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Three dollars fu r m.]
Volume XIII.J
AMERICAN F.N I ERPRIZE.
[from THE MISSOURI O AZETTE.j
Wf lall week promised our read
ers an account oi the journey of the
gen *e uen attached to the N"W'-
Y< ik Eur Company, from the Pa
cific Ocean to this place; we now
lay i’ before oar readers as collect
ed i rom the gentlemen thetnfeives.
On the 29th June, iBl 2. Mr.
R hut Stuart, one of the Pacific
Eur Company, wi h two Erench
nu, Me if s. Ramsey Crooks and
}* hert M‘Clelan, left the Pacific
Un-an with despatches lor Ncw-
Ywtk.
After afeending the Columbia ri
ver 90 miles, John Day. one of rtic
huM-ts, became perfectly infant,
and was sent back to the main ellab
-I.finnan, under the charg. of fnnie
In. i.ins; the remaining fix pursued
their voyage upwards of 900 onles,
viiui ifit y happily met w ; th Mr. J.i
fipit Miller on his way to the mouth
of the Columbia ; he had been con
fiJerabiy to the fiufh and raff 4-
inong the nations called Blaikarms
and A apahavs. by the latter of
v, ho ;i lie was robhei; in conle
quence of which he luffereel almost
tvi ry privation human nature is ca
pable of, and was in a Hate of ftar
vat ion and alrnofl nudity when the
parry met him
1 hey now had fifteen horfc>. and
miriut-d rheir journey for the Atlan
tic world, without any uncommon
accident until within 200 miles of
the Rocky mountains, where they
t: forunatcly met with a party of
Crow Indians, who behaved with
r.ioft unbounded insolence, 5c were
sh l y prevented from cutting off
toe party by obfetving them well
armed 5; conitanrly on their guard.
They however pursued on their
tic.: k fix day* and finally (tol. eve
ry hone belonging to the party
•borne idea of the situation t>f
tit- !e men may be conceived, when
we r.ik’ into conn deration that they
were flow on foot and had a j >ur
rev of 2200 milts before them,
1500 of which entirely unknown,
es they intended and profeouted it
cm fiderably south of VKiFs Lewis
and Clark’s route: the imp flihili.
ty oi carrying any quantity of pro
visions on their backs, in addition
to their anmnition and bedding,
will occur, at fu ll view. The dan
ger to lie apprehended from (larva
tion was emminent.
They however pat the befl face
open their profpedh, and pursued
their route towards the Rocky
tr. mntains at the head waters of the
Colorado or Spanilh River, and
Rood their c urfe E. S. E. until
they ftrudt the iie.id waters of the
great fiver Platte, which they unde
viatingly followed to its mouth
It may be observed, that this River
for about geo miles is navigable for
a barge; from thence to the Otto
village, within 45 miles ol its en
trance into the Miffout i, it is a mere
bed of sand without vratet fufiicieat
to float a skin canoe.
Erom the Otto village to St.
Louis the party performed their
Vs ON IXOB'.
PUBLISHED (weekm-) BY DAVID P. IIILLIIOUSE.
WASHINGTON, (Oco.) —SATURDAY, AUGUST 7, 1813.
j voyage in a canoe furnlflicd them
I by the natives am! arrived here in
perLd health on the sOth of lull
month. Our travellers did not
: hear of rite war with England until
they ('ante to the Ottos; thefepeo
ple told them that the Sliawafioe
Prophet had fc-nt them a wampum,
inviting them toj >in the war again ft
. the Americans: they anfwored the
| intfTenger, that they could make
’ more bv trapping beaver th..t; tnuk
ing war against the Americans.
After cr< {Trig the hills (Rocky
mountains) tlu v fell in with .1 i,t:..1!
; P rt y of Snake Indians, from wln in
■ they purchaled a boric. who re’iev
ed them from any further carriage
c.f food, ami this faithful f<;ur f 1 t
ed companion performed that ser
vice to the Otto village. I hey
wintered on the river Platte about
600 miles from its mouth.
