountains are not the Alps, they have their own character of grandeur +and magnificence, and doubtless will find pens and pencils to do them +justice. In the scene before us, we feel how much wood improves a view. +The pines on the mountain seemed to give it much additional beauty. I was +agreeably disappointed in the character of the streams on this side of the +ridge. Instead of the creeks, which description had led me to expect, I +find bold, broad streams, with three or four feet water, and a rapid +current. The fork on which we are encamped is upwards of a hundred feet +wide, timbered with groves or thickets of the low willow. We were now +approaching the loftiest part of the Wind River chain; and I left the +valley a few miles from our encampment, intending to penetrate the +mountains as far as possible with the whole party. We were soon involved +in very broken ground, among long ridges covered with fragments of +granite. Winding our way up a long ravine, we came unexpectedly in view of +a most beautiful lake, set like a gem in the mountains. The sheet of water +lay transversely across the direction we had been pursuing; and, +descending the steep, rocky ridge, where it was necessary to lead our +horses, we followed its banks to the southern extremity. Here a view of +the utmost magnificence and grandeur burst upon our eyes. With nothing +between us and their feet to lessen the effect of the whole height, a +grand bed of snow-capped mountains rose before us, pile upon pile, glowing +in the bright light of an August day. Immediately below them lay the lake, +between two ridges, covered with dark pines, which swept down from the +main chain to the spot where we stood. Here, where the lake glittered in +the open sunlight, its banks of yellow sand and the light foliage of aspen +groves contrasted well with the gloomy pines. "Never before," said Mr. +Preuss, "in this country or in Europe, have I seen such grand, magnificent +rocks." I was so much pleased with the beauty of the place, that I +determined to make the main camp here, where our animals would find good +pasturage, and explore the mountains with a small party of men. Proceeding +a little further, we came suddenly upon the outlet of the lake, where it +found its way through a narrow passage between low hills. Dark pines which +overhung the stream, and masses of rock, where the water foamed along, +gave it much romantic beauty. Where we crossed, which was immediately at +the outlet, it is two hundred and fifty feet wide, and so deep that with +difficulty we were able to ford it. Its bed was an accumulation of rocks, +boulders, and broad slabs, and large angular fragments, among which the +animals fell repeatedly. + +The current was very swift, and the water cold, and of a crystal purity. +In crossing this stream, I met with a great misfortune in having my +barometer broken. It was the only one. A great part of the interest of the +journey for me was in the exploration of these mountains, of which so much +had been said that was doubtful and contradictory; and now their snowy +peaks rose majestically before me, and the only means of giving them +authentically to science, the object of my anxious solicitude by night and +day, was destroyed. We had brought this barometer in safety a thousand +miles, and broke it almost among the snow of the mountains. The loss was +felt by the whole camp--all had seen my anxiety, and aided me in +preserving it. The height of these mountains, considered by many hunters +and traders the highest in the whole range, had been a theme of constant +discussion among them; and all had looked forward with pleasure to the +moment when the instrument, which they believed to be as true as the sun, +should stand upon the summits, and decide their disputes. Their grief was +only inferior to my own. + +The lake is about three miles long, and of very irregular width, and +apparently great depth, and is the head-water of the third New Fork, a +tributary to Green river, the Colorado of the west. In the narrative I +have called it Mountain lake. I encamped on the north side, about three +hundred and fifty yards from the outlet. This was the most western point +at which I obtained astronomical observations, by which this place, called +Bernier's encampment, is made in 110 deg. 08' 03" west longitude from +Greenwich, and latitude 43 deg. 49' 49". The mountain peaks, as laid down, +were fixed by bearings from this and other astronomical points. We had no +other compass than the small ones used in sketching the country; but from +an azimuth, in which one of them was used, the variation of the compass is +18 deg. east. The correction made in our field-work by the astronomical +observations indicates that this is a very correct observation. + +As soon as the camp was formed, I set about endeavoring to repair my +barometer. As I have already said, this was a standard cistern barometer, +of Troughton's construction. The glass cistern had been broken about +midway; but as the instrument had been kept in a proper position, no air +had found its way into the tube, the end of which had always remained +covered. I had with me a number of vials of tolerably thick glass, some of +which were of the same diameter as the cistern, end I spent the day in +slowly working on these, endeavoring to cut them of the requisite length; +but, as my instrument was a very rough file, I invariably broke them. A +groove was cut in one of the trees, where the barometer was placed during +the night, to be out of the way of any possible danger, and in the morning +I commenced again. Among the powder-horns in the camp, I found one which +was very transparent, so that its contents could be almost as plainly seen +as through glass. This I boiled and stretched on a piece of wood to the +requisite diameter, and scraped it very thin, in order to increase to the +utmost its transparency. I then secured it firmly in its place on the +instrument, with strong glue made from a buffalo, and filled it with +mercury, properly heated. A piece of skin, which had covered one of the +vials, furnished a good pocket, which was well secured with strong thread +and glue, and then the brass cover was screwed to its place. The +instrument was left some time to dry; and when I reversed it, a few hours +after, I had the satisfaction to find it in perfect order; its indications +being about the same as on the other side of the lake before it had been +broken. Our success in this little incident diffused pleasure throughout +the camp; and we immediately set about our preparations for ascending the +mountains. + +As will be seen on reference to a map, on this short mountain chain are +the head-waters of four great rivers on the continent, namely: the +Colorado, Columbia, Missouri, and Platte rivers. It had been my design, +after ascending the mountains, to continue our route on the western side +of the range, and crossing through a pass at the northwestern end of the +chain, about thirty miles from our present camp, return along the eastern +slope, across the heads of the Yellowstone river, and join on the line to +our station of August 7, immediately at the foot of the ridge. In this +way, I should be enabled to include the whole chain, and its numerous +waters, in my survey; but various considerations induced me, very +reluctantly, to abandon this plan. + +I was desirous to keep strictly within the scope of my instructions, and +it would have required ten or fifteen additional days for the +accomplishment of this object; our animals had become very much worn out +with the length of the journey; game was very scarce; and, though it does +not appear in the course of the narrative, (as I have avoided dwelling +upon trifling incidents not connected with the objects of the expedition,) +the spirits of the men had been much exhausted by the hardships and +privations to which they had been subjected. Our provisions had wellnigh +all disappeared. Bread had been long out of the question; and of all our +stock, we had remaining two or three pounds of coffee, and a small +quantity of macaroni, which had been husbanded with great care for the +mountain expedition we were about to undertake. Our daily meal consisted +of dry buffalo meat, cooked in tallow; and, as we had not dried this with +Indian skill, part of it was spoiled; and what remained of good, was as +hard as wood, having much the taste and appearance of so many pieces of +bark. Even of this, our stock was rapidly diminishing in a camp which was +capable of consuming two buffaloes in every twenty-four hours. These +animals had entirely disappeared; and it was not probable that we should +fall in with them again until we returned to the Sweet Water. + +Our arrangements for the ascent were rapidly completed. We were in a +hostile country, which rendered the greatest vigilance and circumspection +necessary. The pass at the north end of the mountain was greatly infested +by Blackfeet, and immediately opposite was one of their forts, on the edge +of a little thicket, two or three hundred feet from our encampment. We +were posted in a grove of beech, on the margin of the lake, and a few +hundred feet long, with a narrow _prairillon_ on the inner side, +bordered by the rocky ridge. In the upper end of this grove we cleared a +circular space about forty feet in diameter, and, with the felled timber, +and interwoven branches, surrounded it with a breastwork five feet in +height. A gap was left for a gate on the inner side, by which the animals +were to be driven in and secured, while the men slept around the little +work. It was half hidden by the foliage, and garrisoned by twelve resolute +men, would have set at defiance any band of savages which might chance to +discover them in the interval of our absence. Fifteen of the best mules, +with fourteen men, were selected for the mountain party. Our provisions +consisted of dried meat for two days, with our little stock of coffee and +some macaroni. In addition to the barometer and thermometer, I took with +me a sextant and spyglass, and we had of course our compasses. In charge +of the camp I left Bernier, one of my most trustworthy men, who possessed +the most determined courage. + +12th.--Early in the morning we left the camp, fifteen in number, well +armed, of course, and mounted on our best mules. A pack-animal carried our +provisions, with a coffeepot and kettle, and three or four tin cups. Every +man had a blanket strapped over his saddle, to serve for his bed, and the +instruments were carried by turns on their backs. We entered directly on +rough and rocky ground; and, just after crossing the ridge, had the good +fortune to shoot an antelope. We heard the roar, and had a glimpse of a +waterfall as we rode along, and, crossing in our way two fine streams, +tributary to the Colorado, in about two hours' ride we reached the top of +the first row or range of the mountains. Here, again, a view of the most +romantic beauty met our eyes. It seemed as if, from the vast expanse of +uninteresting prairie we had passed over, Nature had collected all her +beauties together in one chosen place. We were overlooking a deep valley, +which was entirely occupied by three lakes, and from the brink to the +surrounding ridges rose precipitously five hundred and a thousand feet, +covered with the dark green of the balsam pine, relieved on the border of +the lake with the light foliage of the aspen. They all communicated with +each other, and the green of the waters, common to mountain lakes of great +depth, showed that it would be impossible to cross them. The surprise +manifested by our guides when these impassable obstacles suddenly barred +our progress, proved that they were among the hidden treasures of the +place, unknown even to the wandering trappers of the region. Descending +the hill, we proceeded to make our way along the margin to the southern +extremity. A narrow strip of angular fragments of rock sometimes afforded +a rough pathway for our mules, but generally we rode along the shelving +side, occasionally scrambling up, at a considerable risk of tumbling back +into the lake. + +The slope was frequently 60 deg.; the pines grew densely together and the +ground was covered with the branches and trunks of trees. The air was +fragrant with the odor of the pines; and I realized this delightful +morning the pleasure of breathing that mountain air which makes a constant +theme of the hunter's praise, and which now made us feel as if we had all +been drinking some exhilarating gas. The depths of this unexplored forest +were a place to delight the heart of a botanist. There was a rich +undergrowth of plants, and numerous gay-colored flowers in brilliant +bloom. We reached the outlet at length, where some freshly-barked willows +that lay in the water showed that beaver had been recently at work. + +There were some small brown squirrels jumping about in the pines, and a +couple of large mallard ducks swimming about in the stream. + +The hills on this southern end were low, and the lake looked like a mimic +sea, as the waves broke on the sandy beach in the force of a strong +breeze. There was a pretty open spot, with fine grass for our mules; and +we made our noon halt on the beach, under the shade of some large +hemlocks. We resumed our journey after a halt of about an hour, making our +way up the ridge on the western side of the lake. In search of smoother +ground, we rode a little inland; and, passing through groves of aspen, +soon found ourselves again among the pines. Emerging from these, we struck +the summit of the ridge above the upper end of the lake. + +We had reached a very elevated point, and in the valley below, and among +the hills, were a number of lakes of different levels; some two or three +hundred feet above others, with which they communicated by foaming +torrents. Even to our great height the roar of the cataracts came up, and +we could see them leaping down in lines of snowy foam. From this scene of +busy waters, we turned abruptly into the stillness of a forest, where we +rode among the open bolls of the pines, over a lawn of verdant grass, +having strikingly the air of cultivated grounds. This led us, after a +time, among masses of rock which had no vegetable earth but in hollows and +crevices though still the pine forest continued. Towards evening we +reached a defile, or rather a hole in the mountains, entirely shut in by +dark pine-covered rocks. + +A small stream, with scarcely perceptible current, flowed through a level +bottom of perhaps eighty yards width, where the grass was saturated with +water. Into this the mules were turned, and were neither hobbled nor +picketed during the night, as the fine pasturage took away all temptation +to stray; and we made our bivouac in the pines. The surrounding masses +were all of granite. While supper was being prepared, I set out on an +excursion in the neighborhood, accompanied by one of my men. We wandered +about among the crags and ravines until dark, richly repaid for our walk +by a fine collection of plants, many of them in full bloom. Ascending a +peak to find the place of our camp, we saw that the little defile in which +we lay communicated with the long green valley of some stream, which, here +locked up in the mountains, far away to the south, found its way in a +dense forest to the plains. + +Looking along its upward course, it seemed to conduct, by a smooth gradual +slope, directly towards the peak, which, from long consultation as we +approached the mountain, we had decided to be the highest of the range. +Pleased with the discovery of so fine a road for the next day, we hastened +down to the camp, where we arrived just in time for supper. Our table- +service was rather scant; and we held the meat in our hands, and clean +rocks made good plates, on which we spread our macaroni. Among all the +strange places on which we had occasion to encamp during our long journey, +none have left so vivid an impression on my mind as the camp of this +evening. The disorder of the masses which surrounded us--the little hole +through which we saw the stars over head--the dark pines where we slept-- +and the rocks lit up with the glow of our fires, made a night-picture of +very wild beauty. + +13th.--The morning was bright and pleasant, just cool enough to make +exercise agreeable, and we soon entered the defile I had seen the +preceding day. It was smoothly carpeted with soft grass, and scattered +over with groups of flowers, of which yellow was the predominant color. +Sometimes we were forced, by an occasional difficult pass, to pick our way +on a narrow ledge along the side of the defile, and the mules were +frequently on their knees; but these obstructions were rare, and we +journeyed on in the sweet morning air, delighted at our good fortune in +having found such a beautiful entrance to the mountains. This road +continued for about three miles, when we suddenly reached its termination +in one of the grand views which, at every turn, meet the traveler in this +magnificent region. Here the defile up which we had traveled opened out +into a small lawn, where, in a little lake, the stream had its source. + +There were some fine _asters_ in bloom, but all the flowering plants +appeared to seek the shelter of the rocks, and to be of lower growth than +below, as if they loved the warmth of the soil, and kept out of the way of +the winds. Immediately at our feet, a precipitous descent led to a +confusion of defiles, and before us rose the mountains, as we have +represented them in the annexed view. It is not by the splendor of far-off +views, which have lent such a glory to the Alps, that these impress the +mind; but by a gigantic disorder of enormous masses, and a savage +sublimity of naked rock, in wonderful contrast with innumerable green +spots of a rich floral beauty, shut up in their stern recesses. Their +wildness seems well suited to the character of the people who inhabit the +country. + +I determined to leave our animals here, and make the rest of our way on +foot. The peak appeared so near, that there was no doubt of our returning +before night; and a few men were left in charge of the mules, with our +provisions and blankets. We took with us nothing but our arms and +instruments, and, as the day had become warm, the greater part left our +coats. Having made an early dinner, we started again. We were soon +involved in the most ragged precipices, nearing the central chain very +slowly, and rising but little. The first ridge hid a succession of others; +and when, with great fatigue and difficulty, we had climbed up five +hundred feet, it was but to make an equal descent on the other side; all +these intervening places were filled with small deep lakes, which met the +eye in every direction, descending from one level to another, sometimes +under bridges formed by huge fragments of granite, beneath which was heard +the roar of the water. These constantly obstructed our path, forcing us to +make long _detours_; frequently obliged to retrace our steps, and +frequently falling among the rocks. Maxwell was precipitated towards the +face of a precipice, and saved himself from going over by throwing himself +flat on the ground. We clambered on, always expecting, with every ridge +that we crossed, to reach the foot of the peaks, and always disappointed, +until about four o'clock, when, pretty well worn out, we reached the shore +of a little lake, in which was a rocky island. We remained here a short +time to rest, and continued on around the lake, which had in some places a +beach of white sand, and in others was bound with rocks, over which the +way was difficult and dangerous, as the water from innumerable springs +made them very slippery. + +By the time we had reached the further side of the lake, we found +ourselves all exceedingly fatigued, and, much to the satisfaction of the +whole party, we encamped. The spot we had chosen was a broad flat rock, in +some measure protected from the winds by the surrounding crags, and the +trunks of fallen pines afforded us bright fires. Near by was a foaming +torrent, which tumbled into the little lake about one hundred and fifty +feet below us, and which, by way of distinction, we have called Island +lake. We had reached the upper limit of the piney region; as, above this +point, no tree was to be seen, and patches of snow lay everywhere around +us, on the cold sides of the rocks. The flora of the region we had +traversed since leaving our mules was extremely rich, and, among the +characteristic plants, the scarlet flowers of the _dodecatheon +dentatum_ everywhere met the eye, in great abundance. A small green +ravine, on the edge of which we were encamped, was filled with a profusion +of alpine plants, in brilliant bloom. From barometrical observations, made +during our three days' sojourn at this place, its elevation above the Gulf +of Mexico is 10,000 feet. During the day, we had seen no sign of animal +life; but among the rocks here, we heard what was supposed to be the bleat +of a young goat, which we searched for with hungry activity, and found to +proceed from a small animal of a gray color, with short ears and no tail-- +probably the Siberian squirrel. We saw a considerable number of them, and, +with the exception of a small bird like a sparrow, it is the only +inhabitant of this elevated part of the mountains. On our return, we saw, +below this lake, large flocks of the mountain-goat. We had nothing to eat +to-night. Lajeunesse, with several others, took their guns, and sallied +out in search of a goat; but returned unsuccessful. At sunset, the +barometer stood at 20.522; the attached thermometer 50 deg.. Here we had the +misfortune to break our thermometer, having now only that attached to the +barometer. I was taken ill shortly after we had encamped, and continued so +until late in the night, with violent headache and vomiting. This was +probably caused by the excessive fatigue I had undergone, and want of +food, and perhaps, also, in some measure, by the rarity of the air. The +night was cold, as a violent gale from the north had sprung up at sunset, +which entirely blew away the heat of the fires. The cold, and our granite +beds, had not been favorable to sleep, and we were glad to see the face of +the sun in the morning. Not being delayed by any preparation for +breakfast, we set out immediately. + +On every side, as we advanced, was heard the roar of waters, and of a +torrent, which we followed up a short distance, until it expanded into a +lake about one mile in length. On the northern side of the lake was a bank +of ice, or rather of snow covered with a crust of ice. Carson had been our +guide into the mountains, and, agreeably to his advice, we left this +little valley, and took to the ridges again, which we found extremely +broken, and where we were again involved among precipices. Here were ice- +fields; among which we were all dispersed, seeking each the best path to +ascend the peak. Mr. Preuss attempted to walk along the upper edge of one +of these fields, which sloped away at an angle of about twenty degrees; +but his feet slipped from under him, and he went plunging down the plain. +A few hundred feet below, at the bottom, were some fragments of sharp +rock, on which he landed; and, though he turned a couple of somersets, +fortunately received no injury beyond a few bruises. Two of the men, +Clement Lambert and Descoteaux, had been taken ill, and lay down on the +rocks, a short distance below; and at this point I was attacked with +headache and giddiness, accompanied by vomiting, as on the day before. +Finding myself unable to proceed, I sent the barometer over to Mr. Preuss, +who was in a gap two or three hundred yards distant, desiring him to reach +the peak if possible, and take an observation there. He found himself +unable to proceed further in that direction, and took an observation, +where the barometer stood at 19.401; attached thermometer 50 deg., in the gap. +Carson, who had gone over to him, succeeded in reaching one of the snowy +summits of the main ridge, whence he saw the peak towards which all our +efforts had been directed, towering eight or ten hundred feet into the air +above him. In the mean time, finding myself grow rather worse than better, +and doubtful how far my strength would carry me, I sent Basil Lajeunesse, +with four men, back to the place where the mules had been left. + +We were now better acquainted with the topography of the country, and I +directed him to bring back with him, if it were in any way possible, four +or five mules, with provisions and blankets. With me were Maxwell and +Ayer; and after we had remained nearly an hour on the rock, it became so +unpleasantly cold, though the day was bright, that we set out on our +return to the camp, at which we all arrived safely, straggling in one +after the other. I continued ill during the afternoon, but became better +towards sundown, when my recovery was completed by the appearance of Basil +and four men, all mounted. The men who had gone with him had been too much +fatigued to return, and were relieved by those in charge of the horses; +but in his powers of endurance Basil resembled more a mountain-goat than a +man. They brought blankets and provisions, and we enjoyed well our dried +meat and a cup of good coffee. We rolled ourselves up in our blankets, +and, with our feet turned to a blazing fire, slept soundly until morning. + +15th.--It had been supposed that we had finished with the mountains; and +the evening before it had been arranged that Carson should set out at +daylight, and return to breakfast at the Camp of the Mules, taking with +him all but four or five men, who were to stay with me and bring back the +mules and instruments. Accordingly, at the break of day they set out. With +Mr. Preuss and myself remained Basil Lajeunesse, Clement Lambert, Janisse, +and Descoteaux. When we had secured strength for the day by a hearty +breakfast, we covered what remained, which was enough for one meal, with +rocks, in order that it might be safe from any marauding bird, and, +saddling our mules, turned our faces once more towards the peaks. This +time we determined to proceed quietly and cautiously, deliberately +resolved to accomplish our object if it were within the compass of human +means. We were of opinion that a long defile which lay to the left of +yesterday's route would lead us to the foot of the main peak. Our mules +had been refreshed by the fine grass in the little ravine at the Island +camp, and we intended to ride up the defile as far as possible, in order +to husband our strength for the main ascent. Though this was a fine +passage, still it was a defile of the most rugged mountains known, and we +had many a rough and steep slippery place to cross before reaching the +end. In this place the sun rarely shone; snow lay along the border of the +small stream which flowed through it, and occasional icy passages made the +footing of the mules very insecure, and the rocks and ground were moist +with the trickling waters in this spring of mighty rivers. We soon had the +satisfaction to find ourselves riding along the huge wall which forms the +central summits of the chain. There at last it rose by our sides, a nearly +perpendicular wall of granite, terminating 2,000 to 3,000 feet above our +heads in a serrated line of broken, jagged cones. We rode on until we came +almost immediately below the main peak, which I denominated the Snow peak, +as it exhibited more snow to the eye than any of the neighboring summits. +Here were three small lakes of a green color, each, perhaps, of a thousand +yards in diameter, and apparently very deep. These lay in a kind of chasm; +and, according to the barometer, we had attained but a few hundred feet +above the Island lake. The barometer here stood at 20.450, attached +thermometer 70 deg.. + +We managed to get our mules up to a little bench about a hundred feet +above the lakes, where there was a patch of good grass, and turned them +loose to graze. During our rough ride to this place, they had exhibited a +wonderful surefootedness. Parts of the defile were filled with angular, +sharp fragments of rock, three or four and eight or ten feet cube; and +among these they had worked their way, leaping from one narrow point to +another, rarely making a false step, and giving us no occasion to +dismount. Having divested ourselves of every unnecessary encumbrance, we +commenced the ascent. This time, like experienced travelers, we did not +press ourselves, but climbed leisurely, sitting down so soon as we found +breath beginning to fail. At intervals we reached places where a number of +springs gushed from the rocks, and about 1800 feet above the lakes came to +the snow line. From this point our progress was uninterrupted climbing. +Hitherto I had worn a pair of thick moccasins, with soles of +_parfleche_, but here I put on a light, thin pair, which I had +brought for the purpose, as now the use of our toes became necessary to a +further advance. I availed myself of a sort of comb of the mountain, which +stood against the wall like a buttress, and which the wind and the solar +radiation, joined to the steepness of the smooth rock, had kept almost +entirely free from snow. Up this I made my way rapidly. Our cautious +method of advancing at the outset had spared my strength; and, with the +exception of a slight disposition to headache, I felt no remains of +yesterday's illness. In a few minutes we reached a point where the +buttress was overhanging, and there was no other way of surmounting the +difficulty than by passing around one side of it, which was the face of a +vertical precipice of several hundred feet. + +Putting hands and feet in the crevices between the blocks, I succeeded in +getting over it, and, when I reached the top, found my companions in a +small valley below. Descending to them, we continued climbing, and in a +short time reached the crest. I sprang upon the summit, and another step +would have precipitated me into an immense snow-field five hundred feet +below. To the edge of this field was a sheer icy precipice; and then, with +a gradual fall, the field sloped off for about a mile, until it struck the +foot of another lower ridge. I stood on a narrow crest, about three feet +in width, with an inclination of about 20 deg.N. 51 deg.E. As soon as I had +gratified the first feelings of curiosity, I descended, and each man +ascended in his turn; for I would only allow one at a time to mount the +unstable and precarious slab, which it seemed a breath would hurl into the +abyss below. We mounted the barometer in the snow of the summit, and, +fixing a ramrod in a crevice, unfurled the national flag to wave in the +breeze where never flag waved before. During our morning's ascent, we had +met no sign of animal life, except the small sparrow-like bird already +mentioned. A stillness the most profound and a terrible solitude forced +themselves constantly on the mind as the great features of the place. +Here, on the summit, where the stillness was absolute, unbroken by any +sound, and solitude complete, we thought ourselves beyond the region of +animated life; but while we were sitting on the rock, a solitary bee +(_bromus, the humble-bee_) came winging his flight from the eastern +valley, and lit on the knee of one of the men. + +It was a strange place, the icy rock and the highest peak of the Rocky +mountains, for a lover of warm sunshine and flowers; and we pleased +ourselves with the idea that he was the first of his species to cross the +mountain barrier--a solitary pioneer to foretell the advance of +civilization. I believe that a moment's thought would have made us let him +continue his way unharmed; but we carried out the law of this country, +where all animated nature seems at war; and, seizing him immediately, put +him in at least a fit place--in the leaves of a large book, among the +flowers we had collected on our way. The barometer stood at 18.293, the +attached thermometer at 44 deg.; giving for the elevation of this summit +13,570 feet above the Gulf of Mexico, which may be called the highest +flight of the bee. It is certainly the highest known flight of that +insect. From the description given by Mackenzie of the mountains where he +crossed them, with that of a French officer still farther to the north, +and Colonel Long's measurements to the south, joined to the opinion of the +oldest traders of the country, it is presumed that this is the highest +peak of the Rocky mountains. The day was sunny and bright, but a slight +shining mist hung over the lower plains, which interfered with our view of +the surrounding country. On one side we overlooked innumerable lakes and +streams, the spring of the Colorado of the Gulf of California; and on the +other was the Wind River valley, where were the heads of the Yellowstone +branch of the Missouri; far to the north, we could just discover the snowy +heads of the _Trois Tetons_, where were the sources of the Missouri +and Columbia rivers; and at the southern extremity of the ridge, the peaks +were plainly visible, among which were some of the springs of the Nebraska +or Platte river. Around us, the whole scene had one main, striking +feature, which was that of terrible convulsion. Parallel to its length, +the ridge was split into chasms and fissures; between which rose the thin +lofty walls, terminated with slender minarets and columns. According to +the barometer, the little crest of the wall on which we stood was three +thousand five hundred and seventy feet above that place, and two thousand +seven hundred and eighty above the little lakes at the bottom, immediately +at our feet. Our camp at the Two Hills (an astronomical station) bore +south 3 deg. east, which, with a bearing afterwards obtained from a fixed +position, enabled us to locate the peak. The bearing of the _Trois +Tetons_ was north 50 deg. west, and the direction of the central ridge of +the Wind River mountains south 39 deg. east. The summit rock was gneiss, +succeeded by sienitic gneiss. Sienite and feldspar succeeded in our +descent to the snow line, where we found a feldspathic granite. I had +remarked that the noise produced by the explosion of our pistols had the +usual degree of loudness, but was not in the least prolonged, expiring +almost instantaneously. + +Having now made what observations our means afforded, we proceeded to +descend. We had accomplished an object of laudable ambition, and beyond +the strict order of our instructions. We had climbed the loftiest peak of +the Rocky mountains, and looked down upon the snow a thousand feet below; +and, standing where never human foot had stood before, felt the exultation +of first explorers. It was about two o'clock when we left the summit, and +when we reached the bottom, the sun had already sunk behind the wall, and +the day was drawing to a close. It would have been pleasant to have +lingered here and on the summit longer; but we hurried away as rapidly as +the ground would permit, for it was an object to regain our party as soon +as possible, not knowing what accident the next hour might bring forth. + +We reached our deposite of provisions at nightfall. Here was not the inn +which awaits the tired traveler on his return from Mont Blanc, or the +orange groves of South America, with their refreshing juices and soft +fragrant air; but we found our little _cache_ of dried meat and +coffee undisturbed. Though the moon was bright, the road was full of +precipices, and the fatigue of the day had been great. We therefore +abandoned the idea of rejoining our friends, and lay down on the rock, +and, in spite of the cold, slept soundly. + +16th.--We left our encampment with the daylight. We saw on our way large +flocks of the mountain-goat looking down on us from the cliffs. At the +crack of the rifle, they would bound off among the rocks, and in a few +minutes make their appearance on some lofty peak, some hundred or a +thousand feet above. It is needless to attempt any further description of +the country; the portion over which we traveled this morning was rough as +imagination could picture it, and to us seemed equally beautiful. A +concourse of lakes and rushing waters--mountains of rocks naked and +destitute of vegetable earth--dells and ravines of the most exquisite +beauty, all kept green and fresh by the great moisture in the air, and +sown with brilliant flowers, and everywhere thrown around all the glory of +most magnificent scenes,--these constitute the features of the place, and +impress themselves vividly on the mind of the traveler. It was not until +11 o'clock that we reached the place where our animals had been left, when +we first attempted the mountains on foot. Near one of the still burning +fires we found a piece of meat, which our friends had thrown away, and +which furnished us a mouthful--a very scanty breakfast. We continued +directly on, and reached our camp on the mountain lake at dusk. We found +all well. Nothing had occurred to interrupt the quiet since our departure, +and the fine grass and good cool water had done much to re-establish our +animals. All heard with great delight the order to turn our faces +homeward; and towards sundown of the 17th, we encamped again at the Two +Buttes. + +In the course of this afternoon's march, the barometer was broken past +remedy. I regretted it, as I was desirous to compare it again with Dr. +Engleman's barometers at St. Louis, to which mine were referred; but it +had done its part well, and my objects were mainly fulfilled. + +19th.--We left our camp on Little Sandy river about seven in the morning, +and traversed the same sandy, undulating country. The air was filled with +the turpentine scent of the various _artemisias_, which are now in +bloom, and, numerous as they are, give much gayety to the landscape of the +plains. At ten o'clock, we stood exactly on the divide in the pass, where +the wagon-road crosses; and, descending immediately upon the Sweet Water, +halted to take a meridian observation of the sun. The latitude was 42 deg. 24' +32". + +In the course of the afternoon we saw buffalo again, and at our evening +halt on the Sweet Water the roasted ribs again made their appearance +around the fires; and, with them, good humor, and laughter and song, were +restored to the camp. Our coffee had been expended, but we now made a kind +of tea from the roots of the wild-cherry tree. + +23d.--Yesterday evening we reached our encampment at Rock Independence, +where I took some astronomical observations. Here, not unmindful of the +custom of early travelers and explorers in our country, I engraved on this +rock of the Far West a symbol of the Christian faith. Among the thickly +inscribed names, I made on the hard granite the impression of a large +cross, which I covered with a black preparation of India-rubber, well +calculated to resist the influence of wind and rain. It stands amidst the +names of many who have long since found their way to the grave, and for +whom the huge rock is a giant gravestone. + +One George Weymouth was sent out to Maine by the Earl of Southampton, Lord +Arundel, and others; and in the narrative of their discoveries, he says: +"The next day we ascended in our pinnace that part of the river which lies +more to the westward, carrying with us a cross--a thing never omitted by +any Christian traveler--which we erected at the ultimate end of our +route." This was in the year 1605; and in 1842 I obeyed the feeling of +early travelers, and left the impression of the cross deeply engraved on +the vast rock one thousand miles beyond the Mississippi, to which +discoverers have given the national name of _Rock Independence_. + +In obedience to my instructions to survey the river Platte, if possible, I +had determined to make an attempt at this place. The India-rubber boat was +filled with air, placed in the water, and loaded with what was necessary +for our operations; and I embarked with Mr. Preuss and a party of men. +When we had dragged our boat a mile or two over the sands, I abandoned the +impossible undertaking, and waited for the arrival of the party, when we +packed up our boat and equipage, and at nine o'clock were again moving +along on our land journey. We continued along the valley on the right bank +of the Sweet Water, where the formation, as already described, consists of +a grayish micaceous sandstone, and fine-grained conglomerate, and marl. We +passed over a ridge which borders or constitutes the river hills of the +Platte, consisting of huge blocks, sixty or eighty feet cube, of +decomposing granite. The cement which united them was probably of easier +decomposition, and has disappeared and left them isolate, and separated by +small spaces. Numerous horns of the mountain-goat were lying among the +rocks; and in the ravines were cedars, whose trunks were of extraordinary +size. From this ridge we descended to a small open plain, at the mouth of +the Sweet Water, which rushed with a rapid current into the Platte, here +flowing along in a broad and apparently deep stream, which seemed, from +its turbid appearance, to be considerably swollen. I obtained here some +astronomical observations, and the afternoon was spent in getting our boat +ready for navigation the next day. + +24th.--We started before sunrise, intending to breakfast at Goat island. I +had directed the land party, in charge of Bernier, to proceed to this +place, where they were to remain, should they find no note to apprize them +of our having passed. In the event of receiving this information, they +were to continue their route, passing by certain places which had been +designated. Mr. Preuss accompanied me, and with us were five of my best +men, viz.: C. Lambert, Basil Lajeunesse, Honore Ayot, Benoist, and +Descoteaux. Here appeared no scarcity of water, and we took on board, with +various instruments and baggage, provisions for ten or twelve days. We +paddled down the river rapidly, for our little craft was light as a duck +on the water; and the sun had been some time risen, when we heard before +us a hollow roar, which we supposed to be that of a fall, of which we had +heard a vague rumor, but whose exact locality no one had been able to +describe to us. We were approaching a ridge, through which the river +passes by a place called "canon," (pronounced _kanyon_,)--a Spanish +word, signifying a piece of artillery, the barrel of a gun, or any kind of +tube; and which, in this country, has been adopted to describe the passage +of a river between perpendicular rocks of great height, which frequently +approach each other so closely overhead as to form a kind of tunnel over +the stream, which foams along below, half choked up by fallen fragments. +Between the mouth of the Sweet Water and Goat island, there is probably a +fall of three hundred feet, and that was principally made in the canons +before us; as, without them, the water was comparatively smooth. As we +neared the ridge, the river made a sudden turn, and swept squarely down +against one of the walls of the canon, with great velocity, and so steep a +descent that it had, to the eye, the appearance of an inclined plane. When +we launched into this, the men jumped overboard, to check the velocity of +the boat; but were soon in water up to their necks, and our boat ran on. +But we succeeded in bringing her to a small point of rocks on the right, +at the mouth of the canon. Here was a kind of elevated sand-beach, not +many yards square, backed by the rocks; and around the point the river +swept at a right angle. Trunks of trees deposited on jutting points, +twenty or thirty feet above, and other marks, showed that the water here +frequently rose to a considerable height. The ridge was of the same +decomposing granite already mentioned, and the water had worked the +surface, in many places, into a wavy surface of ridges and holes. We +ascended the rocks to reconnoitre the ground, and from the summit the +passage appeared to be a continued cataract, foaming over many +obstructions, and broken by a number of small falls. We saw nowhere a fall +answering to that which had been described to us as having twenty or +twenty-five feet; but still concluded this to be the place in question, +as, in the season of floods, the rush of the river against the wall would +produce a great rise; and the waters, reflected squarely off, would +descend through the passage in a sheet of foam, having every appearance of +a large fall. Eighteen years previous to this time, as I have subsequently +learned from himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, somewhere above on this river, had +embarked with a valuable cargo of beaver. Unacquainted with the stream, +which he believed would conduct him safely to the Missouri, he came +unexpectedly into this canon, where he was wrecked, with the total loss of +his furs. It would have been a work of great time and labor to pack our +baggage across the ridge, and I determined to run the canon. We all again +embarked, and at first attempted to check the way of the boat; but the +water swept through with so much violence that we narrowly escaped being +swamped, and were obliged to let her go in the full force of the current, +and trust to the skill of the boatmen. The dangerous places in this canon +were where huge rocks had fallen from above, and hemmed in the already +narrow pass of the river to an open space of three or four and five feet. +These obstructions raised the water considerably above, which was +sometimes precipitated over in a fall; and at other places, where this dam +was too high, rushed through the contracted opening with tremendous +violence. Had our boat been made of wood, in passing the narrows she would +have been staved; but her elasticity preserved her unhurt from every +shock, and she seemed fairly to leap over the falls. + +In this way we passed three cataracts in succession, where perhaps 100 +feet of smooth water intervened; and, finally, with a shout of pleasure at +our success, issued from our tunnel into the open day beyond. We were so +delighted with the performance of our boat, and so confident in her +powers, that we would not have hesitated to leap a fall of ten feet with +her. We put to shore for breakfast at some willows on the right bank, +immediately below the mouth of the canon; for it was now eight o'clock, +and we had been working since daylight, and were all wet, fatigued, and +hungry. While the men were preparing breakfast, I went out to reconnoitre. +The view was very limited. The course of the river was smooth, so far as I +could see; on both sides were broken hills; and but a mile or two below +was another high ridge. The rock at the mouth of the canon was still the +decomposing granite, with great quantities of mica, which made a very +glittering sand. + +We re-embarked at nine o'clock, and in about twenty minutes reached the +next canon. Landing on a rocky shore at its commencement, we ascended the +ridge to reconnoitre. Portage was out of the question. So far as we could +see, the jagged rocks pointed out the course of the canon, on a winding +line of seven or eight miles. It was simply a narrow, dark chasm in the +rock; and here the perpendicular faces were much higher than in the +previous pass, being at this end two to three hundred, and further down, +as we afterwards ascertained, five hundred feet in vertical height. Our +previous success had made us bold, and we determined again to run the +canon. Every thing was secured as firmly as possible; and having divested +ourselves of the greater part of our clothing, we pushed into the stream. +To save our chronometer from accident, Mr. Preuss took it, and attempted +to proceed along the shore on the masses of rock, which in places were +piled up on either side; but, after he had walked about five minutes, +every thing like shore disappeared, and the vertical wall came squarely +down into the water. He therefore waited until we came up. An ugly pass +lay before us. We had made fast to the stern of the boat a strong rope +about fifty feet long; and three of the men clambered along among the +rocks, and with this rope let her slowly through the pass. In several +places high rocks lay scattered about in the channel; and in the narrows +it required all our strength and skill to avoid staving the boat on the +sharp points. In one of these, the boat proved a little too broad, and +stuck fast for an instant, while the water flew over us; fortunately, it +was but for an instant, as our united strength forced her immediately +through. The water swept overboard only a sextant and a pair of saddle- +bags. I caught the sextant as it passed by me; but the saddle-bags became +the prey of the whirlpools. We reached the place where Mr. Preuss was +standing, took him on board, and, with the aid of the boat, put the men +with the rope on the succeeding pile of rocks. We found this passage much +worse than the previous one, and our position was rather a bad one. To go +back was impossible; before us, the cataract was a sheet of foam; and shut +up in the chasm by the rocks, which, in some places, seemed almost to meet +overhead, the roar of the water was deafening. We pushed off again; but, +after making a little distance, the force of the current became too great +for the men on shore, and two of them let go the rope. Lajeunesse, the +third man, hung on, and was jerked headforemost into the river from a rock +about twelve feet high; and down the boat shot like an arrow, Basil +following us in the rapid current, and exerting all his strength to keep +in mid channel--his head only seen occasionally like a black spot in the +white foam. How far we went, I do not exactly know; but we succeeded in +turning the boat into an eddy below. "'_Cre Dieu_," said Basil +Lajeunesse, as he arrived immediately after us, "_Je crois bien que j'ai +nage un demi mile_." He had owed his life to his skill as a swimmer, +and I determined to take him and the two others on board, and trust to +skill and fortune to reach the other end in safety. We placed ourselves on +our knees with the short paddles in our hands, the most skilful boatman +being at the bow; and again we commenced our rapid descent. We cleared +rock after rock, and shot past fall after fall, our little boat seeming to +play with the cataract. We became flushed with success, and familiar with +the danger; and, yielding to the excitement of the occasion, broke forth +into a Canadian boat-song. Singing, or rather shouting; we dashed along, +and were, I believe, in the midst of the chorus, when the boat struck a +concealed rock immediately at the foot of a fall, which whirled her over +in an instant. Three of my men could not swim, and my first feeling was to +assist them, and save some of our effects; but a sharp concussion or two +convinced me that I had not yet saved myself. A few strokes brought me +into an eddy, and I landed on a pile of rocks on the left side. Looking +around, I saw that Mr. Preuss had gained the shore on the same side, about +twenty yards below; and a little climbing and swimming soon brought him to +my side. On the opposite side, against the wall, lay the boat bottom up; +and Lambert was in the act of saving Descoteaux, whom he had grasped by +the hair, and who could not swim; "_Lache pas_," said he, as I +afterwards learned, "_lache pas, cher frere_." "_Crains pas_," +was the reply: "_je m'en vais mourir avant que de te lacher_." Such +was the reply of courage and generosity in this danger. For a hundred +yards below the current was covered with floating books and boxes, bales +and blankets, and scattered articles of clothing; and so strong and +boiling was the stream, that even our heavy instruments, which were all in +cases, kept on the surface, and the sextant, circle, and the long black +box of the telescope, were in view at once. For a moment, I felt somewhat +disheartened. All our books--almost every record of the journey--our +journals and registers of astronomical and barometrical observations--had +been lost in a moment. But it was no time to indulge in regrets; and I +immediately set about endeavoring to save something from the wreck. Making +ourselves understood as well as possible by signs, (for nothing could be +heard in the roar of the waters,) we commenced our operations. Of every +thing on board, the only article that had been saved was my double- +barreled gun, which Descoteaux had caught and clung to with drowning +tenacity. The men continued down the river on the left bank. Mr. Preuss +and myself descended on the side we were on; and Lajeunesse, with a paddle +in his hand, jumped on the boat alone, and continued down the canon. She +was now light, and cleared every bad place with much less difficulty. In a +short time he was joined by Lambert, and the search was continued for +about a mile and a half, which was as far as the boat could proceed in the +pass. + +Here the walls were about five hundred feet high, and the fragments of +rocks from above had choked the river into a hollow pass, but one or two +feet above the surface. Through this and the interstices of the rock, the +water found its way. Favored beyond our expectations, all of our registers +had been recovered, with the exception of one of my journals, which +contained the notes and incidents of travel, and topographical +descriptions, a number of scattered astronomical observations, principally +meridian altitudes of the sun, and our barometrical register west of +Laramie. Fortunately, our other journals contained duplicates of the most +important barometrical observations which had been taken in the mountains. +These, with a few scattered notes, were all that had been preserved of our +meteorological observations. In addition to these, we saved the circle; +and these, with a few blankets, constituted every thing that had been +rescued from the waters. + +The day was running rapidly away, and it was necessary to reach Goat +island, whither the party had preceded us, before night. In this uncertain +country, the traveler is so much in the power of chance, that we became +somewhat uneasy in regard to them. Should any thing have occurred, in the +brief interval of our separation, to prevent our rejoining them, our +situation would be rather a desperate one. We had not a morsel of +provisions--our arms and ammunition were gone--and we were entirely at the +mercy of any straggling party of savages, and not a little in danger of +starvation. We therefore set out at once in two parties, Mr. Preuss and +myself on the left, and the men on the opposite side of the river. +Climbing out of the canon, we found ourselves in a very broken country, +where we were not yet able to recognise any locality. In the course of our +descent through the canon, the rocks, which at the upper end was of the +decomposing granite, changed into a varied sandstone formation. The hills +and points of the ridges were covered with fragments of a yellow +sandstone, of which the strata were sometimes displayed in the broken +ravines which interrupted our course, and made our walk extremely +fatiguing. At one point of the canon the red argillaceous sandstone rose +in a wall of five hundred feet, surmounted by a stratum of white +sandstone; and in an opposite ravine a column of red sandstone rose, in +form like a steeple, about one hundred and fifty feet high. The scenery +was extremely picturesque, and notwithstanding our forlorn condition, we +were frequently obliged to stop and admire it. Our progress was not very +rapid. We had emerged from the water half naked, and, on arriving at the +top of the precipice, I found myself with only one moccasin. The fragments +of rock made walking painful, and I was frequently obliged to stop and +pull out the thorns of the _cactus_, here the prevailing plant, and +with which a few minutes' walk covered the bottoms of my feet. From this +ridge the river emerged into a smiling prairie, and, descending to the +bank for water, we were joined by Benoist. The rest of the party were out +of sight, having taken a more inland route. We crossed the river +repeatedly--sometimes able to ford it, and sometimes swimming--climbed +over the ridges of two more canons, and towards evening reached the cut, +which we here named the Hot Spring gate. On our previous visit in July, we +had not entered this pass, reserving it for our descent in the boat; and +when we entered it this evening, Mr. Preuss was a few hundred feet in +advance. Heated with the long march, he came suddenly upon a fine bold +spring gushing from the rock, about ten feet above the river. Eager to +enjoy the crystal water, he threw himself down for a hasty draught, and +took a mouthful of water almost boiling hot. He said nothing to Benoist, +who laid himself down to drink; but the steam from the water arrested his +eagerness, and he escaped the hot draught. We had no thermometer to +ascertain the temperature, but I could hold my hand in the water just long +enough to count two seconds. There are eight or ten of these springs +discharging themselves by streams large enough to be called runs. A loud +hollow noise was heard from the rock, which I supposed to be produced by +the fall of water. The strata immediately where they issue is a fine white +and calcareous sandstone, covered with an incrustation of common salt. +Leaving this Thermopylae of the west, in a short walk we reached the red +ridge which has been described as lying just above Goat island. Ascending +this, we found some fresh tracks and a button, which showed that the other +men had already arrived. A shout from the man who first reached the top of +the ridge, responded to from below, informed us that our friends were all +on the island; and we were soon among them. We found some pieces of +buffalo standing around the fire for us, and managed to get some dry +clothes among the people. A sudden storm of rain drove us into the best +shelter we could find, where we slept soundly, after one of the most +fatiguing days I have ever experienced. + +25th.--Early this morning Lajeunesse was sent to the wreck for the +articles which had been saved, and about noon we left the island. The mare +which we had left here in July had much improved in condition, and she +served us well again for some time, but was finally abandoned at a +subsequent part of the journey. At 10 in the morning of the 26th we +reached Cache camp, where we found every thing undisturbed. We disinterred +our deposite, arranged our carts which had been left here on the way out; +and, traveling a few miles in the afternoon, encamped for the night at the +ford of the Platte. + +27th.--At mid-day we halted at the place where we had taken dinner on the +27th of July. The country which, when we passed up, looked as if the hard +winter frosts had passed over it, had now assumed a new face, so much of +vernal freshness had been given to it by the rains. The Platte was +exceedingly low--a mere line of water among the sandbars. We reached +Laramie fort on the last day of August, after an absence of forty-two +days, and had the pleasure to find our friends all well. The fortieth day +had been fixed for our return; and the quick eyes of the Indians, who were +on the lookout for us, discovered our flag as we wound among the hills. +The fort saluted us with repeated discharges of its single piece, which we +returned with scattered volleys of our small-arms, and felt the joy of a +home reception in getting back to this remote station, which seemed so far +off as we went out. + + + +SEPTEMBER. + + +On the morning of the 3d September we bade adieu to our kind friends at +the fort, and continued our homeward journey down the Platte, which was +glorious with the autumnal splendor of innumerable flowers in full and +brilliant bloom. On the warm sands, among the _helianthi_, one of the +characteristic plants, we saw great numbers of rattlesnakes, of which five +or six were killed in the morning's ride. We occupied ourselves in +improving our previous survey of the river; and, as the weather was fine, +astronomical observations were generally made at night and at noon. + +We halted for a short time on the afternoon of the 5th with a village of +Sioux Indians, some of whose chiefs we had met at Laramie. The water in +the Platte was exceedingly low; in many places, the large expanse of +sands, with some occasional stunted tree on its banks, gave it the air of +the seacoast; the bed of the river being merely a succession of sandbars, +among which the channel was divided into rivulets of a few inches deep. We +crossed and recrossed with our carts repeatedly and at our pleasure; and, +whenever an obstruction barred our way in the shape of precipitous bluffs +that came down upon the river, we turned directly into it, and made our +way along the sandy bed, with no other inconvenience than the frequent +quicksands, which greatly fatigued our animals. Disinterring on the way +the _cache_ which had been made by our party when they ascended the +river, we reached without accident, on the evening of the 12th of +September, our old encampment of the 2d of July, at the junction of the +forks. Our _cache_ of the barrel of pork was found undisturbed, and +proved a seasonable addition to our stock of provisions. At this place I +had determined to make another attempt to descend the Platte by water, and +accordingly spent two days in the construction of a bull boat. Men were +sent out on the evening of our arrival, the necessary number of bulls +killed, and their skins brought to the camp. Four of the best of them were +strongly sewed together with buffalo sinew, and stretched over a basket +frame of willow. The seams were then covered with ashes and tallow, and +the boat left exposed to the sun for the greater part of one day, which +was sufficient to dry and contract the skin, and make the whole work solid +and strong. It had a rounded bow, was eight feet long and five broad, and +drew with four men about four inches water. On the morning of the 15th we +embarked in our hide boat, Mr. Preuss and myself, with two men. We dragged +her over the sands for three or four miles, and then left her on a bar, +and abandoned entirely all further attempts to navigate this river. The +names given by the Indians are always remarkably appropriate; and +certainly none was ever more so than that which they have given to this +stream--"The Nebraska, or Shallow river." Walking steadily the remainder +of the day, a little before dark we overtook our people at their remaining +camp, about twenty-one miles below the junction. The next morning we +crossed the Platte, and continued our way down the river bottom on the +left bank, where we found an excellent, plainly-beaten road. + +On the 18th we reached Grand Island, which is fifty-two miles long, with +an average breadth of one mile and three-quarters. It has on it some small +eminences, and is sufficiently elevated to be secure from the annual +floods of the river. As has been already remarked, it is well timbered; +with an excellent soil, and recommends itself to notice as the best point +for a military position on the Lower Platte. + +On the 22d we arrived at the village of the Grand Pawnees, on the right +bank of the river, about thirty miles above the mouth of the Loup fork. +They were gathering in their corn, and we obtained from them a very +welcome supply of vegetables. + +The morning of the 24th we reached the Loup fork of the Platte. At the +place where we forded it, this stream was four hundred and thirty yards +broad, with a swift current of _clear_ water; in this respect, +differing from the Platte, which has a yellow muddy color, derived from +the limestone and marl formation, of which we have previously spoken. The +ford was difficult, as the water was so deep that it came into the body of +the carts, and we reached the opposite bank after repeated attempts, +ascending and descending the bed of the river, in order to avail ourselves +of the bars. We encamped on the left bank of the fork, in the point of +land at its junction with the Platte. During the two days that we remained +here for astronomical observations, the bad weather permitted us to obtain +but one good observation for the latitude--a meridian altitude of the sun, +which gave for the latitude of the mouth of the Loup fork, 41 deg. 22' 11". + +Five or six days previously, I had sent forward C. Lambert, with two men, +to Bellevue, with directions to ask from Mr. P. Sarpy, the gentleman in +charge of the American Company's establishment at that place, the aid of +his carpenters in constructing a boat, in which I proposed to descend the +Missouri. On the afternoon of the 27th we met one of the men, who had been +dispatched by Mr. Sarpy with a welcome supply of provisions and a very +kind note, which gave us the very gratifying intelligence that our boat +was in rapid progress. On the evening of the 30th we encamped in an almost +impenetrable undergrowth on the left bank of the Platte, in the point of +land at its confluence with the Missouri--315 miles, according to our +reckoning, from the junction of the forks, and 520 from Fort Laramie. From +the junction we had found the bed of the Platte occupied with numerous +islands, many of them very large, and all well timbered; possessing, as +well as the bottom lands of the river, a very excellent soil. With the +exception of some scattered groves on the banks, the bottoms are generally +without timber. A portion of these consist of low grounds, covered with a +profusion of fine grasses, and are probably inundated in the spring; the +remaining part is high river prairie, entirely beyond the influence of the +floods. The breadth of the river is usually three-quarters of a mile, +except where it is enlarged by islands. That portion of its course which +is occupied by Grand island has an average breadth, from shore to shore, +of two and a half miles. + + + +OCTOBER. + + +1st.--I rose this morning long before daylight, and heard with a feeling +of pleasure the tinkling of cow-bells at the settlements on the opposite +side of the Missouri. Early in the day we reached Mr. Sarpy's residence; +and, in the security and comfort of his hospitable mansion, felt the +pleasure of being within the pale of civilization. We found our boat on +the stocks; a few days sufficed to complete her; and, in the afternoon of +the 4th, we embarked on the Missouri. All our equipage--horses, carts, and +the _materiel_ of the camp--had been sold at public auction at +Bellevue. The strength of my party enabled me to man the boat with ten +oars, relieved every hour; and we descended rapidly. Early on the morning +of the 10th, we halted to make some astronomical observations at the mouth +of the Kansas, exactly four months since we had left the trading-post of +Mr. Cyprian Chouteau, on the same river, ten miles above. On our descent +to this place, we had employed ourselves in surveying and sketching the +Missouri, making astronomical observations regularly at night and at mid- +day, whenever the weather permitted. These operations on the river were +continued until our arrival at the city of St. Louis, Missouri, on the +17th. At St. Louis, the sale of our remaining effects was made; and, +leaving that city by steamboat on the 18th, I had the honor to report to +you at the city of Washington on the 29th of October. + +Very respectfully, sir, +Your obedient servant, +J. C. FREMONT, +_2d Lieutenant Corps of Topographical Engineers._ + + + + +* * * * * + + +ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS + +_The Longitudes given in the subjoined Table are referred to the +meridian of Greenwich._ + +For the determination of astronomical positions, we were provided with the +following instruments: + +One telescope, magnifying power 120. +One circle, by Gambey, Paris. +One sextant, by Gambey, Paris. +One sextant, by Troughton. +One box chronometer, No.7,810, by French. +One Brockbank pocket chronometer. +One small watch with a light chronometer balance, No. +4,632, by Arnold and Dent. + +The rate of the chronometer, 7,810, is exhibited in the following statement: + +"NEW YORK, May 5, 1842 +"Chronometer No. 7,810, by French, is this day at noon-- +"_Slow_ of Greenwich mean time, 11' 4" +"_Fast_ of New York mean time, 4_h._ 45' 1" +"Loses per day 2".7 +"ARTHUR STEWART, 74 Merchants' Exchange." + +An accident among some rough ground in the neighborhood of the Kansas +river, strained the balance of this chronometer, (No. 7,810) and rendered +it useless during the remainder of the campaign. From the 9th of June to +the 24th of August, inclusively, the longitudes depend upon the Brockbank +pocket chronometer; the rate of which, on leaving St. Louis, was fourteen +seconds. The rate obtained by observations at Fort Laramie, 14".05, has +been used in calculation. + +From the 24th of August until the termination of the journey, No. 4,632 +(of which the rate was 35".79) was used for the same purposes. The rate of +this watch was irregular, and I place little confidence in the few +longitudes which depend upon it, though, so far as we have any means of +judging, they appear tolerably correct. + +_Table of Latitudes and Longitudes, deduced from Observations made +during the Journey._ + + +Date Station Latitude. Longitude. + +1842 Deg. min. sec. Deg. min. sec. + +May 27 St. Louis, residence + of Colonel Brunt,.......38 37 34 +June 8 Chouteau's lower + trading-post; Kansas + river,..................39 05 57 94 25 46 + 16 Left bank of Kansas + river. 7 miles above + the ford,...............39 06 40 95 38 05 + 18 Vermilion creek.........39 15 19 96 04 07 + 19 Cold springs, near + the road to Laramie,..39 30 40 96 14 49 + 20 Big Blue river, ........39 45 08 96 32 35 + 25 Little Blue river, .....40 26 50 98 22 12 + 26 Right bank of Platte + river,..................40 41 06 98 45 49 + 27 Right bank of Platte + river...................40 39 32 99 05 24 + 28 Right bank of Platte + river, .................40 39 51 + 30 Right bank of Platte + river...................40 39 55 100 05 47 +July 2 Junction of north and + south forks of the + Nebraska or Platte + river,..................41 05 05 100 49 43 + 4 South fork of Platte + river, left bank, + 6 South fork of Platte + river, island...........40 51 17 103 07 + 7 South fork of Platte + river, left bank........40 53 26 103 30 37 + 11 South fork of Platte + river, St. Vrain's + fort ,..................40 22 35 105 12 12 + 12 Crow creek,.............40 41 59 104 57 49 + 13 On a stream, name + unknown ................41 08 30 104 39 37 + 14 Horse creek. Goshen's + hole? ..................41 40 13 104 24 36 + 16 Fort Laramie, near + the mouth of Laramie's + fork, ..................42 12 10 104 47 43 + 23 North fork of Platte + river...................42 39 25 104 59 59 + 24 North fork of Platte + river...................42 47 40 + 25 North fork of Platte + river, Dried Meat camp..42 51 35 105 50 15 + 26 North fork of Platte + river, noon halt........42 50 08 + 26 North fork of Platte + river, mouth of Deer + creek,..................42 52 24 106 08 24 + 28 North fork of Platte + river, Cache camp,......42 50 53 106 38 26 + 29 North fork of Platte + river, left bank........42 38 01 106 54 32 + 30 North fork of Platte + river, Goat island......42 33 27 107 13 29 +Aug. 1 Sweet Water river, + one mile below Rock + Independence,...........42 29 56 107 25 23 + 4 Sweet Water river.......42 32 31 108 30 13 + 7 Sweet Water river.......42 27 15 109 21 32 + 8 Little Sandy creek, + tributary to the + Colorado of the West,...42 27 34 109 37 59 + 9 New fork, tributary to + the Colorado,...........42 42 46 109 58 11 + 10 Mountain lake,... ......42 49 49 110 08 03 + 15 Highest peak of the + Wind River mountains, + 19 Sweet Water, noon + halt,...................42 24 32 + 19 Sweet Water river,......42 22 22 + 20 Sweet Water river,......42 31 46 + 22 Sweet Water river, + noon halt,..............42 26 10 + 22 Sweet Water river, + Rock Independence,......42 29 36 + 23 North fork of Platte + river, mouth of Sweet + Water, .................42 27 18 + 30 Horse-shoe creek, + noon halt,..............42 24 24 +Sept 3 North fork of Platte + river, right bank,......42 01 40 + 4 North fork of Platte + river, near Scott's + bluffs..................41 54 38 + 5 North fork of Platte + river, right bank, + six miles above + Chimney rock,...........41 43 36 + 8 North fork of Platte + river, mouth of Ash + creek,..................41 17 19 + 9 North fork of Platte + river, right bank.......41 14 30 + 10 North fork of Platte + river, Cedar bluff,.....41 10 16 + 16 Platte river, noon + halt....................40 54 31 + 16 Platte river, left + bank, ..................40 52 74 + 17 Platte river, left + bank,...................40 42 38 + 18 Platte river, left + bank, ..................40 40 21 + 19 Platte river, left + bank....................40 39 44 + 20 Platte river, noon + halt, left bank, .......40 48 19 + 20 Platte river, left + bank,...................40 54 02 + 21 Platte river, left + bank ...................41 05 37 + 23 Platte river, noon + halt, left bank.........41 20 20 + 23 Platte river, left + bank ...................41 22 52 + 25 Platte river, mouth + of Loup fork,...........41 22 11 + 28 Platte river, mouth + of Elk Horn river.......41 09 34 + 29 Platte river, left + bank,...................41 02 15 +Oct. 2 Bellevue, at the post + of the American Fur + Company, right bank of + the Missouri river......41 08 24 95 20 + 4 Left bank of the + Missouri, opposite to + the right bank of the + mouth of the Platte.....41 02 11 + 5 Missouri river,.........40 34 08 + 6 Bertholet's island, + noon halt,..............40 27 08 + 6 Missouri river, mouth + of Nishnabatona river, .40 16 40 + 8 Missouri river, left + bank ...................39 36 02 + 10 Missouri river, mouth + of the Kansas river.....39 06 03 + + + + +* * * * * + + +A REPORT + +OF + +THE EXPLORING EXPEDITION + +TO + +OREGON AND NORTH CALIFORNIA, +IN THE YEARS 1843-'44. + + +Washington City, March 1, 1845 + +To Colonel J.J. ABERT, _Chief of the Corps of Top. Engineers:_ + +SIR:--In pursuance of your instructions, to connect the reconnoisance of +1842, which I had the honor to conduct, with the surveys of Commander +Wilkes on the coast of the Pacific ocean, so as to give a connected survey +of the interior of our continent, I proceeded to the Great West early in +the spring of 1843, and arrived, on the 17th of May, at the little town of +Kansas, on the Missouri frontier, near the junction of the Kansas river +with the Missouri river, where I was detained near two weeks in completing +the necessary preparations for the extended explorations which my +instructions contemplated. + +My party consisted principally of Creole and Canadian French, and +Americans, amounting in all to thirty-nine men; among whom you will +recognise several of those who were with me in my first expedition, and +who have been favorably brought to your notice in a former report. Mr. +Thomas Fitzpatrick, whom many years of hardship and exposure, in the +western territories, had rendered familiar with a portion of the country +it was designed to explore, had been selected as our guide; and Mr. +Charles Preuss, who had been my assistant in a previous journey, was again +associated with me in the same capacity on the present expedition. +Agreeably to your directions, Mr. Theodore Talbot, of Washington city, had +been attached to the party, with a view to advancement in his profession; +and at St. Louis had been joined by Mr. Frederick Dwight, a gentleman of +Springfield, Massachusetts, who availed himself of our overland journey to +visit the Sandwich Islands and China, by way of Fort Vancouver. + +The men engaged for the service were: Alexis Ayot, Francis Badeau, Oliver +Beaulieu, Baptiste Bernier, John A. Campbell, John G. Campbell, Manuel +Chapman, Ransom Clark, Philibert Courteau, Michel Crelis, William Creuss, +Clinton Deforest, Baptiste Derosier, Basil Lajeunesse, Francois +Lajeunesse, Henry Lee, Louis Menard, Louis Montreuil, Samuel Neal, Alexis +Pera, Francois Pera, James Power, Raphael Proue, Oscar Sarpy, Baptiste +Tabeau, Charles Taplin, Baptiste Tesson, Auguste Vasquez, Joseph Verrot, +Patrick White, Tiery Wright, Louis Zindel, and Jacob Dodson, a free young +colored man of Washington city, who volunteered to accompany the +expedition, and performed his duty manfully throughout the voyage. Two +Delaware Indians--a fine-looking old man and his son--were engaged to +accompany the expedition as hunters, through the kindness of Major +Cummins, the excellent Indian agent. L. Maxwell, who had accompanied the +expedition as one of the hunters in 1842, being on his way to Taos, in New +Mexico, also joined us at this place. + +The party was generally armed with Hall's carbines, which with a brass +twelve-pound howitzer, had been furnished to me from the United States +arsenal at St. Louis, agreeably to the orders of Colonel S.W. Kearney, +commanding the third military division. Three men were especially detailed +for the management of this piece, under the charge of Louis Zindel, a +native of Germany, who had been nineteen years a non-commissioned officer +of artillery in the Prussian army, and regularly instructed in the duties +of his profession. The camp equipage and provisions were transported in +twelve carts, drawn each by two mules; and a light covered wagon, mounted +on good springs, had been provided for the safer carriage of instruments. +These were: + +One refracting telescope, by Frauenhofer. +One reflecting circle, by Gambey. +Two sextants, by Troughton. +One pocket chronometer, No. 837, by Goffe, Falmouth. +One pocket chronometer, No. 739, by Brockbank. +One syphon barometer, by Bunten, Paris. +One cistern barometer, by Frye and Shaw, New York. +Six thermometers, and a number of small compasses. + +To make the exploration as useful as possible, I determined, in conformity +to your general instructions, to vary the route to the Rocky mountains +from that followed in 1842. The route was then up the valley of the Great +Platte river to the South Pass, in north latitude 42 deg.; the route now +determined on was up the valley of the Kansas river, and to the head of +the Arkansas river, and to some pass in the mountains, if any could be +found, at the sources of that river. + +By making this deviation from the former route, the problem of a new road +to Oregon and California, in a climate more genial, might be solved; and a +better knowledge obtained of an important river, and the country it +drained, while the great object of the expedition would find its point of +commencement at the termination of the former, which was at that great +gate in the ridge of the Rocky mountains called the South Pass, and on the +lofty peak of the mountain which overlooks it, deemed the highest peak in +the ridge, and from the opposite side of which four great rivers take +their rise, and flow to the Pacific or the Mississippi. + +Various obstacles delayed our departure until the morning of the 29th, +when we commenced our long voyage; and at the close of a day, rendered +disagreeably cold by incessant rain, encamped about four miles beyond the +frontier, on the verge of the great prairies. + +Resuming our journey on the 31st, after the delay of a day to complete our +equipment and furnish ourselves with some of the comforts of civilized +life, we encamped in the evening at Elm Grove, in company with several +emigrant wagons, constituting a party which was proceeding to Upper +California, under the direction of Mr. J.B. Childs, of Missouri. The +wagons were variously freighted with goods, furniture, and farming +utensils, containing among other things an entire set of machinery for a +mill which Mr. Childs designed erecting on the waters of the Sacramento +river, emptying into the bay of San Francisco. + +We were joined here by Mr. Wm. Gilpin of Mo., who, intending this year to +visit the settlements in Oregon, had been invited to accompany us, and +proved a useful and agreeable addition to the party. + + +JUNE. + + +From Elm Grove, our route until the third of June was nearly the same as +that described to you in 1842. Trains of wagons were almost constantly in +sight; giving to the road a populous and animated appearance, although the +greater portion of the emigrants were collected at the crossing, or +already on their march beyond the Kansas river. Leaving at the ford the +usual emigrant road to the mountains, we continued our route along the +southern side of the Kansas, where we found the country much more broken +than on the northern side of the river, and where our progress was much +delayed by the numerous small streams, which obliged us to make frequent +bridges. On the morning of the 4th we crossed a handsome stream, called by +the Indians Otter creek, about 130 feet wide, where a flat stratum of +limestone, which forms the bed, made an excellent ford. We met here a +small party of Kansas and Delaware Indians, the latter returning from a +hunting and trapping expedition on the upper waters of the river; and on +the heights above were five or six Kansas women, engaged in digging +prairie potatoes, (_psoralea esculenta_.) On the afternoon of the +6th, whilst busily engaged in crossing a wooded stream, we were thrown +into a little confusion by the sudden arrival of Maxwell, who entered the +camp at full speed at the head of a war party of Osage Indians, with gay +red blankets, and heads shaved to the scalp lock. They had run him a +distance of about nine miles, from a creek on which we had encamped the +day previous, and to which he had returned in search of a runaway horse +belonging to Mr. Dwight, which had taken the homeward road, carrying with +him saddle, bridle, and holster-pistols. The Osages were probably ignorant +of our strength, and, when they charged into the camp, drove off a number +of our best horses; but we were fortunately well mounted, and, after a +hard chase of seven or eight miles, succeeded in recovering them all. This +accident, which occasioned delay and trouble, and threatened danger and +loss, and broke down some good horses at the start, and actually +endangered the expedition, was a first fruit of having gentlemen in +company--very estimable, to be sure, but who are not trained to the care +and vigilance and self-dependence which such an expedition required, and +who are not subject to the orders which enforce attention and exertion. We +arrived on the 8th at the mouth of the Smoky-hill fork, which is the +principal southern branch of the Kansas; forming here, by its junction +with the Republican, or northern branch, the main Kansas river. Neither +stream was fordable, and the necessity of making a raft, together with bad +weather, detained us here until the morning of the 11th; when we resumed +our journey along the Republican fork. By our observations, the junction +of the streams is in lat. 39 deg. 30' 38", long. 96 deg. 24' 36", and at an +elevation of 926 feet above the Gulf of Mexico. For several days we +continued to travel along the Republican, through a country beautifully +watered with numerous streams, and handsomely timbered; and rarely an +incident occurred to vary the monotonous resemblance which one day on the +prairies here bears to another, and which scarcely require a particular +description. Now and then, we caught a glimpse of a small herd of elk; and +occasionally a band of antelopes, whose curiosity sometimes brought them +within rifle range, would circle round us and then scour off into the +prairies. As we advanced on our road, these became more frequent; but as +we journeyed on the line usually followed by the trapping and hunting +parties of the Kansas and Delaware Indians, game of every kind continued +very shy and wild. The bottoms which form the immediate valley of the main +river were generally about three miles wide; having a rich soil of black +vegetable mould, and, for a prairie country, well interspersed with wood. +The country was everywhere covered with a considerable variety of grasses, +occasionally poor and thin, but far more frequently luxuriant and rich. We +had been gradually and regularly ascending in our progress westward, and +on the evening of the 14th, when we encamped on a little creek in the +valley of the Republican, 265 miles by our traveling road from the mouth +of the Kansas, we were at an elevation of 1,520 feet. That part of the +river where we were now encamped is called by the Indians the _Big +Timber_. Hitherto our route had been laborious and extremely slow, the +unusually wet spring and constant rain having so saturated the whole +country that it was necessary to bridge every water-course, and, for days +together, our usual march averaged only five or six miles. Finding that at +such a rate of travel it would be impossible to comply with your +instructions, I determined at this place to divide the party, and, leaving +Mr. Fitzpatrick with twenty-five men in charge of the provisions and +heavier baggage of the camp, to proceed myself in advance, with a light +party of fifteen men, taking with me the howitzer and the light wagon +which carried the instruments. + +Accordingly, on the morning of the 16th, the parties separated; and, +bearing a little out from the river, with a view of heading some of the +numerous affluents, after a few hours' travel over somewhat broken ground, +we entered upon an extensive and high level prairie, on which we encamped +towards evening at a little stream, where a single dry cottonwood afforded +the necessary fuel for preparing supper. Among a variety of grasses which +to-day made their first appearance, I noticed bunch-grass, +(_festuca_,) and buffalo-grass, (_sesleria dactlyloides_.) +Amorpha canescens (_lead plant_) continued the characteristic plant +of the country, and a narrow-leaved _lathyrus_ occurred during the +morning, in beautiful patches. _Sida coccinea_ occurred frequently, +with a _psoralea_ near _psoralea floribunda_, and a number of +plants not hitherto met, just verging into bloom. The water on which we +had encamped belonged to Solomon's fort of the Smoky-hill river, along +whose tributaries we continued to travel for several days. + +The country afforded us an excellent road, the route being generally over +high and very level prairies; and we met with no other delay than being +frequently obliged to bridge one of the numerous streams, which were well +timbered with ash, elm, cottonwood, and a very large oak--the latter being +occasionally five and six feet in diameter, with a spreading summit. +_Sida coccinea_ is very frequent in vermilion-colored patches on the +high and low prairie; and I remarked that it has a very pleasant perfume. + +The wild sensitive plant (_schrankia angustata_) occurs frequently, +generally on the dry prairies, in valleys of streams, and frequently on +the broken prairie bank. I remark that the leaflets close instantly to a +very light touch. _Amorpha_, with the same _psoralea_, and a +dwarf species of _lupinus_, are the characteristic plants. + +On the 19th, in the afternoon, we crossed the Pawnee road to the Arkansas, +and traveling a few miles onward, the monotony of the prairies was +suddenly dispelled by the appearance of five or six buffalo bulls, forming +a vanguard of immense herds, among which we were traveling a few days +afterwards. Prairie dogs were seen for the first time during the day; and +we had the good fortune to obtain an antelope for supper. Our elevation +had now increased to 1,900 feet. _Sida coccinea_ was the +characteristic on the creek bottoms, and buffalo grass is becoming +abundant on the higher parts of the ridges. + +21st.--During the forenoon we traveled up a branch of the creek on which +we had encamped, in a broken country, where, however, the dividing ridges +always afforded a good road. Plants were few; and with the short sward of +the buffalo-grass, which now prevailed everywhere, giving to the prairies +a smooth and mossy appearance, were mingled frequent patches of a +beautiful red grass, (_aristida pallens_,) which had made its +appearance only within the last few days. + +We halted to noon at a solitary cottonwood in a hollow, near which was +killed the first buffalo, a large old bull. + +Antelope appeared in bands during the day. Crossing here to the affluents +of the Republican, we encamped on a fork, about forty feet wide and one +foot deep, flowing with a swift current over a sandy bed, and well wooded +with ash-leaved maple, (_negundo fraxinifolium_,) elm, cottonwood, +and a few white oaks. We were visited in the evening by a very violent +storm, accompanied by wind, lightning, and thunder; a cold rain falling in +torrents. According to the barometer, our elevation was 2,130 feet above +the gulf. + +At noon, on the 23d, we descended into the valley of a principal fork of +the Republican, a beautiful stream with a dense border of wood, consisting +principally of varieties of ash, forty feet wide and four deep. It was +musical with the notes of many birds, which, from the vast expanse of +silent prairie around, seemed all to have collected here. We continued +during the afternoon our route along the river, which was populous with +prairie dogs, (the bottoms being entirely occupied with their villages,) +and late in the evening encamped on its banks. The prevailing timber is a +blue-foliaged ash, (_fraxinus_, near _F. Americana_,) and ash- +leaved maple. With these were _fraxinus Americana_, cottonwood, and +long-leaved willow. We gave to this stream the name of Prairie Dog river. +Elevation 2,350 feet. Our road on the 25th lay over high smooth ridges, +3,100 feet above the sea; buffalo in great numbers, absolutely covering +the face of the country. At evening we encamped within a few miles of the +main Republican, on a little creek, where the air was fragrant with the +perfume of _artemisia filifolia_, which we here saw for the first +time, and which was now in bloom. Shortly after leaving our encampment on +the 26th, we found suddenly that the nature of the country had entirely +changed. Bare sand-hills everywhere surrounded us in the undulating ground +along which we were moving, and the plants peculiar to a sandy soil made +their appearance in abundance. A few miles further we entered the valley +of a large stream, afterwards known to be the Republican fork of the +Kansas, whose shallow waters, with a depth of only a few inches, were +spread out over a bed of yellowish white sand 600 yards wide. With the +exception of one or two distant and detached groves, no timber of any kind +was to be seen; and the features of the country assumed a desert +character, with which the broad river, struggling for existence among the +quicksands along the treeless banks, was strikingly in keeping. On the +opposite side, the broken ridges assumed almost a mountainous appearance; +and fording the stream, we continued on our course among these ridges, and +encamped late in the evening at a little pond of very bad water, from +which we drove away a herd of buffalo that were standing in and about it. +Our encampment this evening was 3,500 feet above the sea. We traveled now +for several days through a broken and dry sandy region, about 4,000 feet +above the sea, where there were no running streams; and some anxiety was +constantly felt on account of the uncertainty of water, which was only to +be found in small lakes that occurred occasionally among the hills. The +discovery of these always brought pleasure to the camp, as around them +were generally green flats, which afforded abundant pasturage for our +animals; and here we usually collected herds of the buffalo, which now +were scattered over all the country in countless numbers. + +The soil of bare and hot sands supported a varied and exuberant growth of +plants, which were much farther advanced than we had previously found +them, and whose showy bloom somewhat relieved the appearance of general +sterility. Crossing the summit of an elevated and continuous range of +rolling hills, on the afternoon of the 30th of June, we found ourselves +overlooking a broad and misty valley, where, about ten miles distant, and +1,000 feet below us, the South fork of the Platte was rolling +magnificently along, swollen with the waters of the melting snows. It was +in strong and refreshing contrast with the parched country from which we +had just issued; and when, at night, the broad expanse of water grew +indistinct, it almost seemed that we had pitched our tents on the shore of +the sea. + + + +JULY. + + +Traveling along up the valley of the river, here 4,000 feet above the sea, +in the afternoon of July 1, we caught a far and uncertain view of a faint +blue mass in the west, as the sun sank behind it; and from our camp in the +morning, at the mouth of Bijou, Long's peak and the neighboring mountains +stood out into the sky, grand and luminously white, covered to their bases +with glittering snow. + +On the evening of the 3d, as we were journeying along the partially +overflowed bottoms of the Platte, where our passage stirred up swarms of +musquitoes, we came unexpectedly on an Indian, who was perched upon a +bluff, curiously watching the movements of our caravan. He belonged to a +village of Oglallah Sioux, who had lost all their animals in the severity +of the preceding winter, and were now on their way up the Bijou fork to +beg horses from the Arapahoes, who were hunting buffalo at the head of +that river. Several came into our camp at noon; and, as they were hungry, +as usual, they were provided with buffalo-meat, of which the hunters had +brought in an abundant supply. + +About noon, on the 4th of July, we arrived at the fort, where Mr. St. +Vrain received us with his customary kindness, and invited us to join him +in a feast which had been prepared in honor of the day. + +Our animals were very much worn out, and our stock of provisions entirely +exhausted, when we arrived at the fort; but I was disappointed in my hope +of obtaining relief, as I found it in a very impoverished condition; and +we were able to procure only a little unbolted Mexican flour, and some +salt, with a few pounds of powder and lead. + +As regarded provisions, it did not much matter in a country where rarely +the day passed without seeing some kind of game, and where it was +frequently abundant. It was a rare thing to lie down hungry, and we had +already learned to think bread a luxury; but we could not proceed without +animals, and our own were not capable of prosecuting the journey beyond +the mountains without relief. + +I had been informed that a large number of mules had recently arrived at +Taos, from Upper California; and as our friend, Mr. Maxwell, was about to +continue his journey to that place, where a portion of his family resided, +I engaged him to purchase for me ten or twelve mules, with the +understanding that he should pack them with provisions and other +necessaries, and meet me at the mouth of the _Fontaine-qui-bouit_, on +the Arkansas river, to which point I would be led in the course of the +survey. + +Agreeably to his own request, and in the conviction that his habits of +life and education had not qualified him to endure the hard life of a +voyageur, I discharged here one of my party, Mr. Oscar Sarpy, having +furnished him with arms and means of transportation to Fort Laramie, where +he would be in the line of caravans returning to the States. + +At daybreak, on the 6th of July, Maxwell was on his way to Taos; and a few +hours after we also had recommenced our journey up the Platte, which was +continuously timbered with cottonwood and willow, on a generally sandy +soil. Passing on the way the remains of two abandoned forts, (one of +which, however, was still in good condition,) we reached, in ten miles, +Fort Lancaster, the trading establishment of Mr. Lupton. + +His post was beginning to assume the appearance of a comfortable farm: +stock, hogs, and cattle, were ranging about on the prairie--there were +different kinds of poultry; and there was a wreck of a promising garden, +in which a considerable variety of vegetables had been in a flourishing +condition; but it had been almost entirely ruined by the recent high +waters. I remained to spend with him an agreeable hour, and set off in a +cold storm of rain, which was accompanied with violent thunder and +lightning. We encamped immediately on the river, sixteen miles from St. +Vrain's. Several Arapahoes, on their way to the village which was encamped +a few miles above us, passed by the camp in the course of the afternoon. +Night set in stormy and cold, with heavy and continuous rain, which lasted +until morning. + +7th.--We made this morning an early start, continuing to travel up the +Platte; and in a few miles frequent bands of horses and mules, scattered +for several miles round about, indicated our approach to the Arapaho +village, which we found encamped in a beautiful bottom, and consisting of +about one hundred and sixty lodges. It appeared extremely populous, with a +great number of children--a circumstance which indicated a regular supply +of the means of subsistence. The chiefs, who were gathered together at the +farther end of the village, received us (as probably strangers are always +received to whom they desire to show respect or regard) by throwing their +arms around our necks and embracing us. + +It required some skill in horsemanship to keep the saddle during the +performance of this ceremony, as our American horses exhibited for them +the same fear they have for a bear, or any other wild animal. Having very +few goods with me, I was only able to make them a meager present, +accounting for the poverty of the gift by explaining that my goods had +been left with the wagons in charge of Mr. Fitzpatrick, who was well known +to them as the White Head, or the Broken Hand. I saw here, as I had +remarked in an Arapaho village the preceding year, near the lodges of the +chiefs; tall tripods of white poles supporting their spears and shields, +which showed it to be a regular custom. + +Though disappointed in obtaining the presents which had been evidently +expected, they behaved very courteously; and, after a little conversation, +I left them, and, continuing on up the river, halted to noon on the bluff, +as the bottoms are almost inundated; continuing in the afternoon our route +along the mountains, which were dark, misty, and shrouded--threatening a +storm; the snow peaks sometimes glittering through the clouds beyond the +first ridge. + +We surprised a grizzly bear sauntering along the river, which, raising +himself upon his hind legs, took a deliberate survey of us, that did not +appear very satisfactory to him, and he scrambled into the river and swam +to the opposite side. We halted for the night a little above Cherry creek; +the evening cloudy, with many musquitoes. Some indifferent observations +placed the camp in lat. 39 deg. 43' 53", and chronometric long. 105 deg. 24' 34". + +8th.--We continued to-day to travel up the Platte: the morning pleasant, +with a prospect of fairer weather. During the forenoon our way lay over a +more broken country, with a gravelly and sandy surface; although the +immediate bottom of the river was a good soil, of a dark and sandy mould, +resting upon a stratum of large pebbles, or rolled stones, as at Laramie +fork. On our right, and apparently very near, but probably 8 or 10 miles +distant, and two or three thousand feet above us, ran the first range of +the mountains, like a dark corniced line, in clear contrast with the great +snowy chain which, immediately beyond, rose glittering five thousand feet +above them. We caught this morning a view of Pike's peak; but it appeared +for a moment only, as clouds rose early over the mountains, and shrouded +them in mist and rain all the day. In the first range were visible, as at +the Red Buttes on the North fork, very lofty escarpments of red rock. +While traveling through this region, I remarked that always in the morning +the lofty peaks were visible and bright, but very soon small white clouds +began to settle around them--brewing thicker and thicker as the day +advanced, until the afternoon, when the thunder began to roll; and +invariably at evening we had more or less of a thunder storm. At 11 +o'clock, and 21 miles from St. Vrain's fort, we reached a point in this +southern fork of the Platte, where the stream is divided into three forks; +two of these (one of them being much the largest) issuing directly from +the mountains on the west, and forming, with the eastern-most branch, a +river of the plains. The elevation of this point is about 5,500 feet above +the sea; this river falling 2,800 feet in a distance of 316 miles, to its +junction with the North fork of the Platte. In this estimate, the +elevation of the junction is assumed as given by our barometrical +observations in 1842. On the easternmost branch, up which we took our way, +we first came among the pines growing on the top of a very high bank, and +where we halted on it to noon; quaking asp (_populus tremuloides_) +was mixed with the cottonwood, and there were excellent grass and rushes +for the animals. + +During the morning there occurred many beautiful flowers, which we had not +hitherto met. Among them, the common blue flowering flax made its first +appearance; and a tall and handsome species of _gilia_, with slender +scarlet flowers, which appeared yesterday for the first time, was very +frequent to-day. + +We had found very little game since leaving the fort, and provisions began +to get unpleasantly scant, as we had had no meat for several days; but +towards sundown, when we had already made up our minds to sleep another +night without supper, Lajeunesse had the good fortune to kill a fine deer, +which he found feeding in a hollow near by; and as the rain began to fall, +threatening an unpleasant night, we hurried to secure a comfortable camp +in the timber. + +To-night the camp fires, girdled with _appolas_ of fine venison, +looked cheerful in spite of the stormy weather. + +9th.--On account of the low state of our provisions and the scarcity of +game, I determined to vary our route, and proceed several camps to the +eastward, in the hope of falling in with the buffalo. This route along the +dividing grounds between the South fork of the Platte and the Arkansas, +would also afford some additional geographical information. This morning, +therefore, we turned to the eastward, along the upper waters of the stream +on which we had encamped, entering a country of picturesque and varied +scenery; broken into rocky hills of singular shapes; little valleys, with +pure crystal water, here leaping swiftly along, and there losing itself in +the sands; green spots of luxuriant grass, flowers of all colors, and +timber of different kinds--every thing to give it a varied beauty, except +game. To one of these remarkably shaped hills, having on the summit a +circular flat rock two or three hundred yards in circumference, some one +gave the name of Poundcake, which it has been permitted to retain, as our +hungry people seemed to think it a very agreeable comparison. In the +afternoon a buffalo bull was killed, and we encamped on a small stream, +near the road which runs from St. Vrain's fort to the Arkansas. + +10th:--Snow fell heavily on the mountains during the night, and Pike's +peak this morning is luminous and grand, covered from the summit, as low +down as we can see, with glittering white. Leaving the encampment at 6 +o'clock, we continued our easterly course over a rolling country, near to +the high ridges, which are generally rough and rocky, with a coarse +conglomerate displayed in masses, and covered with pines. The rock is very +friable, and it is undoubtedly from its decomposition that the prairies +derive their sandy and gravelly formation. In six miles we crossed a head- +water of the Kioway river, on which we found a strong fort and +_coral_ that had been built in the spring, and halted to noon on the +principal branch of the river. During the morning our route led over a +dark and vegetable mould, mixed with sand and gravel, the characteristic +plant being _esparcette_, (_onobrychis sativa_,) a species of +clover which is much used in certain parts of Germany for pasturage of +stock--principally hogs. It is sown on rocky waste ground, which would +otherwise be useless, and grows very luxuriantly, requiring only a renewal +of the seed about once in fifteen years. Its abundance here greatly adds +to the pastoral value of this region. A species of antennaria in flower +was very common along the line of road, and the creeks were timbered with +willow and pine. We encamped on Bijou's fork, the water of which, unlike +the clear streams we had previously crossed, is of a whitish color, and +the soil of the bottom a very hard, tough clay. There was a prairie dog +village on the bottom, and, in the endeavor to unearth one of the little +animals, we labored ineffectually in the tough clay until dark. After +descending, with a slight inclination, until it had gone the depth of two +feet, the hole suddenly turned at a sharp angle in another direction for +one more foot in depth, when it again turned, taking an ascending +direction to the next nearest hole. I have no doubt that all their little +habitations communicate with each other. The greater part of the people +were sick to-day, and I was inclined to attribute their indisposition to +the meat of the bull which had been killed the previous day. + +11th.