IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) vl vl y: A y l»^^ ISO "^* ■ 2.5 IM £».■ 2.2 I.I I I" 12.0 L25 lliu 1& 1.6 Hiotographic Sdences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WIBSTIR.N.Y. I4SM (7l6)»73-4503 *,-■ TO THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS, OREGON AND CALIFORNIA, BV BREVET COL. J. C. FREMONT. .P1 il ^ :i'; TO WHICH IS ADDED A DESCRIPTION OF THE PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY OF CALIFORNIA. WITH RECENT NOTICES OF THE GOLD RE&ION FROM THE LATEST AND MOST AOTHKNTIC SOURCES. BUFFALO: GEO. H. DERBY & CO. PUBLISHERS. 1849 .!'^- .^ ■ » i •'•: *T ^S.ni42' i" 1 J . * . jr .*. J\ V---** ^ l,..l J/'* .1 .-; '•?*'. rrA. - ri r^ JEWKTT, THOMAS AND CO. STURKOTYPURS. I. ,.-»■ .i.l PREFACE •■{'•r m.- No work has appeared from the American press within the past few years better calculated to interest the community at large thaij 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 quahfied for the task assigned him, Colonel Fremont entered upon his duties with alacrity, and ha» embodied in the following pages the results of his obser- vations. The country thus explpred is daily making deeper and more abiding impressions upon the minds of the people, and information is eagerly sought in re- gard to its natural resources, its climate, inhabitants^ productions, and adaptation for supplying the Wsats and providing the comforts for a dense populatic.i. The day is not far distant when that territory, hitherto so little known, will be intersected by railroads, its wa- ters 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. it, m .jM> 4 FREFAOS. Since the preparation of this report, Colonel Fremont has been engaged in still farther explorations by order of the govern- ment, 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 beftuty, 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 invi- ting borders. Jakuary 1849. " tj ■ii:. ^■ ,.;n^><3 cif'.j f: i 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. I Wabhinqton, 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 n6cessary 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 observa- tions, 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 boi^- ary of Missouri. The sky cleared oF t * len«rth and %e were ^1 •J'. I I ill I li! ii. 6 CAPT. FREMONT S NAERATIVE. [June, enabled to determine our position, in longitude 90° 25^ 46'''', and latitude 39° 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 be- come familiar with prairie life in the service of the fur compa- nies in the Indian country. Mr. Charles Preuss, a>native of Germany, was my assistant in the topographical part of the sur- vey ; L. Maxwell, of Kaskaskia, had been engaged as hunter, and Christopher Carson (more familiarly known, for his ex- ploits 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, Ben- jamin Potra, Louis Gouin, J. B. Dumes, Basil Lajeunesse, Frangois Tessier> Benjamin Cadotte, Jos'eph Clement, Daniel Simonds, Leonard Benoit, Michel Morly, Baptiste Bernier, Honore Ayot, Frangois 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 Ran- dolph, 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 bag- gage and instruments, and which were drawn by two mules. A few loose horses, and four oxen, which had been added to ^> 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. our stock of provisions, completed the train. We set out on tho morning of the 10th, which happened to bo Friday, a circumstance which our men did not fail to remember and re- call during the hardships and vexations of the ensuing jour< ney. 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 hQ 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 en- abled 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 de- fending the camp, guard was mounted at eight o'clock, con- sisting 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'ciocki whieih ':f#' I I 8 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [June, 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 lefl in the aflernoon, and encamped late in the evening on a small creek, called by the Indians, Mlshmagwi. 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 n^an, 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 lit- tle 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 encamp- ed 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, vvhich 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 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. » xen was been unloaded and dismantled, and an Indja-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 anx- iety 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 pro- vision. 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 num- ber of Kansas Indians visited us to-day. Going up to one of the groups who were scattered ar^ong 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. I. 10 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [June, ''i'i ill 1,~ m V: il i i''i li it i f|,i 'In II On all sides was heard the strange language of his own peo- ple, 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 ; anu, 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 ex- change for a yoke of oxen. Several of them brought us vege- tables, 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 hand- some, open prairie, some twent)' feet above the water, where the fine grass afforded a luxurious repast to our horses. During the day we occupied ourselves in making astrono- mical 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 fir- ing. In the steep bank of the river hfere, were nests of innu- merable 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, dart- ing 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, 1842.] CAPT. FEEMONT S NARRATIVE. 11 ihat burst upon us in the afternoon, cleared away in a brilliant sunset, followed by a clear night, which enabled us to deter- mine our position in longitude 95° 38' 05'''', and in latitude 390 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 con- siderable number of cattle, and were transporting their house- hold 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. - - i -v The morning of the 1 8th was very unpleasant. A fine ram 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 extreme- ly rich. We halted for dinner, after a march of about thir- teen 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, a..tracted by the appearance of a cluster of huts near tht 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 at- tacked 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 Ver- milion river, I reached the ford in time to meet the carts, and, crossing, encamped on its western side. The weather con- tinued cold, tl^e thermometer being this evening as low as 49^ ; m IH'i m III' * I'' I; 1 II - ii'i 12 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [June, but the night was sufficiently clear for astronomical observa- tions, which placed us in longitude 96° 04'' 07'''', and latitude 39° 15^ W\ At sunset, the barometer was at 28-845, ther- mometer 64°. We breakfasted the next morning at half-past five, and left our encampment early. The morning was cool, the ther- mometer being at 45°. 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 scat- tered along the hills ; and many beautiful plants in flower, among which the amorpha canescens was a characteristic, en- livened 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^, barometer 28-483. Our position was in longitude 96° 14' 49'^ and lati- tutle 39° 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 bot- toms and ravines, and on the slopes, they flourished abundant- ly ; 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, ill ^^. m t ii f nn m 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 13 after a day's march of twenty-four milefl, 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 wa- ter. 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° 32' 35''', latitude 39° 45' 08". Thermometer at sunset 75°. 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°. 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 beau- tiful of the prairie flowers. The artemisia, absinthe, or prairie sage, as it is variously called, is increasing in size, and glit- tering like silver, as the southern breeze turns up its leaves to the sun. All these plants have their insect inhabitants, vari- ously 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 asdepias 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 }nne)jness of the road; I'rf, lrthli»i. 1 1 WT'i'f N 14 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [June, W't li'.l'! 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 grp.y 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, ferru- ginous 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 wriS 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 amorpJia, 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 Litile 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 BUlbi 1842.] CAPT. FEEMONT'S NAREATIVB. M to the mountains ; and, when in sufficient force, openly attack- ing 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 uncom- monly green and beautiful. The stream was about fifty feet wide, and three or four deep, fringed by cotton-wood and wil- low, 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 dt sunset on one of its small tributaries, where an abundance of prele {equiseium) atiforded fine forage to our tired animals. We had traveled thirty-one miles. A hfeavy bank of black clouds in the west came on us in a iStorm between nine and ten, preceded by a violent wind. The rain fell in such tor- rents 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 expedi- tion. Many things conspired to render their situation un- comfortable ; stories of desperate and bloody Indian fights were rife in the camp ; our position was badly chosen, sur- rounded on all sides by timbered hollows, ancf 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. Proceed- 16 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [JUNEi I < k AM.- ■• !'■ n I :';• i m m i ing 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 pre- parations 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 ha^e 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, ^ thistle {carduus leucographus) had for the last day or two made its appearance ; and along the rivf-r bottom, tradescantia (virginica) and milk plant (as- clepias syriaca*) in considerable quantities. .1: > i , . . * * 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 aro 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 EncycloptBdia of Plants. The Sioux Indians of the Upper Platte eat the young pods of this plant, boiling them with the meat of the buffalo. <', •mttim i^mum^tmmmi mi Ki ii*ri 1842.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 17 •avan as Our march to-day had been twenty-ono miles, and the as- tronomical observations gave us a chronometric longitude of 98° 22' 12", and latitude 40^ 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 prin- cipally 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 hun- dred 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 milts. Change of soil and country appeared here to have produced some change in the vegetation. Cacti were numer. ous, and all the plants of the region appeared to flourish among the warm hills. Among them the amorphay in full bloom, was remarkable for its large and luxuriant purp'e 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 iiead 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 deposite of sand and gravel wMch ^:iiai$ j^e I -'I ;^|l ii!; f ' ! 'k !•■!; If fl,' 18 CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. [June, surface rock of the prairies between the Missouri and Missis- sippi 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 astrono- mical observations of the night placed us in longitude 98° 45' 49^', latitude 40° 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° 05'' 24^', latitude 40° 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 eras- sifolia,) 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 dis- tance, attended by the guard', and we were all sitting quietly at our dinner on the grass, when suddenly we heard the start- ling 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 new-comers, 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 aliens attraper des coups de baguette." They proved to be a small party of fourteen, under the charge of a man named .Tohn Lee, and, with their baggage and provisions strapped to their backs, were making their jvay on foot to the frontier. A brief account of their fortunes will give some idea of navi- gation 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 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 19 to St. Louis ; but, after a lapse of forty days, found them- selves 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 descend, ing 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 home- ward 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 4he renewal of old acquaintanceships, we found wherewithal I n t< ;. 80 CAPT. FREMONT S NABBATIVE. [JUNBi h'.;i to fill a busy hour ; then we mounted our horses and they shouldered their packs, aud 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 mous. tache of Napoleon's •- old guard." Ho flourished in the sobri- quet 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 trav- eled this day but seventeen miles. At our evening camp, about sunset, three figures were dis- covered approaching, which our glasses made out to be Indians. They proved to be Cheyennes — two men, and a boy of thir- teen. About a month since, they had lefl their people on the south fork of the river, some three hundred miles to the' west- ward, 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 Ran- dolph and the young Cheyenne, who had been eyeing each other suspiciously and curiously, soon became intimate friends. Afler supper we sat down on the grass, and I placed a sheet of papfer between us, on which they traced, rudely, but with a certain degree of relative truth, the water-courses of the coun- try 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 oamp 40° 39^ 51^'. We made the next morning sixteen miles. I remarked that [JuNB, ¥ 1842.] CAPT. FREMONT % NARRATIVE. 21 the ground was covered in many placrs with an efilorescenoe of salt, and the plants were not numerous. In the hottoms were frequently seen tradesoantia, and on the dry lenches were carduus, cactus, and amorpha. A high wind during the morning had increased to a violent gule 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 ther- mometer standing at 44<^, 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 lefl 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 giandeur. 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 done ! 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 de>' parture on the following morning. At any time of the night might be seen pieces of the most delicate and choicest meat, roasting en appolaSf 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 noi 6o«ireity of bread or tobacco, they were enjoying the oasis of a voyageur's life. Three cows were killed to-day^ Kit f ■I i. I' .i I'M i? :. I ¥•' 22 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [July, Carson had shot one, and was continuing the chase il^the midst of another herd, when his horse fell headlong, but sprang up ahd joined the flying band. Though considerablj^/hurt, he had the good fortune to break no bones ; and M a3i%dl, iWh% was mounted on a fleet hunter, captured the runawtiiBrtei hard chase. He was on the point of shooting him, to loss of his bridle, (a handsomely mounted Spanish on4^.).^he^ he found that, his horse was able to come up with him, ^ni^ mals are frequently lost in this way ; and it is necessary to'^ keep close watch over them, in tho vicinity of the bufKilo, 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 re- mained in camp, in the hope of recovering him ; but lost 'the afternoon to no purpose, as we dv] not see him again. Astro- nomical observations placed us in longitude 100° 05'' 47'' latitude 40° 49^ 55^ J// «, .:i . ^ "" JULY. Isl. — 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 "t-.^ *-*■ ^•>f, i.A.i£^f^^fn', CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 23 Jmewhat less than half a mile distant, and we rode easily itil within about three hundred yards, when a sudden igitation, a wavering in the band, and a galloping to and fro • )f some which were scattered along the skirts, gave us the in- timation that we were discovered. We started together at a land gallop, riding steadily abreast of each other ; and here the interest of the chase became so engrossingly intense, that Iwe were sensible to nothing else. We were now closing upon Ithem rapidly, and the front of the mass was already in rapid lotion for the hills, and in a few seconds the movement had bommunicated 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 I 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 direc- tion 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 Proveaa; 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 hea^JIong 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 lie was preparing to cut up. Among the scattered bands, at sonje distance below, I caught a glimpse of Maxwell ; and while I was looking, a light wreath of snip);^.' . #■ :iriii!tf ,.:H t SI til II V '.'si i K :'! ■' ' i I)' ) ,!■ . i ■I 24 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, i 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 distinguish- able 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 dlear. 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, on(> nile and a half above the lower end of Brady's Island. The breadth of this arm of the river was eight hundred and eight} yards, and the water nowhere two feet in depth. The island bears the name of a man killed on tin's 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 hin 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 bufialo, kept up an uninterrupted howling during the night, « CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 25 venturing almost into camp. In the morning, they were sitting at a short distance, barking, and impatiently waiting our de- parture, to fall upon the bones. 2d. — The morning was cool and smoky. Our road led closer to the hills, which here increased in elevation, present- ing 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 t^jlerably 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 prob- ably disburdened themselves here of many things not absolute- ly 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 ne- cessary to keep them constantly in motion. The northern channel, two thousand two hundred and fifty feel 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 be- low 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 tne point of land immediately at the junction of the North and South forks. Between the streams is a low rich prairicj extending from their confluence eighteen miles westwardly to the bor- . - - . '^ m 2a CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, ;,.M h dering hills, where it is five and a half miles wide. It is cov- ered 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° 04^ 47^^ and longitude, by chronometer and lunar distances, 100° 49^ 43^^. The elevation above the sea is about two thousand seven hun- dred 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°, 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 hid- den in the ground) of a barrel of pork. It was impossible to conceal such a proceeding from the sharp ^y^^ '^f our Chey- enne 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 myri- ads 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 en- camped 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 vachc, the dry ex- crement of the buffalo, which, like that of the camel in the Arabian deserts, furnishes to the traveler a very good substi- tute for wood, burning like turf. Wolves in great numbers surrounded us during the night, crossing and recrossing from [July, ■ i842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 27 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-culf broke through the camp, followed by a couple of wolves. In its fright, it had probably mistaken us for a band of buftalo. The wolves were Jobliged to make a circuit round the camp, so that the calf got la little the start, and strained every nerve to reach a large iherd at the foot of the hills, about two miles distant j but first [one and then another, and another wolf joined in the chase, un- Itil his pursuers amounted to twenty or thirty, and they ran fhini down before he could reach his friends. There were a few bulls neai the place, and one of them attacked the wolves and tried to rescue him ; but was driven off immediately, and j the little animal fell an easy prey, half devoured before he was I 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 ap- proached 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, some- thing 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, (helian* Ithm.) ^% ■■ -Mb I M i .1 iii4 In n-i'V, 0: § y ,'1:l 1:1 i 'ill vi I ;■• ' -I •t. S6 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, ■ As we were riding slowly along this afternoon, clouds of dust in the ravines, among the hills to the right, suddenly attract, ed 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 thQ 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 bot- tom 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, ex- tending for several miles in the rear, and forward as far as the eye could reach ; leaving around us, as we advanced, an ooen 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 junc- tion, 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 pre- serves and rich fruit-cake ; and when these were added to a macaroni soup, and variously prepared dishes of the choicest buffalo-meat, croM^ned with a cup of coffee, and enjoyed with prairie appetite, we felt, as we set in barbaric luxury around our smoking si'pper on the grass, a greater sensation of enjoy- ment 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 hospitp'^*? board, and, to the great delight of ni^ elders, our young L ■ an lad made himself extremely drunk. W Our encar ipment was within a few miles of the place where \ the road crosses to the North fork, and various reasons led me j to divide my party at this point. The North fork was the prin. //. •^^i. 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. SO cipal object of my survey ; but I was desirous to ascend the South branch, with e view of obtaining some astronomical po- sitions, and determining the mouths of its tributaries as far as St. Vrain's fort, estimated to be some two hundred miles far- ther up the river, and near to Long's Peak. There I hoped to obtain some mules, which I found would be necessary to re- lieve my horses. In a military point of view, I was desirous to form some opinion of the country relative to the establish- iment of posts on a line connecting the settlements with the Isouth pass of the Rocky Mountains, by way of the ArkansEis land the South and Laramie forks of the Platte. Crossing the icountry northwestwardly from St. Vrain's fort, to the Ameri- Ican 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, Ber- nier, 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 CouUe 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 folloM'ing night would occur some occultations \ iiich 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 ma- terials for each man's bed, and every one was provided with a 8"* 11 \0' :i 'r 1 J' If tt CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [July, change of linen. All were armed with rifles or double-bar. relied 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 af- forded 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 ex- ception 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 bit- ter 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-humor- ed. 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 per- sons than necessary, I determined to send Mr. Preuss back to the party. His horse, too, appeared in no condition to sup- port the journey ; and accordingly, after breakfast, he took the road aqross 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 wil- lows, near the mouth, were the remains of a considerable fort, i/ 'm [July, 1 1842.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 81 constructed of trunks of large trees. It was apparently very- old, and had probably been the scene of some hostile encoun- ter among the rovnig tribes. Its solitude formed an impres- sive contrast to the picture which our imaginations involunta- rily drew of the busy scene which had been enacted here. The timber appeared to have been much more extensive for- merly 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 |l had occasion to remark an apparent progressive decay in the ftiniber. 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 uni- ; form 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. Tljc amorpha was frequent among the ravines, but the sun- flower (Jiclianilms) was the characteristic ; and flowers of deep warm colors seem most to love the sandy soil. The impres- sion 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 scood at 89°, 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, witk 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 Mere 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 * 1 r i 11 ' , ' ! 1 !:■ " ; i'^^ 1 I ■ illilll il I"" J' 'i'fl ii,'l ( .;i;iv 89 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [JULV, '=■';'•!; Wf.re 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 In. dians lay in the grass near the fire ; but my sleeping-placo 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 oar 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 ^he 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 2G"010, thermometer at 81°, 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° 5 r IT', and longitude 103° or 00'^ 7th. — At our camp this morning, at six o'clock, the barom- eter was at 26-183, thermometer 69°, 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 re- placed 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 otT one of the In- dians (who seemed very eager to catch one) on my led hoi^e, a spirited and fleet animal. The savage manoeuvred a little to get the wind of the horses, in which he succeeded — approach- ing within a hundred yards without being discovered. The chase for a few minutes was interesting. My hunter easily I 1842. 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 33 )vertook and passed the hindmost of the wild drove, which the [ndian did not uttomp to lasso ; all his efibrts being directed to fcapture the leader. But the strength of the horse, weakened iby the insufficient nourishment of grass, failed in a race, and ill the drove escaped. We halted at noon on the bank of the river, the barometer at that time being 26 •192, and the thermometer 103°, with a light air from the south and clear weather. In the course of the afternoon, dust rising among the hills, ^t a particular place, attracted our attention ; and, riding up, we found a band of eighteen or twenty buffalo bulls engaged a desperate fight. Though butting and goring were be- towed liberary, and without distinction, yet their efforts were Evidently directed against one — a huge, gaunt old bull, very 3an, while his adversaries were all fat and in good order. He ippearcd very weak, and had already received some wounds ; md, while we were looking on, was several times knocked lown and badly hurt, and a very few moments would have put jin end to him. Of course, we took the side of the weaker )arty, and attacked the herd ; but they were so blind with ^age, that they fought on, utterly regardless of our presence, iltliough on foot and on horseback we were firing, in open new, within twenty yards of them. But this did not last long, [n a very few seconds, we created a commotion among them, hie or two, which were knocked over by the balls, jumped up md ran off into the hills ; and they began to retreat slowly llong a broad ravine to the river, fighting furiously as they ^ent. By the time they had reached the bottom, we had )retty well dispersed them, and the old bull hobbled off to lie Jown somewhere. One of his enemies remained on the ground .'here we had first fired upon them, and we stopped there for short time to cut from him some meat for our supper. Wo lad neglected to secure our horses, thinking it an unnecessary )re5^aution in their fatigued condition ; but our mule took it [nto his head to start, and away he went, followed at full ipeed by the pack-horse, with all the baggage and instruments \\\ his back. They were recovered and brought back, after chase of a mile. Fortunately, every thing was well secured^ 34 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, m it I- tr S.V'1. so that nothing, not oven the barometer, was in the least in- jurecl. 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°, with a strong wind from S. 20'^ E., and the sky partially covered with heavy masses of cloud, which settled a little towards the horizon by ten o'clock, leaving it sufHciently clear for astronomical obser- vations, which placed us in latitude 40° 33'' 26^^, and longitude 103° 30' ST'. 