Newspaper Page Text
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From the National Intelligencer.
Captain Fremont's Report.
SECOND EXPEDmoN-CoNTiNBBD.
[continued from last week’s paper.]
We have now to accompany Capt. Fremont
and his hardy and adventurous companions on
their homeward route; and, in doing so, we
hardly know whether the courage which never
quailed before the dangers of that route,
the perseverance which never faltered be
fore obstacles apparently the most uncon
querable, or the promptitude and never-fail
ing resources which furnished the means by
which courage and perseverance attained their
ends, are most to be admired. It is sufficient
that their happy combination in this instance
led to a successful and most valuable result.
We are confident that, whatever success may
attend the third expedition, those engaged in it
will deserve to be successful. We look for its
return with increasing interest; confident that
the aggregate production of the three expeditions
of Capt. Fremont will be a source of more than
common honor and fame to him and his wor
thy fellow-laborers, and redound to the credit of
the country.
We took leave of the expedition, in our last
notice, at the •• Dalles” of the Columbia, about
fifteen miles below the falls of that river, where
Capt. F. had collected a supply of provisions
sufficient for his party for not less than three
months, also some live cattle. The number of
horses and mules mustered 104, for “ the suste
nance of which, our reliance (says the Captain)
was upon the grass which we should find, and
the soft porous wood which was to be the sub
stitute when there was none.”
The expedition commenced its homeward
march on the 25’h of November. “At the re
quest ofMr. Perkins,”oneofthe missionariesat
the Dalles —
“A Chinook Indian, a lad of nineteen, who
was extremely anxious to 'see the whites,’
and make some acquaintance with our institu
tions, 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.”
The first object which attracted Capt. Fre
mont’s attention was Tlamath lake; the route
of the expedition was therefore almost directly
south. On the 30th the narrative furnishes the
following interesting scientific information:
“ Continuing a few miles up the bank of the
river, we encamped early in an open bottom
among the pines, a short distance below a lodge
of the Indians. Here, along the river the bluff
presents escarpments seven or eight hundred
feet in height, containing strata of a very fine
porcelain clay, overiaid, at the height of about
five hundred feet, by a massive stratum of ba
salt one hundred feet in thickness, which is
again succeeded above by another strata of vol
canic rocks. The clay strata are variously
colored, some of them very nearly as white as
chalk, and very finegrained. Specimens brought
from these have been subjected to microscopi
cal examination by Professor Bailey, of West
Point, and are considered by him to constitute
one of the most remarkable deposites of fluvia
tile infusoria on record. While they abound
in genera and species which are common in
fresh water, but which rarely thrive where the
water is even"brackish, not one decidedly ma
rine form is to be found among them; and their
fresh water origin is therefore beyond a doubt.
It is equally certain that theyjlived and died at
the situation where they were found, as they
could scarcely be transported by running water
without an admixture of sandy particles ; from
which, however, they are remarkably free.—
Fossil infusoria of a fresh water origin had
been previously detected by Mr. Bailey in speci
mens brought by Mr. James D. Dana from the
tertiary formation of Oregon. Most of the spe
cies in those specimens differed so much from
those now living and known, that he was led
to infer that they might belong to extinct spe
cies, and considered them also as affording
proof of an alternation, in the formation from
which they were obtained, of fresh and salt wa
ter deposites, which, common enough in Europe,
had not hitherto been noticed in the United
.tales. Coming evidently from a locality en
llrely different, our specimens show very few
species in common with those brought by Mr.
Dana, but bear a much closer resemblance to
those inhabiting the northeastern States. It is
impossible that they are from a more recent de
posft; but the presence of a few remarkable
forms which are Common to the two localities
renders it more probable that there is no great
*rrr- n». ; , r
The latitude of this place is 44 deg. 35 mi n«
23 sec., longitude 121 deg. 10 min. 25 sec.
After travelling a distance of 25 miles from
the Dalles of the Columbia, principally through
a sandy pine forest, on December 10—
“The country began to improve; and about
11 o’clock we reached a spring of cold watei
on the edge of a savannah, Or grassy meadow,
which our guides informed us was an arm of
the Tlamathlake; and a few miles further we
entered upon an extensive meadow or lake of
grass, surrounded by timbered mountains. This
was the Tlamath lake. It was a picturesque
and beautiful spot, and rendered more attractive
to us by the abundant and excellent grass, which
our animals, after travelling through pine forests,
so much needed; but the broad sheet of water
which constitutes a lake was not to be seen.—
Overlooking it, immediately west, was several
snowy knobs, belonging to what we have con
sidered a branch of the Cascade range. A low
point covered with pines made out into the lake,
which afforded us a good place for an encamp
ment, and for the security of our horses, which
were guarded in view on the open meadow.
The character of courage and hostility attribu
ted to the Indians of this quarter induced more
. than usual precaution; and, seeing smokes ri
sing from the middle of the lake (or savannah)
and along the opposite shores, I directed the
howitzer to be fired. It was the first time our
guides had seen it discharged; and the bursting
of the shell at a distance, which was something
like the second fire of the gun, amazed and be
wildered them with delight. It inspired them
with triumphant feelings; but on the camps al
a distance the eflect was different, for the smokes
in the lake and on the shore immediately disap
peared.
“The point on which we were encamped
forms, with the opposite eastern shore, a nar
row neck, connecting the body of the lake with
a deep cove or bay which receives the principal
affluent stream, and over the greater part of
which the water (or rather ice) was at this time
dispersed into shallow pods. Among the grass,
and scattered over the prairie lake, appeared to
be similar marshes. It is simply a shallow
basin, which, fora short period at the time of
melting snows, is covered with water from the
neighboring mountains; but this probably soon
runs off, and leaves for the remaider of the year
a green savannah, through the midst of which
the river Tlamatb, which flows to the ocean,
winds its way to the outlet on the southwestern
side."
December 11.—We have the following in
teresting particulars relative to the Tlamath
Indians:
“ When we had arrived within half a mile
of the village, two persons were seen advanc
ing to meet us; and to please the fancy of ou r
guides, we ranged ourselves into a long line,
riding abreast, while they galloped ahead to
meet the strangers.
“We were surprised, on riding up, to find
one of them a woman, having never before
known a squaw to take any part in the business
of war. They were the village chief and his
wife, who, in excitement and alarm at the un
usual event and appearance, had come out to
meet their fate together. The chief was a very
prepossessing Indian, with very handsome
features, and a singularly soft and agreeable
voice—so remarkable as to attract general no
tice
“The huts were grouped together on the
bank of the river, which, from being spread out
in a shallow marsh at the upper end of the lake,
was collected here into a single stream. They
were large round huts, perhaps 20 feet in diame
ter, with rounded tops, on which was the door
by which they descended into the interior.—
Within, they were supported by posts and
beams.
“ Almost like plants, these people seem to
have adapted themselves to the soil, and to be
growing on what the immediate locality afford
ed. Their only subsistence at this time ap
peared to be a small fish, great quantities of
which, that had been smoked and dried, were
suspended on strings about the lodge. Heaps
of straw were lying around; and their residence
in the midst of grass and rushes had taught
them a peculiar skill in converting this mate
rial to useful purposes. Their shoes were
made of straw or grass, which seemed well
adapted for a snowy country; and the women
wore on their head a closely woven basket,
which made a very good cap. Among other
things, were parti-colored mats about four feet
square, which we purchased to lay on the snow
under our blankets, and to use for table cloths.
“Numbers of singular-looking dogs, resem
bling wolves, were sitting on the tops of the
huts; and of these we purchased a young one,
which, after its birthplace, was named Tlamath.
The language spoken by these Indians is differ
ent from that of the Shoshonee and Columbia
tribes; and otherwise than by signs they can
not understand each other. They made us
comprehend that they were at war with the
people who lived to the southward and to the
eastward; but 1 could obtain from them no cer
tain information. The river on which they live
enters the Cascade mountains on the western
side of the lake, and breaks through them by a
passage impracticable for travellers; but over
the mountains, to the northward, are passes
which present no other obstacle than in the most
Impenetrable forests. Unlike any Indians we
had previously seen, these wore shells in their
noses. We returned to our camp, alter re
maining here an hour or two, accompanied by
a number of Indians.
“ In order to recruit a little the strength of our
animals, and obtain some acquaintance with
the locality, we remained here for the remain
der of the day. By observation, the latitude of
the camp was 42° 56 min. 51 sec., and the
diameter of the lake, or meadow, as has been
intimated, about 20 miles. It is a picturesque
and beautiful spot; and, under the hand of cul
tivation, might become a little paradise. Game
is found in the forest; timbered and snowy
mountains skirt it, and fertility characterizes ft.
Situated near the heads of three rivers, and on
the line of inland communication with Califor
nia, and near to Indians noted for treachery, it
will naturally, in the progress of lhe settlement
of Oregon, become a point for military occupa
tion and settlement.
“ From Tlamath lake, the further continua
tion of our voyage assumed a character of dis
covery and exploration, which, from the Indians
here, we could obtain no information to direct,
and where the imaginary maps of the country,
instead of assisting, exposed us to suffering and
defeat. In our journey across the desert, Mary’s
lake, and the famous Buenaventura river,
were two points on which I relied to recruit the
animalsand repose the party. Forming, agree
ably to the best maps in my possession, a con
nected water-line from the Rocky Mountains to
the Pacific Ocean, I felt no other anxiety than
to pass safely across the intervening desert to
the banks of the Buenaventura, where in the
softer climate of a more southern latitude, our
horses might find grass to sustain them, and our
selves be sheltered from the rigors of winter and
from the inhospitable desert. The guides who
had conducted us thus far on our journey were
about to return; and I endeavored in vain to
obtain others to lead us, even for a few days,
in the direction (east) which we wished to go.
The chief to whom I applied alleged the want
of horses, and the snow on the mountains across
which our course would carry us, and the sick
ness of his family, as reasons for refusing to go
with uq.”