--There were no indications of buffalo having been recently in the +neighborhood; and, unwilling to travel farther eastward, I turned this +morning to the southward, up the valley of Bijou. _Esparcette_ +occurred universally, and among the plants on the river I noticed, for the +first time during this journey, a few small bushes of the _absinthe_ +of the voyageurs, which is commonly used for firewood, (_artemesia +tridentata_.) Yesterday and to-day the road has been ornamented with +the showy bloom of a beautiful lupinus, a characteristic in many parts of +the mountain region, on which were generally great numbers of an insect +with very bright colors, (_litta vesicatoria_.) + +As we were riding quietly along, eagerly searching every hollow in search +of game, we discovered, at a little distance in the prairie, a large +grizzly bear, so busily engaged in digging roots that he did not perceive +us until we were galloping down a little hill fifty yards from him, when +he charged upon us with such sudden energy that several of us came near +losing our saddles. Being wounded, he commenced retreating to a rocky piny +ridge near by, from which we were not able to cut him off, and we entered +the timber with him. The way was very much blocked up with fallen timber; +and we kept up a running fight for some time, animated by the bear +charging among the horses. He did not fall until after he had received six +rifle balls. He was miserably poor, and added nothing to our stock of +provisions. + +We followed the stream to its head in a broken ridge, which, according to +the barometer, was about 7,500 feet above the sea. This is a piny +elevation, into which the prairies are gathered, and from which the waters +flow, in almost every direction, to the Arkansas, Platte, and Kansas +rivers; the latter stream having here its remotest sources. Although +somewhat rocky and broken, and covered with pines, in comparison with the +neighboring mountains, it scarcely forms an interruption to the great +prairie plains which sweep up to their bases. + +We had an excellent view of Pike's peak from this camp, at the distance of +forty miles. This mountain barrier presents itself to travelers on the +plains, which sweep almost directly to its bases--an immense and +comparatively smooth and grassy prairie, in very strong contrast with the +black masses of timber, and the glittering snow above them. With +occasional exceptions, comparatively so very small as not to require +mention, these prairies are everywhere covered with a close and vigorous +growth of a great variety of grasses, among which the most abundant is the +buffalo grass, (_sesleria dactyloides_.) Between the Platte and +Arkansas rivers, that part of this region which forms the basin drained by +the waters of the Kansas, with which our operations made us more +particularly acquainted, is based upon a formation of calcareous rocks. +The soil of all this country is excellent, admirably adapted to +agricultural purposes, and would support a large agricultural and pastoral +population. A glance at the map, along our several lines of travel, will +show you that this plain is watered by many streams. Throughout the +western half of the plain, these are shallow, with sandy beds, becoming +deeper as they reach the richer lands approaching the Missouri river; they +generally have bottom lands, bordered by bluffs varying from fifty to five +hundred feet in height. In all this region the timber is entirely confined +to the streams. In the eastern half, where the soil is a deep, rich, +vegetable mould, retentive of rain and moisture, it is of vigorous growth, +and of many different kinds; and throughout the western half it consists +entirely of various species of cottonwood, which deserves to be called the +tree of the desert--growing in sandy soils, where no other tree will grow +--pointing out the existence of water, and furnishing to the traveler fuel, +and food for his animals. Add to this that the western border of the plain +is occupied by the Sioux, Arapaho, and Cheyenne nations, with the Pawnees +and other half-civilized tribes in its eastern limits, for whom the +intermediate country is a war-ground, and you will have a tolerably +correct idea of the appearance and condition of the country. Descending a +somewhat precipitous and rocky hillside among the pines, which rarely +appear elsewhere than on the ridge, we encamped at its foot, where there +were several springs, which you will find laid down upon the map as one of +the extreme sources of the Smoky Hill fork of the Kansas. From this place +the view extended over the Arkansas valley, and the Spanish peaks in the +south beyond. As the greater part of the men continued sick, I encamped +here for the day, and ascertained conclusively, from experiments on +myself, that their illness was caused by the meat of the buffalo bull. + +On the summit of the ridge, near the camp, were several rock-built forts, +which in front were very difficult of approach, and in the rear were +protected by a precipice entirely beyond the reach of a rifle-ball. The +evening was tolerably clear, with a temperature at sunset of 63 deg.. +Elevation of the camp seven thousand and three hundred feet. + +Turning the next day to the southwest, we reached, in the course of the +morning, the wagon-road to the settlements on the Arkansas river, and +encamped in the afternoon on the _Fontaine-qui-bouit_ (or Boiling +Spring) river, where it was fifty feet wide, with a swift current. I +afterwards found that the spring and river owe their names to the bubbling +of the effervescing gas in the former, and not to the temperature of the +water, which is cold. During the morning a tall species of _gilia_, +with a slender white flower, was characteristic; and, in the latter part +of the day, another variety of _esparcette_, (wild clover,) having +the flower white, was equally so. We had a fine sunset of golden brown; +and in the evening, a very bright moon, with the near mountains, made a +beautiful scene. Thermometer, at sunset, was 69 deg., and our elevation above +the sea 5,800 feet. + +13th.--The morning was clear, with a northwesterly breeze, and the +thermometer at sunrise at 46 deg.. There were no clouds along the mountains, +and the morning sun showed very clearly their rugged character. + +We resumed our journey very early down the river, following an extremely +good lodge-trail, which issues by the head of this stream from the bayou +Salade, a high mountain valley behind Pike's peak. The soil along the road +was sandy and gravelly, and the river well timbered. We halted to noon +under the shade of some fine large cottonwoods, our animals luxuriating on +rushes, (_equisetum hyemale_,) which, along this river, were +remarkably abundant. A variety of cactus made its appearance, and among +several strange plants were numerous and beautiful clusters of a plant +resembling _mirabilis jalapa_, with a handsome convolvulus I had not +hitherto seen, (_calystegia_.) In the afternoon we passed near the +encampment of a hunter named Maurice, who had been out into the plains in +pursuit of buffalo calves, a number of which I saw among some domestic +cattle near his lodge. Shortly afterwards, a party of mountaineers +galloped up to us--fine-looking and hardy men, dressed in skins, and +mounted on good fat horses; among them were several Connecticut men, a +portion of Wyeth's party, whom I had seen the year before, and others were +men from the western states. + +Continuing down the river, we encamped at noon on the 14th, at its mouth, +on the Arkansas river. A short distance above our encampment, on the left +bank of the Arkansas, is a _pueblo_, (as the Mexicans call their +civilized Indian villages,) where a number of mountaineers, who had +married Spanish women in the valley of Taos, had collected together and +occupied themselves in farming, carrying on at the same time a desultory +Indian trade. They were principally Americans, and treated us with all the +rude hospitality their situation admitted; but as all commercial +intercourse with New Mexico was now interrupted, in consequence of Mexican +decrees to that effect, there was nothing to be had in the way of +provisions. They had, however, a fine stock of cattle, and furnished us an +abundance of excellent milk. I learned here that Maxwell, in company with +two other men, had started for Taos on the morning of the 9th, but that he +would probably fall into the hands of the Utah Indians, commonly called +the _Spanish Yutes_. As Maxwell had no knowledge of their being in +the vicinity when he crossed the Arkansas, his chance of escape was very +doubtful; but I did not entertain much apprehension for his life, having +great confidence in his prudence and courage. I was further informed that +there had been a popular tumult among the _pueblos_, or civilized +Indians, residing near Taos, against the "_foreigners_" of that +place; in which they had plundered their houses and ill-treated their +families. Among those whose property had been destroyed, was Mr. Beaubien, +father-in-law of Maxwell, from whom I had expected to obtain supplies, and +who had been obliged to make his escape to Santa Fe. + +By this position of affairs, our expectation of obtaining supplies from +Taos was cut off. I had here the satisfaction to meet our good buffalo- +hunter of 1842, Christopher Carson, whose services I considered myself +fortunate to secure again; and as a reinforcement of mules was absolutely +necessary, I dispatched him immediately, with an account of our +necessities, to Mr. Charles Bent, whose principal post is on the Arkansas +river, about seventy-five miles below _Fontaine-qui-bouit_. He was +directed to proceed from that post by the nearest route across the +country, and meet me, with what animals he should be able to obtain, at +St. Vrain's fort. I also admitted into the party Charles Towns, a native +of St. Louis, a serviceable man, with many of the qualities of a good +voyageur. According to our observations, the latitude of the mouth of the +river is 38 deg. 15' 23", its longitude 104 deg. 58' 30", and its elevation above +the sea 4,880 feet. + +On the morning of the 16th, the time for Maxwell's arrival having expired, +we resumed our journey, leaving for him a note, in which it was stated +that I would wait for him at St. Vrain's fort, until the morning of the +26th, in the event that he should succeed in his commission. Our direction +was up the Boiling Spring river, it being my intention to visit the +celebrated springs from which the river takes its name, and which are on +its upper waters, at the foot of Pike's peak. Our animals fared well while +we were on this stream, there being everywhere a great abundance of +_prele_. _Ipomea leptophylla_ in bloom, was a characteristic +plant along the river, generally in large bunches, with two to five +flowers on each. Beautiful clusters of the plant resembling _mirabilis +jalapa_ were numerous, and _glycyrrhiza lepidota_ was a +characteristic of the bottoms. Currants nearly ripe were abundant, and +among the shrubs which covered the bottom was a very luxuriant growth of +chenopodiaceous shrubs, four to six feet high. On the afternoon of the +17th we entered among the broken ridges at the foot of the mountains, +where the river made several forks. Leaving the camp to follow slowly, I +rode ahead in the afternoon in search of the springs. In the meantime, the +clouds, which had been gathered all the afternoon over the mountains, +began to roll down their sides; and a storm so violent burst upon me, that +it appeared I had entered the storehouse of the thunder-storms. I +continued, however, to ride along up the river until about sunset, and was +beginning to be doubtful of finding the springs before the next day, when +I came suddenly upon a large smooth rock, about twenty yards in diameter, +where the water from several springs was bubbling and boiling up in the +midst of a white incrustation, with which it had covered a portion of the +rock. As this did not correspond with the description given the by the +hunters, I did not stop to taste the water, but dismounting, walked a +little way up the river, and, passing through a narrow thicket of +shrubbery bordering the stream, stepped directly upon a huge white rock, +at the foot of which the river, already become a torrent, foamed along, +broken by a small fall. A deer which had been drinking at the spring was +startled by my approach, and, springing across the river, bounded off up +the mountain. In the upper part of the rock, which had apparently been +formed by deposition, was a beautiful white basin, overhung by currant +bushes, in which the cold clear water bubbled up, kept in constant motion +by the escaping gas, and overflowing the rock, which it had almost +entirely covered with a smooth crust of glistening white. I had all day +refrained from drinking, reserving myself for the spring; and as I could +not well be more wet than the rain had already made me, I lay down by the +side of the basin, and drank heartily of the delightful water. The spring +is situated immediately at the foot of lofty mountains, beautifully +timbered, which sweep closely round, shutting up the little valley in a +kind of cove. As it was beginning to grow dark, I rode quickly down the +river, on which I found the camp a few miles below. + +The morning of the 18th was beautiful and clear; and, all the people being +anxious to drink of these famous waters, we encamped immediately at the +springs, and spent there a very pleasant day. On the opposite side of the +river is another locality of springs, which are entirely of same nature. +The water has a very agreeable taste, which Mr. Preuss found very much to +resemble that of the famous Selter springs in the grand duchy of Nassau, a +country famous for wine and mineral waters; and it is almost entirely of +the same character, though still more agreeable than that of the famous +Bear springs, near Bear river of the Great Salt lake. The following is an +analysis of an incrustation with which the water had covered a piece of +wood lying on the rock: + +Carbonate of lime, ----------92.25 +Carbonate of magnesia, ------ 1.21 + +Sulphate of lime,------} +Chloride of calcium, }----- .23 +Chloride of magnesia,--} + +Silica, --------------------- 1.50 +Vegetable matter, ----------- .20 +Moisture and loss, ---------- 4.61 + ______ + 100.00 + +At eleven o'clock, when the temperature of the air was 73 deg., that of the +water in this was 60.5 deg.; and that of the upper spring, which issued from +the flat rock, more exposed to the sun, was 69 deg.. At sunset, when the +temperature of the air was 66 deg., that of the lower springs was 58 deg., and +that of the upper 61 deg.. + +19th.--A beautiful and clear morning, with a slight breeze from the +northwest; the temperature of the air at sunrise being 57.5 deg.. At this time +the temperature of the lower spring was 57.8 deg., springs was 58 deg., and that +of the upper 54.3 deg.. + +The trees in the neighborhood were birch, willow, pine, and an oak +resembling _quercus alba_. In the shrubbery along the river are +currant bushes, (_ribes_,) of which the fruit has a singular piny +flavor; and on the mountain side, in a red gravelly soil, is a remarkable +coniferous tree, (perhaps an _abies_,) having the leaves singularly +long, broad and scattered, with bushes of _spiraea ariaefolia_. By +our observations, this place is 6,350 feet above the sea, in latitude 38 deg. +52' 10", and longitude 105 deg. 22' 45". + +Resuming our journey on this morning, we descended the river, in order to +reach the mouth of the eastern fork, which I proposed to ascend. The left +bank of the river here is very much broken. There is a handsome little +bottom on the right, and both banks are exceedingly picturesque--strata of +red rock, in nearly perpendicular walls, crossing the valley from north to +south. About three miles below the springs, on the right bank of the +river, is a nearly perpendicular limestone rock, presenting a uniformly +unbroken surface, twenty to forty feet high, containing very great numbers +of a large univalve shell; which appears to belong to the genus +_inoceramus_. + +In contact with this, to the westward, was another, stratum of limestone, +containing fossil shells of a different character; and still higher up on +the stream were parallel strata, consisting of a compact somewhat +crystalline limestone, and argillaceous bituminous limestone in thin +layers. During the morning, we traveled up the eastern fork of the +_Fontaine-qui-bouit_ river, our road being roughened by frequent deep +gullies timbered with pine, and halted to noon on a small branch of the +stream, timbered principally with the narrow-leaved cottonwood, +(_populus angustifolia_,) called by the Canadians _liard amere_. +On a hill near by, were two remarkable columns of a grayish-white +conglomerate rock, one of which was about twenty feet high, and two feet +in diameter. They are surmounted by slabs of a dark ferruginous +conglomerate, forming black caps, and adding very much to their columnar +effect at a distance. This rock is very destructible by the action of the +weather, and the hill, of which they formerly constituted a part, is +entirely abraded. + +A shaft of the gun-carriage was broken in the afternoon; and we made an +early halt, the stream being from twelve to twenty feet wide, with clear +water. As usual, the clouds had gathered to a storm over the mountains, +and we had a showery evening. At sunset, the thermometer stood at 62 deg., and +our elevation above the sea was. 6,530 feet. + +20th.--This morning (as we generally found the mornings under these +mountains) was very clear and beautiful, and the air cool and pleasant, +with the thermometer at 44 deg.. We continued our march up the stream, along a +green sloping bottom; between pine hills on the one hand; and the main +Black hills on the other; towards the ridge which separates the waters of +the Platte from those of the Arkansas. As we approached the diving ridge, +the whole valley was radiant with flowers; blue, yellow, pink, white, +scarlet; and purple, vie with each other in splendor. Esparcette was one +of the highly characteristic plants, and a bright-looking flower +(_gaillardia aristata_) was very frequent; but the most abundant +plant along our road today, was _geranium maculatum_, which is the +characteristic plant on this portion of the diving grounds. Crossing to +the waters of the Platte, fields of blue flax added to the magnificence of +this mountain garden; this was occasionally four feet in height, which was +a luxuriance of growth that I rarely saw this almost universal plant +attain throughout the journey. Continuing down a branch of the Platte, +among high and very steep timbered hills, covered with fragments of sock, +towards evening we issued from the piny region, and made a late encampment +near Poundcake rock, on that fork of the river which we had ascended on +the 8th of July. Our animals enjoyed the abundant rushes this evening, as +the flies were so bad among the pines that they had been much harassed. A +deer was killed here this evening; and again the evening was overcast, and +a collection of brilliant red clouds in the west was followed by the +customary squall of rain. + +_Achillea millefolium_ (milfoil) was among the characteristic plants +of the river bottoms to-day. This was one of the most common plants during +the whole of our journey, occurring in almost every variety of situation. +I noticed it on the lowlands of the rivers, near the coast of the Pacific, +and near to the snow among the mountains of the _Sierra Nevada_. + +During this excursion, we had surveyed to its head one of the two +principal branches of the upper Arkansas, 75 miles in length, and entirely +completed our survey of the South fork of the Platte, to the extreme +sources of that portion of the river which belongs to the plains, and +heads in the broken hills of the Arkansas dividing ridge, at the foot of +the mountains. That portion of its waters which were collected among these +mountains, it was hoped to explore on our homeward voyage. + +Reaching St. Vrain's fort on the morning of the 23d, we found Mr. +Fitzpatrick and his party in good order and excellent health, and my true +and reliable friend, Kit Carson, who had brought with him ten good mules, +with the necessary pack-saddles. Mr. Fitzpatrick, who had often endured +every extremity of want during the course of his mountain life, and knew +well the value of provisions in this country, had watched over our stock +with jealous vigilance, and there was an abundance of flour, rice, sugar, +and coffee, in the camp; and again we fared luxuriously. Meat was, +however, very scarce; and two very small pigs, which we obtained at the +fort, did not go far among forty men. Mr. Fitzpatrick had been here a +week, during which time his men had been occupied in refitting the camp; +and the repose had been very beneficial to his animals, which were now in +tolerably good condition. + +I had been able to obtain no certain information in regard to the +character of the passes in this portion of the Rocky Mountain range, which +had always been represented as impracticable for carriages, but the +exploration of which was incidentally contemplated by my instructions, +with the view of finding some convenient point of passage for the road of +emigration, which would enable it to reach, on a more direct line, the +usual ford of the Great Colorado--a place considered as determined by the +nature of the country beyond that river. It is singular, that immediately +at the foot of the mountains, I could find no one sufficiently acquainted +with them to guide us to the plains at their western base; but the race of +trappers, who formerly lived in their recesses, has almost entirely +disappeared--dwindled to a few scattered individuals--some one or two of +whom are regularly killed in the course of each year by the Indians. You +will remember, that in the previous year I brought with me to their +village near this post, and hospitably treated on the way, several +Cheyenne Indians, whom I met on the Lower Platte. Shortly after their +arrival here, these were out with a party of Indians, (themselves the +principal men,) which discovered a few trappers in the neighboring +mountains, whom they immediately murdered, although one of them had been +nearly thirty years in the country, and was perfectly well known, as he +had grown gray among them. + +Through this portion of the mountains, also, are the customary roads of +the war parties going out against the Utah and Shoshonee Indians; and +occasionally parties from the Crow nation make their way down to the +southward along this chain, in the expectation of surprising some +straggling lodges of their enemies. Shortly before our arrival, one of +their parties had attacked an Arapaho village in the vicinity, which they +had found unexpectedly strong; and their assault was turned into a rapid +flight and a hot pursuit, in which they had been compelled to abandon the +animals they had rode and escape on their war-horses. + +Into this uncertain and dangerous region, small parties of three or four +trappers, who now could collect together, rarely ventured; and +consequently it was seldom visited and little known. Having determined to +try the passage by a pass through a spur of the mountains made by the +_Cache-a-la-Poudre_ river, which rises in the high bed of mountains +around Long's peak, I thought it advisable to avoid any encumbrance which +would occasion detention, and accordingly again separated the party into +two divisions--one of which, under the command of Mr. Fitzpatrick, was +directed to cross the plains to the mouth of Laramie river, and, +continuing thence its route along the usual emigrant road, meet me at Fort +Hall, a post belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, and situated on Snake +river, as it is commonly called in the Oregon Territory, although better +known to us as Lewis's fork of the Columbia. The latter name is there +restricted to one of the upper forks of the river. + +Our Delaware Indians having determined to return to their homes, it became +necessary to provide this party with a good hunter; and I accordingly +engaged in that capacity Alexander Godey, a young man about 25 years of +age, who had been in this country six or seven years, all of which time +had been actively employed in hunting for the support of the posts, or in +solitary trading expeditions among the Indians. In courage and +professional skill he was a formidable rival to Carson, and constantly +afterwards was among the best and most efficient of the party, and in +difficult situations was of incalculable value. Hiram Powers, one of the +men belonging to Mr. Fitzpatrick's party, was discharged at this place. + +A French _engage_, at Lupton's fort, had been shot in the back on the +4th of July, and died during our absence to the Arkansas. The wife of the +murdered man, an Indian woman of the Snake nation, desirous, like Naomi of +old, to return to her people, requested and obtained permission to travel +with my party to the neighborhood of Bear river, where she expected to +meet with some of their villages. Happier than the Jewish widow, she +carried with her two children, pretty little half-breeds, who added much +to the liveliness of the camp. Her baggage was carried on five or six +pack-horses; and I gave her a small tent, for which I no longer had any +use, as I had procured a lodge at the fort. + +For my own party I selected the following men, a number of whom old +associations had rendered agreeable to me: + +Charles Preuss, Christopher Carson, Basil Lajeunesse, Francois Badeau, +J.B. Bernier, Louis Menard, Raphael Proue, Jacob Dodson, Louis Zindel, +Henry Lee, J.B. Derosier, Francois Lajeunesse, and Auguste Vasquez. + +By observation, the latitude of the post is 40 deg. 16' 33", and its longitude +105 deg. 12' 23", depending, with all the other longitudes along this portion +of the line, upon a subsequent occultation of September 13, 1843, to which +they are referred by the chronometer. Its distance from Kansas landing, by +the road we traveled, (which, it will be remembered, was very winding +along the lower Kansas river,) was 750 miles. The rate of the chronometer, +determined by observations at this place for the interval of our absence, +during this month, was 33.72"; which you will hereafter see did not +sensibly change during the ensuing month, and remained nearly constant +during the remainder of our journey across the continent. This was the +rate used in referring to St. Vrain's fort, the longitude between that +place and the mouth of the _Fontaine-qui-bouit_. + +Our various barometrical observations, which are better worthy of +confidence than the isolated determination of 1842, give, for the +elevation of the fort above the sea, 4,930 feet. The barometer here used +was also a better one, and less liable to derangement. + +At the end of two days, which was allowed to my animals for necessary +repose, all the arrangements had been completed, and on the afternoon of +the 26th we resumed our respective routes. Some little trouble was +experienced in crossing the Platte, the waters of which were still kept up +by rains and melting snow; and having traveled only about four miles, we +encamped in the evening on Thompson's creek, where we were very much +disturbed by musquitoes. + +The following days we continued our march westward over comparative +plains, and, fording the Cache-a-la-Poudre on the morning of the 28th, +entered the Black hills, and nooned on this stream in the mountains beyond +them. Passing over a fine large bottom in the afternoon, we reached a +place where the river was shut up in the hills; and, ascending a ravine, +made a laborious and very difficult passage around by a gap, striking the +river again about dusk. A little labor, however, would remove this +difficulty, and render the road to this point a very excellent one. The +evening closed in dark with rain, and the mountains looked gloomy. + +29th.--Leaving our encampment about seven in the morning, we traveled +until three in the afternoon along the river, which, for the distance of +about six miles, runs directly through a spur of the main mountains. + +We were compelled by the nature of the ground to cross the river eight or +nine times, at difficult, deep, and rocky fords, the stream running with +great force, swollen by the rains--a true mountain torrent, only forty or +fifty feet wide. It was a mountain valley of the narrowest kind--almost a +chasm--and the scenery very wild and beautiful. Towering mountains rose +round about; their sides sometimes dark with forests of pine, and +sometimes with lofty precipices, washed by the river; while below, as if +they indemnified themselves in luxuriance for the scanty space, the green +river-bottom was covered with a wilderness of flowers, their tall spikes +sometimes rising above our heads as we rode among them. A profusion of +blossoms on a white flowering vine, (_clematis lasianthi_) which was +abundant along the river, contrasted handsomely with the green foliage of +the trees. The mountains appeared to be composed of a greenish-gray and +red granite, which in some places appeared to be in a state of +decomposition, making a red soil. + +The stream was wooded with cottonwood, box-elder, and cherry, with currant +and serviceberry bushes. After a somewhat laborious day, during which it +had rained incessantly, we encamped near the end of the pass at the mouth +of a small creek, in sight of the great Laramie plains. It continued to +rain heavily, and at evening the mountains were hid in mists; but there +was no lack of wood, and the large fires we made to dry our clothes were +very comfortable; and at night the hunters came in with a fine deer. Rough +and difficult as we found the pass to-day, an excellent road may be made +with a little labor. Elevation of the camp 5,540 feet, and distance from +St. Vrain's fort 56 miles. + +30th.--The day was bright again; the thermometer at sunrise 52 deg.; and +leaving our encampment at eight o'clock, in about half a mile we crossed +the _Cache-a-la-Poudre_ river for the last time; and, entering a +smoother country, we traveled along a kind of _vallon_, bounded on +the right by red buttes and precipices; while to the left a high rolling +country extended to a range of the Black hills, beyond which rose the +great mountains around Long's peak. + +By the great quantity of snow visible among them, it had probably snowed +heavily there the previous day, while it had rained on us in the valley. + +We halted at noon on a small branch; and in the afternoon traveled over a +high country, gradually ascending towards a range of _buttes_, or +high hills covered with pines, which forms the dividing ridge between the +waters we had left and those of Laramie river. + +Late in the evening we encamped at a spring of cold water, near the summit +of the ridge, having increased our elevation to 7,520 feet. During the day +we had traveled 24 miles. By some indifferent observations, our latitude +is 41 deg. 02' 19". A species of _hedeome_ was characteristic along the +whole day's route. + +Emerging from the mountains, we entered a region of bright, fair weather. +In my experience in this country, I was forcibly impressed with the +different character of the climate on opposite sides of the Rocky Mountain +range. The vast prairie plain on the east is like the ocean; the rain and +clouds from the constantly evaporating snow of the mountains rushing down +into the heated air of the plains, on which you will have occasion to +remark the frequent storms of rain we encountered during our journey. + +31st.--The morning was clear; temperature 48 deg.. A fine rolling road, among +piny and grassy hills, brought us this morning into a large trail where an +Indian village had recently passed. The weather was pleasant and cool; we +were disturbed by neither musquitoes nor flies; and the country was +certainly extremely beautiful. The slopes and broad ravines were +absolutely covered with fields of flowers of the most exquisitely +beautiful colors. Among those which had not hitherto made their +appearance, and which here were characteristic, was a new +_delphinium_, of a green and lustrous metallic blue color, mingled +with compact fields of several bright-colored varieties of +_astragalus_, which were crowded together in splendid profusion. This +trail conducted us, through a remarkable defile, to a little timbered +creek, up which we wound our way, passing by a singular and massive wall +of dark-red granite. The formation of the country is a red feldspathic +granite, overlaying a decomposing mass of the same rock, forming the soil +of all this region, which everywhere is red and gravelly, and appears to +be of a great floral fertility. + +As we emerged on a small tributary of the Laramie river, coming in sight +of its principal stream, the flora became perfectly magnificent; and we +congratulated ourselves, as we rode along our pleasant road; that we had +substituted this for the uninteresting country between Laramie hills and +the Sweet Water valley. We had no meat for supper last night or breakfast +this morning, and were glad to see Carson come in at noon with a good +antelope. + +A meridian observation of the sun placed us in latitude 41 deg. 04' 06". In +the evening we encamped on the Laramie river, which is here very thinly +timbered with scattered groups of cottonwood at considerable intervals. +From our camp, we are able to distinguish the gorges, in which are the +sources of Cache-a-la-Poudre and Laramie rivers; and the Medicine Bow +mountain, towards the point of which we are directing our course this +afternoon, has been in sight the greater part of the day. By observation +the latitude was 41 deg. 15' 02", and longitude 106 deg. 16' 54". The same +beautiful flora continued till about four in the afternoon, when it +suddenly disappeared, with the red soil, which became sandy, and of a +whitish-gray color. The evening was tolerably clear; temperature at sunset +64 deg.. The day's journey was 30 miles. + + + +AUGUST. + + +1st.--The morning was calm and clear, with sunrise temperature at 42 deg.. We +traveled to-day over a plain, or open rolling country, at the foot of the +Medicine Bow mountain; the soil in the morning being sandy, with fragments +of rock abundant, and in the afternoon, when we approached closer to the +mountain, so stony that we made but little way. The beautiful plants of +yesterday reappeared occasionally; flax in bloom occurred during the +morning, and esparcette in luxuriant abundance was a characteristic of the +stony ground in the afternoon. The camp was roused into a little +excitement by a chase after a buffalo bull, and an encounter with a war +party of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians about 30 strong. Hares and antelope +were seen during the day, and one of the latter was killed. The Laramie +peak was in sight this afternoon. The evening was clear, with scattered +clouds; temperature 62 deg.. The day's journey was 26 miles. + +2d.--Temperature at sunrise 52 deg., and scenery and weather made our road to- +day delightful. The neighboring mountain is thickly studded with pines, +intermingled with the brighter foliage of aspens, and occasional spots +like lawns between the patches of snow among the pines, and here and there +on the heights. Our route below lay over a comparative plain, covered with +the same brilliant vegetation, and the day was clear and pleasantly cool. +During the morning, we crossed many streams, clear and rocky, and broad +grassy valleys, of a strong black soil, washed down from the mountains, +and producing excellent pasturage. These were timbered with the red willow +and long-leaved cottonwood, mingled with aspen, as we approached the +mountain more nearly towards noon. _Esparcette_ was a characteristic, +and flax occurred frequently in bloom. We halted at noon on the most +western fork of Laramie river--a handsome stream about sixty feet wide and +two feet deep, with clear water and a swift current, over a bed composed +entirely of boulders or roll-stones. There was a large open bottom here, +on which were many lodge poles lying about: and in the edge of the +surrounding timber were three strong forts, that appeared to have been +recently occupied. At this place I became first acquainted with the +_yampah_, (_anethum graveolens_,) which I found our Snake woman +engaged in digging in the low timbered bottom of the creek. Among the +Indians along the Rocky Mountains, and more particularly among the +Shoshonee or Snake Indians, in whose territory it is very abundant, this +is considered the best among the roots used for food. To us it was an +interesting plant--a little link between the savage and civilized life. +Here, among the Indians, its root is a common article of food, which they +take pleasure in offering to strangers; while with us, in a considerable +portion of America and Europe, the seeds are used to flavor soup. It grows +more abundantly, and in greater luxuriance, on one of the neighboring +tributaries of the Colorado, than in any other part of this region; and on +that stream, to which the Snakes are accustomed to resort every year to +procure a supply of their favorite plant, they have bestowed the name of +_Yampah_ river. Among the trappers it is generally known as Little +Snake river; but in this and other instances, where it illustrated the +history of the people inhabiting the country, I have preferred to retain +on the map the aboriginal name. By a meridional observation, the latitude +is 41 deg. 45' 59" + +In the afternoon we took our way directly across the spurs from the point +of the mountain, where we had several ridges to cross; and, although the +road was not rendered bad by the nature of the ground, it was made +extremely rough by the stiff tough bushes of _artemisia tridentata_, +[Footnote: The greater portion of our subsequent journey was through a +region where this shrub constituted the tree of the country; and, as it +will often be mentioned in occasional descriptions, the word +_artemisia_ only will be used, without the specific name.] in this +country commonly called sage. + +This shrub now began to make its appearance in compact fields; and we were +about to quit for a long time this country of excellent pasturage and +brilliant flowers. Ten or twelve buffalo bulls were seen during the +afternoon; and we were surprised by the appearance of a large red ox. We +gathered around him as if he had been an old acquaintance, with all our +domestic feelings as much awakened as if we had come in sight of an old +farm-house. He had probably made his escape from some party of emigrants +on Green river; and, with a vivid remembrance of some old green field, be +was pursuing the straightest course for the frontier that the country +admitted. We carried him along with us as a prize; and, when it was found +in the morning that he had wandered off, I would not let him be pursued, +for I would rather have gone through a starving time of three entire days, +than let him be killed after he had successfully run the gauntlet so far +among the Indians. I have been told by Mr. Bent's people of an ox born and +raised at St. Vrain's fort, which made his escape from them at Elm grove, +near the frontier, having come in that year with the wagons. They were on +their way out, and saw occasionally places where he had eaten and laid +down to rest; but did not see him for about 700 miles, when they overtook +him on the road, traveling along to the fort, having unaccountably escaped +Indians and every other mischance. + +We encamped at evening on the principal fork of Medicine Bow river, near +to an isolated mountain called the Medicine _Butte_, which appeared +to be about 1,800 feet above the plain, from which it rises abruptly, and +was still white, nearly to its base, with a great quantity of snow. The +streams were timbered with the long-leaved, cottonwood and red willow; and +during the afternoon a species of onion was very abundant. I obtained here +an immersion of the first satellite of Jupiter, which, corresponding very +nearly with the chronometer, placed us in longitude 106 deg. 47' 25". The +latitude, by observation, was 41 deg. 37' 16"; elevation above the sea, 7,800 +feet, and distance from St. Vrain's fort, 147 miles. + +3d.--There was a white frost last night; the morning is clear and cool. +We were early on the road, having breakfasted before sunrise, and in a few +miles' travel entered the pass of the Medicine _Butte_, through which +led a broad trail, which had been recently traveled by a very large party. +Immediately in the pass, the road was broken by ravines, and we were +obliged to clear a way through groves of aspens, which generally made +their appearance when we reached elevated regions. According to the +barometer, this was 8,300 feet; and while we were detained in opening a +road, I obtained a meridional observation of the sun, which gave 41 deg. 35' +48" for the latitude of the pass. The Medicine _Butte_ is isolated by +a small tributary of the North fork of the Platte, but the mountains +approach each other very nearly; the stream running at their feet. On the +south they are smooth, with occasional streaks of pine; but the butte +itself is ragged, with escarpments of red feldspathic granite, and dark +with pines; the snow reaching from the summit to within a few hundred feet +of the trail. The granite here was more compact and durable than that in +the formation which we had passed through a few days before to the +eastward of Laramie. Continuing our way over a plain on the west side of +the pass, where the road was terribly rough with artemisia, we made our +evening encampment on the creek, where it took a northern direction, +unfavorably to the course we were pursuing. Bands of buffalo were +discovered as we came down upon the plain; and Carson brought into the +camp a cow which had the fat on the fleece two inches thick. Even in this +country of rich pasturage and abundant game, it is rare that a hunter +chances upon a finer animal. Our voyage had already been long, but this +was the first good buffalo meat we had obtained. We traveled to-day 26 +miles. + +4th.--The morning was clear and calm; and, leaving the creek, we traveled +towards the North fork of the Platte, over a plain which was rendered +rough and broken by ravines. With the exception of some thin grasses, the +sandy soil here was occupied almost exclusively by artemisia, with its +usual turpentine odor. We had expected to meet with some difficulty in +crossing the river, but happened to strike it where there was a very +excellent ford, and halted to noon on the left bank, two hundred miles +from St. Vrain's fort. The hunters brought in pack-animals loaded with +fine meat. According to our imperfect knowledge of the country, there +should have been a small affluent to this stream a few miles higher up; +and in the afternoon we continued our way among the river hills, in the +expectation of encamping upon it in the evening. The ground proved to be +so exceedingly difficult, broken up into hills, terminating in escarpments +and broad ravines, five hundred or six hundred feet deep, with sides so +precipitous that we could scarcely find a place to descend, that, towards +sunset, I turned directly in towards the river, and, after nightfall, +entered a sort of ravine. We were obliged to feel our way, and clear a +road in the darkness; the surface being much broken, and the progress of +the carriages being greatly obstructed by the artemisia, which had a +luxuriant growth of four to six feet in height. We had scrambled along +this gulley for several hours, during which we had knocked off the +carriage-lamps, broken a thermometer and several small articles, when, +fearing to lose something of more importance, I halted for the night at +ten o'clock. Our animals were turned down towards the river, that they +might pick up what little grass they could find; and after a little +search, some water was found in a small ravine, and improved by digging. +We lighted up the ravine with fires of artemisia, and about midnight sat +down to a supper which we were hungry enough to find delightful--although +the buffalo-meat was crusted with sand, and the coffee was bitter with the +wormwood taste of the artemisia leaves. + +A successful day's hunt had kept our hunters occupied until late, and they +slept out, but rejoined us at daybreak, when, finding ourselves only about +a mile from the river, we followed the ravine down, and camped in a +cottonwood grove on a beautiful grassy bottom, where our animals +indemnified themselves for the scanty fare of the past night. It was quite +a pretty and pleasant place; a narrow strip of prairie, about five hundred +yards long, terminated at the ravine where we entered by high precipitous +hills closing in upon the river, and at the upper end by a ridge of low +rolling hills. + +In the precipitous bluffs were displayed a succession of strata containing +fossil vegetable remains, and several beds of coal. In some of the beds +the coal did not appear to be perfectly mineralized, and in some of the +seams it was compact, and remarkably lustrous. In these latter places, +there were also thin layers of a very fine white salts, in powder. As we +had a large supply of meat in the camp, which it was necessary to dry, and +the surrounding country appeared to be well stocked with buffalo, which it +was probable, after a day or two, we would not see again until our return +to the Mississippi waters, I determined to make here a provision of dried +meat, which would be necessary for our subsistence in the region we were +about entering, which was said to be nearly destitute of game. Scaffolds +were accordingly soon erected, fires made, and the meat cut into thin +slices to be dried; and all were busily occupied, when the camp was thrown +into a sudden tumult, by a charge from about seventy mounted Indians, over +the low hills at the upper end of the little bottom. Fortunately, the +guard, who was between them and our animals, had caught a glimpse of an +Indian's head, as he raised himself in his stirrups to look over the hill, +a moment before he made the charge, and succeeded in turning the band into +the camp, as the Indians charged into the bottom with the usual yell. +Before they reached us, the grove on the verge of the little bottom was +occupied by our people, and the Indians brought to a sudden halt, which +they made in time to save themselves from a howitzer shot, which would +undoubtedly have been very effective in such a compact body; and further +proceedings were interrupted by their signs for peace. They proved to be a +war party of Arapaho and Cheyenne Indians, and informed us that they had +charged upon the camp under the belief that we were hostile Indians, and +had discovered their mistake only at the moment of the attack--an excuse +which policy required us to receive as true, though under the full +conviction that the display of our little howitzer, and our favorable +position in the grove, certainly saved our horses, and probably ourselves, +from their marauding intentions. They had been on a war party, and had +been defeated, and were consequently in the state of mind which aggravates +their innate thirst for plunder and blood. Their excuse, however, was +taken in good part, and the usual evidences of friendship interchanged. +The pipe went round, provisions were spread, and the tobacco and goods +furnished the customary presents, which they look for even from traders, +and much more from government authorities. + +They were returning from an expedition against the Shoshonee Indians, one +of whose villages they had surprised, at Bridger's fort, on Ham's fork of +Green river, (in the absence of the men, who were engaged in an antelope +surround,) and succeeded in carrying off their horses, and taking several +scalps. News of the attack reached the Snakes immediately, who pursued and +overtook them, and recovered their horses; and, in the running fight which +ensued, the Arapahoes had lost several men killed, and a number wounded, +who were coming on more slowly with a party in the rear. Nearly all the +horses they had brought off were the property of the whites at the fort. +After remaining until nearly sunset, they took their departure; and the +excitement which their arrival had afforded subsided into our usual quiet, +a little enlivened by the vigilance rendered necessary by the neighborhood +of our uncertain visiters. At noon the thermometer was at 75 deg., at sunset +70 deg., and the evening clear. Elevation above the sea 6,820 feet; latitude +41 deg. 36' 00"; longitude 107 deg. 22' 27". + +6th.--At sunrise the thermometer was 46 deg., the morning being clear and +calm. We traveled to-day over an extremely rugged country, barren and +uninteresting--nothing to be seen but artemisia bushes; and, in the +evening, found a grassy spot among the hills, kept green by several +springs, where we encamped late. Within a few hundred yards was a very +pretty little stream of clear cool water, whose green banks looked +refreshing among the dry, rocky hills. The hunters brought in a fat +mountain sheep, (_ovis montana_.) + +Our road the next day was through a continued and dense field of +_artemisia_, which now entirely covered the country in such a +luxuriant growth that it was difficult and laborious for a man on foot to +force his way through, and nearly impracticable for our light carriages. +The region through which we were traveling was a high plateau, +constituting the dividing ridge between the waters of the Atlantic and +Pacific oceans, and extending to a considerable distance southward, from +the neighborhood of the Table rock, at the southern side of the South +Pass. Though broken up into rugged and rocky hills of a dry and barren +nature, it has nothing of a mountainous character; the small streams which +occasionally occur belonging neither to the Platte nor the Colorado, but +losing themselves either in the sand or in small lakes. From an eminence, +in the afternoon, a mountainous range became visible in the north, in +which were recognised some rocky peaks belonging to the range of the Sweet +Water valley; and, determining to abandon any further attempt to struggle +through this almost impracticable country, we turned our course directly +north, towards a pass in the valley of the Sweet Water river. A shaft of +the gun-carriage was broken during the afternoon, causing a considerable +delay; and it was late in an unpleasant evening before we succeeded in +finding a very poor encampment, where there was a little water in a deep +trench of a creek, and some scanty grass among the shrubs. All the game +here consisted of a few straggling buffalo bulls, and during the day there +had been but very little grass, except in some green spots where it had +collected around springs or shallow lakes. Within fifty miles of the Sweet +Water, the country changed into a vast saline plain, in many places +extremely level, occasionally resembling the flat sandy beds of shallow +lakes. Here the vegetation consisted of a shrubby growth, among which were +several varieties of _chenopodiaceous_ plants; but the characteristic +shrub was _Fremontia vermicularis_, with smaller saline shrubs +growing with singular luxuriance, and in many places holding exclusive +possession of the ground. + +On the evening of the 8th we encamped on one of these fresh-water lakes, +which the traveler considers himself fortunate to find; and the next day, +in latitude, by observation, 42 deg. 20' 06", halted to noon immediately at +the foot of the southern side of the range which walls in the Sweet Water +valley, on the head of a small tributary to that river. + +Continuing in the afternoon our course down the stream, which here cuts +directly through the ridge, forming a very practicable pass, we entered +the valley; and, after a march of about nine miles, encamped on our +familiar river, endeared to us by the acquaintance of the previous +expedition--the night having already closed in with a cold rain-storm. Our +camp was about twenty miles above the Devil's gate, which we had been able +to see in coming down the plain; and, in the course of the night, the +clouds broke away around Jupiter for a short time; during which we +obtained an emersion of the first satellite, the result of which agreed +very nearly with the chronometer, giving for the mean longitude 107 deg. 50' +07"; elevation above the sea 6,040 feet; and distance from St. Vrain's +fort, by the road we had Just traveled, 315 miles. + +Here passes the road to Oregon; and the broad smooth highway, where the +numerous heavy wagons of the emigrants had entirely beaten and crushed the +artemisia, was a happy exchange to our poor animals, for the sharp rocks +and tough shrubs among which they had been toiling so long; and we moved +up the valley rapidly and pleasantly. With very little deviation from our +route of the preceding year, we continued up the valley; and on the +evening of the 12th encamped on the Sweet Water, at a point where the road +turns off to cross to the plains of Green river. The increased coolness of +the weather indicated that we had attained a greater elevation, which the +barometer here placed at 7,220 feet; and during the night water froze in +the lodge. + +The morning of the 13th was clear and cold, there being a white-frost, and +the thermometer, a little before sunrise, standing at 26.5 deg.. Leaving this +encampment, (our last on the waters which flow towards the rising sun,) we +took our way along the upland, towards the dividing ridge which separates +the Atlantic from the Pacific waters, and crossed it by a road some miles +further south than the one we had followed on our return in 1842. We +crossed very near the Table mountain, at the southern extremity of the +South Pass, which is near twenty miles in width, and already traversed by +several different roads. Selecting, as well as I could, in the scarcely +distinguishable ascent, what might be considered the dividing ridge in +this remarkable depression in the mountain, I took a barometrical +observation, which gave 7,490 feet for the elevation above the Gulf of +Mexico. You will remember that, in my report of 1842, I estimated the +elevation of this pass at about 7,000 feet; a correct observation with a +good barometer enables me to give it with more precision. Its importance, +as the great gate through which commerce and traveling may hereafter pass +between the valley of the Mississippi and the North Pacific, justifies a +precise notice of its locality and distance from leading points, in +addition to this statement of its elevation. As stated in the report of +1842, its latitude, at the point where we crossed, is 42 deg. 24' 32"; its +longitude 109 deg. 26' 00"; its distance from the mouth of the Kansas, by the +common traveling route, 962 miles; from the mouth of the Great Platte, +along the valley of that river, according to our survey of 1842, 882 +miles; and its distance from St. Louis about 400 miles more by the Kansas, +and about 700 by the Great Platte route; these additions being steamboat +conveyance in both instances. From this pass to the mouth of the Oregon is +about 1,400 miles by the common traveling route; so that under a general +point of view, it may be assumed to be about half-way between the +Mississippi and the Pacific ocean, on the common traveling route. +Following a hollow of slight and easy descent, in which was very soon +formed a little tributary to the Gulf of California, (for the waters which +flow west from the South Pass go to this gulf,) we made our usual halt +four miles from the pass, in latitude, by observation, 42 deg. 19' 53". +Entering here the valley of Green river--the great Colorado of the West-- +and inclining very much to the southward along the streams which form the +Sandy river, the road led for several days over dry and level +uninteresting plains; to which a low scrubby growth of artemisia gave a +uniform dull grayish color; and on the evening of the 15th we encamped in +the Mexican territory, on the left bank of Green river, 69 miles from the +South Pass, in longitude 110 deg. 05' 05", and latitude 41 deg. 53' 54", distant +1,031 miles from the mouth of the Kansas. This is the emigrant road to +Oregon, which bears much to the southward, to avoid the mountains about +the western heads of Green river--the _Rio Verde_ of the Spaniards. + +16th.--Crossing the river, here about 400 feet wide, by a very good ford, +we continued to descend for seven or eight miles on a pleasant road along +the right bank of the stream, of which the islands and shores are +handsomely timbered with cottonwood. The refreshing appearance of the +broad river, with its timbered shores and green wooded islands, in +contrast to its dry and sandy plains, probably obtained for it the name of +Green river, which was bestowed on it by the Spaniards who first came into +this country to trade some 25 years ago. It was then familiarly known as +the Seeds-ke-dee-agie, or Prairie Hen (_tetrao urophasianus_) river; +a name which it received from the Crows, to whom its upper waters belong, +and on which this bird is still very abundant. By the Shoshonee and Utah +Indians, to whom belongs, for a considerable distance below, the country +where we were now traveling, it was called the Bitter Root river, from a +great abundance in its valley of a plant which affords them one of their +favorite roots. Lower down, from Brown's hole to the southward, the river +runs through lofty chasms, walled in by precipices of _red_ rock; and +even among the wilder tribes which inhabit that portion of its course, I +have heard it called by Indian refugees from the California settlements +the Rio _Colorado_. We halted to noon at the upper end of a large +bottom, near some old houses, which had been a trading post, in lat. 41 deg. +46' 54". At this place the elevation of the river above the sea is 6,230 +feet. That of Lewis's fork of the Columbia at Fort Hall is, according to +our subsequent observations, 4,500 feet. The descent of each stream is +rapid, but that of the Colorado is but little known, and that little +derived from vague report. Three hundred miles of its lower part, as it +approaches the Gulf of California, is reported to be smooth and tranquil; +but its upper part is manifestly broken into many falls and rapids. From +many descriptions of trappers, it is probable that in its foaming course +among its lofty precipices it presents many scenes of wild grandeur; and +though offering many temptations, and often discussed, no trappers have +been found bold enough to undertake a voyage which has so certain a +prospect of a fatal termination. The Indians have strange stories of +beautiful valleys abounding with beaver, shut up among inaccessible walls +of rock in the lower course of the river; and to which the neighboring +Indians, in their occasional wars with the Spaniards and among themselves, +drive their herds of cattle and flocks of sheep, leaving them to pasture +in perfect security. + +The road here leaves the river, which bends considerably to the east; and +in the afternoon we resumed our westerly course, passing over a somewhat +high and broken country; and about sunset, after a day's travel of 26 +miles, reached Black's fork of the Green river--a shallow stream, with a +somewhat sluggish current, about 120 feet wide, timbered principally with +willow, and here and there an occasional large tree. At three in the +morning I obtained an observation of an emersion of the first satellite of +Jupiter, with other observations. The heavy wagons have so completely +pulverized the soil, that clouds of fine light dust are raised by the +slightest wind, making the road sometimes very disagreeable. + +17th.--Leaving our encampment at six in the morning, we traveled along the +bottom, which is about two miles wide, bordered by low hills, in which the +strata contained handsome and very distinct vegetable fossils. In a gully +a short distance farther up the river, and underlying these, was exposed a +stratum of an impure or argillaceous limestone. Crossing on the way +Black's fork, where it is one foot deep and forty wide, with clear water +and a pebbly bed, in nine miles we reached Ham's fork, a tributary to the +former stream, having now about sixty feet breadth, and a few inches depth +of water. It is wooded with thickets of red willow, and in the bottom is a +tolerably strong growth of grass. The road here makes a traverse of twelve +miles across a bend of the river. Passing in the way some remarkable +hills, two or three hundred feet high, with frequent and nearly vertical +escarpments of a green stone, consisting of an argillaceous carbonate of +lime, alternating with strata of an iron-brown limestone, and worked into +picturesque forms by wind and rain, at two in the afternoon we reached the +river again, having made to-day 21 miles. Since crossing the great +dividing ridge of the Rocky mountains, plants have been very few in +variety, the country being covered principally with artemisia. + +18th.--We passed on the road, this morning, the grave of one of the +emigrants, being the second we had seen since falling into their trail; +and halted to noon on the river, a short distance above. + +The Shoshonee woman took leave of us here, expecting to find some of her +relations at Bridger's fort, which is only a mile or two distant, on a +fork of this stream. In the evening we encamped on a salt creek, about +fifteen feet wide, having to-day traveled 32 miles. + +I obtained an emersion of the first satellite under favorable +circumstances, the night being still and clear. + +One of our mules died here, and in this portion of our journey we lost six +or seven of our animals. The grass which the country had lately afforded +was very poor and insufficient; and animals which have been accustomed to +grain become soon weak and unable to labor, when reduced to no other +nourishment than grass. The American horses (as those are usually called +which are brought to this country from the States) are not of any +serviceable value until after they have remained a winter in the country, +and become accustomed to live entirely on grass. + +19th.--Desirous to avoid every delay not absolutely necessary, I sent on +Carson in advance to Fort Hall this morning, to make arrangements for a +small supply of provisions. A few miles from our encampment, the road +entered a high ridge, which the trappers called the "little mountain," +connecting the Utah with the Wind River chain; and in one of the hills +near which we passed I remarked strata of a conglomerate formation, +fragments of which were scattered over the surface. We crossed a ridge of +this conglomerate, the road passing near a grove of low cedar, and +descending upon one of the heads of Ham's fork, called Muddy, where we +made our mid-day halt. In the river hills at this place, I discovered +strata of fossiliferous rock, having an _oolitic structure_, which, +in connection with the neighboring strata, authorize us to believe that +here, on the west side of the Rocky mountains, we find repeated the modern +formations of Great Britain and Europe, which have hitherto been wanting +to complete the system of North American geology. + +In the afternoon we continued our road, and searching among the hills a +few miles up the stream, and on the same bank, I discovered, among the +alternate beds of coal and clay, a stratum of white indurated clay, +containing very clear and beautiful impressions of vegetable remains. This +was the most interesting fossil locality I had met in the country, and I +deeply regretted that time did not permit me to remain a day or two in the +vicinity; but I could not anticipate the delays to which I might be +exposed in the course of our journey--or, rather, I knew that they were +many and inevitable; and after remaining here only about an hour, I +hurried off, loaded with as many specimens as I could conveniently carry. + +Coal made its appearance occasionally in the hills during the afternoon, +and was displayed in rabbit burrows in a kind of gap, through which we +passed over some high hills, and we descended to make our encampment on +the same stream, where we found but very poor grass. In the evening a fine +cow, with her calf, which had strayed off from some emigrant party, was +found several miles from the road, and brought into camp; and as she gave +an abundance of milk, we enjoyed to-night an excellent cup of coffee. We +traveled to-day 28 miles, and, as has been usual since crossing the Green +river, the road has been very dusty, and the weather smoky and +oppressively hot. Artemisia was characteristic among the few plants. + +20th.--We continued to travel up the creek by a very gradual ascent and a +very excellent grassy road, passing on the way several small forks of the +stream. The hills here are higher, presenting escarpments of party-colored +and apparently clay rocks, purple, dark-red, and yellow, containing strata +of sandstone and limestone with shells, with a bed of cemented pebbles, +the whole overlaid by beds of limestone. The alternation of red and yellow +gives a bright appearance to the hills, one of which was called by our +people the Rainbow hill, and the character of the country became more +agreeable, and traveling far more pleasant, as now we found timber and +very good grass. Gradually ascending, we reached the lower level of a bed +of white limestone, lying upon a white clay, on the upper line of which +the whole road is abundantly supplied with beautiful cool springs, gushing +out a foot in breadth and several inches deep, directly from the hill- +side. + +At noon we halted at the last main fork of the creek, at an elevation of +7,200 feet, and in latitude, by observation, 41 deg. 39' 45"; and in the +afternoon continued on the same excellent road, up the left or northern +fork of the stream, towards its head, in a pass which the barometer placed +at 8,230 feet above the sea. This is a connecting ridge between the Utah +or Bear River mountains and the Wind River chain of the Rocky mountains, +separating the waters of the Gulf of California on the east, and those on +the west belonging more directly to the Pacific, from a vast interior +basin whose rivers are collected into numerous lakes having no outlet to +the ocean. From the summit of this pass, the highest which the road +crosses between the Mississippi and the Western ocean, our view was over a +very mountainous region, whose rugged appearance was greatly increased by +the smoky weather, through which the broken ridges were dark and dimly +seen. The ascent to the summit of the gap was occasionally steeper than +the national road in the Alleghanies; and the descent, by way of a spur on +the western side, is rather precipitous, but the pass may still be called +a good one. Some thickets of the willow in the hollows below deceived us +into the expectation of finding a camp at our usual hour at the foot of +the mountain; but we found them without water, and continued down a +ravine, and encamped about dark at a place where the springs began again +to make their appearance, but where our animals fared badly; the stock of +the emigrants having razed the grass as completely as if we were again in +the midst of the buffalo. + +21st.--An hour's travel this morning brought us into the fertile and +picturesque valley of Bear river, the principal tributary to the Great +Salt lake. The stream is here two hundred feet wide, fringed with willows +and occasional groups of hawthorns. We were now entering a region which, +for us, possessed a strange and extraordinary interest. We were upon the +waters of the famous lake which forms a salient point among the remarkable +geographical features of the country, and around which the vague and +superstitious accounts of the trappers had thrown a delightful obscurity, +which we anticipated pleasure in dispelling, but which, in the mean time, +left a crowded field for the exercise of our imagination. + +In our occasional conversations with the few old hunters who had visited +the region, it had been a subject of frequent speculation; and the wonders +which they related were not the less agreeable because they were highly +exaggerated and impossible. + +Hitherto this lake had been seen only by trappers who were wandering +through the country in search of new beaver-streams, caring very little +for geography; its islands had never been visited; and none were to be +found who had entirely made the circuit of its shores; and no instrumental +observations or geographical survey, of any description, had ever been +made anywhere in the neighboring region. It was generally supposed that it +had no visible outlet; but among the trappers, including those in my own +camp, were many who believed that somewhere on its surface was a terrible +whirlpool, through which its waters found their way to the ocean by some +subterranean communication. All these things had made a frequent subject +of discussion in our desultory conversations around the fires at night; +and my own mind had become tolerably well filled with their indefinite +pictures, and insensibly colored with their romantic descriptions, which, +in the pleasure of excitement, I was well disposed to believe, and half +expected to realize. + +Where we descended into this beautiful valley, it is three to four miles +in breadth, perfectly level, and bounded by mountainous ridges, one above +another, rising suddenly from the plain. + +We continued our road down the river, and at night encamped with a family +of emigrants--two men, women, and several children--who appeared to be +bringing up the rear of the great caravan. I was struck with the fine +appearance of their cattle, some six or eight yoke of oxen, which really +looked as well as if they had been all the summer at work on some good +farm. It was strange to see one small family traveling along through such +a country, so remote from civilization. Some nine years since, such a +security might have been a fatal one, but since their disastrous defeats +in the country a little north, the Blackfeet have ceased to visit these +waters. Indians however, are very uncertain in their localities; and the +friendly feelings, also, of those now inhabiting it may be changed. + +According to barometrical observation at noon, the elevation Of the valley +was 6,400 feet above the sea; and our encampment at night in latitude 42 deg. +03' 47", and longitude 111 deg. 10' 53", by observation--the day's journey +having been 26 miles. This encampment was therefore within the territorial +limit of the United States; our traveling, from the time we entered the +valley of the Green river, on the 15th of August, having been south of the +42d degree of north latitude, and consequently on Mexican territory; and +this is the route all the emigrants now travel to Oregon. + +The temperature at sunset was 65 deg.; and at evening there was a distant +thunder-storm, with a light breeze from the north. + +Antelope and elk were seen during the day on the opposite prairie; and +there were ducks and geese in the river. + +The next morning, in about three miles from our encampment, we reached +Smith's fork, a stream of clear water, about 50 feet in breadth. It is +timbered with cottonwood, willow, and aspen, and makes a beautiful +debouchement through a pass about 600 yards wide, between remarkable +mountain hills, rising abruptly on either side, and forming gigantic +columns to the gate by which it enters Bear River valley. The bottoms, +which below Smith's fork had been two miles wide, narrowed as we advanced +to a gap 500 yards wide, and during the greater part of the day we had a +winding route, the river making very sharp and sudden bends, the mountains +steep and rocky, and the valley occasionally so narrow as only to leave +space for a passage through. + +We made our halt at noon in a fertile bottom, where the common blue flax +was growing abundantly, a few miles below the mouth of Thomas's fork, one +of the larger tributaries of the river. + +Crossing, in the afternoon, the point of a narrow spur, we descended into +a beautiful bottom, formed by a lateral valley, which presented a picture +of home beauty that went directly to our hearts. The edge of the wood, for +several miles along the river, was dotted with the white covers of +emigrant wagons, collected in groups at different camps, where the smoke +was rising lazily from the fires, around which the women were occupied in +preparing the evening meal, and the children playing in the grass; and +herds of cattle, grazing about in the bottom, had an air of quiet +security, and civilized comfort, that made a rare sight for the traveler +in such a remote wilderness. + +In common with all the emigration, they had been reposing for several days +in this delightful valley, in order to recruit their animals on its +luxuriant pasturage after their long journey, and prepare them for the +hard travel along the comparatively sterile banks of the Upper Columbia. +At the lower end of this extensive bottom, the river passes through an +open canon, where there were high vertical rocks to the water's edge, and +the road here turns up a broad valley to the right. It was already near +sunset; but, hoping to reach the river again before night, we continued +our march along the valley, finding the road tolerably good, until we +arrived at a point where it crosses the ridge by an ascent of a mile in +length, which was so very steep and difficult for the gun and carriage, +that we did not reach the summit until dark. + +It was absolutely necessary to descend into the valley for water and +grass; and we were obliged to grope our way in the darkness down a very +steep, bad mountain, reaching the river at about ten o'clock. It was late +before our animals were gathered into the camp, several of those which +were very weak being necessarily left to pass the night on the ridge; and +we sat down again to a midnight supper. The road, in the morning, +presented an animated appearance. We found that we had encamped near a +large party of emigrants; and a few miles below, another party was already +in motion. Here the valley had resumed its usual breadth, and the river +swept off along the mountains on the western side, the road continuing +directly on. + +In about an hour's travel we met several Shoshonee Indians, who informed +us that they belonged to a large village which had just come into the +valley from the mountain to the westward, where they had been hunting +antelope and gathering service-berries. Glad at the opportunity of seeing +one of their villages, and in the hope of purchasing from them a few +horses, I turned immediately off into the plain towards their encampment, +which was situated on a small stream near the river. + +We had approached within something more than a mile of the village, when +suddenly a single horseman emerged from it at full speed, followed by +another and another in rapid succession; and then party after party poured +into the plain, until, when the foremost rider reached us, all the whole +intervening plain was occupied by a mass of horsemen, which came charging +down upon us with guns and naked swords, lances, and bows and arrows-- +Indians entirely naked, and warriors fully dressed for war, with the long +red streamers of their war-bonnets reaching nearly to the ground, all +mingled together in the bravery of savage warfare. They had been thrown +into a sudden tumult by the appearance of our flag, which, among these +people, is regarded as an emblem of hostility--it being usually borne by +the Sioux and the neighboring mountain Indians, when they come here to +war; and we had, accordingly been mistaken for a body of their enemies. A +few words from the chief quieted the excitement; and the whole band, +increasing every moment in number, escorted us to their encampment, where +the chief pointed out a place for us to encamp, near his own lodge, and we +made known our purpose in visiting the village. In a very short time we +purchased eight horses, for which we gave in exchange blankets, red and +blue cloth, beads, knives, and tobacco, and the usual other articles of +Indian traffic. We obtained from them also a considerable quantity of +berries, of different kinds, among which service-berries were the most +abundant; and several kinds of roots and seeds, which we could eat with +pleasure, as any kind of vegetable food was gratifying to us. I ate here, +for the first time, the _kooyah_, or _tobacco-root_, +(_valeriana edulis_,)--the principal edible root among the Indians +who inhabit the upper waters of the streams on the western side of the +mountains. It has a very strong and remarkably peculiar taste and odor, +which I can compare to no other vegetable that I am acquainted with, and +which to some persons is extremely offensive. It was characterized by Mr. +Preuss as the most horrid food he had ever put in his mouth; and when, in +the evening, one of the chiefs sent his wife to me with a portion which +she had prepared as a delicacy to regale us, the odor immediately drove +him out of the lodge; and frequently afterwards he used to beg that when +those who liked it had taken what they desired, it might be sent away. To +others, however, the taste is rather an agreeable one; and I was +afterwards glad when it formed an addition to our scanty meals. It is full +of nutriment; and in its unprepared state is said by the Indians to have +very strong poisonous qualities, of which it is deprived by a peculiar +process, being baked in the ground for about two days. + +The morning of the 24th was disagreeably cool, with an easterly wind, and +very smoky weather. We made a late start from the village, and, regaining +the road, (on which, during all the day, were scattered the emigrant +wagons,) we continued on down the valley of the river, bordered by high +and mountainous hills, on which fires are seen at the summit. The soil +appears generally good, although, with the grasses, many of the plants are +dried up, probably on account of the great heat and want of rain. The +common blue flax of cultivation, now almost entirely in seed--only a +scattered flower here and there remaining--is the most characteristic +plant of the Bear River valley. When we encamped at night, on the right +bank of the river, it was growing as in a sown field. We had traveled +during the day twenty-two miles, encamping in latitude (by observation) +42 deg. 36' 56", chronometric longitude 111 deg. 42' 05". + +In our neighborhood the mountains appeared extremely rugged, giving still +greater value to this beautiful natural pass. + +25th.--This was a cloudless but smoky autumn morning, with a cold wind +from the southeast, and a temperature of 45 deg. at sunrise. In a few miles I +noticed, where a little stream crossed the road, fragments of _scoriated +basalt_ scattered about--the first volcanic rock we had seen, and which +now became a characteristic rock along our future road. In about six +miles' travel from our encampment, we reached one of the points in our +journey to which we had always looked forward with great interest--the +famous _Beer springs_. The place in which they are situated is a +basin of mineral waters enclosed by the mountains, which sweep around a +circular bend of Bear river, here at its most northern point, and which, +from a northern, in the course of a few miles acquires a southern +direction towards the GREAT SALT LAKE. A pretty little stream of clear +water enters the upper part of the basin, from an open valley in the +mountains, and, passing through the bottom, discharges into Bear river. +Crossing this stream, we descended a mile below, and made our encampment +in a grove of cedar immediately at the Beer springs, which, on account of +the effervescing gas and acid taste, have received their name from the +voyageurs and trappers of the country, who, in the midst of their rude and +hard lives, are fond of finding some fancied resemblance to the luxuries +they rarely have the fortune to enjoy. + +Although somewhat disappointed in the expectations which various +descriptions had led me to form of unusual beauty of situation and +scenery, I found it altogether a place of very great interest; and a +traveler for the first time in a volcanic region remains in a constant +excitement, and at every step is arrested by something remarkable and new. +There is a confusion of interesting objects gathered together in a small +space. Around the place of encampment the Beer springs were numerous; but, +as far as we could ascertain, were confined entirely to that locality in +the bottom. In the bed of the river, in front, for a space of several +hundred yards, they were very abundant; the effervescing gas rising up and +agitating the water in countless bubbling columns. In the vicinity round +about were numerous springs of an entirely different and equally marked +mineral character. In a rather picturesque spot about 1,300 yards below +our encampment, and immediately on the river bank, is the most remarkable +spring of the place. In an opening on the rock, a white column of +scattered water is thrown up, in form like a _jet-d'eau_, to a +variable height of about three feet, and, though it is maintained in a +constant supply, its greatest height is only attained at regular +intervals, according to the action of the force below. It is accompanied +by a subterranean noise, which, together with the motion of the water, +makes very much the impression of a steamboat in motion; and, without +knowing that it had been already previously so called, we gave to it the +name of the _Steamboat spring_. The rock through which it is forced +is slightly raised in a convex manner, and gathered at the opening into an +urn-mouthed form, and is evidently formed by continued deposition from the +water, and colored bright red by oxide of iron. An analysis of this +deposited rock, which I subjoin, will give you some idea of the properties +of the water, which, with the exception of the Beer springs, is the +mineral water of the place. +[Footnote: +ANALYSIS. +Carbonate of lime - - - 92.55 +Carbonate of magnesia - 0.42 +Oxide of iron - - - - - 1.05 + +Silica- - - - - -} +Alumina - - - - -}- - - 5.98 +Water and loss- -} _______ + 100.00] +It is a hot spring, and the water has a pungent and disagreeable metallic +taste, leaving a burning effect on the tongue. Within perhaps two yards of +the _jet-d'eau_ is a small hole of about an inch in diameter, through +which, at regular intervals, escapes a blast of hot air, with a light +wreath of smoke, accompanied by a regular noise. This hole had been +noticed by Dr. Wislizenus, a gentleman who had several years since passed +by this place, and who remarked, with very nice observation, that smelling +the gas which issued from the orifice produced a sensation of giddiness +and nausea. Mr. Preuss and myself repeated the observation, and were so +well satisfied with its correctness, that we did not find it pleasant to +continue the experiment, as the sensation of giddiness which it produced +was certainly strong and decided. A huge emigrant wagon, with a large and +diversified family had overtaken us and halted to noon at our encampment; +and, while we were sitting at the spring, a band of boys and girls, with +two or three young men, came up, one of whom I asked to stoop down and +smell the gas, desirous to satisfy myself further of its effects. But his +natural caution had been awakened by the singular and suspicious features +of the place, and he declined my proposal decidedly, and with a few +indistinct remarks about the devil, whom he seemed to consider the +_genius loci_. The ceaseless motion and the play of the fountain, the +red rock and the green trees near, make this a picturesque spot. + +A short distance above the spring, and near the foot of the same spur, is +a very remarkable, yellow-colored rock, soft and friable, consisting +principally of carbonate of lime and oxide of iron, of regular structure, +which is probably a fossil coral. The rocky bank along the shore between +the Steamboat spring and our encampment, along which is dispersed the +water from the hills, is composed entirely of strata of a calcareous +_tufa_, with the remains of moss and reed-like grasses, which is +probably the formation of springs. The _Beer_ or _Soda springs_, +which have given name to this locality, are agreeable, but less highly +flavored than the Boiling springs at the foot of Pike's peak, which are of +the same character. They are very numerous, and half hidden by tufts of +grass, which we amused ourselves in removing and searching about for more +highly impregnated springs. They are some of them deep, and of various +sizes--sometimes several yards in diameter, and kept in constant motion by +columns of escaping gas. By analysis, one quart of the water contains as +follows: + + Grains. + +Sulphate of magnesia------------ 12.10 +Sulphate of lime---------------- 2.12 +Carbonate of lime--------------- 3.86 +Carbonate of magnesia----------- 3.22 +Chloride of calcium------------- 1.33 +Chloride of magnesium----------- 1.12 +Chloride of sodium-------------- 2.24 +Vegetable extractive matter, &c-- 0.85 + _____ + 26.84 + +The carbonic acid, originally contained in the water, had mainly escaped +before it was subjected to analysis; and it was not, therefore, taken into +consideration. + +In the afternoon I wandered about among the cedars, which occupy the +greater part of the bottom towards the mountains. The soil here has a dry +and calcined appearance; in some places, the open grounds are covered with +saline efflorescences, and there are a number of regularly-shaped and very +remarkable hills, which are formed of a succession of convex strata that +have been deposited by the waters of extinct springs, the orifices of +which are found on their summits, some of them having the form of funnel- +shaped cones. Others of these remarkably-shaped hills are of a red-colored +earth, entirely bare, and composed principally of carbonate of lime, with +oxide of iron, formed in the same manner. Walking near one of them, on the +summit of which the springs were dry, my attention was attracted by an +underground noise, around which I circled repeatedly, until I found the +spot from beneath which it came; and, removing the red earth, discovered a +hidden spring, which was boiling up from below, with the same disagreeable +metallic taste as the Steamboat spring. Continuing up the bottom, and +crossing the little stream which has been already mentioned, I visited +several remarkable red and white hills, which had attracted my attention +from the road in the morning. These are immediately upon the stream, and, +like those already mentioned, are formed by the deposition of successive +strata from the springs. On their summits, the orifices through which the +waters had been discharged were so large, that they resembled miniature +craters, being some of them several feet in diameter, circular, and +regularly formed as if by art. At a former time, when these dried-up +fountains were all in motion, they must have made a beautiful display on a +grand scale; and nearly all this basin appears to me to have been formed +under their action, and should be called the _place of fountains_. At +the foot of one of these hills, or rather on its side near the base, are +several of these small limestone columns, about one foot in diameter at +the base, and tapering upwards to a height of three or four feet; and on +the summit the water is boiling up and bubbling over, constantly adding to +the height of the little obelisks. In some, the water only boils up, no +longer overflowing, and has here the same taste as at the Steamboat +spring. The observer will remark a gradual subsidence in the water, which +formerly supplied the fountains; as on all the summits of the hills the +springs are now dry, and are found only low down upon their sides, or on +the surrounding plain. + +A little higher up the creek its banks are formed by strata of very heavy +and hard scoriaceous basalt, having a bright metallic lustre when broken. +The mountains overlooking the plain are of an entirely different +geological character. Continuing on, I walked to the summit of one of +them, where the principal rock was a granular quartz. Descending the +mountains, and returning towards the camp along the base of the ridge +which skirts the plain, I found, at the foot of a mountain spur, and +issuing from a compact rock of a dark blue color, a great number of +springs having the same pungent and disagreeably metallic taste already +mentioned, the water of which was collected into a very remarkable basin, +whose singularity, perhaps, made it appear to me very beautiful. It is +large--perhaps fifty yards in circumference; and in it the water is +contained, at an elevation of several feet above the surrounding ground, +by a wall of calcareous _tufa_, composed principally of the remains +of mosses, three or four, and sometimes ten feet high. The water within is +very clear and pure, and three or four feet deep, where it could be +measured, near the wall; and at a considerably low level, is another pond +or basin of very clear water, and apparently of considerable depth, from +the bottom of which the gas was escaping in bubbling columns at many +places. This water was collected into a small stream, which, in a few +hundred yards, sank under ground, reappearing among the rocks between the +two great springs near the river, which it entered by a little fall. + +Late in the afternoon I set out on my return to the camp, and, crossing in +the way a large field of salt that was several inches deep, found on my +arrival that our emigrant friends, who had been encamped in company with +us, had resumed their journey, and the road had again assumed its solitary +character. The temperature of the largest of the _Beer_ springs at +our encampment was 65 deg. at sunset, that of the air being 62.5 deg.. Our +barometric observation gave 5,840 feet for the elevation above the gulf, +being about 500 feet lower than the Boiling springs, which are of a +similar nature, at the foot of Pike's peak. The astronomical observations +gave for our latitude 42 deg. 39' 57", and 111 deg. 46' 00" for the longitude. +The night was very still and cloudless, and I sat up for an observation of +the first satellite of Jupiter, the emersion of which took place about +midnight; but fell asleep at the telescope, awaking just a few minutes +after the appearance of the star. + +The morning of the 26th was calm, and the sky without clouds, but smoky, +and the temperature at sunrise 28.5 deg.. At the same time, the temperature of +the large Beer spring, where we were encamped, was 56 deg.; that of the +Steamboat spring 87 deg., and that of the steam-hole, near it, 81.5 deg.. In the +course of the morning, the last wagons of the emigration passed by, and we +were again left in our place, in the rear. + +Remaining in camp until nearly 11 o'clock, we traveled a short distance +down the river, and halted to noon on the bank, at a point where the road +quits the valley of Bear river, and, crossing a ridge which divides the +Great basin from the Pacific waters, reaches Fort Hall, by way of the +Portneuf river, in a distance of probably fifty miles, or two and a half +days' journey for wagons. An examination of the great lake which is the +outlet of this river, and the principal feature of geographical interest +in the basin, was one of the main objects contemplated in the general plan +of our survey, and I accordingly determined at this place to leave the +road, and, after having completed a reconnoissance of the lake, regain it +subsequently at Fort Hall. But our little stock of provisions had again +become extremely low; we had only dried meat sufficient for one meal, and +our supply of flour and other comforts was entirely exhausted. I therefore +immediately dispatched one of the party, Henry Lee, with a note to Carson, +at Fort Hall, directing him to load a pack-horse with whatever could be +obtained there in the way of provisions, and endeavor to overtake me on +the river. In the mean time, we had picked up along the road two tolerably +well-grown calves, which would have become food for wolves, and which had +probably been left by some of the earlier emigrants, none of those we had +met having made any claim to them; and on these I mainly relied for +support during our circuit to the lake. + +In sweeping around the point of the mountain which runs down into the +bend, the river here passes between perpendicular walls of basalt, which +always fix the attention, from the regular form in which it occurs, and +its perfect distinctness from the surrounding rocks among which it had +been placed. The mountain, which is rugged and steep, and, by our +measurement, 1,400 feet above the river directly opposite the place of our +halt, is called the _Sheep-rock_--probably because a flock of the +mountain sheep (_ovis montana_) had been seen on the craggy point. + +As we were about resuming our march in the afternoon, I was attracted by +the singular appearance of an isolated hill with a concave summit, in the +plain, about two miles from the river, and turned off towards it, while +the camp proceeded on its way southward in search of the lake. I found the +thin and stony soil of the plain entirely underlaid by the basalt which +forms the river walls; and when I reached the neighborhood of the hill, +the surface of the plain was rent into frequent fissures and chasms of the +same scoriated volcanic rock, from 40 to 60 feet deep, but which there was +not sufficient light to penetrate entirely, and which I had not time to +descend. Arrived at the summit of the hill, I found that it terminated in +a very perfect crater, of an oval, or nearly circular form, 360 paces in +circumference, and 60 feet at the greatest depth. The walls, which were +perfectly vertical, and disposed like masonry in a very regular manner, +were composed of a brown-colored scoriaceous lava, similar to the light +scoriaceous lava of Mt. Etna, Vesuvius, and other volcanoes. The faces of +the walls were reddened and glazed by the fire, in which they had been +melted, and which had left them contorted and twisted by its violent +action. + +Our route luring the afternoon was a little rough, being (in the direction +we had taken) over a volcanic plain, where our progress was sometimes +obstructed by fissures, and black beds, composed of fragments of the rock. +On both sides, the mountains appeared very broken, but tolerably well +timbered. + +Crossing a point of ridge which makes in to the river, we fell upon it +again before sunset, and encamped on the right bank, opposite to the +encampment of three lodges of Snake Indians. They visited us during the +evening, and we obtained from them a small quantity of roots of different +kinds, in exchange for goods. Among them was a sweet root of very pleasant +flavor, having somewhat the taste of preserved quince. My endeavors to +become acquainted with the plants which furnish to the Indians a portion +of their support, were only gradually successful, and after long and +persevering attention; and even after obtaining, I did not succeed in +preserving them until they could be satisfactorily determined. In this +portion of the journey, I found this particular root cut up into small +pieces, that it was only to be identified by its taste, when the bulb was +met with in perfect form among the Indians lower down on the Columbia, +among whom it is the highly celebrated kamas. It was long afterwards, on +our return through Upper California, that I found the plant itself in +bloom, which I supposed to furnish the kamas root, (_camassia +esculenta_.) The root diet had a rather mournful effect at the +commencement, and one of the calves was killed this evening for food. The +animals fared well on rushes. + +27th.--The morning was cloudy, with appearance of rain, and the +thermometer at sunrise at 29 deg.. Making an unusually early start, we crossed +the river at a good ford; and, following for about three hours a trail +which led along the bottom, we entered a labyrinth of hills below the main +ridge, and halted to noon in the ravine of a pretty little stream, +timbered with cottonwood of a large size, ash-leaved maple, with cherry +and other shrubby trees. The hazy weather, which had prevented any very +extended views since entering the Green River valley, began now to +disappear. There was a slight rain in the earlier part of the day, and at +noon, when the thermometer had risen to 79.5 deg., we had a bright sun, with +blue sky and scattered _cumuli_. According to the barometer, our halt +there among the hills was at an elevation of 5,320 feet. Crossing a +dividing ridge in the afternoon, we followed down another little Bear +River tributary, to the point where it emerged on an open green flat among +the hills, timbered with groves, and bordered with cane thickets, but +without water. A pretty little rivulet coming out of the hillside, and +overhung by tall flowering plants of a species I had not hitherto seen, +furnished us with a good camping-place. The evening was cloudy, the +temperature at sunset 69 deg., and the elevation 5,140 feet. Among the plants +occurring along the road during the day, _epinettes des prairies_ +(grindelia squarraso) was in considerable abundance, and is among the very +few plants remaining in bloom--the whole country having now an autumnal +appearance, in the crisp and yellow plants, and dried-up grasses. Many +cranes were seen during the day, with a few antelope, very shy and wild. + +28th.--During the night we had a thunder-storm, with moderate rain, which +has made the air this morning very clear, the thermometer being at 55 deg.. +Leaving our encampment at the _Cane spring_, and quitting the trail +on which we had been traveling, and which would probably have afforded us +a good road to the lake, we crossed some very deep ravines, and, in about +an hour's traveling, again reached the river. We were now in a valley five +or six miles wide, between mountain ranges, which, about thirty miles +below, appeared to close up and terminate the valley, leaving for the +river only a very narrow pass, or canon, behind which we imagined we would +find the broad waters of the lake. We made the usual halt at the mouth of +a small clear stream, having a slightly mineral taste, (perhaps of salt,) +4,760 feet above the gulf. In the afternoon we climbed a very steep sandy +hill; and after a slow and winding day's march of 27 miles, encamped at a +slough on the river. There were great quantities of geese and, ducks, of +which only a few were shot; the Indians having probably made them very +wild. The men employed themselves in fishing but caught nothing. A skunk, +(_mephitis Americana_,) which was killed in the afternoon, made a +supper for one of the messes. The river is bordered occasionally with +fields of cane, which we regarded as an indication of our approach to a +lake-country. We had frequent showers of rain during the night, with +thunder. + +29th.--The thermometer at sunrise was 54 deg., with air from the NW., and dark +rainy clouds moving on the horizon; rain squalls and bright sunshine by +intervals. I rode ahead with Basil to explore the country, and, continuing +about three miles along the river, turned directly off on a trail running +towards three marked gaps in the bordering range, where the mountains +appeared cut through their bases, towards which the river plain rose +gradually. Putting our horses into a gallop on some fresh tracks which +showed very plainly in the wet path, we came suddenly upon a small party +of Shoshonee Indians, who had fallen into the trail from the north. We +could only communicate by signs; but they made us understand that the road +through the chain was a very excellent one, leading into a broad valley +which ran to the southward. We halted to noon at what may be called the +gate of the pass; on either side of which were huge mountains of rock, +between which stole a little pure water stream, with a margin just +sufficiently large for our passage. From the river, the plain had +gradually risen to an altitude of 5,500 feet, and, by meridian +observation, the latitude of the entrance was 42 deg.. + +In the interval of our usual halt, several of us wandered along up the +stream to examine the pass more at leisure. Within the gate, the rocks +receded a little back, leaving a very narrow, but most beautiful valley, +through which the little stream wound its way, hidden by the different +kinds of trees and shrubs--aspen, maple, willow, cherry, and elder; a fine +verdure of smooth short grass spread over the remaining space to the bare +sides of the rocky walls. These were of a blue limestone, which +constitutes the mountain here; and opening directly on the grassy bottom +were several curious caves, which appeared to be inhabited by root- +diggers. On one side was gathered a heap of leaves for a bed, and they +were dry, open, and pleasant. On the roofs of the caves I remarked +bituminous exudations from the rock. + +The trail was an excellent one for pack-horses; but as it sometimes +crossed a shelving point, to avoid the shrubbery we were obliged in +several places to open a road for the carriage through the wood. A squaw +on horseback, accompanied by five or six dogs, entered the pass in the +afternoon; but was too much terrified at finding herself in such +unexpected company to make any pause for conversation, and hurried off at +a good pace--being, of course, no further disturbed than by an +accelerating shout. She was well and showily dressed, and was probably +going to a village encamped somewhere near, and evidently did not belong +to the tribe of _root-diggers_. We now had entered a country +inhabited by these people; and as in the course of the voyage we shall +frequently meet with them in various stages of existence, it will be well +to inform you that, scattered over the great region west of the Rocky +mountains, and south of the Great Snake river, are numerous Indians whose +subsistence is almost solely derived from roots and seeds, and such small +animals as chance and great good fortune sometimes bring within their +reach. They are miserably poor, armed only with bows and arrows, or clubs; +and, as the country they inhabit is almost destitute of game, they have no +means of obtaining better arms. In the northern part of the region just +mentioned, they live generally in solitary families; and farther to the +south they are gathered together in villages. Those who live together in +villages, strengthened by association, are in exclusive possession of the +more genial and richer parts of the country; while the others are driven +to the ruder mountains, and to the more inhospitable parts of the country. +But by simply observing, in accompanying us along our road, you will +become better acquainted with these people than we could make you in any +other than a very long description, and you will find them worthy of your +interest. + +Roots, seeds, and grass, every vegetable that affords any nourishment, and +every living animal thing, insect or worm, they eat. Nearly approaching to +the lower animal creation, their sole employment is to obtain food; and +they are constantly occupied in struggling to support existence. + +The most remarkable feature of the pass is the _Standing rock_, which +has fallen from the cliffs above, and standing perpendicularly near the +middle of the valley, presents itself like a watch-tower in the pass. It +will give you a tolerably correct idea of the character of the scenery in +this country, where generally the mountains rise abruptly up from +comparatively unbroken plains and level valleys; but it will entirely fail +in representing the picturesque beauty of this delightful place, where a +green valley, full of foliage and a hundred yards wide, contrasts with +naked crags that spire up into a blue line of pinnacles 3,000 feet above, +sometimes crested with cedar and pine, and sometimes ragged and bare. + +The detention that we met with in opening the road, and perhaps a +willingness to linger on the way, made the afternoon's travel short; and +about two miles from the entrance, we passed through another gate, and +encamped on the stream at the junction of a little fork from the +southward, around which the mountains stooped more gently down, forming a +small open cove. + +As it was still early in the afternoon, Basil and myself in one direction, +and Mr. Preuss in another, set out to explore the country, and ascended +different neighboring peaks, in the hope of seeing some indications of the +lake; but though our elevation afforded magnificent views, the eye ranging +over a large extent of Bear river, with the broad and fertile _Cache +valley_ in the direction of our search, was only to be seen a bed of +apparently impracticable mountains. Among these, the trail we had been +following turned sharply to the northward, and it began to be doubtful if +it would not lead us away from the object of our destination; but I +nevertheless determined to keep it, in the belief that it would eventually +bring us right. A squall of rain drove us out of the mountain, and it was +late when we reached the camp. The evening closed in with frequent showers +of rain, with some lightning and thunder. + +30th.