-fu.^^ i o ♦.,,.' .0- ^ ^^-n^ •, ♦1^% V ^^ 'i o ^H^ * ^^' ^ •'*«o' .^^ Of. *•. «5> * © H . -et. ^^ ' .>Va» ■'V ..c.'i^ .' ^^^^^'^ .' PhcT.r.c-ravt, "Ty Ro M. ^e >^£?^/^1^/^. -trLLER. ORTOtJ. fc MTILr..lGA>< . THE YOUNG AMERICAN'S LIFE OF FREMONT. BY ♦ FRANCIS C. WOODWORTH, EDITOR OF "WOODWORTH'S YOUTH's CABINET,'' AUTHOR OF "uncle FRANK'S HOME STORIES," THEODORE THINKER'S TALES," "INSECT WONDERS," ETC. / MILLEE, ORTON & MULLIGAN, NEW ¥ORK, 25 PARR ROW; AUBURN, 107 GENESEE ST. 1856. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1856, by MILLER, ORTON AND MULLIGAN, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of the United States for the Southern Disti-ict of New York. MILLER & IIOLMAN, Printers & Stereotypei-s, N. T, PREFACE. I HAVE written tlie following pages chiefly, not solely, for young Americans — for boys on or near those stairs to manhood called teens. John 0. Fremont is a man who has hewed his way, through many obstacles, to greatness and usefulness. There are few men of the present age, who have accomplished so much, in so brief a period, for them- selves and their country. Beginning his career without wealth, without influential friends, without the prestige of distinguished ancestry, he has risen, by the force of his own iron will, to a position among his countrymen, which kings might envy. He has won for himself the name, though still below the full meridian of life, of one of the greatest explor- ers of the nineteenth century. Whether we judge of his ex- plorations by the amount of genius, and courage, and daring, and perseverance, which they involved, or by their magnifi- cent results, we are forced to admit that they are seldom equaled. On this account — not only because of his success, but because he made his own road to success — I regard his his- tory as one of great value to young men, now preparing to take active parts in the great drama of life. I have written these sketches, with this end, more than any other, in view. It has been my purpose to hold up before the mind of the young reader, prominently but truthfully, the exploits of the great Pathfinder of the Rocky Mountains ; to show how Preface. he rose, from comparative obscurity, crushing all obstacles under his feet, to his present enviable position ; and to incite and encourage young men, let their advantages be few or many, by the example his history affords them. The book was prepared with no political object. I have not gone out of my way to gather laurels for the subject of it. I have sketched him, according to the best of my abili- ty, just as he was, and is, aiming only to present a correct model, and to render it effective in its influence upon the character and career of the young aspirant to genius. To Dr. John Kobertou, formerly of Charleston, but now of Philadelphia, I am under special obligations, for incidents which came under his observation while Fremont, then a lad of some thirteen years, was a pupil in his school. Other facts connected with his early history, not embraced in either of the excellent lives already before the public, I have col- lected from conversations with several former residents of Charleston who were acquainted with the Fremont family. I may add, too, for the benefit of the reader — should I hap- pen to have one of this class and order — who knows so little of the character of Colonel Fremont, as to need such an assurance, that I have derived nothing whatever of my material from him. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. Introduction, telling what I am going to do, and how I am going to do it 13 CHAPTER II. Parentage of John Charles Fremont — Huguenot origin of the Fami- ly — Why the Father came to this Country — Taken Prisoner of War — Escapes — His Wooing, and Wedding — Journey among the Indians — Birth of Charles — Condition of the Family Money Chest — Is it well for Boys to start in the World Rich ? — Death of Charles' Father — Incidents of Childhood 18 CHAPTER III. Early Youth of John Charles— Some Thoughts about the Cultivation of Wild Oats — Charles goes to School at Charleston — The way he served the Bully — Finds a good Friend, who sends him to a Select School — Dr. Eoberton, the excellent Tutor — What he says about his young Pupil — What the Pupil says of the Tutor — Charles at Play — His Fortitude in Suffering — His Love for his Sister — Goes to College — An Act not laid down in the Play — A few grains of Philosophy, dry as Scotch Snuff, though not as pungent 28 CHAPTER IV. Charles turns over a new Leaf — Kindness to his Mother — Efforts to fit Himself for active Life — Teacher and Scholar at the same Time — Death of his Sister and Brother — Progress in Mathe- matics — Takes to Civil Engineering — Executes a Difficult Task — Is Enrolled in the National Crusade against South Caro- yiii Contents. Una Nullifiers— Cruise to South America — Appointed Second Lieutenant of the Topographical Engineers — His first taste of Life in the Wilderness — Buffalo Hunt — Getting Lost — Returns to Washington — Falls in love with Jessie Benton — How he wooed, and how he wed her — His Religious Sentiments — What his Enemies say, and how they lie (under a mistake) — Thoughts by the Way, as well as in the Way 46 CHAPTER V. Fu*st great Exploring Expedition — Its Object — Kit Carson — Hos- tile Indians — A Funny Mistake — The Dog Feast — Arrival at Foi-t Laramie — Courage of the Party — Harangue of the Indian Chiefs — Fremont's Speech in Reply — The Party move on — Per- ilous Journey — Stories about Starvation ahead — No Flinching among the Company — How they Broke their Barometer — How it was Repau'ed — Approach to the highest Peak in the Rocky Mountains — Preparations for Climbing it — Difficulty of reaching its Base — Snow and Ice — Ground and Lofty Tum- bling — Encampment among the Mountains — They reach the Base of the Highest Peak — Scrambling towards the Top — Dan- gers of the Ascent — Fremont reaches the Summit First — The Rest of the Party follow — Great Exultation — The Star-Spangled Banner planted on the Top of the Peak — An Exploring Bee — His Capture— Return to the Encampment — Homeward Bound — Wreck on the Platte River— Loss of Valuable Papers and Instruments — Perils of Upsetting among Rapids — Safe Return to St. Louis 57 CHAPTER VI. Fremont's Second Exploring Expedition— The Object of it— The Outfit — Enlistment of the Company — The Route — Scraping Acquaintance with the Sioux Indians — Queer Articles of Food — Arrival at the Great Salt Lake— Visit to an Island in the Lake — The Bear Springs — Turbulence of the Lake— Perils Com- mence — Indian Character in General— The Author's Descrip- tion of Kansas Indians — An Odd Name— Analysis of the Wa- ter in the Great Salt Lake— A Party of Exploring Musquitoes —Purchase of a Horse— His Sacrifice for Food— Snake In- dians—How they Live— Their Resemblance to the Vegetables Contents. ix they eat — Men's wants Avhat they choose to make them — Lights and Shadows of Ultra Civihzation 79 CHAPTER VII. Fremont's Arrival at Fort Hall — Geographical Position of the Fort — The Distance Traveled — Preparation for Winter — Fre- mont as a Narrator — Arrival at Fort Vancouver — The Main Object of the Expedition Attained — Plans for more Extended Explorations — Sense versus Heroism — Wisdom of Hudibras — Obligations of the Country to tbe Great Pathfinder — Exhibits a nobler Heroism than that of the Battle Field — Value of his Career as a Model for Youth — Fremont and Napoleon Com- pared — General Ignorance, up to this time, respecting the Dis- trict to be Explored — Current Fables about it — Fremont's strict regard to Justice — Arrival at the Tlamath Lake — Its sin- gular Character — Overawing Hostile Indians — A Talk with the Tribe— Their Rank in the scale of InteUigence — Singular In- dian Dogs — A Glance at the Map — Extent of the Territory of Utah — Something about the Mormons in Particular, and Pools in General 99 CHAPTER VIII. A Glance at the Snake Indians — Interior View of their Lodges — Their Food — How a whole Village was Frightened olf— Fogs plenty and Grass scarce— Remarkable Boiling Springs— -An Episode in the shape of a Trout Feast— Looking out for the fabled Buenaventura River— Decision to cross over the Sierra Nevada into California — Indians again — Engagement of a chicken-hearted Guide, and how he ran away — Virtues of the Snake Indians not numerous — Character of the Sierra Nevada- Fremont's Address before Commencing the new Enterprise — Scarcity of Provisions— The Roast Dog— Snow increases- How a Path is made— A Mule Slide— Frozen Feet— Traveling on Snow-shoes — The Mercury goes down, as the Party go up — Taking the Veil— Tragic end of the little Dog Tlamath— Arrival at the Summit of the Mountain — Height of the Sierra — An Ac- cidenteil Cold Bath — No Grass — Horses begin to decline in Strength— Grass at last— A Man becomes light-headed. . 114 Contents. CHAPTER IX. Loss of Mr. Preuss — Careful Search for him — He is not Fouud — Guns fired, but no Answer — Traces of Indians — An Indian Vil- la^Q — No Tidings of Preuss — Grass-Eating Squaws — Beautiful Camp — Preuss is found— Story of his Adventures — An Indian Village, neat for a Wonder — Good News — Sutter's Fort near at band — Arrival at Sutter's — A civilized Dinner once mure — New Outfit — Homeward' Bound — Route Indicated— Barter with In- dians — Party leave the Plain, and take to the Mountains again — Capture of Horses stolen from Spanish Traders — Adventures with the Digger Indians — Their Lizard-hunting— Their Horse- Stealing — Their Root-digging — Their Deeds in general — A Horse- feast — Tragic end of Tabeau — Arrival at the Southern arm of the Great Salt Lake— Almost a Skirmisli — They reach the Summit of the Rocky Mountains — Arrival at Bent's Fort— End of the Se- cond Expedition 139 CHAPTER X. Third Expedition — The Route — The objects to be gained — The Pio- neer Party — Search for them by Night — Division of the Expedi- tion into two Parties — Route of each Division — Fremont's Party Encounter the old Squaw left to die — ^The young Indian and his Dinner-pot — The 'rheft — Strange Encounter — The two Divisions meet again — Setting in of Winter — The Party again divided — Fremont obtains Supplies from Captain Sutter — Starts in Pur- suit of the other Division — Skirmish with Horse Thief Indians — Indian Courage analyzed — Barking and biting Dogs contrast- ed — Hemmed in by the Snow — Loss of the Cattle — Mi&take in the Name of the Pass — Overwise People — Meeting of the two Divisions — Fremont proceeds to Monterey — Obtains Permission of the Government to pass through the Country, with his Men — Afterwards receives Orders to quit — Encounters Eighty Mexican Dragoons — Takes a Position, and acts on the Defensive — Hia laconic Note to the Consul — Marches again under Cover of the Night— Dispatches from Washington — Battle with the Tlamath Indians — Saving Carson's Life 168 Contents. xi CHAPTER XI. Military Exploits in California — State of the Country when Fre- mont arrived — Designs of England— The people look to Fremont for a Leader — He accedes to their Request — Aims at the Inde- pendence of California — Raises the Bear Flag — His Battalion — Marches against the hostle Indians — Advance of Castro — Dis- appointment in not meeting him — Castro's Scientitio Movements — Fremont's Practical Movements — Attacks and routs Sev- enty of Castro's Dragoons — Clears the Northern Part of Cali- fornia of Mexican Troops — Intelligence of Declaration of War with Mexico — Hoisting the United States Flag — Pursues Castro — Appointed Governor of California by Commodore Stockton — Capture of Prisoners — Pardon of Pico — Conquest of Califor- nia due to Fremont more than to any other Man — Boldness of his Movements — Conciliates the Wah lah-wah-lah Indians — Ap- pointed Lieutenant-Colonel — Extraordinary Ride — A Bear Story — Trouble resulting fx-om the Dispute between Stockton and Kear- ney — The Dilemma — Decides to obey Stockton — Accused by Kearney, and brought before a Court-Martial — Court decide Against him — Reasons — Fremont's Enemies — How he came by them — Reinstated by the President — Gives up his Commission, and leaves the Army — Death of his Mother — Compliment by the Citizens of Charleston t 191 CHAPTER XII. Fourth Expedition — Why it was undertaken — How it was Effected — Who made up the Party — Mr. Preuss — How strangely he and Fremont became acquainted, and what came of their Ac- quaintance — Starting of the Expedition — Arrival at Bent's Fort — Letter to Colonel Benton — Letter to his Wife — Engagement of an ignorant Guide — Details of the Sufferings of the Party — Violent Snow Storms — Loss of all the Mules — Provisions give out — Death of ten of the Party from Starvation and Freezing — Arrival of Fremont and a Portion of the Party at Carson's in New Mexico — Further Particulars of Suffering and Death — Hope for the Future — Effoi-ts to Rescue the Men still in the Mountains — Fremont goes on to California — The Mariposas Es- tate — Story about one of Fremont's Men— Arrival of his Family xii Contents. — What kind of Life Mrs. Fremont had to live — How she got nloug with it — What she said about having Slaves to help her— What her Husband said, and what he did to keep Slavery out of California — Constitution adopted without Slavery — Fremont Elected Senator — Gets the Short Term by drawing Lots — His Course in the Senate — His Activity and Industry — His rank as a Legislator — His Capacities as a Leader in Washington as well U6 across the Rocky Mountains, . . . .... 213 CHAPTER XIII. Keturnto California — Illness— Deals in Cattle — His Dealings with the United States Government — Golden iVLedal from the King of Prussia — Letter from Earon Humboldt — Visit to Europe — Fifth and last Exploring Expedition — Extreme Cold — Encounters Mr. Babbitt with the Mail for Washington — Letter to Colonel Benton — Mr. Carvalho's Journal — A Glance at theDinner Table — Sleep- ing in open Air— Fremont's Address — The solemn Oath — Trav- eling barefoot — Saucy Indians — Their insolent Demand.* — How they were dealt with — The Lesson they learned— Their final De- parture, each one with a Flea in his Ear— Decline and Death of Fuller — Results of this Expedition — Fremont's ArriA'al in Cali- fornia — Public Dinner tendered to him, which he declines — Goes to Washington—Removes with his Family to New York — He is Nominated as a Candidate for the Presidency — Reasons for Selecting him — Importance of the Principles to defend which he was selected — The great Question to be decided in the Contest for the Presidency — Personal Appearance of Fremont — His Ad- dress — Prominent Traits in his Character 244 CHAPTER XIY. Wherein the Story-Teller, having finished the Spinning of his Yarn, does little else but wind it up. 276 YOUNG AMERICAN'S LIFE OF FREMONT. Chapte r I. BOYS, I am going to talk to you about one of the most noted men of the present age. I am going to show you not only what great things he has accomplished, not only how high he has risen in the respect and admiration of his country, but how he reached this aston- ishing height, and what steps he took to attain it. Can you guess now who my hero is ? " I guess it is Napoleon, the French em- peror." No ; my hero, in climbing up to this high place in his country's regard, has n-ot waded through the blood of his countrymen, nor used piles of their dead bodies as steps to his great- ness. 14 Young American's "But be was a military hero, wasn't he, Uncle Frank?" He was acquainted with military affairs, and has shown himself a brave man on the field of battle ; but his greatest exploits, and those which have won for him the name of one of the bravest heroes, and one of the brightest ornaments of the present century, were far enough from being warlike. He has had much more to do with peace than with war. " Oh, Uncle Frank ! I thought you were going to tell us about somebody who had fought ever so many battles. I like war-stories above all things." I don't doubt it. I never saw a boy yet who didn't like fairy stories, and stories about pirates, and about heroes fighting in the ranks of the wounded and dying. Boys delight in such tales, because there is something stirring, some- thins^ startlinor about them. But. unless I am greatly mistaken, the scenes in the life of my hero, although they are mostly peaceful and harmless, are stirring enough, and thrilling enough, to suit anybody's taste. " Oh, I wonder if you don't intend to give us some stories about Fremont ?" That's it, my shrewd fellow ! You've hit Life of Fremont. 