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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