--We had constant thunder-storms during the night, but in the morning +the clouds were sinking to the horizon, and the air was clear and cold, +with the thermometer at sunrise at 39 deg.. Elevation by barometer 5,580 feet. +We were in motion early, continuing up the little stream without +encountering any ascent where a horse would not easily gallop; and, +crossing a slight dividing ground at the summit, descended upon a small +stream, along which continued the same excellent road. In riding through +the pass, numerous cranes were seen; and prairie hens, or grouse, +(_bonasia umbellus_,) which lately had been rare, were very abundant. + +This little affluent brought us to a larger stream, down which we traveled +through a more open bottom, on a level road, where heavily-laden wagons +could pass without obstacle. The hills on the right grew lower, and, on +entering a more open country, we discovered a Shoshonee village; and being +desirous to obtain information, and purchase from them some roots and +berries, we halted on the river, which was lightly wooded with cherry, +willow, maple, service-berry, and aspen. A meridian observation of the +sun, which I obtained here, gave 42 deg. 14' 22" for our latitude, and the +barometer indicated a height of 5,170 feet. A number of Indians came +immediately over to visit us, and several men were sent to the village +with goods, tobacco, knives, cloth, vermilion, and the usual trinkets, to +exchange for provisions. But they had no game of any kind; and it was +difficult to obtain any roots from them, as they were miserably poor, and +had but little to spare from their winter stock of provisions. Several of +the Indians drew aside their blankets, showing me their lean and bony +figures; and I would not any longer tempt them with a display of our +merchandise to part with their wretched subsistence, when they gave as a +reason that it would expose them to temporary starvation. A great portion +of the region inhabited by this nation, formerly abounded in game--the +buffalo ranging about in herds, as we had found them on the eastern +waters, and the plains dotted with scattered bands of antelope; but so +rapidly have they disappeared within a few years, that now, as we +journeyed along, an occasional buffalo skull and a few wild antelope were +all that remained of the abundance which had covered the country with +animal life. + +The extraordinary rapidity with which the buffalo is disappearing from our +territories will not appear surprising when we remember the great scale on +which their destruction is yearly carried on. With inconsiderable +exceptions, the business of the American trading-posts is carried on in +their skins; every year the Indian villages make new lodges, for which the +skin of the buffalo furnishes the material; and in that portion of the +country where they are still found, the Indians derive their entire +support from them, and slaughter them with a thoughtless and abominable +extravagance. Like the Indians themselves, they have been a characteristic +of the Great West; and as, like them, they are visibly diminishing, it +will be interesting to throw a glance backward through the last twenty +years, and give some account of their former distribution through the +country, and the limit of their western range. + +The information is derived principally from Mr. Fitzpatrick, supported by +my own personal knowledge and acquaintance with the country. Our knowledge +does not go farther back than the spring of 1824, at which time the +buffalo were spread in immense numbers over the Green River and Bear River +valleys, and through all the country lying between the Colorado, or Green +river of the Gulf of California, and Lewis's fork of the Columbia river; +the meridian of Fort Hall then forming the western limit of their range. +The buffalo then remained for many years in that country, and frequently +moved down the valley of the Columbia, on both sides of the river as far +as the _Fishing falls_. Below this point they never descended in any +numbers. About the year 1834 or 1835 they began to diminish very rapidly, +and continued to decrease until 1838 or 1840, when, with the country we +have just described, they entirely abandoned all the waters of the Pacific +north of Lewis's fork of the Columbia. At that time, the Flathead Indians +were in the habit of finding their buffalo on the heads of Salmon river, +and other streams of the Columbia; but now they never meet with them +farther west than the three forks of the Missouri, or the plains of the +Yellow-stone river. + +In the course of our journey it will be remarked that the buffalo have not +so entirely abandoned the waters of the Pacific, in the Rocky-Mountain +region south of the Sweet Water, as in the country north of the Great +Pass. This partial distribution can only be accounted for in the great +pastoral beauty of that country, which bears marks of having been one of +their favorite haunts, and by the fact that the white hunters have more +frequented the northern than the southern region--it being north of the +South Pass that the hunters, trappers, and traders, have had their +rendezvous for many years past; and from that section also the greater +portion of the beaver and rich furs were taken, although always the most +dangerous as well as the most profitable hunting-ground. + +In that region lying between the Green or Colorado river and the head- +waters of the Rio del Norte, over the _Yampah, Kooyah, White_, and +_Grand_ rivers--all of which are the waters of the Colorado--the +buffalo never extended so far to the westward as they did on the waters of +the Columbia; and only in one or two instances have they been known to +descend as far west as the mouth of White river. In traveling through the +country west of the Rocky mountains, observation readily led me to the +impression that the buffalo had, for the first time, crossed that range to +the waters of the Pacific only a few years prior to the period we are +considering; and in this opinion I am sustained by Mr. Fitzpatrick, and +the older trappers in that country. In the region west of the Rocky +mountains, we never meet with any of the ancient vestiges which, +throughout all the country lying upon their eastern waters, are found in +the _great highways_, continuous for hundreds of miles, always +several inches, and sometimes several feet in depth, which the buffalo +have made in crossing from one river to another, or in traversing the +mountain ranges. The Snake Indians, more particularly those low down upon +Lewis's fork, have always been very grateful to the American trappers, for +the great kindness (as they frequently expressed it) which they did to +them, in driving the buffalo so low down the Columbia river. + +The extraordinary abundance of the buffalo on the east side of the Rocky +mountains, and their extraordinary diminution, will be made clearly +evident from the following statement: At any time between the years 1824 +and 1836, a traveler might start from any given point south or north in +the Rocky Mountain range, journeying by the most direct route to the +Missouri river; and, during the whole distance, his road would always be +among large bands of buffalo, which would never be out of his view until +he arrived almost within sight of the abodes of civilization. + +At this time, the buffalo occupy but a very limited space, principally +along the eastern base of the Rocky mountains, sometimes extending at +their southern extremity to a considerable distance into the plains +between the Platte and Arkansas rivers, and along the eastern frontier of +New Mexico as far south as Texas. + +The following statement, which I owe to the kindness of Mr. Sanford, a +partner in the American Fur Company, will further illustrate this subject, +by extensive knowledge acquired during several years of travel through the +region inhabited by the buffalo: + +"The total amount of robes annually traded by ourselves and others will +not be found to differ much from the following statement: + + Robes. + +American Fur Company 70,000 +Hudson's Bay Company 10,000 +All other companies, probably 10,000 + ------- +Making a total of 90,000 +as an average annual return for the last eight or ten years. + + +"In the northwest, the Hudson's Bay Company purchase from the Indians but +a very small number--their only market being Canada, to which the cost of +transportation nearly equals the produce of the furs; and it is only +within a very recent period that they have received buffalo robes in +trade; and out of the great number of buffalo annually killed throughout +the extensive region inhabited by the Camanches and other kindred tribes, +no robes whatever are furnished for trade. During only four months of the +year, (from November until March,) the skins are good for dressing; those +obtained in the remaining eight months are valueless to traders; and the +hides of bulls are never taken off or dressed as robes at any season. +Probably not more than one-third of the skins are taken from the animals +killed, even when they are in good season, the labor of preparing and +dressing the robes being very great; and it is seldom that a lodge trades +more than twenty skins in a year. It is during the summer months, and in +the early part of autumn, that the greatest number of buffalo are killed, +and yet at this time a skin is never taken for the purpose of trade." + +From these data, which are certainly limited, and decidedly within bounds, +the reader is left to draw his own inference of the immense number +annually killed. + +In 1842, I found the Sioux Indians of the Upper Platte _demontes_, as +their French traders expressed it, with the failure of the buffalo; and in +the following year, large villages from the Upper Missouri came over to +the mountains at the heads of the Platte, in search of them. The rapidly +progressive failure of their principal, and almost their only means of +subsistence, has created great alarm among them; and at this time there +are only two modes presented to them, by which they see a good prospect +for escaping starvation: one of these is to rob the settlements along the +frontier of the States; and the other is to form a league between the +various tribes of the Sioux nation, the Cheyennes, and Arapahoes, and make +war against the Crow nation, in order to take from them their country, +which is now the best buffalo country in the west. This plan they now have +in consideration; and it would probably be a war of extermination, as the +Crows have long been advised of this state of affairs, and say that they +are perfectly prepared. These are the best warriors in the Rocky +mountains, and are now allied with the Snake Indians; and it is probable +that their combination would extend itself to the Utahs, who have long +been engaged in war against the Sioux. It is in this section of country +that my observation formerly led me to recommend the establishment of a +military post. + +The farther course of our narrative will give fuller and more detailed +information of the present disposition of the buffalo in the country we +visited. + +Among the roots we obtained here, I could distinguish only five or six +different kinds; and the supply of the Indians whom we met consisted +principally of yampah, (_anethum graveolens_,) tobacoo-root, +(_valeriana_,) and a large root of a species of thistle, (_circium +Virginianum_,) which now is occasionally abundant and is a very +agreeably flavored vegetable. + +We had been detained so long at the village, that in the afternoon we made +only five miles, and encamped on the same river after a day's journey of +19 miles. The Indians informed us that we should reach the big salt water +after having slept twice and traveling in a south direction. The stream +had here entered nearly a level plain or valley, of good soil, eight or +ten miles broad, to which no termination was to be seen, and lying between +ranges of mountains which, on the right, were grassy and smooth, unbroken +by rock, and lower than on the left, where they were rocky and bald, +increasing in height to the southward. On the creek were fringes of young +willows, older trees being rarely found on the plains, where the Indians +burn the surface to produce better grass. Several magpies (_pica +Hudsopica_) were seen on the creek this afternoon; and a rattlesnake +was killed here, the first which had been seen since leaving the eastern +plains. Our camp to-night had such a hungry appearance that I suffered the +little cow to be killed, and divided the roots and berries among the +people. A number of Indians from the village encamped near. + +The weather the next morning was clear, the thermometer at sunrise at +44.5 deg.; and, continuing down the valley, in about five miles we followed +the little creek of our encampment to its junction with a larger stream, +called _Roseaux_, or Reed river. Immediately opposite, on the right, +the range was gathered into its highest peak, sloping gradually low, and +running off to a point apparently some forty or fifty miles below. Between +this (now become the valley stream) and the foot of the mountains, we +journeyed along a handsome sloping level, which frequent springs from the +hills made occasionally miry, and halted to noon at a swampy spring, where +there were good grass and abundant rushes. Here the river was forty feet +wide, with a considerable current, and the valley a mile and a half in +breadth; the soil being generally good, of a dark color, and apparently +well adapted to cultivation. The day had become bright and pleasant, with +the thermometer at 71 deg.. By observation, our latitude was 41 deg. 59' 31", and +the elevation above the sea 4,670 feet. On our left, this afternoon, the +range at long intervals formed itself into peaks, appearing to terminate, +about forty miles below, in a rocky cape, beyond which several others were +faintly visible; and we were disappointed when, at every little rise, we +did not see the lake. Towards evening, our way was somewhat obstructed by +fields of _artemisia_, which began to make their appearance here, and +we encamped on the Roseaux, the water of which had acquired a decidedly +salt taste, nearly opposite to a canon gap in the mountains, through which +the Bear river enters this valley. As we encamped, the night set in dark +and cold, with heavy rain, and the artemisia, which was our only wood, was +so wet that it would not burn. A poor, nearly starved dog, with a wound in +his side from a ball, came to the camp, and remained with us until the +winter, when he met a very unexpected fate. + + + +SEPTEMBER. + + +1st.--The morning was squally and cold; the sky scattered over with +clouds; and the night had been so uncomfortable, that we were not on the +road until eight o'clock. Traveling between Roseaux and Bear rivers, we +continued to descend the valley, which gradually expanded, as we advanced, +into a level plain, of good soil, about 25 miles in breadth, between +mountains 3,000 and 4,000 feet high, rising suddenly to the clouds, which +all day rested upon the peaks. These gleamed out in the occasional +sunlight, mantled with the snow, which had fallen upon them, while it +rained on us in the valley below, of which the elevation here was 4,500 +feet above the sea. The country before us plainly indicated that we were +approaching the lake, though, as the ground we were traveling afforded no +elevated point, nothing of it as yet could be seen; and at a great +distance ahead were several isolated mountains resembling islands, which +they were afterwards found to be. On this upper plain, the grass was +everywhere dead; and among the shrubs with which it was almost exclusively +occupied, (artemisia being the most abundant,) frequently occurred +handsome clusters of several species of _dieteria_ in bloom. +_Purshia tridentata_ was among the frequent shrubs. Descending to the +bottoms of Bear river, we found good grass for the animals, and encamped +about 300 yards above the mouth of Roseaux, which here makes its junction, +without communicating any of its salty taste to the main stream, of which +the water remains perfectly pure. On the river are only willow thickets, +(_salix longifolia_,) and in the bottoms the abundant plants are +canes, soldiago, and helianthi, and along the banks of Roseaux are fields +of _malva rotundifolia_. At sunset the thermometer was at 54.5 deg., and +the evening clear and calm; but I deferred making any use of it until one +o'clock in the morning, when I endeavored to obtain an emersion of the +first satellite; but it was lost in a bank of clouds, which also rendered +our usual observations indifferent. + +Among the useful things which formed a portion of our equipage, was an +India-rubber boat, 18 feet long, made somewhat in the form of a bark canoe +of the northern lakes. The sides were formed by two air-tight cylinders, +eighteen inches in diameter, connected with others forming the bow and +stern. To lessen the danger from accidents to the boat, these were divided +into four different compartments, and the interior space was sufficiently +large to contain five or six persons, and a considerable weight of +baggage. The Roseaux being too deep to be forded, our boat was filled with +air, and in about one hour all the equipage of the camp, carriage and gun +included, ferried across. Thinking that perhaps in the course of the day +we might reach the outlet of the lake, I got into the boat with Basil +Lajeunesse, and paddled down Bear river, intending at night to rejoin the +party, which in the mean time proceeded on its way. The river was from +sixty to one hundred yards broad, and the water so deep, that even on the +comparatively shallow points we could not reach the bottom with 15 feet. +On either side were alternately low bottoms and willow points, with an +occasional high prairie; and for five or six hours we followed slowly the +winding course of the river, which crept along with a sluggish current +among frequent _detours_ several miles around, sometimes running for +a considerable distance directly up the valley. As we were stealing +quietly down the stream, trying in vain to get a shot at a strange large +bird that was numerous among the willows, but very shy, we came +unexpectedly upon several families of _Root-Diggers_, who were +encamped among the rushes on the shore, and appeared very busy about +several weirs or nets which had been rudely made of canes and rushes for +the purpose of catching fish. They were very much startled at our +appearance, but we soon established an acquaintance; and finding that they +had some roots, I promised to send some men with goods to trade with them. +They had the usual very large heads, remarkable among the Digger tribe, +with matted hair, and were almost entirely naked: looking very poor and +miserable, as if their lives had been spent in the rushes where they were, +beyond which they seemed to have very little knowledge of any thing. From +the words we could comprehend, their language was that of the Snake +Indians. + +Our boat moved so heavily, that we had made very little progress; and, +finding that it would be impossible to overtake the camp, as soon as we +were sufficiently far below the Indians, we put to the shore near a high +prairie bank, hauled up the boat, and _cached_ our effects in the +willows. Ascending the bank, we found that our desultory labor had brought +us only a few miles in a direct line; and, going out into the prairie, +after a search we found the trail of the camp, which was nowhere in sight, +but had followed the general course of the river in a large circular sweep +which it makes at this place. The sun was about three hours high when we +found the trail; and as our people had passed early in the day, we had the +prospect of a vigorous walk before us. Immediately where we landed, the +high arable plain on which we had been traveling, for several days past, +terminated in extensive low flats, very generally occupied by salt +marshes, or beds of shallow lakes, whence the water had in most places +evaporated, leaving their hard surface incrusted with a shining white +residuum; and absolutely covered with very small _univalve_ shells. +As we advanced, the whole country around us assumed this appearance; and +there was no other vegetation than the shrubby chenopodiaceous and other +apparently saline plants, which were confined to the rising grounds. Here +and there, on the river bank, which was raised like a levee above the +flats through which it ran, was a narrow border of grass and short black- +burnt willows; the stream being very deep and sluggish, and sometimes six +hundred to eight hundred feet wide. After a rapid walk of about fifteen +miles, we caught sight of the camp-fires among clumps of willows, just as +the sun had sunk behind the mountains on the west side of the valley, +filling the clear sky with a golden yellow. These last rays, to us so +precious, could not have revealed a more welcome sight. To the traveler +and the hunter, a camp-fire in the lonely wilderness is always cheering; +and to ourselves, in our present situation, after a hard march in a region +of novelty, approaching the _debouches_ of a river, in a lake of +almost fabulous reputation, it was doubly so. A plentiful supper of +aquatic birds, and the interest of the scene, soon dissipated fatigue; and +I obtained during the night emersions of the second, third, and fourth +satellites of Jupiter, with observations for time and latitude. + +3d.--The morning was clear, with a light air from the north, and the +thermometer at sunrise at 45.5 deg.. At three in the morning, Basil was sent +back with several men and horses for the boat, which, in a direct course +across the flats, was not ten miles distant; and in the mean time there +was a pretty spot of grass here for the animals. The ground was so low +that we could not get high enough to see across the river, on account of +the willows; but we were evidently in the vicinity of the lake, and the +water-fowl made this morning a noise like thunder. A pelican (_pelecanus +onocrotalus_) was killed as he passed by, and many geese and ducks flew +over the camp. On the dry salt marsh here is scarce any other plant than +_salicornia herbacea_. + +In the afternoon the men returned with the boat, bringing with them a +small quantity of roots and some meat, which the Indians had told them was +bear-meat. + +Descending the river for about three miles, in the afternoon, we found a +bar to any further traveling in that direction--the stream being spread +out in several branches, and covering the low grounds with water, where +the miry nature of the bottom did not permit any further advance. We were +evidently on the border of the lake, although the rushes and canes which +covered the marshes prevented any view; and we accordingly encamped at the +little _delta_ which forms the mouth of Bear river--a long arm of the +lake stretching up to the north, between us and the opposite mountains. +The river was bordered with a fringe of willows and canes, among which +were interspersed a few plants; and scattered about on the marsh was a +species of _uniola_, closely allied to _U. spicata_ of our sea- +coast. The whole morass was animated with multitudes of water-fowl, which +appeared to be very wild--rising for the space of a mile round about at +the sound of a gun, with a noise like distant thunder. Several of the +people waded out into the marshes, and we had to-night a delicious supper +of ducks, geese, and plover. + +Although the moon was bright, the night was otherwise favorable; and I +obtained this evening an emersion of the first satellite, with the usual +observations. A mean result, depending on various observations made during +our stay in the neighborhood, places the mouth of the river in longitude +112 deg. 19' 30" west from Greenwich; latitude 41 deg. 30' 22"; and, according to +the barometer, in elevation 4,200 feet above the Gulf of Mexico. The night +was clear, with considerable dew, which I had remarked every night since +the first of September. The next morning, while we were preparing to +start, Carson rode into the camp with flour and a few other articles of +light provision sufficient for two or three days--a scanty but very +acceptable supply. Mr. Fitzpatrick had not yet arrived, and provisions +were very scarce, and difficult to be had at Fort Hall, which had been +entirely exhausted by the necessities of the emigrants. He brought me also +a letter from Mr. Dwight, who, in company with several emigrants, had +reached that place in advance of Mr. Fitzpatrick, and was about continuing +his journey to Vancouver. + +Returning about five miles up the river, we were occupied until nearly +sunset in crossing to the left bank--the stream, which in the last five or +six miles of its course is very much narrower than above, being very deep +immediately at the banks; and we had great difficulty in getting our +animals over. The people with the baggage were easily crossed in the boat, +and we encamped on the left bank where we crossed the river. At sunset the +thermometer was at 75 deg., and there was some rain during the night, with a +thunder-storm at a distance. + +5th.--Before us was evidently the bed of the lake, being a great salt +marsh, perfectly level and bare, whitened in places by saline +efflorescences, with here and there a pool of water, and having the +appearance of a very level seashore at low tide. Immediately along the +river was a very narrow strip of vegetation, consisting of willows, +helianthi, roses, flowering vines, and grass; bordered on the verge of the +great marsh by a fringe of singular plants, which appear to be a shrubby +salicornia, or a genus allied to it. + +About 12 miles to the southward was one of those isolated mountains, now +appearing to be a kind of peninsula; and towards this we accordingly +directed our course, as it probably afforded a good view of the lake; but +the deepening mud as we advanced forced us to return towards the river, +and gain the higher ground at the foot of the eastern mountains. Here we +halted for a few minutes at noon, on a beautiful little stream of pure and +remarkably clear water, with a bed of rock _in situ_, on which was an +abundant water-plant with a white blossom. There was good grass in the +bottoms; and, amidst a rather luxuriant growth, its banks were bordered +with a large showy plant, (_eupatorium purpureum_,) which I here saw +for the first time. We named the stream _Clear creek_. + +We continued our way along the mountain, having found here a broad +plainly-beaten trail, over what was apparently the shore of the lake in +the spring; the ground being high and firm, and the soil excellent, and +covered with vegetation, among which a leguminous plant (_glycyrrhiza +lepidota_) was a characteristic plant. The ridge here rises abruptly to +the height of about 4,000 feet, its face being very prominently marked +with a massive stratum of rose-colored granular quartz, which is evidently +an altered sedimentary rock, the lines of deposition being very distinct. +It is rocky and steep--divided into several mountains--and the rain in the +valley appears to be always snow on their summits at this season. Near a +remarkably rocky point of the mountain, at a large spring of pure water, +were several hackberry-trees, (_celtis_,) probably a new species, the +berries still green; and a short distance farther, thickets of sumach, +(_rhus_.) + +On the plain here I noticed blackbirds and grouse. In about seven miles +from Clear creek, the trail brought us to a place at the foot of the +mountain where there issued, with considerable force, 10 or 12 hot +springs, highly impregnated with salt. In one of these the thermometer +stood at 136 deg., and in another at 132.5 deg., and the water, which was spread +in pools over the low ground, was colored red. + +An analysis of the red earthy matter deposited in the bed of the stream +from the springs, gives the following result: + +Peroxide of iron------- 33.50 +Carbonate of magnesia-- 2.40 +Carbonate of lime------ 50.43 +Sulphate of lime------- 2.00 +Chloride of sodium----- 3.45 +Silica and alumina------ 3.00 +Water and loss---------- 5.22 + ------ + 100.00 deg. + +At this place the trail we had been following turned to the left, +apparently with a view of entering a gorge in the mountain, from which +issued the principal fork of a large and comparatively well-timbered +stream, called Weber's fork. We accordingly turned off towards the lake, +and encamped on this river, which was 100 to 150 feet wide, with high +banks, and very clear pure water, without the slightest indication of +salt. + +6th.--Leaving the encampment early, we again directed our course for the +peninsular _butte_ across a low shrubby plain, crossing in the way a +slough-like creek with miry banks, and wooded with thickets of thorn, +(_crataegus_,) which were loaded with berries. This time we reached +the butte without any difficulty, and, ascending to the summit, +immediately at our feet beheld the object of our anxious search--the +waters of the Inland Sea, stretching in still and solitary grandeur far +beyond the limit of our vision. It was one of the great points of the +exploration; and as we looked eagerly over the lake in the first emotions +of excited pleasure, I am doubtful if the followers of Balboa felt more +enthusiasm when, from the heights of the Andes, they saw for the first +time the great Western ocean. It was certainly a magnificent object, and a +noble _terminus_ to this part of our expedition; and to travelers so +long shut up among mountain ranges, a sudden view over the expanse of +silent waters had in it something sublime. Several large islands raised +their high rocky heads out of the waves; but whether or not they were +timbered, was still left to our imagination, as the distance was too great +to determine if the dark hues upon them were woodland or naked rock. +During the day the clouds had been gathering black over the mountains to +the westward, and, while we were looking, a storm burst down with sudden +fury upon the lake, and entirely hid the inlands from our view. So far as +we could see, along the shores there was not a solitary tree, and but +little appearance of grass; and on Weber's fork, a few miles below our +last encampment, the timber was gathered into groves, and then disappeared +entirely. As this appeared to be the nearest point to the lake, where a +suitable camp could be found, we directed our course to one of the groves, +where we found a handsome encampment, with good grass and an abundance of +rushes, (_equisetum hyemale_.) At sunset the thermometer was at 55 deg.; +the evening clear and calm, with some cumuli. + +7th.--The morning was calm and clear, with a temperature at sunrise of +39.5 deg.. The day was spent in active preparation for our intended voyage on +the lake. On the edge of the stream a favorable spot was selected in a +grove, and, felling the timber, we made a strong _coral_, or horse- +pen, for the animals, and a little fort for the people who were to remain. +We were now probably in the country of the Utah Indians, though none +reside on the lake. The India-rubber boat was repaired with prepared cloth +and gum, and filled with air, in readiness for the next day. + +The provisions which Carson brought with him being now exhausted, and our +stock reduced to a small quantity of roots, I determined to retain with me +only a sufficient number of men for the execution of our design; and +accordingly seven were sent back to Fort Hall, under the guidance of +Francois Lajeunesse, who, having been for many years a trapper in the +country, was considered an experienced mountaineer. Though they were +provided with good horses, and the road was a remarkably plain one of only +four days' journey for a horse-man, they became bewildered, (as we +afterwards learned,) and, losing their way, wandered about the country in +parties of one or two, reaching the fort about a week afterwards. Some +straggled in of themselves, and the others were brought in by Indians who +had picked them up on Snake river, about sixty miles below the fort, +traveling along the emigrant road in full march for the Lower Columbia. +The leader of this adventurous party was Francois. + +Hourly barometrical observations were made during the day, and, after the +departure of the party for Fort Hall, we occupied ourselves in continuing +our little preparations, and in becoming acquainted with the country in +the vicinity. The bottoms along the river were timbered with several kinds +of willow, hawthorn, and fine cottonwood-trees (_populus canadensis_) +with remarkably large leaves, and sixty feet in height by measurement. + +We formed now but a small family. With Mr. Preuss and myself, Carson, +Bernier, and Basil Lajeunesse, had been selected for the boat expedition-- +the first attempted on this interior sea; and Badeau, with Derosier, and +Jacob, (the colored man,) were to be left in charge of the camp. We were +favored with most delightful weather. To-night there was a brilliant +sunset of golden orange and green, which left the western sky clear and +beautifully pure; but clouds in the east made me lose an occultation. The +summer frogs were singing around us; and the evening was very pleasant, +with a temperature of 60 deg.--a night of a more southern autumn. For our +supper we had _yampah_, the most agreeably flavored of the roots, +seasoned by a small fat duck, which had come in the way of Jacob's rifle. +Around our fire to-night were many speculations on what to-morrow would +bring forth, and in our busy conjectures we fancied that we should find +every one of the large islands a tangled wilderness of trees and +shrubbery, teeming with game of every description that the neighboring +region afforded, and which the foot of a white man or Indian had never +violated. Frequently, during the day, clouds had rested on the summits of +their lofty mountains, and we believed that we should find clear streams +and springs of fresh water; and we indulged in anticipations of the +luxurious repasts with which we were to indemnify ourselves for past +privations. Neither, in our discussions, were the whirlpool and other +mysterious dangers forgotten, which Indian and hunters' stories attributed +to this unexplored lake. The men had found that, instead of being strongly +sewed, (like that of the preceding year, which had so triumphantly rode +the canons of the upper Great Platte,) our present boat was only pasted +together in a very insecure manner, the maker having been allowed so +little time in the construction, that he was obliged to crowd the labor of +two months into several days. The insecurity of the boat was sensibly felt +by us; and, mingled with the enthusiasm and excitement that we all felt at +the prospect of an undertaking which had never before been accomplished, +was a certain impression of danger, sufficient to give a serious character +to our conversation. The momentary view which had been had of the lake the +day before, its great extent and rugged islands, dimly seen amidst the +dark waters in the obscurity of the sudden storm, were calculated to +heighten the idea of undefined danger with which the lake was generally +associated. + +8th.--A calm, clear day, with a sunrise temperature of 41 deg.. In view of our +present enterprise, a part of the equipment of the boat had been made to +consist in three air-tight bags, about three feet long, and capable each +of containing five gallons. These had been filled with water the night +before, and were now placed in the boat, with our blankets and +instruments, consisting of a sextant, telescope, spy-glass, thermometer, +and barometer. + +We left the camp at sunrise, and had a very pleasant voyage down the +river, in which there was generally eight or ten feet of water, deepening +as we neared the mouth in the latter part of the day. In the course of the +morning we discovered that two of the cylinders leaked so much as to +require one man constantly at the bellows, to keep them sufficiently full +of air to support the boat. Although we had made a very early start, we +loitered so much on the way--stopping every now and then, and floating +silently along, to get a shot at a goose or duck--that it was late in the +day when we reached the outlet. The river here divided into several +branches, filled with fluvials, and so very shallow that it was with +difficulty we could get the boat along, being obliged to get out and wade. +We encamped on a low point among rushes and young willows, where was a +quantity of drift-wood, which served for our fires. The evening was mild +and clear; we made a pleasant bed of young willows; and geese and ducks +enough had been killed for an abundant supper at night, and for breakfast +the next morning. The stillness of the night was enlivened by millions of +water-fowl. Lat. (by observation) 41 deg. 11' 26"; and long. 112 deg. 11' 30". + +9th.--The day was clear and calm; the thermometer at sunrise at 49 deg.. As is +usual with the trappers on the eve of any enterprise, our people had made +dreams, and theirs happened to be a bad one--one which always preceded +evil--and consequently they looked very gloomy this morning; but we +hurried through our breakfast, in order to made an early start, and have +all the day before us for our adventure. The channel in a short distance +became so shallow that our navigation was at an end, being merely a sheet +of soft mud, with a few inches of water, and sometimes none at all, +forming the low-water shore of the lake. All this place was absolutely +covered with flocks of screaming plover. We took off our clothes, and, +getting overboard, commenced dragging the boat--making, by this operation, +a very curious trail, and a very disagreeable smell in stirring up the +mud, as we sank above the knee at every step. The water here was still +fresh, with only an insipid and disagreeable taste, probably derived from +the bed of fetid mud. After proceeding in this way about a mile, we came +to a small black ridge on the bottom, beyond which the water became +suddenly salt, beginning gradually to deepen, and the bottom was sandy and +firm. It was a remarkable division, separating the fresh waters of the +rivers from the briny water of the lake, which was entirely +_saturated_ with common salt. Pushing our little vessel across the +narrow boundary, we sprang on board, and at length were afloat on the +waters of the unknown sea. + +We did not steer for the mountainous islands, but directed our course +towards a lower one, which it had been decided we should first visit, the +summit of which was formed like the crater at the upper end of Bear River +valley. So long as we could touch the bottom with our paddles, we were +very gay; but gradually, as the water deepened, we became more still in +our frail batteau of gum-cloth distended with air, and with pasted seams. +Although the day was very calm, there was a considerable swell on the +lake; and there were white patches of foam on the surface, which were +slowly moving to the southward, indicating the set of a current in that +direction, and recalling the recollection of the whirlpool stories. The +water continued to deepen as we advanced--the lake becoming almost +transparently clear, of an extremely beautiful bright-green color; and the +spray, which was thrown into the boat and over our clothes, was directly +converted into a crust of common salt, which covered also our hands and +arms. "Captain," said Carson, who for some time had been looking +suspiciously at some whitening appearances outside the nearest islands, +"what are those yonder?--won't you just take a look with the glass?" We +ceased paddling for a moment, and found them to be the caps of the waves +that were beginning to break under the force of a strong breeze that was +coming up the lake. + +The form of the boat seemed to be an admirable one, and it rode on the +waves like a water-bird; but, at the same time, it was extremely slow in +its progress. When we were a little more than half way across the reach, +two of the divisions between the cylinders gave way, and it required the +constant use of the bellows to keep in a sufficient quantity of air. For a +long time we scarcely seemed to approach our island, but gradually we +worked across the rougher sea of the open channel, into the smoother water +under the lee of the island, and began to discover that what we took for a +long row of pelicans, ranged on the beach, were only low cliffs whitened +with salt by the spray of the waves; and about noon we reached the shore, +the transparency of the water enabling us to see the bottom at a +considerable depth. + +It was a handsome broad beach where we landed, behind which the hill, into +which the island was gathered, rose somewhat abruptly; and a point of rock +at one end enclosed it in a sheltering way; and as there was an abundance +of drift-wood along the shore, it offered us a pleasant encampment. We did +not suffer our frail boat to touch the sharp rocks, but, getting +overboard, discharged the baggage, and, lifting it gently out of the +water, carried it to the upper part of the beach, which was composed of +very small fragments of rock. + +Among the successive banks of the beach, formed by the action of the +waves, our attention, as we approached the island, had been attracted by +one 10 to 20 feet in breadth, of a dark-brown color. Being more closely +examined, this was found to be composed, to the depth of seven or eight +and twelve inches, entirely of the _larvae_ of insects, or, in common +language; of the skins of worms, about the size of a grain of oats, which +had been washed up by the waters of the lake. + +Alluding to this subject some months afterwards, when traveling through a +more southern portion of this region, in company with Mr. Joseph Walker, +an old hunter, I was informed by him, that, wandering with a party of men +in a mountain country east of the great California range, he surprised a +party of several Indian families encamped near a small salt lake, who +abandoned their lodges at his approach, leaving every thing behind them. +Being in a starving condition, they were delighted to find in the +abandoned lodges a number of skin bags, containing a quantity of what +appeared to be fish, dried and pounded. On this they made a hearty supper, +and were gathering around an abundant breakfast the next morning, when Mr. +Walker discovered that it was with these, or a similar worm, that the bags +had been filled. The stomachs of the stout trappers were not proof against +their prejudices, and the repulsive food was suddenly rejected. Mr. Walker +had further opportunities of seeing these worms used as an article of +food; and I am inclined to think they are the same as those we saw, and +appear to be a product of the salt lakes. It may be well to recall to your +mind that Mr. Walker was associated with Capt. Bonneville in his +expedition to the Rocky mountains, and has since that time remained in the +country, generally residing in some one of the Snake villages, when not +engaged in one of his numerous trapping expeditions, in which he is +celebrated as one of the best and bravest leaders who have ever been in +the country. + +The cliffs and masses of rock along the shore were whitened by an +incrustation of salt where the waves dashed up against them; and the +evaporating water, which had been left in holes and hollows on the surface +of the rocks, was covered with a crust of salt about one-eighth of an inch +in thickness. It appeared strange that, in the midst of this grand +reservoir, one of our greatest wants lately had been salt. Exposed to be +more perfectly dried in the sun, this became very white and fine, having +the usual flavor of very excellent common salt, without any foreign taste; +but only a little was collected for present use, as there was in it a +number of small black insects. + +Carrying with us the barometer and other instruments, in the afternoon we +ascended to the highest point of the island--a bare, rocky peak, eight +hundred feet above the lake. Standing on the summit, we enjoyed an +extended view of the lake, enclosed in a basin of rugged mountains, which +sometimes left marshy flats and extensive bottoms between them and the +shore, and in other places came directly down into the water with bold and +precipitous bluffs. Following with our glasses the irregular shores, we +searched for some indications of a communication with other bodies of +water, or the entrance of other rivers; but the distance was so great that +we could make out nothing with certainty. To the southward, several +peninsular mountains, 3,000 or 4,000 feet high, entered the lake, +appearing, so far as the distance and our position enabled us to +determine, to be connected by flats and low ridges with the mountains in +the rear. These are probably the islands usually indicated on maps of this +region as entirely detached from the shore. The season of our operations +was when the waters were at their lowest stage. At the season of high +waters in the spring, it is probable that the marshes and low grounds are +overflowed, and the surface of the lake considerably greater. In several +places the view was of unlimited extent--here and there a rocky islet +appearing above the waters, at a great distance; and beyond, every thing +was vague and undefined. As we looked over the vast expanse of water +spread out beneath us, and strained our eyes along the silent shores over +which hung so much doubt and uncertainty, and which were so full of +interest to us, I could hardly repress the almost irresistible desire to +continue our explorations; but the lengthening snow on the mountains was a +plain indication of the advancing season, and our frail linen boat +appeared so insecure that I was unwilling to trust our lives to the +uncertainties of the lake. I therefore unwillingly resolved to terminate +our survey here, and remain satisfied for the present with what we had +been able to add to the unknown geography of the region. We felt pleasure, +also, in remembering that we were the first who, in the traditionary +annals of the country, had visited the islands, and broken, with the +cheerful sound of human voices, the long solitude of the place. From the +point where we were standing, the ground fell off on every side to the +water, giving us a perfect view of the island, which is twelve or thirteen +miles in circumference, being simply a rocky hill, on which there is +neither water nor trees of any kind; although the _Fremontia +vermicularis_, which was in great abundance, might easily be taken for +timber at a distance. The plant seemed here to delight in a congenial air, +growing in extraordinary luxuriance seven to eight feet high, and was very +abundant on the upper parts of the island, where it was almost the only +plant. This is eminently a saline shrub; its leaves have a salt taste; and +it luxuriates in saline soils, where it is usually a characteristic. It is +widely diffused over all this country. A chenopodiaceous shrub, which is a +new species of OBIONE, (O. rigida, _Torr. and Frem_.,) was equally +characteristic of the lower parts of the island. These two are the +striking plants on the island, and belong to a class of plants which form +a prominent feature in the vegetation of this country. On the lower parts +of the island, also, a prickly pear of very large size was frequent. On +the shore, near the water, was a woolly species of _phaca_; and a new +species of umbelliferous plant (_leptotaemia_) was scattered about in +very considerable abundance. These constituted all the vegetation that now +appeared upon the island. + +I accidentally left on the summit the brass cover to the object end of my +spy-glass: and as it will probably remain there undisturbed by Indians, it +will furnish matter of speculation to some future traveler. In our +excursions about the island, we did not meet with any kind of animal; a +magpie, and another larger bird, probably attracted by the smoke of our +fire, paid us a visit from the shore, and were the only living things seen +during our stay. The rock constituting the cliffs along the shore, where +we were encamped, is a talcous rock, or steatite, with brown spar. + +At sunset, the temperature was 70 deg.. We had arrived just in time to obtain +a meridian altitude of the sun, and other observations were obtained this +evening, which placed our camp in latitude 41 deg. 10' 42", and longitude 112 deg. +21' 05" from Greenwich. From a discussion of the barometrical observations +made during our stay on the shores of the lake, we have adopted 4,200 feet +for its elevation above the Gulf of Mexico. In the first disappointment we +felt from the dissipation of our dream of the fertile islands, I called +this _Disappointment island_. + +Out of the drift-wood, we made ourselves pleasant little lodges, open to +the water; and, after having kindled large fires to excite the wonder of +any straggling savage on the lake shores, lay down, for the first time in +a long journey, in perfect security; no one thinking about his arms. The +evening was extremely bright and pleasant; but the wind rose during the +night, and the waves began to break heavily on the shore, making our +island tremble. I had not expected in our inland journey to hear the roar +of an ocean surf; and the strangeness of our situation, and the excitement +we felt in the associated interest of the place, made this one of the most +interesting nights I made during our long expedition. + +In the morning, the surf was breaking heavily on the shore, and we were up +early. The lake was dark and agitated, and we hurried through our scanty +breakfast, and embarked--having first filled one of the buckets with water +from the lake, of which it was intended to make salt. The sun had risen by +the time we were ready to start; and it was blowing a strong gale of wind, +almost directly off the shore, and raising a considerable sea, in which +our boat strained very much. It roughened as we got away from the island, +and it required all the efforts of the men to make any head against the +wind and sea, the gale rising with the sun; and there was danger of being +blown into one of the open reaches beyond the island. At the distance of +half a mile from the beach, the depth of the water was 16 feet, with a +clay bottom; but, as the working of the boat was very severe labor, and +during the operation of sounding it was necessary to cease paddling, +during which the boat lost considerable way, I was unwilling to discourage +the men, and reluctantly gave up my intention of ascertaining the depth +and the character of the bed. There was a general shout in the boat when +we found ourselves in one fathom, and we soon after landed on a low point +of mud, immediately under the butte of the peninsula, where we unloaded +the boat, and carried the baggage about a quarter of a mile to firmer +ground. We arrived just in time for meridian observation, and carried the +barometer to the summit of the butte, which is 500 feet above the lake. +Mr. Preuss set off on foot for the camp, which was about nine miles +distant; Basil accompanying him, to bring back horses for the boat and +baggage. + +The rude-looking shelter we raised on the shore, our scattered baggage and +boat lying on the beach, made quite a picture; and we called this the +_Fisherman's camp_. _Lynosiris graveolens_, and another new +species of OBIONE, (O. confertifolia--_Torr. & Frem_.,) were growing +on the low grounds, with interspersed spots of an unwholesome salt grass, +on a saline clay soil, with a few other plants. + +The horses arrived late in the afternoon, by which time the gale had +increased to such a height that a man could scarcely stand before it; and +we were obliged to pack our baggage hastily, as the rising water of the +lake had already reached the point where we were halted. Looking back as +we rode off, we found the place of recent encampment entirely covered. The +low plain through which we rode to the camp was covered with a compact +growth of shrubs of extraordinary size and luxuriance. The soil was sandy +and saline; flat places, resembling the beds of ponds, that were bare of +vegetation, and covered with a powdery white salt, being interspersed +among the shrubs. Artemisia tridentata was very abundant, but the plants +were principally saline; a large and vigorous chenopodiaceous shrub, five +to eight feet high, being characteristic, with Fremontia vermicularis, and +a shrubby plant which seems to be a new _salicornia_. We reached the +camp in time to escape a thunder-storm which blackened the sky, and were +received with a discharge of the howitzer by the people, who, having been +unable to see any thing of us on the lake, had begun to feel some +uneasiness. + +11th.--To-day we remained at this camp, in order to obtain some further +observations, and to boil down the water which had been brought from the +lake, for a supply of salt. Roughly evaporated over the fire, the five +gallons of water yielded fourteen pints of very fine-grained and very +white salt, of which the whole lake may be regarded as a saturated +solution. A portion of the salt thus obtained has been subjected to +analysis, giving, in 100 parts, the following proportions. + + Analysis of the salt. + +Chloride of sodium, (common salt,) --- 97.80 +Chloride of calcium, ----------------- 0.61 +Chloride of magnesium, --------------- 0.24 +Sulphate of soda, -------------------- 0.23 +Sulphate of lime, -------------------- 1.12 + ______ + 100.00 + +Glancing your eye along the map, you will see a small stream entering +_Utah lake_, south of the Spanish fork, and the first waters of that +lake which our road of 1844 crosses in coming up from the southward. When +I was on this stream with Mr. Walker in that year, he informed me that on +the upper part of the river are immense beds of rock-salt of very great +thickness, which he had frequently visited. Farther to the southward, the +rivers which are affluent to the Colorado, such as the Rio Virgen, and +Gila river, near their mouths, are impregnated with salt by the cliffs of +rock-salt between which they pass. These mines occur in the same ridge in +which, about 120 miles to the northward, and subsequently in their more +immediate neighborhood, we discovered the fossils belonging to the oolitic +period, and they are probably connected with that formation, and are the +deposite from which the Great Lake obtains its salt. Had we remained +longer, we should have found them in its bed, and in the mountains around +its shores. By observation the latitude of this camp is 41 deg. 15' 50", and +longitude 112 deg. 06" 43". + +The observations made during our stay give for the rate of the chronometer +31.72", corresponding almost exactly with the rate obtained at St. Vrain's +fort. Barometrical observations were made almost hourly during the day. +This morning we breakfasted on yampah, and had only kamas for supper; but +a cup of good coffee still distinguished us from our _Digger_ +acquaintances. + +12th.--The morning was clear and calm, with a temperature at sunrise of +32 deg.. We resumed our journey late in the day, returning by nearly the same +route which we had traveled in coming to the lake; and, avoiding the +passage of Hawthorn creek, struck the hills a little below the hot salt- +springs. The flat plain we had here passed over consisted alternately of +tolerably good sandy soil and of saline plats. We encamped early on Clear +creek, at the foot of the high ridge; one of the peaks of which we +ascertained by measurement to be 4,210 feet above the lake, or about 8,400 +feet above the sea. Behind these front peaks the ridge rises towards the +Bear River mountains, which are probably as high as the Wind River chain. +This creek is here unusually well timbered with a variety of trees. Among +them were birch, (_betula_,) the narrow-leaved poplar, (_populus +angustifolia_,) several kinds of willow, (_solix_,) hawthorn, +(_crataegus_,) alder, (_alnus viridis_,) and _cerasus_, with +an oak allied to _quercus alba_, but very distinct from that or any +other species in the United States. + +We had to-night a supper of sea-gulls, which Carson killed near the lake. +Although cool, the thermometer standing at 47 deg., musquitoes were +sufficiently numerous to be troublesome this evening. + +13th.--Continuing up the river valley, we crossed several small streams; +the mountains on the right appearing to consist of the blue limestone +which we had observed in the same ridge to the northward, alternating here +with a granular quartz already mentioned. One of these streams, which +forms a smaller lake near the river, was broken up into several channels; +and the irrigated bottom of fertile soil was covered with innumerable +flowers, among which were purple fields of _eupatorium purpureum_, +with helianthi, a handsome solidago, (_S. canadensis_,) and a variety +of other plants in bloom. Continuing along the foot of the hills, in the +afternoon we found five or six hot-springs gushing out together, beneath a +conglomerate, consisting principally of fragments of a grayish-blue +limestone, efflorescing a salt upon the surface. The temperature of these +springs was 134 deg., and the rocks in the bed were colored with a red +deposite, and there was common salt crystallized on the margin. There was +also a white incrustation upon leaves and roots, consisting principally of +carbonate of lime. There were rushes seen along the road this afternoon, +and the soil under the hills was very black, and apparently very good; but +at this time the grass is entirely dried up. We encamped on Bear river, +immediately below a cut-off, the canon by which the river enters this +valley bearing north by compass. The night was mild, with a very clear +sky; and I obtained a very excellent observation of an occultation of Tau. +Arietis, with other observations. Both immersion and emersion of the star +were observed; but, as our observations have shown, the phase at the +bright limb generally gives incorrect longitudes, and we have adopted the +result obtained from the emersion at the dark limb, without allowing any +weight to the immersion. According to these observations, the longitude is +112 deg. 05' 12", and the latitude 41 deg. 42' 43". All the longitudes on the line +of our outward journey, between St. Vrain's fort and the Dalles of the +Columbia, which were not directly determined by satellites, have been +chronometrically referred to this place. + +The people to-day were rather low-spirited, hunger making them very quiet +and peaceable; and there was rarely an oath to be heard in the camp--not +even a solitary _enfant de garce_. It was time for the men with an +expected supply of provisions from Mr. Fitzpatrick to be in the +neighborhood; and the gun was fired at evening, to give notice of our +locality, but met with no response. + +14th.--About four miles from this encampment, the trail led us down to the +river, where we unexpectedly found an excellent ford--the stream being +widened by an island, and not yet disengaged from the hills at the foot of +the range. We encamped on a little creek where we had made a noon halt in +descending the river. The night was very clear and pleasant, the sunset +temperature being 67 deg.. + +The people this evening looked so forlorn, that I gave them permission to +kill a fat young horse which I had purchased with goods from the Snake +Indians, and they were very soon restored to gayety and good humor. Mr. +Preuss and myself could not yet overcome some remains of civilized +prejudices, and preferred to starve a little longer; feeling as much +saddened as if a crime had been committed. + +The next day we continued up the valley, the soil being sometimes very +black and good, occasionally gravelly, and occasionally a kind of naked +salt plains. We found on the way this morning a small encampment of two +families of Snake Indians, from whom we purchased a small quantity of +_kooyah_. They had piles of seeds, of three different kinds, spread +out upon pieces of buffalo robe; and the squaws had just gathered about a +bushel of the root of a thistle, (_circium Virginianum_.) They were +about the ordinary size of carrots, and, as I have previously mentioned, +are sweet and well flavored, requiring only a long preparation. They had a +band of twelve or fifteen horses, and appeared to be growing in the +sunshine with about as little labor as the plants they were eating. + +Shortly afterwards we met an Indian on horseback who had killed an +antelope, which we purchased of him for a little powder and some balls. We +crossed the Roseaux, and encamped on the left bank; halting early for the +pleasure of enjoying a wholesome and abundant supper, and were pleasantly +engaged in protracting our unusual comfort, when Tabeau galloped into the +camp with news that Mr. Fitzpatrick was encamped close by us, with a good +supply of provisions--flour, rice, and dried meat, and even a little +butter. Excitement to-night made us all wakeful; and after a breakfast +before sunrise the next morning, we were again on the road, and, +continuing up the valley, crossed some high points of hills, and halted to +noon on the same stream, near several lodges of Snake Indians, from whom +we purchased about a bushel of service-berries, partially dried. By the +gift of a knife, I prevailed upon a little boy to show me the +_kooyah_ plant, which proved to be _valeriana edulis_. The root +which constitutes the _kooyah_, is large, of a very bright yellow +color, with the characteristic odor, but not so fully developed as in the +prepared substance. It loves the rich moist soil of river bottoms, which +was the locality in which I always afterwards found it. It was now +entirely out of bloom; according to my observation, flowering in the +months of May and June. In the afternoon we entered a long ravine leading +to a pass in the dividing ridge between the waters of Bear river and the +Snake river, or Lewis's fork of the Columbia; our way being very much +impeded, and almost entirely blocked up, by compact fields of luxuriant +artemisia. Taking leave at this point of the waters of Bear river, and of +the geographical basin which encloses the system of rivers and creeks +which belong to the Great Salt Lake, and which so richly deserves a future +detailed and ample exploration, I can say of it, in general terms, that +the bottoms of this river, (Bear,) and of some of the creeks which I saw, +form a natural resting and recruiting station for travelers, now, and in +all time to come. The bottoms are extensive; water excellent; timber +sufficient; the soil good, and well adapted to grains and grasses suited +to such an elevated region. A military post, and a civilized settlement, +would be of great value here; grass and salt so much abound. The lake will +furnish exhaustless supplies of salt. All the mountains here are covered +with a valuable nutritious grass, called bunch-grass, from the form in +which it grows, which has a second growth in the fall. The beasts of the +Indians were fat upon it; our own found it a good subsistence; and its +quantity will sustain any amount of cattle, and make this truly a bucolic +region. + +We met here an Indian family on horseback, which had been out to gather +service-berries, and were returning loaded. This tree was scattered about +on the hills; and the upper part of the pass was timbered with aspen, +(_populus trem._;) the common blue flowering-flax occurring among the +plants. The approach to the pass was very steep, and the summit about +6,300 feet above the sea--probably only an uncertain approximation, as at +the time of observation it was blowing a violent gale of wind from the +northwest, with _cumuli_ scattered in masses over the sky, the day +otherwise bright and clear. We descended, by a steep slope, into a broad +open valley--good soil--from four to five miles wide, coming down +immediately upon one of the head-waters of the Pannack river, which here +loses itself in swampy ground. The appearance of the country here is not +very interesting. On either side is a regular range of mountains of the +usual character, with a little timber, tolerably rocky on the right, and +higher and more smooth on the left, with still higher peaks looking out +above the range. The valley afforded a good level road, but it was late +when it brought us to water, and we encamped at dark. The north-west wind +had blown up very cold weather, and the artemisia, which was our firewood +to-night, did not happen to be very abundant. This plant loves a dry, +sandy soil, and cannot grow in the good bottoms where it is rich and +moist, but on every little eminence, where water does not rest long, it +maintains absolute possession. Elevation above the sea about 5,100 feet. + +At night scattered fires glimmered along the mountains, pointing out camps +of the Indians; and we contrasted the comparative security in which we +traveled through this country with the guarded vigilance we were compelled +to exert among the Sioux and other Indians on the eastern side of the +Rocky mountains. + +At sunset the thermometer was at 50 deg., and at midnight at 30 deg.. + +17th.--The morning sky was calm and clear, the temperature at daylight +being 25 deg., and at sunrise 20 deg.. There is throughout this country a +remarkable difference between the morning and mid-day temperatures, which +at this season was very generally 40 deg. or 50 deg., and occasionally greater; +and frequently, after a very frosty morning, the heat in a few hours would +render the thinnest clothing agreeable. About noon we reached the main +fork. The Pannack river was before us, the valley being here 11/2 miles +wide, fertile, and bordered by smooth hills, not over 500 feet high, +partly covered with cedar; a high ridge, in which there is a prominent +peak, rising behind those on the left. We continued to descend this +stream, and found on it at night a warm and comfortable camp. Flax +occurred so frequently during the day as to be almost a characteristic, +and the soil appeared excellent. The evening was gusty, with a temperature +at sunset of 59 deg.. I obtained, about midnight, an observation of an +emersion of the first satellite, the night being calm and very clear, the +stars remarkably bright, and the thermometer at 30 deg.. Longitude, from mean +of satellite and chronometer, 112 deg. 29' 52", and latitude, by observation, +42 deg. 44' 40". + +18th.--The day clear and calm, with a temperature of 25 deg. at sunrise. After +traveling seven or eight miles, we emerged on the plains of the Columbia, +in sight of the famous "_Three Buttes_," a well-known landmark in the +country, distant about 45 miles. The French word _butte_, which so +often occurs in this narrative, is retained from the familiar language of +the country, and identifies the objects to which it refers. It is +naturalized in the region of the Rocky mountains, and, even if desirable +to render it in English, I know of no word which would be its precise +equivalent. It is applied to the detached hills and ridges which rise +rapidly, and reach too high to be called hills or ridges, and not high +enough to be called mountains. _Knob_, as applied in the western +states, is their descriptive term in English. _Cerro_ is the Spanish +term; but no translation, or periphrasis, would preserve the identity of +these picturesque landmarks, familiar to the traveler, and often seen at a +great distance. Covered as far as could be seen with artemisia, the dark +and ugly appearance of this plain obtained for it the name of _Sage +Desert_; and we were agreeably surprised, on reaching the Portneuf +river, to see a beautiful green valley with scattered timber spread out +beneath us, on which, about four miles distant, were glistening the white +walls of the fort. The Portneuf runs along the upland plain nearly to its +mouth, and an abrupt descent of perhaps two hundred feet brought us down +immediately upon the stream, which at the ford is one hundred yards wide, +and three feet deep, with clear water, a swift current, and gravelly bed; +but a little higher up the breadth was only about thirty-five yards, with +apparently deep water. + +In the bottom I remarked a very great number of springs and sloughs, with +remarkably clear water and gravel beds. At sunset we encamped with Mr. +Talbot and our friends, who came on to Fort Hall when we went to the lake, +and whom we had the satisfaction to find all well, neither party having +met with any mischance in the interval of our separation. They, too, had +had their share of fatigue and scanty provisions, as there had been very +little game left on the trail of the populous emigration; and Mr. +Fitzpatrick had rigidly husbanded our stock of flour and light provisions, +in view of the approaching winter and the long journey before us. + +19th.--This morning the sky was very dark and gloomy, and at daylight it +began snowing thickly, and continued all day, with cold, disagreeable +weather. At sunrise the temperature was 43 deg.. I rode up to the fort, and +purchased from Mr. Grant (the officer in charge of the post) several very +indifferent horses, and five oxen, in very fine order, which were received +at the camp with great satisfaction: and, one being killed at evening, the +usual gayety and good humor were at once restored. Night came in stormy. + +20th.--We had a night of snow and rain, and the thermometer at sunrise was +at 34 deg.; the morning was dark, with a steady rain, and there was still an +inch of snow on the ground, with an abundance on the neighboring hills and +mountains. The sudden change in the weather was hard for our animals, who +trembled and shivered in the cold--sometimes taking refuge in the timber, +and now and then coming out and raking the snow off the ground for a +little grass, or eating the young willows. + +21st.--Ice made tolerably thick during this night, and in the morning the +weather cleared up very bright, with a temperature at sunrise of 29 deg.; and +I obtained a meridian observation for latitude at the fort, with +observations for time. The sky was again covered in the afternoon, and the +thermometer at sunset 48 deg.. + +22d.--The morning was cloudy and unpleasant, and at sunrise a cold rain +commenced, with a temperature of 41 deg.. + +The early approach of winter, and the difficulty of supporting a large +party, determined me to send back a number of the men who had become +satisfied that they were not fitted for the laborious service and frequent +privation to which they were necessarily exposed, and which there was +reason to believe would become more severe in the further extension of the +voyage. I accordingly called them together, and, informing them of my +intention to continue our journey during the ensuing winter, in the course +of which they would probably be exposed to considerable hardship, +succeeded in prevailing on a number of them to return voluntarily. These +were: Charles de Forrest, Henry Lee, J. Campbell, Wm. Creuss, A. Vasquez; +A. Pera, Patrick White, B. Tesson, M. Creely, Francois Lajeunesse, Basil +Lajeunesse. Among these I regretted very much to lose Basil Lajeunesse, +one of the best men in my party, who was obliged, by the condition of his +family, to be at home in the coming winter. Our preparations having been +completed in the interval of our stay here, both parties were ready this +morning to resume their respective routes. + +Except that there is a greater quantity of wood used in its construction, +Fort Hall very much resembles the other trading posts which have already +been described to you, and would be another excellent post of relief for +the emigration. It is in the low rich bottom of a valley, apparently 20 +miles long, formed by the confluence of Portneuf river with Lewis's fork +of the Columbia, which it enters about nine miles below the fort, and +narrowing gradually to the mouth of the Pannack river, where it has a +breadth of only two or three miles. Allowing 50 miles for the road from +the _Beer springs_ of Bear river to Fort Hall, its distance along the +_traveled_ road from the town of Westport, on the frontier of +Missouri, by way of Fort Laramie and the great South Pass, is 1,323 miles. +Beyond this place, on the line of road along the _barren_ valley of +the Upper Columbia, there does not occur, for a distance of nearly 300 +miles to the westward, a fertile spot of ground sufficiently large to +produce the necessary quantity of grain, or pasturage enough to allow even +a temporary repose to the emigrants. On their recent passage, they had +been able to obtain, at very high prices and in insufficient quantity, +only such assistance as could be afforded by a small and remote trading- +post--and that a foreign one--which, in the supply of its own wants, had +necessarily drawn around it some of the resources of civilization, but +which obtained nearly all its supplies from the distant depot of +Vancouver, by a difficult water-carriage of 250 miles up the Columbia +river, and a land-carriage by pack-horses of 600 miles. An American +military post, sufficiently strong to give to their road a perfect +security against the Indian tribes, who are unsettled in locality and very +_uncertain_ in their disposition, and which, with the necessary +facilities for the repair of their equipage, would be able to afford them +relief in stock and grain from the produce of the post, would be of +extraordinary value to the emigration. Such a post (and all others which +may be established on the line to Oregon) would naturally form the +_nucleus_ of a settlement, at which supplies and repose would be +obtained by the emigrant, or trading caravans, which may hereafter +traverse these elevated, and, in many places, desolate and inhospitable +regions. + +I subjoin an analysis of the soil in the river bottom near Fort Hall, +which will be of assistance in enabling you to form some correct idea of +its general character in the neighboring country. I characterize it as +good land, but the analysis will show its precise properties. + + _Analysis of the Soil_. + +Silicina ----------------- 68.55 +Alumina ------------------- 7.45 +Carbonate of lime --------- 8.51 +Carbonate of magnesia ----- 5.09 +Oxide of iron ------------- 1.40 +Organic vegetable matter -- 4.74 +Water and loss ----------- 4.26 + ______ + + 100.00 + +Our observations place this post in longitude 112 deg. 29' 54", latitude 43 deg. +01' 30", and the elevation above the sea, 4,500 feet. + +Taking leave of the homeward party, we resumed our journey down the +valley, the weather being very cold, and the rain coming in hard gusts, +which the wind blew directly in our faces. We forded the Portneuf in a +storm of rain, the water in the river being frequently up to the axles, +and about 110 yards wide. After the gust, the weather improved a little, +and we encamped about three miles below, at the mouth of the Pannack +river, on Lewis's fork, which here has a breadth of about 120 yards. The +temperature at sunset was 42 deg.; the sky partially covered with dark, rainy +clouds. + +23d.--The temperature at sunrise was 32 deg.; the morning dark, and snow +falling steadily and thickly, with a light air from the southward. +Profited of being obliged to remain in camp, to take hourly barometrical +observations from sunrise to midnight. The wind at eleven o'clock set in +from the north-ward in heavy gusts, and the snow changed into rain. In the +afternoon, when the sky brightened, the rain had washed all the snow from +the bottoms; but the neighboring mountains, from summit to foot, were +luminously white--an inauspicious commencement of the autumn, of which +this was the first day. + +24th.--The thermometer at sunrise was 35 deg., and a blue sky in the west +promised a fine day. The river bottoms here are narrow and swampy, with +frequent sloughs; and after crossing the Pannack, the road continued along +the uplands, rendered very slippery by the soil of wet clay, and entirely +covered with artemisia bushes, among which occur frequent fragments of +obsidian. At noon we encamped in a grove of willows, at the upper end of a +group of islands about half a mile above the _American falls_ of +Snake river. Among the willows here, were some bushes of Lewis and +Clarke's currant, (_ribes aureum_.) The river here enters between low +mural banks, which consist of a fine vesicular trap-rock, the intermediate +portions being compact and crystalline. Gradually becoming higher in its +downward course, these banks of scoriated volcanic rock form, with +occasional interruptions, its characteristic feature along the whole line +to the Dalles of the Lower Columbia, resembling a chasm which had been +rent through the country, and which the river had afterwards taken for its +bed. The immediate valley of the river is a high plain covered with black +rocks and artemisias. In the south is a bordering range of mountains, +which, although not very high, are broken and covered with snow; and at a +great distance to the north is seen the high, snowy line of the Salmon +river mountains, in front of which stand out prominently in the plain the +three isolated rugged-looking mountains commonly known as the _Three +Buttes_. Between the river and the distant Salmon river range, the +plain is represented by Mr. Fitzpatrick as so entirely broken up and rent +into chasms as to be impracticable for a man even on foot. In the sketch +annexed, the point of view is low, but it conveys very well some idea of +the open character of the country, with the buttes rising out above the +general line. By measurement, the river above is 870 feet wide, +immediately contracted at the fall in the form of a lock, by jutting piles +of scoriaceous basalt, over which the foaming river must present a grand +appearance at the time of high water. The evening was clear and pleasant, +with dew; and at sunset the temperature was 54 deg.. By observation, the +latitude is 42 deg. 47' 05", and the longitude 112 deg. 40' 13". A few hundred +yards below the falls, and on the left bank of the river is an escarpment +from which we obtained some specimens. + +25th.--Thermometer at sunrise 47 deg.. The day came in clear, with a strong +gale from the south, which commenced at eleven of the last night. The road +to-day led along the river which is full of rapids and small falls. Grass +is very scanty and along the rugged banks are scattered cedars, with an +abundance of rocks and sage. We traveled fourteen miles, and encamped in +the afternoon near the river, on a rocky creek, the bed of which was +entirely occupied with boulders of a very large size. For the last three +or four miles the right bank of the river has a palisaded appearance. One +of the oxen was killed here for food. The thermometer at evening was at +55 deg., the sky almost overcast, and the barometer indicated an elevation of +4,400 feet. + +26th.--Rain during the night, and the temperature at sunrise 42 deg.. +Traveling along the river, in about four miles we reached a picturesque +stream, to which we gave the name of Fall creek. It is remarkable for the +many falls which occur in a short distance; and its bed is composed of a +calcareous tufa, or vegetable rock, composed principally of the remains of +reeds and mosses, resembling that at the _Basin spring_, on Bear +river. + +The road along the river bluffs had been occasionally very bad; and +imagining that some rough obstacles rendered such a detour necessary, we +followed for several miles a plain wagon-road leading up this stream, +until we reached a point whence it could be seen making directly towards a +low place in the range on the south side of the valley, and we became +immediately aware that we were on a trail formed by a party of wagons, in +company with whom we had encamped at Elm grove, near the frontier of +Missouri, and which you will remember were proceeding to Upper California +under the direction of Mr. Jos. Chiles. At the time of their departure, no +practicable passes were known in the southern Rocky mountains within the +territory of the United States; and the probable apprehension of +difficulty in attempting to pass near the settled frontier of New Mexico, +together with the desert character of the unexplored region beyond, had +induced them to take a more northern and circuitous route by way of the +Sweet Water pass and Fort Hall. They had still between them and the valley +of the Sacramento a great mass of mountains, forming the _Sierra +Nevada_, here commonly known as the _Great California mountain_, +and which were at this time considered as presenting an impracticable +barrier to wheeled-carriages. Various considerations had suggested to them +a division of the party; and a greater portion of the camp, including the +wagons, with the mail and other stores, were now proceeding under the +guidance of Mr. Joseph Walker, who had engaged to conduct them, by a long +sweep to the southward, around what is called the _point of the +mountain_; and, crossing through a pass known only to himself, gain the +banks of the Sacramento by the valley of the San Joaquin. It was a long +and a hazardous journey for a party in which there were women and +children. Sixty days was the shortest period of time in which they could +reach the point of the mountain, and their route lay through a country +inhabited by wild and badly-disposed Indians, and very poor in game; but +the leader was a man possessing great and intimate knowledge of the +Indians, with an extraordinary firmness and decision of character. In the +mean time, Mr. Chiles had passed down the Columbia with a party of ten or +twelve men, with the intention of reaching the settlements on the +Sacramento by a more direct course, which indefinite information from +hunters had indicated in the direction of the head-waters of the +_Riviere aux Malheurs_; and having obtained there a reinforcement of +animals, and a supply of provisions, meet the wagons before they should +have reached the point of the mountain, at a place which had been +previously agreed upon. In the course of our narrative, we shall be able +to give you some information of the fortunes which attended the movements +of these adventurous travelers. + +Having discovered our error, we immediately regained the line along the +river, which the road quitted about noon, and encamped at five o'clock on +the stream called Raft river, (_Riviere aux Cajeux_,) having traveled +only 13 miles. In the north, the Salmon River mountains are visible at a +very far distance; and on the left, the ridge in which Raft river heads is +about 20 miles distant, rocky, and tolerably high. Thermometer at sunset +44 deg., with a partially clouded sky, and a sharp wind from the S.W. + +27th.--It was now no longer possible, as in our previous journey, to +travel regularly every day, and find at any moment a convenient place for +repose at noon or a camp at night; but the halting-places were now +generally fixed along the road, by the nature of the country, at places +where, with water, there was a little scanty grass. Since leaving the +American falls, the road had frequently been very bad; the many short, +steep ascents, exhausting the strength of our worn-out animals, requiring +always at such places the assistance of the men to get up each cart, one +by one; and our progress with twelve or fourteen wheeled-carriages, though +light and made for the purpose, in such a rocky country, was extremely +slow; and I again determined to gain time by a division of the camp. +Accordingly, to-day, the parties again separated, constituted very much as +before--Mr. Fitzpatrick remaining in charge of the heavier baggage. + +The morning was calm and clear, with a white frost, and the temperature at +sunrise 24 deg.. + +To-day the country had a very forbidding appearance; and, after traveling +20 miles over a slightly undulating plain, we encamped at a considerable +spring, called Swamp creek, rising in low grounds near the point of a spur +from the mountain. Returning with a small party in a starving condition +from the westward 12 or 14 years since, Carson had met here three or four +buffalo bulls, two of which were killed. They were among the pioneers +which had made the experiment of colonizing in the valley of the Columbia, +and which had failed, as heretofore stated. At sunset the thermometer was +at 46 deg., and the evening was overcast, with a cool wind from the S.E., and +to-night we had only sage for firewood. Mingled with the artemisia was a +shrubby and thorny chenopodiaceous plant. + +28th.-Thermometer at sunrise 40 deg.. The wind rose early to a gale from the +west, with a very cold driving rain; and, after an uncomfortable day's +ride of 25 miles, we, were glad when at evening we found a sheltered camp, +where there was an abundance of wood, at some elevated rocky islands +covered with cedar, near the commencement of another long canon of the +river. With the exception of a short detention at a deep little stream +called Goose creek, and some occasional rocky places, we had to-day a very +good road; but the country has a barren appearance, sandy, and densely +covered with the artemisias from the banks of the river to the foot of the +mountains. Here I remarked, among the sage bushes, green bunches of what +is called the second growth of grass. The river to-day has had a smooth +appearance, free from rapids, with a low sandy hill-slope bordering the +bottoms, in which there is a little good soil. Thermometer at sunset 45 deg., +blowing a gale, and disagreeably cold. + +29th.--The thermometer at sunrise 36 deg., with a bright sun, and appearance +of finer weather. The road for several miles was _extremely_ rocky, +and consequently bad; but, entering after this a sandy country, it became +very good, with no other interruption than the sage bushes, which covered +the river plain as far as the eye could reach, and, with their uniform +tint of dark gray, gave to the country a gloomy and sombre appearance. All +the day the course of the river has been between walls of the black +volcanic rock, a dark line of the escarpment on the opposite side pointing +out its course, and sweeping along in foam at places where the mountains +which border the valley present always on the left two ranges, the lower +one a spur of the higher; and, on the opposite side, the Salmon River +mountains are visible at a great distance. Having made 24 miles, we +encamped about five o'clock on Rock creek--a stream having considerable +water, a swift current, and wooded with willow. + +30th.--Thermometer at sunrise 28 deg.. In its progress towards the river, this +creek soon enters a chasm of the volcanic rock, which in places along the +wall presents a columnar appearance; and the road becomes extremely rocky +whenever it passes near its banks. It is only about twenty feet wide where +the road crosses it, with a deep bed, and steep banks, covered with rocky +fragments, with willows and a little grass on its narrow bottom. The soil +appears to be full of calcareous matter, with which the rocks are +incrusted. The fragments of rock which had been removed by the emigrants +in making a road, where we ascended from the bed of this creek, were +whitened with lime; and during the afternoon's march I remarked in the +soil a considerably quantity of calcareous concretions. Towards evening +the sages became more sparse, and the clear spaces were occupied by tufts +of green grass. The river still continued its course through a trough, or +open canon; and towards sunset we followed the trail of several wagons +which had turned in towards Snake river, and encamped, as they had done, +on the top of the escarpment. There was no grass here, the soil among the +sage being entirely naked; but there is occasionally a little bottom along +the river, which a short ravine of rocks, at rare intervals, leaves +accessible; and by one of these we drove our animals down, and found some +tolerably good grass bordering the water. + +Immediately opposite to us, a subterranean river bursts out directly from +the face of the escarpment, and falls in white foam to the river below. +The main river is enclosed with mural precipices, which form its +characteristic feature along a great portion of its course. A melancholy +and strange-looking country--one of fracture, and violence, and fire. + +We had brought with us, when we separated from the camp, a large gaunt ox, +in appearance very poor; but, being killed to-night, to the great joy of +the people, he was found to be remarkably fat. As usual at such +occurrences, the evening was devoted to gayety and feasting; abundant fare +now made an epoch among us; and in this laborious life, in such a country +as this, our men had but little else to enjoy. The temperature at sunset +was 65 deg., with a clear sky and a very high wind. By the observation of the +evening, the encampment was in longitude 114 deg. 25' 04", and in latitude +42 deg. 38' 44". + + + +OCTOBER. + + +1st.--The morning clear, with wind from the west, and the thermometer at +55 deg.. We descended to the bottoms, taking with us the boat, for the purpose +of visiting the fall in the opposite cliffs; and while it was being filled +with air, we occupied ourselves in measuring the river, which is 1,786 +feet in breadth, with banks 200 feet high. We were surprised, on our +arrival at the opposite side, to find a beautiful basin of clear water, +formed by the falling river, around which the rocks were whitened by some +saline incrustation. Here the Indians had constructed wicker dams, +although I was informed that the salmon do not ascend the river so far; +and its character below would apparently render it impracticable. + +The ascent of the steep hill-side was rendered a little difficult by a +dense growth of shrubs and fields of cane; and there were frequent hidden +crevices among the rocks, where the water was heard rushing below; but we +succeeded in reaching the main stream, which, issuing from between strata +of the trap-rock in two principal branches, produced almost immediately a +torrent, 22 feet wide, and white with foam. It is a picturesque spot of +singular beauty, overshadowed by bushes, from under which the torrent +glances, tumbling into the white basin below, where the clear water +contrasted beautifully with the muddy stream of the river. Its outlet was +covered with a rank growth of canes, and a variety of unusual plants, and +nettles, (_urtica canabina_,) which, before they were noticed, had +set our hands and arms on fire. The temperature of the spring was 58 deg., +while that of the river was 51 deg.. The perpendicular height of the place at +which this stream issues is 45 feet above the river, and 162 feet below +the summit of the precipice--making nearly 200 feet for the height of the +wall. On the hill-side here was obtained a specimen consisting principally +of fragments of the shells of small crustacea, and which was probably +formed by deposition from these springs, proceeding from some lake or +river in the highlands above. + +We resumed our journey at noon, the day being hot and bright; and, after a +march of 17 miles, encamped at sunset on the river, near several lodges of +Snake Indians. + +Our encampment was about one mile below the _Fishing falls_--a series +of cataracts with very inclined planes, which are probably so named +because they form a barrier to the ascent of the salmon; and the great +fisheries, from which the inhabitants of this barren region almost +entirely derive a subsistence, commence at this place. These appeared to +be unusually gay savages, fond of loud laughter; and, in their apparent +good nature and merry character, struck me as being entirely different +from the Indians we had been accustomed to see. From several who visited +our camp in the evening, we purchased, in exchange for goods, dried +salmon. At this season they are not very fat, but we were easily pleased. +The Indians made us comprehend, that when the salmon came up the river in +the spring, they are so abundant that they merely throw in their spears at +random, certain of bringing out a fish. + +These poor people are but slightly provided with winter clothing; there is +but little game to furnish skins for the purpose; and of a little animal +which seemed to be the most numerous, it required 20 skins to make a +covering to the knees. But they are still a joyous, talkative race, who +grow fat and become poor with the salmon, which at least never fail them-- +the dried being used in the absence of the fresh. We are encamped +immediately on the river bank, and with the salmon jumping up out of the +water, and Indians paddling about in boats made of rushes, or laughing +around the fires, the camp to-night has quite a lively appearance. + +The river at this place is more open than for some distance above, and, +for the time, the black precipices have disappeared, and no calcareous +matter is visible in the soil. The thermometer at sunset 74 deg., clear and +calm. + +2d.--The sunrise temperature was 48 deg.; the weather clear and calm. Shortly +after leaving the encampment, we crossed a stream of clear water, with a +variable breadth of 10 to 25 yards, broken by rapids, and lightly wooded +with willow, and having a little grass on its small bottom-land. The +barrenness of the country is in fine contrast to-day with the mingled +beauty and grandeur of the river, which is more open than hitherto, with a +constant succession of falls and rapids. Over the edge of the black +cliffs, and out from their faces, are falling numberless streams and +springs; and all the line of the river is in motion with the play of the +water. In about seven miles we reached the most beautiful and picturesque +fall I had seen on the river. + +On the opposite side, the vertical fall is perhaps 18 feet high; and +nearer, the sheet of foaming water is divided and broken into cataracts, +where several little islands on the brink and in the river above, give it +much picturesque beauty, and make it one of those places the traveler +turns again and again to fix in his memory. There were several lodges of +Indians here, from whom we traded salmon. Below this place the river makes +a remarkable bend; and the road, ascending the ridge, gave us a fine view +of the river below, intersected at many places by numerous fish dams. In +the north, about 50 miles distant, were some high snowy peaks of the +Salmon River mountains; and in the northeast, the last peak of the range +was visible at the distance of perhaps 100 miles or more. The river hills +consist of very broken masses of sand, covered everywhere with the same +interminable fields of sage, and occasionally the road is very heavy. We +now frequently saw Indians, who were strung along the river at every +little rapid where fish are to be caught, and the cry _haggai, +haggai_, (fish,) was constantly heard whenever we passed near their +huts, or met them in the road. Very many of them were oddly and partially +dressed in overcoat, shirt, waistcoat, or pantaloons, or whatever article +of clothing they had been able to procure in trade from the emigrants; for +we had now entirely quitted the country where hawks' bells, beads, and +vermilion were the current coin, and found that here only useful articles, +and chiefly clothing, were in great request. These, however, are eagerly +sought after; and for a few trifling pieces of clothing, travelers may +procure food sufficient to carry them to the Columbia. + +We made a long stretch across the upper plain, and encamped on the bluff, +where the grass was very green and good, the soil of the upper plains +containing a considerable proportion of calcareous matter. This green +freshness of the grass was very remarkable for the season of the year. +Again we heard the roar of the fall in the river below, where the water in +an unbroken volume goes over a descent of several feet. The night is +clear, and the weather continues very warm and pleasant, with a sunset +temperature of 70 deg.. + +3d.--The morning was pleasant, with a temperature at sunrise of 42 deg.. The +road was broken by ravines among the hills, and in one of these, which +made the bed of a dry creek, I found a fragmentary stratum, or brecciated +conglomerate, consisting of flinty slate pebbles, with fragments of +limestone containing fossil shells. + +On the left, the mountains are visible at the distance of 20 or 30 miles, +appearing smooth and rather low; but at intervals higher peaks look out +from beyond, and indicate that the main ridge, which we are leaving with +the course of the river, and which forms the northern boundary of the +Great Basin, still maintains its elevation. About two o'clock we arrived +at the ford where the road crosses to the right bank of Snake river. An +Indian was hired to conduct us through the ford, which proved +impracticable for us, the water sweeping away the howitzer and nearly +drowning the mules, which we were obliged to extricate by cutting them out +of the harness. The river here is expanded into a little bay, in which +there are two islands, across which is the road of the ford; and the +emigrants had passed by placing two of their heavy wagons abreast of each +other, so as to oppose a considerable mass against the body of water. The +Indians informed us that one of the men, in attempting to turn some cattle +which had taken a wrong direction, was carried off by the current and +drowned. Since their passage, the water had risen considerably; but, +fortunately, we had a resource in a boat, which was filled with air and +launched; and at seven o'clock we were safely encamped on the opposite +bank, the animals swimming across, and the carriage, howitzer, and baggage +of the camp, being carried over in the boat. At the place where we +crossed, above the islands, the river had narrowed to a breadth of 1,049 +feet by measurement, the greater portion of which was from six to eight +feet deep. We were obliged to make our camp where we landed, among the +Indian lodges, which are semicircular huts made of willow, thatched over +with straw, and open to the sunny south. By observation, the latitude of +our encampment on the right bank of the river was 42 deg. 55' 58"; +chronometric longitude 115 deg. 04' 46", and the traveled distance from Fort +Hall 208 miles. + +4th.--Calm, pleasant day, with the thermometer at sunrise at 47 deg.. Leaving +the river at a considerable distance to the left, and following up the bed +of a rocky creek, with occasional holes of water, in about six miles we +ascended, by a long and rather steep hill, to a plain 600 feet above the +river, over which we continued to travel during the day, having a broken +ridge 2,000 or 3,000 feet high on the right. The plain terminates, where +we ascended, in an escarpment of vesicular trap-rock, which supplies the +fragments of the creek below. The sky clouded over with a strong wind from +the northwest, with a few drops of rain and occasional sunlight, +threatening a change. + +Artemisia still covers the plain, but _Purshia tridentata_ makes its +appearance here on the hill-sides and on bottoms of the creeks--quite a +tree in size, larger than the artemisia. We crossed several hollows with a +little water in them, and improved grass; and, turning off from the road +in the afternoon in search of water, traveled about three miles up the bed +of a willow creek, towards the mountain, and found a good encampment, with +wood and grass, and little ponds of water in the bed of the creek; which +must be of more importance at other seasons, as we found there several old +fixtures for fishing. There were many holes on the creek prairie, which +had been made by the Diggers in search of roots. + +Wind increased to a violent gale from the N.W., with a temperature at +sunset of 57 deg.. + +5th..--The morning was calm and clear, and at sunrise the thermometer was +at 32 deg.. The road to-day was occasionally extremely rocky, with hard +volcanic fragments, and our traveling very slow. In about nine miles the +road brought us to a group of smoking hot springs, with a temperature of +164 deg.. There were a few helianthi in bloom, with some other low plants, and +the place was green round about; the ground warm and the air pleasant, +with a summer atmosphere that was very grateful in a day of high and cold, +searching wind. The rocks were covered with a white and red incrustation; +and the water has on the tongue the same unpleasant effect as that of the +Basin spring on Bear river. They form several branches, and bubble up with +force enough to raise the small pebbles several inches. The following is +an analysis of the deposite with which the rocks are incrusted: + +Silica------------------------ 72.55 +Carbonate of lime------------- 14.60 +Carbonate of magnesia -------- 1.20 +Oxide of iron----------------- 4.65 +Alumina----------------------- 0.70 + +Chloride of sodium, &c.-- } +Sulphate of soda--------- }---- 1.10 +Sulphate of lime, &c.---- } + +Organic vegetable matter- }---- 5.20 +Water and loss----------- } + ______ + 100.00 + +These springs are near the foot of the ridge, (a dark and rugged-looking +mountain,) in which some of the nearer rocks have a reddish appearance, +and probably consist of a reddish-brown trap, fragments of which were +scattered along the road after leaving the spring. The road was now about +to cross the point of this mountain, which we judged to be a spur from the +Salmon River range. We crossed a small creek, and encamped about sunset on +a stream, which is probably Lake river. This is a small stream, some five +or six feet broad, with a swift current, timbered principally with willows +and some few cottonwoods. Along the banks were canes, rosebushes, and +clematis, with Purshia tridentata and artemisias on the upper bottom. The +sombre appearance of the country is somewhat relieved in coming +unexpectedly from the dark rocks upon these green and wooded water- +courses, sunk in chasms; and, in the spring, the contrasted effect must +make them beautiful. + +The thermometer at sunset 47 deg., and the night threatening snow. + +6th.--The morning warm, the thermometer 46 deg. at sunrise, and sky entirely +clouded. After traveling about three miles over an extremely rocky road, +the volcanic fragments began to disappear; and, entering among the hills +at the point of the mountain, we found ourselves suddenly in a granite +country. Here, the character of the vegetation was very much changed; the +artemisia disappeared almost entirely, showing only at intervals towards +the close of the day, and was replaced by Purshia tridentata, with +flowering shrubs, and small fields of _dieteria divaricata,_ which +gave bloom and gayety to the hills. These were everywhere covered with a +fresh and green short grass, like that of the early spring. This is the +fall or second growth, the dried grass having been burnt off by the +Indians; and wherever the fire has passed, the bright, green color is +universal. The soil among the hills is altogether different from that of +the river plain, being in many places black, in others sandy and gravelly, +but of a firm and good character, appearing to result from the +decomposition of the granite rocks, which is proceeding rapidly. + +In quitting for a time the artemisia (sage) through which we had been so +long voyaging, and the sombre appearance of which is so discouraging, I +have to remark, that I have been informed that in Mexico wheat is grown +upon the ground which produces this shrub; which, if true, relieves the +soil from the character of sterility imputed to it. Be this as it may, +there is no dispute about the grass, which is almost universal on the +hills and mountains, and always nutritious, even in its dry state. We +passed on the way masses of granite on the slope of the spur, which was +very much weathered and abraded. This is a white feldspathic granite, with +small scales of black mica; smoky quartz and garnets appear to constitute +this portion of the mountain. + +The road at noon reached a broken ridge, on which were scattered many +boulders or blocks of granite; and, passing very small streams, where, +with a little more than the usual timber, was sometimes gathered a little +wilderness of plants, we encamped on a small stream, after a march of 22 +miles, in company with a few Indians. Temperature at sunset 51 deg.; and the +night was partially clear, with a few stars visible through drifting white +clouds. The Indians made an unsuccessful attempt to steal a few horses +from us--a thing of course with them, and to prevent which the traveler is +on perpetual watch. + +7th.--The day was bright, clear, pleasant, with a temperature of 45 deg.; and +we breakfasted at sunrise, the birds singing in the trees as merrily as if +we were in the midst of summer. On the upper edge of the hills on the +opposite side of the creek, the black volcanic rock appears; and ascending +these, the road passed through a basin, around which the hills swept in +such a manner as to give it the appearance of an old crater. Here were +strata and broken beds of black scoriated rock, and hills composed of the +same, on the summit of one of which there was an opening resembling a +rent. We traveled to-day through a country resembling that of yesterday, +where, although the surface was hilly, the road was good, being firm, and +entirely free from rocks and artemisia. To our left, below, was the great +sage plain; and on the right were the near mountains, which presented a +smoothly-broken character, or rather a surface waved into numberless +hills. The road was occasionally enlivened by meeting Indians, and the day +was extremely beautiful and pleasant; and we were pleased to be free from +the sage, even for a day. When we had traveled about eight miles, we were +nearly opposite to the highest portion of the mountains on the left side +of the Smoke River valley; and, continuing on a few miles beyond, we came +suddenly in sight of the broad green line of the valley of the _Riviere +Boisee_, (wooded river,) black near the gorge where it debouches into +the plains, with high precipices of basalt, between walls of which it +passes, on emerging from the mountains. Following with the eye its upward +course, it appears to be shut in among lofty mountains, confining its +valley in a very rugged country. + +Descending the hills, after traveling a few miles along the high plain, +the road brought us down upon the bottoms of the river, which is a +beautiful, rapid stream, with clear mountain water; and, as the name +indicates, well wooded with some varieties of timber--among which are +handsome cottonwoods. Such a stream had become quite a novelty in this +country, and we were delighted this afternoon to make a pleasant camp +under fine old trees again. There were several Indian encampments +scattered along the river; and a number of their inhabitants, in the +course of the evening, came to the camp on horseback with dried and fresh +fish, to trade. The evening was clear, and the temperature at sunset 57 deg.. + +At the time of the first occupation of this region by parties engaged in +the fur-trade, a small party of men, under the command of ----- Reid, +constituting all the garrison of a small fort on this river, were +surprised and massacred by the Indians; and to this event the stream owes +its occasional name of _Reid's river_. On the 8th we traveled about +26 miles, the ridge on the right having scattered pines on the upper +parts; and, continuing the next day our road along the river bottom, after +a day's travel of 24 miles, we encamped in the evening on the right bank +of the river, a mile above the mouth, and early the next morning arrived +at Fort _Boise_. This is a simple dwelling-house on the right bank of +Snake river, about a mile below the mouth of Riviere Boisee; and on our +arrival we were received with an agreeable hospitality by Mr. Payette, an +officer of the Hudson's Bay Company, in charge of the fort, all of whose +garrison consisted in a Canadian _engage_. + +Here the road recrosses the river, which is broad and deep; but, with our +good boat, aided by two canoes, which were found at the place, the camp +was very soon transferred to the left bank. Here we found ourselves again +surrounded by the sage; artemisia tridentata, and the different shrubs +which during our voyage had always made their appearance abundantly on +saline soils, being here the prevailing and almost the only plants. Among +them the surface was covered with the usual saline efflorescences, which +here consist almost entirely of carbonate of soda, with a small portion of +chloride of sodium. Mr. Payette had made but slight attempts at +cultivation, his efforts being limited to raising a few vegetables, in +which he succeeded tolerably well; the post being principally supported by +salmon. He was very hospitable and kind to us, and we made a sensible +impression upon all his comestibles; but our principal inroad was into the +dairy, which was abundantly supplied, stock appearing to thrive extremely +well; and we had an unusual luxury in a present of fresh butter, which +was, however, by no means equal to that of Fort Hall--probably from some +accidental cause. During the day we remained here, there were considerable +numbers of miserable, half-naked Indians around the fort, who had arrived +from the neighboring mountains. During the summer, the only subsistence of +these people is derived from the salmon, of which they are not provident +enough to lay up a sufficient store for the winter, during which many of +them die from absolute starvation. + +Many little accounts and scattered histories, together with an +acquaintance which I gradually acquired of their modes of life, had left +the aboriginal inhabitants of this vast region pictured in my mind as a +race of people whose great and constant occupation was the means of +procuring a subsistence; and though want of space and other reasons will +prevent me from detailing the many incidents which made this familiar to +me, this great feature among the characteristics of the country will +gradually be forced upon your mind. + +Pointing to the group of Indians who had just arrived from the mountains +on the left side of the valley, and who were regarding our usual +appliances of civilization with an air of bewildered curiosity, Mr. +Payette informed me that, every year since his arrival at this post, he +had unsuccessfully endeavored to induce these people to lay up a store of +salmon for their winter provision. While the summer weather and the salmon +lasted, they lived contentedly and happily, scattered along the different +streams where fish are to be found; and as soon as the winter snows began +to, fall, little smokes would be seen rising among the mountains, where +they would be found in miserable groups, starving out the winter; and +sometimes, according to the general belief, reduced to the horror of +cannibalism--the strong, of course, preying on the weak. Certain it is +they are driven to any extremity for food, and eat every insect, and every +creeping thing, however loathsome and repulsive. Snails, lizards, ants-- +all are devoured with the readiness and greediness of mere animals. + +In common with all the other Indians we had encountered since reaching the +Pacific waters, these people use the Shoshonee or Snake language, which +you will have occasion to remark, in the course of the narrative, is the +universal language over a very extensive region. + +On the evening of the 10th, I obtained, with the usual observations, a +very excellent emersion of the first satellite, agreeing very nearly with +the chronometer. From these observations, the longitude of the fort is +116 deg. 47' 00", latitude 43 deg. 49' 22", and elevation above the sea 2,100 +feet. + +Sitting by the fire on the river bank, and waiting for the immersion of +the satellite, which did not take place until after midnight, we heard the +monotonous song of the Indians, with which they accompany a certain game +of which they are very fond. Of the poetry we could not judge, but the +music was miserable. + +11th.