8th. — The morning was very pleasant. The breeze was fresh from S. 50° E., with few clouds; the barometer at six o'ajifik standing at 25*970, and the thermometer at 70°. Since leaving the forks our route had passed over a country alter, nately 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 vig- orous 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 suddisnly 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 /- I [July, | 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 85 sure indication that there were peoplf' near. Riding on, wo discovered the carcass of a bulFulo recently killed — perhaps the day before. VVc scanned the horizon carefully with the glass, but no living oiiject was to be seen. For the next mile or two, the ground was dotted with bulUilo 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 fimilly refused to advance, being what the Canadians call rcsie. 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 Cheyeimcs, 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 bulfalo coming in to water ; but, happening to look behind, Maxwell saw the Cheyennes whipping up furiously, and another glance at the dark oojects showed them at once to be Indians coming up at speed. Had we been well mounted and disencumbered of instru- ments, 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 breech- cloth, 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 could reach the bank, down came the Indians upontis. I am inclined to think that in a few seconds more the lead- I I •; i•^it ,,.,'g| ' 1 .It ■ ■■' 1 |..'., 'i:^; iillii'i '. i I? li!l I I" V' "r '4 3d CAPT. FRFMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, ing 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 " Ara- paho !" They proved to be a village of that nation, among whom Maxwell had resided as a trader a year or two pre- viously, and recognised him accordingly. We were soon in the midst of the band, answering as well as we could a multi- tude 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 fally 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 carry, ing 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 ac- quaintances rode a few hundred yards lower down, and began crossing the river. Scores of wild-looking dogs followed, looking like troops of wolves, and Iiaving, in fact, but very s> lorn [July, would have rs from our len in such from three 11 calculated le was about id shouted to damn you — uage seemed le, he passed irds him, and ming " Ara- ition, among or two pre- were soon in )uld a multi- f what tribe in the rear ? I Cheyennes, id a Pawnee the river six )n the other he said they md early in king a large Y discovered up, astride and the hips ) and carry- er, and the 1842.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 87- 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 becoi;ne 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°. Our Chey- j^nnes had learned that with the Arapaho village were about twenty lodges of their own, including their own families ; ^ey therefore immediately commenced making their toilette. Jlkfter bathing in the river, they invested themselves in some iiandsome calico shirts, which I afterwards learned they had Itolen from my own men, and spent some time in arranging ||ieir hair and painting themselves with some vermilion I had iiven them. While they were engaged in this satisfactory panner, one of their half-wild horses, to which the crowd of ;^rancing animals which had just passed had recalled the free- dom of her existence among the wild droves on the prairie, fuddenly dashed into the hills at the top of her speed. She 3|/as their pack-horse, and had on her back all the worldly |(^ealth of our poor Cheyennes, all their accoutrements, and all lie little articles which they had picked up among us, with p)me few presents I had given them. The loss which they Ifeemed to regret most were their spears and shields, and some lobacco which they had received from me. However, they |k)re it all with the philosophy of an Indian, and laughingly Continued their toilette. They appeared, however, to be a ijittle mortified at the thought of returning to the village in $uch a sorry plight. " Our people will laugh at us," said one |)f them, " returning to the village on foot, instead of driving )ack a drove of Pawnee horses." He demanded to know if I loved my sorrel hunter very much ; to which I replied, he was ^he object of my most intense affection. Far from being able,, to give, I was myself in want of horses ; and any suggestion %)f parting with the few I had valuable, was met with a per- emptory refusal. In the mean time, the slaughter was about b commence on the other side. So soon as they reached it, pe Indians separated into two bodies. One party proceeded lirectly across the prairie, towards the hills, in an. extended 38 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, yviit :(■■)■ %': Pr,:|:;;; *'': 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 look- ing 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 in- stantly 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 cerm 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 drop- ping 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 con- sisted 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 etainless. It reminded me of the days of feudal chivalry ; [July, '. i842.] capt. Fremont's narrative. 39 antly as they enced. The I and driven 3ry direction. B, preventing t had a very y when look- report of the ;h the clouds lid see for a close behind apon, and in- silence, and ity, gave it a icture than a tien the cerne umber ; but, emerge from as going on. our journey I came drop- s had neared he returning sert road \vc with us, and village con- es, of which e apart from ring manner one hundred As we rode ind of tripod craped very with some y clean, the white and il 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 Iwhile, and when it ^?A been passed around, we commenced ^four dinner while he continued to smoke. Gradually, however, /|five or six other chiefs came in, and took their seats in silence. IW^hen we had finished, our host asked a number of questions relative to the object of our journey, of which I made no con- Ifcealment ; telling him simply that I had made a visit to see %he country, preparatory to the establishment of military posts ^n the way to the mountains. Although this was information %f 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 )thers listened and smoked. I remarked, that in taking the )ipe for the first time, each had turned the stem upward, with rapid glance, as in offerinfr to the Great Spirit, before he put It in his mouth. A storm had been gathering for the past iour, and some pattering drops in the lodge warned us that we %ad some miles to our camp. An Indian had given Max- 'Iv^ell a bundle of dried meat, which was very acceptable, as ^e had nothing ; and, springing upon our horses, we rode ofT Jat dusk in the face of a cold shower and driving wind. We 'm)und our companions under sdme densely foliaged old trees, %bout three miles up the river. Urvder one of them lay the ttrunk of a large cottonwood, to leeward of which the men fhad kindled a fire, and we sat here and roasted our meat in "ftol arable shelter. Nearly Opposite was the mouth of one )f the most considerable affluents of the South fork, la Fourche lux Castors, (Beaver fork,) heading off in the ridge to the Isoutheast. 9th. — This morning we caught the first faint glimpse of the Loeky mountains, about sixty miles distant. Though a tolera- )ly bright day, there was a slight mist, and we were just able discern the snowy summit of " Long's peak," (" lea deux P; 'ft' 40 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. oreilles" of the Canadians,) showing like a cloud near the horizon. I found it easily distinguishable, there being a per- ceptible 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 b' 3n 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 Beck- with, 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 en- camped 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 [July, "J 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 41 ' 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, 1 had found it occasionally I 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 jsix inches water. The current was very swift — the bed of the stream a coarse gravel. From the place at vhich we had [encountered the Arapahoes, the Platte had been tolerably well' I fringed with timber, and the island here had a fine grove of very large cotton woods, under whose broad shade the tents were pitched. There was a large drove of horses in the op- posite prairie bottom ; smoke was rising from the scattered fires, and the encampment had quite a patriarchal air. Mr. C. re- fceived 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 afler breakfast the next morning, and reached St. Vrain's fort, about forty-five miles from St. Helena, late in the evening. This post is situ- ated on the South fork of the Platte, immediately under the moi'ntains, 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. Tliis region appears to be entirely free from the limestones and marls which give to the Lower Platte its yellow and dirty color. 4* • ^ M % St Tl. 42 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, The Black hills lie between the stream and the mountains, ; whose snowy peaks glitter a !ew miles beyond. At the fort ^ we found Mx'. St. Vfain, who received us with much kindness and hospitality. Maxwell had spent the last two or three years I 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 use- ful in a camp, ir taking care of horses and mules ; and I en. gaged 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 re- gion 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 dis- tance, to descend but a few hundred feet below the summits. 1 regretted that time did not permit me to visit them ; but the proper object of my survey lay among the mountains far. ther north ; and I looked forward to an exploration of tlieir snowy recesses with great pleasure. The piney region of the mountains to the south was enveloped in smoke, and I was in. formed 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 prevent- ed my seeing it. The weather continued overcast during iny stay here, so that I failed in determining the latitude, but ob- tained good observations for the time on the mornings of the 11th and 12th. An assumed latitude of 40° 22' 30" from tiie evening position of the 12th, enabled me to obtain for a toler ably correct longitude, 105° 12' 12". 12th. — The kindness of Mr. St. Vrain enabled me to obtain j a couple of horses and three good mules ; and, with a further i 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 ci' the 12th. We had been able to procure nothing at the post in the way 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 43 ^f provision. An expected supply from Taos had not yet ar- rived, and a few pounds of coffee was all that could be spared us. In addition to this we had dried meat enough for the Irst day ; on the next, we expected to find buffalo. From this )ost, according to the estimate of the country, the fort at the louth of Laramie's fork, which was our next point of destina- lon, was nearly due north, distant about one hundred and ^enty-five miles. For a short distance our road lay down the valley of the flatte, which resembled a garden in the splendor of fields of faried flowers, which filled the air with fragrance. The only [mber I noticed consisted of poplar, birch, cottonwood, and allow. In something less than three miles we crossed Thomp- )n's creek, one of the affluents to the left bank of the South ,1-k — a fine stream about sixty-five feet wide, and three feet leep. Journeying on, the low dark line of the Black hills ring between us and the mountains to the left, in about ten liles from the fort, we reached Cache a la Poudre, where we jalted to noori. This is a very beautiful mountain-stream, jbout one hundred feet wide, flowing with a full swift current /er a rocky bed. We halted under the shade of some cotton- ^oods, with which the stream is wooded scatteringly. In the ipper part of its course, it runs nmid the wildest mountain 3enery, and, breaking through the Black hills, falls into the ^latte about ten miles below this place. In the course of our ite journey, I had managed to become the possessor of a very bitractable mule — a perfect vixen — and her I had turned over my Spaniard. It occupied us about half an hour to-day to t the saddle upon her ; but, once on her back, Jose could not dismounted, realizing the accounts given of Mexican horses Ind horsemanship ; and we continued our route in the after- loon. * At evening, we encamped on Crow creek, having traveled [bout twenty-eight miles. None of the party were well ac- [uainted with the country, and I had great difficulty in ascer- iining what were the names of the streams we crossed between I North and South forks of the Platte. This I supposed to Crow creek. It is what is called a salt stream, and the 44 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, i842.] '■:m # water stands in pools, liaving no continuous course. A fine, grained sandstone made its appearance in the banks. The ob. servations of the night placed us in latitude 40° 42', longitude 104° 57' 49". The barometer at sunset was 25*231 ; attached thermometer at 66°. 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 thermom. eter 60°. 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 innu. merable quantities of cacti, we reached a small creek in which there was weter, 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 sum. mils 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 andiii marls, resembling that hereafter described in the neighbor, hood of the Chimney rock, on the, North fork of the Platte, I easily worked by the winds and rains, and sometimes moulded f into very fantastic shapes. At the foot of the northern slopel was the bed of a creek, some forty feet wide, coming, by fre-j quent falls, from the bench above. It was shut in by high,] perpendicular banks, in which w^re strata of white iaminatedj marl. . Its bed was perfectly dry, and the leading feature of j the whole region is one of remarkable aridity, and perfect! freedom from moisture. In about six miles we crossed thej bed of another dry creek ; and, continuing our ride over a highl level prairie, a little before sundown we came suddenly uponl a beautiful creek, which revived us with a feeling of delightedl CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 45 U842.] Surprise by the pleasant contrast of the deep verdure of its |banks with the parched desert we had passed. We had sut ffered much to-day, both men and horses, for want of water ; i having met with it but once in our ' .>nterrupted march of iforty miles ; and an exclusive meat diet creates much thirst. ' Les heslias tienen mucha Jiamlre," said the young Spaniard, [inquiringly : *^y la gente tambien," said I, " amiago, we'll camp lere." 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 para- lise ; and while some ran down towards the band to kill one for supper, others collected bois de vache for a fire, there being 10 wood ; and I amused myself with hunting for plants among khe grass. It will be seen, by occasional remarks on the geological iformation, that the constituents of the soil in these regions are Tood, and every day served to strengthen the impression in ly mind, confirmed by subsequent observation, that the barren ippearance of the country is due almost entirely to the ex- treme 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 Ifeet above the sea. The evening was very clear, with a fresh breeze from the Isouth, 50° east. The barometer at sunset was 24*802, the jtliermometer attached showing 68°. 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° 39' 37'''', and latitude 1410 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°. [Our course this morning was directly north by compass, the variation being 15° or 16° 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. r» <.;' 1' '!! i ' ' Hi* % t 1, li m 1' m t- m 1 1 M 1 ' ' Ij.'^l !| 1," 1 ■ 1 ' I.I! "j 1^ Mr '0. 40 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 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 tho 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 wearhig 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 (. reek, yet they were covered with a tliin 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 vir giniana,) and a quantity of gooseberry and currant bushes oc ' cupied 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 I we should have enjoyed nearer to its sources. At two, p. m.,| the barometer was at 25*050, and the attached thermometer i 104°. A day of hot sunshine, with clouds, and moderate | breeze from the south. Continuing down the stream, in about four miles we reached its moLth, at one of the main branches | of Horse creek. Looking back upon the ridge, whose direc- tion appeared to be a little to the north of east, we saw itl seamed at frequent mtervals with the dark lines of wooded! streams, affluents of the river that flowed so far as we couldl CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 47 3c nlong its base. We crossed, in the space of twelve miles rem our noon halt, three or four forks of Horse creek, and [ncamped at sunset on the most easterly. The fork on which we encamped appeared to have followed In easterly direction up to this place ; but here it makes a jery sudden bend to the north, passing between two ranges of Irecipitous hills, called, as I was informed, Goshen's hole, ["here is somewhere in or near this locality a place so called, it 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 \e northward, the hills appear to shut in the prairie, through ^hich runs the creek, with a semicircular sweep, which might tery naturally be called a hole in the hills. The geological )iTiposition of the ridge Is the same which constitutes the rock the Court-house and Chimney, on the North fork, which ap- 3ared to me a continuation of this ridge. The winds and tins work this formation into a variety of singular forms. The iss into Goshen's hole is about two miles wide, and the hill the western s^de imitates, in an extraordinary manner, a lassive fortified place, with a remarkable fulness of detail, [he rock is marl and earthy limestone, white, without the last appearance of vegetation, and much resembles masonry a little distance ; and here it sweeps around a level area w or three hundred yards in diameter, and in the form of a ilf moon, terminating on either extremity in enormous bas- ins. Along the whole line of the parapets appear domes id slender minarets, forty or fifty feet high, giving it every )pearance of an old fortified town. On the waters of White Ivor, where this formation exists in great extent, it presents )pearances which excite the admiration of the solitary voy- [geur, and form a frequent theme of their conversation when peaking of the wonders of the country. Sometimes it offers ie perfectly illusive appearance of a large city, with numer- 18 streets and magnificent buildings, among which the Cana- lans never fail to see their cabaret — and sometimes it takes je form of a solitary house, with many large chambers, into Ihich they drive their horses at night, and sleep in these nat- jral defences perfectly secure from any attack of prowling H '',fi'i,"i m 48 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, savages. Before reaching our camp at Goshen s hole, in crossing the immense detritus at the foot of the Castle rock, wo 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 tiie Platte. At sunset, the height of the mercurial column was 25-500, the attached thermometer 80°, and wind moderate from S. 38° E. Clouds covered the sky with the rise of the moon, but I succeeded in obtaining the usual astronomical ob- servations, which placed us in latitude 41° 40^ 13^'', and longi. tude 104° 24^ 36^^ 15th. — At six this morning, the barometer was at 25*515, the thermometer 72° ; 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, ac- cordingly, 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 hiJIs the wind seemed to have just issued from an oven. Our horses were much distressed, as we had traveled liard ; 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 fiver, 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 con- t 1842.] struction tl left bank, ( water; an^ the large b ^ pcaranco i lodges, whi was pitche( of the Blac tain, strong where the mcnt a str St. Louis I charge of tl talily and i during my on the bank and, in the bread made last ten day 16th.— I fairs had u somewhat n to cxcitemc ed this char from the jc day of our j '* Gth.— ^ forks in ab liked, to in about noon that our pa trees, unsac grass, await here two ho horse againj cover our p( idea to me t they could r 1842.] CAl'T. FIIK.UONT S NAUIIATIVK. 49 struction than Iho fort at llio mouth of the river. It is on tho loft bank, on a risini; jjjround Honio twenty-live feet nbovo the water; and its lofty walls, whitewashed and picketed, with the largo bastions at the angles, gave it quite an imposing ap- pearance 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 tho Black hills and tho prominent peak of Laramie moun- tain, strongly drawn in the clear light of the western sky, where the sun had already set, the whole formed at the mo- ment 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 hospi- tality and an efficient kindness, which was invaluable to me during my stay in liie 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 af- fairs 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 occasion- ed this change will be found narrated in the following extract from tlie journal of Mr. Preuss, which commences with the day of our separation on the South fork of the Platte : '* 0th. — 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 tho 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 horses, 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 dis- cover 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, 5 * 4, i,-n " m\ i', i8 r-4' 1 50 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, J; 'Mi l^'ivP 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 com- panion 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 substi- tute 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 distqrbed by two owls, which were at- tracted by the fire, and took their place in the tree under which we slept. Their music seemed as disagreeable to my compan- ion 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 con- tinned ojr journey through a country which ofl'ered 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 sus- ceptible to the vicissitudes of the climate. Between the forks, and from their junction to the Black hills, the formation con- sists of marl and a soft earthy limestone, with granitic sand- stone. 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 lux- 1812.] CAl'T. FREMO^rx S NARRATIVE. 51 iompan- hey let uriant the bloom of abundant flowers. The wild sage begins to make its appearance, and timber is so scarce that we gen- erally made our fires of the hois de vache. With the exception of now and then an isolated tree or two, standing like a light- house 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, v/hen 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 pouche'-; examined : in short, there was the cry of ' In- dians,' 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 new-comers 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 tine 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-doth 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 autun.a ois party had en^ countered them in a severe engagement, in which a number of lives had been lost on both sides. United with the Che- yenne 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 Buites, 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 % fv :ia* X :^:a.. 52 CAFT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, '■"',-!♦! I III #v:, V 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 th«> 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 occur, rences of this nature ; but, to my great surprise,- I found, on the contrary, that this news had thrown them all into the great- est consternation ; and, on every side, I heard only one excla- mation, '11 ri'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 exag- gerated 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 ut- termost limit of his journey. The others yielded to their re- monstrances, and somewhat ashamed of their cowardice, con- cluded 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 pic- turesque 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 and eartl its height river. T lieight at «llth. breadth, f miles fror where the a consider escarpmei find is fan journey ol place whe turage to ( 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's nabeative. 53 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, en- camped 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 licight 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 tiit Chimney rock we reached one of those places where the riv tr-kes the bluffs, and forces the road to make a considerabk. I. ouit 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 pas- turage 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 fur- ther on. The plain between Scott's bluffs and Chimney rock was almost entirely covered with drift-wood, consisting princi- pally 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 5* :'J. ■■i I 54 CAPT. FRE3I0NT S NARRATIVE. [July, 1 1842.] I' ^^m i>:^ ...f ;*! on a rich bottom, wliich afTorded fine grass to our animals. Buffalo have entirely disappeared, and we live now upon the dried meat, which is exceedingly poor Ibod. 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 La- ramie, where we were cordially received. We pitcTied 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, an^ made a pleasant contrast to tlie muddy, yellow waters of the Platte." I walked up to visit our friends at the fort, which is a quad- rangular structure, built of clay, after the fashion of the Mexi- cans, 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 entire- ly 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, op- posite each other, and midway the wall, one of which is a large and public entrance ; the other smaller a,nd more pri- vate — 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 ■ :i object of ; who, in ti visits to outfit, ar6 trade com and, on th witli sucl rings, ver, spite of t the form c mentioning Company found thei ous liquor country is chase fron lodge, his any vagab go into a v withdrawii to discontii company ii of the com: on ground; they contei nierous in country fr from Mexi( liquor, whi per gallon. the coureur diing trade always has nature of has an inte regular pui arms, horse permanent 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 55 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 tfie introduction of spiritu- ous liquors. But in the present state of things, when the country is supplied with alcohol — when a keg of it will pur- chase 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 nu- merous 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 hois, (as the French call the itinerant or ped- dling 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 : tho coureur des hois has no ■ 7 ^■r :»- 56 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [JULY,H 1«^2.] ■V ';i:;!!i l;,i :M.M permanent I.erest, and gets what he can, and for what he can, irom 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, throi^h which the breeze swept constantly ; for this ccuntry 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. Bridgcr, which had spread so much alarm among my people. In the course of the spring, two other small parties had been cut oil" 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 arri. val. Divisions and misunderstandings had grown up amonjj them ; they were already somewhat disheartened by the fa- tigue 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 encour- agement in the hostile attitude of the Indians, and the new a id 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 thein 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 excliango 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 [JuLY,Blfl42.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 67 our arri. 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 inter- est themselves in the history of this country, had reached La- ramie 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, anrl -iimediatoly after their de- parture, a war party of thi hui»^ 1 and fifty brave: ;,■. out upon their trail. As their pnncipai chief or partisan hud lost some relations in the recent fight, and had sworn to kill the first white 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 (rreiitly to irritate the hostile spirit of the savages ; and imme- diately subsequent to that event, the Gross Ventre Indians had united with the Oglallahs and Cheyennes, and taken tlie 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 buff*alo hunting in the neighborhood of the Medi- cine 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 open- ly. Here they lost one of their party by an accident, and, IS- ,: I ■If ft 68 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. ,:.