15 the nail on the head exactly. Our hero is — John Charles Fremont. "I'm glad of that. I've heard something about him, and I want to know more. I'm not sure but I would rather listen to the story about his exploits among the snows of the Eocky Mountains, than I would about fighting battles, and killing lots of people." Well, I'm not sorry to hear you say so. Uncle Frank is not much of a fighting charac- ter, and he has a strong dislike to war, in any shape. I don't doubt that wars are necessary sometimes, though very seldom, I think ; and when they are necessary, the necessity is a ter- rible one. To my mind, there is nothing pleasant in the visage of War. I don't love to look him in the face. I don't love to look over the ground where his feet have trod, nor to dwell on the deeds he has done. The little that our hero has had to do with battles, in the course of his life, was when surrounded by circum- stances which seemed to compel him to ex- change, for a time, the pursuits of peace for those more warlike. He was never a lover of war, as some people are, just for the sake of the excitement of it. It really seems to me, boys, that we shall 16 Young American's get along bravely with our chat about the ad- ventures of Fremont. In the first place, there is nothing which I would love to talk about so well ; and in the second place, if I understand you, there is nothing which you would like better to hear about. Now, let US determine upon the plan we shall pursue in going over these adventures. I don't mean to tell you all that Charles Fremont ever did in his life. Before I got through with such a task as this, were I to attempt it, I think you would begin to tease me to take up some other theme. You would think, if you didn't say right out, that I was giving you rather too much of a good thing. I shall present you w^ith only the principal incidents in the life of the great pathfinder, and pass lightly over the rest. Let me see : is it best to go straight for- ward with my story, at a dashing rate, some- what after the railroad fashion, and have all the talking to myself? or shall the boys be allowed, once in a while, to put in a word themselves, and ask Uncle Frank to be a little steady and gentle when he comes to the hard spots, and to see that everybody gets safely over ? No answer, eh ? Ah, I see how it is. I've the most modest set of nephews to be found on Life of Fremont. 17 this continent, I verily believe. You are afraid to come right out, and say you would like to take a part in the conversation, rather than have Uncle Frank do all the talking. You are afraid to say so, because it might look as if you thought he would tire out your patience. But I see clearly enough — for I can read it in your countenances— what your minds are on this point. You would like the liberty of asking a question now and then, and perhaps of throwing in a remark. Well, I w^ould quite as lief have it so. In telling my stories, I always think I have accomplished half my task when I can see that every one is listening w4th as much in- terest as I am talking ; and to gain that end, to secure that interest, I don't mind breaking the thread of a story short off, every two or three minutes. I can join the threads together again, as easily as a weaver can tie the broken pieces in his loom ; and when the whole story is woven, I don't know that it makes much difference in the appearance of it, whether the Jilling has been broken or not. The cloth is just as good, in either case. 18 Young American's Chapter II. THE father of John Charles Fremont was not a rich man. It is a very common opinion among boys, that just about the best thing that can happen to a young man, when he is setting out in life, is to have a nice fortune left him by his father. Now I don't think so. I think there are some other things far more desirable to start with than w^ealth. That is well enough ; but what is it worth without ambi- tion, without habits of industry, and energy, and perseverance ? I would rather a young man should have these traits of character than whole chests full of silver and gold. From his father, Charles inherited no money, no lands, no bank-stock. " Is it too early yet to stop the train, Uncle Frank?" Not at all. *' Then, if you please, I wish you would tell us why you say Charles, when almost every- body, in talking about him, and writing about him, calls him John Charles.''' Life of Fremont. 19 Well, I'll tell you. Though he was chris- tened with this double name, the last one only was used in his childhood and youth, in ad- dressing him. Nobody used to call him John Charles at school. His teacher never gave him the double name. He grew up familiar only with the sinole one. The entire name was sel- dom or never used until he became famous by his exploits ; and then it was thrust upon him by strangers, who were not aware what he had been called formerly. His new name doesn't sound so familiar and pleasant to the family as the old one. So I shall call him Charles, as he used to be called — as I have heard the friends of his boyhood speak of him, and as his mother would call him, were she still in the world. Well, as I was saying, Charles Fremont in- herited from his father no huge piles of money, no broad acres of land. But he had within himself an iron will, more valuable than all the gold mines in California. What does such a boy need wealth for, when he begins his struggle with the world, and when he makes np his mind that he will do somctJihig and he somehochj ? Wealth ! why it would be in his way. It would clog his steps to greatness. So do not whine and murmur, my boy, if you don't 20 Young American's happen to be the son of a man who can count his thousands of dollars. I honestly believe you are quite as well off without the thousands, as you would be with them. Indeed, I am not sure but you are better off. Certainly you are, if you have got within you the spirit of Charles. I don't believe he would have been half so successful if he had had a hundred thou- sand dollars left him by some rich relative. If he had been rich, he would never have felt the need of drawing so largely upon the treasures within him. The father of Charles was born in France. His name, too, was John Charles. He came over to this New World during the period of the French Revolution. Like many others of his countrymen, he preferred the life of an ex- ile in a distant land, to one in the midst of the horrors of the sword and the guillotine. The streets of Lyons, the native city of Mr. Fre- mont, for weeks and months, ran with the blood of its citizens. France was under the reign of terror. The people — the honest, the sincere, the true-hearted people — who, at first, approved of the revolution, now began to de- plore it. From the king, and the queen, and the highest nobles, the guillotine at length se- Life of Fremont. 21 Jected its victims from the lower ranks. The people were alarmed. Terror spread every- where, and took possession of every breast. No one felt safe. As head after head fell beneath the fatal blade, who could tell but his own turn might come next ? It was from the midst of scenes such as these, and in consequence of them, that Mr. Fre- mont fled from his country, and sought a home on this side of the Atlantic. He was a Huguenot. " That's rather a knotty v^ord. Will you please to tell us what it means, sir ?" Certainly. I'm glad you asked the question. I can remember when I disliked to have any- body stop me, right in the midst of a story. It used to put me out. But I made up my mind, long ago, that it was a great deal better to have the boys understand me, than it was to have my stories go on smoothly. Story-tellers too often go ahead like a steam-engine, if you let them have their own way. It is w^ell to put on the breaks once in a while, as you are doing. But about the Huguenots. You know that during the first half of the sixteenth century, Martin Luther and others, living in different parts of Germany, said a 22 Young American's great deal and wrote a great deal against the religion of the Eoman Catholic Church. Lu- ther's whole soul was on fire respecting the errors and the wickedness of the Pope and the priests. He spoke and wrote with great earn- estness. The people, many of them, believed what he said, and by and bye, a great portion of Germany became Protestants. This is the period in history which we call the Reformation, Luther's doctrines spread. They soon reached France and England. There was a violent opposition to the Protestants in France. Those who embraced the religion were burned or inhumanly slaughtered. Still multitudes declared themselves converts to the new re- ligion. These persons at length took the name of Huguenots, They were among the greatest heroes whom the world ever knew. They went to the stake, for their faith. The king of France, at this time, was a mere boy, some thirteen or fourteen years of age, and the gov- ernment was in the hands of a woman by the name of Catherine de Medici, the queen mo- ther. She was a very zealous Catholic, and a very cruel woman. After persecuting the Hu- guenots, with the spirit of a fiend, for several years, she determined to kill the whole of Life of Fremont. 23 them, men, women and children. So, one night, she held a council with her ministers and some of the Catholic priests, to discuss the mode in which her designs should be car- ried out. At this council, it was resolved, that on the approaching Saint Bartholomew's Day, lYl 1 there sho^ild be a general massacre of the Hu- guenots throughout the city of Paris. Secret orders were sent all over the city. The day arrived. At midnight, a bell from the tow^er of the royal palace gave the signal that the work of murder was to commence. Thousands were slain that night ; and afterwards, by the order of the queen mother, the massacre was extended to the whole kingdom. These bloody scenes continued thirty days ; and during this period, at least thirty thousand Huguenots, whose only crime was that they dared to think for themselves, in matters of religion, suffered death. But we must get back again to our story. It is time to join the thread, I think. The vessel in which Mr. Fremont left France for this country, was captured by an English man- of-war. '*How did that happen. Uncle Frank ? What had Mr. Fremont or any of the rest of the 24 Young American's passengers done, to deserve capture and impri- sonment ?" Why nothing, perhaps. But the command- er of the English vessel was acting according to the laws of war, which are very different from those that control people in times of peace. " Then France and England were at war at that time ?" Yes, I ought to have mentioned this fact be- fore, perhaps. Mr. Fremont was taken to one of the British islands, with the rest of the passengers and crew, where he w^as detained as a prisoner of war. Fremont, the father of our Charles, was quite a young man at this time; but I think we can see in him, even at this age, something of the metal which was, years afterwards, so prominent in his son. He didn't spend his time in sighing over the mise- ry of his fate. He kept up a good heart. He made the best of his misfortune. He went to work. He and his companions made willow- baskets, and sold them. Fremont, however, found he could do better at painting, than he could at basket-making ; so, after a while, he began to paint frescoes for the ceilings of the wealthy inhabitants. By and bye, he had a Life of Fremont. 25 great deal of work to do, in the way of fresco painting. He soon earned money enough to enable him to escape, and he did escape. " How long was he a prisoner, Uncle Frank ?" I don't know the exact time — some two or three years, I think. He went from this island to Norfolk, in the State of Virginia. Thence, soon after, he went to Richmond, where he gave French lessons, by which, for a while, he sustahied himself. Not long after this we find him in love with a beautiful and accomplished lady, who seems to have given him her own love in return for his. He w^as married when he was about thirty years old. Mr. Fremont was fond of adven- ture, and it would seem that his wife shared this fondness, to some extent, with him. At that time, a great portion of the States of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee, wasinhabited by Indians. Through this country Mr. and Mrs. Fremont determined to travel. They wanted to learn all there was among the Indians, strange and wonderful, and they wanted, too, to see what kind of a country there was in this wilderness. They made the journey in their own carriage, taking with them 26 Young Americanos provisions, the means of cooking, beds, and all the conveniences of " camping out," as the settlers in our Western country say, in the forest. They took a great deal of interest in the Indians, and learned much of their habits. It was during this journey, right in the midst of the wild scenes of pioneer life, that Charles, our hero was born. So you see it is not strange that he should come to have such a taste for adventure, and that he should, very early in life, throw all the energies of his soul into gigantic schemes for exploring the wildest portions of our continent. \ Charles has often ^ heard his mother tell stories about this journey among the Indians. She used to say, that she never could help shuddering, when she saw those swarthy sons of the forest, take up the little babe in their rough way, and fondle him. They seemed to be very fond of him, to be sure ; but such rude treatment to that tender mother, unaccustomed to savage life, had a very suspicious look about it. She trembled for the safety of his brains. After the birth of two other children, a daughter and another son, the father deter- mined to return to France, with his family. Life of Fremont. 27 But death overtook him soon after he had formed his plan, and hurried him to *' That undiscovered country, from whose bourne No traveler returns." The mother of Charles was thus left, with very slender means, and with three small chil- dren dependent upon her for support and edu- cation. " Can you tell us how old Charles was, when his father died ?" Yes, he was about five years of age. The home of the family, for some years after this, was in the city of Charleston, South Carolina. There Mrs. Fremont used all the means she had at command — they were but few — for the education of her cliildren. 28 Young American's Chap te r III. TIME flew on, and he hurried along with him, as he does everybody else, Charles Fre- mont. He was growing up towards manhood. Would you like to know what sort of a boy he was ? I can tell you something about this in- teresting period in his histor}^ I have been so fortunate as to fall in with two or three per- sons who knew him when he was a mere lad, and before he had finished " sowing his wild oats." From them, I learned some things which I am sure you will be delighted to hear. " Oh, yes, Uncle Frank; tell us all about the ' wild oats.' " Ha ! ha ! I thought you would like to hear a few wild-oat stories. But the cultivation of this well-known vegetable species does not dif- fer much in different parts of the world. Wild oats are generally sowed at about the same season, by different youths ; and sometimes I think that nearly every boy cultivates more or less of them. " Yes, sir, and I'm one of the chaps that cul- tivate ZC55." Life of Fremont. 