--The morning was clear, with a light breeze from the east, and a +temperature at sunrise of 33 deg.. A part of a bullock purchased at the fort, +together with the boat, to assist him in crossing, was left here for Mr. +Fitzpatrick, and at 11 o'clock we resumed our journey; and directly +leaving the river, and crossing the artemisia plain, in several ascents we +reached the foot of a ridge, where the road entered a dry sandy hollow, up +which it continued to the head; and, crossing a dividing ridge, entered a +similar one. We met here two poor emigrants, (Irishmen,) who had lost +their horses two days since--probably stolen by the Indians; and were +returning to the fort, in hopes to hear something of them there. They had +recently had nothing to eat; and I halted to unpack an animal, and gave +them meat for their dinner. In this hollow, the artemisia is partially +displaced on the hill-sides by grass; and descending it -- miles, about +sunset we reached the _Riviere aux Malheurs_, (the unfortunate or +unlucky river,)--a considerable stream, with an average breadth of 50 +feet, and, at this time, 18 inches' depth of water. + +The bottom lands were generally one and a half mile broad, covered +principally with long dry grass; and we had difficulty to find sufficient +good grass for the camp. With the exception of a bad place of a few +hundred yards long, which occurred in rounding a point of hill to reach +the ford of the river, the road during the day had been very good. + +12th.--The morning was clear and calm, and the thermometer at sunrise 23 deg.. +My attention was attracted by a smoke on the right side of the river, a +little below the ford, where I found, on the low banks near the water, a +considerable number of hot springs, in which the temperature of the water +was 193 deg.. The ground, which was too hot for the naked foot, was covered +above and below the springs with an incrustation of common salt, very +white and good, and fine-grained. + +Leading for five miles up a broad dry branch of the Malheurs river, the +road entered a sandy hollow, where the surface was rendered firm by the +admixture of other rock; being good and level until arriving near the head +of the ravine, where it became a little rocky, and we met with a number of +sharp ascents over an undulating surface. Crossing here a dividing ridge, +it becomes an excellent road of gradual descent down a very marked hollow; +in which, after ten miles, willows began to appear in the dry bed of a +head of the _Riviere aux Bouleaux_, (Birch river;) and descending +seven miles, we found, at its junction with another branch, a little +water, not very good or abundant, but sufficient, in case of necessity, +for a camp. Crossing Birch river, we continued for about four miles across +a point of hill; the country on the left being entirely mountainous, with +no level spot to be seen; whence we descended to Snake river--here a fine- +looking stream, with a large body of water and a smooth current; although +we hear the roar, and see below us the commencement of rapids, where it +enters among the hills. It forms here a deep bay, with a low sand island +in the midst; and its course among the mountains is agreeably exchanged +for the black volcanic rock. The weather during the day had been very +bright and extremely hot; but, as usual, so soon as the sun went down, it +was necessary to put on overcoats. + +I obtained this evening an observation of an emersion of the first +satellite, and our observations of the evening place this encampment in +latitude 44 deg. 17' 36", and longitude 116 deg. 56' 45", which is the mean of the +results from the satellite and chronometer. The elevation above the sea is +1,880 feet. At this encampment, the grass is scanty and poor. + +13th.--The morning was bright, with the temperature at sunrise 28 deg.. The +horses had strayed off during the night, probably in search of grass; and, +after a considerable delay, we had succeeded in finding all but two, when, +about nine o'clock, we heard the sound of an Indian song and drum +approaching; and shortly after, three Cayuse Indians appeared in sight, +bringing with them the two animals. They belonged to a party which had +been on a buffalo-hunt in the neighborhood of the Rocky mountains, and +were hurrying home in advance. We presented them with some tobacco and +other things, with which they appeared well satisfied, and, moderating +their pace, traveled in company with us. + +We were now about to leave the valley of the great southern branch of the +Columbia river, to which the absence of timber, and the scarcity of water, +give the appearance of a desert, to enter a mountainous region, where the +soil is good, and in which the face of the country is covered with +nutritious grasses and dense forest--land embracing many varieties of +trees peculiar to the country, and on which the timber exhibits a +luxuriance of growth unknown to the eastern part of the continent and to +Europe. This mountainous region connects itself in the southward and +westward with the elevated country belonging to the Cascade or California +range; and, as will be remarked in the course of the narrative, forms the +eastern limit of the fertile and timbered lands along the desert and +mountainous region included within the Great Basin--a term which I apply +to the intermediate region between the Rocky mountains and the next range, +containing many lakes, with their own system of rivers and creeks, (of +which the Great Salt is the principal,) and which have no connection with +the ocean, or the great rivers which flow into it. This Great Basin is yet +to be adequately explored. And here, on quitting the banks of a sterile +river, to enter on arable mountains, the remark may be made, that, on this +western slope of our continent, the usual order or distribution of good +and bad soil is often reversed; the river and creek bottoms being often +sterile, and darkened with the gloomy and barren artemisia; while the +mountain is often fertile, and covered with rich grass, pleasant to the +eye, and good for flocks and herds. + +Leaving entirely the Snake river, which is said henceforth to pursue its +way through canons, amidst rocky and impracticable mountains, where there +is no possibility of traveling with animals, we ascended a long and steep +hill; and crossing the dividing ridge, came down into the valley of +_Burnt_ river, which here looks like a hole among the hills. The +average breadth of the stream here is thirty feet; it is well fringed with +the usual small timber; and the soil in the bottoms is good, with better +grass than we had lately been accustomed to see. + +We now traveled through a very mountainous country; the stream running +rather in a ravine than a valley, and the road is decidedly bad and +dangerous for single wagons, frequently crossing the stream where the +water is sometimes deep; and all the day the animals were fatigued in +climbing up and descending a succession of steep ascents, to avoid the +precipitous hill-sides; and the common trail, which leads along the +mountain-side at places where the river strikes the base, is sometimes bad +even for a horseman. The mountains along this day's journey were composed, +near the river, of a slaty calcareous rock in a metamorphic condition. It +appears originally to have been a slaty sedimentary limestone, but its +present condition indicates that it has been altered, and has become +partially crystalline--probably from the proximity of volcanic rocks. But +though traveling was slow and fatiguing to the animals, we were delighted +with the appearance of the country, which was green and refreshing after +our tedious journey down the parched valley of Snake river. The mountains +were covered with good bunch-grass, (_festuca_;) the water of the +streams was cold and pure; their bottoms were handsomely wooded with +various kinds of trees; and huge and lofty picturesque precipices where +the river cut through the mountain. + +We found in the evening some good grass and rushes; and encamped among +large timber, principally birch, which had been recently burnt, and +blackened, and almost destroyed by fire. The night was calm and tolerably +clear, with the thermometer at sunset at 59 deg.. Our journey to-day was about +twenty miles. + +14th.--The day was clear and calm, with a temperature at sunrise of 46 deg.. +After traveling about three miles up the valley, we found the river shut +up by precipices in a kind of canon, and the road makes a circuit over the +mountains. In the afternoon we reached the river again, by another little +ravine; and, after traveling along it for a few miles, left it enclosed +among rude mountains; and, ascending a smaller branch; encamped on it +about five o'clock, very much elevated above the valley. The view was +everywhere limited by mountains, on which were no longer seen the black +and barren rocks, but a fertile soil, with excellent grass, and partly +well covered with pine. I have never seen a wagon-road equally bad in the +same space, as this of yesterday and to-day. I noticed where one wagon had +been overturned twice, in a very short distance; and it was surprising to +me that those wagons which were in the rear, and could not have had much +assistance, got through at all. Still, there is no mud; and the road has +one advantage, in being perfectly firm. The day had been warm and very +pleasant, and the night was perfectly clear. + +15th.--The thermometer at daylight was 42 deg., and at sunrise 40 deg.; clouds, +which were scattered over all the sky, disappeared with the rising sun. +The trail did not much improve until we had crossed the dividing-ground +between the _Brulee_ (Burnt) and Powder rivers. The rock displayed on +the mountains, as we approached the summit, was a compact trap, decomposed +on the exposed surfaces, and apparently an altered argillaceous sandstone, +containing small crystalline nodules of anolcime, apparently filling +cavities originally existing. From the summit here, the whole horizon +shows high mountains; no high plain or level is to be seen; and on the +left, from south around by the west to north, the mountains are black with +pines; while, through the remaining space to the eastward, they are bald, +with the exception of some scattered pines. You will remark that we are +now entering a region where all the elevated parts are covered with dense +and heavy forests. From the dividing grounds we descended by a mountain +road to Powder river, on an old bed of which we encamped. Descending from +the summit, we enjoyed a picturesque view of high rocky mountains on the +right, illuminated by the setting sun. + +From the heights we had looked in vain for a well known landmark on Powder +river, which had been described to me by Mr. Payette as _l'arbre +seul_, (the lone tree;) and, on arriving at the river, we found a fine +tall pine stretched on the ground, which had been felled by some +inconsiderate emigrant axe. It had been a beacon on the road for many +years past. Our Cayuses had become impatient to reach their homes, and +traveled on ahead to day; and this afternoon we were visited by several +Indians who belonged to the tribes on the Columbia. They were on +horseback, and were out on a hunting excursion, but had obtained no better +game than a large gray hare, of which each had some six or seven hanging +to his saddle. We were also visited by an Indian who had his lodge and +family in the mountain to the left. He was in want of ammunition, and +brought with him a beaver-skin to exchange, and which he valued at six +charges of powder and ball. I learned from him that there are very few of +these animals remaining in this part of the country. + +The temperature at sunset was 61 deg., and the evening clear. I obtained, with +other observations, an immersion and emersion of the third satellite. +Elevation 3,100 feet. + +16th.--For several weeks the weather in the daytime has been very +beautiful, clear, and warm; but the nights, in comparison, are very cold. +During the night there was ice a quarter of an inch thick in the lodge; +and at daylight the thermometer was at 16 deg., and the same at sunrise, the +weather being calm and clear. The annual vegetation now is nearly gone, +almost all the plants being out of bloom. + +Last night two of our horses had run off again, which delayed us until +noon, and we made to-day but a short journey of 13 miles, the road being +very good, and encamped in a fine bottom of Powder river. + +The thermometer at sunset was at 61 deg., with an easterly wind, and partially +clear sky; and the day has been quite pleasant and warm, though more +cloudy than yesterday; and the sun was frequently faint, but it grew finer +and clearer towards evening. + +17th.--Thermometer at sunrise 25 deg.. The weather at daylight was fine, and +the sky without a cloud; but these came up, or were formed by the sun, and +at seven were thick over all the sky. Just now, this appears to be the +regular course--clear and brilliant during the night, and cloudy during +the day. There is snow yet visible in the neighboring mountains, which +yesterday extended along our route to the left, in a lofty and dark-blue +range, having much the appearance of the Wind River mountains. It is +probable that they have received their name of the _Blue mountains_ +from the dark-blue appearance given to them by the pines. We traveled this +morning across the affluents to Powder river, the road being good, firm, +and level, and the country became constantly more pleasant and +interesting. The soil appeared to be very deep, and is black and extremely +good, as well among the hollows of the hills on the elevated plats, as on +the river bottoms, the vegetation being such as is usually found in good +ground. The following analytical result shows the precise qualities of +this soil, and will justify to science the character of fertility which +the eye attributes to it: + +_Analysis of Powder river soil._ + + +Silica ----------------- 72.30 +Alumina ---------------- 6.25 +Carbonate of lime ------ 6.86 +Carbonate of magnesia -- 4.62 +Oxide of iron ---------- 1.20 +Organic matter --------- 4.50 +Water and loss --------- 4.27 + ______ + 100.00 + +From the waters of this stream, the road ascended by a good and moderate +ascent to a dividing ridge, but immediately entered upon ground covered +with fragments of an altered silicious slate, which are in many places +large, and render the road racking to a carriage. In this rock the planes +of deposition are distinctly preserved, and the metamorphism is evidently +due to the proximity of volcanic rocks. On either side, the mountains here +are densely covered with tall and handsome trees; and, mingled with the +green of a variety of pines, is the yellow of the European larch, +(_pinus larix_,) which loses its leaves in the fall. From its present +color, we were enabled to see that it forms a large proportion of the +forests on the mountains, and is here a magnificent tree, attaining +sometimes the height of 200 feet, which I believe is elsewhere unknown. +About two in the afternoon we reached a high point of the dividing ridge, +from which we obtained a good view of the _Grand Rond_--a beautiful +level basin, or mountain valley, covered with good grass, on a rich soil, +abundantly watered, and surrounded by high and well-timbered mountains-- +and its name descriptive of its form--the great circle. It is a place--one +of the few we have seen on our journey so far--where a farmer would +delight to establish himself, if he were content to live in the seclusion +which it imposes. It is about 20 miles in diameter, and may, in time, form +a superb county. Probably with the view of avoiding a circuit, the wagons +had directly descended into the _Rond_ by the face of a hill so very +rocky and continuously steep as to be apparently impracticable, and, +following down on their trail, we encamped on one of the branches of the +Grand Rond river, immediately at the foot of the hill. I had remarked, in +descending, some very white spots glistening on the plain, and, going out +in that direction after we had encamped, I found them to be the bed of a +dry salt lake, or marsh, very firm and bare, which was covered thickly +with a fine white powder, containing a large quantity of carbonate of +soda, (thirty-three in one hundred parts.) + +The old grass had been lately burnt off from the surrounding hills, and, +wherever the fire had passed, there was a recent growth of strong, green, +and vigorous grass; and the soil of the level prairie, which sweeps +directly up to the foot of the surrounding mountains, appears to be very +rich, producing flax spontaneously and luxuriantly in various places. + + _Analysis of Grand Rond soil._ + +Silica,---------------------------------- 70.81 +Alumina,--------------------------------- 10.97 +Lime and magnesia,----------------------- 1.38 +Oxide of iron,--------------------------- 2.21 +Vegetable matter, partly decomposed,---- 8.16 +Water and loss,-------------------------- 5.46 +Phosphate of lime,----------------------- 1.01 + ______ + 100.00 + +The elevation of this encampment is 2,940 feet above the sea. + +18th.--It began to rain an hour before sunrise, and continued until ten +o'clock; the sky entirely overcast, and the temperature at sunrise 48 deg.. + +We resumed our journey somewhat later than usual, travelling in a nearly +north direction across the beautiful valley; and about noon reached a +place on one of the principal streams, where I had determined to leave the +emigrant trail, in the expectation of finding a more direct and better +road across the Blue mountains. At this place the emigrants appeared to +have held some consultation as to their further route, and finally turned +directly off to the left; reaching the foot of the mountain in about three +miles, which they ascended by a hill as steep and difficult as that by +which we had yesterday descended to the Rond. Quitting, therefore, this +road, which, after a very rough crossing, issues from the mountains by the +heads of the _Umatilah_ river, we continued our northern course +across the valley, following an Indian trail which had been indicated to +me by Mr. Payette, and encamped at the northern extremity of the Grand +Rond, on a slough-like stream of very deep water, without any apparent +current. There are some pines here on the low hills at the creek; and in +the northwest corner of the Rond is a very heavy body of timber, which +descends into the plain. The clouds, which had rested very low along the +mountain sides during the day, rose gradually up in the afternoon; and in +the evening the sky was almost entirely clear, with a temperature at +sunset of 47 deg.. Some indifferent observations placed the camp in longitude +117 deg. 28' 26", latitude 45 deg. 26' 47"; and the elevation was 2,600 feet above +the sea. + +19th.--This morning the mountains were hidden by fog; there was a heavy +dew during the night, in which the exposed thermometer at daylight stood +at 32 deg., and at sunrise the temperature was 35 deg.. + +We passed out of the Grand Rond by a fine road along the creek, which, for +a short distance, runs in a kind of rocky chasm. Crossing a low point, +which was a little rocky, the trail conducted into the open valley of the +stream--a handsome place for farms; the soil, even of the hills, being +rich and black. Passing through a point of pines, which bore evidences of +being very much frequented by the Indians, and in which the trees were +sometimes apparently 200 feet high, and three to seven feet in diameter, +we halted for a few minutes in the afternoon at the foot of the Blue +mountains, on a branch of the Grand Rond river, at an elevation of 2,700 +feet. Resuming our journey, we commenced the ascent of the mountains +through an open pine forest of large and stately trees, among which the +balsam pine made its appearance; the road being good, with the exception +of one steep ascent, with a corresponding descent, which might both have +been easily avoided by opening the way for a short distance through the +timber. It would have been well had we encamped on the stream where we had +halted below, as the night overtook us on the mountain, and we were +obliged to encamp without water, and tie up the animals to the trees for +the night. We halted on a smooth open place of a narrow ridge, which +descended very rapidly to a ravine or piny hollow, at a considerable +distance below; and it was quite a pretty spot, had there been water near. +But the fires at night look very cheerless after a day's march, when there +is no preparation for supper going on; and, after sitting some time around +the blazing logs, Mr. Preuss and Carson, with several others, volunteered +to take the India-rubber buckets and go down into the ravine in search of +water. It was a very difficult way in the darkness down the slippery side +of the steep mountain, and harder still to climb about half a mile up +again; but they found the water, and the cup of coffee (which it enabled +us to make) and bread were only enjoyed with greater pleasure. + +At sunset the temperature was 46 deg.; the evening remarkably clear; and I +obtained an emersion of the first satellite, which does not give a good +result, although the observation was a very good one. The chronometric +longitude was 117 deg. 28' 34", latitude 45 deg. 38' 07", and we had ascended to +an elevation of 3,830 feet. It appeared to have snowed yesterday on the +mountains, their summits showing very white to-day. + +20th.--There was a heavy white frost during the night, and at sunrise the +temperature was 37 deg.. + +The animals had eaten nothing during the night; and we made an early +start, continuing our route among the pines, which were more dense than +yesterday, and still retained their magnificent size. The larches cluster +together in masses on the side of the mountains, and their yellow foliage +contrasts handsomely with the green of the balsam and other pines. After a +few miles we ceased to see any pines, and the timber consisted of several +varieties of spruce, larch, and balsam pine, which have a regularly +conical figure. These trees appeared from 60 to nearly 200 feet in height; +the usual circumference being 10 to 12 feet, and in the pines sometimes 21 +feet. In open places near the summit, these trees became less high and +more branching, the conical form having a greater base. The instrument +carriage occasioned much delay, it being frequently necessary to fell +trees and remove the fallen timber. The trail we were following led up a +long spur, with a very gradual and gentle rise. At the end of three miles, +we halted at an open place near the summit, from which we enjoyed a fine +view over the mountainous country where we had lately traveled, to take a +barometrical observation at the height of 4,460 feet. + +After traveling occasionally through open places in the forest, we were +obliged to cut a way through a dense body of timber, from which we emerged +on an open mountain-side, where we found a number of small springs, and +encamped after a day's journey of ten miles. Our elevation here was 5,000 +feet. + +21st.--There was a very heavy white frost during the night, and the +thermometer at sunrise was 30 deg.. + +We continued to travel through the forest, in which the road was rendered +difficult by fallen trunks, and obstructed by many small trees, which it +was necessary to cut down. But these are only accidental difficulties, +which could easily be removed, and a very excellent road may be had +through this pass, with no other than very moderate ascents or +declivities. A laborious day, which had advanced us only six miles on the +road, brought us in the afternoon to an opening in the forest, in which +there was a fine mountain meadow, with good grass, and a large clear-water +stream--one of the head branches of the _Umatilah_ river. During this +day's journey, the barometer was broken; and the elevations above the sea, +hereafter given, depend upon the temperature of boiling water. Some of the +white spruces which I measured to-day were twelve feet in circumference, +and one of the larches ten; but eight feet was the average circumference +of those measured along the road. I held in my hand a tape line as I +walked along, in order to form some correct idea of the size of the +timber. Their height appeared to be from 100 to 180, and perhaps 200 feet, +and the trunks of the larches were sometimes 100 feet without a limb; but +the white spruces were generally covered with branches nearly to the root. +All these trees have their branches, particularly the lower ones, +declining. + +22d.--The white frost this morning was like snow on the ground; the ice +was a quarter of an inch thick on the creek, and the thermometer at +sunrise was at 20 deg.. But, in a few hours, the day became warm and pleasant, +and our road over the mountains was delightful and full of enjoyment. + +The trail passed sometimes through very thick young timber, in which there +was much cutting to be done; but, after traveling a few miles, the +mountains became more bald, and we reached a point from which there was a +very extensive view in the northwest. We were on the western verge of the +Blue mountains, long spurs of which, very precipitous on either side +extended down into the valley, the waters of the mountain roaring between +them. On our right was a mountain plateau, covered with a dense forest; +and to the westward, immediately below us, was the great _Nez Perce_ +(pierced nose) prairie, in which dark lines of timber indicated the course +of many affluents to a considerable stream that was pursuing its way +across the plain towards what appeared to be the Columbia river. This I +knew to be the Walahwalah river, and occasional spots along its banks, +which resembled clearings, were supposed to be the mission or Indian +settlements; but the weather was smoky and unfavorable to far views with +the glass. The rock displayed here in the escarpments is a compact +amorphous trap, which appears to constitute the mass of the Blue mountains +in this latitude; and all the region of country through which we have +traveled since leaving the Snake river has been the seat of violent and +extensive igneous action. Along the Burnt River valley, the strata are +evidently sedimentary rocks, altered by the intrusion of volcanic +products, which in some instances have penetrated and essentially changed +their original condition. Along our line of route from this point to the +California mountains, there seems but little essential change. All our +specimens of sedimentary rocks show them much altered, and volcanic +productions appear to prevail throughout the whole intervening distance. + +The road now led along the mountain side, around heads of the precipitous +ravines; and keeping men ahead to clear the road, we passed alternately +through bodies of timber and small open prairies, and encamped in a large +meadow, in view of the great prairie below. + +At sunset the thermometer was at 40 deg., and the night was very clear and +bright. Water was only to be had here by descending a bad ravine, into +which we drove our animals, and had much trouble with them in a very close +growth of small pines. Mr. Preuss had walked ahead and did not get into +the camp this evening. The trees here maintained their size, and one of +the black spruces measured 15 feet in circumference. In the neighborhood +of the camp, pines have reappeared here among the timber. + +23d.--The morning was very clear; there had been a heavy white frost +during the night, and at sunrise the thermometer was at 31 deg.. + +After cutting through two thick bodies of timber, in which I noticed some +small trees of _hemlock_ spruce, (_perusse_) the forest became +more open, and we had no longer any trouble to clear a way. The pines here +were 11 or 12 feet in circumference, and about 110 feet high, and appeared +to love the open grounds. The trail now led along one of the long spurs of +the mountain, descending gradually towards the plain; and after a few +miles traveling, we emerged finally from the forest, in full view of the +plain below, and saw the snowy mass of Mount Hood, standing high out above +the surrounding country at the distance of 180 miles. The road along the +ridge was excellent, and the grass very green and good; the old grass +having been burnt off early in the autumn. About 4 o'clock in the +afternoon we reached a little bottom of the Walahwalah river, where we +found Mr. Preuss, who yesterday had reached this place, and found himself +too far in advance of the camp to return. The stream here has just issued +from the narrow ravines, which are walled with precipices, in which the +rock has a brown and more burnt appearance than above. + +At sunset the thermometer was at 48 deg., and our position was in longitude +118 deg. 00' 39", and in latitude 45 deg. 53' 35". + +The morning was clear, with a temperature at sunrise of 24 deg.. Crossing the +river, we traveled over a hilly country with a good bunch-grass; the river +bottom, which generally contains the best soil in other countries, being +here a sterile level of rocks and pebbles. We had found the soil in the +Blue mountains to be of excellent quality, and it appeared also to be good +here among the lower hills. Reaching a little eminence over which the +trail passed, we had an extensive view along the course of the river, +which was divided and spread over its bottom in a network of water, +receiving several other tributaries from the mountains. There was a band +of several hundred horses grazing on the hills about two miles ahead; and +as we advanced on the road we met other bands, which Indians were driving +out to pasture also on the hills. True to its general character, the +reverse of other countries, the hills and mountains here were rich in +grass, the bottoms barren and sterile. + +In six miles we crossed a principal fork, below which the scattered waters +of the river were gathered into one channel; and, passing on the way +several unfinished houses; and some cleared patches, where corn and +potatoes were cultivated, we reached, in about eight miles further, the +missionary establishment of Dr. Whitman, which consisted at this time of +one _adobe_ house--_i.e._, built of unburnt bricks as in Mexico. + +I found Dr. Whitman absent on a visit to the _Dalles_ of the +Columbia; but had the pleasure to see a fine-looking family of emigrants, +men, women, and children, in robust health, all indemnifying themselves +for previous scanty fare, in a hearty consumption of potatoes, which are +produced here of a remarkably good quality. We were disappointed in our +expectation of obtaining corn-meal or flour at this station, the mill +belonging to the mission having been lately burned down; but an abundant +supply of excellent potatoes banished regrets, and furnished a grateful +substitute for bread. A small town of Nez Perce Indians gave an inhabited +and even a populous appearance to the station; and, after remaining about +an hour, we continued our route and encamped on the river about four miles +below, passing on the way an emigrant encampment. + +Temperature at sunset, 49 deg.. + +25th..--The weather was pleasant, with a sunrise temperature of 36 deg.. Our +road to-day had nothing in it of interest; and the country offered to the +eye only a sandy, undulating plain, through which a scantily-timbered +river takes its course. We halted about three miles above the mouth, on +account of grass; and the next morning arrived at the Nez Perce fort, one +of the trading establishments of the Hudson Bay Company, a few hundred +yards above the junction of the Walahwalah with the Columbia river. Here +we had the first view of this river, and found it about 1,200 yards wide, +and presenting the appearance of a fine, navigable stream. We made our +camp in a little grove of willows on the Walahwalah, which are the only +trees to be seen in the neighborhood; but were obliged to send the animals +back to the encampment we had left, as there was scarcely a blade of grass +to be found. The post is on the bank of the Columbia, on a plain of bare +sands, from which the air was literally filled with clouds of dust and +sand, during one of the few days we remained here; this place being one of +the several points on the river which are distinguished for prevailing +high winds, that come from the sea. The appearance of the post and country +was without interest, except that we here saw, for the first time, the +great river on which the course of events for the last half century has +been directing attention and conferring historical fame. The river is, +indeed, a noble object, and has here attained its full magnitude. About +nine miles above, and in sight from the heights about this post, is the +junction of the two great forks which constitute the main stream--that on +which we had been traveling from Fort Hall, and known by the names of +Lewis's fork, Shoshonee, and Snake river; and the North fork, which has +retained the name of Columbia, as being the main stream. + +We did not go up to the junction, being pressed for time; but the union of +two large streams, coming one from the southeast, and the other from the +northeast, and meeting in what may be treated as the geographical centre +of the Oregon valley, thence doubling the volume of water to the ocean, +while opening two great lines of communication with the interior +continent, constitutes a feature in the map of the country which cannot be +overlooked; and it was probably in reference to this junction of waters, +and these lines of communication, that this post was established. They are +important lines, and, from the structure of the country, must forever +remain so,--one of them leading to the South Pass and to the valley of the +Mississippi, the other to the pass at the head of the Athabasca river, and +to the countries drained by the waters of the Hudson Bay. The British fur +companies now use both lines; the Americans, in their emigration to +Oregon, have begun to follow the one which leads towards the United +States. Bateaux from tide-water ascend to the junction, and thence high up +the North fork, or Columbia. Land conveyance only is used upon the line of +Lewis's fork. To the emigrants to Oregon, the Nez Perce is a point of +great interest, as being, to those who choose it, the termination of their +overland journey. The broad expanse of the river here invites them to +embark on its bosom; and the lofty trees of the forest furnish the means +of doing so. + +From the South Pass to this place is about 1,000 miles; and as it is about +the same distance from that pass to the Missouri river at the mouth of the +Kansas, it may be assumed that 2,000 miles is the _necessary_ land +travel in crossing from the United States to the Pacific ocean on this +line. From the mouth of the Great Platte it would be about 100 miles less. + +Mr. McKinley, the commander of the post, received us with great civility; +and both to myself, and the heads of the emigrants who were there at the +time, extended the rights of hospitality in a comfortable dinner to which +he invited us. + +By a meridional altitude of the sun, the only observation that the weather +permitted us to obtain, the mouth of the Walahwalah river is in latitude +46 deg. 03' 46"; and, by the road we had traveled, 612 miles from Fort Hall. +At the time of our arrival, a considerable body of emigrants, under the +direction of Mr. Applegate, a man of considerable resolution and energy, +had nearly completed the building of a number of Mackinaw boats, in which +they proposed to continue their further voyage down the Columbia. I had +seen, in descending the Walahwalah river, a fine drove of several hundred +cattle, which they had exchanged for California cattle, to be received at +Vancouver, and which are considered a very inferior breed. The other +portion of the emigration had preferred to complete their journey by land +along the banks of the Columbia, taking their stock and wagons with them. + +Having reinforced our animals with eight fresh horses, hired from the +post, and increased our stock of provisions with dried salmon, potatoes, +and a little beef, we resumed our journey down the left bank of the +Columbia, being guided on our road by an intelligent Indian boy, whom I +had engaged to accompany us as far as the Dalles. + +From an elevated point over which the road led, we obtained another far +view of Mount Hood, 150 miles distant. We obtained on the river bank an +observation of the sun at noon, which gave for the latitude 45 deg. 58' 08". +The country to-day was very unprepossessing, and our road bad; and as we +toiled slowly along through deep loose sands, and over fragments of black +volcanic rock, our laborious traveling was strongly contrasted with the +rapid progress of Mr. Applegate's fleet of boats, which suddenly came +gliding swiftly down the broad river, which here chanced to be tranquil +and smooth. At evening we encamped on the river bank, where there was very +little grass, and less timber. We frequently met Indians on the road, and +they were collected at every favorable spot along the river. + +29th.--The road continued along the river, and in the course of the day +Mount St. Helens, another snowy peak of the Cascade range, was visible. We +crossed the Umatilah river at a fall near its mouth. This stream is of the +same class as the Walahwalah river, with a bed of volcanic rock, in places +split into fissures. Our encampment was similar to that of yesterday; +there was very little grass, and no wood. The Indians brought us some +pieces for sale, which were purchased to make our fires. + +31st.--By observation, our camp is in latitude 45 deg. 50' 05", and longitude +119 deg. 22' 18". The night has been cold, and we have white frost this +morning, with a temperature at daylight of 25 deg., and at sunrise of 24 deg.. The +early morning was very clear, and the stars bright; but, as usual, since +we are on the Columbia, clouds formed immediately with the rising sun. The +day continued fine, the east being covered with scattered clouds, but the +west remaining clear, showing the remarkable cone-like peak of Mount Hood +brightly drawn against the sky. This was in view all day in the southwest, +but no other peaks of the range were visible. Our road was a bad one, of +very loose, deep sand. We met on the way a party of Indians unusually +well-dressed. They appeared intelligent, and, in our slight intercourse, +impressed me with the belief that they possessed some aptitude for +acquiring languages. + +We continued to travel along the river, the stream being interspersed with +many sand-bars (it being the season of low water) and with many islands, +and an apparently good navigation. Small willows were the only wood; rock +and sand the prominent geological feature. The rock of this section is a +very compact and tough basalt, occurring in strata which have the +appearance of being broken into fragments, assuming the form of columnar +hills, and appearing always in escarpments, with the broken fragments +strewed at the base and over the adjoining country. + +We made a late encampment on the river, and used to-night the _purshia +tridentata_ for firewood. Among the rocks which formed the bank, was +very good green grass. Latitude 45 deg. 44' 23", longitude 119 deg. 45' 09". + + + +NOVEMBER. + + +1st.--Mount Hood is glowing in the sunlight this morning, and the air is +pleasant, with a temperature of 38 deg.. We continued down the river, and, +passing through a pretty green valley, bounded by high precipitous rocks, +encamped at the lower end. + +On the right shore, the banks of the Columbia are very high and steep; the +river is 1,690 feet broad, and dark bluffs of rock give it a picturesque +appearance. + +2d.--The river here entered among bluffs, leaving no longer room for a +road; and we accordingly left it, and took a more inland way among the +river hills--on which we had no sooner entered, than we found a great +improvement in the country. The sand had disappeared, and the soil was +good, and covered with excellent grass, although the surface was broken +into high hills, with uncommonly deep valleys. At noon we crossed John +Day's river, a clear and beautiful stream, with a swift current and a bed +of rolled stones. It is sunk in a deep valley, which is characteristic of +all the streams in this region; and the hill we descended to reach it well +deserves the name of mountain. Some of the emigrants had encamped on the +river, and others at the summit of the farther hill, the ascent of which +had probably cost their wagons a day's labor; and others again had halted +for the night a few miles beyond, where they had slept without water. We +also encamped in a grassy hollow without water; but, as we had been +forewarned of this privation by the guide, the animals had all been +watered at the river, and we had brought with us a sufficient quantity for +the night. + +3d.--After two hours' ride through a fertile, hilly country, covered, as +all the upland here appears to be, with good green grass, we descended +again into the river bottom, along which we resumed our sterile road, and +in about four miles reached the ford of the Fall river, (_Riviere aux +Chutes_,) a considerable tributary to the Columbia. We had heard, on +reaching the Nez Perce fort, a repetition of the account in regard to the +unsettled character of the Columbia Indians at the present time; and to +our little party they had at various points manifested a not very friendly +disposition, in several attempts to steal our horses. At this place I +expected to find a badly-disposed band, who had plundered a party of 14 +emigrant men a few days before, and taken away their horses; and +accordingly we made the necessary preparation for our security, but +happily met with no difficulty. + +The river was high, divided into several arms, with a rocky island at its +outlet into the Columbia, which at this place it rivalled in size, and +apparently derived its highly characteristic name, which is received from +one of its many falls some forty miles up the river. It entered the +Columbia with a roar of falls and rapids, and is probably a favorite +fishing station among the Indians, with whom both banks of the river were +populous; but they scarcely paid any attention to us. The ford was very +difficult at this time, and, had they entertained any bad intentions, they +were offered a good opportunity to carry them out, as I drove directly +into the river, and during the crossing the howitzer was occasionally +several feet under water, and a number of the men appeared to be more +often below than above. Our guide was well acquainted with the ford, and +we succeeded in getting every thing safe over to the left bank. We delayed +here only a short time to put the gun in order, and, ascending a long +mountain hill, resumed our route again among the interior hills. + +The roar of the _Falls of the Columbia_ is heard from the heights, +where we halted a few moments to enjoy a fine view of the river below. In +the season of high water, it would be a very interesting object to visit, +in order to witness what is related of the annual submerging of the fall +under the waters which back up from the basin below, constituting a great +natural lock at this place. But time had become an object of serious +consideration; and the Falls, in their present state, had been seen and +described by many. + +After a day's journey of 17 miles, we encamped among the hills on a little +clear stream, where, as usual, the Indians immediately gathered round us. +Among them was a very old man, almost blind from age, with long and very +white hair. I happened of my own accord to give this old man a present of +tobacco, and was struck with the impression which my unpropitiated notice +made on the Indians, who appeared in a remarkable manner acquainted with +the real value of goods, and to understand the equivalents of trade. At +evening, one of them spoke a few words to his people, and, telling me that +we need entertain no uneasiness in regard to our animals, as none of them +would be disturbed, they went all quietly away. In the morning, when they +again came to the camp, I expressed to them the gratification we felt at +their reasonable conduct, making them a present of some large knives and a +few smaller articles. + +4th.--The road continued among the hills, and, reaching an eminence, we +saw before us, watered by a clear stream, a tolerably large valley, +through which the trail passed. + +In comparison with the Indians of the Rocky mountains and the great +eastern plain, these are disagreeably dirty in their habits. Their huts +were crowded with half-naked women and children, and the atmosphere within +was any thing but pleasant to persons who had just been riding in the +fresh morning air. We were somewhat amused with the scanty dress of a +woman, who, in common with the others, rushed out of the huts on our +arrival, and who, in default of other covering, used a child for a fig- +leaf. + +The road in about half an hour passed near an elevated point, from which +we overlooked the valley of the Columbia for many miles, and saw in the +distance several houses surrounded by fields, which a chief, who had +accompanied us from the village, pointed out to us as the Methodist +missionary station. + +In a few miles we descended to the river, which we reached at one of its +remarkably interesting features, known as the _Dalles of the +Columbia_. The whole volume of the river at this place passed between +the walls of a chasm, which has the appearance of having been rent through +the basaltic strata which form the valley-rock of the region. At the +narrowest place we found the breadth, by measurement, 58 yards, and the +average height of the walls above the water 25 feet; forming a trough +between the rocks--whence the name, probably applied by a Canadian +voyageur. The mass of water, in the present low state of the river, passed +swiftly between, deep and black, and curled into many small whirlpools and +counter currents, but unbroken by foam, and so still that scarcely the +sound of a ripple was heard. The rock, for a considerable distance from +the river, was worn over a large portion of its surface into circular +holes and well-like cavities, by the abrasion of the river, which, at the +season of high waters, is spread out over the adjoining bottoms. + +In the recent passage through this chasm, an unfortunate event had +occurred to Mr. Applegate's party, in the loss of one of their boats, +which had been carried under water in the midst of the _Dalles_, and +two of Mr. Applegate's children and one man drowned. This misfortune was +attributed only to want of skill in the steersman, as at this season there +was no impediment to navigation; although the place is entirely impassable +at high water, when boats pass safely over the great falls above, in the +submerged state in which they then find themselves. + +The basalt here is precisely the same as that which constitutes the rock +of the valley higher up the Columbia, being very compact, with a few round +cavities. + +We passed rapidly three or four miles down the level valley and encamped +near the mission. The character of the forest growth here changes, and we +found ourselves, with pleasure, again among oaks and other forest-trees of +the east, to which we had long been strangers; and the hospitable and kind +reception with which we were welcomed among our country people at the +mission, aided the momentary illusion of home. + +Two good-looking wooden dwelling-houses, and a large schoolhouse, with +stables, barn, and garden, and large cleared fields between the houses and +the river bank, on which were scattered the wooden huts of an Indian +village, gave to the valley the cheerful and busy air of civilization, and +had in our eyes an appearance of abundant and enviable comfort. + +Our land journey found here its western termination. The delay involved in +getting our camp to the right bank of the Columbia, and in opening a road +through the continuous forest to Vancouver, rendered a journey along the +river impracticable; and on this side the usual road across the mountain +required strong and fresh animals, there being an interval of three days +in which they could obtain no food. I therefore wrote immediately to Mr. +Fitzpatrick, directing him to abandon the carts at the Walahwalah +missionary station, and, as soon as the necessary pack-saddles could be +made, which his party required, meet me at the Dalles, from which point I +proposed to commence our homeward journey. The day after our arrival being +Sunday, no business could be done at the mission; but on Monday, Mr. +Perkins assisted me in procuring from the Indians a large canoe, in which +I designed to complete our journey to Vancouver, where I expected to +obtain the necessary supply of provisions and stores for our winter +journey. Three Indians, from the family to whom the canoe belonged, were +engaged to assist in working her during the voyage, and, with them, our +water party consisted of Mr. Preuss and myself, with Bernier and Jacob +Dodson. In charge of the party which was to remain at the Dalles I left +Carson, with instructions to occupy the people in making pack-saddles and +refitting their equipage. The village from which we were to take the canoe +was on the right bank of the river, about ten miles below, at the mouth of +the Tinanens creek: and while Mr. Preuss proceeded down the river with the +instruments, in a little canoe paddled by two Indians, Mr. Perkins +accompanied me with the remainder of the party by land. The last of the +emigrants had just left the Dalles at the time of our arrival, traveling +some by water and others by land, making ark-like rafts, on which they had +embarked their families and households, with their large wagons and other +furniture, while their stock were driven along the shore. + +For about five miles below the Dalles, the river is narrow, and probably +very deep; but during this distance it is somewhat open, with grassy +bottoms on the left. Entering, then, among the lower mountains of the +Cascade range, it assumes a general character, and high and steep rocky +hills shut it in on either side, rising abruptly in places, to the height +of fifteen hundred feet above the water, and gradually acquiring a more +mountainous character as the river approaches the Cascades. + +After an hour's travel, when the sun was nearly down, we searched along +the shore for a pleasant place, and halted to prepare supper. We had been +well supplied by our friends at the mission with delicious salted salmon, +which had been taken at the fattest season; also, with potatoes, bread, +coffee, and sugar. We were delighted at a change in our mode of traveling +and living. The canoe sailed smoothly down the river; at night we encamped +upon the shore, and a plentiful supply of comfortable provisions supplied +the first of wants. We enjoyed the contrast which it presented to our late +toilsome marchings, our night watchings, and our frequent privation of +food. We were a motley group, but all happy: three unknown Indians; Jacob, +a colored man; Mr. Preuss, a German; Bernier, creole French; and myself. + +Being now upon the ground explored by the South Sea expedition under +Captain Wilkes, and having accomplished the object of uniting my survey +with his, and thus presenting a connected exploration from the Mississippi +to the Pacific, and the winter being at hand, I deemed it necessary to +economize time by voyaging in the night, as is customary here, to avoid +the high winds, which rise with the morning, and decline with the day. + +Accordingly, after an hour's halt, we again embarked, and resumed our +pleasant voyage down the river. The wind rose to a gale after several +hours; but the moon was very bright, and the wind was fair, and the canoe +glanced rapidly down the stream, the waves breaking into foam alongside; +and our night voyage, as the wind bore us rapidly along between the dark +mountains, was wild and interesting. About midnight we put to the shore on +a rocky beach, behind which was a dark looking pine forest. We built up +large fires among the rocks, which were in large masses round about; and, +arranging our blankets on the most sheltered places we could find, passed +a delightful night. + +After an early breakfast, at daylight we resumed our journey, the weather +being clear and beautiful, and the river smooth and still. On either side +the mountains are all pine-timbered, rocky, and high. We were now +approaching one of the marked features of the lower Columbia where the +river forms a great _cascade_, with a series of rapids, in breaking +through the range of mountains to which the lofty peaks of Mount Hood and +St. Helens belong, and which rise as great pillars of snow on either side +of the passage. The main branch of the _Sacramento_ river, and the +_Tlamath_, issue in cascades from this range; and the Columbia, +breaking through it in a succession of cascades, gives the idea of +cascades to the whole range; and hence the name of CASCADE RANGE, which it +bears, and distinguishes it from the Coast Range lower down. In making a +short turn to the south, the river forms the cascades in breaking over a +point of agglomerated masses of rock, leaving a handsome bay to the right, +with several rocky, pine-covered islands, and the mountains sweep at a +distance around a cove where several small streams enter the bay. In less +than an hour we halted on the left bank, about five minutes' walk above +the cascades, where there were several Indian huts, and where our guides +signified it was customary to hire Indians to assist in making the +_portage_. When traveling with a boat as light as a canoe, which may +easily be carried on the shoulders of the Indians, this is much the better +side of the river for the portage, as the ground here is very good and +level, being a handsome bottom, which I remarked was covered (_as was +now always the case along the river_) with a growth of green and fresh- +looking grass. It was long before we could come to an understanding with +the Indians; but to length, when they had first received the price of +their assistance in goods, they went vigorously to work; and, in a shorter +time than had been occupied in making our arrangements, the canoe, +instruments, and baggage, were carried through (a distance of about half a +mile) to the bank below the main cascade, where we again embarked, the +water being white with foam among ugly rocks, and boiling into a thousand +whirlpools. The boat passed with great rapidity, crossing and recrossing +in the eddies of the current. After passing through about two miles of +broken water, we ran some wild-looking rapids, which are called the Lower +Rapids, being the last on the river, which below is tranquil and smooth--a +broad, magnificent stream. On a low broad point on the right bank of the +river, at the lower end of these rapids, were pitched many tents of the +emigrants, who were waiting here for their friends from above, or for +boats and provisions which were expected from Vancouver. In our passage +down the rapids, I had noticed their camps along the shore, or +transporting their goods across the portage. This portage makes a head of +navigation, ascending the river. It is about two miles in length; and +above, to the Dalles, is 45 miles of smooth and good navigation. + +We glided on without further interruption between very rocky and high +steep mountains, which sweep along the river valley at a little distance, +covered with forests of pine, and showing occasionally lofty escarpments +of red rock. Nearer, the shore is bordered by steep escarped hills end +huge vertical rocks, from which the waters of the mountain reach the river +in a variety of beautiful falls, sometimes several hundred feet in height. +Occasionally along the river occurred pretty bottoms, covered with the +greenest verdure of the spring. To a professional farmer, however, it does +not offer many places of sufficient extent to be valuable for agriculture; +and after passing a few miles below the Dalles, I had scarcely seen a +place on the south shore where wagons could get to the river. The beauty +of the scenery was heightened by the continuance of very delightful +weather, resembling the Indian summer of the Atlantic. A few miles below +the cascades we passed a singular isolated hill; and in the course of the +next six miles occurred five very pretty falls from the heights on the +left bank, one of them being of a very picturesque character; and towards +sunset we reached a remarkable point of rocks, distinguished, on account +of prevailing high winds, and the delay it frequently occasions to the +canoe navigation, by the name of _Cape Horn_. It borders the river in +a high wall of rock, which comes boldly down into deep water; and in +violent gales down the river, and from the opposite shore, which is the +prevailing direction of strong winds, the water is dashed against it with +considerable violence. It appears to form a serious obstacle to canoe +traveling; and I was informed by Mr. Perkins, that in a voyage up the +river he had been detained two weeks at this place, and was finally +obliged to return to Vancouver. + +The winds of this region deserve a particular study. They blow in +currents, which show them to be governed by fixed laws; and it is a +problem how far they may come from the mountains, or from the ocean +through the breaks in the mountains which let out the river. + +The hills here had lost something of their rocky appearance, and had +already begun to decline. As the sun went down, we searched along the +river for an inviting spot; and, finding a clean rocky beach, where some +large dry trees were lying on the ground, we ran our boat to the shore; +and, after another comfortable supper, ploughed our way along the river in +darkness. Heavy clouds covered the sky this evening, and the wind began to +sweep in gusts among the trees, as if bad weather were coming. As we +advanced, the hills on both sides grew constantly lower; on the right, +retreating from the shore, and forming a somewhat extensive bottom of +intermingled prairie and wooded land. In the course of a few hours, and +opposite to a small stream corning in from the north, called the +_Tea Prairie_ river, the highlands on the left declined to +the plains, and three or four miles more disappeared entirely on both +sides, and the river entered the low country. The river had gradually +expanded; and when we emerged from the highlands, the opposite shores were +so distant as to appear indistinct in the uncertainty of the light. About +ten o'clock our pilots halted, apparently to confer about the course; and, +after a little hesitation, pulled directly across an open expansion of the +river, where the waves were somewhat rough for a canoe, the wind blowing +very fresh. Much to our surprise, a few minutes afterwards we ran aground. +Backing off our boat, we made repeated trials at various places to cross +what appeared to be a point of shifting sand-bars, where we had attempted +to shorten the way by a cut-off. Finally, one of our Indians got into the +water, and waded about until he found a channel sufficiently deep, through +which we wound along after him, and in a few minutes again entered the +deep water below. As we paddled rapidly down the river, we heard the noise +of a saw-mill at work on the right bank; and, letting our boat float +quietly down, we listened with pleasure to the unusual sounds, and before +midnight, encamped on the bank of the river, about a mile above Fort +Vancouver. Our fine dry weather had given place to a dark cloudy night. At +midnight it began to rain; and we found ourselves suddenly in the gloomy +and humid season, which, in the narrow region lying between the Pacific +and the Cascade mountains, and for a considerable distance along the +coast, supplies the place of winter. + +In the morning, the first object that attracted my attention was the +barque Columbia, lying at anchor near the landing. She was about to start +on a voyage to England, and was now ready for sea; being detained only in +waiting the arrival of the express bateaux, which descend the Columbia and +its north fork with the overland mail from Canada and Hudson's Bay, which +had been delayed beyond the usual time. I immediately waited upon Dr. +McLaughlin, the executive officer of the Hudson Bay Company, in the +territory west of the Rocky mountains, who received me with the courtesy +and hospitality for which he has been eminently distinguished, and which +makes a forcible and delightful impression on a traveler from the long +wilderness from which we had issued. I was immediately supplied by him +with the necessary stores and provisions to refit and support my party in +our contemplated winter journey to the States; and also with a Mackinaw +boat and canoes, manned with Canadian and Iroquois voyageurs and Indians, +for their transportation to the Dalles of the Columbia. In addition to +this efficient kindness in furnishing me with these necessary supplies, I +received from him a warm and gratifying sympathy in the suffering which +his great experience led him to anticipate for us in our homeward journey, +and a letter of recommendation and credit for any officers of the Hudson +Bay Company into whose posts we might be driven by unexpected misfortune. + +Of course, the future supplies for my party were paid for, bills on the +Government of the United States being readily taken; but every hospitable +attention was extended to me, and I accepted an invitation to take a room +in the fort, "_and to make myself at home while I stayed_." + +I found many American emigrants at the fort; others had already crossed +the river into their land of promise--the Walahmette valley. Others were +daily arriving; and all of them have been furnished with shelter, so far +as it could be afforded by the buildings connected with the establishment. +Necessary clothing and provisions (the latter to be returned in kind from +the produce of their labor) were also furnished. This friendly assistance +was of very great value to the emigrants, whose families were otherwise +exposed to much suffering in the winter rains, which had now commenced; at +the same time they were in want of all the common necessaries of life. +Those who had taken a water conveyance at the Nez Perce fort continued to +arrive safely, with no other accident than has been already mentioned. The +party which had crossed over the Cascade mountains were reported to have +lost a number of their animals; and those who had driven their stock down +the Columbia had brought them safely in, and found for them a ready and +very profitable market, and were already proposing to return to the States +in the spring for another supply. In the space of two days our +preparations had been completed, and we were ready to set out on our +return. It would have been very gratifying to have gone down to the +Pacific, and, solely in the interest and love of geography, to have seen +the ocean on the western as well as on the eastern side of the continent, +so as to give a satisfactory completeness to the geographical picture +which had been formed in our minds; but the rainy season had now regularly +set in, and the air was filled with fogs and rain, which left no beauty in +any scenery, and obstructed observations. The object of my instructions +had been entirely fulfilled in having connected our reconnoissance with +the surveys of Captain Wilkes; and although it would have been agreeable +and satisfactory to terminate here also our ruder astronomical +observations, I was not, for such a reason, justified to make a delay in +waiting for favorable weather. + +Near sunset of the 10th, the boats left the fort, and encamped after +making only a few miles. Our flotilla consisted of a Mackinaw barge and +three canoes--one of them that in which we had descended the river; and a +party in all of twenty men. One of the emigrants, Mr. Burnet, of Missouri, +who had left his family and property at the Dalles, availed himself of the +opportunity afforded by the return of our boats to bring them down to +Vancouver. This gentleman, as well as the Messrs. Applegate, and others of +the emigrants whom I saw, possessed intelligence and character, with the +moral and intellectual stamina, as well as the enterprise, which give +solidity and respectability to the foundation of colonies. + +11th.--The morning was rainy and misty. We did not move with the practised +celerity of my own camp; and it was nearly nine o'clock when our motley +crew had finished their breakfast and were ready to start. Once afloat, +however, they worked steadily and well, and we advanced at a good rate up +the river; and in the afternoon a breeze sprung up, which enabled us to +add a sail to the oars. At evening we encamped on a warm-looking beach, on +the right bank, at the foot of the high river-hill, immediately at the +lower end of Cape Horn. On the opposite shore is said to be a singular +hole in the mountain, from which the Indians believe comes the wind +producing these gales. It is called the Devil's hole; and the Indians, I +was told, had been resolving to send down one of their slaves to explore +the region below. At dark, the wind shifted into its stormy quarter, +gradually increasing to a gale from the southwest; and the sky becoming +clear, I obtained a good observation of an emersion of the first +satellite; the result of which being an absolute observation, I have +adopted for the longitude of the place. + +12th.--The wind during the night had increased to so much violence that +the broad river this morning was angry and white; the waves breaking with +considerable force against this rocky wall of the cape. Our old Iroquois +pilot was unwilling to risk the boats around the point, and I was not +disposed to hazard the stores of our voyage for the delay of a day. +Further observations were obtained during the day, giving for the latitude +of the place 45 deg. 33' 09"; and the longitude obtained from the satellite is +122 deg. 6' 15". + +13th.--We had a day of disagreeable and cold rain and, late in the +afternoon, began to approach the rapids of the cascades. There is here a +high timbered island on the left shore, below which, in descending, I had +remarked, in a bluff of the river, the extremities of trunks of trees, +appearing to be imbedded in the rock. Landing here this afternoon, I +found, in the lower part of the escarpment, a stratum of coal and forest- +trees, imbedded between strata of altered clay, containing the remains of +vegetables, the leaves of which indicate that the plants wore +dicotyledonous. Among these, the stems of some of the ferns are not +mineralized, but merely charred, retaining still their vegetable structure +and substance; and in this condition a portion of the trees remain. The +indurated appearance and compactness of the strata, as well, perhaps, as +the mineralized condition of the coal, are probably due to igneous action. +Some portions of the coal precisely resemble in aspect the canal coal of +England, and, with the accompanying fossils, have been referred to the +tertiary formation. + +These strata appear to rest upon a mass of agglomerated rock, being but a +few feet above the water of the river; and over them is the escarpment of +perhaps 80 feet, rising gradually in the rear towards the mountains. The +wet and cold evening, and near approach of night, prevented me from making +any other than a slight examination. + +The current was now very swift, and we were obliged to _cordelle_ the +boat along the left shore, where the bank was covered with large masses of +rocks. Night overtook us at the upper end of the island, a short distance +below the cascades, and we halted on the open point. In the mean time, the +lighter canoes, paddled altogether by Indians, had passed ahead, and were +out of sight. With them was the lodge, which was the only shelter we had, +with most of the bedding and provisions. We shouted, and fired guns; but +all to no purpose, as it was impossible for them to hear above the roar of +the river; and we remained all night without shelter, the rain pouring +down all the time. The old voyageurs did not appear to mind it much, but +covered themselves up as well as they could, and lay down on the sand- +beach, where they remained quiet until morning. The rest of us spent a +rather miserable night; and, to add to our discomfort, the incessant rain +extinguished our fires; and we were glad when at last daylight appeared, +and we again embarked. + +Crossing to the right bank, we _cordelled_ the boat along the shore, +there being no longer any use of the paddles, and put into a little bay +below the upper rapids. Here we found a lodge pitched, and about 20 +Indians sitting around a blazing fire within, making a luxurious breakfast +with salmon, bread, butter, sugar, coffee, and other provisions. In the +forest, on the edge of the high bluff overlooking the river, is an Indian +graveyard, consisting of a collection of tombs, in each of which were the +scattered bones of many skeletons. The tombs were made of boards, which +were ornamented with many figures of men and animals of the natural size-- +from their appearance, constituting the armorial device by which, among +Indians, the chiefs are usually known. + +The masses of rock displayed along the shores of the ravine in the +neighborhood of the cascades, are clearly volcanic products. Between this +cove, which I called Graveyard bay, and another spot of smooth water +above, on the right, called Luders bay, sheltered by a jutting point of +huge rocky masses at the foot of the cascades, the shore along the +intervening rapids is lined with precipices of distinct strata of red and +variously-colored lavas, in inclined positions. + +The masses of rock forming the point at Luders bay consist of a porous +trap, or basalt--a volcanic product of a modern period. The rocks belong +to agglomerated masses, which form the immediate ground of the cascades, +and have been already mentioned as constituting a bed of cemented +conglomerate rocks, appearing at various places along the river. Here they +are scattered along the shores, and through the bed of the river, wearing +the character of convulsion, which forms the impressive and prominent +feature of the river at this place. + +Wherever we came in contact with the rocks of these mountains, we found +them volcanic, which is probably the character of the range; and at this +time, two of the great snowy cones, Mount Regnier and St. Helens, were in +action. On the 23d of the preceding November, St. Helens had scattered its +ashes, like a white fall of snow, over the Dalles of the Columbia, 50 +miles distant. A specimen of these ashes was given to me by Mr. Brewer, +one of the clergymen at the Dalles. + +The lofty range of the Cascade mountains forms a distinct boundary between +the opposite climates of the regions along its western and eastern bases. +On the west, they present a barrier to the clouds of fog and rain which +roll up from the Pacific ocean and beat against their rugged sides, +forming the rainy season of the winter in the country along the coast. +Into the brighter skies of the region along their eastern base, this rainy +winter never penetrates; and at the Dalles of the Columbia the rainy +season is unknown, the brief winter being limited to a period of about two +months, during which the earth is covered with the slight snows of a +climate remarkably mild for so high a latitude. The Cascade range has an +average distance of about 130 miles from the sea-coast. It extends far +both north and south of the Columbia, and is indicated to the distant +observer, both in course and position, by the lofty volcanic peaks which +rise out of it, and which are visible to an immense distance. + +During several days of constant rain, it kept our whole force laboriously +employed in getting our barge and canoes to the upper end of the Cascades. +The portage ground was occupied by emigrant families; their thin and +insufficient clothing, bareheaded and barefooted children, attesting the +length of their journey, and showing that they had, in many instances, set +out without a due preparation of what was indispensable. + +A gentleman named Luders, a botanist from the city of Hamburg, arrived at +the bay I have called by his name while we were occupied in bringing up +the boats. I was delighted to meet at such a place a man of kindred +pursuits; but we had only the pleasure of a brief conversation, as his +canoe, under the guidance of two Indians, was about to run the rapids; and +I could not enjoy the satisfaction of regaling him with a breakfast, +which, after his recent journey, would have been an extraordinary luxury. +All of his few instruments and baggage were in the canoe, and he hurried +around by land to meet it at the Graveyard bay; but he was scarcely out of +sight, when, by the carelessness of the Indians, the boat was drawn into +the midst of the rapids, and glanced down the river, bottom up, with a +loss of every thing it contained. In the natural concern I felt for his +misfortune, I gave to the little cove the name of Luders bay. + +15th.--We continued to-day our work at the portage. + +About noon, the two barges of the express from Montreal arrived at the +upper portage landing, which, for large boats, is on the right bank of the +river. They were a fine-looking crew, and among them I remarked a fresh- +looking woman and her daughter, emigrants from Canada. It was satisfactory +to see the order and speed with which these experienced water-men effected +the portage, and passed their boats over the cascades. They had arrived at +noon, and in the evening they expected to reach Vancouver. These bateaux +carry the express of the Hudson Bay Company to the highest navigable point +of the North Fork of the Columbia, whence it is carried by an overland +party to Lake Winipec, where it is divided; part going to Montreal, and +part to Hudson Bay. Thus a regular communication is kept up between three +very remote points. + +The Canadian emigrants were much chagrined at the change of climate, and +informed me that, only a few miles above, they had left a country of +bright blue sky and a shining sun. The next morning the upper parts of the +mountains which directly overlook the cascades, were white with the +freshly fallen snow, while it continued to rain steadily below. + +Late in the afternoon we finished the portage, and, embarking again, moved +a little distance up the right bank, in order to clear the smaller rapids +of the cascades, and have a smooth river for the next morning. Though we +made but a few miles, the weather improved immediately; and though the +rainy country and the cloudy mountains were close behind, before us was +the bright sky; so distinctly is climate here marked by a mountain +boundary. + +17th.--We had to-day an opportunity to complete the sketch of that portion +of the river down which we had come by night. + +Many places occur along the river, where the stumps, or rather portions of +the trunks of pine-trees, are standing along the shore, and in the water, +where they may be seen at a considerable depth below the surface, in the +beautifully clear water. These collections of dead trees are called on the +Columbia the _submerged forest_, and are supposed to have been +created by the effects of some convulsion which formed the cascades, and +which, by damming up the river, placed these trees under water and +destroyed them. But I venture to presume that the cascades are older than +the trees; and as these submerged forests occur at five or six places +along the river, I had an opportunity to satisfy myself that they have +been formed by immense landslides from the mountains, which here closely +shut in the river, and which brought down with them into the river the +pines of the mountain. At one place, on the right bank, I remarked a place +where a portion of one of these slides seemed to have planted itself, with +all the evergreen foliage, and the vegetation of the neighboring hill, +directly amidst the falling and yellow leaves of the river trees. It +occurred to me that this would have been a beautiful illustration to the +eye of a botanist. + +Following the course of a slide, which was very plainly marked along the +mountain, I found that in the interior parts the trees were in their usual +erect position; but at the extremity of the slide they were rocked about, +and thrown into a confusion of inclinations. + +About 4 o'clock in the afternoon we passed a sandy bar in the river, +whence we had an unexpected view of Mount Hood, bearing directly south by +compass. + +During the day we used oar and sail, and at night had again a delightful +camping ground, and a dry place to sleep upon. + +18th.--The day again was pleasant and bright. At 10 o'clock we passed a +rock island, on the right shore of the river, which the Indians use as a +burial ground; and halting for a short time, about an hour afterwards, at +the village of our Indian friends, early in the afternoon we arrived again +at the Dalles. + +Carson had removed the camp up the river a little nearer to the hills, +where the animals had better grass. We found every thing in good order, +and arrived just in time to partake of an excellent roast of California +beef. My friend, Mr. Gilpin, had arrived in advance of the party. His +object in visiting this country had been to obtain correct information of +the Walahmette settlements; and he had reached this point in his journey, +highly pleased with the country over which he had traveled, and with +invigorated health. On the following day he continued his journey, in our +returning boats, to Vancouver. + +The camp was now occupied in making the necessary preparations for our +homeward journey, which, though homeward, contemplated a new route, and a +great circuit to the south and southeast, and the exploration of the Great +Basin between the Rocky mountains and the _Sierra Nevada_. Three +principal objects were indicated, by report or by maps, as being on this +route; the character or existence of which I wished to ascertain and which +I assumed as landmarks, or leading points, on their projected line of +return. The first of those points was the _Tlamath_ lake, on the +table-land between the head of Fall river, which comes to the Columbia, +and the Sacramento, which goes to the Bay of San Francisco; and from which +lake a river of the same name makes its way westwardly direct to the +ocean. This lake and river are often called _Klamet_, but I have +chosen to write its name according to the Indian pronunciation. The +position of this lake, on the line of inland communication between Oregon +and California; its proximity to the demarcation boundary of latitude 42 deg.; +its imputed double character of lake, or meadow, according to the season +of the year; and the hostile and warlike character attributed to the +Indians about it--all made it a desirable object to visit and examine. +From this lake our course was intended to be about southeast, to a +reported lake called Mary's, at some days' journey in the Great Basin; and +thence, still on southeast, to the reputed _Buenaventura_ river, +which has had a place in so many maps, and countenanced the belief of the +existence of a great river flowing from the Rocky mountains to the Bay of +San Francisco. From the Buenaventura the next point was intended to be in +that section of the Rocky mountains which includes the heads of Arkansas +river, and of the opposite waters of the Californian gulf; and thence down +the Arkansas to Bent's fort, and home. This was our projected line of +return--a great part of it absolutely new to geographical, botanical, and +geological science--and the subject of reports in relation to lakes, +rivers, deserts, and savages hardly above the condition of mere wild +animals, which inflamed desire to know what this _terra incognita_ +really contained. + +It was a serious enterprise, at the commencement of winter, to undertake +the traverse of such a region, and with a party consisting only of twenty- +five persons, and they of many nations--American, French, German, +Canadian, Indian, and colored--and most of those young, several being +under twenty-one years of age. All knew that a strange country was to be +explored, and dangers and hardships to be encountered; but no one blenched +at the prospect. On the contrary, courage and confidence animated the +whole party. Cheerfulness, readiness, subordination, prompt obedience, +characterized all; nor did any extremity of peril and privation, to which +we were afterwards exposed, ever belie, or derogate from, the fine spirit +of this brave and generous commencement. The course of the narrative will +show at what point, and for what reasons, we were prevented from the +complete execution of this plan, after having made considerable progress +upon it, and how we were forced by desert plains and mountain ranges, and +deep snows, far to the south, and near to the Pacific ocean, and along the +western base of the Sierra Nevada, where, indeed, a new and ample field of +exploration opened itself before us. For the present, we must follow the +narrative, which will first lead us south along the valley of Fall river, +and the eastern base of the Cascade range, to the Tlamath lake, from +which, or its margin, three rivers go in three directions--one west, to +the ocean; another north, to the Columbia; the third south, to California. + +For the support of the party, I had provided at Vancouver a supply of +provisions for not less than three months, consisting principally of +flour, peas, and tallow--the latter being used in cooking; and, in +addition to this, I had purchased at the mission some California cattle, +which were to be driven on the hoof. We had 104 mules and horses--part of +the latter procured from the Indians about the mission; and for the +sustenance of which, our reliance was upon the grass which we should find, +and the soft porous wood which was to be substituted when there was none. + +Mr. Fitzpatrick, with Mr. Talbot and the remainder of the party, arrived +on the 21st; and the camp was now closely engaged in the labor of +preparation. Mr. Perkins succeeded in obtaining as a guide to the Tlamath +lake two Indians--one of whom had been there, and bore the marks of +several wounds he had received from some of the Indians in the +neighborhood; and the other went along for company. In order to enable us +to obtain horses, he dispatched messengers to the various Indian villages +in the neighborhood, informing them that we were desirous to purchase, and +appointing a day for them to bring them in. + +We made, in the mean time, several excursions in the vicinity. Mr. Perkins +walked with Mr. Preuss and myself to the heights, about nine miles +distant, on the opposite side of the river, whence, in fine weather, an +extensive view may be had over the mountains, including seven great peaks +of the Cascade range; but clouds, on this occasion, destroyed the +anticipated pleasure, and we obtained bearings only to three that were +visible--Mount Regnier, St. Helens, and Mount Hood. On the heights, about +one mile south of the mission, a very fine view may be had of Mount Hood +and St. Helens. In order to determine their position with as much accuracy +as possible, the angular distances of the peaks were measured with the +sextant, at different fixed points from which they could be seen. + +The Indians brought in their horses at the appointed time, and we +succeeded in obtaining a number in exchange for goods; but they were +relatively much higher here, where goods are plenty and at moderate +prices, than we had found them in the more eastern part of our voyage. +Several of the Indians inquired very anxiously to know if we had any +_dollars_; and the horses we procured were much fewer in number than +I had desired, and of thin, inferior quality; the oldest and poorest being +those that were sold to us. These horses, as ever in our journey you will +have occasion to remark, are valuable for hardihood and great endurance. + +24th.--At this place one of the men was discharged; and at the request of +Mr. Perkins, a Chinook Indian, a lad of nineteen, who was extremely +desirous to "see the whites," and make some acquaintance with our +institutions, was received into the party under my special charge, with +the understanding that I would again return him to his friends. He had +lived for some time in the household of Mr. Perkins, and spoke a few words +of the English language. + +25th.--We were all up early, in the excitement of turning towards home. +The stars were brilliant, and the morning cold, the thermometer at +daylight 26 deg.. + +Our preparations had been fully completed, and to-day we commenced our +journey. The little wagon which had hitherto carried the instruments, I +judged it necessary to abandon; and it was accordingly presented to the +mission. In all our long traveling, it had never been overturned or +injured by any accident of the road; and the only things broken were the +glass lamps, and one of the front panels, which had been kicked out by an +unruly Indian horse. The howitzer was the only wheeled carriage now +remaining. We started about noon, when the weather had become disagreeably +cold, with flurries of snow. Our friend Mr. Perkins, whose kindness had +been active and efficient during our stay, accompanied us several miles on +our road, when he bade us farewell, and consigned us to the care of our +guides. Ascending to the uplands beyond the southern fork of the +_Tinanens_ creek, we found the snow lying on the ground in frequent +patches, although the pasture appeared good, and the new short grass was +fresh and green. We traveled over high, hilly land, and encamped on a +little branch of Tinanens creek, where there were good grass and timber. +The southern bank was covered with snow, which was scattered over the +bottom; and the little creek, its borders lined with ice, had a chilly and +wintry look. A number of Indians had accompanied us so far on our road, +and remained with us during the night. Two bad-looking fellows, who were +detected in stealing, were tied and laid before the fire, and guard +mounted over them during the night. The night was cold, and partially +clear. + +26th.--The morning was cloudy and misty, and but a few stars visible. +During the night water froze in the tents, and at sunrise the thermometer +was at 20 deg.. Left camp at 10 o'clock, the road leading along tributaries of +the Tinanens, and being, so far, very good. We turned to the right at the +fork of the trail, ascending by a steep ascent along a spur to the +dividing grounds between this stream and the waters of Fall river. The +creeks we had passed were timbered principally with oak and other +deciduous trees. Snow lies everywhere here on the ground, and we had a +slight fall during the morning; but towards noon the bright sky yielded to +a bright sun. + +This morning we had a grand view of St. Helens and Regnier: the latter +appeared of a conical form, and very lofty, leading the eye far up into +the sky. The line of the timbered country is very distinctly marked here, +the bare hills making with it a remarkable contrast. The summit of the +ridge commanded a fine view of the Taih prairie, and the stream running +through it, which is a tributary to the Fall river, the chasm of which is +visible to the right. A steep descent of a mountain hill brought us down +into the valley, and we encamped on the stream after dark, guided by the +light of fires, which some naked Indians, belonging to a village on the +opposite side, were kindling for us on the bank. This is a large branch of +the Fall river. There was a broad band of thick ice some fifteen feet wide +on either bank, and the river current is swift and bold. The night was +cold and clear, and we made our astronomical observation this evening with +the thermometer at 20 deg.. + +In anticipation of coming hardship, and to spare our horses, there was +much walking done to-day; and Mr. Fitzpatrick and myself made the day's +journey on foot. Somewhere near the mouth of this stream are the falls +from which the river takes its name. + +27th.--A fine view of Mount Hood this morning; a rose-colored mass of +snow, bearing S. 85 deg. W. by compass. The sky is clear, and the air cold; +the thermometer 2.5 deg. below zero, the trees and bushes glittering white, +and the rapid stream filled with floating ice. + +_Stiletsi_ and _the White Crane_, two Indian chiefs who had +accompanied us thus far, took their leave, and we resumed our journey at +10 o'clock. We ascended by a steep hill from the river bottom, which is +sandy, to a volcanic plain, around which lofty hills sweep in a regular +form. It is cut up by gullies of basaltic rock, escarpments of which +appear everywhere in the hills. This plain is called the Taih prairie, and +is sprinkled with some scattered pines. The country is now far more +interesting to a traveler than the route along the Snake and Columbia +rivers. To our right we had always the mountains, from the midst of whose +dark pine forests the isolated snowy peaks were looking out like giants. +They served us for grand beacons to show the rate at which we advanced in +our journey. Mount Hood was already becoming an old acquaintance, and, +when we ascended the prairie, we obtained a bearing to Mount Jefferson, S. +23 deg. W. The Indian superstition has peopled these lofty peaks with evil +spirits, and they have never yet known the tread of a human foot. Sternly +drawn against the sky, they look so high and steep, so snowy and rocky, +that it appears almost impossible to climb them; but still a trial would +have its attractions for the adventurous traveler. A small trail takes off +through the prairie, towards a low point in the range, and perhaps there +is here a pass into the Wahlamette valley. Crossing the plain, we +descended by a rocky hill into the bed of a tributary of Fall river, and +made an early encampment. The water was in holes, and frozen over; and we +were obliged to cut through the ice for the animals to drink. An ox, which +was rather troublesome to drive, was killed here for food. + +The evening was fine, the sky being very clear, and I obtained an +immersion of the third satellite, with a good observation of an emersion +of the first; the latter of which gives for the longitude, 121 deg. 02' 43"; +the latitude, by observation, being 45 deg. 06' 45". The night was cold--the +thermometer during the observations standing at 9 deg.. + +28th.--The sky was clear in the morning, but suddenly clouded over, and at +sunrise it began to snow, with the thermometer at 18 deg.. + +We traversed a broken high country, partly timbered with pine, and about +noon crossed a mountainous ridge, in which, from the rock occasionally +displayed, the formation consists of compact lava. Frequent tracks of elk +were visible in the snow. On our right, in the afternoon, a high plain, +partially covered with pine, extended about ten miles, to the foot of the +Cascade mountains. + +At evening we encamped in a basin narrowly surrounded by rocky hills, +after a day's journey of twenty-one miles. The surrounding rocks are +either volcanic products, or highly altered by volcanic action, consisting +of quartz and reddish-colored silicious masses. + +29th.--We emerged from the basin, by a narrow pass, upon a considerable +branch of Fall river, running to the eastward through a narrow valley. The +trail, descending this stream, brought us to a locality of hot springs, +which were on either bank. Those on the left, which were formed into deep +handsome basins, would have been delightful baths, if the outer air had +not been so keen, the thermometer in these being at 89 deg.. There were others +on the opposite side, at the foot of an escarpment, in which the +temperature of the water was 134 deg.. These waters deposited around the +spring a brecciated mass of quartz and feldspar, much of it of a reddish +color. + +We crossed the stream here, and ascended again to a high plain, from an +elevated point of which we obtained a view of six of the great peaks-- +Mount Jefferson, followed to the southward by two others of the same +class; and succeeding, at a still greater distance to the southward, were +three other lower peaks, clustering together in a branch ridge. These, +like the great peaks, were snowy masses, secondary only to them; and, from +the best examination our time permitted, we are inclined to believe that +the range to which they belong is a branch from the great chain which here +bears to the westward. The trail, during the remainder of the day, +followed near to the large stream on the left, which was continuously +walled in between high rocky banks. We halted for the night on a little +by-stream. + +30th.--Our journey to-day was short. Passing over a high plain, on which +were scattered cedars, with frequent beds of volcanic rock in fragments +interspersed among the grassy grounds, we arrived suddenly on the verge of +the steep and rocky descent to the valley of the stream we had been +following, and which here ran directly across our path, emerging from the +mountains on the right. You will remark that the country is abundantly +watered with large streams, which pour down from the neighboring range. + +These streams are characterized by the narrow and chasm-like valleys in +which they run, generally sunk a thousand feet below the plain. At the +verge of this plain, they frequently commence in vertical precipices of +basaltic rock, and which leave only casual places at which they can be +entered by horses. The road across the country, which would otherwise be +very good, is rendered impracticable for wagons by these streams. There is +another trail among the mountains, usually followed in the summer, which +the snows now compelled us to avoid; and I have reason to believe that +this, passing nearer the heads of these streams, would afford a much +better road. + +At such places, the gun-carriage was unlimbered, and separately descended +by hand. Continuing a few miles up the left bank of the river, we encamped +early in an open bottom among the pines, a short distance below a lodge of +Indians. Here, along the river the bluffs present escarpments seven or +eight hundred feet in height, containing strata of a very fine porcelain +clay, overlaid, at the height of about five hundred feet, by a massive +stratum of compact basalt one hundred feet in thickness, which again is +succeeded above by other strata of volcanic rocks. The clay strata are +variously colored, some of them very nearly as white as chalk, and very +fine-grained. Specimens brought from these have been subjected to +microscopical examination by Professor Bailey, of West Point, and are +considered by him to constitute one of the most remarkable deposites of +fluviatile infusoria on record. While they abound in genera and species +which are common in fresh water, but which rarely thrive where the water +is even brackish, not one decidedly marine form is to be found among them; +and their fresh-water origin is therefore beyond a doubt. It is equally +certain that they lived and died at the situation where they were found, +as they could scarcely have been transported by running waters without an +admixture of sandy particles; from which, however, they are remarkably +free. Fossil infusoria of a fresh-water origin had been previously +detected by Mr. Bailey, in specimens brought by Mr. James D. Dana from the +tertiary formation of Oregon. Most of the species in those specimens +differed so much from those now living and known, that he was led to infer +that they might belong to extinct species, and considered them also as +affording proof of an alteration, in the formation from which they were +obtained, of fresh and salt-water deposites, which, common enough in +Europe, had not hitherto been noticed in the United States. Coming +evidently from a locality entirely different, our specimens show very few +species in common with those brought by Mr. Dana, but bear a much closer +resemblance to those inhabiting the northeastern states. It is possible +that they are from a more recent deposite; but the presence of a few +remarkable forms which are common to the two localities renders it more +probable that there is no great difference in their age. + +I obtained here a good observation of an emersion of the second satellite; +but clouds, which rapidly overspread the sky, prevented the usual number +of observations. Those which we succeeded in obtaining, are, however, +good; and give for the latitude of the place 44 deg. 35' 23", and for the +longitude from the satellite 121 deg. 10' 25". + + + +DECEMBER. + + +1st.--A short distance above our encampment, we crossed the river, which +was thickly lined along its banks with ice. In common with all these +mountain-streams the water was very clear and the current swift. It was +not everywhere fordable, and the water was three or four feet deep at our +crossing, and perhaps a hundred feet wide. As was frequently the case at +such places, one of the mules got his pack, consisting of sugar, +thoroughly wet, and turned into molasses. One of the guides informed me +that this was a "salmon-water," and pointed out several ingeniously- +contrived places to catch the fish; among the pines in the bottom I saw an +immense one, about twelve feet in diameter. A steep ascent from the +opposite bank delayed us again; and as, by the information of our guides, +grass would soon become very scarce, we encamped on the height of land, in +a marshy place among the pines, where there was an abundance of grass. We +found here a single Nez Perce family, who had a very handsome horse in +their drove, which we endeavored to obtain in exchange for a good cow; but +the man "had two hearts," or, rather, he had one and his wife had another: +she wanted the cow, but he loved the horse too much to part with it. These +people attach great value to cattle, with which they are endeavoring to +supply themselves. + +2d.--In the first rays of the sun, the mountain peaks this morning +presented a beautiful appearance, the snow being entirely covered with a +hue of rosy gold. We traveled to-day over a very stony, elevated plain, +about which were scattered cedar and pine, and encamped on another branch +of Fall river. We were gradually ascending to a more elevated region, +which would have been indicated by the rapidly increasing quantities of +snow and ice, had we not known it by other means. A mule, which was packed +with our cooking-utensils, wandered off among the pines unperceived, and +several men were sent back to search for it. + +3d.--Leaving Mr. Fitzpatrick with the party, I went ahead with the +howitzer and a few men, in order to gain time, as our progress with the +gun was necessarily slower. The country continued the same--very stony, +with cedar and pine; and we rode on until dark, when we encamped on a +hill-side covered with snow, which we used to-night for water, as we were +unable to reach any stream. + +4th.--Our animals had taken the back track, although a great number were +hobbled; and we were consequently delayed until noon. Shortly after we had +left this encampment, the mountain trail from the Dalles joined that on +which we were traveling. After passing for several miles over an artemisia +plain, the trail entered a beautiful pine forest, through which we +traveled for several hours; and about 4 o'clock descended into the valley +of another large branch, on the bottom of which were spaces of open pines, +with occasional meadows of good grass, in one of which we encamped. The +stream is very swift and deep, and about 40 feet wide, and nearly half +frozen over. Among the timber here, are larches 140 feet high, and over +three feet in diameter. We had to-night the rare sight of a lunar rainbow. + +5th.--To-day the country was all pine forest, and beautiful weather made +our journey delightful. It was too warm at noon for winter clothes; and +the snow, which lay everywhere in patches through the forest, was melting +rapidly. After a few hours' ride, we came upon a fine stream in the midst +of the forest, which proved to be the principal branch of the Fall river. +It was occasionally 200 feet wide--sometimes narrowed to 50 feet--the +waters very clear, and frequently deep. We ascended along the river, which +sometimes presented sheets of foaming cascades--its banks occasionally +blackened with masses of scoriated rock--and found a good encampment on +the verge of open bottom, which had been an old camping-ground of the +Cayuse Indians. A great number of deer-horns were lying about, indicating +game in the neighborhood. The timber was uniformly large, some of the +pines measuring 22 feet in circumference at the ground, and 12 to 13 feet +at six feet above. + +In all our journeying, we had never traveled through a country where the +rivers were so abounding in falls; and the name of this stream is +singularly characteristic. At every place where we come in the +neighborhood of the river, is heard the roaring of falls. The rock along +the banks of the stream, and the ledge over which it falls, is a scoriated +basalt, with a bright metallic fracture. The stream goes over in one clear +pitch, succeeded by a foaming cataract of several hundred yards. In a +little bottom above the falls, a small stream discharges into an +_entonnoir_, and disappears below. + +We made an early encampment, and in the course of the evening Mr. +Fitzpatrick joined us here with the lost mule. Our lodge-poles were nearly +worn out, and we found here a handsome set, leaning against one of the +trees, very white, and cleanly scraped. Had the owners been here, we would +have purchased them; but as they were not, we merely left the old ones in +their place, with a small quantity of tobacco. + +6th.--The morning was frosty and clear. We continued up the stream on +undulating forest ground, over which there was scattered much falling +timber. We met here a village of Nez Perce Indians, who appeared to be +coming down from the mountains, and had with them fine bands of horses. +With them were a few Snake Indians of the root-digging species. From the +forest we emerged into an open valley ten or twelve miles wide, through +which the stream was flowing tranquilly, upwards of two hundred feet +broad, with occasional islands, and bordered with fine broad bottoms. +Crossing the river, which here issues from a great mountain ridge on the +right, we continued up the southern and smaller branch over a level +country, consisting of fine meadow-land, alternating with pine forests, +and encamped on it early in the evening. A warm sunshine made the day +pleasant. + +7th.--To-day we had good traveling ground, the trail leading sometimes +over rather sandy soils in the pine forest, and sometimes over meadow-land +along the stream. The great beauty of the country in summer constantly +suggested itself to our imaginations; and even now we found it beautiful, +as we rode along these meadows, from half a mile to two miles wide. The +rich soil and excellent water, surrounded by noble forests, make a picture +that would delight the eye of a farmer. + +I observed to-night an occultation of _a Geminorum_; which, although +at the bright limb of the moon, appears to give a very good result, that +has been adopted for the longitude. The occultation, observations of +satellites, and our position deduced from daily surveys with the compass, +agree remarkably well together, and mutually support and strengthen each +other. The latitude of the camp is 43 deg. 30' 36"; and longitude, deduced +from the occultation, 121 deg. 33' 50". + +8th.