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Show and character. At that time it was not known whether that pass waa wi thin our territory ?r in Mexican territory. Mr. Fremont, therefore, wished to extend his expJorntions tO that pRSS for the p~:~rpose of nscertaining- its locality and_ character with a view to a road to Oregon, and the mcrease of geographical l_mowledge. ~-fe ~vas thee employed on topographical duty, havmg JUSt returned_ fr?m. tw_o years of great labc_>r. on ~he Upper MisSLSSippi, assistant to the distmgu1shed as.tronomer, Mr. Nicollet, who, by his great exertions during the five years_that h~ was e_ng~ge~ there, broucrht o_n a prostration wh1ch ended 111 h1s death. Mr. Fremont solicitecl and obtained from Colonel Abert the privilege of going to the South Pass, and_ he made his examinations there jn a way to satisfy every inquiry. His descriptio~ o( it was sn.tisf~tctory to all minds: and the readmg of that descnption now will show the ease with which the mount tl.in can be passed n.t that place: ".au!!;ust i, 1 -12.-\V e left our encampm<>nt with the rising !illll. A>~ wr ro ~e from the h<>d of the crrck, the snow line or tile 111nuntain stretch r ei ~raru.lly beforf: u~2 the white peaks glitt.e rin~ in the sun. They had bt-en hillclen in tire dark: weath er or tlr f- l a ~t f<'W da}s, and it harl hrrn snowing on them wlulc it rained on ll"· \Vc crossed a ridge, and again struck tllf~ Sweet Water- here a beautiful, swift stream, with a more oprn vallt'Y, timbt'red with hrech and cottonwood. it now I.Jcgan to lo ·c itself in the 1nany E'mall forks which male<~ it · head; and we continued up the main stream until near noon , when we left it a few mile", to make our noon halt on a :: rnall creek arnoug thr hills, from which the stream issues by a !<lllall openin!?. Wrthin was a beautiful gra•,;y ;:pot, covered with nn opt n grove or Jar!?e beech trees, amr>ug whtch I rouud se\·c ral plant~ that l had not pn:viou::ly seen. The aftr rnoon wac; cloudy, witl1 scpralts of rain; but the weather became fine at s un~et , whrn we a~ain encarnprd on the 8wect \Vater, within a few miles oftlw SouTH P.-.s s. The conntry over which we have pa~;;e d to -day cont'i ·ts princi pally of the compact nlica :-:: late, which crops out on all the ridtie~ , 111aki11g the uplaruls very rocky and slaty. In the cscarpement;; which uord cr the creeks, it is E'een altrrJaatin ~ watha li!.(ht-colored granite, at an inclination of 4.5°, About>.ix miles from the encampllleut brou!!htus to the sum. ntit. The a::ccnt had been so a:radual, that with the intimate knowledge po;;se:<~;ecl hy Car:::on, who had rnacfe thi country lri;; home for :;cventren yPars, we wr- re ohli.,cd to watch very .closely to find the place at which we hrul"rr::.ched the cuirninatin~ p<~int. From the impret:sions on my mind at tlris time, (ami .-ui.Jsequcntly on our rt>tmn,) r >-hould c~mparc the elevation whach we surmounted at tlrr f'ac;s to the aseent from the avenue to the Capitol hill at Wa::hinrrton. The ·width of the Pa.,s, or rath er the width of thr de~)l'ession in ,the mountains which makes tlais ~ap in ils chain i;; about twe!llY 111il e~ , and in that witltla are many crossir:g-places. ·L rnatiH_Ie, (wlaerr. cros, ed,) 4'2° 211 3'211; longitude, 109° 26'. .Eie.vatron ahove the sea', 7,-190 feet. Distance fr0111 1 he mouth of tile Kanz:u•, by tire common travl'iiaa!? route g32 miles· distance from the mouth of the Gnat Plattr, ·2 rnil cs." ' The whole distance over which Mt·. Fremont paRsed is laid down upon his topo~mphical ma p of the_ road, and a profile map of the