LIFE 
 
 EXPLORATIONS AND PUBLIC SERVICES 
 
 WITH ILLUSTRATIONS. 
 
 For thou wert of the mountains; they proclaim 
 The eTerlastiug creed of liberty. 
 
 BRYANT. 
 
 B OSTON: 
 TICKNOR AND FIELDS. 
 
 M.DCCC.LVI.
 
 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by TICKNOR 
 AND FIELDS, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the District 
 of Massachusetts. 
 
 RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE: 
 
 STEREOTYPED AND PRINTED BY 
 
 H. 0. HOUOHTON AND COMPANY.
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE second and third chapters of this work, em- 
 bracing the period covered by the first two expeditions, 
 have substantially the value and authority of an auto- 
 biography. Fremont tells his own story, in passages 
 extracted from his Reports. This part of the volume 
 gives, with the accompanying illustrations, a perfectly 
 authentic account as good as can be founa of the 
 interior of the North American continent, its great 
 features, and the races that occupy it. The Rocky 
 Mountains, the parallel range of the Sierra Nevada, 
 with the Basin so full of strange interest, and not yet 
 wholly made known to geography between them ; and 
 the Pacific regions, are here described, in his own 
 fresh and effective style, by their explorer. 
 
 The topics of the work, generally, are regarded by 
 the writer as having an interest and dignity entirely 
 independent of any of the excitements and political 
 operations of the day ; and it has been prepared with 
 
 1*
 
 VI PREFACE. 
 
 no other feeling than to present what men of all parties 
 and sections will hereafter, at all times, recognize as a 
 true picture of a character and a life that have justly 
 attracted attention, and will occupy a permanent place 
 in our annals. 
 
 The 'facts have been, in part, gathered from public 
 records, and sources open to all. Many of the details 
 and dates, with some very interesting documents, were 
 obtained from Col. Fremont. But for all the senti- 
 ments and opinions advanced in the work, the writer is 
 wholly and exclusively responsible.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 Parentage Education Early History 9 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 First Expedition Prairies Fort Laramie South Pass 
 Rocky Mountains Platte or Nebraska River 23 
 
 CHAPTER IE. 
 
 Second Expedition Kansas Salt Lake Columbia 
 River Central Basin Sierra Nevada California 
 Kit Carson Wahsatch Mountains Three Parks. ... 107 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Third Expedition Arkansas Great Basin Hawks 
 Peak on the Sierra Tlamath Lake 208 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 North California Bear War Conquest of California 
 Wah-lah-wah-lah Indians Insurrection California 
 Battalion Insurgents surrender to Fremont Capitu- 
 lation of Cowenga. . . 226
 
 VIII " CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Arrival of General Kearney Difficulties between Stock- 
 ton and Kearney Fremont's Arrest Court-Martial . 252 
 
 CHAPTER VH. 
 
 Fourth Expedition Great Sufferings Mariposa Pur- 
 chase Constitution of California 273 
 
 CHAPTER VTH. 
 
 Fremont a Senator of the United States 301 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 Engages in Cattle Business in California Gold discov- 
 ery Visit to England and France Imprisonment in 
 London Fit'tli Expedition Pacific Railroad Mari- 
 posa Title finally confirmed by Supreme Court of the 
 United States. 321 
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 General Remarks . 336
 
 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 PARENTAGE EDUCATION EARLY HISTORY. 
 
 JOHN CHARLES FREMONT was born on the 
 21st of January, 1813. The usual residence of 
 his family was in the city of Charleston, South 
 Carolina. His father, who bore the same name, 
 was deeply interested in studying the character 
 and condition of the North American Indians, 
 and spent the last years of his life in visiting 
 many of their tribes. On these excursions he 
 took his family with him, and moved slowly, 
 stopping leisurely at the larger towns and points 
 of chief interest. It was on one of these tours 
 that the subject of this memoir was born, in the 
 city of Savannah. The father, following his 
 favorite pursuit, subsequently visited with his 
 family, and remained, for greater or less periods 
 of time, in various parts of Georgia, Tennessee, 
 (9)
 
 10 LIFE OF FitKMONT. 
 
 the Carolinas, and Virginia. The mother, cele- 
 brated for her beauty and worth, was Ann Bev- 
 erly Whiting, a native of Gloucester County, 
 Virginia. Her family was connected with many 
 distinguished names, including that of Wash- 
 ington, to whom she was nearly related. 
 
 The father died in 1818, leaving a widow and 
 three children, two sons and a daughter. * Col. 
 Fremont is the sole survivor of his family, with 
 the exception of an orphan niece, the daughter 
 of his brother, who since nine years of age has 
 been a member of his family. The mother died 
 in 1847, at Aiken, South Carolina ; the brother 
 and sister some years before. 
 
 After the death of her husband, Mrs. Fremont 
 remained some time in Virginia, where John 
 Charles received the rudiments of his education, 
 at Dinwiddie Court House. She then removed 
 back to Charleston, where she fixed her residence, 
 and the education of her children was continued. 
 Although bom and reared in affluence, and ac- 
 customed to the free and liberal expenditures of 
 the hospitable and generous class to which her 
 Virginia relatives belonged, she was left, with 
 her young charge, in very limited circumstances, 
 but, fortunately in a community which appre- 
 ciated her claims to respect, sympathy, and all 
 kind offices. She is still remembered by many 
 faithful friends in Charleston, as a lady of great 
 piety and worth.
 
 EDUCATION. 11 
 
 When John Charles was about thirteen years 
 of age,' John W. Mitchell, Esq., a lawyer in 
 Charleston, a gentleman of great respectability, 
 in no way connected with the family, but actu- 
 ated only by benevolent impulses, although per- 
 ceiving, it is not unlikely, the bright promise of 
 the lad, took him into his office for the purpose 
 of making a lawyer of him. At a subsequent 
 period, it became a favorite object of Mr. Mitch- 
 ell, to have him prepare himself for the ministry 
 of the church. 
 
 Mr. Mitchell placed him under the tuition of 
 Dr. Roberton, a learned instructor at that time in 
 Charleston, and now engaged in the same employ- 
 ment in Philadelphia. Dr. Roberton published 
 an edition of Xenophon's Anabasis, in 1850. In 
 the preface he gives the following account of 
 the youth whom Mr. Mitchell placed in his 
 hands. It is a most interesting document, and 
 shows how the character, which Col. Fremont 
 has ever exhibited, was formed, and illustrates 
 the early development of the energy and talent 
 that have borne him on through life : 
 
 " For your further encouragement, I will here 
 relate a very remarkable instance of patient dili- 
 gence and indomitable perseverance. 
 
 " In the year 1827, after I had returned to 
 Charleston from Scotland, and my classes were 
 going on, a very respectable lawyer came to my 
 school, I think some time in the month of Octo-
 
 12 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 her, with a youth, apparently about sixteen, or 
 perhaps not so much, (fourteen,) of middle size, 
 graceful in manners, rather slender, but well 
 formed, and, upon the whole, what I should call 
 handsome; of a keen, piercing eye, and a noble 
 forehead, seemingly the very seat of genius. The 
 gentleman stated that he found him given to 
 study, that he had been about three weeks 
 learning the Latin rudiments, and (hoping, I 
 suppose, to turn the youth's attention from the 
 law to the ministry,) had resolved to place him 
 under my care for the purpose of learning 
 Greek, Latin, and Mathematics, sufficient to 
 enter Charleston College. I very gladly received 
 him, for I immediately perceived he was no 
 common youth, as intelligence beamed in his 
 dark eye, and shone brightly on his countenance, 
 indicating great ability, and an assurance of his 
 future progress. I at once put him in the high- 
 est class, just beginning to read Caesar's Com- 
 mentaries, and, although, at first inferior, his 
 prodigious memory and enthusiastic application 
 soon enabled him to surpass the best. He began 
 Greek at the same time, and read with some 
 who had been long at it, in which he also soon 
 excelled. In short, in the space of one year he 
 had with the class, and at odd hours with my- 
 self, read four books of Caesar, Cornelius Nepos, 
 Sallust, six books of Virgil, nearly all Horace, 
 and two books of Livy ; and in Greek, all Grae-
 
 EDUCATION. 13 
 
 ca Minora, about the half of the first volume of 
 Graeca Majora, and four books of Jfomer's Iliad. 
 And whatever he read, he retained. It seemed 
 to me, in fact, as if he learned by mere intuition. 
 I was myself utterly astonished, and at the same 
 time delighted with his progress. I haveJiinted 
 that he was designed for the Church, but when 
 I contemplated his bold, fearless disposition, his 
 powerful inventive genius, his admiration of war- 
 like exploits, and his love of heroic and adven- 
 turous deeds, I did not think it likely he would be 
 a minister of the Gospel. He had not, however, 
 the least appearance of any vice whatever. On 
 the contrary, he was always the very pattern of 
 virtue and modesty. I could not help loving 
 him, so much did he captivate me by his gentle- 
 manly conduct and extraordinary progress. It 
 was easy to see that he would one day raise 
 himself to eminence. Whilst under my instruc- 
 tion, I discovered his early genius for poetic 
 composition in the following manner. When 
 the Greek class read the account that Herodotus 
 gives of the battle of Marathon, the bravery of 
 Miltiades and his ten thousand Greeks raised his 
 patriotic feelings to enthusiasm, and drew from 
 him expressions which I thought were embodied, 
 a few days afterward, in some well-written 
 verses in a Charleston paper, on that far-famed 
 unequal but successful conflict against tyranny 
 and oppression ; and suspecting my talented
 
 14 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 scholar to be the author, I went to his desk and 
 asked him if he did not write them ; and hesitat- 
 ing at first, rather blushingly, he confessed he 
 did. I then said : ' I knew you could do such 
 things, and suppose you have some such pieces 
 by you, which I should like to see. Do bring 
 them to me.' He consented, and in a day or 
 two brought me a number, which I read with 
 pleasure and admiration at the strong marks of 
 genius stamped on all, but here and there requir- 
 ing, as I thought, a very slight amendment. 
 
 " I had hired a mathematician to teach both 
 him and myself, (for I could not then teach that 
 science,) and in this he also made such wonder- 
 ful progress, that at the end of one year he en- 
 tered the Junior Class in Charleston College 
 triumphantly, while others who had been study- 
 ing four years and more, were obliged to take 
 the Sophomore Class. About the end of the 
 year 1828, I left Charleston. After that he 
 taught Mathematics for some time. His career 
 afterwards has been one of heroic adventure, of 
 hair-breadth escapes by flood and field, and of 
 scientific explorations, which have made him 
 world-wide renowned. In a letter I received 
 from him very lately, he expresses his gratitude to 
 me in the following words : ' ^ am very far from 
 either forgetting you or neglecting you, or in any 
 way losing the old regard I had for you. There 
 is no time to which I go back with more pleasure
 
 EDUCATION EAKLY HISTORY. 15 
 
 than that spent with you, for there was no time 
 so thoroughly well spent ; and of any thing I may 
 have learned, I remember nothing so well, and so 
 distinctly, as what I acquired with you.' Here I 
 cannot help saying that the merit was almost all 
 his own. It is true that I encouraged and 
 cheered him on, but if the soil into which I put 
 the seeds of learning had not been of the richest 
 quality, they would never have sprung up to a 
 hundred-fold in the full ear. Such, myyoung 
 friends, is but an imperfect sketch of my once 
 beloved and favorite pupil, now a senator, and 
 who may yet rise to be at the head of this great 
 and growing Republic. My prayer is that he 
 may ever be opposed to war, injustice, and op- 
 pression of every kind, a blessing to his country 
 and an example of every noble virtue to the 
 whole world." 
 
 He was confirmed, in his seventeenth year, as 
 a member of the Protestant Episcopal Church, 
 in which communion he was brought up, and 
 continues to this day. Immediately after leav- 
 ing college, which was before the close of the 
 academic term, he opened a school in Charles- 
 ton. At such hours as he could command, 
 he attended in other schools to instruct classes 
 in mathematics ; and, in addition to all these 
 labors, took charge, for a considerable period, of 
 an evening school. Persons who have been en- 
 gaged in similar pursuits can appreciate how ex-
 
 16 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 hausting such continuous labors must have been. 
 So early did he develop the indefatigable energy 
 and power of endurance that have marked his 
 whole subsequent life. While engaged in these 
 humble and persevering toils, for the support of 
 his \vido\ved mother and her family, his merits 
 were brought int6 particular notice by the fol- 
 lowing circumstance : 
 
 It became necessary, in the prosecution of 
 a lawsuit, in which a certain rice-field in the 
 neighborhood of Charleston was involved, to 
 have it carefully and accurately surveyed. It 
 was at the height of the sickly season, and the 
 locality was so particularly dangerous from that 
 cause, that difficulty was experienced in induc- 
 ing surveyors to go upon it. The mathematical 
 attainments of young Fremont happened to be 
 brought to the knowledge of the party concerned. 
 He promptly agreed to perform the service. The 
 courage with which he engaged in the enter- 
 prise, and the scientific skill and clerical neat- 
 ness with which he executed it, attracted the 
 attention and admiration of so many persons of 
 influence, that he was at once secure of employ- 
 ment and patronage. 
 
 Soon after this, he was engaged in the survey 
 of the railroad leading from Charleston to Ham- 
 burg. About the beginning of the year 1833, 
 the sloop of war Natchez arrived in Charleston, 
 to enforce the proclamation of President Jack-
 
 EARLY HISTORY. 17 
 
 son. By the influence of Mr. Poinsett, after- 
 wards Secretary of War, and others friendly to 
 his family, young Fremont obtained the situa- 
 tion of teacher of mathematics and instructor 
 of the midshipmen on board the Natchez, and 
 sailed in her, in that capacity, to the Brazilian 
 station. At the termination of her cruise, she 
 returned to New York. After appearing before 
 a board of examiners, in Baltimore, Mr. Fremont 
 was regularly commissioned as a professor of 
 mathematics in the navy, and assigned to the 
 Frigate Independence. The distinguished man- 
 ner in which he passed the examination coming 
 to the ears of the Faculty of the College in 
 Charleston, they instantly conferred upon him 
 both the academic degrees, of Bachelor and 
 Master of Arts. 
 
 An Act of Congress, passed on the 30th of 
 April, 1824, authorized the President of the 
 United States " to employ two or more skilful 
 civil engineers, and such officers of the corps of 
 engineers, or who may be detailed to do duty 
 with that corps, as he may think proper, to 
 cause the necessary surveys, plans, and estimates 
 to be made of the routes of such roads and ca- 
 nals as he may deem of national importance, in 
 a commercial or military point of view, or for 
 the transportation of the public mail." Under 
 this act, Mr. Fremont received his first appoint- 
 ment in that branch of the public service, where
 
 18 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 so signal distinction and wide renown were 
 in reserve for him. President Jackson selected 
 him to be associated as a civil engineer with 
 Captain Williams of the topographical corps 
 of engineers, an officer of distinguished merit, 
 and who will ever be remembered as one of the 
 heroes that fell at Monterey, in making a 
 survey, plans, and estimates of the route of the 
 Charleston and Cincinnati Railroad. Resign- 
 ing his commission in the navy, he repaired 
 with alacrity to his chosen work. The portion 
 of the route assigned him was the mountain 
 regions of the Carolinas and Tennessee, and he 
 there commenced those observations and ex- 
 plorations which have since extended over such 
 immense regions. The winter of 1837 and 1838 
 was spent also under Captain Williams, in a 
 survey of the Cherokee country, in conducting 
 the field-work, and participating in preparing 
 the military map which was the result of the 
 expedition. 
 
 During the administration of Mr. Van Buren, 
 an act was passed and approved by him on the 
 5th of July, 1838, to increase the military estab- 
 lishment. The fourth section required that the 
 corps of topographical engineers should be or- 
 ganized and increased, by regular promotion in 
 the same, so that the said corps should consist 
 of one colonel, one lieutenant-colonel, four ma- 
 jors, ten captains, ten first lieutenants, and ten
 
 EAELY HISTORY. 19 
 
 second lieutenants ; and the fifth section or- 
 dained that the vacancies created by said 
 organization, over and above those which could 
 be filled by the corps itself, should be taken 
 from the army, and from such as it may be 
 deemed advisable of the civil engineers em- 
 ployed under the act of the 30th of April, 1824. 
 
 This latter clause let in Mr. Fremont. It was 
 probably designed to do so, as his friend and 
 patron, Mr. Poinsett, was then Secretary of War. 
 He was accordingly commissioned, two days 
 afterwards, on the 7th of July, 1838, as a sec- 
 ond lieutenant of the topographical engineers. 
 About this time, he had been transferred to the 
 theatre of his fame, the field where his great 
 work in life was to be done. 
 
 A thorough exploration and survey of the 
 vast region north of the Missouri, and west of 
 the Mississippi, was deemed by the administra- 
 tion to have become necessary, and arrange- 
 ments were made to accomplish it. Mr. Nicho- 
 let, a learned and distinguished astronomer, and 
 man of science, a member of the French Acad- 
 emy, and a gentleman of great general accom- 
 plishments and worth, then residing in St. Louis, 
 was appointed to conduct the service. He re- 
 quested to have associated with him a younger 
 person, to act as his assistant, with the requisite 
 qualities of science, energy, courage, and enter- 
 prise. Mr. Poinsett offered the situation to
 
 20 LIFE OF FREMOXT. 
 
 Lieutenant Fremont, who promptly and gladly 
 accepted it. The years 1838 and 1839 were 
 spent in this field, and the whole country was 
 explored up to the British line. *Mr. Fremont 
 participated zealously in the work, and in mak- 
 ing the map of that region, which was presented 
 to the government by Mr. Nicholet. In the 
 course of these surveys there were seventy thou- 
 sand meteorological observations, and the topog- 
 raphy was minutely determined by the proper 
 calculations at innumerable points. The map 
 thus constructed has been the source from which 
 all subsequent ones relating to that region have 
 been derived. 
 
 In the spring of 1841, Lieutenant Fremont 
 went in command of a small party to survey 
 the Desmoines River. 
 
 On the 19th of October, 1841, he was married, 
 in the city of Washington, to Jessie, daughter 
 of the Hon. Thomas H. Benton, a Senator in 
 Congress from the State of Missouri. It is not 
 at all strange that objections were made to the 
 match. A second lieutenant, in a corps where 
 promotion is very slow, and having no other 
 means of support than the unreasonably small 
 pay allowed to subordinate officers in our army, 
 surely had nothing to recommend him, in 
 the way of worldly goods or prospects. He 
 had not then commenced his great career, no 
 world-wide lustre had begun to emblazon his
 
 EARLY HISTORY. 21 
 
 name, no perilous adventures, on a broad 
 theatre, had drawn out, to general view, his 
 heroic qualities. But- the instincts of a pure 
 heart are often the truest wisdom ; and he was 
 preferred before all that fashion, wealth, and 
 great station could offer. 
 
 All know the pride and fidelity with which 
 Colonel Benton has, ever since that time, cher- 
 ished the character of his son-in-law. Bereft of 
 his own sons by early death, his heart has gath- 
 ered its affections around Fremont. He has 
 four daughters, all living, and all married. Mrs. 
 Fremont is the second daughter, and was born 
 in Virginia, at tha family seat of her grandfather, 
 Colonel McDowell, on the 31st May, 1824. All 
 that it would be proper to say of her in this 
 work, is all that could be said of any woman, 
 she is worthy of her origin, and of her lot. 
 
 We have now reached the point at which 
 Mr. Fremont arrested that universal attention 
 which has followed him ever since. His two 
 first expeditions, on a large scale, will be related 
 mostly in his own language, in consecutive ex- 
 tracts from his Reports published by Congress. 
 The first Report was republished, together with 
 the second, by an order of the Senate of the 
 United States, passed March 3, 1845. These 
 Reports at once established his reputation, as a 
 scientific explorer and heroic adventurer, through- 
 out the world. Large editions of them have been
 
 22 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 reprinted by booksellers in this country, and also 
 in England, and they have been noticed with 
 the highest commendation in the various literary 
 and scientific journals, at home and abroad. 
 The Smithsonian Institution inserted among 
 its publications a description of the plants col- 
 lected by him, in California, prepared by John 
 Torrey, F. L. S., with illustrative plates, enti- 
 tled " Plantce Fremontiana" Nothing has con- 
 tributed more to the honor of our country than 
 the manner in which its gallant and enlightened 
 officers have conducted various exploring expe- 
 ditions, and prepared reports of them. A rich 
 and interesting body of national literature has 
 thus been accumulated. Fremont's Reports of 
 his first and second expedition, at once gave 
 him an European reputation, which has not yet 
 'been rivalled. When the Reports of the last 
 three expeditions are given to the world, it will 
 be found that his explorations cover more 
 ground, and bring a larger contribution to geo- 
 graphical and other science, than can be claimed 
 for any other man in our annals. 
 
 Of the literary style of these Reports, the 
 reader will be able to judge from the following 
 chapters.
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 FIRST EXPEDITION PRAIRIES FORT LARAMIE 
 
 SOUTH PASS ROCKY MOUNTAINS PLATTE OR 
 
 NEBRASKA RIVER. 
 
 THE first expedition of Lieutenant Fremont, 
 in command of an exploring party on a large 
 scale, occupied the summer of 1842, and embraced 
 the country between the Missouri River and the 
 Rocky Mountains, along the line of the Kansas, 
 and the Great Platte, or Nebraska, river. Hav- 
 ing received his instructions from Colonel J. J. 
 Abert, chief of the corps of topographical en- 
 gineers, he left Washington City on the 2d of 
 May, and arrived at St. Louis, by way of New 
 York, on the 22d of that month, where he made 
 the principal preparations for the service. Hav- 
 ing ascended the Missouri in a steamboat, he 
 proceeded to Choteau's Landing, on the right 
 bank of the Kansas, about ten miles from its 
 mouth, and six miles beyond the western bound- 
 ary of Missouri. Here the final arrangements 
 were completed, every requisite point provided 
 
 (23)
 
 24 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 for, and the expedition organized into working 
 order and shape. 
 
 The party, which had been collected in St. 
 Louis, consisted principally of Creole and Cana- 
 dian voyageurs, who had been trained to prairie 
 life and wilderness adventures in the employ of 
 fur companies in the Indian country, and con- 
 sisted of twenty-two men. Besides them, there 
 was Mr. Charles Preuss, a native of Germany, 
 who had been thoroughly educated to sketch the 
 topographical features of a country, and to whose 
 extraordinary skill and enthusiasm, in the prose- 
 cution of the service assigned him, Col. Fremont 
 has always borne the most affectionate and grate- 
 ful testimony. Mr. L. Maxwell was engaged as 
 a hunter, and Christopher Carson, celebrated the 
 world over for his genius and exploits as a moun- 
 taineer, and everywhere known as Kit Carson, 
 was the guide of the expedition. Henry Brant, 
 a son of Col. J. H. Brant, of St. Louis, nineteen 
 years of age, and Randolph, a son of Col. Benton, 
 twelve years of age, also accompanied it. The 
 latter, of course, was especially under the charge 
 of Mr. Fremont. Such an experience, it was 
 thought, would be favorable to his physical and 
 mental development ; and it may \vell be sup- 
 posed that an interesting lad of that age would 
 be a source of amusement and an object of at- 
 tachment to men, whose mode of life had given 
 them but little opportunity to enjoy the society
 
 FIRST EXPEDITION. 25 
 
 of such a companion. Randolph was undoubt- 
 edly the pet and the pride of the party. Eight 
 men conducted as many carts, which contained 
 stores, baggage, and instruments, and were each 
 drawn by two mules. All the rest were well 
 armed and mounted. A few extra horses, and 
 four oxen, as an addition to the stock of pro- 
 visions, completed the train. It started on the 
 morning of Friday, the 10th of June. Mr. Cho- 
 teau accompanied the party until they met an 
 Indian, whom he had engaged to conduct them 
 some forty miles, thus giving them a fair start. 
 
 It will be well, before entering upon a detail 
 of the adventures of the expedition in its route, 
 to describe the general regulations and ordinary 
 arrangements, in travel and in camp, from day 
 to day. 
 
 " 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
 
 26 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 being twenty or thirty feet long, which enabled 
 them to obtain a little food during the night. 
 When we had reached a part of the country 
 where such a precaution became necessary, the 
 carts being regularly arranged for defending the 
 camp, guard was mounted at eight o'clock, con- 
 sisting of three s men, who were relieved every 
 two hours ; the morning watch being horse guard 
 for the day. At daybreak the camp was roused, 
 the animals turned loose to graze, and breakfast 
 generally over between six and seven o'clock, 
 when we resumed our march, making regularly 
 a halt at noon for one or two hours. Such was 
 usually the order of the day, except when acci- 
 dent of country forced a variation ; which, how- 
 ever, happened but rarely." 
 
 The party was now fairly afloat on the bound- 
 less ocean of prairie, the Indian guide had left, 
 and the excitements and perils of the service 
 began. 
 
 " 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 com- 
 menced immediately preparations for crossing. 
 I had expected to find the river fordable ; but it 
 had been 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 travelled was a remarkably fine one, 
 well beaten, and level the usual road of a
 
 FIRST EXPEDITION. 27 
 
 prairie country. By our route, the ford was one 
 hundred miles from the mouth of the Kansas 
 River. Several mounted men led the way into 
 the stream, to swim across. The animals were 
 driven in after them, and in a few minutes all 
 had reached the opposite bank in safety, with the 
 exception of the oxen, which swam some dis- 
 tance down the river, and, returning to the right 
 bank, were not got over until the next morning. 
 In the mean time, the carts had been unloaded 
 and dismantled, and an India-rubber boat, which 
 I had brought with me for the survey of the Platte 
 River, placed in the water. The boat was twenty 
 feet long, and five broad, and on it were placed 
 the body and wheels of a cart, with the load 
 belonging to it, and three men with paddles. 
 
 " The velocity of the current, and the inconven- 
 ient 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 pos- 
 sible, and assist in drawing her over. In this 
 manner, six passages had been successfully made, 
 and as many carts with their contents, and a 
 greater portion of the party deposited on the left 
 bank ; but night was drawing near, and, in our 
 anxiety to have all over before the darkness 
 closed in, I put upon the boat the remaining two 
 carts, with their accompanying load. The man 
 at the helm was timid on water, and, in his alarm,
 
 28 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 capsized the boat. Carts, barrels, boxes, and 
 'bales, were in a moment floating down the cur- 
 rent ; but all the men who were on the shore 
 jumped into the water, without stopping to think 
 if they could swim, and almost everything 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 bag 
 of coffee, which contained nearly all our provision. 
 It was a loss which none but a traveller 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 various aspects and incidents of prairie 
 scenery and life are presented with great felicity 
 of description. The following passages will be 
 read with interest. They had met a party of 
 trappers belonging to the American Fur Com- 
 pany : 
 
 " We laughed then at their forlorn and vaffa- 
 
 o o 
 
 bond appearance, and in our turn, a month or 
 two afterward, furnished the same occasion for 
 merriment to others. Even their stock of tobac-
 
 THE PRAIRIE. 29 
 
 co, that sine qua non of a voyageur, without 
 which the night fire is gloomy, was entirely ex- 
 hausted. However, we shortened their home- 
 ward journey by a small supply of our own provis- 
 ion. They gave us the welcome intelligence that 
 the buffalo were abundant some two days' march 
 in advance, and made us a present of some choice 
 pieces, which were a very acceptable change 
 from our salt pork. In the interchange of news, 
 and the renewal of old acquaintanceships, we 
 found wherewithal to fill a busy hour ; then we 
 mounted our horses, and they shouldered their 
 packs, and w T e shook hands and parted. Among 
 them, I had found an old companion on the 
 northern prairie, a hardened and hardly served 
 veteran of the mountains, who had been .as 
 much hacked and scarred as an old moustache of 
 Napoleon's " old guard." He flourished in the 
 sobriquet of La Tulipe, and his real name I never 
 knew. Finding that he was going to the States 
 only because his company was bound in that 
 direction, and that he was rather more willing to 
 return with me, I took him again into my ser- 
 vice." 
 
 La 'Tulipe, so graphically described by Fre- 
 mont in the foregoing extract, belongs to a class 
 of men who add much to the romantic interest 
 of the great interior wilds of our continent. 
 The sailors of the prairie, their only home is 
 on those mighty wastes, thek life is spent in 
 
 3*
 
 30 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 wandering from point to point, their eyes delight 
 in the boundless landscape, their hearts in scenes 
 of peril and adventure. They are as completely 
 severed from the ties of locality, and the re- 
 straints of ordinary life, as the sailor ; they are 
 as familiar with physical suffering, and with ex- 
 posure to storm and death, as free from care, and 
 as brave, generous, and noble-hearted. 
 
 " At our evening camp, about sunset, three 
 figures were discovered approaching, which our 
 glasses made out to be Indians. They proved 
 to be Cheyennes two men, and a boy of thir- 
 teen. About a month since, they had left their 
 people on the south fork of the river, some three 
 hundred miles to the westward, and a party of 
 only four in number had been to the Pawnee 
 villages on a horse-stealing excursion, from which 
 they were returning unsuccessful. They were 
 miserably mounted on wild horses from the 
 Arkansas plains, and had no other weapons than 
 bows and long spears ; and had they been dis- 
 covered by the Pawnees, could not, by any 
 possibility, have escaped. They were mortified 
 by their ill success, and said the Pawnees were 
 cowards, who shut up their horses in their lodges 
 at night. I invited them to supper with me, 
 and Randolph and the young Cheyenne, who 
 had been eyeing each other suspiciously and 
 curiously, soon became intimate friends. 
 
 " A few miles brought us into the midst of the
 
 THE PRAIRIE. 31 
 
 buffalo, swarming in immense numbers over the 
 plains, where they had left scarcely a blade of 
 grass standing. Mr. Preuss, who was sketching 
 at a little distance in the rear, had at first noted 
 them as large groves of timber. In the sight of 
 such a mass of life, the traveller feels a strange 
 emotion of grandeur. We had heard from a dis- 
 tance 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 buf- 
 falo 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 re- 
 sounded 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 appolas, 
 on sticks around the fire, and the guard were 
 never without company. With pleasant weather 
 and no enemy to fear, and abundance of the most
 
 32 LIFE OF FIIEMOXT. 
 
 excellent meat, and no scarcity of bread or to- 
 bacco, they were enjoying the oasis of a voy- 
 ageur's life. Three cows were killed to-day. 
 Kit Carson had shot one, and was continuing 
 the chase in the midst of another herd, when 
 his horse fell headlong, but sprang up and joined 
 the flying band. Though considerably hurt, he 
 had the good fortune to break no bones ; and 
 Maxwell, who was mounted on a fleet hunter, 
 captured the runaway after a hard chase. He 
 was on the point of shooting him, to avoid the 
 loss of his bridle, (a handsomely mounted Span- 
 ish one,) when he found that his horse was able to 
 come up with him. Animals are frequently lost 
 in this way ; and it is necessary to keep close 
 watch over them, in the vicinity of the buffalo, 
 in the midst of which they scour off to the 
 plains, and are rarely retaken. One of our mules 
 took a sudden freak into his head, and joined a 
 neighboring band to-day. As we were not in a 
 condition to lose horses, I sent several men in 
 pursuit, and remained in camp, in the hope of 
 recovering him ; but lost the afternoon to no 
 purpose, as we did not see him again. Astro- 
 nomical observations placed us in longitude 100 
 05' 47", latitude 40 49' 55". 
 
 " July 1. 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 com-
 
 PKAIRIES. 33 
 
 menced crossing the plain slowly, eating as they 
 went. The wind was favorable ; the coolness 
 of the morning invited to exercise ; the ground 
 was apparently good, and the distance across 
 the prairie (two or three miles) gave us a fine 
 opportunity to charge them before they could 
 get among the river hills. It was too fine a 
 prospect for a chase to be lost ; and, halting for 
 a few moments, the hunters were brought up 
 and saddled, and Kit Carson, Maxwell, and 
 I started together. They were now somewhat 
 less than half a mile distant, and we rode easily 
 along until within about three hundred yards, 
 when a sudden agitation, a wavering in the 
 band, and a galloping to and fro of some which 
 were scattered along the skirts, gave us the inti- 
 mation that we were discovered. We started 
 together at a hand gallop, riding steadily abreast 
 of each other, and here the interest of the chase 
 became so engrossingly intense, that we were 
 sensible to nothing else. We were now closing 
 upon them rapidly, and the front of the mass 
 was already in rapid motion for the hills, and in 
 a few seconds the movement had communicated 
 itself to the whole herd. 
 
 " A crowd of bulls, as usual, brought up the 
 rear, and every now and then some of them 
 faced about, and then dashed on after the band 
 a short distance, and turned and looked again, 
 as if more than half inclined to stand and fight.
 
 34 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 In a few moments, however, during which we 
 had been quickening our pace, the rout was uni- 
 versal, and we were going over the ground like 
 a hurricane. When at about thirty yards, we 
 gave the usual shout, (the hunter's battle-cry,) 
 and broke into the herd. We entered on the 
 side, the mass giving way in every direction in 
 their heedless course. Many of the bulls, less 
 active and less 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 distinguish- 
 able in the dust. We separated on entering, 
 each singling out his game. 
 
 " My horse was a trained hunter, famous in 
 the west under the name of Proveau, and, with 
 his eyes flashing, and the foam flying from his 
 mouth, sprang on after the cow like a tiger. In 
 a few moments he brought me alongside of her, 
 and, rising in the stirrups, I fired at the distance 
 of a yard, the ball entering at the termination 
 of the long hair, and passing near the heart. 
 She fell headlong at the report of the gun, and 
 checking my horse, I looked around for my 
 companions. At a little distance, Kit was on the 
 ground, engaged in tying his horse to the horns 
 of a cow which he was preparing to cut up. 
 Among the scattered bands, at some distance 
 below, I caught a glimpse of Maxwell; and
 
 PRAIRIES. 35 
 
 while I was looking, a light wreath of white 
 smoke curled away from his gun, from \vhich I 
 was too far to hear the report. Nearer, and be- 
 tween me and the hills, towards which they 
 were directing their course, was the body of the 
 herd, and giving my horse the rein, we dashed 
 after them. A thick cloud of dust hung upon 
 their rear, which filled my mouth and eyes, and 
 nearly smothered me. In the midst of this I 
 could see nothing, and the buffalo were not 
 distinguishable until within thirty feet. They 
 cro\vded together more densely still as I came 
 upon them, and rushed along in such a com- 
 pact 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 tre- 
 mendous leap, and scoured on swifter than be- 
 fore. I reined up my horse, and the band swept 
 on like a torrent, and left the place quiet and 
 clear. Our chase had led us into dangerous 
 ground. A prairie-dog village, so thickly settled 
 that there were three or four holes in every 
 twenty yards square, occupied the whole bot- 
 tom for nearly two miles in length. Looking
 
 36 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 around, I saw only one of the hunters, nearly 
 out of sight, and the long dark line of our cara- 
 van crawling along, three or four miles distant." 
 
 The expedition had now reached the heart of 
 the prairie country, and the report contains 
 graphic descriptions of the scenery and general 
 features of the landscape. The botanical rich- 
 ness of these vast plains is one of their most 
 striking attractions. 
 
 " 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 seems 
 to love best the sunny slopes, with a dark soil 
 and southern exposure. Everywhere the rose is 
 met with, and reminds us of cultivated gardens 
 and civilization. It is scattered over the prairies 
 in small bouquets, and, when glittering in the 
 dews and waving in the pleasant breeze of the 
 early morning, is the most beautiful of the prairie 
 flowers. The artemisia, absinthe, or prairie sage, 
 as it is variously called, is increasing in size, and 
 glitters like silver, as the southern breeze turns 
 up its leaves to the sun. All these plants have 
 their insect inhabitants, variously colored ; taking 
 generally the hue of the flower on which they 
 live. The artemisia has its small fly accompa- 
 nying it through every change of elevation and 
 latitude ; and wherever I have seen the asclepias 
 tuberosa, I have always remarked, too, on the
 
 PRAIRIES. 37 
 
 flower a large butterfly, so nearly resembling it 
 in color, as to be distinguishable at a little dis- 
 tance only by the motion of its wings." 
 
 As they approached the regions where danger 
 from Indian hostility was to be apprehended, 
 the men were practised, during the noon and 
 evening halts, at target-shooting, and increased 
 vigilance was exercised by the guards. 
 
 " We had travelled thirty-one miles. A heavy 
 bank of black clouds in the west came on us 
 in a storm between nine and ten, preceded by 
 a violent wind. The rain fell in such torrents 
 that it was difficult to breathe facing the wind, 
 the thunder rolled incessantly, and the whole sky 
 was tremulous with lightning ; now and then illu- 
 minated by a blinding flash, succeeded by pitchy 
 darkness. Carson had the watch from ten to 
 midnight, and to him had been assigned our 
 young compagnons de voyage, Messrs. Brant and 
 R. Benton. This was their first night on guard, 
 and such an introduction did not augur very 
 auspiciously of the pleasures of the expedition. 
 Many things conspired to render their situation 
 uncomfortable ; stories of desperate and bloody 
 Indian fights were rife in the camp ; our position 
 was badly chosen, surrounded on all sides by 
 timbered hollows, and occupying an area of sev- 
 eral 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 
 
 4
 
 38 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 in the darkness, calling out to the sergeant of 
 the guard, to direct his attention to some imagi- 
 nary alarm ; but they stood it out, and took their 
 turn regularly afterward." 
 
 The incidents of camp and prairie life are 
 pleasantly told in the following passages : 
 
 11 July 4. The morning was very smoky, the sun 
 shining dimly and red, as in a thick fog. The 
 camp was roused with a salute at daybreak. 
 While we were at breakfast, a buffalo calf broke 
 through the camp, followed by a couple of wolves. 
 In its fright, it had probably mistaken us for a 
 band of buffalo. The wolves were obliged to 
 make a circuit around the camp, so that the calf 
 got a little the start, and strained every nerve to 
 reach a large herd at the foot of the hills, about 
 two miles distant ; but first one, and then an- 
 other, and another wolf joined in the chase, until 
 his pursuers amounted to twenty or thirty, and 
 they ran him down before he could reach his 
 friends. There were a few bulls near the place, 
 and one of them attacked the wolves, and tried 
 to rescue him ; but was driven oft' immediately, 
 and the little animal fell an easy prey, half de- 
 voured before he was dead. We watched the 
 chase with the interest always felt for the weak ; 
 and had there been a saddled horse at hand, he 
 would have fared better. 
 
 " As we were riding slowly along this after- 
 noon, clouds of dust in the ravines, among the
 
 PKAIRIES. 39 
 
 hills to the right, suddenly attracted our attention, 
 and in a few minutes column after column of 
 buffalo came galloping down, making directly to 
 the river. By the time the leading herds had 
 reached the water, the prairie was darkened with 
 the dense masses. Immediately before us, when 
 the bands first came down into the valley, 
 stretched an unbroken line, the head of which 
 was lost among the river hills on the opposite 
 side ; and still they poured down from the ridge 
 on our right. From hill to hill, the prairie bottom 
 was certainly not less than two miles wide ; and 
 allowing the animals to be ten feet apart, and 
 only ten in a line, there were already eleven 
 thousand in view. Some idea may thus be 
 formed of their number when they had occupied 
 the whole plain. In a short time they surrounded 
 us on every side ; extending for several miles in 
 the rear, and forward as far as the eye could 
 reach ; leaving around us, as we advanced, an 
 open space of only two or three hundred yards. 
 This movement of the buffalo indicated to us the 
 presence of Indians on the North fork. 
 
 " I halted earlier than usual, about forty miles 
 from the junction, and all hands were soon busily 
 engaged in preparing a feast to celebrate the day. 
 The kindness of our friends at St. Louis had 
 provided us with a large supply of excellent pre- 
 serves and rich fruit-cake ; and when these were 
 added to a macaroni soup, and variously prepared
 
 40 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 dishes of the choicest buffalo meat, crowned with 
 a cup of coffee, and enjoyed with prairie appetite, 
 we felt, as we sat in barbaric luxury around our 
 smoking supper on the grass, a greater sensation 
 of enjoyment than the Roman epicure at his 
 perfumed feast. But most of all it seemed to 
 please our Indian friends, who, in the unre- 
 strained enjoyment of the moment, demanded to 
 know if our " medicine days came 'often." 
 
 The route of the expedition had been along 
 the southern side of the Kansas about one hun- 
 dred miles, then across that river ; after contin- 
 uing some time near its northern side, across the 
 country to Grand Island, in the Platte, then along 
 the course of that river to the junction of its north 
 and south forks, and then up the south fork. 
 
 At the distance of about forty miles from the 
 junction, on the 5th of July, Mr. Fremont divided 
 his party. With Mr. Preuss, Maxwell, Bernier, 
 Ayot, and Basil Lajeunesse, he continued up the 
 course of the south fork, taking with him the 
 Cheyennes, as their home was in that direction. 
 The residue of the party was placed under the 
 command of Clement Lambert, who was directed 
 to cross over to the north fork, and at some con- 
 venient place, make a cache of everything not 
 absolutely necessary to the further progress of 
 the expedition. It is the custom of parties trav- 
 elling far into the wilderness, at points which 
 they expect to pass again on their route, to con-
 
 PRAIRIES. 41 
 
 ceal, by burying, or in any way covering, so as 
 to protect and preserve them, such articles as 
 may be dispensed with in themean time. These 
 places of hidden deposit are called caches. After 
 attending to this, Lambert was instructed to 
 make his way to the American company's fort 
 at the mouth of Laramie's Fork, and there wait 
 the arrival of Fremont, who designed to reach the 
 fort in season to observe certain occupations that 
 were to take place on the nights of the 16th and 
 17th of July. 
 
 "July 5. Before breakfast all was ready. We 
 had one led horse in addition to those we rode, 
 and a pack mule, destined to carry our instru- 
 ments, provisions, and baggage ; the last two 
 articles not being of very great \veight. The 
 instruments consisted of a sextant, artificial hor- 
 izon, &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 mate- 
 rials for each man's bed, and every one was pro- 
 vided with a change of linen. All were armed 
 with rifles or double-barrelled guns ; and, in ad- 
 dition to these, Maxwell and myself were fur- 
 nished with excellent pistols. Thus accoutred, 
 we took a parting breakfast with our friends, and 
 set forth. 
 
 4*
 
 42 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 Our journey the first day afforded nothing 
 of any interest. We shot a buffalo toward sun- 
 set, and, having obtained some meat for our 
 evening meal, encamped where a little timber 
 afforded *us the means of making a fire. Having 
 disposed our meat on roasting sticks, we pro- 
 ceeded to unpack our bales in search of coffee 
 and sugar, and flour for bread. With the excep- 
 tion of a little parched coffee, unground, we 
 found nothing. Our cook had neglected to put 
 it up, or it had been somehow forgotten. Tired 
 and hungry, with tough bull meat without salt, 
 (for we had not been able to kill a cow,) and a 
 little bitter coffee, we sat down in silence to our 
 miserable fare, a very disconsolate party ; for 
 yesterday's feast was yet fresh in our memories, 
 and this was our first brush with misfortune. 
 Each man took his blanket, and laid himself 
 down silently. To-day we had travelled about 
 thirty-six miles. 
 
 " July 6. Finding that our present excursion 
 would be attended with considerable hardship, 
 and unwilling to expose more persons than neces- 
 sary, I determined to send Mr. Preuss back to 
 the party. His horse, too, appeared in no condi- 
 tion to support the journey; and accordingly, 
 after breakfast, he took the road across the hills, 
 attended by one of our most trusty men, Bernier. 
 The ridge between the rivers is here about fifteen 
 miles broad, and I expected he would probably
 
 PRAIRIES. 43 
 
 strike the fork near their evening camp. At all 
 events, he would not fail to find their trail, and 
 rejoin them the next day." 
 
 After his people had composed themselves for 
 the night, and silence and slumber had fallen 
 upon the camp, it was the invariable practice of 
 the commander, when the condition of the atmo- 
 sphere, the state of the weather, and the aspect 
 of the heavens allowed, to get out his instru- 
 ments, take astronomical observations, and deter- 
 mine and record the latitude and longitude. 
 
 " My companions slept rolled up in their 
 blankets, and the Indians lay in the grass near 
 the fire ; but my sleeping-place generally had 
 an air of more pretension. Our rifles were tied 
 together near the muzzle, the butts resting on 
 the ground, and a knife laid on the rope, to cut 
 away in case of an alarm. Over this, which 
 made a kind of frame, was thrown a large In- 
 dia rubber cloth, which we used to cover our 
 packs. This" made a tent sufficiently large to 
 receive about half of my bed, and was a place 
 of shelter for my instruments ; and as I was 
 careful always to put this part against the wind, 
 I could lie here with a sensation of satisfied 
 enjoyment, and hear the wind blow, and the 
 rain patter close to my head, and know that I 
 should be at least half dry. Certainly, I never 
 slept more soundly. The barometer at sunset 
 was 26.010, thermometer 81, and cloudy ; but
 
 44 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 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 some astronomical 
 observations." 
 
 The following passage brings the incidents of 
 wild prairie life, and some traits and aspects of 
 Indian character and habits, vividly before the 
 
 mind. 
 
 " There were some dark-looking objects among 
 the hills, about two miles to the left, here low 
 and undulating, which we had seen for a little 
 time, and supposed to be buffalo coming in to 
 water; but, happening to look behind, Max- 
 well saw the Cheyennes whipping up furiously, 
 and another glance at the dark objects showed 
 them at once to be Indians coming up at speed. 
 " Had we been well mounted, and disencum- 
 bered of instruments, we might have set them 
 at defiance; but as it was, we were fairly 
 caught. It was too late to rejoin our friends, 
 and we endeavored to gain a clump of timber 
 about half a mile ahead ; but the instruments 
 and the 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 emi- 
 nences seemed in motion, and, in a few minutes
 
 PRAIRIES. 45 
 
 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 upon us. 
 
 " I am inclined to think that in a few seconds 
 more the leading man, and, perhaps, some of 
 his companions, would have rolled in the dust ; 
 for we had jerked the covers from our guns, 
 and our fingers were on the triggers; men in 
 such cases generally act from instinct, and a 
 charge from three hundred naked savages is a 
 circumstance not well calculated to promote a 
 cool exercise of judgment. Just as he was 
 about to fire, Maxwell recognized the leading 
 Indian, and shouted to him in the Indian lan- 
 guage : ' You're a fool ; 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 toward 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 previously, and recognized 
 him accordingly. We were soon in the midst 
 of the band, answering as well as we could a 
 multitude of questions ; of which the very first
 
 46 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 was, of what tribe were our Indian companions 
 who were coming in the rear ? They seemed 
 disappointed to know that they were Che- 
 yennes, for they had fully anticipated a grand 
 dance around a Pawnee scalp that night." 
 
 The party ascended the South Fork, arriving, 
 late in the evening of the 10th, at St. Vrain's 
 Fort, which is at the foot of the mountains, 
 about seventeen miles from Long's Peak. On 
 the morning of the 12th, it started across the 
 country in the direction of Fort Laramie, which 
 was reached by the evening of the 15th. They 
 passed on the way some of those wonderful 
 natural formations, which the face of the rocks 
 and outlines of the mountains often present in 
 the interior of the continent. 
 
 " The hill on the western side imitates, in 
 an extraordinary manner, a massive fortified 
 place, with a remarkable fulness of detail. The 
 rock is marl and earthy limestone, white, with- 
 out the least appearance of vegetation, and 
 much resembles masonry at a little distance ; 
 and here it sweeps around a level area two or 
 three hundred yards in diameter, and in the 
 form of a half-moon, terminating on either ex- 
 tremity in enormous bastions. Along the whole 
 line of the parapets appear domes and slender 
 minarets, forty or fifty feet high, giving it every 
 appearance of an old fortified town. On the 
 waters of White River, where this formation
 
 FORT LARAMIE. 47 
 
 exists in great extent, it presents appearances 
 which excite the admiration of the solitary 
 voyageur, and form a frequent theme of their 
 conversation when speaking of the wonders of 
 the country. Sometimes it offers the perfectly 
 illusive appearance of a large city, with numer- 
 ous streets and magnificent buildings, among 
 which the Canadians never fail to see their 
 cabaret ; and sometimes it takes the form of a 
 solitary house, with many large chambers, into 
 which they drive their horses at night, and sleep 
 in these natural defences perfectly secure from 
 any attack of prowling savages. Before reach- 
 ing our camp at Goshen's Hole, in crossing the 
 immense detritus at the foot of the Castle Rock, 
 we were involved amidst winding passages cut 
 by the waters of the hill ; and where, with a 
 breadth scarcely large enough for the passage of 
 a horse, the walls rise thirty and forty feet per- 
 pendicularly. This formation supplies the dis- 
 coloration of the Platte." 
 
 Upon reaching Fort Laramie, Fremont found 
 the residue of his party there. They had ar- 
 rived on the evening of the 13th. Mr. Preuss, 
 with his companion Bernier, had intercepted 
 them at the expected point. Some extracts from 
 Preuss's journal will be read with interest, and 
 prepare the mind to appreciate the energy and 
 decision of character of Vremont, and the heroic 
 fidelity of those of his followers who resolved to
 
 48 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 share with him the now imminent dangers and 
 increasing hardships of the enterprise. 
 
 It seems that after leaving Fremont, on the 
 6th of July, Preuss and Bernier reached the 
 north fork of the Platte, in about six hours. 
 There was no sign that Lambert's party had 
 passed. Bernier rode down along the river to 
 find them, leaving Preuss, who was too much 
 exhausted to accompany him. The night ap- 
 proached and Bernier did not return. Of course 
 there is always more or less danger in those 
 vast unknown regions when parties get sepa- 
 rated and out of sight, and where all are liable 
 to be suddenly cut off, of not meeting again. 
 Preuss describes his situation and feelings on 
 the occasion : 
 
 " The sun went down ; he did not come. Un- 
 easy 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 large 
 fire, however, lighted my pipe this true friend 
 of mine in every emergency lay down and let 
 my thoughts wander to the far east. It was not 
 many minutes after when I heard the tramp of 
 a horse, and my faithful companion was by my 
 side. He had found the party, who had been 
 delayed by making their cache, about seven 
 miles below. To the good supper which he
 
 FORT LABAMIE. 49 
 
 brought with him I did ample justice. He had 
 forgotten salt, and I tried the soldier's substitute 
 in time of war, and used gunpowder; but it 
 answered badly bitter enough, but no flavor of 
 kitchen salt. I slept well; and was only dis- 
 turbed by two owls, which were attracted by the 
 fire, and took their place in the tree under which 
 we slept. Their music seemed as disagreeable 
 to my companion as to myself; he fired his rifle 
 twice, and then they let us alone." 
 
 Under date of July 8, Pceuss relates as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " 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 five o'clock, 
 when the caravan made a sudden halt. There 
 was a galloping in of scouts and horsemen from 
 every side a hurrying to and fro in noisy con- 
 fusion ; rifles were taken from their cover ; bul- 
 let pouches examined ; in short, there was the 
 cry of ' Indians ' heard again. I had become so 
 much accustomed to these alarms, that now they 
 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 
 fine grass patch not far ahead, they turned back 
 5
 
 50 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 and encamped for the night with us. Mr. Bridget 
 was invited to supper; and 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 ; we looked upon 
 their life as a picture of our own. He informed 
 us that the condition of the country had become 
 exceedingly dangerous. The Sioux, who had 
 been badly disposed, had broken out into open 
 hostility, and in the preceding autumn his party 
 had encountered them in a severe engagement, 
 in which a number of lives had been lost on 
 both sides. United with the Cheyenne and Gros 
 Yentre Indians, they were scouring the upper 
 country in war parties of great force, and were 
 at this time in the neighborhood of the Red 
 Suites, a famous landmark, which was directly on 
 our path. They had declared war upon every 
 living thing which should be found westward 
 of that point, though their main object was 
 to attack a large camp of whites and Snake 
 Indians, who had a rendezvous in the Sweet- 
 water valley. Availing himself of his intimate 
 knowledge of the country, he had reached Lara- 
 mie 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 so far as the head 
 of the Sweetwater; but the absence of our
 
 FORT LARAMIE. 51 
 
 leader, which was deeply regretted by us all, 
 rendered it impossible for us to enter upon such 
 arrangement. 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 greatest consternation, 
 and on every side I heard only one exclamation, 
 ' 11 n'y aura pas de vie pour nousj ' There will 
 be no more life for us,' ' our days are numbered.' 
 All the night, scattered groups were assembled 
 around the fires, smoking their pipes, and listen- 
 ing with the greatest eagerness to exaggerated 
 details of Indian hostilities ; and in the morn- 
 ing I found the camp dispirited, and agitated by 
 a variety of conflicting opinions. A majority 
 of the people were strongly disposed to return ; 
 but Clement Lambert, with some five or six 
 others, professed their determination to follow 
 Mr. Fremont to the uttermost limit of his jour- 
 ney. The others yielded to their remonstrances, 
 and, somewhat ashamed of their cowardice, 
 concluded to advance at least so far as Laramie 
 Fork, eastward of which they were aware no 
 danger was to be apprehended." 
 