Qn the 13th,'howflver ! r“ in the midst of the
wood, we heard the sound of galloping horses,'
and were agreeably surprised by the unexpected
arrival of our Tlamath chief, with several In
dians. He seemed to have found his conduct
inhospitable in letting the strangers depart with
out a guide through the snow, and had come,
with a few others, to pilot us a day or two on
the way.”
On the 14th the party struck a stream, which
subsequent information satisfied Capt. F., was
the principal branch of the "Sacramento river;
and, consequently, that this main affluent of
the bay of San Francisco had its source within
the limits of the United States, and opposite a
tributary to the Columbia, and near the head of
the Tlamath river, which goes to the ocean
north of42'-’,and within the United Slates.”
"December 15 A present, consisting of use-
ful 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 al ways to receive it in a friend
ly manner. The chief pointed out a course,
by following which, we would arrive at the big
water, where no more snow was to be found.”
On the 16th of December we have the follow
ing vivid description of the position of the ex
pedition, and of the scenery which surrounded
them:
“We travelled this morning through snow
about three feet deep, which, being crusted, very
much cut the feet ofour animals. The moun
tain still gradually rose; we crossed several
spring heads covered with quaking asp; other
wise it was all pine forest. The air was dark
with falling snow, which every where weighed
down the trees. The depths ofthe 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 requir
ed some exertion of constancy to adhere steadi
ly through the woods, when we were uncertain
how far the forest extended, or what lay beyond;
and, on account of our animals, it would be
bad to spend another night on the mountain.
•Towards noon the forest looked clear ahead,
appearing suddenly to terminate, and beyond a
certain point we could see no trees. Riding ra
pidly 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 in a green prairie coun
try, in which a beautiful lake, some twenty
miles in length, was spread along the toot of
the mountains, its shores bordered with green
grass. Just then the sun broke out among the
clouds, and illuminated lhe country below,
while around us the storm raged fiercely. Not
a particle of ice was to be seen on the lake, or
snow on its borders, and all was like summer
or spring. The glow of the sun in the valley
below brightened up our heatts with sadden
pleasure, and we made the woods ring with
joyful shouts to those behind; and gradually,
as each came up, he stopped to enjoy the un
expected scene. Shivering on snow three feet
deep, and stiffening in a cold north wind, we
exclaimed at once that the names of Summer
" these two approximate 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 artermisiaJ)ecame the principal wood, fur
nishing to its scattered inhabitants fuel fortheir
fires, building material for their huts, and shel
ter for the small game which ministers to their
hunger and nakedness. Broadly marked by the
boundary ol the mountain wall, and immediate
ly below us, were the first waters of that great
interior basin which has the Wahsatch and
Bear river mountains for its eastern, and the
Sierra Navada tor its western rim, and the edge
ot which we had entered upwards of three
months befere at the Great Salt Lake.
“ When we had sufficiently admired the scene
below, we began to think about descending,
which here was impossible, and we turned to
wards the north, travelling always along the
rocky wall. We continued on four or five
miles, making ineffectual attempts at several
places; and at length succeeded in getting down
at one which was extremely difficult of descent.
Night had closed in before the foremost reached
the bottom, and it was dark before we all found
ourselves together in the valley. There were
three or four half dead dry cedar trees on the
shore, and those who first arrived kindled bright
fires to light on the others. One of the mules
rolled over and over two or three hundred leet
into a ravine, but recovered himself, without
any other injury than to his pack; and the how
itzer was left midway the mountain until morn
ing. By observation the latitude of this encamp
ment is 42 deg. 57 min. 22 sec. It delayed us
until near noon the next day to recover our
selves and put every thing in order; and we
made only a short camp along the western shore
of the lake, which, in the summer temperature
we enjoyed to-day, justified lhe name we had
given it. Our course would have taken us to
the other shore, and over the highlands beyond ;
but 1 distrusted the appearance of the country,
and decided to follow a plainly beaten Indian
trail leading along this side of the lake. We
were now in a country where the scarcity of
water and of grass makes travelling dangerous,
and great caution was necessary.”
On Christmas day the party had made a tour
of 460 miles from the Dalles, and were in lati
tude 42 deg. OOmin. 09 sec. and longitude (about)
12) deg., consequently on lhe division-line be
tween Oregon and Mexico. The narrative says:
“ We were roused on Christmas morning by
a discharge from the small armsand howitzer,
with which our people saluted the day, and the
name of which we bestowed on the lake. It
was the first time, perhaps, in this remote and
desolate region, in which it had been so com
memorated. Always, on days of religious or
national commemoration, our voyageurs ex
pect some unusual allowance; and, having
nothing else, I gave them each a little brandy,
(which was carefully guarded, as one of the
most useful articles a traveller can carry,) with
some coffee and sugar, which here, where every
eatable was a luxury, was sufficient to make
them a feast. The day was sunny and warm;
and, resumingour journey, we crossed some
slight dividing grounds into a similar basin,
walled in on the right by a lofty mountain ridge.
The plainly beaten trail still continued, and oc
casionally we passed camping grounds of ths
Indians, which indicated to me that we were
on oneofthe great thoroughfares of the country.
In the afternoon I attempted to travel in a more
eastern direction; but, after a few laborious
miles, was beaten back into lhe basin by an im
passible country. There were fresh Indian
tracks about the valley, and last night a horse
was stolen. We encamped on the valley bot
tom, where there was some cream-like water in
in ponds, colored by a clay soil and frozen over.
Chenopodiaceous shrubs constituted the growth,
and made again our firewood. The animals
were driven to the hill, where there was tolera
bly good grass.”
The genera! course of the expedition was
now again south. On New Year’s eve it had
travelled a distance 0f571 miles from the Dalles,
and its position was far from being an enviable
one.
“ Here,” says Capt. F., “we concluded the
year 1843, and our New Year’s eve was rather
a gloomy one. The result of our journey began
to be veryuncertain; the country wassingularly
unfavorable to travel; the grasses being fre
quently of a very unwholesome character, and
the hoofs of our animals were so worn and cut
by the rocks that many of them were lame and
could scarcely be got along.”
“ View Year’s day 1844.—We continued down
the valley, between a dry looking black ridge
on the left and a more snow y and high one on
the right. Our road was bad along the bottom,
being broken by gullies and impeded by sage,
and sandy on the hills, where there is not a
blade of grass, nor does any appear on the moun
tains. The soil in many places consists of a
fine powdery sand, covered with a saline efflo
rescence; and the general character ol the coun
try is desert.”
On the 3d January, “ A fbg, so dense that we
could not see a hunefred yards, covered the coun
try, and the men that were sent out after the
horses were bewildered and lost; and our situa
tion had now become a serious one. We had
reached and run over lhe position where, accord
ing to the best maps in my possession, we should
have found Mary’s lake, or river. We were
evidently on the verge of the desert which had
been reported to us; and the appearance of the
country was so forbidding that I was afraid to
enter it, and determined to bear away to the
southward, keeping close along the mountains,
in the full expectation of reaching the Buena
ventura river. This morning I put every man
in the camp on foot—myself, of course, among
the rest—a»d in this manner lightened by dis
tribution the loads of theanimals. Wetravelled
seven or eight miles along the ridge bordering
the valley, and encamped where there were a few
bunches of grass on the bed of a hill torrent,
without water. There were some large arlemi
sias; but the principal plants are chenopodia
ceous shrubs. The rock composing the moun
tains is here changed suddenly into white granite.
The fog showed the tops of the. hills at sunset,
and stars enough tor observations in the early
evening, and then closed over us as before.—
Latitude by observation,4o° -18 min. 15 sec.”
"January I.— The fog to-day was still more
dense, and lhe people were again bewildered.—
We travelled a few miles around the western
point of the ridge, and encamped where there
were a few tufts of grass but no water. Our
animals now were in a eery alarming state, and
there was increased anxiety in the camp.”
" January s.— Same dense fog continued, and
one of our mules died in camp this morning. I
have had occasion to remark, on such occasions
as these, that animals which are about to die
leave the band, and coming into the camp, lie
down about the fires.”
On the 6th of January they arrived, says the
narrative, “at the most extraordinary locality
of hot springs we had met during the journey.—
The basin of the largest one has a circum
ference of several hundred feet; but there is at
one extremity a circular space of about fifteen
feet in diameter, entirely occupied by the boil
ing water. It boils up at irregular intervals,
and with much noise. The water is clear, and
the spring deep; a pole about sixteen feet long
was easily immersed in the centre, but we had
no means a good idea of the depth.
saaHMHßHfiMMataMltaariMAdkr
of green grass, and nearthe shore the tempera
ture of the water was 206°. We had no means
of ascertaining thpt of the centre, where the heat
was greatest; but, by dispersing the water with
a pole, the temperature at the margin was in
creased to 208°, and in the centre it was doubt
less higher. By driving the pole towards the
bottom, the water was made to boil up with in
creased force and noise. There are several
other interesting places, where water amtsmoke
or gas escape, but they would require a long de
scription. The water is impregnated with com
mon salt, but not so much as to render it unfit
for general cooking; and a mixture of snow
made it pleasant to drink.”
“Our situation now required caution. In
cluding those which gave out from the injured
condition’of their feet, and those stolen by In
dians, we had lost since leaving the Dalles of
lhe Columbia, fifteen animals; and of these
nine had been left in the last few days. I there
fore determined until we should reach a country
of water and vegetation to feel our way ahead,
by having the line of route explored some fifteen
or twenty miles in advance, and only to leave a
present encampment when the succeeding one
was known.