travelinoroute lllu ~trates this d escriptio n, and shows that the elevatiOn to be surmounted is distributed over ~o lo ng a distance that the ascent is in reality felt 1n no part. The exploration in this first expedition extended from the frontier of .Missouri, near Independence, up _the Great Platte, and both its forks, and down to Hs mouth~ and _showed it to be a country good for a road , With suuable places for military stations and settlements. · Having returned from that expedition, Mr. Fremont was p~ompt~d to engage in a larger one. He sought and obtam_ed permission to go from the S?ut~ Pass to the ude-water region of the Columbia nver, fo~ t~e purpose of ~ur~e_ying the country and asc~rta~mng the pract1Cab1hty of opening a commumcatwn to what was then our principal 2 1 point of possession on the Pacific coast. He madethat examination, and rerorted it in his j o urno ls, and in mnps, both in profile and topo~ntphi ea lly. The whole route has been laid down by him in both \vays, and were printed by order of th e Senate. To save uscl€ss inqui6es, [wil l add that these maps are not on hand for distribution-only a fe \v copies for use. This second exploration was on the line of the J{anzas, to its head, finding a country with many places fit (or settlement, and abounding with fine grass, and coal among its mineral produc ts. Wild flax and wild clove r (espcwcette) w e re abunda nt toward~ the heads o f this river. R e turning from that expedition, he we n~ to California, seeking a new route by whic h to r eturn home, unwillin~ to lose any time by going over ground over whic h h e had ever trnveled before. Believing- in the p racticabi lity of a. route further 1 south than the- S outh Pass , he undertook to ex- 1 plore a n ew route , which threw him upon California , and for the .first time made known to the country, with any accuracy, the g reat features of the Pacific slope of our continent. I pass by I all his great discoveries in California during that romantic expedition , to come to the immediate o bJect of my inquiry-new p~lsses in the Rocky Moun-tains- and show no less than three of them, all south of the South Pass-then traversed and des c ribed by .him. I say traversed and d escribed, for they were known before-known to the c h ildren of the mountains-the thirty brave and faithful men who were his companions in all his expeditions. Approaching the Rocky M ountains from the west, as he returned from that second exped ition, and coming through a pass in north tatitude 41° 20', about 1° south of the South Pass , he says : "Ye!>teniay anrl to-day (.Tune 11 and 12, 18-14) JVe have had hcfore our eye,; the laigh rn()untains whi ch di vide the Pacific from the Miil!;iR:>iJJpi waters; and ente ailll! here among the lower !' pur~ or font hills of the range, the face of 1 the country began to improve with nra~ical rapid ity. Nnt only tile river bottorrtR, hut the hill:-=, were cove n•d with grass; ancl, arnoh!:; the usual varied jl01·a of the mountain re~ion, th ese w<· rc occa"ionallyblue with the showy bloom I of a lu.pinns. In tire course of the rnoming we had the fir.-t glad view of buffitlo, and welcomed the appr·arance nf twO old hulls with ;ts much joy as if tlary had be<·n rn e ~s<'ngers from home. A bantl of elk broke out of a n P i~h borin~ grove; antr~ lopes Wt~ re runnin!.( over the hills; and on the oppo.,ite river plains hc• rd,; of hufralo were 11li ::- i11~ clouds or du;;t. The coun try here appcan·d rnrne variou<!ly stocked with game than any part of the Rocky Mountains we hall vi:::itl'd; ~ncl its abundance is owing to its e xcellent pasiurage, aud lts dange ro u~ passage as a war-l,:ronnd. J "Juue 13.