29 Perhaps so ; we'll take it for granted just now, at all events. *' Did Charles ever get into scrapes ?" Scrapes! Where's the dictionary? I half suspect that word never found its way into the writings of Addison, or Blair, or Chesterfield, or Johnson. It is a very expressive word, though. Henry, see what sort of company Webster makes scrape associate with. " This is w^hat he says, sir : ' Difficulty, per- plexity, distress ; that which harasses ;' and he gives the authority of Macaulay for the use of the word." Pretty good. I don't see but the chap is in- troduced into the best society. *' But I hadn't quite finished what Webster says about the word." Well, let us have the rest. " He wands up by telling us that it is ' a low word.' " Indeed ! after having quoted it from a writer so correct and pure in the use of the English language as Thomas B. Macaulay ? Well, I don't know that we can get the word into de- cent society, after all. But, to answer your question, Charles was not in the habit of — I declare I don't see but I shall be obliged to 3* 30 Young American's use the word ; I can't think of any other ; let US use it under protest^ as business men say — Charles was not much in the habit of getting into scrapes. His mischief — for they told me he was mischievous sometimes — was of the in- nocent kind, for the most part. He seldom harmed anybody by it. I must tell you of one little incident which occurred before he was a very large boy. Among the lads at the school which he attend- ed, was one smaller than the rest, and of a com- paratively feeble frame. In his childhood he had been dangerously ill for a long time ; and this illness had made him frail and weak in after life. Now, one of the boys in school loved to tease this little fellow. It was a singular taste, wasn't it ? I never could see how one strong boy could take delight in abusing a weaker one. I want to be charitable, I am sure. But when I see a boy show such a spirit as this, for my life I can't help thinking there must certainly be something very wrong, either with his head or his heart. Charles, one day, saw this bad boy abuse his smaller companion most shamefully, and his noble soul resented the insult. '* George," said he, in tones that certainly Life of Fremont. 31 sounded as if he were in earnest, *' you had better not do that acrain." o *' Who are you ?" said George, tauntingly. " I guess I shan't ask you how to behave my- self. You attend to your affairs, and I'll attend to mine." And he struck the poor little boy so hard a blow that he fell, and hurt his forehead severe- ly. In a moment Charles seized the cowardly boy, and though he struggled hard to free him- self, gave him such a whipping as entirely cured him of this abusive habit. It was while Charles was attending school in Charleston, that a gentleman, thinking he saw in the youth some evidence of more than ordi- nary genius, took a kind interest in his welfare, and helped him in his efforts to climb the hill of science. This gentleman was Mr. John W. Mitchell, a distinguished lav/yer of Charleston. He took Charles into his office, with the inten- tion, I believe, of making a lawyer of him. While residing under Mr. Mitchell's roof, he was treated with the utmost kindness. I am assured by a lady who was well acquainted both with Charles and the family of his bene- factor, that the youth could not have been treated v/ith more tenderness by Mr. Mitchell S'2 Young American's and his wife if he had been their own son. There is a story afloat — and I have seen it il- lustrated by a very graphic picture — that Charles was always required to take his meals at a side-table, as if he were not quite as good as the rest of the family. Now, this is a very nice little story, and the picture is a very pret- ty picture. But the story has not a particle of truth in it, and the artist might have been much better set to work than in illustrating it. The old house which Mr. Mitchell occupied, and for which he had a strong attachment, because it was the home of his ancestors, had a very small dining-room — so small, indeed, that it often happened, when there was company at the house, that there was not room at the prin- cipal table, and a side-table became necessary. It was only on such an occasion as this thut a side-table was used ; and then different mem- bers of the household — chiefly the younger por- tion, very likely — -took their places at this table without discrimination, Charles Fremont, of course, with the rest. Mr. Mitchell, as I was saying, took Charles into his oflice, and the youth went to work reading law. What kind of a lawyer he would have turned out to be, had he gone through Life of Fremoxt. 33 the study of the profession, I cannot certainly tell ; though I more than suspect he would have made one of the very highest order, for those who have in them the disposition to pusli their way in the world which Charles Fremont always exhibited, are bound to succeed, and to succeed well, in whatever they undertake. There is no such word as fail in their dic- tionary. They don't understand the meaning of the term . But, however this may be, Charles lemained in the office of Mr. Mitchell only about a year. At the end of this period, his kind friend thought it was best to give his protege the advan- tages of a select school. At this time Dr. John Roberton, an excellent classical teacher, was re- siding in Charleston. He was very thoroughly educated in Scotland. To his school Mr. Mitch- ell sent Charles. He could not have made a better selection. Dr. Roberton is now living in Philadelphia. I have visited his house, and have become acquainted v/ith him. Though now advanced in years, his mind is as fresh and active as ever ; and no one can become familiar with him, without according to him the character of an accomplished gentleman, a thorough scholar, and a most discreet and 34 Young American's successful teacher of youth. I wish you could see him. I know you would like him. " I should like to hear him talk about Charles." Well, you may be sure he would not soon get tired of talking on that topic. He is a great admirer of his former pupil, and does not hesitate to pronounce him far the best he ever knew in the w^hole course of his experience as a teacher. " I don't recollect that you told us how old Charles was when he first w^ent to Dr. Rober- ton's school." He w\^s about fourteen. Shall I tell you some things which the Doctor says about him ? " Do, Uncle Frank, if you please." A portion of what he says I will give in his own words, as they have been already printed. As to what I gleaned from him in dif- ferent conversations with him, and which I did not write down at the moment — I must trust m}^ memory for that. He says, '" In the year 1827, a very respectable lawyer came to my school, I think some time in the month of Oc- tober, with a youth about fourteen years of age, of middle size, graceful in manners, rather Life of Fremont. 35 slender, but well-formed, and upon the whole, what I would call handsome ; of a keen, pierc- ing eye, and a noble forehead, seemingly the very seat of genius. The gentleman stated that he found him given to study, that he had been about three weeks learning the Latin ru- diments, and (hoping, I suppose, to turn the youth's attention from the law to the ministry) had resolved to place him under my care for the purpose of learning Greek, Latin, and Mathe- matics, sufficient to enter Charleston College. I very gladly received him ; for I immediately perceived he was no common youth, as intelli^ gence beamed in his dark eye, and shone bright- ly on his countenance, indicating great ability, and an assurance of his future progress. I at once put him in the highest class, just begin- ning to read Caesar's Commentaries, and, al- though at first inferior, his prodigious memory and enthusiastic application soon enabled him to surpass the best. He began Greek at the same time, and read with some who had been long at it, in which he also soon excelled. In short, in the space of one year, he had with the class, and at odd hours with myself, read four books of Caesar, Cornelius Nepos, Sallust, six books of Virgil, nearly all Horace, and two 36 Young American's books of Livy ; and in Greek, all Graeca Mi- nora, about the half of the first volume of Graeca Majora, and four books of Homer's Iliad. And whatever he read, he retained. It seemed to me, in fact, as if he learned by mere intuition. I was myself utterly astonished, and at the same time delighted, with his pro- gress. I have hinted that he was designed for the Church, but when I contemplated his bold, fearless disposition, his powerful inventive genius, his admiration of warlike exploits, and his love of heroic and adventurous deeds, ^ did not think it likely he would be a minister of the Gospel. He had not, however, the least appearance of any vice whatever. On the contrary, he was always the very pattern of virtue and modesty. I could not help loving him, so much did he captivate me by his gen- tlemanly conduct and extraordinary progress. It was easy to see that he would one day raise himself to eminence. In the study of mathe- matics, he also made such wonderful progress, that at the end of one year he entered the ju- nior class in Charleston College triumphantly, while others, who had been studying four years or more, were obliged to take the sopho- more class. About the end of the year 1828, Life of -Fremont. 37 I left Charleston, but I heard that he af- terwards highly distinguished himself as a scholar." Ever since Charles left this school, he has entertained the greatest respect and love for his former tutor. In a letter which the Doctor re- ceived from him not long ago, he says, " I am very far from either forgetting you, or neglect- ing you, or in any way losing the old regard I had for you. There is no time to which I go back with more pleasure than that spent with you, for there was no time so thoroughly well-spent ; and of any thing I may have learned-, I remember nothing so well and so distinctly, as what I learned of you." Charles used occasionally to write a scrap of poetry, while he was at this school. The Doc- tor discovered the poetic genius of his pupil by accident. When the Greek class read the ac- count which Herodotus gives of the battle of Marathon, his tutor perceived that the bravery of Miltiades and his ten thousand Greeks raised the youth's patriotic feelings to the highest pitch. He made use of certain expressions which, some days after that, found their way into some verses published in a Charleston pa- per. The Doctor was almost sure that his pu- 38 Young American's pil was the author of the lines ; and on asking him the question, his suspicions were confirm- ed. He acknowledged the authorship of the fugitive, and, at the desire of his tutor, ex- hibited other poetical efforts, on all of which the marks of genius w^ere plainly stamped. Charles was as much in earnest when he was at play, as when he was engaged in learning his lessons. In all manner of sports, he was almost always the leader. Whatever he en- gaged in, you see he engaged in with all his might. I must tell you of a little incident in his history which took place w^hile he was a school- boy at Charleston. I want you to be acquaint- ed with it, because of the virtue w^hich it illus- trates. Charles had the misfortune to get burn- ed severely. In consequence of this accident, he was laid up for several weeks, unable to go out. During all this time, he suffered most intense and incessant pain. But the friend who relates this incident, and who was often with him at the time, tells me that he w^as wonderfully patient, day and night. He was not heard to utter one word indicative of fretfulness or complaint. Though scarcely able to move without assistance, he conversed, read and Life of Fremont. 39 wrote, as if nothing whatever was the matter. He seemed, indeed — so says my informant — to have been frequently so deeply engrossed with his books, as scarcely to have been sensible of the pain. Now, isn't there something noble, boys, in such fortitude as this ? and don't you think it would be worth a great deal to you, if you had it ? I think so. It did more for Charles Fremont, than all the poultices, and lotions, and embrocations, and liniments, and salves, that ever were heard of. ** Well, some people are born with it, I sup pose^ and some are not. I almost wish I had been made with a little more of it. I should think better of myself, if I could get along when I have the tooth-ache, or the ear-ache, without making such a fuss about it. I can't though, and there's no use in trying." You are mistaken. There is use in trying ; and if you not only try, but determine to culti- vate this grace — for it is a grace, and a lovely one, too — you'll be sure to succeed, to some extent at least. These virtues are not put into a person, full-grown and ripe, as a cook puts plums into a pudding. They come from germs, and are to be cultivated as you cultivate the flowers in your garden. Make a note of that, 40 Young American's my friend ; and while you are putting down this thing in your memory, why not set down directly under it, the resolution that you will cultivate this little flower of fortitude in your heart, and see what j^ou can make of it ? It is w^orth the trouble, depend upon it. Fortitude is often more valuable even than courage. It is a modest, retiring grace. But in its effects it is like one of those acids, which make no dis- play, and which seem feeble and powerless, but which can gradually dissolve the hardest rocks. Charles' attachment to his only sister de- serves especial notice. He had but one sister. Her name was Cornelia. She died young. Her sun went dov^n v/hile it was yet day. But while she remained in the world, she seemed " One of the spirits chosen of heaven to turn The sunny side of things to human eyes." She was always cheerful and light of heart. One could hardly be in her presence without catching something of her joyous spirit. This sister, early left without a father's care, occu- pied a high place in Charles' affections. " It was beautiful in the extreme," said one of the friends of his boyhood to me, " this love of young Fremont for his sister. She shared his Life of Fremont. 41 walks and his recreations with him. He assisted her in her studies, and performed a thousand little acts of affection for her." He never seemed to forget, in his intercourse with her — mark that, my little friend ; who knows but here is a silent reproof for you ? — that his sister was a girl^ and that she had the tastes, and feelings, and sympathies of girlhood. He didn't try to make her tastes bend to those of boy- hood. He was too considerate, and tender, and unselfish, for that. When he was about sixteen years of age, he was confirmed in the Protestant Episcopal Church. Of that church he has ever since been a member. His mother was a Protestant, and educated her three children strictly in that faith. Though young Fremont entered Charleston College, and went on finely with his studies for a while, something occurred which took off his mind from his books, and rendered him, while the spell was upon him, as dull a student as one can find by traveling many a mile. Can you guess what this something was? *' I guess he got punished unjustly." No, that wasn't it. " I guess he spent his time in playing cards.'*" 4* 42 Young American s No ; I shall have to tell you. I don't believe you could hit the right thing if you were to shoot at it, by way of guessing, all day. He was in love. That tells the whole story, as one of Fanny Fern's fictitious characters is in the habit of saying. "He hadn't sowed all his wild oats, had he?" So it would seem, though this is the last time we hear of his paying any attention to this branch of farming. I tell you about this adventure, because I v^ish to let you see the shadows as well as the lights of the picture we are dwelling upon, and because, moreover, I think it well that you should see what ob- stacles you are liable to encounter in your path, so as to be prepared for them. The person who threw such a spell around the young student was a girl from one of the West-India Islands. No doubt she was very beautiful. At all events, the fancy of Charles painted her as beautiful ; and practically this is the same thing with one who is completely under the influence of love — that deep, strong passion, out of which the old Romans forged a deity, whom they called Cupid, and to whom they paid divine honors. He is a very strange Life of Fremont. 