“ Taking with me Godey and Carson, I made
to-day a thorough exploration of the neighbor
ing valleys, and found in a ravine in the border
ing mountains a good camping place, where
was water in springs and a sufficient quantity
of grass for a night. Overshading the springs
were some trees of the sweet cotton-wood, which
after a long interval ot absence, we saw again
with pleasure, regarding them as harbingers of
abetter country. To us, they were eloquent of
green prairies and buffalo. We found here a
broad and plainly marked trail, on which there
were tracks of horses, and we appeared to have
gained one of the thoroughfares which pass by
the watering places of the country, On the
western mountains ofthe valley, with which this
of the boiling spring communicates, we remark
ed scattered cedars—probably an indication that
we were on the borders of the timbered
region extending to the Pacific. We reach
ed the camp at sunset, after a day’s ride of
forty miles. The horses we rode were in good
order, being of some that were kept for emer
gencies and rarely used.
“Mr. Preuss had ascended one of the moun
tains and occupied the day in sketching the
country; and Mr. Fitzpatrick had found, a few
miles distant, a hollow of excellent grass and
pure water, to which the animals were driven,
as I remained another day to give them an op
portunity to recruit their strength. Indians ap
pear to be every where prowling about like wild
animals, and there is a fresh trail across the snow
in the valley near.
“Latitude ofthe boiling springs,4o°39 min.
46. sec.”
On the 15th ot January the expedition reach
ed the inlet of a large fresh-water stream, which,
says Captain F.—
“- We all at once were satisfied was neither
Mary’s riygr npr the waters ofthe Sacramento,
i>v-i wE had cliscuveitu terior lake
which the Indians informed us had no outlet’.
It is about thirty-five miles long, and, by the
mark of the water line along the shores, the
spring level is about twelve feet above its pre
sent waters. The chief commenced speaking
in a loud voice as we approached; and parties
of Indians armed with bows and arrows issued
from the thickets. We selected a strong place
for our encampment—a grassy bottom, nearly
enclosed by the river, an 1 furnished with abun
dant firewood. The village, a collection of
straw huts, was a few hundred yards higher up.
An Indian brought in a large fish to trade, which
we had lhe inexpressible satisfaction to find
was a salmon trout; we gathered around him
eagerly. The Indians were amused with our
delight, and immediately brought in numbers;
so that the camp was soon stocked. Their
flavor was excellent, superior in fact to any fish
I have ever known. They were of extraordi'
nary size—about as large as the Columbia river
salmon—-generally trom two to four feet in
length.”
“ These Indians were very fat, and appeared
to live an easy and happy life. They crowded
into the camp more than was consistent with
our safety, retaining always their arms; and,
as they made some unsatisfactory demonstra
tions, they were given to understand that they
would not be permitted to come armed into lhe
camp; and strong guards were kept with the
horses. Strict vigilance was maintained among
the people, and one-third at a time were kept
on guard during lhe night. There is no reason
to doubt that these dispositions, uniformly pre
served, conducted our party securely through
Indians famed for treachery.
“In the mean time, such a salmon-trout feast
asisseldom seen was going on in ourcamp;
and in every variety of manner in which fish
could be prepared—boiled, fried, and roasted in
the ashes—was put into requisition; and every
few minutes an Indian would be seen running
off to spear a fresh one. Whether these Indians
had seen whites before we could not be certain;
but they were evidently in communication with
others who had, as one of them had some brass
buttons, and we noticed several other articles of
civilized manufacture. We could obtain from
them but little information respecting the coun
try. They made on the ground a drawing of
the river, which they represented as issuing
from another lake in the mountains three or four
daysdistant, in a direction a little west of south;
beyond which, they drew a mountain: and
further still, two rivers; on one of which they
told us that people like ourselves travelled.
Whether they alluded to the settlements on the
Sacramento, or to a party from the United
States which had crossed the Sierra about three
degrees to the southward, a few years since, I
am unable to determine.
"I tried unsuccessfully to prevail on some of
them to guide us fora few days on the road, but
they only looked at each other and laughed.”
On the 24th of January we meet with the fol
lowing traits of Indian life and manners:
“A man was discovered running towards the
camp as we were about to start this morning,
who proved to be an Indian of rather advanced
age—a sort of forlorn hope, who seemed to have
been worked up into the resolution of visiting
the strangers who were passing through the
country. He seized the hand of the first man
he met as he came up, out of breath, and held
on, as if to assure himself of protection. He
brought with him in a little skin bag a few
pounds of the seeds of a pine tree, which to-day
we saw for the first time, and which Dr. Torrey
had described as a new species, under the name
of pinus mouophyllus; in popular language, it
might be called the nut pine. We purchased
them all from him. The nut is oily, of very
agreeable flavor, and must be very nutritious,
as it constitutes the principal subsistence of the
tribes among which we were now travelling.
By a present of scarlet cloth and other striking
articles we prevailed upon this man to be our
guide of two days’ journey. As clearly as pos
sible by signs, we made him understand our ob
ject; and he engaged to conduct us insight of
a good pass which he knew. Here we ceased
to hear the Shoshonee language; that of this
man being perfectly unintelligible. Several
Indians, who had been waiting to see what re
ception he would meet with, now came into
camp; and, accompanied by the new comers,
we resumed our journey.”
“The snow deepened gradually as we ad
vanced. Our guides wore out their moccasins;
and, putting one of them on a horse, we enjoyed
the unusual sight of an Indian who could not
ride. He could not even guide the animal, and
appeared to have no knowledge of horses. The
snow was three or four feet deep in the summit
of the pass; and from this point the guide
pointed out our future road, declining to go any
further.”
On the 28th, “Godey, who was a little dis
tance from the camp, had sat down to tie his
moccasins, when he heard a low whistle near,
and, looking up, saw two Indians half hiding
behind a rock about forty yards distant; they
would not allow him to approach, but, breaking
into a laugh, skimmed off over the snow, seem
ing to have no idea of the power of fire-arms,
and thinking themselves perfectly safe when be
yond arm’s length.”
On'lhe 3lst, says Capt. F., “We gathered to
gether a few of the most intelligent of the Indi
ans, and held this evening an interesting coun-
cil. I explained to them my intentions. I told
them that we had come from a very far country,
having been travelling now nearly a year, and
that we weie desirous simply to go across lhe
mountain into the country of the other whites.
There were two who appeared particularly in
telligent—one, a somewhat old man. He told
me that, before the snows fell, it was six sleeps
to the place where the whites lived, but that now
it was impossible to cross the mountain on ac
count of the deep snow; and showing us,as the
others had done, that it was over our heads, he
urged us strongly to follow' lhe course of the
river, which he said would conduct us to a lake
in which there were many large fish. There,
he said, were many people; there was no snow
on the ground; and we might remain there until
lhe spring. From their descriptions, we were
enabled to judge that we had encamped on the
upper water of the Salmon Trout river. It was
hardly necessary to say that our communication
was only by signs, as we understood nothing of
their language; but they spoke, notwithstand
ing, rapidly and vehemently, explaining what
they considered the folly of our intentions, and
urging us to go down to lhe lake. Tah-ve, a
word signifying now, we very soon learned to
know, from its frequent repetition. I told him
that the men and the horses were strong, and
that we would-break a road through lhe snow ;
and, spreading before him our bales of scarlet
cloth and trinkets, showed him what we would
give for a guide. It was necessary to obtain
one, if possible; for 1 had determined here to
attempt the passage of the mountain. Pulling
a bunch of grass from the ground, after a short
discussion among themselves, the old man made
us comprehend that if we could break through
the snow', at the end of three days we would
come down upon grass, which he showed us
would be about six inches high, and where the
ground was entirely free. So far, he said, he
had been in hunting for elk; but, beyond that,
(and he closed his eyes,) he had seen nothing;
but there was one among them who had been to
the whites, and, going out of the lodge, he re
turned with a young man of very intelligent ap
pearance. Here, said he, is a young man who
has seen the whites with his own eyes; and he
swore, first by the sky, and then by the ground,
that what he said was true. With a large pre
sent of good* we prevailed upon this young
man to be our guide, and he acquired among us
the name Melo—a word signifying friend,
which they used very frequently. He was
thinly clad, and nearly barefoot, his moccasins
being about worn out. We gave him skins to
make a new pair, and to enable him to perform
his undertaking to us. The Indians remained
in the camp during the night, and we kept the
guide and two others to sleep in the lodge with
us—Carson lying across the door, and having
made them comprehend the use of our fire-arms.
The snow, which had intermitted in the eve
ning, commenced falling again in the course ot
the night, and it snowed steadily all day. In
the morning I acquainted the men with my de
cision, and explained to them that necessity re
quired us to make a great effort to clear the
mountains. I reminded them of the beautiful
valley of the Sacramento, with which they were
familiar from the descriptions of Carson, who
had been there some fifteen years ago, and who,
in our late privations, had delighted us in speak
ing of its rich pastures and abounding game,
and drew a vivid contrast between its summer
climate, less than a hundred miles distant, and
the falling snow around us. I informed them
(and long experience had given them confidence
in my observations and good instruments) that
almost directly west, and only about seventy
miles distant, was lhe great farming establish
ment of Captain Sutter—a gentleman who had
formerly lived in Missouri, and, emigrating to
this country, had become the possessor of a prin
cipality. I assured them that from the heights
of the mountain before us we should doubtless
see the valley of the Sacramento river, and with
one effort place ourselves again in the midst of
plenty. The people received this decision with
the cheerful obedience which had always char
acterised them; and the day was immediately
devoted to the preparations necessary to enable
us to carry it into eflect. Leggings, moccasins,
clothing—all were put into the best state to re
sist the cold. Our guide was not neglected.
Extremity of suffering might make him desert;
we therefore did the best we could for him.
Leggings, moccasins, some articles of clothing,
and a large green blanket, in addition to the
blue and scarlet cloth, were lavished upon him,
and to bis great and evident contentment. He
arrayed himself in all his colors; and, clad in
green, blue, and scarlet, he made a gay-looking
Indian; and, with his various presents, was pro
bably richer and better clothed than any of his
tribe had ever been before.