<■ BS '■■ IV if # .■?•' 'IbI continuing up the valley, they came suddenly upon the large village. From these they met witli a doubtful reception. Long residence and familiar acquaintance had given to Mr. Fitzpat- rick great personal influence among them, and a portion of them were disposed to let him pass quietly j but by for 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 ques- tion 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 gu!i,) at length prevailed, and obtained for them an unmolested pass- age ; 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 in- cessantly 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 countrv, and openly expressed his conviction that we could not escape vith- out 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 state- ments 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 fam- ilies and the old men had remained. The arrival of the latter was hourly expected j and some Indiaiis have just come in who 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 59 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 bo little or no hazard in encountering any of the war parties. The principal danger was in being attacked be- fore 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 lan- guage fluently, offered his services to accompany me so far as tiio 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 calcula- tions, and bringing the general map to this stage of our jour- ney ; but the tent was generally occupied by a succession of our ceremonious visiters. 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 savasje 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. Feel* a i 1 ■■'!■ I M r..' .^1 Wu'i hi m 60 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE [July, ing something movo behind me, I looked round, and found that I had taken my scat 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°. I was disap- pointed in my hope of obtaining an observation of an occultation, which took place about midnight. The moon brought witli her heavy banks of clouds, through which she scarcely made her appearance during the niglit. The morning of the 18tli was cloudy and calm, the thermom- eter at six o'clock at 64°. 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 num. ber 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 re. spected. 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 thfe 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 inces. sant 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 tempera- ture of boiling water, and with which I had promised myself , ; it a reasoi 1842.] CAPT. FREMONT S NAURATIVE. 61 some interesting experiments in the mountains. We liad but one remaining, on which the graduation extended sufficiently liigh ; 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 ihe chance of a rough road and mountain travel. All things of this nature being ready, 1 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 circumstancerj, every possible means to ensure our safety. In the rumors we had heard, I believed there was much exagger- ation ; 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 theretore could not make it a reason for breaking their engagements. Still, I was un- willing 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 lor 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 de- parture, he engaged himself to one of the forts, and set off with a party to the Upper Missouri. I,did not think that the situa- tion of the country justified me in taking our young compan- ions, 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 deter- mined to leave them. Randolph had been the life of the camp, and the "petit gar^on-' 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 t 6 '1' M i. '* m »>:• '-■■% 02 CAPT. FKEMONT 8 NARRATIVE. the fort, because, as they said, he mlglit cost the lives of soiuo of the men in a fight with the Indians. a.lyt. — A portion of our baggage, with our fieUl-notes and observations, and several instruments, were left at the fort. One of tho 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 wind- ing up of two of my chronometers, which were among the in- struments left. Our observations showed that the chronometer which I retained for the continuation of our voyage had pre- served its rate in a most satisfactory manner. As deduced from it, the longitude of Fort Laramie is 7'' 01' 2V, and from lunar distance 7''0l'29^''; giving for the adopted longitudo 104° 47'' 43". Comparing the barometrical observations macio during our stay here, with those of Dr. G. Engleman at St Louis, we find ibr 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 tiie 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 In- dians, 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 si- lence : — .»' ma III *t^^,':';';li I. ' ;i^"-- « Fort Platte, Juillet 21, 1842. " Mr. Fremont : — Los chefs s'dtant assembl<3s pr^seutement me disent de vous avertlr de ne ppint vous mettre en route, avant que le parti de jeunes gens, qui est en dehors, soiont de retour. De plus, ils me disent qu'ils Bont tr6s-certains qu'ils feront feu k la premifere rencontre. Ils doivent 6tre de retour dans sept k huit jours. Excusez si je vous fais ces observations, mala il me eemble qu'U est mon devoir de vous avertii da danger. M6me "'i: 1842.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. I ^ de plu»i lee chefB sont les porteurs do co billet, qui vous dofendent de partir avaut le rctoiu dou guurrieiu *' Jo suis votro obdissant scrviteur, "JOSEPH BISSONETTE, •« Par L. B. CIIARTRAIN. •' Lea noma de quelquea chcfa. — Lo Chapeau de Loutro, le Casweur d« Fl^chesj la Nuit Noir la Queue de Bccuf." [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 purty of young men which is now out shuil have returned. Furthermore, they tell me tliat they ar' very sure tliey will fire upon you us soon as they meet you. They are expected back in seven or eight days. Excuse me for making those observations, bii* 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, tlie Black Night, the Bull's Tail." After reading this, I mentioned its purport to my compan- ions ; and, seeing that all were fully possessed of its content', one of the Indians rose up, and, havhig 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 tl iv relations, which has been shed by the whites. Our young .:iu u are bad, and, if they meet you, they will believe that you are carrying goods and ammunition to their enemies, anf? will fire upon you. You have told us that this will mal^e war. We know tlmt 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 de- termined to keep you here until our warriors return. We are glad to see you among us. ,Our father is rich, and we expect- ed that you would have brought presents to us — horses, guns, ailN ,^'*">>. I ■.^i';"' 1; i''f'»t''' ; .M',i iiitfii fe, ''.■' 64 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE, [July, and blankets. But we are glad to see you. We look upon your coining as the light which goes before the sun ; for you will tell our great father that you have seen us, and that Me 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. X The observations of the savage appeared reasonable ; but I was aware that they had in view only the present object of de- taining 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 ac- company 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 tlie 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 ssfve our lives. We do not believe what } ou 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 tiie 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 'vhich my young men carry in their hands. We are £eWf and you are many; and may kill 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 65 us all ; but there will be much crying in your villages, for many of your young men will stay behind, and forget to re- turn 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 ha.e 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 rocjc. 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 con- trast 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 carbonif- erous limestone of the Missouri river, and is probably the west- 6* ij •.' r^- ,i' A\ \-S •' I ■« Hyr^' t I HI ' ill ■;v'!t 66 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. '!.!>':■;,"! era 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 ani. mals. Our tents having been found too thin to protect our. selves and the instruments from the rains, which in this elc- vated 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 con- verted into a pleasant summer residence, with the extraordina- ry advantage of being entirely free from musquitoes, one of which I never saw in an Indian lodge. While we were en- gaged 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 dis- mounted, and, tying our animals, continued our way on foot. Like the whole country, the scenery of the river had under- gone an entire change, and was in this place the most beautiful %•. 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 67 I have ever seen. The breadth of the stream, generally near that of its valley, was from tv^o 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 vir- giniana,) 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 con- trast of colors. I thought with much pleasure of our approach, ing 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. Be- low 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 ren- ders 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 buf- falo, on which the neighboring Indians mainly depend for sup- port. It would render any posts on the Lower Platte unneces- / ■ *M V a: i- '■m. A >^: ■/-, ;ttv 68 CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. [July, ■ 1842.] i; 'i''^^.*'. i'' I'M '■ • i^ I lis sary ; 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 (Jros 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 con. stantly 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 communica. tion would be formed, by good wagon-roads, with our southern military posts, which would entirely command the mountain passes, liold 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 pres. ence 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 ima. gined that Mr. Bissonette's lo;ig residence had made him ac- quainted with the country ; and, according to his advice, pro- ceeded 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 W3 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 informa. [July, S 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 69 tion, the ridge is composed of the coarse sandstone or conglom- erate hereafter described. It appears to enter the region of I clouds, which are arrested in their course, and lie in masses along the summits. An inverted cone of black cloud (cumu- lus) rested during all the forenoon on the lofty peak of Lara- niie 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 Hard amere, (a species of poplar,) with which th'^ 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 men- tion, 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 a,t 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, largp 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 odorif- erous plants, to wljose growth the sandy soil and dry air of this elevated region seem highly favorable. One of the prominent characteristics in the face of the coun- try 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 ad- 'Hi^ ■a;i'('i P',:!': Ill 7e CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. [July, Vance to the west, they increased in size ; and the whole air is strongly impregnated and saturated with the odor of cam. phor 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 even, ing, 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 en. campment on^the Fer-d-Cheval, or Horse-shoe creek. Here we found good grass, with a great quantity ofprele, which fur. nished good food for our tired animals. This creek is well timbered, principally with Hard amere, and, with the exception of Deer creek, which we had not yet reached, is the largest af. fluent 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 Mis- souri ; but this season, as has already been mentioned, on both forks of the Platte they had entirely failed. The greater num. her of the springs, and many of the streams, which made halt, ing 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 de. stroyed 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 trav- elers had never met with difficulty in finding abundance of ('.'■■; V,' ; 1 ■ •'■■I 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 71 grass for their horses ; and now it was after great search that we were able to Lad 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 en- camped. Boughs of the cotton wood 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 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 gallop- ing 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 min- utes, 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 dis- agreed, and came nigh fighting among themselves. One portion were desirous of attacking the whites, but the others were op- posed 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 re- turn 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 par- ties of ten and twenty ; and those whom we had encountered ; i t. 'rt-' i • 1 ■■ - fi iff* .'.fl-:' [■■M ■mi^^ m w 'I ;Sft 79 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, nm belonged to those who had advocated an attack on the emi. grants. Several of the men suggested shooting them on the spot J 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 movirg 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 suspi. ciously at our warlike preparations, and the little ring of rifles which surrounded them. They were evidently in a bad liu. mor, 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 jjsoralea escu. lenta, 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 obser. vations placed us in longitude 104° 59' 59^'', and latitude 42° 29^ 25^^ We made the next day twenty-two miles, and encamped on the right bank of the Platte, where a handsome meadow aflbrd. ed 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 ap. pearance 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° 47' 4tQ". 25th. — We made but thirteen miles this day, and encamped 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 73 labout noon m a pleasant grove on the right bank. Low scaf- Ifolds were erected, upon which the meat was laid, cut up into jthin strips, and small fires kindled below. Our object was to Iprofit by the vicinity of the buffalo, to lay in a stock of provi- Isions 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 bla- zing 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 solici- Itude, and, as I had j^nded them principally for mountain [service, I had used tnRi as seldom as pcwsible, taking them 'always down at night, and on the occurrence of storms, in or. der to lessen the chances of being broken. I was reduced to jone, a standard barometer of Troughton's construction. This I determined to preserve, if possible. The latitude is 42° 51' 35^', and by a mean of the results from chronometer and lunar distances, the adopted longitude of this camp is 105° 150' 45'^ 26th. — Early this morning we were again in motion. We [had a stock of provisions for fifteen days carefully stored away in tlie 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 sluill call Dried Meat camp) we crossed a handsome stream, called La Fourche Boisce. It is well timbered, and, among I the flowers in bloom on its banks, I remarked several asters. Five miles further, we made our noon halt on the banks of [the P'ltte, in the shade of some cottonwoods. There were here, as generally now along the river, thickets of hippopTuBy \\\[Q grains de hociif of ihe 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. .,, , •: - , I \ ^ . .„ *( #■ .. •' v' ill ■='';?' 'A ^ .'', 1^ 'li'::' ti 'I' T4i CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [JtTLY, By a mcriflian observation, the latitude of the place was 4*2^ 50' 08''^. It was my daily practice to take observations ol'the sun's meridian altitude; and why they are not given, will ap. pear in the sequel. Eight miles further wo reached the mouth of Deer creek, where we encamped. Here was abundance of rich grass, and our animals were compensated for past pii vations. This stream was at this time twenty feet broad, aiul well timbered with cottonwood of an uncommon size. It is the largest tributary of the Platte, between tlie mouth of the Sweet Water and the Laramie. Our astronomical observations gave for the mouth of the stream a longitude of 100° 08'' 24', and latitude 42° 52' 24"^ 27th. — Nothing worthy of mention ocaurred on this day ; we traveled later than'^lisual, having spentlBie time searching ibr grass, crossing and recrossing the river before we could fiiul a sufficient quantity for our animals. Towards dusk we on. camped among some artemisia bushes, two and three feet in , height, where some scattered patches of short tough grass af. ' forded a scanty supply. In crossing, wc had occasion to ob. serve that the river Was frequently too deep to be forded, though wc always succeeded in finding a place where the wa. ter 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 peb. bles. We had traveled this day twenty-seven miles. Tlia main chain of the Black 'alls 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 oi springs, and the summits were clad with pines. 28th. — In two miles from our encampment, we reached tlie 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 r: CAPT. PREMONrs NARRATIVE. 75 as the best ford. The low stage of tlie water the present year had made it fordable in almost any part of its course, where access could be had to its bod. 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 geo- logical formation. Tho limestone at the eastern limit of this section is succeeded by limestone without fossils, a great va- riety of sandstone, consisting principally of red sandstone and fine conglomerates. The red sandstone is argillaceous, with compact white gypsum or alabaster, very beautnul. The other sandsto les are gray, yellow, and ferruginous, sometimes very coarse. The apparent sterility of tlie country must therefore be sought for in other causes thsUBf 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 nu- merous streams whicii come down from the neighboring mountain range. The ridges have an undulating surface, with some such appearance as the ocean presents in an ordi- nary breeze. The road which is now generally followed through this re- gion 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 ra- vines with steep banks, which renders frequent circuits neces- sary. 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. I A partial absence of these is often the onl\ indication of the I 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 I 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, I west of the mountains, there is no such thing as a mountain [road on the line of communication. I ,1, iiv' '11 ,v V.I'- '.,' 1( '" 'H 'V Mr''' '] if'* 9':Q M^ 76 CAPT. phemont's narhative. fTuiY, Wc continued our way, and four miles beyond th' ' • xl \r,. dians were discovered again ; and I halted while a par,/ vvero sent forward to ascertain who they were. In a short lime they returned, accompanied by a number of Indians of the Oglallali band of Sioux. From them we received some interesting in. formation. They had formed part of the great village, which they informed us had broken up, and was on its way home. Tiie 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 be. hind 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 dormer c'est de virer dc 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 at- tend me. In reply, I called up my men, and communicated to them fully the information I had just received. I then ex. pressed to them my fixed determination to proceed to the end of the enterprise on which I had been sent ; but as the situa- tion 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 re- .1 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 77 I a very ;ht, and a blado o to bo er said, icir road )rder to s which Such I main. We had still ton days' provisions ; and should no game be (bund, when this stock was expended, we hud our horses and mules, which we could cat when other means of subsist- ence failed. But not a man flinched from the undertaking. « We'll eat the mules," said Basil Lajeunesse ; and thereupon wo 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 fu- ture 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 tlTie, 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 ren- der 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 moun- tainous 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 tlio 7* /•'■. « •i; 78 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, |fi 1,4* I. I !,( temperature of boiliiig water. At this instant, and without any warning until it was witiiin 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° Fahrenheit. Our astronomical observations gave to this place, which M'e named Cache camp, a longitude of 106° 38' 26^^, latitude 42° 29th. — All our arrangements having been completed, we left the encampment at 7 o'clock this morning. In this vi- cinity the ordinary road leaves the Platte, and crosses over to the Sweet Water river, which it strikes near Rock Indepen- dence. Instead of following this road, I hid 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 promped by the nature of my instruc- tions. To Mr. Carson was assigned the oftice 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 land, mark in this country, whose geological composition is red sand- stone, 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 sand, stone, 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. Im- mediately 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 jnean time the herd clambered up the steep face of the ridge. It is sometimes wonderful to see these apparently clumsy ani- mals make their v^ray 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 M' S2'\ an CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 79 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 tiiabered with cotton- wocJ 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 lOG"^ 51' 32'', and latitude 42^ 38'. 30di. — 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 be- ing 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. According- ly 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 succcrdon of spurs three or four hundred feet high, r V -4; ;t : ''■■■it m mo '■■-/ ■, 1 ) ( . :'f':t ■ r'F^I :''i'';r-HS M :■'.'<■: 60 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, 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 tliat 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°, This pudding-stone, or conglomerate formation, I was enabled to trace through an ex. tended 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° 00''. From its ap. pearance, 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 decern, posed ; 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 wiiich lies to the southward of it, we made in the after. noon an excursion to a place which we called the Hot Spring Gate. This place has muv ' the appearance of a gate, by which the Platte passes through a ridge composed of a white and calcareous sandstone. The length of the pr.ssage is about four hundred yards, with a smooth green prairie on either side. Through this place, the stream flows with a quiet cur. rent, 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. . I 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 81 We saw here numerous herds of mountain sheep, and fre- quently 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 o-ave 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 pliace, and of these the horns were small. The use of these horns seems to be to protect the animal's head in pitching down pre- cipices 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 por- tion 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. Ex- cept in the horns, it has no resemblance whatevv^r to the goat. The longitude of this place, resulting from chronometer and lunar distances, and an occultation of Arietis, is 107° 13^ 29'^, and the latitude 42° 33^ 27^^. One of our horses, which had given out, we left to receive strength on the island, mtending to take her, perhaps, on our return. 31st. — This morning we left the course of the Pin It. , to cross over to the Sweet Water. Our way, for a icw miles, lay up the sandy bed of a dry creek, in which I fo'ind several interesting plants. Leaving this, we wended our way to tho 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 encamp- ment here, in order to give the hunters an opportunity to procure a supply from several bands of buffalo, which made their ap- pearance in the valley near by. The stream is about sixty 1 'r' <,l "vA- • . I V tl . •I ;-,V-.i'- . , ^*' ».••■ ■ ■ 82 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [July, 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 in. teresting 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 grev/ in many thick patches, one or two and sometimes three feet high. II 'i I -■' AUGUST. 1st. — The hunters went ahead this morning, as buffalo ap. peared tolerably abundant, and I was desirous to secure a small stock of provisions r and we moved about seven miles up the valley, and encamped one mile below Rock Indepen- dence. This is an isolated granite rock, about six hundred and fifty yards long, and forty in height. Except in a dcprcs. sion of tlie 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 tliis country, and some well known to science, are to be found nnxed 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<^ 56^, latitude 42° 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 lO?*^ 25'' 23''^, latitude 420 29" 56"''. CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 83 1842.] 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 pas- sao'e is about three hundred yards, and the width thirty-five yards. '1 iie 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 niade of drift wood, aided by the hois de vache. We had to-night no shelter from the rain, which commenced with squalls of wind about sunset. The country here is ex- ceedingly picturesque. On either side of the valley, which is five miles b.-oad, 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 oii a ledge or bench of the mountain, where a few hardy pines have clustered together, tliese are perfectly bare and destitute of vegetation. Among these m'-" 3es, 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 liowers 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. M ■■I ' I; '.■;■)■'■ .. ':ir ,1. I;- ■:ff M 84 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. 2d. — We were early on the road the next morning, travel, ing along the upper part of the valley, which is overgrown with artemisia. Scattered about on the plain are occasional small isolated hills. One of tliese 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 iiioment the pictures which had been created in our minds, hy many descriptions of travelers, who have coiripared these nv 'intains to the Alps in Switzerland, and speak of the gilt- tef iig peaks which rise in icy majesty amidst the eternal gluoiers rine or ten thousand feet into tlie region of eternal fc.no'"s. The nakedness of the river was relieved by groves of "illows, 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 undula. ting country, consisting c^' a grayish micaceous sandstone and fine-grained conglomeroto^, struck it ag an, and encamped after a journey of twent} -uve miles. Astronomical observa- tions placed us in latitude 42° 32^ 30'^ and longitude 108^ 5th. — The morning was dark, with a driving rain, and disagreeably cold. We continued our route as usual j but the 1942.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 85 glit. ■'■ river, dula- 3 and K^'. mped 108O and tthe 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 ilense 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°, with the wind strong from the northwest. We availed ourselves of the fine weather to make excursions in the neigh- borhood. 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 barom- eter, 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, notwith- standing, we left our encampment in the afternoo^i. Our ani- mals had been much refreshed by their repose, and an abun- dance of rich, soft grass, which had been much improved by the rains. In about three miles, we reached the entrance of a kauyon, 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°, 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 rjeadows, sixty yards wide, with open groves of aspen. The stieam was bordered throughout with 1. J J* V ■■■' ■ ':i:- I $ ^T fWM ri;il i % ,1 1 ;'M ■ ■■ " ' 1 ':J i 1 1 i . .V; ; *!4 • H: 8 ■ •ill* 66 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. aspen, beech, and willow ; and tall pines grew 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 preci. pices. 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 ra- vines, and small bare knolls of mica slate and milky quartz protruded at frequent intervals on the prairie, which was Avhitened 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 de- scended 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, com- pact 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 bliuck the Sweet Water — here a beautiful, swift stream, with a more open val- ley, timbered with beech and Cottonwood. It now began to lose itself in the many small forks which make its head ; and -m. 