 Upon Fremont's reaching the fort, a variety of 
 circumstances, related to him by Mr. Boudeau, the 
 gentleman in charge of that station corrobor- 
 ated by the testimony of all who had means of
 
 52 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 knowledge confirmed the alarming statements 
 made by Mr. Bridger. Extracts from Fremont's 
 Journal will enable the reader to realize the 
 pressure made upon him at Fort Laramie to 
 prevent the further prosecution of his journey : 
 " Thus it would appear that the country was 
 swarming with scattered war parties ; and when 
 I heard, during the day, the -various contradic- 
 tory and exaggerated rumors which were inces- 
 santly repeated to them, I was not surprised 
 that so much alarm prevailed among my men. 
 Carson, one of the best and most experienced 
 mountaineers, fully supported the opinion given 
 by Bridger of the dangerous state of the country, 
 and openly expressed his conviction that \ve could 
 not escape without some sharp encounters with 
 the Indians. In addition to this, he made his 
 will ; and among the circumstances which were 
 constantly occurring to increase their alarm, this 
 was the most unfortunate ; and I found that a 
 number of my party had become so much 
 intimidated, that they had requested to be dis- 
 charged at this place. 
 
 " So far as frequent interruption from the 
 Indians would allow, we occupied ourselves in 
 making some astronomical calculations, and 
 bringing up the general map to this stage of our 
 journey; but the tent w T as generally occupied by 
 a succession of our ceremonious visitors. Some 
 came for presents, and others for information of
 
 FORT LARAMIE. 53 
 
 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 silent at the 
 door, holding his horse by the halter, signifying 
 his desire to trade ; occasionally, a savage would 
 stalk in with an invitation to a feast of honor, 
 a dog feast, and deliberately sit down and wait 
 quietly until I was ready to accompany him. I 
 went to one ; the women and children were sit- 
 ting outside the lodge, and we took our seats on 
 buffalo robes spread around. The dog was in a 
 large pot over the fire, in the middle of the lodge, 
 and immediately on our arrival was dished up 
 in large wooden bowls, one of which was handed 
 to each. The flesh appeared very glutinous, 
 with something of the flavor and. appearance of 
 mutton. Feeling something move behind me, 
 I looked round and found that I had taken my 
 seat among a litter of fat young puppies. Had 
 I been nice in such matters the prejudices of 
 civilization might have interfered with my tran- 
 quillity; but, fortunately, I am not of delicate 
 nerves, and continued quietly to 'empty my 
 platter. 
 
 " During our stay here, the men had been 
 engaged in making numerous repairs, arranging 
 pack-saddles, and otherwise preparing for the 
 chances of a rough road and mountain travel. 
 All things of this nature being ready, I gathered 
 them around me in the evening, and told them 
 5*
 
 54 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 that ' I had determined to proceed the next day. 
 They were all well armed. I had engaged the 
 services of Mr. Bissonette as interpreter, and 
 had taken, in the circumstances, every possible 
 means to insure our safety. In the rumors we 
 had heard, I believed there was much exaggera- 
 tion ; and then, they were men accustomed to 
 this kind of life and to the country ; and that 
 these were the dangers of every day occurrence, 
 and to be expected in the ordinary course of 
 their service. They had heard of the unsettled 
 condition of the country before leaving St. 
 Louis, and therefore could not make it a reason 
 for breaking their engagements. Still, I was 
 unwilling to take with me, on a service of some 
 certain danger, men on whom I could not rely; 
 and as I had understood that there were among 
 them some who were disposed to cowardice, and 
 anxious to return, they had but to come forward 
 at once, and state their desire, and they would 
 be discharged with the amount due to them for 
 the time they had served.' To their honor be 
 it said, there was but one among them who had 
 the face to come forward and avail himself 
 of the permission. I did not think that the 
 situation of the country justified me in taking 
 our young companions, Messrs. Brant and Benton, 
 along with us. In case of misfortune, it would 
 have been thought, at the least, an act of great 
 imprudence; and therefore, though reluctantly,
 
 FORT LARAMIE. Ot> 
 
 I determined to leave them. Randolph had 
 been the life of the camp, and the petit gargon, 
 was much regretted by the men, to whom his 
 buoyant spirits had afforded great amusement. 
 They all, however, agreed in the propriety of 
 leaving him at the fort, because, as they said, he 
 might cost the lives of some of the men in a 
 fight with the Indians. 
 
 " We were ready to depart ; the tents were 
 struck, the mules geared up, and our horses 
 saddled, and we walked up to the fort to take 
 the stirrup-cup with our friends in an excellent 
 home-brewed preparation. While thus pleasantly 
 engaged, seated in one of the little cool chambers, 
 at the door of which a man had been stationed 
 to prevent all intrusion from the Indians, a number 
 of chiefs, several of them powerful fine-looking 
 men, forced their way into the room in spite of 
 all opposition. Handing me the following letter, 
 they took their seats in silence : 
 
 TORT PLATTE, July 1, 1842. 
 
 ' MR. FREMONT : The chiefs having assembled 
 in council, have just told me to warn you not to 
 set out before the party of young men which 
 is now out shall have returned. Furthermore, 
 they tell me that they are very sure they will fire 
 upon you as soon as they meet you. They are 
 expected back in seven or eight days. Excuse 
 me for making these observations, but it seems
 
 56 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 my duty to warn you of danger. Moreover, 
 the chiefs who prohibit your setting out be- 
 fore the return of the warriors are the bearers of 
 this note. 
 
 ' I am your obedient servant, 
 
 'JOSEPH BlSSONETTE, 
 
 ' By L. B. CHARTRAIN. 
 
 Names of some of the chiefs. The Otter Hat, 
 the Breaker of Arrows, the Black Night, the 
 Bull's Tail.' 
 
 " After reading this, I mentioned its purport to 
 my companions ; and, seeing that all were fully 
 possessed of its contents, one of the Indians rose 
 up, and having first shaken hands with me, 
 spoke as follows : 
 
 ' You have come among us at a bad time. 
 Some of our people have been killed, and our 
 young men, who are gone to the mountains, are 
 eager to avenge the blood of their relations, 
 which has been shed by the whites. Our young 
 men are bad, and, if they meet you, they will 
 believe that you are carrying goods and ammu- 
 nition to their enemies, and will fire upon you. 
 You have told us that this will make war. We 
 know that our great father has many soldiers 
 and big guns, and we are anxious to have our 
 lives.' We love the whites, and are desirous of 
 peace. Thinking of all these things, we have 
 determined to keep you here until our warriors
 
 FORT LARAMIE. 57 
 
 return. We are glad to see you among us. Our 
 father is rich, and we expected that you would 
 have brought presents to us horses, and guns, 
 and blankets. But we are glad to see you. We 
 look upon your coming as the light which goes 
 before the sun ; for you will tell our great father 
 that you have seen us, and that we are naked 
 and poor, and have nothing to eat ; and he will 
 send us all these things.' He was followed by 
 the others to the same effect. 
 
 " The observations of the savage appeared 
 reasonable ; but I was aware that they had in 
 view only the present object of detaining me, 
 and were unwilling I should go further into the 
 country. In reply, I asked them, through the 
 interpretation of Mr. Boudeau, to select two or 
 three of their number to accompany us until we 
 should meet their people they should spread 
 their robes in my tent and eat at my table, and 
 on our 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
 
 58 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 say that you love the whites, and are full of 
 many expressions of friendship to us ; but you 
 are not willing to undergo the fatigue of a few 
 days' ride to save our lives. We do not believe 
 what you have said, and will not listen to you. 
 Whatever a chief among us tells his soldiers to 
 do, is done. We are the soldiers of the great 
 chief, your father. He has told us to come here 
 and see this country, and all the Indians, his 
 children. Why should we not go ? Before we 
 came, we heard that you had killed his people, 
 and ceased to be his children ; but we came 
 among you peaceably, holding out our hands. 
 Now we find that the stories we heard are not 
 lies, and that you are no longer his friends and 
 children. We have thrown away our bodies, and 
 u-Ul not turn back. When you told us that your 
 young men would kill us, you did not know that 
 our hearts were strong, and you did not see the 
 rifles which my young men carry in their hands. 
 We are few, and you are many, and may kill 
 us all ; but there will be much crying in your 
 villages, for many of your young men will stay 
 behind, and forget to return with your warriors 
 from the mountains. Do you think that our 
 great chief will let his soldiers die, and forget 
 to cover their graves ? Before the snows melt 
 again, his warriors will sweep away your villages 
 as the fire does the prairie in the autumn. See ! 
 I have pulled down my white houses, and my
 
 FOKT LARAMIE. 59 
 
 people are ready; when the sun is ten paces 
 higher, we shall be on the march. If you have 
 any thing to tell us, you will say it soon.' I 
 broke up the conference, as I could do nothing 
 with these people; and, being resolved to pro- 
 ceed, nothing was to be gained by delay. Accom- 
 panied 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 intrepid resolution evinced by Fremont 
 on this occasion is truly remarkable. He was a 
 young man, and life had charms and ties as 
 strong as ever could have appealed, in any heart, 
 to the motives of self-preservation. A fond wife, 
 and a dependent and devoted mother, were 
 anxiously awaiting his safe return. There was 
 ample justification, had he concluded to return. 
 Indians, traders, hunters, his own people, even 
 the stoutest of them all, conspired with one voice 
 to implore him not to expose him and them to
 
 60 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 what they regarded as all but certain death. It 
 is, indeed, hard to tell upon what principles, or 
 by what processes of reasoning, he was led to 
 his inflexible determination. Like many other 
 instances in his history, it illustrates an extraor- 
 dinary sagacity and firmness of mind. He often 
 exhibited similar daring, and was always justi- 
 fied by the result. The decision at Fort Lara- 
 mie was the turning-point in his destiny. If he 
 had yielded to the fears that had overcome all 
 other minds, failure would have been stamped 
 upon him forever. But as it was, he won the 
 glory of inflexible and invincible resolution in 
 the hearts of his admiring followers, and gave to 
 the savages and all others who dealt with him 
 an impression they ever after retained, that he 
 was indeed a BRAVE, and that nothing could 
 prevent his accomplishing whatever he undertook. 
 At Fort Laramie, an Indian lodge, about 
 eighteen feet in diameter, and twenty in height, 
 was procured in place of the tents, which had 
 been found too thin to protect the instruments 
 from the penetrating rains, or to withstand the 
 violent winds prevalent in that region. These 
 lodges constitute a warm and dry shelter in cold 
 and storms, and are so constructed as to allow 
 the lower part of the sides to be lifted up, per- 
 mitting the breeze to pass freely through them 
 in warm weather. They are particularly com- 
 fortable, then, as mosquitoes are never known to
 
 PLATTE RIVER. 61 
 
 enter them. At the encampment, on the close 
 of the first day's march, while the men were 
 busily attempting to put up the lodge, Mr. Bis- 
 sonette, a trader resident at Fort Laramie, who 
 had agreed to accompany the party to a limited 
 point, overtook them. The Indian who had 
 been engaged as a guide, accompanied by his 
 wife, came in with Mr. Bissonette. Upon seeing 
 the men engaged in their unaccustomed work, 
 attempting to put up the lodge, she laughed 
 heartily at their awkwardness, at once took hold 
 herself, and pitched it with an expertness which 
 it was some time before they learned to equal. 
 
 The point where the Platte leaves the Black 
 Hills, presents a most remarkable and beautiful 
 scene. The breadth of the stream, generally 
 occupying nearly the whole width of the chasm 
 through which it flows, is from two to three 
 hundred feet. The wall on each side is of per- 
 pendicular rock, sometimes even overhanging, 
 of a bright red color, from two to four hundred 
 feet high, crowned'with green summits, fringed 
 with occasional pines. The river flows through 
 with a swift stream of perfectly clear water, 
 occasionally broken into rapids. 
 
 Here, as in all other portions of those vast 
 plains, the surface of the fields is often covered 
 with thickly set clumps of artemisia, and the 
 whole air is saturated with the odor of camphor 
 and spirits of turpentine proceeding from that 
 
 6
 
 62 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 plant. The aromatic fragrance is found favor- 
 'able to the restoration of invalids, particularly to 
 persons threatened with consumptive complaints. 
 
 "July 28. We continued our way, and four 
 miles beyond the ford Indians were discovered 
 again ; and I halted while a party was sent for- 
 ward to ascertain who they were. In a short 
 time they returned, accompanied by a number 
 of Indians of the Oglallah band of Sioux. They 
 gave us a very discouraging picture of the coun- 
 try. 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 en- 
 tirely abandon the further prosecution of my ex- 
 ploration. ' The best advice I can give you, is 
 to turn back at once.' It was his own intention 
 to return, as we had now reached the point to 
 which he had engaged to attend me. In reply, 
 I called up my men, and communicated to them
 
 PLATTE RIVER. 63 
 
 fully the information I had just received. I then 
 expressed to them my fixed determination to 
 proceed to the end of the enterprise on which I 
 had been sent ; but as the situation of the coun- 
 try gave me some reason to apprehend that it 
 might be attended \vith an unfortunate result to 
 some of us, I would leave it optional with them 
 to continue with me or to return. 
 
 " Among them were some five or six who I 
 knew would remain. We had still ten days' 
 provisions ; and, should no game be found, when 
 this stock was expended, we had our horses and 
 mules, which we could eat when other means of 
 subsistence failed. But not a man flinched from 
 the undertaking. ' We'll eat the mules,' said 
 Basil Lajeunesse ; and thereupon we shook hands 
 with our interpreter and his Indians, and parted. 
 With them I sent back one of my men, Dumes, 
 whom the effects of an old wound in the leg 
 rendered incapable of continuing the journey on 
 foot, and his horse seemed on the point of giving 
 out. Having resolved to disencumber ourselves 
 immediately of everything not absolutely neces- 
 sary to our future operations, I turned directly in 
 toward 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,
 
 64 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 carried into some low places among the willows, 
 and concealed in the dense foliage in such a man- 
 ner 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 deep. In the mean time, 
 all our effects had been spread out upon the 
 ground, and whatever was designed to be carried 
 along with us separated and laid aside, and the 
 remaining part carried to the hole and carefully 
 covered up. As much as possible, all traces of 
 our proceedings were obliterated, and it wanted 
 but a rain to render our cache safe beyond 
 discovery. All the men were now set at work to 
 arrange the pack-saddles and make up the packs. 
 " The day was very warm and calm, and the 
 sky entirely clear, except where, as usual along 
 the summits of the mountainous ridge opposite, 
 the clouds had congregated in masses. Our 
 lodge had been planted, and, on account of the 
 heat, the ground-pins had been taken out, and 
 the lower part slightly raised. Near to it was 
 standing the barometer, which swung in a tripod 
 frame ; and within the lodge, where a small fire 
 had been built, Mr. Preuss was occupied in ob- 
 serving the temperature of boiling water. At this 
 instant, and without any warning, until it was 
 within fifty yards, a violent gust of wind dashed 
 down the lodge, burying under it Mr. Preuss and
 
 SOUTH PASS. 65 
 
 
 
 about a dozen men, who had attempted to keep 
 it from being carried away. I succeeded in sav- 
 ing the barometer, which the lodge was carrying 
 off with itself, but the thermometer was broken." 
 
 On the return of the party, a month after- 
 wards, this cache was found unmolested. 
 
 Following up the Platte, they passed the lofty 
 escarpments of red argillaceous sandstone, called 
 the Red Buttes. The Hot Spring Gate is about 
 four hundred yards in length. The river flows 
 through with a quiet and even current. On each 
 side is a smooth green shelf of prairie. The 
 walls are of white sandstone, rise perpendicularly, 
 and are about seventy yards apart. The height 
 of the lower one of the two was found to be 
 three hundred and sixty feet. 
 
 On the 31st of July they left the Platte, and 
 crossed to the Sweetvvater River. The next day 
 they reached the vicinity of Rock Independence, 
 an isolated mass of granite, about six hundred 
 and fifty yards long, and forty high. A few 
 .miles further is the Devil's Gate. The length of 
 the passage is about three hundred yards, and its 
 width thirty-five yards. The walls are vertical, 
 of granite, about four hundred feet in height. 
 On the 8th -of August they entered the SOUTH 
 PASS. 
 
 " About six miles from our encampment 
 brought us to the summit. The ascent had been 
 so gradual, that, with ah 1 the intimate knowledge
 
 66 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 possessed by Carson, who had made this country 
 his home for seventeen years, we were obliged to 
 watch very closely to find the place at which we 
 had reached the culminating point, This was 
 between two low hills, rising on either hand fifty 
 or sixty feet. When I looked back at them, from 
 the foot of the immediate slope on the western 
 plain, their summits appeared to be about one 
 hundred and twenty feet above. From the im- 
 pression on my mind at this time, and subse- 
 quently on our return, I should compare the 
 elevation which we surmounted immediately at 
 the Pass, to the ascent of the Capitol hill from 
 the avenue at Washington. It is difficult forme 
 to fix positively the breadth of this pass. From 
 the broken ground where it commences, at the 
 foot of the Wind River chain, the view to the 
 southeast is over a champaign country, broken, 
 at the distance of nineteen miles, by the Table 
 Rock; which, with the other isolated hills in its 
 vicinity, seems to stand on a comparative plain. 
 This I judged to be its termination, the ridge 
 recovering its rugged character with the Table 
 Rock. It will be seen that it in no manner re- 
 sembles the places to which the term is common- 
 ly applied; nothing of the gorge-like character 
 and winding ascents of the Alleghany passes in 
 America ; nothing of the Great St. Bernard and 
 Simplon passes in Europe. Approaching it 
 from the mouth of the Sweetwater, a sandy
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 67 
 
 plain, one hundred and twenty miles long, con- 
 ducts by a gradual and regular ascent, to the 
 summit, about seven thousand feet above the 
 sea ; and the traveller, without being reminded 
 of any change by toilsome ascents, suddenly 
 finds himself on the waters which flow to the 
 Pacific Ocean. By the route we had travelled, 
 the distance from Fort Laramie is three hundred 
 and twenty miles, or nine hundred and fifty from 
 the mouth of the Kansas." 
 
 From the South Pass, the route continued be- 
 hind, or to the westward of the Wind River 
 Mountains, among the head streams of the Colo- 
 rado. But here Fremont must be allowed to 
 tell his own story : 
 
 "August 10. The air at sunrise is clear and 
 pure, and the morning extremely cold, but beau- 
 tiful. A lofty snow peak of the mountain is 
 glittering in the first rays of the sun, which has 
 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 com- 
 fortable. The scenery becomes hourly more 
 interesting and grand, and the view here is truly 
 magnificent ; but, indeed, it needs something to
 
 68 LIFE OF FREMOXT. 
 
 repay the long prairie journey of a thousand 
 miles. The sun has just shot above the wall, 
 and makes a magical change. The whole valley 
 is glowing and bright, and all the mountain 
 peaks are gleaming like silver. Though these 
 snow mountains are not the Alps, they have 
 their own character of grandeur and magnifi- 
 cence, and will doubtless find pens and pencils 
 to do them justice. In the scene before us, we 
 feel how much wood improves a view. The 
 pines on the mountain seemed to give it much 
 additional beauty. I was agreeably disappointed 
 in the character of the streams on this side of 
 the ridge. Instead of the creeks, which descrip- 
 tion had led me to expect, I find bold, broac? 
 streams, with three or four feet water, and ? 
 rapid current. The fork on which we are er 
 camped is upwards of a hundred feet wide, 
 timbered with groves or thickets of the low wil- 
 low. We were now approaching the loftiest 
 part of the Wind River chain ; and I left the 
 valley a few miles from our encampment, intend- 
 ing to penetrate the mountains as far as possible 
 with the whole party. We were soon involved 
 in very broken ground, among long ridges cov- 
 ered 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 trans- 
 versely across the direction we had been pursu-
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 69 
 
 ing; and, descending the steep, rocky ridge, 
 where it was necessary to lead our horses, we 
 followed its banks to the southern extremity. 
 Here a view of the utmost magnificence and 
 grandeur burst upon our eyes. With nothing 
 between us and their feet to lessen the effect 
 of the whole height, a grand bed of snow- 
 capped mountains rose before us, pile upon pile, 
 glowing in the bright light of an August day. 
 Immediately below them lay the lake, between 
 two ridges, covered A\dth dark pines, which swept 
 down from the main chain to the spot where we 
 stood. Here, where the lake glittered in the 
 open sunlight, its banks of yellow sand and the 
 light foliage of aspen groves contrasted well with 
 the gloomy pines. ' Never before,' said Mr. 
 Preuss, ' in this country or in Europe, have I 
 seen such magnificent, grand 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 ex- 
 plore the mountains, with a small party of men. 
 Proceeding a little further, we came suddenly 
 upon the outlet of the lake, where it found its 
 way through a narrow passage between low hills. 
 Dark pines, which overhung the stream, and 
 masses of rock, where the water foamed along, 
 gave it much romantic beauty. Where we 
 crossed, which was immediately at the outlet, it 
 is two hundred and fifty feet wide, and so deep
 
 70 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 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 authenticaUy to science, the 
 object of my anxious solicitude by night and 
 day, was destroyed. We had brought this ba- 
 rometer in safety a thousand miles, and broke it 
 almost among the snow of the mountains. The 
 loss was felt by the whole camp all had seen 
 my anxiety, and aided me in preserving it. The 
 height of these mountains, considered by the 
 hunters and traders the highest in the whole 
 range, had been a theme of constant discus- 
 sion among them ; and all had looked forward 
 with pleasure to the moment when the instru- 
 ment, which they believed to be true as the sun, 
 should stand upon the summits, and decide their 
 disputes. Their grief was only inferior to my 
 own. 
 
 "As soon as the camp was formed, I set about
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 71 
 
 endeavoring to repair my barometer. As I have 
 already said, this was a standard cistern-barome- 
 ter, of Tronghton's construction. The glass 
 cistern had been broken about midway ; but as 
 the instrument had been kept in a proper posi- 
 tion, 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 1 spent the day in 
 slowly working on these, endeavoring to cut 
 them of the requisite length ; but as my instru- 
 ment 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 dan- 
 ger, and in the morning I commenced again. 
 Among the powder-horns in the camp, I found 
 one which was very transparent, so that its con- 
 tents 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, prop- 
 erly 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
 
 72 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 place. The instrument was left some time to 
 dry ; and when I reversed it, a few hours after, I 
 had the satisfaction to find it in perfect order; its 
 indications being about the same as on the other 
 side of the lake before it had been broken. Our 
 success in this little incident diffused pleasure 
 throughout the camp ; and we immediately set 
 about our preparations for ascending the moun- 
 tains., 
 
 " I was desirous to keep strictly within the 
 scope of my instructions ; and it would have 
 required ten or fifteen additional days for the 
 accomplishment of this object ; our animals had 
 become very much worn out with the length of 
 the journey ; game was very scarce ; and, though 
 it does not appear in the course of the narrative, 
 (as I have avoided dwelling upon trifling inci- 
 dents not connected with the objects of the ex- 
 pedition,) 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 moun- 
 tain expedition we were about to undertake. 
 Our daily meal consisted of dry buffalo meat, 
 cooked in tallow ; and, as we had not dried this 
 with Indian skill, part of it was spoiled ; and
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 73 
 
 what remained of good, was as hard as wood, 
 having much the taste and appearance of so 
 many pieces of bark. Even of this, our stock 
 was rapidly diminishing in a camp which was 
 capable of consuming two buffaloes in every 
 twenty-four hours. These animals had entirely 
 disappeared; and it was not probable that we 
 should fall in with them again until we returned 
 to the Sweetwater. 
 
 " Our arrangements for the ascent were rap- 
 idly completed. We were in a hostile country, 
 which rendered the greatest vigilance and cir- 
 cumspection necessary. The pass at the north 
 end of the mountain was generally infested by 
 Blackfeet; and immediately opposite was one 
 of their forts, on the edge of a little thicket, two 
 or three hundred feet from our encampment. 
 We were posted in a grove of beech, on the 
 margin of the lake, and a few hundred feet long, 
 with a narrow prairillon on the inner side, bor- 
 dered 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 tim- 
 ber and interwoven branches, surrounded it with 
 a breastwork five feet in height. A gap was 
 left for a gate on the inner side, by which the 
 animals were to be driven in and secured, while 
 the men slept around the little work. It was 
 half hidden by the foliage; and, garrisoned by 
 twelve resolute men, would have set at defiance 
 
 7
 
 74 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 any band of savages which might chance to dis- 
 cover them in the interval of our absence. Fif- 
 teen of the best mules, with fourteen men, were 
 selected for the mountain party. Our provis- 
 ions consisted of dried meat for two days, with 
 our little stock of coffee and some macaroni. 
 In addition to the barometer and a thermome- 
 ter, 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 trust- 
 worthy men, who possessed the most deter- 
 mined courage. 
 
 "August 12. Early in the morning w r e left 
 the camp, fifteen in number, well armed, of 
 course, and mounted on yur 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 en- 
 tered directly on rough and rocky ground ; and, 
 just after crossing the ridge, had the good for- 
 tune 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 unin-
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 75 
 
 teresting 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 the surrounding ridges 
 rose precipitously five hundred and a thou- 
 sand feet, covered with the dark green of the 
 balsam pine, relieved on the border of the lake 
 with the light foliage of the aspen. They all 
 communicated with each other ; and the green 
 of the waters, common to mountain lakes of 
 great depth*, showed that it would be impossi- 
 ble to cross them. The surprise manifested by 
 our guides when these impassable obstacles 
 suddenly barred our progress, proved that they 
 were among the hidden treasures of the place, 
 unknown even to the wandering trappers of the 
 region. Descending the hill, we proceeded to 
 make our way along the margin to the southern 
 extremity. A narrow strip of angular fragments 
 of rock sometimes afforded a rough pathway for 
 our mules, but generally we rode along the 
 shelving side, occasionally scrambling up, at a 
 considerable risk of tumbling back into the lake. 
 " The slope was frequently 60 ; the pines 
 grew densely together, and the ground was cov- 
 ered with the branches and trunks of trees. The 
 air was fragrant with the odor of the pines ; 
 and I realized this delightful morning the plea- 
 sure of breathing that mountain air which makes
 
 76 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 a constant theme of the hunter's praise, and 
 which now made us feel as if we had all been 
 drinking some exhilarating gas. The depths of 
 this unexplored forest were a place to delight 
 the heart of a botanist. There was a rich un- 
 dergrowth of plants, and numerous gay-colored 
 flowers in brilliant bloom. 
 
 " "We had reached a very elevated point, and 
 in the valley below, and among the hills, were a 
 number of lakes at different levels ; some, two 
 or three hundred feet above others, with which 
 they communicated by foaming torrents. Even 
 to our great height, the roar of the cataracts 
 came up, and we could see them leaping down 
 in lines of snowy foam. From this scene of 
 busy waters, we turned abruptly into the still- 
 ness 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 contin- 
 ued. Toward evening, we reached a defile, or 
 rather a hole in the mountains, entirely shut in 
 by dark pine-covered rocks. 
 
 " Our table service was rather scant ; and we 
 held the meat in our hands, and clean rocks 
 made good plates, on which we spread our 
 macaroni. Among all the strange places on 
 which we had occasion to encamp during our
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 77 
 
 long journey, none have left so vivid an impres- 
 sion on my mind as the camp of this evening. 
 The disorder of the masses which surrounded 
 us ; the little hole through which we saw the 
 stars overhead ; 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. 
 
 "August 13. 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 car- 
 peted with a soft grass, and scattered over with 
 groups of flowers, of which yellow was the pre- 
 dominant color. Sometimes we were forced, by 
 an occasional difficult pass, to pick our way on 
 a narrow ledge along the side of the defile, and 
 the mules were frequently on their knees ; but 
 these obstructions were rare, and we journeyed 
 on in the sweet morning air, delighted at our 
 good fortune in having found such a beautiful 
 entrance to the mountains. This road contin- 
 ued for about three miles, when we suddenly 
 reached its termination in one of the grand 
 views, which, at every turn, meet the traveller in 
 this magnificent region. Here the defile up 
 which we had travelled, opened out into a small 
 lawn, where, in a little lake, the stream had its 
 source. 
 
 " It is not by the splendor of far-off views, 
 which have lent such a glory to the Alps, that
 
 78 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 these impress the mind; but by a gigantic 
 disorder of enormous masses, and a savage sub- 
 limity of naked rock, in wonderful contrast with 
 innumerable green spots of a rich floral beauty, 
 shut up in their stern recesses. Their wildness 
 seems well suited to the character of the 
 people who inhabit the country. 
 
 " I determined to leave our animals here, and 
 make the rest of our way on foot. The peak 
 appeared so near, that there was no doubt of our 
 returning before night ; and a few men were 
 left in charge of the mules, with our provisions 
 and blankets. We took with us nothing but 
 our arms and instruments, and, as the day had 
 become warm, the greater part left our coats. 
 Having made an early dinner, we started again. 
 We were soon involved in the most ragged 
 precipices, nearing the central chain very slowly, 
 and rising but little. The first ridge hid a 
 succession of others ; and when, with great fa- 
 tigue and difficulty, we had climbed up five 
 hundred feet, it was but to make an equal de- 
 scent 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
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 79 
 
 retrace our steps, and frequently falling among 
 the rocks. Maxwell was precipitated toward 
 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 there was a rocky island. 
 
 " By the time we had reached the further side 
 of the lake, we found ourselves all exceedingly 
 fatigued, and, much to. the satisfaction of the 
 whole party, we encamped. The spot we had 
 chosen was a broad, flat rock, in some measure 
 protected from the winds by the surrounding 
 crags, and the trunks of fallen pines afforded us 
 bright fires. Near by was a foaming torrent, 
 which -tumbled into the little lake about one 
 hundred and fifty feet below us, and which, by 
 way of distinction, we have called Island Lake. 
 We had reached the upper limit of the piney 
 region ; as, above this point, no tree was to be 
 seen, and patches of snow lay everywhere around 
 us on the cold sides of the rocks. The flora of 
 the region we had traversed since leaving our 
 mules was extremely rich, and, among the char- 
 acteristic plants, the scarlet flowers of the dode- 
 catheon dentatum everywhere met the eye in 
 great abundance. A small green ravine, on the
 
 80 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 edge of which we were encamped, was filled 
 with a profusion of alpine plants in brilliant 
 bloom. 
 
 " I was taken ill shortly after we had encamped, 
 and continued so until late in the night, with 
 violent headache, and vomiting. This was 
 probably caused by the excessive fatigue I had 
 undergone, and want of food, and perhaps, also, 
 in some measure, by the rarity of the air. The 
 night was cold, as a violent gale from the north 
 "had sprung up at sunset, which entirely blew 
 away the heat of the fires. The cold, and our 
 granite beds, had not been favorable to sleep, 
 and we were glad to see the face of the sun in 
 the morning. Not being delayed by any prepar- 
 ation for breakfast, we set out immediately. 
 
 " On every side as we advanced was heard the 
 roar of waters, and of a torrent, which we fol- 
 lowed up a short distance, until it expanded into 
 a lake about one mile in length. On the north- 
 ern side of the lake was a bank of ice, or rather 
 of snow covered with a crust of ice. Carson 
 had been our guide into the mountains, and, 
 agreeably to his advice, we left this little valley, 
 and took to the ridges again ; which we found 
 extremely broken, and where we were again 
 involved among precipices. Here were ice- 
 fields ; among which we were all dispersed, 
 seeking each the best path to ascend the peak. 
 Mr. Preuss attempted to walk along the upper
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 81 
 
 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 plung- 
 ing down the plane. A few hundred feet below, 
 at the bottom, were some fragments of sharp 
 rock, on which he landed ; and though he turned 
 a couple of somersets, fortunately received no 
 injury beyond a few bruises. Two of the men, 
 Clement Lambert and Descoteaux, had been 
 taken ill, and lay down on the rocks a short dis- 
 tance below ; and at this point I was attacked 
 with headache and giddiness, accompanied by 
 vomiting, as on the day before. Finding myself 
 unable to proceed, I sent the barometer over to 
 Mr. Preuss, who was in a gap two or three hun- 
 dred yards distant, desiring him to reach the 
 peak, if possible, and take an observation there. 
 He found himself unable to proceed further in 
 that direction, and took an observation, where 
 the barometer stood at 19.401 ; attached 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 eight or ten hundred 
 feet into the air above him. In the mean time, 
 finding myself grow rather worse than better, 
 and doubtful how far my strength would carry 
 me, I sent Basil Lajeunesse, with four men, 
 back to the place where the mules had been 
 left.
 
 82 LIFE OP FKEMOXT. 
 
 " We were now better acquainted with the 
 topography of the country, and I directed him 
 to bring back with him, if it were in any way 
 possible, four or five mules, with provisions and 
 blankets. With me were Maxwell and Ayer ; 
 and after we had remained nearly an hour on 
 the rock, it became so unpleasantly cold, though 
 the day was bright, that we set out on our 
 return to the camp, at which we all arrived 
 safely, straggling in one after the other. I con- 
 tinued ill during the afternoon, but became 
 better towards sundown, when my recovery was 
 completed by the appearance of Basil and four 
 men, all mounted. The men who had gone with 
 him had been too much fatigued to return, and 
 were relieved by those in charge of the horses ; 
 but in his powers of endurance Basil resembled 
 more a mountain goat than a man. They 
 brought blankets and provisions, and we enjoyed 
 well our dried meat and a cup of good coffee. 
 We rolled ourselves up in our blankets, and, 
 with our feet turned to a blazing fire, slept 
 soundly until morning. 
 
 " August 15. It had been supposed that we 
 had finished with the mountains ; and the even- 
 ing before, it had been arranged that Carson 
 should set out at daylight, and return to break- 
 fast 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.
 
 ROCKY MOUXTAIXS. 83 
 
 Accordingly, at the break of day they set out. 
 With Mr. Preuss and myself remained Basil 
 Lajeunesse, Clement Lambert, Janisse, and 
 Descoteaux. When we had secured strength 
 for the day by a hearty breakfast, we covered 
 what remained, which was enough for one meal, 
 with rocks, in order that it might be safe from 
 any marauding bird ; and, saddling our mules, 
 turned our faces once more towards the peaks. 
 This time we determined to proceed quietly and 
 cautiously, deliberately resolved to accomplish 
 our object if it were within the compass of 
 human means. We were of opinion that a 
 long defile which lay to the left of yesterday's 
 route would lead us to the foot of the main 
 peak. Our mules had been refreshed by the 
 fine grass in the little ravine at the Island camp, 
 and we intended to ride up the defile as far as 
 possible, in order to husband our strength for 
 the main ascent. Though this was a fine pas- 
 sage, 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
 
 84 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 find ourselves riding along the huge wall which 
 forms the central summit of the chain. There 
 at last it rose by our sides, a nearly perpendicular 
 wall of granite, terminating 2,000 to 3,000 feet 
 above our heads in a serrated line of broken, 
 jagged cones. We rode on until we came 
 almost immediately below the main peak, which 
 I denominated the Snow Peak, as it exhibited 
 more snow to the eye than any of the neighbor- 
 ing summits. Here were three small lakes of a 
 green color, each of perhaps a thousand yards in 
 diameter, and apparently very deep. These lay 
 in a kind of chasm ; and, according to the barom- 
 eter, 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 wonder- 
 ful 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, leap- 
 ing 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 travel-
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 85 
 
 lers, 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 1,800 feet 
 above the lakes came to the snow line. From 
 this point our progress was uninterrupted 
 climbing. Hitherto, I had worn a pair of 
 thick moccasins, with soles of parfleche ; but 
 here I put on a light thin pair, which I had 
 brought for the purpose, as now the use of our 
 toes became necessary to a further advance. I 
 availed myself of a sort of comb of the moun- 
 tain, which stood against the wall like a buttress, 
 and which the wind and the solar radiation, 
 joined to the steepness of the smooth rock, had 
 kept almost entirely free from snow. Up this I 
 made my way rapidly. Our cautious method 
 of advancing in the outset had spared my 
 strength; and, with the exception of a slight 
 disposition to headache, I felt no remains of 
 yesterday's illness. In a few minutes we 
 reached a point where the buttress was over- 
 hanging, and there was no other way of sur- 
 mounting the difficulty than by passing around 
 one side of it, which was the face of a vertical 
 precipice of several hundred feet." 
 
 Parjleche is the name given to buffalo hide. 
 The Indian women prepare it by scraping and 
 drying. It is exceedingly tough and hard, and
 
 86 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 receives its name from the circumstance that it 
 cannot be pierced by arrows or spears. The en- 
 tire dress of Fremont and his party, on their as- 
 cent to the "top of America," consisted of a blue 
 flannel shirt, free and open at the neck, the collar 
 'turning down over a black silk handkerchief tied 
 loosely, blue cloth pantaloons, a slouched broad- 
 brimmed hat, and moccasins as above described. 
 It was well adapted to climbing, quite light, 
 and at the same time warm, and every way com- 
 fortable. 
 
 " Putting hands and feet in the crevices be- 
 tween the blocks, I succeeded in getting over it, 
 and, when I reached the top, found my compan- 
 ions in a small valley below. Descending to 
 them, we continued climbing, and in a short time 
 reached the crest. I sprang upon the summit, 
 and another step would have precipitated me 
 into an immense snow-field five hundred feet 
 below. To the edge of this field was a sheer 
 icy precipice ; and then, with a gradual fall, the 
 field sloped off for about a mile, until it struck 
 the foot of another lower ridge. I stood on a 
 narrow crest, about three feet in width, with an 
 inclination of about 20 N. 51 E. As soon as 
 I had gratified the first feelings of curiosity, I 
 descended, and each man ascended in his turn ; 
 for I would only allow one at a time to mount 
 the unstable and precarious slab, which it seemed 
 a breath would hurl into the abyss below. We
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 87 
 
 mounted the barometer in the snow of the sum- 
 mit, and, fixing a ramrod in a crevice, unfurled 
 the national flag, to wave in the breeze where 
 never flag waved before. During our morning's 
 ascent, we had met no sign of animal life, 
 except a smajl bird having the appearance of 
 a sparrow. A stillness the most profound and 
 a terrible solitude forced themselves constantly 
 on the mind as the great features of the place. 
 Here, on the summit, where the stillness was ab- 
 solute, unbroken by any sound, and the solitude 
 complete, we thought ourselves beyond the re- 
 gion of animated life ; but while we were sitting 
 on the rock, a solitary bee (bromus, the humble 
 bee) came winging his flight from the eastern 
 valley, and lit on the knee of one of the men. * 
 " Around us, the whole scene had one main 
 striking feature, which was that of terrible con- 
 vulsion. Parallel to its length, the ridge was 
 split into chasms and fissures, between which 
 rose the thin, lofty walls, terminated with slen- 
 der minarets and columns, which is correctly 
 represented in the view from the camp on Island 
 Lake. According to the barometer, the little 
 crest of the wall on which we stood was three 
 thousand five hundred and seventy feet above 
 that place, and two thousand seven hundred and 
 eighty above the little lakes at the bottom, im- 
 mediately at our feet. Our camp at the Two 
 Hills (an astronomical station) bore south 3
 
 88 LIFE OF FEEMOXT. 
 
 east, which, with a bearing afterward obtained 
 from a fixed position, enabled us to locate the 
 peak. The bearing of the Trois Tetons was 
 north 50 west, and the direction of the central 
 ridge of the Wind River Mountains south 39 
 east. The summit rock was gneiss^ succeeded 
 by sienitic gneiss. Sienite and feldspar suc- 
 ceeded in our descent to the snow line, where 
 we found a feldspathic granite. I had remarked 
 that the noise produced by the explosion of our 
 pistols had the usual degree of loudness, but was 
 not in the least prolonged, expiring almost 
 instantaneously. Having now made what obser- 
 vations our means afforded, we proceeded to de- 
 scend. We had accomplished an object of laud- 
 able ambition, and beyond the strict order of our 
 instructions. We had climbed the loftiest peak 
 of the Rocky Mountains, and looked down upon 
 the snow a thousand feet below, and, standing 
 where never human foot had stood before, felt 
 the exultation of first explorers. It was about 
 two o'clock when we left the summit; and when 
 we reached the bottom, the sun had already sunk 
 behind the wall, and the day was drawing to a 
 close. It would have been pleasant to have lin- 
 gered 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.
 
 Hoisting the American Hag on the highest peak of the Rocky Mountains.
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 89 
 
 " We reached our deposit of provisions at 
 nightfall. Here was not the inn which awaits 
 the tired traveller on his return from Mont Blanc, 
 or the orange groves of South America, with 
 their refreshing juices and soft fragrant air ; but 
 we found our little cache of dried meat and coffee 
 undisturbed. Though the moon was bright, the 
 road was full of precipices, and the fatigue of 
 the day had been great. We therefore aban- 
 doned the idea of rejoining our friends, and lay 
 down on the rock, and, in spite of the cold, slept 
 soundly. 
 
 "August 16. We left our encampment with the 
 daylight. We saw on our way large flocks of the 
 mountain goat looking down on us from the 
 cliffs. At the crack of a rifle they would bound 
 off among the rocks, and in a few minutes make 
 their appearance on some lofty peak, some hun- 
 dred or a thousand feet above. It is needless to 
 attempt any further description of the country ; 
 the portion over which we travelled this morning 
 was rough as imagination could picture it, and 
 to us seemed equally beautiful. A concourse 
 of lakes and rushing waters, mountains of rocks 
 naked and destitute of vegetable earth, dells and 
 ravines of the most exquisite beauty, all kept 
 green and fresh by the great moisture in the air, 
 and sown with brilliant flowers, and everywhere, 
 thrown around all, the glory of most magnificent 
 scenes ; these constitute the features of the place, 
 
 8*
 
 90 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 and impress themselves vividly on the mind of 
 the traveller. 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 mouth- 
 ful 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 homeward ; and toward sundown of 
 the 17th, w^e encamped again at the Two 
 Buttes." 
 
 The Peak which had thus been reached was 
 ' found to be, by the barometer, 13,570 feet above 
 the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, and is sup- 
 posed to be the highest point of the Rocky 
 Mountains. On the north, within the range of 
 the eye, were the snow-clad mountains that con- 
 tain the sources of the Columbia and Missouri, 
 on the west the inumerable lakes and streams 
 that feed the Colorado of the Gulf of California, 
 and on the east the springs of the Yellow Stone 
 branch of the Missouri. On the south the head- 
 waters of the Platte or Nebraska gush from their 
 fountains, and not far beyond them are the orig-
 
 ROCKY MOUNTAINS. 91 
 
 inal mountain reservoirs of the Arkansas. It is 
 the great central summit of the continent, and is 
 properly marked, on all maps, in honor of the 
 first man that ever stood upon it, Fremont's Peak. 
 
 The reader will notice, when we reach the 
 period just prior to the opening of the California 
 war, that it also fell to the lot of Fremont to un- 
 furl the banner of our country for the 'first tim$ 
 from the top of the Sierra, on a mountain range 
 near the Pacific coast, at Hawk's Peak. 
 
 It is, by the way, an interesting fact that the 
 Indians have a superstitious awe of the craggy, 
 cavernous, and perilous recesses, and declivities 
 of these great mountain ranges. Hidden cata- 
 racts and torrents produce sounds and echoes that 
 appall the untutored imagination. The whole 
 scene is felt to be the abode of supernatural 
 beings, and the savage shrinks from ascending 
 the slopes, or threading their broken passages. 
 We may consider it certain, therefore, that no 
 Indian had even attempted to climb Fremont's 
 Peak. 
 
 On the 19th, the returning party repassej^ the 
 point where the waters divide, to seek the At- 
 lantic and Pacific, and reached Rock Indepen- 
 dence on the evening of the 22d. Except in a 
 depression on the summit, where there is a 
 scanty growth of shrubs, and a solitary dwarf 
 pine, the rock is entirely bare. Wherever the 
 surface is sufficiently smooth, and in some in-
 
 92 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 stances as high up as sixty or eighty feet, the 
 names of visitors are inscribed. Those of traders, 
 missionaries, and scientific travellers, are legible 
 at all points. 
 
 " Here," says Fremont, in his Journal, " not 
 unmindful of the custom of early travellers- 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 in- 
 fluence 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 his 
 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 traveller, 
 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 travellers, 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."
 
 NEBRASKA RIVER. 93 
 
 Having planted the Flag of the Union on the 
 topmost peak of the central mountains, and in- 
 scribed the symbol, dear to all believing hearts, 
 upon the mighty monumental rock at their base, 
 he had fulfilled the^ holiest aspirations of patri- 
 otism and piety, and, as the Explorer of the vast 
 interior of North America, had pledged and 
 consecrated it to Republican Freedom and 
 Christian Civilization. 
 
 As his instructions required him to survey the 
 course and bed of the Platte, if possible, he sent 
 the main body of his men across the country to 
 Goat Island, with orders to remain there until 
 he rejoined them, and with 'Mr. Preuss, and five 
 of his best men, namely, Clement Lambert, Basil 
 Lajeunesse, Honord Ayot, Benoist and Desco- 
 teaux, he pursued the descending river. The 
 India-rubber boat was filled with air, and placed 
 in the water, with what was necessary for their 
 purpose, and they put forth upon its current. 
 The thrilling adventures of the voyage, he relates 
 as follows : 
 
 " There appeared no scarcity of water, and 
 we took on board, with various instruments and 
 baggage, provisions for ten or twelve days. . We 
 paddled down the river rapidly, for our little 
 craft was light as a duck on the water ; and the 
 sun had been sometime 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
 
 94 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 rumor, but whose exact locality no one had been 
 able to describe to us. We were approaching a 
 ridge, through which the river passes by a place 
 called ' canon,' (pronounced kanyon,} a Spanish 
 word, signifying a piece of artillery, the barrel 
 of a gun, or any kind of tube ; and which, in 
 this country, has been adopted to describe the 
 passage of a river between perpendicular rocks 
 of great height, which frequently approach each 
 other so closely overhead as to form a kind of 
 tunnel over the stream, which foams along below, 
 half-choked up by fallen fragments. Between 
 the mouth of the Sweetwater and Goat Island, 
 there is probably a fall of three hundred feet, 
 and that was principally made in the canons 
 before us ; as, without them, the water was com- 
 paratively 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 
 a great velocity, and so steep a descent, that it 
 had to the eye the appearance of an inclined 
 plane. When we launched into thie, 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 bring- 
 ing her to a small point of rocks on the right, at 
 the mouth of the canon. Here was a kind of ele- 
 vated sand beach, not many yards square, backed 
 by the rocks, and around the point the river 
 swept at a right angle. Trunks of trees depos-
 
 NEBRASKA RIVER. 95 
 
 ited on jutting points twenty or thirty feet above, 
 and other marks, showed that the water here 
 frequently rose to a considerable height. The 
 ridge was. of the same decomposing granite 
 already mentioned, and the water had worked 
 the surface, in many places, into a wavy surface 
 of ridges and holes. We ascended the rocks to 
 reconnoitre the ground, and from the summit 
 the passage appeared to be a continued cataract 
 foaming over many obstructions, and broken by 
 a number of small falls. We saw nowhere a 
 fall answering to that which had been described 
 to us as having twenty or twenty-five feet ; but 
 still concluded this to be the place in question, 
 as, in the season of floods, the rush of the river 
 against the wall would produce a great rise, and 
 the waters, reflected squarely off, would descend 
 through the passage in a sheet of foam, having 
 every appearance of a large fall. Eighteen 
 years previous to this time, as I subsequently 
 learned from himself, Mr. Fitzpatrick, some- 
 where above on this river, had embarked with a 
 valuable cargo of beaver. Unacquainted with 
 the stream, which he believed would conduct 
 him safely to the Missouri, he came unexpectedly 
 into this canon, where he was wrecked, with the 
 total loss of his furs. It would have been a 
 work of great time arid labor to pack our bag- 
 gage across the ridge, and I determined to run 
 the canon. We all again embarked, and at
 
 96 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 first attempted to check the way of the boat ; 
 but the water swept through with so much vio- 
 lence that we narrowly escaped being swamped, 
 and were obliged to let her go in the full force 
 of the current, and trust to the skill of the boat- 
 men. The dangerous places in this canon were 
 where huge rocks had fallen from above, and 
 hemmed in the already narrow pass of the river 
 to an open space of three or four and five feet. 
 These obstructions raised the water consider- 
 ably above, which was sometimes precipitated 
 over in a fall ; and at other places, where this 
 dam was too high, rushed through the contracted 
 opening with tremendous violence. Had our 
 boat been made of wood, in passing the narrows 
 she would have been staved ; but her elasticity 
 preserved her unhurt from every shock, and she 
 seemed fairly to leap over the falls. 
 
 " In this way we passed three cataracts in 
 succession, where, perhaps, one hundred feet of 
 smooth water intervened; and finally, with a 
 shout of pleasure at our success, issued from 
 our tunnel into the open day beyond. We were 
 so delighted with the performance of our boat, 
 and so confident 'in her powers, that we would 
 not have hesitated to leap a fall of ten feet with 
 her. We put to shore for breakfast at some 
 willows on the right bank, immediately below 
 the mouth of the canon ; for it was now eight 
 o'clock, and we had been working since daylight,
 
 NEBRASKA RIVER. 97 
 
 and were all wet, fatigued, and hungry. While 
 the men were preparing breakfast, I went out to 
 reconnoitre. The view was very limited. The 
 course of the river was smooth, so far as I could 
 see ; on both sides were broken hills ; and but a 
 mile or two below was another high ridge. The 
 rock at the mouth of the canon was still the 
 decomposing granite, with great quantities of 
 mica, which made a very glittering sand. 
 
 " We reembarked at nine o'clock, and in about 
 twenty minutes reached the next canon. Land- 
 ing on a rocky shore at its commencement, we 
 ascended the ridge to reconnoitre. Portage was 
 out of the question. So far as we could see, 
 the jagged rocks pointed out the course of the 
 canon, on a winding line of seven or eight miles. 
 It was simply a narrow, dark chasm in the rock ; 
 and here the perpendicular faces were much 
 higher than in the- previous pass, being at this 
 end two to three hundred, and further down, as 
 we afterward ascertained, five hundred feet in 
 vertical height. Our previous success had made 
 us bold, and we determined again to run the 
 canon. Every thing was secured as firmly as 
 possible; and, having divested ourselves of the 
 greater part of our clothing, we pushed into the 
 stream. To save our chronometer from accident, 
 Mr. Preuss took it, and attempted to proceed 
 along the shore on the masses of rock, which in 
 places were piled up on either side ; but, after 
 9
 
 98 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 he had walked about five minutes, every thing 
 like shore disappeared, and the vertical wall 
 came squarely down into the water. He there- 
 fore waited until we came up. An ugly pass 
 lay before us. We had made fast to the stern 
 of the boat a strong rope about fifty feet long ; 
 and three of the men clambered along among 
 the rocks, and with this rope let her down slowly 
 through the pass. In several places high rocks 
 lay scattered about in the channel ; and in the 
 narrows it required all our strength and skill to 
 avoid staving the boat on the sharp points. In 
 one of these, the boat proved" a little too broad, 
 and stuck fast for an instant, while the water 
 flew over us ; fortunately it was but for an instant, 
 as our united strength forced her immediately 
 through. The water swept overboard only a 
 sextant and a pair of saddlebags. I caught the 
 sextant as it passed by me ; but the saddlebags 
 became the prey of the whirlpools. We reached 
 the place where Mr. Preuss was standing, took 
 him on board, and, with the aid of the boat, put 
 the men with the rope on the succeeding pile of 
 rocks. We found this passage much worse than 
 the previous one, and our position was rather a 
 bad one. To. go back, was impossible; before 
 us, the cataract was a sheet of foam ; and, shut 
 up in the chasm by the rocks, which in some 
 places seemed almost to meet overhead, the roar 
 of the water was deafening. We pushed off
 
 NEBKASKA RIVER. 99 
 
 again ; but, after making a little distance, the 
 force of the current became too great for the 
 men on shore, and two of them let go the rope. 
 Lajeunesse, the third man, hung on, and was 
 jerked headforemost into the river from a rock 
 about twelve feet high ; and down the boat shot 
 like an arrow, Basil following us in the rapid 
 current, and exerting all his strength to keep in 
 mid channel his head only seen occasionally 
 like a black spot in the white foam. How far 
 we went, I do not exactly know ; but we suc- 
 ceeded in turning the boat into an eddy below. 
 ' ' Cre DieuJ said Basil Lejeunesse, as he arrived 
 immediately after us, ' Je crois bien quefai nage 
 un demi milef 'I believe, indeed, that I have 
 swum half a mile.' He had owed his life to his 
 skill as a swimmer; and I determined to take 
 him and the 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 com- 
 menced our rapid descent. We cleared rock 
 after rock, and shot past fall after fall, our little 
 boat seeming to play with the cataract. We be- 
 came flushed with success and familiar with the 
 danger ; and, yielding to the excitement of the oc- 
 casion, broke forth together into a Canadian boat 
 song. Singing, or rather shouting, we dashed 
 along ; and were, I believe, in the midst of the
 
 100 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 chorus, when the boat struck a concealed rock 
 immediately at the foot Of a fall, which whirled 
 her over in an instant. Three of my men could 
 not swim, and my first feeling was to assist them, 
 and save some of our effects ; but a sharp con- 
 cussion or two convinced me that I had not yet 
 saved myself. A few strokes brought me into 
 an eddy, and I landed on a pile of rocks on the 
 left side. Looking around, I saw that Mr. Preuss 
 had gained the shore on the same side, about 
 twenty yards below ; and a little climbing and 
 swimming soon brought him to my side. On 
 the opposite side, against the wall, lay the boat 
 bottom up; and Lambert was in the act of 
 saving Descoteaux, whom he had grasped by the 
 hair, and who could not s\vim ; 'Lache pas] said 
 he, as I afterward learned, ' lack e pas, cher frerej 
 ' Don't let go, don't let go, dear brother.' ' Grains 
 pas] was the reply, l Je m'en vais mourir avant que 
 de te Idcherj ' Fear not, I will die before I let 
 you go.' Such was the reply of courage and 
 generosity in this danger. For a hundred yards 
 below, the current was covered with floating 
 books and boxes, bales of blankets, and scattered 
 articles of clothing; and so strong and boiling 
 was the stream, that even our heavy instruments, 
 which were all in cases, kept on the surface, and 
 the sextant, circle, and the long black box of the 
 telescope, were in view at once. For a moment, 
 I felt somewhat disheartened. All our books
 
 NEBKASKA RIVER. 101 
 
 almost every record of the journey our journals 
 and registers of astronomical and barometrical 
 observations had been lost in a moment. But 
 it was no time to indulge in regrets ; and I 
 immediately set about endeavoring to save some- 
 thing from the wreck. Making ourselves under- 
 stood as well as possible by signs, (for nothing 
 could be heard in the roar of waters,) we com- 
 menced our operations. Of every thing on board, 
 the only article that had been saved was my 
 double-barrelled gun, which Descoteaux had 
 caught, and clung to with drowning tenacity. 
 The men continued down the river on the left 
 bank. Mr. Preuss and myself descended on the 
 side we were on ; and Lajeunesse, with a pad- 
 dle in his hand, jumped on the boat alone, and 
 continued down the canon. She was now light, 
 and cleared every bad place with much less 
 difficulty. In a short time, he was joined by 
 Lambert; and the search was continued for 
 about a mile and a half, which was as far as the 
 boat could proceed in the pass. 
 