“ I have already said that our provisions were
very low; we had neither tallow nor grease of
any kind remaining, and the want of salt became
one of our greatest privations. The poor dog
which had been found in lhe Bear river valley,
and which had been a compagnon de voyage ever 1
since, had now become fat, and the mess to
which it belonged requested permission to kill
it. Leave was granted. Spread out on the
snow, the meat looked very good; and it made a
strengthening meal for the greater part of the
camp. Indians brought in two or three rabbits
during the day, which were purchased from
them.”
“ To-night,” (4th of February) cvtrtfnSes rhe
imrruUve, “ we had no shelter, but we made a
large fire around the trunk of one ot the huge
pines, and covering the snow with small boughs,
on whichwe spread our blankets, soon made
ourselves comfortable. The night w’as very
bright and clear, though the thermometer was
only at 10 u . A strong wind which sprang up
at sundown, made it intensely cold, and this
was one of the bitterest nights during the jour
ney.
“Two Indians joined our party here, and one
of them, an old man, immediately began to
harangue us, saying that ourselves and animals
would perish in the snow, and that if we would
go back he would show us another and a better
way across the mountain. He spoke in a very
loud voice, and there was a singular repetition
of phrases and arrangement of words, which
rendered his speech striking and not unmusi
cal.
“We had now begun to understand some
words, and, with the aid ol signs, easily compre
hended 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 horses feet would slip
and throw them off from the narrow trails which
led along their sides. Our Chinook, who com
prehended even more readily than ourselves,
and believed our situation hopeless, covered
his head with his blanket and began to weep
and lament. ‘I wanted to see the whites,’ said
he; ‘I came away from my own people to see
the whites, and 1 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 asain to lament.
“ Seated around the tree, the fire illuminating
the rocks and the tall bolls of the pines around
about, and the old Indian haranguing, we pre
sented a group of very serious faces. ”
"February s.— The night had been too cold
to sleep, arid we were up very early. Our
guide was standing by the fire with all hisiinery
on, and seeing him shiver in the cold, I threw
on his shoulders one ot my blankets. We miss
ed him a few minutes afterwards, and never
saw him again. He had deserted. His bad
faith and treachary were in perfect keeping with
the estimate of Indian character which a long
intercourse with this people had gradually forced
upon my mind.”
On the 10th of February, “the wind kept the
airfilled with snow during the day; the sky
was very dark in southwest, though elsewhere
very clear. The forest here has a noble ap
pearance; the tall cedar is abundant, its greatest
height being 130 feet, and circumference 20,
three or four feet above the ground; and here I
see for the first time, the white pine, of which
there are some magnificent trees. Hemlock
spruce is among the timber, occasionally as
large as eight feet in diameter four teet above
the ground; but in ascending, it tapers rapidly
to less than one foot at the height of 80 feet. 4
have not seen any higher than 130 feet, and the
slight upper part isirequentl.v broken off by the
wind. The white spruce is frequent; and the
red pine [pinus Colorado of lhe Mexicans,)
which constitutes the beautiful forest along the
flanks of lhe Sierra Nevada to the northward, is
here the principal tree, not attaining a greater
height than 140 feet, though with sometimes a
diameter of 10. Most of these trees appear to
differ slightly from those of the same kind on
the other side of the continent.
“The elevation of the camp, by the boiling
point, is 8,050 feet. We are now 1,000 feet
above the level of the South Pass in the Rocky
mountains, and still we are not done ascending.
The top of a flat ridge near was bare of snow,
and very well sprinkled with bunch grass, suffi
cient to pasture the animals two or three days;
and this was to be their main point of support.
This ridge is composed of a compactjtrap, or
basalt, of a columnar structure; over the sur
face are scattered large boulders of porous trap.
The hills are in many places entirely covered
with small fragments of volcanic rock.
February 13.—“ The meat train did not ar
rive this evening, and 1 gave Godey leave to
kill our little dog, (Tlamath,) which he pre
pared in Indian fashion, scorching off the hair,
and rvashing the skin with soap and snow, and
then cutting it up into pieces, which were laid
on the snow. Shortly afterwards the sleigh ar
rived with a supply of horse meat; and we had
to-night an extraordinary dinner—pea soup,
mule, and dog.”
On the 20/A of February, "we encamped with
the animals and all the materiel of the camp on
the summit of the Pass in the dividing ridge,
1,000 miles bv our travelled road from the
Dalles of the Columbia.
“The people who had not yet been to this
point climbed the neighboring peak to enjoy a
look at the valley.
“The temperature of boiling water gave for
the elevation of the encampment 9,338 feet
above the sea.
“This was 2,000 feet higher than the South
Pass in the Rocky mountains, and several peaks
in view rose several thousand feet still higher.
Thus, at the extremity of the continent, and
near the coast; the phenomenon was seen of a
range of mountains still higher than the great
Rocky Mountains themselves. This extraor
dinary fact accounts for the Great Basin, and
shows that there must be a system of small
lakes and rivers here scattered over a flat coun-
try, and which dieeis*tided ard loin i.,i..--
the Sierra Nevado prevents from escaping to the
Pacific ocean. Latitude 38° 44 min.; longi
tude 120° 28 min. 'lt
“ Thus this Pass in fheSierra Nevada, which
so well deservesits naineol Snowy mountain,
is eleven degrees west and about four degrees
south of lhe South Pans.”
The expedition had bow travelled 1,000 miles
(rom the Dalles of the Columbia. The descent
from the mountain wasone of extreme difficulty
and danger, and accomplished under great pri
vations and sufferings. On the 251 h “lhe
forest,” says the narrative--
“ Was imposing in the magnificence of the
trees; some ot the pines, bearing large cones,
were 10 feet in diameter ; cedars also abounded,
and we measured aw 28J feet in circumference
four feet from tfaWfitound.. This noble tree
seemed here to be tri its proper soil and climate.
We found it on both sides of the Sierra, but
most abundant on the west.”
On the 27th, and several succeeding days, we
have the following particulars of the deplorable
condition ofthese hardy adventurers:
J' We had with ukd® larg kettle; and a mule
being killed here, fiis head was boiled in it for
several hours, and made a passable soup for
famished people.W
“ Below, precipices on the river forced us to
the heights, whichwe ascended by a steep spur
2,000 feet high. s|y.favorite horse, Proveau.
had become very weak, and was scarcely able
to bring himself to the top. Travelling here
was good, excepfdft grossing the ravines, which
were narrow, steep, and frequent. We caught
a glimpse of a deer, the first animal we had
seen; but did notstjoceed in approaching him.
Proveau could nolkoep up, and 1 left Jacob to
bring him on, being obliged to press forward
with the party, as there was no grass in the
forest. We anxious as the day ad
vanced and no grass-appeared, (pr the lives of our
animals depended W finding it to-night. They
were in just suclydfondition that grass and re
pose for the tirgjKiabled them to get on lhe
next day. we bad been expecting
to see open the valley, which, from
thg almost at our leet.
A new and “ugulaMnriK/which had made its
appealanee since crossing the mountain, was
very frequent to-day. It branched out near lhe
ground, forming a clump eight or ten feet high,
with pale green leaves ot an oval.form, and the
body and branches had a naked appearance, as
it stripped of the bark, which is very smooth
and thin, ofi chocolate color, contrasting well
with the pale green of the leaves. The day was
nearly gone; we had made a hard day’s march,
and found »o grass. Towns became light-head
ed, wandered off into the woods without know
ing where he was going, and Jacob brought
him back.
“ Near night-fall we descended into the steep
ravine ol a handsome creek thirty feet wide,
and 1 was engaged in getting the horses up the
opposite hill, when I beard a shout from Car
son, who had goneahead a few hundred yards—
“ Life yet,” said he, as he came up, “life yet; I
have found a hill side sprinkled with grass
enough lor lhe night.” We drove along our
horses, and encamped at the place about dark,
and there was jusl room enough to make a
place for shelter oh ths edge of the stream.
Three horses were lost to-day.”
On the Ist March, one of the men, named
Derosier, who had volunteered the day before to
return and bring up Capt. Fremont’s favorite
horse Proveau, had not come back to the camp,
and uneasiness was felt at his absence, fearing
he might have been bewildered in the woods;
he, howeyeryvnade his appearance in the eve
ning:
“He came in, and, sitting down by [the fire>
began to tell us where he hai been. He im
agined he had been gone several days, and
thought we were still at lhe 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 perish
ing in the mountains, had crazed him. The
times were severe when stout men lost their
minds from extremity of suffering—when hones
died—and when mules and horses, ready to die
of starvation, were killed tor food. Yet there
was no nmrmr?rtng or hesitation.”
The fate of poor Derosier was a melancholy
one. On the 23d of March he wandered away
from the camp, and never returned to it again ;
. nor has he since been heard of. Capt. Fremont
calls him one of his best men, whose steady
good conduct had won his regard.
It was not until the 4th of March that the
travellers could be said to have surmounted lhe
difficulties of their descent. We continued,
says the narrative—
“ Rapidly along on a broad plainly beaten
trail, the mere travelling and breathing the de
lightful air being a positive enjoyment.» Our
road led along a ridge inclining to the river,
and-thvfitCknil'ttie open grounds were fragrant
with flowering shrubs: and in the course of the
morning we Issued on an open spur by which
we descended directly to the stream. Here the
river issuessuddrnly from the mountains,'which
hitherto had,heramedat closely in; these now
become softer, and change sensibly their cha
racter; and al this joint commences the most
beautilul valley fn which we bad ever travelled.
“Continuing the. next day down the river, we
discovered three squaws in a little bottom, and
surrounded them before they could make their
escape. They had large conical baskets, which
they were engaged in filling with a small leafy
y\nn\.(erodiumcicutarium) just now beginning to
bloom, and covering the ground like a sward of
grass. Thesedid notmakeany lamentations, but
appeared very much impressed with our appear
ance, speaking to us only in a whisper, and of
fering us smaller baskets of the plant, which
they signified to us was good to eat, making
signs also that it was to be cooked bv the fire.