--To-day we crossed the last branch of the Fall river, issuing, like +all the others we had crossed, in a southwesterly direction from the +mountains. Our direction was a little east of south, the trail leading +constantly through pine forests. The soil was generally bare, consisting, +in greater part, of a yellowish-white pumice-stone, producing varieties of +magnificent pines, but not a blade of grass; and to-night our horses were +obliged to do without food, and use snow for water. These pines are +remarkable for the red color of the bolls; and among them occurs a species +of which the Indians had informed me when leaving the Dalles. The unusual +size of the cone (16 or 18 inches long) had attracted their attention; and +they pointed it out to me among the curiosities of the country. They are +more remarkable for their large diameter than their height, which usually +averages only about 120 feet. The leaflets are short--only two or three +inches long, and five in a sheath; the bark of a red color. + +9th.--The trail leads always through splendid pine forests. Crossing +dividing grounds by a very fine road, we descended very gently towards the +south. The weather was pleasant, and we halted late. The soil was very +much like that of yesterday; and on the surface of a hill near our +encampment, were displayed beds of pumice-stone; but the soil produced no +grass, and again the animals fared badly. + +10th.--The country began to improve; and about eleven o'clock we reached a +spring of cold water on the edge of a savannah, or grassy meadow, which +our guides informed us was an arm of the Tlamath lake; and a few miles +further we entered upon an extensive meadow, or lake of grass, surrounded +by timbered mountains. This was the Tlamath lake. It was a picturesque and +beautiful spot, and rendered more attractive to us by the abundant and +excellent grass, which our animals, after traveling through pine forests, +so much needed; but the broad sheet of water which constitutes a lake was +not to be seen. Overlooking it, immediately west, were several snowy +knobs, belonging to what we have considered a branch of the Cascade range. +A low point, covered with pines, made out into the lake, which afforded us +a good place for an encampment, and for the security of our horses, which +were guarded in view on the open meadow. The character of courage and +hostility attributed to the Indians in this quarter induced more than +usual precaution; and, seeing smokes rising from the middle of the lake +(or savannah) and along the opposite shores, I directed the howitzer to be +fired. It was the first time our guides had seen it discharged; and the +bursting of the shell at a distance, which was something like the second +fire of the gun, amazed and bewildered them with delight. It inspired them +with triumphant feelings; but on the camps at a distance the effect was +different, for the smokes in the lake and on the shores immediately +disappeared. + +The point on which we were encamped forms, with the opposite eastern +shore, a narrow neck, connecting the body of the lake with a deep cove or +bay which receives the principal affluent stream, and over the greater +part of which the water (or rather ice) was at this time dispersed in +shallow pools. Among the grass, and scattered over the prairie lake, +appeared to be similar marshes. It is simply a shallow basin, which, for a +short period at the time of melting snows, is covered with water from the +neighboring mountains; but this probably soon runs off, and leaves for the +remainder of the year a green savannah, through the midst of which the +river Tlamath, which flows to the ocean, winds its way to the outlet on +the south-western side. + +11th.--No Indians made their appearance, and I determined to pay them a +visit. Accordingly the people were gathered together, and we rode out +towards the village in the middle of the lake which one of our guides had +previously visited. It could not be directly approached, as a large part +of the lake appeared a marsh; and there were sheets of ice among the grass +on which our horses could not keep their footing. We therefore followed +the guide for a considerable distance along the forest; and then turned +off towards the village, which we soon began to see was a few large huts, +on the tops of which were collected the Indians. When we had arrived +within half a mile of the village, two persons were seen advancing to meet +us; and, to please the fancy of our guides, we ranged ourselves into a +long line, riding abreast, while they galloped ahead to meet the +strangers. + +We were surprised, on riding up, to find one of them a woman, having never +before known a squaw to take any part in the business of war. They were +the village chief and his wife, who, in excitement and alarm at the +unusual event and appearance, had come out to meet their fate together. +The chief was a very prepossessing Indian, with handsome features, and a +singularly soft and agreeable voice--so remarkable as to attract general +notice. + +The huts were grouped together on the bank of the river which, from being +spread out in a shallow marsh at the upper end of the lake, was collected +here into a single stream. They were large round huts, perhaps 20 feet in +diameter, with rounded tops, on which was the door by which they descended +into the interior. Within, they were supported by posts and beams. + +Almost like plants, these people seem to have adapted themselves to the +soil, and to be growing on what the immediate locality afforded. Their +only subsistence at the time appeared to be a small fish, great quantities +of which, that had been smoked and dried, were suspended on strings about +the lodge. Heaps of straw were lying around; and their residence in the +midst of grass and rushes had taught them a peculiar skill in converting +this material to useful purposes. Their shoes were made of straw or grass, +which seemed well adapted for a snowy country; and the women wore on their +heads a closely-woven basket, which made a very good cap. Among other +things, were party-colored mats about four feet square, which we purchased +to lay on the snow under our blankets, and to use for table-cloths. + +Numbers of singular-looking dogs, resembling wolves, were sitting on the +tops of the huts; and of these we purchased a young one, which, after its +birthplace, was named Tlamath. The language spoken by these Indians is +different from that of the Shoshonee and Columbia River tribes; and +otherwise than by signs they cannot understand each other. They made us +comprehend that they were at war with the people who lived to the +southward and to the eastward; but I could obtain from them no certain +information. The river on which they live enters the Cascade mountains on +the western side of the lake, and breaks through them by a passage +impracticable for travelers; but over the mountains, to the northward, are +passes which present no other obstacle than in the almost impenetrable +forests. Unlike any Indians we had previously seen, these wore shells in +their noses. We returned to our camp, after remaining here an hour or two, +accompanied by a number of Indians. + +In order to recruit a little the strength of our animals, and obtain some +acquaintance with the locality, we remained here for the remainder of the +day. By observation, the latitude of the camp was 42 deg. 56' 51", and the +diameter of the lake, or meadow, as has been intimated, about 20 miles. It +is a picturesque and beautiful spot, and, under the hand of cultivation, +might become a little paradise. Game is found in the forest, timbered and +snowy mountains skirt it, and fertility characterizes it. Situated near +the heads of three rivers, and on the line of inland communication with +California, and near to Indians noted for treachery, it will naturally, in +the progress of the settlement of Oregon, become a point for military +occupation and settlement. + +From Tlamath lake, the further continuation of our voyage assumed a +character of discovery and exploration, which, from the Indians here, we +could obtain no information to direct, and where the imaginary maps of the +country, instead of assisting, exposed us to suffering and defeat. In our +journey across the desert, Mary's lake, and the famous Buenaventura river, +were two points on which I relied to recruit the animals and repose the +party. Forming, agreeably to the best maps in my possession, a connected +water-line from the Rocky mountains to the Pacific ocean, I felt no other +anxiety than to pass safely across the intervening desert to the banks of +the Buenaventura, where, in the softer climate of a more southern +latitude, our horses might find grass to sustain them, and ourselves be +sheltered from the rigors of winter, and from the inhospitable desert. The +guides who had conducted us thus far on our journey were about to return; +and I endeavored in vain to obtain others to lead us, even for a few days, +in the direction (east) which we wished to go. The chief to whom I applied +alleged the want of horses, and the snow on the mountains across which our +course would carry us, and the sickness of his family, as reasons for +refusing to go with us. + +12th.--This morning the camp was thronged with Tlamath Indians from the +southeastern shore of the lake; but, knowing the treacherous disposition +which is a remarkable characteristic of the Indians south of the Columbia, +the camp was kept constantly on its guard. I was not unmindful of the +disasters which Smith and other travelers had met with in this country, +and therefore was equally vigilant in guarding against treachery and +violence. + +According to the best information I had been able to obtain from the +Indians, in a few days' traveling we should reach another large water, +probably a lake, which they indicated exactly in the course we were about +to pursue. We struck our tents at 10 o'clock, and crossed the lake in a +nearly east direction, where it has the least extension--the breadth of +the arm being here only about a mile and a half. There were ponds of ice, +with but little grass, for the greater part of the way, and it was +difficult to get the pack-animals across, which fell frequently, and could +not get up with their loads, unassisted. The morning was very unpleasant, +snow falling at intervals in large flakes, and the sky dark. In about two +hours we succeeded in getting the animals over; and, after traveling +another hour along the eastern shore of the lake, we turned up into a cove +where there was a sheltered place among the timber, with good grass, and +encamped. The Indians, who had accompanied us so far, returned to their +village on the south-eastern shore. Among the pines here, I noticed some +five or six feet in diameter. + +13th.--The night has been cold; the peaks around the lake gleam out +brightly in the morning sun, and the thermometer is at zero. We continued +up the hollow formed by a small affluent to the lake, and immediately +entered an open pine forest on the mountain. The way here was sometimes +obstructed by fallen trees, and the snow was four to twelve inches deep. +The mules at the gun pulled heavily, and walking was a little laborious. +In the midst of the wood, we heard the sound of galloping horses, and were +agreeably surprised by the unexpected arrival of our Tlamath chief with +several Indians. He seemed to have found his conduct inhospitable in +letting the strangers depart without a guide through the snow, and had +come, with a few others, to pilot us a day or two on the way. After +traveling in an easterly direction through the forest for about four +hours, we reached a considerable stream, with a border of good grass; and +here, by the advice of our guides, we encamped. It is about thirty feet +wide, and two to four feet deep, the water clear, with some current; and, +according to the information of our Indians, is the principal affluent to +the lake, and the head-water of the Tlamath river. + +A very clear sky enabled me to obtain here to-night good observations, +including an emersion of the first satellite of Jupiter, which gave for +the long. 121 deg. 20' 42", and for the lat. 42 deg. 51' 26". This emersion +coincides remarkably well with the result obtained from an occultation at +the encampment of December 7th to 8th, 1843; from which place, the line of +our survey gives an easting of 13 miles. The day's journey was 12 miles. + +14th.--Our road was over a broad mountain, and we rode seven hours in a +thick snow-storm, always through pine forests, when we came down upon the +head-waters of another stream, on which there was grass. The snow lay deep +on the ground, and only the high swamp-grass appeared above. The Indians +were thinly clad, and I had remarked during the day that they suffered +from cold. This evening they told me that the snow was getting too deep on +the mountain, and I could not induce them to go any farther. The stream we +had struck issued from the mountain in an easterly direction, turning to +the southward a short distance below; and, drawing its course upon the +ground, they made us comprehend that it pursued its way for a long +distance in that direction, uniting with many other streams, and gradually +becoming a great river. Without the subsequent information, which +confirmed the opinion, we became immediately satisfied that this water +formed the principal stream of the Sacramento river; and, consequently, +that this main affluent of the bay of San Francisco had its source within +the limits of the United States, and opposite a tributary to the Columbia, +and near the head of the Tlamath river, which goes to the ocean north of +42 deg., and within the United States. + +15th.--A present, consisting of useful goods, afforded much satisfaction +to our guides; and, showing them the national flag, I explained that it +was a symbol of our nation; and they engaged always to receive it in a +friendly manner. The chief pointed out a course, by following which we +would arrive at the big water, where no more snow was to be found. +Traveling in a direction N. 60 deg. E. by compass, which the Indians informed +me would avoid a bad mountain to the right, we crossed the Sacramento +where it turned to the southward, and entered a grassy level plain--a +smaller Grand Rond; from the lower end of which the river issued into an +inviting country of low rolling hills. Crossing a hard-frozen swamp on the +farther side of the Rond, we entered again the pine forest, in which very +deep snow made our traveling slow and laborious. We were slowly but +gradually ascending a mountain; and, after a hard journey of seven hours, +we came to some naked places among the timber, where a few tufts of grass +showed above the snow, on the side of a hollow; and here we encamped. Our +cow, which every day got poorer, was killed here, but the meat was rather +tough. + +16th.--We traveled this morning through snow about three feet deep, which, +being crusted, very much cut the feet of our animals. The mountain still +gradually rose; we crossed several spring heads covered with quaking asp; +otherwise it was all pine forest. The air was dark with falling snow, +which everywhere weighed down the trees. The depths of the forest were +profoundly still; and below, we scarcely felt a breath of the wind which +whirled the snow through their branches. I found that it required some +exertion of constancy to adhere steadily to one course through the woods, +when we were uncertain how far the forest extended, or what lay beyond; +and, on account of our animals, it would be bad to spend another night on +the mountain. Towards noon the forest looked clear ahead, appearing +suddenly to terminate; and beyond a certain point we could see no trees. +Riding rapidly ahead to this spot, we found ourselves on the verge of a +vertical and rocky wall of the mountain. At our feet--more than a thousand +feet below--we looked into a green prairie country, in which a beautiful +lake, some twenty miles in length, was spread along the foot of the +mountains, its shores bordered with green grass. Just then the sun broke +out among the clouds, and illuminated the country below; while around us +the storm raged fiercely. Not a particle of ice was to be seen on the +lake, or snow on its borders, and all was like summer or spring. The glow +of the sun in the valley below brightened up our hearts with sudden +pleasure; and we made the woods ring with joyful shouts to those behind; +and gradually, as each came up, he stopped to enjoy the unexpected scene. +Shivering on snow three feet deep, and stiffening in a cold north wind, we +exclaimed at once that the names of Summer Lake and Winter Ridge should be +applied to these two proximate places of such sudden and violent contrast. + +We were now immediately on the verge of the forest land, in which we had +been traveling so many days; and, looking forward to the east, scarce a +tree was to be seen. Viewed from our elevation, the face of the country +exhibited only rocks and grass, and presented a region in which the +artemisia became the principal wood, furnishing to its scattered +inhabitants fuel for their fires, building material for their huts, and +shelter for the small game which ministers to their hunger and nakedness. +Broadly marked by the boundary at the mountain wall, and immediately below +us, were the first waters of that Great Interior Basin which has the +Wahsatch and Bear River mountains for its eastern, and the Sierra Nevada +for its western rim; and the edge of which we had entered upwards of three +months before, at the Great Salt Lake. + +When we had sufficiently admired the scene below, we began to think about +descending, which here was impossible, and we turned towards the north, +traveling always along the rocky wall. We continued on for four or five +miles, making ineffectual attempts at several places; and at length +succeeded in getting down at one which was extremely difficult of descent. +Night had closed in before the foremost reached the bottom, and it was +dark before we all found ourselves together in the valley. There were +three or four half-dead dry cedar-trees on the shore, and those who first +arrived kindled bright fires to light on the others. One of the mules +rolled over and over two or three hundred feet into a ravine, but +recovered himself without any other injury than to his pack; and the +howitzer was left midway the mountain until morning. By observation, the +latitude of this encampment is 42 deg. 57' 22". It delayed us until near noon +the next day to recover ourselves and put every thing in order; and we +made only a short camp along the western shore of the lake, which, in the +summer temperature we enjoyed to-day, justified the name we had given it. +Our course would have taken us to the other shore, and over the highlands +beyond; but I distrusted the appearance of the country, and decided to +follow a plainly-beaten Indian trail leading along this side of the lake. +We were now in a country where the scarcity of water and of grass makes +traveling dangerous, and great caution was necessary. + +18th.--We continued on the trail along the narrow strip of land between +the lake and the high rocky wall, from which we had looked down two days +before. Almost every half mile we crossed a little spring, or stream of +pure cold water, and the grass was certainly as fresh and green as in the +early spring. From the white efflorescence along the shore of the lake, we +were enabled to judge that the water was impure, like that of lakes we +subsequently found, but the mud prevented us from approaching it. We +encamped near the eastern point of the lake, where there appeared between +the hills a broad and low connecting hollow with the country beyond. From +a rocky hill in the rear, I could see, marked out by a line of yellow +dried grass, the bed of a stream, which probably connected the lake with +other waters in the spring. + +The observed latitude of this encampment is 42 deg. 42' 37". + +19th.--After two hours' ride in an easterly direction, through a low +country, the high ridge with pine forest still to our right, and a rocky +and bald but lower one on the left, we reached a considerable fresh-water +stream, which issues from the piny mountains. So far as we had been able +to judge, between this stream and the lake we had crossed dividing +grounds, and there did not appear to be any connection, as might be +inferred from the impure condition of the lake water. + +The rapid stream of pure water, roaring along between banks overhung with +aspens and willows, was a refreshing and unexpected sight; and we followed +down the course of the stream, which brought us soon into a marsh, or dry +lake, formed by the expanding waters of the stream. It was covered with +high reeds and rushes, and large patches of ground had been turned up by +the squaws in digging for roots, as if a farmer had been preparing the +land for grain. I could not succeed in finding the plant for which they +had been digging. There were frequent trails, and fresh tracks of Indians; +and, from the abundant signs visible, the black-tailed hare appears to be +numerous here. It was evident that, in other seasons, this place was a +sheet of water. Crossing this marsh towards the eastern hills, and passing +over a bordering plain of heavy sands, covered with artemisia, we encamped +before sundown on the creek, which here was very small, having lost its +water in the marshy grounds. We found here tolerably good grass. The wind +to-night was high, and we had no longer our huge pine fires, but were +driven to our old resource of small dried willows and artemisia. About 12 +miles ahead, the valley appears to be closed in by a high, dark-looking +ridge. + +20th.--Traveling for a few hours down the stream this morning, we turned +the point of a hill on our left, and came suddenly in sight of another and +much larger lake, which, along its eastern shore, was closely bordered by +the high black ridge which walled it in by a precipitous face on this +side. Throughout this region the face of the country is characterized by +these precipices of black volcanic rock, generally enclosing the valleys +of streams, and frequently terminating the hills. Often, in the course of +our journey, we would be tempted to continue our road up the gentle ascent +of a sloping hill, which, at the summit, would terminate abruptly in a +black precipice. Spread out over a length of 20 miles, the lake, when we +first came in view, presented a handsome sheet of water, and I gave to it +the name of Lake Abert, in honor of the chief of the corps to which I +belonged. The fresh-water stream we had followed emptied into the lake by +a little fall; and I was doubtful for a moment whether to go on, or encamp +at this place. The miry ground in the neighborhood of the lake did not +allow us to examine the water conveniently, and, being now on the borders +of a desert country, we were moving cautiously. It was, however, still +early in the day, and I continued on trusting either that the water would +be drinkable or that we should find some little spring from the hill-side. +We were following an Indian trail which led along the steep rocky +precipice--a black ridge along the western shore holding out no prospect +whatever. The white efflorescences which lined the shore like a bank of +snow, and the disagreeable odor which filled the air as soon as we came +near, informed us too plainly that the water belonged to one of those +fetid salt lakes which are common in this region. We continued until late +in the evening to work along the rocky shore, but, as often afterwards, +the dry, inhospitable rock deceived us; and, halting on the lake, we +kindled up fires to guide those who were straggling along behind. We tried +the water, but it was impossible to drink it, and most of the people to- +night lay down without eating; but some of us, who had always a great +reluctance to close the day without supper, dug holes along the shore, and +obtained water, which, being filtered, was sufficiently palatable to be +used, but still retained much of its nauseating taste. There was very +little grass for the animals, the shore being lined with a luxuriant +growth of chenopodiaceous shrubs, which burned with a quick bright flame, +and made our firewood. + +The next morning we had scarcely traveled two hours along the shore, when +we reached a place where the mountains made a bay, leaving at their feet a +low bottom around the lake. Here we found numerous hillocks covered with +rushes, in the midst of which were deep holes, or springs, of pure water; +and the bottom was covered with grass, which, although of a salt and +unwholesome quality, and mixed with saline efflorescences, was still +abundant, and made a good halting-place to recruit our animals, and we +accordingly encamped here for the remainder of the day. I rode ahead +several miles to ascertain if there was any appearance of a water-course +entering the lake, but found none, the hills preserving their dry +character, and the shore of the lake sprinkled with the same white powdery +substance, and covered with the same shrubs. There were flocks of ducks on +the lake, and frequent tracks of Indians along the shore, where the grass +had been recently burnt by their fires. + +We ascended the bordering mountain, in order to obtain a more perfect view +of the lake, in sketching its figure: hills sweep entirely around its +basin, from which the waters have no outlet. + +22d.--To-day we left this forbidding lake. Impassable rocky ridges barred +our progress to the eastward, and I accordingly bore off towards the +south, over an extensive sage-plain. At a considerable distance ahead, and +a little on our left, was a range of snowy mountains, and the country +declined gradually towards the foot of a high and nearer ridge, +immediately before us, which presented the feature of black precipices now +becoming common to the country. On the summit of the ridge, snow was +visible; and there being every indication of a stream at its base, we rode +on until after dark, but were unable to reach it, and halted among the +sage-bushes on the open plain, without either grass or water. The two +India-rubber bags had been filled with water in the morning, which +afforded sufficient for the camp; and rain in the night formed pools, +which relieved the thirst of the animals. Where we encamped on the bleak +sandy plain, the Indians had made huts or circular enclosures, about four +feet high and twelve feet broad, of artemisia bushes. Whether these had +been forts or houses, or what they had been doing in such a desert place, +we could not ascertain. + +23d.--The weather is mild; the thermometer at daylight 38 deg.; the wind +having been from the southward for several days. The country has a very +forbidding appearance, presenting to the eye nothing but sage, and barren +ridges. We rode up towards the mountain, along the foot of which we found +a lake, that we could not approach on account of the mud; and, passing +around its southern end, ascended the slope at the foot of the ridge, +where in some hollows we had discovered bushes and small trees--in such +situations, a sure sign of water. We found here several springs, and the +hill-side was well sprinkled with a species of _festuca_--a better +grass than we had found for many days. Our elevated position gave us a +good view over the country, but we discovered nothing very encouraging. +Southward, about ten miles distant, was another small lake, towards which +a broad trail led along the ridge; and this appearing to afford the most +practicable route, I determined to continue our journey in that direction. + +24th.--We found the water at the lake tolerably pure, and encamped at the +farther end. There were some good grass and canes along the shore, and the +vegetables at this place consisted principally of chenopodiaceous shrubs. + +25th.--We were roused on Christmas morning by a discharge from the small- +arms and howitzer, with which our people saluted the day; and the name of +which we bestowed on the lake. It was the first time, perhaps, in this +remote and desolate region, in which it had been so commemorated. Always, +on days of religious or national commemoration, our voyageurs expect some +unusual allowance; and having nothing else, I gave them each a little +brandy, (which was carefully guarded, as one of the most useful articles a +traveler can carry,) with some coffee and sugar, which here, where every +eatable was a luxury, was sufficient to make them a feast. The day was +sunny and warm; and resuming our journey, we crossed some slight dividing +grounds into a similar basin, walled in on the right by a lofty mountain +ridge. The plainly-beaten trail still continued, and occasionally we +passed camping-grounds of the Indians, which indicated to me that we were +on one of the great thoroughfares of the country. In the afternoon I +attempted to travel in a more eastern direction; but after a few laborious +miles, was beaten back into the basin by an impassable country. There were +fresh Indian tracks about the valley, and last night a horse was stolen. +We encamped on the valley bottom, where there was some cream-like water in +ponds, colored by a clay soil, and frozen over. Chenopodiaceous shrubs +constituted the growth, and made again our firewood. The animals were +driven to the hill, where there was tolerably good grass. + +26th.--Our general course was again south. The country consists of larger +or smaller basins, into which the mountain waters run down, forming small +lakes: they present a perfect level, from which the mountains rise +immediately and abruptly. Between the successive basins, the dividing +grounds are usually very slight; and it is probable that in the seasons of +high water, many of these basins are in communication. At such times there +is evidently an abundance of water, though now we find scarcely more than +the dry beds. On either side, the mountains, though not very high, appear +to be rocky and sterile. The basin in which we were traveling declined +towards the southwest corner, where the mountains indicated a narrow +outlet; and, turning round a rocky point or cape, we continued up a +lateral branch valley, in which we encamped at night, on a rapid, pretty +little stream of fresh water, which we found unexpectedly among the sage, +near the ridge, on the right side of the valley. It was bordered with +grassy bottoms and clumps of willows; the water partially frozen. This +stream belongs to the basin we had left. By a partial observation to- +night, our camp was found to be directly on the 42d parallel. To-night a +horse belonging to Carson, one of the best we had in the camp, was stolen +by the Indians. + +27th.--We continued up the valley of the stream, the principal branch of +which here issues from a bed of high mountains. We turned up a branch to +the left, and fell into an Indian trail, which conducted us by a good road +over open bottoms along the creek, where the snow was five or six inches +deep. Gradually ascending, the trail led through a good broad pass in the +mountain, where we found the snow about one foot deep. There were some +remarkably large cedars in the pass, which were covered with an unusual +quantity of frost, which we supposed might possibly indicate the +neighborhood of water; and as, in the arbitrary position of Mary's lake, +we were already beginning to look for it, this circumstance contributed to +our hope of finding it near. Descending from the mountain, we reached +another basin, on the flat lake bed of which we found no water, and +encamped among the sage on the bordering plain, where the snow was still +about one foot deep. Among this the grass was remarkably green, and to- +night the animals fared tolerably well. + +28th.--The snow being deep, I had determined, if any more horses were +stolen, to follow the tracks of the Indians into the mountains, and put a +temporary check to their sly operations; but it did not occur again. + +Our road this morning lay down a level valley, bordered by steep +mountainous ridges, rising very abruptly from the plain. Artemisia was the +principal plant, mingled with Fremontia and the chenopodiaceous shrubs. +The artemisia was here extremely large, being sometimes a foot in +diameter, and eight feet high. Riding quietly along over the snow, we came +suddenly upon smokes rising among these bushes; and, galloping up, we +found two huts, open at the top, and loosely built of sage, which appeared +to have been deserted at the instant; and, looking hastily around, we saw +several Indians on the crest of the ridge near by, and several others +scrambling up the side. We had come upon them so suddenly, that they had +been well-nigh surprised in their lodges. A sage fire was burning in the +middle; a few baskets made of straw were lying about, with one or two +rabbit-skins; and there was a little grass scattered about, on which they +had been lying. "Tabibo--bo!" they shouted from the hills--a word which, +in the Snake language, signifies _white_--and remained looking at us +from behind the rocks. Carson and Godey rode towards the hill, but the men +ran off like deer. They had been so much pressed, that a woman with two +children had dropped behind a sage-bush near the lodge, and when Carson +accidentally stumbled upon her, she immediately began screaming in the +extremity of fear, and shut her eyes fast to avoid seeing him. She was +brought back to the lodge, and we endeavored in vain to open a +communication with the men. By dint of presents, and friendly +demonstrations, she was brought to calmness; and we found that they +belonged to the Snake nation, speaking the language of that people. Eight +or ten appeared to live together, under the same little shelter; and they +seemed to have no other subsistence than the roots or seeds they might +have stored up, and the hares which live in the sage, and which they are +enabled to track through the snow, and are very skilful in killing. Their +skins afford them a little scanty covering. Herding together among bushes, +and crouching almost naked over a little sage fire, using their instinct +only to procure food, these may be considered, among human beings, the +nearest approach to the animal creation. We have reason to believe that +these had never before seen the face of a white man. + +The day had been pleasant, but about two o'clock it began to blow; and +crossing a slight dividing ground we encamped on the sheltered side of a +hill, where there was good bunch-grass, having made a day's journey of 24 +miles. The night closed in, threatening snow; but the large sage-bushes +made bright fires. + +29th.--The morning mild, and at 4 o'clock it commenced snowing. We took +our way across a plain, thickly covered with snow, towards a range of +hills in the southeast. The sky soon became so dark with snow, that little +could be seen of the surrounding country; and we reached the summit of the +hills in a heavy snow-storm. On the side we had approached, this had +appeared to be only a ridge of low hills and we were surprised to find +ourselves on the summit of a bed of broken mountains, which, as far as the +weather would permit us to see, declined rapidly to some low country +ahead, presenting a dreary and savage character; and for a moment I looked +around in doubt on the wild and inhospitable prospect, scarcely knowing +what road to take which might conduct us to some place of shelter for the +night. Noticing among the hills the head of a grassy hollow, I determined +to follow it, in the hope that it would conduct us to a stream. We +followed a winding descent for several miles, the hollow gradually +broadening into little meadows, and becoming the bed of a stream as we +advanced; and towards night we were agreeably surprised by the appearance +of a willow grove, where we found a sheltered camp, with water and +excellent and abundant grass. The grass, which was covered by the snow on +the bottom, was long and green, and the face of the mountain had a more +favorable character in its vegetation, being smoother, and covered with +good bunch-grass. The snow was deep, and the night very cold. A broad +trail had entered the valley from the right, and a short distance below +the camp were the tracks where a considerable party of Indians had passed +on horseback, who had turned out to the left, apparently with the view of +crossing the mountains to the eastward. + +30th.--After following the stream for a few hours in a southeasterly +direction, it entered a canon where we could not follow; but, determined +not to leave the stream, we searched a passage below, where we could +regain it, and entered a regular narrow valley. The water had now more the +appearance of a flowing creek; several times we passed groves of willows, +and we began to feel ourselves out of all difficulty. From our position, +it was reasonable to conclude that this stream would find its outlet in +Mary's lake, and conduct us into a better country. We had descended +rapidly, and here we found very little snow. On both sides, the mountains +showed often stupendous and curious-looking rocks, which at several places +so narrowed the valley, that scarcely a pass was left for the camp. It was +a singular place to travel through--shut up in the earth, a sort of chasm, +the little strip of grass under our feet, the rough walls of bare rock on +either hand, and the narrow strip of sky above. The grass to-night was +abundant, and we encamped in high spirits. + +31st.--After an hour's ride this morning, our hopes were once more +destroyed. The valley opened out, and before us again lay one of the dry +basins. After some search, we discovered a high-water outlet, which +brought us in a few miles, and by a descent of several hundred feet, into +a long, broad basin, in which we found the bed of the stream, and obtained +sufficient water by cutting the ice. The grass on the bottoms was salt and +unpalatable. + +Here we concluded the year 1843, and our new year's eve was rather a +gloomy one. The result of our journey began to be very uncertain; the +country was singularly unfavorable to travel; the grasses being frequently +of a very unwholesome character, and the hoofs of our animals were so worn +and cut by the rocks, that many of them were lame, and could scarcely be +got along. + + + +JANUARY. + + +New Year's day, 1844.--We continued down the valley, between a dry-looking +black ridge on the left, and a more snowy and high one on the right. Our +road was bad along the bottom, being broken by gullies and impeded by +sage, and sandy on the hills, where there is not a blade of grass, nor +does any appear on the mountains. The soil in many places consists of a +fine powdery sand, covered with a saline efflorescence; and the general +character of the country is desert. During the day we directed our course +towards a black cape, at the foot of which a column of smoke indicated hot +springs. + +2d.--We were on the road early. The face of the country was hidden by +falling snow. We traveled along the bed of the stream, in some places dry, +in others covered with ice; the traveling being very bad, through deep +fine sand, rendered tenacious by a mixture of clay. The weather cleared up +a little at noon, and we reached the hot springs of which we had seen the +vapor the day before. There was a large field of the usual salt grass +here, peculiar to such places. The country otherwise is a perfect barren, +without a blade of grass, the only plant being some dwarf Fremontias. We +passed the rocky cape, a jagged broken point, bare and torn. The rocks are +volcanic, and the hills here have a burnt appearance--cinders and coal +occasionally appearing as at a blacksmith's forge. We crossed the large +dry bed of a muddy lake in a southeasterly direction, and encamped at +night, without water and without grass, among sage-bushes covered with +snow. The heavy road made several mules give out to-day; and a horse, +which had made the journey from the States successfully, thus far, was +left on the trail. + +3d.--A fog, so dense that we could not see a hundred yards, covered the +country, and the men that were sent out after the horses were bewildered +and lost; and we were consequently detained at camp until late in the day. +Our situation had now become a serious one. We had reached and run over +the position where, according to the best maps in my possession, we should +have found Mary's lake or river. We were evidently on the verge of the +desert which had been reported to us; and the appearance of the country +was so forbidding, that I was afraid to enter it, and determined to bear +away to the southward, keeping close along the mountains, in the full +expectation of reaching the Buenaventura river. This morning I put every +man in the camp on foot--myself, of course, among the rest--and in this +manner lightened by distribution the loads of the animals. We traveled +seven or eight miles along the ridge bordering the valley, and encamped +where there were a few bunches of grass on the bed of a hill-torrent, +without water. There were some large artemisias; but the principal plants +are chenopodiaceous shrubs. The rock composing the mountains is here +changed suddenly into white granite. The fog showed the tops of the hills +at sunset, and stars enough for observations in the early evening, and +then closed over us as before. Latitude by observation, 40 deg. 48' 15". + +4th.--The fog to-day was still more dense, and the people again were +bewildered. We traveled a few miles around the western point of the ridge, +and encamped where there were a few tufts of grass, but no water. Our +animals now were in a very alarming state, and there was increased anxiety +in the camp. + +5th.--Same dense fog continued, and one of the mules died in camp this +morning. I have had occasion to remark, on such occasions as these, that +animals which are about to die leave the band, and, coming into the camp; +lie down about the fires. We moved to a place where there was a little +better grass, about two miles distant. Taplin, one of our best men, who +had gone out on a scouting excursion, ascended a mountain near by, and to +his surprise emerged into a region of bright sunshine, in which the upper +parts of the mountain were glowing, while below all was obscured in the +darkest fog. + +6th.--The fog continued the same, and, with Mr. Preuss and Carson, I +ascended the mountain, to sketch the leading features of the country as +some indication of our future route, while Mr. Fitzpatrick explored the +country below. In a very short distance we had ascended above the mist, +but the view obtained was not very gratifying. The fog had partially +cleared off from below when we reached the summit; and in the southwest +corner of a basin communicating with that in which we had encamped, we saw +a lofty column of smoke, 16 miles distant, indicating the presence of hot +springs. There, also, appeared to be the outlet of those draining channels +of the country; and, as such places afforded always more or less grass, I +determined to steer in that direction. The ridge we had ascended appeared +to be composed of fragments of white granite. We saw here traces of sheep +and antelope. + +Entering the neighboring valley, and crossing the bed of another lake, +after a hard day's travel over ground of yielding mud and sand, we reached +the springs, where we found an abundance of grass, which, though only +tolerably good, made this place, with reference to the past, a refreshing +and agreeable spot. + +This is the most extraordinary locality of hot springs we had met during +the journey. The basin of the largest one has a circumference of several +hundred feet; but there is at one extremity a circular space of about +fifteen feet in diameter, entirely occupied by the boiling water. It boils +up at irregular intervals, and with much noise. The water is clear, and +the spring deep: a pole about sixteen feet long was easily immersed in the +centre; but we had no means of forming a good idea of the depth. It was +surrounded on the margin with a border of _green_ grass, and near the +shore the temperature of the water was 206 deg.. We had no means of +ascertaining that of the centre, where the heat was greatest; but, by +dispersing the water with a pole, the temperature at the margin was +increased to 208 deg., and in the centre it was doubtless higher. By driving +the pole towards the bottom, the water was made to boil up with increased +force and noise. There are several other interesting places, where water +and smoke or gas escape; but they would require a long description. The +water is impregnated with common salt, but not so much as to render it +unfit for general cooking; and a mixture of snow made it pleasant to +drink. + +In the immediate neighborhood, the valley bottom is covered almost +exclusively with chenopodiaceous shrubs, of greater luxuriance, and larger +growth, than we have seen them in any preceding part of the journey. + +I obtained this evening some astronomical observations. + +Our situation now required caution. Including those which gave out from +the injured condition of their feet, and those stolen by Indians, we had +lost, since leaving the Dalles of the Columbia, fifteen animals; and of +these, nine had been left in the last few days. I therefore determined, +until we should reach a country of water and vegetation, to feel our way +ahead, by having the line of route explored some fifteen or twenty miles +in advance, and only to leave a present encampment when the succeeding one +was known. + +Taking with me Godey and Carson, I made to-day a thorough exploration of +the neighboring valleys, and found in a ravine, in the bordering +mountains, a good encamping place, where was water in springs, and a +sufficient quantity of grass for a night. Overshadowing the springs were +some trees of the sweet cottonwood, which, after a long interval of +absence, we saw again with pleasure; regarding them as harbingers of a +better country. To us, they were eloquent of green prairies and buffalo. +We found here a broad and plainly-marked trail, on which there were tracks +of horses, and we appeared to have regained one of the thoroughfares which +pass by the watering-places of the country. On the western mountains of +the valley, with which this of the boiling spring communicates, we +remarked scattered cedars--probably indicating that we were on the borders +of the timbered region extending to the Pacific. We reached the camp at +sunset, after a day's ride of about 40 miles. The horses we rode were in +good order, being of some that were kept for emergencies, and rarely used. + +Mr. Preuss had ascended one of the mountains, and occupied the day in +sketching the country; and Mr. Fitzpatrick had found, a few miles distant, +a hollow of excellent grass and pure water, to which the animals were +driven, as I remained another day to give them an opportunity to recruit +their strength. Indians appear to be everywhere prowling about like wild +animals, and there is a fresh trail across the snow in the valley near. + +Latitude of the boiling springs, 40 deg. 39' 46". + +On the 9th we crossed over to the cottonwood camp. Among the shrubs on the +hills were a few bushes of _ephedra occidentalis_, which afterwards +occurred frequently along the road, and, as usual, the lowlands were +occupied with artemisia. While the party proceeded to this place, Carson +and myself reconnoitred the road in advance, and found another good +encampment for the following day. + +10th.--We continued our reconnoissance ahead, pursuing a south direction +in the basin along the ridge; the camp following slowly after. On a large +trail there is never any doubt of finding suitable places for encampments. +We reached the end of the basin, where we found, in a hollow of the +mountain which enclosed it, an abundance of good bunch-grass. Leaving a +signal for the party to encamp, we continued our way up the hollow, +intending to see what lay beyond the mountain. The hollow was several +miles long, forming a good pass; the snow deepening to about a foot as we +neared the summit. Beyond, a defile between the mountains descended +rapidly about two thousand feet; and, filling up all the lower space, was +a sheet of green water, some twenty miles broad. It broke upon our eyes +like the ocean. The neighboring peaks rose high above us, and we ascended +one of them to obtain a better view. The waves were curling in the breeze, +and their dark-green color showed it to be a body of deep water. For a +long time we sat enjoying the view, for we had become fatigued with +mountains, and the free expanse of moving waves was very grateful. It was +set like a gem in the mountains, which, from our position, seemed to +enclose it almost entirely. At the western end it communicated with the +line of basins we had left a few days since; and on the opposite side it +swept a ridge of snowy mountains, the foot of the great Sierra. Its +position at first inclined us to believe it Mary's lake, but the rugged +mountains were so entirely discordant with descriptions of its low rushy +shores and open country, that we concluded it some unknown body of water, +which it afterwards proved to be. + +On our road down, the next day, we saw herds of mountain sheep, and +encamped on a little stream at the mouth of the defile, about a mile from +the margin of the water, to which we hurried down immediately. The water +is so slightly salt, that, at first, we thought it fresh, and would be +pleasant to drink when no other could be had. The shore was rocky--a +handsome beach, which reminded us of the sea. On some large _granite_ +boulders that were scattered about the shore, I remarked a coating of +calcareous substance, in some places a few inches, and in others a foot in +thickness. Near our camp, the hills, which were of primitive rock, were +also covered with this substance, which was in too great quantity on the +mountains along the shore of the lake to have been deposited by water, and +has the appearance of having been spread over the rocks in mass. + +[Footnote: The label attached to a specimen of this rock was lost; but I +append an analysis of that which, from memory, I judge to be the specimen: + +Carbonate of lime------------------ 77.31 +Carbonate of magnesia-------------- 5.25 +Oxide of iron---------------------- 1.60 +Alumina---------------------------- 1.05 +Silica----------------------------- 8.55 +Organic matter, water, and loss---- 6.24 + ------- + 100.00] + +Where we had halted appeared to be a favorite camping-place for Indians. + +13th.--We followed again a broad Indian trail along the shore of the lake +to the southward. For a short space we had room enough in the bottom; but, +after traveling a short distance, the water swept the foot of the +precipitous mountains, the peaks of which are about 3,000 feet above the +lake. The trail wound along the base of these precipices, against which +the water dashed below, by a way nearly impracticable for the howitzer. +During a greater part of the morning the lake was nearly hid by a snow- +storm, and the waves broke on the narrow beach in a long line of foaming +serf, five or six feet high. The day was unpleasantly cold, the wind +driving the snow sharp against our faces; and, having advanced only about +12 miles, we encamped in a bottom formed by a ravine, covered with good +grass, which was fresh and green. + +We did not get the howitzer into camp, but were obliged to leave it on the +rocks until morning. We saw several flocks of sheep, but did not succeed +in killing any. Ducks were riding on the waves, and several large fish +were seen. The mountain sides were crusted with the calcareous cement +previously mentioned. There were chenopodiaceous and other shrubs along +the beach; and, at the foot of the rocks, an abundance of _ephedra +occidentalis_, whose dark-green color makes them evergreens among the +shrubby growth of the lake. Towards evening the snow began to fall +heavily, and the country had a wintry appearance. + +The next morning the snow was rapidly melting under a warm sun. Part of +the morning was occupied in bringing up the gun; and, making only nine +miles, we encamped on the shore, opposite a very remarkable rock in the +lake, which had attracted our attention for many miles. It rose, according +to our estimate, 600 feet above the water, and, from the point we viewed +it, presented a pretty exact outline of the great pyramid of Cheops. Like +other rocks along the shore, it seemed to be incrusted with calcareous +cement. This striking feature suggested a name for the lake, and I called +it Pyramid Lake; and though it may be deemed by some a fanciful +resemblance, I can undertake to say that the future traveler will find +much more striking resemblance between this rock and the pyramids of +Egypt, than there is between them and the object from which they take +their name. + +The elevation of this lake above the sea is 4,890 feet, being nearly 700 +feet higher than the Great Salt lake, from which it lies nearly west, and +distant about eight degrees of longitude. The position and elevation of +this lake make it an object of geographical interest. It is the nearest +lake to the western rim, as the Great Salt lake is to the eastern rim, of +the Great Basin which lies between the base of the Rocky mountains and the +Sierra Nevada--and the extent and character of which, its whole +circumference and contents, it is so desirable to know. + +The last of the cattle which had been driven from the Dalles was killed +here for food, and was still in good condition. + +15th.--A few poor-looking Indians made their appearance this morning, and +we succeeded in getting one into the camp. He was naked, with the +exception of a tunic of hare-skins. He told us that there was a river at +the end of the lake, but that he lived in the rocks near by. From the few +words our people could understand, he spoke a dialect of the Snake +language; but we were not able to understand enough to know Whether the +river ran in or out, or what was its course; consequently, there still +remained a chance that this might be Mary's lake. + +Groves of large cottonwood, which we could see at the mouth of the river, +indicated that it was a stream of considerable size, and, at all events, +we had the pleasure to know that now we were in a country where human +beings could live. Accompanied by the Indian, we resumed our road, passing +on the way several caves in the rock where there were baskets and reeds, +but the people had disappeared. We saw also horse-tracks along the shore. + +Early in the afternoon, when we were approaching the groves at the mouth +of the river, three or four Indians met us on the trail. We had an +explanatory conversation in signs, and then we moved on together towards +the village, which the chief said was encamped on the bottom. + +Reaching the groves, we found the _inlet_ of a large freshwater +stream, and all at once were satisfied that it was neither Mary's river +nor the waters of the Sacramento, but that we had discovered a large +interior lake, which the Indians informed us had no outlet. It is about 35 +miles long, and, by the mark of the water-line along the shore, the spring +level is about 12 feet above its present waters. The chief commenced +speaking in a loud voice as we approached; and parties of Indians, armed +with bows and arrows, issued from the thickets. We selected a strong place +for our encampment--a grassy bottom, nearly enclosed by the river, and +furnished with abundant firewood. The village, a collection of straw huts, +was a few hundred yards higher up. An Indian brought in a large fish to +trade, which we had the inexpressible satisfaction to find was a salmon- +trout; we gathered round him eagerly. The Indians were amused with our +delight, and immediately brought in numbers, so that the camp was soon +stocked. Their flavor was excellent--superior, in fact, to that of any +fish I have ever known. They were of extraordinary size--about as large as +the Columbia River salmon--generally from two to four feet in length. From +the information of Mr. Walker, who passed among some lakes lying more to +the eastward, this fish is common to the streams of the inland lakes. He +subsequently informed me that he had obtained them weighing six pounds +when cleaned and the head taken off, which corresponds very well with the +size of those obtained at this place. They doubtless formed the +subsistence of these people, who hold the fishery in exclusive possession. + +I remarked that one of them gave a fish to the Indian we had first seen, +which he carried off to his family. To them it was probably a feast; being +of the Digger tribe, and having no share in the fishery, living generally +on seeds and roots. Although this was a time of the year when the fish +have not yet become fat, they were excellent, and we could only imagine +what they are at the proper season. These Indians were very fat, and +appeared to live an easy and happy life. They crowded into the camp more +than was consistent with our safety, retaining always their arms; and, as +they made some unsatisfactory demonstrations, they were given to +understand that they would not be permitted to come armed into the camp; +and strong guards were kept with the horses. Strict vigilance was +maintained among the people, and one-third at a time were kept on guard +during the night. There is no reason to doubt that these dispositions, +uniformly preserved, conducted our party securely through Indians famed +for treachery. + +In the mean time, such a salmon-trout feast as is seldom seen was going on +in our camp; and every variety of manner in which fish could be prepared-- +boiled, fried, and roasted in the ashes--was put into requisition; and +every few minutes an Indian would be seen running off to spear a fresh +one. Whether these Indians had seen whites before, we could not be +certain; but they were evidently in communication with others who had, as +one of them had some brass buttons, and we noticed several other articles +of civilized manufacture. We could obtain from them but little information +respecting the country. They made on the ground a drawing of the river, +which they represented as issuing from another lake in the mountains three +or four days distant, in a direction a little west of south; beyond which, +they drew a mountain; and further still, two rivers; on one of which they +told us that people like ourselves traveled. Whether they alluded to the +settlements on the Sacramento, or to a party from the United States which +had crossed the Sierra about three degrees to the southward, a few years +since, I am unable to determine. + +I tried unsuccessfully to prevail on some of them to guide us for a few +days on the road, but they only looked at each other and laughed. + +The latitude of our encampment, which may be considered the mouth of the +inlet, is 39 deg. 51' 13" by our observations. + +16th.--This morning we continued our journey along this beautiful stream, +which we naturally called the Salmon Trout river. Large trails led up on +either side; the stream was handsomely timbered with large cottonwoods; +and the waters were very clear and pure. We were traveling along the +mountains of the great Sierra, which rose on our right, covered with snow; +but below the temperature was mild and pleasant. We saw a number of dams +which the Indians had constructed to catch fish. After having made about +18 miles, we encamped under some large cottonwoods on the river bottom, +where there was tolerably good grass. + +17th.--This morning we left the river, which here issues from mountains on +the west. With every stream I now expected to see the great Buenaventura; +and Carson hurried eagerly to search, on every one we reached, for beaver +cuttings, which he always maintained we should find only on waters that +ran to the Pacific; and the absence of such signs was to him a sure +indication that the water had no outlet from the Great Basin. We followed +the Indian trail through a tolerably level country, with small sage- +bushes, which brought us, after 20 miles' journey, to another large +stream, timbered with cottonwood, and flowing also out of the mountains, +but running more directly to the eastward. + +On the way we surprised a family of Indians in the hills; but the man ran +up the mountain with rapidity; and the woman was so terrified, and kept up +such a continued screaming, that we could do nothing with her, and were +obliged to let her go. + +18th.--There were Indian lodges and fish-dams on the stream. There were no +beaver cuttings on the river; but below, it turned round to the right; +and, hoping that it would prove a branch of the Buenaventura, we followed +it down for about three hours, and encamped. + +I rode out with Mr. Fitzpatrick and Carson to reconnoitre the country, +which had evidently been alarmed by the news of our appearance. This +stream joined with the open valley of another to the eastward; but which +way the main water ran, it was impossible to tell. Columns of smoke rose +over the country at scattered intervals--signals by which the Indians +here, as elsewhere, communicate to each other that enemies are in the +country. It is a signal of ancient and very universal application among +barbarians. + +Examining into the condition of the animals when I returned into the camp, +I found their feet so much cut up by the rocks, and so many of them lame, +that it was evidently impossible that they could cross the country to the +Rocky mountains. Every piece of iron that could be used for the purpose +had been converted into nails, and we could make no further use of the +shoes we had remaining. I therefore determined to abandon my eastern +course, and to cross the Sierra Nevada into the valley of the Sacramento, +wherever a practicable pass could be found. My decision was heard with joy +by the people, and diffused new life throughout the camp. + +Latitude, by observation, 39 deg. 24' 16". + +19th.--A great number of smokes are still visible this morning, attesting +at once the alarm our appearance had spread among these people, and their +ignorance of us. If they knew the whites, they would understand that their +only object in coming among them was to trade, which required peace and +friendship; but they have nothing to trade--consequently, nothing to +attract the white man; hence their fear and flight. + +At daybreak we had a heavy snow; but set out, and, returning up the +stream, went out of our way in a circuit over a little mountain; and +encamped on the same stream, a few miles above, in latitude 39 deg. 19' 21" by +observation. + +20th.--To-day we continued up the stream, and encamped on it close to the +mountains. The freshly fallen snow was covered with the tracks of Indians, +who had descended from upper waters, probably called down by the smokes in +the plain. + +We ascended a peak of the range, which commanded a view of this stream +behind the first ridge, where it was winding its course through a somewhat +open valley, and I sometimes regret that I did not make the trial to cross +here; but while we had fair weather below, the mountains were darkened +with falling snow, and, feeling unwilling to encounter them, we turned +away again to the southward. In that direction we traveled the next day +over a tolerably level country, having always the high mountains on the +west. There was but little snow or rock on the ground; and, after having +traveled 24 miles, we encamped again on another large stream, running off +to the northward and eastward, to meet that we had left. It ran through +broad bottoms, having a fine meadow-land appearance. + +Latitude 39 deg. 01' 53". + +22d.--We traveled up the stream about fourteen miles, to the foot of the +mountains, from which one branch issued in the southwest, the other +flowing S.S.E. along their base. Leaving camp below, we ascended the range +through which the first stream passed, in a canon; on the western side was +a circular valley about 15 miles long, through which the stream wound its +way, issuing from a gorge in the main mountain, which rose abruptly +beyond. The valley looked yellow with faded grass; and the trail we had +followed was visible, making towards the gorge, and this was evidently a +pass; but again, while all was bright sunshine on the ridge and on the +valley where we were, the snow was falling heavily in the mountains. I +determined go still to the southward, and encamped on the stream near the +forks, the animals being fatigued and the grass tolerably good. + +The rock of the ridge we had ascended is a compact lava, assuming a +granitic appearance and structure, and containing, in some places, small +nodules of obsidian. So far as composition and aspect are concerned, the +rock in other parts of the ridge appears to be granite; but it is probable +that this is only a compact form of lava of recent origin. + +By observation, the elevation of the encampment was 5,020 feet; and the +latitude 38 deg. 49' 54". + +23d.--We moved along the course of the other branch towards the southeast, +the country affording a fine road; and, passing some slight dividing- +grounds, descended towards the valley of another stream. There was a +somewhat rough-looking mountain ahead, which it appeared to issue from, or +to enter--we could not tell which; and as the course of the valley and the +inclination of the ground had a favorable direction, we were sanguine to +find here a branch of the Buenaventura; but were again disappointed, +finding it an inland water, on which we encamped after a day's journey of +24 miles. It was evident that, from the time we descended into the plain +at Summer lake, we had been flanking the great range of mountains which +divided the Great Basin from the waters of the Pacific; and that the +continued succession, and almost connection, of lakes and rivers which we +encountered, were the drainings of that range. Its rains, springs, and +snows, would sufficiently account for these lakes and streams, numerous as +they were. + +24th.--A man was discovered running towards the camp as we were about to +start this morning, who proved to be an Indian of rather advanced age--a +sort of forlorn hope, who seemed to have been worked up into the +resolution of visiting the strangers who were passing through the country. +He seized the hand of the first man he met as he came up, out of breath, +and held on, as if to assure himself of protection. He brought with him, +in a little skin bag, a few pounds of the seeds of a pine-tree, which to- +day we saw for the first time, and which Dr. Torrey has described as a new +species, under the name of _pinus monophyllus_; in popular language +it might be called the _nut pine_. We purchased them all from him. +The nut is oily, of very agreeable flavor, and must be very nutritious, as +it constitutes the principal subsistence of the tribes among which we were +now traveling. By a present of scarlet cloth, and other striking articles, +we prevailed upon this man to be our guide of two days' journey. As +clearly as possible by signs, we made him understand our object; and he +engaged to conduct us in sight of a good pass which he knew. Here we +ceased to hear the Shoshonee language--that of this man being perfectly +unintelligible. Several Indians, who had been waiting to see what +reception he would meet with, now came into camp; and, accompanied by the +new-comers, we resumed our journey. + +The road led us up the creek, which here becomes a rather rapid mountain +stream, fifty feet wide, between dark-looking hills without snow; but +immediately beyond them rose snowy mountains on either side, timbered +principally with the nut pine. On the lower grounds, the general height of +this tree is twelve to twenty feet, and eight inches the greatest +diameter; it is rather branching, and has a peculiar and singular, but +pleasant odor. We followed the river for only a short distance along a +rocky trail, and crossed it at a dam which the Indians made us comprehend +had been built to catch salmon trout. The snow and ice were heaped up +against it three or four feet deep entirely across the stream. + +Leaving here the stream, which runs through impassable canons, we +continued our road over a very broken country, passing through a low gap +between the snowy mountains. The rock which occurs immediately in the pass +has the appearance of impure sandstone, containing scales of black mica. +This may be only a stratified lava. On issuing from the gap, the compact +lava, and other volcanic products usual in the country, again occurred. We +descended from the gap into a wide valley, or rather basin, and encamped +on a small tributary to the last stream, on which there was very good +grass. It was covered with such thick ice, that it required some labor +with pickaxes to make holes for the animals to drink. The banks are +lightly wooded with willow, and on the upper bottoms are sage and +Fremontia, with _ephedra occidentalis_, which begins to occur more +frequently. The day has been a summer one, warm and pleasant; no snow on +the trail, which, as we are all on foot, makes traveling more agreeable. +The hunters went into a neighboring mountain, but found no game. We have +five Indians in camp to-night. + +25th.--The morning was cold and bright, and as the sun rose the day became +beautiful. A party of twelve Indians came down from the mountains to trade +pine nuts, of which each one carried a little bag. These seemed now to be +the staple of the country; and whenever we met an Indian, his friendly +salutation consisted in offering a few nuts to eat and to trade; their +only arms were bows and flint-pointed arrows. It appeared that in almost +all the valleys the neighboring bands were at war with each other; and we +had some difficulty in prevailing on our guides to accompany us on this +day's journey, being at war with the people on the other side of a large +snowy mountain which lay before us. + +The general level of the country appeared to be getting higher, and we +were gradually entering the heart of the mountains. Accompanied by all the +Indians, we ascended a long ridge, and reached a pure spring at the edge +of the timber, where the Indians had waylaid and killed an antelope, and +where the greater part of them left us. Our pacific conduct had quieted +their alarms; and though at war among each other, yet all confided in us-- +thanks to the combined effects of power and kindness--for our arms +inspired respect, and our little presents and good treatment conciliated +their confidence. Here we suddenly entered snow six inches deep, and the +ground was a little rocky, with volcanic fragments, the mountain appearing +to be composed of such rock. The timber consists principally of nut pines, +(_pinus monophyllus_,) which here are of larger size--12 to 15 inches +in diameter; heaps of cones lying on the ground, where the Indians have +gathered the seeds. + +The snow deepened gradually as we advanced. Our guides wore out their +moccasins; and putting one of them on a horse, we enjoyed the unusual +sight of an Indian who could not ride. He could not even guide the animal, +and appeared to have no knowledge of horses. The snow was three or four +feet deep on the summit of the, pass; and from this point the guide +pointed out our future road, declining to go any further. Below us was a +little valley; and beyond this the mountains rose higher still, one ridge +above another, presenting a rude and rocky outline. We descended rapidly +to the valley: the snow impeded us but little; yet it was dark when we +reached the foot of the mountain. + +The day had been so warm that our moccasins were wet with melting snow; +but here, as soon as the sun begins to decline, the air gets suddenly +cold, and we had great difficulty to keep our feet from freezing--our +moccasins being frozen perfectly stiff. After a hard day's march of 27 +miles, we reached the river some time after dark, and found the snow about +a foot deep on the bottom--the river being entirely frozen over. We found +a comfortable camp, where there were dry willows abundant, and we soon had +blazing fires. A little brandy, which I husbanded with great care, +remained, and I do not know any medicine more salutary, or any drink +(except coffee) more agreeable, than this in a cold night and after a hard +day's march. Mr. Preuss questioned whether the famed nectar ever possessed +so exquisite a flavor. All felt it to be a reviving cordial. + +The next morning, when the sun had not yet risen over the mountains, the +thermometer was at 2 deg. below zero; but the sky was bright and pure, and the +weather changed rapidly into a pleasant day of summer. I remained encamped +in order to examine the country, and allow the animals a day of rest, the +grass being good and abundant under the snow. + +The river is fifty or eighty feet wide, with a lively current, and very +clear water. It forked a little above our camp, one of its branches coming +directly from the south. At its head appeared to be a handsome pass; and +from the neighboring heights we could see, beyond, a comparatively low and +open country, which was supposed to form the valley of the Buenaventura. +The other branch issued from a nearer pass, in a direction S. 75 deg. W., +forking at the foot of the mountain, and receiving a part of its waters +from a little lake. I was in advance of the camp when our last guides had +left us; but, so far as could be understood, this was the pass which they +had indicated, and, in company with Carson, to-day I set out to explore +it. Entering the range, we continued in a northwesterly direction up the +valley, which here bent to the right. It was a pretty open bottom, locked +between lofty mountains, which supplied frequent streams as we advanced. +On the lower part they were covered with nut-pine trees, and above with +masses of pine, which we easily recognised, from the darker color of the +foliage. From the fresh trails which occurred frequently during the +morning, deer appeared to be remarkably numerous in the mountain. + +We had now entirely left the desert country, and were on the verge of a +region which, extending westward to the shores of the Pacific, abounds in +large game, and is covered with a singular luxuriance of vegetable life. + +The little stream grew rapidly smaller, and in about twelve miles we had +reached its head, the last water coming immediately out of the mountain on +the right; and this spot was selected for our next encampment. The grass +showed well in sunny places; but in colder situations the snow was deep, +and began to occur in banks, through which the horses found some +difficulty in breaking a way. + +To the left, the open valley continued in a southwesterly direction, with +a scarcely perceptible ascent, forming a beautiful pass, the exploration +of which we deferred until the next day, and returned to the camp. + +To-day an Indian passed through the valley, on his way into the mountains, +where he showed us was his lodge. We comprehended nothing of his language; +and, though he appeared to have no fear, passing along in full view of the +camp, he was indisposed to hold any communication with us, but showed the +way he was going, and pointed for us to go on our road. + +By observation, the latitude of this encampment was 38 deg. 18' 01", and the +elevation above the sea 6,310 feet. + +27th.--Leaving the camp to follow slowly, with directions to Carson to +encamp at the place agreed on, Mr. Fitzpatrick and myself continued the +reconnoissance. Arriving at the head of the stream, we began to enter the +pass--passing occasionally through open groves of large pine-trees, on the +warm side of the defile, where the snow had melted away, occasionally +exposing a large Indian trail. Continuing along a narrow meadow, we +reached, in a few miles, the gate of the pass, where there was a narrow +strip of prairie, about 50 yards wide, between walls of granite rock. On +either side rose the mountains, forming on the left a rugged mass, or +nucleus, wholly covered with deep snow, presenting a glittering and icy +surface. At the time, we supposed this to be the point into which they +were gathered between the two great rivers, and from which the waters +flowed off to the bay. This was the icy and cold side of the pass, and the +rays of the sun hardly touched the snow. On the left, the mountains rose +into peaks, but they were lower and secondary, and the country had a +somewhat more open and lighter character. On the right were several hot +springs, which appeared remarkable in such a place. In going through, we +felt impressed by the majesty of the mountain, along the huge wall of +which we were riding. Here there was no snow; but immediately beyond was a +deep bank, through which we dragged our horses with considerable effort. +We then immediately struck upon a stream, which gathered itself rapidly, +and descended quick; and the valley did not preserve the open character of +the other side, appearing below to form a canon. We therefore climbed one +of the peaks on the right, leaving our horses below; but we were so much +shut up that we did not obtain an extensive view, and what we saw was not +very satisfactory, and awakened considerable doubt. The valley of the +stream pursued a northwesterly direction, appearing below to turn sharply +to the right, beyond which further view was cut off. It was, nevertheless, +resolved to continue our road the next day down this valley, which we +trusted still would prove that of the middle stream between the two great +rivers. Towards the summit of this peak, the fields of snow were four or +five feet deep on the northern side; and we saw several large hares, which +had on their winter color, being white as the snow around them. + +The winter day is short in the mountains, the sun having but a small space +of sky to travel over in the visible part above our horizon; and the +moment his rays are gone, the air is keenly cold. The interest of our work +had detained us long, and it was after nightfall when we reached the camp. + +28th.--To-day we went through the pass with all the camp, and, after a +hard day's journey of twelve miles, encamped on a high point where the +snow had been blown off, and the exposed grass afforded a scanty pasture +for the animals. Snow and broken country together made our traveling +difficult; we were often compelled to make large circuits, and ascend the +highest and most exposed ridges, in order to avoid snow, which in other +places was banked up to a great depth. + +During the day a few Indians were seen circling around us on snow-shoes, +and skimming along like birds; but we could not bring them within speaking +distance. Godey, who was a little distance from the camp, had sat down to +tie his moccasins, when he heard a low whistle near, and, looking up, saw +two Indians half hiding behind a rock about forty yards distant; they +would not allow him to approach, but breaking into a laugh, skimmed off +over the snow, seeming to have no idea of the power of firearms, and +thinking themselves perfectly safe when beyond arm's length. + +To-night we did not succeed in getting the howitzer into camp. This was +the most laborious day we had yet passed through, the steep ascents and +deep snow exhausting both men and animals. Our single chronometer had +stopped during the day, and its error in time occasioned the loss of an +eclipse of a satellite this evening. It had not preserved the rate with +which we started from the Dalles, and this will account for the absence of +longitudes along this interval of our journey. + +29th.--From this height we could see, at a considerable distance below, +yellow spots in the valley, which indicated that there was not much snow. +One of these places we expected to reach to-night; and some time being +required to bring up the gun, I went ahead with Mr. Fitzpatrick and a few +men, leaving the camp to follow, in charge of Mr. Preuss. We followed a +trail down a hollow where the Indians had descended, the snow being so +deep that we never came near the ground; but this only made our descent +the easier, and, when we reached a little affluent to the river, at the +bottom, we suddenly found ourselves in presence of eight or ten Indians. +They seemed to be watching our motions, and, like the others, at first +were indisposed to let us approach, ranging themselves like birds on a +fallen log, on the hill-side above our heads, where, being out of our +reach, they thought themselves safe. Our friendly demeanor reconciled +them, and, when we got near enough, they immediately stretched out to us +handfuls of pine-nuts, which seemed an exercise of hospitality. We made +them a few presents, and, telling us that their village was a few miles +below, they went on to let their people know what we were. The principal +stream still running through an impracticable canon, we ascended a very +steep hill, which proved afterwards the last and fatal obstacle to our +little howitzer, which was finally abandoned at this place. We passed +through a small meadow a few miles below, crossing the river, which depth, +swift current, and rock, made it difficult to ford; and, after a few more +miles of very difficult trail, issued into a larger prairie bottom, at the +farther end of which we encamped, in a position rendered strong by rocks +and trees. The lower parts of the mountain were covered with the nut-pine. +Several Indians appeared on the hill-side, reconnoitring the camp, and +were induced to come in; others came in during the afternoon; and in the +evening we held a council. The Indians immediately made it clear that the +waters on which we were also belonged to the Great Basin, in the edge of +which we had been since the 17th of December; and it became evident that +we had still the great ridge on the left to cross before we could reach +the Pacific waters. + +We explained to the Indians that we were endeavoring to find a passage +across the mountains into the country of the whites, whom we were going to +see; and told them that we wished them to bring us a guide, to whom we +would give presents of scarlet cloth, and other articles, which were shown +to them. They looked at the reward we offered, and conferred with each +other, but pointed to the snow on the mountain, and drew their hands +across their necks, and raised them above their heads, to show the depth; +and signified that it was impossible for us to get through. They made +signs that we must go to the southward, over a pass through a lower range, +which they pointed out: there, they said, at the end of one day's travel, +we would find people who lived near a pass in the great mountain; and to +that point they engaged to furnish us a guide. They appeared to have a +confused idea, from report, of whites who lived on the other side of the +mountain; and once, they told us, about two years ago, a party of twelve +men like ourselves had ascended their river, and crossed to the other +waters. They pointed out to us where they had crossed; but then, they +said, it was summer time; but now it would be impossible. I believe that +this was a party led by Mr. Chiles, one of the only two men whom I know to +have passed through the California mountains from the interior of the +Basin--Walker being the other; and both were engaged upwards of twenty +days, in the summer time, in getting over. Chiles's destination was the +bay of San Francisco, to which he descended by the Stanislaus river; and +Walker subsequently informed me that, like myself, descending to the +southward on a more eastern line, day after day he was searching for the +Buenaventura, thinking that he had found it with every new stream, until, +like me, he abandoned all idea of its existence, and, turning abruptly to +the right, crossed the great chain. These were both western men, animated +with the spirit of exploratory enterprise which characterizes that people. + +The Indians brought in during the evening an abundant supply of pine-nuts, +which we traded from them. When roasted, their pleasant flavor made them +an agreeable addition to our now scanty store of provisions, which were +reduced to a very low ebb. Our principal stock was in peas, which it is +not necessary to say contain scarcely any nutriment. We had still a little +flour left, some coffee, and a quantity of sugar, which I reserved as a +defence against starvation. + +The Indians informed us that at certain seasons they have fish in their +waters, which we supposed to be salmon-trout: for the remainder of the +year they live upon the pine-nuts, which form their great winter +subsistence--a portion being always at hand, shut up in the natural +storehouse of the cones. At present, they were presented to us as a whole +people living upon this simple vegetable. + +The other division of the party did not come in to-night, but encamped in +the upper meadow, and arrived the next morning. They had not succeeded in +getting the howitzer beyond the place mentioned, and where it had been +left by Mr. Preuss, in obedience to my orders; and, in anticipation of the +snow-banks and snow-fields still ahead, foreseeing the inevitable +detention to which it would subject us, I reluctantly determined to leave +it there for the time. It was of the kind invented by the French for the +mountain part of their war in Algiers; and the distance it had come with +us proved how well it was adapted to its purpose. We left it, to the great +sorrow of the whole party, who were grieved to part with a companion which +had made the whole distance from St. Louis, and commanded respect for us +on some critical occasions, and which might be needed for the same purpose +again. + +30th.--Our guide, who was a young man, joined us this morning; and, +leaving our encampment late in the day, we descended the river, which +immediately opened out into a broad valley, furnishing good traveling +ground. In a short distance we passed the village, a collection of straw +huts; and a few miles below, the guide pointed out the place where the +whites had been encamped, before they entered the mountain. With our late +start we made but ten miles, and encamped on the low river-bottom, where +there was no snow, but a great deal of ice; and we cut piles of long grass +to lay under our blankets, and fires were made of large dry willows, +groves of which wooded the stream. The river took here a northeasterly +direction, and through a spur from the mountains on the left was the gap +where we were to pass the next day. + +31st.--We took our way over a gently rising ground, the dividing ridge +being tolerably low; and traveling easily along a broad trail, in twelve +or fourteen miles reached the upper part of the pass, when it began to +snow thickly, with very cold weather. The Indians had only the usual +scanty covering, and appeared to suffer greatly from the cold. All left +us, except our guide. Half hidden by the storm, the mountains looked +dreary; and, as night began to approach, the guide showed great reluctance +to go forward. I placed him between two rifles, for the way began to be +difficult. Traveling a little farther, we struck a ravine, which the +Indian said would conduct us to the river; and as the poor fellow suffered +greatly, shivering in the snow which fell upon his naked skin, I would not +detain him any longer; and he ran off to the mountain, where he said was a +hut near by. He had kept the blue and scarlet cloth I had given him +tightly rolled up, preferring rather to endure the cold than to get them +wet. In the course of the afternoon, one of the men had his foot +frostbitten; and about dark we had the satisfaction to reach the bottoms +of a stream timbered with large trees, among which we found a sheltered +camp, with an abundance of such grass as the season afforded for the +animals. We saw before us, in descending from the pass, a great continuous +range, along which stretched the valley of the river; the lower parts +steep, and dark with pines, while above it was hidden in clouds of snow. +This we felt instantly satisfied was the central ridge of the Sierra +Nevada, the great California mountain, which only now intervened between +us and the waters of the bay. We had made a forced march of 26 miles, and +three mules had given out on the road. Up to this point, with the +exception of two stolen by Indians, we had lost none of the horses which +had been brought from the Columbia river, and a number of these were still +strong and in tolerably good order. We had now 67 animals in the band. + +We had scarcely lighted our fires, when the camp was crowded with nearly +naked Indians; some of them were furnished with long nets in addition to +bows, and appeared to have been out on the sage hills to hunt rabbits. +These nets were perhaps 30 to 40 feet long, kept upright in the ground by +slight sticks at intervals, and were made from a kind of wild hemp, very +much resembling in manufacture those common among the Indians of the +Sacramento valley. They came among us without any fear, and scattered +themselves about the fires, mainly occupied in gratifying their +astonishment. I was struck by the singular appearance of a row of about a +dozen, who were sitting on their haunches perched on a log near one of the +fires, with their quick sharp eyes following every motion. + +We gathered together a few of the most intelligent of the Indians, and +held this evening an interesting council. I explained to them my +intentions. I told them that we had come from a very far country, having +been traveling now nearly a year, and that we were desirous simply to go +across the mountain into the country of the other whites. There were two +who appeared particularly intelligent--one, a somewhat old man. He told me +that, before the snows fell, it was six sleeps to the place where the +whites lived, but that now it was impossible to cross the mountain on +account of the deep snow; and showing us, as the others had done, that it +was over our heads, he urged us strongly to follow the course of the +river, which he said would conduct us to a lake in which there were many +large fish. There, he said, were many people; there was no snow on the +ground; and we might remain there until the spring. From their +descriptions, we were enabled to judge that we had encamped on the upper +water of the Salmon Trout river. It is hardly necessary to say that our +communication was only by signs, as we understood nothing of their +language; but they spoke, notwithstanding, rapidly and vehemently, +explaining what they considered the folly of our intentions, and urging us +to go down to the lake. _Tah-ve_, a word signifying snow, we very +soon learned to know, from its frequent repetition. I told him that the +men and the horses were strong, that we would break a road through the +snow; and spreading before him our bales of scarlet cloth, and trinkets, +showed him what we would give for a guide. It was necessary to obtain one, +if possible; for I had determined here to attempt the passage of the +mountain. Pulling a bunch of grass from the ground, after a short +discussion among themselves, the old man made us comprehend, that if we +could break through the snow, at the end of three days we would come down +upon grass, which he showed us would be about six inches high, and where, +the ground was entirely free. So far, he said, he had been in hunting for +elk; but beyond that (and he closed his eyes) he had seen nothing; but +there was one among them who had been to the whites, and, going out of the +lodge, he returned with a young man of very intelligent appearance. Here, +said he, is a young man who has seen the whites with his own eyes; and he +swore, first by the sky, and then by the ground, that what he said was +true. With a large present of goods, we prevailed upon this young man to +be our guide, and he acquired among us the name of Melo--a word signifying +friend, which they used very frequently. He was thinly clad, and nearly +barefoot; his moccasins being about worn out. We gave him skins to make a +new pair, and to enable him to perform his undertaking to us. The Indians +remained in the camp during the night, and we kept the guide and two +others to sleep in the lodge with us--Carson lying across the door, and +having made them comprehend the use of our fire arms. + + + +FEBRUARY. + + +1st.--The snow, which had intermitted in the evening, commenced falling +again in the course of the night; and it snowed steadily all day. In the +morning I acquainted the men with my decision, and explained to them that +necessity required us to make a great effort to clear the mountains. I +reminded them of the beautiful valley of the Sacramento, with which they +were familiar from the descriptions of Carson, who had been there some +fifteen years ago, and who, in our late privations, had delighted us in +speaking of its rich pastures and abounding game, and drew a vivid +contrast between its summer climate, less than a hundred miles distant, +and the falling snow around us. I informed them (and long experience had +given them confidence in my observations and good instruments) that almost +directly west, and only about 70 miles distant, was the great farming +establishment of Captain Sutter--a gentleman who had formerly lived in +Missouri, and, emigrating to this country, had become the possessor of a +principality. I assured them that, from the heights of the mountain before +us, we should doubtless see the valley of the Sacramento river, and with +one effort place ourselves again in the midst of plenty. The people +received this decision with the cheerful obedience which had always +characterized them, and the day was immediately devoted to the +preparations necessary to enable us to carry it into effect. Leggins, +moccasins, clothing--all were put into the best state to resist the cold. +Our guide was not neglected. Extremity of suffering might make him desert; +we therefore did the best we could for him. Leggins, moccasins, some +articles of clothing, and a large green blanket, in addition to the blue +and scarlet cloth, were lavished upon him, and to his great and evident +contentment. He arrayed himself in all his colors, and, clad in green, +blue, and scarlet, he made a gay-looking Indian; and, with his various +presents, was probably richer and better clothed than any of his tribe had +ever been before. + +I have already said that our provisions were very low; we had neither +tallow nor grease of any kind remaining, and the want of salt became one +of our greatest privations. The poor dog which had been found in the Bear +River valley, and which had been a _compagnon de voyage_ ever since, +had now become fat, and the mess to which it belonged, requested +permission to kill it. Leave was granted. Spread out on the snow, the meat +looked very good; and it made a strengthening meal for the greater part of +the camp. Indians brought in two or three rabbits during the day, which +were purchased from them. + +The river was 40 to 70 feet wide, and now entirely frozen over. It was +wooded with large cottonwood, willow, and _grain de boeuf_. By +observation, the latitude of this encampment was 38 deg. 37' 18". + +2d.--It had ceased snowing, and this morning the lower air was clear and +frosty; and six or seven thousand feet above, the peaks of the Sierra now +and then appeared among the rolling clouds, which were rapidly dispersing +before the sun. Our Indian shook his head as he pointed to the icy +pinnacles, shooting high up into the sky, and seeming almost immediately +above us. Crossing the river on the ice, and leaving it immediately, we +commenced the ascent of the mountain along the valley of a tributary +stream. The people were unusually silent, for every man knew that our +enterprise was hazardous; and the issue doubtful. + +The snow deepened rapidly, and it soon became necessary to break a road. +For this service, a party of ten was formed, mounted on the strongest +horses, each man in succession opening the road on foot, or on horseback, +until himself and his horse became fatigued, when he stepped aside, and, +the remaining number passing ahead, he took his station in the rear. +Leaving this stream, and pursuing a very direct course, we passed over an +intervening ridge to the river we had left. On the way we passed two low +huts entirely covered with snow, which might very easily have escaped +observation. A family was living in each; and the only trail I saw in the +neighborhood was from the door-hole to a nut-pine tree near, which +supplied them with food and fuel. We found two similar huts on the creek +where we next arrived; and, traveling a little higher up, encamped on its +banks in about four feet depth of snow. Carson found near, an open hill- +side, where the wind and the sun had melted the snow, leaving exposed +sufficient bunch-grass for the animals to-night. + +The nut-pines were now giving way to heavy timber, and there were some +immense pines on the bottom, around the roots of which the sun had melted +away the snow; and here we made our camp and built huge fires. To-day we +had traveled 16 miles, and our elevation above the sea was 6,760 feet. + +3d.--Turning our faces directly towards the main chain, we ascended an +open hollow along a small tributary to the river, which, according to the +Indians, issues from a mountain to the south. The snow was so deep in the +hollow, that we were obliged to travel along the steep hill-sides, and +over spurs, where the wind and sun had in places lessened the snow, and +where the grass, which appeared to be in good quality along the sides of +the mountains, was exposed. We opened our road in the same way as +yesterday, but made only seven miles, and encamped by some springs at the +foot of a high and steep hill, by which the hollow ascended to another +basin in the mountain. The little stream below was entirely buried in +snow. The springs were shaded by the boughs of a lofty cedar, which here +made its first appearance; the usual height was 120 to 130 feet, and one +that was measured near by was six feet in diameter. + +There being no grass exposed here, the horses were sent back to that which +we had seen a few miles below. We occupied the remainder of the day in +beating down a road to the foot of the hill, a mile or two distant; the +snow being beaten down when moist, in the warm part of the day, and then +hard frozen at night, made a foundation that would bear the weight of the +animals next morning. During the day several Indians joined us on snow- +shoes. These were made of a circular hoop, about a foot in diameter, the +interior space being filled with an open network of bark. + +4th.--I went ahead early with two or three men, each with a led horse to +break the road. We were obliged to abandon the hollow entirely, and work +along the mountain-side, which was very steep, and the snow covered with +an icy crust. We cut a footing as we advanced, and trampled a road through +for the animals; but occasionally one plunged outside the trail, and +slided along the field to the bottom, a hundred yards below. Late in the +day we reached another bench in the hollow, where, in summer, the stream +passed over a small precipice. Here was a short distance of dividing +ground between the two ridges, and beyond an open basin, some ten miles +across, whose bottom presented a field of snow. At the further or western +side rose the middle crest of the mountain, a dark-looking ridge of +volcanic rock. + +The summit line presented a range of naked peaks, apparently destitute of +snow and vegetation; but below, the face of the whole country was covered +with timber of extraordinary size. + +Towards a pass which the guide indicated here, we attempted in the +afternoon to force a road; but after a laborious plunging through two or +three hundred yards, our best horses gave out, entirely refusing to make +any further effort, and, for the time, we were brought to a stand. The +guide informed us that we were entering the deep snow, and here began the +difficulties of the mountain; and to him, and almost to all, our +enterprise seemed hopeless. I returned a short distance back, to the break +in the hollow, where I met Mr. Fitzpatrick. + +The camp had been occupied all the day in endeavoring to ascend the hill, +but only the best horses had succeeded; the animals, generally, not having +sufficient strength to bring themselves up without the packs; and all the +line of road between this and the springs was strewed with camp-stores and +equipage, and horses floundering in snow. I therefore immediately encamped +on the ground with my own mess, which was in advance, and directed Mr. +Fitzpatrick to encamp at the springs, and send all the animals, in charge +of Tabeau, with a strong guard, back to the place where they had been +pastured the night before. Here was a small spot of level ground, +protected on one side by the mountain, and on the other sheltered by a +little ridge of rock. It was an open grove of pines, which assimilated in +size to the grandeur of the mountain, being frequently six feet in +diameter. + +To-night we had no shelter, but we made a large fire around the trunk of +one of the huge pines; and covering the snow with small boughs, on which +we spread our blankets, soon made ourselves comfortable. The night was +very bright and clear, though the thermometer was only at 10 deg.. A strong +wind, which sprang up at sundown, made it intensely cold; and this was one +of the bitterest nights during the journey. + +Two Indians joined our party here; and one of them, an old man, +immediately began to harangue us, saying that ourselves and animals would +perish in the snow; and that if we would go back, he would show us another +and a better way across the mountain. He spoke in a very loud voice, and +there was a singular repetition of phrases and arrangement of words, which +rendered his speech striking and not unmusical. + +We had now begun to understand some words, and, with the aid of signs, +easily comprehended the old man's simple ideas. "Rock upon rock--rock upon +rock--snow upon snow," said he; "even if you get over the snow, you will +not be able to get down from the mountains." He made us the sign of +precipices, and showed us how the feet of the horses would slip, and throw +them off from the narrow trails that led along their sides. Our Chinook, +who comprehended even more readily than ourselves, and believed our +situation hopeless, covered his head with his blanket, and began to weep +and lament. "I wanted to see the whites," said he; "I came away from my +own people to see the whites, and I wouldn't care to die among them, but +here"--and he looked around into the cold night and gloomy forest, and, +drawing his blanket over his head, began again to lament. + +Seated around the tree, the fire illuminating the rocks and the tall bolls +of the pines round about, and the old Indian haranguing, we presented a +group of very serious faces. + +5th.--The night had been too cold to sleep, and we were up very early. Our +guide was standing by the fire with all his finery on; and seeing him +shiver in the cold, I threw on his shoulders one of my blankets. We missed +him a few minutes afterwards, and never saw him again. He had deserted. +His bad faith and treachery were in perfect keeping with the estimate of +Indian character, which a long intercourse with this people had gradually +forced upon my mind. + +While a portion of the camp were occupied in bringing up the baggage to +this point, the remainder were busied in making sledges and snow-shoes. I +had determined to explore the mountain ahead, and the sledges were to be +used in transporting the baggage. + +The mountains here consisted wholly of a white micaceous granite. The day +was perfectly clear, and, while the sun was in the sky, warm and pleasant. + +By observation our latitude was 38 deg. 42' 26"; and elevation by the boiling +point, 7,400 feet. + +6th.--Accompanied by Mr. Fitzpatrick, I set out to-day with a +reconnoitring party on snow-shoes. We marched all in single file, +trampling the snow as heavily as we could. Crossing the open basin, in a +march of about ten miles we reached the top of one of the peaks, to the +left of the pass indicated by our guide. Far below us, dimmed by the +distance, was a large snowless valley, bounded on the western side, at the +distance of about a hundred miles, by a low range of mountains, which +Carson recognised with delight as the mountains bordering the coast. +"There," said he, "is the little mountain--it is fifteen years since I saw +it; but I am just as sure as if I had seen it yesterday." Between us, +then, and this low coast range was the valley of the Sacramento; and no +one who had not accompanied us through the incidents of our life for the +last few months could realize the delight with which at last we looked +down upon it. At the distance of apparently 30 miles beyond us were +distinguished spots of prairie; and a dark line which could be traced with +the glass, was imagined to be the course of the river; but we were +evidently at a great height above the valley, and between us and the +plains extended miles of snowy fields and broken ridges of pine-covered +mountains. + +It was late in the day when we turned towards the camp; and it grew +rapidly cold as it drew towards night. One of the men became fatigued, and +his feet began to freeze, and building a fire in the trunk of a dry old +cedar, Mr. Fitzpatrick remained with him until his clothes could be dried, +and he was in a condition to come on. After a day's march of 20 miles, we +straggled into the camp one after another, at nightfall; the greater +number excessively fatigued, only two of the party having ever traveled on +snow-shoes before. + +All our energies are now directed to getting our animals across the snow; +and it was supposed that after all the baggage had been drawn with the +sleighs over the trail we had made, it would be sufficiently hard to bear +our animals. At several places between this point and the ridge, we had +discovered some grassy spots, where the wind and sun had dispersed the +snow from the sides of the hills, and these were to form resting-places to +support the animals for a night in their passage across. On our way across +we had set on fire several broken stumps, and dried trees, to melt holes +in the snow for the camps. Its general depth was five feet; but we passed +over places where it was 20 feet deep, as shown by the trees. With one +party drawing sleighs loaded with baggage, I advanced to-day about four +miles along the trail, and encamped at the first grassy spot, where we +expected to bring our horses. Mr. Fitzpatrick, with another party, +remained behind, to form an intermediate station between us and the +animals. + +8th.