Beehive History, Volume 1, 1975

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BEEHIVE HISTORY

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Melvin T.Smith, Editor Stanford J. Laytcin, Managing Editor Miriam B. Murphy, Assistant Editor

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Format: Bailey-Montague & Associates Layout and Art Fbduction: Robert ~0nd.a

" Copyright 1975 Utah State Historical Society 603 East South Temple Salt Lake City,Utah 84102 [?I) 328-5755

BEEHIVE HISTORY

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PAGE

JIM BRIDGER LOSES A WAGER

.............. .OLIVE W. BURT

DON BERNARD0 MIERA AND THE RIVER THAT NEVER WAS

....... .'. ... .ROBB RUSSON

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FATHER ESCALANTE AND THE INDIAN BOY .................... a PATRICIA HALE KENDIG 12

THE ROUTE OF PETER SKENE OGDEN . .RICHARD E. KOTTER 14

ADVENTURE ON THE GREEN RIVER: JOHN WESLEY POWELL'S 1869 RIVER EXPEDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .MABEL .

HARMER 18 WHEN CAPTAIN FREMONT SLEPT .

INGRANDMA MCGREGORS BED ... .NEVADA W. DRJGGS 23

THE INCREDIBLE JEDEDTAH .......JEDEDIAH STRONG SMITH

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BEHIND YESTERDAY'S HEADLINES: A LOOK AT THREE ACCOUNTS OF THE GUNMSON MASSACRE .

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. , . .MIRIAM B. MURPHY

BECKWOURTH VISITS CACHE VALLEY ..........................

JAMES W.BECKWOURTH 31 I

Front cover artwork is from a rendering by William H . Jackson,Trapper's Rendezvous, Green River, Wyoming. Photographs and artworkjin Beehive History not otherwise credited are from the Utah State Historical Society collections.

Jim Bridger Loses a Wager .WE W . BURT

It was late faif in t h e year 1824. A large party of General William Henry Ashley's trappers was encamped in Willow Valley, on t h e banks of the Bear River. Here, sheltered by encircling hills, the men would spend the winter. Attracted by the encampment, other trappers and a good many Indians had gravitated to the valley. It was quite a settlement of buffalo skin tents, brush huts, and Indian

tipis.

One sunny morning JimBridger sat on the river bank, patching his buckskins and idly watching the meandering stream. Beside him, similarly employed, sat Louis Vasquez,

Black Harris, and a number of dher trappers.

"I wonder whar this here river gits to," Jim mused. "It'd sure be something to know about. " Black spat. "Gar! That's sumpin' nobuddy's ever goin' to find out, I reckon.

Why, 1'1.1 wager a prime beaver pelt this here river goes clean down to the Pacific. Wagh!"

Jim's blue-gray eyes were thoughtful. "I jest reckon I'll take that wager, Black! I've a notion this here river just meanders around and don't go nowhere in particular."

Black hooted. "Every river goes somewhar! Has to. Has to git to the ocean, don't ye know that, Jim? An' I'm willing to stand by my fust idea. This here river goes to the Pacific, it does!"

Now the otherp broke in,some siding with Black, others with Jim. The argument grew noisy, until finally Jim held up his hand.

"WaI, thar's just one sure way to settle it!

Build me a bull boat an' I'll undertake to follow this here river to its end-wherever that may be!"

"Ye an' who else?" demanded Black.

"Ye'd be a fool to undertake it alone."

"I'll go alone!" Jim boasted. "Jest build that boat and let me git started."

1.t was something to break the monotony of the days in camp, and the trappers set to work with a will. They gathered strong willows for

water-tight "bowl" large enough to hold Jim with his gun and provisions.

Early the following morning, Jim stepped into his sturdy craft. The men gave it a shove into midstream, and Jim b g a n to paddle along with the oars his companions had provided. He also had a stout pole to use in shallow water. The trappers shouted and yelled, some cheering, some jeering as the bull boat bobbed along. Jim lifted his oars and called out his goodbyes. The trappers waved their fur caps and shook their guns in the air as Jim drifted out of sight.

It was a lonely journey. The river meandered discouragingly, often traveling many miles in advancing one. Along the banks the growth was lush and varied, with willowfilled marshes and grass-rich meadows alternating on both sides. Before long the scenery changed, and the stream passed through a low range of mountains. Jim'sblue-gray eyes studied the slopes.

"Now I'm wondering how you're ever gain' to git back to the camp,"he muttered.

He was in the habit of talking to himself; there were so many, many days when he had no one else to talk to.

After the mountains came wide, low flats, where wild geese and ducks, herons and gulls, and many birds Jim had never before seen rose screaming and beating their wings in alarm at the approach of the alien inbwder.

Here and there, in the lowlands, his boat bounced past a family of root-digging Indians who stared in terror at the stranger.

For nearly a week Jim paddled his bull boat down the river in a generally southern direction, making a little to the west. At night he poled his craft to shore and lay alone under autumn stars after his solitary supper of jerky and dried corn.He was not lonely, for he bed chosen the life of a trapper because he liked it.

But sometimes his thoughts went back to his childhood in St. Louis and his work as a blacksmith's apprentice. One day when he was shoeing the fine stallion belonging to General William Ashley he learned of the idea of sending a group of trappers up the Missouri and on, beyond the Stonies, to trap beaver. Weary of the humdrum existence he was leading, Jim had begged to join the party, and Ashley, having a difficult time recruiting

the. frame and stretched buffdo hides tautly

his men,had paid off the rumaind~rof Jim's

over this. Before long they had constructed

apprenticeship, Lying in his blankets, gazing up at the

LIGHTWEIGHT BULL BOATS SERVED WELL ON LAKES AND SMALL STREAMS.

the trappers' favorite vessel-a

light, strong,

which he could gain a wider view than from this low land. At one side, some distance ahead, was a long, low butte, jutting into the gray waste. If he could reach that and mount it, he might be able to see whether the river ended here or went on.

Jim started tow&d this god, only to find that he was at the end of the crusty surface.

Now he was in a bog of thick, sticky gray mud. It clung to his moccasins until he could scarcely drag his feet out of the mire. At last he pulled off his footgear and went on, unen-

cumbered.

He reached the butte and climbed its gravelly slope to the summit. And there he stopped in wonder and awe. From the base of this s d I promontory, as far as he could see, stretched a magnificent sight-miles of sparkling, blue-green water. Here and there the crystalline surface was broken by a rocky island. Ad intense silence brooded-over tbe scene; the water was scarcely rippled by the wind; wd the occasional cry of a wild bird soaring above the shimmering surface only accented the stillness.