'il 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 87 we continued up the main strean^ 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 open- ing. 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° ; 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 irreg- ular lumps of clay, hardened by exposure. A variety of asters may now be numbered among the characteristic plants, and the artemisia continues in full glory ; but cacti have be- come 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°, and the grass wet with a heavy dew. Our astronomical observations placed this encampment in lon- gitude 109° 2V 22'', and latitude 42° 27' IS^''. Early in the morning we resumed our journey, the weather still cloudy, with occasional rain. Our general course was wes>, 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 I- ' *'■:' i;'! '.! 88 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. 1842.] 1- ^aw mi summits appeared to be about one hundred and twenty feet above. From the impression on my mind at this time, and sub- sequently on our return, I should compare the elevation which wo surmounted immediately at the Puss, to the ascent of the Capitol hill from the avenue, at Washington. It is di 111 cult for me to fix positively the breadth of this Pass. Froni the broken ground where it commences, at the foot of the Wind River chain, the view to the southeast is over a champai^fti 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 seon 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 Simplofi passes in Europe. A pproaching it from the mouth of the Sweet V/ater, 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. Bv the route we had traveled, the distance from Fort Laraidie 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. I'he 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° 3T 59^^ and latitude 42^ 27' 34' I// J Ifl42.] CAPT. FnEMONT S NARRATIVE. 89 i 9th. — We made our noon lialt on Big Sandy, anotlier tribu- tary of Green river. The face of the country traversed was of a brown sand of granite materials, the detritus of tiie neigh- boring 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-colorcd saiul, 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, camp were two remarkable isolated hills, one ( '^ ciently large to merit the name of mountain. The; the Two Buttes, and will serve to identify the pla campment, which the observations of the evening Near our ♦hem sufH- called I wur en- placed in On the longitude 109° 58' IV, and latitude 42° 42' 46'' 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 moun- tain 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°, and at sunrise 33°. Water froze last night, and fires are very comfortable. The scenery becomes hourly more in- teresting and grand, and the view here is truly magnificent ; but, indeed, it needs something to repay the long prairie jour- ney 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 sil- ver. 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 8* f'.; I '**■ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 1.1 1.25 ^^ ■28 |2.5 ■ 50 •^~ ■■■ t'-* 1^ 12.2 1!? 144 ■" i ■- ||£ 1.4 1.6 ^1 7] ^ %' w J^ ■^' Photographic Sciences Corporation 33 WIST MAIN STREiT WEBSTER, N.Y. USM (716) 872-4903 ^ 4^. r ^ ^ m -."7^ l''-i '■■■ ■li''i''i (ill m CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. 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 encamp, ment, 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 noth- ing 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, cov- ered 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 foli- age 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 nar- row passage between low hills. Dark pines which overhung the stream, and masses of rock, where the water foamed along, gave it much romantic beauty. Wnere we crossed, which Vi- f 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 91 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 niy anx- ious 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 anxietyj 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 in- strument, 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° 08' 03^^ west longitude from Greenwich, and latitude 43° 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 va- riation of the compass is 18° east. The correction made in 1 1 « . 1 S > -it V, ' ii ■■ /,i . kit **' > 03 CAPT. Fremont's naebative. [A-TTG. •'' k5| , 1 -T !;; m i'm 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 in. strument 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, and 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 im. mediately set about our preparations for ascending the moun- tains. As will be seen on reference to a map, on this short moun- tain chain are the head-waters of four great rivers on the con. tinent, 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 1842.] CAPT. FftEMONT's NARRATIVE. 93 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 aban- don this plan. I was desirous to keep strictly within the scope of my in- structions, and it would have required ten jr fifteen additional days for the accomplishment of this object ; our animals had become very much worn out with the length of the journey j game was very scarce ; and, though it does not appear in the course of the narrative, (as I have avoided dwelling upon tri- fling 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 t) 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 ap- pearance of so many pieces of bark. Even of this, our stock was rapidly diminishing in a camp which was capable of con- suming two buffaloes in every twenty-four hours. These ani- mals had entirely disappeared ; and it was not probable that we should fall in with them again ijntil 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 encamp.- ment. We were posted in a grove of beech, on the margin of ''•r i'.'^ 1 J.' j''TJ;'.. ; '..v' 'I i 1%^ tin' tf ^ ■ iU '%>. :f: ■ fj' :/;;■ .. ff. '■'U. ■ , ■ '{, . r, ■ .'''' f*"-K^i«. I ■ . 1 ;• , !!. If ■'.;■■ -%5 ''i,::iA' K< , r:fM ::;! .a,:iis 04 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. the lake, and a few hundred feet long, with a narrow prairilloa 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 ani. mals 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 pro. visions consisted of dried meat for two days, with our little stock of coffee and some macaroni. In addition to the ba. rometer and thermometer, I took with me a sextant and spy. glass, 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 coffee. pot 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 enter, ed directly on rough and rocky ground ; and, just after cross- ing 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 thou, sand feet, covered with the dark green of the balsam pine, re- lieved on the border of ihd lake with the light foliage of the "'1 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 95 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 sur- prise manifested by our guides when these impassable obsta- cles 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 gener- ally we rode along the shelving side, occasionally scrambling up, at a considerable risk of tumbling back into the lake. The slope was frequently 60° ; the pines grew densely to- gether, 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 prai^'e, and which now made us feel as if we had all been drinking some exhilarating gas. The depths of thfe unexplored forest were a place to delight the heart of a bota- nist. There was a rich undergrowth of plants, and numerous gay-colored flowers in brilliant bloom. We reached the out- let 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 sqi^irrels 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 look- ed 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 re- sumed 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. f I 51 t1 Zyf... ^'•^ 96 CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. [Auo. ' *; rfl m ?*3 We had reached a very elevated point, and in the valley be. low, and among the hills, were a number of lakes of different levels J 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 pre. pared, I set out on an excursion in the neighborhood, accom. panied by one of my men. We wandered about among the crags and ravines until dark, richly repaid |br our walk by a fine collection of plants, many of them in full bloom. Ascend- ing a peak to find the place of our camp, we saw that the little defile in which we lay communicated with the long green val- ley 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. 'V'. -r ^.J-r-^^^"-- £<.-..:<- ^:;-'::-:i *^-■^--■^ ,£■'■■: ; A,.^ ., 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 de- cided to be the highest of the range. Pleased with the dis- covery 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 1842.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 07 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 even- ing. The disorder of the masses which surrounded us — the little hole through which we saw the stavs 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 gra '', and scattered over with groups of flowers, of which yello^. .ras 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 j 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 magnifi- cent region. Here the defile up which we had traveled open- ed 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 if defiles, and before us rose the mountains, as we have represented them in the annexed view-. It is not by the splendor of far-oflf 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 9 '^!i 1' •M k'i -fW^ 98 CAPT. FREiMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. .» ■ ■» ■ >:.;!);;■■ 1 r 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 instru. ments, 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 difficuity, 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 stej)s, and frequently falling among the rocks. Maxwell was pre- cipitated 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 wliite 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, 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 09 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 den- tatum 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 Sibe- rian 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 iiothing 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°. 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 head«che 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 break- fast, we set out immediately. On every side, as we advanced, was heard the roar of waters, and of a torrent, which we followed i^ a short distance, until it expanded into a lake about one mile in length. On the northerly aide of the lake was a bank of icoi or rather of snow t 1 ' : 'if ■i' iA 1 ''(.'- 't'l'"- 1 t ; f - ., ■■5 1 1 mm • ^' J 00 CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. [Aug. 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 ex. tremely 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, fortu. nately 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 j 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*40l ; attached ther- mometer 50°, 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 eiglit 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 un- pleasantly cold, though the day was bright, that we set out on our return to the camp, at which we all arrived safely, strag- gling in one after the otlier. I contuiued ill during the after- 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 101 noon, but become better towards sundown, w».en my recovery was completed by the appearance of Ba^il 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, Clem- ent Lambert, Janisse, and Descoteaux. When we had se- cured 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 v/ere within the compass of human means. We were of opin- ion that a long defile which Idy 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 our. 9* ' . 'b 'i *i A^- ^ Vr' «- w ■ . I t ,1 J • ■* ' 1 t t 1 ' % u' .' i; J ij ' '■ •1 ■ '^^k j 102 CAPT. FREMONT S NAEEATIVE. [Aug. '.. I m selves 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 ex. hibited more snow to the eye than any of the neighboring sum- mits. 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°. 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 pro- gresa was uninterrupted climbing. Hitherto I had worn a pai5ri)f thick moccasins, with soles of parjl^che, 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 ad- vance. 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 ad- vancing at the outset bad spared my strength ; and, with the 111 ■. 1. 1 --■-^f^y ; i'- i,.^ \ "i'^r ■ !■■''* V."'t ■*!'; ■)\l: :*■' , ■' M. ■. ■ . ^-^*: 'W ■ i :^ ^r)' : • • "i-''!-' .■■■ '(' ■; i - ii^s^ ■ ;lv9H ]¥ T^ :f-^ i. i'", s : . i^ ' :V •'^ \ J-, If :■ ■ ■•>..: S i ■ *(.t H-*^'*!". # . % ii !r _..^,J*5.«*'S*i.- ti> ( 1''^Wa-'S * \? •'*■ •^ ^'^-■*- .Mr ."Hi I i' ' ISi'i S 'i'l» 'M '■K'' i" ■*# \* i.t^iV. .^ 1842.] CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. 103 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 iide of it, which was the face of a vertical precipice of severed 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 anolthefl^ would have precipitated me into an immense snow-field fivCi hundred fcset below. To the edge of this field was a sheer icy preoi- pice ; and then, with a gradual fall, the field sloped off for about a mile, until it struck the foot of another lower ndsii^ I stood on a narrow crest, about three feet in width, with ftn inclination of about 20° N. 51° E. As soon as I had gratilbed the first feelings of curiosity, I descended, and each, man ji^^. cended in his turn ; for I would only allow one at a^tin^t! " mount the unstable and precarious slab, wliich it ^eafiqj^ breath Would hurl into the abyss below. We moimt^iti^ barometer in the snow of the summit, and, fixihg dvraQl^l^ ia| a crevice, unfurled the national flag to wave in the til^fiii^ia^ where never flag waved before. During our morning's asqonV we had met no sign of animal life, except the small sparroWr like bird already mentioned. A stillness the most proibun^ and a terrible solitude forced themselves constantly 6a ^ mind as the great features of the place. Here, ch;i the sum- mit, ^here the stillness was absolute, unbroken by any ^puod, and solitude complete, we thought ourselves beyond the H^on of animated life ; but while we were sitting on the . rdi^; jji solitary bee {hromtts, the humble-lee) came winging his i^gj^t 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 peisil; of the Rocky mountains, for a lover of warm sunshine an4 flowers ; and we pleased ourselves with the idea that he w«8 the firsy|f hil apeoies to cros9 the mountain barrier — a :*■ •few . ik. .V. » i ■/ : -»■.•;■ -i ^1- :i> ■ ■ ,0 ,' :«> Fi'' 4iv1'.Ji«il«■;■ 111: ^jfl:^^-?';'*!: '5V^;i-i ■■%; 1U4 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. ' pioneer to foretell the advance of civilization. 1 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 1 8*293, the attached thermometer at 440 J 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 oflicer still farther to the north, and Colonel Long's measure. ments 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 j 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 dis- cover the snowy heads of the Trots 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. Paral- lel to its length, the ridge was split into chasms and fiedures ; 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 an4 eighty above the little lakes at the bottom, immediately at our feet. Our camp at the Two Hills (an as- tronomical station) bore south 3° east, which, with a bearing afterwards obtained from a fixed position, enabled us to locate the peak. The beariilg of the Trois Tetons was §/^ith 50^ ^.'^yi 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 105 west, and the direction of the central ridge of the Wind River mountains south 39° east. The summit rock was gneiss, suc- ceeded by^ienitic 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 ex- plosion of our pistols had the usual degree of loudness, but was not in the least prolonged, expiring almost instanta- neously. 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 instruc- tions. We had climbed the loftiest peak of the Rocky moun- tains, 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, atid when we reached the bottoiii, the sun had already sunk behind the wall, and the day was dt^w- iilg 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 ahd 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 clifls. At the cra^ 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 thou- sand feet above. It is needless to (Attempt any further descrip* tioa of the couXitry ; the jku1|on ov^r which we traveled this ;'v.:.v ;. r^. 'tl ■iH ■ V - ^l-K '\<' I I. .. J- vi-' / ' ■•=:■ .-I / 106 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. C mm im k :■:$ h 4:mM bV ti 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 moun- tain 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 home- ward ; 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 com- pare 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, wo 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^ 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 cump. 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 107 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 observa- tions. Hero, 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 consti- tutes the river hills of the Platte, consisting of huge blocks, i ,>, . ■ f/ " I f"' ■ * ' t. H % , i#:^:^. M. y-H^ m-' ^?. 108 CAPT. FREMONT S NAURATIVE. [Auo, l^ty''\ mm^ mm Ir 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 naviga. tion the next day. 24th. — We started before sunrise, intending to breakfast at Goat island. I had directed the land party, in charge of Ber- nier, 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 desig. nated. 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 v;as 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 up one had been able to describe to us. We were approach- , ^^^Ujll''^ ridge, through which the river passes by a place called '^■0^ ^«knon," (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 be- low, half choked up by fallen fragments. Between the mouth of the Sweet Water and Goat island, there is probably a fall . M*ti.''- 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 100 of three hundred feet, and that was principally made in the canons before us ; as, without them, the water was compara- tively 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 imd, 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, shq^ed that the water here frequently rose to a considerable height. The ridge was of the same decomposing granite already men- tioned, 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 pas- sage 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 unexpect- edly 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 10 t^ ( ■ li Y, m t; •fi 7 ;' ■■ t 1 (( ■.-'.tf. ■t ■..::'V^' mm Par?' t. ' »■ , '■■■■'■ kVM m 11 110 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. Bwamped, and were obliged to let her go in the full force of the current, and trust to the skill of the boatmen. The dan. gerous places in this canon were whore 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 full ; 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 tun- nel into the open day beyond. We were so delighted with tiie performance of our boat, and so confident in her powers, that we would not have hesitated to leap a fall often feet with her. "We put to shore for breakfast at some willows on the rigjii 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 wus 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 ^reat quantities of mica, which made a very glittering sand. We re-embarked at nine o'clock, and in about twenty min- utes reached the next canon. Landing on a rocky shore at its commencement, we ascended the ridge to reconnoitre. Port- age was out of the question. So far as we could see, the jag- ged rocks pointed out the course of the canon, on a winding Hne 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 aflerwards ascer. tained, five hundred feet in vertical height. Our previous 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. Ill success had made us bold, and we determined agam to run the canon. Every thing was secured as firmly as possible ; and having divested ourselves of the greater part of our cloth- ing, we pushed into the stream. To save our chronometer from accident, Mr. Preuss look it, and attempted to proceed along the shore on the masses of rock, which in places were piled up on cither 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 wait- ed 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 sta- ving 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 sad- dle-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 suc- ceeding 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 oflT 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 headfore- most 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 imow ; 1 1 .-V - ' iV^: ■; * ' "* 1 'it 'Y'.i . i' ! I" .■' *' ' ' t' •' V'., V J $■■' f./r'-r m:\ I i i n 111 !;•»' Ni; ?''tJ! Jj 112 CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. [Aug. but wo succeeded in turning the boat into an eddy below. " 'Cre Dieu," said Basil Lajeunesse, as he arrived immediate. ly after us, " Je crois Men que fat nage un demi mile.'* He liad 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 dush- ed along, and were, I believe, in the midst of the chorus, when the bout 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 eftects ; but a sharp concussion or two con- vinced 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 hud 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 hot- torn up ; and Lambert was in the act of saving Descoteaux, whom he had grasped by the hair, and who could not swim ; " Ldche pas," said he, as I afterwards learned, " Idche pas, cher frtre." " Grains pas," was the reply : " je m'cn vais mourir avant que de te Idcher." Such was the reply of cour- age and generosity in this danger. For a hundred yards be- low 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 in- struments, 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 dishearten. ed. All our books — almost every record of the journey— our journals and registers of astronomical and barometrical obser* 1942.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 113 vations — had been lost in a moment. But it was no time to indulge in regrets; and I imuiodiutely set about endeavoring to save something from the \\ reck. Making ourselves understood as well as possible hv signs, (n)r nothing could be hl9ard in tlic roar of the waters,^ we commencpd our operations. Of every thing on board, the only article that had been saved was my double-barreled gun, which Descotoaux 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 j and Lajeunesse, with a paddle in his hand, jump'ed on the boat alone, and continued down the can- on. She was now light, and cleared every bad place with much less difficulty. In a short time ho was joined by Lam- bert, 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 fruirmcnts of rocks from above had choked the river into a hoi- lf)w 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 barometri- cal register west of Laramie. Fortunately, our other journals contained duplicates of the most important barometrical obsei'- vations 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 tiling 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, be- fore 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 thetn, our situation would be rather a desperate one. We had not a 10* < i .1 I : i , I il i(^ ■ i ' ■ ; 'W- i 114 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug, *-t^ "if « 1 ',, I M , *- •( morsel of provisions — our arms and ammunition were gone — and we were entirely at the mercy of any straggling party of sav. ages, 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 sometines displayed in the broken ravines which interrupted our course, and made our walk extremely fatiguing. At one point of the canon the red argillaceous sand- stone rose in a wall of five hundred feet, surmounted by a stratum of white sandstone ; and in an opposite ravine a col- umn of red sandstone rose, in form like a steeple, about one hundred and fifty feet high. The scenery was extremely pic- turesque, 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 walk- ing 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 pre- vious visit in July, we had not entered this pass, reserving it for our descent in the boat ; and when we entered it this even- ing, 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 •& w 184'^.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 115 m0 to enjoy the crystal water, he threw himself down for a hasty draut^ht, 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 es- caped 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 Thermopyloe 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 al- ready 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 oil 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 whicii 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 tlie 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 fresh- ■j- li fii^:' .1 i, i; i-rl' ■■fe: :H- -li! .11 I ■•• t 4'i \\ ■<''i ;■:■■ ,>M il^ I ■; 116 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. ness had been given to it by the rains. The Platte was ex. ceedingly 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 re. turn ; 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 splen. dor 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 our- selves 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 oc- casional stunted tree on its banks, gave it the air of the sea- coast ; the bed of the river bei«g merely a succession of sand- bars, 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 ; ana, whenever an obstruction barred our way in the shape of precipitous blufls that came down upon the river, we turned directly into it, and made our 1842.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 117 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 con- tract 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. : --- "it;" ' /.- v-.. ',■' 'lf^_ 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 excel- hi ■■ \v ■■•,;C ■ •i#^' 'I-- ^k ' \' I: •f m 'm- 4 ■' n ■" fi, ? ■■. ri:i#'^r' A s j'l ■.•1 !;■ 'I ■ :.- UK ■> "' '-If':.!! 118 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Sept. lent 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 Paw, nees, 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 for. mation, 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 wcreached the opposite, bank afler repeated attempts, ascending and descending the bed of the river, in order to avail ourselves of the bars. We encamped on the lefl 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 ob- tain but one good observation for ^^p '"♦'♦ude — a meridian alti- tude of the sun, which gave for the latitude of the mouth of the Loup fork, 41° 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 con. structing a boat, in which I proposed to descend the Missouri. On the aflernoon of the 27th we met one of the men, who had h^BH dispatched by Mr. Sarpy with a welcome supply of pro- Visions and a very kind note, which gave us the very gratify. ing 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 milcj, 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 ( r CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 119 1842.] 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 o-enerally without timber. A portion of these consist of low oTounds, covered with a profusion of fine grasses, and are probably inundated in the spring ; the remaining part is high liver prairie, entirely beyond the influence of the floods. The breadth of the river is usually three-quarters of a mile, except Nvhere it is enlarged by islands. That portion of its course vviiich is occupied by Grand island has an average breadth, from shore to shore, of two and a half miles. jrr OCTOBER. 1st. — I rose this morning long before daylight, and heard with a feeling of pleasure the tinkling of cow-bells at the set- tlements 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 sufliced 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 Bellovue. 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 lOtii, 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 an'd at mid-day, whenever the weather permitted. These operations on the river were con*inued until our arrival at the city of St. Louis, Missouri, on the 17th. At St. Louis, the sale of our t- ' I 5' -\ ' ;■ :.'*■■' 1 • ' V.' ; ■ -'A „ .