 " Here the -walls were about five hundred feet 
 high, and the fragments of rocks from above had 
 choked the river into a hollow pass but one or 
 two feet above the surface. Through this and 
 the interstices of the rock, the water found its 
 way. Favored beyond our expectations, all of 
 our registers had been recovered, with the excep- 
 tion of one of my journals, which contained the 
 
 9*
 
 102 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 notes and incidents of travel, and topographical 
 descriptions, a number of scattered astronomical 
 observations, principally meridian altitudes of 
 the sun, and our barometrical register west of 
 Laramie. Fortunately, our other journals con- 
 tained duplicates of the most important barome- 
 trical observations which had been taken in the 
 mountains. These, with a few scattered notes, 
 were all that had been preserved of our meteoro- 
 logical observations. In addition to these, we 
 saved the circle ; and these, with a few blankets, 
 constituted every thing that had been rescued 
 from the waters. 
 
 " The day was running rapidly away, and it 
 was necessary to reach Goat Island, whither the 
 party had preceded us, before night. In this 
 uncertain country, the traveller 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 separa- 
 tion, to prevent our rejoining them, our situation 
 would be rather a desperate one. We had not 
 a morsel of provisions our arms and ammuni- 
 tion were gone and we were entirely at the 
 mercy of any straggling party of savages, and 
 not a little in danger of starvation. We there- 
 fore 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
 
 NEBRASKA RIVER. 103 
 
 country, where we were not yet able to rec- 
 ognize any locality. In the course of our descent 
 through the canon, the rock, 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 frag- 
 ments of a yellow sandstone, of which the strata 
 were sometimes displayed in the broken ravines 
 which interrupted our course, and made our 
 \valk extremely fatiguing. At one point of the 
 canon the red argillaceous sandstone rose in a 
 wall of five hundred feet, surmounted by a stra- 
 tum of white sandstone ; and in an opposite 
 ravine a column of red sandstone rose, in form 
 like a steeple, about one hundred and fifty feet 
 high. The scenery was extremely picturesque, 
 and, notwithstanding our forlorn condition, we 
 were frequently obliged to stop and admire it. 
 Our progress was not very rapid. We had 
 emerged from the water half naked, and, on 
 arriving at the top of the precipice, I found 
 myself with only one moccasin. The fragments 
 of rock made walking painful, and I was fre- 
 quently obliged to stop and pull out the thorns 
 of the cactus, here the prevailing plant, and with 
 which a few minutes' walk covered the bottom 
 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
 
 104 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 a more inland route. We crossed the river 
 repeatedly sometimes able to ford it, and some- 
 times 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 previousvis it in July, we had not 
 entered this pass, reserving it for our descent in 
 the boat ; and when we entered it this evening, 
 Mr. Preuss was a few hundred feet in advance. 
 Heated with the long march, he came suddenly 
 upon a fine bold spring gushing from the rock, 
 about ten feet above the river. Eager to enjoy 
 the crystal water, he threw himself down for a 
 hasty draught, and took a mouthful of water 
 almost boiling hot. He said nothing to Benoist, 
 who laid himself down to drink ; but the steam 
 from the water arrested his eagerness, and he 
 escaped the hot draught. We had no ther- 
 mometer 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 
 the water. The strata immediately where they 
 issue is a fine white and calcareous sandstone, 
 covered with an incrustation of common salt. 
 Leaving this Thermopylas of the West, in a short 
 walk we reached the red ridge which has been
 
 NEBRASKA RIVER. 105 
 
 described as lying just above Goat Island. 
 Ascending this, we found some fresh tracks and 
 a button, which showed that the other men had 
 already arrived. A shout from the man who 
 first reached the top of the ridge, responded to 
 from below, informed us that our friends were 
 all on the island ; and we were soon among 
 them. We found some pieces of buffalo stand- 
 ing 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 \ve slept soundly, after one of 
 the most fatiguing days I have ever experi- 
 enced." 
 
 A week afterwards, at a point of course much 
 lower down, another attempt was made to sur- 
 vey the river, which is thus described : 
 
 "At this place I had determined to make 
 another attempt to descend the Platte by water, 
 and accordingly spent two days in the construc- 
 tion 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 
 fhen 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
 
 106 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 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 
 ah 1 further attempts to navigate this river. The 
 names given by the Indians are always remark- 
 ably 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 
 evening camp, about twenty-one miles below 
 the junction. The next morning we crossed the 
 Platte, and continued our way down the river 
 bottom on the left bank, where we found an 
 excellent, plainly beaten road." 
 
 On the morning of October 1, the cow-bells 
 were heard at the break of day on the Missourian 
 farms. St. Louis was reached on the 17th, and 
 Lieut. Fremont reported himself to the chief of 
 his corps at the city of Washington on the 23d 
 of October.
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 SECOND EXPEDITION KANSAS SALT LAKE CO- 
 LUMBIA RIVER CENTRAL BASIN SIERRA NE- 
 
 VADA CALIFORNIA KIT CARSON WAHSATCH 
 
 MOUNTAINS THREE PARKS. 
 
 EARLY in the spring of 1843, Mr. Fremont 
 started on his Second Expedition. His instruc- 
 tions were to connect his explorations of the pre- 
 ceding year with the surveys of Commander 
 Wilkes on the coast of the Pacific, so as to give 
 a connected view of the great interior tracts of 
 the continent. 
 
 The party was placed in a state of final prep- 
 aration for its long march at the town of Kansas, 
 near the junction of the river of that name with 
 the Missouri. Mr. Thomas Fitzpatrick, whom 
 an experience of many years' hardship and ex- 
 posure in the western regions fitted for the post, 
 was selected as guide, and proved of invalu- 
 able service in all respects and at all times. 
 Mr. Charles Preuss was attached to the expedi- 
 tion in the same capacity as in the former one. 
 Mr. Theodore Talbot, of Washington City, and 
 
 (107)
 
 108 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 Mr. Frederick Dwight, of Massachusetts, accom- 
 panied the party. Jacob Dodson, a free young 
 colored man of Washington City, who volun- 
 teered for the service, was found most useful and 
 worthy of confidence, in all the perils and trials 
 of the journey to its end. L. Maxwell, who had 
 accompanied the former expedition, and was on 
 his way to Taos, joined the party at Kansas. 
 Two Delaware Indians a fine-looking old man 
 and his son were engaged as hunters. There 
 were thirty-two men in the body of the party, 
 constituting in all forty persons besides the com- 
 mander. They were generally armed with Hall's 
 carbines, and took with them a brass twelve- 
 pound howitzer. The hunters and Delawares 
 had rifles. The camp equipage and provisions 
 were transported in twelve carts, drawn each by 
 two mules ; and a light, covered spring-wagon, 
 well mounted, carried the instruments. 
 
 The expedition started on the morning of the 
 29th of May. A few days afterwards Mr. Gil- 
 pin, of Missouri, joined it. Its route was along 
 the line of the Kansas, to the mouth of the Re- 
 publican Fork, which it followed some distance, 
 and thence across the country to St, Vrain's 
 Fort, on the south fork of the Platte, which it 
 reached on the 4th of July. On the 6th it left 
 St. Vrain's, and continued on up the Platte. On 
 the 10th, snow fell- heavily during the night on 
 the mountains, and in the morning Pike's Peak
 
 ARKANSAS RIVER. 109 
 
 was covered, from the summit as far down as 
 it was visible, with glittering white, giving it a 
 luminous and grand appearance. On the 14th 
 the party reached the point where the Boiling 
 Spring River enters the Arkansas. Here Fre- 
 mont was delighted to meet and again secure 
 the services of Kit Carson. Having discovered 
 that it would not be possible to obtain supplies 
 from Taos, he determined, without delay, to re- 
 turn to St. Vrain's, having first despatched Car- 
 son to procure, if possible, a reinforcement of 
 mules from Mr. Charles Bent, whose post was 
 about seventy-five miles lower down on the Ar- 
 kansas, and rejoin him at St. Vrain's. On the 
 16th the party resumed its journey up the Boil- 
 ing Spring River, so called in consequence of 
 some very remarkable springs, which Mr. Fre- 
 mont visited the next day, and describes as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " Leaving the camp to follow slowly, I rode 
 ahead in the afternoon in search of the springs. 
 In the mean time the clouds, which had been 
 gathered all the afternoon over the mountains, 
 began to roll down their sides ; and a storm so 
 violent burst upon me that it appeared I had 
 entered the storehouse of the thunder-storms. I 
 continued, however, to ride along up the river 
 until about sunset, and was beginning to be 
 doubtful of finding the springs before the next 
 day, when I came suddenly upon a large smooth 
 10
 
 110 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 rock about twenty yards in diameter, where the 
 water from several springs was bubbling and 
 boiling up in the midst of a white incrustation 
 with which it had covered a portion of the rock. 
 As this did not correspond with a description 
 given me by the hunters, I did not stop to taste 
 the water, but, dismounting, walked a little way 
 up the river, and, passing through a narrow 
 thicket of shrubbery bordering the stream, stepped 
 directly upon a huge white rock, at the foot of 
 which the river, already become a torrent, foamed 
 along, broken by a small fall. A deer which had 
 been drinking at the spring was startled by my 
 approach, and, springing across the river, bound- 
 ed off up the mountain. In the upper part of the 
 rock, which had apparently been formed by de- 
 position, was- a beautiful white basin, overhung 
 by currant-bushes, in which the cold, clear water 
 bubbled up, kept in constant motion by the 
 escaping gas, and overflowing the rock which it 
 had almost entirely covered with a smooth crust 
 of glistening white. I had all day refrained from 
 drinking, reserving myself for the spring ; and as 
 I could not well be more wet than the rain had 
 already made me, I lay down by the side of the 
 basin, and drank heartily of the delightful water. 
 The water has a very agreeable taste, which 
 Mr. Preuss found very much to resemble that of 
 the famous Selter Springs in the grand-duchy of 
 Nassau, a country famous for wine and mineral
 
 ARKANSAS KIVEK. Ill 
 
 waters ; and it is almost entirely of the same 
 character, though still more agreeable than that 
 of the famous Bear Springs, near Bear River of 
 the Great Salt Lake. The following is an anal- 
 ysis of an incrustation with which the water had 
 covered a piece of wood lying on the rock : 
 Carbonate of lime .... 92.25 
 Carbonate of magnesia . . . 1.21 
 Sulphate of lime \ 
 
 Chloride of calcium > . . .23 
 
 Chloride of magnesia ) 
 
 Silica 1.50 
 
 Vegetable matter .... .20 
 
 Moisture and loss . . . 4.61 
 
 100.00 
 
 ".July 20. We continued our march up the 
 stream along a green sloping bottom, between 
 pine hills on the one. hand, and the main Black 
 Hills on the other, towards the ridge which separ- 
 ates the waters of the Platte from those of the 
 Arkansas. As we approached the dividing ridge, 
 the whole valley was radiant with flowers ; blue, 
 yellow, pink, white, scarlet, and purple vied with 
 each other in splendor. Esparcette was one of 
 the highly characteristic plants, and a bright- 
 looking flower (gaillardia aristatd) was very 
 frequent ; but the most abundant plant along our 
 road to-day was geranium maculatum, which is 
 the characteristic plant on this portion of the
 
 112 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 dividing grounds. Crossing to the waters of the 
 Platte, fields of blue flax added to the magnifi- 
 cence of this mountain garden ; this was occa- 
 sionally four feet in height, which was a luxu- 
 riance of growth that I rarely saw this almost 
 universal plant attain throughout the journey." 
 
 Mr. Fitzpatrick had been left behind a month 
 before, to follow on with twenty-five men, and the 
 heavier baggage of the expedition. 
 
 " Reaching St. Vrain's Fort on the morning of 
 the 23d, we found Mr. Fitzpatrick and his party 
 in good order and excellent health, and my true 
 and reliable friend, Kit Carson, who had brought 
 wjth 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 pro- 
 visions in this country, had watched over our 
 stock with jealous vigilance, and there was an 
 abundance of flour, rice, sugar, and coffee in the 
 camp; and again we fared luxuriously. Meat 
 was, however, very scarce ; and two very small 
 pigs, which we obtained at the fort, did not go 
 far among forty men. Mr. Fitzpatrick had been 
 here a week, during which time his men had 
 been occupied in refitting the camp ; and the 
 repose had been very beneficial to his animals, 
 which were now in tolerably good condition. 
 
 " I had been able to obtain no certain informa- 
 tion in regard to the character of the passes in
 
 TRAPPERS. 113 
 
 this portion of the Rocky Mountain range, which 
 had always been represented as impracticable 
 for carriages, but the exploration of which was 
 incidentaUy contemplated by my instructions, 
 with the view of finding some convenient point 
 of passage for the road of emigration, which 
 would enable it to reach, on a more direct line, 
 the usual ford of the Great Colorado a place 
 considered as determined by the nature of the 
 country beyond that river. It is singular, that, 
 immediately at the foot of the mountains, I could 
 find no one sufficiently acquainted with them to 
 guide us to the plains at their western base ; but 
 the race of trappers who formerly lived in their 
 recesses has almost entirely disappeared dwin- 
 dled 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 remem- 
 ber that, in the previous year, I brought with me 
 to their village near this post, and hospitably 
 treated on the way, several Cheyenne Indians, 
 whom I had met on the Lower Platte. Shortly 
 after their arrival here, they were out with a 
 party of Indians, (themselves the principal men,) 
 which discovered a few trappers in the neigh- 
 boring mountains, whom they immediately mur- 
 dered, although one of them had been nearly 
 thirty years in the country, and was perfectly 
 well known, as he had grown gray among 
 them." 
 
 10*
 
 114 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 Having determined to traverse the eastern side 
 of the Medicine Bow Mountains to find, if pos- 
 sible, a pass through them, Mr. Fremont again 
 divided his party, sending Fitzpatrick with a 
 large portion of it to the mouth of the Laramie, 
 and thence by the usual emigrant route to Fort 
 Hall, there to await his arrival. 
 
 " 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 twerity-five years of 
 age, who had been in this country six or seven 
 years, aU of which time had been actively em- 
 ployed in hunting for the support of the posts, or 
 in solitary trading expeditions among the Indians. 
 In courage and professional skill he was a for- 
 midable rival to Carson, and constantly after- 
 wards was among the best and most efficient of 
 the party, and in difficult situations was of in- 
 calculable value. 
 
 " For my own party I selected the following 
 men, a number of whom old associations ren- 
 dered agreeable to me : 
 
 " Charles Preuss, Christopher Carson, Basil La- 
 jeunesse, Francois Badeau, J. B. Bernier, Louis 
 Menard, Raphael Proue, Jacob Dodson, Louis 
 Zindel, Henry Lee, J. B. Derosier, Francois La- 
 jeunesse, and Auguste Vasquez." 
 
 Going through what is called the Medicine
 
 GREAT SALT LAKE. 115 
 
 Butte Pass, Fremont followed the Platte and 
 Sweetwater, and crossed the dividing ridge, 
 along the southern border of the South Pass, 
 which is about twenty miles in width. He 
 then directed his course towards Bear River, a 
 tributary of the Great Salt Lake on the north. 
 Many of his animals died during this part of the 
 tour, and it was not accomplished without con- 
 siderable difficulty and hardship. 
 
 On the 21st of August, they reached the fer- 
 tile and picturesque valley of Bear River, the 
 principal tributary of the Great Salt Lake. 
 
 " We were now entering a region which, for 
 us, possessed a strange and extraordinary in- 
 terest. We were upon the waters of the fam- 
 ous lake which forms a salient point among the 
 remarkable geographical features of the coun- 
 try, and around which the vague and supersti- 
 tious accounts of the trappers had thrown a de- 
 lightful obscurity, which we anticipated pleasure 
 in dispelling, but which, in the mean time, left 
 a crowded field for the exercise of our imagina- 
 tion. 
 
 " In our occasional conversations with the few 
 old hunters who had visited the region, it had 
 been a subject of frequent speculation ; and the 
 wonders which they related were not the less 
 agreeable because they were highly exaggerated 
 and impossible. 
 
 " Hitherto this lake had been seen only by trap-
 
 116 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 pers, who were wandering through the country 
 in search of new beaver streams, caring very 
 little for geography ; its islands had never been 
 visited ; and none were to be found who had 
 entirely made the circuit of its shores ; and no 
 instrumental observations, or geographical sur- 
 vey of any description, had ever been made 
 anywhere in the neighboring region. It was 
 generally supposed that it had no visible outlet ; 
 but among the trappers, including those in my 
 own camp, were many who believed that some- 
 where on its surface was a terrible whirlpool, 
 through which its waters found their way to the 
 ocean by some subterranean communication. 
 All these things had made a frequent subject of 
 discussion in our desultory conversations around 
 the fires at night; and my own mind had be- 
 come tolerably well filled with their indefinite 
 pictures, and insensibly colored with their ro- 
 mantic descriptions, which, in the pleasure of 
 excitement, I was well disposed to believe, and 
 half expected to realize. 
 
 " In about six miles' travel from our encamp- 
 ment, we reached one of the points in our jour- 
 ney to which we had always looked forward 
 with great interest the famous Beer Springs, 
 which, on account of the effervescing gas and 
 acid taste, had received then* name from the 
 voyageurs and trappers of the country, who, in 
 the midst of their rude and hard lives, are fond
 
 GREAT SALT LAKE. 117 
 
 of finding some fancied resemblance to the 
 luxuries they rarely have the good fortune to 
 enjoy. 
 
 " Although somewhat disappointed in the ex- 
 pectations 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 traveller for the first time 
 in a volcanic region remains in a constant ex- 
 citement, and at every step is arrested by some- 
 thing remarkable and new. There is a con- 
 fusion of interesting objects gathered together 
 in a small space. Around the place of encamp- 
 ment the Beer Springs were numerous ; but, as 
 far as we could ascertain, were entirely confined 
 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 efferves- 
 cing gas rising up and agitating the water in 
 countless bubbling columns. In the vicinity 
 round about were numerous springs of an en- 
 tirely different and equally marked mineral char- 
 acter. In a rather picturesque spot, about 1,300 
 yards below our encampment, and immediately 
 on the river bank, is the most remarkable spring 
 of the place. In an opening on the rock, a 
 white column of scattered water is thrown up, 
 in form like a jet-fleaM, to a variable height of 
 about three feet, and, though it is maintained in 
 a constant supply, its greatest height is attained
 
 118 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 only at regular intervals, according to the action 
 of the force below. It is accompanied by a 
 subterranean noise, which, together with the 
 motion of the water, makes very much the im- 
 pression of a steamboat in motion ; and, with- 
 out knowing that it had been already previously 
 so called, we gave to it the name of the Steam- 
 boat Spring. The rock through which it is 
 forced is slightly raised in a convex manner, and 
 gathered at the opening into an urn-mouthed 
 form, and is evidently formed by continued de- 
 position from the water, and colored bright red 
 by oxide of iron. 
 
 " It is a hot spring, and the water has a pun- 
 gent and disagreeable metallic taste, leaving a 
 burning effect on the tongue. Within perhaps 
 two yards of the jet-tfeau, 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 reg- 
 ular noise." 
 
 As they approached the lake they passed 
 over a country of bold and striking scenery, and 
 through several "gates," as they called certain 
 narrow valleys. The " standing rock " is a huge 
 column, occupying the centre of one of these 
 passes. It fell from a height of perhaps 3,000 
 feet, and happened to remain in its present up- 
 right position. 
 
 At last, on the 6th of September, the object
 
 GKEAT SALT LAKE. 119 
 
 for which their eyes had long been straining, 
 was brought to view. 
 
 " Sept. 6. This time we reached the butte 
 without any difficulty; and, ascending to the 
 summit, immediately at our feet beheld the ob- 
 ject of our anxious search, the waters of the 
 Inland Sea, stretching in still and solitary gran- 
 deur 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 
 travellers so long shut up among mountain 
 ranges, a sudden view over the expanse of silent 
 waters had in it something sublime. Several 
 large islands raised their high rocky heads out of 
 the waves ; but whether or not they were timbered 
 was still left to our imagination, as the distance 
 was too great to determine if the dark hues upon 
 them were woodland or naked rock. During the 
 day the clouds had been gathering black over the 
 mountains to the westward, and while we were 
 looking a storm burst down with sudden fury 
 upon the lake, and entirely hid the islands from 
 our view. 
 
 " On the edge of the stream a favorable spot
 
 120 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 was selected in a grove ; and, felling the timber, 
 we made a strong coral, or horse-pen, for the an- 
 imals, and a little fort for the people who were 
 to remain. We were now probably in the coun- 
 try of the Utah Indians, though none reside 
 upon the lake. The India-rubber boat was re- 
 paired with prepared cloth and gum, and filled 
 with air, in readiness for the next day. 
 
 " The provisions which Carson had brought 
 with him being now exhausted, and our stock 
 reduced to a small quantity of roots, I deter- 
 mined to retain with me only a sufficient num- 
 ber of men for the execution of our design ; and 
 accordingly seven were sent back to Fort Hall, 
 under the guidance of Fra^ois Lajeunesse, who, 
 having been for many years a trapper in the 
 country, was an experienced mountaineer. 
 
 " 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 ever attempted on this inte- 
 rior sea ; and Badeau, with Derosier, and Jacob, 
 (the colored man,) were to be left in charge of 
 the camp. We were favored with most delight- 
 ful weather. To-night there was a brilliant sun- 
 set of golden orange and green, which left the 
 western sky clear and beautifully pure ; but 
 clouds in the east made me lose an occultation. 
 The summer frogs were singing around us, and 
 the evening was very pleasant, with a tempera-
 
 GREAT SALT LAKE. 121 
 
 ture of 60 a night of a more southern autumn. 
 For our supper we had yampah, the most agree- 
 ably flavored of the roots, seasoned by a small 
 fat duck, which had come in the way of Jacob's 
 rifle. Around our fire to-night were many spec- 
 ulations 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 tan- 
 gled wilderness of trees and shrubbery, teeming 
 with game of every description that the neigh- 
 boring region afforded, and which the foot of a 
 white man or Indian had never violated. Fre- 
 quently, during the day, clouds had rested on 
 the summits of^their lofty mountains, and we 
 believed that we should find clear streams and 
 springs of fresh water ; and we indulged in an- 
 ticipations of the luxurious repasts with which 
 we were to indemnify ourselves for past priva- 
 tions. Neither, in our discussions, were the 
 whirlpool and other mysterious dangers forgot- 
 ten, which Indian and hunters' stories attributed 
 to this unexplored lake. The men had discov- 
 ered that, instead of being strongly sewed, (like 
 that of the preceding year, which had so triumph- 
 antly 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 
 11
 
 122 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 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 be- 
 fore been accomplished, was a certain impression 
 of danger, sufficient to give a serious character 
 to our conversation. The momentary view 
 which had been had of the lake the day before, 
 its great extent and rugged islands, dimly seen 
 amidst the dark waters in the obscurity of the 
 sudden storm, were well calculated to heighten 
 the idea of undefined danger with which the 
 lake was generally associated. 
 
 " Sept. 8. A calm, clear day, with a sunrise 
 temperature of 41. In view of our present en- 
 terprise, a part of the equipment of the boat had 
 been made to consist of three air-tight bags, 
 about three feet long, and capable each of con- 
 taining five gallons. These had been filled with 
 water the night before, and were now placed in 
 the boat, with our blankets and instruments, con- 
 sisting of a sextant, telescope, spy-glass, ther- 
 mometer, and barometer. 
 
 " 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 a duck that it was late in
 
 GREAT SALT LAKE. 123 
 
 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 there was a quantity of driftwood, which 
 served for our fires. The evening was mild and 
 clear ; we made a pleasant bed of the young 
 willows ; and geese and ducks enough had been 
 killed for an abundant supper at night, and for 
 breakfast next morning. The stillness of the 
 night was enlivened by millions of water-fowl. 
 
 " September 9. 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 pre- 
 ceded evil and consequently they looked very 
 gloomy this morning ; but we hurried through 
 our breakfast, in order to make an early start, 
 and have all the day before us for our adventure. 
 The channel in a short distance became so shal- 
 low that our navigation was at an end, being 
 merely a sheet of soft mud, with a few inches of 
 water, and sometimes none at ah 1 , forming the 
 low-water shore of the lake. All this place was 
 absolutely covered with flocks of screaming 
 plover. We took off our clothes, and, getting 
 overboard, commenced dragging the boat mak-
 
 124 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 ing, by this operation, a very curious trail, and a 
 very disagreeable smell in stirring up the mud, 
 as we sank above the knee at every step. The 
 water here was still fresh, with only an insipid 
 and disagreeable taste, probably derived from the 
 bed of fetid mud. After proceeding in this way 
 about a mile, we came to a small black ridge on 
 the bottom, beyond which the water became sud- 
 denly salt, beginning gradually to deepen, and 
 the bottom was sandy and firm. It was a re- 
 markable division, separating the fresh water of 
 the rivers from the briny water of the lake, which 
 was entirely saturated with common salt. Push- 
 ing our little vessel across the narrow boundary, 
 we sprang on board, and at length were afloat 
 on the waters of the unknown sea. 
 
 " We did not steer for the mountainous is- 
 lands, but directed our course towards a lower 
 one, which it had been decided we should first 
 visit, the summit of which was formed like the 
 crater at the upper end of Bear River valley. So 
 long as we could touch the bottom with our 
 paddles, we were very gay ; but gradually, as 
 the water deepened, we became more still in our 
 frail batteau of gum cloth distended with air, 
 and with pasted seams. Although the day was 
 very calm, there was a considerable swell on the 
 lake ; and there were white patches of foam on 
 the surface, which were slowly moving to the 
 southward, indicating the set of a current in that
 
 GREAT SALT LAKE. 125 
 
 direction, and recalling the recollection of the 
 whirlpool stories. The water continued to 
 deepen as we advanced; the lake becoming 
 almost transparently clear, of an extremely 
 beautiful bright-green color; and the spray, 
 which was thrown into the boat and over our 
 clothes, was directly converted into a crust of 
 common salt, which covered also our hands and 
 arms. ' Captain,' said Carson, who for some 
 time had been looking suspiciously at some 
 whitening appearances outside the nearest is- 
 lands, ' what are those yonder ? won't you just 
 take a look with the glass ? ' We ceased pad- 
 dling for a moment, and found them to be the 
 caps of the waves that were beginning to break 
 under the force of a strong breeze that was com- 
 ing up the lake. The form of the boat seemed 
 to be an admirable one, and it rode on the waves 
 like a water bird ; but, at the same time, it was 
 extremely slow in its progress. When we were 
 a little more than half-way across the reach, two 
 of the divisions between the cylinders gave way, 
 and it required the constant use of the bellows 
 to keep in a sufficient quantity of ah*. For a 
 long time we scarcely seemed to approach our 
 island, but gradually we worked across the 
 rougher sea of the open channel, into the 
 smoother water under the lee of the island; and 
 began to discover that -what we took for a long 
 row of pelicans, ranged on the beach, were only 
 11 *
 
 126 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 low cliffs whitened with salt by the spray of the 
 waves ; and about noon we reached the shore, 
 the transparency of the water enabling us to see 
 the bottom at a considerable depth. 
 
 " 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. 
 
 " Carrying with us the barometer and other 
 instruments, in the afternoon we ascended to 
 the highest point of the island a bare rocky 
 peak, 800 feet above the lake. Standing on the 
 summit, we enjoyed an extended view of the 
 lake, enclosed in a basin of rugged mountains, 
 which sometimes left marshy flats and extensive 
 bottoms between them and the shore, and in 
 other places came directly down into the water 
 with bold and precipitous bluffs. 
 
 " As we looked over the vast expanse of water 
 spread out beneath us, and strained our eyes 
 along the silent shores over which hung so much 
 doubt and uncertainty, and which were so full 
 of interest to us, I could hardly repress the 
 almost irresistible desire to continue our explora- 
 tion ; but the lengthening snow on the moun- 
 tains was a plain indication of the advancing 
 season, and our frail linen boat appeared so
 
 GREAT SALT LAKE. 127 
 
 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 cheer- 
 ful sound of human voices, the long solitude of 
 the place. 
 
 " I accidentally left on the summit the brass 
 cover to the object end of my spy- glass ; and as 
 it will probably remain there undisturbed by 
 Indians, it will furnish matter of speculation to 
 some future traveller. In our excursions about 
 the island, we did not meet with any kind of 
 animal ; a magpie, and another larger bird, prob- 
 ably 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 observations were 
 obtained this evening, which place our camp in 
 latitude 41 10' 42", and longitude 112 21' 05" 
 from Greenwich. From a discussion of the
 
 128 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 barometrical observations made during our stay 
 on the shores of the lake, we have adopted 
 4,200 feet for its elevation above the gulf of 
 Mexico. In the first disappointment we felt 
 from the dissipation of our dream of the fertile 
 islands, I called this Disappointment Island. 
 
 " Out of the driftwood, we made ourselves 
 pleasant little lodges, open to the water, and, 
 after having kindled large fires to excite the 
 wonder of any straggling savage on the lake 
 shores, lay down, for the first time in a long 
 journey, in perfect security; no one thinking 
 about his arms. The evening was extremely 
 bright and pleasant ; but the wind rose during 
 the night, and the waves began to break heavily 
 on the shore, making our island tremble. I had 
 not expected in our inland journey to hear the 
 roar of an ocean surf; and the strangeness of 
 
 / o 
 
 our situation, and the excitement we felt in the 
 associated interests of the place, made this one 
 of the most interesting nights I remember during 
 our long expedition. 
 
 " In the morning, the surf was breaking heavily 
 on the shore, and we were up early. The lake 
 was dark and agitated, and we hurried through 
 our scanty breakfast, and embarked having 
 first filled one of the buckets with water from 
 the lake, of which it was intended to make salt. 
 The sun had risen by the time we were ready 
 to start ; and it was blowing a strong gale of
 
 COLUMBIA RIVER. 129 
 
 wind, almost directly off the shore, and raising 
 a considerable sea, in which our boat strained 
 very much. It roughened as we got away from 
 the island, and it required all the efforts of the 
 men to make any head against the wind and 
 sea ; the gale rising with the sun ; and there 
 was danger of being blown into one of the open 
 reaches beyond the island. At the distance of 
 half a mile from the beach, the depth of water 
 was 16 feet, with a clay bottom ; but, as the 
 working of the boat was very severe labor, and 
 during the operation of rounding it was neces- 
 sary to cease paddling, during which the boat 
 lost considerable way, I was unwilling to dis- 
 courage 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 the afternoon of the 12th they started 
 from their Salt Lake encampment, for the 
 Columbia River, and reached Fort Hall on the 
 18th, at sunset. Here the party was again 
 united, and preparations were made to push on 
 to the Columbia. 
 
 < ; The early approach of winter, and the diffi- 
 culty of supporting a large party, determined me 
 to send back a number of the men who had 
 become satisfied that they were not fitted for 
 the laborious service and frequent privation to
 
 130 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 which they were necessarily exposed, and which 
 there was reason to believe would become more 
 severe in the further extension of the voyage. I 
 accordingly called them together, and, informing 
 them of my intention to continue our journey 
 during the ensuing winter, in the course of 
 which they would probably be exposed to con- 
 siderable hardship, succeeded in prevailing upon 
 a number of them to return voluntarily. These 
 were : Charles De Forrest, Henry Lee, J. Camp- 
 bell, Wm. Creuss, A. Vasquez, A. Pera, Patrick 
 White, B. Tesson, M. Creely, Francois Lajeu- 
 nesse, Basil Lajeunesse. Among these, I re- 
 gretted very much to lose Basil Lajeunesse, 
 one of the best men in my party, who was 
 obliged, by the condition of his family, to be at 
 home in the coming winter." 
 
 Fremont, with the residue of his party, started 
 on the 23d of September, and pursued, for the 
 most part, the course of the Snake River, or 
 Lewis's Fork, and came in sight of the Colum- 
 bia on the 25th of October, at the junction of 
 the Wahlahwahlah, where it was twelve hun- 
 dred yards wide. On the 4th of November they 
 reached the Dalles of the Columbia, so called 
 from the trough-like aspect of the narrow chasm, 
 at one place only fifty-eight yards wide, through 
 which the great river passes between perpendic- 
 ular walls of basaltic rock of an average height 
 of twenty-five feet. From the Dalles to Fort
 
 COLUMBIA RIVER. 181 
 
 Vancouver the route was pursued in a canoe. 
 Fremont, Preuss, Bernier, and Dodson, with three 
 Indians to whom the canoe belonged, constitut- 
 ing the party. The remainder were left in charge 
 of Carson. 
 
 After collecting at the fort the necessary pro- 
 visions and supplies to refit and support his 
 party during the winter journey on which they 
 were about to enter, in which he was aided by 
 the cordial cooperation of Dr. McLaughlin, the 
 executive officer of the Hudson Bay Company, 
 he started on his return to the Dalles in 
 the afternoon of November 10, his flotilla 
 consisting of a Mackinaw barge and three 
 canoes. 
 
 "November 13. We had a day of disagree- 
 able and cold rain, and late in the afternoon 
 began to approach the rapids of the cascades. 
 
 " The current was now very swift, and we were 
 obliged.to cordelle the boat along the left shore, 
 where the bank was covered with large masses 
 of rocks. Night overtook us at the upper end 
 of the island, a short distance below the cas- 
 cades, and we halted on the open point. In the 
 mean time, the lighter canoes, paddled altogether 
 by Indians, had passed ahead, and were out of 
 sight. With them was the lodge, which was the 
 only shelter we had, with most of the bedding 
 and provisions. We shouted, and fired guns, 
 but all to no purpose, as it was impossible for
 
 132 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 them to hear above the roar of the river ; and 
 we remained all night without shelter, the rain 
 pouring down all the time. The old voyageurs 
 did not appear to mind it much, but covered 
 themselves up as well as they could, and lay 
 down on the sand-beach, where they remained 
 quiet until morning. The rest of us spent a 
 rather miserable night ; and, to add to our dis- 
 comfort, the incessant rain extinguished our fires ; 
 and we were glad when at last daylight ap- 
 peared, and we again embarked. 
 
 " Crossing to the right bank, we cordelled the 
 boat along the shore, there being no longer any 
 use for the paddles, and put into a little bay be- 
 low the upper rapids. Here we found the lodge 
 pitched, and about twenty Indians sitting around 
 a blazing fire within, making a luxurious break- 
 fast with salmon, bread, butter, sugar, coffee, and 
 other provisions. In the forest, on the edge of 
 the high bluff overlooking the river, is an Indian 
 graveyard, consisting of a collection of tombs, 
 in each of which were the scattered bones of 
 many skeletons. The tombs were made of 
 boards, which were ornamented with many fig- 
 ures of men and animals of the natural size, 
 from their appearance constituting the armorial 
 device by which, among Indians, the chiefs are 
 usually known. 
 
 " The masses of rock displayed along the shores 
 of the ravine in the neighborhood of the cas-
 
 COLUMBIA RIVER. 133 
 
 cades, are clearly volcanic products. Between 
 this cove, which I called Graveyard Bay, and 
 another spot of smooth water above on the right 
 called Liiders Bay, sheltered by a jutting point 
 of huge rocky masses at the foot of the cascades, 
 the shore along the intervening rapids is lined 
 with precipices of distinct strata of red and vari- 
 ously colored lavas in inclined positions. 
 
 " A gentleman named Liiders, a botanist, from 
 the city of Hamburg, arrived at the bay I have 
 called by his name while we were occupied 
 in bringing up the boats. I was delighted to 
 meet at such a place a man of kindred pursuits ; 
 but we had only the pleasure of a brief conver- 
 sation, as his canoe, under the guidance of two 
 Indians, was about to run the rapids ; and I 
 could not enjoy the satisfaction of regaling him 
 with a breakfast which, after his recent journey, 
 would have been an extraordinary luxury. All 
 of his few instruments and baggage were in the 
 canoe, and he hurried around by land to meet it 
 at the Graveyard Bay ; but he was scarcely out 
 of sight, when, by the carelessness of the In- 
 dians, the boat was drawn into the midst of 
 the rapids, and glanced down the river, bottom 
 up, with the loss of every thing it contained. 
 In the natural concern I felt for his misfortune, 
 I gave to the little cove the name of Luders Bay. 
 
 "November 15. We continued to-day our 
 work at the portage." 
 12
 
 134 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 In the afternoon of Nov. 18, they reached 
 the Dalles. The camp was immediately busy 
 with the last preparations for a journey through 
 the unexplored regions between the Columbia 
 River and California, and embracing the central 
 basin of the continent between the Rocky Moun- 
 tains and the Sierra Nevada. It was not origi- 
 nally designed to cross the latter, but to turn 
 homewards over the Rocky Mountains, at some 
 pass near the head waters of the Arkansas. 
 
 " This was our projected line of return a great 
 part of it absolutely new to geographical, botani- 
 cal, and geological science and the subject of 
 reports in relation to lakes, rivers, deserts, and 
 savages hardly above the condition of mere wild 
 animals, which inflamed desire to know what 
 this terra incognita really contained. It was a 
 serious enterprise, at the commencement of win- 
 ter, to undertake the traverse of such a region, 
 and with a party consisting only of twenty-five 
 persons, and they of many nations American, 
 French, German, Canadian, Indian, and colored 
 and most of them young, several being under 
 twenty-one years of age. All knew that a 
 strange country was to be explored, and dangers 
 and hardships to be encountered; but no one 
 blenched at the prospect. On the contrary, 
 courage and confidence animated the whole 
 party. Cheerfulness, readiness, subordination, 
 prompt obedience, characterized all ; nor did any
 
 CENTRAL BASIN. 135 
 
 extremity of peril and privation, to which we 
 were'afterwards exposed, ever belie, or derogate 
 from, the fine spirit of this brave and generous 
 commencement. The course of the narrative 
 will show at what point, and for what reasons, 
 we were prevented from the complete execution 
 of this plan, after having made considerable pro- 
 gress upon it, and how we were forced by desert 
 plains, and mountain ranges, and deep snows, far 
 to the south and near to the Pacific ocean, and 
 along the western base of the Sierra Nevada ; 
 where, indeed, a new and ample field of explora- 
 tion opened itself before us. For the present, 
 we must follow the narrative, which will first lead 
 us south along the valley of Fall River, and the 
 eastern base of the Cascade range, to the Tla- 
 math lake, from which, or its margin, three rivers 
 go in three directions one west, to the ocean ; 
 another north, to the Columbia ; the third south, 
 to California. 
 
 " For the support of the party, I had provided 
 at Vancouver a supply of provisions for not less 
 than three monthj;, consisting principally of flour, 
 peas, and tallow the latter being used in cook- 
 ing ; and, in addition to this, I had purchased at 
 the mission some California cattle, which were to 
 be driven on the hoof. We had 104 mules and 
 horses part of the latter procured from the In- 
 dians about the mission ; and for the sustenance 
 of which, our reliance was upon the grass which
 
 136 LIFE OF FREMOXT. 
 
 we should find, and the soft porous wood, which 
 was to be its substitute when there was none. 
 
 " Mr. Perkins succeeded in obtaining as guide 
 to the Tlamath lake two Indians, one of whom 
 had been there, and bore the marks of several 
 wounds he had received from some of the Indians 
 in the neighborhood ; and the other went along 
 for company. In order to enable us to obtain 
 horses, he despatched messengers to the various 
 Indian villages in the neighborhood, informing 
 them that we were desirous to purchase, and 
 appointing a day for them to bring them in. 
 
 " We made, in the mean time, several excur- 
 sions in the vicinity. Mr. Perkins walked with 
 Mr. Preuss and myself to the heights, about nine 
 miles distant on the opposite side of the river, 
 whence, in fine weather, an extensive view may 
 be had over the mountains, including seven great 
 peaks of the Cascade range ; but clouds, on this 
 occasion, destroyed the anticipated pleasure, and 
 we obtained bearings only to three that were 
 visible Mount Regnier, St. Helens, and Mount 
 Hood. On the heights, about one mile south of 
 the mission, a very fine vie\\rmay be had of 
 Mount Hood and St. Helens. In order to de- 
 termine their positions with as much accuracy 
 as possible, the angular distances of the peaks 
 were measured with the sextant, at different 
 fixed points from which they could be seen. 
 
 " The Indians brought in their horses at the
 
 CENTRAL BASIN. 137 
 
 appointed time, and we succeeded in obtaining 
 a number in exchange for goods ; but they were 
 relatively much higher here, where goods are 
 plenty and at moderate prices, than we had found 
 them in the more eastern part of our voyage. 
 Several of the Indians inquired very anxiously 
 to know if we had any dollars ; and the horses 
 we procured were much fewer in number than I 
 had desired, and of thin, inferior quality; the 
 oldest and poorest being those that were sold to 
 us. These horses, as ever in our journey you 
 will have occasion to remark, are valuable for 
 hardihood and great endurance. 
 
 " November 24. At this place one of the men 
 was discharged ; and at the request of Mr. Perkins, 
 a Chinook Indian, a lad of nineteen, who was 
 extremely desirous to " see the whites," and 
 make some acquaintance with our institutions, 
 was received into the party under my especial 
 charge, with the understanding that I would 
 again return him to his friends. He had lived 
 for some time in the household of Mr. Perkins, 
 and spoke a few words of the English language. 
 
 " November 25. We were all up early, in the 
 excitement of turning towards home. The stars 
 were brilliant, and the morning cold, the ther- 
 mometer at daylight 26. 
 
 Our preparations had been finally completed, 
 and to-day we commenced our journey. The 
 little wagon which had hitherto carried the in- 
 12*
 
 138 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 struments, I judged it necessary to abandon; 
 and it was accordingly presented to the mission. 
 In all our long travelling, it had never been over- 
 turned or injured by any accident of the road ; 
 and the only things broken were the glass lamps, 
 and one of the front panels, which had been 
 kicked out by an unruly Indian horse. The 
 howitzer was the only wheeled carriage now re- 
 maining. We started about noon, when the 
 weather had become disagreeably cold, with flur- 
 ries of snow. Our friend Mr. Perkins, whose 
 kindness had been active and efficient during 
 our stay, accompanied us several miles on our 
 road ; when he bade us farewell, and consigned 
 us to the care of our guides. 
 
 " November 27. A fine view of Mount Hood 
 this morning; a rose-colored mass of snow, 
 bearing S. 85 W. by compass. The sky is 
 clear, and the air cold ; the thermometer 2. 5 
 below zero ; the trees and bushes glittering white, 
 and the rapid stream filled with floating ice." 
 
 No one can have an adequate idea of the suf- 
 ferings endured, the obstacles encountered, the 
 perilous adventures, and fearful experiences, in 
 this journey, without reading the whole of Fre- 
 mont's Report, referring from point to point to 
 the geography of the country, as exhibited on 
 the map, drawn from his surveys, by his associate 
 Charles Preuss, in 1848, under an order of the 
 Senate of the United States. Of cdurse, in such
 
 CENTRAL BASIN. 139 
 
 a work as this,"only glimpses can be given of 
 what the heroic party went through ; and that 
 can best be done in extracts from the Report of 
 its commander. 
 
 "December 14. Our road was over a broad 
 mountain, and we rode seven hours in a thick 
 snowstorm, always through pine forests, when 
 we came down upon the head waters of another 
 stream, on which there was grass. The snow 
 lay deep on the ground, and only the high 
 swamp grass appeared above. The Indians 
 were thinly clad, and I had remarked during the 
 day that they suffered from the cold. This 
 evening they told me that the snow was getting 
 too deep on the mountain, and I could not in- 
 duce them to go any further. The stream we 
 had struck issued from the mountain in an 
 easterly direction, turning to the southward a 
 short distance below ; and, drawing its course 
 upon the ground, they made us comprehend 
 that it pursued its way for a long distance in 
 that direction, uniting with many other streams, 
 and gradually becoming a great river. Without 
 the subsequent information which confirmed 
 the opinion, we became immediately satisfied 
 that this water formed the principal stream of 
 the Sacramento River ; and, consequently, that 
 this main affluent of the Bay of San Francisco 
 had its source within the limits of the United 
 States, and opposite a tributary to the Colum-
 
 140 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 bia, and near the head of the Tlamath River, 
 which goes to the ocean north of 42, and within 
 the United States. 
 
 ''December 15. A present consisting of useful 
 goods afforded much satisfaction to our guides ; 
 and, showing them the national flag, I explained 
 that it was a symbol of our nation ; and they 
 engaged always to receive it in a friendly man- 
 ner. The chief pointed out a course, by fol- 
 lowing which we would arrive at the big water, 
 where no more snow was to be found. Cross- 
 ing a hard frozen swamp on the further side of 
 the Rond, we entered again the pine forest, in 
 which very deep snow made our travelling slow 
 and laborious. We were slowly but gradually 
 ascending a mountain ; and, after a hard jour- 
 ney of seven hours, we came to some naked 
 places among the timber, where a few tufts of 
 grass showed above the snow, on the side of a 
 hollow ; and here we encamped. Our cow, 
 which every day got poorer, was killed here, but 
 the meat was rather tough. 
 
 " December 16. We travelled this morning 
 through snow about three feet deep, which, be- 
 ing crusted, very much cut the feet of our ani- 
 mals. The mountain still gradually rose ; we 
 crossed several spring heads covered with quak- 
 ing asp, otherwise it was all pine forest. The 
 air was dark with falling snow, which every- 
 where weighed down the trees. The depths of
 
 CENTRAL BASIN. 141 
 
 
 
 the forest were profoundly still ; and below, we 
 scarce felt a breath of the wind which whirled 
 the snow through their branches. I found that 
 it required some exertion of constancy to ad- 
 here steadily to one course through the woods, 
 when we were uncertain how far the forest ex- 
 tended, or what lay beyond ; and, on account of 
 our animals, it would be bad to spend another 
 night on the mountain. Towards noon the 
 forest looked clear ahead, appearing suddenly to 
 terminate ; and beyond a certain point we could 
 see no trees. Riding rapidly ahead to this spot, 
 we found ourselves on the verge of a vertical 
 and rocky wall of the mountain. At our feet 
 more than a thousand feet below we looked 
 into a green prairie country, in which a beau- 
 tiful lake, some twenty miles in length, was 
 spread along the foot of the mountains, its 
 shores bordered with green grass. Just then the 
 sun broke out among the clouds, and illumi- 
 nated the country below, while around us the 
 storm raged fiercely. Not a particle of ice -was 
 to be seen on the lake, or snow on its borders, 
 
 flk 
 
 and ah 1 was like summer or spring. The glow 
 of the sun in the valley below brightened up 
 our hearts with sudden pleasure ; and we made 
 the woods ring with joyful shouts to those be- 
 hind ; and gradually, as each came up, he stop- 
 ped to enjoy the unexpected scene. Shivering 
 on snow three feet deep, and stiffening in a cold
 
 142 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 north wind, we exclaimed at once that the 
 names of Summer Lake and Winter Ridge 
 should be applied to these two proximate places 
 of such sudden and violent contrast. 
 
 " We were now immediately on the verge of 
 the forest land, in which we had been travelling 
 so many days ; and looking forward to the east, 
 scarce a tree was to be seen. Viewed from our 
 elevation, the face of the country exhibited only 
 rocks and grass, and presented a region in 
 which the artemisia became the principal wood, 
 furnishing to its scattered inhabitants fuel for 
 their fires, building material for their huts, and 
 shelter for the small game which ministers to 
 their hunger and nakedness. Broadly marked 
 by the boundary of the mountain wall, and 
 immediately below us, were the first waters of 
 that Great Interior Basin which has the Wah- 
 satch and Bear River mountains for its eastern, 
 and the Sierra Nevada for its western rim ; and 
 the edge of which we had entered upwards of 
 three months before at the Great Salt Lake. 
 
 " When we had sufficiently admired the 
 scene below, we began to think about descend- 
 ing, which here was impossible, and we turned 
 towards the north, travelling always along the 
 rocky wall. We continued on for four or five 
 miles, making ineffectual attempts at several 
 places ; and at length succeeded in getting 
 down at one which was extremely difficult of
 
 CENTRAL BASIN. 143 
 
 descent. Night had closed in before the fore- 
 most had reached the bottom, and it was dark 
 before we all found ourselves together in the 
 valley. There were three or four half-dead dry 
 cedar-trees on the shore, and those who first 
 arrived kindled bright fires to light on the others. 
 One of the mules rolled over and over two or 
 three hundred feet into a ravine, but recovered 
 himself, without any other injury than to his 
 pack; and the howitzer was left midway the 
 mountain until morning. 
 
 " January 10. We continued our reconnois- 
 sance ahead, pursuing a south direction in the 
 basin along the ridge ; the camp following slowly 
 after. On a large trail there is never any doubt 
 of finding suitable places for encampments. We 
 reached the end of the basin, where we found, 
 in a hollow of the mountain which enclosed it, 
 an abundance of good bunch grass. Leaving a 
 signal for the party to encamp, we continued 
 our way up the hollow, intending to see what 
 lay beyond the mountain. The hollow was 
 several miles long, forming a good pass, the 
 snow deepening to about a foot as we neared 
 the summit. Beyond, a defile between the 
 mountains descended rapidly about two thou- 
 sand feet ; and, filling up all the lower space, 
 was a sheet of green water, some twenty miles 
 broad. It broke upon our eyes like the ocean. 
 The neighboring peaks rose high above us, and
 
 144 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 we ascended one of them to obtain a better view. 
 The waves were curling in the breeze, and their 
 dark-green color showed it to be a body of deep 
 water. For a long time we sat enjoying the 
 view, for we had become fatigued with moun- 
 tains, and the free expanse of moving waves was 
 very grateful. It was set in the midst of the 
 mountains, which} from our position, seemed to 
 enclose it almost entirely. At the western end 
 it communicated with the line of basins we had 
 left a few days since ; and on the opposite side 
 it swept a ridge of snowy mountains, the foot 
 of the Great Sierra. Its position at first inclined 
 us to believe it Mary's Lake, but the rugged 
 mountains were so entirely discordant with de- 
 scriptions of its low rushy shores and open 
 country, that we concluded it some unknown 
 body of water ; which it afterwards proved to 
 be. 
 
 " Towards evening the snow began to fall 
 heavily, and the country had a wintry appear- 
 ance. 
 
 " The next morning the snow was rapidly 
 melting under a warm sun. Part of the morning 
 was occupied in bringing up the gun ; and, 
 making only nine miles, we encamped on the 
 shore, opposite a very remarkable rock in the 
 lake, which had attracted our attention for many 
 miles. It rose, according to our estimate, 600 
 feet above the water ; and, from the point we
 
 CE^ 7 TRAL BASIN. 145 
 
 viewed it, presented a pretty exact outline of the 
 great pyramid of Cheops. Like other rocks 
 along the shore, it seemed to be incrusted with 
 calcareous cement. This striking feature sug- 
 gested a name for the lake ; and I called it 
 Pyramid Lake. 
 
 " January 29. The other division of the party 
 did not come in to-night, but encamped in the 
 upper meadow, and arrived the next morning. 
 They had not succeeded in getting the howitzer 
 beyond the place mentioned, and where it had 
 been left by Mr. Preuss in obedience to my 
 orders ; and, in anticipation of the snow-banks 
 and snow-fields still ahead, foreseeing the inevi- 
 table detention to which it would subject us, I 
 reluctantly determined to leave it there for the 
 time. It was of the kind invented by the French 
 for the mountain part of their war in Algiers ; 
 and the distance it had come with us, proved 
 how well it was adapted to its purpose. We 
 left it, to the great sorrow of the whole party, 
 .who were grieved to part with a companion 
 which had made the whole distance from St. 
 Louis, and commanded respect for us on some 
 critical occasions, and which might be needed 
 for the same purpose again. 
 
 " February 2. It had ceased snowing, and 
 
 this morning the lower air was clear and frosty ; 
 
 and six or seven thousand feet above, the peaks 
 
 of the Sierra now and then appeared among the 
 
 13
 
 146 LIFE OF FREMOXT. 
 
 rolling clouds, which were rapidly dispersing be- 
 fore the sun. Our Indian shook his head as he 
 pointed to the icy pinnacles shooting high up 
 into the sky, and seeming almost immediately 
 above us. Crossing the river on the ice, and 
 leaving it immediately, we commenced the 
 ascent of the mountain along the valley of a 
 tributary stream. The people were unusually 
 silent; for every man knew that our enterprise 
 was hazardous, and the issue doubtful. 
 