Jim felt an odd emotion at the sight. Old Black must have been right! Here he was, standing on the shore of the great Pacific-where he had never dared to hcipe to stand. It was some time before he could shake off his bemusement to clamber down the far dope to the water's edge, Here there was a narrow beach of clean sand. Jim ran across this and stopped. Cupping his hands, he brought up palmsful of the clear water. He took a huge mouthful. But when the water touched his tongue he began to spit and sputter and choke. He spat out what he could and dug his fist into his smarting eyes. Again and again he spat, wing to clear mouth and throat of the stinging, smarting liquid.

"Gar!" he muttered. "it is the danged Pacific!"

Jim abandoned his bull boat and made his way back to Willow Valley on foot. There he had a tale to tell and a wager to pay. The trappers listened, entranced and credulous.

JimBridger, that younker, had made his way alane clean to the Pacific Ocean! They had not thought they were that near to the western coast. What was it like? Jimstretched his imagination and his vocabulary trying to describe what he had seen.

"You won your wager fair m d square, Black!" he told the swarthy trapper. "Ye can

"AN INTENSE SILENCE BROODED OVER THE SCENE" AT GREAT SALT LAKE.

stars, Jim felt very old and experienced now.

He smiled at the thought of the simple boy of sixteen who had thrown in his fortunewith a bunch of tough, older men. But that was more than two years ago. At first he had been a little diffident, a little nervous. Now he was as brave as any--and more brash than most, though his brashness was backed by a cool courage that turned away from nothing.

The bull boat came to a place where the stream was so sluggish that the little vessel could scarcely move. With great difficulty Jim poled along through water that was as thick as mud. The river bank was high now, and the land beyond was low and flat, dotted with salt marshes and shallow ponds. I t looked to Jimas if all this land had been under salt water, at some time, for in places a thin, crystalline crust glittered in the sunlight.

Jimbrushed a buckskin sleeve across eyes smarting from sun and spray. "Surelooks like Old Black might've been right after all. Gar! Won't I have a yarn to tell when I git back!''

H e camped that night on a dry spot of land near the stream and was awakened by the screaming of wild birds, welcoming ~e dawn. From here Jim had to travel on foot,for the boat could go no further. He made his slow way over the bottom-land that was crusted in places with a thin coating that broke under his weight, dropping his feet into shallow pools.

As he moved ahead he peered about, trying to discover some vantage point from 7

CONTINUED ON PAGE 31

Don Bernardo Miera..

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and the River That Never Was

BY ROBB RUSSON

THE MYSTERIOUS RIO DE SAN BUENAVENTURA

7 CAME OUT OF THE "INTIS, FLOWED INTO SEWER LAKE AND ON TO THE PACIFIC! JohnBidwell was on his way to California.

The year was 1841. John Bidwell had a map and he was looking west, looking for one of two great rivers, each bigger than the Mississippi, flowing west to the Pacific Ocean from a three-hundred-mile-long lake in the Rocky Mountains. In his wagons John BidwelI had tools for making canoes so that he might ride in style on one of the great rivers all the way to California in case the country got too rough for his wagons.

Three years after John Bidwell led his wagon train west, in the mountains of what is today northern California, Captain John Charles Frernont was counting on what had now become ONE great river running west from a large lake in the Rocky Mountains where he could water his horses and rest both horses and men. The captain fully expected to reach the great river any day, crossing it at right angles as he came south.

In 1826, seventeen years before Fremont went west. General William Ashley, pride

mover of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, was also looking for the river that led from his mountains to the Pacific Ocean. When Ashley turned over his fur company interests to three young and energetic trappers that year they, too. were greatly interested in finding the river, hoping it might lead them to new fur country and then to California. The new Rocky Mountain Fur Company was led by Jedediah Strong Smith. His search for the elusive river led him in a great circle from the large lake in the mountains shown on Bidwell's map to the Pacific Coast and back again. Jedediah failed to find his river to CaIifornia. John Bidwell failed, his canoemaking tools resting unused in his wagons.

They both walked or rode dry to California.

Captain Fremont never did water his horses in the river he so earnestly sought.

The lake shown on Bidwell's map was a

reality. Smith, Ashley, Frernont, and Bidwe11 all reached its shores on their way west end. knew i t as the Great Salt Lake. The great river

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ZEBULON M. PIKE

ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT

to the western sea, however,never was. It had existed only in the minds of pathfinding mapmakers ever since it had been born in the imagination of a retired Spanish Captain of Engineers, Don Bernardo Miera y Pacheco, in 1776.

Don Bernardo Miera was a man of many talents. A veteran of five campaigns against hostile Indians and one time alcalde, or mayor, of the northern Mexican frontier, Don Bernardo was no stranger to the dangers of the time. He had traveled widely through most of northern Mexico, now Arizona, and the present state of New Mexico. Don Bernardo was an accomplished cartographerand had made,maps for civil, religious, and mili-

I D. H. YANCE SHOWED THE SAN BUENAVENTURA RIVER 1828 NEW AMERICAN ATLAS. 9

JOHN

C

FREMONT

ASTROLABE WAS USED BY MIERA AND OTHER EARLY EXPLORERS.

tary purposes in New Spain that had established him as one of the major interpreters of the geography of the Spanish Borderlands.

As a military veteran of over thirty years, the retired soldier Miera went with Fray (Father)Silvestre Velez de Escalante, a Franciscan priest, to the Hopi pueblos in the northern part of what is now Arizona in 1775.

The short missionary visit was somewhat unsuccessful, but Miera's -map of the country did not escape the notice of the padre.

When, a year later, Escalante was selected to accompany Fray Francisco Atanasio.Dominguez on an imporht,expedition to the north with the purpose of discovering new lands and people as well as a new route to Califor-

EMPTYIND

I INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN IN THE

nia, Don Bernardo went along for the express purpose of making a map of what they saw.

The map Miera made of the DominguezEscalante Expediton of 1776 was perhaps Don Bernardo's greatest achievement. On it he outlined the major geographic features of significant sections of four western states: New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, and hizona.

For the most part Miera's map is amazingly faithful to the actual landforms through which the party passed. In one instance, however. Don Bernardo's map gave birth to a geographic myth that lived, grew stronger, and thrived until 68 years later, when a major governmentlmilitary expedition put it finally to rest.

Almost two months after the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition left Santa Fe, the Spaniards discovered a new 'river that sliced throhgh awesome upthrust rocks and entered a grassy plain in what is today northeastern Utah-The river is known today as the Green River; but the Spanish explorers named it in honor of a thirteenth-century cardinal and saint, San Buenaventura. The Spaniards assumed that their new river was part of a new drainage system and not linlced with the Colorado River, of which they already knew.It was not until the party reached the Sevier River some two weeks later that the San Buenaventura River gained immortality in the history of western exploration.