-^-l ^^ irk of Platte river, North fork of Platte river North fork of Platte river. Dried Meat camp, North fork of Platte river, noon halt, North fork of Tlatie river, moti of Deer creek, . • North fork of Plalle river, Cach ■ tami), North fork of Platte river, left hank North fork of Platte river, (Joat ibiand, Sweet Water river, one mile below Rtick Inde- |)endence, Sweet Water river Sweet Water river, Little Sandy creek, tribuuiry to the Colorado of the West, New fork, tributary to the Colorado, Mountain lake, Highest jicak of the Wind River mountains, Sweet Water, noon halt, Sweet Water river, Sweet Water river, Sweet Water river, noon halt, f Sweet Water river. Rock Independence, North fork of Platte river, mouth of Sweet Water, Ilor £6 shoe creek, noon hall, 11 Latitude. Longitude. Oeg. 38 39 39 39 39 39 40 40 40 40 40 milt, tcc.i Dig. .37 34 I 05 57 OG 40 15 19 30 40 45 08 2» 50 41 06 39 32 39 51 39 55 41 05 05 40 40 40 40 41 41 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 42 51 17 53 20 22 35 41 59 08 30 40 13 12 10 39 25 47 40 51 35 50 08 U'i 24 .W 53 38 01 33 27 29 56 32 31 27 15 27 34 42 4(5 04 95 03 96 96 98 98 09 35 46 38 05 04 07 14 49 32 35 22 12 45 49 05 24 49 49 110 08 03 42 24 :« 42 4K> 22 42 31 46 12 2rt 10 42 29 :i6 4Q 27 18 4i 24 24 100 05 47 100 40 43 103 07 103 30 37 105 12 12 104 57 49 104 39 37 104 24 36 104 47 43 104 59 59 105 50 45 106 08 24 106 38 26 106 .'54 :w 107 13 29. 107 25 23 108 30 13 109 SI 32 109 37 59 109 58 11 i" "Mi- A' -^ \ ; i ' ^:v I'M 1'- ; ' • , ' .' V " h > { ■ i . i J' ' ■-■hi ■'■':: ■ •!. I ■■'''!J;;!'ri'^-i| ■if.'. ;^' >-•' /^ 122 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. Table of Latitudes and Longitudes — Continued. LI 842. Date. ■f 1842. Sejit. .1 4 5 8 » 10 1(> 10 17 18 10 20 20 21 23 23 . 25 28 29 Oct. 2 5 C G 8 10 Station. North fork of Platte river, rinht bank North fork of Platte river, iieur Scott's hlutts. North fork of Pint to river, right bank, siiTmiles above Chimney rock, North fork of Platte river, mouth of Ash creek,... North fork of Platte river, right bank, North fork of Platte river. Cedar bluffs, Platte river, noon halt, Platte river, left bank, ■ Platte river, left bank, Platte river, left bank, Platte river, left bank, IMattc river, noon halt, left bank, Platte river, lell bank, Platte river, left bank, Platte river, noon halt, left bank, Platte river, left bank, Platte river, moulhof Loup fork, Platte river, month of Elk Horn river, Platte river, left bank, Bellovuo, at the post of the. American Fur Com- pany, right bank of the Missouri river, Left bank of the Missouri, opposite to the right bank of the mouth of the.Platte, Missouri river, Bertholet's island, noon halt, Missouri river, mouth of Nishnabatona river, .... Missouri river, left bank, Missouri river, mouth of the Kansas river Latitude. Lonjritude. Dig. mill ItC. Deg. min. «ic 42 01 40 41 54 38 41 43 36 41 17 10 41 14 30 41 10 16 40 54 31 40 52 34 40 43 38 40 40 21 40 :«) 44 40 48 19 40 54 02 41 05 41 20 37 20 41 22 52 41 22 11 41 m 34 41 tti 15 41 08 24 95 20 41 02 11 40 34 40 27 08 08 40 16 40 31) 36 02 39 06 03 ^4 'ti^-'i- -■Oil^.'- mh «lfel' .,/A^*,S -^^ II, ,■ , '" I ., ,111' I. y E««fei«?; ^ A REPORT Of THE EXPLORING EXPEDITION 10 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 re- connoisance 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 Kan- sas 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 heen favorably brought to your notice in a former report. Mr. Thomas Fitz- patrick, 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 direc- tions, Mr. Theodore Talbot, of Washington city, had been '■:l I 1 *r .i-C m '-' ' 1 'if ,: li%>^ '■ 124 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [May, attached to the party, with a view to advancement in his pro. fession ; and at St. Louis I 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, Fran- cis Badeau, Oliver Beaulieu, Baptiste Bernier, John A. Camp, bell, John G. Campbell, Manuel Chapman, Ransom Clark, Philibert Courteau, Michel Crelis, William Creuss, Clinton Deforest, Baptiste Derosier, Basil Lajeunesse, Fran9ois Lnjeu- nessc, Henry Lee, Louis Menard, Louis Montreuil, Samuel Neal, Alexis Pera, Frangois Pera, James Power, Raphael Prouc, Oscar Sarpy, Baptiste Tabeau, Charles Taplin, Bap. tiste Tesson, Auguste Vasquez, Joseph Verrof, Patrick White, Tiery Wright, Louis Zindel, and Jacob Dod.^on, a free young colored man of Washington city, who volunteered to accom. pany the expedition, and performed his duty manfully through, out 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 excel, lent Indian agent. L. Maxwell, svho 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 mill. tary 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-com- missioned officer of artillery in the Prussian army, and regu- larly 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: i One refracting telescope, by Frauenhofer. One reflecting circle, by Gambey. . , , ; ^**' # 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. mm Two sextants, by Troughton. One pocket chronometer, No. 837, by GofTe, Falmouth. One pocket chronometer. No. 739, by Brockbank. One syphon barometer, by Bunten, Paris. One cistern barometer, by Fryo 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 1R42. The route was then up the valley of the Great Platte river to the South Pass, in north latitude 42° ; the route now determined on was up' the valley of the Kansas river, and to the head of the Ar- kansas river, and to some pass in the mountains, if any could be ftund, 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, con- stituting 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 11* »■' .!: ^■■■. ■ T V ...f i'ii- '^^ ■- ■ ■ ' i 'I- I '£' '' ii '■ 126 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Ma?, of machinery for a mill which Mr. Childs designod erecting on the waters of the Sacramento river, emptying into the buy of San Francisco. We were joined here by Mr. Wm. Gilpin of Mo., who, in. tending this year to visit the settlements in Oregon, had been invited to accompany us, and proved a useful and agreeable addition to the party. 'iV' ! i i)k\ i'** .! Jt:< 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 por. tion 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, wliich 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 after- noon of the 6th, whilst busily engaged in crossing a wooded sti'eam, we were thrown into a little confusion by the sudden arrival of Maxwell, who entered the camp at full speed at tlie head of a war party of Osage Indians, with gay red blankets, and heads shaved to the scalp lock. Thtiy 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 m % 1843.] CAPT. FIIEMONT S NARRATIVE. 127 sonrch of a runaway horse bolonging to Mr. Dwin;ht, which had tiikru tho hoiu'-ward road, carrying with liim saddU*, bridle, and holstcr-pistols. Tiio Osagos were probably igno- rant of our strength, and, when they charged into tho camp, drove off a number of our best horses ; but we were fortunately well mounted, and, after a hard chase of seven or cigiit miles, succeeded in recovering them all. This accident, which oc- casioned delay and trouble, and threatened danger and loss, und broke down some good horses at the start, and actually endangered tho expedition, was a first fruit of having gentle- men 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 su1>ject to the orders which enforce attention and exertion. We arrived on the 8th at the mouth of the Smoky-hill fork, which is the prin- cipal southern branch of the Kansas ; forming here, hy its junction with the Republican, or northern branch, tho main Kansas river. Neither stream was fordable, and the necessity of making a raft, together with bad weather, detained us hero 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° 30' 38'^ long. 96° 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 hero 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, whoso curiosity sometim.cs brought them within rifle range, would circle round us and then scour oft' 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 'I t i *^:^J \ir^ I ■\IA£< 'i??!'^' f'?j;i:V'i: V.-, ^*% 128 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [June, 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 tiie 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 en- camped is called by the Indians the Big Timber. Hitlierto 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 lO comply with youT 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 sepa- rated j and, bearing a little out from the river, with a view of heading some of the numerous afHuents, after a few hours' travel over somewhat broken ground, we entered upon an ex. tensive and high level prairie, on which we encamped towards evening at a little stream, where a single dry cottonwood af. forded the necessary fuel for preparing supper. Among a variety of grasses which to-day made their first appearance, I noticed bunch-grass, (festtica,) and buffalo-grass, {sesleria dac tyloides.) Amorpha canescens {lead plant) continued the char, acteristic plant of the country, and a narrow-leaved lathyrus occurred during the morning, in beautiful patches. Sida cocci. nea occurred frequently, with a psoralea near psoralea Jloribun- da, and a number of plants not hitherto met, just verging into bloom. The water on which we had encamped belonged to Solomon's fork of the Smoky-hill river, along whose tributaries we continued to travel for several days. 1843.] CAPT. FBEMONT's NAERATIVE. 129 ■^-)V: 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, coltonwood, and a very large oak — the latter being occasion- ally five and six feet in diameter, with a spreading summit. Slda 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 {schrankOh angustata) occurs fre- quently, 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. Amorphay with the same ^soraZea, and a dwarf species of /wpiwwsj^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 mo- notony of the prairies was suddenly dispelled by the appear- ance of five or six buffalo bulls, forming a vanguard of im- mense herds, among which we were traveling a few days af- terwards. 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 prai- ries a smooth and mossy appearance, were mingled frequent patches of a beautiful red grass, {aristida fallens,) 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, \i-: 'i ■', '«■ I ' '•:v ■-$ Ml ■"■:■ y-t ■ 3 I' '.■■"■1- *-:■,' :U'-. '■ ■■:■ ■ w , , , 1 ■■(..a*,; ■.-.'■■ .' ! , I I- /^^ ■;/:■!■:, r I ■ i l\,. Y »•:';& , "I Sivi'l , ^ < I had been informed that a large number of mules had re- cently 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 '^'^m^i 'i] 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 133 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 com- fortable 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 thun. der 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 indi- 12' r- :, ■' . , ,4, ■ *• ■f 'f 'I: Il< (> ^1 - f ^l j; llUi ' < \"" I N, S 1? .V^ 3& ^' I W >•' 134 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [-Tuly, cated a regular supply X)f 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 m-^ager 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 pre- ceding 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 j the evening cloudy, with many musquitoes. Some indifferent observations placed the camp in lat. 39° 43'' 53^'', and chronometric long. 1050 24' 34^. '^.^.*.-^,^ . ^ ■= •'-.. . -- . - :.^i*v f*- ■' 8th. — We continued to-day to travel up the Platte : the morn- ing 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 tho immediate bottom of the river was a good soil, of a dark and sandy mould, 1843.1 CAPT. Fremont's naerative. 135 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 rppeared for a moment only, as clouds rose early over the inountains, 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 travel- ing 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 junc- tion is assumed as given by oui barometrical observations in 1842. On the easternmost branch, up which we took our wray, we first came among the pines grdWing on the top of a very liigh bank, and where we halted on it to noon j quaking asp (populus iremuloides) was mixed with the cotton wood, 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 giliay 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 -If'' 'M !f -t ;t ' t> >i'4' . •1 136 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [July, 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, wliich 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 morn- ing, 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 diffierent kinds — every thing to give it a varied beauty, ex- cept 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 after, noon 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. :.,,... .,..-; --v^k . .■^^^ '■-*;a;,.A-:. .^%-' -:.>,..■.. 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 de- 1843.1 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 137 ' W' composition 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 halt*»d to noon on the principal branch of the river. During tho morning our route led over a dark and vegetable mould, mixed witli sand and gravel, the charac- teristic plant being esparceitej {onohrychis 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 tha 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 indis- position to the meat of the bull which had been killed the previous day. .v>r :^,;-i. ,? 11th. — There were no indications of buffalo having been recently in the neighborhood ; and, unwilling to travel far- ther eastward, I turned this morning to the southward, up the valley of Bijou. EsparccUe occurred universally, and among the plants on the river I noticed, for the first time du- ring this journey, a few small bushes of the absinthe of the voyageurs, which is commonly used for firewood, (artemisia iridentata.) Yesterday and to-day the road has been orna- mented with the showy bloom of a beautiful lupinus, a charao- 12* ' . a *f l'/ ' 4 '. tl >»■; , Wl III u(''''.''S 1 If I, i 138 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [July teristio in many parts of the mountain region, on which were generally great numbers of an insect with very bright colors, (litta vcsicatoria.) 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 run. ning 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 di- rection, 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 inter. ruption 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 jmall 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 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 139 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 ap- proaching 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 con- fined 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 v. astern half it consists entirely of various spe- cies of Cottonwood, which deserves to be called the tree of the desert — growing in sandy soils, where no other tree will grow — poii -ing out the existence of water, and furnishing to the trav- eler fuel, and food for his animals. Add to this that the west- ern 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 some- what 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 tlje Kansas. From this place the view ex- tended 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 ,.^,, ^^^^ ' 'i: v,i I i, m:\: x-,'\ . '\* -1 '' ■■ -i't^ \ '' I'll. 1 1 ; , itt '■ ■ '1 t. ,^^' ''- ' : i ' "^ f^:^ ^' : ^ -M fj ' ■ , '^i. ■ : . ■■* . ;. ' ,1: I : h f V ■ '.1 V: 1 ■'■^ '1 ' , 1 i lt,!r:::: Ki'l ■
  • nesia, / 92-25 - 1-21 •23 - 1-50 •20 - 4-61 100-00 At eleven o'clock, when the temperature of the air was 73°, that of the water in this was 60^5° ; and that of the upper spring, which issued from the flat rock, more exposed to the sun, was 69°. At sunset, when the temperature of the air was 66°, that of the lower springs was 58°, and that of the upper Ql°. 19th. — A beautiful and clear morning, with a slight breeze from the northwest ; the temperature of the air at sunrise be- ing 57*5°. At this time the temperature of the lower spring was .57-8°, springs was 58°, and that of the upper 54*3o. 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 sin- gular piny flavor ; and on the mountain side, in a red gravolly soil, is a remarkable coniferous tree, (perhaps an abies,) having the leaves singularly long, broad and scattered, with bushes of spircBa aricpfolia. By our observations, this place is 6,350 feet above the sea, in latitude 38° 52'' 10", and longitude 10.5° 22M5^^ Resuming our journey on this morning, wo 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 ve'y 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 fo^'ty feet high, containing very great numbers of a largo univalve shell, which appears to belong to the genus inoceramus. In contact with this, to the westward, was another stratum ^'^;i\ '^m 2843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 145 of limestone, containing fossil shells of a different character ; and still higher up on the stream were parallel strata, consist- in'1 :r. ( • ' , •' :', ■ ■ t. .'■<, ^, , • ■ fv^.;.^ ' ^ ■■'■ • i:"'^'l- !" . ; / ■ V * .; Ti ' : , m i •"■■■V Hi I IvtII ■■"■'■■ ''^■ I my.-:\ ■ ■^.-'A'-' .ipA\ ■]'iMt5v ■iXr I ^■f'^l 146 CAPT. fkemont's narrative. [July, which was a luxuricince of growth that I rarely saw this al. most universal plant attain tliroughout the journey. Continu. ing down a branch of the Platte, among high and very steep timbered hills, covered with fragments of rock, towards oven. ing we issued from the piny region, and made 3. late encamp, ment 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 follow. ed 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 v/hich 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 wiiich 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 excel- lent health, and my true and reliable friend. Kit Carson, who ht)d 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 watch- ed 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 II *: 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 147 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 im- practicable for carriages, but the exploration of which was in- cidentally contemplated by my instructions, with the view of finding some convenient point of passage for the road of emi- gration, 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 trap- pers, 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 hos- pitably 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 princi- pal 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 cus- tomary 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 rodej and escape on their war-horses. I m I I 1 ifc^ .i.f - hw-. "'$?{ M * . ■^-■\\i ' it m- ■V^"' ill 148 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [July 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-d-la-Pou. dre 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 sepa. rated 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, al- though 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 tl^ading 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 ,:,^l- ..A .... , f ■J 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 149 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, Fran- cois Badeau, J. B. Bernier, Louis Menard, Raphael Proue, Jacob Dodson, Louis Zindel, Henry Lee, J. B. Derosier, Fran- Qois Lajeunesf^, a' ' \.uguste V'asquez. By observ ^n, tf: 'atitude of the p sr 40° 16' 33^', and its longitude 105° 12' 23'', depending, with all the other lon- gitudes along this portion of the line, upon a subsequent occul- tation 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 con- stant 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 ani- mals 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 f 13* ■& ..if' tk ' : tl 't iT ', H ■ ' '•^*, J \ ; i:i , ) i ■'"'.*1 ' ' '1 ! "i-'t; ll i '■f '^f ;fii {JM^ ii:.-A', 4y M ,|- ■1>:■■?■ ..-,;< If 1 '■''• 1.' Sr "■;,'' • fi^V v; ^'^ I '.(: ■ ' '' \''f' ■.-. .■ if-',- . .:■ ' . ; 1 ■ '-ii ']''■■• n : 'M't (■!• t ::;> I'ljIi'vH',' ■■ f)i ■■I!. Jwm h; i'' ■'!,!ii 150 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [July comparative plains, and, fording the Cache-^-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 diilicult 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 morn, ing, 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, thei" tall spikes some, times rising above our heads as we rode among them. A pro- fusion of blossoms on a white flowering vine, {clematis lasianihi,) 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 some- what 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; 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 151 but there was no lack of wood, and the large fires wo made to dry our clothes were very comfortable ; and at night the hunters cunie in with a fine deer. Rough and difl[icult 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 sun- rise 52° ; and leaving our encampment at eight o'clock, in about half a mile we crossed the Caclie-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 moun- tains around Long's peak. By the great quantity of snow visible among them, it had probably snowed heavily there the previous da^ , .vhile 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 ihe 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 indiifcrent observations, our latitude is 41° 02' 19^^. A species of hedcome was characteristic along the whole day's route. Emerging from the mountains, we entered a region of bright, fair weather. Ln my experience in this country, I was forci- bly 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 occa- sion to remark the frequent storms of rain we encountered du- ring our journey. 31st. — The morning was clear ; temperature 48<^. A fin§ I ■ '• V ■' ■''■>: I}: vm. u q. ! : ■ :i ?! ■■?. I ■', ^%l. , ■t f. ' f:!-: >l: «•'); 152 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Jxtly, rolling road, among piny and grassy hills, brought us this morn. ing into a large trail where an Indian village had recently passed. The weather was pleasant and cool ; we were dis- turbed 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 ex. quisitely beautiful colors. Among those which had not hith. erto made their appearance, and which here were character, istic, was a new delphinium, of a green and lustrous metallic blue color, mingled with compact fields of several briglit-col- ored varieties of astragalus, which were crowded together in splendid profusion. This trail conducted us, through a remark, able defile, to a little timbered creek, up which we wound our way, passing by a singular and massive wall of dark-red gran. ite. 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 per. fectly 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 break- fast 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° 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° 15^ 02^', and longi- tude 106° 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. pf 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 153 The evening was tolerably clear ; temperature at sunset 640. The day's journey was 30 miles. AUGUST. 1st. — The morning was calm and clear, with sunrise tem- perature at 42°. 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 luxu- riant 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'^. The day's journey was 26 miles. - 2d. — Temperature at sunrise 52°, 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 plaui, cov- ered 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 wil- low and long-leaved cottonwood, mingled with aspen, as we approached the mountain more nearly towards noon. Kspar- cette was a characteristic, and flax occurred frequently in bloom. We halted at noon on the most western fork of Lara- *\' •:^^' ' tl ■•|.-'; .#.v: ; j •**; :■■■ ■m i^''^'-\ u t I, i ! '■ 0m\ ,1 * ■ 154 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Auo. mio river — a handsoino stream about sixty feet wide and two feet deep, with clear water and a swift current, over a bod composcil entirely of boulders or roll-stones. There was a large open bottom here, on which were many lodge poles lyjnir 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, (anelhum graveo/ens,) which I found our Snake woman engaged in dig. ging 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 In- dians, its root is a common article of food, which they take pleasure in oiForing to strangers ; while with us, in a consider- able portion of America and Europe, the seeds are used to flavor soup. It grows more abundantly, and in greater luxu- riance, 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 pro- cure a sujjply 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<^ 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 arlemisia iridentata,* in this country commonly called sage. * The greater portion of our subsequent journey was through a r gion 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. . , . ., !/ vji 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 165 Tliis shrub now began to make its appearance in compact fields ; and we wore about to quit for a long time this country of excellent pasturage and brilliant flowers. Ten or twelve l)ulfulo bulls were seen during the afternoon ; and we were surprised by the appearance of a large red ox. Wo gathered uround him as if he had been an old acquaintance, with all our domestic feelings as much awakened as if wo had come in si'fht of an old farm-iiouse. He had probably made his escape from some party of emigrants on Green river ; and, with a vivid remembrance of some old green field, he 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 Ibund in the morning that he had wan .ered ofl', I would not let him bo pursued, for I would rather have gone through a starving time of three entire days, than let him be killed after ho had successfully run the gauntlet so fm amoHj; the IncV xns. 1 have been told by Mr. Bent's people of an ox born ant' ais- t(l at St. Vrain's fort, which made his escape from I'lom at Elm grove, near the frontier, having come in ii at year with the wagons. They were on their way out, ant saw occasion- ally places where he had eaten and laid down to rest ; but did not see him for about 700 miles, when they overtook him on tiie roud, 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 Buite, 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 tim- bered with the long-leaved cottonwo a 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° 47^ 2.5'''. The latitude, by obser- vation, was 41° 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 break- ^.\ *■ I: ^»x M It ¥' ,K ,«ei-'w, , ■*' ii", • lis' ' ■'■■f'i-.i-li 4m\ (i,^ 156 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRA'xIVE. [Aug. fasted 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. Im. mediately in the pass, the road was broken by ravines, and wq were obliged to clear a way through groves of aspens, which generally niP "o 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 meri. dional observation of the sun, which gave 41° 35' 48^^ for the latitude of the pass. The Medicine Butte is isolated by a small tributaiy of the North fork of the Platte, but the moun- tains 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 escarp. ments 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 lew 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 encamp, ment on the creek, where it took a northern direction, unfavor. ably to the course we were pursuing. Bands of buTalo 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 moat 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 riv er, but happened to strike it where there was H very excellent ford, and halted to noon on the left bank, two U . . -_ .^..-^.tajcfttm. .1... tt:^ r. ■ " 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 157 hundred miles from St. Vrain's fort. The hunters brought in pack-animals loaded with fine meat. According to our imper- fect knowledge of the country, there should have been a small affluent to this stream a few miles higher up ; and in the after- noon we continued our way among the river hills, in the ex- pectation of encamping upon it in the evening. The ground proved to be so exceedingly difficult, broken up into hills, ter- minating 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 pro- gress of the carriages being greatly obstructed by the artemi- sia, 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 ther- mometer and several small articles, when, fearing to lose some- thing of more importance, I halted for the night at ten o'clock. Our animals were turned down towards the river, that they mif^ht pick up what little grass they could find ; and after a liitle search, some water was found in a small ravine, and im- proved 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 beau- tiful grassy bottom, where our animals indemnified themselves for the scanty fare of the past night. It was quite a pretty and pleasant place j a narrow strip of prairie, about five hun- dred 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 blufifs were displayed a succession of 14 '.:iit'' ;:';i w V- UW ::1 mm ^k !i-/: !'^-'" ♦:> ,^>.*: 1?^- ■>■■■■ "it. I ' -i'l 158 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. strata containing fossil vegetable remains, and several beds of coal. In some of the beds the coal did not appear to be per- fectly 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 up. per end of the little bottom. Fortunately, the guard, who was between them and our animals, had caught a glimpse of an In- dian's head, as he raised himself in his stirrups to look over the hill, a moment before he made the charge, and succeeded in turn, ing 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 thp In. dians 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 pro- ceedings 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 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 159 taken in good part, and the usual evidences of friendship inter- changed. 