 " The snow deepened rapidly, and it soon be- 
 came necessary to break a road. For this ser- 
 vice, a party of ten was formed, mounted on the 
 strongest horses ; each man in succession open- 
 ing the road on foot, or on horseback, until him- 
 self and his horse became fatigued, when he 
 stepped aside; and, the remaining number pass- 
 ing ahead, he took his station in the rear. Leav- 
 ing this stream, and pursuing a very direct course, 
 we passed over an intervening ridge to the river 
 we had left. On the way we passed two low 
 huts entirely covered with snow, which might 
 very easily have escaped observation. A family 
 was living in each ; and the only trail I saw in 
 the neighborhood was from the door-hole to a 
 nut-pine tree near, which supplied them with 
 food and fuel. We found two similar huts on 
 the creek where we next arrived ; and, travelling 
 a little higher up, encamped on its banks in 
 about four feet depth of snow. Carson found
 
 SIERRA NEVADA. 147 
 
 near an open hill-side, where the wind and the 
 sun had melted the snow, leaving exposed suffi- 
 cient bunch grass for the animals to-night. 
 
 " February 4. I went ahead early with two 
 or three men, each with a led horse, to break the 
 road. We were obliged to abandon the hollow 
 entirely, and work along the mountain-side, 
 which was very steep, and the snow covered 
 with an icy crust. We cut a footing as we ad- 
 vanced, and trampled a road through for the 
 animals ; but occasionally one plunged outside 
 the trail, and slided along the field to the bottom, 
 a hundred yards below. Late in the day we 
 reached another bench in the hollow, where, in 
 summer, the stream passed over a small preci- 
 pice. Here was a short distance of dividing 
 ground between the two ridges, and beyond an 
 open basin, some ten miles across, whose bottom 
 presented a field of snow. At the further or 
 western side rose the middle crest of the moun- 
 tain, a dark-looking ridge of volcanic rock. 
 
 " The summit line presented a range of naked 
 peaks, apparently destitute of snow and vegeta- 
 tion ; but below, the face of the whole country 
 was covered with timber of extraordinary size. 
 
 " Towards a pass which the guide indicated 
 here, we attempted in the afternoon to force a 
 road; but after a laborious plunging through two 
 or three hundred yards, our best horses gave out, 
 entirely refusing to make any further effort; and,
 
 148 LIFE OP FJREMOXT. 
 
 for the time, we were brought to a stand. The 
 guide informed us that we were entering the 
 deep snow, and here began the difficulties of the 
 mountain ; and to him, and almost to all, our 
 enterprise seemed hopeless. I returned a short 
 distance back, to the break in the hollow, where 
 I met Mr. Fitzpatrick. 
 
 " The camp had been all the day occupied in 
 endeavoring to ascend the hill, but only the best 
 horses had succeeded. The animals generally 
 not having sufficient strength to bring themselves 
 up without the packs ; and all the line of road 
 between this and the springs was strewed with 
 camp stores and equipage, and horses flounder- 
 ing in snow. I therefore immediately encamped 
 on the ground with my own mess, which was in 
 advance, and directed Mr. Fitzpatrick to encamp 
 at the springs, and send all the animals Jn charge 
 of Tabeau, with a strong guard, back to the 
 place where they had been pastured the night 
 before. Here was a small spot of level ground, 
 protected on one side by the mountain and on 
 the other sheltered by a little ridge of rock. It 
 was an open grove of pines, which assimilated 
 in size to the grandeur of the mountain, being 
 frequently six feet in diameter. 
 
 " To-night we had no shelter, but we made a 
 large fire around the trunk of one of the huge 
 pines ; and covering the snow with small boughs, 
 on which we spread our blankets, soon made
 
 SIERRA NEVADA. 149 
 
 ourselves comfortable. The night was very bright 
 and clear, though the thermometer was only at 
 10. A strong wind, which sprang up at sun- 
 down, made it intensely cold ; and this was one 
 of the bitterest nights during the journey. 
 
 " Two Indians joined our party here ; and one 
 of them, an old man, immediately began to 
 harangue us, saying that ourselves and animals 
 would, perish in the snow, and that if we would 
 go back, he would show us another and a better 
 way across the mountain. He spoke in a very 
 loud voice, and there was a singular repetition 
 of phrases and arrangement of words, \vhich 
 rendered his speech striking .and not unmu- 
 sical. 
 
 " We had now begun to understand some 
 words, and, with the aid of signs, easily com- 
 prehended the old man's simple ideas. ' Rock 
 upon rock rock upon rock snow upon snow 
 snow upon snow,' said he ; ' even if you get 
 over the snow, you will not be able to get down 
 from the mountains.' He made us the sign of 
 precipices, and showed us how the feet of the 
 horses would slip, and throw them off from the 
 narrow trails which led along their sides. Our 
 Chinok, who comprehended even more readily 
 than ourselves, and believed our situation hope- 
 less, covered his head with his blanket, and 
 began to weep and lament. ' I wanted to see 
 the whites,' said he ; ' I came away from my own 
 
 13*
 
 150 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 people to see the whites, and I wouldn't care to 
 
 die among them ; but here ' and he looked 
 
 around into the cold night and gloomy forest, 
 and, drawing his blanket over his head, began 
 again to lament. 
 
 " Seated around the tree, the fire illuminating 
 the rocks and the tall bolls of the pines round 
 about, and the old Indian haranguing, we pre- 
 sented a group of very serious faces. 
 
 "February 5. The night had been too cold to 
 sleep, and we were up very early. Our guide 
 was standing by the fire with all his finery on ; 
 and, seeing him shiver in the cold, I threw on 
 his shoulders one of my blankets. We missed 
 him a few minutes afterwards, and never saw 
 him again. He had deserted. 
 
 " While a portion of the camp were occupied 
 in bringing up the baggage to this point, the 
 remainder were busied in making sledges and 
 snow-shoes. I had determined to explore the 
 mountain ahead, and the sledges were to be used 
 in transporting the baggage. 
 
 "February 6. Accompanied by Mr. Fitzpat- 
 rick, I sat out to-day with a reconnoitring party, 
 on snow-shoes. We marched all in a single file, 
 trampling the snow as heavily as we could. Cross- 
 ing the open basin, in a march of about ten 
 miles we reached the top of one of the peaks, to 
 the left of the pass indicated by our guide. Far 
 below us, dimmed by the distance, was a large
 
 SIEKRA NEVADA. 151 
 
 snowless valley, bounded on the western side, 
 at the distance of about a hundred miles, by a 
 low range of mountains, which Carson recog- 
 nized with delight as the mountains bordering 
 the coast. ' There,' said he, ' is the little moun- 
 tain it is fifteen years ago since I saw it ; but 
 I am just as sure as if I had seen it yesterday. 
 Between us, then, and this low coast range, was 
 the valley of the Sacramento ; and no one who 
 had not accompanied us through the incidents 
 of our life for the last few months, could realize 
 the delight with which at last we looked down 
 upon it. At the distance of apparently thirty 
 miles beyond us were distinguished spots of 
 prairie ; and a dark line, which could be traced 
 with the glass, was imagined to be the course 
 of the river ; but we were evidently at a great 
 height above the valley, and between us and the 
 plains extended miles of snowy fields, and broken 
 ridges of pine-covered mountains. 
 
 " It was late in the day when we turned 
 towards the camp ; and it grew rapidly cold as 
 it drew towards night. One of the men became 
 fatigued, and his feet began to freeze, and, build- 
 ing a fire in the trunk of a dry old cedar, Mr. 
 Fitzpatrick remained with him until his clothes 
 could be dried, and he was in a condition to 
 come on. After a day's march of twenty, miles, 
 we straggled into camp, one after another, at 
 nightfall ; the greater number excessively fatigued,
 
 152 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 only two of the party having* ever travelled on 
 snow-shoes before. 
 
 "All our energies were now directed to getting 
 our animals across the snow ; and it was sup- 
 posed that, after all the baggage had been drawn 
 with the sleighs over the trail we had made, it 
 would be sufficiently hard to bear our animals. 
 At several places, between this point and the 
 ridge, we had discovered some grassy spots, 
 where the wind and sun had dispersed the snow 
 from the sides of the hills, and these were to 
 form resting-places to support the animals for 
 a night in their passage across. On our way 
 across, we had set on fire several broken stumps, 
 and dried trees, to melt holes in the snow for the 
 camps. Its general depth was five feet ; but we 
 passed over places where it was twenty feet 
 deep, as shown by the trees. 
 
 " With one party drawing sleighs loaded with 
 baggage, I advanced to-day, about four miles 
 along the trail, and encamped at the first grassy 
 spot where we expected to bring our" horses. 
 Mr. Fitzpatrick, with another party, remained 
 behind, to form an intermediate station between 
 us and the animals. 
 
 "February 8. The night has been extremely 
 cold; but perfectly still, and beautifully clear. 
 Before the sun appeared this morning, the ther- 
 mometer was 3 3 below zero; 1 higher, when 
 his rays struck the lofty peaks ; and when 
 they reached our camp.
 
 SIERRA NEVADA. 153 
 
 " Scenery and weather combined must render 
 these mountains beautiful in summer ; the purity 
 and deep- blue color of the sky are singularly 
 beautiful ; the days are sunny and bright, and 
 even warm in the noon hours ; and if we could 
 be free from the many anxieties that oppress us, 
 even now we would be delighted here ; but our 
 provisions are getting fearfully scant. 
 
 " Pitting on our snow-shoes, we spent the 
 afternoon in exploring a road ahead. The 
 .glare of the snow, combined with great fatigue, 
 had rendered many of the people nearly blind ; 
 but we were fortunate in having some black 
 silk handkerchiefs, which, worn as veils, very 
 much relieved the eye. 
 
 " February 11. In the evening I received a 
 message from Mr. Fitzpatrick, acquainting me 
 with the utter failure of his attempt to get our 
 mules and horses over the snow the half-hidden 
 trail had proved entirely too slight to support 
 them, and they had broken through, and were 
 plunging about or lying half-buried in snow. 
 He was occupied in endeavoring to get them 
 back to his camp ; and in the mean time sent 
 to me for further instructions. I wrote to him 
 to send the animals immediately back to their 
 old pastures ; and, after having made mauls 
 and shovels, turn in all the strength of his party 
 to open and beat a road through the snow, 
 strengthening it with branches and boughs of 
 the pines.
 
 154 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 " February 12. We made mauls, and worked 
 hard at our end of the road all the day. The 
 wind was high, but the sun bright, and the 
 snow thawing. We worked down the face of 
 the hill, to meet the people at the other end. 
 Towards sundown it began to grow cold, and 
 we shouldered our mauls and trudged back to 
 camp. 
 
 " February 13. We continued to labor on 
 the road ; and in the course of the day had the 
 satisfaction to see the people working down the* 
 face of the opposite hill, about three miles 
 distant. During the morning we had the plea- 
 sure of a visit from Mr/ Fitzpatrick, with the 
 information that all was going on well. A party 
 of Indians had passed on snow-shoes, who said 
 they were going to the western side of the 
 mountain after fish. This was an indication 
 that the salmon were coming up the streams ; 
 and we could hardly restrain our impatience as 
 we thought of them, and worked with increased 
 vigor. 
 
 " The meat train did not arrive this evening, 
 and I gave Godey leave to kill our little dog 
 (Tlamath,) which he prepared in Indian fashion 
 scorching off the hair, and washing the skin 
 with soap and snow, and then cutting it up 
 into pieces, which were laid on the snow. We 
 had to-night an extraordinary dinner pea-soup, 
 mule, and dog.
 
 SIERRA NEVADA. 155 
 
 " February 14. With Mr. Preuss, I ascended 
 to-day the highest peak to the right; from which 
 we had a beautiful view of a mountain lake at 
 our feet, about fifteen miles in length, and so 
 entirely surrounded by mountains that we could 
 not discover an outlet. We had taken with us 
 a glass ; but, though we enjoyed an extended 
 view, the valley was half hidden in mist, as 
 when we had seen it before. Snow could be 
 distinguished on the higher parts of the coast 
 mountains ; eastward, as far as the eye could 
 extend, it ranged over a terrible mass of broken 
 snowy mountains, fading off blue in the dis- 
 tance. 
 
 " February 16. We had succeeded in getting 
 our animals safely to the first grassy hill ; and 
 this morning I started with Jacob on a recon- 
 noitring expedition beyond the mountain. We 
 travelled along the crests of narrow ridges, 
 extending down from the mountain in the direc- 
 tion of the valley, from which the snow was 
 fast melting away. On the open spots was 
 tolerably good grass; and I judged we should 
 succeed in getting the camp down by way of 
 these. Towards sundown we discovered some 
 icy spots in a deep hollow ; and, descending the 
 mountain, we encamped on the head-water of 
 a little creek, where at last the water found its 
 way to the Pacific. 
 
 " The night was clear and very long. We
 
 156 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 heard the cries of some wild animals, which had 
 been attracted by our fire, and a flock of geese 
 passed over during the night. Even these 
 strange sounds had something pleasant to our 
 senses in this region of silence and desolation. 
 
 " We started again early in the morning. 
 The creek acquired a regular breadth of about 
 20 feet, and we soon began to hear the rushing of 
 the water below the ice surface, over which we 
 travelled to avoid the snow ; a few miles below 
 we broke through, where the water was several 
 feet deep, and halted to make a fire and dry our 
 clothes. We continued a few miles further, 
 walking being very laborious without snow- 
 shoes. 
 
 " I was now perfectly satisfied that we had 
 struck the stream on which Mr. Sutter lived ; 
 and, turning about, made a hard push, and 
 reached the camp at dark. Here we had the 
 pleasure to find all the remaining animals, 57 in 
 number, safely arrived at the grassy hill near the 
 camp ; and here, also, we were agreeably sur- 
 prised with the sight of an abundance of salt. 
 Some of the horse-guard had gone to a neigh- 
 boring hut for pine nuts, and discovered, unex- 
 pectedly, a large cake of very white, fine-grained 
 salt, which the Indians told them they had 
 brought from the other side of the mountain ; 
 they used it to eat with their pine nuts, and 
 readily sold it for goods.
 
 SIERRA NEVADA. 157 
 
 " On the 19th the people were occupied in 
 making a road and bringing up the baggage ; 
 and, on the afternoon of the next day, February 
 20, 1844, we encamped with the animals and all 
 the material of the camp, on the summit of the 
 Pass in the dividing ridge, 1,000 miles by our 
 travelled road from the Dalles of the Colum- 
 bia. 
 
 " The people, who had not yet been to this 
 point, climbed the neighboring peak to enjoy a 
 look at the valley. 
 
 " The temperature of boiling water gave for 
 the elevation of the encampment 9,338 feet 
 above the sea. 
 
 " This was 2,000 feet higher than the South 
 Pass in the Rocky Mountains, and several peaks 
 in view rose several thousand feet still higher. 
 Thus, at the extremity of the continent, and 
 near the coast, the phenomenon was seen of a 
 range of mountains still higher than the great 
 Rocky Mountains themselves. This extraordi- 
 nary fact accounts for the Great Basin, and 
 shows that there must be a system of small 
 lakes and rivers here scattered over a flat 
 country, and which the extended and lofty 
 range of the Sierra Nevada prevents from 
 escaping to the Pacific Ocean. Latitude 38 
 44', longitude 120 28'. 
 
 " Thus this pass in the Sierra Nevada, which 
 so well deserves its name of Snowy Mountain, 
 
 14
 
 158 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 is eleven degrees west, and about four degrees 
 south of the South Pass. 
 
 " February 21. We now considered ourselves 
 victorious over the mountain ; having only the 
 descent before us, and the valley under our 
 eyes, we felt strong hope that we should force 
 our way down. But this was a case in which 
 the descent was not facile. Still deep fields 
 of snow lay between, and there was a large 
 intervening space of rough-looking mountains, 
 through which we had yet to wind our way. 
 Carson roused me this morning with an early 
 fire, and we were all up long before day, in 
 order to pass the snow-fields before the sun 
 should render the crust soft. We enjoyed this 
 morning a scene at sunrise, which even here was 
 unusually glorious and beautiful. Immediately 
 above the eastern mountains was repeated a 
 cloud-formed mass of purple ranges, bordered 
 with bright yellow gold ; the peaks shot up into 
 a narrow line of crimson cloud, above which 
 the air was filled with a greenish orange ; and 
 over all was the singular beauty of the blue sky. 
 
 " We had hard and doubtful labor yet before 
 us, as the snow appeared to be heavier where 
 the timber began further down, with few open 
 spots. Ascending a height, \ve traced out the 
 best line we could discover for the next day's 
 march, and had at least the consolation to see that 
 the mountain descended rapidly. The day had
 
 CALIFORNIA. 159 
 
 been one of April ; gusty, with a few occasional 
 flakes of snow ; which, in the afternoon, envel- 
 oped the upper mountain in clouds. We 
 watched them anxiously, as now we dreaded a 
 snow-storm. Shortly afterwards we heard the 
 roll of thunder, and, looking towards the valley, 
 found it all enveloped in a thunder-storm. For 
 us, as connected with the idea of summer, it 
 had a singular charm ; and we watched its pro- 
 gress with excited feelings until nearly sunset, 
 when the sky cleared oft' brightly, and we saw a 
 shining line of water directing its course towards 
 another, a broader and larger sheet. We knew 
 that these could be no other than the Sacra- 
 mento and the bay of San Francisco ; but, after 
 our long wandering in rugged mountains, where 
 so frequently we had met with disappointments, 
 and where the crossing of every ridge displayed 
 some unknown lake or river, we were yet almost 
 afraid to believe that we were at last to escape 
 into the genial country of which we had heard 
 so many glowing descriptions, and dreaded 
 again to find some vast interior lake, whose 
 bitter waters would bring us disappointment. 
 On the southern shore of what appeared to be 
 the bay, could be traced the gleaming line where 
 entered another large stream. 
 
 "February 23. This was our most difficult 
 day ; we were forced off the ridges by the quan- 
 tity of snow among the timber, and obliged to
 
 160 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 take to the mountain-sides, where, occasionally, 
 rocks and a southern exposure afforded us a 
 chance to scramble along. But these were 
 steep and slippery with snow and ice ; and the 
 tough evergreens of the mountain impeded our 
 way, tore our skins, and exhausted our patience. 
 Some of us had the misfortune to wear mocca- 
 sins with parfteche soles, so slippery that we 
 could not keep our feet, and generally crawled 
 across the snow beds. Axes and mauls were 
 necessary to-day, to make a road through the 
 snow. Going ahead with Carson to reconnoitre 
 the road, we reached in the afternoon the river 
 which made the outlet of the lake. Carson 
 sprang over, clear across a place where the 
 stream was compressed among rocks, but the 
 parfteche sole of my moccasin glanced from the 
 icy rock, and precipitated me into the river. It 
 was some few seconds before I could recover 
 myself in the current, and Carson thinking me 
 hurt jumped in after me, and we both had an 
 icy bath. We tried to search awhile for my 
 gun, which had been lost in the fall, but the 
 cold drove us out ; and, making a large fire on 
 the bank, after we had partially dried ourselves, 
 we went back to meet the camp. We after- 
 wards found that the gun had been slung under 
 the ice which lined the banks of the creek. 
 
 "Using our old plan of breaking the road 
 with alternate horses, we reached the creek in
 
 CALIFORNIA. 161 
 
 the evening, and camped on a dry open place 
 in the ravine. 
 
 "February 25. Continuing down the river, 
 which pursued a very direct westerly course 
 through a narrow valley, with only a very slight 
 and narrow bottom land, we made twelve miles, 
 and encamped at some old Indian huts, ap- 
 parently a fishing-place on the river. The bot- 
 tom was covered with trees of deciduous foliage, 
 and overgrown with vines and rushes. On a 
 bench of the hill near by, was a field of fresh 
 green grass, six inches long in some of the tufts, 
 which I had the curiosity to measure. The 
 animals were driven here ; and I spent part of 
 the afternoon sitting on a large rock among 
 them, enjoying the pauseless rapidity with 
 which they luxuriated in the unaccustomed 
 food. 
 
 " The forest was imposing to-day in the mag- 
 nificence of the trees ; some of the pines, bearing 
 large cones, were ten feet in diameter ; cedars 
 also abounded, and we measured one twenty- 
 eight and a half feet in circumference four feet 
 from the ground. This noble tree seemed here 
 to be in its proper soil and climate. We found 
 it on both sides of the Sierra, but most abundant 
 on the west. 
 
 "February 26. We continued to follow the 
 stream, the mountains on either hand increasing 
 in height a^ we descended, and shutting up the 
 
 14*
 
 162 LIFE OF FREMOXT. 
 
 river narrowly in precipices, along which we 
 had great difficulty to get our horses. 
 
 " It rained heavily during the afternoon, and 
 we were forced off the river to the heights 
 above ; whence we descended, at nightfall, the 
 point of a spur between the river and a fork of 
 nearly equal size, coming in from the right. 
 Here we saw, on the lower hills, the first flowers 
 in bloom, which occurred suddenly, and in con- 
 siderable quantity; one of them a species of 
 gilia. 
 
 " The current in both streams (rather torrents 
 than rivers) was broken by large boulders. It 
 was late, and the animals fatigued ; and not 
 succeeding to find a ford immediately, we en- 
 camped, although the hill-side afforded but a 
 few stray bunches of grass ; the horses, standing 
 about in the rain, looked very miserable. 
 
 '''February 27. We succeeded in fording the 
 stream, and made a trail by which we crossed 
 the point of the opposite hill, which, on the 
 southern exposure, was prettily covered with 
 green grass, and we halted a mile from our last 
 encampment. The river was only about sixty 
 feet wide, but rapid and occasionally deep, 
 foaming among boulders, and the water beauti- 
 fully clear. We encamped on the hill-slope, as 
 there was no bottom level, and the opposite 
 ridge is continuous, affording no streams. 
 
 " We had with us a large kettle ; and a mule
 
 CALIFORNIA. 163 
 
 being killed here, his head was boiled in it for 
 several hours, and made a passable soup for 
 famished people. 
 
 " Below, precipices on the river forced us to 
 the heights, which we ascended by a steep spur 
 two thousand feet high. My favorite horse Pro- 
 veau, had become very weak, and was scarcely 
 able to bring himself to the top. Travelling 
 here was good, except in crossing the ravines, 
 which were narrow, steep, and frequent. We 
 caught a glimpse of a deer, the first animal we 
 had seen ; but did not succeed in approaching 
 him. Proveau could not keep up, and I left 
 * Jacob to bring him on, being obliged to press 
 forward with the party, as there was no grass in 
 the forest. We grew very anxious as the day 
 advanced and no grass appeared, for the lives 
 of our animals depended on finding it to-night. 
 They were in just such a condition that grass 
 and repose for the night enabled them to get on 
 the next day. Every hour we had been ex- 
 pecting to see open out before us the valley, 
 which, from the mountain above, seemed almost 
 at our feet. The day was nearly gone ; we had 
 made a hard day's march, and found no grass. 
 Towns became light-headed, wandering off into 
 the woods without knowing where he was going, 
 and Jacob brought him back. 
 
 " Near nightfall we descended into the steep 
 ravine of a handsome creek thirty feet wide, and
 
 164 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 I was engaged in getting the horse up the op- 
 posite hill, when I heard a shout from Carson, 
 who had gone ahead a few hundred yards : ' Life 
 yet,' said he as he came up, ' life yet ; I have 
 found a hill-side sprinkled with grass enough 
 for the night.' We drove along our horses, and 
 encamped at the place about dark, and there 
 was just room enough to make a place for shel- 
 ter on the edge of the stream. Three horses 
 were lost to-day, Proveau ; a fine young horse 
 from the Columbia, belonging to Charles Towns ; 
 and another Indian horse which carried our 
 cooking utensils ; the two former gave out, and 
 the latter strayed off into the woods as we 
 reached the camp. 
 
 "February 29. We lay shut up in the narrow 
 ravine, and gave the animals a necessary day ; 
 and men were sent back after the others. De- 
 rosier volunteered to bring up Proveau to whom 
 he knew I was greatly attached, as he had been 
 my favorite horse on both expeditions. Carson 
 and I climbed one of the nearest mountains ; 
 the forest land still extended ahead, and the 
 valley appeared as far as ever. The packhorse 
 was found near the camp, but Derosier did not 
 get in. 
 
 "March 1. Derosier did not get in during 
 the night, and leaving him to follow, as no 
 grass remained here, we continued on over the 
 uplands, crossing many small streams, and
 
 CALIFORNIA. 165 
 
 camped again on the river, having made six 
 miles. Here we found the hill-side covered (al- 
 though lightly) with fresh green grass ; and 
 from this time forward we found it always im- 
 proving and abundant. 
 
 " We made a pleasant camp on the river hill, 
 where were some beautiful specimens of the 
 chocolate-colored shrub, a foot in diameter 
 near the ground, and from fifteen to twenty 
 feet high. The opposite ridge runs continu- 
 ously along, unbroken by streams. We are 
 rapidly descending into the spring, and we are 
 leaving our snowy region far behind ; every- 
 thing is getting green ; butterflies are swarming ; 
 numerous bugs are creeping out, wakened from 
 their winter's sleep ; and the forest flowers are 
 coming into bloom. Among those which ap- 
 peared most numerously to-day was dodecatheon 
 dentatum. 
 
 " We began to be uneasy at Derosier's ab- 
 sence, fearing he might have been bewildered 
 in the woods. Charles Towns, who had not 
 yet recovered his mind, went to swim in the 
 river, as if it were summer, and the stream 
 placid, when it was a cold mountain torrent 
 foaming among rocks. We were happy to see 
 Derosier appear in the evening. He came in, 
 and, sitting down by the fire, began to tell us 
 where he had been. He imagined he had been 
 gone several days, and thought we were still at
 
 166 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 the camp where he had left us ; and we were 
 pained to see that his mind was deranged. It 
 appeared that he had been lost in the mountain, 
 and hunger and fatigue, joined to weakness of 
 body, and fear of perishing in the mountains, 
 had crazed him. The times were severe when 
 stout men lost their minds from extremity of 
 suffering when horses died and when mules 
 and horses, ready to die of starvation, were 
 killed for food. Yet there was no murmuring 
 or hesitation." 
 
 On the 2d of March, Mr. Preuss wandered 
 from the party, and was lost. Guns were fired, 
 and every effort made to reach him. All were 
 filled with the deepest distress at his disappear- 
 ance. On the 4th of March, Derosier, having 
 volunteered the service, was sent back to attempt 
 to find him, being charged to follow the river, 
 not to continue the search more than a day and 
 a half, and, at the end of that time, to turn back 
 towards the point from which he started, where 
 a cache of provisions would be left for him. 
 
 " Towards evening we heard a weak shout 
 among the hills behind, and had the pleasure to 
 see Mr. Preuss descending towards the camp. 
 Like ourselves, he had travelled to-day twenty- 
 five miles, but had seen nothing of Derosier. 
 Knowing, on the day he was lost, that I was de- 
 termined to keep the river as much as possible, 
 he had not thought it necessary to follow the
 
 CALIFORNIA. 167 
 
 trail very closely, but walked on right and left, 
 certain to find it somewhere along the river, 
 searching places to obtain good views of the 
 country. Towards sunset he climbed down 
 towards the river, to look for the camp ; but, 
 finding no trail, concluded that we were behind, 
 and walked back until night came on, when, be- 
 ing very much fatigued, he collected driftwood 
 and made a large fire among the rocks. The 
 next day it became more serious, and he en- 
 camped again alone, thinking that we must have 
 taken some other course. To go back would 
 have been madness in his weak and starved con- 
 dition, and onward towards the valley was his 
 only hope, always in expectation of reaching it 
 soon. His principal means of subsistence were 
 a few roots, which the hunters call sweet onions, 
 having very little taste, but a good deal of nutri- 
 ment, growing generally in rocky ground, and 
 requiring a good deal of labor to get, as he had 
 only a pocket-knife. Searching for these, he 
 found a nest of big ants, which he let run on his 
 hand, and stripped them off in his mouth ; these 
 had an agreeable acid taste. One of his greatest 
 privations was the want of tobacco ; and a 
 pleasant smoke at evening would have been a 
 relief which only a voyageur could appreciate. 
 He tried the dried leaves of the live oak, know- 
 ing that those of other oaks were sometimes 
 used as a substitute ; but these were too thick,
 
 168 LITE OF FKEMONT. 
 
 and would not do. On the 4th he made seven 
 or eight miles, walking slowly along the river 
 avoiding as much as possible to climb the hills. 
 In little pools he caught some of the smallest 
 kind of frogs, which he swallowed, not so much 
 in the gratification of hunger, as in the hope of 
 obtaining some strength. Scattered along the 
 river were old fire-places, where the Indians had 
 roasted muscles and acorns ; but though he 
 searched diligently, he did not there succeed in 
 finding either. He had collected firewood for 
 the night, when he heard at some distance from 
 the river the barking of what he thought were 
 two dogs, and walked in that direction as quickly 
 as he was able, hoping to find there some Indian 
 hut, but met only two wolves ; and, in his disap- 
 pointment, the gloom of the forest was doubled. 
 " Travelling the next day feebly down the 
 river, he found five or six Indians at the huts of 
 which we have spoken. Some were painting 
 themselves black, and others roasting acorns. 
 Being only one man, they did not run off, but 
 received him kindly, and gave him a welcome 
 supply of roasted acorns. He gave them his 
 pocket-knife in return, and stretched out his hand 
 to one of the Indians, who did not appear to 
 comprehend the motion, but jumped back, as if 
 he thought he was about to lay hold of him. 
 They seemed afraid of him, not certain as to 
 what he was.
 
 CALIFORNIA. 169 
 
 " Travelling on, he came to the place where 
 we had found the squaws. Here he found our fire 
 still burning, and the tracks of the horses. The 
 sight gave him sudden hope and courage ; arid, 
 following as fast as he could, joined us at evening. 
 
 " March 6. We now pressed on more eagerly 
 than ever ; the river swept round in a large bend 
 to the right ; the hills lowered down entirely ; 
 and, gradually entering a broad valley, we came 
 unexpectedly into a large Indian village, w r here 
 the people looked clean, and wore cotton shirts and 
 various other articles of dress. They immediately 
 crowded around us, and we had the inexpressible 
 delight to find one who spoke a little indifferent 
 Spanish, but who at first confounded us by saying 
 there were no whites in the country ; but just then 
 a well-dressed Indian came up, and made his salu- 
 tations in very well-spoken Spanish. In answer 
 to our inquiries, he informed us that we were 
 upon the Rio de los Americanos, (the river of the 
 Americans,) and that it joined the Sacramento 
 River about 10 miles below. Never did a name 
 sound more sweetly ! We felt ourselves among 
 our countrymen ; for the name of American, in 
 these distant parts is applied to the citizens of 
 the United States. To our eager inquiries he 
 answered, ' I am a vaquero (cow-herd) in the 
 service of Capt. Sutter, and the people of this 
 rancheria work for him.' Our evident satisfac- 
 tion made him communicative ; and he went on 
 15
 
 170 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 to say that Capt. Sutter was a very rich man, 
 and always glad to see his country people. We 
 asked for his house. He answered that it was 
 just over the hill before us ; and offered, if we 
 would wait a moment, to take his horse and con- 
 duct us to it. We readily accepted his civil 
 offer. In a short distance we came in sight of 
 the fort ; and, passing on the way the house of 
 a settler on the opposite side, (a Mr. Sinclair,) 
 we forded the river ; and in a few miles were 
 met a short distance from the fort by Capt. Sut- 
 ter himself. He gave, us a most frank and 
 cordial reception conducted us immediately to 
 his residence and under his hospitable roof we 
 had a night of rest, enjoyment, and refreshment, 
 which none but ourselves could appreciate. But 
 the party left in the mountains with Mr. Fitz- 
 patrick were to be attended to ; and the next 
 morning, supplied with fresh horses and provis- 
 ions, I hurried off to meet them. On the second 
 day we met, a few miles below the forks of the 
 Rio de los Americanos ; and a more forlorn and 
 pitiable sight than they presented cannot well be 
 imagined. They were all on foot each man, 
 weak and emaciated leading a horse or mule as 
 weak and emaciated- as themselves. They had 
 experienced great difficulty in descending the 
 mountains, made slippery by rains and melt- 
 ing snows, and many horses fell over precipices, 
 and were killed ; and with some were lost the
 
 CALIFORNIA. 171 
 
 packs they carried. Among these, was a mule 
 with the plants which we had collected since 
 leaving Fort Hall, along a line of 2,000* miles 
 travel. Out of 67 horses and mules with which 
 we commenced crossing the Sierra, only 33 
 reached the valley of the Sacramento, and they 
 only in a condition to be led along. Mr. Fitz- 
 patrick and his party, travelling more slowly, had 
 been able to make some little exertion at hunt- 
 ing, and had killed a few deer. The scanty sup- 
 ply was a great relief to them ; for several had 
 been made sick by the strange and unwholesome 
 food which the preservation of life compelled 
 them to use. We stopped and encamped as 
 soon as we met ; and a repast of good beef, ex-" 
 cellent bread, and delicious salmon, which I had 
 brought along, were their first relief from the suf- 
 ferings of the Sierra, and their first introduction 
 to the luxuries of the Sacramento. It required 
 all our philosophy and forbearance to prevent 
 plenty from becoming as hurtful to us now as 
 scarcity had been before." 
 
 After resting a few days, and completing pre- 
 parations for the homeward journey, the party 
 started on the 22d- of March. The next day 
 Derosier, who had returned in safety from the 
 se'arch for Mr. Preuss, and whom Fremont ever 
 regarded as among his best men, wandered 
 away from the camp. It was probably owing 
 to a return of the mental derangement which the
 
 172 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 sufferings of the recent journey had brought on. 
 All attempts to find him were fruitless, and he 
 was never heard of more, until after the lapse of 
 about two years, he found his way into St. 
 Louis. 
 
 Before touching upon the events of the home- 
 ward journey, which will be briefly done, we 
 may pause for a moment, and reflect upon the 
 extraordinary expedition from the Dalles to the 
 junction of the Americanos and the Sacramento, 
 of which the disappearance of Derosier may be 
 considered the final incident. 
 
 When the season of the year at which it started 
 from the Columbia, and the entirely unknown 
 and forbidding character of the region it pene- 
 trated, are fully considered, it must be allowed 
 to be one of the boldest adventures ever under- 
 taken. It was the first exploration of a vast re- 
 gion, of strange features, and occupied by savage 
 tribes and families that no traveller had ever 
 described or seen, covering 11 degrees of latitude 
 and 10 of longitude, between 4000 and 5000 
 feet above the level of the sea, and shut in be- 
 tween lofty ranges crowned with perpetual snow, 
 the Rocky Mountains in the -east and the Sierra 
 Nevada on the west. Throughout this great 
 basin, the streams flow not into rivers seeking 
 distant seas, but into numerous and many of 
 them wide lakes, having no apparent connection 
 with the oceans of the globe, deeply impreg-
 
 GREAT BASIN. 173 
 
 nated in some instances, with saline and mineral 
 ingredients, in some, turbid and thick with vege- 
 table matter, but often clear, pure, refreshing, 
 translucent to great depths, bordered by beaches 
 of the finest sand, and stocked with delicious 
 fish. The shores are surrounded by pictur- 
 esque, bold, and magnificent scenery. 
 
 Some portions of this vast tract are dreary 
 deserts, in which no animal can live, and from 
 which nearly the whole vegetable world shrinks 
 away. Other portions are fertile and luxuriant 
 in the highest degree, possessing all that valley, 
 cliff, meadow, mountain, forest, and river can 
 contribute to the perfection of landscape beauty. 
 Above is spread a sky, with an atmosphere 
 clearer, and a blue deeper and softer, than hangs 
 over any other region. Of this very remarkable 
 tract, constituting the central plate or basin of 
 the continent, Fremont was the first explorer, and 
 the heroism, resolution, and unconquerable per- 
 severance of his brave party, is one of the most 
 interesting chapters in that series of achieve- 
 ments which has. secured and subdued this 
 continent to our form of civilization, and will 
 bring it all, at last, under our flag. 
 
 The expedition pursued its course southerly 
 along the western base of the Sierra Nevada, 
 crossing the heads of the streams that flow 
 through California to the Bay of San Francisco. 
 On the 13th of April it entered a pass, a little 
 
 15 *
 
 174 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 above the 35th parallel of latitude, and crossed 
 the summit the next day. 
 
 " As we reached the summit of this beautiful 
 pass, and obtained a view into the eastern coun- 
 try, we saw at once that here was the place to 
 take leave of all such pleasant scenes as those 
 around us. The distant mountains were now 
 bald rocks again ; and below, the land had any 
 color but green. Taking into consideration the 
 nature of the Sierra Nevada, we found this pass 
 an excellent one for horses ; and with a little 
 labor, or perhaps with a more perfect examina- 
 tion of the localities, it might be made suffi- 
 ciently practicable for wagons. Its latitude and 
 longitude may be considered that of our last en- 
 campment, only a few miles distant. The ele- 
 vation was not taken, our half-wild cavalcade 
 making it too troublesome to halt before night, 
 when once started. 
 
 " We here left the waters of the Bay of San 
 Francisco, and, though forced upon them con- 
 trary to my intentions, I cannot regret the neces- 
 sity which occasioned 'the deviation. It made 
 me well acquainted with the great range of the 
 Sierra Nevada of the Alta California, and showed 
 that this broad and elevated snowy ridge was a 
 continuation of the Cascade Range, of Oregon, 
 between which and the ocean there is still another 
 and a lower range, parallel to the former and to 
 the coast, and which may be called the Coast
 
 GREAT BASIN. 176 
 
 Range. It also made me well acquainted with 
 the basin of the San Francisco Bay, and with 
 the two pretty rivers and their valleys, (the Sac- 
 ramento and San Joaquin,) which are tributary 
 to that bay ; and cleared up some points in ge- 
 ography on which error had long prevailed. It 
 had been constantly represented, as I have 
 already stated, that the Bay of San Francisco 
 opened far into the interior, by some river com- 
 ing down from the base of the Rocky Moun- 
 tains, and upon which supposed stream the 
 name of Rio Buenaventura had been bestowed. 
 Our observations of the Sierra Nevada, in the 
 long distance from the head of the Sacramento 
 to the head of the San Joaquin, and of the val- 
 ley below it, which collects ah 1 the waters of the 
 San Francisco Bay, show that this neither is nor 
 can be the case. No river from the interior does 
 or can cross the Sierra Nevada itself more 
 lofty than the Rocky Mountains ; and as to the 
 Buenaventura, the mouth of which, seen on the 
 coast, gave the idea and the name of the reputed 
 great river, it is, in fact, a small stream of no 
 consequence, not only below the Sierra Nevada, 
 but actually below the Coast Range, taking its 
 rise within half a degree of the ocean, running 
 parallel to it for about two degrees, and then 
 falling into the Pacific near Monterey. There is 
 no opening from the Bay of San Francisco into 
 the interior of the continent. The two rivers
 
 176 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 which flow into it are comparatively short, and 
 not perpendicular to the coast, but lateral to it, 
 and having their heads towards Oregon and 
 Southern California. They open lines of com- 
 munication north and south, and not eastwardly ; 
 and thus this want of interior communication 
 from the San Francisco Bay, now fully ascer- 
 tained, gives great additional value to the Co- 
 lumbia, which stands alone as the only great 
 river on the Pacific slope of our continent which 
 leads from the ocean to the Rocky Mountains, 
 and opens a line of communication from the sea 
 to the valley of the Mississippi. 
 
 " Our cavalcade made a strange and grotesque 
 appearance, and it was impossible to avoid re- 
 flecting upon our position and composition in 
 this remote solitude. Within two degrees of the 
 Pacific ocean, already far south of the latitude 
 of Monterey, and still forced on south by a des- 
 ert on one hand, and a mountain range on the 
 other, guided by a civilized Indian, attended by 
 two wild ones from the Sierra, a Chinook from 
 the Columbia, and our own mixture of Ameri- 
 can, French, German, all armed, four or five lan- 
 guages heard at once, above a hundred horses 
 and mules, half wild, American, Spanish, and 
 Indian dresses and equipments intermingled, 
 such was our composition. Our march was a 
 sort of procession scouts ahead and on the 
 flanks, a front and rear division, the pack ani-
 
 GREAT BASIN. 177 
 
 mals, baggage, and horned cattle in the centre, 
 and the whole stretching a quarter of a mile 
 along our dreary path. 
 
 "April 25. In the afternoon, we were sur- 
 prised by the sudden appearance in the camp of 
 two Mexicans a man and a boy. The name 
 of the man was Andreas Fuentes, and that of 
 the boy (a handsome lad 11 years old) Pablo 
 Hernandez. They belonged to a party consist- 
 ing of six persons, the remaining four being the 
 wife of Fuentes, the father and mother of Pablo, 
 and Santiago Giacome, a resident of New Mex- 
 ico. With a cavalcade of about thirty horses, 
 they had come out from Puebla de los Angeles, 
 near the coast, under the guidance of Giacome, 
 in advance of the great caravan, in order to 
 travel more at leisure and obtain better grass. 
 Having advanced as far into the desert as was 
 considered consistent with their safety, they halt- 
 ed at the Archilette, one of the customary camp- 
 ing grounds, about eighty miles from our en- 
 campment, where there is a spring of good 
 water, with sufficient grass, and concluded to 
 await there the arrival of the great caravan. 
 Several Indians were soon discovered lurking 
 about the camp, who, in a day or two after, came 
 in, and, after behaving in a very friendly manner, 
 took their leave, without awakening any suspi- 
 cions. Their deportment begat a security which 
 proved fatal. In a few days afterwards, sud-
 
 178 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 denly a party of about one hundred Indians ap- 
 peared in sight, advancing towards the camp. 
 It was too late, or they seemed not to have pres- 
 ence of mind to take proper measures of safety ; 
 and the Indians charged down into their camp, 
 shouting as they advanced, and discharging 
 flights of arrows. Pablo and Fuentes were on 
 horse-guard at the time, and mounted, according 
 to the custom of the country. One of the prin 
 cipal objects of the Indians was to get posses- 
 sion of the horses, and part of them immedi- 
 ately surrounded the band ; but, in obedience to 
 the shouts of Giacome, Fuentes drove the' ani- 
 mals over and through the assailants, in spite of 
 their arrows ; and, abandoning the rest to their 
 fate, carried them off at speed -across the plain. 
 Knowing that they would be pursued by the In- 
 dians, without making any halt except to shift 
 their saddles to other horses, they drove them on 
 for about sixty miles, and this morning left them 
 at a watering-place on the trail called Agua de 
 Tomaso. Without giving themselves any time 
 for rest, they hurried on, hoping to meet the 
 Spanish caravan, when they discovered my camp. 
 I received them kindly, taking them into my 
 own mess, and promised them such aid as cir- 
 cumstances might put it in my power to give." 
 
 Fuentes was filled with the deepest anxiety 
 about the fate of his wife, and Pablo about that 
 of his father and mother. There was every
 
 GREAT BASIN. 179 
 
 reason, indeed, to fear the worst. The sensi- 
 bilities of Fremont's noble-hearted men were 
 highly excited by the expressions of their grief, 
 and Carson and Godey volunteered to accom- 
 pany Fuentes in pursuit of the Indians, hoping 
 to deliver the captives, if alive, or avenge them, 
 if dead. Fuentes returned the same night, his 
 horse having given out, but Carson and Godey 
 kept on. 
 
 " In the afternoon of the next day, a war- 
 whoop .was heard, such as Indians make when 
 returning from a victorious enterprise; and soon 
 Carson and Godey appeared, driving before 
 them a band of horses, recognized by Fuentes 
 to be part of those they had lost. Two bloody 
 scalps, dangling from the end of Godey's gun, 
 announced that they had overtaken the Indians, 
 as well as the horses. They informed us, that 
 after Fuentes left them, from the failure of his 
 horse, they continued the pursuit alone, and 
 towards nightfall entered the mountains, into 
 which the trail led. After sunset the moon 
 gave light, and they followed the trail by moon- 
 shine until late in the night, when it entered a 
 narrow defile, and was difficult to follow. 
 Afraid of losing it in the darkness of the defile, 
 they tied up their horses, struck no fire, and lay 
 down to sleep in silence and in darkness. Here 
 they lay from midnight till morning. At day- 
 light they resumed the pursuit, and about sun-
 
 180 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 rise discovered the horses ; and, immediately 
 dismounting and tying up their own, they crept 
 ' cautiously to a rising ground which intervened, 
 from the crest of which they perceived the en- 
 campment of four lodges close by. They pro- 
 ceeded quietly, and had got within thirty or 
 forty yards of then- object, when a movement 
 among the horses discovered them to the In- 
 dians ; giving the war shout, they instantly 
 charged into the camp, regardless of the number 
 which the four lodges would imply. The In- 
 dians received them with a flight of arrows 
 shot from their long bows, one of. which 
 passed through Godey's shirt collar, barely miss- 
 ing the neck ; our men fired their rifles upon a 
 steady aim, and rushed in. Two Indians were 
 stretched on the ground, fatally pierced with 
 bullets ; the rest fled, except a lad that was 
 captured. The scalps of the fallen were in- 
 stantly stripped off; but in the process, one 
 of them,. who had a ball through his body, 
 sprung to his feet, the blood streaming from his 
 skinned head, and uttering a hideous howl. 
 An old squaw, possibly his mother, stopped and 
 looked back from the mountain side she was 
 climbing, threatening and lamenting. The 
 frightful spectacle appalled the stout hearts of 
 our men ; but they did what humanity required, 
 and quickly terminated the agonies of the gory 
 savage. They were now masters of the camp,
 
 GREAT BASIN. 181 
 
 which was a pretty little recess in the mountain, 
 with a fine spring, and apparently safe from all 
 invasion. Great preparations had been made 
 to feast a large party, for it was a very proper 
 place for a rendezvous, and for the celebration 
 of such orgies as robbers of the desert would 
 delight in. Several of the best horses had been 
 killed, skinned, and cut up ; for the Indians liv- 
 ing in mountains, and only coming into the 
 plains to rob and murder, make no other use of 
 horses than to eat them. Large earthen vessels 
 were on the fire, boiling and stewing the horse- 
 beef; and several baskets, containing fifty or 
 . sixty pairs of moccasins, indicated the presence, 
 or expectation, of a considerable party. They 
 released the boy, who had given strong evidence 
 of the stoicism, or something else, of the savage 
 character, in commencing his breakfast upon a 
 horse's head as soon as he found he was not to 
 be killed, but only tied as a prisoner. Their ob- 
 ject accomplished, our men gathered up all the 
 surviving horses, fifteen in number, returned 
 upon their trail, and rejoined us at our camp in 
 the afternoon ^of the same day. They had rode 
 about one hundred miles in the pursuit and re- 
 turn, and all in thirty hours. The time, place, 
 object, and numbers considered, this expedition 
 of Carson and Godey may be considered among 
 the boldest and most disinterested which the 
 annals of western adventure, so full of daring 
 
 16
 
 182 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 deeds, can present. Two men, in a savage des- 
 ert, pursue day and night an unknown body of 
 Indians into the denies of an unknown moun- 
 tain attack them on sight, without counting 
 numbers and defeat them in an instant, and 
 for what ? To punish the robbers of the desert, 
 and to avenge the wrongs of Mexicans whom 
 they did not know. I repeat: it was Carson 
 and Godey who diji this the former an Ameri- 
 can, born in Kentucky ; the latter a Frenchman 
 by descent, bom in St. Louis ;. and both trained 
 to western enterprise from early life." 
 
 The foregoing passage presents a horrid spec- 
 tacle of the barbarities incident to a wilderness 
 life. The mind shudders at the details of the 
 bloody conflict ; but it was not long before 
 ample and fearful evidence appeared that the 
 sudden and awful retribution inflicted upon the 
 savages by the intrepid Carson and his well- 
 matched associate, was fully merited. 
 
 " April 29. To-day we had to reach the Ar- 
 chilette, distant seven miles, where the Mexican 
 party had been attacked; and, leaving our en- 
 campment early, we traversed a part of the des- 
 ert, the most sterile and repulsive that we had 
 yet seen. Its prominent features were dark si- 
 erras, naked and dry ; on the plains a few strag- 
 gling shrubs among them, cactus of several 
 varieties. Fuentes pointed out one called by 
 the Spaniards bisnada, which has a juicy pulp,
 
 GREAT -BASIN. 183 
 
 slightly acid, and is eaten by the traveller to 
 allay thirst. Our course was generally north ; 
 and, after crossing an intervening ridge, we 
 descended into a sandy plain, or basin, in the 
 middle of which was the grassy spot, with its 
 springs and willow bushes, which constitutes a 
 camping-place in the desert, and is called the 
 Archilette. The dead silence of the place was 
 ominous ; and, galloping rapidly up, we found 
 only the corpses of the two men ; every thing 
 else was gone. They were naked, mutilated, 
 and pierced with arrows. Hernandez had evi- 
 dently fought, and with desperation. He lay in 
 advance of the willow, half-faced tent, which 
 sheltered his family, as if he had come out to 
 meet, danger, and to repulse it from that asy- 
 lum. " One of his hands, and both his legs, had 
 been cut off. Giacome, who was a large and 
 strong-looking man, was lying in one of the 
 willow shelters, pierced with arrows. Of the 
 women no trace could be found, and it was evi- 
 dent they had been carried off captive. A little 
 lap-dog, which had belonged to Pablo's mother, 
 remained with the dead bodies, and was frantic 
 with joy at seeing Pablo; he, poor child, was 
 frantic with grief ; and filled the air with 
 lamentations for his father and mother. Mi 
 padre ! mi madre ! was his incessant cry. 
 When we beheld this pitiable sight, and pic- 
 tured to ourselves the fate of the two women,
 
 184 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 carried off by savages so brutal and so loath- 
 some, all compunction for the scalped-alive In- 
 dian ceased; and we rejoiced that Carson and 
 Godey had been able to give so useful a lesson 
 to these American Arabs, who lie in wait to 
 murder and plunder the innocent traveller. 
 
 " We were all too much affected by the sad 
 feelings which the place inspired, to remain 
 an unnecessary moment. The night "we were 
 obliged to pass there. Early in the morning we 
 left it, having first written a brief account of 
 what had happened, and put it in the cleft of a 
 pole planted at the spring, that the approaching 
 caravan might learn the fate of their friends. 
 In commemoration of the event, we called the 
 place Agua de Hernandez Hernandez's spring." 
 
 It was afterwards ascertained that the wife of 
 Fuentes, and mother of Pablo, -were both mur- 
 dered at a short distance beyond, and probably 
 a few hours after their capture, under circum- 
 stances of the most incredible and brutal cruelty, 
 and after fiendlike outrages and tortures. 
 
 The circumstances just related prove that Kit 
 Carson is worthy of the renown he enjoys in the 
 estimation of the backwoodsmen of America, 
 as the hero of the prairies and the mountains. 
 His name is so intimately identified with that 
 of Fremont, that these pages owe a special trib- 
 ute to his manly and noble virtues. They first 
 met accidentally on a steamboat above St.
 
 Kit C.irson.
 
 KIT CARSON. 185 
 
 Louis, as Fremont was starting on his first ex- 
 pedition neither had ever heard of the other. 
 But Carson's character, although then unknown 
 in the settlements, had long before become an 
 object of pride and admiration to every brave 
 heart among the trappers and hunters of 
 America. 
 
 Christopher Carson was born in Kentucky 
 about the year 1811, his father having been one 
 of the early settlers of that State, and noted in 
 his day as a hunter and Indian fighter. Within 
 a year or two after the birth of Kit, the family 
 moved to the then frontiers of Missouri. At the 
 age of fifteen Kit joined a trading party to Sante 
 Fe. From that point he went into the lower 
 Mexican provinces, following various adven- 
 tures ; among others he was employed for some 
 time as a teamster, in connection with the cop- 
 per mines of Chihuahua. At seventeen years 
 of age he commenced life as a trapper, in the 
 region of the Rio Colorado of California. After 
 many perils he returned to Taos, in New Mexico, 
 and joined a trapping party to the head waters 
 of the Arkansas, and spent about eight years in 
 that occupation, principally among the moun- 
 tains where the Missouri and Columbia rivers 
 take their rise. The business of trapping was 
 then in its more flourishing state, and formed 
 a class of men of marked and striking traits. 
 Nature in her original aspects, and in all her 
 
 16*
 
 186 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 wildness and grandeur, was their home. Sav- 
 ages, fierce, brave, and stealthy, met them at 
 every point and privation, danger, and suffering 
 were an ordinary experience. This mode of life, 
 in its perfect freedom and manly excitements and 
 achievements, was favorable in many respects 
 to the development of noble energies and sen- 
 timents. Carson soon became preeminent in 
 these characteristics, and was famous as a suc- 
 cessful trapper, unerring shot, and reliable guide 
 and leader. In conflicts with hostile Indians he 
 conducted many a daring and 'victorious enter- 
 terprise. In one of these conflicts with the 
 Blackfeet he received a rifle ball in his left 
 shoulder, the only personal injury he ever met 
 in battle. 
 
 He is a remarkably peaceable and quiet man, 
 temperate in his habits, and strictly moral in his 
 deportment. In a letter written from California, 
 in 1847, introducing Carson as the bearer of 
 despatches to the government, Col. Fremont 
 says, "with me, Carson and truth mean the 
 same thing. He is always the same gallant 
 and disinterested." He is kind-hearted, and 
 averse to all quarrelsome and turbulent scenes, 
 and has never been engaged in any mere per- 
 sonal broils or encounters, except on one single 
 occasion, which he sometimes modestly de- 
 scribes to his friends. The narrative, as he gives 
 it, is fully confirmed by an eye-witness, of whose 

 
 KIT CARSON. 187 
 
 presence at the time he was not aware, and 
 whose account he has probably never seen or 
 heard of. I shall tell the story as it is gathered 
 from them both. 
 