Bv information received from
these gentlemen, it appears that a
journey acrid's the coutimnt < i N
America might be performed in a
waggon, rluii being noobilrvcti n
in tit whole route that any perfoit
would dare to rail a m >uriiai:i, in
addition to its b;ing much the molt
din cf and Hi >it one to go from this
place to the mouth of the Columbia
River. Any future p.my who may
undertake this j >urney, and ate tol
erably acquainted with the different
places, where it wou'd he ntrefl.ny
to lay up a f.nall ftockoi provni ms,
would not he impede t, as in ail
probability they would ni t meet
with an InJian to interrupt their
pr>gre!s; although on the other
route more north, there arc almolt
infurmountnble bani.-i'S
Meflers Hum, Crooks, Miller,
M’Clcllan, M’lCenzie, with about
GO men wh 1 left St Louis in the
beginning of March. 1811, for the
Pacific ocean, reache ! the Arieoras
village on the 13 r* 1 day of June,
where, meeting with foine Aintri
can hunters who had been the pro
ceeding year on the waters ci the
Columbia with Mr. llenry, and
who giving I’m h an account of the
route by which they pafT and, as be
ing tar preferable in point of procur
ing with facility an abundant sup
ply of food at all times, as well as
avoiding even the pr >bahiiity of fee
ing their enemies the Black Fc t,
titan by the trade of caprs Lewis
and Clark ; the gentlemen of the
expedition at once abandoned th> ir
former ideas of palling by the fails
of the Miff >uri, and made the ne
o ffaty arrangments for commenc
ing their journey ever land from
this place.
Eighty horses were purchased
and equipped by tlie 1 7th July, anJ
on the day following they and parted
I from the Aricoias. sixty perions in
; number, all on foot except the part
; ners of the company. In this situ
ation they proceeded !• >r five days,
having crofted in that time two con
i tidtrabh* dreams which joined the
1 Miff.uri below the Aricoras, when
j finding an inland tribe of Indians
| calling themlelves Shawhays but
known among the whites by the ap
* ••dial; n cf Cheyennes, we procer
i eu fn m these pe< pb an acccfiion
I of forty horses, which tiiabltii the
• gentlemen to fuinifli a In rlc for < v
•< ry tw> men St cling ab< ut W
I S. W.th<\ paflid tl:e liuall bratich-
I es of the Big River, the 1. tit I\iif
fonri above its forks, aid Uvtr.ilof
the tributary Breams oi Powder
River, one of which followed up
they found a bund of the Abfaioca
or Crow nation, tncampeii on iis
hat k'-. at the foot ol the Big hem
pw unt.iin.
F< r an’ur.itior. and fume fmail
articles, they exchanged .ill tfuu
Line for f> utul hoiks with il.ele
fivages; tor although tins land
war alb wed, by every <>n< who liad
A1 ■ ■ w:i them : be by far the hefi
behaved of their tribe, it v.as only
by an u:..du rable determination of
the gent I toeti to avoid jtr.pareiz
it.g tftc ( deity of the party without
at the fame tm-nunt lubmitting it
to intentional iniubs, ts at thev left
this cm p (not pi fie fling a greater
t r< e b at: the whites) without com
ing to p!nv
in* 1 uLmce front the Aricoras
to this in. nt tain is abi ut 45c n.iies
( vei an ixtnn.e tUy;: touk.ly
no tiu ans mi 1 O't g. b flic i>nt lup
jl. 1 I water ;lui 1 mii.g th- twen
ty <ll hr da vs ti.y vtr pitting to
the br(< < f the mi uMatti, :h- \vm c
otrlv i - a v iv i- w inttai vev witla ut
abunuiit.ee oi E. fialoe meat.
I hree days *o< k tin in over ti e
plains of Mail River (tin-name giv
en tiie U : Hon. above the moun
tain) wbiifi following for a mum
Ik r of data rln y lift ir uhtie it was
rcviuced to yard i > in wici'h, and
the lame evi mt g tcached fi t banks
of the Cos oraoo nr Spanish river.
Finning fl cks ol Buftaloe at the
• ini of the third day’s travel 011 this
it ream, the- party psfied a week in
d:\iig Bi.ftnloe meat lor flic left
due oi (hi voyage, ; s in ail proba
hi'irv tlu le were the lafl animals of
the kind they would meet with—
From this camp in one day. they
crofted the dividing mountain at and
pitched their tuts 01 II lacks
Fork of Mad liver, when it was
near 150 feet broad, ar.il in eight
davs more having patted ftvcral ftti
pendous ridges they encan pen in
the vicinity of the eftabl fhment
made by Mr. Henry, i:i the tali of
ißro, on a fotic of about 70 yards
wide, bearing tlie* name erf that g< n
tlemaa ; having travelled front die
in; : n Miliburi about 900 milts in
54 t'avs.