--The night has been extremely cold; but perfectly still, and +beautifully clear. Before the sun appeared this morning, the thermometer +was 3 deg. below zero; 1 deg. higher, when his rays struck the lofty peaks; and 0 deg. +when they reached our camp. + +Scenery and weather, combined, must render these mountains beautiful in +summer; the purity and deep-blue color of the sky are singularly +beautiful; the days are sunny and bright, and even warm in the noon hours; +and if we could be free from the many anxieties that oppress us, even now +we would be delighted here; but our provisions are getting fearfully +scant. Sleighs arrived with baggage about ten o'clock; and leaving a +portion of it here, we continued on for a mile and a half, and encamped at +the foot of a long hill on this side of the open bottom. + +Bernier and Godey, who yesterday morning had been sent to ascend a higher +peak, got in, hungry and fatigued. They confirmed what we had already +seen. Two other sleighs arrived in the afternoon; and the men being +fatigued, I gave them all tea and sugar. Snow clouds began to rise in the +S.S.W.; and, apprehensive of a storm, which would destroy our road, I sent +the people back to Mr. Fitzpatrick, with directions to send for the +animals in the morning. With me remained Mr. Preuss, Mr. Talbot, and +Carson, with Jacob. + +Elevation of the camp, by the boiling point, is 7,920 feet. + +9th.--During the night the weather changed, the wind rising to a gale, and +commencing to snow before daylight; before morning the trail was covered. +We remained quiet in camp all day, in the course of which the weather +improved. Four sleighs arrived towards evening, with the bedding of the +men. We suffer much from the want of salt; and all the men are becoming +weak from insufficient food. + +10th.--Taplin was sent back with a few men to assist Mr. Fitzpatrick; and +continuing on with three sleighs carrying a part of the baggage, we had +the satisfaction to encamp within two and a half miles of the head of the +hollow, and at the foot of the last mountain ridge. Here two large trees +had been set on fire, and in the holes, where the snow had been melted +away, we found a comfortable camp. + +The wind kept the air filled with snow during the day; the sky was very +dark in the southwest, though elsewhere very clear. The forest here has a +noble appearance; and tall cedar is abundant; its greatest height being +130 feet, and circumference 20, three or four feet above the ground; and +here I see for the first time the white pine, of which there are some +magnificent trees. Hemlock spruce is among the timber, occasionally as +large as eight feet in diameter, four feet above the ground; but, in +ascending, it tapers rapidly to less than one foot at the height of eighty +feet. I have not seen any higher than 130 feet, and the slight upper part +is frequently broken off by the wind. The white spruce is frequent; and +the red pine (_pinus colorado_ of the Mexicans) which constitutes the +beautiful forest along the banks of the Sierra Nevada to the northward, is +here the principal tree, not attaining a greater height than 140 feet, +though with sometimes a diameter of 10. Most of these trees appeared to +differ slightly from those of the same kind on the other side of the +continent. + +The elevation of the camp by the boiling point, is 8,050 feet. We are now +1,000 feet above the level of the South Pass in the Rocky mountains; and +still we are not done ascending. The top of a flat ridge near was bare of +snow, and very well sprinkled with bunch-grass, sufficient to pasture the +animals two or three days; and this was to be their main point of support. +This ridge is composed of a compact trap, or basalt of a columnar +structure; over the surface are scattered large boulders of porous trap. +The hills are in many places entirely covered with small fragments of +volcanic rock. + +Putting on our snow-shoes, we spent the afternoon in exploring a road +ahead. The glare of the snow, combined with great fatigue, had rendered +many of the people nearly blind; but we were fortunate in having some +black silk handkerchiefs, which, worn as veils, very much relieved the +eye. + +11th.--High wind continued, and our trail this morning was nearly +invisible--here and there indicated by a little ridge of snow. Our +situation became tiresome and dreary, requiring a strong exercise of +patience and resolution. + +In the evening I received a message from Mr. Fitzpatrick, acquainting me +with the utter failure of his attempt to get our mules and horses over the +snow--the half-hidden trail had proved entirely too slight to support +them, and they had broken through, and were plunging about or lying half +buried in snow. He was occupied in endeavoring to get them back to his +camp; and in the mean time sent to me for further instructions. I wrote to +him to send the animals immediately back to their old pastures; and, after +having made mauls and shovels, turn in all the strength of his party to +open and beat a road through the snow, strengthening it with branches and +boughs of the pines. + +12th.--We made mauls, and worked hard at our end of the road all day. The +wind was high, but the sun bright, and the snow thawing. We worked down +the face of the hill, to meet the people at the other end. Towards sundown +it began to grow cold, and we shouldered our mauls and trudged back to +camp. + +13th.--We continued to labor on the road; and in the course of the day had +the satisfaction to see the people working down the face of the opposite +hill, about three miles distant. During the morning we had the pleasure of +a visit from Mr. Fitzpatrick, with the information that all was going on +well. A party of Indians had passed on snow-shoes, who said they were +going to the western side of the mountain after fish. This was an +indication that the salmon were coming up the streams; and we could hardly +restrain our impatience as we thought of them, and worked with increased +vigor. + +The meat train did not arrive this evening, and I gave Godey leave to kill +our little dog, (Tlamath,) which he prepared in Indian fashion; scorching +off the hair, and washing the skin with soap and snow, and then cutting it +up into pieces, which were laid on the snow. Shortly afterwards, the +sleigh arrived with a supply of horse-meat; and we had to-night an +extraordinary dinner--pea-soup, mule, and dog. + +14th.--The dividing ridge of the Sierra is in sight from this encampment. +Accompanied by Mr. Preuss, I ascended to-day the highest peak to the +right; from which we had a beautiful view of a mountain lake at our feet, +about fifteen miles in length, and so entirely surrounded by mountains +that we could not discover an outlet. We had taken with us a glass; but +though we enjoyed an extended view, the valley was half hidden in mist, as +when we had seen it before. Snow could be distinguished on the higher +parts of the coast mountains; eastward, as far as the eye could extend, it +ranged over a terrible mass of broken snowy mountains, fading off blue in +the distance. The rock composing the summit consists of a very coarse, +dark, volcanic conglomerate; the lower parts appeared to be of a slaty +structure. The highest trees were a few scattering cedars and aspens. From +the immediate foot of the peak, we were two hours reaching the summit, and +one hour and a quarter in descending. The day had been very bright, still, +and clear, and spring seems to be advancing rapidly. While the sun is in +the sky, the snow melts rapidly, and gushing springs cover the face of the +mountain in all the exposed places; but their surface freezes instantly +with the disappearance of the sun. + +I obtained to-night some observations; and the result from these, and +others made during our stay, gives for the latitude 38 deg. 41' 57", longitude +120 deg. 25' 57", and rate of the chronometer 25.82". + +16th.--We had succeeded in getting our animals safely to the first grassy +hill; and this morning I started with Jacob on a reconnoitring expedition +beyond the mountain. We traveled along the crests of narrow ridges, +extending down from the mountain in the direction of the valley, from +which the snow was fast melting away. On the open spots was tolerably good +grass; and I judged we should succeed in getting the camp down by way of +these. Towards sundown we discovered some icy spots in a deep hollow; and, +descending the mountain, we encamped on the head-water of a little creek, +where at last the water found its way to the Pacific. + +The night was clear and very long. We heard the cries of some wild +animals, which had been attracted by our fire, and a flock of geese passed +over during the night. Even these strange sounds had something pleasant to +our senses in this region of silence and desolation. + +We started again early in the morning. The creek acquired a regular +breadth of about 20 feet, and we soon began to hear the rushing of the +water below the icy surface, over which we traveled to avoid the snow; a +few miles below we broke through, where the water was several feet deep, +and halted to make a fire and dry our clothes. We continued a few miles +farther, walking being very laborious without snow-shoes. + +I was now perfectly satisfied that we had struck the stream on which Mr. +Sutler lived; and, turning about, made a hard push, and reached the camp +at dark. Here we had the pleasure to find all the remaining animals, 57 in +number, safely arrived at the grassy hill near the camp; and here, also, +we were agreeably surprised with the sight of an abundance of salt. Some +of the horse-guard had gone to a neighboring hut for pine nuts, and +discovered unexpectedly a large cake of very white fine-grained salt, +which the Indians told them they had brought from the other side of the +mountain; they used it to eat with their pine nuts, and readily sold it +for goods. + +On the 19th, the people were occupied in making a road and bringing up the +baggage; and, on the afternoon of the next day, _February_ 20, 1844, +we encamped, with the animals and all the _materiel_ of the camp, on +the summit of the PASS in the dividing ridge, 1,000 miles by our traveled +road from the Dalles to the Columbia. + +The people, who had not yet been to this point, climbed the neighboring +peak to enjoy a look at the valley. + +The temperature of boiling water gave for the elevation of the encampment, +9,338 feet above the sea. + +This was 2,000 feet higher than the South Pass in the Rocky mountains, and +several peaks in view rose several thousand feet still higher. Thus, at +the extremity of the continent, and near the coast, the phenomenon was +seen of a range of mountains still higher than the great Rocky mountains +themselves. This extraordinary fact accounts for the Great Basin, and +shows that there must be a system of small lakes and rivers here scattered +over a flat country, and which the extended and lofty range of the Sierra +Nevada prevents from escaping to the Pacific ocean. Latitude 38 deg. 44'; +longitude 120 deg. 28'. + +Thus the Pass in the Sierra Nevada, which so well deserves its name of +Snowy mountain, is eleven degrees west and about four degrees south of the +South Pass. + +21st.--We now considered ourselves victorious over the mountain; having +only the descent before us, and the valley under our eyes, we felt strong +hope that we should force our way down. But this was a case in which the +descent was _not_ facile. Still deep fields of snow lay between them, +and there was a large intervening space of rough-looking mountains, +through which we had yet to wind our way. Carson roused me this morning +with an early fire, and we were all up long before day, in order to pass +the snow-fields before the sun should render the crust soft. We enjoyed +this morning a scene at sunrise, which even here was unusually glorious +and beautiful. Immediately above the eastern mountains was repeated a +cloud-formed mass of purple ranges, bordered with bright yellow gold; the +peaks shot up into a narrow line of crimson cloud, above which the air was +filled with a greenish orange; and over all was the singular beauty of the +blue sky. Passing along a ridge which commanded the lake on our right, of +which we began to discover an outlet through a chasm on the west, we +passed over alternating open ground and hard-crusted snow-fields which +supported the animals, and encamped on the ridge, after a journey of six +miles. The grass was better than we had yet seen, and we were encamped in +a clump of trees 20 or 30 feet high, resembling white pine. With the +exception of these small clumps, the ridges were bare; and, where the snow +found the support of the trees, the wind had blown it up into banks 10 or +15 feet high. It required much care to hunt out a practicable way, as the +most open places frequently led to impassable banks. + +We had hard and doubtful labor yet before us, as the snow appeared to be +heavier where the timber began further down, with few open spots. +Ascending a height, we traced out the best line we could discover for the +next day's march, and had at least the consolation to see that the +mountain descended rapidly. The day had been one of April--gusty, with a +few occasional flakes of snow--which, in the afternoon, enveloped the +upper mountain in clouds. We watched them anxiously, as now we dreaded a +snow-storm. Shortly afterwards we heard the roll of thunder, and, looking +towards the valley, found it enveloped in a thunder-storm. For us, as +connected with the idea of summer, it had a singular charm, and we watched +its progress with excited feelings until nearly sunset, when the sky +cleared off brightly, and we saw a shining line of water directing its +course towards another, a broader and larger sheet. We knew that these +could be no other than the Sacramento and the Bay of San Francisco; but, +after our long wandering in rugged mountains, where so frequently we had +met with disappointments, and where the crossing of every ridge displayed +some unknown lake or river, we were yet almost afraid to believe that we +were at last to escape into the genial country of which we had heard so +many glowing descriptions, and dreaded to find some vast interior lake, +whose bitter waters would bring us disappointment. On the southern shore +of what appeared to be the bay could be traced the gleaming line where +entered another large stream; and again the Buenaventura rose up in our +minds. + +Carson had entered the valley along the southern side of the bay, and +remembered perfectly to have crossed the mouth of a very large stream, +which they had been obliged to raft; but the country then was so entirely +covered with water from snow and rain, that he had been able to form no +correct impressions of water-courses. + +We had the satisfaction to know that at least there were people below. +Fires were lit up in the valley just at night, appearing to be in answer +to ours; and these signs of life renewed, in some measure, the gayety of +the camp. They appeared so near, that we judged them to be among the +timber of some of the neighboring ridges; but, having them constantly in +view day after day, and night after night, we afterwards found them to be +fires that had been kindled by the Indians among the _tulares_, on +the shore of the bay, 80 miles distant. + +Among the very few plants that appeared here, was the common blue flax. +To-night a mule was killed for food. + +22d.--Our breakfast was over long before day. We took advantage of the +coolness of the early morning to get over the snow, which to-day occurred +in very deep banks among the timber; but we searched out the coldest +places, and the animals passed successfully with their loads over the hard +crust. Now and then the delay of making a road occasioned much labor and +loss of time. In the after part of the day, we saw before us a handsome +grassy ridge point; and, making a desperate push over a snow-field 10 to +15 feet deep, we happily succeeded in getting the camp across, and +encamped on the ridge, after a march of three miles. We had again the +prospect of a thunder-storm below, and to-night we killed another mule-- +now our only resource from starvation. + +We satisfied ourselves during the day that the lake had an outlet between +two ranges on the right; and with this, the creek on which I had encamped +probably effected a junction below. Between these, we were descending. + +We continued to enjoy the same delightful weather; the sky of the same +beautiful blue, and such a sunset and sunrise as on our Atlantic coast we +could scarcely imagine. And here among the mountains, 9,000 feet above the +sea, we have the deep-blue sky and sunny climate of Smyrna and Palermo, +which a little map before me shows are in the same latitude. + +The elevation above the sea, by the boiling point, is 8,565 feet. + +23d.--This was our most difficult day; we were forced off the ridges by +the quantity of snow among the timber, and obliged to take to the mountain +sides, where occasionally rocks and a southern exposure afforded us a +chance to scramble along. But these were steep, and slippery with snow and +ice; and the tough evergreens of the mountain impeded our way, tore our +skins, and exhausted our patience. Some of us had the misfortune to wear +moccasins with _parfleche_ soles, so slippery that we could not keep +our feet, and generally crawled across the snow-beds. Axes and mauls were +necessary to-day, to make a road through the snow. Going ahead with Carson +to reconnoitre the road, we reached in the afternoon the river which made +the outlet of the lake. Carson sprang over, clear across a place where the +stream was compressed among rocks, but the _parfleche_ sole of my +moccasin glanced from the icy rock, and precipitated me into the river. It +was some few seconds before I could recover myself in the current, and +Carson, thinking me hurt, jumped in after me, and we both had an icy bath. +We tried to search awhile for my gun, which had been lost in the fall, but +the cold drove us out; and making a large fire on the bank, after we had +partially dried ourselves we went back to meet the camp. We afterwards +found that the gun had been slung under the ice which lined the banks of +the creek. + +Using our old plan of breaking roads with alternate horses, we reached the +creek in the evening, and encamped on a dry open place in the ravine. + +Another branch, which we had followed, here comes in on the left; and from +this point the mountain wall, on which we had traveled to-day, faces to +the south along the right bank of the river, where the sun appears to have +melted the snow; but the opposite ridge is entirely covered. Here, among +the pines, the hill-side produces but little grass--barely sufficient to +keep life in the animals. We had the pleasure to be rained upon this +afternoon; and grass was now our greatest solicitude. Many of the men +looked badly; and some this evening were giving out. + +24th.--We rose at three in the morning for an astronomical observation, +and obtained for the place a lat. of 38 deg. 46' 58"; long. 120 deg. 34' 20". The +sky was clear and pure, with a sharp wind from the northeast, and the +thermometer 2 deg. below the freezing point. + +We continued down the south face of the mountain; our road leading over +dry ground, we were able to avoid the snow almost entirely. In the course +of the morning, we struck a footpath, which we were generally able to +keep; and the ground was soft to our animals' feet, being sandy, or +covered with mould. Green grass began to make its appearance, and +occasionally we passed a hill scatteringly covered with it. The character +of the forest continued the same; and, among the trees, the pine with +sharp leaves and very large cones was abundant, some of them being noble +trees. We measured one that had 10 feet diameter, though the height was +not more than 130 feet. All along, the river was a roaring torrent, its +fall very great; and, descending with a rapidity to which we had long been +strangers, to our great pleasure oak-trees appeared on the ridge, and soon +became very frequent; on these I remarked great quantities of mistletoe. +Rushes began to make their appearance; and at a small creek where they +were abundant, one of the messes was left with the weakest horses, while +we continued on. + +The opposite mountain-side was very steep and continuous--unbroken by +ravines, and covered with pines and snow; while on the side we were +traveling, innumerable rivulets poured down from the ridge. Continuing on, +we halted a moment at one of these rivulets, to admire some beautiful +evergreen-trees, resembling live-oak, which shaded the little stream. They +were forty to fifty feet high, and two in diameter, with a uniform tufted +top; and the summer green of their beautiful foliage, with the singing +birds, and the sweet summer wind which was whirling about the dry oak +leaves, nearly intoxicated us with delight; and we hurried on, filled with +excitement, to escape entirely from the horrid region of inhospitable +snow, to the perpetual spring of the Sacramento. + +When we had traveled about ten miles, the valley opened a little to an oak +and pine bottom, through which ran rivulets closely bordered with rushes, +on which our half-starved horses fell with avidity; and here we made our +encampment. Here the roaring torrent has already become a river, and we +had descended to an elevation of 3,864 feet. + +Along our road to-day the rock was a white granite, which appears to +constitute the upper part of the mountains on both the eastern and western +slopes; while between, the central is a volcanic rock. + +Another horse was killed to-night, for food. + +25th.--Believing that the difficulties of the road were passed, and +leaving Mr. Fitzpatrick to follow slowly, as the condition of the animals +required, I started ahead this morning with a party of eight, consisting +of myself, Mr. Preuss and Mr. Talbot, Carson, Derosier, Towns, Proue, and +Jacob. We took with us some of the best animals, and my intention was to +proceed as rapidly as possible to the house of Mr. Sutter, and return to +meet the party with a supply of provisions and fresh animals. + +Continuing down the river, which pursued a very direct westerly course +through a narrow valley, with only a very slight and narrow bottom-land, +we made twelve miles, and encamped at some old Indian huts, apparently a +fishing-place on the river. The bottom was covered with trees of deciduous +foliage, and overgrown with vines and rushes. On a bench of the hill near +by, was a hill of fresh green grass, six inches long in some of the tufts +which I had the curiosity to measure. The animals were driven here; and I +spent part of the afternoon sitting on a large rock among them, enjoying +the pauseless rapidity with which they luxuriated on the unaccustomed +food. + +The forest was imposing to-day in the magnificence of the trees; some of +the pines, bearing large cones, were 10 feet in diameter. Cedars also +abounded, and we measured one 281/2 feet in circumference, four feet from +the ground. This noble tree seemed here to be in its proper soil and +climate. We found it on both sides of the Sierra, but most abundant on the +west. + +26th.--We continued to follow the stream, the mountains on either hand +increasing in height as we descended, and shutting up the river narrowly +in precipices, along which we had great difficulty to get our horses. + +It rained heavily during the afternoon, and we were forced off the river +to the heights above; whence we descended, at night-fall, the point of a +spur between the river and a fork of nearly equal size, coming in from the +right. Here we saw, on the lower hills, the first flowers in bloom, which +occurred suddenly, and in considerable quantity--one of them a species of +_gilia_. + +The current in both streams (rather torrents than rivers) was broken by +large boulders. It was late, and the animals fatigued; and not succeeding +to find a ford immediately, we encamped, although the hill-side afforded +but a few stray bunches of grass, and the horses, standing about in the +rain, looked very miserable. + +27th.--We succeeded in fording the stream, and made a trail by which we +crossed the point of the opposite hill, which, on the southern exposure, +was prettily covered with green grass, and we halted a mile from our last +encampment. The river was only about 60 feet wide, but rapid, and +occasionally deep, foaming among boulders, and the water beautifully +clear. We encamped on the hill-slope, as there was no bottom level, and +the opposite ridge is continuous, affording no streams. + +We had with us a large kettle; and a mule being killed here, his head was +boiled in it for several hours, and made a passable soup for famished +people. + +Below, precipices on the river forced us to the heights, which we ascended +by a steep spur 2,000 feet high. My favorite horse, Proveau, had become +very weak, and was scarcely able to bring himself to the top. Traveling +here was good, except in crossing the ravines, which were narrow, steep, +and frequent. We caught a glimpse of a deer, the first animal we had seen; +but did not succeed in approaching him. Proveau could not keep up, and I +left Jacob to bring him on, being obliged to press forward with the party, +as there was no grass in the forest. We grew very anxious as the day +advanced and no grass appeared, for the lives of our animals depended on +finding it to-night. They were in just such a condition that grass and +repose for the night enabled them to get on the next day. Every hour we +had been expecting to see open out before us the valley, which, from the +mountain above, seemed almost at our feet. A new and singular shrub, which +had made its appearance since crossing the mountain, was very frequent to- +day. It branched out near the ground, forming a clump eight to ten feet +high, with pale-green leaves, of an oval form; and the body and branches +had a naked appearance, as if stripped of the bark, which is very smooth +and thin, of a chocolate color, contrasting well with the pale green of +the leaves. The day was nearly gone; we had made a hard day's march, and +found no grass. Towns became light-headed, wandering off into the woods +without knowing where he was going, and Jacob brought him back. + +Near night-fall we descended into the steep ravine of a handsome creek 30 +feet wide, and I was engaged in getting the horses up the opposite hill, +when I heard a shout from Carson, who had gone ahead a few hundred yards-- +"Life yet," said he, as he came up, "life yet; I have found a hill-side +sprinkled with grass enough for the night." We drove along our horses, and +encamped at the place about dark, and there was just room enough to make a +place for shelter on the edge of the stream. Three horses were lost to- +day--Proveau; a fine young horse from the Columbia, belonging to Charles +Towns; and another Indian horse, which carried our cooking utensils. The +two former gave out, and the latter strayed off into the woods as we +reached the camp. + +29th.--We lay shut up in the narrow ravine, and gave the animals a +necessary day; and men were sent back after the others. Derosier +volunteered to bring up Proveau, to whom he knew I was greatly attached, +as he had been my favorite horse on both expeditions. Carson and I climbed +one of the nearest mountains; the forest land still extended ahead, and +the valley appeared as far as ever. The pack-horse was found near the +camp; but Derosier did not get in. + + + +MARCH. + + +1st.--Derosier did not get in during the night, and leaving him to follow, +as no grass remained here, we continued on over the uplands, crossing many +small streams, and camped again on the river, having made six miles. Here +we found the hillside covered (although lightly) with fresh green grass; +and from this time forward we found it always improving and abundant. + +We made a pleasant camp on the river hill, where were some beautiful +specimens of the chocolate-colored shrub, which were a foot in diameter +near the ground, and fifteen to twenty feet high. The opposite ridge runs +continuously along, unbroken by streams. We are rapidly descending into +the spring, and we are leaving our snowy region far behind; every thing is +getting green; butterflies are swarming; numerous bugs are creeping out, +wakened from their winter's sleep; and the forest flowers are coming into +bloom. Among those which appeared most numerously to-day was +_dodecatheon dentatum_. + +We began to be uneasy at Derosier's absence, fearing he might have been +bewildered in the woods. Charles Towns, who had not yet recovered his +mind, went to swim in the river, as if it were summer, and the stream +placid, when it was a cold mountain torrent foaming among the rocks. We +were happy to see Derosier appear in the evening. He came in, and, sitting +down by the fire, began to tell us where he had been. He imagined he had +been gone several days, and thought we were still at the camp where he had +left us; and we were pained to see that his mind was deranged. It appeared +that he had been lost in the mountain, and hunger and fatigue, joined to +weakness of body and fear of perishing in the mountains, had crazed him. +The times were severe when stout men lost their minds from extremity of +suffering--when horses died--and when mules and horses, ready to die of +starvation, were killed for food. Yet there was no murmuring or +hesitation. + +A short distance below our encampment the river mountains terminated in +precipices, and, after a fatiguing march of only a few miles, we encamped +on a bench where there were springs, and an abundance of the freshest +grass. In the mean time, Mr. Preuss continued on down the river, and, +unaware that we had encamped so early in the day, was lost. When night +arrived, and he did not come in, we began to understand what had happened +to him; but it was too late to make any search. + +3d.--We followed Mr. Preuss' trail for a considerable distance along the +river, until we reached a place where he had descended to the stream below +and encamped. Here we shouted and fired guns, but received no answer; and +we concluded that he had pushed on down the stream. I determined to keep +out from the river, along which it was nearly impracticable to travel with +animals, until it should form a valley. At every step the country improved +in beauty; the pines were rapidly disappearing, and oaks became the +principal trees of the forest. Among these, the prevailing tree was the +evergreen oak, (which, by way of distinction, we call the _live- +oak_;) and with these occurred frequently a new species of oak bearing +a long slender acorn, from an inch to an inch and a half in length, which +we now began to see formed the principal vegetable food of the inhabitants +of this region. In a short distance we crossed a little rivulet, where +were two old huts, and near by were heaps of acorn hulls. The ground round +about was very rich, covered with an exuberant sward of grass; and we sat +down for a while in the shade of the oaks, to let the animals feed. We +repeated our shouts for Mr. Preuss; and this time were gratified with an +answer. The voice grew rapidly nearer, ascending from the river; but when +we expected to see him emerge, it ceased entirely. We had called up some +straggling Indian--the first we had met, although for two days back we had +seen tracks--who, mistaking us for his fellows, had been only undeceived +on getting close up. It would have been pleasant to witness his +astonishment; he would not have been more frightened had some of the old +mountain spirits they are so much afraid of suddenly appeared in his path. +Ignorant of the character of these people, we had now an additional cause +of uneasiness in regard to Mr. Preuss; he had no arms with him, and we +began to think his chance doubtful. We followed on a trail, still keeping +out from the river, and descended to a very large creek, dashing with +great velocity over a pre-eminently rocky bed, and among large boulders. +The bed had sudden breaks, formed by deep holes and ledges of rock running +across. Even here, it deserves the name of _Rock_ creek, which we +gave to it. We succeeded in fording it, and toiled about three thousand +feet up the opposite hill. The mountains now were getting sensibly lower; +but still there is no valley on the river, which presents steep and rocky +banks; but here, several miles from the river, the country is smooth and +grassy; the forest has no undergrowth; and in the open valleys of +rivulets, or around spring-heads, the low groves of live-oak give the +appearance of orchards in an old cultivated country. Occasionally we met +deer, but had not the necessary time for hunting. At one of these orchard- +grounds, we encamped about noon to make an effort for Mr. Preuss. One man +took his way along a spur leading into the river, in hope to cross his +trail; and another took our own back. Both were volunteers; and to the +successful man was promised a pair of pistols--not as a reward, but as a +token of gratitude for a service which would free us all from much +anxiety. + +We had among our few animals a horse which was so much reduced, that, with +traveling, even the good grass could nor save him; and, having nothing to +eat, he was killed this afternoon. He was a good animal, and had made the +journey round from Fort Hall. + +_Dodecatheon dentatum_ continued the characteristic plant in flower; +and the naked-looking shrub already mentioned continued characteristic, +beginning to put forth a small white blossom. At evening the men returned, +having seen or heard nothing of Mr. Preuss; and I determined to make a +hard push down the river the next morning and get ahead of him. + +4th.--We continued rapidly along on a broad plainly-beaten trail, the mere +traveling and breathing the delightful air being a positive enjoyment. Our +road led along a ridge inclining to the river, and the air and the open +grounds were fragrant with flowering shrubs; and in the course of the +morning we issued on an open spur, by which we descended directly to the +stream. Here the river issues suddenly from the mountains, which hitherto +had hemmed it closely in; these now become softer, and change sensibly +their character; and at this point commences the most beautiful valley in +which we had ever traveled. We hurried to the river, on which we noticed a +small sand beach, to which Mr. Preuss would naturally have gone. We found +no trace of him, but, instead, were recent tracks of bare-footed Indians, +and little piles of muscle-shells, and old fires where they had roasted +the fish. We traveled on over the river grounds, which were undulating, +and covered with grass to the river brink. We halted to noon a few miles +beyond, always under the shade of the evergreen oaks, which formed open +groves on the bottoms. + +Continuing our road in the afternoon, we ascended to the uplands, where +the river passes round a point of great beauty, and goes through very +remarkable dalles, in character resembling those of the Columbia. Beyond, +we again descended to the bottoms, where we found an Indian village, +consisting of two or three huts; we had come upon them suddenly, and the +people had evidently just run off. The huts were low and slight, made like +beehives in a picture, five or six feet high, and near each was a crate, +formed of interlaced branches and grass, in size and shape like a very +large hogshead. Each of these contained from six to nine bushels. These +were filled with the long acorns already mentioned, and in the huts were +several neatly-made baskets, containing quantities of the acorns roasted. +They were sweet and agreeably flavored, and we supplied ourselves with +about half a bushel, leaving one of our shirts, a handkerchief, and some +smaller articles, in exchange. The river again entered for a space among +the hills, and we followed a trail leading across a bend through a +handsome hollow behind. Here, while engaged in trying to circumvent a +deer, we discovered some Indians on a hill several hundred yards ahead, +and gave them a shout, to which they responded by loud and rapid talking +and vehement gesticulation, but made no stop, hurrying up the mountain as +fast as their legs could carry them. We passed on, and again encamped in a +grassy grove. + +The absence of Mr. Preuss gave me great concern; and, for a large reward, +Derosier volunteered to go back on the trail. I directed him to search +along the river, traveling upward for the space of a day and a half, at +which time I expected he would meet Mr. Fitzpatrick, whom I requested to +aid in the search; at all events, he was to go no farther, but return to +this camp, where a _cache_ of provisions was made for him. + +Continuing the next day down the river, we discovered three squaws in a +little bottom, and surrounded them before they could make their escape. +They had large conical baskets, which they were engaged in filling with a +small leafy plant (_erodium cicutarium_) just now beginning to bloom, +and covering the ground like a sward of grass. These did not make any +lamentations, but appeared very much impressed with our appearance, +speaking to us only in a whisper, and offering us smaller baskets of the +plant, which they signified to us was good to eat, making signs also that +it was to be cooked by the fire. We drew out a little cold horse-meat, and +the squaws made signs to us that the men had gone out after deer, and that +we could have some by waiting till they came in. We observed that the +horses ate with great avidity the herb which they had been gathering; and +here also, for the first time, we saw Indians eat the common grass--one of +the squaws pulling several tufts, and eating it with apparent relish. +Seeing our surprise, she pointed to the horses; but we could not well +understand what she meant, except, perhaps, that what was good for the one +was good for the other. + +We encamped in the evening on the shore of the river, at a place where the +associated beauties of scenery made so strong an impression on us that we +gave it the name of the Beautiful Camp. The undulating river shore was +shaded with the live-oaks, which formed a continuous grove over the +country, and the same grassy sward extended to the edge of the water, and +we made our fires near some large granite masses which were lying among +the trees. We had seen several of the acorn _caches_ during the day, +and here there were two which were very large, containing each, probably, +ten bushels. Towards evening we heard a weak shout among the hills behind, +and had the pleasure to see Mr. Preuss descending towards the camp. Like +ourselves, he had traveled to-day 25 miles, but had seen nothing of +Derosier. Knowing, on the day he was lost, that I was determined to keep +the river as much as possible, he had not thought it necessary to follow +the trail very closely, but walked on, right and left, certain to find it +somewhere along the river, searching places to obtain good views of the +country. Towards sunset he climbed down towards the river to look for the +camp; but, finding no trail, concluded that we were behind, and walked +back till night came on, when, being very much fatigued, he collected +drift-wood and made a large fire among the rocks. The next day it became +more serious and he encamped again alone, thinking that we must have taken +some other course. To go back would have been madness in his weak and +starved condition, and onward towards the valley was his only hope, always +in expectation of reaching it soon. His principal means of subsistence +were a few roots, which the hunters call sweet onions, having very little +taste, but a good deal of nutriment, growing generally in rocky ground, +and requiring a good deal of labor to get, as he had only a pocket-knife. +Searching for these, he found a nest of big ants, which he let run on his +hand, and stripped them off in his mouth; these had an agreeable acid +taste. One of his greatest privations was the want of tobacco; and a +pleasant smoke at evening would have been a relief which only a voyageur +could appreciate. He tried the dried leaves of the live-oak, knowing that +those of other oaks were sometimes used as a substitute; but these were +too thick, and would not do. On the 4th he made seven or eight miles, +walking slowly along the river, avoiding as much as possible to climb the +hills. In little pools he caught some of the smallest kind of frogs, which +he swallowed, not so much in the gratification of hunger, as in the hope +of obtaining some strength. Scattered along the river were old fire- +places, where the Indians had roasted muscles and acorns; but though he +searched diligently, he did not there succeed in finding either. He had +collected firewood for the night, when he heard, at some distance from the +river, the barking of what he thought were two dogs, and walked in that +direction as quickly as he was able, hoping to find there some Indian hut, +but met only two wolves; and, in his disappointment, the gloom of the +forest was doubled. + +Traveling the next day feebly down the river, he found five or six Indians +at the huts of which we have spoken: some were painting themselves black, +and others roasting acorns. Being only one man, they did not run off, but +received him kindly, and gave him a welcome supply of roasted acorns. He +gave them his pocket-knife in return, and stretched out his hand to one of +the Indians, who did not appear to comprehend the motion, but jumped back, +as if he thought he was about to lay hold of him. They seemed afraid of +him, not certain as to what he was. + +Traveling on, he came to the place where we had found the squaws. Here he +found our fire still burning, and the tracks of the horses. The sight gave +him sudden hope and courage; and, following as fast as he could, joined us +at evening. + +6th.--We continued on our road through the same surpassingly beautiful +country, entirely unequalled for the pasturage of stock by any thing we +had ever seen. Our horses had now become so strong that they were able to +carry us, and we traveled rapidly--over four miles an hour; four of us +riding every alternate hour. Every few hundred yards we came upon a little +band of deer; but we were too eager to reach the settlement, which we +momentarily expected to discover, to halt for any other than a passing +shot. In a few hours we reached a large fork, the northern branch of the +river, and equal in size to that which we had descended. Together they +formed a beautiful stream, 60 to 100 yards wide; which at first, ignorant +of the nature of the country through which that river ran, we took to be +the Sacramento. + +We continued down the right bank of the river, traveling for a while over +a wooded upland, where we had the delight to discover tracks of cattle. To +the southwest was visible a black column of smoke, which we had frequently +noticed in descending, arising from the fires we had seen from the top of +the Sierra. From the upland we descended into broad groves on the river, +consisting of the evergreen, and a new species of a white-oak, with a +large tufted top, and three to six feet in diameter. Among these was no +brushwood; and the grassy surface gave to it the appearance of parks in an +old-settled country. Following the tracks of the horses and cattle, in +search of people, we discovered a small village of Indians. Some of these +had on shirts of civilized manufacture, but were otherwise naked, and we +could understand nothing from them: they appeared entirely astonished at +seeing us. + +We made an acorn meal at noon, and hurried on; the valley being gay with +flowers, and some of the banks being absolutely golden with the +Californian poppy, (_eschescholtzia crocea_.) Here the grass was +smooth and green, and the groves very open; the large oaks throwing a +broad shade among sunny spots. Shortly afterwards we gave a shout at the +appearance, on a little bluff, of a neatly-built _adobe_ house, with +glass windows. We rode up, but, to our disappointment, found only Indians. +There was no appearance of cultivation, and we could see no cattle; and we +supposed the place had been abandoned. We now pressed on more eagerly than +ever: the river swept round a large bend to the right; the hills lowered +down entirely; and, gradually entering a broad valley, we came +unexpectedly into a large Indian village, where the people looked clean, +and wore cotton shirts and various other articles of dress. They +immediately crowded around us, and we had the inexpressible delight to +find one who spoke a little indifferent Spanish, but who at first +confounded us by saying there were no whites in the country; but just then +a well-dressed Indian came up, and made his salutations in very well- +spoken Spanish. In answer to our inquiries, he informed us that we were +upon the _Rio de los Americanos_, (the river of the Americans,) and +that it joined the Sacramento river about ten miles below. Never did a +name sound more sweetly! We felt ourselves among our countrymen; for the +name of _American_, in these distant parts, is applied to the +citizens of the United States. To our eager inquiries he answered, "I am a +_vaquero_ (cowherd) in the service of Capt. Sutter, and the people of +this _rancheria_ work for him." Our evident satisfaction made him +communicative; and he went on to say that Capt. Sutter was a very rich +man, and always glad to see his country people. We asked for his house. + +He answered, that it was just over the hill before us; and offered, if we +would wait a moment, to take his horse and conduct us to it. We readily +accepted this civil offer. In a short distance we came in sight of the +fort; and, passing on the way the house of a settler on the opposite side, +(a Mr. Sinclair,) we forded the river; and in a few miles were met, a +short distance from the fort, by Capt. Sutter himself. He gave us a most +frank and cordial reception--conducted us immediately to his residence-- +and under his hospitable roof we had a night of rest, enjoyment, and +refreshment, which none but ourselves could appreciate. But the party left +in the mountains, with Mr. Fitzpatrick, were to be attended to; and the +next morning, supplied with fresh horses and provisions, I hurried off to +meet them. On the second day we met, a few miles below the forks of the +Rio de los Americanos; and a more forlorn and pitiable sight than they +presented, cannot well be imagined. They were all on foot--each man, weak +and emaciated, leading a horse or mule as weak and emaciated as +themselves. They had experienced great difficulty in descending the +mountains, made slippery by rains and melting snows, and many horses fell +over precipices, and were killed; and with some were lost the _packs_ +they carried. Among these, was a mule with the plants which we had +collected since leaving Fort Hall, along a line of 2,000 miles' travel. +Out of 67 horses and mules, with which we commenced crossing the Sierra, +only 33 reached the valley of the Sacramento, and they only in a condition +to be led along. Mr. Fitzpatrick and his party, traveling more slowly, had +been able to make some little exertion at hunting, and had killed a few +deer. The scanty supply was a great relief to them; for several had been +made sick by the strange and unwholesome food which the preservation of +life compelled them to use. We stopped and encamped as soon as we met; and +a repast of good beef, excellent bread, and delicious salmon, which I had +brought along, was their first relief from the sufferings of the Sierra, +and their first introduction to the luxuries of the Sacramento. It +required all our philosophy and forbearance to prevent _plenty_ from +becoming as hurtful to us now, as _scarcity_ had been before. + +The next day, March 8th, we encamped at the junction of the two rivers, +the Sacramento and Americanos; and thus found the whole party in the +beautiful valley of the Sacramento. It was a convenient place for the +camp; and, among other things, was within reach of the wood necessary to +make the pack-saddles, which we should need on our long journey home, from +which we were farther distant now than we were four months before, when +from the Dalles of the Columbia we so cheerfully took up the homeward line +of march. + +Captain Sutter emigrated to this country from the western part of Missouri +in 1838-39, and formed the first settlement in the valley, on a large +grant of land which he obtained from the Mexican Government. He had, at +first, some trouble with the Indians; but, by the occasional exercise of +well-timed authority, he has succeeded in converting them into a peaceable +and industrious people. The ditches around his extensive wheat-fields; the +making of the sun-dried bricks, of which his fort is constructed; the +ploughing, harrowing, and other agricultural operations, are entirely the +work of these Indians, for which they receive a very moderate +compensation--principally in shirts, blankets, and other articles of +clothing. In the same manner, on application to the chief of a village, he +readily obtains as many boys and girls as he has any use for. There were +at this time a number of girls at the fort, in training for a future +woolen factory; but they were now all busily engaged in constantly +watering the gardens, which the unfavorable dryness of the season rendered +necessary. The occasional dryness of some seasons, I understood to be the +only complaint of the settlers in this fertile valley, as it sometimes +renders the crops uncertain. Mr. Sutter was about making arrangements to +irrigate his lands by means of the Rio de los Americanos. He had this year +sown, and altogether by Indian labor, three hundred fanegas of wheat. + +A few years since, the neighboring Russian establishment of Ross, being +about to withdraw from the country, sold to him a large number of stock, +with agricultural and other stores, with a number of pieces of artillery +and other munitions of war; for these, a regular yearly payment is made in +grain. + +The fort is a quadrangular _adobe_ structure, mounting twelve pieces +of artillery, (two of them brass,) and capable of admitting a garrison of +a thousand men; this, at present, consists of forty Indians in uniform-- +one of whom was always found on duty at the gate. As might naturally be +expected, the pieces are not in very good order. The whites in the +employment of Capt. Sutter, American, French, and German, amount, perhaps, +to thirty men. The inner wall is formed into buildings, comprising the +common quarters, with blacksmith and other workshops; the dwelling-house, +with a large distillery-house, and other buildings, occupying more the +centre of the area. + +It is built upon a pond-like stream, at times a running creek +communicating with the Rio de los Americanos, which enters the Sacramento +about two miles below. The latter is here a noble river, about three +hundred yards broad, deep and tranquil, with several fathoms of water in +the channel, and its banks continuously timbered. There were two vessels +belonging to Capt. Sutter at anchor near the landing--one a large two- +masted lighter, and the other a schooner, which was shortly to proceed on +a voyage to Fort Vancouver for a cargo of goods. + +Since his arrival, several other persons, principally Americans, have +established themselves in the valley. Mr. Sinclair, from whom I +experienced much kindness during my stay, is settled a few miles distant, +on the Rio de los Americanos. Mr. Coudrois, a gentleman from Germany, has +established himself on Feather river, and is associated with Capt. Sutter +in agricultural pursuits. Among other improvements, they are about to +introduce the cultivation of rape-seed, (_brassica rapus_,) which +there is every reason to believe is admirably adapted to the climate and +soil. The lowest average produce of wheat, as far as we can at present +know, is thirty-five fanegas for one sown; but, as an instance of its +fertility, it may be mentioned that Senor Valejo obtained, on a piece of +ground where sheep had been pastured, 800 fanegas for eight sown. The +produce being different in various places, a very correct idea cannot be +formed. + +An impetus was given to the active little population by our arrival, as we +were in want of every thing. Mules, horses, and cattle, were to be +collected; the horse-mill was at work day and night, to make sufficient +flour; the blacksmith's shop was put in requisition for horse-shoes and +bridle-bits; and pack-saddles, ropes, and bridles, and all the other +little equipments of the camp, were again to be provided. + +The delay thus occasioned was one of repose and enjoyment, which our +situation required, and, anxious as we were to resume our homeward +journey, was regretted by no one. In the mean time, I had the pleasure to +meet with Mr. Chiles, who was residing at a farm on the other side of the +river Sacramento, while engaged in the selection of a place for a +settlement, for which he had received the necessary grant of land from the +Mexican government. + +It will be remembered that we had parted near the frontier of the states, +and that he had subsequently descended the valley of Lewis's fork, with a +party of ten or twelve men, with the intention of crossing the +intermediate mountains to the waters of the Bay of San Francisco. In the +execution of this design, and aided by subsequent information, he left the +Columbia at the mouth of _Malheur_ river, and, making his way to the +head-waters of the Sacramento with a part of his company, traveled down +that river to the settlements of Nueva Helvetia. The other party, to whom +he had committed his wagons, and mill-irons, and saws, took a course +further to the south, and the wagons and their contents were lost. + +On the 22d we made a preparatory move, and encamped near the settlement of +Mr. Sinclair, on the left bank of the Rio de los Americanos. I had +discharged five of the party; Neal, the blacksmith, (an excellent workman, +and an unmarried man, who had done his duty faithfully, and had been of +very great service to me,) desired to remain, as strong inducements were +offered here to mechanics. + +Although at considerable inconvenience to myself, his good conduct induced +me to comply with his request; and I obtained for him from Capt. Sutter, a +present compensation of two dollars and a half per diem, with a promise +that it should be increased to five, if he proved as good a workman as had +been represented. He was more particularly an agricultural blacksmith. The +other men were discharged with their own consent. + +While we remained at this place, Derosier, one of our best men, whose +steady good conduct had won my regard, wandered off from the camp, and +never returned to it again, nor has he since been heard of. + +24th.--We resumed our journey with an ample stock of provisions and a +large cavalcade of animals, consisting of 130 horses and mules, and about +30 head of cattle, five of which were milch-cows. Mr. Sutter furnished us +also with an Indian boy, who had been trained as a _vaquero_, and who +would be serviceable in managing our cavalcade, great part of which were +nearly as wild as buffalo, and who was, besides, very anxious to go along +with us. Our direct course home was east, but the Sierra would force us +south, above 500 miles of traveling, to a pass at the head of the San +Joaquin river. This pass, reported to be good, was discovered by Mr. +Joseph Walker, of whom I have already spoken, and whose name it might +therefore appropriately bear. To reach it, our course lay along the valley +of the San Joaquin--the river on our right, and the lofty wall of the +impassable Sierra on the left. From that pass we were to move +southeastwardly, having the Sierra then on the right, and reach the +"_Spanish trail_," deviously traced from one watering-place to +another, which constituted the route of the caravans from _Puebla de los +Angelos_, near the coast of the Pacific, to _Santa Fe_ of New +Mexico. From the pass to this trail was 150 miles. Following that trail +through a desert, relieved by some fertile plains indicated by the +recurrence of the term _vegas_, until it turned to the right to cross +the Colorado, our course would be northeast until we regained the latitude +we had lost in arriving at Eutah lake, and thence to the Rocky mountains +at the head of the Arkansas. This course of traveling, forced upon us by +the structure of the country, would occupy a computed distance of 2,000 +miles before we reached the head of the Arkansas--not a settlement to be +seen upon it--and the names of places along it, all being Spanish or +Indian, indicated that it had been but little trod by _American_ +feet. Though long, and not free from hardships, this route presented some +points of attraction, in tracing the Sierra Nevada--turning the Great +Basin, perhaps crossing its rim on the south--completely solving the +problem of any river, except the Colorado, from the Rocky mountains on +that part of our continent--and seeing the southern extremity of the +Great Salt lake, of which the northern part had been examined the year +before. + +Taking leave of Mr. Sutter, who, with several gentlemen, accompanied us a +few miles on our way, we traveled about 18 miles, and encamped on the +_Rio de los Cosumnes_, a stream receiving its name from the Indians +who live in its valley. Our road was through a level country, admirably +suited to cultivation, and covered with groves of oak-trees, principally +the evergreen-oak, and a large oak already mentioned, in form like those +of the white-oak. The weather, which here, at this season, can easily be +changed from the summer heat of the valley to the frosty mornings and +bright days nearer the mountains, continued delightful for travelers, but +unfavorable to the agriculturists, whose crops of wheat began to wear a +yellow tinge from want of rain. + +25th.--We traveled for 28 miles over the same delightful country as +yesterday, and halted in a beautiful bottom at the ford of the _Rio de +los Mukelemnes_, receiving its name from another Indian tribe living on +the river. The bottoms on the stream are broad, rich, and extremely +fertile, and the uplands are shaded with oak groves. A showy +_lupinus_, of extraordinary beauty, growing four to five feet in +height, and covered with spikes in bloom, adorned the banks of the river, +and filled the air with a light and grateful perfume. + +On the 26th we halted at the _Arroyo de las Calaveras_, (Skull +creek,) a tributary to the San Joaquin--the previous two streams entering +the bay between the San Joaquin and Sacramento rivers. This place is +beautiful, with open groves of oak, and a grassy sward beneath, with many +plants in bloom, some varieties of which seem to love the shade of the +trees, and grow there in close small fields. Near the river, and replacing +the grass, are great quantities of _ammole_, (soap plant,) the leaves +of which are used in California for making, among other things, mats for +saddle-cloths. A vine with a small white flower, (_melothria?_) +called here _la yerba buena_, and which, from its abundance, gives +name to an island and town in the bay, was to-day very frequent on our +road--sometimes running on the ground or climbing the trees. + +27th.--To-day we traveled steadily and rapidly up the valley; for, with +our wild animals, any other gait was impossible, and making about five +miles an hour. During the earlier part of the day, our ride had been over +a very level prairie, or rather a succession of long stretches of prairie, +separated by lines and groves of oak timber, growing along dry gullies, +which are filled with water in seasons of rain; and, perhaps, also, by the +melting snows. Over much of this extent, the vegetation was sparse; the +surface showing plainly the action of water, which, in the season of +flood, the Joaquin spreads over the valley. About one o'clock we came +again among innumerable flowers; and a few miles further, fields of the +beautiful blue-flowering _lupine_, which seems to love the +neighborhood of water, indicated that we were approaching a stream. We +here found this beautiful shrub in thickets, some of them being 12 feet in +height. Occasionally three or four plants were clustered together, forming +a grand bouquet, about 90 feet in circumference, and 10 feet high; the +whole summit covered with spikes of flowers, the perfume of which is very +sweet and grateful. A lover of natural beauty can imagine with what +pleasure we rode among these flowering groves, which filled the air with a +light and delicate fragrance. We continued our road for about a half a +mile, interspersed through an open grove of live-oaks, which, in form, +were the most symmetrical and beautiful we had yet seen in this country. +The ends of their branches rested on the ground, forming somewhat more +than a half sphere of very full and regular figure, with leaves apparently +smaller than usual. + +The Californian poppy, of a rich orange color, was numerous to-day. Elk +and several bands of antelope made their appearance. + +Our road was now one continued enjoyment; and it was pleasant riding among +this assemblage of green pastures with varied flowers and scattered +groves, and out of the warm green spring to look at the rocky and snowy +peaks where lately we had suffered so much. Emerging from the timber, we +came suddenly upon the Stanislaus river, where we hoped to find a ford, +but the stream was flowing by, dark and deep, swollen by the mountain +snows; its general breadth was about 50 yards. + +We traveled about five miles up the river, and encamped without being able +to find a ford. Here we made a large _coral_, in order to be able to +catch a sufficient number of our wild animals to relieve those previously +packed. + +Under the shade of the oaks, along the river, I noticed _erodium +cicutarium_ in bloom, eight or ten inches high. This is the plant which +we had seen the squaws gathering on the Rio de los Americanos. By the +inhabitants of the valley it is highly esteemed for fattening cattle, +which appear to be very fond of it. Here, where the soil begins to be +sandy, it supplies to a considerable extent the want of grass. + +Desirous, as far as possible, without delay, to include in our examination +the San Joaquin river, I returned this morning down the Stanislaus for 17 +miles, and again encamped without having found a fording-place. After +following it for eight miles further the next morning, and finding +ourselves in the vicinity of the San Joaquin, encamped in a handsome oak +grove, and, several cattle being killed, we ferried over our baggage in +their skins. Here our Indian boy, who probably had not much idea of where +he was going, and began to be alarmed at the many streams which we were +rapidly putting between him and the village, deserted. + +Thirteen head of cattle took a sudden fright, while we were driving them +across the river, and galloped off. I remained a day in the endeavor to +recover them; but, finding they had taken the trail back to the fort, let +them go without further effort. Here we had several days of warm and +pleasant rain, which doubtless saved the crops below. + + + +APRIL. + + +On the 1st of April, we made 10 miles across a prairie without timber, +when we were stopped again by another large river, which is called the +_Rio de la Merced_, (river of our Lady of Mercy.) Here the country +had lost its character of extreme fertility, the soil having become more +sandy and light; but, for several days past, its beauty had been increased +by the additional animation of animal life; and now, it is crowded with +bands of elk and wild horses; and along the rivers are frequent fresh +tracks of grizzly bear, which are unusually numerous in this country. + +Our route had been along the timber of the San Joaquin, generally about +eight miles distant, over a high prairie. + +In one of the bands of elk seen to-day, there were about 200; but the +larger bands, both of these and wild horses, are generally found on the +other side of the river, which, for that reason, I avoided crossing. I had +been informed below, that the droves of wild horses were almost invariably +found on the western bank of the river; and the danger of losing our +animals among them, together with the wish of adding to our reconnoissance +the numerous streams which run down from the Sierra, decided me to travel +up the eastern bank. + +2d.--The day was occupied in building a boat, and ferrying our baggage +across the river; and we encamped on the bank. A large fishing eagle was +slowly sailing along, looking after salmon; and there were some pretty +birds in the timber, with partridges, ducks and geese innumerable in the +neighborhood. We were struck with the tameness of the latter bird at +Helvetia, scattered about in flocks near the wheat-fields, and eating +grass on the prairie; a horseman would ride by within 30 yards, without +disturbing them. + +3d.--To-day we touched several times the San Joaquin river--here a fine- +looking tranquil stream, with a slight current, and apparently deep. It +resembled the Missouri in color, with occasional points of white sand; and +its banks, where steep, were a kind of sandy clay; its average width +appeared to be about eighty yards. In the bottoms are frequent ponds, +where our approach disturbed multitudes of wild fowl, principally geese. +Skirting along the timber, we frequently started elk; and large bands were +seen during the day, with antelope and wild horses. The low country and +the timber rendered it difficult to keep the main line of the river; and +this evening we encamped on a tributary stream, about five miles from its +mouth. On the prairie bordering the San Joaquin bottoms, there occurred +during the day but little grass, and in its place was a sparse and dwarf +growth of plants; the soil being sandy, with small bare places and +hillocks, reminded me much of the Platte bottoms; but, on approaching the +timber, we found a more luxuriant vegetation, and at our camp was an +abundance of grass and pea-vines. + +The foliage of the oak is getting darker; and every thing, except that the +weather is a little cool, shows that spring is rapidly advancing; and to- +day we had quite a summer rain. + +4th.--Commenced to rain at daylight, but cleared off brightly at sunrise. +We ferried the river without any difficulty, and continued up the San +Joaquin. Elk were running in bands over the prairie and in the skirt of +the timber. We reached the river at the mouth of a large slough, which we +were unable to ford, and made a circuit of several miles around. Here the +country appears very flat; oak-trees have entirely disappeared, and are +replaced by a large willow, nearly equal to it in size. The river is about +a hundred yards in breadth, branching into sloughs, and interspersed with +islands. At this time it appears sufficiently deep for a small steamer, +but its navigation would be broken by shallows at low water. Bearing in +towards the river, we were again forced off by another slough; and passing +around, steered towards a clump of trees on the river, and finding there +good grass, encamped. The prairies along the left bank are alive with +immense droves of wild horses; and they had been seen during the day at +every opening through the woods which afforded us a view across the river. +Latitude, by observation, 37 deg. 08' 00"; longitude 120 deg. 45' 22". + +5th--During the earlier part of the day's ride, the country presented a +lacustrine appearance; the river was deep, and nearly on a level with the +surrounding country; its banks raised like a levee, and fringed with +willows. Over the bordering plain were interspersed spots of prairie among +fields of _tule_, (bulrushes,) which in this country are called +_tulares_, and little ponds. On the opposite side, a line of timber +was visible which, according to information, points out the course of the +slough, which at times of high water connects with the San Joaquin river-- +a large body of water in the upper part of the valley, called the Tule +lakes. The river and all its sloughs are very full, and it is probable +that the lake is now discharging. Here elk were frequently started, and +one was shot out of a band which ran around us. On our left, the Sierra +maintains its snowy height, and masses of snow appear to descend very low +towards the plains; probably the late rains in the valley were snow on the +mountains. We traveled 37 miles, and encamped on the river. Longitude of +the camp, 120 deg. 28' 34", and latitude, 36 deg. 49' 12". + +6th.--After having traveled fifteen miles along the river, we made an +early halt, under the shade of sycamore-trees. Here we found the San +Joaquin coming down from the Sierra with a westerly course, and checking +our way, as all its tributaries had previously done. We had expected to +raft the river; but found a good ford, and encamped on the opposite bank, +where droves of wild horses were raising clouds of dust on the prairie. +Columns of smoke were visible in the direction of the Tule lakes to the +southward--probably kindled in the tulares by the Indians, as signals that +there were strangers in the valley. + +We made, on the 7th, a hard march in a cold chilly rain from morning until +night--the weather so thick that we traveled by compass. This was a +_traverse_ from the San Joaquin to the waters of the Tule lakes, and +our road was over a very level prairie country. We saw wolves frequently +during the day, prowling about after the young antelope, which cannot run +very fast. These were numerous during the day, and two were caught by the +people. + +Late in the afternoon we discovered timber, which was found to be groves +of oak-trees on a dry _arroyo_. The rain, which had fallen in +frequent showers, poured down in a storm at sunset, with a strong wind, +which swept off the clouds, and left a clear sky. Riding on through the +timber, about dark we found abundant water in small ponds, 20 to 30 yards +in diameter, with clear deep water and sandy beds, bordered with bog +rushes, (_juncus effusus_,) and a tall rush (_scirpus +lacustris_) twelve feet high, and surrounded near the margin with +willow-trees in bloom; among them one which resembled _salix +myricoides_. The oak of the groves was the same already mentioned, with +small leaves, in form like those of the white-oak, and forming, with the +evergreen-oak, the characteristic trees of the valley. + +8th.--After a ride of two miles through brush and open groves, we reached +a large stream, called the River of the Lake, resembling in size the San +Joaquin, and being about 100 yards broad. This is the principal tributary +to the Tule lakes, which collect all the waters in the upper part of the +valley. While we were searching for a ford, some Indians appeared on the +opposite bank, and having discovered that we were not Spanish soldiers, +showed us the way to a good ford several miles above. + +The Indians of the Sierra make frequent descents upon the settlements west +of the Coast Range, which they keep constantly swept of horses; among them +are many who are called Christian Indians, being refugees from Spanish +missions. Several of these incursions occurred while we were at Helvetia. +Occasionally parties of soldiers follow them across the Coast Range, but +never enter the Sierra. + +On the opposite side we found some forty or fifty Indians, who had come to +meet us from the village below. We made them some small presents, and +invited them to our encampment, which, after about three miles through +fine oak groves, we made on the river. We made a fort, principally on +account of our animals. The Indians brought otter-skins, and several kinds +of fish, and bread made of acorns, to trade. Among them were several who +had come to live among these Indians when the missions were broken up, and +who spoke Spanish fluently. They informed us that they were called by the +Spaniards _mansitos_, (tame,) in distinction from the wilder tribes +of the mountains. They, however, think themselves very insecure, not +knowing at what unforeseen moment the sins of the latter may be visited +upon them. They are dark-skinned, but handsome and intelligent Indians, +and live principally on acorns and the roots of the tule, of which also +their huts are made. + +By observation, the latitude of the encampment is 36 deg. 24' 50", and +longitude 119 deg. 41' 40". + +9th.--For several miles we had very bad traveling over what is called +rotten ground, in which the horses were frequently up to their knees. +Making towards a line of timber, we found a small fordable stream, beyond +which the country improved, and the grass became excellent; and crossing a +number of dry and timbered _arroyos_, we traveled until late through +open oak groves, and encamped among a collection of streams. These were +running among rushes and willows; and, as usual, flocks of blackbirds +announced our approach to water. We have here approached considerably +nearer to the eastern Sierra, which shows very plainly, still covered with +masses of snow, which yesterday and to-day has also appeared abundant on +the Coast Range. + +10th.--To-day we made another long journey of about forty miles, through a +country uninteresting and flat, with very little grass and a sandy soil, +in which several branches we crossed had lost their water. In the evening +the face of the country became hilly; and, turning a few miles up towards +the mountains, we found a good encampment on a pretty stream hidden among +the hills, and handsomely timbered, principally with large cottonwoods, +(_populus_, differing from any in Michaux's Sylva.) The seed-vessels +of this tree were now just about bursting. + +Several Indians came down the river to see us in the evening; we gave them +supper, and cautioned them against stealing our horses; which they +promised not to attempt. + +11th.--A broad trail along the river here takes out among the hills. "Buen +camino," (good road,) said one of the Indians, of whom we had inquired +about the pass; and, following it accordingly, it conducted us beautifully +through a very broken country, by an excellent way, which, otherwise, we +should have found extremely bad. Taken separately, the hills present +smooth and graceful outlines, but, together, make bad traveling ground. +Instead of grass, the whole face of the country is closely covered with +_erodium cicutarium_, here only two or three inches high. Its height +and beauty varied in a remarkable manner with the locality, being, in many +low places which we passed during the day, around streams and springs, two +and three feet high. The country had now assumed a character of aridity; +and the luxuriant green of these little streams, wooded with willow, oak, +or sycamore, looked very refreshing among the sandy hills. + +In the evening we encamped on a large creek, with abundant water. I +noticed here in bloom, for the first time since leaving the Arkansas +waters, the _Miribilis Jalapa_. + +12th.--Along our road to-day the country was altogether sandy, and +vegetation meager. _Ephedra occidentalis_, which we had first seen in +the neighborhood of the Pyramid lake, made its appearance here, and in the +course of the day became very abundant, and in large bushes. Towards the +close of the afternoon, we reached a tolerably large river, which empties +into a small lake at the head of the valley; it is about thirty-five yards +wide, with a stony and gravelly bed, and the swiftest stream we have +crossed since leaving the bay. The bottoms produced no grass, though well +timbered with willow and cottonwood; and, after ascending several miles, +we made a late encampment on a little bottom, with scanty grass. In +greater part, the vegetation along our road consisted now of rare and +unusual plants, among which many were entirely new. + +Along the bottoms were thickets consisting of several varieties of shrubs, +which made here their first appearance; and among these was _Garrya +elliptica_, (Lindley,) a small tree belonging to a very peculiar +natural order, and, in its general appearance, (growing in thickets,) +resembling willow. It now became common along the streams, frequently +supplying the place of _salix longifolia_. + +13th.--The water was low, and a few miles above we forded the river at a +rapid, and marched in a southeasterly direction over a less broken +country. The mountains were now very near, occasionally looming out +through fog. In a few hours we reached the bottom of a creek without +water, over which the sandy beds were dispersed in many branches. +Immediately where we struck it, the timber terminated; and below, to the +right, it was a broad bed of dry and bare sands. There were many tracks of +Indians and horses imprinted in the sand, which, with other indications, +informed us was the creek issuing from the pass, and which we have called +Pass creek. We ascended a trail for a few miles along the creek, and +suddenly found a stream of water five feet wide, running with a lively +current, but losing itself almost immediately. This little stream showed +plainly the manner in which the mountain waters lose themselves in sand at +the eastern foot of the Sierra, leaving only a parched desert and arid +plains beyond. The stream enlarged rapidly, and the timber became abundant +as we ascended. + +A new species of pine made its appearance, with several kinds of oaks, and +a variety of trees; and the country changing its appearance suddenly and +entirely, we found ourselves again traveling among the old orchard-like +places. Here we selected a delightful encampment in a handsome green oak +hollow, where among the open bolls of the trees was an abundant sward of +grass and pea-vines. In the evening a Christian Indian rode into the camp, +well dressed, with long spurs, and a _sombreo_, and speaking Spanish +fluently. It was an unexpected apparition, and a strange and pleasant +sight in this desolate gorge of a mountain--an Indian face, Spanish +costume, jingling spurs, and horse equipped after the Spanish manner. He +informed me that he belonged to one of the Spanish missions to the south, +distant two or three days' ride, and that he had obtained from the priests +leave to spend a few days with his relations in the Sierra. Having seen us +enter the pass, he had come down to visit us. He appeared familiarly +acquainted with the country, and gave me definite and clear information in +regard to the desert region east of the mountains. I had entered the pass +with a strong disposition to vary my route, and to travel directly across +towards the Great Salt lake, in the view of obtaining some acquaintance +with the interior of the Great Basin, while pursuing a direct course for +the frontier; but his representation, which described it as an arid and +barren desert, that had repulsed by its sterility all the attempts of the +Indians to penetrate it, determined me for the present to relinquish the +plan, and agreeably to his advice, after crossing the Sierra, continue our +intended route along its eastern base to the Spanish trail. By this route, +a party of six Indians, who had come from a great river in the eastern +part of the desert to trade with his people, had just started on their +return. He would himself return the next day to _San Fernando_, and +as our roads would be the same for two days, he offered his services to +conduct us so far on our way. His offer was gladly accepted. The fog which +had somewhat interfered with views in the valley, had entirely passed off, +and left a clear sky. That which had enveloped us in the neighborhood of +the pass proceeded evidently from fires kindled among the tulares by +Indians living near the lakes, and which were intended to warn those in +the mountains that there were strangers in the valley. Our position was in +latitude 35 deg. 17' 12", and longitude 118 deg. 35' 03". + +14th.--Our guide joined us this morning on the trail; and, arriving in a +short distance at an open bottom where the creek forked, we continued up +the right-hand branch, which was enriched by a profusion of flowers, and +handsomely wooded with sycamore, oaks, cottonwood, and willow, with other +trees, and some shrubby plants. In its long strings of balls, this +sycamore differs from that of the United States, and is the _platanus +occidentalus_ of Hooker--a new species recently described among the +plants collected in the voyage of the Sulphur. The cottonwood varied its +foliage with white tufts, and the feathery seeds were flying plentifully +through the air. Gooseberries, nearly ripe, were very abundant in the +mountains; and as we passed the dividing grounds, which were not very easy +to ascertain, the air was filled with perfume, as if we were entering a +highly cultivated garden; and, instead of green, our pathway and the +mountain sides were covered with fields of yellow flowers, which here was +the prevailing color. Our journey to-day was in the midst of an advanced +spring, whose green and floral beauty offered a delightful contrast to the +sandy valley we had just left. All the day, snow was in sight on the butte +of the mountain, which frowned down upon us on the right; but we beheld it +now with feelings of pleasant security, as we rode along between green +trees, and on flowers, with hummingbirds and other feathered friends of +the traveler enlivening the serene spring air. As we reached the summit of +this beautiful pass, and obtained a view into the eastern country, we saw +at once that here was the place to take leave of all such pleasant scenes +as those around us. The distant mountains were now bald rocks again, and +below the land had any color but green. Taking into consideration the +nature of the Sierra Nevada, we found this pass an excellent one for +horses; and with a little labor, or perhaps with a more perfect +examination of the localities, it might be made sufficiently practicable +for wagons. Its latitude and longitude may be considered that of our last +encampment, only a few miles distant. The elevation was not taken--our +half-wild cavalcade making it troublesome to halt before night, when once +started. + +We here left the waters of the bay of San Francisco, and, though forced +upon them contrary to my intentions, I cannot regret the necessity which +occasioned the deviation. It made me well acquainted with the great range +of the Sierra Nevada of the Alta California, and showed that this broad +and elevated snowy ridge was a continuation of the Cascade Range of +Oregon, between which and the ocean there is still another and a lower +range, parallel to the former and to the coast, and which may be called +the Coast Range. It also made me well acquainted with the basin of the San +Francisco bay, and with the two pretty rivers and their valleys (the +Sacramento and San Joaquin) which are tributary to that bay, and cleared +up some points in geography on which error had long prevailed. It had been +constantly represented, as I have already stated, that the bay of San +Francisco opened far into the interior, by some river coming down from the +base of the Rocky mountains, and upon which supposed stream the name of +Rio Buenaventura had been bestowed. Our observations of the Sierra Nevada, +in the long distance from the head of the Sacramento, to the head of the +San Joaquin, and of the valley below it, which collects all the waters of +the San Francisco bay, show that this neither is nor can be the case. No +river from the interior does, or can, cross the Sierra Nevada--itself more +lofty than the Rocky mountains; and as to the Buenaventura, the mouth of +which seen on the coast gave the idea and the name of the reputed great +river, it is, in fact, a small stream of no consequence, not only below +the Sierra Nevada, but actually below the Coast Range--taking its rise +within half a degree of the ocean, running parallel to it for about two +degrees, and then falling into the Pacific near Monterey. There is no +opening from the bay of San Francisco into the interior of the continent. +The two rivers which flow into it are comparatively short, and not +perpendicular to the coast, but lateral to it, and having their heads +towards Oregon and southern California. They open lines of communication +north and south, and not eastwardly; and thus this want of interior +communication from the San Francisco bay, now fully ascertained, gives +great additional value to the Columbia, which stands alone as the only +great river on the Pacific slope of our continent which leads from the +ocean to the Rocky mountains, and opens a line of communication from the +sea to the valley of the Mississippi. + +Four _companeros_ joined our guide at the pass; and two going back at +noon, the others continued on in company. Descending from the hills, we +reached a country of fine grass, where the _erodium cicutarium_ +finally disappeared, giving place to an excellent quality of bunch-grass. +Passing by some springs where there was a rich sward of grass among groves +of large black-oak, we rode over a plain on which the guide pointed out a +spot where a refugee Christian Indian had been killed by a party of +soldiers which had unexpectedly penetrated into the mountains. Crossing a +low sierra, and descending a hollow where a spring gushed out, we were +struck by the sudden appearance of _yucca_ trees, which gave a +strange and southern character to the country, and suited well with the +dry and desert region we were approaching. Associated with the idea of +barren sands, their stiff and ungraceful form makes them to the traveler +the most repulsive tree in the vegetable kingdom. Following the hollow, we +shortly came upon a creek timbered with large black-oak, which yet had not +put forth a leaf. There was a small rivulet of running water, with good +grass. + +15th.--The Indians who had accompanied the guide returned this morning, +and I purchased from them a Spanish saddle and long spurs, as +reminiscences of the time; and for a few yards of scarlet cloth they gave +me a horse, which afterwards became food for other Indians. + +We continued a short distance down the creek, in which our guide informed +us that the water very soon disappeared, and turned directly to the +southward along the foot of the mountain; the trail on which we rode +appearing to describe the eastern limit of travel, where water and grass +terminated. Crossing a low spur, which bordered the creek, we descended to +a kind of plain among the lower spurs, the desert being in full view on +our left, apparently illimitable. A hot mist lay over it to-day, through +which it had a white and glistening appearance; here and there a few dry- +looking _buttes_ and isolated black ridges rose suddenly upon it. +"There," said our guide, stretching out his hand towards it, "there are +the great _llanos_, (plains,) _no hay agua; no hay zacate-- +nada_: there is neither water nor grass--nothing; every animal that +goes upon them, dies." It was indeed dismal to look upon, and to conceive +so great a change in so short a distance. One might travel the world over, +without finding a valley more fresh and verdant--more floral and sylvan-- +more alive with birds and animals--more bounteously watered--than we had +left in the San Joaquin: here within a few miles' ride, a vast desert +plain spread before us, from which the boldest traveler turned away in +despair. + +Directly in front of us, at some distance to the southward, and running +out in an easterly direction from the mountains, stretched a sierra, +having at the eastern end (perhaps 50 miles distant) some snowy peaks, on +which, by the information of our guide, snow rested all the year. + +Our cavalcade made a strange and grotesque appearance; and it was +impossible to avoid reflecting upon our position and composition in this +remote solitude. Within two degrees of the Pacific ocean--already far +south of the latitude of Monterey--and still forced on south by a desert +on one hand, and a mountain range on the other--guided by a civilized +Indian, attended by two wild ones from the Sierra--a Chinook from the +Columbia, and our mixture of American, French, German--all armed--four or +five languages heard at once--above a hundred horses and mules, half wild +--American, Spanish, and Indian dresses and equipments intermingled--such +was our composition. Our march was a sort of procession. Scouts ahead and +on the flanks; a front and rear division; the pack-animals, baggage, and +horned-cattle in the centre; and the whole stretching a quarter of a mile +along our dreary path. In this form we journeyed, looking more as if we +belonged to Asia than to the United States of America. + +We continued in a southerly direction across the plain, to which, as well +as to all the country, so far as we could see, the _yucca_ trees gave +a strange and singular character. Several new plants appeared, among which +was a zygophyllaceous shrub, (_zygophyllum Californicum_, Torr. and +Frem.,) sometimes ten feet in height; in form, and in the pliancy of its +branches, it is rather a graceful plant. Its leaves are small, covered +with a resinous substance; and, particularly when bruised and crushed, +exhale a singular but very agreeable and refreshing odor. This shrub and +the _yucca_, with many varieties of cactus, make the characteristic +features in the vegetation for a long distance to the eastward. Along the +foot of the mountain, 20 miles to the southward, red stripes of flowers +were visible during the morning, which we supposed to be variegated +sandstones. We rode rapidly during the day, and in the afternoon emerged +from the _yucca_ forest at the foot of an _outlier_ of the +Sierra before us, and came among the fields of flowers we had seen in the +morning, which consisted principally of the rich orange-colored California +poppy, mingled with other flowers of brighter tints. Reaching the top of +the spur, which was covered with fine bunch-grass, and where the hills +were very green, our guide pointed to a small hollow in the mountain +before us, saying, "_a este piedra hay agua_." He appeared to know +every nook in the country. We continued our beautiful road, and reached a +spring in the slope at the foot of the ridge, running in a green ravine, +among granite boulders; here nightshade, and borders of buckwheat, with +their white blossoms around the granite rocks, attracted our notice as +familiar plants. Several antelopes were seen among the hills, and some +large hares. Men were sent back this evening in search of a wild mule with +a valuable pack, which had managed (as they frequently do) to hide itself +along the road. + +By observation, the latitude of the camp is 34 deg. 41' 42", and longitude +118 deg. 20' 00". The next day the men returned with the mule. + +17th.--Crossing the ridge by a beautiful pass of hollows, where several +deer broke out of the thickets, we emerged at a small salt lake in a +_vallon_ lying nearly east and west, where a trail from the mission +of _San Buenaventura_ comes in. The lake is about 1,200 yards in +diameter; surrounded on the margin by a white salty border, which, by the +smell, reminded us slightly of Lake Abert. There are some cottonwoods, +with willow and elder, around the lake; and the water is a little salt, +although not entirely unfit for drinking. Here we turned directly to the +eastward along the trail, which, from being seldom used, is almost +imperceptible; and, after traveling a few miles, our guide halted, and, +pointing to the hardly visible trail, "_aqui es camino_," said he, +"_no se pierde--va siempre_." He pointed out a black _butte_ on +the plain at the foot of the mountain, where we would find water to encamp +at night; and, giving him a present of knives and scarlet cloth, we shook +hands and parted. He bore off south, and in a day's ride would arrive at +San Fernando, one of several missions in this part of California, where +the country is so beautiful that it is considered a paradise, and the name +of its principal town (_Puebla de los Angeles_) would make it +angelic. We continued on through a succession of valleys, and came into a +most beautiful spot of flower fields; instead of green, the hills were +purple and orange, with unbroken beds, into which each color was +separately gathered. A pale straw-color, with a bright yellow, the rich +red orange of the poppy mingled with fields of purple, covered the spot +with a floral beauty; and, on the border of the sandy deserts, seemed to +invite the traveler to go no farther. Riding along through the perfumed +air, we soon after entered a defile overgrown with the ominous +_artemisia tridentata_, which conducted us into a sandy plain covered +more or less densely with forests of _yucca_. + +Having now the snowy ridge on our right, we continued our way towards a +dark _butte_, belonging to a low sierra on the plain, and which our +guide had pointed out for a landmark. Late in the day, the familiar growth +of cottonwood, a line of which was visible ahead, indicated our approach +to a creek, which we reached where the water spread out into sands, and a +little below sank entirely. Here our guide had intended we should pass the +night; but there was not a blade of grass, and, hoping to find nearer the +mountain a little for the night, we turned up the stream. A hundred yards +above, we found the creek a fine stream, sixteen feet wide, with a swift +current. A dark night overtook us when we reached the hills at the foot of +the ridge, and we were obliged to encamp without grass; tying up what +animals we could secure in the darkness, the greater part of the wild ones +having free range for the night. Here the stream was two feet deep, swift +and clear, issuing from a neighboring snow peak. A few miles before +reaching this creek, we had crossed a broad dry riverbed, which, nearer +the hills, the hunters had found a bold and handsome stream. + +18th.--Some parties were engaged in hunting up the scattered horses, and +others in searching for grass above; both were successful, and late in the +day we encamped among some spring-heads of the river, in a hollow which +was covered with only tolerably good grasses, the lower ground being +entirely overgrown with large bunches of the coarse stiff grass, (_carex +sitchensis_.) + +Our latitude, by observation, was 34 deg. 27' 03", and longitude 117 deg. 13' 00". + +Traveling close along the mountain, we followed up, in the afternoon of +the 19th, another stream, in hopes to find a grass-patch like that of the +previous day, but were deceived; except some scattered bunch-grass, there +was nothing but rock and sand; and even the fertility of the mountain +seemed withered by the air of the desert. Among the few trees was the nut +pine, (_pinus monophyllus_.) + +Our road the next day was still in an easterly direction along the ridge, +over very bad traveling ground, broken and confounded with crippled trees +and shrubs; and, after a difficult march of eighteen miles, a general +shout announced that we had struck the great object of our search--THE +SPANISH TRAIL--which here was running directly north. The road itself, +and its course, were equally happy discoveries to us. Since the middle of +December we had continually been forced south by mountains and by deserts, +and now would have to make six degrees of _northing_, to regain the +latitude on which we wished to cross the Rocky mountains. The course of +the road, therefore, was what we wanted; and, once more, we felt like +going homewards. A _road_ to travel on, and the _right_ course +to go, were joyful consolations to us; and our animals enjoyed the beaten +track like ourselves. Relieved from the rocks and brush, our wild mules +started off at a rapid rate, and in fifteen miles we reached a +considerable river, timbered with cottonwood and willow, where we found a +bottom of tolerable grass. As the animals had suffered a great deal in the +last few days, I remained here all next day, to allow them the necessary +repose; and it was now necessary, at every favorable place, to make a +little halt. Between us and the Colorado river we were aware that the +country was extremely poor in grass, and scarce for water, there being +many _jornadas_, (days' journey,) or long stretches of forty to sixty +miles, without water, where the road was marked by bones of animals. + +Although in California we had met with people who had passed over this +trail, we had been able to obtain no correct information about it; and the +greater part of what we had heard was found to be only a tissue of +falsehoods. The rivers that we found on it were never mentioned, and +others, particularly described in name and locality, were subsequently +seen in another part of the country. It was described as a tolerably good +sandy road, with so little rock as scarcely to require the animals to be +shod; and we found it the roughest and rockiest road we had ever seen in +the country, and which nearly destroyed our band of fine mules and horses. +Many animals are destroyed on it every year by a disease called the foot- +evil; and a traveler should never venture on it without having his animals +well shod, and also carrying extra shoes. + +Latitude 34 deg. 34' 11"; and longitude 117 deg. 13' 00". + +The morning of the 22d was clear and bright, and a snowy peak to the +southward shone out high and sharply defined. As has been usual since we +crossed the mountains and descended into the hot plains, we had a gale of +wind. We traveled down the right bank of the stream, over sands which are +somewhat loose, and have no verdure, but are occupied by various shrubs. A +clear bold stream, 60 feet wide, and several feet deep, had a strange +appearance, running between perfectly naked banks of sand. The eye, +however, is somewhat relieved by willows, and the beautiful green of the +sweet cottonwoods with which it is well wooded. As we followed along its +course, the river, instead of growing constantly larger, gradually +dwindled away, as it was absorbed by the sand. We were now careful to take +the old camping-places of the annual Santa Fe caravans, which, luckily for +us, had not yet made their yearly passage. A drove of several thousand +horses and mules would entirely have swept away the scanty grass at the +watering places, and we should have been obliged to leave the road to +obtain subsistence for our animals. After riding 20 miles in a north- +easterly direction, we found an old encampment, where we halted. + +By observation, the elevation of this encampment is 2,250 feet. + +23d.--The trail followed still along the river, which, in the course of +the morning, entirely disappeared. We continued along the dry bed, in +which, after an interval of about 16 miles, the water reappeared in some +low places, well timbered with cottonwood and willow, where was another of +the customary camping-grounds. Here a party of six Indians came into camp, +poor and hungry, and quite in keeping with the character of the country. +Their arms were bows of unusual length, and each had a large gourd, +strengthened with meshes of cord, in which he carried water. They proved +to be the Mohahve Indians mentioned by our recent guide; and from one of +them, who spoke Spanish fluently, I obtained some interesting information, +which I would be glad to introduce here. An account of the people +inhabiting this region would undoubtedly possess interest for the +civilized world. Our journey homewards was fruitful in incident; and the +country through which we traveled, although a desert, afforded much to +excite the curiosity of the botanist; but limited time, and the rapidly +advancing season for active operations, oblige me to omit all extended +descriptions, and hurry briefly to the conclusion of this report. + +The Indian who spoke Spanish had been educated for a number of years at +one of the Spanish missions, and, at the breaking up of those +establishments, had returned to the mountains, where he had been found by +a party of _Mohahve_ (sometimes called _Amuchaba_) Indians, +among whom he had ever since resided. + +He spoke of the leader of the present party as "_mi amo_," (my +master.) He said they lived upon a large river in the southeast, which the +"soldiers called the Rio Colorado;" but that, formerly, a portion of them +lived upon this river, and among the mountains which had bounded the river +valley to the northward during the day, and that here along the river they +had raised various kinds of melons. They sometimes came over to trade with +the Indians of the Sierra, bringing with them blankets and goods +manufactured by the Monquis and other Colorado Indians. They rarely +carried home horses, on account of the difficulty of getting them across +the desert, and of guarding them afterwards from the Pa-utah Indians, who +inhabit the Sierra, at the head of the _Rio Virgen_, (river of the +Virgin.) + +He informed us that, a short distance below, this river finally +disappeared. The two different portions in which water is found had +received from the priests two different names; and subsequently I heard it +called by the Spaniards the _Rio de las Animas_, but on the map we +have called it the _Mohahve_ river. + +24th.--We continued down the stream (or rather its bed) for about eight +miles, where there was water still in several holes, and encamped. The +caravans sometimes continued below, to the end of the river, from which +there is a very long _jornada_ of perhaps 60 miles, without water. +Here a singular and new species of acacia, with spiral pods or seed- +vessels, made its first appearance; becoming henceforward, for a +considerable distance, the characteristic tree. It was here comparatively +large, being about 20 feet in height, with a full and spreading top, the +lower branches declining towards the ground. It afterwards occurred of +smaller size, frequently in groves, and is very fragrant. It has been +called by Dr. Torrey, _spirolobium odoratum_. The zygophyllaceous +shrub had been constantly characteristic of the plains along the river; +and here, among many new plants, a new and very remarkable species of +eriogonum (_eriogonum inflatum_, Tor. & Frem.) made its first +appearance. + +Our cattle had become so tired and poor by this fatiguing traveling, that +three of them were killed here, and the meat dried. The Indians had now an +occasion for a great feast and were occupied the remainder of the day and +all night in cooking and eating. There was no part of the animal for which +they did not find some use, except the bones. In the afternoon we were +surprised by the sudden appearance in the camp of two Mexicans--a man and +a boy. The name of the man was _Andreas Fuentes_; and that of the +boy, (a handsome lad, 11 years old,) _Pablo Hernandez_. They belonged +to a party consisting of six persons, the remaining four being the wife of +Fuentes, and the father and mother of Pablo, and Santiago Giacome, a +resident of New Mexico. With a cavalcade of about thirty horses, they had +come out from Puebla de los Angeles, near the coast, under the guidance of +Giacome, in advance of the great caravan, in order to travel more at +leisure, and obtain better grass. Having advanced as far into the desert +as was considered consistent with their safety, they halted at the +_Archilette_, one of the customary camping-grounds, about 80 miles +from our encampment, where there is a spring of good water, with +sufficient grass; and concluded to await there the arrival of the great +caravan. Several Indians were soon discovered lurking about the camp, who, +in a day or two after, came in, and, after behaving in a very friendly +manner, took their leave, without awakening any suspicions. Their +deportment begat a security which proved fatal. In a few days afterwards, +suddenly a party of about one hundred Indians appeared in sight, advancing +towards the camp. It was too late, or they seemed not to have presence of +mind to take proper measures of safety; and the Indians charged down into +their camp, shouting as they advanced, and discharging flights of arrows. +Pablo and Fuentes were on horse-guard at the time, and mounted according +to the custom of the country. One of the principal objects of the Indians +was to get possession of the horses, and part of them immediately +surrounded the band; but, in obedience to the shouts of Giacome, Fuentes +drove the animals over and through the assailants, in spite of their +arrows; and, abandoning the rest to their fate, carried them off at speed +across the plain. Knowing that they would be pursued by the Indians, +without making any halt except to shift their saddles to other horses, +they drove them on for about sixty miles, and this morning left them at a +watering-place on the trail, called Agua de Tomaso. Without giving +themselves any time for rest, they hurried on, hoping to meet the Spanish +caravan, when they discovered my camp. I received them kindly, taking them +into my own mess, and promised them such aid as circumstances might put it +in my power to give. + +25th.