43 genius, and very odd and curious freaks he often plays with the youthful heart. I am not much of a philosopher. But I have many a time found myself in a brown study, which made my head ache at a furious rate, over those freaks, which the sly little genius so often plays with the heart, long enough before its owner has climbed the last step of boy- hood. I have tried hard to analyze these strange freaks — for freaks I suppose we must call them, in accordance with the notions of older, and, perhaps, wiser heads than ours — and to find out what they are made of. But I confess, I am all in the fog about them. After expending a whole magazine of philosophy upon them, I can't tell what relation they actually bear to the article which wisa and discreet judges are wont to label as genuine. One thing I do know, however : that these freaks — if freaks we must pronounce them — are so like the very thing wiiich comes to us with the genuine label upon it, that it would puzzle a shrewder man than I am to tell the two species apart. If they are spurious, in other words — I speak of man}^, not of all of them — the imitations are singularly well executed, to say the least. I have waded through this deep and rather 44 Young American's turbid stream, my boys, not for the purpose of fishing up an apology for young Fremont. We may as well take it for granted, that he does not deserve any apology — that he listened to the impulses of his heart, when he ought to have heeded the counsels of his head. All I want to get out of this deep hole is, that if love be a great player of freaks, his freaks are very na- tural ones, and that Christian charity will scarcely allow us to stone a poor urchin to death, when such a freak is played on him, especially if we don't happen to be altogether ** without sin" in this particular ourselves. *' But what did the college professors say about this love affair ?" Oh, they never knew anything about it at the time. They had no suspicion of the real cause of his neglect of study. Charles didn't tell them. They knew there must have been a secret reason for such a change on his part; but they couldn't find out what it was. They told him, however, that, unless he paid better attention to his studies, they would be obliged to dismiss him from the college. They were right, too. There is no doubt of that. " Well, did young Fremont turn over a new leaf?" Life of Fremont. 45 No, he pored over the old one more than ever. You see hew a passion, if you let it have its own way, will, by and bye, control you altogether. It became necessary to dismiss Charles, and he was dismissed. It ought to be mentioned in this place, however, that some years after this unfortunate affair, the profes- sors of this same college, in view of the splen- did achievements of this youth, testified their respect for him by conferring on him the de- gree of Master of Arts ; and that the President of the institution always spoke of him as a ge- nius destined to achieve for himself a brilliant career. .46 Young American's Chapter IV. IT was at this point in the history of Fremont, that circumstances tended to make him at once not only an eminent scholar, but a most dutiful son. The death, first of his sister, and then of his brother, made a very serious impres- sion upon his mind, and awoke in him a warm and generous desire to be useful to his mother, and to do something noble for his country. While he still went on with his own studies, he- engaged in teaching others. He proved to be an excellent instructor, and soon became very popular. He Was very fond of mathematics. But he was apractical youth, as he has since been a practical man, and on this account, he gradual- ly turned his attention to that branch of science which is called civil engineering. It was well that he did so. In no other department of active life, probably, could he ever have found such scope for his energies as in this. It was not long before he became famous as a surveyor. When he was nineteen years old, he was entrusted with a task in which other eminent Life of Fremont. 47- surveyors had been engaged, and failed. There was a large estate to be divided among a num- ber of heirs. It seems, from the unsuccessful efforts of those really scientific men to run the boundary lines, that there must have been some serious difficulty in the way. Perhaps they didn't make allowance enough for the varia- tion of the needle, and perhaps there was some other reason for their failure. I don't know how it was. I only know that they did fail, and that the heirs to the estate were not a little embarrassed by the result. Fremont took hold of the work. He took hold of it with his keen perception, his accurate mathematical knowledge, and his all-conquering will. It was during the heat of summer. The season was very unhealthy. A great portion of the grounds to be surveyed were pervaded by a deadly mala- ria. But nothing daunted, the future Path- finder of the Rocky Mountains. He went resolutely on with the work. I need scarcely add, that he triumphed, and that the survey was speedily accomplished to the satisfaction of all parties. Young Charles added greatly to his reputation as a civil engineer by his suc- cess in this case. People began to regard him as a youth of extraordinary promise. 48 Young American's The year 1S33 was a memorable one in the history of our government. General Jackson was then President. He was a stern, unyield- ing, unbending man. The people of South Carolina, feeling aggrieved by some of the na- tional laws, determined they wouldn't submit to them. They set up for themselves, and were called NuUifiers. But General Jackson declar- ed they should submit to the laws, and sent off a naval force to compel their submission. Fre- mont was one of the men who went on this mission, in the sloop of war Natchez. From Charleston, after the case of the NuUifiers was attended to, the vessel went on a cruise to South America, and Fremont — he is at this time so old that w^e must drop the name of Charles and use one more appropriate to manhood — re- mained connected with her, as teacher of mathe- matics. He was at this time only twenty years old. The cruise occupied some two years. After the return of Fremont to Charleston, he devoted himself again to the profession of a civil engineer. He became very successful in this profession. ** Will you be kind enough to tell us exactly what this business is ?" Yes, with pleasure. The civil engineer makes Life of Fremont. 49 all the surveys necessary for the construction of such public works as railroads and canals. Civil engineering 1 take to be a high grade of surveying. It includes such explorations as those which Fremont undertook across the Rocky Mountains. In the year 1838, Mr. Fremont received the comnjission of second Lieutenant of the Topo- graphical Engineers. It was not long after this, that he joined an expedition ordered by the United States Government, to explore the country lying between the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers, up to the British line. At the head of this expedition was Mr. Nicollet, a very intelligent Frenchman. It was during this ex- cursion that Fremont first engaged in a buffalo hunt. The sport was very much to his taste, and he engaged in it, as he always did and always will engage in everything else, with all his njight. Mile after mile, he chased the herd, not thinking, and, I suppose, not caring much where he went, so that he killed a fat buffalo or two. By and bye, however, he found him- self separated from his companions ; and as niglit was coming on, he thought he w^ould make his way to the camp. This enterprise proved to be by no means as easy as he sup- 50 Young American's posed. He examined the country, assured liiroself from his map what course he ought to take, and rode rapidly onward. But there was an error in his map. It deceived him. It led him astray. You see now how important it is to have correct maps and charts, and how valuable were the services of Fremont, in after years, in making a careful survey of that vast district of countiy lying between the Missouri river and the Pacific Ocean. Night found Fremont still bewildered, and seeking for the camp of his party. His horse grew tired. It became necessary to dismount and walk. He wandered on until near mid- night. Then he came to a ravine, where there was a little stream of water ; and despairing of reaching his companions until daylight, he prepared to lie down and rest until morning. Just as he w^as adjusting his saddle, so that it would serve for a pillow, and speculating on his probable fate, but with a generous stock of hope in his bosom, he turned his eyes towards the heavens, and there he beheld something which filled him with gratitude and joy. He saw a rocket going up, up, up, toward the blue heavens, until it burst and formed a con- stellation of little stars. Oh, that was a pleas- Life of Fremont. 51 ant sight ! The lost wanderer knew then where his companions were. That rocket was a messenger of mercy to him. It must cer- tainly have come from the camp ; that he knew. Another rocket went np, and another, and another. Now, what do you think Fremont did in this case? "I know what I would have done. I would have scampered off in the direction of the rockets, and reached the camp as soon as pos- sible." But that would not have been the wisest course. It was not the course Fremont took. He saw plainly that the camp was a great dis- tance off. He saw that if he started he might lose his way, as his only hope was in the firing of the rockets, and that might cease at any time. Besides, his horse was tired, and needed rest. So he placed his rifle on the ground, with the muzzle pointing in the direction of the rockets, and laying his head upon his sad- dle, went to sleep and slept soundly till morn- ing. He found his companions in great terror on his account. There was great rejoicing in that camp when he came in sight, in company with 52 Young American's the horsemen, who had been sent out in pur- suit of him. You would not care much to act your part in such scenes as this. The bare thought of them makes you shudder. But, strange as it may appear, men learn to take delight in them. The excitement is pleasant to them. Fremont learned gradually to like them, until, at length, they afforded him even more pleasure than the smooth and tranquil life of a refined city. The results of this exploring tour were of great value to the country. A very large region, before but imperfectly known, was thoroughly explored. Subsequent adventurers have derived not a little benefit from this ex- ploration of Mr. Nicollet. It was not long after Fremont's return to Washington from this expedition, that he made the acquaintance of Miss Jessie Benton, a daughter of the noted Col. Thomas H. Ben- ton, long a Senator of the United States froni Missouri. He loved this lady, it w^ould seem, at first sight, and his subsequent acquaintance with her served but to increase his love. Jes- sie, on her part, soon learned to love the bold adventurer. It was not long after they first met, before they resolved that their future Life of Fremont. 53 interests should be the same, and that they would live for each other. Neither Col. Ben- ton nor his wife were favorably disposed to- wards this connection. Both had the highest regard for Mr. Fremont ; but they thought, as he had no certain means for supporting a family, that he would not be a proper husband for their daughter. The lovers thought other- wise, however. They were married. No Pro- testant clergyman in the city of Washington would perform the ceremony. The marriage was clearly against the will of Col. Benton, and his was known to be a will not very pleas- ant to oppose. Here was a huge block thrown right in the way of the lovers. But Charles Fremont was not to be turned out of his course, when he had started, by any such obstacle as this. He was pretty sure he was right, and he went ahead. A Catholic priest was applied to. He had no scruples about marrying the couple ; and he married them, good and strong, it is to be presumed. It has been pretended that Fremont is a Koman Catholic, because he was married by a Romanist. Nothing could be more unjust or absurd, as you can easily see. Suppose your father were a Presbyterian, and a member of 5* 54 Young- American's his family should die. Suppose bis own minis- ter were out of town or sick, so that he could not attend the funeral, and your father should invite the Unitarian clergyman to officiate at the funeral. Do you think it would be just for anybody to call your father a Unitarian on that account ? You all say 710. But there would be quite as much justice in this case, as there can be in calling Fremont a Catholic, because, when he couldn't get anybody else to marry him, he got a Catholic priest to tie the knot. *' But I have heard that the Catholics make everybody they marry promise, solemnly, that they will bring up their families in the Catholic faith." When a Catholic is married to a person of the same faith, and the ceremony takes place at the altar, in tlie church, such a promise is made. This is called the religious ceremony of mar- riage. But when the ceremony is performed elsewhere than in the church, and the parties married are Protestant, no such promise is ever ex- acted. The ceremony, which is much the same as that observed by Protestants, is called a civil ceremony. It was according to this mode, of course, that John Charles Fremont and Jessie Life of Fremont. 55 Benton were married. Both parties were Pro- testants before this event transpired, as they have ever been since. They have regularly at- tended the Protestant Episcopal church, are membersof that communion, and in that faith have had all their children baptized. It required more courage and heroism to brave that strong-willed father, than it would to face the cannon's mouth. Few men, beside Fremont, knowing as well as he did v/hat me- tal Mr. Benton is made of, would have pushed such an enterprise through. " Well, what did Jessie's parents do about the matter?" Just exactly what any sensible father or mother would do in similar circumstances. They made the best of the thing. They couldn't help it. They didn't need any reason- ing to become convinced of that. They made up their minds that they would sanction the marriage, and be as good and kind to their daughter and son-in-law as if their union had taken place with their assent. This w^as the course they took. And who will say now, that this was not the wisest and best course ? It was not long before both the father and the mother, as they saw Fremont rising rapidly 56 Young American's in the esteem and admiration of his countymen, learned to look with pride upon their son-in- law, and confessed, that, in this instance, the daughter happened to be shrewder than her parents. Life of Fremont. 57 Chapter V. WE come now to the first of Fremont's great exploring expeditions. He con- ducted five in all. The first extended only as far as the Rocky Mountains; the other four to the Pacific Ocean. His first expedition was under- taken by the government for the purpose of ex- ploring the western frontiers of Missouri, and of obtaining more definite information respecting the South Pass in the Rocky Mountains. He started in the spring of 1842. He picked up his men, twenty-one in number, at St. Louis. His guide in this, as well as in other expeditions, was the celebrated Kit Carson. A most remark- able man is this Carson. He is a native of Ken- tucky. Hunting and trapping were the main pursuits of his early life. He knows all about the ways of the Indians, and is never more at home, than when he is traversing the wilder- ness. He is now living in New Mexico. Col. Benton sent his son Randolph, then a lad of only twelve years, on this expedition, under the care of his brother-in-law. 58 Young American's As the party proceeded, they had to pass through the country of hostile Indians. I must tell you of an alarm they all had one day. As they were wending their way through a little valley, a man of the company who was a short distance behind the rest, suddenly rode up to the leader, half frightened out of his wits — or frightened out of half his wits ; which shall I say ? — and shouted " Indians ! Indians !" as loud as he could scream. He had seen them distinctly, and counted twenty-seven of them. See how particular he was about the number. There were just twenty-seven. The matter look- ed serious. Preparations were made for defence. The rifles were put in order. It was an excit- ing time. There was to be some pretty sharp lighting, that was settled. Kit Carson was sent back to examine, stealthily, the exact state of the enemy. He had not been gone long, before he returned with the information that the enemies they were to encounter, consisted of six elk, which were grazing peacefully, though somewhat timidly, on the slope of the ravine. The matter turned out to be more ludicrous than dangerous. "Why, that man was a dunce." No, not exactly, he was just as wise as some 11 ! Life of Fremont. 