-Thcre wa snow 11ear our mountain camp, ~ut the morning was hr au1ifully clear. I~ raving St. Vrain's J f~rk, (a water of the Upper Colorado,) we took our way dtrectly towards the swnmit of the dividin" rid"!'. The bot-toms of the streams and level plains we reo woo" ded with as-pr os; and as Wt' neared the crest of the mountain WI' en tcretl again the pin ~y r?gion. \Yc had a delightfulmorraingls ride, the groun~ atlordrng us an excellent bricll r- ~-oatll, ancl reached the summlt towards midday, at an elevation of eight thou, and fe et auove tlrn level of the sea. \tVith joy and exultation w~ saw our.>elve!i once more on the top of the Roc ky ;\loarnt: uns, nnd beheld a little strram t«kirw it-; cour;;e towarda the ri,;ing sun. ft was an affiuent of tlle north fork of the G_rcar. Platte, called PtLllam's fork, from the ruwre of a trader ktlled thf're some years a~o by the Gros Ve11h·e Indians-a pretty stream-and we dc,-ccndcd to noon upon it." That pass, I said, is about one deo-ree south of the South Pass; and altho ucrh at a; elevation of eight thousand feet, yet th;t elevation, as in the c_ase of all the passes, is distributed over a long I hne, and presents no character of abruptness. The abundance of gnme was an index to the character of , the country. Game only frequents countries ri~h in pnsturage; a nd where there 1s pasturage th_ere Is fertile soil and a home for man , and d o mestic cattle and ho~ses, as well as for wild animals. From th is pass he w ent to the rive~ P ltttte , which is there a handsome stream. Tha t n ver was found always to present large and broad bottoms, about seven tho usand feet above the level of the sea , and good for cult ivatic_>n. His d escription of th_is r iver w ill show what }{lnd of country was found 111 these mountains at so great an elevation : 3 I hu nte r~ nnrl trapper;;, wrrc unknown to scirnce and to history. \>V(' th l'n~lo rc_changcd our cour;:c, ru1d tnrn cd up the valley or the Plattl·, tnstead of going down it." I now read the description which he gives of these parks-a name translated from the Indian which sign ifies bullalo lodge: ' North ParT.:. "T~e valley (of th1~ Pl:~ttr) narrow<'d aii we n!icr ndcd, a_ud pt es.ently dl'!.(en rratert rnto a !.(orgt>, through wlaidr the rr ver pa ':- t~d as through a !{ate. We entr•red it, awl found ou.rscl vt:s m _the North Park-a beautiful cir<'u lar \'alley of th~rty na_ales ?aanaetcr, walled in all rotrrHJ with :.nowy mountarn;:, rr_ch _rn gra!>s and watc· r, fri nged with piue on the nwuntarra Sllles below the snow-line, aud a paradr~•· to all grazing auimals. · \Y<> halted for t he ni!!ht juH within the gat,•, and exrwcll·d, a;; usual, to sre herds of humllo ; hut an Arapahoe ~illa!!'e hacl hecn heforr u><, aiiCl no1 one was to be seen. LaiiiUde of tire !•racawpmeJat, ·10° 52' 44 '· ciP vation by the I.Joi ling point, 7,72:J fc<'t. It is from tl;i ~ elevated ~ove,_and_ rrorn the in&ide gorgr::; of tire m<HJntaiu>< which forrn rt..; run, and some lakPs in their bosoms, that the GrPat Platte river collects its first wnter;:, and a.;;swn e~ its fir t rorm; and ccrtaiuly no riv er could a k a more be autil'ul· origin. "June 16.-\Ve pur uccl our way in the rnornirw throu1.1h the park, follo win~ a principal branch of the PJ;~ttt· · nr1d cro,:!'ing, arnon~ lllany smalll'r one., a hold :,trcam, sr<;rccly fordable, which i;::>u<':s from a lake in tire lllt)Untains on the right, ten mi les long. :El rcamprd in the evPalin!.( rwar the uprer end orLile park , latitude 40° 33' :!