--We left the river abruptly, and, turning to the north, regained in +a few miles the main trail, (which had left the river sooner than +ourselves,) and continued our way across a lower ridge of the mountain, +through a miserable tract of sand and gravel. We crossed at intervals the +broad beds of dry gullies, where in the seasons of rains and melting snows +there would be brooks or rivulets: and at one of these, where there was no +indication of water, were several freshly-dug holes, in which there was +water at the depth of two feet. These holes had been dug by the wolves, +whose keen sense of smell had scented the water under the dry sand. They +were nice little wells, narrow, and dug straight down; and we got pleasant +water out of them. + +The country had now assumed the character of an elevated and mountainous +desert; its general features being black, rocky ridges, bald, and +destitute of timber, with sandy basins between. Where the sides of these +ridges are washed by gullies, the plains below are strewed with beds of +large pebbles or rolled stones, destructive to our soft-footed animals, +accustomed to the soft plains of the Sacramento valley. Through these +sandy basins sometimes struggled a scanty stream, or occurred a hole of +water, which furnished camping-grounds for travelers. Frequently in our +journey across, snow was visible on the surrounding mountains; but their +waters rarely reached the sandy plain below, where we toiled along, +oppressed with thirst and a burning sun. But, throughout this nakedness of +sand and gravel, were many beautiful plants and flowering shrubs, which +occurred in many new species, and with greater variety than we had been +accustomed to see in the most luxuriant prairie countries; this was a +peculiarity of this desert. Even where no grass would take root, the naked +sand would bloom with some rich and rare flower, which found its +appropriate home in the arid and barren spot. + +Scattered over the plain, and tolerably abundant, was a handsome +leguminous shrub, three or four feet high, with fine bright purple +flowers. It is a new _psoralea_, and occurred frequently henceforward +along our road. + +Beyond the first ridge, our road bore a little to the east of north, +towards a gap in a higher line of mountains; and, after traveling about 25 +miles, we arrived at the _Agua de Tomaso_--the spring where the +horses had been left; but, as we expected, they were gone. A brief +examination of the ground convinced us that they had been driven off by +the Indians. Carson and Godey volunteered, with the Mexican, to pursue +them; and, well mounted, the three set off on the trail. At this stopping- +place there are a few bushes, and a very little grass. Its water was a +pool; but near by was a spring, which had been dug out by Indians or +travelers. Its water was cool--a great refreshment to us under a burning +sun. + +In the evening Fuentes returned, his horse having failed; but Carson and +Godey had continued the pursuit. + +I observed to-night an occultation of _a2 Cancri_, at the dark limb +of the moon, which gives for the longitude of the place 116 deg. 23' 28"; the +latitude, by observation, is 35 deg. 13' 08". From Helvetia to this place, the +positions along the intervening line are laid down, with the longitudes +obtained from the chronometer, which appears to have retained its rate +remarkably well; but henceforward, to the end of our journey, the few +longitudes given are absolute, depending upon a subsequent occultation and +eclipses of the satellites. + +In the afternoon of the next day, a war-whoop was heard, such as Indians +make when returning from a victorious enterprise; and soon Carson and +Godey appeared, driving before them a band of horses, recognised by +Fuentes to be part of those they had lost. Two bloody scalps, dangling +from the end of Godey's gun, announced that they had overtaken the Indians +as well as the horses. They informed us, that after Fuentes left them, +from the failure of his horse, they continued the pursuit alone, and +towards night-fall entered the mountains, into which the trail led. After +sunset the moon gave light, and they followed the trail by moonshine until +late in the night, when it entered a narrow defile, and was difficult to +follow. Afraid of losing it in the darkness of the defile, they tied up +their horses, struck no fire, and lay down to sleep, in silence and in +darkness. Here they lay from midnight until morning. At daylight they +resumed the pursuit, and about sunrise discovered the horses; and, +immediately dismounting and tying up their own, they crept cautiously to a +rising ground which intervened, from the crest of which they perceived the +encampment of four lodges close by. They proceeded quietly, and had got +within 30 or 40 yards of their object, when a movement among the horses +discovered them to the Indians. Giving the war-shout, they instantly +charged into the camp, regardless of the number which the _four_ +lodges would imply. The Indians received them with a flight of arrows shot +from their long-bows, one of which passed through Godey's shirt-collar, +barely missing the neck: our men fired their rifles upon a steady aim, and +rushed in. Two Indians were stretched upon the ground, fatally pierced +with bullets: the rest fled, except a little lad that was captured. The +scalps of the fallen were instantly stripped off; but in the process, one +of them, who had two balls through his body, sprang to his feet, the blood +streaming from his skinned head, and uttering a hideous howl. An old +squaw, possibly his mother, stopped and looked back from the mountainsides +she was climbing, threatening and lamenting. The frightful spectacle +appalled the stout hearts of our men; but they did what humanity required, +and quickly terminated the agonies of the gory savage. They were now +masters of the camp, which was a pretty little recess in the mountain, +with a fine spring, and apparently safe from all invasion. Great +preparations had been made to feast a large party, for it was a very +proper place to rendezvous, and for the celebration of such orgies as +robbers of the desert would delight in. Several of the best horses had +been killed, skinned, and cut up; for the Indians living in mountains, and +only coming into the plains to rob and murder, make no other use of horses +than to eat them. Large earthen vessels were on the fire, boiling and +stewing the horse-beef; and several baskets, containing 50 or 60 pairs of +moccasins, indicated the presence, or expectation, of a considerable +party. They released the boy, who had given strong evidence of the +stoicism, or something else, of the savage character, in commencing his +breakfast upon a horse's head, as soon as he found he was not to be +killed, but only tied as a prisoner. Their object accomplished, our men +gathered up all the surviving horses, fifteen in number, returned upon +their trail, and rejoined us, at our camp, in the afternoon of the same +day. They had rode about 100 miles, in the pursuit and return, and all in +30 hours. The time, place, object, and numbers considered, this expedition +of Carson and Godey may be considered among the boldest and most +disinterested which the annals of western adventure, so full of daring +deeds, can present. Two men, in a savage desert, pursue day and night an +unknown body of Indians, into the defile of an unknown mountain--attack +them on sight, without counting numbers--and defeat them in an instant-- +and for what? To punish the robbers of the desert, and to avenge the +wrongs of Mexicans whom they did not know. I repeat: it was Carson and +Godey who did this--the former an _American_, born in the Boonslick +county of Missouri; the latter a Frenchman, born in St. Louis,--and both +trained to western enterprise from early life. + +By the information of Fuentes, we had now to make a long stretch of 40 or +50 miles across a plain which lay between us and the next possible camp; +and we resumed our journey late in the afternoon, with the intention of +traveling through the night, and avoiding the excessive heat of the day, +which was oppressive to our animals. For several hours we traveled across +a high plain, passing, at the opposite side, through a canon by the bed of +a creek, running northwardly into a small lake beyond, and both of them +being dry. We had a warm, moonshiny night; and, traveling directly towards +the north-star, we journeyed now across an open plain, between mountain- +ridges--that on the left being broken, rocky, and bald, according to +Carson and Godey, who had entered here in pursuit of the horses. The plain +appeared covered principally with the _zygophyllum Californicum_, +already mentioned; and the line of our road was marked by the skeletons of +horses, which were strewed to considerable breadth over the plain. We were +always warned on entering one of these long stretches, by the bones of +these animals, which had perished before they could reach the water. About +midnight we reached a considerable stream-bed, now dry--the discharge of +the waters of this basin, (when it collected any)--down which we +descended, in a northwesterly direction. The creek-bed was overgrown with +shrubbery, and several hours before day it brought us to the entrance of a +canon, where we found water, and encamped. This word _canon_ is used +by the Spaniards to signify a defile or gorge in a creek or river, where +high rocks press in close, and make a narrow way, usually difficult, and +often impossible to be passed. + +In the morning we found that we had a very poor camping-ground--a swampy, +salty spot, with a little long, unwholesome grass; and the water, which +rose in springs, being useful only to wet the mouth, but entirely too salt +to drink. All around was sand and rocks, and skeletons of horses which had +not been able to find support for their lives. As we were about to start, +we found, at the distance of a few hundred yards, among the hills to the +southward, a spring of tolerably good water, which was a relief to +ourselves; but the place was too poor to remain long, and therefore we +continued on this morning. On the creek were thickets of _spirolobium +odoratum_ (acacia) in bloom, and very fragrant. + +Passing through the canon, we entered another sandy basin, through which +the dry stream-bed continued its north-westerly course, in which direction +appeared a high snowy mountain. + +We traveled through a barren district, where a heavy gale was blowing +about the loose sand, and, after a ride of eight miles, reached a large +creek of salt and bitter water, running in a westerly direction, to +receive the stream-bed we had left. It is called by the Spaniards +_Amargosa_--the bitter-water of the desert. Where we struck it, the +stream bends; and we continued in a northerly course up the ravine of its +valley, passing on the way a fork from the right, near which occurred a +bed of plants, consisting of a remarkable new genus of _cruciferae_. + +Gradually ascending, the ravine opened into a green valley, where, at the +foot of the mountain, were springs of excellent water. We encamped among +groves of the new _acacia_, and there was an abundance of good grass +for the animals. + +This was the best camping-ground we had seen since we struck the Spanish +trail. The day's journey was about twelve miles. + +29th.--To-day we had to reach the _Archilette_, distant seven miles, +where the Mexican party had been attacked, and, leaving our encampment +early, we traversed a part of the desert the most sterile and repulsive we +had yet seen. Its prominent features were dark _sierras_, naked and +dry; on the plains a few straggling shrubs--among them, cactus of several +varieties. Fuentes pointed out one called by the Spaniards _bisnada_, +which has a juicy pulp, slightly acid, and is eaten by the traveler to +allay thirst. Our course was generally north; and, after crossing an +intervening ridge, we descended into a sandy plain, or basin, in the +middle of which was the grassy spot, with its springs and willow bushes, +which constitutes a camping-place in the desert, and is called the +_Archilette_. The dead silence of the place was ominous; and, +galloping rapidly up, we found only the corpses of the two men: every +thing else was gone. They were naked, mutilated, and pierced with arrows. +Hernandez had evidently fought, and with desperation. He lay in advance of +the willow half-faced tent, which sheltered his family, as if he had come +out to meet danger, and to repulse it from that asylum. One of his hands, +and both his legs, had been cut off. Giacome, who was a large and strong- +looking man, was lying in one of the willow shelters, pierced with arrows. + +Of the women no trace could be found, and it was evident they had been +carried off captive. A little lap-dog, which had belonged to Pablo's +mother, remained with the dead bodies, and was frantic with joy at seeing +Pablo; he, poor child, was frantic with grief, and filled the air with +lamentations for his father and mother. _Mi Padre! Mi Madre!_--was +his incessant cry. When we beheld this pitiable sight, and pictured to +ourselves the fate of the two women, carried off by savages so brutal and +so loathsome, all compunction for the scalped-alive Indian ceased; and we +rejoiced that Carson and Godey had been able to give so useful a lesson to +these American Arabs who lie in wait to murder and plunder the innocent +traveler. + +We were all too much affected by the sad feelings which the place +inspired, to remain an unnecessary moment. The night we were obliged to +pass there. Early in the morning we left it, having first written a brief +account of what had happened, and put it in the cleft of a pole planted at +the spring, that the approaching caravan might learn the fate of their +friends. In commemoration of the event, we called the place _Ague de +Hernandez_--Hernandez's spring. By observation, its latitude was 35 deg. +51' 21". + +30th.--We continued our journey over a district similar to that of the day +before. From the sandy basin, in which was the spring, we entered another +basin of the same character, surrounded everywhere by mountains. Before us +stretched a high range, rising still higher to the left, and terminating +in a snowy mountain. + +After a day's march of 24 miles, we reached at evening the bed of a stream +from which the water had disappeared, a little only remaining in holes, +which we increased by digging; and about a mile above, the stream, not yet +entirely sunk, was spread out over the sands, affording a little water for +the animals. The stream came out of the mountains on the left, very +slightly wooded with cottonwood, willow, and acacia, and a few dwarf-oaks; +and grass was nearly as scarce as water. A plant with showy yellow flowers +(_Stanleya integrifolia_) occurred abundantly at intervals for the +last two days, and _eriogonum inflatum_ was among the characteristic +plants. + + + +MAY. + + +1st.--The air is rough, and overcoats pleasant. The sky is blue, and the +day bright. Our road was over a plain, towards the foot of the mountain; +_zygophyllum Californicum_, now in bloom, with a small yellow flower, +is characteristic of the country; and _cacti_ were very abundant, and +in rich fresh bloom, which wonderfully ornaments this poor country. We +encamped at a spring in the pass, which had been the site of an old +village. Here we found excellent grass, but very little water. We dug out +the old spring, and watered some of our animals. The mountain here was +wooded very slightly with the nut-pine, cedars, and a dwarf species of +oak; and among the shrubs were _Purshia tridentata, artemisia_, and +_ephedra occidentalis_. The numerous shrubs which constitute the +vegetation of the plains are now in bloom, with flowers of white, yellow, +red, and purple. The continual rocks, and want of water and grass, began +to be very hard on our mules and horses; but the principal loss is +occasioned by their crippled feet, the greater part of those left being in +excellent order, and scarcely a day passes without some loss; and, one by +one, Fuentes' horses are constantly dropping behind. Whenever they give +out, he dismounts and cuts off their tails and manes, to make saddle- +girths--the last advantage one can gain from them. + +The next day, in a short but rough ride of 12 miles, we crossed the +mountain; and, descending to a small valley plain, encamped at the foot of +the ridge, on the bed of a creek, and found good grass in sufficient +quantity, and abundance of water in holes. The ridge is extremely rugged +and broken, presenting on this side a continued precipice, and probably +affords very few passes. Many _digger_ tracks were seen around us, +but no Indians were visible. + +3d.--After a day's journey of 18 miles, in a northeasterly direction, we +encamped in the midst of another very large basin, at a camping ground +called _las Vegas_--a term which the Spaniards use to signify fertile +or marshy plains, in contradistinction to _llanos_, which they apply +to dry and sterile plains. Two narrow streams of clear water, four or five +feet deep, gush suddenly, with a quick current, from two singularly large +springs; these, and other waters of the basin, pass out in a gap to the +eastward. The taste of the water is good, but rather too warm to be +agreeable; the temperature being 71 deg. in the one, and 73 deg. in the other. +They, however, afford a delightful bathing-place. + +4th.--We started this morning earlier than usual, traveling in a +northeasterly direction across the plain. The new acacia (_spirolobium +odoratum_) has now become the characteristic tree of the country; it is +in bloom, and its blossoms are very fragrant. The day was still, and the +heat, which soon became very oppressive, appeared to bring out strongly +the refreshing scent of the zygophyllaceous shrubs and the sweet perfume +of the acacia. The snowy ridge we had just crossed looked out +conspicuously in the northwest. In about five hours' ride, we crossed a +gap in the surrounding ridge, and the appearance of skeletons of horses +very soon warned us that we were engaged in another dry _jornada_, +which proved the longest we had made in all our journey--between fifty and +sixty miles without a drop of water. + +Travelers through countries affording water and timber can have no +conception of our intolerable thirst while journeying over the hot yellow +sands of this elevated country, where the heated air seems to be entirely +deprived of moisture. We ate occasionally the _bisnada_, and +moistened our mouths with the acid of the sour dock, (_rumex +venosus_.) Hourly expecting to find water, we continued to press on +until towards midnight, when, after a hard and uninterrupted march of 16 +hours, our wild mules began running ahead; and in a mile or two we came to +a bold running stream--so keen is the sense of that animal, in these +desert regions, in scenting at a distance this necessary of life. + +According to the information we had received, Sevier river was a tributary +of the Colorado; and this, accordingly, should have been one of its +affluents. It proved to be the _Rio de los Angeles_, (river of the +Angels)--a branch of the _Rio Virgen_. (river of the Virgin.) + +5th.--On account of our animals, it was necessary to remain to-day at this +place. Indians crowded numerously around us in the morning; and we were +obliged to keep arms in hand all day, to keep them out of the camp. They +began to surround the horses, which, for the convenience of grass, we were +guarding a little above, on the river. These were immediately driven in, +and kept close to the camp. + +In the darkness of the night we had made a very bad encampment, our fires +being commanded by a rocky bluff within 50 yards; but, notwithstanding, we +had the river and small thickets of willows on the other side. Several +times during the day the camp was insulted by the Indians; but, peace +being our object, I kept simply on the defensive. Some of the Indians were +on the bottoms, and others haranguing us from the bluffs; and they were +scattered in every direction over the hills. Their language being probably +a dialect of the _Utah_, with the aid of signs some of our people +could comprehend them very well. They were the same people who had +murdered the Mexicans; and towards us their disposition was evidently +hostile, nor were we well disposed towards them. They were barefooted, and +nearly naked; their hair gathered up into a knot behind; and with his bow, +each man carried a quiver with thirty or forty arrows partially drawn out. +Besides these, each held in his hand two or three arrows for instant +service. Their arrows are barbed with a very clear translucent stone, a +species of opal, nearly as hard as the diamond; and, shot from their long +bow, are almost as effective as a gunshot. In these Indians, I was +forcibly struck by an expression of countenance resembling that in a beast +of prey; and all their actions are those of wild animals. Joined to the +restless motion of the eye, there is a want of mind--an absence of +thought--and an action wholly by impulse, strongly expressed, and which +constantly recalls the similarity. + +A man who appeared to be a chief, with two or three others forced himself +into the camp, bringing with him his arms, in spite of my orders to the +contrary. When shown our weapons, he bored his ear with his fingers, and +said he could not hear. "Why," said he, "there are none of you." Counting +the people around the camp, and including in the number a mule that was +being shod, he made out 22. "So many," said he, showing the number, "and +we--we are a great many;" and he pointed to the hills and mountains round +about. "If you have your arms," said he, twanging his bow, "we have +these." I had some difficulty in restraining the people, particularly +Carson, who felt an insult of this kind as much as if it had been given by +a more responsible being. "Don't say that, old man," said he; "don't you +say that--your life's in danger"--speaking in good English; and probably +the old man was nearer to his end than he will be before he meets it. + +Several animals had been necessarily left behind near the camp last night; +and early in the morning, before me Indians made their appearance, several +men were sent to bring them in. When I was beginning to be uneasy at their +absence, they returned with information that they had been driven off from +the trail by Indians; and, having followed the tracks in a short distance, +they found the animals cut up and spread out upon bushes. In the evening I +gave a fatigued horse to some of the Indians for a feast; and the village +which carried him off refused to share with the others, who made loud +complaints from the rocks of the partial distribution. Many of these +Indians had long sticks, hooked at the end, which they use in hauling out +lizards, and other small animals, from their holes. During the day they +occasionally roasted and ate lizards at our fires. These belong to the +people who are generally known under the name of _Diggers_; and to +these I have more particularly had reference when occasionally speaking of +a people whose sole occupation is to procure food sufficient to support +existence. The formation here consists of fine yellow sandstone, +alternating with a coarse conglomerate, in which the stones are from the +size of ordinary gravel to six or eight inches in diameter. This is the +formation which renders the surface of the country so rocky, and gives us +now a road alternately of loose heavy sands and rolled stones, which +cripple the animals in a most extraordinary manner. + +On the following morning we left the _Rio de los Angeles_, and +continued our way through the same desolate and revolting country, where +lizards were the only animal, and the tracks of the lizard eaters the +principal sign of human beings. After twenty miles' march through a road +of hills and heavy sands, we reached the most dreary river I have ever +seen--a deep rapid stream, almost a torrent, passing swiftly by, and +roaring against obstructions. The banks were wooded with willow, acacia, +and a frequent plant of the country already mentioned, (_Garrya +elliptica_,) growing in thickets, resembling willow, and bearing a +small pink flower. Crossing it we encamped on the left bank, where we +found a very little grass. Our three remaining steers, being entirely +given out, were killed here. By the boiling point, the elevation of the +river here is 4,060 feet; and latitude, by observation, 36 deg.41' 33". The +stream was running towards the southwest, and appeared to come from a +snowy mountain in the north. It proved to be the _Rio Virgen_--a +tributary to the Colorado. Indians appeared in bands on the hills, but did +not come into camp. For several days we continued our journey up the +river, the bottoms of which were thickly overgrown with various kinds of +brush; and the sandy soil was absolutely covered with the tracks of +_Diggers_, who followed us stealthily, like a band of wolves; and we +had no opportunity to leave behind, even for a few hours, the tired +animals, in order that they might be brought into camp after a little +repose. A horse or mule, left behind, was taken off in a moment. On the +evening of the 8th, having traveled 28 miles up the river from our first +encampment on it, we encamped at a little grass-plat, where a spring of +cool water issued from the bluff. On the opposite side was a grove of +cottonwoods at the mouth of a fork, which here enters the river. On either +side the valley is bounded by ranges of mountains, everywhere high, rocky, +and broken. The caravan road was lost and scattered in the sandy country, +and we had been following an Indian trail up the river. The hunters the +next day were sent out to reconnoitre, and in the mean time we moved about +a mile farther up, where we found a good little patch of grass. There +being only sufficient grass for the night, the horses were sent with a +strong guard in charge of Tabeau to a neighboring hollow, where they might +pasture during the day; and, to be ready in case the Indians should make +any attempt on the animals, several of the best horses were picketed at +the camp. In a few hours the hunters returned, having found a convenient +ford in the river, and discovered the Spanish trail on the other side. + +I had been engaged in arranging plants; and, fatigued with the heat of the +day, I fell asleep in the afternoon, and did not awake until sundown. +Presently Carson came to me, and reported that Tabeau, who early in the +day had left his post, and, without my knowledge, rode back to the camp we +had left, in search of a lame mule, had not returned. While we were +speaking, a smoke rose suddenly from the cottonwood grove below, which +plainly told us what had befallen him; it was raised to inform the +surrounding Indians that a blow had been struck, and to tell them to be on +their guard. Carson, with several men well mounted, was instantly sent +down the river, but returned in the night without tidings of the missing +man. They went to the camp we had left, but neither he nor the mule was +there. Searching down the river, they found the tracks of the mule, +evidently driven along by Indians, whose tracks were on each side of those +made by the animal. After going several miles, they came to the mule +itself, standing in some bushes, mortally wounded in the side by an arrow, +and left to die, that it might be afterwards butchered for food. They also +found, in another place, as they were hunting about on the ground for +Tabeau's tracks, something that looked like a little puddle of blood, but +which the darkness prevented them from verifying. With these details they +returned to our camp, and their report saddened all our hearts. + +10th.--This morning, as soon as there was light enough to follow tracks, I +set out myself, with Mr. Fitzpatrick and several men, in search of Tabeau. +We went to the spot where the appearance of puddled blood had been seen; +and this, we saw at once, had been the place where he fell and died. Blood +upon the leaves, and beaten-down bushes, showed that he had got his wound +about twenty paces from where he fell, and that he had struggled for his +life. He had probably been shot through the lungs with an arrow. From the +place where he lay and bled, it could be seen that he had been dragged to +the river bank, and thrown into it. No vestige of what had belonged to him +could be found, except a fragment of his horse equipment. Horse, gun, +clothes--all became the prey of these Arabs of the New World. + +Tabeau had been one of our best men, and his unhappy death spread a gloom +over our party. Men, who have gone through such dangers and sufferings as +we had seen, become like brothers, and feel each other's loss. To defend +and avenge each other, is the deep feeling of all. We wished to avenge his +death; but the condition of our horses, languishing for grass and repose, +forbade an expedition into unknown mountains. We knew the tribe who had +done the mischief--the same which had been insulting our camp. They knew +what they deserved, and had the discretion to show themselves to us no +more. The day before, they infested our camp; now, not one appeared; nor +did we ever afterwards see but one who even belonged to the same tribe, +and he at a distance. + +Our camp was in a basin below a deep canon--a gap of two thousand feet +deep in the mountain--through which the _Rio Virgen_ passes, and +where no man or beast could follow it. The Spanish trail, which we had +lost in the sands of the basin, was on the opposite side of the river. We +crossed over to it, and followed it northwardly towards a gap which was +visible in the mountain. We approached it by a defile, rendered difficult +for our barefooted animals by the rocks strewed along it; and here the +country changed its character. From the time we entered the desert, the +mountains had been bald and rocky; here they began to be wooded with cedar +and pine, and clusters of trees gave shelter to birds--a new and welcome +sight--which could not have lived in the desert we had passed. + +Descending a long hollow, towards the narrow valley of a stream, we saw +before us a snowy mountain, far beyond which appeared another more lofty +still. Good bunch-grass began to appear on the hill-sides, and here we +found a singular variety of interesting shrubs. The changed appearance of +the country infused among our people a more lively spirit, which was +heightened by finding at evening a halting-place of very good grass on the +clear waters of the _Santa Clara_ fork of the _Rio Virgen_. + +11th.--The morning was cloudy and quite cool, with a shower of rain--the +first we have had since entering the desert, a period of 27 days--and we +seem to have entered a different climate, with the usual weather of the +Rocky mountains. Our march to-day was very laborious, over very broken +ground, along the Santa Clara river; but then the country is no longer so +distressingly desolate. The stream is prettily wooded with sweet +cottonwood trees--some of them of large size; and on the hills, where the +nut-pine is often seen, a good and wholesome grass occurs frequently. This +cottonwood, which is now in fruit, is of a different species from any in +Michaux's Sylva. Heavy dark clouds covered the sky in the evening and a +cold wind sprang up, making fires and overcoats comfortable. + +12th.--A little above our encampment the river forked, and we continued up +the right-hand branch, gradually ascending towards the summit of the +mountain. As we rose towards the head of the creek, the snowy mountains on +our right showed out handsomely--high and rugged, with precipices, and +covered with snow for about two thousand feet from their summits down. Our +animals were somewhat repaid for their hard marches by an excellent +camping-ground on the summit of the ridge, which forms here the dividing +chain between the waters of the _Rio Virgen_, which goes south to the +Colorado, and those of Sevier river, flowing northwardly, and belonging to +the Great Basin. We considered ourselves as crossing the rim of the basin; +and, entering it at this point, we found here an extensive mountain +meadow, rich in bunch-grass, and fresh with numerous springs of clear +water, all refreshing and delightful to look upon. It was, in fact, that +_las Vegas de Santa Clara_, which had been so long presented to us as +the terminating point of the desert, and where the annual caravan from +California to New Mexico halted and recruited for some weeks. It was a +very suitable place to recover from the fatigue and exhaustion of a +month's suffering in the hot and sterile desert. The meadow was about a +mile wide, some ten miles long, bordered by grassy hills and mountains-- +some of the latter rising two thousand feet, and white with snow down to +the level of the _vegas_. Its elevation above the sea was 5,280 feet; +latitude, by observation, 37 deg. 28' 28", and its distance from where we +first struck the Spanish trail about 400 miles. Counting from the time we +reached the desert, and began to skirt, at our descent from Walker's Pass +in the Sierra Nevada, we had traveled 550 miles, occupying 27 days, in +that inhospitable region. In passing before the Great Caravan, we had the +advantage of finding more grass, but the disadvantage of finding also the +marauding savages, who had gathered down upon the trail, waiting the +approach of that prey. This greatly increased our labors, besides costing +us the life of an excellent man. We had to move all day in a state of +watch, and prepared for combat--scouts and flankers out, a front and rear +division of our men, and baggage-animals in the centre. At night, camp +duty was severe. Those who had toiled all day, had to guard, by turns, the +camp and the horses, all night. Frequently one-third of the whole party +were on guard at once; and nothing but this vigilance saved us from +attack. We were constantly dogged by bands, and even whole tribes of +marauders; and although Tabeau was killed, and our camp infested and +insulted by some, while swarms of them remained on the hills and mountain- +sides, there was manifestly a consultation and calculation going on, to +decide the question of attacking us. Having reached the resting-place of +the _Vegas de Santa Clara_, we had complete relief from the heat and +privations of the desert, and some relaxation from the severity of camp +duty. Some relaxation, and relaxation only--for camp-guards, horse-guards, +and scouts, are indispensable from the time of leaving the frontiers of +Missouri until we return to them. + +After we left the _Vegas_, we had the gratification to be joined by +the famous hunter and trapper, Mr. Joseph Walker, whom I have before +mentioned, and who now became our guide. He had left California with the +great caravan; and perceiving, from the signs along the trail, that there +was a party of whites ahead, which he judged to be mine, he detached +himself from the caravan, with eight men, (Americans,) and ran the +gauntlet of the desert robbers, killing two, and getting some of the +horses wounded, and succeeded in overtaking us. Nothing but his great +knowledge of the country, great courage and presence of mind, and good +rifles, could have brought him safe from such a perilous enterprise. + +13th.--We remained one day at this noted place of rest and refreshment; +and, resuming our progress in a northwestwardly direction, we descended +into a broad valley, the water of which is tributary to Sevier lake. The +next day we came in sight of the Wahsatch range of mountains on the right, +white with snow, and here forming the southeast part of the Great Basin. +Sevier lake, upon the waters of which we now were, belonged to the system +of lakes in the eastern part of the Basin--of which, the Great Salt lake, +and its southern limb, the Utah lake, were the principal--towards the +region of which we were now approaching. We traveled for several days in +this direction, within the rim of the Great Basin, crossing little streams +which bore to the left for Sevier lake; and plainly seeing, by the changed +aspect of the country, that we were entirely clear of the desert, and +approaching the regions which appertained to the system of the Rocky +mountains. We met, in this traverse, a few mounted Utah Indians, in +advance of their main body, watching the approach of the great caravan. + +16th.--We reached a small salt lake, about seven miles long and one broad, +at the northern extremity of which we encamped for the night. This little +lake, which well merits its characteristic name, lies immediately at the +base of the Wah-satch range, and nearly opposite a gap in that chain of +mountains through which the Spanish trail passes; and which, again falling +upon the waters of the Colorado, and crossing that river, proceeds over a +mountainous country to Santa Fe. + +17th.--After 440 miles of traveling on a trail, which served for a road, +we again found ourselves under the necessity of exploring a track through +the wilderness. The Spanish trail had borne off to the southeast, crossing +the Wah-satch range. Our course led to the northeast, along the foot of +that range, and leaving it on the right. The mountain presented itself to +us under the form of several ridges, rising one above the other, rocky, +and wooded with pine and cedar; the last ridge covered with snow. Sevier +river, flowing northwardly to the lake of the same name, collects its +principal waters from this section of the Wah-satch chain. We had now +entered a region of great pastoral promise, abounding with fine streams, +the rich bunch-grass, soil that would produce wheat, and indigenous flax +growing as if it had been sown. Consistent with the general character of +its bordering mountains, this fertility of soil and vegetation does not +extend far into the Great Basin. Mr. Joseph Walker, our guide, and who has +more knowledge of these parts than any man I know, informed me that all +the country to the left was unknown to him, and that even the +_Digger_ tribes, which frequented Lake Sevier, could tell him nothing +about it. + +20th.--We met a band of Utah Indians, headed by a well-known chief, who +had obtained the American or English name of Walker, by which he is quoted +and well known. They were all mounted, armed with rifles, and used their +rifles well. The chief had a fusee, which he carried slung, in addition to +his rifle. They were journeying slowly towards the Spanish trail, to levy +their usual tribute upon the great California caravan. They were robbers +of a higher order than those of the desert. They conducted their +depredations with form, and under the color of trade and toll, for passing +through their country. Instead of attacking and killing, they affect to +purchase--taking the horses they like, and giving something nominal in +return. The chief was quite civil to me. He was personally acquainted with +his namesake, our guide, who made my name known to him. He knew of my +expedition of 1842; and, as tokens of friendship, and proof that we had +met, proposed an interchange of presents. We had no great store to choose +out of; so he gave me a Mexican blanket, and I gave him a very fine one +which I had obtained at Vancouver. + +23d.--We reached Sevier river--the main tributary of the lake of the same +name--which, deflecting from its northern course, here breaks from the +mountains to enter the lake. It was really a fine river, from eight to +twelve feet deep; and after searching in vain for a fordable place, we +made little boats (or rather rafts) out of bulrushes, and ferried across. +These rafts are readily made, and give a good conveyance across a river. +The rushes are bound in bundles, and tied hard; the bundles are tied down +upon poles, as close as they can be pressed, and fashioned like a boat, in +being broader in the middle and pointed at the ends. The rushes, being +tubular and jointed, are light and strong. The raft swims well, and is +shoved along by poles, or paddled, or pushed and pulled by swimmers, or +drawn by ropes. On this occasion, we used ropes--one at each end--and +rapidly drew our little float backwards and forwards from shore to shore. +The horses swam. At our place of crossing, which was the most northern +point of its bend, the latitude was 39 deg. 22' 19". The banks sustained the +character for fertility and vegetation which we had seen for some days. +The name of this river and lake was an indication of our approach to +regions of which our people had been the explorers. It was probably named +after some American trapper or hunter, and was the first American name we +had met with since leaving the Columbia river. From the Dalles to the +point where we turned across the Sierra Nevada, near 1,000 miles, we heard +Indian names, and the greater part of the distance none; from Nueva +Helvetia (Sacramento) to _las Vegas de Santa Clara_, about 1,000 +more, all were Spanish; from the Mississippi to the Pacific, French and +American or English were intermixed; and this prevalence of names +indicates the national character of the first explorers. + +We had here the misfortune to lose one of our people, Francois Badeau, who +had been with me on both expeditions; during which he had always been one +of my most faithful and efficient men. He was killed in drawing towards +him a gun by the muzzle; the hammer being caught, discharged the gun, +driving the ball through his head. We buried him on the banks of the +river. + +Crossing the next day a slight ridge along the river, we entered a +handsome mountain valley covered with fine grass, and directed our course +towards a high snowy peak, at the foot of which lay the Utah lake. On our +right was a bed of high mountains, their summits covered with snow, +constituting the dividing ridge between the Basin waters and those of the +Colorado. At noon we fell in with a party of Utah Indians coming out of +the mountain, and in the afternoon encamped on a tributary to the lake, +which is separated from the waters of the Sevier by very slight dividing +grounds. + +Early the next day we came in sight of the lake; and, as we descended to +the broad bottoms of the Spanish fork, three horsemen were seen galloping +towards us, who proved to be Utah Indians--scouts from a village, which +was encamped near the mouth of the river. They were armed with rifles, and +their horses were in good condition. We encamped near them, on the Spanish +fork, which is one of the principal tributaries to the lake. Finding the +Indians troublesome, and desirous to remain here a day, we removed the +next morning farther down the lake and encamped on a fertile bottom near +the foot of the same mountainous ridge which borders the Great Salt lake, +and along which we had journeyed the previous September. Here the +principal plants in bloom were two, which were remarkable as affording to +the Snake Indians--the one an abundant supply of food, and the other the +most useful among the applications which they use for wounds. These were +the kooyah plant, growing in fields of extraordinary luxuriance, and +_convollaria stellata_, which, from the experience of Mr. Walker, is +the best remedial plant known among these Indians. A few miles below us +was another village of Indians, from which we obtained some fish--among +them a few salmon trout, which were very much inferior in size to those +along the Californian mountains. The season for taking them had not yet +arrived; but the Indians were daily expecting them to come up out of the +lake. + +We had now accomplished an object we had in view when leaving the Dalles +of the Columbia in November last: we had reached the Utah lake; but by a +route very different from the one we had intended, and without sufficient +time remaining to make the examinations which we desired. It is a lake of +note in this country, under the dominion of the Utahs, who resort to it +for fish. Its greatest breadth is about fifteen miles, stretching far to +the north, narrowing as it goes, and connecting with the Great Salt lake. +This is the report, which I believe to be correct; but it is fresh water, +while the other is not only salt, but a saturated solution of salt; and +here is a problem which requires to be solved. It is almost entirely +surrounded by mountains, walled on the north and east by a high and snowy +range, which supplies to it a fan of tributary streams. Among these, the +principal river is the _Timpan-ogo_--signifying Rock river--a name +which the rocky grandeur of its scenery, remarkable even in this country +of rugged mountains, has obtained for it from the Indians. In the Utah +language, _og-wah-be_, the term for river, when coupled with other +words in common conversation, is usually abbreviated to _ogo; timpan_ +signifying rock. It is probable that this river furnished the name which +on the older maps has been generally applied to the Great Salt lake; but +for this I have preferred a name which will be regarded as highly +characteristic, restricting to the river the descriptive term Timpan-ogo, +and leaving for the lake into which it flows the name of the people who +reside on its shores, and by which it is known throughout the country. + +The volume of water afforded by the Timpan-ogo is probably equal to that +of the Sevier river; and, at the time of our visit, there was only one +place in the lake-valley at which the Spanish fork was fordable. In the +cove of the mountains along its eastern shore, the lake is bordered by a +plain, where the soil is generally good, and in greater part fertile; +watered by a delta of prettily timbered streams. This would be an +excellent locality for stock-farms; it is generally covered with good +bunch-grass, and would abundantly produce the ordinary grains. + +In arriving at the Utah lake, we had completed an immense circuit of +twelve degrees diameter north and south, and ten degrees east and west; +and found ourselves, in May, 1844, on the same sheet of water which we had +left in September, 1843. The Utah is the southern limb of the Great Salt +lake; and thus we had seen that remarkable sheet of water both at its +northern and southern extremity, and were able to fix its position at +these two points. The circuit which we had made, and which had cost us +eight months of time, and 3,500 miles of traveling, had given us a view of +Oregon and of North California from the Rocky mountains to the Pacific +ocean, and of the two principal streams which form bays or harbors on the +coast of that sea. Having completed this circuit, and being now about to +turn the back upon the Pacific slope of our continent, and to recross the +Rocky mountains, it is natural to look back upon our footsteps, and take +some brief view of the leading features and general structure of the +country we had traversed. These are peculiar and striking, and differ +essentially from the Atlantic side of the country. The mountains all are +higher, more numerous, and more distinctly defined in their ranges and +directions; and, what is so contrary to the natural order of formations, +one of these ranges, which is near the coast, (the Sierra Nevada and the +Coast Range,) presents higher elevations and peaks than any which are to +be found in the Rocky mountains themselves. In our eight months' circuit, +we were never out of sight of snow; and the Sierra Nevada, where we +crossed it, was near 2,000 feet higher than the South Pass in the Rocky +mountains. In height, these mountains greatly exceed those of the Atlantic +side, constantly presenting peaks which enter the region of eternal snow; +and some of them volcanic, and in a frequent state of activity. They are +seen at great distances, and guide the traveler in his course. + +The course and elevation of these ranges give direction to the rivers and +character to the coast. No great river does, or can, take its rise below +the Cascade and Sierra Nevada range; the distance to the sea is too short +to admit of it. The rivers of the San Francisco bay, which are the largest +after the Columbia, are local to that bay, and lateral to the coast, +having their sources about on a line with the Dalles of the Columbia, and +running each in a valley of its own, between the Coast range and the +Cascade and Sierra Nevada range. The Columbia is the only river which +traverses the whole breadth of the country, breaking through all the +ranges, and entering the sea. Drawing its waters from a section of ten +degrees of latitude in the Rocky mountains, which are collected into one +stream by three main forks (Lewis's, Clark's, and the North fork) near the +centre of the Oregon valley, this great river thence proceeds by a single +channel to the sea, while its three forks lead each to a pass in the +mountains, which opens the way into the interior of the continent. This +fact in relation to the rivers of this region, gives an immense value to +the Columbia. Its mouth is the only inlet and outlet to and from the sea: +its three forks lead to the passes in the mountains: it is, therefore, the +only line of communication between the Pacific and the interior of North +America; and all operations of war or commerce, of national or social +intercourse, must be conducted upon it. This gives it a value beyond +estimation, and would involve irreparable injury if lost. In this unity +and concentration of its waters, the Pacific side of our continent differs +entirely from the Atlantic side, where the waters of the Alleghany +mountains are dispersed into many rivers, having their different entrances +into the sea, and opening many lines of communication with the interior. + +The Pacific coast is equally different from that of the Atlantic. The +coast of the Atlantic is low and open, indented with numerous bays, +sounds, and river estuaries, accessible everywhere, and opening by many +channels into the heart of the country. The Pacific coast, on the +contrary, is high and compact, with few bays, and but one that opens into +the heart of the country. The immediate coast is what the seamen call +_iron-bound_. A little within, it is skirted by two successive ranges +of mountains, standing as ramparts between the sea and the interior of the +country; and to get through which there is but one gate, and that narrow +and easily defended. This structure of the coast, backed by these two +ranges of mountains, with its concentration and unity of waters, gives to +the country an immense military strength, and will probably render Oregon +the most impregnable country in the world. + +Differing so much from the Atlantic side of our continent, in coast, +mountains, and rivers, the Pacific side differs from it in another most +rare and singular feature--that of the Great Interior Basin, of which I +have so often spoken, and the whole form and character of which I was so +anxious to ascertain. Its existence is vouched for by such of the American +traders and hunters as have some knowledge of that region; the structure +of the Sierra Nevada range of mountains requires it to be there; and my +own observations confirm it. Mr. Joseph Walker, who is so well acquainted +in these parts, informed me that, from the Great Salt lake west, there was +a succession of lakes and rivers which have no outlet to the sea, nor any +connection with the Columbia, or with the Colorado of the Gulf of +California. He described some of these lakes as being large, with numerous +streams, and even considerable rivers falling into them. In fact, all +concur in the general report of these interior rivers and lakes; and, for +want of understanding the force and power of evaporation, which so soon +establishes an equilibrium between the loss and supply of waters, the +fable of whirlpools and subterraneous outlets has gained belief, as the +only imaginable way of carrying off the waters which have no visible +discharge. The structure of the country would require this formation of +interior lakes; for the waters which would collect between the Rocky +mountains and the Sierra Nevada, not being able to cross this formidable +barrier, nor to get to the Columbia or the Colorado, must naturally +collect into reservoirs, each of which would have its little system of +streams and rivers to supply it. This would be the natural effect; and +what I saw went to confirm it. The Great Salt lake is a formation of this +kind, and quite a large one; and having many streams, and one considerable +river, 400 or 500 miles long, falling into it. This lake and river I saw +and examined myself; and also saw the Wah-satch and Bear River mountains, +which enclose the waters of the lake on the east, and constitute, in that +quarter, the rim of the Great Basin. Afterwards, along the eastern base of +the Sierra Nevada, where we traveled for 42 days, I saw the line of lakes +and rivers which lie at the foot of that Sierra; and which Sierra is the +western rim of the Basin. In going down Lewis's fork and the main +Columbia, I crossed only inferior streams coming in from the left, such as +could draw their water from a short distance only; and I often saw the +mountains at their heads white with snow,--which, all accounts said, +divided the waters of the _desert_ from those of the Columbia, and +which could be no other than the range of mountains which form the rim of +the Basin on its northern side. And in returning from California along the +Spanish trail, as far as the head of the Santa Clara fork of the Rio +Virgen, I crossed only small streams making their way south to the +Colorado, or lost in sand, (as the Mo-hah-ve;) while to the left, lofty +mountains, their summits white with snow, were often visible, and which +must have turned water to the north as well as to the south, and thus +constituted, on this part, the southern rim of the Basin. At the head of +the Santa Clara fork, and in the Vegas de Santa Clara, we crossed the +ridge which parted the two systems of waters. We entered the Basin at that +point, and have traveled in it ever since; having its southeastern rim +(the Wah-satch mountain) on the right, and crossing the streams which flow +down into it. The existence of the Basin is, therefore, an established +fact in my mind: its extent and contents are yet to be better ascertained. +It cannot be less than 400 or 500 miles each way, and must lie principally +in the Alta California; the demarcation latitude of 42 deg. probably cutting a +segment from the north part of the rim. Of its interior, but little is +known. It is called a _desert_, and, from what I saw of it, sterility +may be its prominent characteristic; but where there is so much water, +there must be some _oasis_. The great river, and the great lake, +reported, may not be equal to the report; but where there is so much snow, +there must be streams; and where there is no outlet, there must be lakes +to hold the accumulated waters, or sands to swallow them up. In this +eastern part of the Basin, containing Sevier, Utah, and the Great Salt +lakes, and the rivers and creeks falling into them, we know there is good +soil and good grass, adapted to civilized settlements. In the western +part, on Salmon Trout river, and some other streams, the same remark may +be made. + +The contents of this great Basin are yet to be examined. That it is +peopled, we know; but miserably and sparsely. From all that I heard and +saw, I should say that humanity here appeared in its lowest form, and in +its most elementary state. Dispersed in single families; without fire- +arms; eating seeds and insects; digging roots, (and hence their name,)-- +such is the condition of the greater part. Others are a degree higher, and +live in communities upon some lake or river that supplies fish, and from +which they repulse the miserable _Digger_. The rabbit is the largest +animal known in this desert; its flesh affords a little meat; and their +bag-like covering is made of its skins. The wild sage is their only wood, +and here it is of extraordinary size--sometimes a foot in diameter, and +six or eight feet high. It serves for fuel, for building material, for +shelter to the rabbits, and for some sort of covering for the feet and +legs in cold weather. Such are the accounts of the inhabitants and +productions of the Great Basin; and which, though imperfect, must have +some foundation, and excite our desire to know the whole. + +The whole idea of such a desert, and such a people, is a novelty in our +country, and excites Asiatic, not American ideas. Interior basins, with +their own systems of lakes and rivers, and often sterile, are common +enough in Asia; people still in the elementary state of families, living +in deserts, with no other occupation than the mere animal search for food, +may still be seen in that ancient quarter of the globe; but in America +such things are new and strange, unknown and unsuspected, and discredited +when related. But I flatter myself that what is discovered, though not +enough to satisfy curiosity, is sufficient to excite it, and that +subsequent explorations will complete what has been commenced. + +This account of the Great Basin, it will be remembered, belongs to the +Alta California, and has no application to Oregon, whose capabilities may +justify a separate remark. Referring to my journal for particular +descriptions, and for sectional boundaries between good and bad districts, +I can only say, in general and comparative terms, that, in that branch of +agriculture which implies the cultivation of grains and staple crops, it +would be inferior to the Atlantic States, though many parts are superior +for wheat; while in the rearing of flocks and herds it would claim a high +place. Its grazing capabilities are great; and even in the indigenous +grass now there, an element of individual and national wealth may be +found. In fact, the valuable grasses begin within one hundred and fifty +miles of the Missouri frontier, and extend to the Pacific ocean. East of +the Rocky mountains, it is the short curly grass, on which the buffalo +delights to feed, (whence its name of buffalo,) and which is still good +when dry and apparently dead. West of those mountains it is a larger +growth, in clusters, and hence called bunch-grass, and which has a second +or fall growth. Plains and mountains both exhibit them; and I have seen +good pasturage at an elevation of ten thousand feet. In this spontaneous +product the trading or traveling caravans can find subsistence for their +animals; and in military operations any number of cavalry may be moved, +and any number of cattle may be driven; and thus men and horses be +supported on long expeditions, and even in winter, in the sheltered +situations. + +Commercially, the value of the Oregon country must be great, washed as it +is by the North Pacific ocean--fronting Asia--producing many of the +elements of commerce--mild and healthy in its climate--and becoming, as it +naturally will, a thoroughfare for the East India and China trade. + +Turning our faces once more eastward, on the morning of the 27th we left +the Utah lake, and continued for two days to ascend the Spanish fork, +which is dispersed in numerous branches among very rugged mountains, which +afford few passes, and render a familiar acquaintance with them necessary +to the traveler. The stream can scarcely be said to have a valley, the +mountains rising often abruptly from the water's edge; but a good trail +facilitated our traveling, and there were frequent bottoms, covered with +excellent grass. The streams are prettily and variously wooded; and +everywhere the mountain shows grass and timber. + +At our encampment on the evening of the 28th, near the head of one of the +branches we had ascended, strata of bituminous limestone were displayed in +an escarpment on the river bluffs, in which were contained a variety of +fossil shells of new species. + +It will be remembered, that in crossing this ridge about 120 miles to the +northward in August last, strata of fossiliferous rock were discovered, +which have been referred to the oolitic period; it is probable that these +rocks also belong to the same formation. + +A few miles from this encampment we reached the bed of the stream, and +crossing, by an open and easy pass, the dividing ridge which separates the +waters of the Great Basin from those of the Colorado, we reached the head +branches of one of its larger tributaries, which, from the decided color +of its waters, has received the name of White river. The snows of the +mountains were now beginning to melt, and all the little rivulets were +running by in rivers, and rapidly becoming difficult to ford. Continuing a +few miles up a branch of White river, we crossed a dividing ridge between +its waters and those of _Uintah_. The approach to the pass, which is +the best known to Mr. Walker, was somewhat difficult for packs, and +impracticable for wagons--all the streams being shut in by narrow ravines, +and the narrow trail along the steep hill-sides allowing the passage of +only one animal at a time. From the summit we had a fine view of the snowy +Bear River range, and there were still remaining beds of snow on the cold +sides of the hills near the pass. We descended by a narrow ravine, in +which was rapidly gathered a little branch of the Uintah, and halted to +noon about 1,500 feet below the pass, at an elevation, by the boiling +point, of 6,900 feet above the sea. + +The next day we descended along the river, and about noon reached a point +where three forks come together. Fording one of these with some +difficulty, we continued up the middle branch, which, from the color of +its waters, is named the Red river. The few passes, and extremely rugged +nature of the country, give to it great strength, and secure the Utahs +from the intrusion of their enemies. Crossing in the afternoon a somewhat +broken highland, covered in places with fine grasses, and with cedar on +the hill-sides, we encamped at evening on another tributary to the +_Uintah_, called the _Duchesne_ fork. The water was very clear, +the stream not being yet swollen by the melting snows, and we forded it +without any difficulty. It is a considerable branch, being spread out by +islands, the largest arm being about a hundred feet wide, and the name it +bears is probably that of some old French trapper. + +The next day we continued down the river, which we were twice obliged to +cross; and, the water having risen during the night, it was almost +everywhere too deep to be forded. After traveling about sixteen miles, we +encamped again on the left bank. + +I obtained here an occultation of _Scorpii_ at the dark limb of the +moon, which gives for the longitude of the place 112 deg. 18' 30", and the +latitude 40 deg. 18' 53". + + +JUNE. + +1st.--We left to-day the Duchesne fork, and, after traversing a broken +country for about sixteen miles, arrived at noon at another considerable +branch, a river of great velocity, to which the trappers have improperly +given the name of Lake fork. The name applied to it by the Indians +signifies great swiftness, and is the same which they use to express the +speed of a racehorse. It is spread out in various channels over several +hundred yards, and is everywhere too deep and swift to be forded. At this +season of the year, there is an uninterrupted noise from the large rocks +which are rolled along the bed. After infinite difficulty, and the delay +of a day, we succeeded in getting the stream bridged, and got over with +the loss of one of our animals. Continuing our route across a broken +country, of which the higher parts were rocky and timbered with cedar, and +the lower parts covered with good grass, we reached, on the afternoon of +the 3d, the Uintah fort, a trading-post belonging to Mr. A. Roubideau, on +the principal fork of the Uintah river. We found the stream nearly as +rapid and difficult as the Lake fork, divided into several channels, which +were too broad to be bridged. With the aid of guides from the fort, we +succeeded, with very great difficulty, in fording it, and encamped near +the fort, which is situated a short distance above the junction of two +branches which make the river. + +By an immersion of the first satellite, (agreeing well with the result of +the occultation observed at the Duchesne fork,) the longitude of the post +is 109 deg. 56' 42", the latitude 40 deg. 27' 45". + +It has a motley garrison of Canadian and Spanish _engages_ and +hunters, with the usual number of Indian women. We obtained a small supply +of sugar and coffee, with some dried meat and a cow, which was a very +acceptable change from the _pinoli_ on which we had subsisted for +some weeks past. I strengthened my party at this place by the addition of +Auguste Archambeau, an excellent voyageur and hunter, belonging to the +class of Carson and Godey. + +On the morning of the 5th we left the fort [Footnote: This fort was +attacked and taken by a band of the Utah Indians since we passed it, and +the men of the garrison killed--the women carried off. Mr. Roubideau, a +trader of St. Louis, was absent, and so escaped the fate of the rest.] and +the Uintah river, and continued our road over a broken country, which +afforded, however, a rich addition to our botanical collection; and, after +a march of 25 miles, were again checked by another stream, called Ashley's +fork, where we were detained until noon of the next day. + +An immersion of the second satellite gave for this place a longitude of +109 deg. 27' 07", the latitude, by observation, being 40 deg. 28' 07". + +In the afternoon of the next day we succeeded in finding a ford; and, +after traveling 15 miles, encamped high up on the mountain-side, where we +found excellent and abundant grass, which we had not hitherto seen. A new +species of _elymus_, which had a purgative and weakening effect upon +the animals, had occurred abundantly since leaving the fort. From this +point, by observation 7,300 feet above the sea, we had a view of Colorado +below, shut up amongst rugged mountains, and which is the recipient of all +the streams we had been crossing since we passed the rim of the Great +Basin at the head of the Spanish fork. + +On the 7th we had a pleasant but long day's journey, through beautiful +little valleys and a high mountain country, arriving about evening at the +verge of a steep and rocky ravine, by which we descended to "_Brown's +hole_." This is a place well known to trappers in the country, where +the canons through which the Colorado runs expand into a narrow but pretty +valley, about 16 miles in length. The river was several hundred yards in +breadth, swollen to the top of its banks, near to which it was in many +places 15 to 20 feet deep. We repaired a skin-boat which had been +purchased at the fort, and, after a delay of a day, reached the opposite +banks with much less delay than had been encountered on the Uintah waters. +According to information, the lower end of the valley is the most eastern +part of the Colorado; and the latitude of our encampment, which was +opposite to the remains of an old fort on the left bank of the river, was +40 deg. 46' 27", and, by observation, the elevation above the sea 5,150 feet. +The bearing to the entrance of the canon below was south 20 deg. east. Here +the river enters between lofty precipices of red rock, and the country +below is said to assume a very rugged character, the river and its +affluents passing through canons which forbid all access to the water. +This sheltered little valley was formerly a favorite wintering ground for +the trappers, as it afforded them sufficient pasturage for their animals, +and the surrounding mountains are well stocked with game. + +We surprised a flock of mountain sheep as we descended to the river, and +our hunters killed several. The bottoms of a small stream called Vermilion +creek, which enters the left bank of the river a short distance below our +encampment, were covered abundantly with _F. vermicularis_, and other +chenopodiaceous shrubs. From the lower end of Brown's hole we issued by a +remarkably dry canon, fifty or sixty yards wide, and rising, as we +advanced, to the height of six or eight hundred feet. Issuing from this, +and crossing a small green valley, we entered another rent of the same +nature, still narrower than the other, the rocks on either side rising in +nearly vertical precipices perhaps 1,500 feet in height. These places are +mentioned, to give some idea of the country lower down on the Colorado, to +which the trappers usually apply the name of a canon country. The canon +opened upon a pond of water, where we halted to noon. Several flocks of +mountain sheep were here among the rocks, which rung with volleys of +small-arms. In the afternoon we entered upon an ugly, barren, and broken +country, corresponding well with that we had traversed a few degrees +north, on the same side of the Colorado. The Vermilion creek afforded us +brackish water and indifferent grass for the night. + +A few scattered cedar-trees were the only improvement of the country on +the following day; and at a little spring of bad water, where we halted at +noon, we had not even the shelter of these from the hot rays of the sun. +At night we encamped in a fine grove of cottonwood-trees, on the banks of +the Elk Head river, the principal fork of the Yampah river, commonly +called by the trappers the Bear river. We made here a very strong fort, +and formed the camp into vigilant guards. The country we were now entering +was constantly infested by war parties of the Sioux and other Indians, and +is among the most dangerous war-grounds in the Rocky mountains; parties of +whites having been repeatedly defeated on this river. + +On the 11th we continued up the river, which is a considerable stream, +fifty to a hundred yards in width, handsomely and continuously wooded with +groves of the narrow-leaved cottonwood, _populus angustifolia_; with +these were thickets of willow, and _grain du boeuf_. The +characteristic plant along the river is _F. vermicularis_, which +generally covers the bottoms; mingled with this are saline shrubs and +artemisia. The new variety of grass which we had seen on leaving the +Uintah fort had now disappeared. The country on either side was sandy and +poor, scantily wooded with cedars, but the river bottoms afforded good +pasture. Three antelopes were killed in the afternoon, and we encamped a +little below a branch of the river, called St. Vrain's fork. A few miles +above was the fort at which Frapp's party had been defeated two years +since; and we passed during the day a place where Carson had been fired +upon so close that one of the men had five bullets through his body. +Leaving this river the next morning, we took our way across the hills, +where every hollow had a spring of running water with good grass. + +Yesterday and to-day we had before our eyes the high mountains which +divide the Pacific from the Mississippi waters; and entering here among +the lower spurs or foot-hills of the range, the face of the country began +to improve with a magical rapidity. Not only the river bottoms, but the +hills were covered with grass; and among the usual varied flora of the +mountain region, these were occasionally blue with the showy bloom of a +_lupinus_. In the course of the morning we had the first glad view of +buffalo, and welcomed the appearance of two old bulls with as much joy as +if they had been messengers from home; and when we descended to noon on +St. Vrain's fork, an affluent of Green river, the hunters brought in +mountain sheep and the meat of two fat bulls. Fresh entrails in the river +showed us that there were Indians above, and at evening, judging it unsafe +to encamp in the bottoms, which were wooded only with willow thickets, we +ascended to the spurs above, and forted strongly in a small aspen grove, +near to which was a spring of cold water. The hunters killed two fine cows +near the camp. A band of elk broke out of a neighboring grove; antelopes +were running over the hills; and on the opposite river-plains herds of +buffalo were raising clouds of dust. The country here appeared more +variously stocked with game than any part of the Rocky mountains we had +visited; and its abundance is owing to the excellent pasturage, and its +dangerous character as a war-ground. + +13th.--There was snow here near our mountain camp, and the morning was +beautiful and cool. Leaving St. Vrain's fork, we took our way directly +towards the summit of the dividing ridge. The bottoms of the streams and +level places were wooded with aspens; and as we neared the summit, we +entered again the piny region. We had a delightful morning's ride, the +ground affording us an excellent bridle-path, and reached the summit +towards mid-day, at an elevation of 8,000 feet. With joy and exultation we +saw ourselves once more on the top of the Rocky mountains, and beheld a +little stream taking its course towards the rising sun. It was an affluent +of the Platte, called Pullam's fork, and we descended to noon upon it. It +is a pretty stream, twenty yards broad, and bears the name of a trapper +who, some years since, was killed here by the _Gros Ventre_ Indians. + +Issuing from the pines in the afternoon we saw spread out before us the +valley of the Platte, with the pass of the Medicine Butte beyond, and some +of the Sweet Water mountains; but a smoky haziness in the air entirely +obscured the Wind River chain. + +We were now about two degrees south of the South Pass, and our course home +would have been eastwardly; but that would have taken us over ground +already examined, and therefore without the interest that would excite +curiosity. Southwardly there were objects worthy to be explored, to wit: +the approximation of the head-waters of three different rivers--the +Platte, the Arkansas, and the Grand River fork of the Rio Colorado of the +Gulf of California; the passages at the heads of these rivers; and the +three remarkable mountain coves, called Parks, in which they took their +rise. One of these Parks was, of course, on the western side of the +dividing ridge; and a visit to it would once more require us to cross the +summit of the Rocky mountains to the west, and then to recross to the +east, making in all, with the transit we had just accomplished, three +crossings of that mountain in this section of its course. But no matter. +The coves, the heads of the rivers, the approximation of their waters, the +practicability of the mountain passes, and the locality of the three +Parks, were all objects of interest, and, although well known to hunters +and trappers, were unknown to science and to history. We therefore changed +our course, and turned up the valley of the Platte instead of going down +it. + +We crossed several small affluents, and again made a fortified camp in a +grove. The country had now became very beautiful--rich in water, grass, +and game; and to these were added the charm of scenery and pleasant +weather. + +14th.--Our route this morning lay along the foot of the mountain, over the +long low spurs which sloped gradually down to the river, forming the broad +valley of the Platte. The country is beautifully watered. In almost every +hollow ran a clear, cool, mountain stream; and in the course of the +morning we crossed seventeen, several of them being large creeks, forty to +fifty feet wide, with a swift current, and tolerably deep. These were +variously wooded with groves of aspen and cottonwood, with willow, cherry, +and other shrubby trees. Buffalo, antelope, and elk, were frequent during +the day; and, in their abundance; the latter sometimes reminded us +slightly of the Sacramento valley. + +We halted at noon on Potter's fork--a clear and swift stream, forty yards +wide, and in many places deep enough to swim our animals; and in the +evening encamped on a pretty stream, where there were several beaver dams, +and many trees recently cut down by the beaver. We gave to this the name +of Beaver Dam creek, as now they are becoming sufficiently rare to +distinguish by their names the streams on which they are found. In this +mountain they occurred more abundantly than elsewhere in all our journey, +in which their vestiges had been scarcely seen. + +The next day we continued our journey up the valley, the country +presenting much the same appearance, except that the grass was more scanty +on the ridges, over which was spread a scrubby growth of sage; but still +the bottoms of the creeks were broad, and afforded good pasture-grounds. +We had an animated chase after a grizzly bear this morning, which we tried +to lasso. Fuentes threw the lasso upon his neck, but it slipped off, and +he escaped into the dense thickets of the creek, into which we did not +like to venture. Our course in the afternoon brought us to the main Platte +river, here a handsome stream, with a uniform breadth of seventy yards, +except where widened by frequent islands. It was apparently deep, with a +moderate current, and wooded with groves of large willow. + +The valley narrowed as we ascended, and presently degenerated into a +gorge, through which the river passed as through a gate. We entered it, +and found ourselves in the New Park--a beautiful circular valley of thirty +miles diameter, walled in all round with snowy mountains, rich with water +and with grass, fringed with pine on the mountain sides below the snow +line, and a paradise to all grazing animals. The Indian name for it +signifies "cow lodge," of which our own may be considered a translation; +the enclosure, the grass, the water, and the herds of buffalo roaming over +it, naturally presenting the idea of a park. We halted for the night just +within the gate, and expected, as usual, to see herds of buffalo; but an +Arapahoe village had been before us, and not one was to be seen. Latitude +of the encampment 40 deg. 52' 44". Elevation by the boiling point 7,720 feet. + +It is from this elevated cove, and from the gorges of the surrounding +mountains, and some lakes within their bosoms, that the Great Platte river +collects its first waters, and assumes its first form; and certainly no +river could ask a more beautiful origin. + +16th.--In the morning we pursued our way through the Park, following a +principal branch of the Platte, and crossing, among many smaller ones, a +bold stream, scarcely fordable, called Lodge Pole fork, and which issues +from a lake in the mountains on the right, ten miles long. In the evening +we encamped on a small stream near the upper end of the Park. Latitude of +the camp 40 deg. 33' 22". + +17th.--We continued our way among the waters of the Park over the foot- +hills of the bordering mountains, where we found good pasturage, and +surprised and killed some buffalo. We fell into a broad and excellent +trail, made by buffalo, where a wagon would pass with ease; and, in the +course of the morning we crossed the summit of the Rocky mountains, +through a pass which was one of the most beautiful we had ever seen. The +trail led among the aspens, through open grounds, richly covered with +grass, and carried us over an elevation of about 9,000 feet above the +level of the sea. + +The country appeared to great advantage in the delightful summer weather +of the mountains, which we still continued to enjoy. Descending from the +pass, we found ourselves again on the western waters; and halted to noon +on the edge of another mountain valley, called the Old Park, in which is +formed Grand river, one of the principal branches of the Colorado of +California. We were now moving with some caution, as, from the trail, we +found the Arapahoe village had also passed this way; as we were coming out +of their enemy's country, and this was a war-ground, we were desirous to +avoid them. After a long afternoon's march, we halted at night on a small +creek, tributary to a main fork of Grand river, which ran through this +portion of the valley. The appearance of the country in the Old Park is +interesting, though of a different character from the New; instead of +being a comparative plain, it is more or less broken into hills, and +surrounded by the high mountains, timbered on the lower parts with quaking +asp and pines. + +18th.--Our scouts, who were as usual ahead, made from a _butte_ this +morning the signal of Indians, and we rode up in time to meet a party of +about 30 Arapahoes. They were men and women going into the hills--the men +for game, the women for roots--and informed us that the village was +encamped a few miles above, on the main fork of Grand river, which passes +through the midst of the valley. I made them the usual presents; but they +appeared disposed to be unfriendly, and galloped back at speed to the +village. Knowing that we had trouble to expect, I descended immediately +into the bottoms of Grand river, which were overflowed in places, the +river being up, and made the best encampment the ground afforded. We had +no time to build a fort, but found an open place among the willows, which +was defended by the river on one side and the overflowed bottoms on the +other. We had scarcely made our few preparations, when about 200 of them +appeared on the verge of the bottom, mounted, painted, and armed for war. +We planted the American flag between us; and a short parley ended in a +truce, with something more than the usual amount of presents. About 20 +Sioux were with them--one of them an old chief, who had always been +friendly to the whites. He informed me that, before coming down, a council +had been held at the village, in which the greater part had declared for +attacking us--we had come from their enemies, to whom we had doubtless +been carrying assistance in arms and ammunition; but his own party, with +some few of the Arapahoes who had seen us the previous year in the plains, +opposed it. It will be remembered that it is customary for this people to +attack the trading parties which they meet in this region, considering all +whom they meet on the western side of the mountains to be their enemies. +They deceived me into the belief that I should find a ford at their +village, and I could not avoid accompanying them; but put several sloughs +between us and their village, and forted strongly on the banks of the +river, which was everywhere rapid and deep, and over a hundred yards in +breadth. The camp was generally crowded with Indians; and though the +baggage was carefully watched and covered, a number of things were stolen. + +The next morning we descended the river for about eight miles, and halted +a short distance above a canon, through which Grand river issues from the +Park. Here it was smooth and deep, 150 yards in breadth, and its elevation +at this point 6,700 feet. A frame for the boat being very soon made, our +baggage was ferried across; the horses, in the mean time, swimming over. A +southern fork of Grand river here makes its junction, nearly opposite to +the branch by which we had entered the valley, and up this we continued +for about eight miles in the afternoon and encamped in a bottom on the +left bank, which afforded good grass. At our encampment it was 70 to 90 +yards in breadth, sometimes widened by islands, and separated into several +channels, with a very swift current and bed of rolled rocks. + +On the 20th we traveled up the left bank, with the prospect of a bad road, +the trail here taking the opposite side; but the stream was up, and +nowhere fordable. A piny ridge of mountains, with bare rocky peaks, was on +our right all the day, and a snowy mountain appeared ahead. We crossed +many foaming torrents with rocky beds, rushing down the river; and in the +evening made a strong fort in an aspen grove. The valley had already +become very narrow, shut up more closely in densely timbered mountains, +the pines sweeping down the verge of the bottoms. The _coq de prairie +(tetrao europhasianus)_ was occasionally seen among the sage. + +We saw to-day the returning trail of an Arapahoe party which had been sent +from the village to look for Utahs in the Bayou Salade, (South Park;) and +it being probable that they would visit our camp with the desire to return +on horseback, we were more than usually on the alert. + +Here the river diminished to 35 yards, and, notwithstanding the number of +affluents we had crossed, was still a large stream, dashing swiftly by, +with a great continuous fall, and not yet fordable. We had a delightful +ride along a good trail among the fragrant pines; and the appearance of +buffalo in great numbers indicated that there were Indians in the Bayou +Salade, (South Park,) by whom they were driven out. We halted to noon +under the shade of the pines, and the weather was most delightful. The +country was literally alive with buffalo; and the continued echo of the +hunters' rifles on the other side of the river for a moment made me +uneasy, thinking perhaps they were engaged with Indians; but in a short +time they came into camp with the meat of seven fat cows. + +During the earlier part of the day's ride, the river had been merely a +narrow ravine between high piny mountains, backed on both sides, but +particularly on the west, by a line of snowy ridges; but, after several +hours' ride, the stream opened out into a valley with pleasant bottoms. In +the afternoon the river forked into three apparently equal streams; broad +buffalo trails leading up the left hand, and the middle branch, indicating +good passes over the mountains; but up the right-hand branch, (which, in +the object of descending from the mountain by the main head of the +Arkansas, I was most desirous to follow,) there was no sign of a buffalo +trace. Apprehending from this reason, and the character of the mountains, +which are known to be extremely rugged, that the right-hand branch led to +no pass, I proceeded up the middle branch, which formed a flat valley- +bottom between timbered ridges on the left and snowy mountains on the +right, terminating in large _buttes_ of naked rock. The trail was +good, and the country interesting; and at nightfall we encamped in an open +place among the pines, where we built a strong fort. The mountains exhibit +their usual varied growth of flowers, and at this place I noticed, among +others, _thermopsis montana_, whose bright yellow color makes it a +showy plant. This has been a characteristic in many parts of the country +since reaching the Uintah waters. With fields of iris were _aquilegia +coerulea_, violets, esparcette, and strawberries. + +At dark we perceived a fire in the edge of the pines, on the opposite side +of the valley. We had evidently not been discovered, and, at the report of +a gun, and the blaze of fresh fuel which was heaped on our fires, those of +the strangers were instantly extinguished. In the morning, they were found +to be a party of six trappers, who had ventured out among the mountains +after beaver. They informed us that two of the number with which they had +started had been already killed by the Indians--one of them but a few days +since--by the Arapahoes we had lately seen, who had found him alone at a +camp on this river, and carried off his traps and animals. As they were +desirous to join us, the hunters returned with them to the encampment, and +we continued up the valley, in which the stream rapidly diminished, +breaking into small tributaries--every hollow affording water. At our noon +halt, the hunters joined us with the trappers. While preparing to start +from their encampment, they found themselves suddenly surrounded by a +party of Arapahoes, who informed them that their scouts had discovered a +large Utah village in the Bayou Salade, (South Park,) and that a large +war-party, consisting of almost every man in the village, except those who +were too old to go to war, were going over to attack them. The main body +had ascended the left fork of the river, which afforded a better pass than +the branch we were on, and this party had followed our trail, in order +that we might add our force to theirs. Carson informed them that we were +too far ahead to turn back, but would join them in the bayou; and the +Indians went off apparently satisfied. By the temperature of boiling +water, our elevation here was 10,430 feet, and still the pine forest +continued, and grass was good. + +In the afternoon we continued our road occasionally through open pines, +with a very gradual ascent. We surprised a herd of buffalo, enjoying the +shade at a small lake among the pines, and they made the dry branches +crack, as they broke through the woods. In a ride of about three-quarters +of an hour, and having ascended perhaps 800 feet, we reached the _summit +of the dividing ridge_, which would thus have an estimated height of +11,200 feet. Here the river spreads itself into small branches and +springs, heading nearly in the summit of the ridge, which is very narrow. +Immediately below us was a green valley, through which ran a stream; and a +short distance opposite rose snowy mountains, whose summits were formed +into peaks of naked rock. We soon afterwards satisfied ourselves that +immediately beyond these mountains was the main branch of the Arkansas +river--most probably heading directly with the little stream below us, +which gathered its waters in the snowy mountains near by. Descriptions of +the rugged character of the mountains around the head of the Arkansas, +which their appearance amply justified, deterred me from making any +attempt to reach it, which would have involved a greater length of time +than now remained at my disposal. + +In about a quarter of an hour, we descended from the summit of the Pass +into the creek below, our road having been very much controlled and +interrupted by the pines and springs on the mountain-side. Turning up the +stream, we encamped on a bottom of good grass near its head, which gathers +its waters in the dividing crest of the Rocky mountains, and, according to +the best information we could obtain, separated only by the rocky wall of +the ridge from the head of the main Arkansas river. By the observations of +the evening, the latitude of our encampment was 39 deg. 20' 24", and south of +which; therefore, is the head of the Arkansas river. The stream on which +we had encamped is the head of either the _Fontaine-qui-bouit_, a +branch of the Arkansas, or the remotest head of the south fork of the +Platte, as which you will find it laid down on the map. But descending it +only through a portion of its course, we have not been able to settle this +point satisfactorily. In the evening a band of buffalo furnished a little +excitement, by charging through the camp. + +On the following day we descended the stream by an excellent buffalo- +trail, along the open grassy bottom of the river. On our right, the bayou +was bordered by a mountainous range, crested with rocky and naked peaks; +and below, it had a beautiful park-like character of pretty level +prairies, interspersed among low spurs, wooded openly with pine and +quaking asp, contrasting well with the denser pines which swept around on +the mountain sides. Descending always the valley of the stream, towards +noon we descried a mounted party descending the point of a spur, and, +judging them to be Arapahoes--who, defeated or victorious, were equally +dangerous to us, and with whom a fight would be inevitable--we hurried to +post ourselves as strongly as possible on some willow islands in the +river. We had scarcely halted when they arrived, proving to be a party of +Utah women, who told us that on the other side of the ridge their village +was fighting with the Arapahoes. As soon as they had given us this +information, they filled the air with cries and lamentations, which made +us understand that some of their chiefs had been killed. + +Extending along the river, directly ahead of us, was a low piny ridge, +leaving between it and the stream a small open bottom, on which the Utahs +had very injudiciously placed their village, which, according to the +women, numbered about 300 warriors. Advancing in the cover of the pines, +the Arapahoes, about daylight, charged into the village, driving off a +great number of their horses, and killing four men; among them, the +principal chief of the village. They drove the horses perhaps a mile +beyond the village, to the end of a hollow, where they had previously +forted, at the edge of the pines. Here the Utahs had instantly attacked +them in turn, and, according to the report of the women, were getting +rather the best of the day. The women pressed us eagerly to join with +their people, and would immediately have provided us with the best horses +at the village; but it was not for us to interfere in such a conflict. +Neither party were our friends, or under our protection; and each was +ready to prey upon us that could. But we could not help feeling an unusual +excitement at being within a few hundred yards of a fight, in which 500 +men were closely engaged, and hearing the sharp cracks of their rifles. We +were in a bad position, and subject to be attacked in it. Either party +which we might meet, victorious or defeated, was certain to fall upon us; +and, gearing up immediately, we kept close along the pines of the ridge, +having it between us and the village, and keeping the scouts on the +summit, to give us notice of the approach of Indians. As we passed by the +village, which was immediately below us, horsemen were galloping to and +fro, and groups of people were gathered around those who were wounded and +dead, and who were being brought in from the field. We continued to press +on, and, crossing another fork, which came in from the right, after having +made fifteen miles from the village, fortified ourselves strongly in the +pines, a short distance from the river. + +During the afternoon, Pike's Peak had been plainly in view before us, and, +from our encampment, bore N. 87 deg. E. by compass. This was a familiar +object, and it had for us the face of an old friend. At its foot were the +springs, where we had spent a pleasant day in coming out. Near it were the +habitations of civilized men; and it overlooked the broad smooth plains, +which promised us an easy journey to our home. + +The next day we left the river, which continued its course towards Pike's +Peak; and taking a southeasterly direction, in about ten miles we crossed +a gentle ridge, and, issuing from the South Park, found ourselves involved +among the broken spurs of the mountains which border the great prairie +plains. Although broken and extremely rugged, the country was very +interesting, being well watered by numerous affluents to the Arkansas +river, and covered with grass and a variety of trees. The streams, which, +in the upper part of their course, ran through grassy and open hollows, +after a few miles all descended into deep and impracticable canons, +through which they found their way to the Arkansas valley. Here the +buffalo trails we had followed were dispersed among the hills, or crossed +over into the more open valleys of other streams. + +During the day our road was fatiguing and difficult, reminding us much, by +its steep and rocky character, of our traveling the year before among the +Wind River mountains; but always at night we found some grassy bottom, +which afforded us a pleasant camp. In the deep seclusion of these little +streams, we found always an abundant pasturage, and a wild luxuriance of +plants and trees. Aspens and pines were the prevailing timber: on the +creeks oak was frequent; but the narrow-leaved cottonwood, (_populus +angustifolia_,) of unusually large size, and seven or eight feet in +circumference, was the principal tree. With these were mingled a variety +of shrubby trees, which aided to make the ravines almost impenetrable. + +After several days' laborious traveling, we succeeded in extricating +ourselves from the mountains, and on the morning of the 28th encamped +immediately at their foot, on a handsome tributary to the Arkansas river. +In the afternoon we descended the stream, winding our way along the +bottoms, which were densely wooded with oak, and in the evening encamped +near the main river. Continuing the next day our road along the Arkansas, +and meeting on the way a war-party of Arapahoe Indians, (who had recently +been committing some outrages at Bent's fort, killing stock and driving +off horses,) we arrived before sunset at the Pueblo, near the mouth of the +_Fontaine-qui-bouit_ river, where we had the pleasure to find a +number of our old acquaintances. The little settlement appeared in a +thriving condition; and in the interval of our absence another had been +established on the river, some thirty miles above. + +On the 30th of June our cavalcade moved rapidly down the Arkansas, along +the broad road which follows the river. + + + +JULY. + + +On the 1st of July we arrived at Bent's fort, about 70 miles below the +mouth of the _Fontaine-qui-bouit_. As we emerged into view from the +groves on the river, we were saluted with a display of the national flag, +and repeated discharges from the guns of the fort, where we were received +by Mr. George Bent with a cordial welcome and a friendly hospitality, in +the enjoyment of which we spent several very agreeable days. We were now +in the region where our mountaineers were accustomed to live; and all the +dangers and difficulties of the road being considered past, four of them, +including Carson and Walker, remained at the fort. + +On the 5th we resumed our journey down the Arkansas, traveling along a +broad wagon-road, and encamped about 20 miles below the fort. On the way +we met a very large village of Sioux and Cheyenne Indians, who, with the +Arapahoes were returning from the crossing of the Arkansas, where they had +been to meet the Kioway and Camanche Indians. A few days previous they had +massacred a party of fifteen Delawares, whom they had discovered in a fort +on the Smoky Hill river, losing in the affair several of their own people. +They were desirous that we should bear a pacific message to the Delawares +on the frontier, from whom they expected retaliation; and we passed +through them without any difficulty or delay. Dispersed over the plain in +scattered bodies of horsemen, and family groups of women and children, +with dog-trains carrying baggage, and long lines of pack-horses, their +appearance was picturesque and imposing. + +Agreeably to your instructions, which required me to complete, as far as +practicable, our examinations of the Kansas, I left at this encampment the +Arkansas river, taking a northeasterly direction across the elevated +dividing grounds which separate that river from the waters of the Platte. +On the 7th we crossed a large stream, about forty yards wide, and one or +two feet deep, flowing with a lively current on a sandy bed. The +discolored and muddy appearance of the water indicated that it proceeded +from recent rains; and we are inclined to consider this a branch of the +Smoky Hill river, although, possibly, it may be the Pawnee fork of the +Arkansas. Beyond this stream we traveled over high and level prairies, +halting at small ponds and holes of water, and using for our fires the +_bois de vache_, the country being without timber. On the evening of +the 8th we encamped in a cottonwood grove on the banks of a sandy stream- +bed, where there was water in holes sufficient for the camp. Here several +hollows, or dry creeks with sandy beds, met together, forming the head of +a stream which afterwards proved to be the Smoky Hill fork of the Kansas +river. + +The next morning, as we were leaving our encampment, a number of Arapahoe +Indians were discovered. They belonged to a war-party which had scattered +over the prairie in returning from an expedition against the Pawnees. + +As we traveled down the valley, water gathered rapidly in the sandy bed +from many little tributaries; and at evening it had become a handsome +stream, fifty to eighty feet in width, with a lively current in small +channels, the water being principally dispersed among quicksands. + +Gradually enlarging, in a few days' march it became a river eighty yards +in breadth, wooded with occasional groves of cottonwood. Our road was +generally over level uplands bordering the river, which were closely +covered with a sward of buffalo-grass. + +On the 10th we entered again the buffalo range, where we had found these +animals so abundant on our outward journey, and halted for a day among +numerous herds, in order to make a provision of meat sufficient to carry +us to the frontier. + +A few days afterwards, we encamped, in a pleasant evening, on a high river +prairie, the stream being less than a hundred yards broad. During the +night we had a succession of thunder-storms, with heavy and continuous +rain, and towards morning the water suddenly burst over the bank, flooding +the bottoms and becoming a large river, five or six hundred yards in +breadth. The darkness of the night and incessant rain had concealed from +the guard the rise of the water; and the river broke into the camp so +suddenly, that the baggage was instantly covered, and all our perishable +collections almost entirely ruined, and the hard labor of many months +destroyed in a moment. + +On the 17th we discovered a large village of Indians encamped at the mouth +of a handsomely wooded stream on the right bank of the river. Readily +inferring, from the nature of the encampment, that they were Pawnee +Indians, and confidently expecting good treatment from a people who +receive regularly an annuity from the government, we proceeded directly to +the village, where we found assembled nearly all the Pawnee tribe, who +were now returning from the crossing of the Arkansas, where they had met +the Kioway and Camanche Indians. We were received by them with the +unfriendly rudeness and characteristic insolence which they never fail to +display whenever they find an occasion for doing so with impunity. The +little that remained of our goods was distributed among them, but proved +entirely insufficient to satisfy their greedy rapacity; and, after some +delay, and considerable difficulty, we succeeded in extricating ourselves +from the village, and encamped on the river about 15 miles below. + +[Footnote: In a recent report to the department, from Major Wharton, who +visited the Pawnee villages with a military force some months afterwards, +it is stated that the Indians had intended to attack our party during the +night we remained at this encampment, but were prevented by the +interposition of the Pawnee Loups.] + +The country through which we had been traveling since leaving the Arkansas +river, for a distance of 260 miles, presented to the eye only a succession +of far-stretching green prairies, covered with the unbroken verdure of the +buffalo-grass, and sparingly wooded along the streams with straggling +trees and occasional groves of cottonwood; but here the country began +perceptibly to change its character, becoming a more fertile, wooded, and +beautiful region, covered with a profusion of grasses, and watered with +innumerable little streams, which were wooded with oak, large elms, and +the usual varieties of timber common to the lower course of the Kansas +river. + +As we advanced, the country steadily improved, gradually assimilating +itself in appearance to the northwestern part of the state of Missouri. +The beautiful sward of the buffalo-grass, which is regarded as the best +and most nutritious found on the prairies, appeared now only in patches, +being replaced by a longer and coarser grass, which covered the face of +the country luxuriantly. The difference in the character of the grasses +became suddenly evident in the weakened condition of our animals, which +began sensibly to fail as soon as we quitted the buffalo-grass. + +The river preserved a uniform breadth of eighty or a hundred yards, with +broad bottoms continuously timbered with large cottonwood-trees, among +which were interspersed a few other varieties. + +While engaged in crossing one of the numerous creeks which frequently +impeded and checked our way, sometimes obliging us to ascend them for +several miles, one of the people (Alexis Ayot) was shot through the leg by +the accidental discharge of a rifle--a mortifying and painful mischance, +to be crippled for life by an accident, after having nearly accomplished +in safety a long and eventful journey. He was a young man of remarkably +good and cheerful temper, and had been among the useful and efficient men +of the party. + +After having traveled directly along its banks for 290 miles, we left the +river, where it bore suddenly off in a northwesterly direction, towards +its junction with the Republican fork of the Kansas, distant about 60 +miles; and, continuing our easterly course, in about 20 miles we entered +the wagon-road from Santa Fe to Independence, and on the last day of July +encamped again at the little town of Kansas, on the banks of the Missouri +river. + +During our protracted absence of 14 months, in the course of which we had +necessarily been exposed to great varieties of weather and of climate, not +one case of sickness had ever occurred among us. + +Here ended our land journey; and the day following our arrival, we found +ourselves on board a steamboat rapidly gliding down the broad Missouri. +Our travel-worn animals had not been sold and dispersed over the country +to renewed labor, but were placed at good pasturage on the frontier, and +are now ready to do their part in the coming expedition. + +On the 6th of August we arrived at St. Louis, where the party was finally +disbanded, a great number of the men having their homes in the +neighborhood. + +Andreas Fuentes also remained here, having readily found employment for +the winter, and is one of the men engaged to accompany me the present +year. + +Pablo Hernandez remains in the family of Senator Benton, where he is well +taken care of, and conciliates good-will by his docility, intelligence, +and amiability. General Almonte, the Mexican minister at Washington, to +whom he was of course made known, kindly offered to take charge of him, +and to carry him back to Mexico; but the boy preferred to remain where he +was until he got an education, for which he shows equal ardor and +aptitude. + +Our Chinook Indian had his wish to see the whites fully gratified. He +accompanied me to Washington, and, after remaining several months at the +Columbia College, was sent by the Indian department to Philadelphia, +where, among other things, he learned to read and write well, and speak +the English language with some fluency. He will accompany me in a few days +to the frontier of Missouri, where he will be sent with some one of the +emigrant companies to the village at the Dalles of the Columbia. + +Very respectfully, your obedient servant, J. C. FREMONT, _Bt. Capt. +Topl. Engineers_. + + + +* * * * * + + +GOLD REGIONS OF CALIFORNIA. + + +The "placers" or Gold Mines of California, are located in the valley of +the Sacramento, in the northern part of that new territory. They are all +on the public lands, with the exception of the portion belonging to +Messrs. Forbes and Sutter. The region which they embrace and which lies, +according to authentic reports, on both sides of the Sierra Nevada, must +be "larger than the State of New York." The mines, it is estimated, are +worth a thousand millions of dollars. The most reliable information in +regard to them may be found in the official reports communicated to the +authorities at Washington, by some of the American officers who have +visited the region. The following document is of this nature. The author +of it, Col. Mason, the military commander in California, speaks, as will +be seen, from observation, and the fullest confidence may be placed in his +account:-- + + + + +HEADQUARTERS 