61 boys I have known, who, when they had to pass by a forest in a dark night, imagined the old dry stumps they saw were so many hungry bears, ready to pounce upon them, and eat them up, clothes and all, in an instant. One day, Fremont was invited by an Indian chief, to attend a dog-feast ; and he went, not wishing to omit any opportunity for cultivating the friendship of the Indians. But I must let him tell the story about this dog-feast in hi& ow^n language : " The w^omen and children, '^ says he, " were sitting outside the lodge, and we took our seats on buffalo robes spread around. The dog w^as in a large pot over the fire, in the middle of the lodge, and immediate- ly on our arrival was dished up in large wood- en bowls, one of which was handed to each. The flesh appeared very glutinous, with some- thing of the flavor and appearance of mutton. Feeling something move behind me, I looked round, and found that I had taken my seat among a litter of fat young puppies. Had I been nice in such matters, the prejudices of civilization might have interfered with my tranquillity ; but, fortunately, I am not of delicate nerves, and continued quietly to empty my platter." 62 Young American's What do you think of the dog-feast, boys ? How would you have relished such an enter- tainment? ** I think I would rather have faced the can- non's mouth, and braved Benton's anger, both together." Oh, it isn't best to be over nice about one's diet. I have no doubt you would consider a dog-steak delicious, if you were very hungry, and if, too, you supposed, at the time, that you w^ere eating some choice game. I once made my dinner from a cat, supposing, while at the table, that I was eating kid, and the only fault I found with it w^as, that it didn't last long enough. It had to serve as a meal for three of us, all of whom happened to have the keenest possible appetites. " Pray, where w^as that, Uncle Frank ?" It was at one of the miserable inns I en- countered between Florence and Rome, in Italy. The party arrived at Fort Laramie, on the 13th of July. This fort is situated on the Platte river, in the territory of Nebraska. Here young Benton was left. The journey beyond this point w^as deemed so full of dangers, that Fremont was not willing his inexperienced Life of Fkemont. 63 brother-in-law should encounter them. He behaved like a hero, though, while he was in the company. He took his turn in mount- ing guard, at night, just like the rest of the party. The Indians were at this time in a state of great excitement. Difficulties had taken place between them and the whites. Ever so many stories were floating about, in the region of the fort, of horrid massacres and all sorts of war- like demonstrations. The hearts of many of Fremont's men quailed. Panic seized upon them. They dreaded to proceed farther. But a well-timed address on the part of their leader assured them. Though liberty to return was given to any one who was afraid, only one went back. How easily the spirit of a bold and re- solute man is infused into those who look up to him with respect and confidence. They remained at the fort about a week, and then prepared to push forward on their jour- ney. The Indians, who had professed friend- ship for the party, now advised them not to go on. Several chiefs waited upon Fremont, and represented to him the extreme danger of the undertaking. They said the party would be sure to fall in with their young men, who were 64 Young American's *' Oil the war-path," and that the result of such meetings would be terrible to the whites. It was evident they had some selfish end in view, in detaining the party, although the dangers which they spoke of were by no means ima- ginary. The names of some of the chiefs who waited upon Fremont at this time, are rather curious. They are such as these : Otter Hat, Arrow- Breaker, Black Night, Bull's TaiL Fremont was not daunted by the speeches of Bull's Tail and company. He determined to go on, and to go on at once. He made a speech to the chiefs. It was taken down by one of the men at the time, and I will read it to you. It is a capital speech, I think. Mark how directly and plainly he utters his ideas, in just the way which the Indians like so well : " You say that you love the whites ; why have you killed so many already this spring ? You say that you love the whites, and are full of many 'expressions of friendship to us ; but you are aot willing to undergo the fatigue of a few days' ride to save our lives. We do not believe what you have said, and will not listen to you. Whatever a chief among us tells his soldiers to do, is done. We are the soldiers of the great Life of Fremont. 65 chief, your father. He has told us to come here and see this country, and all the Indians his children. Why should we not go ? Before we came, we heard that you had killed his people, and ceased to be his children ; but we came among you peaceably, holding out our hands. Now, we find that the stories we heard are not lies, and that you are no longer his friends and children. We have thrown away our bodies, and will not turn back. When you told us that your young men would kill us, you did not know that our hearts were strong, and you did not see the rifles which my young men carry in their hands. We are few and you are many, and may kill us all; but there will be much crying in your villages, for many of your young men will stay behind, and forget to re- turn with your warriors from the mountains. Do you think that our great chief will let his soldiers die, and forget to cover their graves ? Before the snows melt again, his warriors will sweep away your villages, as the fire does the prairie in the autumn. See ! I have pulled down my ivhite houses^ and my people are ready ; when the sun is ten paces higher, we shall be on the march. If you have anything to tell us, you will say it soon." 66 Young American's There was nothing to be said on the part of the Indians after this. They saw that it would be of no use to oppose the will of such a man. They yielded. They even sent a man along as a guide. This Indian had his squaw with him, and she, as well as her husband, proved to be very useful. The squaw understood pitching the tents belonging to the party, which no one else did, and she assisted constantly in this very necessary occupation. On the 28th of July, they met a large com- pany of Indians, who gave a very gloomy pic- ture of the country over which they had just passed. Bunyan's Valley of the Shadow of Death was not more terrifically sketched, than these warriors sketched the very region through v/hich Fremont and his party were bent on making their way. There was no grass, not a blade, to be seen. Grasshoppers found it diffi- cult to sustain life. The very air was in a dr}^- ing state. Nothing but death was to be found there. They themselves had been starved — nearlj^ It was not a very bright prospect, was it ? The interpreter, Mr. Bissonette, who had made himself extremely useful to the expedi- tion, begged and plead with Fremont, that he would lead his company back, instead of urging Life of Fremont. 67 them forward to cerfcaia death. '* Will you go, my boys?" asked their brave captain, "or will you stay ?" " We'll go," they answered, every one of them, except Bissonette. " If it comes to the worst," said one, " we'll eat our mules." Only the interpreter went back. On the 10th day of i^ugust, they encountered a beautiful lake, which Fremont describes as a gem set in the mountains. In attempting to ford it, they met with a most serious accident. The barometer was broken. You can imagine what a serious accident this was. It is by means of the barometer, chiefly, that the height of moun- tains is determined. You shall hear the particulars of this accident, as well as the means which were adopted to repair it. I want you to see how perseverance triumphs over all obstacles. *' Where there's a will there's a way." This is the motto w'ith a man who will not be foiled — and it almost works miracles. Fremont says, in his journal : "In crossing the stream, I met with a great misfortune in having my barome- ter broken. It was the only one. A great part of the interest of the journey for me was in the exploration of these mountains, of which much had been said that was doubtful and contradic- tory ; and now^ their snowy peaks rose majestic- 68 Young American's ally before me, and the only means of giving tliem authentically to science — theobjectof my anxious solicitude by night and da}^ — was de- stroyed. We had brought this barometer in safety a thousand miles, and broken it almost amomr the snow of the mountains. The loss WHS felt by the whole camp — all had seen my anxiety, and aided me in preserving it. The height of these mountains, considered by the hunters and traders the highest in the whole range, had been a theme of constant discussion among them ; and all had looked forward with pleasure to the moment when the instrument, which they believed to be true as the sun, should stand upon the summits, and decide their disputes. Their grief was only inferior to my ovi^n. As soon as the camp was formed, I set about endeavoring to repair my barome- ter. The instrument, now useless, was a stand- ard cistern barometer, of Troughton's con- struction. The glass cistern had been broken about midway ; but as the instrument had been kept in a proper position, no air had found its way into the tube, the end of which had always remained covered. I had with me a number of vials of tolerably thick glass, some of which were of the same diameter as the cistern, and I Life of Fremont. 69 spent the day in slowl}^ working on these, en- deavoring to cut them of the requisite length ; but as my instrument was a very rough file, I invariably broke them. A groove was cut in one of the trees, where the barometer was placed during the night, to be out of the way of any possible danger, and in the morning I commenced again. Among the powder-horns in the camp, I found one which w^as very trans- parent, so that its contents could be almost as plainly seen as through glass. This I boiled and stretched on a piece of wood to the requi- site diameter, and scraped it very thin, in order to increase to the utmost its transparency. I then secured it firmly in its place on the instru- ment, with strong glue made from a buffalo, and filled it with mercury, properly heated. A piece of skin, w^iich had covered one of the vials, furnished a good pocket, which was well secured wnth strong thread and glue, and then the brass cover was screwed to its place. The instrument was left some time to dry ; and when I reversed it, a few hours after, I had the satis- faction to find it in perfect order ; its indication being about the same as on the other side of the lake before it had been broken. Our success in this little incident diffused pleasure throughout 70 Young American's the camp ; and we immediately set about our preparations for ascending the mountains." The position in the Rocky Mountains which Fremont had now reached is somewhat north of the South Pass, so called, and nearly oppo- site the great Salt Lake in Utah. It is, per- haps, some two hundred and fifty, miles, in an northerly direction from the northwest corner of the territory of Kansas. If you can lay your hands on a good map of this country — not an easy matter, by the way — I wish you would trace Fremont's entire route. Near this point, is the highest peak in the Rocky Mountains. It was determined to climb this peak, and the feat was accomplished about the middle of August. The party set out very early in the morning. It was not long before they came to a place beyond which the mules could not advance. So the mules were left, and the party went on. Their ascent was slow enough, and attended with the utmost difficul- ty. The peak — for they had not yet reached its foot — did not seem far off. Many thought they could reach it, and get back to the camp before night. On they clambered, expecting every time they crossed a ridge, to find them- selves at the base of the tall cliff. But they Life of Fremont. 71 were disappointed. Night overtook them, be- fore they reached the foot of the peak. They made their camp for the night on the margin of a little lake. Near them they saw a large flock of mountain goats. Fremont was taken sick at this camp. The following morning, most of the party — their leader was not of the num- ber ; he was still too sick to walk — tried to reach the main peak. But none of them suc- ceeded. One of them slipped on the ice, and went tumbling down towards the plain, several hundred feet. Poor man ! he found a hard bed to alight upon. It w^as a wonder he was not killed. He turned several somersets in falling. It was an exhibition of " ground and lofty tumbling," on a large scale. The next morning after that found Fremont as well as ever, and ready to proceed. He took only four men with him. The base of the peak, towering up bold and steep, many hundred feet above them, was reached at last. Then the men had to scramble harder than ever. The rocks were not only frightfully steep, but they were slippery too, and the danger was, that the adventurer, any moment, might slide down the whole slope of the peak, ending his descent by a not very gentle contact with fragments of 72 Young American's granite rock. Still they all toiled on, holding to the rocks with their toes and fingers, a little after the manner of bats, as best they could. At length the summit was reached. Fremont was the first to gain it, after which he descended a short distance, and the rest of the men, one by one, climbed to the top. There, where the foot of man had never before trod, where the snow in its virgin purity had rested for ages, on the highest peak in the Rocky Mountain chain, they unfurled the Flag of our Union, and its stars and stripes floated in the breeze. It w^as a grand achievement, I declare. If I had accom- plished it, I should have exulted over it, far more than I should, had I climbed the summit of Mont Blanc. Strange as it may seem, they found a bee on the summit. He seemed to have lost his reckon- ing ; for he alighted on the knee of one of the men, as if he was bewildered, and knew not which w^ay to go. " We pleased ourselves with the idea," says Fremont, "that he was the first of his species to cross the mountain barrier — a solitary pioneer, to foretell the advance of civil- ization. I believe that a moment's thought would have made us let him continue his way unharmed. But we carried out the law of this FUEMOKT ON THE HEIGHTH OF ROCK PEAK. ; Life of Fremont. 