When Don Bernardo Meira saw the Sevier River, he thought it was the lower course of his old friend the San Buenaventura, and he drew it as such an his map. ~ 0 t h Do-guez and Escalmte thought the Sevier was a new river. m he old soldier, however, drew the Sari Buenaventm connecting with Sevier Lake md left the western shore line off his map. Then, almost as if he were making doubly s u e , Miera added another large river emptying to the west from the shores of the Great Salt Lake (once again sight unseen,for the Spanish explorers turned south at Utah Me).

With this imaginary extension of the Sari Buenaventura from the Uinh Basin to the Great Basin, Miera laid before the cartographic world the seeds that would develop into the mighty San Buenaventura River, the route from the Rockies to the Pacific Ocean and fabled California. The first major cartographer to pick up the new river wets Baron Alexander Von Humboldt. In 1811 H u m boldt, a well-known nineteenth-century European scientist, published a map of

AARON ARROWSMITH COPIED MIERA'S MISTAKE ON HIS MAP OF NORTH AMERICA, PU8L'SHED IN

Northern America's western half to accompany his political essay on New Spain and included in it all of Don ~ernardo'sgeography. Baron Von Humboldt, of course, had never seen the San Buenaventura River himself, but he had access to a copy of Miera's map in Mexico City. Before publication of his essay, in 1804, Humboldt had delivered a COPY of his map to President Thomas Jefferson and thence to Zebulon M. Pike, a lieutenant in the U.S. Army. Pike was sent west in 1805-6-7toexplore the country around what is today southwestern Colorado.

Pike published a map in 1810 and, once again, although Zeb Pike had reached no farther west than the Rio Grande River, the map was an exact copy of Humboldt's Miera geography for the Great Salt Lake (called by Miera "Lake Timpanogos") and the extenced San Buenaventura River. After Pike came Lewis and Clark, who copied the now wellknown San Buenaventura River onto their own maps. This started a veritable golden age of western maps; and, when Aamn Arrowsmith, head of a well-knownEnglishfamily of map m h , took up the mythical river from 10

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the findings of Humboldt, he extended the San Buenaventura for the first time from the Great Salt Lake region [with a dotted line) to the Pacific Ocean, Others were quick to follow. John Melish in 1816, Dr. JohnRobinson i n 1819, Henry Scheneck Tanner i n 1822-ach followed the sources that were available before them, and each cemented more firmly the great river ta the body of western geography.

Thus, a few years later, when the Rocky Mountain Fur Company appeared on the shores of Miera's Lake Timpanogos, its leader, General Ashley, was already looking for the fabled San Buenaventura and sent a group of his trappers around the huge salty lake to find it.Instead, they discoveredthe lake had no outlet to the sea. It was adisappointed Ashley who turned over his fur company to Jedediah Smith, David Jackson,and William Sublette and returned to the civilized East.

The hope of finding the San Buenaventura endured until 1844.In that year JohnC.

Fremont finally put to rest forever the last expectation of the river's existence in the Rockies. After arriving at Utah Lake, at the

end of a huge circle encompisaing five states and supposedly the head and mouth of the great river, he proclaimed: The rivers of the San Francisco Bay, which are the largest after the Columbia, are local to the b a y . . .running each in a valley of its own. . . .TheColumbia is the only river which traverses the whole breadth of the country, breaking through all the ranges, and entering the sea.

With a stroke of a pen a retired soldier of New Spain had created a myth and perpetuated a legend, causing untold hardship and hazard for western travelers who never knew him. Thus with a stroke of a pen did another soldier put the legend to rest. And thus it was that the imagination of one man caused so many others to search in vain for a river that never was.

JOHN CHARLES FREMONT FINALLY CAME UP WITH A MAP THAT CORRECTLY PORTRAYED GREAT SALT LAKE AND UTAH RIVERS.

Father Escalante and the Indian Boy

BY PATRICIA HALE KENDIG When Father SilvestreVelez de Escalante set outpn a trip from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to Monterey, California, some two hundred years ago, there were no super highways.

There were not even any maps of the area.

But, like other missionaries of his day, he was inspired not anly by the desire to spread the g ~ o dnews about God but also by the adventure of exploring unknown territory.

On July 29,1776, Father Escalante, Father Francisco Atanasio Dominguez, and eight companions began their epic journey under a commission from the Spanish government to find a route from Santa Fe to Monterey and to record certain facts about the unknown counby.For this reason. Escdante's diary was not intended to be entertaining.

Shortly after the trip began, however, an ~ n d iboy i voluntarily joined the party and, in recording incidents about him, Father Escalm& gave us a glimpse into his feelings, and the diary received a touch of color.

Before the Dominguez - Escalante Expedition had been underway a month-moving north through New Mexico and into Colorado-Father Escalante learned about a settlement of Indians to the northeast. Hoping he could persuade one of them to guide his party through the unknown land-Utah-to the west, he made a historic detour. At this Indian camp, Father Escalante told the natives about the 'good news of the Lord. "All listened with pleasure," he recorded. One of these Indians agreed to guide the explorers. As they were leaving, a young Laguna Indian boy unexpectedly decided to go with them. He didn't even have a horse, but to avoid further delay, Father Escalante put him on the back of his own horse. The Spaniards called this Indian boy, Joaquin.

Near Jensen, Utah, on September 14, 177 6, the explorers made camp on the Green River (near Dinosaur National Monument].

They remained there overnight while the tired animals grazed on the abundant pasture land and had a good rest. While they were there,Joaquin must h ~ v egrown restless, be-

Gawe he mourrted a high-spirited ho~ero d,

while galloping across a meadow, it tripped in a hole and fell. The quote from Father

Escalante's diary concerning this incident gives some insight into either his patience or his affection toward this young Indian: "We were frightened, thinking that the Laguna had been badly hurt by the fall because when he had recovered from his fright, he wept copious tears. But God was pleased that the only damage was that done to the horse which completely broke its neck,leaving it useless."

On September 23,1776, Escalante arrived at Utah Lake, which was in Laguna territory.

The party's initial meeting with the Lrrguna Indians was a success because of Joaquin.

At first some Eagunas had come out to meet them with weapons, but the Indians were convinced of the group's good intentions "on seeing that the boy Joaquin was on such good terms with us that he paid no attention to his own people. He even refused to Ieave the father. . . .sleeping at his side during the brief space of time that was left in this night. Such an attitude found in an Indian boy so far from civilization that he had never before seen fathers or Spaniards was an occasion for surprise not only to his own people but to us as well."