10TH MILITARY DEPOT, Monterey, California, Aug. 17, 1848. + +SIR:--I have the honor to inform you that, accompanied by Lieut. W. T. +Sherman, 3d artillery, A. A. A. General, I started on the 12th of June +last to make a tour through the northern part of California. My principal +purpose, however, was to visit the newly-discovered gold "placer," in the +Valley of the Sacramento. I had proceeded about forty miles, when I was +overtaken by an express, bringing me intelligence of the arrival at +Monterey of the U. S. ship Southampton, with important letters from Com. +Shubrick and Lieut. Col. Barton. I returned at once to Monterey, and +dispatched what business was most important, and on the 17th resumed my +journey. We reached San Francisco on the 20th, and found that all, or +nearly all, its male inhabitants had gone to the mines. The town, which a +few months before was so busy and thriving, was then almost deserted. + +On the evening of the 25th, the horses of the escort were crossed to +Sousoleto in a launch, and on the following day we resumed the journey by +way of Bodega and Sonoma to Sutter's fort, where we arrived on the morning +of the 2d of July. Along the whole route mills were lying idle, fields of +wheat were open to cattle and horses, houses vacant, and farms going to +waste. At Sutter's there was more life and business. Launches were +discharging their cargoes at the river, and carts were hauling goods to +the fort, where already were established several stores, a hotel, &c. +Captain Sutter had only two mechanics in his employ, (a wagon-maker and a +blacksmith,) whom he was then paying ten dollars a day. Merchants pay him +a monthly rent of $100 per room; and while I was there, a two-story house +in the fort was rented as a hotel for $500 a month. + +At the urgent solicitation of many gentlemen, I delayed there to +participate in the first public celebration of our national anniversary at +that fort, but on the 5th resumed the journey and proceeded twenty-five +miles up the American fork to a point on it now known as the Lower Mines, +or Mormon Diggings: The hill-sides were thickly strewn with canvas tents +and bush arbors; a store was erected, and several boarding shanties in +operation. The day was intensely hot, yet about two hundred men were at +work in the full glare of the sun, washing for gold--some with tin pans, +some with close-woven Indian baskets, but the greater part had a rude +machine, known as the cradle. This is on rockers, six or eight feet long, +open at the foot, and at its head has a coarse grate, or sieve; the bottom +is rounded, with small cleets nailed across. Four men are required to work +this machine: one digs the ground in the bank close by the stream; another +carries it to the cradle and empties it on the grate; a third gives a +violent rocking motion to the machine; while a fourth dashes on water from +the stream itself. + +The sieve keeps the coarse stones from entering the cradle, the current of +water washes off the earthy matter, and the gravel is gradually carried +out at the foot of the machine, leaving the gold mixed with a heavy fine +black sand above the first cleets. The sand and gold mixed together are +then drawn off through auger holes into a pan below, are dried in the sun, +and afterwards separated by blowing off the sand. A party of four men thus +employed at the lower mines averaged $100 a day. The Indians, and those +who have nothing but pans or willow baskets, gradually wash out the earth +and separate the gravel by hand, leaving nothing but the gold mixed with +sand, which is separated in the manner before described. The gold in the +lower mines is in fine bright scales, of which I send several specimens. + +As we ascended the north branch of the American fork, the country became +more broken and mountainous, and at the saw-mill, 25 miles above the lower +washings, or 50 miles from Sutter's, the hills rise to about a thousand +feet above the level of the Sacramento plain. Here a species of pine +occurs which led to the discovery of the gold. Capt Sutter, feeling the +great want of lumber, contracted in September last with a Mr. Marshall to +build a saw-mill at that place. It was erected in the course of the past +winter and spring--a dam and race constructed; but when the water was let +on the wheel, the tail-race was found to be too narrow to permit the water +to escape with sufficient rapidity. Mr. Marshall, to save labor, let the +water directly into the race with a strong current, so as to wash it wider +and deeper. He effected his purpose, and a large bed of mud and gravel was +carried to the foot of the race. + +One day Mr. Marshall, as he was walking down the race to this deposit of +mud, observed some glittering particles at its upper edge; he gathered a +few, examined them, and became satisfied of their value. He then went to +the fort, told Capt. Sutter of his discovery, and they agreed to keep it +secret until a certain grist-mill of Sutter's was finished. It, however, +got out, and spread like magic. Remarkable success attended the labors of +the first explorers, and in a few weeks hundreds of men were drawn +thither. At the time of my visit, but little over three months after the +first discovery, it was estimated that upwards of four thousand people +were employed. At the mill there is a fine deposit or bank of gravel, +which the people respect as the property of Captain Sutter, although he +pretends to no right to it, and would be perfectly satisfied with the +simple promise of a pre-emption, on account of the mill which he has +built there at considerable cost. Mr. Marshall was living near the mill, +and informed me that many persons were employed above and below him; that +they used the same machines at the lower washings, and that their success +was about the same--ranging from one to three ounces of gold per man +daily. This gold, too, is in scales a little coarser than those of the +lower mines. + +From the mill Mr. Marshall guided me up the mountain on the opposite or +north bank of the south fork, where, in the bed of small streams or +ravines, now dry, a great deal of coarse gold has been found. I there saw +several parties at work, all of whom were doing very well; a great many +specimens were shown me, some as heavy as four or five ounces in weight, +and I send three pieces labelled No. 5, presented by a Mr. Spence. You +will perceive that some of the specimens accompanying this, hold +mechanically pieces of quartz; that the surface is rough and evidently +moulded in the crevice of a rock. This gold cannot have been carried far +by water, but must have remained near where it was first deposited from +the rock that once bound it. I inquired of many people if they had +encountered the metal in its matrix, but in every instance they said they +had not, but that the gold was invariably mixed with washed gravel or +lodged in the crevices of other rocks. All bore testimony that they had +found gold in greater or less quantities in the numerous small gullies or +ravines that occur in that mountainous region. + +On the 7th of July I left the mill, and crossed to a stream emptying into +the American fork, three or four miles below the saw mill. I struck this +stream (now known as Weber's creek) at the washings of Sunol & Co. They +had about thirty Indians employed, whom they payed in merchandise. They +were getting gold of a character similar to that found on the main fork, +and doubtless in sufficient quantities to satisfy them. I send you a small +specimen, presented by this company, of their gold. From this point we +proceeded up the stream about eight miles, where we found a great many +people and Indians--some engaged in the bed of the stream, and others in +the small side valleys that put into it. These latter are exceedingly +rich, and two ounces were considered an ordinary yield for a day's work. A +small gutter, not more than a hundred yards long by four feet wide and two +or three feet deep, was pointed out to me as the one where two men-- +William Daly and Parry McCoon--had, a short time before, obtained 17,000 +dollars worth of gold. Capt. Weber informed me that he knew that these two +men had employed four white men and about a hundred Indians, and that at +the end of one week's work, they paid off their party, and had left +$10,000 worth of this gold. Another small ravine was shown me, from which +had been taken upwards of $12,000 worth of gold. Hundreds of similar +ravines to all appearances are as yet untouched. I could not have credited +these reports had I not seen, in the abundance of the precious metal, +evidence of their truth. + +Mr. Neligh, an agent of Commodore Stockton, had been at work about three +weeks in the neighborhood, and showed me in bags and bottles over $2,000 +worth of gold; and Mr. Lyman, a gentleman of education and worthy of every +credit, said he had been engaged with four others, with a machine, on the +American fork, just below Sutter's mill; that they worked eight days, and +that his share was at the rate of $50 a day; but hearing that others were +doing better at Weber's place they had removed there, and were then on the +point of resuming operations. I might tell of hundreds of similar +instances; but to illustrate how plentiful the gold was in the pockets of +common laborers, I will mention a simple occurrence which took place in my +presence when I was at Weber's store. This store was nothing but an arbor +of bushes, under which he had exposed for sale goods and groceries suited +to his customers. A man came in, picked up a box of Seidlitz powders and +asked the price. Captain Weber told him it was not for sale. The man +offered an ounce of gold, but Capt. Weber told it only cost fifty cents, +and he did not wish to sell it. The man then offered an ounce and a half, +when Capt. Weber _had_ to take it. The prices of all things are high, +and yet Indians, who before hardly knew what a breech cloth was, can now +afford to buy the most gaudy dresses. + +The country on either side of Weber's creek is much broken up by hills, +and is intersected in every direction by small streams or ravines, which +contain more or less gold. Those that have been worked are barely +scratched; and although thousands of ounces have been carried away, I do +not consider that a serious impression has been made upon the whole. Every +day was developing new and richer deposits; and the only impression seemed +to be, that the metal would be found in such abundance as seriously to +depreciate in value. + +On the 8th of July I returned to the lower mines, and on the following day +to Sutter's, where, on the 19th. I was making preparations for a visit to +the Feather, Yubah, and Bear rivers, when I received a letter from +Commander A. R. Long, United States Navy, who had just arrived at San +Francisco from Mazatlan, with a crew for the sloop-of-war Warren, with +orders to take that vessel to the squadron at La Paz. Capt. Long wrote to +me that the Mexican Congress had adjourned without ratifying the treaty of +peace, that he had letters from Commodore Jones, and that his orders were +to sail with the Warren on or before the 20th of July. In consequence of +this I determined to return to Monterey, and accordingly arrived here on +the 17th of July. Before leaving Sutter's I satisfied myself that gold +existed in the bed of the Feather river, in the Yubah and Bear, and in +many of the smaller streams that lie between the latter and the American +fork; also that it had been found in the Cosummes to the south of the +American fork. In each of these streams, the gold is found in small +scales, whereas in the intervening mountains it occurs in coarser lumps. + +Mr. Sinclair, whose rancho is three miles above Sutter's on the north side +of the American, employs about fifty Indians on the north fork, not far +from its junction with the main stream. He had been engaged about five +weeks when I saw him, and up to that time his Indians had used simply +closely woven willow baskets. His nett proceeds (which I saw) were about +$16,000 worth of gold. He showed me the proceeds of his last week's work-- +fourteen pounds avoirdupois of clean-washed gold. + +The principal store at Sutter's Fort, that of Brannan & Co., had received +in payment for goods $36,000 (worth of this gold) from the 1st of May to +the 10th of July. Other merchants had also made extensive sales. Large +quantities of goods were daily sent forward to the mines, as the Indians, +heretofore so poor and degraded, have suddenly become consumers of the +luxuries of life. I before mentioned that the greater part of the farmers +and rancheros had abandoned their fields to go to the mines. This is not +the case with Capt. Sutter, who was carefully gathering his wheat, +estimated at 40,000 bushels. Flour is already worth at Sutter's $36 a +barrel, and soon will be fifty. Unless large quantities of breadstuffs +reach the country, much suffering will occur; but as each man is now able +to pay a large price, it is believed the merchants will bring from Chili +and Oregon a plentiful supply for the coming winter. + +The most moderate estimate I could obtain from men acquainted with the +subject, was, that upwards of four thousand men were working in the gold +district, of whom more than one-half were Indians; and that from $30,000 +to $50,000 worth of gold, if not more, was daily obtained. The entire gold +district, with very few exceptions of grants made some years ago by the +Mexican authorities, is on land belonging to the United States. It was a +matter of serious reflection with me, how I could secure to the Government +certain rents and fees for the privilege of procuring this gold; but upon +considering the large extent of country, the character of the people +engaged, and the small scattered force at my command, I resolved not to +interfere but to permit all to work freely, unless broils and crimes +should call for interferance. I was surprised to learn that crime of any +kind was very unfrequent, and that no thefts or robberies had been +committed in the gold district. + +All live in tents, in bush arbors, or in the open air; and men have +frequently about their persons thousands of dollars worth of this gold, +and it was to me a matter of surprise that so peaceful and quiet state of +things should continue to exist. Conflicting claims to particular spots of +ground may cause collisions, but they will be rare, as the extent of +country is so great, and the gold so abundant, that for the present there +is room enough for all. Still the Government is entitled to rents for this +land, and immediate steps should be devised to collect them, for the +longer it is delayed the more difficult it will become. One plan I would +suggest is, to send out from the United States surveyors with high +salaries, bound to serve specified periods. + +A superintendent to be appointed at Sutter's Fort, with power to grant +licenses to work a spot of ground--say 100 yards square--for one year, at +a rent of from 100 to 1,000 dollars, at his discretion; the surveyors to +measure the ground, and place the rentor in possession. + +A better plan, however, will be to have the district surveyed and sold at +public auction to the highest bidder, in small parcels--say from 20 to 40 +acres. In either case, there will be many intruders, whom for years it +will be almost impossible to exclude. + +The discovery of these vast deposits of gold has entirely changed the +character of Upper California. Its people, before engaged in cultivating +their small patches of ground, and guarding their herds of cattle and, +horses, have all gone to the mines, or are on their way thither. Laborers +of every trade have left their work benches, and tradesmen their shops. +Sailors desert their ships as fast as they arrive on the coast, and +several vessels have gone to sea with hardly enough hands to spread a +sail. Two or three are now at anchor in San Francisco with no crew on +board. Many desertions, too, have taken place from the garrisons within +the influence of these mines; twenty-six soldiers have deserted from the +post of Sonoma, twenty-four from that of San Francisco, and twenty-four +from Monterey. For a few days the evil appeared so threatening, that great +danger existed that the garrisons would leave in a body; and I refer you +to my orders of the 25th of July, to show the steps adopted to met this +contingency. I shall spare no exertions to apprehend and punish deserters, +but I believe no time in the history of our country has presented such +temptations to desert as now exist in California. + +The danger of apprehension is small, and the prospect of high wages +certain; pay and bounties are trifles, as laboring men at the mines can +now earn in _one day_ more than double a soldier's pay and allowances +for a month, and even the pay of a lieutenant or captain cannot hire a +servant. A carpenter or mechanic would not listen to an offer of less than +fifteen or twenty dollars a day. Could any combination of affairs try a +man's fidelity more than this? I really think some extraordinary mark of +favor should be given to those soldiers who remain faithful to their flag +throughout this tempting crisis. No officer can now live in California on +his pay, money has so little value; the prices of necessary articles of +clothing and subsistence are so exorbitant and labor so high, that to hire +a cook or servant has become an impossibility, save to those who are +earning from thirty to fifty dollars a day. This state of things cannot +last for ever. Yet from the geographical position of California, and the +new character it has assumed as a mining country, prices of labor will +always be high, and will hold out temptations to desert. I therefore have +to report, if the Government wish to prevent desertions here on the part +of men, and to secure zeal on the part of officers, their pay must be +increased very materially. Soldiers, both of the volunteers and regular +service, discharged in this country, should be permitted at once to locate +their land warrants in the gold district. + +Many private letters have gone to the United States giving accounts of the +vast quantity of gold recently discovered, and it may be a matter of +surprise why I have made no report on this subject at an earlier date. The +reason is, that I could not bring myself to believe the reports that I +heard of the wealth of the gold district until I visited it myself. I have +no hesitation now in saying that there is more gold in the country drained +by the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers than will pay the cost of the +present war with Mexico a hundred times over. No capital is required to +obtain this gold, as the laboring man wants nothing but his pick and +shovel and tin pan, with which to dig and wash the gravel; and many +frequently pick gold out of the crevices of rocks with their butcher +knives in pieces from one to six ounces. + +Mr. Dye, a gentleman residing in Monterey, and worthy of every credit, has +just returned from Feather river. He tells me that the company to which he +belonged worked seven weeks and two days, with an average of fifty Indians +(washers) and that their gross product was 273 pounds of gold. His share +(one seventh,) after paying all expenses, is about thirty-seven pounds, +which he brought with him and exhibited in Monterey. I see no laboring man +from the mines who does not show his two, three, or four pounds of gold. A +soldier of the artillery company returned here a few days ago from the +mines, having been absent on furlough twenty days. He made by trading and +working during that time $1500. During these twenty days he was traveling +ten or eleven days, leaving but a week, in which he made a sum of money +greater than he receives in pay, clothes, and rations during a whole +enlistment of five years. These statements appear incredible, but they are +true. + +Gold is also believed to exist on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada; +and when at the mines, I was informed by an intelligent Mormon, that it +had been found near the Great Salt lake by some of his fraternity. Nearly +all the Mormons are leaving California to go to the Salt lake, and this +they surely would not do unless they were sure of finding gold there in +the same abundance as they now do on the Sacramento. + +The gold "placer" near the mission of San Fernando has long been known, +but has been little wrought for want of water. This is a spur which puts +off from the Sierra Nevada, (see Fremont's map,) the same in which the +present mines occur. There is, therefore, every reason to believe, that in +the intervening spaces of 500 miles, (entirely unexplored,) there must be +many hidden and rich deposits. The "placer" gold is now substituted as the +currency of this country; in trade it passes freely at $16 per ounce; as +an article of commerce its value is not yet fixed. The only purchase I +made was of the specimen No. 7, which I got of Mr. Neligh at $12 the +ounce. That is about the present cash value in the country, although it +has been sold for less. The great demand for goods and provisions made by +sudden development of wealth, has increased the amount of commerce at San +Francisco very much, and it will continue to increase. + +I would recommend that a mint be established at some eligible point of the +Bay of San Francisco; and that machinery, and all the necessary apparatus +and workmen, be sent out by sea. These workmen must be bound by high +wages, and even bonds, to secure their faithful services, else the whole +plan may be frustrated by their going to the mines as soon as they arrive +in California. If this course be not adopted, gold to the amount of many +millions of dollars will pass yearly to other countries, to enrich their +merchants and capitalists. Before leaving the subject of mines, I will +mention that on my return from the Sacramento, I touched at New Almoder, +the quicksilver mine of Mr. Alexander Forbes, Consul of Her Britannic +Majesty at Tepic. This mine is in a spur of the mountains, 1000 feet above +the level of the Bay of San Francisco, and is distant in a southern +direction from the Puebla de San Jose about twelve miles. The ore +(cinnabar) occurs in a large vein dipping at a strong angle to the +horizon. Mexican miners are employed in working it, by driving shafts and +galleries about six feet by seven, following the vein. + +The fragments of rock and ore are removed on the backs of Indians, in raw- +hide sacks. The ore is then hauled in an ox wagon, from the mouth of the +mine down to a valley well supplied with wood and water, in which the +furnaces are situated. The furnaces are of the simplest construction-- +exactly like a common bake-oven, in the crown of which is inserted a +whaler's frying-kettle; another inverted kettle forms the lid. From a hole +in the lid a small brick channel leads to an apartment or chamber, in the +bottom of which is inserted a small iron kettle. The chamber has a +chimney. + +In the morning of each day the kettles are filled with the mineral (broken +in small pieces) mixed with lime; fire is then applied and kept up all +day. The mercury is volatilized, passes into the chamber, is condensed on +the sides and bottom of the chamber, and flows into the pot prepared for +it. No water is used to condense the mercury. + +During a visit I made last spring, four such ovens were in operation, and +yielded in the two days I was there 656 pounds of quicksilver, worth at +Mazatlan $180 per pound. Mr. Walkinshaw, the gentleman now in charge of +this mine, tells me that the vein is improving, and that he can afford to +keep his people employed even in these extraordinary times. The mine is +very valuable of itself, and will become the more so as mercury is +extensively used in obtaining gold. It is not at present used in +California for that purpose, but will be at some future time. When I was +at this mine last spring, other parties were engaged in searching for +veins, but none have been discovered worth following up, although the +earth in that whole range of hills is highly discolored, indicating the +presence of this ore. I send several beautiful specimens, properly +labelled. The amount of quicksilver in Mr. Forbes' vats on the 15th of +July was about 2,500 pounds. + +I inclose you herewith sketches of the country through which I passed, +indicating the position of the mines and the topography of the country in +the vicinity of those I visited. + +Some of the specimens of gold accompanying this were presented for +transmission to the Department by the gentlemen named below. The numbers +on the topographical sketch corresponding to the labels of the respective +specimens, show from what part of the gold region they are obtained. + +1. Captain J. A. Sutter. +2. John Sinclair. +3. Wm. Glover, R. C. Kirby, Ira Blanchard, Levi Fifield, Franklin H. +Arynes, Mormon diggings. +4. Charles Weber. +5. Robert Spence. +6. Sunol & Co. +7. Robert D. Neligh. +8. C. E. Picket, American Fort Columa. +9. E. C. Kemble. +10. T. H. Green, from San Fernando, near Los Angelos. + A. 2 oz. purchased from Mr. Neligh. + B. Sand found in washing gold, which contains small particles. +11. Captain Frisbie, Dry Diggings, Weber's Creek. +12. Consumnes. +13. Consumnes, Hartwell's Ranch. + +I have the honor to be your most ob't ser't, +R. B. MASON, Col. 1st Dragoons, Commanding. +Brig. Gen. R. JONES, Adj. Gen. U. S. A., Washington, D. C. + + +[NOTE.--The original letter, of which this is a copy, was sent to its +address, in charge of Lieut. L. Loeser, 3d Artillery, bearer of +dispatches, who sailed in the schooner Lambayecana, from Monterey, Aug. +30, 1848, bound for Payta, Peru. Lieut. Loeser bears, in addition to the +specimens mentioned in the foregoing letter, a tea-caddy containing two +hundred and thirty ounces fifteen pennyweights and nine grains of gold. +This was purchased at San Francisco by my order, and is sent to you as a +fair sample of the gold obtained from the mines of the Sacramento. It is a +mixture, coming from the various parts of the gold district. + +R. B. MASON, Col. 1st Drag. Comd'g. HEADQUARTERS 10TH MIL. DEPARTMENT, +Monterey, (Cal.,) Sept. 10th, 1848.] + + + +* * * * * + + +PURITY OF CALIFORNIA GOLD DUST. + +The numerous analyses which have been made show that the gold dust of +California is remarkably pure. The editor of the Buffalo Commercial +Advertiser, under date of December 20th, 1848, says:-- + +"A small quantity of California gold was shown us this morning. It was in +grains, about the size and shape of flax seed. Altogether there was half +an ounce. It was received by a gentleman of this city, who, last year, +left a quantity of goods in California for sale on commission. A few days +ago he received advices that his goods had been sold, and the proceeds +remitted in gold dust to New York. The receipts from the mint show its +great purity. The weight before melting was 428 ounces; after melting 417. +Nett value, $7,685.49." + +Gold is seldom found, in any parts of the earth, more than 22 carats fine: +and it will be seen by the following report lately made by an experienced +smelter and refiner, Mr. John Warwick, of New York city, that the gold +dust of California is as pure as that found in any part of this country. +Probably there is none in Europe purer: + +"I have assayed the portion of gold dust, or metal, from California, sent +me, and the result shows that it is fully equal to any found in our +Southern gold mines. + +I return you 103/4 grains out of the 12 which I have tested--the value of +which is 45 cents. It is 211/2 carats fine--within half a carat of the +quality of English sovereigns or American Eagles, and is almost ready to +go to the mint. + +The finest gold metal we get is from Africa, which is 221/2 to 23 carats +fine. In Virginia we have mines where the quality of the gold is much +inferior--some of it as low as 19 carats, and in Georgia the mines produce +it nearly 22 carats fine. + +The gold of California which I have now assayed, is fully equal to that of +any, and much superior to some produced from the mines in our Southern +States." + + + +* * * * * + + +PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA. + +Whatever appertains to California, the new El Dorado of the southwest, is +interesting to Americans and indeed to the whole civilized world. The +following brief account, therefore, of its physical geography, compiled +from authentic sources and carefully condensed, will readily receive the +attention of the inquiring mind: + +"Upper California extends, upon the Pacific, from the 32d parallel of +latitude, about seven hundred miles north-westward to Oregon, from which +it is divided, nearly in the course of the 42d parallel--that is in the +latitude of Boston--by a chain of highlands called the Snowy Mountains; +the Sierra Nevada of the Spaniards. Its boundaries on the west are not, as +yet, politically determined by the Mexican government; nor do geographers +agree with regard to natural limits in that direction. By some, it is +considered as embracing only the territory between the Pacific and the +summit of the mountains which border the western side of the continent: +others extend its limits to the Colorado; while others include in it, and +others again exclude from it, the entire regions drained by that river. +The only portion occupied by Mexicans, or of which any distinct accounts +have been obtained, is that between the great chain of mountains and the +ocean; the country east of that ridge to the Colorado appears to be an +uninhabitable desert. + +"Northward from the Peninsula, or Lower California, the great western-most +chain of mountains continues nearly parallel with the Pacific coast, to +the 34th degree of latitude, under which rises Mount San Bernardin, one of +the highest peaks in California, about forty miles from the ocean. Further +north the coast turns more to the west, and the space between it and the +summit line of the mountains becomes wider, so as to exceed eighty miles +in some places; the intermediate region being traversed by lines of hills, +or smaller mountains, connected with the main range. The principal of +these inferior ridges extends from Mount San Bernardin north-westward to +its termination on the south side of the entrance of the Bay of San +Franciso, near the 38th degree of latitude, where it is called the San +Bruno Mountains. Between this range and the coast run the San Barbara +Mountains, terminating on the north at the Cape of Pines, on the south- +west side of the Bay of Monterey, near the latitude 361/2 degrees. North of +the San Bruno mountains is the Bolbones ridge, bordering the Bay of San +Francisco on the east; and still further in the same direction are other +and much higher lines of highlands, stretching from the great chain and +terminating in capes on the Pacific. + +"The southern part of Upper California, between the Pacific and the great +westernmost chain of mountains, is very hot and dry, except during a short +time in winter. Further north the wet season increases in length, and +about the Bay of San Francisco the rains are almost constant from November +to April, the earth being moistened during the remainder of the year by +heavy dews and fogs. Snow and ice are sometimes seen in the winter on the +shores of the bay, but never further south, except on the mountain tops. +The whole of California is, however, subject to long droughts." Heavy +rains are of rare occurrence, and two years without any is not unusual; +notwithstanding which, vegetation does not suffer to the extent that might +be inferred, because, in the first place, many small streams descend from +the mountain ranges, supplying the means of both natural and artificial +irrigation; and, next, that the country near the coast is favored with a +diurnal land and sea breeze; and, from the comparatively low temperature +of the sea, the latter is always in summer accompanied with fogs, in the +latter part of the night, and which are dissipated by the morning's sun, +but serve to moisten the pastures and nourish a somewhat peculiar +vegetation abounding in beautiful flowers. + +"Among the valleys of Upper California are many streams, some of which +discharge large quantities of water in the rainy season; but no river is +known to flow through the maritime ridge of mountains from the interior to +the Pacific, except perhaps the Sacramento, falling into the Bay of San +Francisco, though several are thus represented on the maps. The valleys +thus watered afford abundant pasturage for cattle, with which they are +covered; California, however, contains but two tracts of country capable +of supporting large numbers of inhabitants, which are that west of Mt. San +Bernardin, about the 34th degree of latitude, and that surrounding the Bay +of San Francisco, and the lower part of the Sacramento; and even in these, +irrigation would be indispensable to insure success in agriculture." + +"The provincial terms of New Mexico, and of Upper and Lower California, +have been, and are yet, rather designations of indefinite tracts than of +real defined political sections. The Pacific ocean limits on the west, and +by treaty, N. lat. 42 deg. on the north; but inland and southward, it is in +vain to seek any definite boundary. In order, however, to give as distinct +a view as the nature of the case will admit, let us adopt the mouth of the +Colorado and Gila, or the head of the Gulf of California, as a point on +the southern boundary of Upper California. The point assumed coincides +very nearly with N. lat. 32 deg. and, if adopted, would give to that country a +breadth of ten degrees of latitude or in round numbers 800 statute miles +from south to north. As already, stated, the Pacific Ocean bounds this +country on the west, and lat. 42 deg. on the north. To separate it on the east +from New Mexico, we must assume the mountain chain of Sierra Madre, or +Anahuac, which, in this region, inclines but little from north to south: +whilst the Pacific coast extends in general course north-west and south- +east. These opposite outlines contract the southern side to about 500 +miles, and open the northern side to rather above 800 miles; giving a mean +breadth of 650 miles. The area, for all general purposes, may be safely +taken at 500,000 square miles. The general slope or declination of this +great region is westward, towards the Pacific and Gulf of California." + +"The climate of the western slope of North America has a warmth ten +degrees at least higher than the eastern, upon similar latitude. The cause +of this difference is the course of prevailing winds in the temperate +zones of the earth, from the western points. Thus the winds on the western +side of the continent are from the ocean, and on the eastern from the +land. + +"The soil is as variable as the face of the country. On the coast range of +hills there is little to invite the agriculturist, except in some vales of +no great extent. The hills are, however, admirably adapted for raising +herds and flocks, and are at present the feeding-grounds of numerous deer, +elk, &c., to which the short, sweet grass and wild oats that are spread +over them afford a plentiful supply of food. The valley of the Sacramento, +and that of San Juan, are the most fruitful parts of California, +particularly the latter, which is capable of producing wheat, Indian corn, +rye, oats, &c., with all the fruits of the temperate, and many of the +tropical climates. It likewise offers pasture grounds for cattle. This +region comprises a level plain, from fifteen to twenty miles in width, +extending from the Bay of San Francisco, beyond the mission of that name, +north and south. This may be termed the garden of California; but although +several small streams and lakes serve to water it, yet in dry seasons or +droughts, not only the crops but the herbage also suffers extremely, and +the cattle are deprived of food." The most extensive portion of Upper +California--the inland plain between the California and the Colorado range +of mountains--is an arid waste, destitute of the requisites for supplying +the wants of man. This plain is a waste of sand, with a few detached +mountains (some of which rise to the region of perpetual snow,) whose +positions are unknown; from these flow small streams that are soon lost in +the sand. A few Indians are scattered over the plain, the most miserable +objects in creation." + +The climate is very peculiar, the thermometer on the coast ranging as +high, on the average, in winter as in summer. Indeed, summer is really the +coldest and most disagreeable part of the year, owing to the north-west +winds which frequently prevail during that season. As you recede from the +coast, however, the climate undergoes a great change for the better. At +San Juan, thirty miles from the coast, is one of the most delightful +climates in the world. The two principal rivers in Upper California are +the Sacramento and the San Joaquim. There are, however, many smaller +streams flowing through the different valleys, which serve, during the dry +season, to irrigate the land. The only navigable stream is the Sacramento. + +Beside the bays and harbors of Monterey, Santa Barbara and San Pedro, +Upper California possesses the harbor of San Francisco, within a few miles +of the Gold Mines, and one of the largest and most magnificent harbors in +the world. + +The yield of wheat, small grain, and vegetables, is said to be great, and +very remarkable, but, as agriculture cannot succeed in Upper California, +but by irrigation, it has hitherto happened that it has been principally +occupied as a pastoral country--as costing less labor to rear cattle, for +which it is only necessary to provide keepers, and have them marked. The +numerous animals which are there slaughtered for little more than their +hides and tallow, do not putrify and become offensive as they would in +other climates, but, as wood is not everywhere as abundant as their bones, +the last are sometimes used to supply the place of the former, in the +construction of garden fences &c. + +"The area of Upper California is about 500,000 square miles, and the +population, exclusive of Indians scattered over this extent, as follows: + +Californians descended from Spain,----------------- 4000 +Americans from United States,---------------------- 360 +English, Scotch, and Irish,------------------------ 300 +European Spaniards,-------------------------------- 80 +French and Canadians,------------------------------ 80 +Germans, Italians, Portugese, and Sandwich Islanders, 90 +Mexicans,------------------------------------------ 90 + ____ +Total---------------------------------------------- 5000 + +"Upper California is, on the whole, admirably fitted for colonization. +This province presents the greatest facilities for raising cattle, for +cultivating corn, plants, and for the grape; it might contain twenty +millions of inhabitants; and its ports are a point of necessary +communication for vessels going from China and Asia to the western coasts +of North America. + +"It is beyond doubt, that so soon as an intelligent and laborious +population is established there, this country will occupy an elevated rank +in the commercial scale; it would form the _entrepot_ where the +coasts of the great ocean would send their products, and would furnish the +greatest part of their subsistence in grains to the north-west, to Mexico, +to Central America, to Ecuador, to Peru, to the north coast of Asia, and +to many groups of Polynesia--such as the Sandwich isles, the Marquesas, +and Tahiti." + +"The peninsula of Lower California, extending from Cape San Lucas to the +Bay of Todos Santos, in lat. 32 deg. N., on the Pacific, and to the mouth of +the Colorado on the Gulf side, is a pile of volcanic debris and scoriae. +Much of the surface is still heated by subterranean fires. No craters are +in action; but hot springs of water and bitumen, and frequent earthquakes, +and the scorched face of the whole region, demonstrate it to be a mere +mass upheaved from the sea, and burned to cinders. The range of mountains +that comes up through Lower California, runs on northwardly into Upper +California, at an average distance of sixty or seventy miles from the sea, +till it falls away into low hills south of the bay of San Francisco. This, +also, is a volcanic range; though not so strongly marked to that effect in +the Upper as in the Lower Province. + +"Some portions of this range are lofty. That part lying east and southeast +of El Pueblo de los Angelos, is tipped with perpetual snows. But the +greater part of it presents a base covered up to more than half of the +whole elevation with pine and cedar forests; the remaining height being +composed of bare, dark, glistening rocks, lying in confused masses, or +turreted in the manner observed on the Black Hills in the Great Prairie +Wilderness---spires, towers, and battlements, lifted up to heaven, among +which the white feathery clouds of beautiful days rest shining in the +mellow sun. + +"The Snowy Mountain range is perhaps the boldest and most peculiar of the +California highlands. Its western terminus is Cape Mendocino, a bold snow- +capped headland, bending over the Pacific in 40 deg. north latitude. Its +western terminus is in the Wind River Mountains, latitude 42 deg. N., about +seven hundred miles from the sea. Its peculiarity consists in what may be +termed its confused geological character. Near the sea its rocks are +primitive, its strata regular. A hundred miles from the sea where the +President's range crosses it, everything is fused--burned; and at the +distance of seventy miles northeastwardly from the Bay of San Francisco, a +spur comes off with a lofty peak, which pours out immense quantities of +lava, and shoots up a flame so broad and bright as to be seen at sea, and +to produce distinct shadows at eighty miles' distance. Here is an +extensive tract of this range which has been burned, and whose strata have +been torn from their natural positions; displaying an amalgamated mass of +primitive rock _ex loco_, mingled with various descriptions of +volcanic remains. From this point eastward, it is a broken irregular chain +of peaks and rifted collateral ranges, and spurs running off northwardly +and southwardly, some of which are primitive and others volcanic. + +"Another range of mountains which deserves notice in this place, is that +which bounds the valley of the San Joaquim on the east. This is a wide and +towering range. It is in fact a continuation of the President's range, and +partakes very strongly of its volcanic character. That part of it which +lies eastwardly from the Bay of San Francisco, is very broad and lofty. +One of its peaks, Mount Jackson, as it is called, is the highest in all +the President's range. Mountains of great size are piled around it, but +they appear like molehills beside that veteran mount. Its vast peak towers +over them all several thousand feet, a glittering cone of ice. + +"All over the Californias, the traveler finds evidences of volcanic +action. Far in the interior, among the deserts; in the streams; in the +heights; in the plains; everywhere, are manifestations of the fact, that +the current of subterranean fire which crossed the Pacific, throwing up +that line of islands lying on the south of the Sea of Kamschatka, and +passed down the continent, upheaving the Oregon territory, did also bring +up from the bed of the ocean the Californias. + +"The peninsula, or lower California, which extends from Cape San Lucas in +N. lat. 22 deg. 48', to the Bay of Todos Santos in lat. 32 deg. N., is a pile of +barren, volcanic mountains, with very few streams, and still fewer spots +of ground capable of sustaining vegetation. The territory lying north and +south of the Colorado of the west, and within the boundaries of the +Californias, is a howling desolation. + +"From the highlands near the mouth of the Rio Colorado, a wild and +somewhat interesting scene opens. In the east appears a line of mountains +of a dark hue, stretching down the coast of the Gulf as far as the eye can +reach. These heights are generally destitute of trees; but timber grows in +some of the ravines. The general aspect, however, is far from pleasing. +There is such a vastness of monotonous desolation; so dry, so blistered +with volcanic fires; so forbidding to the wants of thirsting and hungering +men, that one gladly turns his eye upon the water, the _Mar de +Cortez_, the Gulf of California. The Colorado, two and a half miles in +width, rushes into this Gulf with great force, lashing as it goes the +small islands lying at its mouth, and for many leagues around the waters +of the Gulf are discolored by its turbulent flood. On the west, sweep away +the mountains of Lower California. These also are a thirsty mass of burned +rocks, so dry that vegetation finds no resting-place among them. + +"That province of Lower California varies from thirty to one hundred and +fifty miles in width, a superficial extent almost equal to that of Great +Britain; and yet on account of its barrenness, never will, from the +products of the soil, maintain five hundred thousand people in a state of +comfort, ordinarily found in the civilized condition. Every few years +tornadoes sweep over the country with such violence, and bearing with them +such floods of rain, that whatever of soil has been in any manner +previously formed, is swept into the sea. So that even those little nooks +among the mountains, where the inhabitants from time to time make their +fields, and task the vexed earth for a scanty subsistence, are liable to +be laid bare by the torrents. In case the soil chance to be lodged in some +other dell, before it reach the Ocean or the Gulf, and the people follow +it to its new location, they find perhaps no water there and cannot +cultivate it. Consequently they are often driven by dreadful want to some +other point in quest of sustenance, where they may not find it, and perish +among the parched highlands. The mean range of temperature in the whole +country in the summer season is from 60 deg. to 74 deg. Fahrenheit. The rains fall +in the winter months; are very severe, and of short duration. During the +remainder of the year the air is dry and clear; and the sky more beautiful +than the imagination can conceive. + +"The range of mountains occupying the whole interior of this country, vary +in height from one to five thousand feet above the level of the sea. They +are almost bare of all verdure, mere brown piles of barrenness, sprinkled +here and there with a cluster of briars, small shrubs, or dwarf trees. +Among the ridges are a few spots to which the sweeping rains have spared a +little soil. These, if watered by springs or streams, are beautiful and +productive. There are also a few places near the coast which are well +adapted to tillage and pasturage. + +"But the principal difficulty with this region, is one common to all +countries of volcanic, origin,--a scarcity of water. The porousness of the +rocks allows it to pass under ground to the sea. Consequently one finds +few streams and springs in Lower California. From the Cape San Lucas to +the mouth of the Colorado, six hundred miles, there are only two streams +emptying into the Gulf. One of these is called San Josef del Cabo. It +passes through the plantations of the Mission bearing the same name, and +discharges itself into the bay of San Barnabas. The other is the Mulege, +which waters the Mission of Santa Rosalia, and enters the Gulf in latitude +27 deg. N. These are not navigable. The streams on the ocean coast, also, are +few and small. Some of them are large enough to propel light machinery, or +irrigate considerable tracts of land, but none of them are navigable. In +the interior are several large springs, which send out abundant currents +along the rocky beds of their upper courses; but when they reach the loose +sands and porous rocks of the lower country, they sink and enter the sea +through subterranean channels. A great misfortune it is too, that the +lands which border those portions of these streams which run above the +ground, consist of barren rocks. Where springs, however, and arable land +occur together, immense fertility is the consequence. There is some +variety of climate on the coasts, which it may be well to mention. On the +Pacific shore the temperature is rendered delightfully balmy by the sea +breezes, and the humidity which they bring along with them. Fahrenheit's +thermometer ranges on this coast, during the summer, between fifty-eight +and seventy-one degrees. In the winter months, while the rains are +falling, it sinks as low as fifty degrees above zero. On the Gulf coast +there is a still greater variation. While at the Cape, the mercury stands +between sixty and seventy degrees, near the head of the Gulf it is down to +the freezing point. + +"These isolated facts, in regard to the great territory under +consideration, will give the reader as perfect an idea of the surface and +agricultural capacities of Lower California as will be here needed. + + + +* * * * * + + +DIFFERENT ROUTES TO CALIFORNIA. + +There are four different routes to California from the United States. One +is from New York to Vera Cruz, thence across Mexico by the +_Diligencia_, to Acapulco on the Pacific, where all the northern +bound vessels touch. This route would be preferable to all others, were it +not for the fact that the road from Vera Cruz to Acapulco is infested with +robbers. + +Another route is by steam around Cape Horn--a long voyage, though perhaps +the cheapest route. It should be performed in our winter, when it is +summer in the Southern Hemisphere and consequently warmer at Cape Horn +than at any other season of the year. The fare on this route by steam is +about $350. The time of performing the voyage is about 130 days. + +Another route is by the Isthmus of Darien. The fare on this route is as +follows: + +From New York to Chagres (by steam)---------- $150 +From Chagres to Panama, across the Isthmus--- 20 +From Panama to San Francisco----------------- 250 +From New York to Chagres (by sailing vessel)- 80 + +The time of the voyage is as follows:-- + +From New York to Chagres----- 12 to 15 days. +From Chagres to Panama------- 2 " +From Panama to San Francisco- 20 " + +The following description of Chagres and Panama, will be found both +interesting and valuable to the traveler on this route. + + +THE TOWN OF CHAGRES, + +as it is usually called, but in reality village, or collection of huts, +is, as is well known, situated at the mouth of the river Chagres, where it +empties itself into the Atlantic ocean. + +It is but a small village, and the harbor is likewise small, though +secure. It is formed by the jutting out of a narrow neck of land, and is +defended by the castle, which is built on a high bluff on the other side. +The village itself, as I have before said, is merely a collection of huts, +and is situated in the midst of a swamp--at least the ground is low, and +the continual rains which prevail at Chagres, keep it in a swampy +condition. Chagres is inhabited by colored people, entirely, with the +exception of some few officials at the castle and in the custom-house. Its +population, (I speak, of course, of it previous to the influx,) was +probably not more than 500 in all, if so much. + + +ITS CLIMATE + +is, without doubt, the most pestiferous for whites in the whole world. The +coast of Africa, which enjoys a dreadful reputation in this way, is not so +deadly in its climate as is Chagres. The thermometer ranges from 78 deg. to +85 deg. all the year, and it rains every day. Many a traveler who has +incautiously remained there for a few days and nights, has had cause to +remember Chagres; and many a gallant crew, who have entered the harbor in +full health, have, ere many days, found their final resting place on the +dank and malarious banks of the river. Bilious, remittent, and congestive +fever, in their most malignant forms, seem to hover over Chagres, ever +ready to pounce down on the stranger. Even the acclimated resident of the +tropics runs a great risk in staying any time in Chagres; but the stranger +fresh from the North and its invigorating breezes, runs a most fearful +one. + + +THE RIVER JOURNEY + +is performed in canoes, propelled up the stream by means of poles. There +are two points at which one may land, viz: the villages of Gorgona and +Cruces. The distance from Chagres to the first named, is about 45 or 50 +miles--to the latter, some 50 or 55 miles. The traveler, who for the first +time in his life embarks on a South American river like the Chagres, +cannot fail to experience a singular depression of spirits at the dark and +sombre aspect of the scene. In the first place, he finds himself in a +canoe, so small that he is forced to lay quietly in the very centre of the +stern portion, in order to prevent it upsetting. The palm leaf thatch (or +_toldo_, as it is termed on the river) over his portion of the boat, +shuts out much of the view, while his baggage, piled carefully amidships, +and covered with oil cloths, _encerrados_ as they are termed, is +under the charge of his active boatman, who, stripped to the buff, with +long pole in hand, expertly propels the boat up stream, with many a cry +and strange exclamation. The river itself is a dark, muddy, and rapid +stream; in some parts quite narrow, and again at other points it is from +300 to 500 yards wide. Let no one fancy that it resembles the bright and +cheerful rivers which are met with here at the North. No pleasant villages +adorn its banks--no signs of civilization are seen on them, nothing but +the sombre primeval forest, which grows with all the luxury of the tropics +down to the very margin of its swampy banks. + +A light canoe with two active boatmen and but one passenger in it, will +reach Cruces in ten or twelve hours, whilst a heavier one might require +thirty-six hours to accomplish the passage. The passenger must take his +provisions with him, as none are to be had on the river. + +A doubloon ($16) was the lowest charge for a single passenger, and from +that up to two, three, and even four doubloons. As for taking our boats +from here, and rowing them up the river, I should think it would be a +hopeless attempt. Hardy boatmen from our southwestern States, who are +accustomed to a much similar mode of travel on their rivers, would +probably be able to accomplish it; but in that burning and unhealthy +climate, for young men fresh from the North, unacquainted with the dangers +of such navigation, and all unacclimated, to attempt such a feat would be +madness indeed. + +Let us, however, suppose the journey completed, and our adventurer safely +arrived at + +CRUCES + +He may now congratulate himself on having achieved the most toilsome part +of his journey, and but twenty-one miles of land route intervene between +him and the glorious Pacific Ocean. Cruces is a small village, situated on +a plain, immediately on the banks of the river, which here are high and +sandy. Gorgona, the other landing place, is a few miles below Cruces, and +is likewise a small village, very similar to Cruces--in fact, all South +American villages resemble one another very much. From these two points, +both about the same distance from Panama, there are roads to that city, +which roads unite about nine miles from it. Starting from either point he +commences his + +JOURNEY ACROSS THE ISTHMUS. + +The usual method of performing it, is on horse or on mule-back, with +another mule to carry the baggage and a muleteer who acts as guide. The +road is a mere bridle path, and as the rains on the Isthmus are very +heavy, and there is more or less of them all the year round, the mud-holes +and swampy places to be crossed are very numerous. Those who, at the +North, talk gaily of a walk across the Isthmus, as if the road were as +plain and easy as some of our macadamized turnpikes, would alter their +tone a little, could they see the road as it is. As for walking from +Cruces to Panama, in case mules are scarce, the feat is by no means +impossible, provided the traveler arrives in Cruces in good health, and +has but little baggage. It might easily be done with the assistance of a +guide; but let no stranger, unacquainted with the language and new to such +countries, attempt it without a guide. Having, then, fairly started from +Cruces, either on horse or on foot, after a toilsome journey of some eight +or ten hours, the Savanna of Panama is at last reached, and the sight of +the broad and glittering Pacific Ocean, and the white towers of the +Cathedral of Panama, which are seen at the distance of about four miles +from the city, give the now weary traveler assurance that his journey will +shortly end; and another hour's toil brings him to the suburbs of the +famed + + +CITY OF PANAMA. + +We will find, however, that with this, as with most other South American +cities, + +"'Tis distance lends enchantment to the view, +And clothes the mountain with its azure hue." + +The city of Panama is situated on the shores of the bay of that name, and +a most beautiful bay it is, too. What is the number of the present +population, I cannot say, as it is doubtless filled with strangers--it +formerly contained from 5000 to 7000 inhabitants, and was a quiet, still +city, where, during the day, nought but the sounds of the convent bell and +church bells disturbed the horses of the citizens in their grazings in the +public squares, which were all overgrown with grass. The trade carried on +consisted in importing dry goods from Jamaica, for the supply of the +Isthmenians, the neighboring produce of Veragua, the Pearl Islands, the +towns of Chiriqui, David, and their vicinities, and the various little +inland towns. Goods also were sent down to the ports of Payta, in Peru, +and Guayaquil, in the Ecuador. The returns made for these goods, consisted +in the produce of the Isthmus: such as gold dust, hides, India rubber, +pearl oyster shells, (from which the mother of pearl of commerce is made,) +sarsaparilla, &c. The climate is warm, say from 80 to 85 degrees all the +year round--the rainy season long and severe. The nights in Panama, +however, are much cooler than usual in tropical climate. + +The other route is the overland, by Independence. The details of this +route are given below by Mr. Edwin Bryant, the author of "What I saw in +California." They were communicated to the Louisville Courier in answer to +questions but to Mr. B. by the editor: + +_First_--Which route by land is the best for the emigrant? + +_Answer_--The route via Independence or St. Joseph, Missouri, to Fort +Daramie, South Pass, Fort Hall, the Sink of Mary's River, &c. &c. the old +route. Let no emigrant, carrying his family with him, deviate from it, or +imagine to himself that he can find a better road. This road is the best +that has yet been discovered, and to the Bay of San Francisco and the gold +regions it is much the shortest. The Indians, moreover, on this route, +have, up to the present time been so friendly as to commit no acts of +hostility on the emigrants. The trail is plain and good, where there are +no physical obstructions and the emigrant, by taking this route, will +certainly reach his destination in good season, and without disaster. From +our information we would most earnestly advise all emigrants to take this +trail, without deviation, if they would avoid the fatal calamities which +almost invariably have attended those who have undertaken to explore new +routes. + +_Second_--What kind of wagon and team is preferable? + +_Answer_--The lightest wagon that can be constructed of sufficient +strength to carry 2,500 pounds weight, as the vehicle most desirable. No +wagon should be loaded over this weight, for if it is, it will be certain +to stall in the muddy sloughs and crossings on the prairie in the first +part of the journey. This wagon can be hauled by three or four yokes of +oxen or six mules. Oxen are usually employed by the immigrants for hauling +their wagons. They travel about fifteen miles per day, and all things +considered, are perhaps equal to mules for this service, although they +cannot travel so fast. They are, however, less expensive, and there is not +so much danger of their starving and of being stolen by the Indians. + +Pack-mules can only be employed by parties of men. It would be very +difficult to transport a party of women and children on pack-mules with +the provisions, clothing and baggage necessary to their comfort. A party +of men, however, with pack-mules, can make the journey in less time by one +month than it can be done in wagons, carrying with them, however, nothing +more than their provisions clothing and ammunition. + +For parties of men going out, it would be well to haul their wagons, +provisions, &c., as far as Fort Laramie or Fort Hall by mules, carrying +with them pack-saddles and _alforgases_, or large saddle-bags, +adapted to the pack saddle, with ropes for packing, &c., when, if they saw +proper, they could dispose of their wagons for Indian ponies, and pack +into California, gaining perhaps two or three weeks' time. + +_Third_--What provisions are necessary to a man? + +_Answer_-- The provisions actually necessary per man are as follows. + + Of Flour, .....150 lbs. | Of Bacon, ..... 150 lbs. + Coffee,..... 25 " | Sugar, ...... 30 " + +Added to these, the main items, there should be a small quantity of rice, +fifty or seventy-five pounds of crackers, dried peaches, &c., and a keg of +lard, with salt, pepper, &c., with such other luxuries of light weight as +the person out-fitting chooses to purchase. He will think of them before +he starts. + +_Fourth_--What arms and ammunition are necessary? + +_Answer_--Every man should be provided with a good rifle, and if +convenient with a pair of pistols, five pounds of powder and ten pounds of +lead. A revolving belt pistol may be found useful. + +With the wagon there should be carried such carpenter's tools as a hand- +saw, auger, gimblet, chisel, shaving-knife, &c., an axe, hammer, and +hatchet. The last weapon every man should have in his belt, with a +hunter's or a bowie knife. + +_Fifth_--What is the length of the journey? + +_Answer_--From Independence to the first settlement in California, +which is near the gold region, is about 2050 miles--to San Francisco, 2290 +miles. + +_Sixth_--What is the time for starting? + +_Answer_--Emigrants should be at Independence, St. Joseph, Mo., or +the point of starting, by the 20th of April, and start as soon thereafter +as the grass on the prairies will permit. This is sometimes by the first +of May, and sometimes ten days later, according to the season. + + + +* * * * * + + +THE GOLD REGIONS--MISCELLANEOUS MATTER. + +The following extract is from a letter written by Thomas O. Larkin to Mr. +Buchanan, the Secretary of State. It is dated at Monterey, June 28, 1848. + +I am of the opinion that on the American fork, Feather River, and Copimes +River, there are near two thousand people, nine-tenths of them foreigners. +Perhaps there are one hundred families, who have their teams, wagons and +tents. Many persons are waiting to see whether the months of July and +August will be sickly, before they leave their present business to go to +the "Placer." The discovery of this gold was made by some Mormons, in +January or February, who for a time kept it a secret; the majority of +those who are working there began in May. In most every instance the men, +after digging a few days, have been compelled to leave for the purpose of +returning home to see their families, arrange their business and purchase +provisions. I feel confident in saying there are fifty men in this +"placer" who have on an average $1000 each, obtained in May and June. I +have not met with any person who had been fully employed in washing gold +one month; most, however, appear to have averaged an ounce per day. I +think there must, by, this time, be over 1000 men at work upon the +different branches of the Sacramento; putting their gains at $10,000 per +day, for six days in the week, appears to me not overrated. + +Should this news reach the emigration of California and Oregon, now on the +road, connected with the Indian wars, now impoverishing the latter +country, we should have a large addition to our population; and should the +richness of the gold region continue, our emigrants in 1849 will be many +thousand, and in 1850 still more. If our countrymen in California as +clerks, mechanics and workmen will forsake employment at from $2 to $6 per +day, how many more of the same class in the Atlantic States, earning much +less, will leave for this country under such prospects? It is the opinion +of many who have visited the gold regions the past and present months, +that the ground will afford gold for many years, perhaps for a century. +From my own examination of the rivers and their banks, I am of opinion +that, at least for a few years, the golden products will equal the present +year. However, as neither men of science, nor the laborers now at work, +have made any explorations of consequence, it is a matter of impossibility +to give any opinion as to the extent and richness of this part of +California. Every Mexican who has seen the place says throughout their +Republic there has never been any "placer like this one." + +Could Mr. Polk and yourself see California as we now see it, you would +think that a few thousand people, on 100 miles square of the Sacramento +valley, would yearly turn out of this river the whole price our country +pays for the acquired territory. When I finished my first letter I doubted +my own writing, and, to be better satisfied, showed it to one of the +principal merchants of San Francisco, and to Capt. Folsom, of the +Quartermaster's Department, who decided at once I was far below the +reality. You certainly will suppose, from my two letters, that I am, like +others, led away by the excitement of the day. I think I am not. In my +last I inclosed a small sample of the gold dust, and I find my only error +was in putting a value to the sand. At that time I was not aware how the +gold was found; I now can describe the mode of collecting it. + +A person without a machine, after digging off one or two feet of the upper +ground, near the water (in some cases they take the top earth,) throws +into a tin pan or wooden bowl a shovel full of loose dirt and stones; then +placing the basin an inch or two under water, continues to stir up the +dirt with his hand in such a manner that the running water will carry off +the light earths, occasionally, with his hand, throwing out the stones; +after an operation of this kind for twenty or thirty minutes, a spoonful +of small black sand remains; this is, on a handkerchief or cloth, dried in +the sun, the emerge is blown off, leaving the pure gold. I have the +pleasure of inclosing a paper of this sand and gold, which I, from a +bucket of dirt and stones, in half an hour, standing at the edge of the +water, washed out myself. The value of it may be $2 or $3. + +The size of the gold depends in some measure upon the river from which it +is taken, the banks of one river having larger grains of gold than +another. I presume more than one-half of the gold put into pans or +machines is washed out and goes down the stream; this is of no consequence +to the washers, who care only for the present time. Some have formed +companies of four or five men, and have a rough-made machine put together +in a day, which worked to much advantage, yet many prefer to work alone, +with a wooden bowl or tin pan, worth fifteen or twenty cents in the +States, but eight to sixteen dollars at the gold region. As the workmen +continue, and materials can be obtained, improvements will take place in +the mode of obtaining gold; at present it is obtained by standing in the +water, and with much severe labor, or such as is called here severe labor. + +How long this gathering of gold by the handful will continue here, or the +future effect it will have on California, I cannot say. Three-fourths of +the houses in the town on the Bay of San Francisco are deserted. Houses +are sold at the price of the ground lots. The effects are this week +showing themselves in Monterey. Almost every house I had hired out is +given up. Every blacksmith, carpenter and lawyer is leaving; brick yards, +saw mills and ranches are left perfectly alone. A large number of the +volunteers at San Francisco and Sonoma have deserted; some have been +retaken and brought back; public and private vessels are losing their +crews: my clerks have had 100 per cent advance offered them on their wages +to accept employment. A complete revolution in the ordinary state of +affairs is taking place; both of our newspapers are discontinued from want +of workmen and the loss of their agencies; the Alcaldes have left San +Francisco, and I believe Sonoma likewise; the former place has not a +Justice of the Peace left. + +The second Alcalde of Monterey to-day joins the keepers of our principal +hotel, who have closed their office and house, and will leave tomorrow for +the golden rivers. I saw on the ground a lawyer who was last year Attorney +General of the King of the Sandwich Islands, digging and washing out his +ounce and a half per day; near him can be found most all his brethren of +the long robe, working in the same occupation. + +To conclude; my letter is long, but I could not well describe what I have +seen in less words, and I now can believe that my account may be doubted; +if the affair proves a bubble, a mere excitement, I know not how we can +all be deceived, as we are situated. Gov. Mason and his staff have left +Monterey to visit the place in question, and will, I suppose, soon forward +to his department his views and opinions on this subject. Most of the land +where gold has been discovered, is public land; there are, on different +rivers, some private grants. I have three such, purchased in 1846 and '47, +but have not learned that any private lands have produced gold, though +they may hereafter do so. + + + +* * * * * + + +Here is a letter of great sprightliness, beauty and interest, prepared by +that finished scholar and noted writer, the Rev. Walter Colton, Alcalde of +Monterey. + +MONTEREY, California, Aug. 29, 1848. + +The gold discoveries still continue--every day brings some new deposit to +light. It has been found in large quantities on the Sacramento, Feather +River, Yerba River, the American fork--North and South branches--the +Cosamer, and in many dry ravines, and indeed on the tops of high hills The +tract of country in which it is ascertained to exist, extends some two +hundred miles North and South, and some sixty East and West; and these +limits are every day enlarging by new discoveries. On the streams where +the gold has been subjected to the action of water and sand, it exists in +fine grains; on the hills and among the clefts of the rocks it is found in +rough, jagged pieces of a quarter or half an ounce in weight, and +sometimes two or three ounces. + +The gold is obtained in a variety of ways; some wash it out of the sand +with bowls, some with a machine made like a cradle, only longer and open +at the foot, while at the other end, instead of a squalling infant, there +is a grating upon which the earth is thrown, and then water; both pass +through the grating,--the cradle is rocked, and being on an inclined +plane, the water carries off the earth, and the gold is deposited in the +bottom of the cradle. So the two things most prized in this world, gold +and infant beauty, are both rocked out of their primitive stage, one to +pamper pride, and the other to pamper the worm. Some forego cradles and +bowls as too tame an occupation, and mounted on horses, half wild, dash up +the mountain gorges and over the steep hills, picking the gold from the +clefts of the rocks with their bowie knives,--a much better use to make of +these instruments than picking the life out of men's bodies; for what is a +man with that article picked out of him? + +A larger party, well mounted, are following up the channel of the +Sacramento, to discover where this gold, found in its banks, comes from; +and imagine that near the river's fount they will find the great yellow +mass itself. But they might as well hunt the fleeting rainbow. The gold +was thrown up from the bed of the ocean with the rocks and sands in which +it is found; and still bears, where it has escaped the action of the +element, vivid traces of volcanic fire. It often encases a crystal of +quartz, in which the pebble lies as if it had slumbered there from +eternity; its beautiful repose sets human artifice at defiance. How +strange that this ore should have lain here, scattered about in all +directions, peeping everywhere out of the earth, and sparkling in the sun, +and been trod upon for ages by white men and savages, and by the +emissaries of every scientific association in the world, and never till +now have been discovered! What an ass man is, with all his learning! He +stupidly stumbles over hills of gold to reach a rare pepper pod, or rifle +a bird's nest! + +The whole country is now moving on the mines. Monterey, San Francisco, +Sonoma, San Jose, and Santa Cruz, are emptied of their male population. A +stranger coming here would suppose he had arrived among a race of women, +who, by some anomalous provision of nature, multiplied their images +without the presence of the other sex. But not a few of the women have +gone too, especially those who had got out of tea--for what is women +without her tea pot--a pythoness without her shaking trypod--an angel that +has lost his lyre. Every bowl, tray, warming-pan, and piggin has gone to +the mines. Everything in short, that has a scoop in it that will hold sand +and water. All the iron has been worked up into crow-bars, pick-axes and +spades. And all these roll back upon us in the shape of gold. We have, +therefore, plenty of gold, but little to eat, and still less to wear. Our +supplies must come from Oregon, Chili and the United States. Our grain +gold, in exchange for coin, sells for nine and ten dollars the ounce, +though it is well known to be worth at the mint in Philadelphia eighteen +dollars the ounce at least. Such is the scarcity of coin here. + +We want a mint. Let Congress send us one at once over the Isthmus; else +this grain gold goes to Mazatlan, to Chili and Peru--where it is lost to +our national currency. Over a million of gold, at the lowest computation, +is taken from these mines every month---and this quantity will be more +than doubled when the emigration from they States, from Oregon, the +Sandwich Islands, and the Southern republics arrives. Send us a mint! I +could give you forty more illustrations of the extent and productiveness +of these mines, but no one will believe what I _have_ said without my +name, and perhaps but few with it. + + + +* * * * * + + +LETTER FROM CAPT. FOLSOM. + +The latest and most authentic intelligence from the Gold Regions of +California, is the most interesting and the best. The following letter +from Capt. Folsom, it will be seen, is of recent date; and on perusal the +reader will find it is pregnant with valuable facts: + + +SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, Oct. 8th, 1848. + +MY DEAR SIR:--The prices of labor here will create surprise in the United +States. Kannakas, or Sandwich Islanders, the worst of laborers, are now +employed constantly about town in storing and landing merchandise at a +dollar an hour each; and the most indifferent laborers are hired by the +week together at six or eight dollars per day. Mechanics obtain, when +employed by the day, eight or ten dollars per day, and by the month about +six. In a few days, as the sickly season is over, I presume wages will +advance, for most of the laboring classes are returning to the mines. + +I have just completed the repairs upon a government lighter, preparatory +to discharging the cargo of the transport ship Huntress. I attempted to +hire a lighter to effect this, but could not get one capable of containing +one hundred and twenty barrels manned by two men, short of fifty dollars +per day. I have had the master of the government lighter employed for +several days in getting a crew for her; and when he offers $80 per month +for sailors, he is laughed at, and told that a man can get that amount at +the mines in one day. + +A few days since, I sent a wagon-master to employ some men to handle +stores in the public warehouse. After searching about the town in vain, +for several hours, he saw a man on the dock whom he felt sure of getting, +for the individual in question did not seem to be blessed with a +redundancy of this world's gear. He was wearing a slouched hat without a +crown, a dilapidated buckskin hunting shirt or frock, a very uncleanly red +woolen shirt, with pantaloons hanging in tatters, and his feet had an +apology for a covering in one old shoe, and one buckskin moccasin, sadly +the worse for wear and age. When asked if he wanted employment, he replied +in the affirmative; and as the young man was proceeding to tell him what +he wished to have him do, he was interrupted with "It is not that kind of +work, sir, that I want; (at the same time taking a bag containing about +_two quarts_ of gold dust from his buckskin shirt,) I want to work in +the mines, sir. Look here, stranger, do you see this? This bag contains +gold dust; and do you suppose I am to make a d----d nigger of myself, +handling boxes and barrels for _eight or ten dollars per day?_ I +should think not, stranger!" And our friend left in a most contemptuous +manner. Nor was this a solitary instance of like conduct; they occur daily +and hourly in this village. + +All sorts of labor is got at enormous rates of compensation. Common clerks +and salesmen in the stores about town often receive as high as $2500 and +their board. The clerk now in my office is a young boy, who, until a few +weeks since, was a _private of volunteers_, and I am now paying him +$1500 per annum. This will not appear high, when I tell you that I have +just seen upon his table a wash bill, made out and paid, at the rate of +eight dollars per dozen; and that almost every thing else is at +corresponding prices. The principal waiter in the hotel where I board is +paid $1,700 per year, and several others from $1,200 to $1,500. I +fortunately have an Indian boy, or I should be forced to clean my own +boots, for I could not employ a good body servant for the full amount of +my salary as a government officer. It will be impossible for any army +officer to live here upon his pay without becoming rapidly impoverished, +for his time is not his own to enter upon business; and although he might +have money, his opportunities for making it useful to him are few, unless +he invests it in real estate. Unless something is done, I am unable to see +how it is possible for officers, living upon the salaries granted by law +to military men, to support themselves in this country. + +I believe every army officer in California, with one or two exceptions, +would have resigned last summer, could they have done it and been free at +once to commence for themselves. But the war was not then terminated, and +no one could hope to communicate with Washington correspondents, to get an +answer in less than six, and perhaps ten months. For some time last +summer, (August and July,) the officers at Monterey were entirely without +servants; and the Governor (Col. Mason,) actually took his turn in cooking +for his mess. Unless some prompt action is taken to pay both officers and +men serving in this country, in proportion to the unavoidable expenses to +be incurred, the former will resign and the latter will desert, and it +will be impossible to maintain a military force in California. + +I look upon California as perhaps the richest mineral country on the +globe. I have written you at great length as to the gold, and since the +date of that letter other and richer mines have been discovered. Rich +silver mines are known to exist in various parts of the country, but they +are not worked. Quicksilver mines are found at innumerable places, and +many of them afford the richest ores. The new Almadin mine at Santa Clara +gives the richest ore of which we have any accounts. With very imperfect +machinery, it yields upward of fifty per cent, and the proprietors are now +working it, and are preparing to quadruple their force. Iron, copper, +lead, tin, sulphur, zinc, platinum, cobalt, &c. are said to be found in +abundance, and most of them are known to exist in various sections of the +country. + +As an agricultural territory, its great disadvantage is a want of rain; +but this is by no means so great as has been represented. I believe +California can be made to produce as fine wheat, rye, oats, buckwheat, +barley, vegetables, and fruits, especially grapes, as any portion of the +world. Nothing that has been fairly tried has failed, and nearly every +thing has produced wonderfully. The portions of the soil which are capable +of cultivation are inconsiderable in comparison with the whole area of the +country; but the soil about this bay, and in many of the large valleys, is +equal to the wants of a dense population. It is proverbially healthy, and +with the exception of portions of the Sacramento and San Joaquin valleys, +no country ever had, at the same period of its settlement, a more +salubrious climate. + +I think California affords means for the investment of capital such as few +other countries offer. Any person who could come in here now with ready +cash would be certain of doubling his money in a few months. Large +fortunes will be made here within the ensuing year, and I am told that +there are some hundreds of persons who have already made on an average +$25,000 each. Whole cargoes of goods are sold at an average of about 150 +per cent. clear profit, and ready pay in gold dust. + +When I came to this place I expended a few hundred dollars in waste lots, +covered with bushes and sand hills. The chapter of events which has +followed is likely to make this property quite valuable, if I am able to +look after it. What cost me less than $800, I suppose I could now sell for +$8,000 or perhaps $10,000. It is this consideration which makes me willing +to return to a country where my salary is insufficient for my support. If +Congress does not increase the pay of officers serving here, I should +still be willing to return, in the expectation that my private interests +would justify a measure which would otherwise be certain to impoverish me. + +Something should be done here at once for the establishment of peace and +good order in the country. All law, both civil and military, is at an end. +Among the mines, and indeed in most parts of the country out of the +villages, no authority but that of the strongest exists, and outrages of +the most disgraceful nature are constantly occurring, and the offenders go +unpunished. There are now about twenty-five vessels in this port, and I +believe there is not one of them that has a crew to go to sea. Frequently +the sailors arm themselves, take the ship's boats, and leave in the most +open manner, defying both their officers and the civil magistrates. These +things are disgraceful to the country and the flag, and while vessels have +to pay port charges, duties, &c., their owners ought to be protected. The +tariff law of 1846 is now in force in California. + +We have not had an American man-of-war in this port for more than a year, +and all the naval resources of the United States on this coast are +concentrated at Monterey, which is not a harbor but an open roadstead, and +which has not one-tenth of the business on its waters which is done in +this bay. During the whole year that I was collector of this port, there +was not a gun mounted for commanding the entrance of the port, and there +was not a United States man-of-war in the harbor. We were exacting a +"military contribution," and we possessed not the slightest means of +preventing vessels from leaving in defiance of our authority. + +In a few months the line of ocean mail steamers will be in operation from +Panama to Oregon, and this port is to be a depot for coal, and of course a +stopping point in passing both ways. The starting of the line of steamers +on this coast is likely to be an undertaking of very great difficulty, and +at this time, such is its importance, with reference to both Oregon and +California, that its failure might be looked upon as a national calamity. +Still, unless some kind of protection is extended to the shipping of this +port, it is not at all improbable that it may fail for want of the +necessary laborers, as soon as the boats reach this harbor. Indeed, it is +altogether probable, unless some competent authority is found here at the +time to preserve order, that the crew will quit in a body as soon as the +first vessel arrives. + +Every possible assistance should be extended to insure the success of this +company, and every reasonable latitude should be granted in the execution +of their contract. It is now uncertain if the steamers can enter Columbia +river at all times in the winter; and they may find it necessary to run up +to Paget's Sound. This would be a small inconvenience in comparison to the +loss of one of these vessels upon the very dangerous bar at the mouth of +the Columbia--an event not at all improbable, if they enter that river in +the winter. + + + +* * * * * + + +NEWSPAPER CORRESPONDENCE. + +The following letters were communicated to the "Californian" newspaper, +and exhibit very graphically the state of excitement and the actual state +of things in the Gold Regions during last summer. + + +NEW HELVETIA, June 30, 1848. + +I have just returned from Fort Sacramento, from the gold region, from +whence I write this; and in compliance with my promise, on leaving the sea +coast, I send you such items as I have gathered. + +Our trip after leaving your city, by way of Pueblo, San Jose, and the San +Joaquin river, we found very agreeable. Passing over a lovely country, +with its valleys and hills covered with the richest verdure, intertwined +with flowers of every hue. The country from the San Joaquin river to this +place, is rich beyond comparison, and will admit of a dense population. + +We found the fort a miniature Manchester, a young Lowell. The blacksmith's +hammer, the tinner, the carpenter, and the weaver's shuttle, plying by the +ingenuity of Indians, at which place there are several hundred in the +employ of Capt. J.A. Sutter. I was much pleased with a walk in a large and +beautiful garden attached to the fort. It contains about eight or ten +acres, laid out with great taste, under the supervision of a young Swiss. +Among the fruit trees I noticed the almond, fig, olive, pear, apple, and +peach. The grape vines are in the highest state of cultivation, and for +vegetables, I would refer you to a seedman's catalogue. + +About three miles from the fort, on the east bank of the Sacramento, the +town of Suttersville is laid out. The location is one of the best in the +country, situated in the largest and most fertile district in California, +and being the depot for the extensive, gold, silver, platina, quicksilver, +and iron mines. A hotel is now building for the accomodation of the +travelling public, who are now obliged to impose on the kind hospitalities +of Capt. Sutter. A party of men who have been exploring a route to cross +the Sierra Nevada mountains, have just returned, and report that they have +found a good wagon road on the declivity ridge between the American fork +and the McCossamy rivers, the distance being much less than by the old +route. The road will pass through the gold district, and enter the valley +near the American fork. + +A ferry is to be established at Suttersville, on the Sacramento, and the +road across the _tularie_ improved soon, which will shorten the +distance from this place to Sonoma and your city, about 60 miles. + +After leaving the fort we passed up on the south bank of the American +fork, about twelve miles. This is a beautiful river, about three fathoms +deep the water being very cold and clear; and after leaving the river we +passed through a country rolling and timbered with oak. We soon commenced +ascending the hills at the base of the Sierra Nevada, which are thickly +set with oak and pine timber, and soon arrived at a small rivulet. One of +our party dipped up a cupful of sand from the bed of the creek, washed it, +and found five pieces of gold. This was our first attempt at gold digging. +About dark we arrived at the saw-mill of Captain Sutter, having ridden +over gold, silver, platina and iron mines, some twenty or thirty miles. +The past three days I have spent in exploring the mountains in this +district, and conversing with many men who have been at work here for some +weeks past. Should I attempt to relate to you all that I have seen, and +have been told, concerning the extent and productions of the mines, I am +fearful your readers would think me exaggerating too much, therefore I +will keep within bounds. I could fill your columns with the most +astonishing tales concerning the mines here, far excelling the Arabian +Nights, and all true to the letter. + +As near as I can ascertain, there are now about 2,000 persons engaged, and +the roads leading to the mines are thronged with people and wagons. From +one to nine ounces of pure virgin gold per day is gathered by every man +who performs the requisite labor. The mountains have been explored for +about forty miles, and gold has been found in great abundance in almost +every part of them. A gentleman informed me that he had spent some time in +exploring the country, and had dug fifty-two holes with his butcher's +knife in different places, and found gold in every one. + +Several extensive silver mines have been discovered, but very little +attention is paid to them now. Immense beds of iron ore, of superior +quality, yielding 85 to 90 per cent., have also been found near the +American Fork. + +A grist mill is to be attached to the saw mill, for the purpose of +convenience of families and others settling at the mines. The water power +of the American Fork is equal to any upon this continent, and in a few +years large iron founderies, rolling, splitting and nail mills will be +erected. + +The granite of the mountains is superior to the celebrated Quincy. A +quarry of beautiful marble has been discovered near the McCossanny river, +specimens of which you will see in a few years in the front of the Custom +House, Merchants' Exchange, City Hall, and other edifices in your +flourishing city. + +P. S.-"The cry is still, they come." Two men have just arrived for +provisions from the Abjuba river, who state that they have worked five +days, and gathered $950 in gold, the largest piece weighing nearly one +ounce. They report the quantity on that river to be immense, and in much +larger pieces than that taken in other parts. + + +SONOMA. Aug. 5, 1848. + +The mining fever is raging here, as well as elsewhere. Not a mechanic or +laboring man can be obtained in town, and most of our male citizens have +"gone up" to the Sierra Nevada, and are now enjoying "golden moments." +Spades, shovels, pick-axes, hoes, bottles, vials, snuff-boxes, brass +tubes, earthern jars, and even barrels, have been put in requisition, and +have also abruptly left town. + +I have heard from one of our citizens who has been at the Gold Placer a +few weeks, and he had collected $1,500 worth of the "root of evil," and +was still averaging $100 per day. Another gent, wife and boy collected +$500 worth in one day. Another still, who shut up his hotel here some five +or six weeks since, has returned with $2,200 in pure virgin gold, +collected by his own exertions, with no other aid than a spade, pick and +Indian basket. + +Three new and valuable lead mines have recently been discovered in this +vicinity, and one of our citizens, Mr. John Bowles, of Galena, Ill.--a +gent, who has been reported by the Boston press as having been murdered by +the Indians, on the Southern route to Oregon, from the States--informed me +that the ore would yield 90 per cent., and that it was his intention to +erect, as soon as practicable, six large smelting furnaces. + +The Colonnade Theatre, at this place, has closed for the season; it was +well attended, however, from the time the Thespians made their debut till +they made their exit. The "Golden Farmer," the "Omnibus," and a Russian +comedy called "Feodora,' (translated from the German of Kotzebue, by Mr. +F. Linz, of Sonoma,) were their last attractions. + +The military company under command of Capt. J. E. Brackett, are today +exchanging posts with Company H., under command of Captain Frisbie, both +of the New York Volunteers. Company C. has been stationed with us more +than a year, and much praise is due its members, not only for the military +and soldier-like manner in which they have acquitted themselves as a +corps, but for their gentlemanly and orderly deportment individually and +collectively. We regret to part with them, and cannot let them go without +expressing a hope that when peace shall have been declared, their regiment +disbanded, and their country no longer needs their services, they may have +fallen sufficiently in love with our healthy climate and our beautiful +valley to come back and settle. + + + +* * * * * + + +GOLD. + +The New York _Evening Post_ has an article upon this subject, from +which we take the following: + +The places where it is found are much more numerous than we might at first +suppose. The mines of America, however, surpass those of all other +countries. Though of comparative newness, they have furnished three times +and a half more gold and twelve times more silver than those of the old +world. Silver and gold were, before the discovery of America, supposed to +bear to each other the relation of 55 to 1. In Europe the proportion is +now about 15 to 1. + +The gold of Mexico is chiefly found in argentiferous veins, as at +Guanaxuato, where it is obtained one ounce in 360. The only auriferous +veins, worked as such, are at Oaxaca. The rivers in Caraccas flow over +auriferous sands. Peru is not reported rich in gold at present. The gold +of New Grenada is found in alluvial soil, and is washed out in the shape +of spangles and grains. The gold of Chili, is found under similar +circumstances. Brazil formerly brought the most gold to market, not even +excepting Russia, which now, however, surpasses her. All the rivers +running from the Brazilian mountains have gold, and the annual product of +fine metal is now rated at $5,000,000. + +There are no very late tables of the products of the American mines. We +have ascertained, by accident purely, how the estimate is made at present. + +From 1790 to 1830, forty years, the product of Mexico was:-- + +Gold L6,436,453 +Silver 139,818,032 + +Chili-- + +Gold L2,768,488 +Silver 1,822,924 + +Buenos Ayres-- + +Gold L4,024,895 +Silver 27,182,673 + + +Add to this Russia-- + +Gold L2,703,743 +Silver 1,502,981 + + +And we have from four countries alone 1880 millions of pounds sterling, or +forty-seven millions per annum. + +If we add the products of Europe and Asiatic Russia, of the East Indies +and Africa, which some estimate at thirty-six tons of gold per annum, we +perceive that a vast amount of the precious metal is unearthed and +somewhere in use. The relative value of gold has certainly changed very +much within a few hundred years, and it probably will change still more. +But we do not think it is likely to depreciate one-half in our time, for +many reasons, though some persons imagine it will. + +The true secret of all this present excitement is this: the Anglo Saxon +race, for the first time in their history, own and occupy gold mines of +very great value. Hitherto Africans, Asiatic or Indians, have held them, +and they have never shown that ardor combined with perseverance which +belongs to us. England never had any mines of gold, or she would have +worked them as diligently as she has those of coal. The Americans have now +a golden chance, and they are the first of their blood that have ever had +it. They will be sure to turn the opportunity to account. + +At our leisure we will refer to some other interesting facts, in relation +to the value of gold at different periods. We conclude with recalling one +singular circumstance to the recollection of our readers, that when the +Romans captured Jerusalem, they obtained so much gold, that the price of +it in Syria fell one half. + + + +* * * * * + + +LIEUTENANT L. LOESER, of the Third Artillery, a graduate of West Point, +furnishes the following information respecting the gold region: + +"We have been favored by Lieutenant Loeser, bearer of dispatches from +Governor Mason to the government at Washington (who also brought on about +$20,000 of gold dust, which he deposited at Washington,) with a general +description of the gold region, the climate, &c., of California. He says +the gold region is very large, and there is sufficient ore to profitably +employ one hundred thousand persons for generations to come. So far as +discovered, the gold is found in an extent of country four hundred miles +long, by one hundred and fifty wide, and no particular portion seems more +productive than another. In the river and on the flatlands the gold dust +is found; but among the rocks and in the highlands it is found in lumps, +from the size of a man's hand to the size of an ordinary duck-shot, all of +which is solid, and presents the appearance of having been thrown up by a +volcanic eruption. So plenty is the gold, that little care is paid to the +washing of it by those engaged when he left; the consequence of which is +great quantities are thrown away. In the highlands he was walking with a +man who found a piece weighing about thirty-five pennyweights, worth $29, +but which he purchased for $4. The piece is solid, and has the form of a +perfect acorn on the top of it. He has had it, just as it was found, +converted into a breastpin. A man, by ordinary labor, may procure from $50 +to $200 per day. With regard to the climate, he says, it is salubrious, at +no time being so cold as to require more than a light blanket to sleep +under. When he left, the people were sleeping under the trees, without the +fear of sickness from exposure. The rainy season begins about the first of +November, and continues until March, though there are five clear days for +every rainy one. Provisions are generally high, at least such as cannot be +obtained in the country. Flour is worth $80 per barrel, though a fine +bullock may be obtained for $3. Clothing is very high, and the demand is +very great. The Indians, who have heretofore used no clothing whatever, +now endeavor to imitate the whites, and will give any price for garments. +The report relative to the Mormons requiring 30 per cent. of all the gold +found, he says, is a mistake. When the gold was first discovered, one of +the leaders of that people demanded that amount from all the Mormons, but +they remonstrated, and refused to pay it, which remonstrance caused not +the slightest difficulty among the people. He was in San Francisco when +the gold was first discovered, about forty miles from that place. The news +was received one day, and the following morning, out of the whole company +to which he was attached, every one deserted except two sergeants, and +took with them all the horses belonging to the officers. In a few days the +city was almost entirely deserted, and Col. Mason, the governor of the +territory, was, and has ever since been, obliged to prepare and cook his +own food. A servant cannot be had at any price; and the soldiers have not +sufficient pay for a month to subsist on for a week. The salary of the +governor is not sufficient to support him; and, like all others in the +more wealthy circles of life, he is obliged to be his own servant. He +speaks of the country as offering the greatest inducements to young men of +enterprise, and thinks there is ample room and gold for hundreds of +thousands. + + + +* * * * * + + +ADVICE TO THOSE GOING TO CALIFORNIA BY THE CAPES. + +The following article, condensed from correspondence in a daily paper of +New York City, will be found to contain many valuable hints to the +California bound traveler. It came to hand too late to appear in its +proper place, where the four different routes are spoken of: + +The first grand desideratum is, to secure comfort on the passage, by the +most efficient and economical means, thereby, as far as possible insuring +the arrival of the company at their destination in good health and +condition. + +To insure the most perfect health and comfort attainable on so long a +voyage, a vessel should not be fitted up as our European passenger ships +are, with bunks for the passengers to sleep in, but the berth deck should +be free from bulkheads fore and aft. This arrangement would give plenty of +room for the company to swing their hammocks or cots, which could be +stowed on deck in pleasant weather, leaving the berth deck free from +encumbrance, for the company to amuse themselves with conversation or +exercise. Such an arrangement would secure a more perfect ventilation (a +very important consideration) than bunks could possibly admit of, as bunks +unavoidably harbor filth and vermin, besides leaving very little room for +the exercise so absolutely necessary in preventing the diseases incident +to a protracted voyage. Before the company proceeds on the voyage, each +member should subscribe to a code of regulations, and officers be +appointed to carry them into effect. This arrangement should be made in +order to obviate the vexation and annoyance which inevitably occur +wherever a large number of persons are promiscuously on shipboard. A +simple system, such as regularity of meals and cleansing the interior of +the ship, similar to the Navy regulations in that particular, are +indispensible and will contribute much to the pleasure, comfort, health, +and good fellowship of all on board. + +The company should be composed of _practical persons_-- +Agriculturists, Mechanics, and Artisans, as _nearly equal in pecuniary +condition and intelligence_ as circumstances will admit, and it would +be very important for the most useful and necessary arts to be well +represented. By such an organization, the company would be very efficient; +for by taking on board cloth, leather, iron, lumber, brick, &c. their +clothing, shoes, iron and wood work of a brick house might be made on +board. And would employ the various mechanics connected with those arts, +would tend to relieve the monotony of the ocean, and PRACTICALLY +_illustrate the benefits and many advantages_ of a true +_association_ of interests. + +The agricultural implements of the most approved method, together with the +choicest varieties of young fruit trees and garden seeds, should be +provided. Instead of the usual ballast for the vessel, brick and lime, if +necessary, could be taken for that purpose, which might be used by the +company or disposed of to great advantage at San Francisco. The vessel +might be profitably employed in transporting passengers to and from the +Isthmus, with great profit to the company, of which the officers and +ship's company should be members. A _skillful surgeon_ should belong +to the association. Every member of the company should contribute all the +useful books he could, as a library on ship-board would be a constant +source of amusement and instruction. + +Persons about embarking on so long a voyage should be very particular and +have their provisions carefully put up. The United States service rations +will be found to be very economical. The following is the weekly allowance +per man:-- + +Sunday 14 oz. bread, 11/4 lb. beef, 1/2 lb. flour. +Monday 14 oz. bread, 1 lb. pork, 1/2 pint beans. +Tuesday 14 oz. bread, 2 oz. cheese, 1 lb. beef. +Wednesday 14 oz. bread, 1 lb. pork, 1/2 pint of rice. +Thursday 14 oz. bread, 11/4 lbs. beef, 1/2 lb. flour. +Friday 14 oz. bread, 4 oz. cheese, 2 oz. butter, 1/2 pint rice, 1/2 +pint molasses, 1/2 pint vinegar. +Saturday 14 oz, bread, 1 lb. pork, 1/2 pint beans, 1/2 lb. raisins. + +The spirit ration is omitted. + +This is sufficient for the hardest-working seaman. The flour should be +kiln dried; any baker can do it. It is only necessary to evaporate all the +moisture, and pack it in air-tight casks. Pine-apple cheese is the best +and should be put up in water-tight boxes, saturated in alcohol. Sour +crout, pickles, &c. are excellent anti-scorbutics, and should be eaten +freely. Be careful and lay in a good store of "salt water soap." + +N. B. The flour should be packed in casks that have contained distilled +spirits. + +A vessel bound for California by the way of Cape Horn by touching at Rio +Janeiro, Brazil and Callao, in Peru, would divide the voyage into three +periods, increasing its interest without much addition to its length of +time. Rio Janeiro has one of the most magnificent harbors on the globe, +far surpassing in natural grandeur the bay of Naples. The approach to the +stupendous mountain coast is inexpressibly grand. The entrance to the +capacious roadstead is through a narrow strait of great depth of water +unobstructed by rock or shoal, flanked on the North by the huge fortress +of Santa Cruz; on the South the "Sugar Loaf" rock proudly rears its lofty +cone near one thousand feet above the surface of the deep. The entire bay +is nearly surrounded by numerous mountain peaks of every conceivable form. + +Leaving Rio we prepare to encounter the terrors of the "Horn," having +overcome its Westerly gales and "head-beat seas" debouching on the vast +Pacific, we career onward before the "trades" to Callao, the port of Lima +and capital of the Peruvian Republic. Here the refreshments peculiar to +the Tropics are plenty and of excellent quality. We ride at anchor over +the ancient City of Callao, (destroyed and sunk by an earthquake 1746,) in +sight of the lofty Andes, the mighty cones of Pichnia and Cotopaxi blazing +their volcanic fires far above the region of eternal snow, their ice- +frosted summits glittering in the sun, forming a dazzling contrast with +the clear deep azure of the tropical skies. + +Waving adieu to Callao, our canvas spread to woo the "trades," we sweep +onward to Alta-California, and entering the "Golden Gate" of the +Cornucopia of the Pacific, drop our anchor in the bay of San Francisco. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Exploring Expedition to the Rocky +Mountains, Oregon and California, by Brevet Col. J.C. 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