75 country, where all aniiBated nature seems at war, and seizing him immediately, put him in at least a fit place — between the leaves of a large book, among the flowers we had collected on our way." The heiglit of this peak, as measured by the barometer, is 13,570 feet. It has since been named, as it ought to have been, Fremonfs Feak^ and in a map published by the Appletons, which lies before me, this name is employed to designate it. The party got back that night to the spot where they had left provisions, and there they slept. The next day they started homeward. While returning through the valley of the Great Platte river, they encountered a very serious wreck. Fremont narrowly escaped the loss of all his papers. In fact, he came very near losing himself and several of his associates. They were descending the stream in a light india rubber boat which they had brought with them for such purposes. The water was full of rapids. Dur- ing the morning, they had passed three cata- racts with their boat, and were delighted with her gallant performance. The next cataract was a more formidaole one. It was a narrow chasm, between perpendicular rocks, from three to five hundred feet high. As the little boat bound- 76 Young American's ed along down the rapids, amid the deafening roar of the water, they tried to steady her by stationing three men on a crag of the rocks, with a long rope made fast to the stern. But the force was too great. The effort was fruitless. The men were hurled into the stream, and nar- rowly escaped drowning. The party in the boat cleared rock after rock ; and were so elated with their success, that they commenced singing the " Canadian Boat Song." •' Do you think their ' oars kept time' to the music. Uncle Frank ?" I suspect not. At all events their " voices" didn't " keep tune," very long. They were right in the midst of the chorus to one of the stanzas, I believe, their hearts as jolly as they well could be, when the boat struck a rock in the midst of the rapids, and over she whirled in an instant, and all the men, and all the things on board were knocked into that state of superlative confusion, to which prmters give the name of pi. " Three of my men could not swim," says Fremont ; *' and my first feeling was to assist them, and save some of our effects. But a sharp concussion or two convinced me that I had not yet saved myself. A few strokes brought me into an eddy, and I landed on a Life of Fremont. 77 pile of rocks on the left side. On the opposite side, against the wall, lay the boat, bottom up ; and Lambert was in the act of saving Desco- teaux, whom he had grasped by the hair, and who could not swim. 'Don't let go !' said he, as I afterwards learned, * don't let go, my bro- ther.' ' Never fear,' was the reply ; ' I would die before I would let go my hold.' For a hun- dred yards below, the current was covered with floating books and boxes, bales and blankets, and scattered articles of clothing ; and so strong was the stream, that even our heavy instru- ments, which were all in cases, kept on the surface, and the sextant, circle, and the long black box of the telescope, were in view at once. For a moment, I was somewhat dis- heartened. All our books, almost every re- cord of the journey, our journals of observa- tions by the barometer, all had been lost in a moment. But it was no time to indulge in regrets ; and I immediately set about endea- voring to save something from the wreck." He was favored beyond his expectations. All Fremont's registers were recovered, with the exception of one of his journals. The boat floated down a mile or two, when it was stop- ped by a fragment of rock which filled the 7S Young American's channel, leaving no space sufficiently large for her to pass. The party climbed up the rocks, and were fortunate enough to rejoin the rest of the company, who had gone overland that evening, and had a very painful tramp of it. After several other interesting adventures, which we must not stop here to detail, Fre- mont reached St. Louis, with his entire compa- ny, safe and sound, on the 17th day of October. The tour had consumed about five months. Life of Fremont, 79 Chapter VI. YOU might naturally suppose, that, by this time, Fremont would have got tired of such exposures as he had to encounter in the western wilderness, and that he would have been very glad to stay at home. But such was not the case. Just as soon as he had finished writing the report of his former expedition, he was off on another. The object of the second one was to connect the observations of Commodore Wilkes, on the Pacific, with inland surveys, across the Rocky Mountains. It will seem strange to you, yet it is a veritable fact, that before this expedition was effected, almost nothing certain was known of that vast tract of country, more than seven hundred miles square, which lies west of the Rocky Moun- tain range. Nor was this all. The great Basin in Utah, the Salt Lake, the country now set- tled by the Mormons — all this vast section w^as still unexplored. What we knew of it was strangely and grotesquely mixed up with all manner of fabulous notions. It was the cur- 80 Young American's rent opinion that two large rivers issued from the great Salt Lake, which ran — I don't recol- lect where — up the slope of the Rocky Moun- tains, or in another equally probable direction. I need not tell you that no such rivers exist. You are too well acquainted w^ith geography, I doubt not, to need to be told that the Great Salt Lake has no outlet. The second expedition of Fremont, did a great deal to determine and indicate the main features in this part of our country. Fremont's outfit seems to have been much more perfect than it was on his previous expe- dition. His company consisted of forty persons. He had twelve carts, each of which was drawn by two mules, and a light covered spring- wagon carried the instruments. The expedition started from the town of Kansas on the 29th day of May. The route which w^as pursued at this time was along the line of the Kansas river, to the mouth of the Republican Fork, and then across the country to St. Vrain's Fort, which was reached on the 4th of July. On the 14th, at the point where the Boiling Spring river enters the Arkansas, Fremont had the happiness to meet his old friend, Kit Carson. Life of Fremont. 81 On the 21st of August, the party reached the valley of the Bear river, the principal tributary of the Great Salt Lake. liere they found them- selves in the vicinity of a large village of the Sho- shonee Indians. " He had approached within something more than a mile of this village," the narrative of the expedition says, " when sud- denly a single horseman emerged from it at full speed, followed by another, and another, in rapid succession ; and then party after party poured into the plain, until, when the foremost rider reached us, all the intervening plain was occu- pied by a mass of horsemen, who came charging down upon us with guns, naked swords, lances, and bows and arrows — Indians entirely naked, and warriors fully dressed for war, with the long red streamers of their war bonnets reach- ing nearly to the ground, all mingled together in the bravery of savage warfare. They had been throw^n into a sudden tumult by the ap- pearance of our flag, which, among these peo- ple, is regarded as an emblem of hostility — it being usually borne by the Sioux, and the neigh- boring mountain Indians when they come here to war ; and we had accordingly been mistaken for a body of their enemies. A few words from the chief quieted the excitement ; and 82 Young American's the whole band, increasing every moment in number, escorted us to their encampment." These Indians were hospitable enough ; but I doubt if you would have taken a fancy to the style of their hospitality. Very strange food they gave Fremont and his party to eat. One of the vegetables which are much in vogue among them, and with which they regaled their guests, was the Jcooyahy or tobacco root. Hear what Fremont says about it. To him, nothing in the shape of food, which any other human being eats, seems to come amiss. " It has a very strong and remarkably peculiar taste and odor, which I can compare to no other vegeta- ble that I am acquainted with, and which to some persons is extremely offensive. It was characterized by Mr. Preuss as the most horrid food he had ever put in his mouth ; and when, in the evening, one of the chiefs sent his wife to me with a portion which she had prepared as a delicacy to regale us, the odor immediately drove him out of the lodge. Frequently, after- wards, he used to beg that when those who liked it had taken what they desired, it might be sent away. To others, however, the taste is rather an agreeable one ; and I was afterwards always glad when it formed an addition to Life of Fremont. 83 our scanty meals. It is full of nutriment ; and in its unprepared state, is said by the Indians to have very strong poisonous qualities, of which it is deprived by a peculiar process, being baked in the ground for about two days." It was on the 6th of September, that Fre- mont and his party first saw the Great Salt Lake. They were in perfect ecstacies. They saw it from the summit of a high point on the mountain range. The examination of this lake was one of the great objects of the exploration, and it was no wonder that the spirits of the party rose, when their eyes first beheld it. "As we looked eagerly over the lake," says the graphic narrator of the events of the expedi- tion, " I am doubtful if the followers of Bal- boa felt more enthusiasm v^hen from the heights of the Andes they saw, for the first time, the grest western ocean. It was certainly a mag- nificent object, and a noble terminus to this part of our expedition ; and^ to travelers so long shut up among mountain ranges, a sudden view over the silent expanse of waters had in it something sublime. Several large rocky islands raised their high, craggy heads out of thewaves ; but whether or not they were timbered was still left to our imagination, as the distance 84 Young American's was too great to determine if the dark hues upon them were woodland or naked rock. Dur- ing the day, the clouds had been gathering black over the mountains, to tlie westward, and while we were looking, a storm burst down with sudden fury upon the lake, and entirely hid the islands from our view." Two days after this, they explored a large island in the lake. They reached it by means of an india rubber boat, similar to the one they had used on their former expedition, only it was found, unfortunately, that instead of its seams being sewed, as was the case with their former boat, they were merely pasted. It was a frail sort of a thing. The lake was very rough, and the situation of the party, while on board the little boat, was by no means a secure one. The island did not prove a very charming spot. It was more barren than they expected to find it. Fremont, who, with his party was expecting to find it exhibiting a very dift'erent aspect, named it Disappointment Island. From the eminence where the party viewed the lake, two days be- fore, they thought they saw a multitude of pelicans on the shore of the island. They were mistaken, and their mistake is a little ludicrous. Their pelicans, w^hen they approached the land, Life of Fremont. S5 turned out to be, for the most part, but a row of salt cliffs. Still, they saw some very inter- esting things there. On this island they spent the night. " Out of the driftwood," the narrative states, "we made ourselves pleasant little lodges, open to the wa- ter, and, after having kindled large fires, to ex- cite the wonder of any straggling savage on the lake shores, lay down, for the first time in a long journey, in perfect security, no one thinking about his arms. The evening was extremel}^ bright and pleasant ; but the wind rose during the night, and the waves began to break heavi- ly on the shore, making our island tremble. I had not expected, in our inland journey, to hear the roar of an ocean surf; and the strangeness of our situation, and the excitement we felt in the associated interests of the place, made this one of the most interesting nights I remember during our whole expedition." In the morning, the surf was breaking heavily against the shore, and the party were up early. The lake was dark and very turbulent, and all the men hurried through their breakfast, and prepared to attempt a return to the mainland. It was blowing a strong gale of wind, almost directly off the shore, when they set out. Con- S6 Young American's sidering how frail their little boat was, and what an angry sea it had to contend with, it was astonishing that it was not rent in pieces. It required all the efforts of the men, to enable them to make any headway against the wind. The gale, moreover, rose wdth the sun, and there was danger of being blown into one of the open reaches beyond the island. However, after a very long and very toilsome use of the paddles, they found themselves, at length, safe on the shore of the mainland. There was a general shout among the party, when their perils in the little boat were over. *' How I should like such a life as this." What makes you think you would like it, Walter? ' " Because there's always something stirring in it. I don't like smooth water. It's always the same thing, day after day. That tossing on the Salt Lake would suit me exactly." I am not sure but it would. I have found out, though, in my acquaintance with life, that it is one thing to hear stories about thrilling ad- ventures, by land and by sea, and quite another thing to be on the ground one's-self, and to have a hand in those adventures. It alters the case vastly. I have had a little taste myself, of this Life of Fremont. 87 life amid the wilds of the west. In the spring of 1856, 1 made a tour in the territory of Kansas, and pursued one of the routes, for some seventy miles, which Fremont took in his expedition across the Rocky Mountains. Now, I assure you, that though this section of country is by no means as destitute of the means of comfort as it was when the great explorer passed through it, I became satisfied, thoroughly satisfied, with a tour of some two weeks among the Indians. Such riding, such wirlking, such eating, such sleeping, never entered into my dreams before. I might learn to like such a life, perhaps, and to thrive on Indian fare. But I should have to serve a long apprenticeship, I guess. " Oh, Uncle Frank ! please tell us all about the Indians you saw." Well, I would, if I was spinning out a yarn about my ovi^n life, instead of Fremont's. As it is, though, I think we can't do a wiser thing than go on with the expedition upon which we started. " But can't we have just one story about the Indians you saw yourself — only one ?" There it is. Boys, I have often noticed, will jump at a story about something which the story-teller has seen himself^ when they will get 88 Young American's half asleep over a great deal better stories which he tells them about things he hasii't seen. "Well, while Fremont and his party are resting on the shore of the Grreat Salt Lake, and eating two or three rather indifferent sandwiches, I'll give you an Indian story of my own : In passing through the country of the Dela- wares, on the left bank of the Kansas river, I stopped a few minutes at an Indian cabin. My real errand there — if I must say it — was one of curiosity. The cabin ha*d an air of some com- fort about it — and that is saying a good deal for the homes of the Delawares — it looked in- viting, and I thought I would go in and extend my acquaintance a little with the Indian char- acter and Indian habits. I thought, however, it might be well to make an errand ; for I didn't like to say right out, that I had come in just to stare at the people, and to hear them talk. So I called for a cup of water. The fa- ther of the family understood what I meant. He could talk a little in our language, a very little, and prided himself much on his knowing how to read, though his attainments in reading, as we shall see before we get through with our •story, were not extensive. He would send for some water, he said. Then he shouted, at the Life of Fremont. 89 top of his voice, " Quality ! Quality ! Super- fine Quality !" Presently a boy appeared. It was evident he v^as the son of the master of the cabin. He was the very image of him. What the father said to the boy, I could only surmise. He addressed him in the Delaware dialect, with which I have but the slightest pos- sible acquaintance. The boy shortly returned from the spring, with a gourd full of excellent w^ater. After satisfying my thirst — which didn't take long, as it was curiosity, and not thirst, that led me into the cabin — I asked the elder Indian if he had two kinds of water on his premises. " No, Indian have one kind water — good, very good." " Yes, it is good," I replied. " But why did you say to the boy, ' get superfine quality,- if you don't have two kinds of water?" *' Ah, white man hear crooked. The boy yonder — I call him Superfine Quality." " And pray, why do you call him so?" '^ Why do white man call his boy John ?" " Because that's the boy's name." " Well, Indian want name for his boy, too.'