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Show 232 COLORADO SDPERIXT~DENCY. when the weather mces ita necessity, and the former in the latter oart of winter, when their necessitiesare always eeatest on account of scarcity of game. I have the honor to be, very nsspectfully, your obedient servant, JNO. EVANS, Goownm of Colorado Twritwy and ex-o&cio Sugm-~ntmdent of Indian Affa<ra.- Hon. W. P. DOLE, Commissioner of Indian Axairs. . No. 49. Re~ort of H. *I. Vaile, on his expedition fmm Denver, Colwadn, to Great Salt Lake Ctty, and back, un& i~ggtrmtiauf mn Wm. Gilpin, governm, and ex o#cio superintadent of Indian affairs, Colmado Temmztmdya, ted July 5, 1861. SIR : Pursuant to your instructionn, issued to me on the 5th day of July, 1561, I purchased six mules for the government, and an outfit sufficient to make the trip designated by you, an account of which, in part, has heretofore been pre-smted. and hired three men. John Collev. William Wallace. and A. Wrav, to ~ ~ .~ , . " . neeonspany mr on thr sunr, apeeiog to give John Col1t.y tllc SUI ~oI f thirt.ty-Gvt: d~l l e t~p e imo~hit-t lti~n,d iug his own blanktta, saddlea, kc., alr arcouur of wldclr ia Inerrwirll anl,rnitred, rnitrked voucher: tbr orher nrrn twentv.eid~t dollar8 Der mouth each, (see vouchers.) I alao f&ished provisions to ; n e b . T. J. ~ d - wards in consideration of his accompanying me, he furnishing his own ridink animal and one pack mule. With this company I left Denver on the 8th of July, going by the way of Idaho, South Clear creek, Empire City, kc., a dis-tance from Denver of fifty-four miles to the foot of the Cordill&s. From Em-pire City we started immediately across the mountains northwest, instead of going some seven miles above, and passing over through Berthood's.Pasa, being informed hy the people at Empire City that we should meet with less difficulty by eo doing. The ascent was very steep; we struggled for six hours to mount the top, and at last succeeded in reaching almost the highest peak of the range. From this point we could look into the streams which carry the waters from their mountain snmmlts into both the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. There was some snow on the sides of the mountains, hut none to interfere with our progress; and on the top was blooming a great variety of flowers. At a distance we could look into the middle park, From this mountain ridge there are numerous streams on each side; those on the last run east into the South Clear creek, the coilrse of which is generally northeast: those on the west run northwest into Gmnd river, which runs sonthwe8t. These various streams head quite near each other: for instance, Moses creek, on the west side of the range, is only a few hundred feet from Danicl'e creek on the east. The passage from these creeks is called Berthoua's Pass. The western slope is quite gentle ; the eastern rough and somewhat rugged. It is here the wagon road is proposed to be lo-cated, and I am satisfied it will not he difficult to make a very good road across the range at this point, About two miles and a half north of this pass is another small stream rising from two lakes, situated in the centre of the range, about two thousand feet, I should judge, below the top of themountain; in other words, there is a perpendicular chasm from the main height of the mountGn some two thoueand feet deep, and at the bottom of which there are two small lakes, and a small stream of any grade running from the same. In case it should he thought best to build a railroad over th&e mot~ntair~ite had better come up this stream, and then let them be constructed a tunnel through the halnuce of the mountain not eaten away by the waters, as the mountain rapidly desceuds on the n u t side of tMs precipice, and the tunnel would run out in less |