 In the year 1835, the Rev. Samuel Parker 
 made an exploring and missionary tour, under 
 the auspices of the American Board of Com- 
 missioners for Foreign Missions, beyond the 
 Rocky Mountains, and as far as the settlements 
 on the Columbia River. In his printed journal 
 he gives an account of the incident to which I am 
 referring ; it occurred on the 12th of August, at 
 a point on the borders of Green River, beyond 
 the South Pass, on the occasion of a " rendez- 
 vous," that is, on a spot selected for Indians, 
 trappers, and hunters to bring to market their 
 peltries, and obtain supplies from the agents of 
 the Fur Companies. There was a large con- 
 course of savage tribes, and all the various deni- 
 zens of the wilderness. There were Frenchmen, 
 Spaniards, Dutchmen, Canadians, and Western 
 backwoodsmen. The Rev. Mr. Parker happened 
 to be there, to witness the strange gathering. 
 Of course there were some rude characters, and 
 not a little irregularity and disorder. Conflicts 
 were liable to arise between quarrelsome persons, 
 growing out of the feuds among the tribes, and 
 animosities between the representatives of differ- 
 ent nations, all actuated by pride cf race or 
 country.
 
 188 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 A hunter, named Shunan, a Frenchman, 
 who was well known by the title of the " big 
 bully of the mountains," mounted his horse with 
 a loaded rifle, and dashing defiantly around, 
 challenged any person, of any nationality, to 
 meet him in single combat. He boasted of his 
 exploits, and used the most insulting and irritat- 
 ing language, and was particularly insolent and 
 abusive towards Americans, whom he described 
 as only worth being whipped with switches. 
 Kit Carson was in the crowd, and his patriotic 
 spirit kindled at the taunt. He at once stepped 
 forward and said, " I am an American, the most 
 trifling one among them, but if you wish to die, 
 I will accept your challenge." Shunan defied 
 him. Carson at once leaped upon his horse, 
 with a loaded pistol, and both dashed into close 
 conflict. They fired, almost at the same mo- 
 ment, but Carson an instant the quickest. Their 
 horses heads touched. Shunan's ball just grazed 
 Carson's cheek, near the left eye, and cut off 
 some locks of his hair. Carson's ball entered 
 Shunan's hand, came out at the wrist, and passed 
 through his arm above the elbow. The bully 
 begged for his life, and it was spared. 
 
 This put an effectual stop to all such insolent 
 proceedings, and Americans were insulted no 
 longer. We shall have occasion to refer to Car- 
 son at several points in the residue of this work. 
 He is still living, being yet, indeed, in his prime.
 
 KIT CARSON. . , 189 
 
 President Polk nominated him to the Senate for 
 a commission in the army, corresponding to 
 what he had held in the California battalion, 
 that of a lieutenancy in the Rifle corps. The 
 nomination was not confirmed by the Senate. 
 His faithful commander has recorded his name 
 on the geography of the continent, by calling 
 after him a river and a lake, in the great basin 
 they explored together. He is, at this time, In- 
 dian agent for New Mexico. He was early 
 married to a Sioux woman, to whom he was 
 devotedly attached. She died, leaving one 
 daughter. Carson's present wife is a New Mex- 
 ican lady of great worth and respectability. 
 
 The following passage from Fremont's Jour- 
 nal conveys a vivid idea of the wilder races of 
 Indians : 
 
 " In the darkness of the night we had made a 
 very bad encampment, our fires being com- 
 manded by a rocky bluff within fifty yards ; but, 
 notwithstanding, we had the river and small 
 thickets of willows on the other side. Several 
 times during the day the camp was insulted by 
 the Indians ; but peace being our object, I kept 
 simply on the defensive. Some of the Indians 
 were on the bottoms, and others haranguing us 
 from the bluffs ; and they were scattered in every 
 direction over the hills. Their language being 
 probably a dialect of the Utah, with the aid of 
 signs some of our people could comprehend them
 
 190 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 very well. They were the same people who had 
 murdered the Mexicans ; and towards us their 
 disposition was evidently hostile, nor were we 
 well disposed towards them. They were bare- 
 footed and nearly naked ; their hair gathered up 
 into a knot behind ; and with his bow each man 
 carried a quiver with thirty or forty arrows par- 
 tially drawn out. Besides these, each held in 
 his hand two or three arrows for instant service. 
 Their arrows are barbed with a very clear translu- 
 cent stone, a species of opal, nearly as hard as the 
 diamond; and, shot from their long bow, are 
 almost as effective as a gunshot. In these In- 
 dians, I was forcibly struck by an expression of 
 countenance resembling that in a beast of prey ; 
 and all their actions are those of wild animals. 
 Joined to the restless motion of the eye, there is 
 a want of mind an absence of thought and 
 an action wholly by impulse, strongly expressed, 
 and which constantly recalls the similarity. 
 
 " A man who appeared to be a chief, with two 
 or three others, forced himself into camp, bring- 
 ing with him his arms, in spite of my orders to 
 the contrary. When shown our* weapons, he 
 bored his ear with his fingers, and said he could 
 not hear. ' Why,' said he, ' there are none of 
 you.' Counting the people around the camp, 
 and including in the number a mule which was 
 being shod, he made out twenty-two. ' So 
 many,' said he, showing the number, ' and we
 
 KIT CARSON. 191 
 
 we are a great many ; ' and he pointed to the 
 hills and mountains round about. ' If you have 
 your arms,' said he, twanging his bow, 'we have 
 these.' I had some difficulty in restraining the 
 people, particularly Carson, who felt an insult of 
 this kind as much as if it had been given by a 
 more responsible being. ' Don't say that, old 
 man,' said he ; ' don't you say that your life's 
 in danger,' speaking in good English ; and 
 probably the old man was nearer to his end 
 than he will be before he meets it. 
 
 " I had been engaged in arranging plants ; 
 and, fatigued with the heat of the day, I fell 
 asleep in the afternoon, and did not awake until 
 sundown. Presently Carson came to me, and 
 reported that Tabeau, who early in the day had 
 left his post, and, without my knowledge, rode 
 back to the camp we had left, in search of a 
 lame mule, had not returned. While we were 
 speaking, a smoke rose suddenly from the cotton- 
 wood grove below, which plainly told us what 
 had befallen him. It was raised to inform the 
 surrounding Indians that a blow had been struck, 
 and to tell them to be on their guard. Carson, 
 with several men well mounted, was instantly 
 sent down the river, but returned in the night 
 without tidings of the missing man. They went 
 to the camp we had left, but neither he nor the 
 mule was there. Searching down the river, they 
 found the tracks of the mule, evidently driven
 
 192 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 along by Indians, whose tracks were on each 
 side of those made by the animal. After -going 
 several miles, they came to the mule itself, stand- 
 ing in some bushes, mortally wounded in the 
 side by an arrow, and left to die, that it might 
 be afterwards butchered for food. They also 
 found in another place, as they were hunting 
 about on the ground for Tabeau's tracks, some- 
 thing that looked like a little puddle of blood, 
 but which the darkness prevented them from ver- 
 ifying. With these details they returned to our 
 camp, and their report saddened all our hearts. 
 
 "May 10. This morning, as soon as there was 
 light "enough to foUow tracks, I set out myself 
 with Mr. Fitzpatrick and several men in search 
 of Tabeau. We went to the spot where the 
 appearance of puddled blood had been seen ; 
 and this, we saw at once, had been the place 
 where he fell and died. Blood upon the leaves 
 and beaten-down bushes, showed that he had 
 got his wound about twenty paces from where 
 he fell, and that he had struggled for his life. 
 He had probably been shot through the lungs 
 with an arrow. From the place where he lay 
 and bled, it could be seen that he had been 
 dragged to the river bank, and thrown into it. 
 No vestige of what had belonged to him could 
 be found, except a fragment of his horse equip- 
 ment. Horse, gun, clothes all became the prey 
 of these Arabs of the New World.
 
 UTAH LAKE. 193 
 
 ' " Tabeau had been one of our best men, and 
 his unhappy death spread a gloom over our 
 party. Men, who have gone through such dan- 
 gers and sufferings as we had seen, become like 
 brothers, and feel each other's loss. To defend 
 and avenge each other, is the deep feeling of 
 all. We wished to avenge his death ; but the 
 condition of our horses, languishing for grass 
 and repose, forbade an expedition into unknown 
 mountains. We knew the tribe who had done 
 the mischief the same which had been insulting 
 our camp. They knew what they deserved, and 
 had the discretion to show themselves to us no 
 more. The day before, they infested our camp ; 
 now, not one appeared ; nor did we ever after- 
 wards see but one who even belonged to the 
 same tribe, and he at a distance." 
 
 The circumstances of the murder, by these 
 savages, of one of the tried and faithful followers 
 of Fremont, shows the perils that always hang 
 round a party travelling through the regions over 
 which they roam. 
 
 On the 24th of May, the expedition, having 
 skirted the southern rim of the great basin, 
 reached the Utah Lake. At this point it is emi- 
 nently proper to let Fremont himself review his 
 route. 
 
 " Early the next day we came in sight of the 
 lake ; and, as we descended to the broad bottoms 
 of the Spanish Fork, three horsemen were seen 
 
 17
 
 194 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 galloping towards us, who proved to be Utah 
 Indians scouts from a village, which was en- 
 camped near the mouth of the river. They 
 were armed with rifles, and their horses were in 
 good condition. We encamped near them, on 
 the Spanish Fork, which is one of the principal 
 tributaries to the lake. Finding the Indians 
 troublesome, and desirous to remain here a day, 
 we removed the next morning further down the 
 lake, and encamped on a fertile bottom near 
 the foot of the same mountainous ridge which 
 borders the Great Salt Lake, and along which 
 we had journeyed the previous September. 
 
 " We had now accomplished an object we had 
 in view when leaving the Dalles of the Columbia 
 in November last; we had reached the Utah 
 Lake ; but by a route very different from what 
 we had intended, and without sufficient time 
 remaining to make the examinations which were 
 desired. It is a lake of note in this country, 
 under the dominion of the Utahs, who resort to 
 it for fish. Its greatest breadth is about fifteen 
 miles, stretching far to the north, narrowing as it 
 goes, and connecting with the Great Salt Lake. 
 
 " In arriving at the Utah Lake, we had com- 
 pleted an immense circuit of twelve degrees 
 diameter north and south, and ten degrees east 
 and west; and found ourselves in May, 1844, on 
 the same sheet of water which we had left in 
 September, 1843. The Utah is the southern
 
 GEOGRAPHY OP THE CONTINENT. 195 
 
 limb of the Great Salt Lake ; and thus we had 
 seen that remarkable sheet of water both at its 
 northern and southern extremity, and were able 
 to fix its position at these two points. The 
 circuit which we had made, and which, had 
 cost -us eight months of time, and 3,500 miles of 
 travelling, had given us a view of Oregon and 
 of North California from the Rocky Mountains 
 to the Pacific ocean, and of the two principal 
 streams which form bays or harbors on the coast 
 of that sea. Having completed this circuit, and 
 being now about to turn the back upon the 
 Pacific slope of our continent, and to recross the 
 Rocky Mountains, it is natural to look back upon 
 our footsteps, and take some brief view of the 
 leading features and general structure of the 
 country we had traversed. These are peculiar 
 and striking, and differ essentially from the 
 Atlantic side of our country. The mountains 
 all are higher, more numerous, and more dis- 
 tinctly defined in their ranges and directions ; 
 and, what is so contrary to the natural order of- 
 such formations, one of these ranges, which is 
 near the coast, (the Sierra Nevada and the Coast 
 Range,) presents higher elevations and peaks 
 than any which are to be found in the Rocky 
 Mountains themselves. In our eight months' 
 circuit, we were never out of sight of snow ; 
 and the Sierra Nevada, where we crossed it, 
 was near 2,000 feet higher than the South Pass
 
 196 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 in the Rocky Mountains. In height, these 
 mountains greatly exceed those of the Atlantic 
 side, constantly presenting peaks which enter 
 the region of eternal snow ; and some of them 
 volcanic, and in a frequent state of activity. 
 They are seen at great distances and guide the 
 traveller in his courses. 
 
 " The course and elevation of these ranges give 
 direction to the rivers, and character to the coast. 
 No great river does, or can, take its rise below 
 the Cascade and Sierra Nevada Range ; the dis- 
 tance to the sea is too short to admit of it. The 
 rivers of the San Francisco Bay, which are the 
 largest after the Columbia, are local to that bay, 
 and lateral to th'e coast, having their sources 
 about on a line with the Dalles of the Columbia, 
 and running each in the valley of its own, 
 between the Coast Range and the Cascade and 
 Sierra Nevada Range. The Columbia is the 
 only river which traverses the whole breadth 
 of the country, breaking through all the ranges, 
 and entering the sea. Drawing its waters from 
 a section of ten degrees of latitude in the Rocky 
 Mountains, which are collected into one stream 
 by three main forks, (Lewis's, Clark's, and the 
 North Fork,) near the centre of the Oregon 
 valley, this great river thence proceeds by a 
 single channel to the sea, while its three forks 
 lead each to a pass in the mountains, which 
 opens the way into the interior of the continent.
 
 GEOGKAPIIY OP THE CONTINENT. 197 
 
 This fact in relation .to the rivers of this region 
 gives an immense value to the Columbia. Its 
 mouth is the only inlet and outlet to and from 
 the sea ; its three forks lead to the passes in the 
 mountains ; it is, therefore, the only line of com- 
 munication between the Pacific and the interior 
 of North America ; and all operations of war or 
 commerce, of national or social intercourse, must 
 be conducted upon it. This gives it a value 
 beyond estimation, and would involve irreparable 
 injury if lost. In this unity and concentration 
 of its waters, the Pacific side of our continent 
 differs entirely from the Atlantic side, where the 
 waters of the Alleghany Mountains are dispersed 
 into many rivers, having their different entrances 
 into the sea, and opening many lines of commu- 
 nication with the interior. 
 
 " The Pacific coast is equally different from 
 that of the Atlantic. The coast of the Atlantic 
 is low and open, indented with numerous bays, 
 sounds, and river estuaries, accessible every- 
 where, and opening by many channels into the 
 heart of the country. The Pacific coast, on the 
 contrary, is high and compact, with few bays, 
 and but one that opens into the heart of the 
 country. The immediate coast is what the sea- 
 men call iron bound. A little within, it is skirted 
 by two successive ranges of mountains, standing 
 as ramparts between the sea and the interior 
 country ; and to get through which, there is but 
 
 17*
 
 198 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 one gate, and that narrow, and easily defended. 
 This structure of the coast, backed by these two 
 ranges of mountains, with its concentration and 
 unity of waters, gives to the country an immense 
 military strength, and will probably render Ore- 
 gon the most impregnable country in the world. 
 " Differing so much from the Atlantic side of 
 our continent, in coast, mountains, and rivers, 
 the Pacific side differs from it in another most 
 rare and singular feature that of the Great in- 
 terior Basin, of which I have so often spoken, 
 and the whole ' form and character of which I 
 was so anxious to ascertain. Its existence is 
 vouched for *by such of the American traders 
 and hunters as have some knowledge of that 
 region ; the structure of the Sierra Nevada range 
 of mountains requires it to be there ; and my 
 own observations confirm it. Mr. Joseph Walker, 
 who is so well acquainted in those parts, in- 
 formed me that, from the Great Salt Lake west, 
 there was a succession of lakes and rivers which 
 have no outlet to the sea, nor any connection 
 with the Columbia, or with the Colorado of the 
 Gulf of California. He described some of these 
 lakes' as being large, with numerous streams, 
 and even considerable rivers, falling into them. 
 In fact, all concur in the general report of these 
 interior rivers and lakes ; and, for want of under- 
 standing the force and power of evaporation, 
 which so soon establishes an equilibrium be-
 
 GEOGRAPHY OF THE CONTINENT. 199 
 
 tween the loss and supply of waters, the fable of 
 whirlpools and subterraneous outlets has gained 
 belief as the only imaginable way of carrying 
 off the waters which have no visible discharge. 
 The structure of the country would require this 
 formation of interior lakes ; for the waters which 
 would collect between the Rocky Mountains and 
 the Sierra Nevada, not being able to cross this 
 formidable barrier, nor to get to the Columbia 
 or the Colorado, must naturally collect into res- 
 ervoirs, each of which would have its little 
 system of streams and rivers to supply it. This 
 would be the natural effect ; and what I saw 
 went to confirm it. The Great Salt Lake is a 
 formation of this kind, and quite a large one ; 
 and having many streams, and one considerable 
 river, four or five hundred miles long, falling into 
 it. This lake and river I saw and examined 
 myself; and also saw the Wahsatch and Bear 
 River Mountains which enclose the waters of 
 the lake on the east, and constitute, in that quar- 
 ter, the rim of the Great Basin. Afterwards, 
 along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada, 
 where we travelled for forty-two days, I saw the 
 line of lakes and rivers which lie at the foot of 
 that Sierra; and which Sierra is the western 
 rim of the Basin. In going down Lewis's Fork 
 and the main Columbia, I crossed only inferior 
 streams coming in from the left, such as could 
 draw then: water from a short distance only ; and
 
 200 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 I often saw the mountains at their heads, white 
 with snow ; which, all accounts said, divided the 
 waters of the desert from those of the Columbia, 
 and which could be no other than the range of 
 mountains which form the rim of the Basin on 
 its northern side. And in returning from Cali- 
 fornia along the Spanish trail, as far as the head 
 of the Santa Clara Fork of the Rio Virgen, I 
 crossed only small streams making their way 
 south to the Colorado, or lost in sand as the 
 Mo-hah-ve ; while to the left, lofty mountains, 
 their summits white with snow, were often visi- 
 ble, and which must have turned water to the 
 north as well as to the south, and thus consti- 
 tuted, on this part, the southern rim of the Basin. 
 At the head of the Santa Clara Fork, and in the 
 Vegas de Santa Clara, we crossed the ridge 
 which parted the two systems of waters. We 
 entered the Basin at that point, and have trav- 
 elled in it ever since, having its southeastern rim 
 (the Wahsatch mountain) on the right, and 
 crossing the streams which flow down into it. 
 The existence of the Basin is, therefore, an es- 
 tablished fact in my mind ; its extent and con- 
 tents are yet to be better ascertained. It cannot 
 be less than four or five hundred miles each way, 
 and must lie principally in the Alta California ; 
 the demarcation latitude of 42 probably cutting 
 a segment from the north part of the rim. Of 
 its interior, but little is known. It is called a
 
 GREAT BASIX. 201 
 
 desert, and, from what I saw of it, sterility may 
 be its prominent characteristic ; but where there 
 is so much water, there must be some oasis. 
 The great river and the great lake reported 
 may not be equal to the report ; but where there 
 is so much snow, there must be streams ; and 
 where there is no outlet, there must be lakes to 
 hold the accumulated waters, or sands to swal- 
 low them up. In this eastern part of the basin, 
 containing Sevier, Utah, and the Great Salt 
 lakes, and the rivers and creeks falling into 
 them, we know there is good soil and good 
 grass, adapted to civilized settlements. In the 
 western part, on Salmon-trout River, and some 
 other streams, the same remark may be made. 
 
 " The contents of this Great Basin are yet to 
 be examined. That it is peopled, we know ; but 
 miserably and sparsely. From all that I heard 
 and saw, I should say that humanity here ap- 
 peared in its lowest form, and in its most ele- 
 mentary state. Dispersed in single families ; 
 without fire-arms ; eating seeds and insects ; 
 digging roots,- (and hence their name ;) such is 
 the condition of the greater part. Others are a 
 degree higher, and live in communities upon 
 some lake or river that supplies fish, and from 
 which they repulse the miserable digger. The 
 rabbit is the largest animal known in this desert ; 
 its flesh affords a little meat ; and their bag-like 
 covering is made of its skins. The wild sage is
 
 202 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 their only wood, and here it is of extraordinary 
 size sometimes a foot in diameter, and six or 
 eight feet high. It serves for fuel, for building 
 material, for shelter to the rabbits, and for some 
 sort of covering for the feet and legs' in cold 
 weather. Such are the accounts of the inhabit- 
 ants and productions of the Great Basin ; and 
 which, though imperfect, must have some foun- 
 dation, and excite our desire to know the whole. 
 
 " The whole idea of such a desert and such a 
 people, is a novelty in our country, and excites 
 Asiatic, not American ideas. Interior basins, 
 with their own systems of lakes and rivers,- and 
 often sterile, are common enough in Asia ; 
 people in the elementary state of families, living 
 in deserts, with no other occupation than the 
 mere animal search for food, may still ^e seen in 
 that ancient quarter of the globe ; but in Amer- 
 ica such things are new and strange, unknown 
 and unsuspected, and discredited when related. 
 But I flatter myself that what* is discoyepejjf 
 though not enough. to satisfy curiosity, is suffi- 
 cient to excite it, and that subsequent explora- 
 tions will complete what has been commenced. 
 
 " This account of th.e Great Basin, it will be 
 remembered, belongs to the Alta California, and 
 has no application to Oregon, whose capabilities 
 may justify a separate remark. Referring to my 
 Journal for particular descriptions, and for sec- 
 tional boundaries between good and bad districts,
 
 OREGON. 203 
 
 I can only say, in general and comparative terms, 
 that, in that branch of agriculture which implies 
 the cultivation of grains and staple crops, it 
 would be inferior to the Atlantic States, though 
 many parts are superior for wheat, while in the 
 rearing of flocks and herds it would claim a high 
 place. Its grazing capabilities are great ; and 
 even in the indigenous grass now there, an ele- 
 ment of individual and national wealth may be 
 found. In fact, the valuable grasses begin within 
 one hundred and fifty miles of the Missouri fron- 
 tier, and extend to the Pacific Ocean. East of 
 the Rocky Mountains, it is the short, curly grass, 
 on which the buffalo delight to feed, (whence its 
 name of buffalo,) and which is still good when 
 dry and apparently dead. West of those moun- 
 tains it is a larger growth, in clusters, and hence 
 called bunch grass, and which has a second or 
 fall growth. Plains and mountains both exhibit 
 them ; and I have seen good pasturage at an 
 elevation of ten thousand feet. In this sponta- 
 neous product, the trading or travelling cara- 
 vans can find subsistence for their animals ; and 
 in military operations any number of cavalry 
 may be moved, and any number of cattle may 
 be driven, and thus men and horses be supported 
 on long expeditions, and even in winter in the 
 sheltered situations. 
 
 " Commercially, the value of the Oregon coun- 
 try must be great, washed as it is by the North
 
 204 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 Pacific Ocean, fronting Asia, producing many of 
 the elements of commerce, mild and healthy in 
 its climate, and becoming, as it naturally will, 
 a thoroughfare for the East India and China 
 trade." 
 
 Having examined the Three Parks, or coves 
 in the mountains, where the great rivers, the 
 Platte, the Arkansas, and the Colorado severally 
 take their rise, Mr. Fremont continued his route 
 homeward with no further noticeable occurrence, 
 except an occasional encounter with armed bands 
 of Indians, who, always finding him ready to 
 fight, limited their demonstrations to mere pre- 
 liminary bravadoes. When within a fortnight 
 of the end of the journey, the river suddenly 
 overflowed its banks one nighf, and nearly all 
 the perishable collections that the hard labor of 
 many months had accumulated, were destroyed 
 in a moment. 
 
 The Report of Lieut. Fremont's Second Ex- 
 pedition concludes as follows : 
 
 "Here ended our land journey; and the day 
 following our arrival, we found ourselves on 
 board a steamboat, rapidly gliding down the 
 broad Missouri. Our travel-worn animals had 
 not been sold and dispersed over the country to 
 renewed labor, but were placed at good pastur- 
 age on the frontier, and are now ready to do 
 their part in the coming expedition. 
 
 "On the 6th of August we arrived at St.
 
 ARRIVAL HOME. 205 
 
 Louis, where the party was finally disbanded, a 
 greater number of the men having their homes 
 in the neighborhood. 
 
 " Andreas Fuentes also remained here, having 
 readily found employment for the winter, and is 
 one of the men engaged to accompany me the 
 present year. 
 
 " Pablo Hernandez remains in the family of 
 Senator Benton, where he is well taken care of, 
 and conciliates good-will by his docility, intelli- 
 gence, and amiability. General Almonte, the 
 Mexican Minister at Washington, to whom he 
 was of course made known, kindly offered to 
 take charge of him, and to carry him back to 
 Mexico ; but the boy preferred to remain where 
 he .was until he got an education, for which he 
 shows equal ardor and aptitude. 
 
 " Our Chinook Indian had his wish to see the 
 whites fully gratified. He accompanied me to 
 Washington, and, after remaining several months 
 at the Columbia College, was sent by the Indian 
 Department to Philadelphia, where, among other 
 things, he learned to read and write well, and 
 speak the English language with some fluency. 
 
 " He will accompany me in a few days to the 
 frontier of Missouri, whence he will be sent with 
 some one of the emigrant companies to the vil- 
 lage at the Dalles of the Columbia." 
 
 Appended to the Reports of the First and 
 Second Expeditions, as published together, in 
 
 18
 
 206 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 1845, by order of Congress, besides the usual 
 scientific tables, records, specimens, and calcula- 
 tions, there is a map, of which the author gives 
 the following account, in the preface. 
 
 " This map may have a meagre and skeleton 
 appearance to the general eye, but is expected 
 to be more valuable to science on that account, 
 being wholly founded upon positive data and 
 actual operations in the field. About ten thou- 
 sand miles of actual travelling and traversing in 
 the wilderness which lies between the frontiers 
 of Missouri and the shores of the Pacific, almost 
 every camping station being the scene of astro- 
 nomical or barometrical observations, furnish the 
 materials out of which 'this map has been con- 
 structed. Nothing supposititious has been ad- 
 mitted upon it ; so that, connecting with Capt. 
 Wilkes's survey of the mouth of the Columbia, 
 and with the authentic surveys of the State of 
 Missouri, it fills up the vast geographical chasm 
 between these two remote points, and presents a 
 connected and accurate view of our continent 
 from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 " To this geographical map, delineating the 
 face of the country over which we travelled, 
 there is added another in profile, showing the 
 elevations, or the rise and fall of the country 
 from the Mississippi to the Pacific. East of the 
 Rocky Mountains, two of these profile views are 
 given, one from St. Louis to the South Pass,
 
 PROFILE MAP. 207 
 
 the other from the mouth of the Great Platte to 
 the same point. The latter is the shortest ; and 
 following, as it does, the regular descent of the 
 river, and being seven hundred miles west of the 
 Mississippi, it may be that the eastern terminus 
 of this line may furnish the point at which the 
 steamboat and the steam-car may hereafter meet 
 and exchange cargoes in their magic flight across 
 this continent. These profile views, following 
 the travelling routes, of course follow the lowest 
 and levellest lines, and pass the mountain at the 
 point of its greatest depression; but to complete 
 the view, and to show the highest points as well 
 as the lowest levels, many lofty peaks are 
 sketched at their proper elevations, towering 
 many thousands of feet above the travelling line. 
 It may here be excusable to suggest that these 
 profile maps here exhibited are, perhaps, the most 
 extended work of the kind ever constructed, be- 
 ing from St. Louis (according to the route we 
 travelled) near sixteen hundred miles to the 
 South Pass ; from the mouth of the Great Platte 
 to the same Pass, about one thousand more ; and 
 then another sixteen hundred from that Pass to 
 the tide-water of the Oregon ; in all, about four 
 thousand miles of profile mapping, founded upon 
 nearly four hundred barometrical positions, with 
 views sketched and facts noted in the field as 
 we went."
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THIRD EXPEDITION ARKANSAS GREAT BASIN 
 
 HAWKS PEAK ON THE SIERRA TLAMATH LAKE. 
 
 ON the 29th of January, 1845, President Tyler, 
 with the advice and consent of the Senate of 
 the United States, conferred upon Lieut. Fre- 
 mont a Brevet commission of Captain in the 
 corps of Topographical Engineers. He was 
 brevetted to a First Lieutenancy and a Captain- 
 cy, at the same time. For this distinguished 
 compliment he was indebted, in part, to the 
 instrumentality of the commanding General of 
 the Army. 
 
 In the fall of that year he started on his Third 
 Expedition. This was his last under the au- 
 thority of the Government. It terminated in 
 operations and results so remote from its design, 
 as a mere exploration, and led to such extraordi- 
 nary, engrossing, and complicated engagements, 
 that the publication of a full report has been 
 ( 208 )
 
 ARKANSAS. 209 
 
 necessarily postponed. The two next expedi- 
 tions were *it his own cost, and unconnected 
 altogether with the Government. It is under- 
 stood that he is availing himself of every oppor- 
 tunity of leisure, to prepare for the press a 
 thorough and complete Report of the last three 
 expeditions-. The materials are iri his hands, in 
 field notes, daily journals, and all the elements of 
 astronomical, meteorological, and other scientific 
 observations. He carried on his last exploration 
 a daguerreotype apparatus, and has a very exten- 
 sive set of plates, exhibiting, by that infallible 
 process, the lines and features of the wild scenery 
 and modes of life in the interior regions of the 
 continent. Besides these he has a collection of 
 pencil sketches, of great excellence of execution, 
 and colored drawings made upon the spot, with 
 specimens of objects natural and artificial, gath- 
 ered in his long wanderings. The publication 
 of this work will complete his service, and his 
 fame, as a scientific explorer. Until that is done, 
 only a brief and fragmentary account can be 
 given of the last expeditions. 
 
 He went out, in the third expedition, by the 
 northern head waters of the Arkansas, then the 
 boundary line of the country, to the south side 
 of the Great Salt Lake, and thence directly 
 across the central basin, towards California, in a 
 route of which he was the first explorer. Upon 
 reaching the neighborhood of the Sierra Nevada, 
 18*
 
 210 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 he concluded that, in the worn and weakened 
 condition of his men and animals^they would 
 not be able to surmount the barrier at that point; 
 and, being short of provisions, it was necessary 
 to get as speedily as possible into the country 
 beyond, where supplies could be obtained. He 
 therefore divided his party. Leaving all the 
 provisions with the main body of it, he directed 
 them to follow along the eastern border of the 
 Sierra, towards the South, to a certain pass, 
 which he named ; while, with a selected company 
 of fifteen men, entirely unencumbered, he would 
 attempt to" scale the mountains, get provisions 
 on the other side at Sutter's, and go to their 
 relief on the appointed route. The plan, so far 
 as his part was concerned, entirely succeeded/ 
 He got across the mountains, with his light party, 
 in six hours, proceeded to Sutter's, purchased 
 fifty cattle, and drove them down the western 
 side of the Sierra to meet the main body of his 
 people. Unfortunately they mistook the pass, 
 misled by a similarity of name ; wandered far on 
 to a distant pass, towards the south, and at last 
 found their way through. Fremont remained 
 waiting and roaming for them, in the wild and 
 mountainous country along the western slope of 
 the Sierra, having frequent hard fights with the 
 savage tribes that infested them, until his cattle 
 were wasted by exhaustion, and destroyed by 
 injuries among the sharp rocks. Finally, he
 
 CALIFORNIA. 211 
 
 abandoned the search, and going down to the 
 California settlements, learned that his company, 
 after many sufferings, had come into the country 
 by a different route from that directed by him, 
 quite remote from the point where he had ex- 
 pected to meet them. They had been placed 
 under the command of Joseph Walker, an ex- 
 perienced mountaineer and excellent traveller, 
 whose name is given to one of the principal 
 passes through the mountain ranges. The mis- 
 take of the route was no fault of his. It seems 
 that there are two rivers of the same name. 
 Fremont knew of one, Walker of the other; and 
 neither knew that there was more than one. Or- 
 ders were sent to Walker to go, with his party, to 
 San Jose, and there remain until Fremont should 
 join them. Wishing to avoid all occasion of 
 ill-will, or suspicion, on the part of the Mexican 
 authorities in California, he went alone to Mon- 
 terey, and made himself known to Mr. Larkin, 
 the consul of the United States in that city, and, 
 accompanied by him, waited upon Alvarado, the 
 Alcalde, Manuel Castro, the Prefecto, and Carlos 
 Castro, the commanding general, who constituted 
 the leading authorities of the country. He com- 
 municated his object in coming into California, 
 stating that he had not a single soldier of the 
 United States army in his party, and that his 
 sole purpose was a scientific exploration of the 
 continent, with a view of ascertaining the best
 
 212 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 mode of establishing a commercial intercourse 
 between the Atlantic and Pacific regions. He 
 requested permission to winter in the country, 
 recruit his company, and continue his explorations. 
 His request was granted. He then repaired to 
 his party at San Jose, where they remained 
 several weeks. 
 
 Shortly after this interview with General 
 Castro, orders were received by that officer to 
 drive Captain Fremont out of the country, or 
 send him prisoner to the city of Mexico. Of 
 these orders Fremont had no knowledge until a 
 long time afterwards. The first intimation he 
 had of any unfriendly feeling towards him, was 
 in certain movements, at various points, which 
 seemed to have a threatening aspect, as if aimed 
 at him. But the interview with Castro, and the 
 other high officers at head quarters, was so 
 recent, and had been so friendly and cordial, that 
 he could hardly believe that the appearances that 
 had attracted his attention were meant against 
 him. At length, however, on the 3d of March, 
 when within about twenty-five miles of Monterey, 
 he was met by an officer, who had a detachment 
 of eighty dragoons in his rear to enforce his 
 message, with a letter from Castro, ordering him, 
 without any explanation, peremptorily, out of 
 the country. The communication was in such 
 a tone, so ejjiiirely in violation of the arrange- 
 ment made at Monterey, on his visit to the
 
 HAWKS PEAK. 213 
 
 authorities of the country, in that place ; and the 
 demonstrations were, all around, of such a 
 belligerent look and character, that Captain 
 Fremont felt no disposition to pay a hurried 
 obedience to .the order. He marched, with his 
 party, directly to a lofty hill, called Hawks 
 Peak. It commanded a view, to a great extent, 
 all around the country. In that pure atmosphere, 
 distant objects were clearly seen, and brought 
 minutely to view by the aid of spy-glasses. It 
 was evident that preparations were actively 
 going on to attack him. The enemy was seen 
 scaling his guns, and gathering Californians and 
 Indians into his ranks. Captain Fremont at 
 once proceeded to fortify his position, and erected 
 a staff' on its highest point, forty feet in length, 
 and unfurled from it the flag of his country. 
 His own spirit pervaded his whole party. Al- 
 though few in number, and far away from aid, 
 in the heart of a foreign country, thus suddenly 
 assuming a hostile attitude towards them, they 
 were determined to defend themselves against 
 any assault, by however great a force it might 
 be made, and were thoroughly prepared to meet 
 the last extremity. 
 
 On the 9th, Consul Larkin succeeded in effect- 
 ing a communication with Fremont, informing 
 him of the preparations going on to attack him. 
 The following note, in pencil, was sent in reply. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR: I this moment received your
 
 214 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 letters, and, without waiting to read them, ac- 
 knowledge the receipt, which the courier requires 
 immediately. I am making myself as strong as 
 possible, in the intention that if we are unjustly 
 attacked, we will fight to extremity and re- 
 fuse quarter, trusting to our country to avenge 
 our death. No one has reached our camp, and, 
 from the heights, we are able to see troops (with 
 the glass) mustering at St. John's, and preparing 
 cannon. I thank you for your kindness and good 
 wishes, and would write more at length as to my 
 intentions did I not fear that my letter would be 
 intercepted. We have, in nowise, done wrong 
 to the people or the authorities of the country ; 
 and, if we are hemmed in and assaulted here, 
 we will die, every man of us, under the flag of 
 our country. 
 
 Very truly yours, 
 
 J. C. FREMONT. 
 
 P. S. I am encamped on the top of the Sierra, 
 at the head waters of a stream which strikes the 
 road to Monterey at the house of Don Joaquin 
 Gomes. 
 
 Thomas O. Larkin, Esq., Consul for the United 
 States at Monterey." 
 
 The Delawares kept an unfailing Avatch from 
 every peak, or lofty crag ; and with the instinc- 
 tive and long-practised vigilance, clear sighted- 
 ness, and quick discernment of their race, gave 
 notice of every movement in all directions. One
 
 HAWKS PEAK. 215 
 
 morning at sunrise every thing indicated a near 
 impending assault, by overwhelming numbers. 
 Fremont addressed his people, who assured him 
 with one voice that they were ready to meet 
 death with him on the spot rather than surren- 
 der. The Delawares prepared themselves at 
 once for their last battle. They arrayed them- 
 selves in their full finery, put their red war paint 
 on themselves and on their horses, and with alJ 
 their weapons in order, made the circuit of the 
 camp, singing their war and death songs, their 
 chargers prancing, in apparent sympathy with 
 their riders in the solemn but exultant enthusi- 
 asm of the occasion. But the enemy shrunk 
 from the crisis. On another occasion, they were 
 discovered approaching, by moonlight. Fremont 
 selected twenty-five of his men, and went out 
 to meet 'them. They fled in surprise as he 
 dashed down upon them. At another time, he 
 went out during the day with a select band to 
 reconnoitre, and ascertain, more particularly the 
 intentions of the enemy. After several days, as 
 Castro ventured upon no attack, he concluded 
 to move from his position at Hawks Peak. His 
 people urged him strenuously to allow them to 
 make a night assault upon Castro's . camp, but 
 he refused to gratify them. He was determined 
 to originate no hostile movement, but confine 
 himself wholly to the resistance of violence, and 
 to such a course as would show that his only
 
 216 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 object was to have it understood that he, was 
 not to be driven out of the country by any such 
 summary and intimidating methods as Castro 
 had adopted. He therefore moved down into 
 the San Joaquin Valley, and by" moderate and 
 deliberate marches turned up through North 
 California towards Oregon and the .Columbia 
 River. 
 
 * Colonel Benton, in a speech in the Senate, 
 characterized the course of Fremont, in hoisting 
 the flag of his country at Hawks Peak, in well- 
 deserved and weU-expressed language : 
 
 " Such was the reason for raising the flag. It 
 was raised at the approach of danger ; it was 
 taken down when danger disappeared. It was 
 well and nobly done, and worthy of our admira- 
 tion. Sixty of our countrymen, three thousand 
 miles from home, in sight of the Pacific Ocean, 
 appealing to the flag of their country, unfurling 
 it on the mountain-top, and determined to die 
 under it, before they would submit to unjust 
 aggression." 
 
 At the close of Fremont's second expedition, 
 Carson, in taking leave of him, promised, in 
 case a third expedition were organized, to join 
 it. In the mean time he had settled near Taos. 
 On reaching Bent's Fort, when going out on 
 his third expedition, Fremont sent a message 
 reminding him of his promise, and saying that 
 he would wait there for him. Although Carson
 
 TLAMATII LAKE. 217 
 
 had purchased a farm, intending thenceforth 
 to lead a quiet life so sacred did he regard his 
 promise, and so strong was his affection for his 
 old commander he instantly sold his house and 
 land, at a very considerable sacrifice, and joined 
 the expedition in four days after receiving Fre- 
 mont's note. He put his family under the care 
 of Governor Bent during his absence. Their 
 wives were sisters. When afterwards the In- 
 dians fell upon Taos, massacring, among others, 
 Governor Bent, Mrs. Carson saved her life by 
 flight. 
 
 Carson's services were as usual invaluable 
 throughout the third expedition, and signal on 
 many occasions. In withdrawing from Califor- 
 nia, Fremont had reached the northern end of 
 the Tlamath Lake in Oregon, and was about 
 exploring a new route into the Willhameth 
 Valley. The Tlamath Indians are brave and 
 warlike. They are rendered particularly form- 
 idable by their iron arrow-heads and axes, 
 procured from the British trading forts north 
 of the Columbia River. Their barbed arrows 
 cannot be extracted but by cutting the flesh. 
 
 On the night of the 8th of May, a couple of 
 horsemen, who did not have the appearance of 
 Indians, were seen approaching in that out of 
 the way and far-off place. They proved to be 
 two of Fremont's companions, in his previous 
 explorations, sent on by that dangerous route to 
 
 19
 
 218 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 overtake him, with information that Mr. Gilles- 
 pie, with three men, was behind, with despatches 
 to him from the Government, that he had been 
 a long time on the route searching for him, had 
 endured much suffering, and encountered many 
 perils by the way. Fremont the next morn- 
 ing took nine men, and making all haste to 
 reach Gillespie, so as to protect his small party 
 from the Indians, rode sixty miles that day, 
 meeting him at its close. The story of that 
 night was narrated by Carson some years after- 
 wards. It will be related now in his words, as 
 then used. When Carson told the story to the 
 gentleman who noted it down at the time, Fre- 
 mont had become a colonel. 
 
 " Mr. Gillespie had brought the Colonel letters 
 from home, the first he had had since leaving 
 the States the year before, and he was up, and 
 kept a large fire burning until after midnight ; 
 the rest of us were tired out, and all went to 
 sleep. This was the only night in all our trav- 
 els, except the one night on the Island in the 
 Salt Lake, that we failed to keep guard ; and as 
 the men were so tired, and we expected no at- 
 tack now that we had fourteen in the party, the 
 Colonel did not like to ask it of them, but sat 
 up late himself. Owens and I were sleeping 
 together, and we were waked at the same time 
 by the licks m of the axe that killed our men. 
 At first, I did not know it was that ; but I called
 
 NIGHT ASSAULT BY INDIANS. 219 
 
 to Basil, who was that side : ' What's the mat- 
 ter there ? What 's the fuss about ? ' He never 
 answered, for he was dead then, poor fellow, 
 and he never knew what killed him. His head 
 had been cut in, in his sleep ; the other groaned 
 a little as he died. The Delawares (we had 
 four with us) were sleeping at that fire, and they 
 sprang up as the Tlamaths charged them. One 
 of them (named Crane) caught up a gun, which 
 wa s unloaded ; but, although he could do no 
 execution, he kept them at bay, fighting like a 
 soldier, and did not give up until he was shot 
 full of arrows, three entering his heart ; he died 
 bravely. As soon as I had called out, I saw it 
 was Indians in the camp, and I and Owens 
 together cried out ' Indians.' There were no 
 orders given ; things went on too fast, and the 
 Colonel had men with him that did not need to 
 be told their duty. The Colonel and I, Max- 
 well, Owens, Godey, and Stepp jumped to- 
 gether, we six, and ran to the assistance of our 
 Delawares. I don't know who fired and who 
 didn't; but I think it was Stepp's shot that 
 killed the Tlamath chief ; for it was at the crack 
 of Stepp's gun that he fell. He had an English 
 half-axe slung to his wrist by a cord, and there 
 were forty arrows left in his quiver, the most 
 beautiful and warlike arrows I ever saw. He 
 must have been the bravest man among them, 
 from the way he was armed, and judging by his
 
 220 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 cap. When the Tlamaths saw him fall, they 
 ran ; but we lay, every man with his rifle cocked, 
 until daylight, expecting another attack. 
 
 " In the morning we found by the tracks that 
 from fifteen to twenty of the Tlamaths had 
 attacked us. They had killed three of our men, 
 (besides Basil and the Delaware, a half-breed 
 Iroquois, named Dennie,) and wounded one of 
 the Delawares, who scalped the chief whom we 
 left where he fell. Our dead men we carried on 
 mules ; but after going about ten miles, we 
 found it impossible to get them any further 
 through the thick timber, and finding a secret 
 place, we buried them under logs and chunks, 
 having no way to dig a grave. It was only a 
 few days before this fight that some of these 
 same Indians had come into our camp ; and, 
 although we had only meat for two days, and 
 felt sure that we should have to eat mules for 
 ten or fifteen days to come, the Colonel divided 
 with them, and even had a mule unpacked to 
 give them some tobacco and knives." 
 
 As Carson states, in the foregoing narrative, 
 the Colonel remained awake, and up, after all 
 others in the encampment had gone to sleep. 
 The letters, which brought him the first intelli- 
 gence of his family and home, called back 
 reminiscences and started associations that 
 coursed through his mind, kindling its deepest 
 sensibilities. As he gazed upon the dying
 
 NIGHT ASSAULT BY INDIANS. 221 
 
 embers of the camp fires, his thoughts wandered 
 in a reverie of fancy and emotion. Although 
 the moon was shining brightly above the forest, 
 beneath its branches all was dark, and its recesses 
 impenetrable to the vision. Solemn silence 
 reigned over the scene and the hour. His 
 wearied and faithful people were in profound 
 repose, and he watched that they might rest. 
 It was midnight. Suddenly the horses started 
 as if some danger assailed them. As such 
 alarms often spring from trivial causes, Fremont 
 did not arouse his men, but taking a six-barrel 
 pistol in his hand, went noiselessly around to 
 the various points where the animals were 
 picketed, listened from time to time, and exam- 
 ined all parts of the encampment. All was 
 still, and no danger seemed near. The horses, 
 reassured by his presence, became quiet, and 
 returned to their rest. Having thus reconnoitred 
 the ground, in cautious exploration, he con- 
 cluded that all was safe. Indeed, he had dis- 
 missed the idea of the possibility of danger from 
 Indians at that time. Since the morning he had 
 ridden sixty miles, too- rapidly to be followed, 
 and seen none by the way. The two advanced 
 couriers, and after them, Gillespie with only his 
 three remaining men, had just passed unharmed 
 over the country, from the opposite direction, 
 and it seemed quite certain that there could be 
 no enemy in the neighborhood. Convinced by 
 19*
 
 222 LITE OF FREMONT. 
 
 these considerations, he yielded to silence and 
 fatigue, and had fallen into unconsciousness 
 himself, when, the moon having sunk below 
 the trees, the attack began. 
 
 It is not unlikely that, during all the previous 
 hours of that night, savage eyes were upon him, 
 as he mused and watched before the fire. It is 
 always a main point with Indians, in attacking 
 a party, to kill the commander. The Tlamaths 
 were undoubtedly lurking around the camp, 
 when the horses started ; and as Fremont went 
 to find the cause of the alarm, they may have 
 lost sight of him, and his life have thus been 
 saved. 
 
 To show the profound duplicity and treachery 
 of those Indians, the following statement made 
 by Mr. Gillespie under oath before the com- 
 mittee on military affairs of the Senate of the 
 United States, is presented. 
 
 " I started upon Captain Fremont's trail upon 
 the 2d of May, much against the earnest appeals 
 and advice of the settlers, who informed me 
 that the Indians, through whose country I would 
 have to pass, were very hostile, and would, in 
 all probability, defeat so small a party. How- 
 ever, considering their fears somewhat exagger- 
 ated, I determined to overtake Captain Fremont 
 at all hazards. Upon the 7th of May, finding 
 the signs of the camp very fresh, I ordered two 
 of the men, Neal and Sigler, to proceed ahead
 
 NIGHT ASSAULT BY INDIANS. 223 
 
 upon the best and fleetest horses, to overtake 
 and inform Captain Fremont of my approach. 
 I arrived at the Tlamath Lake at sunset of the 
 same day. Our provisions were exhausted, and 
 game could not be found. Not being able to ford 
 the river, the outlet of the lake, I determined to 
 encamp upon its banks, hoping to hear the next 
 morning from my men, or receive a message 
 from Captain Fremont, whom I supposed at no 
 great distance from me. We remained here 
 until the morning of the 9th, full forty hours, 
 without any thing to eat, when, at about 8 
 o'clock, a party of Indians came to us, a chief 
 bringing me a fresh salmon just from the lake. 
 They also brought two canoes, and took us 
 across the lake, and showed us every disposition 
 to be friendly. Riding about 30 miles over the 
 mountains, I came to a party, about sunset, 
 which proved to be Captain Fremont, with 
 nine of his men, who had rode sixty miles that 
 day to meet me." 
 
 When Gillespie's men examined the body 
 and countenance of the Indian, left dead in the 
 camp, it was found to be the identical chief, 
 who, the morning before, had brought the fresh 
 salmon to them, and professed such exceeding 
 friendliness of disposition towards them ! There 
 can be no doubt that immediately after setting 
 them across the river, and making such an ac- 
 ceptable present to them, he collected his mur-
 
 224 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 derous party, and dogged them, unseen, the 
 whole day, indulging the confident purpose of 
 cutting them off at night, which he would have 
 done had not Fremont made his extraordinary 
 effort to meet them. Gillespie, in his testi- 
 mony, says : " The Indians had followed on my 
 trail, and but for the promptness of Captain 
 Fremont, my small party would have been 
 overpowered by superior numbers, and killed." 
 
 This is a specimen of that instantaneous 
 decision of purpose, which has marked the 
 course of Fremont, and from which such con- 
 sequences have often flowed, as seem to look 
 like an overruling Providence, determining his 
 judgment, in the apparent absence of ordinary 
 considerations and inducements. Upon the 
 arrival of Gillespie's advanced couriers, he in- 
 stantly, and without a moment's delay, prepared 
 his select troop, and rode 60 miles, feeling that 
 it was necessary to reach him before another 
 night. If he had not done this, he never would 
 have received the communication that carried 
 him back to California, and the sequel will 
 show how disastrously the current of the world's 
 affairs would, in that event, have been turned 
 from its course. 
 
 The circumstance of that midnight tragedy 
 in the far-off wilderhess that most touches the. 
 feeling heart, is the death of Basil. His noble 
 nature has been indicated in some passages of
 
 BASIL LAJEUNESSE. 225 
 
 this memoir. He was in the bloom of life. He 
 was generous, disinterested, and as beautiful as 
 brave. His manly energy and powers of endur- 
 ance were unsurpassed. His person and char- 
 acter bore the impress of Nature's choicest 
 stamp. The sudden extinction of such a life is 
 an affecting and impressive event. Deeply did 
 his commander and companions mourn his 
 death. When, in distant centuries, a civilized 
 population shall surround the Tlamath Lake, the 
 story of Basil Lajeunesse will give a romantic 
 interest to the shore where his ashes rest.
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 NORTH CALIFORNIA BEAR WAR CONQUEST OF 
 
 CALIFORNIA WAH-LAH-WAH-LAH INDIANS IN- 
 SURRECTION CALIFORNIA BATTALION INSUR- 
 GENTS SURRENDER TO FREMONT CAPITULATION 
 
 OF COWENGA. 
 
 MR. GILLESPIE delivered to Captain Fremont 
 a brief letter of introduction from Mr. Buchanan, 
 Secretary of State. It was not deemed safe to 
 commit to writing the communication "he had 
 been sent to make, and for which he had sought 
 Fremont at such hazard, and at so remote a 
 point. It was entrusted to his memory, to be 
 conveyed by word of mouth, and was in sub- 
 stance to this effect : That a rupture between the 
 United States and Mexico being not improb- 
 able, it was the wish of the Government that 
 Fremont should keep himself in a favorable po- 
 sition to watch the state of things in California, 
 conciliate the feelings of its people, encourage a 
 friendship with the United States, and do what 
 he could to prevent that country falling into the 
 ( 226 )
 
 KIT CARSON. 227 
 
 hands of Great Britain. In obedience to this 
 suggestion, he began to retrace his steps into 
 California. 
 
 On the second day after the murder of Basil 
 and the two Indians, by the Tlamaths, Carson, 
 who was ahead with ten men, came upon their 
 village, containing more than a hundred warriors. 
 Fremont had given orders to send back and let 
 him come up, in case they met Indians. But it 
 was too late to delay a moment, when the enemy 
 was first seen, and Carson, with his small de- 
 tachment, rushed at once upon the village, and, 
 after a sharp conflict, put the whole to flight. 
 Several of the Tlamaths were killed, and their 
 village destroyed. During the same day there 
 was another encounter with the Indians, in which 
 Carson came very near losing his life. An In- 
 dian was seen fixing his arrow to let fly at him. 
 He instantly levelled his rifle, but it snapped, 
 when Fremont, seeing his danger, flew to his 
 rescue, dashed his horse upon the Indian and 
 knocked him over. " I owe my life," as Car- 
 son expresses himself, when relating the incident, 
 " I owe my life to them two the Colonel and 
 Sacramento saved me." Sacramento was a 
 favorite iron-gray horse of Colonel Fremont. 
 He was presented to him by Captain Sutter in 
 1844, and earned his name by swimming that 
 river at the close of a long day's journey. After 
 bearing his master several times across the con-
 
 228 LIFE OF FKEMONT. 
 
 tinent, he has been honorably discharged. His 
 service performed and his warfare ended, he 
 is now roaming in freedom his native valley. 
 He has rejoined the wild horses of the California 
 plains, and suffers no Indian or hunter to ap- 
 proach him. His master has never attempted to 
 reclaim him, and all efforts on .the part of others 
 to capture him have proved fruitless. 
 
 When Captain Fremont came into North Cal- 
 ifornia, he found the whole country in a state of 
 great alarm. The entire population of Califor- 
 nia at that period, exclusive of Indians, was 
 estimated at about ten thousand, one fifth of 
 whom were foreigners, chiefly from the United 
 States. General Castro was the military com- 
 mander, and was actively exerting his influence 
 to aggravate the jealousy of the native Calif or- 
 nians towards foreign residents. He had issued 
 a proclamation aimed at Americans particularly, 
 and requiring them to leave the country. It be- 
 came evident that measures had been for some 
 time secretly concerting among many of the 
 leading Spanish Californians, to transfer the 
 country to the protection and control of Great 
 Britain, and to drive out or exterminate all Amer- 
 ican settlers ; (that is, as the word is universally 
 understood, all settlers from the United States ;) 
 to expel them utterly, with their families ; and to 
 take possession of their lands. In order to ac- 
 complish this more effectually, the Indian tribes
 
 JSKAll WAR. 229 
 
 were made to participate in the conspiracy, and 
 instigated to burn and destroy the crops and 
 houses of Americans. This condition of things, 
 of course, spread the utmost alarm among the 
 intended victims of the plot. When Captain 
 Fremont came down into the Sacramento Val- 
 ley, men, women, and children flocked to him 
 for protection, and appealed to him as a country- 
 man. His means of information were very ex- 
 tensive and reliable. There were many American 
 settlers, who had been several years in the coun- 
 try, intermarrying in some cases with California 
 families, men of education and large property, 
 like Dr. Marsh, and all of them more or less able 
 to discover what was going on, not merely among 
 the people, but in the consultations of the au- 
 thorities. With them Captain Fremont kept up 
 constant communication. 
 