* " But you don't mean to say that this is the name of the boy ?" 90 Young American's " Ah, ha I white man begins to hear straight. Thafs it. I give my boy that name — Su- perfine Quality. That's his name. Good name, ' very good.' " It turned out just as the simple-hearted man said. He took down from a shelf an old and empty segar-box, and pointed, with an air of triumph, to the words " superfine quality," which were printed upon it, in large capital letters. The mystery was explained in a mo- ment. The Indian thought the words indicated the name of the maker of the segars ; and as they had a rather pleasant sound to his untutor- ed ears, he chose them for the name of his boy. " A little learning is a dangerous thing," and the poor Indian's stock of it was very limit- ed, indeed. " Well, that is a funny name, I must say. Did you fall in with any Indians belonging to other tribes. Uncle Frank ?" Oil, yes, hundreds of them. Indians are plenty enough in Kansas, to satisfy the warm- est lover of savage character. I saw specimens of the Shawnees, the Pawnees, the Potawato- mies, the Sacs and Foxes, and other equally interesting nations. My acquaintance with them did not tend to increase my respect for In- Life of Fremont. 91 dian character. What a thoroughly wild In- dian may be^ whose principal amusement is in taking off the scalps of other Indians, I cannot tell from observation. Perhaps I should ad- mire him — though I think not — if I should come to know him. But the specimens of the red race to be found in the eastern part of Kan- sas, are, with some few exceptions, about as uninteresting a class of people as one would be likely to come across, if he should hunt over half the world. They are extremely degraded. I declare it is enough to provoke one to make faces at Longfellow's " Hiawatha," to see these Indians, and learn their habits. The Shawnees struck me as a little less de- graded than their neighbors. I saw a great many of them, in passing through the Shawnee reserve. They were sufficiently civil, though not very highly civilized. They were all dressed fantastically. Red seems to be their favorite color ; and whenever they can get a rag of that hue, I judge they lay it under con- tribution in the adornment of their costume. The men very generally wear feathers in their hats. It makes but little difference, it would seem, from what bird these ornamental feath- ers are obtained. The turkey and the goose 92 Young American's were especially taxed in supplying the feathers which came under my observation ; though the prairie-hen must have suffered somewhat, I should think. The women greatly outdid the men in fantasticals. Tin ear-rings, as large as a- smtiU saucer, were abundant. The most gaudy styles of calico formed their dress, which was invariubly set off with the red patches. Many, not all of them, had their faces besmeared with red paint. Their houses are generally built with logs, though some are formed of turf and mud. Every Indian family has a pack of dogs, and at least one pony. I spoke to a good many of the Shawnees ; but they had nothing to say in return, but some native gibberish. I am informed by those who live among them, that many of them can talk with white people, but that they don't choose to avail themselves of the privilege. I once stopped to dine at the house of one of these Indians. He gave us a pretty good din- ner — I'll say that for him. Near the house was the council-room of the nation. It so happened that the council were in session. We were in- vited to go in. We did so. The council con- sists of a chief and four or five counselors. They were sitting around a table, on which lay a Life of Fremont. 93 little book (doubtless for records,) a huge arrow- head, a canister of tobacco, and several pipes. The discussions, it may be supposed, were inter- esting to those concerned in them. To me, they seemed rather dull and sleepy. Indeed, I was afraid that the chief, who was a portly man, would actually drop asleep, and I am not sure but he did nod once or twice. Don't misunderstand me now. What I have said about the Indians of Kansas, applies to the tribes generaUy. I would not have you suppose there are no Indians in that part of the country, whom you would be pleased with. There are such. Missionaries have been among them, and taught some of them how to live rationally, and how to die, and how to find the road to heaven. There are Indians in Kansas and on the frontiers of Missouri, who are as well educated and refined as any of the whites. What I have said of the Kansas Indians, ap- plies to the race, as Indians. In the Indian character, from personal acquaintance with it on the prairies of our western territory, I have not seen much to admire. But those sandwiches have been eaten long before this, and our party, no doubt, are on the march. We shall have to hurry to overtake 94 Young American's them, I guess. Our Indian story was too long- winded. Would you like to know, by the way, ex- actly what kind of water there is in the Salt Lake ? I can tell you ; for Fremont has given us a description of it. It is quite clear ; so transparent, indeed, that one can see objects distinctly, as they lie on the bottom, at a great depth. A portion of the water was evaporated, by boiling, and some excellent salt was pro- duced, which was very welcome to the party, as their supply of this article was getting short. They boiled twenty quarts of the water, and it yielded seven quarts of salt. The salt proved to be but slightly combined with other sub- stances. Nearly ninety-eight per cent, was pure salt. On the 12th of September, Fremont's party left their camp at the Great Salt Lake. They encountered musquitoes, though the thermome- ter stood as low as forty-seven degrees. They must have been more hardy than the little wretches that present their bills in the lati- tude of New York. I suppose they were genuine pioneer musquitoes, accustomed to low temperature, as well as low fare, and all the discomforts and hardships of life in the Life of Fremont. 95 camp. They proved to be savagely hungry, which I take to be an additional evidence that they belonged to an exploring party, and had been livini? on short allowance. Proceeding on their journey, the party found themselves, in a day or two, among the Snake Indians. Fremont bought a beautiful horse of one of them. He did not keep him long, though. His men had good appetites, with but little to eat. They began to look wish- fully at the Indian horse. He was a fine, fat fellow. " What capital steaks he would make !" the men thought. At length, they ventured to ask their leader if they might slaughter him. Fremont, though he had taken a special fancy to the animal, had a heart too kind to sacrifice the comfort of his men to his own selfish grati- fication, as too many people do, and readily consented that the horse should be sacrificed. Most of the men belonging to the party, ate their horse-steaks with a huge relish. As for their leader, however, and Mr. Preuss, his prin- cipal assistant in the capacity of engineer, they gave the steaks a wide berth. Their appetites had not yet come to this point. They got bravely over their squeamish notions after- wards, as you shall hear in due time. And 96 Young American's I think it must require some boldness and de- cision of purpose to attack, for the first time, though it were cooked ever so faultlessly, a sirloin of horse-beef. A sea-captain once told me that he had been forced to eat a great many things which are discarded under a high state of civilization — that he had been reduced to such straits, that rats were regarded as the most delicious dainties ; but that he never could eat horse-beef with anything like the relish of an epicure. The next day after the horse-feast, the expe- dition met several • families of Snake Indians, of whom Fremont bought some of the Jcooijah, which I have mentioned before, the vegetable, you will remember, which was so offensive to Mr. Preuss. These Indians had piles of seeds, of three or four different kinds, spread out upon strips of buffalo-robe. From the account given of these savages, in Fremont's narrative, I am inclined to the notion, that they would not prove any more agreeable to me than their cousins in eastern Kansas. The squaws had just gathered a bushel of thistle-roots. These roots are among the articles of food which the Indians in this part of the country hold in high esteem. They grow to about the size of small Life of Fremont. 97 carrots, and are shaped sornewlmt like this vegetable. *' The Snake Indians," says the narrative, "appeared to be growing in the sun- shine, with about as much labor as the plants upon which they subsisted." Their wants were very few and simple. And after all, my boys, it is astonishing into how small a com- pass any bodycan crowd his real wants. Our wants — one might aimost say — are just about what we choose to make them. When a man is as poor as a church mouse, he wants, he needs but a trifle to make him as happy as a king on his throne. As he'gets rich, however, he lives in better style. When he becomes very rich, he lives like a lord. By and bye, those things which were once luxuries to him, become articles of necessity. With his riches, he has made a multitude of wants. The}^ are real w^ants to him now, not imaginary ones. He can't dine on potatoes and salt any longer. His canvas-back ducks, his venison, his salmon, his hlanc mange, his Madeira wine, and all the little et ccteras of the table, are just as really necessary to his happiness now, as his hasty pudding was in former days. I think it isn't wise to make too many wants. I don't desire to run a tilt against an overgrown and bloated 9 98 Young American's civilization. That crusade wouldn't jiaij any better, I presume, than Don Quixote's contest with the wind-mill. But you may set this thing down in your note-book, that a very large swarm of wants is about as trouble- some, sometimes, as a large swarm of flies or locusts. The party were supplied with a more select stock of provisions, a few days after the horse was eaten. They were brought by some men whom Fremont had sent away for that pur- pose, from the main branch of the company. Life of Fremont. 99 Chapte r VII . ON the 19th of September, Fremont's party reached Fort Hall. This place is situated north of the Salt Lake, and almost directl}^ west of Fremont's Peak. It is on the route to Oregon. It was determined to pursue the exploration during the winter ; and Fremont, not being willing to hazard the lives of more men than the enterprise absolutely required, and, withal, being rather short of provisions, persuaded some dozen of his fine fellows to go back. None of them went back willingly. All preferred to endure the hardships of the expedition, in company with their leader. The party had traveled, when they arrived at this point, according to careful calculations, made by Fremont, from the time of their leav- ing the frontiers of Missouri, at Westport, up- wards of thirteen hundred miles. Perhaps you may wonder they had not advanced more rapid- ly. But if you knew what difficulties they had to contend with, you would wonder how 100 Young American's they could possibly have accomplished so much. In the narrative of this expedition of Fre- mont, as well as in subsequent ones, there is a great deal of information, and valuable inform- ation, too, which I have to jump over in this familiar conversation. I only mention such inci- dents as I think will be especially interesting to you. I make these frequent and long leaps, for fear I shall spin out my yarn to an unpar- donable length ; though I can't help saying, at the same time, that I' am obliged to omit some things almost, if not quite as good, as those which I select. Long ago, when, accidentally, one rainy day, while I was away from home, I fell in with the narrative of several of Fre- mont's exploring expeditions, and found myself unable to stop until I had read the whole volume through, I pronounced it one of the most racy and readable books of travel it had ever been my fortune to read. It is full of in- cidents, from beginning to end. But that isn't the chief merit of the book. Its incidents are well narrated. The sp^ce isn't left out of them. Fremont has the faculty, which so few possess, and which every traveler might envy, of mak- ing other people see with his eyes. His de- Life of Fremont. 101 scriptions have no ornament about them, to bewilder the reader. They are very plain, very simple, very earnest, very truthful. They are neither too short to leave us in ignorance, nor too long to lead us into the fog. They are daguerreotypes of what he saw and what he ML On the 14th of November, the party reached the terminus of their journey westward. This point was Fort Vancouver, on the Columbia river. The grand object of the expedition — which, as you will recollect, was to connect Fremont's explorations in our v^estern terri- tory and across the Eocky Mountains, v^ith the surveys of Captain Wilkes on the Pacific side of the mountains — was now attained. So he set out on his way homeward, without a moment's unnecessary delay. You will readily perceive that he had a hazardous journey before him. Winter was approaching. Traveling among the Rocky Mountains involves no little hardship, and exposure, and toil, and danger, at any time; and in midwinter, when it is neces- sary to travel for days and weeks through huge drifts of snow, without the slightest path, the excursion becomes a painfully serious one. In such circumstances, it would be very like most 102 Young American's men, it seems to me, to return on the same route which they pursued in going out, and to get out of the territory of the grim genius of starvation with as much speed as possible. But such was not Fremont's course. " I can't see why. It would have been my course, I know that." Ah ! I thought you were in love with adven- ture, a little while ago, and wanted to have a hand in something stirring, above all thiiigs. " That's the very point, sir. I do like a stirring life ; and it is just because I should be afraid w^e would all get buried np under a snow-bank fifty feet deep, and stop stirrings that if I were up the Columbia river, in the month of November, and had to make my way home, I should prefer to take the shortest cut, and the one I was best acquainted with. I shouldn't want to lay my bones among the Rocky Mountains." Well, that's sensible, if it isn't heroic ; and sense is as valuable a commodity, in certain circumstances, as heroism. Moreover, I must say I feel the force of your logic. It is pre- cisely of the same nature as that which Hudi- bras employed, a great many years ago, and which always seemed singularly forcible to me, Life of Fremont. 