What did the members of the Dominguez-Escalante Expedition do to earn this kind of tmst and Iove? Several passages in the diary written by Father Escalante indicate the kind of person he was and give some hints of what Joaquin saw in him. From these passages, it is evident that he not only instilled confidence through his words but by his faith and courage as well. It was probably his example that so impressed this young Indian boy.

Joaquin was not the only one impressed with the Dominguez-EscaIante Expedition.

Professor Herbert E. Bolton, eminent historian of the Southwest, closes his translation and interpretation of the adventures of Father Escalante in this way: "Thus ended one of the great exploring expeditions of North American history, made without noise of arms and without giving offenseto the natives through whose country they had traveled."

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ARTIST: B R E N W A W FOSTER

ERROR

IN BRONZE

The Route of Peter Skene Ogden

BY RICHARD E. KBTTER THE GREAT EXPLORER AND TRAPPER NEYER VISITED THE SITE OF THE CITY NAMED FOR HIM. ..AND OGDEN'S HOLE WAS HEAR PRESENT-DAY HUNTSVILLE.

Popular stories and inscriptions on bronze plaques and highway historical markers describe much that has beenwrittenaboutPeter Skene Ogden and thelocation of Ogden's Hale in northern Utah. One such tale is found on a bronze plaque in North Ogden, dedicated to the man who left his name upon Ogden, North Ogden, a mountain peak, valley, river, and canyon. The plaque at North Ogden's Oak Lawn Park states:

PETER SKEEN OGDEN ENTERED THIS VALLEY THROUGH THIS CANYON IN 1826 MARKED BY GOLDEN SPIKE CHAPTER DAUGHTERS OF THE AMERICAN REVOLUTION 1924

In brief, Ogden, as the brigade leader for the British-owned Hudson's Bay Company, left Montana in December 1824 and entered Utah, May 5, 1825. Moving in a southerly direction, Ogden and his party trapped the Logan and Blacksmith Fork rivers of Cache Valley, then passed through Paradise Canyon and over the Liberty divide to Ogden Valley. After they had trapped several days at campsites near the present towns of Liberty, Eden, and Huntsville, the party continued south over the low divide to the Weber River. Near Mountain Green on the Weber,

twenty-three tmppe~sdeserted Ogden to work far William Ashley's trappers. With fewer men and an increased fear of the Indians, Ogden returned to Cache Valley and continued on north to Fort Nez Perces.

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OGDEN WAS MORE THAN A FUR TRADER AND EXPLORER 1W THE AME RlCAN WEST. HE WAS A BRIGADE LEADER, AN EXECUTIVE OF THE HUDSON'SBAY COMPANY, AND A POLITICALAGENT DURING THE OREGON CRISIS.

PETER SKENE OGDEN'S ROUTE TO UTAH IN 1825, COMPILED BY DAVID E. MILLER.

The Daughters of the American Revolution used "authentic information" available in 1924 to justify stating on the plaque that Peter Skene Ogden had been in the North Ogden area. According to the DAR this location was selected because, "from all data obtainable," Peter Skene Ogden came down North Ogden Canyon from his camp, which is believed to have been the present site of Huntsville. A trading post was established upon the site of or close to the present church, according to the "authentic information."

Historian J. Cecil Alter's book James Bridger, printed in 1925, appears to have ~ s e dthe same "authentic information" used by the DAR. Alter relied heavily upon black fur trapper JamesP.Beckwourth's autobiography,published in 1856, for his information concerning the winter rendezvous of 1825-26. Jim Beckwourth described the rendezvous: Our present rendezvous was in Cache Valley, but Sublet gave orders for all to remove to Salt Lake,which was but a few miles distant, and then go into winter quarters. We accordingly moved to the mouth of "Weaver's Fork," and established ourselves there.

The Weber River is accepted as "Weaver's Fork." The trappers moved and camped at the mouth of the Ogden and Weber rivers. From

this basic information the DAR confused the visit of Peter Skene Ogden to Utah in 1825 with that of Ashley's fur trappers and their winter rendezvous at Ogden of 1826.

Other published histories and statements from early settlers available in 1924 further aided the DAR in their decision: The trail used by Indians and trappers in passing to and from this valley (Ogden Valley) crossed a divide and followed a smaller and less precipitious canyonopening at North Ogden, a few miles from the city of Ogden, and the early settlers understood Ogden's Hole to mean this smaller canyon and divide.

The first settlers firmly believed that the opening now known as North Ogden Canyon, divide, pass, or summit was Ogden's Hole.

An early settler,Charles F. Middleton, stated: Ogden was named after Mr. Ogden of whom you write, both as to the river and city. . . .Ogden Hole, or as some used to call it, Mr. Ogden's Hole, is a low divide about seven miles north of center of Ogden City. It used to be the only route over which the trappers and Indians traveled into and out of Ogden Valley which lies directly east and north of Oregon (Ogden) City.

The location of the "Hole" was further described in a letter of Brigham H. Bingham, whose father settled in Ogden in 1850.

In 1858, or thereabout, Ogden Valley was used by the settlers as a summer herd ground and of course I with others helped drive the cattle. In my travels over that mountain I have seen the hole which was always understood at that time to be the place where Peter Steen (sic) Ogden used to cache his furs, located about 40 rods from the summit of mountain on the east side, about 20 or 30 rods south of the road.

Ogden's hole received its name from his hole and the whole valley was not called

Ogden's hole. Bra. Blodgett, of Ogden, another of the very first settlers makes the same statement.

The map of the area north of Ogden-Township Seven North,Range One West of the Salt Lake Meridian, surveyed in 1856 placed "Ogden Hole" at the point to match the summit or divide of North Ogden Canyon. To the left of "Ogden Hole" is inscribed "Ogden Hole set" with its two houses and wall. Since the original citizens of Ogden and the Gture town of North Ogden honestly believed their canyon divide to be Ogden's Hole, is it any wonder that they named the present North Ogden--Ogden Hole?

Conbary to what the DAR and the early settlers of Ogden believed, historians proved by research in 1952 that Peter Skene Ogden and his bappers did not enter the North Ogden City area through North Ogden Cah: yon in 1826 or at any other time. This fact and the events of the 1820 s were uncovered

by David E, Miller, history professor at the University of Utah, who used the original journals of Peter Skene Ogden to prove that the trapper made no entry into the North Ogden area from Ogden Valley.

Despite the inaccuracies placed on the marker, the nation had access to an accurate description of the location of Ogden Holein a U.S. Government report. Captain Howard Stansbury's report and map, published in 1852 as a result of his expediton to Utah in 1849-50, definitely describd Ogden's Hole as being in Ogden Valley and placed it where Huntsville is locabd today.