 From these sources of information he obtained 
 intimations of a scheme, the authentic and offi- 
 cial records of which he afterwards found in the 
 archives of California, while occupying the gov- 
 ernment house in Los Angeles. 
 
 A Catholic priest, named Eugenic Macna- 
 mara, in the year 1845 and the early part of 
 1846, was domesticated with the British legation 
 at the city of Mexico. During that time he 
 made application for a grant of land for the pur- 
 pose of establishing a colony in California. He 
 asked for a square league, containing 4,428 acres, 
 
 20
 
 230 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 to be given to each family, and that each child 
 of a colonist should have half a square league. 
 The territory to be conveyed to him should be 
 around San Francisco Bay, embrace three thou- 
 sand square leagues, and include the entire val- 
 ley of the San Joaquin. He agreed to bring a 
 thousand families at the beginning. His object 
 is stated in his memorial to the Mexican Presi- 
 dent, in these words : 
 
 " I propose, with the aid and approbation of 
 your excellency, to place in Upper California a 
 colony of Irish Catholics. I have a triple object 
 in making this proposition. I wish, in the first 
 place, to advance the cause of Catholicism. In 
 the second, to contribute to the happiness of my 
 countrymen. Thirdly, I desire to put an obstacle 
 in the way of further usurpations on the part of 
 an irreligious and anti- Catholic nation" 
 
 His proposal was favorably entertained by the 
 central government. It was referred, for a final 
 decision, to the landholders and local authorities 
 of California. Conventions were about being 
 held to perfect the arrangement. Macnamara 
 was landed, from the British frigate Juno, one of 
 Sir George Seymour's fleet, at Santa Barbara, 
 just at this time. Every thing was ripe for a 
 final settlement of the whole matter; and by 
 virtue of this grant of land to Macnamara, the 
 whole country would have passed under British 
 protection.
 
 BEAR WAR. 231 
 
 Some intimations of this deeply devised 
 scheme had reached the public ear, and tended 
 to increase the excitement, alarm, and agitation 
 of the American settlers. 
 
 The point was reached at which it became 
 necessary for Fremont to decide. The Indians 
 had begun to burn the crops of the American 
 settlers, and were assembled in a large force of 
 about six hundred warriors, at or near what is 
 known as Redding's Rancho, about thirty-five or 
 forty miles from his encampment. He must 
 either quit the country, and leave the American 
 settlers, with their wives and children, to utter 
 ruin and a fearful fate, or he must step forward 
 as their defender. He must either let that vast 
 region pass into the hands of a foreign power, 
 or take instant possession of it by his own 
 sword. It was a fearful but a great crisis in his 
 life. To head a rebellion in a country with 
 which his own, so far as he then knew, was at 
 peace, was assuming a most serious responsi- 
 bility. But the question was then and there to 
 be decided. He decided it in favor of those who 
 sought his protection, and took the responsibility 
 of his position at once. He called his men to- 
 gether, laid before them the state of the case, and 
 referred to the destruction impending over those 
 residents of California who were their country- 
 men. He told them that he had no right, as a 
 United States officer, to resist the authorities, or
 
 232 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 make war upon the subjects, of a government 
 with which his country was at peace. He would 
 however release them, for the time being, from 
 the conditions of their service under him as a 
 United States officer, and relinquish his com- 
 mand. If they wished to volunteer in defence 
 of the American settlers and their families, they 
 were at liberty to do so. He concluded by an- 
 nouncing that he should himself do it forthwith. 
 They unanimously declared their readiness to 
 join him, and appointed him their commander. 
 He instantly marched against the Indians, leav- 
 ing about half a dozen men to defend the camp. 
 He broke up and dispersed five villages in one 
 day, in such rapid succession that notice of his 
 approach could not be sent forward; reached 
 their assembled force before sundown ; found 
 them engaged in their war dance, in black paint 
 and white feathers, preparatory to their med- 
 itated blow upon the settlers ; attacked them on 
 sight ; and, at the first charge, routed and scat- 
 tered them, driving them into the river and the 
 woods. At a single stroke, in one "day, he thus 
 utterly annihilated the Indian combination, and 
 rescued the settlers from threatening ruin, with- 
 out the loss of a man. 
 
 He then returned to camp, and removed his 
 force to a place called the Buttes, about sixty miles 
 above Sutter's Settlement. From that point lie' 
 put himself into communication with all friendly
 
 BEAR WAR. 233 
 
 to the movement. Not long after he received 
 information that Castro had assembled about 
 400 men at Santa Clara, and that he had sent 
 an officer, with a detachment, to Sonoma, to 
 procure horses to complete the equipment of his 
 force. Fremont instantly started a small body 
 of men, who volunteered for the service, and 
 chose Ezekiel Merritt for their leader, to inter- 
 cept Castro's detachment on its return. The 
 service was gallantly executed, and with entire 
 success. The whole body, horses and all, was 
 captured. The prisoners were released, but the 
 horses brought in. 
 
 By rapid and vigorous movements Castro's 
 forces were all driven from the country north of 
 the bay of San Francisco. At Sonoma, General 
 Vallejo, two colonels, and other prisoners were 
 taken. A squadron of eighty men, under Cap- 
 tain De la Torre, remained for a short time on a 
 peninsula, at Saucelito, on the northern side of 
 the bay, directly opposite Castro's encampment 
 on the east side ; but he was pressed so hard, that 
 he abandoned his horses, and escaped in launches 
 across the bay to Castro. Fremont found there 
 a bark from the Eastern states, commanded 
 by a patriotic American, named David Phelps, 
 who, entering heartily into the business, lent him 
 his launch, into which he jumped, with twelve 
 men, and rowed over to San Francisco, about 
 eight miles, where there was a fort with a bat- 
 20*
 
 234 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 tery of guns, mostly brass field-pieces, which 
 they spiked, employing for the purpose steel 
 files, used for sharpening knives, which Captain 
 Phelps happened to have on board his bark. 
 
 Having thus established the independence of 
 North California, Fremont sent a message to 
 Castro, that as he could not get his horses over 
 the bay, if he would wait for him, he would 
 pass around its head as quickly as possible, and 
 meet him where he was at Santa Clara, and 
 end the contest for the country at once. 
 
 On his way round, finding himself at Sonoma 
 on the 4th of July, the day was duly celebrated. 
 On the next day, a great concourse of people, 
 American settlers, and others sympathizing in 
 the cause, having come to meet and welcome 
 him, he declared the country Independent, and 
 the flag of the free state of California, a grizzly 
 bear on a white field, was unfurled. 
 
 By the celerity of these bold movements, the 
 Indian enemy was annihilated, the settlers saved 
 from massacre, and their fields from desolation ; 
 the power of Mexico over North California was 
 broken down forever ; and, as we shall soon see, 
 the whole of that golden empire secured to the 
 United States. 
 
 On the 10th of July, Fremont reached, on his 
 way to Santa Clara, in the fulfilment of his 
 promise to Castro, the nearest point at which 
 cavalry could get around the head of the bay,
 
 BEAR WAR. 235 
 
 at Suiter's Fort. About sunset an express 
 reached him from Commodore Sloat, announc- 
 ing his capture of Monterey. The next morning, 
 at sunrise, he hoisted the flag of the American 
 Union at the fort, under a national salute, and 
 with great rejoicings. Thus ended what was 
 called the " Bear war." 
 
 He then moved down with great celerity 
 along the south side of the bay. His troop 
 consisted of 160 mounted riflemen. Castro fled 
 before him, and on the 19th of July he reached 
 Monterey. Of his entrance into that city a very 
 graphic account is given by Lieutenant the Hon. 
 Frederick Walpole, of the Royal Navy, in a 
 work published in London, with the following 
 title : " Four years in the Pacific, in her Majes- 
 ty's ship Collingwood,' from 1844 to 1848." 
 
 " During our stay in Monterey," says Lieu- 
 tenant Walpole, " Captain Fremont and his party 
 arrived. They naturally excited curiosity. Here 
 were true trappers, the class that produced the 
 heroes of Fenimore Cooper's best works. These 
 men had passed years in the wilds, living upon 
 their own resources ; they were a curious set. 
 A vast cloud of dust appeared first, and thence 
 in long file emerged this wildest wild party. 
 Fremont rode ahead, a spare, active-looking 
 man, with such an eye ! He was dressed in a 
 blouse and leggings, and wore a felt hat. After 
 him came five Delaware Indians, who were his
 
 236 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 body-guard, and have been with him through ah 1 
 his wanderings ; they had charge of two bag- 
 gage horses. The rest, many of them blacker 
 than the Indians, rode two and two, the rifle 
 held by one hand across the pommel of the 
 saddle. Thirty-nine of them are his regular 
 men, the rest are loafers picked up lately; his 
 original men are principally backwoodsmen, from 
 the State of Tennessee and the banks of the 
 upper waters of the Missouri. He has one or 
 two with him who enjoy a high reputation in 
 the prairies. Kit Carson is as well known there 
 as the duke is in Europe. The dress of these 
 men was principally a long loose coat of deer 
 skin, tied with thongs in front ; trowsers of the 
 same, of their own manufacture, which, when 
 wet through, they take off, scrape well inside 
 with a knife, and put on as soon as dry; the 
 saddles were of various fashions, though these 
 and a large drove of horses, and a brass field- 
 gun, were things they had picked up about 
 California. They are allowed no liquor, tea and 
 sugar only ; this, no doubt, has much to do 
 with their good conduct ; and the discipline, too, 
 is very strict. They were marched up to an 
 open space on the hills near the town, under 
 some large firs, and there took up their quarters, 
 in messes of six or seven, in the open air. 
 The Indians lay beside their leader. One man, 
 a doctor, six feet six high, was an odd-looking 
 fellow. May I never come under his hands !
 
 FREMONT'S TROOP. 237 
 
 " In justice to the Americans I must say, they 
 seemed to treat the natives well, and their au- 
 thority extended every protection to them. 
 
 " The butts of the trappers' rifles resemble a 
 Turkish musket, therefore fit light to the shoul- 
 der ; they are very long and very heavy, carry 
 ball about thirty-eight to the pound. A stick a 
 little longer than the barrel is carried in the bore, 
 in which it fits tightly ; this keeps the bullet 
 from moving, and in firing, which they do in a 
 crouching position, they use it as a rest." 
 
 A lieutenant in the American Navy, (now a 
 commander,) George Minor, under examination 
 by the military committee of the United States 
 Senate, described the impression made upon 
 him, by Fremont's entrance into Monterey, in 
 these words, taken from his deposition : 
 
 " The undersigned was on duty on shore when 
 Captain Fremont arrived with his force at Mon- 
 terey, from the North. The undersigned believes 
 that the appearance of this body of men, and the 
 well-known character of its commander, not only 
 made a strong impression upon the British Ad- 
 miral and officers, but an equally impressive and 
 more happy one upon those of the American 
 Navy then in Monterey. For himself, the un- 
 dersigned can say, that after he had seen Captain 
 Fremont's command, all his doubts about the 
 conquest of California were removed." 
 
 The vital importance to this country of Cap-
 
 238 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 tain Fremont's bold measures in North Cali- 
 fornia is demonstrated by a few dates and facts, 
 and some obvious reflections upon them. 
 
 Commodore Sloat with an American, and 
 Admiral Sir Qeorge Seymour with a British, 
 squadron, had, for several weeks, been at anchor 
 in Mazatlan, a Mexican port on the Pacific, 
 waiting to catch the first intelligence of the 
 breaking out of hostilities between that Republic 
 and the United States. Commodore Sloat got 
 the first intelligence, and started for California. 
 Sir George Seymour followed. The Commo- 
 dore arrived first, entering the harbor of Mon- 
 terey, on the 2d of July, 1S46. He did not then 
 take possession of the place. He probably had 
 no thought of doing it, as appears by his last 
 letter to the Secretary of the Navy, dated June'6, 
 just one month before, and written at Mazatlan, 
 in which he says : " Since my No. 50, of the 
 31st of May, I have upon more mature reflection, 
 come to the conclusion that your instructions of 
 the 24th of June last, and every subsequent 
 order, will not justify my taking possession of 
 any part of California, or any hostile measure 
 against Mexico, (notwithstanding their attack 
 upon our troops,) as neither party has declared 
 war." On the 5th of July, the third day after his 
 entering the port, a launch arrived belonging to 
 the United States ship Portsmouth, Commander 
 Montgomery, then lying in San Francisco Bay,
 
 CONQUEST OF CALIFORNIA. 239 
 
 bringing information of Fremont's operations 
 in North California. Commodore Sloat very 
 naturally supposed that Fremont was acting 
 under instructions, and that supposition led to 
 the change of purpose which he stated in a letter, 
 dated July 6, and sent by the returning launch 
 to Commander Montgomery. In it he says : 
 " Since I wrote you last evening, I have deter- 
 mined to hoist the flag of the United States at 
 this place, to-morrow, as I would prefer being 
 sacrificed for doing too much than too little. If 
 you consider you have sufficient force, or if 
 Fremont will join you, you will hoist the flag of 
 the United States at Yerba Buena, or any other 
 proper place, and take possession, in the name 
 of the United States, of the fort, and that portion 
 of the country." 
 
 Accordingly, on the next day, July 7, he 
 hoisted the American flag over Monterey. Sir 
 George Seymour arrived in the " Collingwood," 
 of 80 guns, on the 15th or 16th of July. 
 
 These dates show that Commodore Sloat took 
 possession of Monterey, on the 7th, in conse- 
 quence of the information he received on the 5th 
 of Fremont's operations, as, indeed, he declared 
 at the time. If the American flag had not been 
 flying over Monterey, when Sir George Seymour 
 arrived, it is impossible to estimate the mis- 
 chievous consequences that would have ensued. 
 Commodore Sloat would, undoubtedly, have
 
 240 LIFE OF FKKMONT. 
 
 resisted with the bravery of a tried veteran, any 
 forcible attempt of Sir George to take the place, 
 but it would have been impossible for him to 
 have prevented a voluntary transference of the 
 country to the protection of Great Britain, in 
 fulfilment of the arrangements before entered 
 into by its leading inhabitants and authorities. 
 
 That the country was saved by Fremont's 
 operations, from being in that way brought 
 under British dominion, was the judgment, at the 
 time, of ah 1 acquainted with the circumstances. 
 
 Captain Samuel Hensley, declared under 
 oath to the military committee of the Senate, 
 to this effect. 
 
 " I did understand from general report that the 
 authorities of California were about to grant 
 certain tracts of land in California to an Irish 
 priest, for the purpose of establishing a colony 
 of British subjects, the said priest, Macnamara, 
 having been brought to California in an English 
 vessel of war ; and my impression is that the 
 timely movements on the part of the settlers 
 in the north, Colonel Fremont and others, pre- 
 vented the execution of the transfer." 
 
 Similar testimony was given by many others. 
 It seems that Macnamara was with Sir George 
 Seymour at Monterey. But it was too late. 
 The war between Mexico and the United States 
 had undoubtedly begun. The American flag 
 was floating over California. No neutral power
 
 COMMODORE STOCKTON. 241 
 
 had a right to interfere ; and the whole scheme 
 of Macnamara's grant, the Irish colony, and a 
 British Protectorate, was scattered to the winds. 
 This, then, is the sum of the whole matter. 
 
 The hoisting of our flag at Monterey, on the 
 7th of July, 1846, saved California and the Pa- 
 cific coast to the United States, and prevented a 
 disastrous collision between this country and 
 Great Britain. That flag was hoisted in conse- 
 quence of Fremont's gallant achievements in 
 North California. He is therefore entitled to 
 the glory of having saved California from falling 
 into the hands of a foreign power, and secured 
 the extension of our Union over the whole 
 breadth of the continent, from shore to shore. 
 
 Immediately after the events just related, 
 Commodore Sloat sailed for the United States, 
 leaving Commodore Stockton, who had arrived 
 a few days before, in command. Fremont, with 
 his volunteers, embarked on board the sloop- 
 of-war Cyane for San Diego. Landing there, 
 he marched to Los Angeles, the then capital 
 of California. Commodore Stockton, having" 
 landed his force at San Pedro, reached Los 
 Angeles first, and, on the 17th of August, com- 
 pleted and proclaimed the conquest of Cali- 
 fornia. Castro fled to Sonora. 
 
 Fremont continued to act under Commodore 
 Stockton, receiving various successive appoint- 
 ments from him, as major of the California 
 21
 
 242 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 battalion, afterwards military commandant of 
 California, and finally governor and commander- 
 in-chief in California. Early in September, 
 Captain Fremont left Los Angeles. A few 
 weeks afterwards, an extensive insurrection 
 broke out in southern California. Fremont, 
 who had returned to the Sacramento country, 
 immediately set about raising a battalion 
 among the settlers there to aid in its suppres- 
 sion. 
 
 At this time an additional panic arose from 
 the report of an Indian invasion from the 
 north. It was said that 1,000 Wah-lah-wah- 
 lahs were advancing to attack Sutter's Fort. 
 The whole country was aroused, and every 
 element of disposable force was drawn out to 
 meet the threatened danger. Fremont had 
 already assembled a body of several hundred 
 western riflemen towards the completion of his 
 California battalion, when the news reached 
 him. He was quite confident that the story 
 was exaggerated ; but it was necessary to restore 
 security in the northern frontier. He took three 
 tried men with him, and went directly to meet 
 the Wah-lah-wah-lahs. He found them much 
 less numerous than had been represented, but 
 assembled in considerable force, and in a state 
 of the greatest exasperation. He went, with his 
 three men, directly into their midst. One of 
 them knew him, and all gathered round him to
 
 WAH-LAH-WAH-LAH INDIANS. 243 
 
 tell their wrongs. They had been robbed, and 
 one of their best young men killed, by the 
 whites. He promised them redress if they 
 would follow his advice. He told them that 
 he was going to the south, and could not 
 attend to them until the spring, but that he 
 would then meet them, at a place agreed upon, 
 and have justice done them. He advised them, 
 in the mean time, to go off on a winter hunt, 
 said that he would let one of his own men go 
 with them, to hold over them the United States 
 flag, and that whoever struck that flag struck 
 him. They were perfectly subdued by his talk, 
 and manner of treating them: at once gave up 
 their plan of attacking the whites ; and agreed 
 to go off on a winter hunt. They gave him ten 
 of their young braves to go with him, who 
 proved themselves among the best in his bat- 
 talion. In the spring of the year, he met them, 
 although at a great inconvenience, and gave 
 them of his own horses until they were satis- 
 fied. In this way he not only stopped an 
 Indian war, and recruited his own ranks, but he 
 taught a lesson which it would be well to have 
 inculcated upon those who undertake to grapple 
 with our Indian difficulties, and enforced upon 
 the administration of that department of our 
 government. 
 
 On the 12th of October, Fremont, with his 
 battalion, arrived at San Francisco. He there
 
 244 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 embarked his command, in the ship Sterling, to 
 go down the coast to Santa Barbara. He left 
 his horses, intending to remount his men, in the 
 south. Two days out, he fell in with the " Van- 
 dalia," a merchant ship, and learned that no 
 horses could be had below, the Californians 
 having driven their entire stock into the interior. 
 He immediately determined to return to Mon- 
 terey and make the march over land. While in 
 Monterey, on the 27th of October, he learned 
 that he had been appointed a lieutenant-colonel 
 of a rifle regiment in the army of the United 
 States. His commission was dated May 29, 
 and signed by President Polk. 
 
 As this appointments by which one who had 
 originally entered the army in an irregular way, 
 taken from the civil service, vaulted over the 
 heads of so many may possibly have had some- 
 thing to do with certain unpleasant occurrences 
 afterwards, the grounds on which it was made 
 must be borne in mind. They were well stated 
 in one of the public journals at the time, which 
 expresses his eminent qualifications, as fol- 
 lows : " His intimate knowledge of the country, 
 in which the regiment was designed to serve, 
 acquired by his indefatigable explorations of the 
 whole extent of it ; his being accustomed to face 
 danger in every form; his induration to the 
 hardships of the wilderness ; and his knowledge 
 of the character of the tribes that wander over 
 those desolate regions."
 
 INSURRECTION. 245 
 
 Having despatched a courier to the Sacra- 
 mento Valley, to fill up his troops and obtain 
 additional supplies, he made all the necessary 
 preparations for an arduous winter march. In 
 the mean time the insurrection had assumed a 
 formidable character. A party of four hundred 
 American sailors and marines, on their way 
 from San Pedro to Los Angeles, were beaten 
 back, with tire loss of six men killed, by a 
 strong force of Californians. Los Angeles and 
 Santa Barbara were in their hands. Larkin, 
 the United States consul, had been taken 
 prisoner. Captains Burroughs and Foster and 
 Mr. Eames, were killed in a severe skirmish 
 while escorting a lot of horses to Fremont's 
 camp. Captain Burroughs, on this occasion, 
 rode Fremont's horse, Sacramento. When the 
 captain fell, he was in front of his men. The 
 sagacious animal seemed to comprehend fully 
 the relations of the fight. Immediately, upon 
 losing his rider, he dashed back to his own party, 
 wheeled into the ranks, and was impatient to 
 bear another hero against the foe. On this 
 occasion, one of the Wah-lah-wah-lah Indians 
 performed a remarkable feat of heroism. He 
 volunteered to carry intelligence to Col. Fre- 
 mont of the attack. He was closely pursued by 
 the enemy, one of whom, having nearly over- 
 taken him, drove his lance at him ; in trying to 
 parry it, he received it through his hand ; with 
 
 21*
 
 246 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 the other hand he grasped his tomahawk, and 
 in an instant clave the skull of his pursuer. 
 Two others overtook him and shared the same 
 fate in succession. He rode on until his horse 
 gave out, and then reached Monterey on foot. 
 
 Col. Fremont immediately started. His force 
 consisted of four hundred mounted men, and 
 three pieces of artillery under the command of 
 Lieut. McLane of the navy. A large drove of 
 beef cattle followed to serve as provisions on 
 the march. At San Juan, on the 29th of No- 
 vember, a party of emigrants, who had recently 
 crossed the country, ma'de a most valuable acces- 
 sion to his force, comprising many men of supe- 
 rior intelligence and standing, and contributing 
 essentially to the energy of the expedition. 
 One of them, Edwin Bryant, who, in 1849, 
 published a work on California, served as a first 
 lieutenant of one of the companies, and became 
 alcalde of San Francisco. He gives the follow- 
 ing account of the regiment : 
 
 " There are no plumes nodding over brazen 
 helmets, nor coats of*broadcloth spangled with 
 lace and buttons ; a broad-brimmed, low-crowned 
 hat, a shirt of blue flannel or buckskin, with pan- 
 taloons and moccasins of the same, ah 1 generally 
 much the worse for wear, and smeared with mud 
 and dust, make up the costume of the party, 
 officers as well as men. A leathern girdle sur- 
 rounds the waist, from which are suspended a
 
 CALIFORNIA BATTALION. 247 
 
 bowie and a hunter's knife, and sometimes a 
 brace of pistols. These, with the rifle and hol- 
 ster pistols, are the arms carried by officers and 
 privates. A single bugle composes the band." 
 
 The staff-officers were Lieutenant- Colonel J. 
 C. Fremont, commanding ; A. H. Gillespie, Ma- 
 jor ; P. B. Reading, Paymaster ; Henry King, 
 Commissary ; J. R. Snyder, Quartermaster ; Wil- 
 liam H. Russell,. Ordnance Officer; J. Talbot, 
 Adjutant ; and J. J. Myers, Serge ant- Major. 
 
 In the course of his narrative of the march, 
 Mr. Bryant bestows this encomium upon the 
 regiment, which all other accounts amply jus- 
 tify: 
 
 " The men composing the California battalion 
 have been drawn from many sources, and are 
 roughly clad and weather-beaten in their exte- 
 rior appearance ; but I feel it but justice to state 
 my belief, that no military party ever passed 
 through an enemy's country and observed the 
 same strict regard for the rights of its popula- 
 tion. I never heard of an outrage or even a 
 trespass being committed by one of the Amer- 
 ican volunteers during our entire march. Every 
 American appeared to understand perfectly the 
 duty which he owed to himself and others in 
 this respect, and the deportment of the bat- 
 talion might be cited as a model for imita- 
 tion." 
 
 After marching one hundred and fifty miles,
 
 248 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 they surprised, in a night of pitchy darkness, 
 San Louis Obispo, the seat of a district com- 
 mandant, without firing a gun, and captured 
 Don Jesus Pico, the head of the insurrection in 
 that quarter. Two days afterwards, December 
 16th, Pico was tried by a court-martial, and 
 condemned to death, for breaking his parole. 
 The next day, about an hour before noon, at 
 which time the execution was to take place, a 
 procession of females, headed by a lady of fine 
 appearance, proceeded to the quarters of Col. 
 Fremont, and with all the fervor natural to a 
 mother, wife, children, and near relatives, under 
 such circumstances, implored for mercy, and, 
 prostrate and in tears, begged for the life of 
 the convict. Their supplication was granted. 
 Pico, who had borne himself with perfect cool- 
 ness and firmness at the trial, and had prepared 
 to die with " the solemn dignity of a Spaniard," 
 when brought in and informed of his pardon, 
 flung himself with unrestrained emotion before 
 Col. Fremont, clasped his knees, swore eternal 
 fidelity, and begged the privilege of fighting and 
 dying for him. 
 
 His subsequent conduct proved him faithful 
 to his pledge. Some have blamed Col. Fremont 
 for his clemency on this occasion ; but he knew 
 better than they know the great and deep laws 
 of our nature. He knew well the people of 
 California, who were more truly subdued by
 
 INSURGENTS SURRENDER TO FREMONT. 249 
 
 that act of mercy, than by all the bloodshed of 
 battle, and all the terrors of our power. 
 
 On the 27th of December, the battalion 
 entered without resistance the town of Santa 
 Barbara, where it remained recruiting until the 
 3d of January, 1847. On the llth of January, 
 while pursuing their march, they were met by 
 two Californians, riding in great haste, bare- 
 headed, who informed them that the American 
 forces, under Commodore Stockton, had retaken 
 Los Angeles, after a victorious engagement with 
 the insurgent forces. The enemy's force was 
 understood to be in the vicinity, and the next 
 day two California officers came into camp to 
 treat for peace. After full consultation, articles 
 were agreed upon on the 13th of January, 1847. 
 They stipulated that all Californians should 
 deliver up their arms, return peaceably to their 
 homes, not take up arms again during the war 
 between the United States and Mexico, and 
 assist and aid in keeping the country in a state 
 of peace and tranquillity. Any Californian or 
 citizen of Mexico, who might desire to do so, 
 was to be permitted to leave the country, and 
 none be required to take the" oath of allegiance 
 to the United States, until a treaty of peace 
 should be signed and made between the United 
 States and Mexico. The articles of capitulation 
 were signed by officers duly commissioned for 
 the purpose, and approved by " J. C. Fremont,
 
 250 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 Lieutenant- Colonel U. S. Army, and Military 
 Commandant of California, and by Andres Pico, 
 Commandant of Squadron and Chief of the 
 National Forces of California." 
 
 This, was the " Capitulation of Cowenga." 
 It terminated the war so far as California was 
 concerned. No hostile arm was ever again 
 lifted, except in the ordinary form of local In- 
 dian outbreaks, within the limits of that State, 
 against the authority of the United States. It 
 secured reconciliation as well as peace. It is in 
 evidence, on the records of the government, that 
 the final conquest of California could not have 
 been accomplished by any forces then on the 
 Pacific coast, without the aid of the California 
 battalion ; and that, had it not been consum- 
 mated by the Treaty of Cowenga, a " bloody, 
 vexatious, and predatory warfare " would surely 
 have been protracted for an indefinite length of 
 time. The whole western slope of the Sierra 
 Nevada would have afforded safe retreats, inac- 
 cessible to naval and even regular military 
 forces, from which ravaging parties would have 
 rushed down upon the plains, and where insur- 
 rectionary movements would have been fomented 
 perpetually. Fremont terrified the Californians 
 and the Indians by the celerity and boldness of 
 his movements, and he conquered their hearts 
 by the good conduct of his men, and the mod- 
 eration and clemency of his policy.
 
 CAPITULATION OF COWENGA. 251 
 
 In a despatch from General Kearney to the 
 War Department at Washington, dated Ciudad 
 de los Angeles, January 14, 1847, he says : 
 
 " This morning, Lieutenant- Colonel Fremont, 
 of the regiment of mounted riflemen, reached 
 here with four hundred volunteers from the Sac- 
 ramento ; the enemy capitulated with him yes- 
 terday, near San Fernando, agreeing to lay 
 down their arms, and we have now the prospect 
 of having peace and quietness in this country, 
 which I hope may not be interrupted again." 
 
 Mr. Bryant, in his book, gives a minute ac- 
 count of the course of the California battalion 
 from Monterey to Los Angeles. It was in mid- 
 winter, over a rough country, in rain and storm, 
 one of the hardest marches ever made, exhaust- 
 ing to the strength of men, and most destructive 
 to the animals. On one occasion it seemed as 
 if all would sink under fatigue and suffering. 
 Fremont thus refers to it, in a document drawn 
 out in subsequent proceedings : " We pursued 
 our march, passing the towns on the way with- 
 out collision with the people, but with great 
 labor from the state of the roads and rains. On 
 Christmas day, 1846, we struggled on the Santa 
 Barbara Mountain in a tempest of chilling rains 
 and winds, in which a hundred horses perished ; 
 but the men stood to it, and I mention it to 
 their honor."
 
 ' CHAPTER VI. 
 
 ARRIVAL OF GENERAL KEARNEY DIFFICULTIES 
 
 BETWEEN COMMANDERS ARREST COURT-MAR- 
 TIAL. 
 
 IT is necessary at this point to go back a few 
 months. After completing the original conquest 
 of California, taking possession of Ciudad de 
 los Angeles, its capital, and providing for the 
 administration of a civil and military govern- 
 ment over it, Commodore Stockton and Col- 
 onel Fremont sent Carson, with fifteen men, to 
 Washington with despatches, relating all that 
 had taken place. He was to make the journey 
 and return in 140 days, subsisting on his mules 
 as he went. Having crossed the wilderness in 
 about thirty days, he met General Kearney, on 
 his way to California to conquer that country ! 
 Upon receiving the intelligence which Carson 
 brought, Kearney divided his command, and 
 with a portion of it continued on towards Cali- 
 fornia, taking Carson back with him. When he 
 reached the borders of California it was at the 
 
 (252)
 
 GENERAL KEARNEY. 253 
 
 height of the insurrectionary movement, and he 
 was met by the enemy in great force. After 
 one or two bloody encounters, he was hemmed 
 in at a particular point, reduced to a state of 
 siege, and for want of grass or water brought to 
 a serious extremity. It was only about thirty 
 miles from San Diego. Carson, and Passed 
 Midshipman Beale, volunteered to go there for 
 relief. Accompanied by a Delaware Indian they 
 crawled at night through the enemy's lines. To 
 prevent noise they took off their shoes, and un- 
 fortunately lost them. Concealing themselves 
 by day, they reached their destination the second 
 night ; having had to travel in a circuit, the dis 
 tance had been about fifty miles. Their flesh 
 was torn and bleeding from the rocks and 
 thorns, and they were haggard with hunger, 
 anxiety, and sleeplessness, but relief was ob- 
 tained, and General Kearney's command was 
 saved. 
 
 He had reached Los Angeles only a few days 
 before the capitulation of Cowenga, and was 
 there when Col. Fremont arrived with his bat- 
 talion. 
 
 At this point a very disagreeable state of 
 things arose, involving many unpleasant per- 
 sonal embarrassments. The government at 
 Washington, being at such a great distance 
 from the scene of operations, communications 
 having for the most part to pass around Cape 
 "22
 
 254 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 Horn, and not knowing the state of things at 
 any given time, had to frame instructions to its 
 officers in general terms. It was impossible to 
 be specific, for no one could tell what the state 
 of facts might be when the officer or his des- 
 patches should reach the scene. General Kear- 
 ney would not have been sent out at all, had the 
 government imagined that Fremont and Stock- 
 ton had already subdued the country. Then, 
 unfortunately, a quick succession of naval com- 
 manders passed over the stage Sloat, Stockton, 
 Shubrick, and Biddle each liable to interpret 
 his duty variously. Sailors were turned into 
 soldiers, and performed long land marches. The 
 consequence was that differences of judgment 
 arose, and questions of priority and precedence 
 were entertained. 
 
 Col. Fremont had not, it is probable, turned 
 his attention much to such questions. His life 
 had been crowded with far different thoughts 
 and interests. The absence of the higher grades 
 in our naval service tended to increase the diffi- 
 culty. At any rate, in point of fact, he found 
 Commodore Stockton and General Kearney 
 disputing the right to command. It was to him 
 an open question. He had, however, performed 
 his work, and received his appointments, under 
 Stockton. 
 
 It may be proper here to quote the view he 
 took of the subject at the time, as frankly given in
 
 DIFFICULTIES BETWEEN COMMANDERS. 255 
 
 a letter to a Mend. Although overruled, after- 
 wards, by the judgment of a court-martial, it is 
 evidently a sincere opinion, and however at vari- 
 ance with the artificial code of military etiquette, 
 one which a person of plain common sense 
 might very naturally have entertained. 
 
 " When I entered Los Angeles I was igno- 
 rant of the relations subsisting between these 
 gentlemen, having received from neither any 
 order or information which might serve as a 
 guide in the circumstances. I therefore, imme- 
 diately on my arrival, waited upon the governor 
 and commander-in-chief, Commodore Stockton ; 
 and, a few minutes afterwards, called upon 
 General Kearney. I soon found them occupy- 
 ing a hostile attitude, and ea5h denying the 
 right of the other to assume the direction of 
 affairs in this country. 
 
 " The ground assumed by General Kearney 
 was, that he held in his hand plenary instruc- 
 tions from the President directing him to con- 
 quer California, and organize a civil government, 
 and that consequently he would not recognize 
 the acts of Commodore Stockton. 
 
 " The latter maintained that his own instruc- 
 tions were to the same effect as Kearney's ; that 
 this officer's commission was obsolete, and never 
 would have been given could the Government 
 have anticipated that the entire country, sea- 
 board and interior, would have been conquered
 
 256 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 and held by -himself. The country had been 
 conquered and a civil government instituted 
 since September last, the constitution of the ter- 
 ritory, and appointments under the constitution, 
 had been sent to the government for its approval, 
 and decisive action undoubtedly long since had 
 upon them. General Kearney was instructed 
 to conquer the country, and upon its threshold 
 his command had been nearly cut to pieces, and, 
 but for relief from him (Commodore Stockton) 
 would have been destroyed. More men were 
 lost than in General Taylor's battle of the 8th. 
 In regard to the remaining part of his instruc- 
 tions, how could he organize a government with- 
 out first proceeding to disorganize the present 
 one ? His work had been anticipated; his com- 
 mission was absolutely void, null, and of no 
 effect. 
 
 " But if General Kearney believed that his in- 
 structions gave him paramount authority in the 
 country, he made a fatal error on his arrival. 
 He was received with kindness and distinction 
 by the Commodore, and offered by him the 
 command of his land forces. General Kearney 
 rejected the offer and declined interfering with 
 Commodore Stockton. This officer was then 
 preparing for a march to Ciudad de los Angeles, 
 his force being principally sailors and marines, 
 who were all on foot, (fortunately for them,) and 
 who were to be provided with supplies on thoir
 
 DIFFICULTIES BETWEEN COMMANDERS. 257 
 
 march through an enemy's country where all the 
 people are cavalry. His force was paraded, and 
 ready to start, 700 in number, supported by six 
 pieces of artillery. The command, under Com- 
 modore Stockton, had been conferred upon his 
 first lieutenant, Mr. Rowan. At this juncture 
 General Kearney expressed to Commodore 
 Stockton his expectation that the command 
 would have been given to him. The Commo- 
 dore informed the General that Lieutenant 
 Rowan was in his usual line of duty, as on 
 board ship, relieving him of the detail and 
 drudgery of the camp, while he himself re- 
 mained the commander-in-chief ; that if General 
 Kearney was willing to accept Mr. Rowan's 
 place, under these circumstances, he could have 
 it. The General assented. Commodore Stock- 
 ton called up his officers and explained the case. 
 Mr. Rowan gave up his post generously and 
 without hesitation ; and Commodore Stockton 
 desired them clearly to understand that he re- 
 mained the commander-in-chief; under this 
 arrangement the whole force entered Angeles ; 
 and on the day of my arrival at that place 
 General Kearney told me that he did then, at 
 that moment, recognize Commodore Stockton 
 as governor of the territory. 
 
 " You are aware that I had contracted rela- 
 tions with Commodore Stockton, and I thought 
 it neither right nor politically honorable to 
 
 22*
 
 258 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 withdraw my support. No reason of interest 
 shall ever compel me to act towards any man 
 in such a way that I should afterwards be 
 ashamed to meet him." 
 
 These were the views which led Col. Fre- 
 mont to take the position which a military 
 tribunal subsequently adjudged to be erroneous. 
 But entertaining them honestly, he acted upon 
 them fearlessly and with decision. The follow- 
 ing is his answer to an order received from Gen- 
 eral Kearney two days after his entrance, with 
 his California battalion, into Los Angeles. 
 
 " Ciudad de los Angeles, January, 1847. 
 
 " SIR : I have the honor to be in receipt of 
 your favor of last night, in which I am directed 
 to suspend the execution of orders, which, in my 
 capacity of military commandant of this territory, 
 I had received from Commodore Stockton, gov- 
 ernor and commander-in-chief in California. I 
 avail myself of an early hour, this morning, to 
 make such a reply as the brief time allowed for 
 reflection will enable me. 
 
 " I found Commodore Stockton in possession 
 of the country, exercising the functions of mili- 
 tary commandant and civil governor, as early as 
 July of last year ; and shortly thereafter I received 
 from him the commission of military command- 
 ant, the duties of which I immediately entered 
 upon, and have continued to exercise to the 
 present moment.
 
 DIFFICULTIES BETWEEN COMMANDERS. 259 
 
 " I found also, on my arrival at this place, 
 some three or four days since, Commodore 
 Stockton still exercising the functions of civil 
 and military governor, with the same apparent 
 deference to his rank on the part of all officers, 
 (including yourself,) as he maintained and 
 required, when he assumed in July last. 
 
 " I learned also, in conversation with you, that 
 on the march from San Diego, recently, to this 
 place, you entered upon and discharged duties, 
 implying an acknowledgment on your part of 
 supremacy to Commodore Stockton. 
 
 " I feel, therefore, with great deference to your 
 professional and personal character, constrained 
 to say that, until you and Commodore Stockton 
 adjust between yourselves the question of rank, 
 where I respectfully think the difficulty belongs, 
 I shall have to report and receive orders, as here- 
 tofore, from the Commodore. 
 
 " With considerations of high regard, 
 
 " I am, sir, your obedient servant, 
 
 "J. C. FREMONT, 
 " Lieutenant-Colonel U. S. Army, and Military 
 
 Commandant of the Territory of California. 
 
 " Brig. Gen. S. W. KEARNEY, U. S. Army." 
 
 For this letter, and the line of conduct based 
 upon it, Col. Fremont was brought to a court- 
 martial. The merits of the case will not be 
 discussed here. It rested upon questions of
 
 260 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 rank, in reference to which all officers are par- 
 ticularly sensitive, and led to a heated contro- 
 versy between gallant men. But as Colonel 
 Fremont sent a message to the dying pillow of 
 the principal prosecutor, of forgiveness, Christian 
 sympathy, and good-will, it would ill become 
 these pages to renew the controversy. 
 
 Finding himself in this disagreeable position, 
 he endeavored to procure permission to join his 
 regiment in Mexico. He was prepared with 
 sixty picked men, and one hundred and twenty 
 horses, to set out, and would have reached the 
 theatre of the war in time to have participated 
 in its crowning victories, but he was refused. 
 A like result followed an application to be 
 allowed to collect his exploring party and return 
 over a route not then traversed. 
 
 Upon learning that a difficulty had arisen 
 between General Kearney and Col. Fremont, 
 the government at Washington endeavored to 
 avert the unpleasant consequences that might 
 flow from it. Mr. Marcy, Secretary of War, in a 
 despatch to General Kearney, dated June 11, 
 1847, alludes to the subject, and explains the 
 reasons why instructions given the year before 
 to naval officers had borne the appearance of 
 conferring on them the control of affairs in Cali- 
 fornia. They knew of no force there except the 
 naval. It had not, indeed, entered their dreams 
 that an exploring party could be transformed
 
 ARREST. 261 
 
 into an invincible battalion, and little did they 
 imagine, when they started General Kearney 
 across the continent, that Fremont and Stockton 
 had already conquered California. 
 
 Mr. Marcy informs General Kearney, that 
 the Government is apprised that " Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Fremont bore a conspicuous part in the 
 conquest of California; and that his services 
 have been very valuable in that country." 
 " Should Lieutenant- Colonel Fremont," he con- 
 tinues, " who has the option to return or remain, 
 adopt the latter alternative, the President does 
 not doubt that you will employ him in such a 
 manner as will render his services most available 
 to the public interest, having reference to his 
 extensive acquaintance with the inhabitants of 
 California, and his knowledge of their language, 
 qualifications, independently of others, which 
 it is supposed may be very useful in the present 
 and prospective state of our affairs in that 
 country." 
 
 But the advice qjid suggestions of the secre- 
 tary availed nothing. Brigadier- General Kear- 
 ney came home in the course of the season, and 
 Col. Fremont accompanied him, being ordered 
 to follow in his rear ; and, upon reaching Mis- 
 souri, was put under arrest, a purpose long 
 formed, but not until then made known to him. 
 The court-martial assembled at the Washington 
 Arsenal, in the District of Columbia, at twelve
 
 262 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 o'clock, November 2, 1847. The sentence of 
 the court was made up, and the body dissolved, 
 on the 31st of January, 1848. There were three 
 charges. The first was Mutiny. The second 
 was Disobedience to the lawful command of his 
 superior officer. The third was Conduct to the 
 prejudice of good order and military discipline. 
 
 In the opening of his defence, which is an 
 able and manly document, after reciting the 
 charges, he thus states its general ground, and 
 shows the spirit in which he made it : 
 
 " The two superior officers in California, with 
 whom the difficulties began, (Commodore Stock- 
 ton and General Kearney,) have each had the 
 benefit of stating his own case before this court, 
 showing under what authority they went and 
 acted, what they did, and how they became 
 involved with one another, and how I became 
 involved in their contest. 
 
 "An incident and a subordinate in this con- 
 test where it originated, and turned up as prin- 
 cipal figure in it here for criminal prosecution, 
 I am happy to find that my rights, in one 
 respect, are at least equal to theirs, that of 
 stating my own case as fully as they stated 
 theirs, and showing how I became principal in 
 a contest which was theirs before I heard of it 
 or came near them. And which, as suggested 
 heretofore, ought to have been settled between 
 themselves, or by the Government, whose com-
 
 COURT-MARTIAL. 263 
 
 missions they both bore. A subordinate in rank, 
 as in the contest, long and secretly marked out 
 for prosecution by the commanding general, 
 assailed in newspaper publications when three 
 thousand miles distant, and standing for more 
 than two months before this court to hear all 
 that could be sworn against my private honor as 
 well as against my official conduct, I come at 
 last to the right to speak for myself. 
 
 " In using this privilege, I have to ask of this 
 court to believe that the preservation of a com- 
 mission is no object of my defence. It came to 
 me, as did those which preceded it, without 
 asking, either by myself or by any friend in my 
 behalf. I endeavored to resign it in California, 
 through General Kearney, in March last, (not 
 knowing of his design to arrest me,) when it 
 was less injurious to me than it is at present. 
 Such as it now is, it would not be worth 
 one moment's defence before this court. But 
 I have a name which was without a blemish 
 before I received that commission ; and that 
 name it is my intention to defend." 
 
 The court pronounced him guilty on every 
 specification of each charge. The president of 
 the court, Bt. Brig. General Brooke, Lieut. Col. 
 Hunt, Lieut. Col. Taylor, and Major Baker, 
 filed the following paper, with the record : 
 
 " Under the circumstances in which Lieuten- 
 ant Colonel Fremont was placed, between two
 
 264 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 officers of superior rank, each claiming to com- 
 mand-in -chief in California, circumstances in 
 their nature calculated to embarrass the mind, 
 and excite the doubts of officers of greater ex- 
 perience than the accused ; and, in consideration 
 of the important professional services rendered 
 by him, previous to the occurrence of the acts 
 for which he has been tried, the undersigned, 
 members of the court, respectfully commend 
 Lieutenant- Colonel Fremont to the lenient con- 
 sideration of the President of the United States." 
 
 Lieutenant- Colonel Long, Lieutenant- Colonel 
 Morgan, and Major Delafield, filed the following 
 paper : 
 
 " Under all the circumstances of this case, and 
 in consideration of the distinguished professional 
 services of the accused, previous to the trajisac- 
 tions for which he has now been tried, the under- 
 signed beg leave to recommend him to the 
 clemency of the President of the United States." 
 
 The action of the President, on the case, was 
 as follows: 
 
 " Upon an inspection of the record, I am not 
 satisfied that the facts proved in this case con- 
 stitute the military crime of 'mutiny.' I am 
 of opinion that the second and third charges are 
 sustained by the proof, and that the conviction 
 upon these charges warrants the sentence of the 
 court. The sentence of the court is therefore 
 approved; but, in consideration of the peculiar
 
 RESIGNATION OF COMMISSION. 265 
 
 circumstances of the case, of the previous 
 meritorious and valuable services of Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Fremont, and of the foregoing recom- 
 mendations of a majority of the members of the 
 court, the penalty of dismissal from the service 
 is remitted. 
 
 " Lieutenant- Colonel Fremont will accord- 
 ingly be released from arrest, will resume his 
 sword, and report for duty. JAMES K. POLK." 
 
 Upon receiving notice of the result of the 
 trial, Colonel Fremont addressed the following 
 letter to the Adjutant- General: 
 
 " Washington City, C Street, Feb. 19, 1848. 
 
 " SIR: I have this moment received the general 
 order, No. 7, (dated the 17th instant,) making 
 known to me the final decision in the proceed- 
 ings of the general court-martial, before which I 
 have been tried; and hereby send in my resig- 
 nation of lieutenant-colonel in the army of the 
 United States. 
 
 " In doing this, I take the occasion to say that 
 my reason for resigning is that I do not feel 
 conscious of having done anything to merit the 
 finding of the court; and, this being the case, 
 I cannot, by accepting the clemency of the 
 President, admit the justice of the decision 
 against me. 
 
 " Very respectfully your obedient servant, 
 
 J. C. FREMONT." 
 23
 
 266 UFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 The judgment of the people of the United 
 States on this trial and its result, was undoubt- 
 edly what is expressed in the language used by 
 General Brooke and his three associates. The 
 finding of the court, under the circumstances a 
 majority of its members doing what they could 
 to ward off the blow, and the President nullify- 
 ing in fact, while he nominally approved, the 
 sentence was regarded as reflecting no stigma 
 whatever on Colonel Fremont. But the whole 
 procedure created a sympathy for him in the 
 hearts of the American people, which deepened 
 the admiration his romantic career had excited, 
 and gave him that place in their affections which 
 he holds to this day, and will continue to hold 
 in all coming time. 
 
 In his own State, where he was reared to man- 
 hood, the feeling in his favor was, naturally, 
 particularly deep. It was the residence of his 
 widowed mother, who had watched his brilliant 
 but perilous career with all the fondness, anxiety, 
 and pride of the maternal heart. When she 
 heard that he was brought home under arrest, 
 and was to be tried on charges that touched 
 his life and honor, she sunk under the blow. 
 He hastened to her, but only to discharge the 
 last office of filial love and sorrow. She died 
 the day before his arrival. The people of 
 Charleston expressed their sense of his character 
 and services in- a public and emphatic manner.
 
 PROCEEDINGS IN CHARLESTON. 267 
 
 " At a meeting, held at the Charleston Hotel, 
 on the evening of the 16th instant, for the pur- 
 pose of rendering to Lieutenant- Colonel Fre- 
 mont a proper tribute of respect for his gallantry 
 and good conduct in his late expeditions to 
 Oregon and California, Henry W. Conner, Esq. 
 was called to the chair, and George H. Cameron 
 appointed Secretary. 
 
 The Chairman, in a brief and pertinent ad- 
 dress, stated that Colonel Fremont, as they all 
 knew, was a native of Charleston, and the city 
 might well be proud of him ; for the brilliancy 
 of his achievements, the important results he 
 has accomplished for his country, and the high 
 qualities which he has displayed in every variety 
 of circumstance in which he has been placed, 
 entitle him to rank as amongst the most dis- 
 tinguished men of the times. This sentiment, 
 he believed, was unanimous in the community; 
 and, with a view of giving some public expres- 
 sion of the feeling, it was proposed, some time 
 since, by a number of public-spirited gentlemen, 
 some of them the early friends and associates of 
 Colonel Fremont, to raise, by subscriptions from 
 among our citizens, of one dollar each, a sum 
 of money to be appropriated to the purchase of 
 a sword, or other suitable testimonial, to be 
 presented to Colonel Fremont, as an evidence 
 of the high estimation in which his distinguished 
 services and gallant conduct are held by his 
 fellow-townsmen.
 
 268 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 The subscription being some time since full, 
 the object of the present meeting was to carry 
 the design into effect. The following resolutions 
 were then introduced by John E. Carew, Esq., 
 and unanimously adopted. 
 
 Resolved, That this community highly ap- 
 preciate the eminent services rendered to his 
 country by their fellow-townsman, Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Fremont, in his late surveys and ex- 
 ploration of Oregon and California, under cir- 
 cumstances of extreme peril and privation, 
 requiring the exercise of the utmost fortitude 
 and decision of character. 
 
 Resolved, That we equally appreciate the 
 meritorious services rendered by Lieutenant- 
 Colonel Fremont to the cause of science in 
 general, by his indefatigable zeal and energy, in 
 extending his researches and discoveries in those 
 unknown regions. 
 
 Resolved, That his friends and associates, in 
 common with the people of Charleston in gen- 
 eral, particularly admire and approve the heroic 
 conduct of Colonel Fremont, in repelling an un- 
 provoked and unmanly attack made upon him 
 by Governor Castro with a vastly superior force, 
 and the promptitude and energy with which, 
 with a mere handful of men, he not only 
 defeated, but pursued his enemy, surprising and 
 capturing forts strongly defended with ordnance 
 and men, and eventually taking possession of
 
 PRESENTATION SWORD. 269 
 
 the province, and, with the American citizens 
 resident therein, declaring its independence. 
 
 Resolved, That in testimony of the high 
 estimation in which his gallant conduct and 
 brilliant achievements are held by his friends and 
 fellow-townsmen, a committee be appointed to 
 present to Colonel Fremont, in their behalf, a 
 sword, with appropriate devices and inscriptions, 
 accompanied by suitable expressions of regard 
 and esteem for his person and character. 
 
 The following Committee was appointed 
 under the last resolution : 
 
 JOHN E. CAREW, 
 
 HENRY GOURDIN, 
 
 W. C. GATEWOOD. 
 
 W. H. TRESCOTT, 
 
 G. S. BRYAN, 
 
 S. Y. TUPPER. 
 
 On motion of John E. Carew, Esq., the Chair- 
 man of the meeting was added as Chairman of 
 the Committee. 
 
 H. W. CONNER, Chairman. 
 
 GEORGE H. CAMERON, Secretary." 
 
 The sword presented on this occasion was a 
 rich and splendid specimen of highly wrought 
 and elaborately executed .workmanship. It is 
 gold and silver mounted. The head of the hilt, 
 around which is coiled a rattlesnake, belonging 
 to the old arms of the State, is formed to 
 
 23*
 
 270 LIFE OF FKEMOXT. 
 
 represent the summit of the Palmetto-tree. On 
 the guard is a map, with the word " Oregon," 
 partly unrolled, to display the coast of the 
 Pacific Ocean. On the scabbard, which is gold, 
 are two silver shields, hung together, with the 
 words "California" and "1846," respectively. 
 Below them is the following inscription : 
 
 BY THE CITIZENS OF CHARLESTON 
 TO LIEUTENANT-COLONEL 
 
 JOHN CHARLES FREMONT. 
 
 A MEMORIAL OF THEIR HIGH APPRECIATION 
 OF THE GALLANTRY AND SCIENCE 
 
 HE HAS DISPLAYED IN HIS 
 SERVICES IN OREGON AND CALIFORNIA. 
 
 Still lower down on the scabbard is a repre- 
 sentation of a buffalo hunt. 
 
 An elegant and costly gold-mounted belt, 
 having the present arms of the State on its 
 clasp, presented by the LADIES OF CHARLESTON, 
 accompanied the sword. 
 