We drew out a little cold horse meat,'and lhe
squaws made signs to us that the men bad gone
out after deer, and that we could have some by
waiting until they came in. We observed that
the horses ate with great avidity the herb which
they had bees gathering; and here also, for the
first time, we saw Indians eat the common grass
—one ofthe squaws pulling several tufts, and
eating it with apparent relish. Seeing oar sur
prise, she pointed to the horses; but we could
not well understand what she meant, except,
pei haps, that what was good for one was good
tor another.
■'We encamped in the evening on the shore
of the river, at a place where the associated
beauties ofscenery made so strong an impres
sion on us that we have given it the name of.
the Beautiful Camp. The undulating river
shore was shaded with the live oaks, which
formed a continuous grove over the country,
and the same grassy sward extended to the edge
ofthe water; and wc made onr fires near some
large granite masses which were lying among
the trees.”
MarchWi, "we continued on our road through
the same surpassingly beautiful country, en
tirely unequalled lor pasturage of stock by any
thing we had ever seen. Our horses had now
become so strong that they were able to carry
us, and we travelled rapidly, over four miles an
hour.” ■ 4
In the afternoon, “gradually entering a broad
valley, we came unexpectedly into a large In
dian village, where the people looked clean, and
wore cotton ships 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 ns by saving there were no
whites in the country ; but just then a well
dressed Indian came up, and made his saluta
tions in very well spoken Spanish. In answer
to onr inquiries, he informed us that we were
upon the Hio de los Americanos, (the river of the
American,) and that it joined the Sacramento
river about ten miles below. Neverdid a name
sound more sweeilv ! We felt ourselvesamong
our countrymen; forthenaine of American in
these distant parts is applied to the citizens of
lhe United States. To onr eager inquiries he
answered, ‘lama vaquero (cow-herd) in the
service ot Capt. Sutter, and the people of this
ranchcria work for him.’ Our evident satisfac
tion made him communicative, and he went on
to say that Capt. Sntter was a very rich man,
and always glad to see his country people. We
asked for his houso. He answered that it was
just over the hill before us; and offered, if we
would wait a moment, to take his horse and
conduct us to it. We readily accepted his civ
il often In a short distance we came in sight
ofthe 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 cor
dial 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.
“Many of our horses and mules had fallen
over precipices and were killed on our descent
ofthe mountain; and some were lost with the
packs they carried. Among these xvas a mule
with the plants which we had collected since
leaving Fort Hall, along aline of two thousand
miles’ travel. Out of sixty-seven horses and
rnules with which we commenced crossing the
Sierra, only thirty-three reached the valley of
the Sacramento, and they only in a condition to
be led along.”
A very interesting account is given ol Capt.
Sutter and the settlement at New Helvetia.—
That gentleman has succeeded in converting
the Indians in his neighborhood into a peacea
ble and industrious people. He employs a
number of them in agricultural operations, and
there were a number of girls at the fort in train
ing for a future woollen factory. Very encou
raging accounts are given of the beauty of the
settlement and the fertility of the soil. Capt.
Sutter trades with the Columbia settlements by ■
means of the Sacramento, and Capt. Fremont
saw a schooner at the landing, which was |
shortly to proceed to Fort Vancouver for a ,
cargo of goods. Several other persons, princi- ;
pally Americans, have established themselves t
in the valley. Strong inducements were offer- <
ed here for the settlement of mechanics, and
Capt. F.’s blacksmith desired to remain, tempt
ed by the guaranty of two dollars and a half
wages per day, and of five dollars, if he proved
as good a workman as had been represented.
It was inconvenient to Capt. F. to spare so
faithful and useful a man as this blacksmith,
had proved, but he consented to his remaining
in consideration of his good conduct. New
Helvetia is situated in lat. 38 deg. 34 min. 42
sec. and in long, (about) 121 and a halt.
The expedition resumed its journey on the
24th March, with an ample stock of provisions,
and a large cavalcade of animals, consisting of
one hundred and thirty ho.ses and mules, and
about thirty head ot cattle, five of which were
milch cows.
“ Our direct course,” says Capt. F., “was
east; but the Sierra would force us south,
above five hundred miles of travelling, to a pass
at the head of the San Joaquin river.” This
pass, reported to be good, the Captain very
properly proposes to name after its discoverer,
Mr. Joseph Walker. “ From the pass we were
to move southeastwardly, having the Sierra
then on the right, and reach the 'Spanish trail,’
deviously traced trom one watering place to
another, which constitutes the route of the
caravans from Puebla de los Angeles, nearthe
coast of the Pacific, to Santa Fe ot New Mexi
co. From the pass to this trail was one hundred
and fifty miles. Following that trail through
a desert, relieved by some fertile plains indica
ted by the recurrence of the term vegas, until
it turned to the right to cross the Colorado, our
course would be northeast until we regained
the latitude we had losl in arriving at the
Eutah lake, and thence to the Rocky Moun
tains, at the head of the Arkansas. This course
ot travelling, forced upon us by the structure ot
the country, would occupy a computed distance
of two thousand miles before we reached the
head of the Arkansas; not a settlement to be
seen upon it; and the names of places along it,
aft being Spanish or Indian, indicated that it
had been but little trod by American teet.
1 hough long, and not free trom hardships,, this
route presented some points of attraction, in
tracing the Sierra Nevada —turning the Great
Basin, perhaps crossing its rim on the south,
completely solving the problem ot any river,
except the Colorado, from the Rocky Moun
tains on that part of our continent—and seeing
the southern extremity of lhe Great Salt lake,
of which the northern part had been examined
the year before.”
Our last notice of this very important docu
ment terminated with the departure of the ex
pedition from Captain Sutter’s hospitable settle
ment at New Helvetia, on the banks of a tribu
tary stream to the Sacramento river, which
falls into the Pacific by the Gulf of San Fran
cisco. The party were now further from home
than they were four months before, when at the
Dalles of the Columbia, but they took up the
homeward line of march with cheerfulness
and resolution.
On the 27th Mai ch they had advanced
through the beautiful valley of the Sacramen
tos and its tributaries, a distance of ninety-seven
miles from New Helvetia.
“About 1 o’clock,” says Captain F., “we
came again among innumerable flowers; and
a few miles further, fields of the beautiful blue
flowering lupine, which seems to love the neigh
borhood of water, indicated that we were ap
proaching a stream. We here found this beau
tiful shrub in thickets, some of them being
twelve feet in height. Occasionally three or
four plants were clustered together, forming a
grand bouquet about ninety feet in circumfe
rence and ten feet high; the whole summit
covered with spikes of flouers, the perfume of
which is very sweet and grateful. A lover of
natural beauty can imagine with what pleasure
we rode among these flowering groves, whieh
filled lhe air with a light and delicate fragrance.
We continued our road for about half a mile,
■ interspersed through an open grove of live oaks,
which, in lorm, were the most symmetrical and
‘ beautiful we had yet seen in this country.—
'■ The endsof their branchesrested on theground,
! forming somewhat more than a half sphere of
very full and regular figure, with leaves appa
’ rently smaller than usual.”
, “ The California poppy, of a rich orange
color, was numerous to-day. Elk and several
> bands ot antelope made their appearance,
t “ Our road was now one continued enjoy
, ment;and it was pleasant, riding among this
assemblage of green pastures with varied flow
ers and scattered groves, and out of the warm
: green spring, to look at the rocky and snowy
, peaks where lately we had suffered so much.”
, On the Ist of April the party met with bands
of elk, one of which numbered about two hun-
i dred. Cn the 4th they were still on the banks
• of the San Joaquin.
r “Here the country appears very flat; nab
>_ ..ireesJiavceniirelv disappeared, and are replaced
1 by a large willow nearly equa( to it in size.—
: The river is aboot one hundred yards in breadth,
' branching into sloughs, and intersjtersed with
’ islands. At this time it appears sufficient
j ly deep for a small steamer, but its navigation
would be broken by shallows at low water.”
“The prairies along lhe left bank are alive with
immense droves of wild horses, and they have
been seen during the day at every opening
' through the woods which afforded its a view
across the river. Latitude, by observation,37°
08m. 60s. longitude 120° 45m. 225.
The route of the expedition led through a tole
rably fertile and pleasant country until the 12th
April, when the soil became sandy and vege
tation meager.
“Towards the Close ofthe afternoon we
reached a tolerably large river, which empties
into a small lake at the head ol the valley; it is
about thirty-five yards wide, with a stoney and
gravelly bed, and the swiftest stream we have
crossed since leaving lhe bay. The bottoms
produced no grass, though will timbered with
willow and cottonwood: and, after ascending it
for several miles, we made a late encampment
on a little bottom, with scanty grass. In great
er part the vegetation along our road consisted
now of rare and unusual plants, among which
many were eniirely new.”
On tae 13th, “ we reached the bottom ol a
creek without water, over which the sandy beds
were dispersed in many branches. Immediate
ly where we struck it the timber terminated,
and below, to the right, it was a broad bed of
dry and bare sands. There were many tracks
of Indians and horses imprinted in the sand,
■which, with other indications, informed us was
the creek i-suing from the pass, and which on
the map we have called Pass creek. We as
cended a trail for a few miles along the creek,
and suddenly found a stream of waler five leet
wide, running with a lively current, but losing
itself almost immediately. ’ This little stream
showed plainly lhe manner in which lhe moun
tain waters lose themselves in sand at the east
ern toot of lhe Sierra, leaving only a parched
desert and arid plains beyond. The stream en
larged rapidly, and the timber became abundant
as we ascended. A new species of pine made
its appearance, with several kinds ol oaks, and
a variety of trees; and the country changing ils
appearance suddenly and entirely, we found
ourselves again travelling among the old or
chard-like places. Here we selected a delight
ful encampment in a handsome green oak hol
low, where, among the open bolls ofthe trees,
was an abundant sward ot grass ami pea vines.