History has proved that Ogden City and North Ogden were named in honor of a worthy man.But the fact remains that Peter Skene Ogden did not visit the site of the cities that bear his name. Legends have attached themselves to many of the great hemes of our western frontier. More romantic t h q fact, such legends often overshadow actual events. Peter Skene Ogden's m y h c a l visit to Ogden and North Ogden was recorded in error on bronze before all the facts were known. One can see the importance of accu-

rate, complete mearch to tall the story the way it actually happened. That is what research and history are all about.

OGDEN'S HOLE. SHOWN ON THIS SECTION FROM STANSBURY'S MAP WAS ON SITE OF HUNTSVILLE

POWELL PARTY STARTEO AT GREEN RIVER, WYOMING

SALT LAKE CITY

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END OF POWELL EXPEDITION

Adventure on

MAJOR POWELL.

the Green River:

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John Wesley Powell's 1869 River Expedition

BY MABEL HARMER POWELL EXPLORED THE LAST UNKNOWN AREAS OF UTAH FOR THE SMlTHSONlAN INSTITUTION AND MADE DETAILED REPORTS ON GEOLOGY, PLANTS, ANIMALS.

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John Wesley Powell stood on the banks of the Green River on May 24, 1869, and watched as his four boats were launched into the swift current. He and a crew of nine men were about to challenge the unknown waters of the Green and Colorado rivers to bring back detailed information on the geology, geog-

L

ing the country surrounding the Uinta Mountains and the rivers of eastern Utah and western Colorado.

For the great adventure of 1869 Powell had ordered the boats built in Chicago and transported on the new banscontinental railroad to Green River.

They were not the buoyant rubber crafts of present-day river-running. Three were built of oak, "staunch and firm," as Powell wrote, "double iibbed with double stem and stern posts and further strengthened by bulkheads, dividing each into three compartments. Two of these, the fore and aft, are decked, forming water tight cabins. It is expected these will buoy the boats should the waves roll over them in rough water."

The fourth boat, built of pine, was very light and built for fast rowing. The oaken boats were 21 feet long and could be carried when the cargo was taken out. None of the crew could have dreamed how often this portage task would be necessary.

The men took rations for ten months. Expecting that the river would be frozen during the winter and that they would have to lay over, they also carried warm clothing,traps to help eke out the food supply, and a variety of tools to repair the boats and to build cabins.

The crew divided all supplies into thee parts to be stored in the oak boats. In case one of the boats were lost, the expedition would not be

raphy, natural history, and Indians of the area.

Along the river citizens of Green River, Wyoming, watched the launching and made dire predictions. While none of them had ever gone down the river, they nevertheless told of waterfalls three-hundred feet high, whirlpools that would quickly engulf any boat, and canyon walls so steep that there was no possible chance of a landing. Some warnings proved to be h e . Furthermore, what was thought to be a journey of several hundred miles turned out to cover 1,037 miles from the Green River to the mouth of the Virgin.

Powell was a man of great strength. Not so much physical-as he had lost an arm in the Civil War-but strength of courage, will power and purpose. However, much of his success lay in his careful preparation. Before tackling the present trip he had traveled the full length of the Mississippi, Ohio, and Ulinois rivers, as well as many lesser streams.

And, Powell had spent the winter months of 1868-69at a camp on the White River, explor19

r

0 GREEN RIVER, WYOMING

"AWAY TO THE SOUTH, THE UlNTA MOUNTAINS ST RETCH IN A LONG LINE...."

POWELL, WlTH A CREW OF NINE, LEFT GREEN RIVER STATION IN FOUR BOATS,

"THE 'EMMA DEAN' GOES IN ADVANCE: THE OTHER BOATS FOLLOW....WHEN WE APPROACH A RAPID I STAND ON DECK TO EXAMINE IT, WHILE THE OARSMEN BACK WATER. ...

IF I CAN SEE A CLEAR CHUTE BETWEEN THE ROCKS, AWAY WE GO...."

...

AUGUST 31: "THIS AFTERNOON THE INDIAN RETURNS WlTH A LETTER, INFORMING US THAT BISHOP LEITHHEAD ... AND TWO OR THREE OTHER MORMONS ARE COMING DOWN WlTH A WAGON, BRINGING US SUPPLIES."

left entirely without some important item. Of prime importance to the expedition's success were the instruments for scientific work. For Powell's chief goal looked beyond adventure to the establishment of a great scientific and technical bureau with emphasis on research in all its functions.

On the third day out the boats pulled to shore just above the junction of Henry's Fork where, several months earlier, a cache of instrumentsand rations had been left in a cave.

Powell feared that the cache might have been discovered by Indians, the food eaten, and the instruments taken for ornaments; but all was found to be safe.

When they rode into the canyon of the Flaming Gorge on May 30, the explorers felt considerable anxiety. Old time mountaineers had warned them that the river couldn't be run. The Indians had said, "water heap catch 'em." The run through the gorge was swift, and a half mile below the river entered another canyon with cliffs on either side that rose from 500 to 1500 feet. The river turned sharply at this point and plunged among great rocks. The first of many battles against the rapids began. Powell stood up in his boat to to figure out a passage between the wave-beaten rocks. There was little choice.

The boats shot down the rapids "mounting the high waves," said Powell, "whose foaming crests dash over us, and plungingthrous h the troughs, until we reach the quiet water below. "

ARTl6T PATRICK ORlOOS F R A E Y

'

1

MAJOR POWELL LOST HIS RIGHT ARM IN THE CIVIL WAR, FOLLOWING THE BATTLE OF SHILOH. THE GREAT EXPLORER WAS ESPECIALLY INTERESTED IN THE INDIANS OF UTAH. THE EXPLORERS STOPPED AT AN INDIAN CAMP ON HENRY'S FORK TO COLLECT CACHED INSTRUMENTS AND RATILlNS,

Throughout most of the journey they would first encounter a series of rapids and then, happily, a stretch of quiet water where they could catch their breath and gather strength for the next run.

On June 1 t h e men broke camp where they had slept on a pine-covered slope at t h e base of red sandstone cliffs. Their next run downriver swept them along at the speed of a railmad train. Coming to a stretch of calm water, they rested on theiroars;butthey could hear a roar ahead that foretold trouble. They tied up the boats, and Powell went ahead to reconnoiter.

The roar came from falls so high that the boats had to be unloaded and everything *en around by portage. Then the boats were let down by ropes.