 On the 1st of February, the day after the con- 
 clusion of the court-martial, the military com- 
 mittee of the Senate of the United States, 
 consisting of Messrs. Cass, Benton, Crittenden, 
 Dix, Rusk, and Davis, commenced an investiga- 
 tion, in relation to California claims on the gov- 
 ernment of the United States. On the 23d of
 
 PUBLIC SENTIMENT. 271 
 
 that month, the chairman, General Cass, pre- 
 sented a Report, of which the Senate ordered 
 20,000 extra copies to be printed. It contained 
 a great amount of testimony, given under oath, 
 demonstrating the invaluable services rendered 
 by Col. Fremont, in the various stages of the 
 conquest of California, and presenting, in an 
 authentic and unquestionable form, the claims of 
 his heroic battalion, and of all who served under 
 him. On the 5th of June, the Senate ordered 
 " twenty .thousand copies of J. C. Fremont's Map 
 of Oregon and California, reduced from the 
 original, according to the projection to be fur- 
 nished by the said J. C. Fremont," to be litho- 
 graphed and printed ; and on the 15th of June, also 
 ordered the printing of "Fremont's Geograph- 
 ical Memoir (illustrative of his map) of Upper 
 California." This memoir is an able, scientific, 
 and condensed document, written in his felicit- 
 ous and pictorial style, describing and illustrat- 
 ing the map, and particularly presenting the 
 peculiar natural features agricultural, botanical, 
 and meteorological of the " Sierra Nevada," the 
 " Great Basin," the " Maritime region west of 
 the Sierra Nevada," and the " Valleys of the 
 Sacramento and San Joaquin." In an official 
 letter to the President, dated July 17, 1848, 
 James Buchanan, Secretary of State, in treating 
 of the population of California, speaks of Col. 
 Fremont, " as entitled to the highest considera-
 
 272 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 tion, from his well-known ability and superior 
 means of information," in reference to that coun- 
 try and the Pacific regions generally. 
 
 These facts sufficiently show that Col. Fre- 
 mont came out unscathed from the fiery ordeal 
 he had been made to pass. His spirit was not 
 broken his fame impaired his zeal reduced 
 or his devotion to the great purpose of his life 
 abated, one jot or one tittle. Released from 
 official entanglement, and freed from public 
 control, he soon again embarked in his chosen 
 enterprise.
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 FOURTH EXPEDITION GREAT SUFFERINGS MARI- 
 
 POSA PURCHASE CONSTITUTION OF CALIFORNIA. 
 
 His Fourth Expedition was undertaken, 
 mainly, at his own cost and charges. Several 
 public-spirited and liberal individuals, belonging 
 to St. Louis, Missouri, advanced the necessary 
 means, and took the risk of repayment, which 
 was duly made. Among them, Col. Robert 
 Campbell and Thornton Grimsley are particu- 
 larly to be mentioned. O. D. Filley presented 
 outright a considerable part of the camp equi- 
 page. Doctor George Engleman, also of St. 
 Louis, a gentleman of great personal worth and 
 scientific attainments and zeal, devoted himself, 
 on this as on all other occasions, to aid Col. 
 Fremont in his preparations. The Expedition 
 started October 19, 1848. 
 
 As no full report of this Expedition has yet 
 been published, it can only be presented in brief. 
 The following letter to Colonel Benton gives an 
 account of the progress and impressions made 
 up to its date. 
 
 (273)
 
 274 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 "Camp at Bent's Fort, Nov. 17, 1848. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR : We have met with very rea- 
 sonable success and some good results this first 
 long step upon our journey. In order to avoid 
 the chance of snow-storms upon the more ex- 
 posed Arkansas road, I followed up the line of 
 the Southern Kansas (the true Kansas River) 
 and so far added something to geography. For 
 a distance of 400 miles our route led through a 
 country affording abundant timber, game, and 
 excellent grass. We find that the Valley of 
 the Kansas affords by far the most eligible 
 approach to the mountains. The whole valley 
 soil is of very superior quality, well timbered, 
 abundant grasses, and the route very direct. 
 This line would afford continuous and good set- 
 tlements certainly for 400 miles, and is therefore 
 worthy of consideration in any plan of approach 
 to the mountains. We found our friend Major 
 Fitzpatrick in .the full exercise of his functions 
 at a point about thirty miles below this, in what 
 is called the ' Big Timber,' and surrounded by 
 about 600 lodges of different nations, Apaches, 
 Camanches, Kioways, and Arapahoes. He is a 
 most admirable agent, entirely educated for such 
 a post, and possessing the ability and courage 
 necessary to make his education available. He 
 has succeeded in drawing out from among the 
 Camanches the whole Kioway nation with the 
 exception of six lodges, and brought over among
 
 MAJOR FITZPATRICK. 
 
 them a considerable number of lodges of the 
 Apaches and Camanches. When we arrived he 
 was holding a talk with them, making a feast 
 and giving them a few presents. We found 
 them all on their good behavior, and were treated 
 in the most friendly manner; were neither an- 
 noyed by them, nor had any thing stolen from us. 
 I hope you will be able to give him some support. 
 He will be able to save lives and money for the 
 government, and knowing how difficult this In- 
 dian question may become, I am particular in 
 bringing Fitzpatrick's operations to your notice. 
 In a few years he might have them all farming 
 here on the Arkansas. 
 
 "Both Indians and whites here report the snow 
 to be deeper in the mountains than has for a 
 long time been known so early in the season, 
 and they predict a severe winter. This morning 
 for the first time, the mountains showed them- 
 selves, covered with snow, as well as the country 
 around us, for it snowed steadily the greater part 
 of yesterday and the night before. Still, I am 
 in nowise discouraged by the prospect, and be- 
 lieve that we shall succeed in forcing our way 
 across. We will ascend the Del Norte to its 
 head, descend on to the Colorado, and so across 
 the Wahsatch mountains and the basin country 
 somewhere near the 37th parallel, reaching the 
 settled parts of California near Monterey. 
 There is, I think, a pass in the Sierra Nevada
 
 276 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 between the 37th and 38th, which I wish to 
 examine. The party is in good spirits and 
 good health ; we have a small store of pro- 
 visions for hard times, and our instruments, 
 barometer included, all in good order. We 
 are always up an hour or two before light, 
 and the breakfasts are all over, and the camp 
 preparing to move, before sunrise. This break- 
 fasting before daylight, with the thermometer 
 ranging from 12 to 18, is a somewhat startling 
 change from the pleasant breakfast-table in 
 your stove-warmed house. I think that I shall 
 never cross the continent again, except at 
 Panama. I do not feel the pleasure that I 
 used to have in these labors, as they remain 
 inseparably connected with painful circum- 
 stances, due mostly to them. It needs strong 
 incitements to undergo the hardships and self- 
 denial of this kind of life, and as I find I have 
 these no longer, I will drop into a quiet life. 
 Should we have reasonable success, we shall 
 be in California early in January, say about 
 the 8th, where I shall expect to hear from ah 1 
 by the steamer. Referring you for other details 
 to Jessie, to whom I have written at length, I 
 remain most affectionately yours, 
 
 J. C. FREMONT." 
 
 The people of St. Louis took a deep interest in 
 this expedition, as is evident from the part they
 
 SENTIMENTS OF ST. LOUIS. 277 
 
 bore in getting it up. A spirited public meeting 
 was held there, on the 21st of February, 1849, at 
 which speeches were made by the Mayor and 
 others, and a series of Resolutions adopted set- 
 ting forth the importance of a " National Road 
 to the Pacific." There was also a special Reso- 
 lution passed as follows : 
 
 " Resolved, that the thanks of this meeting be 
 tendered to Colonel J. C. Fremont, for his intrep- 
 id perseverance and valuable scientific explora- 
 tions in the regions of the Rocky and Californian 
 Mountains, by which we have been furnished 
 with a knowledge of the passes and altitudes of 
 those mountains, and are now able to judge of 
 the entire practicability of constructing a rail- 
 road over them from St. Louis to San Francisco 
 in California ; and that the officers of this meet- 
 ing be requested to furnish Mrs. Fremont (Colo- 
 nel Fremont being in California) with a copy of 
 these proceedings." 
 
 The copy of the proceedings was communi- 
 cated with the following letter : 
 
 St. Louis, February 22, 1849. 
 
 MRS. FREMONT, MADAM : 
 
 As the officers of a public meeting held in 
 this city, it is made our duty to transmit to you 
 a copy of the proceedings had on that occasion, 
 with which we most cheerfully comply by en- 
 closing herewith a printed copy thereof.
 
 278 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 Permit us, Madam, in the performance of this 
 pleasing duty to say that to no one could the 
 compliment intended to be conveyed by the res- 
 olution, and so justly merited, be more accept- 
 able than to yourself. A native of St. Louis, 
 the terminus of the magnificent work, the honored 
 lady of the gallant and intrepid explorer of the 
 route, and esteemed daughter of the honored 
 senator, who, for more than thirty years has 
 zealously and perseveringly contended for the 
 trade of the Pacific, China, and the Indies, and 
 now projects a monument to his foresight and 
 wisdom, in putting in motion this grand thor- 
 oughfare for nations. 
 
 We sincerely congratulate you on the auspi- 
 ciousness that awaits our City of the West and 
 its benefactors. 
 
 With very great respect we are, Madam, 
 Your most obedient Servants, 
 
 JOHN M. KRUM, 
 GEORGE K. McGuNNEGLE. 
 
 It is observed that the meeting at St. Louis 
 were of opinion that Colonel Fremont had, at 
 that date, (February 21,) reached California. 
 They little knew what he had gone through. 
 The disasters of the expedition are best shown in 
 the following letter. It was written in the free- 
 dom of domestic affection and private corre- 
 spondence, but may be presented to the reader
 
 CARSON. 279 
 
 with propriety, and will be appreciated, with 
 deep sensibility, by every feeling heart : 
 
 Taos, New Mexico, January 27, 1849. 
 MY VERY DEAR WlFE ! 
 
 I write to you from the house of our good 
 friend Carson. This morning a cup of chocolate 
 was brought to me, while yet in bed. To an 
 overworn, overworked, much fatigued, and starv- 
 ing traveller, these little luxuries of the world 
 offer an interest which in your comfortable home 
 it is not possible for you to conceive. While in 
 the enjoyment of this luxury,, then, I pleased my- 
 self in imagining how gratified you would be in 
 picturing me here in Kit's care, whom you will 
 fancy constantly occupied and constantly uneasy 
 in endeavoring to make me comfortable. How 
 little could you have dreamed of this while he was 
 enjoying the pleasant hospitality of your father's 
 house ! The furthest thing then from your mind 
 was that he would ever repay it to me here. 
 
 But I have now the unpleasant task of telling 
 you how I came here. I had much rather write 
 you some rambling letters in unison with the 
 repose in which I feel inclined to indulge, and 
 talk to you about the future with which I am 
 already busily occupied ; about my arrangements 
 for getting speedily down into the more pleasant 
 climate of the lower Del Norte and rapidly 
 through into California ; and my plans when I
 
 280 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 get there. 1 have an almost invincible repug- 
 nance to going back among scenes where I have 
 endured much suffering, and for all the incidents 
 and circumstances of which I feel a strong aver- 
 sion. But as clear information is absolutely 
 necessary to you, and to your father more partic- 
 ularly still, I will give you the story now instead 
 of waiting to tell it to you in California. But I 
 write in the great hope that you will not receive 
 this letter. When it reaches Washington you 
 may be on your way to California. 
 
 Former letters have made you acquainted 
 with our journey so far as Bent's Fort, and from 
 report you will have heard the circumstances of 
 our departure from the Upper Pueblo of the 
 Arkansas. We left that place about the 25th 
 of November, with upwards of a hundred good 
 mules and one hundred and thirty bushels of 
 shelled corn, intended to support our animals 
 across the snow of the high mountains, and 
 down to the lower parts of the Grand River 
 tributaries, where usually the snow forms no ob- 
 stacle to winter travelling. At the Pueblo, I had 
 engaged as a guide an old trapper well known 
 as " Bill Williams," and who had spent some 
 twenty-five years of his life in trapping various 
 parts of the Rocky Mountains. The error of 
 our journey was committed in engaging this 
 man. He proved never to have in the least 
 known, or entirely to have forgotten, the whole
 
 DIFFICULTIES OF THE ROUTE. 281 
 
 region of country through which we were to 
 pass. We occupied more than half a month in 
 making the journey of a few days, blundering a 
 tortuous way through deep snow which already 
 began to choke up the passes, for which we were 
 obliged to waste time in searching. About the 
 llth December we found ourselves at the north 
 of the Del Norte Canon, where that river issues 
 from the St. John's Mountain, one of the highest, 
 most rugged and impracticable of all the Rocky 
 Mountain ranges, inaccessible to trappers and 
 hunters even in the summer time. Across the 
 point of this elevated range our guide conducted 
 us, and having still great confidence in his 
 knowledge, we pressed onwards with fatal reso- 
 lution. Even along the river bottoms the snow 
 was already belly deep for the mules, frequently 
 snowing in the valley and almost constantly in 
 the mountains. The cold was extraordinary ; 
 at the warmest hours of the day (between one 
 and two) the thermometer (Fahrenheit) standing 
 in the shade of only a tree trunk at zero ; the 
 day sunshiny, with a moderate breeze. We 
 pressed up towards the summit, the snow 
 deepening ; and in four or five days reached the 
 naked ridges which lie above the timbered 
 country, and which form the dividing grounds 
 between the waters of the Atlantic and Pacific 
 oceans. Along these naked ridges, it storms 
 nearly all winter, and the winds sweep across 
 24*
 
 282 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 them with remorseless fury. On our first attempt 
 to cross we encountered a pouderie, (dry snow 
 driven thick through the air by violent wind, and 
 in which objects are visible only at a short dis- 
 tance,) and were driven back, having some 10 or 
 12 men variously frozen, face, hands, or feet. 
 The guide came nigh being frozen to death here, 
 and dead mules were already lying about the 
 fires. Meantime, it snowed steadily. The next 
 day we made mauls, and beating a road or 
 trench through the snow crossed the crest in 
 defiance of the pouderie, and encamped im- 
 mediately below in the edge of the timber. The 
 trail showed as if a defeated party had passed 
 by ; pack-saddles and packs, scattered articles of 
 clothing, and dead mules strewed along. A 
 continuance of stormy weather paralyzed all 
 movement. We were encamped somewhere 
 about 12,000 feet above the sea. Westward, 
 the country was buried in deep snow. It was 
 impossible to advance and to turn back was 
 equally impracticable. We were overtaken by 
 sudden and inevitable ruin. It so happened that 
 the only places where any grass could be had 
 were the extreme summit of the ridges, where 
 the sweeping winds kept the rocky ground bare 
 and the snow could not lie. Below these, ani- 
 mals could not get about, the snow being deep 
 enough to bury them. Here, therefore, in the 
 full violence of the storms we were obliged to
 
 DISASTERS OF THE ROUTE. 283 
 
 keep our animals. They could not be moved 
 either way. It was instantly apparent that we 
 should lose every animal. 
 
 I determined to recross the mountain more 
 towards the open country, and haul, or pack the 
 baggage (by men) down to the Del Norte. 
 With great labor the baggage was transported 
 across the crest to the head springs of a little 
 stream leading to the main river. A few days 
 were sufficient to destroy our fine band of mules. 
 They generally kept huddled together, and as 
 they froze, one would be seen to tumble down 
 and the snow would cover him ; sometimes they 
 would break off and rush down towards the 
 timber until they were stopped by the deep 
 snow, \vhere they were soon hidden by the 
 pouderie. The courage of the men failed fast ; 
 in fact, I have never seen men so soon discour- 
 aged by misfortune as we were on this occa- 
 sion ; but, as you know, the party was not 
 constituted like the former ones. But among 
 those who deserve to be honorably mentioned, 
 and who behaved like what they were, men of 
 the old exploring party, were Godey, King, 
 and Taplin ; and first of all Godey. In this 
 situation, I determined to send in a party to the 
 Spanish settlements of New Mexico for provis- 
 ions and mules to transport our baggage to 
 Taos. With economy, and after we should 
 leave the mules, we had not two weeks provis-
 
 284 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 ions in the camp. These consisted of a store 
 which I had reserved for a hard day, macaroni 
 and bacon. From among the volunteers I chose 
 King, Brackenridge, Creutzfeldt, and the guide 
 Williams ; the party under the command of 
 King. In case of the least delay at the settle- 
 ments, he was to send me an express. In the 
 mean time, we were to occupy ourselves in re- 
 moving the baggage and equipage down to the 
 Del Norte, which we reached with our baggage 
 in a few days after their departure (which was 
 the day after Christmas.) Like many a Christ- 
 mas for years back, mine was spent on the 
 summit of a wintry mountain, my heart filled 
 with gloomy and anxious thoughts, with none 
 of the merry faces and pleasant luxuries that 
 belong to that happy time. You may be sure 
 we contrasted much this with the last at Wash- 
 ington, and speculated much on your doings, 
 and made many warm wishes for your happi- 
 ness. Could you have looked into Agrippa's 
 glass for a few moments only ! You remember 
 the volumes of Blackstone which I took from 
 your father's library when we were overlooking 
 it at our friend Brant's ? They made my 
 Christmas amusements. I read them to pass 
 the heavy time and forget what was around me. 
 Certainly you may suppose that my first law 
 lessons will be well remembered. Day after 
 day passed by and no news from our express
 
 GOES BACK FOR RELIEF. 285 
 
 party. Snow continued to fall almost inces- 
 santly on the mountain. The spirits of the 
 camp grew lower. Proue laid down in the trail 
 and froze to death. In a sunshiny day, and 
 having with him means to make a fire, he threw 
 his blankets down in the trail and laid there till 
 he froze to death. After sixteen days had 
 elapsed from King's departure, I became so un- 
 easy at the delay, that I decided to wait no 
 longer. I was aware that our troops had been 
 engaged in hostilities with the Spanish Utahs 
 and Apaches, who range in the North River 
 valley, and became fearful that they (King's 
 party) had been cut off by these Indians ; I 
 could imagine no other accident. Leaving the 
 camp employed with the baggage and in charge 
 of Mr. Vincenthaler, I started down the river 
 with a small party consisting of Godey, (with his 
 young nephew,) Mr. Preuss and Saunders. We 
 carried our arms and provision for two or three 
 days. In the camp the messes had provisions 
 for two or three meals, more or less ; and about 
 five pounds of sugar to each man. Failing to 
 meet King, my intention was to make the Red 
 River settlement, about twenty-five miles north 
 of Taos, and send back the speediest relief pos- 
 sible. My instructions to the camp were, that 
 if they did not hear from me within a stated 
 time, they were to follow down the Del Norte. 
 " On the second day after leaving camp we
 
 286 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 came upon a fresh trail of Indians, two lodges, 
 with a considerable number of animals. This 
 did not lessen our uneasiness for our people. 
 As their trail when we met it turned and went 
 down the river, we followed it. On the fifth 
 day we surprised an Indian on the ice of the 
 river. He proved to be a Utah, son of a Grand 
 River chief we had formerly known, and behaved 
 to us in a friendly manner. We encamped near 
 them at night. By a present of a rifle, my two 
 blankets, and other promised, rewards when we 
 should get in, I prevailed upon this Indian to go 
 with us as a guide to the Red River settlement, 
 and take with him four of his horses, principally 
 to carry our little baggage. These were wretch- 
 edly poor, and could get alo'ng only in a very 
 slow walk. On that day (the sixth) we left the 
 lodges late, and travelled only some six or seven 
 miles. About sunset we discovered a little 
 smoke, in a grove of timber off from the river, 
 and thinking perhaps it might be our express 
 party on its return, we went to see. This was 
 the twenty-second day since they had left us, 
 and the sixth since we had left the camp. 
 We found them, three of them, Creutzfeldt, 
 Brackenridge, and Williams, the most miser- 
 able objects I have ever seen. I did not recog- 
 nize Creutzfeldt's features when Brackenridge 
 brought him up to me and mentioned his name. 
 They had been starving. King had starved to
 
 RELIEF SENT ON. 287 
 
 death a few days before. His remains were 
 some six or eight miles above, near the river. 
 By aid of the horses, we carried these three with 
 us to Red River settlement, which we reached 
 (Jan. 20) on the tenth evening after leaving our 
 camp in the mountains, having travelled through 
 snow and on foot one hundred and sixty miles. 
 I look upon the anxiety which induced me to 
 set out from the camp as an inspiration. Had 
 I remained there waiting the party which had 
 been sent in, every man of us would probably 
 have perished. 
 
 The morning after reaching the Red River 
 town, Godey and myself rode on to the Rio 
 Hondo and Taos, in search of animals and sup- 
 plies, and on the second evening after that on 
 which we had reached Red River, Godey had 
 returned to that place with about thirty animals, 
 provisions, and four Mexicans, with which he 
 set out for the camp on the following morning. 
 On the road he received eight or ten others, 
 which were turned over to him by the orders of 
 Major Beale, the commanding officer of this 
 northern district of New Mexico. I expect that 
 Godey will reach this place with the party on 
 Wednesday evening, the 31st. From Major 
 Beale I received the offer of every aid in his 
 power, and such actual assistance as he was 
 able to render. Some horses which he had just 
 recovered from the Utahs were loaned to me,
 
 288 LIFE OF FKEMONT. 
 
 and he supplied me from the commissary's de- 
 partment with provisions which I could have 
 had nowhere else. I find myself in the midst 
 of friends. With Carson is living Owens, and 
 Maxwell is, at his father-in-law's, doing a very 
 prosperous business as a merchant and contrac- 
 tor for the troops. 
 
 Evening. Mr. St. Vrain and Aubrey, who 
 have just arrived from Santa Fe, called to see 
 me. I had the pleasure to learn that Mr. St. 
 Vrain sets out from Santa Fe on the 15th of 
 February, for St. Louis, so that by him I have 
 an early and certain opportunity of sending you 
 my letters. Beale left Santa Fe on his journey 
 to California on the 9th of this month. He 
 probably carried on with him any letters which 
 might have been at Santa Fe for me. I shall 
 probably reach California with him or shortly 
 after him. Say to your father that these are 
 my plans for the future. 
 
 At the beginning of February (about Satur- 
 day) I shall set out for California, taking the 
 southern route, by the Rio Abajo, the Paso del 
 Norte, and the south side of the Gila, entering 
 California at the Agua Caliente, thence to Los 
 Angeles and immediately north. I shall break up 
 my party here and take with me only a few men. 
 The survey has been uninterrupted up to this 
 point, and I shall carry it on consecutively. As 
 soon as possible after reaching California I will
 
 NEW MEXICO. 289 
 
 go on with the survey of the coast and coast 
 country. Your father knows that this is an 
 object of great desire with me, and I trust it is 
 not too much to hope that he may obtain the 
 countenance and aid of the President (whoever 
 he may be) in carrying it on effectually and 
 rapidly to completion. For this I hope ear- 
 nestly. I shall then be enabled to draw up a 
 map and report on the whole country, agreeably 
 to our previous anticipations. All my oilier 
 plans remain entirely unaltered. I shall take 
 immediate steps to make ourselves a good home 
 in California, and to have a place ready for your 
 reception, which I anticipate for April. My 
 hopes and wishes are more strongly than ever 
 turned that way. 
 
 Monday r , 29. My letter now assumes a jour- 
 nal form. No news yet from the party, a great 
 deal of falling weather ; rain and sleet here, and 
 snow in the mountains. This is to be consid- 
 ered a poor country ; mountainous, with severe 
 winters and but little arable land. To the United 
 States it seems to me to offer little other value 
 than the right of way. It is throughout in- 
 fested with Indians, with whom in the course 
 of the present year the United States will be at 
 war, as well as in the Oregon Territory. To 
 hold this country will occasion the government 
 great expense, and, certainly, one can see no 
 source of profit or advantage in it. An addi-
 
 290 LIFE OP FKEMONT. 
 
 tional regiment will be required for special service 
 here. 
 
 Mr. St. Vrain dined with us to-day. Owens 
 goes to Missouri in April to get married, and 
 thence by water to California. Carson is very 
 anxious to go there with me now, and afterwards 
 remove his family thither, but he cannot decide 
 to break off from Maxwell and family con- 
 nections. 
 
 I am anxiously waiting to hear from my 
 party, in .much uncertainty as to their fate. My 
 presence kept them together and quiet, my 
 absence may have had a bad effect. When we 
 overtook King's starving party, Brackemidge 
 said that he " would rather have seen me than 
 his father." He felt himself safe. 
 
 Taos, New Mexico, February 6, 1849. 
 
 After a long delay, which had wearied me 
 to the point of resolving to set out again myself, 
 tidings have at last reached me from my ill- 
 fated party. Mr. Haler came in last night, 
 having, the night before, reached Red River set- 
 tlement, with some three or four others. Includ- 
 ing Mr. King and Proue, we have lost eleven 
 of our party. Occurrences, after I left them, 
 are briefly these, so far as they are within Haler's 
 knowledge. I say briefly, my dear Jessie, be- 
 cause now I am unwilling to force myself to 
 dwell upon particulars. I wish for a time to
 
 GREAT SUFFERINGS. 291 
 
 shut out these things from my mind, to leave 
 this country, and all thoughts and all things 
 connected with recent events, which have been 
 so signally disastrous as absolutely to astonish 
 me with a persistence of misfortune, which no 
 precaution has been adequate on my part to 
 avert. 
 
 You will remember that I had left the camp 
 with occupation sufficient to employ them for 
 three or four days, after which they were to 
 follow me down the river. Within that time I 
 had expected the relief from King, if it was to 
 come at all. 
 
 They remained where I had left them seven 
 days, and then started down thfe river. Manuel 
 you will remember Manuel, the Cosumne In- 
 dian gave way to a feeling of despair after they 
 had travelled about two miles, begged Haler to 
 shoot him, and then turned and made his way 
 back to the camp ; intending to die there, as he 
 doubtless soon did. They followed our trail 
 down the river, twenty-two men they were in 
 all. About ten miles below the camp, Wise 
 gave out, threw away his gun and blanket, and 
 a few hundred yards further fell over into the 
 snow and died. Two Indian boys, young men, 
 countrymen of Manuel, were behind. They 
 rolled up Wise in his blanket and buried him 
 in the snow on the river bank. No more died 
 that day, none the next. Carver raved during
 
 292 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 the night, his imagination wholly occupied with 
 images of many things which he fancied himself 
 eating. In the morning, he wandered off .from 
 the party, and probably soon died. They did 
 not see him again. Sorel on this day gave 
 out and laid down to die. They built him a 
 fire, and Morin, who was in a dying condition, 
 and snow-blind, remained. These two did not 
 probably last till the next morning. That even- 
 ing, I think, Hubbard killed a deer. They 
 travelled on, getting here and there a grouse, 
 but probably nothing else, the snow having 
 frightened off the game. Things were des- 
 perate, and brought Haler to the determination 
 of breaking up the party, in order to prevent 
 them from living upon each other. He told 
 them "that he had done all he could for them, 
 that they had no other hope remaining than the 
 expected relief, and that their best plan was to 
 scatter and make the best of their way in small 
 parties down the river. That, for his part, if he 
 was to be eaten, he would, at all events, be 
 found travelling when he did die." They ac- 
 cordingly separated. With Mr. Haler continued 
 five others and the two Indian boys. Rohrer now 
 became very despondent ; Haler encouraged him 
 by recalling to mind his family, and urged him 
 to hold out a little longer. On this day he fell 
 behind, but promised to overtake them at even- 
 ing, Haler, Scott, Hubbard, and Martin agreed
 
 GKEAT SUFFERINGS. 293 
 
 that if any one of them should give out, the 
 others were not to wait for him. to die, but build 
 a fire for him and push on. At night Kern's 
 mess encamped a few hundred yards from 
 Haler's, with the intention, according to Taplin, 
 to remain where they were until the relief 
 should come, and in the mean time to live upon 
 those who had died, and upon the weaker ones 
 as they should die. With the three Kerns were 
 Cathcart, Andrews, McKie, Stepperfeldt, and 
 Taplin. 
 
 Ferguson and Beadle had remained together 
 behind. In the evening Rohrer came up and 
 remained with Kern's mess. Mr. Haler learnt 
 afterwards from that mess that Rohrer and 
 Andrews wandered off the next day and died. 
 They say they saw their bodies. In the morning 
 Haler's party continued on. After a few hours 
 Hubbard gave out. They built him a fire, 
 gathered him some wood, and left him, without, 
 as Haler says, turning their heads to look at 
 him, as they went off. About two miles further, 
 Scott you remember Scott, who used to shoot 
 birds for you at the frontier gave out. They 
 did the same for him as for Hubbard, and con- 
 tinued on. In the afternoon the Indian boys 
 went ahead, and before nightfall met Godey 
 with the relief. Haler heard and knew the guns 
 which he fired for him at night, and, starting 
 early in the morning, soon met him. I hear
 
 294 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 that they all cried together like children. Haler 
 turned back with Goedy, and went with him to 
 where they had left Scott. He was still alive 
 and was saved. Hubbard was dead, still warm. 
 From the Kern's mess they learned the death 
 of Andrews and Rohrer, and a little above met 
 Ferguson, who told them that Beadle had died 
 the night before. 
 
 Godey continued on with a few new Mex- 
 icans and pack mules to bring down the bag- 
 gage from the camp. Haler, with Martin and 
 Bacon, on foot, and bringing Scott on horse- 
 back, have first arrived at the Red River settle- 
 ment. Provisions, and horses for them to ride, 
 were left with the others, who preferred to rest 
 on the river until Godey came back. At the 
 latest, they should all have reached Red River 
 settlement last night, and ought all to be here 
 this evening. When Godey arrives I shall 
 know from him all the circumstances sufficiently 
 in detail to enable me to understand clearly 
 every thing. But it will not be necessary to tell 
 you any thing further. It has been sufficient 
 pain for you to read what I have already 
 written. 
 
 As I told you, I shall break up my party here. 
 I have engaged a Spaniard to furnish mules to 
 take my little party with our baggage, as 
 far down the Del Norte* as Albuquerque. To- 
 morrow a friend sets out to purchase me a few
 
 GREAT SUFFERINGS. 295 
 
 mules, with which he is to meet me at Albu- 
 querque, and thence I continue the journey on 
 my own animals. My road will take me down 
 the Del Nort6, about 160 miles below Albu- 
 querque, and then passes between this river 
 and the heads of the Gila, to a little Mexican 
 town called I think Tusson. Thence to the 
 mouth of the Gila, and across the Colorado, 
 direct to Agua Caliente, into California. I 
 intend to make the journey rapidly, and about 
 the middle of March ; hope for the great plea- 
 sure of hearing from home. I look for a large 
 supply of newspapers and documents, more 
 perhaps because these things have a home look 
 about them than on their own account. When 
 I think of you ah 1 , I feel a warm glow at my 
 heart, which renovates it like a good medicine, 
 and I forget painful feelings in strong hope for 
 the future. We shah 1 yet, dearest wife, enjoy 
 quiet and happiness together these are nearly 
 one and the same to me now. I make fre- 
 quently pleasant pictures of the happy home we 
 are to have, and oftenest and among the plea- 
 santest of all I see, our library with its bright 
 fire in the rainy stormy days, and the large 
 windows looking out upon the sea in the bright 
 weather. I have it all planned in my own 
 mind. It is getting late now, La Harpe says 
 that there are two gods which are very dear 
 to us, Hope and Sleep. My homage shall
 
 296 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 be equally divided between them ; both make 
 the time pass lightly until I see you, and so I 
 go now to pay a willing tribute to the one with 
 my heart full of the other. Good-night. 
 
 Socorro, Rio del Norte, February 24, 1849. 
 
 MY DEAR SIR : I write a line from this 
 place in the hope that by way of Chihuahua 
 and Vera Cruz, it will reach you sooner than 
 letters by the direct mail from Santa Fe, and so 
 be in advance of exaggerated reports of the 
 events which have delayed my journey, and 
 turned me in this direction. Letters which I 
 have forwarded by Mr. St. Vrain, will inform 
 you that we were overtaken, and surrounded 
 by deep and impracticable snows in the Rocky 
 Mountains at the head of the Del Norte. We lost 
 all our animals and ten. men, the mules frozen, 
 and the men starved to death, Proue only 
 excepted. He was frozen. The miscarriage of 
 an express party, sent in under Mr. King, was a 
 secondary cause of our greatest calamity in the 
 loss of our men. In six days after leaving my 
 camp in the mountains, I overtook his party, 
 they having been out twenty-two days, and 
 King having been starved to death. In four 
 days afterwards I reached the settlements, in 
 time to save many, but too late to rescue 
 all the men. Relief wa| immediately sent 
 back, but did not meet them in time to save
 
 KINDNESS OF OFFICERS. 297 
 
 all. An attempt, made with fresh animals, to 
 get our baggage out of the snow, failed entirely, 
 resulting only in the loss of ten or twelve animals 
 more. On the main river bottoms at the foot of 
 the mountains, the snow was five feet deep and 
 in the mountains impassable. Camp furniture 
 of all descriptions, saddles, pack-saddles, &c., 
 clothes, money, &c., all lost. I had the good 
 fortune to recover one of my baggage trunks, 
 which. Jessie will remember to have packed for 
 me, and so saved some clothes, &c. My instru- 
 ments, which I always carry with me, were in 
 greater part saved. 
 
 The officers of the army stationed in the 
 country have been uniformly prompt and liberal 
 in their attentions to me, offering me all the 
 assistance in their power. In this country, 
 where supplies are scarce and extravagantly 
 high, this assistance was of great value to me 
 in prosecuting my journey. Among those 
 whom I ought particularly to mention is Major 
 Beale, who is in command of the Northern Dis- 
 trict, Capt. Judd, Lt. Thomas, Dr. Webb, and 
 Capt. Buford. I mention their names partic- 
 ularly, knowing that you will take pleasure in 
 reciprocating it to them. Colonel Washington 
 desired me to call on him without reserve for 
 any thing at his command. He invited me to 
 dine with him, one out of the two days I spent 
 at Santa Fe, and dined with me at the officers'
 
 298 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 quarters on the other. Major Weightman (of 
 Washington, son-in-law of Mr. Cox,) was very 
 friendly in his attentions to me, and Capt. Brent 
 of the Quartermaster's deputy, gave me some 
 most effective aid in my equipment. Among 
 the citizens who have treated me with some 
 attention, I make it a duty to recommend to 
 your attention, when you may meet him, our 
 fellow-citizen of St. Louis, Mr. F. X. Aubry. 
 You will remember him as having lately made 
 an extraordinary ride from Santa Fe, to Indepen- 
 dence. We have been travelling together from 
 Santa Fe to this place. Among other acts of 
 kindness, I received from him a loan of $1000, 
 to purchase animals for my journey to Cali- 
 fornia. 
 
 I reached this town at half-past 8 o'clock this 
 morning, by appointment to breakfast. Capt. 
 Buford, who commands here, received me with 
 much kindness, and I am staying with him. 
 This is a military post, and with the exception 
 of a little village or two, a few miles below, the 
 last settlement we see until reaching Tusson, 
 even should we pass by that route. We go on 
 this afternoon, and perhaps reach California in 
 twenty-five days. The weather here is warm, 
 and the people engaged in opening the ground 
 for sowing. I will write a brief note to Jessie, 
 and conclude this, as I shall be much pressed
 
 MARIPOSA PURCHASE. 299 
 
 to get through the business set apart for this 
 day. " Very affectionately, 
 
 " J. C. FREMONT. 
 
 " HON. THOMAS H. BENTON, Washington 
 
 City" 
 
 The allusions, in the foregoing letters, to a 
 plan of life he had formed for the future, in- 
 dicate that he had designed to spend the residue 
 of his days in retirement, and in California. 
 Before this time he had entrusted $3,000, to an 
 agent to buy a farm or ranch for him in that 
 country, suggesting a certain tract which he was 
 particularly desirous of obtaining. As that was 
 not available, the agent purchased another, since 
 known as the Mariposa (butterfly) grant. It 
 was thought by most persons, at that time, to 
 have been an undesirable purchase, as it was 
 in the wilderness, far removed from settlements, 
 and infested by Chauchiles Indians, a very 
 savage, warlike, and hostile tribe. The first 
 night Col. Fremont spent on the tract, when he 
 first visited it, six men, belonging to a party 
 that had camped in the neighborhood, were 
 killed by the Indians, and he never went there 
 without having a fight with them. For these 
 reasons it was not a very eligible location for a 
 farm, although comprising considerable land in 
 itself well adapted for agricultural purposes. 
 His plan was to use it as a grazing farm ; and
 
 800 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 the favorite wish and design of his heart was to 
 collect upon it the faithful and brave com- 
 panions of his exploration, the men whose 
 friendship and worth had been proved in so 
 many joint perils and sufferings, and there 
 dwell in their midst, surrounded by a colony 
 that would be as one family. With them 
 around him, there would have been nothing 
 to fear from Chauchiles or any other Indians. 
 In the prosecution of this cherished purpose 
 he had purchased, and sent round the cape, a 
 large supply of farming tools and agricultural 
 implements of every kind. But the beautiful 
 vision was dispersed by the discovery of gold, 
 which threw farming projects out of the ques- 
 tion altogether. 
 
 On the 25th of June, 1849, President Taylor 
 appointed him commissioner for running the 
 boundary line between the United States and 
 the Republic of Mexico. He never entered on 
 the duties of that appointment. In the mean 
 while, under the auspices, and with the encour- 
 agement of that truly patriotic and enlightened 
 chief magistrate, the people of California took 
 the usual steps to form a constitution. Col. 
 Fremont exerted his whole influence to secure 
 that portion of the continent to free labor. 
 The great point was gained. And he was 
 elected one of the first senators of the State of 
 California in the congress of the United States.
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 A SENATOR OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 THE State of California was admitted into 
 the Union on the 9th of September, 1850. The 
 next day, her senators elect, John C. Fremont 
 and William M. Gwin, after a last desperate 
 effort to prevent it, were allowed to take their 
 seats, the former being introduced to the senate 
 by Mr. Barnwell of South Carolina. Fremont's 
 name had been made familiar to the ears of 
 senators, particularly at that session, by the 
 extent to which California occupied their dis- 
 cussions. In reference to that 'country, as both 
 conqueror and explorer, he was the authority on 
 which they all relied. In a speech on the com- 
 promise bills, delivered in the Senate on the 25th 
 of June, 1850, Mr. Soule, arguing a certain 
 point relating to California, uses these words : 
 " This opinion is' fully sustained by the highest 
 authority which I can summon before the 
 Senate that of the learned, enterprising, and 
 indefatigable officer, to whose labors the United 
 States and the world are so much indebted." 
 26 ( 301 )
 
 302 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 Such was then the universal estimate through- 
 out the country of the value of the public 
 services of Col. Fremont. 
 
 As is the practice of the Senate, in the case of. 
 members entering the body as the first repre- 
 sentatives of new States, Fremont and Gwin 
 drew lots for the classes to which they were to 
 belong. The term of one third of the senators 
 expires on each alternate 4th March. Col. Fre- 
 mont drew the shortest term, expiring with the 
 31st congress on the 4th of March, 1851. Mr. 
 Gwin drew the longest term, continuing to the 
 close of the 33d congress on the 4th of March; 
 1855. As Fremont was unable to attend the 
 short term of that congress, his whole senatorial 
 service consisted of what remained of the long 
 session, which terminated September 30th that 
 is, twenty-one days. 
 
 In that short time he accomplished an extraor- 
 dinary amount of work. Immediately, upon 
 taking his seat, indeed, on that very day, he 
 submitted a resolution describing seventeen post 
 routes, covering the whole territory of California? 
 and gave notice of a variety of bills, which pro- 
 vided for the extension over that State of all the 
 functions of the Government, in its several de- 
 partments. These bills were designed to com- 
 plete- the organization of the whole system of 
 society. They legalized all its interests, pur- 
 suits, privileges, and securities, and brought them
 
 CALIFORNIA BILLS. 303 
 
 within the sphere and under the protection of 
 judicial tribunals. The titles of these bills, 
 which were, in brief, as follows, show the ground 
 they cover : 
 
 1. A bill to provide for the recording of land 
 titles in California. 
 
 2. A bill to provide for the survey of the 
 public lands of California. 
 
 3. A bill to provide for the erection of land- 
 offices in California. 
 
 4. A bill to provide for the settlement of 
 private land claims in California. 
 
 5. A bill to grant donations of land to settlers 
 before the session of the country to the United 
 States, and preemption rights to all subsequent 
 settlers. 
 
 6. A bill to regulate the working of mines in 
 California. 
 
 7. A bill to extend the laws and judicial 
 system of the United States to the State of 
 California. 
 
 8. A bill to refund to said State duties col- 
 lected at San Francisco and other ports, before 
 the custom-house laws were extended to it. 
 
 9. A bill to grant said State public lands for 
 purposes of education. 
 
 10. A bill to grant six townships for a uni- 
 versity. 
 
 11. A bill to grant land to aid in constructing 
 public buildings.
 
 304 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 12. A bill to grant land for asylums for the 
 deaf and dumb, for the blind and insane. 
 
 13. A bill to relinquish to the city of San 
 Francisco certain public grounds no longer 
 needed for public purposes. 
 
 ' 14. A bill to grant to the State of California 
 twelve salt springs, with a section of ground 
 around each. 
 
 15. A bill to grant to the city of Monterey 
 the old government house and its grounds. 
 
 16. A bill to provide for opening a road across 
 the continent. 
 
 17. A bill to grant land for internal improve- 
 ment. 
 
 18. A bill to preserve peace among the Indian 
 tribes, by providing for the extinction of their 
 titles to the gold districts. 
 
 Col. Fremont confined himself, while in the 
 Senate, mainly to the discussion of matters 
 relating to California, and in the crowded hurry 
 and complication of business during the last 
 weeks of a summer session, abstained from long 
 speeches. In only one or two instances can his 
 remarks, as they are reported in the Congres- 
 sional Globe, be considered as approaching that 
 character. He was relied upon to explain and 
 illustrate the circumstances and wants of his 
 own State, and he was ever prompt to do it ; 
 but in all cases, in the briefest possible terms. 
 His style of debate was compact, clear, easy,
 
 ROAD FROM THE PACIFIC. 305 
 
 and natural. He was thoroughly equipped with 
 the requisite information, and presented his 
 views sensibly and forcibly. There is a busi- 
 ness aspect about his remarks that distinguishes 
 him as a practical statesman. His three weeks' 
 parliamentary service is very interesting, as an 
 example well worthy of imitation. 
 
 What the country needs in the halls of con- 
 gress is enlightened a'nd practical men, able to 
 speak, but only speaking to the matter in hand. 
 Col. Fremont's course in the Senate presents 
 a fine model of such a parliamentary manner, 
 and is in keeping with the modest but efficient 
 character he has exhibited in his whole public 
 service. 
 
 It produced a striking effect at the time in the 
 respectful confidence with which his suggestions 
 were received, and in the success, which, so far 
 as the Senate was concerned, generally crowned 
 his efforts. 
 
 Keeping his eye on the main purpose to which 
 he has devoted his life, that of cementing and 
 consolidating the union and intercourse of the 
 Atlantic and Pacific regions, on the 12th of 
 September he introduced his bill to provide for 
 the opening. of a road across the Sierra Nevada, 
 on the line of the Rio de los Americanos and 
 Carson's River, and the pass at their head, as 
 the commencement of opening a common travel- 
 ling road between the present western settle- 
 
 26*
 
 306 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 ments of the United States, the Territory of 
 Utah, and the State of California. 
 
 It is worthy' of remark that the railroad, now 
 in process of extension from San Francisco 
 towards the mountains,- and which is designed 
 to be continued, at last, across the continent, 
 follows the line marked out in Fremont's bill. 
 The result of all subsequent experience and 
 consideration has sanctioned his judgment, thus 
 early formed, that the first thing to be done, 
 and it ought to be done without further delay, 
 is to establish a common travelling road from 
 California to the head of steamboat navigation 
 on the Atlantic side. It would gradually lead 
 out population along its line. A series of mili- 
 tary posts, and of stopping-places for the relay 
 of horses and change of coaches, would be the 
 points around which settlements would be made 
 and villages rise. Such a post-route would serve 
 important purposes in enabling the government 
 to control its Indian affairs. It would lead to 
 an ultimate determination of the "best course for 
 a Pacific railroad; and, in the mean time, would 
 soon command a business in the transportation 
 of passengers and specie that would well sus- 
 tain it. The fevers and other perils of the isth- 
 mus, the inconveniences of the voyages, through 
 the Gulf of Mexico, and on the Pacific side, in 
 crowded steamboats, liable to shipwreck and 
 various accidents, would be avoided. The
 
 GOLD MIXES. 307 
 
 knotty and threatening diplomatic difficulties 
 connected with Central America, would lose 
 much of their importance. The countless thou- 
 sands of American travellers to and from the 
 Pacific. regions would, along their whole route, 
 be in the bosom and under the protection of 
 their own country. When the Government is 
 compelled, by public opinion, to secure this great 
 convenience to the people, to Fremont will the 
 honor be due, and the thanks given, for having, 
 at the very first, proposed and labored to accom- 
 plish it. 
 
 On the 14th of September he introduced his 
 bill, making temporary provision " for the work- 
 ing and discovery of gold mines and placers in 
 California, and for preserving order in the gold- 
 mine district ; " remarking, at the same time, that 
 the bill was drawn up with a great deal of care 
 and deliberation; that he had looked over the 
 Spanish laws, extending through the space of 
 three hundred years ; that he had endeavored to 
 embody in the bill the essence of all that he 
 considered applicable, and had adapted the pro- 
 visions, as much as possible, to our institutions. 
 In the course of ^ the same day he explained and 
 advocated the bill in extended remarks, citing 
 the legislation, and illustrating, by historical 
 records, the policy of Spain towards Indians in 
 her American colonies, from 1533 to the period 
 of their independence.
 
 308 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 On the 20th September, he advocated the 
 establishment of liberal judicial salaries in Cali- 
 fornia, combating the opinion of those senators 
 who had expressed their belief that the high 
 prices ruling there were temporary, and would 
 soon come down to the level of the Atlantic 
 States. He predicted that the gold would be 
 found inexhaustible, and gave his reasons at 
 length for this conviction, in a detail of calcula- 
 tions which have been remarkably confirmed by 
 subsequent experience. 
 
 Among the bills introduced into the Senate 
 by Col. Fremont, was one, it will be perceived, 
 to ascertain and settle private land claims in the 
 State'of California. When that bill came up, he 
 presented its merits in these few words : " The 
 bill conforms to the decisions of the supreme 
 court and to the usual form, with but two excep- 
 tions. The first is the provision which makes 
 a decision in favor of the claimant by the com- 
 missioners, in the first place, final against the 
 United States. The other provision makes a 
 decision in the district court, in favor of the 
 claimant, also final against the United States. 
 These provisions were introduced for two rea- 
 sons ; first, to quiet the country, and to contribute 
 to its general prosperity ; but a further reason 
 is, that a decision of their own law officers, their 
 own judges, the arbitrators of the United States, 
 ought to be final against the United States.
 
 CALIFORNIA LAND TITLES*. 309 
 
 The people ought not to be kept waiting upon 
 the law, for years perhaps, for an adjudication. 
 I state these reasons, and leave the bill to the 
 Senate, to stand upon its own merits." 
 
 The bill failed, in the hurry of the closing 
 session, to become a law. The experience of 
 California has amply justified the views which 
 Colonel Fremont so compactly and clearly ex- 
 pressed. A country acquired by conquest, with 
 land titles resting upon principles and practices 
 of foreign law, whose people were unacquainted 
 with our usages, and many of them with our 
 language, situated on the opposite side of the 
 globe, ought to have had justice and right 
 carried to them at once. Provision ought -to 
 have been made to settle, adjust, and determine 
 all questions of claim and title without unneces- 
 sary delay. Humble and feeble private parties 
 ought not to have been exposed to a protracted 
 and exhausting contest with a powerful govern- 
 ment before its remote ultimate tribunals. Fre- 
 mont's few words condense the decisions of 
 common sense. 
 
 It seems that some political opponent, in the 
 recklessness of party prejudice, and to prevent 
 his reelection to the .Senate, threw out an inti- 
 mation that Col. Fremont had introduced- this 
 bill, with a view to his own personal interest as 
 the purchaser of the Mariposa tract. At the 
 next session of the Senate, Col. Fremont not
 
 310 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 being able to attend, had the bill altered so as 
 to except his title from its operation, as appears 
 by the following extract from a speech of Col. 
 Benton, delivered Jan. 3, 1851. After saying 
 that, in framing his bill, " Col. Fremont felt that 
 it would look ostentatious and uncalled for, to 
 volunteer an exception against himself," Col. 
 Benton proceeded as follows : " But, now, and 
 after what has happened, he no longer feels any 
 hesitation on that account; and, in conformity 
 to his feelings, I now make an exception which 
 will take his. case out of the general provisions 
 of the bill, and subject it to run the gauntlet of 
 all the courts from the lowest to the highest, and 
 from the shores of the Pacific Ocean to the shores 
 of the Atlantic, and against all the counsel 
 which the substitute bill authorizes to be em- 
 ployed. He is willing to run the gauntlet of all 
 this, according to his letter in relation to the 
 Mariposa estate, which was read yesterday ; but 
 he is not willing that other claimants should be 
 so subjected, or that his exertions in their behalf 
 should be weakened by the supposition of an 
 interested motive." 
 
 In answer to an inquiry on the subject of his 
 Indian bill, Mr. Fremont said: 
 
 " The general policy of Spain, in her Indian 
 relations, was the same as that which was after- 
 wards adopted by all Europe, and recognized by 
 the United States. The Indian right of occupa-
 
 INDIAN BILL. 311 
 
 tion was respected, hut the ultimate dominion 
 remained in the Crown. "Wherever the policy 
 of Spain differed from that of the other Euro- 
 pean nations, it was always in favor of the In- 
 dians. Grants of lands were always made sub- 
 ject to their rights of occupancy, reserving to 
 them the right to resume it even in cases where 
 it had been abandoned at the tirne of the grant. 
 But the Indian right to the lands in property, 
 under the Spanish laws, consisted, not merely in 
 possession, but extended even to that of alien- 
 ation ; a right recognized and affirmed in the 
 decisions of the Supreme Court of the United 
 States. A claim to lands in Bast Florida, 
 under a title derived from grants by the Creek 
 and Seminole Indians, and ratified by the local 
 authorities of Spain before the cession of 
 Florida to the United States was confirmed. 
 
 " I have here in my hand a volume of Spanish 
 laws published in the city of Mexico in 1849, 
 and purporting to contain all the legislation on 
 this subject which was in force in Mexico up to 
 that date. These laws extend from 1533, some 
 twelve years after the conquest of Mexico by 
 Cortez, to 1817. The policy of Spain in regard 
 to the Indians, differed somewhat from that of 
 the United States, and particularly in this : that, 
 instead of removing the Indians from, amidst the 
 Spanish population, it kept them there, and pro- 
 tected them in the possession of their lands
 
 312 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 among their civilized neighbors, having always 
 in view the leading object of converting them to 
 the Christian religion. To this end the power 
 of the government was always directed ; it was 
 a national object, and, in great part, was a 
 governing principle in the laws of which they 
 were the subject. I will not occupy the time of 
 the S.enate by reading at length the several law?, 
 but will merely make a few statements of such 
 particular parts as bear directly upon the rights 
 in question. 
 
 " A royal order of Charles V., a supreme law in 
 Spain, of the year 1533, decreed that the woods, 
 pasture lands, and water contained in any grants 
 of signiories, which had been or should be made 
 in the Indies, should be common to Spaniards 
 and Indians. Another royal order of 1687 (con- 
 firming and extending an ordinance of the vice- 
 roy, Count Saint Stephen, of the year 1567,) 
 commanded that in all the villages of Indians 
 throughout all New Spain, who needed land to 
 live upon and sow, there should be given to them 
 a space of 500 yards, and as much more as they 
 had any need of for cultivation around their 
 village', measuring from the furthest outside 
 house, and if the village happened to be a large 
 one, an unlimited quantity should be allowed, 
 and that thereafter no grant of pasture ground 
 or lands should be given to any one within
 
 INDIAN BILL. 313 
 
 eleven hundred yards of the most outside house 
 of the population. 
 
 " A law of Philip III. of 1618, ordained that no 
 pasture grounds of black cattle should be situated 
 within a league and a half of any village con- 
 verted in old times to the Christian religion, and 
 not within three leagues of any village of newly 
 converted Indians, upon pain of forfeiting the* 
 pasture ground and Ihalf the cattle which there 
 should be upon it; and the Indians had the right 
 to kill any cattle which should be so found tres- 
 passing upon their lands, and were subject to no 
 penalty whatsoever from them. 
 
 " A decree of Philip II. of 1571, commanded 
 that the Indians should have the right to alienate 
 their landed property as well as their personal 
 effects, prescribing only that proclamation should 
 be made during a specified time, and at a place 
 of public sale. 
 
 " In California we have both classes of Indians 
 the Christian or converted Indians, collected 
 together at the missions and in large villages of 
 the sea coast and the interior, and the wild In- 
 dians of the mountains, who never were reduced 
 to subjection. 
 
 " In California we are at this moment invading 
 these rights. We hold there by the strong hand 
 alone. The Indians dispute our right to be 
 there, and they extend the privilege which the 
 
 27
 
 314 LIFE OF FREMONT. ' 
 
 law secured them of killing the cattle to that of 
 killing the owner whenever they find an occasion. 
 Our occupation is in conflict with theirs, and it 
 is to render this occupation legal and equitable, 
 and to preserve the peace, that I have introduced 
 this bill. It recommends itself to the favorable 
 consideration of the Senate by its obvious 
 'necessity, and because it is right in itself, be- 
 cause it is politic, and because it is conformable 
 to the established custom of this Govern- 
 ment." 
 