-2" , on a ~w all ::;trcalll." North Park und Pass. "Our route this morning (June 14) lay along the foot of the rnountai 11s, over the long low ~pu r,; which loped gradually down to the rive r, limning the broad valley of the l'latte, (about sc\'en thousand feet above the lr\'<•1 of tht• sea.) The country is ueautiful ly_ watered. In alr!lost e very holJO\~ ran a clear cool moun tarn stream ; and 111 the cour::.c ol the morning we crossed cventeen- several of them bc•ing la n~e crePks forty or fifly feet wide, with a !.'wift cu rreut, and tole rably 'der p. These were v~ri ou _ly wooded with grovPs or a«pen and cottonwood, wr th wrllow, clwrry, and other shrubhy trees. Buffalo, antPiope, a nd e lk were freque nt du ri n" the day; a nd , in th eir ahunclance, the latter somet irnes"renriurl cd us slightly of the Sacranwnto vallry. The next rlay we continued our progre::'s 11 p the valley, tire country pre~c nti nq much tire same nppeurance, ('xcept llrat the gra"'s was more ~canty on the ri<l!.!es, over which was spread a shruhhy growth of sage; but still the llottorn~· of the cre('ks were broad, and afforded good pa:;tu rr ~round;::. Our eou r~e in the aft1• naoon hrou~llt us LO the main Platte r-iver, (north fork,) here a handsome strPam, with a uu ili>rm lm•adtla of seveuty yards, excPpt where widened hy frequent i~l ands . I t wa:,: aprmrently deep, with a moderate current, -and wooded with groves oflarge willow." "Ju11e 17.-\VP continurd our way among the water::; of the park, ovrr the foot lulls of the bonll'ran!! nwuntain:-:, where we found !!OCJd pa-tlrrn g~' , and surprrt:ed aud killed somP huflhlo. \Ye fdl iuto a broad and ext:ellPill traa l, made l oy hHn·alo, wlrrrc a wawlll would pa, ·with Pa>:e; and, in the h course or the mona ang, we crossed lhe cmHT or ~he Rocky Such is the character oft e north fork of the l\Iountains throu-gh :t I'A8S which wasonl' of the ruo::-t hPau- Great Platte, in the bosom or the mountains- a ti f.ulthat we had evPr !>('en . The trail kd among a~pcns, handsome stream-a b r oad valley-an atlractive throu~h op<·n !!round•, richly cm-ercd with !!ra~-, aut! carrit d home to many that w ill love the w ild mountain u;; over an elevariou of al>out nine t11ou ~ arul ti:et abov() the level of the ::ca. Tire country app<·ared to grrat aclvamaae in life. I read it to show that there i8 good country tlw dcliglrtflul ~umna rr wea tht:r of tire naountains, whi('h we in the mountains; but 1 have mo re be~\Llti fu l yet to still eoutinuc•tl to enjoy. Dt'~c c nclin~ from the puss, we found show-the Three P a rks-unsurpassed by anything oursPive:; again on the wes-tern wnte r::, and flallf·d to noon on · S · 1 .1 1 ·1 11 1 b f h theed~eofanothrrmountainvallry , weove,ca llrd tlae Mid- 111 Wltzeronu-repete Wlt1 a tle eauty o t e dle l'ark,inwhichislornll'dGran uriver,oneofthcprincipal m ost picturesque parts o f Switzerland-and with- brancbes of the Colorado or California." out glaciers. Mr. Fremont did not discover these How contrary to all our ideas this beautiful deparks: they \vere discovered long before by the scription of the North Park, and its pass from the hunters and trade rs. T here is noth ing to be dis- head-waters of the Great Platte to the h ead->vvaters cotered in the whole chain of the Rocky M ountains of the Grand river fork of the Colorado of the within the broad expanse o f our domain-noth i n~ \Vest. A delightful habitation that cove, instead from the British line in 490 to the MexicRn in 320. of the d esert, sav(lge, and dreary des olation which ~II is known to the h~n ters and trad e rs ; d escrip- we had been