Whenever they approached a fall or rapid, Powell would stand up in the lead boat, the E m m Dean, to study the prospect. If he could see a clear channel they would go through. If not,they would make another portage, carrying the supplies-and even the boats, at times-around the danger spots.

w~ -

. POWELL ANDHIS MEN LEF . .HEIR CAMP AT FLAMING GORGE, THEY REMEMBERED THE INDIAN'S WARNING: "WATER HEAP CATCH 'EM

."

Powell was always very careful to survey the river ahead because there might be a calm place and then, just over the brink, dangerous rapids. On one such occasion he flagged the first boat to a safe landing only to see the next one, the No Name, go over a 12-foot fall into a channel filled with huge rocks that broke the waves into whirlpools and beat them into foam.

Powell ran along the riverbank and passed around a crag just in time see the boat strib a rock and fill with water. Two of the men lost their oars, while the boat was turned broadside and broken in two against another rock. The men were thrown into the water.

One of them dung to a rock in the middle of a whirlpool until another was able to reach him with a pole m d pull him to safety. The third crew member was washed downstream but managed to get ashore. When they were all safely together in camp that evening they shook hands as if they had just been reunited from a trip around the world.

Everything in the No Name was lost-clothing, rations, and instruments. Because of Powell's foresight most supplies

"AS ASHLEY AND HIS PARTY WERE WRECKED HERE, AND AS WE HAVE LOST ONE OF OUR BOATS AT THE SAME PLACE, WE ADOPT THE NAME DISASTER FALLS FOR THE SCENE OF SO MUCH PERIL AND LOSS."

could be replaced from those in the other boats--all except barometers. These were in the wrecked boat, and Powell was determined to get them. Without them it would be impossible to chart the fall ofthe rivers, the height of the canyon walls, or the altitude of the country Powell wanted to explore. Two menrowed over to the wrecked boat and were ovejoyed to find the precious instruments.

On July 1 they landed where the Uinta River enters the Green and had the pleasure of seeing a house again and some signs of civilization atthelndianAgency where Powell visited with the old chief Tsau-wi-atand his Ute wife, an influential and revered old woman who was called "the Bishop." The explorers rested for several days among the Indians, examining their farms, studying their language, and collecting their craft items.

On July 6 the men embarked again on their perilous exploration. They had conquered the river on tRe first run of the journey. With that success they had the courage to go on to meet the challenge of the mighty Colorado.

ARTIST PA1 HICK DRIGGS FRALEY

When Captain Fremont Slept in Grandma McGregorYsBed

At the time that Captain Fremont slept in her best bed, she was not GrandrnaMcGregor, but the wife of John Calvin Lazelle Smith, head of the colony sent by Brigham Young to go south and settle Parowan, Utah. Calvin Smith was from Massachusetts, i n d his wife Sarah Fish, was a girl of eighteen from Quebec when they were married in the Nauvoo Temple. May 12, 1846.

During the Nauvoo exodus. Calvin and Sarah crossed the river ice with a pair of white steers. Smith was established as a school teacher in Centerville, Uhh, when Brigham Young called him to settle Parowan--so named by the Indians because of the clear water gushing down the canyon.

Calvin was presiding over the settlement when Captain Fremont came t h u g h in February 1854, four years after the town was founded. It was really a fort with walls five feet thick at the base, reinforced by cedar posts and filled with tamped earth. There were inner and outer gates to the fort. The outer gates closed at sundown,and a guard was posted for those working until dark. Al-

BY NEVADA W. DRtGGS

23

mu

JOHN C. FREMONT

.

-

I

GRANDMA McGREGOR

ready Parowan had become fairly selfsuficient, having a flour mill, a carpenter shop, and a tannery. We tend to think of pioneers as being old, but Calvin was in his early thirties and Sarah in her twenties, and most of the members of the colony were young and vital, capable of enduring extreme hardship.

When I was a very small child my mother, Emily Craine Watson, a school teacher from England already widowed with a large family, was commissioned to write the life stories of the then remaining first pioneers of the town.

My mother had to go out to work every dayssolater she wouldgo tothe homes of these elderly people to have them tell her the stories of their lives. When mother announced that she was going to visit Grandma McGregor I begged to go along. Though I was very young I knew that Grandma had raised two families and also an Indian girl who had been rescued from hostile tribes. Mother sat with her pencil and paper; she wrote swiftly with a beau tifd spenserian hand.This is the story Grandma told my mother: They had a bright fire burning on the hearth, although Calvin had gone to bed tired from his long day at the flour mill. Sarah was setting her bread dough when she heard a cry of distress.She ran and awakened Calvinwho said it was probably a coyote or an Indian, but then the cry came again. Calvin quickly dressed, but Sarah begged him not to go out alone, so he went for his neighbors JesseN.Smith, JohnSteele, and Edward Dalton. These men wrapped up warmly; one took a gun,and they followed the cry. About a quarter of mile away they found a man almost buried in a snowdrift.He was completely exhausted, so mied him to Sarah, She had already built up the fira and heated water. The man was undressed and placed in Sarah's best, big white bed. When he revived he told them that 24

he was Captain John C. Fremont who had been sent by the federal government to discover a new route to California but had been overtaken by heavy snows. The company of men had been reduced to eating their horses and mules, and their last meal was a dog given them by an Indian. He said his surviving men were huddled in a canyon about five miles back (probably Red Creek Canyon].

Calvin told the captain to relax and allow Sarah to nurse himwith her remedies forcold and exhaustion-that come daylight they would assemble a rescue p u p and seek out his men. In the morning ox teams were hitched to sleighs loaded with quilts and food, The half-frozen men were brought to the fort and each was placed in a home for care. There they were qursed back to health.

The company was reoutfitted with horses and supplies and continued a successful trip to California.

Grandma asked me if I would like to see the bed in which Captain Fwmont had slept.

It was a large white bed with handturned posts, most pmbably of mountain pine. The coverlet was a handmade quilt which 1 touched reverently, because 1 loved and honored the pioneers.

While a student at the University of California at Berkeley, I reseaiched in the BancroftLibrary and found Fremont's journal in which there is an account of this incident. I also found the account by his wife. Jessie, which had been published in a magazine of that time called WideAwake. She had titled her account "A Modern Ghost Story," and in it she told of how she was suddenly seized with anxiety a b u t her husband, though he had made m a n y explorations and returned safely.

She became quite distraught, When there appewed before her a big white bed in which her husband lay relaxed, she immediately told all those in the house that he was safe.

Because Jessie's story in Wiak Awake was brought into question, all members of the household were interviewed, including Fremont. Theh replies are also found in the Bancroft Library. In Irving Stone's book Immortal Wife, which is the story of Jessie Fremont, this thought communication between Jessie and her husband is also recounted.

