The Return--Suffering for Food--A Royal Feast--On the Lewis
Fork--Fort Hall--Division of the Party--Arrival at Dalles--The Sierra
Nevada--Preparations for the Passage Through the Mountains--Fremont's
Account.
The explorers remained in camp the next day and boiled down some of the
water from the lake, thereby obtaining considerable salt. The following
morning was clear and beautiful and they returned by the same route,
ascending the valley of Bear River toward the north.
The expected Fitzpatrick and the provisions did not show themselves and
the party began to suffer for food. When their situation became serious,
Fremont permitted a horse to be killed and then all enjoyed one of their
old fashioned feasts.
But this supply could not last long, and still they failed to meet their
expected friends. After a time they encountered an Indian who had killed
an antelope, which they quickly purchased and another feast made every
heart glad. By way of dessert, a messenger galloped into camp with
the news that Fitzpatrick was close at hand with an abundant supply of
provisions.
The next morning the two parties united and continued the journey
together. After leaving the Bear River Valley they crossed over to
Lewis's Fork of the Columbia. At night the camp fires of the Indian
twinkled like so many stars along the mountain side; but they were all
friendly and the tired explorers slept peacefully.
Pushing onward they reached the upper waters of Lewis's Fork, where
snow began to fall. However, they were quite near Fort Hall and they
therefore went into camp, while Fremont rode to the fort and procured
several horses and oxen.
The weather continued severe, but Fremont determined to push on, despite
the hardships which he knew awaited them all. As a matter of prudence,
however, he sent back eleven of his men, leaving about twenty with which
he pursued his journey down the river valley in the direction of the
Columbia. The Dalles was reached in safety where Kit Carson was left in
command of the party, while Fremont with a few companions pushed on to
Vancouver Island, where he procured some provisions. On his return, the
whole party united and made their way to Klamath Lake, in what was then
Oregon Territory. When their observations were completed, they took up
their march in the direction of California.
After a long and wearisome journey, attended by much suffering for the
lack of food, they came in sight of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, which
were seen to be covered with snow. The men were in a sorry plight. The
provisions were nearly gone; they could not turn back, and there seemed
but two alternatives before them: to push on through the mountains or
remain where they were and starve to death. Such men were not the ones
to fold their hands and lie down in helpless despair. Accordingly, they
made their preparations for the terrible venture.
The snow was so deep that it was impossible to get forward without
the aid of snowshoes. Devoting themselves to the manufacture of these
indispensable articles, a few were sent ahead to learn how far it was
necessary to break a path for the animals. After a laborious passage,
it was found that nine miles would have to be prepared in that fashion.
Carson was with this advance and when they halted, he saw in the
distance the green Sacramento Valley. Although nearly twenty years had
passed since he visited that section, he recognized it at once. Away
beyond towered the white peaks of the Coast Range. Carson was the only
man in the party who really knew where they were.
This passage of Fremont and his men through the Sierra Nevada Mountains
is one of the most extraordinary achievements in American history.
Carson himself took such a prominent part in it, that it seems only just
that Fremont's thrilling account should be quoted.
"The people were unusually silent; for every man knew that our
enterprise was hazardous, and the issue doubtful.
"The snow deepened rapidly, and it soon became necessary to break
a road. For this service, a party of ten was formed, mounted on the
strongest horses; each man in succession opening the road on foot, or on
horseback, until himself and his horse became fatigued, when he stepped
aside; and, the remaining number passing ahead, he took his station in
the rear.
"The camp had been all the day occupied in endeavoring to ascend the
hill, but only the best horses had succeeded; the animals, generally,
not having sufficient strength to bring themselves up without the packs;
and all the line of road between this and the springs was strewed with
camp stores and equipage, and horses floundering in snow. I therefore
immediately encamped on the ground with my own mess, which was in
advance, and directed Mr. Fitzpatrick to encamp at the springs, and send
all the animals, in charge of Tabeau, with a strong guard, back to the
place where they had been pastured the night before. Here was a small
spot of level ground, protected on one side by the mountain, and on
the other sheltered by a little ridge of rock. It was an open grove of
pines, which assimilated in size to the grandeur of the mountain, being
frequently six feet in diameter.