In the evening a Christian Indian rode into the
camp, well dressed, with long spurs, and a
sombrero, and speaking Spanish fluently. It
was an unexpected apparition, and a strange
and pleasant sight in this desolate gorge of a
mountain—an Indian face, Spanish costume,
jingling spurs, and horse equipped after the
Spanish manner. He informed me that he be-
longed to one of the Spanish missions to the
South, distance two or three day’s ride, and
that he had obtained from the priests leave to
spend a few days with his relations in the
Sierra. Having seen us enter the pass, ho had
come down to visit us. He appeared familiar
ly acquainted with the country, and gave me
definite and clear information in regard to the
desert region east ofthe mountains. I had en
tered the pass with a strong disposition to vary
my route, and to travel directly across towards
the Great Salt Lake, in the view ot obtaining
some acquaintance with the interior of the
Great Basin, while pursuing a direct course for
the frontier; but his representation, which des
cribed it as an arid and barren desert, that had
repulsed by its sterility all the attempts ofthe
Indians to penetrate it, determined me for the
present to relinquish the plan; and, agreeably
to his advice, aftercrossing the Sierra, continue
our intended route along its eastern base to the
Spanish trail. By this route a party of six
Indians, who had come from a great river in
the eastern part ofthe desert lo trade with his
people, had just started on their return. lie
would himself return the next day to San Fer
nando, and, as our roads would be the same for
two days, he offered his services to conduct us
so tar on our way. His offer was gladly ac
cepted.”
“April 14.—Our guide joined us this morn
ing on the trailj.and, arriving in a short dis
tance at an open bottom where the creek forked
we continued up the right hand branch, which
was enriched by a profusion of flowers, and
handsomely wooded with sycamore, oaks, cot
tonwood, and willow, with other trees, and some
shrubby plants. In its long strings of balls this
sycamore differs from that of the United States,
and is the plantanus occidentalis of Hooker—a
new species, recently described among the
plants collected in the voyage of the Sulphur.
The cottonwood varied in foliage with white
inits, and the feathery seeds were flying plenti
fully through the air. Gooseberries, nearly
ripe, were very abundant on the mounta in; and
as we passed the dividing grounds, which were
not very easy to ascertain, the air was filled
with perfume, as it we were entering a highly
cultivated garden; and, instead of green, our
pathway and the mountain sides were covered
with fields of yellow flowers, which here was
the prevailing color. Our journey to day was
in the midst u f an advanced spring, whose green
and floral beauty offered a delightful contrast
to the sandy valley we had just left. All the
day, wa. in sight on the butt of the mourn
tain, which frowned down upon us on the right 1
but we beheld it now with feelings of pleasant
security, as we rode along between green trees
and on flowers, with humming birds and other
feathered friends ol the traveller enlivening the
serene spring air. As we reached the summit
of thio beautiful pass, and obtained a view into
the eastern country, we saw at once that here
was the place to take leave of all such pleasant
scenes as those around us. The distant moun
tains were now bald rocks again; and below
the land had any color but green. Taking into
consideration the nature of the Sier.ra Nevada,
we found this pass an excellent one tor horses;
and with a little labor, or perhaps wlllv-a more
perfect examination of the localities, U, might
be made sufficiently practicable for wagons.
Ils latitude and longitude may be considered
that of our last encampment, only a felrtniles
distant. The elevation was not taken—our
half-wild cavalcade making ft too troublesome
to halt before night when once started.
“ We here left the waters ofthe bay ol San
Francisco, and, though forced upon them con
trary to my intentions, I cannot regret the neces
sity which occasioned lhe devialion. It made
me well acquainted with the great range ofthe
Sierra Nevada of the Alta California, and
showed that this broad and elevated snowy ridge
was a continuation of lhe Cascade Range of
Otegon, between which and the ocean there is
still another and a lower range, parallel to the
former and lo the coast, and which may be
called the Coast Range. It also made we well
acquainted with the basin ofthe San Francisco
bay, and with the two pretty rivers and their
valleys, (the Sacramento and San Joaquin,)
which are tributary to that bay ; and cleared up
some points in geography on which error had
long prevailed. It had been constantly repre
sented, as I have already stated, that the bay of
San Francisco opened far into the interior, by
some river coming down from lhe base ot the
Rocky Mountains, and upon which supposed
stream the name of Rio Buenaventura had been
bestowed. Our observations of the Sierra Ne
vada, in the long distance from lhe head of lhe
Sacramento to the head of the San Joaquin,
and of the valley below it, which collects all
the waters of the Sap Francisco bay, show
that this neither is nor can be lhe case. No
river from the interior does or can cross lhe
Sierra Nevada—itself more lofty than the Rocky
Mountains; and as to the Buenaventura, the
tnotith’of which serti on :he coast gave lhe idea
»and the name of the reputed great river, it is, in
fact, a small stream ofnoconsequence, not only
below the Sierra Nevada, but actually below
lhe Coast Range—taking its rise within half a
degree of the ocean, running parellel to it for
about two degrees, and then falling into the
Pacific near Monterey. There is no opening
Irom lhe bav ol San Francisco into the interior
of the continent. The two rivers which flow
into it are comparatively short, and not per
pendicular to the coast, but lateral to it, and
having their heads towards Oregon and south
ern California. They open lines of communi
cation 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 ofour continent which
leads from the ocean to the Rocky Mountains,
and opens aline 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 desert on one hand and a mountain range
on the other; guided by a civilized Indian, at
tended by two wild ones from thf Sierra, a
Chinook from the Columbia, and our own mix
ture ot American, French, German—all armed;
four or five languages heard at once; above a
hundred horses and mules, hall wild; Ameri
can, Spanish, and Indian dresses and equip
. ments intermingled—such was our composition.
Our march was a sort of procession. Scouts
ahead andon the flanks a front and rear division;
the pack animals, baggage, and horned cattle
in the centre; and lhe whole stretching a quar
ter of a miie along our dreary path. In this
form wejourueyed, looking more as if we be
longed to Asia than to the United States ot
America.
“We continued in a southerly direction
across the plain, to which, as well as to all the
country so far as we could see, the yucca trees
gave a strange and singular character.”
“ We rode rapidly during the day, and in lhe
afternoon emerged from the ijucco. torest at the
foot ol an outlier of >he Sierra before us, and
came among the fields of flowers we had seen
in the morning, which consisted principally of
the rich orange colored Californian poppy,
mingled with other flowers of brighter tints.
Reaching the top of the spur which was covered
with fine bunch grass, and where the hills were
very green, our guide pointed to a small hollow
in the mountain before us, saying 'a esle piedra
hay agua.’ He appeared to know every nook
in the country. We continued our beautiful
road, and reached a spring in the slope at the
foot of the ridge, running in a green ravine
amenfl prniiiio bouldors; here nightshade and
borders of buckwheat, with their while blossoms
around the granite rocks, attracted our notice
as familiar plants. Several antelopes were
seen among the hills, and some large hares.
Men were sent back this evening in seaich of a
wild mule with a valuable pack, which had man
aged (as they frequently do) to hide itself along
the road. By observation the latitude of the
camp is 34° 40 min. 42sec., and longitude 118°
20 min. The next day the men returned with
the mule.”
The Indian guide left lhe party on the 17th;
“ he bore off south, and in a day’s ride would ar
rive at San Fernando,one of several missions
in this part of Calilornia, where thecountry is
so beautiful that it is considered a paradise, and
the name of its principal town (Puebla de los
Angeles) would make it angelic. We continued
on through a succession of beautiful valleys,
and came into a most beautiful spot of flower
fields; instqpd of green, the hills were purple
arid orange, with unbroken beds, into which
each color was separately gathered. A pale
straw color, with a bright yellow, the rich red
orange of the poppy mingled with fields of pur
ple, covered the spot with a floral beauty, and
on the border of the sandy deserts seemed to in
vite the traveller to go no further. Ridingalong
through the perfumed air, we soon afterentered
a defile overgrown with the ominous arlemisia
Iridcntata, which conducted us into a sandy
plain covered more or less densely with forests
of w«ea.”
“ Our road (on the 19ih) was still in an east
erly direction along the ridge, over very bad
travelling ground, broken and confounded with
crippled treesand shrubs; and, after a difficult
march of 18 miles, a general shout announced
that we had struck the great objectofoursearch
—the Spanish trail—which here was running
directly north. The road itselt, and its course,
were equally happy discoveries to us. Since
the middle ot December we had continually
been forced south by mountains and by deserts,
and now would have to make six degrees of
northing to regain the latitude on which we
wished to cross the Rocky Mountains. The
course of the road, lherelore, was what we
wanted; and once more, we felt like going
homewards. A road to travel on, and the right
course to go, were joyful consolations to us; and
onr animals enjoyed the beaten track like otr
selves. Relieved from the rocks and br- ?"
onr wild mules started off at a rapid rat' a
in fifteen miles we reached a con' .
river, timbered with cottonwood a - , e ... ’ 0
where we found a bottom ot tot ’. . "1 '°' v '
As theanimals had suffered a g '. j_„. a ,' ’
last few days, I remained her . tl ,
allow them the necessary t 0
now necessarv, at eve- v d t "T
make a little halt. B- m “
do river we were a he , C ° lora '
extremeh- nnor ’ ’ ,hat ,he c °nntry was
there hetn<r P ° 10 ? rass and scarce "’’■ter,
nr InnJ S , ' F'"nadoes (day’s journey,)
water ' Wretches of 40 or6o miles, without
,„tr , wher ' ! the road was marked by bones of
anl, .ials.