This brief incident in Fremont's life is recorded by his biographers, and his stay in Parowan has been remembered by my family because the captain slept in Grandma's big white bed.

..

"

The Incredible Jedediah ,

IN THE COUNTRY OF THE PA UTCHES (PAIUTES), JED FOUND A CAVE WITH ROOF, SIDES, AND FLOOR OF SOLID ROCK SALT. HE SENT A CHUNK OF SALT TO WILLIAM CLARK.

ARTIST: BRENT SHAW FOSTER

25

The n reumle Jc. liah Strc- i g amith Wrote of His ~dventuresamong the !#%y?5 i Indians of Utah's D-sc t Countw .

2$<p-

'HE GREAT EXPLORERS OF THE WEST, JED iMlTH WAS ALSO A

:EN QBSERVER, AS HIS t E l T â&#x201A;¬ R TO CLARK DEMONSTRATES.

1

CALUGRAPtIY: MARTHA R. STEWART

INDIAN DIFFICULTIES On the 31st of October, ult., at 6 o'clock, P.M., an express arrived from Fillmore City, forwarded by President Call, bearing dispatches for Washington City, from the Pacific RaiI Road Party, now in this Territory, and a letter from Brevet Captain R. M. Moms, to Gov. Young, briefly detailing the unexpected, and lamentable Indian massacre of Capt. John W. Gunnison, and seven of his party, near the swamps of the Sevier river, and as near as we can learn, about 20 miles north of the Sevier ]Lake.

This event happened about 6 o'clwk a.m., of the 26th ult., as the party were sitting down to breakfat. Only four escapad, leaving insmmnts, notes,animals, and all the baggage, in possession of the Indians.

LIST OF THE KILLED Capt. J.W. Gunnison, Corps Topg'I Eng., U.S.A.

Mr. R.H. Kern, Topographer of the party.

Mr. Creatzfeldt, Botanist of the party.

Mr. Wm. Potter, Guide of the party.

Rivate Li~trott.

Rivate idf fie id, Company A M n t ' d Riflemen.

Private Merhteens, John Bellows, Employee.

Immediately upon the receipt of the above intelligence, Governor Ymng began active preparations for the recovery of the lost property, and the proper disposal of the dead bdies, in the sanguine hope of being able to obtain the h d y of Captain Gunnisan, with the design to forward it to his family.

By half past one o'clock, on the mmning of the 1st inst.. D.B. Huntington, interpreter, with a sufficient party, a quantity of Indian presents, a letter of instructions, and a lemr to Brevet Captain Morris, was on his way to the

,I

cjvnauo~now.

main camp of the party, reported to & near Fillmore City, with instructions from Governor Young to proceed with all possible speed and diligence, using the necessary relays, and repwt himself ready to aid in carrying out the wishes of Captain Morris.

Mr. Huntington was instructed to hire Kano-she, and other friendly Pauvans to go with him to the Pauvans on the Sevier, and try all possible methods to recover the lost prup-ty, and padcularly the instruments and notes. This was deemed a far better policy to accomplish the objwt in view, than to furnish additional troops to pursue an enemy they would probably never find.

Since the departure of Mr. Huntington, Brevet Captain Morris and all the party have arrived in the city. We learn they met Mr. Huntington at Nephi, 93 miles south of this city, on the 2nd inst., and that he proceeded on from there accompanied by one of the Gmernrlaent party as a guide. We have also learned from Captain Morris that he reached the camp ground, where the massacre occured, early on the following morning and returned to the main camp, leaving all the dead bodies on the top of the ground....

We feel to comrnisserate deeply with the friends of those who have been so suddenly and unexpected1y cut off, but more especially with the wife and children of Captain Gunnison, who was endeared to us by a formed and fondly cherished acquaintanceship in 1849-'50, while he was engaged with Captain Howard Stansbury in the survey of the Great Salt and Utah Lakes. And we take thisoccasion to h r tribute to the memory of Captain Gunnison, as a gentleman of high and fine toned feeling, as particularl y urbane in his deportment to all, and as an officer having few equals in the service, in the strict, accurate, energetic, speedy, intelligent, persevering performance of duty under any and

all circumstances.

SEVERi NT LATEF IN I REPRl h I cv A N nn rI-MORMON ACCOulv T.

DESERET NEW!

IYI

WHO WERE THE MURDERERS OF CAPTAIN GUNNISON AND HIS PARTY? "The attention of the country has been most painfully aroused by the recent account of the death of Captain Gunnison, and a portion of the men under his command, while engaged upon the survey of one of the routes for the contemplated railroad to the Pacific. All the accounts concur in stating that the murder was committed by Walker's band of Utahs.

"Our present object is to call public attention to certain facts connected with the murder of Captain Gunnison and his party, which indicate that it was not the work of the Indians, as we were at first led to believe. We have conversed upon the subject with several old mountaineers, men who have spent a large portion of their lives in the Rocky Mountains, and who are familiar with the lndians of that region: and they have informed us that the facts and circumstances, as stated in the published accounts of the affair,indicate most strongly that it was not the work of the Indians. In the first place, the murder could not have been committed by the Pauvants, the tribe inhabiting the region of country in which it occurred, because Kern, and others of the party, were killed with firearms; and those Indians have no guns, and do not understand their use. The Utahs live remote from the spot where the tragedy was performed, and, besides, they are at peace with dl white men, except the Mormons. Beale and Heap passed through the country of the Utahs without molestation of any kind. On the contrary, they were kindly received; game was killed for them; and the Indians informed them that they made war only upon the Mormons, who had taken away their lands. Gunnison, also, had passed through the country of the Utahs, and they made no attack u p n him.

There are others, and still stronger circurnstances, which, in the minds of those acquainted with Indian usage, are conclusive of the fact that the murder was not committed by them.

Prominent among these, i s the fact that the slain were not scalped. - The scalp is the Indian's trophy. To the Indian warrior it is more valuable than booty. It is the p m f of his valor, and confers upon him rank and distinction in his tribe. . . .Another circumstance i s that notes, surveys, and other papers of the party were carried away .-Papers are valueless to an Indian. He never takes them away, and usually scatters them upon the ground as useless.

"By whom, then, was this bloody and atrocious crime committed? Captain Gunnison's party were in the midst of the Mormon settIernents, and we think there is more ground for suspecting the Mormons of the murder than there is for supposing it to be the work of Indians. . . .