taught to look for in the R ocky Mount10n alone was wantmg, a nd that Mr. Fremont tains. But let us follow the ex plorer in the Middle supplied. In this way he makes us acquainted Park. He says: with these bea u tiful parks, and the rasses from !tiiddle Park. them· through the mountains. I nstead of comincr "The apnJ•arance of the cotrutry in the Middle Park is down the Platte h ome, after his Ion~ absence, with intcre,;tiiiC:, thou~-:11 of a difl·ereut character from LIH' North , . Park: in~tead of heing a comparative phlin, it i,; morr or the ardor of a true lover of s c ienre, he turned back l lf'ss brol<en into hills, and surrou11d l'd by hic:h mountain·, to traverse the mountain backwards and forwards, tim berr rt nn til<' lowPr parts witlr quaking a~pen and pin es. and along its crest, to examine all the count1-v The next morn i n~ (June 19) we de cendcd the river a~out th h h d f h A .J I ei!.(ht miles, and halted a short distance ai.Jove the canon, sou to t e ea o t e rkansas. He says: (gap or ~ate iu the mountain,) through which Grand nver "We were now about two de~rec~ south of the So nth issues from the Park. Here it\\ as smooth and deep, one hunPa,. s, Hllll our conrse horne wou ltl have been rastwarri1y; flrecl ;urd fifty yards in hreadtll, and :lt an cle\·a1w11 or srx but that W<?uld h:._vc tak en u · over ~ron nd al n·acly cxarni nei.J, thousand seven hundred feet a hove the level or the sea.. and tlwrt'lore wrtlrout the uti lity and interest which the Three principal strea111s, tlrainin~ the whole circumfht>nC') na~ure of the r xprdition required. SouthwarJlly there were of the Pa rk-whi<:h is more than tloublc the sizl' or the or lb. obJect:: worthy to be explored, to wit: tlw approximation of Park-comr together here; !l stream frorn I he north, wllielt the head waters of tluet- difl'erent r iv!' rii-tlre l'lntte, the we had tra-.eiPd down, and found to grow iuro a voii! IU<' of Arkansas, and the Grand River fork of the Rio Colonulo of one Jrundrrd yard,; wide·; oue from the ea,t, and ~>trll lar!!er; the GulfofCaliforuia; the passes at the heads oftlw~e rivers; a third from th<' !>Outh, nl'arly a,; large a. the north•!r_ra su~:um, ~nd t ~re three rernark~bl ~ mountain covt•s, called 1wrk~;, and up wltieh. our rouTe lay t? tl_re ::;nuLla Pa_rk, sc(• krrag a pnss Ill whach they took th(::ar nsc. Onr of tlae~e pm·'l.·s wa!>, of front tlar P:lcrfk to the i\l r ~::-ts<t ppr water,; an that pan of the co~rr,;e, on the \~cswrn sicle of the dividiu~ ridgt>, and a vi~i t naountain; for in the :O:outh Park, (callt>d hy thP lnu.at!·rs tort would requrre us once more to cross the ,:ummit of the Bm1otL Saln.dc,) it wafl known tire waters wen t to thr ra~rngRo~ ~y Mo_unta~ns to th~ west, and then to rrcross to the I ;:uri. anti colh·ctr·d l·ilhl'r into till' Arkansas or the south fork ca_,..t, maklng, 111 al_l, wtth the transit we laarl j u::<t accom- of the Great Plane. On tl~ e :20th w_e tmvelt'll u~ the l~lt pia hec.l, tlln'e crossmgs of that mountain inthi;: srction of hank (of till• ~onth strram, Ct.!!hly or nrr1ety yard;;\\ 1111') wr_th 1 ~s cour;;e. llu t, t~o na:11ter. ThP. coves, the head,; -of !he thr prospect of a had road, tire trai l here taklnJ! the opp~:-rte nvers, the np~roxrmatron nf their 1s.·nter;;, thP pm<'ticahi lity I ;;idr; but the stream 11 ac; up and IIOwlwre fordable. A P'! '~'Y of Lhr mou1!tarn pas~c.~, ancl the locality of the three 11,11·ks, ri1!ge of mountains, with bare roc~y peak:;, were on our rr~ht were all ObJects of m terest, and, altbougll well lmo\\'n to all the day, and a snowy mouutum appeared allwd. (June |