I “Although in California we had met with
> people who had passed over this trail, we had
; been able to obtain no correct information
f about It; and the greater part of what he had
. heard was found to be only a tissue of false
. hoods. The rivers that we found on it were
. never mentioned, and others, particularly de
scribed in name and locality, were subsequent
• ly seen in another part of the country. It was
. (.escribed as a tolerable good sandy road, with
■ so little rock as scarcely to require the animals
. to be shod; and we found it to be the roughest
and rockiest road we had ever seen in thecoun
try, and which nearly destroyed our band o r _
fine horses and mules. Many animals are dc
slroyed on it every year by a disease called the
loot evil: and a traveller should never ve’ >ture
on it without having his animals well sho H and
also carrying extra shoes.” ‘ *
In the afternoon we weresurprisedb- > the sud
den appearance in the camp of two Mr Ricans—a
man and boy. The name of the m r ju was A”
Ureas Fuentes, and that of the boy r, handsr
lad, 11 years old,) Pablo Hernan' The
longed to a partv consisting of six"persons
remaining four being the wife, of Fuentes’ the
father and mother of Pablo, -' jnd Santiago Gia
come, a resident of New M 4 x ico , W ith a cav
alcada of of above thirty b.orses, they had come
out from Puebla de los? near the coast,
under the guidance of c Jmcome, in advance of
the ?reat caravan, in c , r( ) er to to travel more at
leisure and obtain h ener grass. ’Having ad
vanced as far mto ihidesert as was considered
consistent With their* safety, they halted at the
i. “J 160 ’ 1 ! 16 customary campinggrounds
about Bt, miles from our encampment, where
there >s a spring of good water and sufficient
gras.', and conclud.ee! to wait there the arrival
ottne great carava a. Several Indians were
scon discovered larking about the camp, who,
in a day or two after, came in, and, after behaving
in ave.-v friend! y manner, took their leavej
without awakenir ,g any suspicions. Their de
portment begat a security which proved fatal.—
In a few days .terwards, suddenly a party of
one hundred I.ndians appeared in sight, ad
vancing towa.' eds the camp, ft was too late, or
they seemed not to have presence ot mind to
takeproperr treasures of safety; and the Indians
charged dor . n ; nio their camp, shouting as
they ad van, . edi and discharging flights ot ar
rows. la bio and Fuentes were on horse-guard
at the nm e, and mounted according to the cus
tom of th< > country. One of the principal ob
jects of if , e Indians was to get possession of the
horses, and part of them immediately sur
rounded the band; bui, in obedience to the
shouts of Giacome, Fuentes drove the animals
over and through lhe assailants, in spite ot their
arrows; and, abandoning the rest to their fate,
carried them off al speed across the plain.
Knowing that they would be pursued by the In
dians, without making any halt except to shifi
their saddles to other horses, they drove them
on tor about sixty miles, anti this morning left
them at a watering place on the trail, called
Agua de Tomaso. Withoutgiving themselves
any time for rest, they hurried on, hoping to
meet the Spanish caravan, when theydiscovered
my camp. 1 received them kindly, taking them
into my own mess, and promised them such
aid as circumstances might put it in my power
to give.”
Upon reaching the spring where lhe Mexi
cans had left their horses, il was discovered, as
anticipated, that they had been carried off by
lhe Indians. Carson and Godey, two of Capt.
Fremont’s men, volunteered to pursue them,
and they setoff upon the trail; they returned the
next day. with fifteen horses and the scalps of
two Indians whom they had killed in the con
flict.
“They had rode about one hundred miles in
the pursuit and return, and all in thirty
hours. The time, place, object, and numbers
considered, thisexpeditionolCarson andGodey
im 3 tie considered among the boldest and most
disinterested which the annals of western ad
venture, so full of daring deeds, can present.
Two men, in a savage desert, pursue day and
night an unknown body of Indians into the de
files ot an unknown mountain—attack them on
sight, without counting numbers—and defeat
them in an instant—and what for? To punish
the robbers of the desert, and lo avenge the
wrongs of Mexicans whom they did not know.
I repeal, it was Carson and Godey who did
this—the former an American, born in the Boon
slick county of Missouri; the latter a French
man, born in St. Louis—and both trained to
western enterprise from early life.”
Here we cannot refrain trom paying lo Cap
tain Fremont our unfeigned respect for the con
stant exhibition, in his narrative, of two quali
ties, which we doubt not accompanied him
through thejourneying? ot which that narrative
is a record. We allude to his unaffected mo
desty when he speaks, which he very seldom
does, of himself; and his generosity, which
never allows him to pass over without due no
tice and fitting praise the services of even the
humblest sharer ol his perils and privations.
These qualities constitute the basis of an exalt
ed character; they originate in a love ol truth
and justice, and their exercise evidences a cor
rectness ot selt-appreciation which scorns to
elevate itself by .the suppression of the praise
which is justly due to another.
“ April 25.—T0-day, we had to reach lhe
Archilelle, distant seven miles, where the Mexi
can paity had been attacked ; and, leaving our
encampment early, we traversed a part of the
desert, the most sterile and repulsive that we had
yet seen. Its prominent features were dark
sierras, naked and dry; on the plains a few
slragglingshrubs, amongthem cactus ofseveral
varieties. Fuentes pointed out one called by
lhe Spaniards bisnada, which has a juicy pulp,
slighty acid, and is ealen by the traveller to
allay thirst. Our course was generally norih;
and, after crossing an intervening ridg*, we de
scended into a sandy plain, or basin, in the
middle ot which was the grassy spot, with its
springsand willow bushes, which constitutes a
camping place in the desert, and is called lhe
Archilelle. The dead silence ot lhe place was
ominous; and, galloping rapidly up, we found
only the corpses of the two men; every thing
else was gone. They were naked, mutilated,
and pierced with arrows. Hernandez had
evidently fought, and with desperation. He
lay in advance of the willow half-faced tent
which sheltered his family, as if he had come
out to meet danger, and to repulse it from that
asylum. One ol his handsand both of 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. Os
the women no trace could be found, and it was
evident they had been carried off captive. A
little lap-dog, which had belonged to Pablo’s
mother, remained with the dead bodies, and
was frantic with joy at seeing Pablo; the,
poor child, was frantic with grief, and filled
the air w ilh lamentations fbrhis father and mo
ther. Mt padre! Mimadre! was his incessant
cry. When we beheld this pitiable sight, and
pictured to overselves the fate of two women,
carried off by savages so brutal and so loath
some, all compunction for the scalped Indian
ceased; and we rejoiced that Carson and
Godey had been able to give so useful a lesson
to these American Arabs, who lie in wait to
murder and plunder the innocent 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 ot
a pole planted at the spring, ihat the approach
ing caravan might learn the fate ol their triends.
In commemoration of the event, we called the
place Aguade Hernandez— Hernandez’s spring.
By observation its latitude was 35° 51m. 215.”
“Travellers,” says Captain F., (May 4,)
“through countries affording water and timber
can have no conception of our intolerable
thirst while journeying over the hot yellow
sands of this elevated country, where the heated
air seems to be eniirely deprived of moisture.
We ate occasionally the bisnada. and moisten
ed our mouths with the acid of thesourdock,
(rumex venosus.) Hourly expecting to find
waler, we continue ! to press on until towards
midnight, when, after a hard and uninterrup
ted march of sixteen hours, our wild mules
began idnning ahead; and in a mile or two
we came to a bold running stream —so keen
is the sense of that animal, in these desert
regions, in scenting at a distance this necessary
of life.”
“ May s.—On account ofour animals, it was
necessary to remain to-day at this place. In
dians crowded numerously around us in the
mo-ning; and we were obliged to keep arms in
hand al! day to keep them out ol lhe camp.—
They began to‘urround the horses, which, for
the convenience of grass, we were guarding a
little above on the river. These were immedi
ately driven in, and kept close to the camp.
“ In the darkness of the night we had m? '
a very had encampment, onr fires being
manded by a rocky bluff within 50 ya- c ? ln '
notwithstanding, we had the river -ds; but
thickets of willows on lhe other .- and small
times during the day the carr st-le. Several
the Indians; but peace bei 1 " -f was insulted by
simply on the defensive --g Our cbject, I kept
were on the bottoms -’ Some ol the Indians
from theblnfts ■ p > ftn d others haranguing us
direction over ! ihe y were scattered in every
probably a thb hills. Their language being
signs sr JfMect of the Utah, with the aid ol
them ' mc oi OHr peojile could comprehend
wf ,re, T They were the same people
-o had murdered the Mexicans ; and towards
us their disposition was evidently hostile, nor
_ were we well disposed towards them. They
were barefooted, and nearly naked ; their hair
I gathered up into a knot behind; and with his
bow each man carried a quiver with thirty or
forty arrows partially drawn out. Besides
these, each held in his hand two or three arrows
for instant service. Thefr arrows are barbed
with a very clear translucent stone, a species
of opal, nearly as hard as the diamond; and
shot from their longbow are almost as effective
as a gunshot. In these Indians 1 was forcibly
struck bv an expression of countenance resem
bling that in a beast of prey; and all their ac
tions are those of wild animals. Joined to tho
restless motion of the eye, there is a want of
mind—-an absence ol thought—and an action
wholly by impulse, strongly expressed, and
which constantly recalls the similarity.
“A man who appeared tube a chief, with
two or three others, forced himself into camp,
bringing with him his arms, in spite of my
orders to the contrary. When shown our
weapons, he bored his ear with bis fingers, and
said hecouldnot hear. “Why,’’saidhe, “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 22. “So
many,” said he, showing the number, “and we
-we are a great many;” and he pointed to the
rills and mountains round about, “llyou have
vour arms, “said he, twanging his bow, “we
have these.” 1 had some difficulty in restrain
ing 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 Eng
lish; and probably the old man was nearer to
his end than he will be again before he meets it.