"These people, moreover, have shown their determination to isolate themselves, and erect a government of their own, in the basin and valley of the Great Salt Lake. It will be recollected that they expelled all the United States officers who were not of the Mormon faith, and set at naught the judicial system of the United States, declaring the "church" was the paramount authority with them. They have driven out of the country all those whose religion differed from their own, and who had formed a purpose of settling there. . . .With such views, it is no part-of the policy of these people to permit an exploration of their country, for the purpose of finding a route for a railroad, which is to be the highway of nations, and if made, would bring them again under the observation of the civilized world. Indeed, it was the last thing they desired, and the very thing from which they were thinking to escape.

"This may account for the fact that the murderers carried away or destroyed the notes and surveys which it was the object of Gunnison's expedition to make, and which no Indians could have taken or thought worthy of destruction. It proves very little that the survivors of Gunniwn's party should have thought that the attack was made by Indians. It was easy for the Mormons, supposing them to have been the perpetrators of the deed, to have assumed the garb of Indians. Nothing, in fact, could be more natural, and it is evident enough that the fugitives did not take time to scrutinize their assailants very closely. There was a strong motive for throwing the odium of it upon the Indians, for the Mormons, being at war with them, might justly hope that the United States would inflict a severe chastisement upon the guilty party, which would be, ineffect, to fight the battles of the Mormons.

"We have shown, we think, that the motives which led to this foul and most atrocious murder were such as may well be supposed to influence a Mormon, while they could hardly operate upon the Indians. . .

FROM THE MISSOUAI DEMOCRAT

HOW DO THE lWO NEWSPAPER ACCOUNTS DIFFER FROM EACH OTHER AND FROM BECKWITH'S REPORT ON P. 301 HOW ARE THEY ALIKE? WHICH EVIDENCE IS BEST? WHY? 29

LT. E. G. BECKWITH GAVE HIS VERSION OF THE GUNNISON MASSACRE IN A N OFFICIAL REPORT TO JEFFERSON DAVIS WHO WAS THEN THE U.S. SECRETARY OF WAR. THIS EXCERPT COVERS THE MORMON RESPONSE TO THE TRAGEDY. BECKWITH TOOK OVER THE RAILROAD SURVEY AFTER HIS SUPERIOR'S DEATH.-

VLLUUel' L Y ,

load.

fl

piil l y

U l Ute LlLLLellb V l

r 111111UlG, 1 L G U U G U VY

UlGil plG3IUGILLI lVl1. L\LlOWll

Call, and accompanied by Mr. Richards from Great Salt Lake City, came to our camp to request Captain Morris to furnish the particulars of the disaster of the 26th instant, to be forwarded by express to the governor of the Territory of Utah, which would be the last that could be depended upon to reach the States before the next spring-provided these dispatches could be furnished within two or three hours. Hasty notes were accordingly written, without time to take copies for future reference, and reached Great Salt Lake City just in time for the mail.

President Call and Mr. Richards, taking an interest in the survey, tendered us all the aid within their power, and the former voluntarily took upon himself the task of recovering from the Indians the papers and instruments they had captured; for which I furnished presents to reward the exertions of the friendly Indians who were to be employed.

These efforts of Mr. Call proved very successful, and we had the pleasure, a few days subsequent to our arrival at Great Salt Lake City, of receiving at the hands of the agents of the governor of the Territory, Brigham Young, all the notes, most of the instruments, and several of the arms lost-the latter much injured, but the former in good condition. Serveral mules and horses were alsu recovered. Governor Young, immediately on the receipt of the intelligence of the massacre, despatched agents to the scene of the bagedy to bury the dead, and if possible, remove the remains of Captain Gunnison and others, and recover the property captured in the camp. In the last particular, however, as I have stated, he had been anticipated.

October 30. Kenosh, t h e chief of the band of murderers, arrived at Fillmore, having been sent for by Mr. Call, accompanied by fifteen or twenty of his people. He brought with him one of the public horses lost by Captain Gunnison's escort "which," he said, "he had taken from the fellow who came to him with the intelligence of their successful o~eration,and hastened to return it, meeting Mr. Call's messenger on the way; that he deeply regretted the tragedy; that it was done without authority by the young men-boys, as he called them- of the tribe, who had no chief with them, or it would not have happened." He subsequently informed the governor's agent that there were thirty of his people in the party, two of whom were its instigators, seeking revenge for the death of their father, who, they said, had been killed by emigrants but a few days before. .d

30

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7

come over to my diggin's and pick out your pelt!"

It was not until the next summer when Ashley's captain, Jedediah Smith, returned from an expedition that had brought him within sight of the great lake that Bridger and the others learned of their error. Jedediah thought that maybe he was the first of the trappers to see the body of water about which the Indians had talked and about which many a legend was to be told around the western campfires.

"Yore a mite late, Cap'n" Black Harris said. "Jim's already been down the river to that thar lake, as you call it. Waugh! Jim thought ' h a s the Pacific, he did! That Jim!

Can't tell a lake from a ocean, ha can't!"

But Harris refused to return the beaver pelt Jim had paid him. Ignoring his slurring comment to the captain, he had a ready explanation for hanging onto his winning.

"Cap'n says it's jest a lake, but who knows?P'raps that thar' lake'is more'n a lake.

Who knows if it ain't a arm of the Pacific? Tell me that! Waugh!"

And nothing Captain Jedediah Smith could say had the power to change Black's mind.

"Never ye mind," Jim said philosophically. "There's plenty more pelts where that one came from. And I saw the lake, I did!

'Twas worth a pelt, that's for sartain!"

Beckwourth visits Cache Valley

BY JAMES w.

BECKWouRTH AS TO THOMAS 0.BONNER

On arriving at the forksof the Platte, we held a councii, and resolved to follow up the north branch to its source, thence cross over to Green River, thus striking it much higher up than we had ever been on that stream before. We proceeded accordingly--crossed Green River, and held our course to the head of Salt River. Here we found a party belonging to the general's company. Winter was now beginning to set in, and it was time for the whole company to go into winter quarters. As nearly as 1, can recollect, this was the end of October, 1823.

A place of rendezvous had been previously agreed upon, and as it was certain that the various parties would soon-assemble,I concluded to proceed to the rendezvous, and wait the arrival of Sublet, for the delivery of my dispatches, rather than undertake a search for him in the mountain wilderness. I and my companions, therefore, continued with the party until we reached the rendezvous. The parties, one after the other, came slowly in, and Sublet's was the last to arrive. It was now too late for me to return, and I had no alternative but to wait until spring.

Our present rendezvous was in Cache Valley, but Sublet gave orders for all to remove to Salt Lake, which was a few miIes distant, and then go into winter quarters. We accordingly moved to the mouth of "Weaver's Fork," and established ourselves there.

31

Historic

R TRAPPER, DEHlS LEFf HtS NAME IN HELL ROARING CANYON IN SOLJTH-

---.,..,