Here, abandoning thtir horse?,.
the* party conftruded caroes at.d
dcfctxided tl.e Snake or Ky 1 ‘e
riem river (made bv the innclion of
Mad river l.ntth ut Henry’s f< ik)
400 miles, in ihe cntnfe of which
they wtie obligee! by the intirvcn
tion of iinpaflafile rapids to make
a numb’ r of p itages. till i t length
they found the riv* r cot fined be
tween glocn.y precipices at Iraft
20c feet pel pm: icular, whole banks
for the mofl pi’rt were washed by
tliis tut Indent fir*, am, w Inch for thir
ty milis was a con it oal lucctfin-n
of ca‘ ades and rapids Mr.
Crcwk’s canoe ’at ‘pill ;.r.d upiet
[ Payable half yearly.
in the middle of a rapi.!, hv which
one mart vv3’ drowned, tianx and An
te nio ( l.ippin, and that gentleman
saved liim'i■!♦ emly *\ extrmei x< r
tions in fevitiii. 4 FVoai the repeat-*
ed It ft t'V tilt- up!et:ii.g e.l cat.i e3
ou 1 Hock 1 I provHu... ... Ti w re
duced ro a bale* fuffi i y t live
days, totally i.-rn'ratit of the e in
try where they we re, an-'unlur 1 H
ful in meeting with any of tiu* na
tives. from whom they could hope
for information.
I T able t> procee*d by \v:t;r,
Mefirs M’Kir.zL, M*('lel!ati and
Reed, let out m different dir. cl: ns
iTidir i"g down the river, lor ttie
nut pole id finding and htiy
i. g itorfes. Mr. (toa-.ks aneJ a tew
men returned t * Henry's fork h r
th< le they had I. ft, w bile Mr I lunt
rtn ained will: tlk* main b■!v of the
nu n in trapping b aver ‘or thi ir
support. Mr. C finding the dif
taii.e much greater by land than
he had coLtempla'ed, teturi.eel at
the end ol d.itc days, where want
ing live more, expecting relief from
below, the near approach <l winter
made him determine on dip fi'ing
pllfurpeiflu -usarticles and pr. tend
ing on toot. Accordingly on be
ictfi of November, Mtff s Uurit
and Cr*:eks fit out each with 18
men, o;.e party on the north jnd
the other on the south fide of ‘he
river.
Mr. Hunt was fortunate hi find
ing Indians, with abundance of tai
tn n and fome hoiks, but Mr.
Cr. Us law but few, ain ::i gener
al too rnikrxbly poor to ; ti- n! liic
party much affiliance; thiite-ni
days travel bioughr the ‘at'ei t ia
high range e.t mountains thr-iugh
which the rivtr lor. id ?. pdf’
and the bank heir g th.ir en'v ■ t ide
tht y Hill, by Imib.it g 1 -ver ]:. ints
of ro< ky ric'ges jrrojtitmg into tfie
fire,.m, kept as r.tar it a pt.fi: le,
till in the evening <H tht 30 I)c
----ctmber in.paff.ih:e pricipircs nj im
rntnfe height put an end to ail
hopes of following the margin of
•he war-rcourle, which here was
nit more than forty yards wide,
ran with incredible velocity and
was wirh.il fi> founiingly tumultu
ous. th it even had the oppe.fitc
bank bee n fit for the put ante, at
te tt pr at rafting would have been
pci'icd r.r.i'ne! ~ as they could 01 ly
Have the indue 1 intnt of t ruling in
v. watery grave a furies of harelfhips
and privations, to which thenvHl
hardy and determined of the hu
nrm r.ie:e muli have f “and himlelf
iaadvquaJe. Ehey attempted to
climb tilt mountains, Hi 1 Item <;u
puiliing cn, but after afeem'ing for
I alt a elay. tin y eifeovered t • their
! rre>\v that they were not half wry
to the lummit, and the fnenv alrea
dy too deep fer men in their emaci
ated Hate to proceed further
Regaining the River bank, they
returned tip and on the thud . ~y
met with Mr. Hunt and party, w jt!i
one horle proceeding ekv.v i uaie':; ;
a c;n:oe was loi-n made of a horfc
hiele and i:i it tmnl'portcd what
ni. at thv*v ceud.l Ipare to .Mr.
Crock’s flyrvir.tr ‘olluvcrf, who lor
[ Number 650.