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 govern- ment authorities. , . They were returning from an expedition against the Sho- shonee 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°, at sunset 70°, and the evening clear. Elevation above the sea 6,820 feet ; latitude 41° 36^ 00^'; longitude 107° 22' 2T\ i .« 6th. — At sunrise the thermometer was 46°, 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 m such a luxuriant growth that it was difficult and laborious for a man on foot to force his way through, and nearly impractica- ble for our light carriages. The region through which we were traveling was a higl plateau, constituting the dividing '' :' ^ill! \\hl 1 '^ , I ■ H ?'. ' . 'l ■■■■'' J i: ' ■''■ , ''I - •■ ' i .. . i . •is; .M iii. ;'r ft ." ' : ! t >n-; t». Vi,'^ ■ ; ■■>> ■'*-^' ^ .■■„ 160 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. ridge between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, and extending to a considerable distance southward, from the neigh. borhood 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 eminen«"e, in the after. noon, 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 aban. don any further attempt to struggle through this almost im. practicable country, we turned our course directly north, to. wards a pass in the valley of the Sweet Water river. A shaft of the ^un-carriage was broken during the afternoon, causing a considerable delay ; and it was late in an unpleasant even, ing 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 con. sisted 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, occa- sionally 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 vemiicularis, 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 fortu- nate to find ; and the next day, in latitude, by observation, 42^ 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 •1 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 161 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 satel- lite, the result of which agreed very nearly with the chronom- eter, giving for th^j mean longitude 107° 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 hit^hway, 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 slirubs 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, i little before sunrise, stand- ing at 26-5°. Leaving this encampment, (our last on the wa- ters 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 differ- ent roads. Selecting, as well as I could, in the scarcely dis- tinguishable ascent, what might be considered the dividing ridge in this remarkable depression in the mountain, I took a 14* t. ; if i 3 if -*4 Im h » ■ ■ ^ >■■]'■ 111 -ft *M f V J fmM I ;: if • ■■ 162 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. barometrical observation, which gave 7,490 feet for the eleva. tion 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 .^ore 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° 24'' 32^''; its longitude 109° 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 con- veyance 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 trib- utary to the Gulf of California, (for the waters which flow west fro..i the South Pass go to this gulf,) we made our usual halt four miles from the pass, in latitude, by observation, 42° W 53''^. Entering here the valley of Green river — the great Colorado of the West — and inclining very much to the south- ward 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 en- camped in the Mexican territory, on the left bank of Green river, 69 miles from the South Pass, in longitude 110° 05' 05^'', and latitude 41° 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. 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 163 16tli. — Crossing the river, here about 400 feet wide, by a very good ford, we continued to descend for seven or eight iTiiles on a pleasant road along the right bank of the streanr, 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 See«^s.ke-dee-agie, or Prairie Hen {tetrao urophasianus) river ; a name which it re- ceived 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° 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, accord- ing 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 then 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 : I w ;i. ^ ;• f''^ € • I' ■■;':., si: '^": ■ ': 1. -i: ■ ' r -^■•^ta ^^•:'-:; 164 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. valleys abounding with beaver, shut up among inaccessible walls of rock in the lower course of the river ; and to which ihe 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 se. curity. The roac^. 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 somewliat sluggish current, about 120 feet wide, limbered prin. cipally 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, ma- king 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, alter- nating 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 nmde to-day 21 miles. Since crossing the great dividing ridge of the Rocky moun. N lb' mm ' (i'l 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 165 tains, plants have been very few in variety, the country being covered principally with artemisia. 18th. — We passed on the road, this morning, the grave oj^ one of the emigrants, being the second we had seen since fall- ing 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 jour- ney 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 nourish- ment 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 neces- sary, 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 forma- tion, 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 fossilifer- ous 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 H-f, WR'ry (■; k tV ' f 1 ■ n,t ' i J 1 ; "^f- 'i 1 ' I i ■',»,■■ ! ifwKl •;-i i 'WL/ 166 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. modern formations of Great Britain and Europe, which have hitherto been wanting to complete the system of Nortli Arncri. can geology. In the afternoon we continued our road, and searching amoiirr the hills a few miles up the stream, and on the same bank, 1 discovered, among the alternate beds of coal and r;Iay, a stra. turn of white indurated clay, containing very clear and beauti. ful impressions of vegetable remains. This was the most in. teresting 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 remain. ing here only about an liour, I hurried off, loaded witii 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 sandi^one and limestone with shells, with a bed of cemented pebbles, the whole overlaid by beds of limestone. The alter- nation of red and yellow gives a bright appearance to the hills, one of which was called by our people the Rainbow hill, and the charaoter of the country became more agreeable, and -^^.■^ r , >A*V.-... - .^' -kg 2Q43.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 167 traveling for 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 Bcveral 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° 39' 45''^; and in the afternoon continued on the same excellent road, up the left or northern iork of f'le 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 moun- tains, separating the waters of the Gulf of California on the oast, and those on the west belonging more directly to the Pa- cific, from a vast interior basin whose rivers are collected into mimerous lakes having no outlet to the ocean. From the sum- mit 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 great- ly increased by the smoky weather, through which the broken ridn^es were dark and dimly seen. The ascent to the summit of the gap was occasionally steeper than the national road in the Allegiianies ; and the descent, by way of a spur on the west- ern 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 expoctation 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 ahout dark at a place whore the springs began again to make their appearance, but whore 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 trib- utary to the Great Salt lake. The stream is here two hundred feet wide, fringed with willows and occasional groups of haw- thorns. We were now entering a region which, for us, pos- m ' ',4 A- M ■ 1 ! )4 ■■■^ ^' iJ^ '•1 ' ■'* ■■"[ , . ; "li . if: I -m-'i 1 1 ■ t i 'W'4"'''''m 168 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRAT/Vf. [Aug. sessed a strnngo nnd extraordinary intt* ' Wn wore upon the waters of the famous lake which forms r, ^.inliont point aniotiff the remarkable geographical features of the country, and around which the vague and superstitious accounts of the trappers had thrown a delightful obscurity, which wo 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 specu. lation ; and the wonders which they related were not the hss agreeable because they were highly exaggerated and impos. sible. Hitherto this lake had been seen only by trappers who wore wandering through the country in search of new beaver-st reams, 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 geo- graphical survey, of any description, had ever been made any. where 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 some where on its surface was a terrible whirlpool, through wliich 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 nt 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 moun- tainous ridges, one above another, rising suddenly from the plain. We continued our road down the river, and at night en- camped 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 The tc was a d north. Antelc prairie ; Then ment, wt 50 feet i| aspen, aij GOO yarJ ruptly o[ by whicl below si advance^ of the sharp ar the vallc passage | We commoiil 1343.1 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 169 rrood 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 bo changed. According to barometrical observation at noon, the elevation of the valley was 6,400 feet above the sea ; and our encamp. ment at night in latitude 42° 03' AT', and longitude lUo 10' 53'^ by observation — the day's journey having I )en 20 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 con- sequently on Mexican territory ; and this is the route all the cinjf^rants now travel to Oregon. The temperature at sunset was 65o ; 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 encamp- ment, 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 GOO yards wide, between remarkable mountain hills, rising ob- ruptly 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 yar^s 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 tb common blue flax was growing abundantly, a few miles below 15 'i, f' \i i :!"# :.VA I i 1 ■I M .' 4' -I'M] '01 ml ■ -A >■ '' ' test-; 170 CAPT. Fremont's NARnAxiVE. [Aug. 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 vvragons, collected in groups at different camps, where the smoke was rising lazily from the fires, around which the women were oc- cupied 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 hsd been repo^^ing for several days in this delightful valley, in order to recruit their animals on its luxuriant pasturage after their long jour. ney, and prepare them for the hard travel along the compara. tively sterile bmks of the Upper Columbia. At the lower end of this extensive bottom, the river passes tlirough 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 al- ready 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 tlie 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 flie 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 j and a few miles below, another party was already in motion. Here the valley had. resumed its usual breadth, and the river swept ofT 1843.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 171 along the mountains on tlie 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 west- ward, 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 encamp- ment, which was situated on a small stream near the river. We had approached within something more than a mile of the village, when suddenly e single horseman emerged from it at full speed, followed hy imother and another in rapid succes- sion ; 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 charg- ing 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-bon- nets reaching nearly to the grouL^d, all mingled rogether in the bravery of savage warfare. They had been thrown into a sudden tumult by the appearancv^ 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, increas- ing every moment in number, escorted us to their encampment, where the chief pointed out a ploce for us to encamp, near his own lodge, and we made known cur purpose in visiting the vil- lage. 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 kooyahj or. * ■ ,, '. w ' ,«■ ■ «J (; 172 CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. [Aug. ••■>t' I ,•. ■• ft'. ■".Ji tohacco-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 culti- vation, 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° 36^'' 56''^, chronometric longitude llio 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<3 sta.'f^Ki'l" , 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 173 at sunrise. In a few miles I noticed, where a little stream crossed the road, iragments 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 moun- tains, 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 en- ters 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 effervescirg 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 voijanic region remains in a constant exc'tenj«iii, and at every step is arrested by something remarkable anr m 3W. There is a con- fusion of interesting objects gathered together in a small space. Around the place of encampme!it the Beer sp. ings were numer- ous ; but, as far as we could ascertain, were confined en- tirely 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 u,n entirely different and equally marked mineral character. In a rather picturesque spot, about 1,300 yards below our encampricrt, and imme- diately on the river bank, is the most remarkable spring of the 15* ii !■ ■ I hi' r •*•;! f I.:.-; :,;:-^^rt 174 CAPT. FREMONT'S NARRATIVE. [Aug. place. In an opening on the rock, a white column of scat. tered 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 ac- companied 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 open, ing into an urn-mouthed form, and is evidently formed by con. tinued 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.* 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 Doctor Wislizenus, a gentleman who had several years since passed by this place, and who re- marked, 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 tiie experiment, as the sensation of giddiness which it produced was certainly strong and decided. A huge emigrant wagon, with a large and diversified family, -#':' m Carbonate of lime Carbonate of magnesia Oxide of iron Silica Alumina Water and Iobs * ANALYSIS. 92-55 0-42 1-05 598 10000 I -''■ 1843.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 175 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 indis- tinct 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 hifa,- 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 hifrhly 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 viuious 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: Gmins. Sulphate of magnesia ----.- 12"10 Sulphate of lime ------- 2-12 Carl^onate of 'ime ------- 3"86 Carbonate of map[ne6id --.-.. 3*22 Ciiloride of calcium ------- 1'33 Cliloride of magnesium ------ 1'12 Chlorido of sodium 2*24 Vegetable extractive matter, dtc. - - - - 0-85 26-84 /v ; ■ 4i rl^-' W W 'w-i I- N ^ !■':■(' r';-':! ■:^!| If mm- >:i 176 CAPT. FEEMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. 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 remark- able 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 naving the form of funnel-shaped cones. Others of these re- markably-shaped hills are of a red-colored earth, entirely bare, and composed principally of carbonate of lime, with oxide of i con, 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 disa- greeable metallic taste as the Steamboat spring. Continuing up the bottom, and crossing the little stream whicii 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 suc- cessive 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. \t u iormer time, when these dried-up fountains were all in region, they must have made a beautiful display on a grand Si.nie ; 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 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 17/ the water is boiling up and bubbling over, constantly bidding to the height of the little obelisks. In some, the water only boils up, no longer overflowing, ai:>d has here the same taste as at the Steamboat spring. The observer will remark a gradual subsidence in the water, which formerly supplied thj foun- tains ; as on all the summits of the hills the springs are now dry, and are found only low down upon their side?., or on the surrounding plain. A little higher up the creek its banks are fomed 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. Con- tinuing on, I walked to the summit of one of them, where the principal rock was a granular quartz. Descending the moun- tains, 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 disa- greeably 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, reappear- ing among the rocks between the two great springs near the river, vhich 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 leep, found on my arrival that our emigrant friends, who had been encamped in company with us^ )xf^ re^un^^d r. ( n -I- M: ■H.A ^1V. i,':r .,'■■''>'■. %•;■' 178 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. 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° at sunset, that of the air being 62-5°. Our baronfietric 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 latl- tude 42° 39' 57", and 11 1° 46' 00'^ for the longitude. The night was very still and cloudless, and I sat up for an observa. tion 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 -So. At the same time, the temperature of the large Beer spring, where we were encamped, was 56° ; that of the Steamboat spring 87°, and that of the steam-hole, near it, 81*5°. 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' jour- ney for wagons. An examination of the great lake which is the outlet of this river, and the principal feature of geographi- cal interest in the basin, was one of the main objects con- templated 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 be- come extremely low ; we had only dried meat sufficient for one meal, and our supply of flour and other comforts was en- tirely exhausted. I therefore immediately dispatched one of the party, Henry Lee, with a note to Carson, at Fort Hall, di- recting him to load a pack-horse with whatever could be ob- tained there in the way of provisions, and endeavor to overtake 1843.] CAPT. trebiont's narrative. 179 me on the river, ui 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 hav- ini^;^ -{^ \ » ly 4 ,.', 14 180 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. 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 moun. tains appeared very broken, but tolerably well timbered. Crossing a point of ridge which m-'kes in to the river, we fell upon it again before sunset, and encamped on tlir; right bank, opposite to the encampment of threi^ lodges of Snake In. dians. They visited us during the evening, and we obtained from them a small quantity of roots ( T ditferent kinds, in ex. change for goods. Among them was a sweet root of very pleasant flavor, having somewhat the tuste of preserved quince. My endeavors to become acquainted with the plants which fur. nish to the Indians a portion of their support, were only grad- ually successful, and after long and persevering attention ; and even after obtaining, I did not succeed in preserving thcin until they could be satisfactorily determined. In this portion of the journey, I found this ^ articular 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 ti»e Indians lower down on the Columbia, among whom it is the highly celebrated kaiiius. It was long afterwards, on our return through Upper California, that I found the plant itself in bloom, which I sup- posed to furnish the kamas root, (camassia esculenia.) The root diet had a rather mournful effect at the commencement, and one of the calves was killed this evening for food. Tlie animals fared well on rushes. 27th. — The morning was cloudy, with appearance of rain, and the thermometer at sunrise at 29°. Making an unusually early start, we crossed the river ht a good ford ; and, follow. ing for about three hours a trail which led along the bottom, we entered a labyrinth of hills below the main ridge, and halt- ed to noon in the ravine of a pretty little stream, timbered with cottonwootl of a large size, ash-leaved maple, with cherry and other shrubby trees. The hazy weather, which had pre- vented 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°, we had a bright sun, with blue V'' ■ VI 1843.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 181 r for food. Tlie sky and scattered cumuli. According to the baronneter, oui halt here anriong the hills wus at an elevation of 6,320 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 gut of the hillside, and overhung by tall flowering plants of a species I had not hitherto seen, furnish- ed us with a good camping-place. The evening was cloudy, tlie temperature at sunset 69°, and the elevation 5,140 feet. Among the plants occurring along the road during the day, epinettes des prairies (grindelif >quarraso) was in considerable abundance, and is among the " few plants remaining in bloom — the whole country ha ^ now an autumnal appear, ance, 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°. 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 onjy 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 fish- ing, but caught nothing. A skunk, (inepJiitis Americana,) which was killed in the afternoonji made a supper for pne'of h ,.W . ^:: 'w 1 -J 'I #, IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) 1.0 I.I b^l^S |2.5 ■^ 1^ 12.2 u I rnli: 2.0 J£ 1.25 U ||i.6 ^ 6' ► V v: ^<^ Photographic Sciences Corporation •S5§ S> [V ^1\ 33 WIST MAIN STRUT WIBSTER.N.Y. MSM (716) 872-4S03 '^^P ^ 6^ 182 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Aug. •; » it ' " ', 'Sill m i' *,/•■ i \ i 'i^' 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°, 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 moun- tains 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 In- dians, 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 suf- ficiently 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°. , 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 tjhe 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 w^re dry, open, and pleasant. On the roofs of the caves I remarked bituminous exudations from the rock. v»ai., hi ^' m 1843.] CAPT. FEEMONT's narrative. 183 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 com- pany 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 moun- tains, and south of the Great Snake river, are numerous In- dians whose subsistence is almost solely derived from roots and seeds, and such small animals as chance and great good for- tune 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 associa- tion, 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 con- stantly, occupied in struggling to support existence. The most remarkable feature of the pass is the Standing -^ ■a .^■■' m '■&,. 184 CAPT. FEEMONT S NAREATIVB. [Aug. f7rJ r •m 1 H, ( <■ Lir' ' ^> rockf wnich has fallen from the cliffs above, and standing per. pendicularly 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 com- paratively unbroken plains and level valleys ; but it will en- tirely fail in representing the picturesque beauty of this de- lightful place, where a green valley, full of foliage and a hun. dred 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 after. noon'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 ob- ject 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 fre- quent 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°. Elevation by barometer 5,580 feet. We were in nio- tioa early, cootiauiog up the liUle stretyn withoMl vnoountering il '' I #■ 1843.] CAPT. FEEMONT's NAEEATIVE. 185 any ascent where a horse would not easily gallop j and, cross- ing 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 umhellus,) 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° 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 starv- ation. 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 disap- pearing from our territories will not appear surprising when we remember the great scale on which their destruction ia 16* '•t- ft. J " ■■' 4 . ' ' ■■■■ 3v i-*^' 186 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. >i' .»*; ► ' ^; f 4 -^ *, 4J m yearly carried on. With inconsiderable exceptions, the busi. ness of the American trading-posts is carried on in their skins- every year the Indian viMages 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 frofn 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 in. teresting 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 Coiora- do, or Green river of the Gulf of California, and Lewis's fork of the Columbia river ; the meridian of Fort Hall then form. ing the western limit of their range. The buffalo then re. mained for many years in that country, and frequently moved down the valley of the Colombia, on both sides of the river as far as the Fishing falls. Below this point they never descend. ed 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 Lew. is's fork of the Columbia. At that time, the Flathead Indians were in the habit of finding their buffalo on the heads of Salm. on 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 1 ellow-stone river. In the course of our journey it will be remarked that the buffalo have not so entirely abandoned the waters of the Pacif- ic, in the Rocky-Mountain region south of the Sweet Water, as in the country north of the Great Pass. This partial distribu- tion can only be accounted for in the great pastoral beauty of 1 'r m 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 187 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 be- ing north of the South Pass that the hunters, trappers, and tra- ders, have had their rendezvous for many years past j and from tha' section also the greater portion of the beaver and rich furs were taken, although alwa3»s 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, Kooyahf White, and Grand rivers — all of which are the waters of the Colorado — ^the buffalo never extended so far to the west- ward 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 traver- sing the mountain ranges. The Snake Indians, more particu- larly 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 n' '■'i:: t ' ^ti "•fi. ',■ e;^M m '*•■ •■■ •' ■ ^ -:■ i-i):' :' '■■*'', '" ■'••■•■.••Ml • '■:-.-?■ B? i ■';■,:■ ' 'vv (4'5 '■''■■l^'l .'I s 1 " t i !.' II I nlvMl I i' , ^ m m H ffi* m f 1^ I' it '* I' t' r \\ /<.( 1 1^ I 188 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. 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 conside. rable 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 fur. ther illustrate this subject, by extensive knowledge acquired during several years of travel through the region inhabited by the buflalo: ^* The total amount of robes annually traded by ourselves and others will not be found to differ much from the following statement : American Fur Company - - - - - Hudson's Bay Company . - - - - All other companies, probably .... Making a total of .... as an average annual return for the last eight or ten years. Robes. 70,000 10,000 10,000 90,000 " 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 remain- ing 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; . i:A : -«¥:.. 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 189 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. l 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 sub- sistence, has created great alarm among them j 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 proba- bly 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 moun- tains, and are now allied with the Snake Indians ; and if is probable that their combination would extend itself to th" Utahs, who have long been engaged in war against the Sioux, h 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,) tobacco-root, (Valeriana,) and a large root of a species of ;'t ■:' 1' ii I ■ I , i 190 CAFT. Fremont's narrative. [Aug. "^^ fee ■?f "i m:m ^ thistle, (circium Virginianum,) which now is occasionally abuu. dant, and is a very agreeably flavored vegetable. We had been detained so long at the village, that in the af. ternoon we made only five miles, and encamped on the same river after a day's journey of 19 miles. The Indians inform, ed 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 twinges of young willows, older trees being rar^^ly fourd 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° ; 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 fifly 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<^. By obser. 