"Tonight we had no shelter, but we made a large fire around the trunk of
one of the huge pines; and covering the snow with small boughs, on which
we spread our blankets, soon made ourselves comfortable. The night was
very bright and clear, though the thermometer was only at 10 degrees. A
strong wind which sprang up at sundown, made it intensely cold; and this
was one of the bitterest nights during the journey.
"Two Indians joined our party here; and one of them, an old man,
immediately began to harangue us, saying that ourselves and animals
would perish in the snow; and that, if we would go back, he would show
us another and a better way across the mountain. He spoke in a very loud
voice, and there was a singular repetition of phrases and arrangement of
words, which rendered his speech striking, and not unmusical.
"We had now begun to understand some words, and, with the aid of signs,
easily comprehended the old man's simple ideas. 'Rock upon rock--rock
upon rock--snow upon snow--snow upon snow,' said he; 'even if you get
over the snow, you will not be able to get down from the mountains.' He
made us the sign of precipices, and showed us how the feet of the horses
would slip, and throw them off from the narrow trails led along their
sides. Our Chinook, who comprehended 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 I wouldn't care to
die among them; but here'--and he looked around into the cold night and
gloomy forest, and, drawing his blanket over his head, began again to
lament.
"Seated around the tree, the fire illuminating the rocks and the tall
boils of the pines round about, and the old Indian haranguing, we
presented a group of very serious faces.
"February 5.--The night had been too cold to sleep, and we were up very
early. Our guide was standing by the fire with all his finery on;
and seeing him shiver in the cold, I threw on his shoulders one of my
blankets. We missed him a few minutes afterwards, and never saw him
again. He had deserted. His bad faith and treachery were in perfect
keeping with the estimate of Indian character, which a long intercourse
with this people had gradually forced upon my mind.
"While a portion of the camp were occupied in bringing up the baggage to
this point, the remainder were busied in making sledges and snowshoes. I
had determined to explore the mountain ahead, and the sledges were to be
used in transporting the baggage.
"Crossing the open basin, in a march of about ten miles we reached the
top of one of the peaks, to the left of the pass indicated by our guide.
Far below us, dimmed by the distance, was a large, snowless valley,
bounded on the western side, at the distance of about a hundred miles,
by a low range of mountains, which Carson recognized with delight as
the mountains bordering the coast. 'There,' said he, 'is the little
mountain--it is fifteen years ago since I saw it; but I am just as sure
as if I had seen it yesterday.' Between us, then, and this low coast
range, was the valley of the Sacramento; and no one who had not
accompanied us through the incidents of our life for the last few
months, could realize the delight with which at last we looked down
upon it. At the distance of apparently thirty miles beyond us were
distinguished spots of prairie; and a dark line, which could be traced
with the glass, was imagined to be the course of the river; but we were
evidently at a great height above the valley, and between us and the
plains extended miles of snowy fields and broken ridges of pine covered
mountains.
"It was late in the day when we turned towards the camp; and it grew
rapidly cold as it drew towards night. One of the men became fatigued
and his feet began to freeze, and building a fire in the trunk of a dry
old cedar, Mr. Fitzpatrick remained with him until his clothes could
be dried, and he was in a condition to come on. After a day's march of
twenty miles, we straggled into camp, one after another, at nightfall;
the greater number excessively fatigued, only two of the party having
ever travelled on snowshoes before.
"All our energies were now directed to getting our animals across the
snow; and it was supposed that, after all the baggage had been drawn
with the sleighs over the trail we had made, it would be sufficiently
hard to bear our animals.
