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Show 138 JOURNAL. At dark we halted at a spring on the top of a moYntain ; killed anothtr colt, and encan1 peel there all night. Tredncsday IB t!J. This was a clear cold frosty n1orning·. All our horses except one were collected eal'ly : Six hunters went on ahead ; one man to look for the horse; and all the rest of ns proceed co on our journey O\'Cl' the mountains, which arc very hig-h and rough. Aboul 12 we passed a part where the sHow was off, and no appearance that nruch had lately hilen. At 3 we came to snow again, and halted to take some soup, \Vhich we made with snow water, as no ether could be found. 1-Iere the man, who had been ~ent for the horse came up, but had not found him. Except on the sides of hills where it bas f.tllcn, the c:~untry is closely timbered with pitch and spruce pme, af"ld what some call balsam-fir. 'Ve can see 110 prospect of getting off these desert mountains Y.et, except ti~e appearance of a deep cove on each 5ld~ of the ndge we are passing along. 'V c remamed here an hour and an half, and then proceeded on ~own a st~ep mountain, and encamped after trav~llmg 18 miles. 'Ve had great difficulty iu ~ettmg water, bdng obliged to go half a mile for It down a very sleep precipice. . Thu1·sd~y 19th. ~ur bunters c1id not join us last night~ which was (h::>agreeably cold. Auout S thi~ 1normng we set out, and pro.cceded on in our way over the mountains ; the sun shining warm aml pleasant. \Ye travelled a west course, and about 12 o'clock halted at a spring to take a little more ~o~p. ~he snow is. chiefly gone exctpt on the north pomts of the high tnountains. At 2 P. l\1. we again went on, and dc:scended a steep msuntain into a cove on our left hand, where thet·e is a large creek, which here runs towards the cast. The bills on each side, along which the trail or path 11asses, are very steep. on~ of.our horses fell down the precipice ~bout 10{) JOUR~AL. 139 feet, and was not killecl, nor tnuch hurt: the reason was, that there is no bottom below, and the precipice, the only bank, which the ct·eek has ; therefore the horse pi~ched into. the watet·, without meeting with any inLencning object, which could mate1·i ...d ly injure him. \Ve made 17 miles this day and encamped on a small branch of the ~.:reek. Ihwing heat d nothing from our hunters, we again supped upon ~orne of our portable soup. The men ure becoming lean and debilitated, on account of the sc .. trcity and poot· quality of the prO\·isions on which we subsi~t: our hot·ses' feet are also becoming very sm·e. \V c hnve, however, some hopes of getting soon out of this horrible mounttlinous·desert, a~ we have discovered the appe .. ~rance of a valley or levt:l part of the country about 40 miles ahead. When this discoYcry -wa~ 1nade there was as much joy and rejoicing amon~; the corps, as happens a..mong passengers at sea, who have experienced a dangerous and protracted voyage, when they first disc0ver land on the long looked for CO:l':lt. Friday 20th. It was late before our horses were collected, but the day \\'as fine ; and at 9 o'clock we continuetl our march. Having proceede<l about ~ mile, we catne to a small glade, " here our hunter~ had found a hot·~e, and h4id killed, dressed and hunJJ him up. Capt. Clarke, who had ~one fonvard with the bunters, left a note informing us th:.tt l'e and they intended to go on to the l·ulley or leTel country ahead, as there was no chance of killing any game in thc.:se desert mountains. Vv e loaded the me.\l and proceeded along the mountains. At noon we stopped and dined, on our horse flt:sh : het·e ''"e tliscovered that a horsr, having Capt. Lewis's clothes and l.Jaggage on him, had got into the bushes while we were loadin~ the meat, and was h::ft behind. One of the men thercfcn:: was sent back, but returned without ~nuin~ hi1n. Two other tnen with a hor~e |