4 It 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's Narrative. 191 d vation, our latitude was 41° 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 Ibrty miles below, in a rocky cape, beyond which sev- eral 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 arte- mma, 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 re- mained with us until the winter, when he met a very unex- pected fate. SEPTEMBER. 1st. — The morning was squally and cold ; the sky scatter. ed over with clouds ; and the night had been so uncomfortable, that wk 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 moun- tains 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 coun- try before us plainly indicated that we were approaching the lake, though, as the ground we were traveling afforded no ele- vated point, nothing of it as yet could be seen ; and at a great distance ahead were several isolated mountains resem- bling islands, which they were afterwards found to be. On this upper plain the grass was everywhere dead ; and among the r,-*- H '1 ■ "..Jl! 'fl ■ ■ -wi '::*a ■■i - V \^ ,■1 ' ' ■ ?« . ... % ' •' li ■ ■ 103 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Sept. " ', ?!!*' . ■ ■IT , M ■I* '■ I : rii shrubs with which it was almost exclusively occupied, (arte. misia being the most abundant,) frequently occurred handsome clusters of several species of dieteria in bloom. Purshia tri. dentata was among the frequent shrubs. Descending to tho bottoms of Bear river, we found good grass for tho animals, and encamped about 300 yards above the mouth of Ro.ieaux, 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, {salk 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*50, 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 satcllit§^; 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 some- what 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 eon- siderable 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, fer- ried 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 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's naruative. 193 along with a sluggish current among frequent detours seve.'al miles around, sometimes running for a considerable distance directly up the valley. As wo were stealing quietly down the stream, trying in vain to get a shot at a strange largo bird that was numerous among tho willows, but very shy, we came un- expectedly 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 tlje purpose of catching fish. They were very much startled at our appearance, but we soon es- tablished 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 largo heads, remarkable among tiie 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 cump, 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, tho high arable plain on which we had been traveling, for several (lays 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 cov- crcd with very small univalve shells. As wo advanced, the 17 ,11 - *-- . i irl ) I f ' .( ,t » ' t . mh7m f^-Mi '■■■ ,f' 'f ,■(. y . ' . I 111 , P'.:.;'ii 104 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Sept. 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 cheer- ing ; 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 emer- sions 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<^. 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 thun- der. 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 herhacea. 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, »'; 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 195 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, be- tween us and the opposite mountains. The river was bordered with a fringe of willows and canes, among which were inter- spersed 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, depend- ing on various observations tnade during our stay in the neigh- borhood, places the mouth of the river in longitude 112° 19'' 30^'' west from Greenwich ; latitude 41° 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 pro- vision, suflicient for two or three days — a scanty but very ac- ceptable 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 ako a letter from Mr. Dwight, who, in company with several emigrhiiis, 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 "■■'i I-"'. ' ' r, ',1 ■ >■ ■ 'fi I.-3 ..• •■■.■v5'^^* ■i'.. El I-Si m\. Hj I, i. 196 cAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Sept. I mm ■; ,. ■■ vfl 'mmikm ■^iry !-''i:':','';t:" J'. ,-■;'■ ! :'i^ until nearly sunset in crossing to the left bank — ^the stieam 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°, and there was some rain during the night, with a thunder>storm at a dis. tance. 5th. — Before us was evidently the bed of the lake, being a great salt marsh, perfectly level and bare, whitened in placeb 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 vege- tation, 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 sali. cornia, 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 to. wards 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, ana 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 ^0- 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 197 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 re- markably rocky point of the mountain, at a large spring of pure water, were several hackberry-trees, (cettis,) probably a new species, the berries still green ; and a short distance far- ther, 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 mountfiin where there issued, with considera- ble force, 10 or 12 hot springs, highly impregnated with salt. In one of these the thermometer stood at 136°, and in another at 132*5o, 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 Carbonate of magnesia Carbonate of lime - Sulpliate of lime Chloride of sodium - Silica and alumina Water and loss 33-50 2-40 50-43 2-00 3-45 3-00 5-22 10000° At this place the trail we had been following turned to the left, apparently with a view of entering a gorge in the moun- tain, from which issued the principal fork of a large and com- paratively well-timbered str. am, 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. A 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, {cratcsgus,) which were loaded 17* '^■, ■ ^' ' i 1 I., J • ■ ■■; i ■ 1 ■ :-"A-''i m w t' •if* I ' y \ 'I I • 1^ ^ ■ , { I ■ i I life m *^'m 198 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Sept. 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 isl. ands raised their high rocky heads out of the waves ; but * !», whether or not they were timbered, was still left to our imagi. nation, 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 Oil Weber's fork, a few miles below our last encampment, the timber was gathered into groves, and then disappeared entire- ly. 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 hyemak.) At sunset the thermometer was at 55° ; the evening clear and calm, with some cumuli. 7th. — The morning was calm and clear, with a temperature at sunrise of 39*5'^. 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 tim- ber, 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 ^- .1':', ''kk 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 199 prepared cloth and gum, and filled with air, in readiness for the next day. The provisions which Carson brought \vh^ 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 Frangois 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 re- markably 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 Frangois. 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 canaden- sis) 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 in- terior sea ; and Badeau, with Derosier, and Jacob, (the colored man,) were to be left in charge of the camp. We were favor, ed with most delightful weather. To-night there was a bril- liant sunset of golden orange and green, which left the west- ern 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° — a night of a more southern autumn. For our supper ■ 'd -Ml ' ' ' '(.; ■^•■ 'ti ■, ''• ■ ■'''''i it' «ii M 200 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Ssfp. Vii' ,J?,- !t?i<. ■>., ~.;t ' ,jf-rv4'^ -^ ■i< ^4i I '!■ ' we had yampah, the most agreeably flavored of ihc roots seasoned by a small fat duck, which had come in the way of Jacob's rifle. Around our fire to-night were many specula, tions 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 while man or Indian had never violated. Frequently, during the day, clouds had rested on the summits of their lofty mountains, and we be- lieved that we should find clear streams and springs of fresh water ; and we indulged in anticipations of the luxurious re- pasts 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 ibund 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 ac- complished, 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 heigiiten the idea of undefined danger with which the lake was generally associated. 8th. — A calm, clear day, with a sunrise temperature of .41°. In view of our present enterprise, a part of the equip- ment 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 inslru. -.^■: rfVi irious re- 1Q43.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 201 ments, consisting of a sextant, telescope, spy-glass, thermome- ter, 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 (luck — 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° 11' 26''''; and long. 1120 iraO'^ ' ■■■ 9th. — The day was clear and calm ; the thermometer at sunrise at 49°. As is usual with the trappers on the eve of any enterprise, our people had made dreams, and theirs hap- pened 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 chan- nel 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 cover- ' ed 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 J . I:-' I- H ;.xvM 1i '■-.'' 1','/ , W ' ■ ...-';. i"- ';' 1-' k ■ ■ ■ 1, «, s-i W r. ( I ' ■ :k'. .#r^ ■.'■si' I ■■lijpiMv! ■-■■■■ ■;.-'|' Imi , I'k' ■, 204 CAPT. Fremont's narrative [Sept. ■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 simi. lar 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 fur- ther 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 moun- tains, and has since that time remained in the country, goner. ally residing in some one of the Snake villages, when not en. gaged 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 ap. peared 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. Stand. ing 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 blufls. Following with our glasses the irregular shores, we searched for some indications of a commu- nication with other bodies of water, or the entrance of other rivers j but the distance was so great that we could make out I (- 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 20ft nothing with certainty. To the southward, several peninsular mountains, 3,000 or 4,000 feet high, entered the lake, appear- ing, so far as the distance and our position enabled us to deter- mine, to be connected by flats and low ridges with the moun- tains in the rear. These are probably the islands usually in- dicated 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 tho 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 dis- tance ; 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 liung so much doubt and uncertainty, and which were so full of interest to us, I could hardly repress tho almost irresistible desire to continue our explorations ; but the lengthening snow on the mountains was a plain indication of the advancing sea- son, 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 oft' on every side to the water, giving us a per- fect view of the island, which is twelve or thirteen miles in circumference, being simply a rocky hill, on which there is neither water lior 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 de- light 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 18 h ■ •r 4 lyl ^ ■*' '\ ,)| ; ^ 1 * " 1 ■ .: '■■■I' ::>ih:V'. if 'ft- ' . : : 'Ml { i .r:::i i 200 CAPT. Fremont's naukative. [Sept. it luxuriates in saline soils, where it is usually a characteristic. It is widely diffused over all this country. A chenopodiaccous shrub, which is a new species of obione, (O. rigida, Ton. 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 tho island, also, a prickly pear of very large size was frequent. On tho shore, near the water, was a woolly species of phaca ; and a new species of umbelliferous plant {leptoUsmia) was scat. tered about in very considerable abundance. These consti. tuted all the vegetation that now appeared upon the island. I accidentally left on tho summit the brass cover to the ob. ject 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°. We had arrived just in time to obtain a meridian altitude of the sun, and other ob. servations were obtained this evening, which placed our camp in latitude 41° 10' 42'^ and longitude 112o 21' 05'^ from Greenwich. From a discussion of the barometrical observa. tions made during our stay on the shores of the lake, we have adopted 4,300 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 per- feet 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. 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 207 making our island tremble. I had nc expected in our inland iourney to hear the roar of an . ooan surf; and the strange- ness of our situation, and the oxciteniont wo felt in the associ- ated interest of the place, made this one of tho most interesting nights I made during our long expedition. In the morning, the surf was breaking linavily on the shore, and we were up early. The lake was dark and agitated, and we hurried through our scanty breakfast, and embarked — hav- ing first filled one of the buckets with water from the lake, of which it was intended to make salt. Tho sun had risen by the time wo were ready to start ; and it was blowing a strong gale of wind, almost directly off the shore, and raising a con- siderable 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 ieet, with a clay bottom ; but, as the working of the boat was very severe labor, and during the operation of sounding it wa^ 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 un- der 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 oflf on foot for the camp, which was about nine miles distant ; Basil accompany- ing him, to bring back horses for the boat and baggage. The rude-looking shelter we raised on the shore, our scat- tered baggage and boat lying on the beach, made quite a pic- ture; and we called this the Fisherman's camp. Lynosiris graveolens, and another new species of obione, (O. confertifo- lia— Torr. ^ Frem.f) were growing on the low grounds, with i r- v^-»;. t.:' W j; v-ivt I P I '.- r*i 208 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Sept. 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 cover- ed. 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 ; fiat places, resembling the beds of ponds, that were bare of vegeta- tion, 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 charac- teristic, with Fremontia vermicularis, and a shrubby plant which seems to be a new salicomia. We reached the camp in time to escape a thunder-storm which blackened the sky, and were received with a discharge of the hov/itzer by the peo- pie, 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 four- teen 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, (coramoa salt,) .... 97-80 Chloride of calcium, -«.... 0-61 Chloride of magnesium, .--.-- 0-24 Sulphate of soda, ....... 0-23 Sulphate of lime, ....... M2 1' K--^^ y 100-00 Glancing your eye along the map, you will see a small \ 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 200 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 up- per 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 ,vhich, 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 connect- ed 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° 15' 50'^ and longitude 112° 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 ac- quaintances. 12th. — The morning was clear and calm, with a tempera- ture at sunrise of 32°. 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 tolera- bly 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 moun- tains, which are probably as high as the Wind River chain. This creek is here unusually well timbered with a variety of 18* ■.J'i ■■■}■ ■A 'i; r. i: *■ r. I «■;' 'f. ■ 7 '-U "''■A ■^i ■p 'C ■'■^i- 11%': " ;,;: i iy-.', /''■*'ic'S llvf^v,:- I i; 210 CAPT. FEEMONT S NARRATIVE. [Sept. trees. Among them were birch, (betula,) the narrow-leaved poplar, (jpopulus angustifolia,) several kinds of willow, [solix,) hawthorn, {crakegus,) alder, {alnus viridis,) and cerasus, with an oak allied to quercus albuy 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°, 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 con. sist 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 chan. nels; 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. Continu- ing 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°, 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 wer rushes seen along the road this afternoon, and the soil under the hills was very black, and apparently very good; but at Liiis 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 ! lave shown, the phase at the bright limb generally gives inco 'rect longitudes, and we have adopted the result obtained from the emersion 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 211 at the dark limb, without allowing any weight to the immer- sion. According to these observations, the longitude is 112° 05' 12"', and the latitude 41° 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 de- termined 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 ex- cellent 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°. 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 sad- dened 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 i,^'^a I I 4 : ' ;!v •■»', . ■ i ^M^ % ■ \ \ " >. ' i *K ■'*■ ■\' 1 1 ■ ' ! * i ■ ' ' ' ■ ',1; 212 CAPT. FREiMONT S NARRATIVE. [Sept. 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 en. camped on the left bank j halting early for the pleasure of enjoying a wholesome and abundant supper, and were pleasant, ly engaged in protracting our unusual comfort, when Tabeau galloped into the camp with news that Mr. Fitzpatrick was en. camped 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 sun. rise the next morning, we were again on the road, and, con. tinuing 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 pre- vailed upon a little boy to show me the kooyah plant, which proved to be Valeriana edulis. The root which constitutes the kooyahj is large, of a very bright yellow cole*, with the charac- teristic odor, but not so fully developed as in the prepared sub- stance. 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 ravino 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 im- peded, 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 bot- toms of this river, (Bear,) and of some of the creeks which I saw, form a natural resting and recruiting station for travel. 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 213 ers, now, and in all time to contie. The bottoms are extensive ; water excellent; timber sufficient; the soil good, and well adapted to grains and grasses suited to such an elevated re- gion. 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 moun- tains 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 0,300 feet above the sea — probably only an uncertain approxi- mation, 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 hero loses itself in swampy ground. The appearance of the coun- try 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. Elevatir n above the sea about 5,100 feet. •t ml •'■'■^ *•«» y, ' 1. r? .- ( ■■■ " ■ *' ^ 1 J •i .: iVKI I ' >.'-^-H'^:- L* :l . ■li^. ! € ^'■'-1.v:i ' ■ ■;' '««■„ ,■1/. I 1 1, 214 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Sept. At night scattered fires glimmered along the mountains pointing out camps of the Indians ; and we contrasted the com. parative 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 60°, and at midnight at 30°. 17th. — The morning sky was calm and clear, the tempera. ture at daylight being 25°, and at sunrise 20°. There is throughout this country a remarkable difference between the morning and mid-day temperatures, which at this season was very generally 40° or 50°, and occasionally greater ; and fre. quently, 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 1^ miles wide, fertile, and bordered by smooth hills, not over 500 feet high, partly covered with ce- dar ; a high ridge, in which there is a prominent peakj risinw 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 cha- racteristic, and the soil appeared excellent. The evening was gusty, with a temperature at sunset of 59°. 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°. Longitude, from mean of satellite and chronometer, 112° 29'' 52^^, and latitude, by observation, 42° 44' 40^^ 18th. — The day clear and CF-lm, with a temperature of 25° at sunrise. Alter 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 buUe, which so often occurs in this narrative, is retained from the familiar language of the country, and lentifies the objects to which it referf It is naturalized , . the region of the Rocky mountains, and, even if desirable to render it in English, I know of no word which \ 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 215 would be it8 precise equivalent. It is applied to the detached hills pnd ridges which rise rapidly, and reach too high to be called hills or ridges, and not high enough to be called moun- tains. Knob, as applied in the western states, is their descrip- tive 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 ar- temisia, the dark and ugly appearance of this plain obtained for it the name of Sage Desert ; and we were agreeably sur- prised, 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 temper. ature was 43°. I rode up to the fort, and purchased from Mr. Grant (the officer in charge of the post) several very indiffer- ent horses, and five oxen, in very fine order, which were re- ceived at the camp with great satisfaction : and, one being 1,, • 1 j ; 1 ' i' •• ' i ■ '. ' 1', 1 1 ' \ te, I ■s m -J't t > \ I r 1 1 fl ■ I. " '-"1 '■■)f .=r VMM' rmi ift 4i.-"f{'V-! i- J 4'^1 ^: 1;:: i;i''>t,', . ./ -* 1848.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 24th. — The thermometer at sunrise was 35°, and a blue tt^ ' in the west promised a fine day. The river bottoms here are narrow and swampy, with frequent sloughs ; and after cross- ing the Pannack, the road continued along the uplands, ren- dered very slippery by the soil of wet clay, and entirely cov- ered with artemisia bushes, among which occur frequent frag- ments of obsidian. At noon wo encamped in a grove of willows, at the upper eiid of a group of islands about half a mile above the American falls of Snnke river. Among the willows here, were some bushes of Lewis and Clarke's currant, (riles aureum.) The river here enters between low mural banks, which consist of a fine vesicular trap-rock, the interme- diate portions being compact and crystalline. Gradually be- coming higher in its downward course, these bonks of scoriated volcanic rock form, with occasional interruptions, its charac- teristic 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 fs a high plain cov- ered with black rocks and artemisias. In the south is a bor- dering 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 moun- tains, 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^^. By observation, the lati- tude is 420 47/ 05", and the longitude 112° W 13". A few y" :'M '\' \ . ^'1 ' lit.'* • •'■ *ri 1 » i '■■ 1 1 ; ♦■,' 1 ~ .-M ■ •i «i* 220 cAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Sept. hundred yards below the falls, and on the lefl bank of the river is an escarpment from which we obtained some specimens. 25th. — Thermometer at sunrise 47°. The day ciime 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 lor food. The thermometer at eve. ning was at 55°, the sky almost overcast, and ♦he barometer indicated an elevation of 4,400 feet. 26th. — Rain during the night, and the temperature at sun- rise 42°. Traveling along the river, in about four miles Me 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 re- member were proceeding to Upper California under the direc- tion of Mr. Jos. Chiles. At the time of their departure, no practicable passes were' known in the southern Rocky moun- tains within the territory of the United States ; and the prob- able apprehension of difficulty in attempting to pass near the settled frontier of New Mexico, together with the desert char* 1843.] CAPT. PREMONT*S NARRATIVE. 221 acter o{ the unexplored region beyond, had induced them to take a more northern and circuitous route by way of the Sweet Wuter pass and Foi-t Hull. They had still between them and the valley of the Sacramento a great mass of mountains, forming the Sierra Nevada, here commonly 1-nown as the Great Call, fomia mountain, and which were at this time considered as presenting an irnfracticablo barrier to wheeled-carriages. Various considerations had suggested to them a division of the party ; and a greater portion of the camp, including the wag- ons, with the mail and other stores, were now proceeding under the guidance of Mr. Joseph Walker, who had engaged to con- duct 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 Sacraniento by a more direct course, which indefinite infor- mation 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 move- ments 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, (JSi- viire aux Cajeux,) having traveler; -jiily 13 miles. In the north, the Salmon River mountains are visible at a very far distance ; V 19* l-,"i.*i '■ ;■' 'i'U I; ■ ■' ■a -rl- :'"'f " .*. f ! ,f :'f':,t 222 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Sept. and on the left, the ridge in which Raft river heads is about 20 miles distant, rocky, and tolerably high. Thermometer at sunset 44°, 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 mo- ment 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. Ac- cordingly, 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°. 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, ris- ing in low grounds near the point of a spur from the moun- tain. 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 fail- ed, as heretofore stated. At sunset the thermometer was at 46°, 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 plan!. 28th. — Thermometer at sunrise 40°. The wind rose early to a gale from the west, with a very cold driving rain; and, 1943.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 223 after an uncomfortable day's ride of 25 miles, we were glati 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 tiie 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 ar- temisias from the banks of the river to the foot of the moun- tains. Here I remarked, among the sage bushes, green bunch- es 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°, blowing a gale, and disagreeably cold. 29th. — The thermometer at sunrise 36°, with a bright sun, and appearance of finer weather. The road for several miles was extremely rocky, and consequently bad ; but, entering af- ter this a sandy country, it became very good, with no other in- terruption 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 appear- ance. All the day the course of the river has been between walls of the black volcanic rock, a dark line of the escarp- ment 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. Hav- ing made 24 miles, we encamped about five o'clock on Rock creek — a stream having considerable water, a swifl current, and wooded with willow. ' 30th. — Thermometer>at sunrise 28°. 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 alwut twenty feet Avide where the road crosses it, with a deep bed, and steep banks, covered with rocky ' n ^ .^■■ ^'' •A K y>t i • (■ ■ '*■ ■■■>r. I' ''al |: if:* 224 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Sept. ^^5I'-.! ■1)1: :fe-^ fW mm!:': ^ -to 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 con. siderably quantity of calcareous concretions. Towards even. ing 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-lookin'r 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 coun- try as this, our men had but little else to enjoy. The temper- ature at sunset was 65°, with a clear sky and a very high wind. By the observation of the evening, the encampment was in longitude 114° 25^ 04'^, and in latitude 42° 38' 44''. ,)Wijn ,i'.ia(tTifc3i*.t=.-^-.-^- 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 225 OCTOBER. ' l8t. — The morning clear, with wind from the west, and the thermometer at 55°. We descended to the bottoms, taking with us the boat, for the purpose of visiting the fall in the op- posite cliffs; and while it was being filled with air, we occu- pied 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, Tormed 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 charac- ter below would apparently render it impracticable. The ascent of the steep hill-side was rendered a little diffi- cult 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 reach- ing the main stream, which, issuing from between strata of the trap-rock in two principal branches, produced almost imme- diately 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 ranic growth of canes, and a variety of unusual plants, and nettles, {urfica canabina,) which, before they were noticed, had set our hands and arms on fire. The temperature of the spring was 58°, while that of the river was 51°. 