"At several places, between this point and the ridge, we had discovered
some grassy spots, where the wind and sun had dispersed the snow from
the sides of the hills, and these were to form resting place to support
the animals for a night in their passage across. On our way across, we
had set on fire several broken stumps and dried trees, to melt holes in
the snow for the camp. Its general depth was five feet; but we passed
over places where it was twenty feet deep, as shown by the trees.
"With one party drawing sleighs loaded with baggage, I advanced today
about four miles along the trail, and encamped at the first grassy spot,
where we expected to bring our horses. Mr. Fitzpatrick, with another
party, remained behind, to form an intermediate station between us and
the animals.
"Putting on our snowshoes, we spent the afternoon in exploring a road
ahead. The glare of the snow, combined with great fatigue, had rendered
many of the people nearly blind; but we were fortunate in having some
black silk handkerchiefs, which, worn as veils, very much relieved the
eye.
"In the evening I received a message from Mr. Fitzpatrick, acquainting
me with the utter failure of his attempt to get our mules and horses
over the snow--the half hidden trail had proved entirely too slight to
support them, and they had broken through, and were plunging about or
lying half buried in snow. He was occupied in endeavoring to get
them back to his camp; and in the mean time sent to me for further
instructions. I wrote to him to send the animals immediately back to
their old pastures; and, after having made mauls and shovels, turn in
all the strength of his party to open and beat a road through the snow,
strengthening it with branches and boughs of the pines.
"February 12.--We made mauls, and worked hard at our end of the road all
the day. The wind was high, but the sun bright, and the snow thawing. We
worked down the face of the hill, to meet the people at the other end.
Towards sundown it began to grow cold, and we shouldered our mauls, and
trudged back to camp.
"February 13.--We continued to labor on the road; and in the course of
the day had the satisfaction to see the people working down the face of
the opposite hill, about three miles distant. During the morning we had
the pleasure of a visit from Mr. Fitzpatrick, with the information that
all was going on well. A party of Indians had passed on snowshoes, who
said they were going to the western side of the mountain after fish.
This was an indication that the salmon were coming up the streams;
and we could hardly restrain our impatience as we thought of them, and
worked with increased vigor.
"I was now perfectly satisfied that we had struck the stream on which
Mr. Sutter lived, and turning about, made a hard push, and reached
the camp at dark. Here we had the pleasure to find all the remaining
animals, fifty-seven in number, safely arrived at the grassy hill near
the camp; and here, also, we were agreeably surprised with the sight of
an abundance of salt. Some of the horse guard had gone to a neighboring
hut for pine nuts, and discovered unexpectedly a large cake of very
white fine grained salt, which the Indians told them they had brought
from the other side of the mountain; they used it to eat with their pine
nuts, and readily sold it for goods.
"On the 19th, the people were occupied in making a road and bringing up
the baggage; and, on the afternoon of the next day, February 20, 1844,
we encamped with all the materiel of the camp, on the summit of the pass
in the dividing ridge, 1,000 miles by our travelled road from the Dalles
of the Columbia.
"February 21.--We now considered ourselves victorious over the mountain;
having only the descent before us, and the valley under our eyes, we
felt strong hope that we should force our way down. But this was a case
in which the descent was not facile. Still, deep fields of snow lay
between, and there was a large intervening space of rough looking
mountains, through which we had yet to wind our way. Carson roused me
this morning with an early fire, and we were all up long before day,
in order to pass the snow fields before the sun should render the crust
soft. We enjoyed this morning a scene at sunrise, which, even here,
was unusually glorious and beautiful. Immediately above the eastern
mountains was repeated a cloud formed mass of purple ranges, bordered
with bright yellow gold; the peaks shot up into a narrow line of crimson
cloud, above which the air was filled with a greenish orange; and over
all was the singular beauty of the blue sky. Passing along a ridge which
commanded the lake on our right, of which we began to discover an outlet
through a chasm on the west, we passed over alternating open ground and
hard crusted snow fields which supported the animals, and encamped on
the ridge after a journey of six miles. The grass was better than we
had yet seen, and we were encamped in a clump of trees, twenty or thirty
feet high, resembling white pine."