 The great service Col. Fremont rendered to 
 his constituents and the country, while in the 
 Senate of the United States, was in securing to 
 the miner the entire product of his labor, and 
 preventing a tax being levied upon the precious 
 metals. When his bill to this effect came up for 
 discussion on the 24th of September, a strenu- 
 ous effort was made to amend it by substituting 
 a provision that all gold extracted from the mines 
 or placers of California, should be and remain 
 the property of the United States, and delivered 
 over accordingly, the miner to receive it back at 
 a certain rate, which would leave a percentage 
 in the hands of Government. The Senate, 
 convinced by the statements of the California 
 Senator, rejected this amendment. As further 
 amendments continued to be urged, which would 
 have essentially changed the policy of his bill, 
 Col. Fremont at last felt constrained, on the
 
 GOL NOT TO BE TAXED. 315 
 
 25th of September, to enter, at greater length 
 than was his custom, upon the defence of 
 his views. He introduced his remarks as fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " The very advanced period of the session 
 when we obtained our seats, and were able to 
 bring forward the California business, induced 
 me to take a course in relation to our bills which 
 I thought most agreeable to the Senate and best 
 suited to secure for them a favorable considera- 
 tion. This was not to use the indulgence of the 
 Senate for making speeches, but to confine my- 
 self to a brief exposition of the nature and prin- 
 ciples of a bill when it should be called up, and 
 then to answer, as well as I could, the inquiries 
 and objections of senators either to principles or 
 details. But I find such a course difficult on 
 this bill, which introduces a new subject, and one 
 which, from its novelty and importance, excites, 
 and ought to excite, much interest, and requires 
 close examination. The principles of this bill, 
 as I have already stated them, are, to exclude all 
 idea of making a national revenue out of these 
 mines, to prevent the possibility of monopolies 
 by moneyed capitalists, and to give to NATURAL 
 CAPITAL, that is to say, to LABOR and INDUSTRY, 
 a fair chance to work, and the secure enjoyment 
 of what they find. To carry out these principles 
 to their just resultSj all the details of the bill are 
 carefully directed."
 
 316 LIFE OF FREMONff. 
 
 After some remarks pointing out the evils 
 that would flow from the adoption of a different 
 system, urged by some senators, he proceeded 
 to explain that provided for in his bill, a.s fol- 
 lows : 
 
 " The quantity allowed to each person is am- 
 ple, considering the privilege he has of changing 
 his location as often as he pleases, and selling 
 his lot when he is offered a good price. Thirty 
 feet square is to be the size of a lot, to be 
 worked by manual labor, in a placer ; two hun- 
 dred and ten feet, or about one acre, is to be the 
 size of a lot in a mine, to be worked by ma- 
 chinery, in the rock. 
 
 "A placer lot, accordingly, contains nine hun- 
 dred superficial feet, with a depth to the centre 
 of the earth. A cube of these dimensions 
 would be twenty-seven thousand solid feet | and 
 if a place of tolerable richness is found, an 
 industrious man may say his fortune is made. 
 Sooner or later every industrious man may 
 expect to find a good lot ; and whether he sells 
 it or works it, his reward will be ample. 
 
 " If he sells, he may take another permit, and 
 work on until he makes another good discovery, 
 and either sells this or exhausts it ; and so on, 
 until he is satisfied, or the mining exhausted. 
 Wherever he may plant his stake, exclusive pos- 
 session is guaranteed to the miner, so long as he 
 works his mining lot, or to his assignee, if sold,
 
 GOLD NOT TO BE TAXED. 317 
 
 or to his legal representatives, in the event of his 
 death. All that he finds is to be his own there 
 is no tax to be paid ; no per centum no fifth, 
 or tenth, or twentieth to the government; no 
 officer to stand over the miner and require him 
 to give an account of all he finds, and surrender 
 up a part to the Federal government, all is his 
 own that he has the industry to collect ; and for 
 these multiplied advantages, with the protection 
 of law and the security of order, the citizen 
 pays only one dollar a month for as many 
 months as he may choose, not exceeding twelve, 
 with a preemptive right to continue his own lot. 
 This nominal sum of one dollar a month is all 
 that the bill proposes for him to pay ; and while 
 it will be sufficient to indemnify the govern- 
 ment for all expenses, and to yield a respectable 
 sum besides, it will be no burden on the miner ; 
 he will not feel it, but will pay it cheerfully in 
 return for the advantages which the permit 
 secures him. 
 
 " I am glad to find that the Senate evinces 
 no disposition to create revenue by heavy taxes 
 on the gold mines of our State, and that the lib- 
 eral principles of this bill, from the votes already 
 taken, are likely to prevail in this Chamber. 
 
 " I think that this Government should look for 
 increase of revenues to the EXPANDED COMMERCE 
 which the discovery .of these gold mines has 
 created in the Pacific Ocean. 
 
 27*
 
 318 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 " Oppressive taxes on the precious metals are 
 well suited to a government like that of Spain, 
 which derived one of its chief supports from its 
 mines in New Spain ; which used the labor of 
 the people only to create revenue ; which de- 
 manded from them the first fruits of the earth, 
 and taxed every thing which it did not monopo- 
 lize, and every thing in the same proportion 
 agricultural products as well as mines a tenth 
 of the whole, and all to support the extravagant 
 expenditures of its arbitrary monarchs. In con- 
 sequence of these, oppressive exactions, ninety- 
 nine were ruined out of a hundred who engaged 
 in gold-mining operations in her dependencies. 
 But we have adopted a wiser course. Reason 
 and experience teach us the folly as well as the 
 injustice of attempting such exactions from the 
 people. We have seen their failure on a small 
 scale in our own lead-mine leasing, and we have 
 before us the result of their operation under the 
 elaborate system and arbitrary power of Spain, 
 \vhich, with all their extravagant taxes, yielded, 
 in tnose years of which I have any account, 
 and at a flourishing period of the mines, a 
 revenue of only about $60,000 per annum from 
 the gold mines of New Spain. Mexico found 
 out the folly of this course, and, immediately 
 after her independence in 1831, abolished these 
 multiplied taxes, and substituted for them all a 
 simple duty of three per cent. Heavy taxes had
 
 GOLD NOT TO BE TAXED. 319 
 
 almost destroyed tnis branch of her revenues, 
 and liberal provisions were made to resuscitate 
 it. The quicksilver mines were given to all who 
 would work them, free of all tax and all kind of 
 duty. Rewards of $25,000 each were decreed 
 to the first four operators who should extract a 
 certain quantity of the metal the miners were 
 exempted from all personal contributions and 
 all military service and all to restore what 
 taxation had ruined. We cannot, certainly, go 
 back from what Mexico has done, and take up 
 the abandoned system of old Spain ; and I trust 
 that, while we repudiate taxation, we shah 1 also 
 avoid anarchy and disorder, and give to the 
 country some such brief and simple code of 
 regulations, as will secure to every man the 
 peaceable exercise of his industry, and the pos- 
 session and enjoyment of what he gains." 
 
 It seems to be quite obvious, that great evils 
 would have resulted from exacting a percentage 
 from the miners upon the gold obtained by 
 them. It would have led to hiding or otherwise 
 concealing the gold, to false representations of 
 the amount, and to endless controversies and 
 altercations between miners and official agents. 
 The fatal poison of such a system is in the 
 alienation which contrary interests would in- 
 evitably have engendered between the people 
 and the Government. This will sap any polit- 
 ical organization at its foundation. Nothing
 
 320 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 can sjave a state from decay and ruin, where 
 the people and the government are led to regard 
 each other as enemies. This would have been 
 the effect had government officers watched the 
 labor of the miner, and snatched away the 
 product of his toil, in the form of a direct tax ; 
 and the gold of California would have done no 
 more for the benefit of the people, the govern- 
 ment, or the world, than the precious metals in 
 Mexico and Peru did under the rule of Spain. 
 
 The public records show that it is mainly by 
 the exertions of Fremont that the Senate of the 
 United States was persuaded to avoid the policy 
 of taxing the gold .of California. It is free' to 
 all who toil for it. There is no inducement and 
 no room left for fraud or concealment. Industry 
 possesses and enjoys its full reward. Labor is 
 protected from exaction, clothed with its proper 
 dignity, and crowned with prosperity. The 
 people feel the government only in its munifi- 
 cence and guardian care. Every motive that 
 can prompt to enterprise, and every spring that 
 can develop energy is brought to bear ; and we 
 may repose in a just confidence that the min- 
 eral treasures of the Pacific coast will contrib- 
 ute, with a mighty power, to fulfil the great 
 design of all Fremont's labors, in transferring 
 to channels, to be opened across our continent, 
 the commerce of the world.
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 ENGAGES IN THE CATTLE BUSINESS IN CALIFORNIA 
 
 GOLD DISCOVERY VISIT TO ENGLAND AND 
 
 FRANCE IMPRISONMENT IN LONDON FIFTH 
 
 EXPEDITION PACIFIC RAILROAD MARIPOSA TI- 
 TLE FINALLY CONFIRMED BY THE SUPREME 
 COURT OF THE UNITED STATES. 
 
 IN returning to California by the isthmus, 
 after the close of the session of Congress, in the 
 fall of 1850, he suffered from Panama fever, 
 which left him for a long time quite paralyzed 
 by a neuralgic affection of the left side. He 
 was utterly unable, from this cause, to return to 
 Washington to serve out the residue of his term. 
 He was a candidate for reelection to the United 
 States Senate, and was supported by the Free 
 State party. Governor Charles Robinson was 
 a member of the California legislature, at the 
 time, and their joint struggles to save that State 
 from slavery were, as they both have declared, the 
 foundation of the friendship that exists between 
 them, and have given additional force to the ardent 
 
 (321)
 
 322 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 syoypathy which Col. Fremont has expressed, 
 from the first, in such decisive language and on 
 all occasions, in the devotion of Robinson, and his 
 heroic fellow-sufferers, to the same sacred cause 
 in Kansas. There were more than 140 ballots. 
 Every native Californian voted for him from the 
 beginning to the end. There was no election ; 
 and the .whole subject was postponed to the 
 next legislature. 
 
 When his health was sufficiently restored, he 
 went into the cattle-raising business. By an 
 act of Congress, passed September 30, 1850, 
 the President was authorized to appoint " com- 
 missioners to hold treaties with the various In- 
 dian tribes in the State of California." Three 
 were appointed. Upon reaching California, they 
 discovered that the main cause of all the Indian 
 troubles there, was, that the poor creatures were 
 in a state of actual starvation. The rush of gold 
 diggers into the San Joaquin valley, had driven 
 the Indians into the mountains, where there were 
 no means of subsistence. What the Indians 
 needed was food. The commissioners, there- 
 fore, made treaties with twenty-one tribes, stipu- 
 lating the surrender by them of the gold-bearing 
 regions, and their removal to lands of less min- 
 eral value, but equally well adapted to their 
 uses, and agreeing to provide them with a suffi- 
 cient allowance of beef to cover the period of 
 their transfer, and sustain them until able to take
 
 ENGAGES IN THE CATTLE BUSINESS. 323 
 
 care of themselves in their new location that 
 is, during the remainder of the year 1851 and 
 the year 1852. Colonel George W. Barbour, of 
 Kentucky, one of the commissioners, and acting 
 by their authority, contracted with Col. Fremont 
 to supply the requisite amount of beef. In a 
 letter to him, Barbour says : " I have had many 
 proposals offered me to furnish such supplies ; 
 but regarding your offer as the lowest and best 
 of any yet made by a responsible man, and be- 
 lieving, as I do, that your offer is a fair one, I 
 have concluded to close with your proposition." 
 As Col. Fremont was then engaged in the 
 cattle-raising business, and was well known to 
 all the people of the country, and in tne enjoy- 
 ment of universal confidence and good-will, he. 
 was enabled to execute such a contract. He col- 
 lected a vast number of cattle in the Southern 
 part of th.e State, hired drivers, and himself 
 accompanied and superintended the drove. It 
 was the dry season. The cattle were driven up- 
 wards of 300 miles, in the heat of summer, at 
 great labor and expense. About 400 head died 
 on the route. He delivered 1,225,500 pounds of 
 beef on the hoof, and accepted in payment drafts 
 drawn by the commissioner on the Secretary of 
 the Interior. This supply of food, which he col- 
 lected with his usual energy and business capac- 
 ity, and delivered on the faith of the Govern- 
 ment, was declared by the entire delegation in
 
 324 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 Congress from California, in 1854, to have re- 
 moved the cause of the Indian wars, to have 
 given the country peace, and to have opened it 
 to the secure labors of the miners. 
 
 But the Senate rejected the treaty. Col. Fre- 
 mont's drafts against the Secretary of the Inte- 
 rior were not allowed, and he had no remedy 
 but by a special act of Congress. For more 
 than three years he was kept out of his money. 
 The thirty-third Congress at last discharged this 
 just debt. A bill passed both Houses unani- 
 mously, paying him the principal, and a reason- 
 able rate of interest, the whole amounting to 
 about $240,000. 
 
 The Mariposa purchase, which was regarded 
 as a hard bargain at the time, became a very 
 different affair when the gold discovery was 
 made. It is exceedingly rich in the metal, both 
 as mixed with the soil, and in the quartz rock, 
 as rich, perhaps, as any part of that country. 
 Immediately upon this fact becoming known, 
 the title by which Col. Fremont holds it was 
 brought in question by private parties, and -then 
 by the Government. This led him to ne\y strug- 
 gles and contests, and has carried him through 
 a series of experiences that have tested his firm- 
 ness as much, perhaps, as any of the trials of his 
 life. But, as in every thing else, he has con- 
 quered success at last. 
 
 An agent had been employed in England, 

 
 VISIT TO ENGLAND. 325 
 
 
 
 who had executed several leases to various par- 
 ties. Finding that the title was disputed, and 
 that the litigation might be protracted, he came 
 back to the Atlantic States in the spring of 
 1852, and went over to England, accompanied 
 by his family, to prevent all further proceedings 
 by his agent, and remove any difficulties or 
 embarrassments that might arise from transac- 
 tions based upon the supposition of the certain 
 validity of the title. He finally succeeded in 
 arranging the business to the satisfaction of all 
 concerned. 
 
 In England, as afterwards on the continent, 
 he received attentions which showed the ex- 
 tent to which his geographical discoveries and 
 scientific reports had given him a European rep- 
 utation. His brilliant and chivalrous proceed- 
 ings in California had, no doubt, also attracted 
 much observation. Learned and scientific socie- 
 ties invited him to attend their meetings. Many 
 distinguished persons, of eminent attainments 
 and high position, sought his acquaintance. 
 
 While in charge of California affairs, by ap- 
 pointment as military governor of that territory 
 from Commodore Stockton, in the spring of 
 1847, he had drawn upon the Secretary of State 
 of the United States, Mr. Buchanan, to carry on 
 the government, and obtain supplies for the 
 troops under his command. These drafts were 
 not honored at Washington, as no appropria- 
 28
 
 326 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 tions had been made by Congress to meet them. 
 They had remained unpaid, and had passed, per- 
 haps, from hand to hand. 
 
 When Col. Fremont had been a few weeks 
 in London, without having received any notice 
 whatever, he was arrested, at the instance of 
 the holders of some of these drafts, by a 
 Solicitor's clerk, accompanied by four constables, 
 in front of the Clarendon Hotel, while handing 
 his wife into a carriage, on their way to dine 
 with Mr. Sturgis. It was past banking hours. 
 He inquired for what he was arrested. They 
 told him, for < 10,000. Upon his saying that 
 there must be some mistake, they replied, in a 
 very rough way, that he would soon find that 
 there was no mistake. They hurried him off 
 to a place of confinement, commonly known 
 as a " sponging-house," from the extortion prac- 
 tised upon persons arrested for debt, who may 
 be supposed to have means. Mrs. Fremont 
 instantly sent a message to Mr. Sturgis, explain- 
 ing the cause of their absence, and drove her- 
 self to the residence of Mr. Lawrence, the 
 American Minister in London, to inform him 
 of the affair. Mr. Lawrence was not at home. 
 He had gone, with Mr. Bates and others, to Mr. 
 Sturgis's to meet Col. and Mrs. Fremont. Not 
 knowing upon whom else to call for advice or 
 aid, she had to return to her hotel. Mr. Ban- 
 croft Davis, then Secretary of Legation, also of
 
 FIFTH EXPEDITION. 327 
 
 Mr. Sturgis's party, upon receiving information 
 of the transaction, went, late in the evening, 
 with others, to Col. Fremont, in the place of 
 his confinement. The next day, it not being 
 proper for Mr. Lawrence, on account of his offi- 
 cial position to do it, Mr. George Peabody gave 
 the necessary bail, and Col. Fremont was re- 
 leased. This was one of the rewards he received 
 for having saved California to his country ! To 
 be publicly thrown into a British prison, and sub- 
 jected to ignominy and outrage in the streets of 
 London! What rendered the occurrence par- 
 ticularly annoying, was the fact that the Colonel 
 and Mrs. Fremont had just before been honored 
 by the Queen, with a reception at a Drawing 
 Room, of which the usual announcement had 
 been made in the public Gazettes. 
 
 Not long after this, Col. Fremont went to 
 Paris, where he took a house, in which he 
 continued about a year. In June, 1853, he 
 returned to his own country. 
 
 In August, 1853, he started upon his fifth 
 and last expedition, being determined to solve 
 the problem of the practicability of a trans-con- 
 tinental communication, by common road, and 
 by railroad. This expedition was at the joint 
 expense of Col. Fremont and Col. Benton. 
 
 The particular point to which attention was 
 to be directed, was, to ascertain the winter 
 condition of the country, in reference to the
 
 328 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 practicability of a railroad, to determine how 
 far snow would be an obstruction, and whether 
 the circumstances incident to that season could 
 be encountered and surmounted. 
 
 So great a length of time elapsed before hear- 
 ing from him, that the most serious apprehen- 
 sions began to prevail ; and as weeks and 
 months wore away and no intelligence came 
 from any quarter, a painful conviction deepened 
 in the public mind that he had met, at last, the 
 fate he had so often braved. It was not until 
 the early part of April, 1854, that his safety was 
 ascertained. Col. Babbitt, the Secretary of 
 Utah Territory, was on his way to Washington, 
 with the United States mail. He had left the 
 Great Salt Lake on the 4th of February, and 
 was going by what is called the coast route, 
 that is, taking passage on the Pacific side, and 
 crossing by Panama. On the 8th of February, 
 an Indian came to his camp and told him that, 
 the day before, he had met a company of Ameri- 
 cans, and " that they were hungry." That night 
 Babbitt overtook Fremont at a small Mormon 
 settlement. He sent a man to his camp to com- 
 municate with him, but Fremont excused him- 
 self from talking as he was too much worn out; 
 but the next morning early, he called upon Bab- 
 .bitt and informed him of the route and condi- 
 tion of his party. Col. Babbitt published an 
 account of the meeting in the California papers,
 
 FIFTH EXPEDITION. 329 
 
 and they brought the first intelligence received 
 from the expedition. About the same time the 
 Philadelphia Bulletin contained an extract from 
 a letter of Mr. S. N. Carvallo, Col. Fremont's 
 daguerreotypist, dated Feb. 8, and brought in, 
 undoubtedly, by Col. Babbitt, in which he says 
 that the party had " lived fifty days oh horse- 
 flesh, and for the last forty-eight hours had been 
 without food of any kind." The National In- 
 telligencer, of April 12, 1854, finally quieted the 
 public apprehensions, by the following article : 
 " It gives us great pleasure to insert the sub- 
 joined letter from Colonel Fremont, not only 
 because it contradicts the exaggerated reports 
 of deaths sustained by his party and assures us 
 of the intrepid explorer's own safety, after his 
 two months' bold journey through the mountain 
 wilds in midwinter, but because his success 
 seems fully to have established the favorable 
 nature of the central route for a railroad in 
 winter as well as summer: 
 
 1 " PARAWAN, IKON COUNTY, UTAH TEKRITORT, 
 
 "February 9, 1854. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR : I have had the good fortune 
 to meet here our friend Mr. Babbitt, the Sec- 
 
 1 Valley of the Parawan, about sixty miles east of the 
 meadows of Santa Clara, between 37 and 38 degrees of 
 north latitude, and between 113 and 114 degrees of west 
 longitude; elevation above the sea about 5,000 feet.
 
 330 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 retary of the Territory, who is on his way to 
 Washington, in charge of the mail and other 
 very interesting despatches, the importance of 
 which is urging him forward with extreme rapid- 
 ity. He passes directly on this morning, and I 
 have barely a few moments to give you intelli- 
 gence of our safe arrival and of our general good 
 health and reasonable success in the object of 
 our expedition. 
 
 " This winter has happened to be one of ex- 
 treme and unusual cold. Here, the citizens 
 inform me, it has been altogether the severest 
 since the settlement of this valley ; consequently, 
 so far as the snows are concerned, the main 
 condition of our exploration has been fulfilled. 
 We entered the mountain regions on the Huer- 
 fano River on the 3d of December, and issued 
 from it here on the 7th of this month, arriving 
 here yesterday afternoon. We went through 
 the Coochatope Pass on the 14th December, 
 with four inches, not feet, take notice, but 
 inches of snow on the level, among the pines 
 and in the shade on the summit of the Pass. 
 This decides what you consider the great ques- 
 tion, and fulfils the leading condition of my 
 explorations ; and therefore I go no further into 
 details in this letter. 
 
 " I congratulate you on this verification of 
 your judgment, and the good prospect it holds 
 out of final success in carrying the road by this
 
 CENTRAL ROUTE. 331 
 
 central line. Nature has been bountiful to this 
 region in accumulating here, within a few miles 
 of where I am writing, vast deposits of iron 
 and coal and timber, all of the most excellent 
 quality ; and a great and powerful interior State 
 will spring up immediately in the steps of the 
 Congressional action which should decide to 
 carry the road through this region. In making 
 my expedition to this point, I save nearly a 
 parallel of latitude, shortening the usual distance 
 from Green River to this point by over a hun- 
 dred miles. In crossing to the Sierra Nevada, 
 I shall go direct by an unexplored route, aiming 
 to strike directly the Tejon Passes, at the head 
 of the San Joaquin valley, through which, in 
 1850, I drove from two to three thousand head 
 of cattle that I delivered to the Indian Commis- 
 sioners. I shall make what speed I possibly can, 
 going light, and abandoning the more elaborated 
 survey of my previous line, to gain speed. 
 
 " Until within about a hundred miles of this 
 place, we had daguerreotyped the country over 
 which we passed, but were forced to abandon 
 all our heavy baggage to save the men, and I 
 shall not stop to send back for it. The Dela- 
 wares all came in sound, but the whites of my 
 party were all exhausted and broken up, and 
 more or less frost-bitten. I lost one, Mr. Fuller, 
 of St. Louis, Missouri, who died on entering this 
 valley. He died like a man, on horseback, in
 
 332 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 his saddle, and will be buried like a soldier, on 
 the spot where he fell. 
 
 " I hope soon to see you in Washington. Mr. 
 Babbitt expects to see you before the end of 
 March. Among other documents which he 
 carries with him, are the Maps and Report of 
 Captain Gunnisori's party. 
 
 " Sincerely and affectionately, 
 
 "JOHN C. FREMONT. 
 " Col. BENTON, Washington. 
 
 " P. S. This is the Little Salt Lake settle- 
 ment, and was commenced three years since. 
 Population now four hundred, and one death by 
 sickness since the settlement was made. We 
 have been most hospitably received. Mr. Bab- 
 bitt has been particularly kind, and has rendered 
 me very valuable assistance." 
 
 The St. Louis Democrat of April 8, 1854, 
 speaking of this last expedition, after mention- 
 ing that it was undertaken, as well as the pre- 
 vious one, at his own expense, says that when 
 he set out upon it, " his health was in a preca- 
 rious condition, and he was even compelled to 
 take with him a physician, who accompanied 
 him to the Rocky Mountains. His private 
 business in California called loudly for his pres- 
 ence there, having suffered by his absence in 
 Europe, protracted by imprisonment for debts 
 incurred in the conquest of California, and which 
 was adding millions every year to the wealth of
 
 FREMONT'S EXPLORATIONS. 333 
 
 our people, whilst our government neglected and 
 refused to pay the debt incurred by Fremont in 
 its acquisition. It was under such difficulties 
 and embarrassments, in the face of so much 
 personal sacrifice and danger, that this expedi- 
 tion was undertaken by the heroic and intrepid 
 adventurer." 
 
 On Colonel Fremont's return to the Atlantic 
 States, the St. Louis Intelligencer welcomed 
 him in the following language : 
 
 " The maxim that fortune favors the brave, 
 has been signally illustrated by the fact that the 
 winter which Col. Fremont chose for exploring 
 a howling wilderness of thousands of miles, 
 where he was cut off for weeks from the succor 
 and sympathy of civilized man, except his own 
 party, has been the hardest winter ever known 
 in those regions. To carry his men safely 
 through the fearful hardships and perils of this 
 unexampled winter, is itself a solution of the 
 problem which he went to determine, besides 
 showing fortitude, mental resources, and uncon- 
 querable energy of will, which stamp the hardy 
 explorer as one of the great men of action who 
 make their mark upon their country and their 
 age. It is the fit crowning achievement of a 
 series of adventurous explorations, not sur- 
 passed, if equalled, in respect to the qualities 
 displayed and the magnitude of the results, by 
 any similar career in the history of mankind.
 
 334 LIFE OP FREMONT. 
 
 The career of Fremont has been characteris- 
 tically western and American, at a time when 
 the great work of western America is to subdue 
 the wilderness. He is a mightier Daniel Boone, 
 on a far more magnificent theatre, and adds to 
 the sturdy qualities of the pioneer of civiliza- 
 tion, those graces and attainments of science 
 and literature, which only the highest civilization 
 can confer." 
 
 In the National Intelligencer, of June 13, 
 1854, Col. Fremont published a letter condens- 
 ing the general results of his last exploration, 
 which the House of Representatives ordered to 
 be reprinted among its miscellaneous documents. 
 When his full report is published, it will contain a 
 rigid and thorough discussion of all the obstacles 
 and difficulties in the way of the construction 
 of a railroad connecting the Atlantic States, cen- 
 trally, with the Pacific coast. It is well known 
 that he is fully convinced that it can be done. 
 When the people say that it shall be done, it 
 will be done. The resources of this great coun- 
 try are adequate to the work. Its commerce, its 
 union, and its power, require it. All that is 
 needed is a government pledged to accomplish 
 it, and honest, firm, and energetic enough to 
 redeem its pledge. 
 
 After a resistance on the part of the United 
 States quite unparalleled, and continued to a 
 point of persistency which brought down a
 
 MARIPOSA PATENT. 335 
 
 rebuke from the bench, the supreme court, dur- 
 ing its last session, fully and finally established 
 Col. Fremont's title to the Mariposa grant, and 
 his patent was made out and delivered to him 
 by the President himself. 
 
 It is a property of very great value. To meet 
 the various expenses incident to a harassing 
 and tedious litigation, it was necessary to con- 
 vey one half of it to another party. It contains 
 seventy square miles, and includes already a 
 population rising 10,000. The town of Mari- 
 posa is a county seat, having a court-house that 
 cost $12,000. There are six or eight other 
 towns or villages, within its limits, and its 
 value is rapidly increasing. While the title 
 hung in doubt, its prosperity was kept in check. 
 But now every thing can be placed on a firm 
 basis. The Mariposa Gazette, the local news- 
 paper, in a recent article, expresses the gratifica- 
 tion of the people of the territory, that it has 
 been secured to Col. Fremont. His countrymen 
 of all parties, we may rest assured, participate 
 warmly in the same satisfaction. 
 
 Although the meridian of life is scarcely yet 
 reached, its great struggles seem to be over, and 
 he may well enjoy the felicity, which a retro- 
 spect of usefulness and honor, and the blessings 
 of a bountiful Providence, cannot fail to bestow.
 
 CHAPTER X. 
 
 GENERAL REMARKS. 
 
 THE career of Col. Fremont must be con- 
 sidered as one of the most active, and crowded 
 with service, of any in the whole circle of 
 biography. Considering that we live in what is 
 called a utilitarian age, and that his line of 
 occupation has itself been eminently practical, 
 it is remarkable how much that is romantic and 
 almost marvellous is spread over it. Poetry 
 has seldom indulged in visions stranger or more 
 exciting than has been his reality. Chivalry has 
 seldom had finer models than his camp pre- 
 sented. The artist finds as many scenes of 
 varied and most attractive interest, in the events 
 and circumstances delineated on the foregoing 
 pages, as in the experience of any feudal or 
 heroic period of the world. The days of high 
 adventure are not over ; life, in our times, and 
 in our country, opens still a field for true hero- 
 ism; and, in every calling, presents emergencies
 
 PERSON AND MANNERS. 337 
 
 that will try and display the power and glory 
 of courage, truth, benevolence, and fidelity. 
 
 Of a character not yet closed, no minute or 
 full portrait can be drawn. But his country- 
 men justly ask to be made acquainted, in some 
 detail of particulars, with the person of one who 
 has attracted so much their attention ; and a 
 few general reflections may, with propriety, be 
 appended to the narrative now brought to a 
 close. 
 
 Colonel Fremont is not yet old in years, and 
 looks even younger than he is. He is in the 
 full flower of matured strength and health. 
 He is about five feet nine inches in height, but 
 from his perfectly straight, erect, and elastic 
 bearing, appears taller than his inches. He is 
 quite slender, but well made, of a peculiarly 
 graceful bearing, quick and alert in his move- 
 ments; and by his manners and expression, 
 conciliates the good-will of all whom he meets. 
 His success in life is partly owing to the favor- 
 able impression he makes by his manner of 
 treating others in common intercourse. Consul 
 Larkin, in a letter to the Secretary of State, 
 dated April 2, 1846, referring to Fremont's first 
 visit to Monterey, says that he "was well re- 
 ceived in this place, and to the last day we 
 heard of him, by the natives individually, who 
 sold him provisions and liked his presence." 
 Colonel William H. Russell, a witness of the 
 
 29
 
 338 LIFE OF FREMONT, 
 
 highest character, and great means of informa- 
 tion, testified before the military committee of 
 the Senate as follows : " In consequence of the 
 wise and humane treatment of Colonel Fremont 
 towards the conquered population, his popularity 
 became very great in the country, and enabled 
 him to do what no other man, I confidently 
 believe, could have done." There is much more 
 testimony to the same effect. The point is 
 urged as an important lesson. Nothing costs 
 less, and nothing purchases so much as a kind, 
 respectful, courteous, and agreeable treatment 
 of others. 
 
 This uniform justice and friendliness of man- 
 ner and spirit in his treatment of others, com- 
 bined with readiness to decide where the decision 
 belongs to him ; rapid, and as the result has al- 
 ways proved, correct judgment; cool and intrepid 
 courage, and persevering firmness of purpose, 
 constitute that great executive capacity he has 
 invariably exhibited, by which perfect order and 
 constant harmony were preserved among his 
 men, and his force rendered efficient, invincible, 
 and successful against all odds. This executive 
 capacity enabled him to surmount all obstacles 
 in "his exploring expeditions, and was signally 
 shown in the conquest and government of Cali- 
 fornia. It enabled him, in concluding his spirit- 
 ed defence before the court-martial, to say, in 
 the bold confidence of truth :
 
 PHYSICAL ENDURANCE. 339 
 
 " My acts in California have all been with 
 high motives, and a desire for the public service. 
 My scientific labors did something to open Cali- 
 fornia to the knowledge of my countrymen ; its 
 geography had been a sealed book. My military 
 operations were conquests without bloodshed; 
 my civil administration was for the public good. 
 I offer California, during my administration, for 
 comparison with the most tranquil portions of 
 the United States ; I offer it, in contrast to the 
 condition of New Mexico during the same time." 
 
 It was said that the Secretary of War, who 
 had come into office during his absence, and had 
 never seen him before, could hardly believe his 
 own eyes, when a modest, light, and slender 
 youth reported himself as Lieutenant Fremont, 
 just returned from his expedition to Oregon and 
 North California. His appearance stih 1 impresses 
 a similar surprise upon those who know what he 
 has gone through. The explanation is to be 
 found in temperate habits, and a cheerful faith 
 in success ; in calm courage to undertake, and pa- 
 tient firmness to bear and go through, whatever 
 duty imposes. The physical frame, if preserved 
 from all enfeebling indulgences, and animated 
 by a well-regulated, contented, and resolute mind, 
 will retain the buoyancy of its spirits and the 
 energy of its forces. An active out-of-door life 
 in the pure mountain air, and indurated by long 
 usage to the elements of nature, will be very
 
 340 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 likely to harden a constitution to a high degree 
 of firmness. In this way we are to account for 
 the remarkable evidences of physical endurance 
 recorded in these pages. Often Fremont rode 
 sixty miles a day, swam foaming mountain 
 torrents, slept uncovered, save by a blanket, in 
 pouring rains and on beds of snow, and walked 
 and worked, day after day, without food. So it 
 was with his men. Carson and Godey pursued, 
 attacked, and routed an Indian party, slew two 
 warriors whose hands were yet red with the blood 
 of murdered travellers, and brought in their scalps, 
 having ridden one hundred miles in thirty hours. 
 Fremont accomplished a still more extraordinary 
 feat. Accompanied by Pico, the Californian com- 
 mandant, whose life he had spared, and Jacob 
 Dodson, he rode from Los Angeles to Monterey, 
 four hundred and eighty miles in three days and 
 ten hours, and after remaining one day, made 
 the return distance within the same time. This 
 is in part to be accounted for, perhaps, by the 
 exhilarating effect of. the atmosphere of that 
 region upon all animal life, but it still remains a 
 wonderful illustration of the degree to which the 
 physical energies may be invigorated by habits 
 adapted to strengthen them. 
 
 In this connection it is to be observed, as 
 Lieutenant Walpole mentions in the extract 
 quoted from his book, that Fremont's expeditions 
 were conducted on temperance principles. This
 
 GOOD CHARACTER OP HIS MEN. 341 
 
 enabled him to maintain the perfection of dis- 
 cipline which won the admiration of all who 
 witnessed the conduct of his battalion. With- 
 out any military badges, without even a drum 
 to tap, there was the most exact regularity and 
 order. Without severity there was obedience. 
 Combined with that precision and thoroughness 
 of discipline, there was a singular equality of 
 condition, a pervading, fraternal feeling, that 
 knit them together as one family. Service under 
 Fremont was a school of personal good conduct, 
 and good feeling, and of every manly virtue. 
 The consequence is that those of his men, who 
 have survived their hardships, are, with scarcely 
 a single exception, good citizens, useful members 
 of society, men of commendable habits, and en- 
 joying the prosperity which such characteristics 
 will be likely, in the long run, to command. 
 
 The expression "who have survived," leads 
 me to remark that these expeditions, although 
 not considered by some perhaps as entitled to 
 the interest with which liability to death invests 
 the ordinary sphere of warfare, were as fatal to 
 life as the battle-field. Besides, those already 
 mentioned as killed by Indians, frozen, or starved 
 to death, " Bill Williams," the unfortunate guide 
 in the fourth expedition, and one of the brothers, 
 Kern, with several others, were killed by the 
 Indians shortly after Fremont separated from 
 them to pursue his route. Charles Towne was 
 
 29*
 
 342 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 also killed by Indians on another occasion. 
 Creutzfeldt, and another of the Kerns, were mas- 
 sacred with Captain Gunnison. Derosier, it is 
 feared, never recovered from the effects of his 
 derangement ; to which malady the life of poor 
 Preuss became a voluntary sacrifice. 
 
 A community of suffering, pride in a joint rep- 
 utation, a strict discipline voluntarily preserved, 
 observation of each other's worth in the most 
 trying scenes, bound this company of men to- 
 gether by a strength of affection and fidelity 
 which it is most delightful to contemplate. They 
 were severally and always ready to risk life for 
 each other ; and there never appeared to be the 
 least jealousy or unworthy rivalry among them. 
 This is itself the highest evidence of the justice 
 and wisdom of their leader. Colonel Fremont 
 could the more easily maintain this unity and 
 harmony among his men, because he treated 
 them all alike. Without losing his dignity, he 
 held the most affectionate relations with even 
 the humblest of his band. Delaware Indians 
 were his body-guard and followed him to the 
 very last. The free colored man, Dodson, was 
 often selected to share with him the most re- 
 sponsible services, and was always recognized 
 as standing on the same level with the rest. He 
 has since married, and lives in Washington. 
 Colonel Fremont has given to each of his three 
 children, 20 acres of California land. In the
 
 One of the Delawar c body guard.
 
 ATTACHMENT TO HIS PEKSON. 343 
 
 postscript of a letter to Colonel Benton, dated 
 July 23, 1855,* Carson says: "If Colonel Fre- 
 mont is with you, give him my kindest remem- 
 brances, as also to his excellent lady. I was 
 delighted to see in the papers that his Mariposa 
 grant had been confirmed, for if there is a man 
 living who deserves the blessings .of heaven and 
 the gratitude of man, he is one." There is no 
 doubt that every one of his men would heartily 
 indorse the warm expressions of Carson's affec- 
 tion. But it is not the hardy backwoodsman, 
 or the humble Indian or African alone, that 
 becomes thus attached to him. Persons of the 
 highest culture find themselves drawn towards 
 him in the same manner. Captain A. Cathcart, 
 an officer in the British army, nephew of Sir 
 George Cathcart who recently fell in the 
 Crimea, and a gentleman of extensive travel and 
 observation, conversant with all the most dis- 
 tinguished men of his own country, and in Euro- 
 pean capitals, accompanied Colonel Fremont in 
 his disastrous expedition to the St. John's Moun- 
 tain. The sufferings and trials of that journey 
 tested the character and qualities of all who 
 shared them, and especially of the commander 
 of the ill-fated party. Captain Cathcart con- 
 ceived a deep interest in Colonel Fremont, and 
 established a friendship that expresses itself in a 
 permanent correspondence. In 1851, he sent 
 him, as a testimonial of his regard, a handsome
 
 344 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 steel-mounted sword, expressly made for him, at 
 London. On the blade is the national motto of 
 the American Union, with the accompanying 
 embellishments beautifully wrought, with these 
 words : " The Hon. Colonel Fremont, from A. 
 Cathcart." 
 
 The case of this English gentleman leads to 
 the consideration of the estimation in which 
 foreigners have long held the character and 
 services of Colonel Fremont. The Royal 
 Geographical Society of London elected him a 
 member, of which Mr. Lawrence conveyed 
 information to him, through the Secretary of 
 State. He also transmitted to him the " Found- 
 er's or Victoria" gold medal of the same society. 
 The Berlin Geographical Society elected him a 
 member, and sent him a .gold medal. The 
 Reports of his first two expeditions were highly 
 commended in all the foreign journals. 
 
 The Eclectic Review, in an article on an 
 English reprint of them, expresses itself in the 
 following emphatic and discriminating language. 
 
 " The expedition required much physical 
 strength, great courage, and no common skill in 
 meeting the contingencies which daily arose. 
 These were preeminently possessed by Captain 
 Fremont, in happy combination with the knowl- 
 edge which enabled him to bring from the com- 
 paratively unknown region he visited, important 
 contributions to the sciences of astronomy, 
 geography, botany, and geology."
 
 FOREIGN REPUTATION. 345 
 
 The reference, in this extract, to Colonel Fre- 
 mont's attainments in knowledge is entirely just. 
 In addition to the branches named, with which 
 he is eminently conversant, his early classical 
 attainments have not been allowed to fade from 
 his memory. Mathematics still continue to 
 engage his chief predilection ; and he writes and 
 speaks the French and Spanish with the facility 
 and correctness of a native. 
 
 The following passage of a letter from the 
 late ^Theophile Gay, one of the most eminent 
 French botanists, shows the affectionate and 
 respectful regard in which he is held by scientific 
 men abroad: 
 
 "PARIS, the 27th of October, 1853. ) 
 "Rue de Vaugirard, No. 36. ) 
 
 " COLONEL : I received from you, some time 
 since, two most agreeable proofs that you held 
 me in remembrance, and I should have written 
 much sooner in answer, if I had not feared 
 you were already on your way to California, and 
 that my letter would not find you at Washington. 
 
 " But your last message, without date, reached 
 me the 5th of October, that is to say, at a date 
 when it would not be prudent to risk one's self for 
 a voyage of several months' length across the 
 North American continent. From that, I con- 
 clude that you have deferred your expedition to 
 the coming spring, and consequently will receive 
 in Washington my thanks, and my most sincere
 
 346 LIFE OF FREMOXT. 
 
 and ardent wishes for the success of this new 
 and perilous expedition. 
 
 ****** 
 
 " In a second package, I received the Plantce 
 Fremontiance of Doctor Torrey, and this has 
 been to me an object of new and very lively 
 gratification; because it was again something 
 personal to you, Colonel, and that you have 
 found a historiographer perfectly up to the level 
 of his task, not only an historiographer, but 
 an artist-naturalist, (peintre-naturaliste,) sdfch as 
 there exist very few of in Europe, and one 
 only in France, (I speak of Elocreux.) I knew 
 him already through the Plantcs Wiglitiance of 
 Asa Gray, and I esteem it a great good fortune 
 for the botanists of the Union to possess so dis- 
 tinguished an interpreter of their observations. 
 With drawings of such elegance and correctness, 
 the value of the text is doubled." 
 
 In Mrs. Sabine's translation of Humboldt's 
 "Aspects of Nature," the high estimate which 
 that truly great man places upon Fremont's Re- 
 ports is seen at length. He speaks of his " com- 
 prehensive observations," and enlarges on the 
 importance of his expeditions to the cause of 
 science. "As I was, I believe," says he, "the 
 first person who undertook to represent, in 
 geognostic profile, the form of entire countries, 
 it has given me peculiar pleasure to see the 
 graphical method of representing the form of
 
 HUMBOLDT'S OPINION OF HIM. 347 
 
 the earth in a vertical direction, or the elevation 
 of the solid portions of our planet above its 
 watery covering, applied on so grand a scale as 
 has been done in Fremont's map." 
 
 A correspondent of the New York Commer- 
 cial Advertiser, in an article copied into the 
 Boston Journal, in describing a visit to this 
 " Nestor of scientific travellers," says : " The name 
 of Colonel Fremont happening to be mentioned, 
 Humboldt spoke in high praise of his con- 
 tributions to geographical science, and thought 
 it unfortunate that he had returned, as a prisoner, 
 by the road which he had travelled as an ex- 
 plorer. He thought the day would come when 
 Colonel Fremont's worth would be much better 
 appreciated than at present." 
 
 The opinions of the scientific men of his own 
 country were expressed by Professor Silliman in 
 a review of his Reports, in the American Journal 
 of Science and Art, second series. Vol. in. 
 March, 1847. 
 
 "Few travellers have encountered greater 
 hardships, and none have exhibited more in- 
 domitable courage or untiring zeal." " Captain 
 Freniont's journal is written in a graphic style, 
 bearing evidence of literal accuracy in all its 
 statements, and yet, in many parts, reading like 
 a romance. With deep interest we follow the 
 adventurous traveller, threading his pathless way 
 over lofty ridges, through dense forests, and up
 
 348 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 the icy heights." Speaking of the fact that a 
 particular flower had been called " Fremontia," 
 he says : " It is right that this bold explorer of 
 the mountains should have his name inscribed 
 among the flowers of the region, and about its 
 loftiest heights, as well as upon the honored page 
 of history." 
 
 Colonel Fremont inherited from his father a 
 particular interest in the Indian tribes of the 
 continent ; and no man so well understands their 
 peculiar traits, or knows so well how to deal 
 with them. With Indian wars breaking out 
 from Florida to Puget's Sound, this is no trifling 
 qualification for the administration of our public 
 affairs. 
 
 It is said that the Indians of his day admitted 
 General "Washington to their heaven, and were 
 of opinion that no other white man would be 
 allowed to enter those celestial hunting-grounds. 
 The Indians of the present day have a similar 
 affection for Fremont. This is not the only 
 point of interesting resemblance between them. 
 The same blood flowed in their veins. The 
 domestic influences under which the mother of 
 Fremont grew up, were derived from the same 
 circle of family connections within which Wash- 
 ington was nurtured. Several of the most im- 
 pressible years of her son's childhood were passed 
 in that circle, among her kindred in Virginia. 
 The same remarkable prediction was uttered in
 
 WASHINGTON. 349 
 
 the early stages of their career. Though each 
 has been exposed to every peril of the wilderness, 
 and of battle, their lives have been constantly 
 shielded from danger, and no hostile arm has 
 ever reached their persons. When we consider 
 what Fremont has encountered, in cold and 
 hunger, in rapids and rushing rivers, from the 
 tomahawk and the rifle, we may well regard him 
 as " A MAN OF DESTINY," and believe that Heaven 
 has preserved him, also, for some great purpose, 
 yet to be fulfilled. They were both particularly 
 devoted to the mathematical branches of learn- 
 ing, by an early and natural partiality. Both 
 were on the point of being committed for life to 
 the naval service. Both, while scarcely more 
 than boys, commenced the business of survey- 
 ors ; they both ripened into manhood, carrying 
 the chain and compass in the wildernesses of the 
 Alleghany ranges ; and both devoted their spec- 
 ulations and explorations to the same special 
 object. It is well known that more than, and 
 before, all his contemporaries, Washington dis- 
 cerned the importance of connecting the Atlantic 
 States with the interior, and labored to promote 
 it. Following in the steps of the GREAT LEADER, 
 the mind of Fremont has ever been engrossed 
 with similar views and objects. He has led the 
 way, in our day, in opening to view the vast 
 hidden regions between the great mountain 
 ranges of the continent. He first unfurled our 
 
 30
 
 350 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 flag on the summits of them both. To his 
 boldness and prompt decision we are indebted 
 for the integrity of our Pacific empire; and, if 
 the great desire of his heart and object of his 
 life is to be accomplished, we shall have a 
 PACIFIC RAILROAD. 
 
 His letter to the National Intelligencer of 
 June 13, 1854, closes with these words : 
 
 " It seems a treason against mankind and the 
 spirit of progress which marks the age, to refuse 
 to put this one completing link to our national 
 prosperity and the civilization of the world. 
 Europe still lies between Asia and America ; 
 build this railroad, and things will have revolved 
 about ; America will lie between Asia and Eu- 
 rope, the golden vein which runs through the 
 history of the world, will follow the iron track to 
 San Francisco, and the Asiatic trade will finally 
 fall into its last and permanent road, when the 
 ancient and the modern Chryse throw open their 
 gates to the thoroughfare of the world." 
 
 No man can claim the glory of a true Ameri- 
 can by a better title. He has made the knowledge 
 and the development of the resources of this 
 continent the great end of ah 1 his exertions, and 
 has pursued it with a self-sacrificing devotion. 
 His name is stamped with an imprint that can 
 never be obliterated, over the whole breadth of 
 its geography. 
 
 Exploring the North American Continent, of 
 

 
 FREE LABOR. 851 
 
 which he has seen more than any other man, 
 with this object in view, he has naturally become 
 devoted to the cause of free labor. It has 
 always been obvious to him, as one would sup- 
 pose it could not fail to be to every intelligent 
 person, that the realization of the commer- 
 cial, industrial, social, and moral greatness, of 
 which America is capable, depends vitally and 
 wholly upon maintaining the DIGNITY and the 
 RIGHTS of LABOR. He contended earnestly to 
 make California a free State, and his sympathies 
 are with the struggles of freemen everywhere 
 against the extension of slavery, as his letter to 
 Governor Robinson of Kansas shows. As this 
 letter is a part of the public history of the times, 
 it is presented here. 
 
 "New Y&rk, 176 Secoud Avenue, March 17, 1856. 
 
 " MY DEAR SIR : Your letter of February 
 reached me in Washington some time since. I 
 read it with much satisfaction. It was a great 
 pleasure to find that you retained so lively a 
 recollection of our intercourse in California. 
 But my own experience is, that permanent and 
 valuable friendships are most often formed in 
 contests and struggles. If a man has good 
 points, then they become salient, and we- know 
 each other suddenly. 
 
 " I had both been thinking and speaking of 
 you latterly. The Banks balloting in the House
 
 352 LIFE OF FRE.MOXT. 
 
 and your movements in Kansas had naturally 
 carried my mind back to our one hundred and 
 forty odd ballots in California, and your letter 
 came seasonably and fitly to complete the con- 
 nection. We were defeated then ; but that con- 
 test was only an incident in a great struggle, 
 and the victory was deferred, not lost. You 
 have carried to another field the same principle, 
 with courage and ability to maintain it ; and I 
 make you my sincere congratulations on your 
 success incomplete so far, but destined in the 
 end to triumph absolutely. 
 
 " I had been waiting to see what shape the 
 Kansas question would take in congress, that 
 I might be enabled to give you some views in 
 relation to the probable result. Nothing yet 
 has been accomplished ; but I am satisfied that 
 in the end congress will take efficient measures 
 to lay before the American people the exact 
 truth concerning your affairs. Neither you nor 
 I can have any doubt what verdict the people 
 will pronounce, upon a truthful exposition. It 
 is to be feared, from the proclamation of the 
 President, that he intends to recognize the usur- 
 pation in Kansas, as the legitimate government, 
 and that its sedition law, the test oath, and the 
 means to be taken to expel its people as aliens, 
 will all directly or indirectly be supported by 
 the army of the United States. Your position 
 will undoubtedly be difficult, but you know I
 
 GOVERNOR ROBINSON. 353 
 
 have great confidence in your firmness and pru- 
 dence. When the critical moment arrives, you 
 must act for yourself no man can give you 
 counsel. A true man will . always find his best 
 counsel in that inspiration which a good cause 
 never fails to give him at the instant of trial. 
 All history teaches us that great results are 
 ruled by a wise Providence, and we are but 
 units in the great plan. Your action will be 
 determined by events as they present them- 
 selves, and at 1;his distance I can only say that 
 I sympathize cordially with you; and that, as 
 you stood by me firmly and generously when 
 we were defeated by the Nulliners in California, 
 I have every disposition to stand by you in 
 the same way in your battle with them in 
 Kansas. 
 
 " You see that what I have been saying is 
 more a reply to the suggestions which your con- 
 dition makes to me, than any answer to your 
 letter, which more particularly regards myself. 
 The notices which you had seen of me, in con- 
 nection with the Presidency, came from the 
 partial disposition of friends, who think of me 
 more flatteringly than I do of myself, and do 
 not, therefore, call for any action from us. Re- 
 peating that I am really and sincerely gratified 
 in the renewal of our old friendship, or rather 
 in the expression of it, which I hope will not 
 no*
 
 354 LIFE OF FREMONT. 
 
 hereafter have so long an interval, I am yours, 
 very truly, J. C. FREMONT. 
 
 " Gov. CHARLES ROBINSON, Lawrence, Kan- 
 sas." 
 
 The example of Col. Fremont has been de- 
 lineated in this work, and is exhibited to his 
 countrymen not for any temporary purpose, but 
 because it ought, from its essential worth and 
 importance, to be placed where all can con- 
 template it. His personal history is, in many 
 essential particulars, especially in reference to 
 California affairs, the history of the country. 
 But the -example is held up, mainly, on account 
 of its moral value to the rising generations of 
 America. The course of John Charles Fremont 
 is a pattern, and his success an encouragement 
 to every noble mind, which, despising sloth and 
 ease, folly and pleasure, aspires to an honorable 
 usefulness to be achieved by meritorious exer- 
 tions. 
 
 The self-made man, sustaining himself in the 
 pursuit of knowledge, by incessant labors as an 
 humble teacher of private classes the young 
 pioneer, penetrating interior forests, climbing 
 snow-clad mountains, enduring every privation, 
 and braving every danger the patriot soldier, 
 ever ready to die beneath the flag of his country 
 the humane conqueror, by clemency making 
 his victories complete the gallant commander,
 
 CONCLUSION. 355 
 
 just and kind to his men the enlightened 
 legislator, watching over the interests and rights 
 of LABOR and INDUSTRY the scientific scholar, 
 commanding the respect of the learned men 
 of his country and the world and the far- 
 reaching statesman, embracing the continent in 
 his policy, and giving his life, in an unparalleled 
 service of toil, suffering, and peril, to open a 
 channel through which the wealth of the other 
 continents may flow over its surface, are all 
 before the eyes of the YOUNG MEN OF AMERICA, 
 in the character portrayed on these pages. May 
 the spectacle give ardor to every manly virtue, 
 and inspire all hearts with industry and resolu- 
 tion in self-improvement, with fidelity and 
 courage in the discharge of duty, and with an 
 exalted and comprehensive patriotism. 
 
 END.
 
 FRE-MONT. 
 
 MY first is a thrilling word ! 
 
 Dearer than life to those, 
 Within whose souls its spirit stirred, 
 The call to toil and strife who heard, 
 And who a martyr's grave preferred 
 
 To serving foreign foes ! 
 
 Bright on my second beams 
 
 The early morning ray ! 
 There the sun lingers long, and gleams, 
 Like those that haunt us in our dreams 
 Of glory, flash in fitful streams, 
 
 As loth to pass away. 
 
 My whole is a magic name ; 
 
 Our over-arching skies, 
 Our hills and valleys, shall proclaim 
 Each to the other, all his fame, 
 And bear it up, with loud acclaim, 
 
 Where our free mountains rise. 
 
 M. E M. 
 
 March 17, 1856. 
 
 ( 356 )
 
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 JUNE, 1856. 
 
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