“Several animals had been necessarily left
behind near the camp last night; and early in
the morning, before the Indians made their ap
pearance, several men were sent to bring them
in. When I was beginning to be uneasy at
their absence, they retained with information
that they had been driven off from the trail by
Indians; and, having followed the tracks in a
short distance, they found the animals cot up
and spread Out upon bushes, in the evening I
gave a fatigued horse to some of the Indians for
a least; and the village which carried him off
refused to share with the others, who made loud
complaints from the rocks of the partial distri
bution. Many of these Indians had long sticks,
hooked at the end, which they used in hauling
out lizards and other small animals from their
holes. During the day they occasionally roast
ed and ate lizards at our fires. These belong to
the people who are generally known under the
name ot Diggers; and to these I have more par
ticularly had reference when occasionally
speaking of a people whose sole occupation is
to procure food sufficient to support existence.”
“ 1 had been engaged in arranging plants;
(May 9) and. fatigued with the heat of the day,
I fell asleep in the atlernoon, 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 know edge
rode back to the camp we had left, in search of
a lame mule, had not returned. While wc were
speaking, a smoke rose suddenly from the cot
tonwood 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 tn
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 track* of the mule,
evidently driven along by Indians, whose tracks
were on each side ot those made by the animal.
After going several miles, they came to the
mule itself, standing in some bushes, mortally
wounded in the side by an arrow, and left to
die, that it might be afterwards butchered tor
food. They also found, in another place, as
they were hunting about on the ground lor
Tabeau’s tracks, a little puddle ol blood, but
which the darkness prevented them from verify
ing. W ith these details they returned to our
camp, ami their report saddened all our hearts.
“A/awlO.— Phis morning, as soon as there \
was light enough lo follow tracks, 1 set out my
self, with Mr. F itspatrick and several men, in
search ot 1 abeau. We went to the spot where
the appearance ot puddled blood had been seen;
and this, we saw at once, had been lhe place
where he fell and died. Blood upon the leaves,
and beaten down bushes, showed that he hafl
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 lo him could
be found, except a fragment of his horse equip
ment. Horse, gun, clothes—all became the
prev of these Arabs of the New World.
“ Tabeau had been one ot our best men, and
his unhappy death spread a gloom over opr
party. Men, who have gone through such
dangers and sufferings as we had seen,
like brothers, and feel each other’s loss. To de- 5
fend and avenge each other is the deep feeling
ol all. We wished to avenge his death, but the
condition ofour horses, languishing for grass
and repose, forbade an expedition into unknown
mouniains. W« knew the tribe who had done
the mischief—the same which had been insult
ing our camp. They knew what they deserved,
and had the discretion to show themselves to
us no more. The day before, they infested our
camp; now, not one appeared; nor did we ever
afterwards see but one who even belonged to
the same tribe, and he at a distance.”
long presented to us as the terminating point of
the desert, and where lhe annual caravan from
California to New Mexico balled and recruited
for some weeks. It was a very suitable place
lo recover from the fatigue and exhaustion of a
month’s suffering in the hot and sterile desert.
The meadow was about a mile wide, and some
ten miles long, bordered by grassy hills and
mountains—some ot lhe latter rising iwo thou
sand leet, and white with snow down to the
, level ot the vegas. Its elevation above the sea
was 5,280 feet; latitude, by observation, 37°
28 min 28 sec., and in distance from where we
first struck the Spanish trail about four hundred
miles. Counting from the time we reached the
d-sert, and began to skirt, at onr descent from
Walker’s Pass in the Sierra Nevada, we had
travelled 550 miles, occupying twenty-seven
days, in that inhospitable region. In passing
before the great caravan, we had the advantage
of finding more grass, but lhe disadvantage of
finding also the marauding savages, who had
gathered down upon the trail, waiting the ap
proach ot that prey. This greatly increased
our labors, besides costing us the life of an ex
cellent man. We had to move all day in a
state ol watch, and prepared for combat—scouts
and flankers out, a front and rear division ot our
tnen, and bagg; ge animals in the centre. At
night, camp duty was severe. Those who had
. toiled all day, had lo guard, by turns, the cainp
; and the horses all night. Frequently one-third
[ ofthe Whole party were on guard at once; and
, nothing bnt this vigilance saved us from at
’ tack. We were constantly dogged by bands.
I and even whole tribes ot the marauders; and
. although Tabeau was killed, and our camp in
t tested and insulted by some, while swarms ot
. them remained on the hills and mountain sides,
t there was manifestly a consultation and calcu
; lation going on to decide the question of al
• tacking us. Having reached the resting place
I of the Vegas de Santa Clara, we had complete
f reliet from the heat an.i privations ol the desert,
; and some relaxation (rom the severity ot camp
duty. Some relaxation, and relaxation only—
, for camp guards, horse guards, and scouts are
I indispensable trom the time of leaving the fron
tiers of Missouri until we return to them.
i “On the 17th May, after 410 miles of travel
ling on a trail, which served fora road, we again
found ourselves under the necessity ot exploring
[ a track through the wilderness. The Spanish
trail had borne oft' to the southeast, crossing the
Wab-satch range. Our course led to the north
east, along the toot of that range, and leaving it
I on the right. The mountain presented itself to
, us under lhe form of several ridges, rising one
, a: ove the other, rocky, and wooded with pine
and cedar; the last ridge covered with snow.
Sevier river, flowing northwatJly to the lake ot
the same name, collects its principal waters
front this section of the Wah-satch chain. We“'
had now entered a region of great pastoral pro
mise, abounding with fine streams, the rich
bunch grass, soil that would produce wheat, and
indigenous flax growing as if it had been
sown. Consistent with the general character
ol its bordering mouniains, th s fertility of soil
and vegetation does not exlend far into the
Great Basin. Mr. Joseph Walker, our guide,
who joined us on the 12th, and who has more
knowledge ofthese parts than any man I know,
informed me that all the country to the left
was unknown to him, and that even the Digger
iribes which frequented Lake Sevier, could tel
him nothing about it.
“ May VO.-We met a band of Utah Indians,
headed by a well known chief, who had obtained
the American or English name of Walker,
which he is quoted and well known. They -
were all mounted, armed with rifles, apd use
their rifles well. The chief had a fusee,
which he had carried slung in addition lo b’
rifle. They were journeying slowly tov
the Spanish trail, to levy their usp,-’
upon the great Calitornian carr tr A?. ute
were robbers of a higher order ri. „ ,7.’'
desert. They conducted their an . l^? se ol l, '. e
form, and under the color o’ depredations with
passing through thei n »trade and toll for
tacking and killin- .• , Inslead k of a '’
taking the hor-- 6 ' affect , to. purchase
thingnom' they like, and giving some
civill’ -<ftal in return. The chief was quite
wjl t j me. He was personally acquainted
.ibis namesake, our guide, who made my
.lame known to him. He knew of my expe
f dilion of 1842; and, as tokens of friendship,
and proof that we had met, proposed an Inter
change of presents. We had no great store to
■ choose out of; so he gave me a Mexican blan-
■ kel, and I gave him a very fine one which I had
obtained at Vancouver.”
“Crossing on the 21th Mav a slight ridge
along the river, we entered a handsonje moun
tain valley covered with fine grass, and di
’ reefed our course towards a high snowy peak,,
at the foot of which lay lhe Utah Lake. On
j our right was a bed of high mouniains, their
I summits covered with snow, constituting lhe
dividing ridze between the Basin waters and
those of the Colorado. At noon we fell in with
a party of the Utah Indians—scouts from a
village which was encamped near lhe mouth of
the liver. They were armed with rifles and
their horses w#re in good condition. We en
camped near them on the Spanish fork which
is one oftheprincipal tributaries to the Jake.
Finding the Indians rather troublesome, and de
sirous to remain here a dav, we removed the
next morning further down the lake, and en
camped on a fertile bottom near the toot ot the
same mountainous ridge which borders the
Great SallJL.ake.and along which we had jour
neyed the previous September. Here the prin
cipal plants in bloom were two, which were re
markable as affording to the Snake Indians
—the one an abundant supply ol food, and lhe
other the most useful among the applications
which they use for wounds. These were lhe
kooyah plant, growing in fields of extraordinary
luxuriance, and amvollana stcllala, which, from
the experience of Mr. Walker, is the best reme
dial plant known to these Indians. A few miles
below us was another village ol Indians, from
which we obtained some fish—among them a
few salmon trout which were very much itife. *
rior in size to those along the California moun
tains. The season for taking them had not yet
arrived; but the Indians were daily expecting
them to come np out of the lake.
“ We had now accomplished an object we
had in view when leaving the Dalles ofthe Co
lumbia in November last; we had reached the
Ulah Lake; but by a route very different from
what wc had intended, and wilhout sufficient
time to make the examinations which were de
sired. It is a lake ol note in this country, under
thedominion ofthe Utahs who resort to it for
fish. Ils greatest breadth is about fifteen miles,
stretching far (o the north, narrowing as it goes,
and connecting with the Great Salt Lake. This
is the report, and which 1 believe to be correct;
but it is fresh water, while the other is not only
salt, but a saturated solution of salt; and here
is a problem which requires to be solved. It is
almost entirely surrounded by mountains, walled
on the north and east hy a high and snowy
range, which supplies to it a fan of tributary
streams.”
[Concluded in our next.] ,
Indian Intelligence.—The Arkansas Intel
ligencer of the 30th ult. states that the Indians
on the frontier are quiet and peaceable with the
exception of the Kickapoos and Camanches,
who are arrayed in arms against each other.
Ihe Camanches have said that the Kickapoos
should not hunt upon the prairies, and the latter
tribe, assisted by volunteers f rom several small i
and scattering tribes, have proceeded to the
hunt fully prepapared to meet the Camanches
in battle if they are molested. The Camanches
lately took a “little king” of the Kickapoos
prisoner, and detained him some time intending
to pm him to death, but finally released him.—
He is very popular with his tribe, and has gone
out with the hunting party to revenge himself
upon the Camanches.
The Intelligencer learns that the Mexicans
have lately had a hard battle with the Caman
■ h?s, killing one hundred of them and taking
prisoner the wife of the principal war-chief.