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 , "', ' " ' i ■ 1 , 1 r'. , ■■ ',t 1 • •■■ M . '< I .^. ' ' !■. ; '';. ;■ ■■, }'] ■:■ .;f- 4; i '- •Ml p U ■' ri ■4 i 226 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Oct. 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 as- cent of the salmon ; and the great fisheries, from which the inhabitants of this barren region almost entire!^ derive a sub. sistence, commence at this place. These appeared to be un. usually gay savages, fond of loud laughter ; and, in their ap. parent 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 In. dians 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 pur. pose ; and of a little animal which seemed to be the most numer. ous, it required 20 skina to make a covering to the knees. But they are still a joyous, talkative race, who grow fat and be- come poor with the salmon, which at least never fail them — the dried being used in the absence of the fresh. We are en- camped 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 disappear- ed, and no calcareous matter is visible in the soil. The ther- mometer at sunset 74°, clear and calm. 2d. — The sunrise temperature was 48° ; 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 barren- ness of the country is in fine contra.st to-day with the mingled 2843.] CAPT. /remont's narra/im:, 227 beauty and grandeur of the river, which is mo^e dpen than iiitherto, with a constant succession of falls a.id rapids. Over the edge of the black cliffs, and out from their faces, are fall- ing 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 oc- casionally 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 Jiaggai, 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 en- oamped on the bluff, where the grass was very green and ^f ■;,■ ( ' •#■; V I II -it li ■;**!. "/.■ '-, :,.■'■■*-■" X ■3 ■ *(» ■ ■ * - ■ 'TI t > ;W^ .(«. :.'. I ''■!'!;iii Ri-i'r) I r 'it 228 CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. [Oct. good, the soil of tlie upper plains containing a considerable pro. portion 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°. 3d. — The morning was pleasant, with a temperature at sun. rise of 42°. 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 inter. vals- 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 emi. grants 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 di. rection, was carried olf by the current and drowned. Since their passage, the water had risen considerably ; but, fortu. nately, 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 ^,--' 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 220 measurement, the greater portion of which was from six to elffht feet deep. We were obliged to maiie 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° 55' 58'^ ; chronometric longitude 115° 04' 46'', and the traveled distance from Fort Hall 208 miles. 4th. — Calm, pleasant day, with the thermometer at sunrise at 47°. Leaving the river at a considerable distance to the left, and following up the bed of a rocky creek, with oc- casional holes of water, in about six miles we ascended, bj a Ion"- 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 after- noon in search of water, traveled about three miles up the bed of a willow creek, towards the mountain, ^nd 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 fish- ing. 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°. 5th. — The morning was calm and clear, and at sunrise the thermometer was at 32°. The road to-day was occasionally extremely rocky, with hard volcanic fragments, and our travel- ing very slow. In about nine miles the road brought us to a 20 W':iA ■A n • I . ■;>!>'■ ' ' 1 Ui - n l w* .i m: y. :i'* ;, M . ;;<■*'■ 'l^if;.- '.'■It 230 CAPT. FREMONT*S NARRATIVE. [OcT. group of smoking hot springs, with a temperature of I640. 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. Tlie 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 branch- es, and bubble up with force enough to raise the small peb. bles 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 > ----- MQ Sulphate of lime, &c. ) Organic vegetable matter > - - - . . '••on Water and loss ) 1. 10000 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 en- camped 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, rose- bushes, 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 efiect must makft^ tliem beautiful. >, ^ . .^ i^:..- .,a ..-:.,':.-..,.. ,-,h\~ :^. 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 231 The thermometer at sunset 47°, and the night threatening snow. 6th. — The morning warm, the thermometer 46° at sunrise, and sky entirely clouded. After traveling about three miles over an extremely rocky road, the volcanic fragments began to disappear ; and, entering amor ^ ..le 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 in- tervals 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 qf 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 por- tion 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 ; '• ( 1 -'\^^ r^^:- ■ll '> . >■ if' j. 1 , ..'''. )•'•>' ''1 ■■■^: it • ; 'ill '1 ■ 1 » '1 I ■ J ''■'.V ■■^-11 ; i; ■'f J:- I' ' '• f I I- 232 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Oct. we encamped on a small stream, after a march of 22 miles, in company with a few Indians. Temperature at sunset 5lo. and the night was partially clear, with a few stars visible through drifting white clouds. The Indians made an un- successful attempt to steal a few horses from us — a thing of course with them, and to prerent which the traveler is on per- petual watch. 7th. — The day was bright, clear, pleasant, with a tempera, lure of 4:!i° ; 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 bpoken beds of black scoriated rock, and hills composed of the same, on the summit of one of wliich there was an opening resembling a rent. We traveled to-day through a country resembling that of yesterday, where, al- though the surface was hilly, the road was good, being firm, and entirely free from rocks and artemisia. To our left, be. low, 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 por- lion of the mountains on the left side of the Smoke River val- ley ; and, continuing on a few miles beyond, we came sud- denly in sight of the broad green line of the valley of the Riviere Bois^e, (wooded river,) black near the gorge where it debouches into the plains, with high precipices of basalt, be- tween walls of which it passes, on emerging from the moun- tains. Following with the eye its upward course, it appears to be shut in among lofty n.ountains, 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 1 • 1843.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 233 river, which is. a beautiful, rapid stream, with clear mountain water ; and, as the name indicates, well wooded with some va- rieties 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°. At the time of the first occupation of this region by parties engaged in the fur-trade, a small party of men, under the com- mand 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 o£ ReicVs river. On the 8th we traveled about 2C miles, the ridge on the right having scattered pines on the upper parts ; and, con- tinuing the next day our .oad 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 morninj^ 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 Bois^e ; and on our arrival we were re- ceived 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 engagi. 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 du- ring 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 car- bonate 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 succeed- 20* ^> 4 if- * W^'i ik Wh ^r •' ■'■.I t' f .:%. ;» :, ' ■ •'•; ♦• ■If. ,5^ I.';^ 5::JK^., 234 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. [Oct. ed 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 princi. pal inroad was into the dairy, which was abundantly supplied stock appearing to thrive extremely well ; and we had an un- usual 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 heie, there were considerable numbers of miserable, half-naked Indians around the fort, who had arrived from the neighboring nioun. tains. During the summer, the only subsistence of these peo. pie 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 pic. lured 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 mc 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 re- garding our usual appliances of civilization with an air of be. wildered 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 tiie 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, ac. cording to the general belief, reduced to the horror of canni. balism — the strong, of course, preying on the weak. Certain it is they are driven to any extremity for food, and cat every fl I ' Ij 1943.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 235 insect, and every creeping thing, however loathsome and re- pulsive. Snails, lizards, ants — all are devoured with the readi- ness and greediness of mere animals. In common with all the other Indians we had encountered since reaching the Pacific waters, these people use the Shosho- nee or Snake language, which you will have occasion to re- mark, 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 obser- vations, a very excellent emersion of the first satellite, agree- ing very nearly with the chronometer. From these observa- tions, the longitude of the fort is 116o 47' 00^', latitude 43^- 49' 22'', and elevation above tho sea 2,100 feet. Sitting by the fire on the river bank, and waiting for the immersion of the satellite, which did not take place until after midnight, we heard the monotonous song of the Indians, with which they accompany a certain game of which they are very fond. Of the poetry we could not judge, but the music was miserable. 11th. — The morning was clear, with a light breeze from the east, and a temperature at sunrise of 33°. A part of a bullock purchased at the fort, together with the boat, to assist him in crossing, was left here for Mr. Fitzpatrick, and at 1 1 o'clock we resumed our journey ; and directly leaving the river, and crossing the artemisia plain, in several ascents we reached the foot of a ridge, where the road entered a dry sandy nollow, up which it continued to the head ; and, crossing a dividing ridge, entered a similar one. We met here two poor emigrants, (Irishmen,) who had lost their horses two days since — probably stolen by the Indians ; and were returning to the fort, in hopes to hear something of them there. They had recently had nothing to eat ; and I halted to unpack an ani- nial, and gave them meat for their dinner. In this hollow, the artemisia is partially displaced on the hill-sides by grass ; and descending it — miles, about sunset we reached the Rivi^e aux Malheurs, (the unfortunate or unlucky river,) — a considerable stream, with an ^average breadth of 50 feet, and, at this time, 18 inches' depth of water. ^^ - ). r^ ^1 w^^j^^. ■!■• * , ■.■J ^ ■' 1 Ukl) ! I I i I'm I i hi! Ir- ^ I';: ^4' ^ : ^i. 236 CAPT. PREMONT*S NARRATIVE. ' [QcT. The bottom lands were generally one and a half mile broad covered principally with long dry grass ; and we had difficulty to find sufficient good grass for the camp. With the exception of a bad place of a few hundred yards long, which occurrpd in rounding a point of hill to reach the ford of the river, the road during the day had been very good. 12th. — The morning was clear and calm, and the thermom. eter at sunrise 23°. My attention was attracted by a smoke on the right side of the river, a little below the ford, where I found, on the low banks near the water, a considerable num. ber of hot springs, in which the temperature of the water was 193°. The ground, which was too hot for the naked foot, was covered above and below the springs with an incrustation of common salt, very white and good, and fine-grained. Leading for five miles up a broad dry branch of the Malheurs river, the road entered a sandy hollow, where the surface was rendered firm by the admixture of other rock ; being good and level until arriving near the head of the ravine, where it be- came a little rocky, and we met with a number of sharp as- cents over an undulating surface.. Crossing here a dividing ridge, it becomes an excellent road of gradual descent down a very marked hollow ; in which, after ten miles, willows began to appear in the dry bed of a head of the Riviire aux Bouleaux, (Birch river ;) and descending seven miles, we found, at its junction with another branch, a little water, not very good or abundant, but sufficient, in case of necessity, for a camp. Crossing Birch river, we continued for about four miles across a point of hill ; the country on the left being entirely moun. tainous, with no level spot to be seen ; whence we descended to Snake river — here a fine-looking stream, with a large body of waier and a smooth current ; although we hear the roar, and see below us the commencement of rapids, where it enters among the hills. It forms here a deep bay, with a low sand island in the midst ; and its course among the mountains is agreeably exclianged for the black volcanic rock. The weather during the day had been very bright and extremely hot ; but, as usual, so soon as the sun went down, it was neces. sary to put on overcoats. f ,. .*.;;* -^ .*rt- -. ••<*t.u 1843.J CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 237 I obtained this evening an observation of an emersion of the first satellite, and our observations of the evening place this encampment in latitude 44° IT 36'^ and longitude 116° 56' 45'^, which is the mean of the results from the satellite and chronometer. The elevation above the sea is 1,880 feet. At this encampment, the grass is scanty and poor. 13th. — The morning was bright, with the temperature at sunrise 28°. The horses had strayed off during the night, probably in search of grass ; and, after a considerable delay, we had succeeded in finding all but two, when, about nine o'clock, we heard the sound of an Indian song and drum ap- proaching ; and shortly after, three Cayuse Indians appeared in sight, bringing with them the two animals. They belonged to a party which had been on a buffalo-hunt in the neighbor- hood of the Rocky mountains, and were hurrying home in ad- vance. We presented them with some tobacco and other things, with which they appeared well satisfied, and, moderating their pace, traveled in company with us. We were now about to leave the valley of the great southern branch of the Columbia river, to which the absence of timber, and the scarcity of water, give the appearance of a desert, to enter a mountainous region, where the soil is good, and in which the face of the country is covered with nutritious grasses and dense forest — land embracing many varieties of trees pe- culiar to the country, and on which the timber exhibits a luxu- riance of growth unknown to the eastern part of the continent and to Europe. This mountainous region connects itself in the southward and westward with the elevated country be- longing to the Cascade or California range ; and, as will be remarked in the course of the narrative, forms the eastern limit of the fertile and timbered lands along the desert and mountainous region included within the Great Basin — a term which I apply to the intermediate region between the Rocky mountains and the next range, containing many lakes, with their own system of rivers and creeks, (of which the Great Salt is the principal,) and which have no connection with the ocean, or the great rivers which flow into it. This Great Basin is yet to be adequately explored. And here, on quitting the 'I ! ■ f f -,. '. t'i il ■« ;. 4^ . ■ i ■ ' '.■■ ? *\ , >r ' '■*, 1^4 ■ .Jt ■■■■ f- 1": i; ^ />!■ ' '■ ■ 1: is: " > I . i 1 ■^ ■ 1 . '■f\ : 1 i ' ' (' 'i ;•« mmm ^f- '■MtM 238 CAPT. PREMONT*S NARRATIVE. [Oct. banks of a sterile river, to enter on arable mountains, the re. mark may be made, that, on this western slope of our continent the usual order or distribution of good and bad soil is often re- versed ; the river and creek bottoms being often sterile, and darkened with the gloomy and barren artemisia ; while the mountain is often fertile, and covered with rich grass, pleasant to the eye, and good for flocks and herds. Leaving entirely the Snake river, which is said henceforth to pursue its way through canons, amidst rocky and imprac- ticable mountains, where there is no possibility of traveling with animals, we ascended a long and steep hill ; and crossing the dividing ridge, came down into the valley of Burnt river which here looks like a hole among the hills. The average breadth of the stream here is thirty feet; it is well fringed with the usual small timber ; and the soil in the bottoms is good, with better grass than we had lately been accustomed to see. We now traveled through a very mountainous country ; the stream running rather in a ravine than a valley, and the road is decidedly bad and dangerous for single wagons, frequently crossing the stream where the water is sometimes deep ; and all the day the animals were fatigued in climbing up and de- scending a succession of steep ascents, to avoid the precipitous hill-sides ; and the common trail, which leads along the moun. tain-side at places where the river strikes the base, is some- times bad even for a horseman. The mountains along this day's journey were composed, near the river, of a slaty cal. careous rock in a metamorphjc condition. It appears origi. nally to have been a slaty sedimentary limestone, but its present condition indicates that it has been altered, and has become partially crystalline — probably from the proximity of volcanic rocks. But though traveling was slow and fatiguing to the animals, we were delighted with the appearance of the country, which was green and refreshing after our tedious journey down the parched valley of Snake river. The moun- tains were covered with good bunch-grass, {festuca;) the water of the streams was cold and pure ; their bottoms were handsomely wooded with various kinds of trees ; and huge and titV. 1843.] CAPT. FREMONT S NARRATIVE. 239 lofty picturesque precipices where the river cut through the mountain. We found in the evening some good grass and rushes ; and encamped among large timber, principally birch, which had been recently burnt, and blackened, and almost destroyed by Are. The night was calm and tolerably clear, with the ther- mometer at sunset at 59°. Our journey to-day was about twenty miles. ., 14th. — The day was clear and calm, with a temperature at |^, sunrise of 46^^. After traveling about three miles up the ' valley, we found the river shut up by precipices in a kind of canon, and the road makes a circuit over the mountains. In the afternoon we reached the river again, by another little ravine ; and, after traveling along it for a few nsiles, left it en- closed among rude mountains ; and, ascending a smaller branch, encamped on it about five o'clock, very much elevated above the valley. The view was everywhere limited by mountains, on which were no longer seen the black and barren rocks, h-c'- a f-^rtile soil, with excellent grass, and partly well covered '.'. h Dine. I have never seen a wagon-road equally bad in t' . ^^. ne space, as this of yesterday and to-day. I noticed where one wagon had been overturned twice, in a very short distance ; and it was surprising to me that those wagons which were in the rear, and could not have had much assist- ance, got through at all. Still, there is no mud ; and the road has one advantage, in being perfectly firm. The day had been warm and very pleasant, and the night, was perfectly clear. 15th. — The thermometer at daylight was 42^, and at sun- rise 40*^ ; clouds, which were scattered over all the sky, dis- appeared with the rising sun. The trail did not much im- prove until we had crossed the dividing-ground between the BrM^e (Burnt) and Powder rivers. The rock displayed on the mountains, as we approached the summit, was a compact trap, decomposed on the exposed surfaces, and apparently an altered argillaceous sandstone, containing small crystalline nodules of anolcime, apparently filling cavities originally existing. From the summit here, the v/hoie horizon shows high mountains ; no high plain or level is to be seen ; and on the left, from south t ...•■r= ■ I .'v ' . I. I.. : •, ■P' a- -' ?m. if , ! V r-i -:''t<' :)■ ihti^ ,j f -^^ i M life.' ■*ir- 240 CAPT. Fremont's narrative. ~ [Oct. around by the west to north, the mountains are black with pines ; while, through the remaining space to the eastward they are bald, with the exception of some scattered pines. You will remark that we are now entering a region where all the elevated parts are covered with dense and heavy forests. From the dividing-grounds we descended by a mountain-road to Powder river, on an old bed of which we encamped. De. scending from the summit, we enjoyed a picturesque view of high rocky mountains on the right, illuminated by the setting sun. From the heights we had looked in vain for a well-known landmark on Powder river, which had been described to me by Mr. Payette as Varhre seul, (the lone tree ;) and, on aiiivlng at the river, we found a fine tall pine stretched on the ground which had been felled by some inconsiderate emigrant axe. It had been a beacon on the road for many years past. Our Cayuses had become impatient to reach their homes, and trav- eled on ahead to day ; and this afternoon we were visited by several Indians who belonged to the tribes on the Columbia. They were on horseback, and were out on a hunting excur- sion, but had obtained no better game than a large gray hare, of which each had some six or seven hanging to his saddle. We were also visited by an Indian who had his lodge and family in the mountain to the left. He was in want of ammu. nition, and brought with him a beaver-skin to exchange, and which he valued at six charges of powder and ball. I learned from him that there are very few of these animals remaining in this part of the country. The temperature at sunset was 61°, and the evening clear. I obtained, with other observations, an immersion and emersion of the third satellite. Elevation a, 100 feet. 16th. — For several weeks the weather in the daytime has been very beautiful, clear, and warm ; but the nights, in com- parison, are very cold. During the night there was ice a quar- ter of an inch thick in the lodge ; and at daylight the thermo- meter was at 16°, and the same at sunrise, the weather being calm and clear. The annual vegetation now is nearly gone, almost all the plants being out of bloom. vening clear. and enicrsiuii 1943.] CAPT. FREMONT*S NARRATIVE, 241 Last night two of our horses had run off again, which delay- ed us until noon, and we made to-day but a short journey of 13 miles, the road being very good, and encamped in a fine bottom of Powder river. ' ■ -" The thermometer at sunset was at 61°, with an easterly wind, and partially clear sky ; and the day has been quite pleasant and warm, though more cloudy than yesterday ; and the sun was frequently faint, but it grew finer and clearer to- wards evening. I7th. — Thermometer at sunrise 25°. The weather at day- light was fine, and the sky without a cloud ; but these came up, or were formed by the sun, and at seven were thick over all the sky. Just now, this appears to be the regular course — clear and brilliant during the night, and cloudy during the day. There is snow yet visible in the neighboring mountains, which yesterday extended along our route to the left, in a lofty and dark-blue range, having much the appearance of the Wind River mountains. It is probable that they have received their name of the Blue mountains from the dark-blue appearance given to them by the pines. We traveled this morning across the affluents to Powder river, the road being good, firm, and level, and the country became constantly more pleasant and interesting. The soil appeared to bo very deep, and is black and extremely good, as well among the hollows of the hills on the elevated plats, as on the river bottoms, the vegetation being such as is usually found in good ground. The following ana- lytical result shows the precise qualities of this soil, and will justify to science the character of fertility which the eye at- tributes to it : Analysis of Powder river soil. Silica 72-30 Alumina -- G-25 Carbonate of lime ------- 6-86 Carbonate of magnesia ------ 4'G2 Oxide of iron -------- 1-20 Organic matter ---.... 4-50 Water and loss -------- 4*27 • -_^— — 10000 •' 21 ' , ■ I" , ;., ■1^' .- 1^1 : ; --rm ■ - ■ > ■■ ',■ *l \i .1* JiJ;,;-,: ; '. v? ■»a 1 • . d.fc; »i ■ . ■■ I ••.■.-■»n'. ':\' i- ;4*T)Vi :J-f -tl ',',:, ^: ::4/^ 3^1 .' 'Hiv.l mm i- ■.:.'■■<■■■ i . t' •. i (i I' r, f I •> I M *'4;^ 1^ mi' ■ :^ 242 CAPT. FREMONT S NARHATIVE. [Oct. From the waters of this stream, the road ascended by a good and moderate ascent to a dividing ridge, but immediately en. tered upon ground covered with fragments of an altered sili. cious slate, which are in many places large, and render the road racking to a carriage. In this rock the planes of deposl. tion are distinctly preserved, and the metamorphism is evident, ly due to the proximity of volcanic rocks. On either side, the mountains here are densely covered with tall and handsome trees ; and, mingled with the green of a variety of pines, is the yellow of the European larch, {pinus larix,) which loses its leaves in the fall. From its present color, we were enabled to see that it forms a large proportion of the forests on the moun. tains, and is here a magnificent tree, attaining sometimes the height of 200 feet, which I believe is elsewhere unknown. About two in the afternoon we reached a high point of the di. viding ridge, from which we obtained a good view of the Grand Rond — a beautiful level basin, or mountain valley, covered with good grass, on a rich soil, abundantly watered, and sur. rounded by high and well-timbered mountains — and its name descriptive of its form — the great circle. It is a place — one of the few we have seen on our journey so far — where a farmer would delight to establish himself, if he were content to live in the seclusion which it imposes. It is about 20 miles in dianio. ter, and may, in time, form a superb county. Probably with the view of avoiding a circuit, the wagons had directly de- scended into the Rond by the face of a hill so very rocky and continuously steep as to be apparently impracticable, and, fol- lowing down on their trail, we encamped on one of the branches of the Grand Rond river, immediately at the foot of the 'lill. I liad remarked, in descending, some very white spots glistening n the plain, and, going out in that direction after we had en- camped, I found them to be the bed of a dry salt lake, or marsh, very firm and bare, which was covered thickly with a fine white powder, containing a large quantity of carbonate of soda, (thirty-three in one hundred parts.) The old grass had been lately burnt off from the surround- ing hills, and, wherever the fire had passed, there was a recent growth of strong, green, and vigorous grass ; and the soil of "'i 1843.] CAPT. Fremont's narrative. 243 the level prairie, which sweeps directly up to the foot of the surrounding mountains, appears to be very rich, producing flax spontaneously and luxuriantly in various places. Analysis of Grand Rond soil. Silica, 70-81 Alumina, 10'97 Lime and magnesia, -..--. 1.38 Oxide of iron, 2*21 Vegetable matter, partly decomposed, ... 8*16 Water and loss 5*46 Phosphate of lime, - .-_-, i-Ql ioo-00 The elevation of this encampment is 2,940 feet above the sea. 18th. — It began to rain an hour before sunrise, and con- tinued until ten o'clock ; the sky entirely overcast, and the temperature at sunrise 48°. We resumed our journey somewhat later than usual, travel- ing in a nearly north direction across the beautiful valley ; and about noon reached a place on one of the principal streams, where I had determined to leave the emigrant trail, in the ex- pectation of finding a more direct and better road across the Blue mountains. At this place the emigrants appeared to have held some consultation as to their further route, and finally turned directly oflT to the left j reaching the foot of the moun- tain in about three miles, which they ascended by a hill as steep and difficult as that by which we had yesterday de- scended to the Rond. Quitting, therefore, this road, which, af. ter a very rough crossing, issues from the mountains by the heads of the Umaiilah river, we continued our northern course across the valley, following an Indian trail which had been indicated to me by Mr. Payette, and encamped at the northern extremity of the Grand Rond, on a slough-like stream of very deep water, without any apparent current. There are some pines here on the low hills at the creek ; and in the northwest corner of the Rond is a very heavy body of timber, which de- scends into the plain. The clouds, which had rested very low along the mountain sides duruig the day, rose gradually up in the afternoon ; and lu the evening the sky was almost entirely ' ■ m 1 t 1. ■ ■■( , If'ij mi i.'i ' fi . > MY ' ■•;''