103 when that brave knight and learned philosopher uttered these lines : " For he that fights and runs away, May live to fight another day." That's a clincher, isn't it ? I don't see how anybody can get clear of it. '* Oh, Uncle Frank, I half believe yon are making fun of me." Well, if I am, I make fun of myself at the same time ; for I think, if I had been in Fre- mont's place, I should have gone with you, and taken the sensible course rather than the hero- ic one. I never had any taste for martyrdom. But when would our western wilderness have been explored, I wonder, if men were not found who were willing even to risk their lives for the sake of exploring that wilderness, and pointing out the way in which the emigrant may tra- verse it in safety? It required more courage, by far, more fortitude, more power of endur- ance, more capacity for bearing hardships, on the part of Fremont, in his adventures among the Kocky Mountains, than were required of Napoleon First, in any of his wonderful campaigns. And I might add, too, though it scarcely seems necessary, that the results of the achievements of our hero, both to his own 104 Young American's country and the world, were worth a thousand times more than either France or any other na- tion ever gained by the campaigns, splendid as they were, of the man w4io tried to bring a whole continent under his own imperial will — and failed. I am fond of heroes. If I were an idolater, as the old Greeks were, I shouldn't find it at all difficult to worship the first great hero that came along. But there are heroes of peace as well as heroes of war; and I revere those of the first, quite as much as I do those of the second class. In my mind, Charles Fre- mont, as one of the most determined, and self- sacrificing, and successful overland explorers that this country has seen, towers as high in true and noble heroism, and higher in moral grandeur, than if he had caused infinite havoc among the ranks of his fellow-men, and caused them to be mowed down like grass. I know, my boy — you needn't speak ; for I read it in your eye — that your whole soul kin- dles into a glow, at the recital of the deeds of brave men who die on the battle-field for their country, and, very likely, you may be ambitious to become a military hero ; but it would gladden my heart to know, that, like Charles Fremont, you had selected another class of heroic deeds Life of Fremont. 105 than those of the warrior. It is because I would mspire you with admiration for the model which his bright career presents, and because I would turn your laudable desire to be a hero into a peaceful channel, that I am so earnest in dis- playing the model. The reason why Ff^mont did not propose to return by the same route which he pursued in proceeding westward, as you have, no doubt, surmised, was in order to make new explora- tions for the benefit of his countrymen. He wished to explore thoroughly the great basin between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, That was an almost-unknown district, up to the time of Fremont's second expedition. It was known, too, (or at least believed,) that there was an important lake in this basin, call- ed the Tlamath lake ; but its locality was a mat- ter merely of conjecture, and, as you will see, its character was not at all understood. There was a river, too, called Buenaventura, which was reported to exist in those parts. Everybody, almost, believed in it. Reliable men, it was said, had seen it, and knew that it flowed through California or Oregon to the Pacific ocean. Endless reports like these, were cur- rent among traders and trappers, of other won- 106 Young American's derful sights to be seen there — lakes, rivers, deserts, plains, of grotesque character. Savages, too, hardly above the condition of wild animals, were reported to abound there. You cannot wonder, that our adventurer should not willing- ly let such an opportunity pass of learning the certainty about this country. The party who were to make this long and hazardous journey, consisted of twenty-five persons. Provisions for three months had been secured at Fort Vancouver. Upw^ards of one hundred mules and horses were taken on the journey. I must mention a pleasant little incident, wdiich illustrates the scrupulous honesty of Fremont, and shows you that truly great men don't deem it beneath them to descend to little acts of justice. One day, not long after the party had commenced their homeward journey, they came across a set of new and handsome lodge-poles, very white and cleanly scraped, leaning against a tree, with no signs of any owner in sight. Now Fremont's lodge-poles were very nearly w^orn out. They would, in a short time, have been quite w^orthless. It would have been an easy matter to have got the poles without paying for them, and a man who had learned the bad habit of using his conscience Life of Fremont. 107 as he would apiece of india rubber, could have found a plausible excuse to take the poles without paying for them, with the presumption that the owner would never return to look for them. But this was not Fremont's way of doing things. Of course, if he could have found the man who owned the poles, he would have made a bargain with him for them. But as that was out of the question, he left a generous quanti- ty of tobacco in payment. On the 10th day of December, Fremont, with his party, reached the Tlamath lake, so called. " It w^as a picturesque and beautiful spot," in the language of the narrative. There was a broad meadow, greatly resembling a lake with fine pasturage. But no sheet of water was to he found. The Tlamath lake, then, so much talked about, and which formed a part of the creed of so many both of the learned and the un- learned, had no existence, except at a certain sea- son of the year, when the river running through this meadow was swollen by the melting of the mountain snow. As frightful stories had been told of the hostile character of the Indians in these parts, Fre- mont deemed it best to let them know that he had thunder at his command. So he fired off 108 Young American's a small brass howitzer which he had brought along with him. " It was the first time," says Fremont, " that our Indian guides had seen it discharged, and the bursting of the shell at a dis- tance, which was something like the second discharge of the gun, amazed and bewildered them with delight. But on the camps at a dis- tance, the effect was different ; for the smokes in the grassy lake and on its shores imme- diately disappeared." The savages were awed, as it was intended they should be. There was an Indian village on this grassy lake, and Fre- mont wished to learn something of their char- acter and habits. "Accordingly," he says, " the people w^ere gathered together, and we rode out towards the village in the middle of the lake, which one of our guides had previously visited. It could not be directly approached, as a large part of the lake appeared a marsh, and there were sheets of ice among the grass, on which our horses could not keep their foot- ing. We, therefore, followed the guide for a considerable distance along the forest, and then turned off towards the village, which we soon began to see w'as a few large huts, on the tops of w^hich were collected the Indians. When we had arrived within half a mile of the Life of Fremont. 109 village, two persons were seen advancing to meet us ; and, to please the fancy of our guides, we ranged ourselves into a long line, riding abreast, while they galloped ahead to meet the strangers. We were surprised, on riding up, to find one of them a woman, having never before known a squaw to take any part in the business of war. They were the village chief and his v^ife, who, in excitement and alarm at the unusual event and appearance, had come out to meet their fate together. The chief was a very pre- possessing Indian, witli handsome features, and a singularly soft and agreeable voice, so remarka- ble as to attract general notice. The huts were grouped together on the bank of the river, which, from being spread out in a shallov/ marsh at the upper end of the lake, was collect- ed here into a single stream. They were large, round huts, perhaps twenty feet in diame- ter, with rounded tops, on vvhich was the door by v^hich they descended into the interior. Within, they were supported by posts and beams." These Indians seem to have been elevated but a very few degrees above the buffaloes and the wolves around them. Fremont does not tell us to what tribe they belonged. Perhaps 110 Young American's there was no means of ascertaining. For want of another name he calls them Tlamaths. There is a tribe (or perhnps more properly, a branch of a tribe) in this part of the country, called Dig- gers^ from the fact that they subsist almost en- tirely on roots. Fremont, in the course of this expedition, encountered many of these In- dians. It could hardly be, I think, that the specimens of humanity which inhabited the Tlamath country belonged to this class and order. They are very unlike the Diggeis, in many respects. I must read to you another paragraph or tw^o from Fremont's journal, to give you a perfect idea of these savages. He says: " Almost like plants, these people seem to have adapted themselves to the soil, and to be growing on what the immediate locality afforded. Their only subsistence at the time appeared to be a small fish, great quantities of which, that had been smoked and dried, were suspended on strings about the lodge. Heaps of straw were lying around ; and their residence in the midst of grass and rushes, had taught them a peculiar skill in converting this mate- rial to useful purposes. Their shoes were made of straw or grass, which seemed well adapted for a snowv country ; and the women wore on Life of Fremont. Ill their heads a closely-woven basket, which made a very good cap. Among other things, were party-colored mats, about four feet square, which we purchased to lay on the snow under our blankets, and to use for the table-cloths. Numbers of singular-looking dogs, resembling wolves, were sitting on the tops of the huts ; and of these we purchased a young one, which, after its birthplace, was named Tlamath. The language spoken by these Indians is different from that of the Shoslionee and Columbia river tribes ; and otherwise than by signs they cannot understand each other. They made us comprehend that they were at war with the people who lived to the southward and to the eastward ; but I could obtain from them no certain information. The river on which they live, enters the Cascade Mountains on the western side of the lake, and breaks through them by a passage impracticable for travelers ; but over the mountains, to the north- ward, are passes which present no other obsta- cle than in the almost impenetrable forests. Unlike any Indians we had previously seen, these wore shells in their noses. We returned to our camp, after remaining here an hour or two, accompanied by a number of Indians." 112 Young American's *' Uncle Frank, I should like to know a little more about the geography of some of the places we have been talking of. Are they in Cali- fornia?" No, my boy. They are in Oregon. We have been in Oregon, ever since we left the Great Salt Lake. That is in Utah, though only at the distance of tv^o days' journey from the boundary of Oregon. Fremont's Peak is just on the line between Nebraska and Oregon. Tlamath lake is in Oregon, though the river running through this curious savannah, soon finds its way into California, on its route west, to the Pacific ocean. '* How far is this Tlamath lake from the ocean ?" Not over a hundred miles, I think. Utah, which is an immense territory, large enough, if it were split up, to make six or eight states of respectable size, stretches away westward, almost to the Tlamath lake. From the lake, proceeding in a southwesterly direction, the northwest corner of Utah can be reached by traveling no more than fifty or sixty miles. The Mormons ought to be satisfied with the extent of their territory, I think. They are, at present, almost the only occupants of the Life of Fremont. 113 whole Territory of Utah. They have got room enough for all the fools on the globe ; and I don't know but it would be a good idea to col- lect them all in this one district, and then build an immense Chinese wall around them, so that the rest of the world need not be pestered with them. Fools might as well be Mormons, I think, as anything else. They are sure to run into some folly. " Though you should bray a fool in a mortar," says Solomon — and he was a pretty good judge of all sorts of men — *'yet will not his foolishness depart from him." 10* 114 YoUxVG American's Chapter VIII. THE Snake Indians in this part of the coun- try deserve notice. They are as remark- able, it seems, for their similarity to the brutes, as their neighbors on the lake. Hear what Fremont says of them : " Riding quietly along over the snovi^, we came suddenly upon smokes rising among these bushes ; and, gal- loping up, we found two huts, open at the top, and loosely built of sage, which appeared to have been deserted at the instant; and, look- ing hastily around, we saw several Indians on the crest of the ridge near by, and several others scrambling up the side. We had come upon them so suddenly, that they had been well-nigh surprised in their lodges. A sage fire was burning in the middle ; a few baskets made of straw were lying about, v/ith one or two rabbit-skins ; and there was a little grass scat- tered about, on which they had been lying. * Tabibo — bo !' they shouted from the hills — a word which, in the Snake language, signifies white — and remained looking at us from behind Life of Fremont. 115 the rocks. Carson and Godey rode towards the hill, but the men ran off like deer. They had been so much pressed, that a woman with two children had dropped behind a sage-bush near the lodge ; and when Carson accidentally stumbled upon her, she immediately began screaming in the extremity of fear, and shut her eyes fast to avoid seeing him. She was brought back to the lodge, and we endeavored in vain to open a communication with the men. By dint of presents, and friendly demonstrations, she was brought to calmness; and we found that they belonged to the Snake nation, speak- ing the language of that people. Eight or ten appeared to live together, under the same little shelter ; and they seemed to have no other sub- sistence than the roots or seeds they might have stored up, and the hares which live in the sage, and which they are enabled to track through the snow, and are very skillful in kill- ing. The skins of theso animals afford them a little scanty covering. Herding together among bushes, and crouching almost naked over a lit- tle snge fire, using their instinct only to procure food, these may be considered, among human beings, the nearest approach to the brute crea- tion. We have reason to believe, that they 116 Young American's had never before seen the face of a white man." The party encountered a succession of fogs, day after day, in their progress southward. Sometimes these fogs were so dense that they could see only a few rods from them. Water and grass were scarce at some stages. Near a small lake, they found some most remarkable boiling springs. *' The basin of the larger one," says the narrative, " has a circumference of several hundred feet ; but there is at one extremity a circular space of about fifteen feet in diameter, entirely occupied by the boiling water. It boils up at irregular intervals, and with much noise. The water is clear and the spring deep. A pole, about sixteen feet long, was easily im- mersed in the centre ; but we had no means of forming a good idea of the depth. It was sur- rounded on the margin with a border of green grass, and near the shore the temperature of the water was tw^o hundred and six degrees. We had no means of ascertaining that of the centre, where the heat was greatest ; but, by dispersing the w^ater with a pole, the tempera- ture at the margin was increased to two hun- dred and eight degrees, and in the centre it was, doubtless, higher. By driving the pole towards Life of Fremont. 117 the bottom, the water was made to boil up with increased force and noise. There are several other interesting places, where water and smoke or gas escape ; but they would require a long description. The water is impregnated w^ith common salt, but not so much as to ren- der it unfit for general cooking; and a mixture of snow made it pleasant to drink." The latitude of these wonderful springs is not far from the fortieth parallel. Their longitude is not given; but I venture to guess that they are some one hundred miles from the shore of the Pacific. The party had a great feast on salmon trout, one day. The fish came from a little stream which Fremont named, from its associations, the Salmon Trout river. The Indians, perceiv- ing how eagerly the fish were caught, brought great numbers of them. The trout were of ex- traordinary size, generally from two to four feet in length. There was great merriment in the camp, while the feast was going on. The fish were cooked in every possible mode. They were boiled, roasted, broiled, fried, baked in the ashes. Every few minutes an Indian would be seen running off v/ith the speed of the wind, to spear another trout for the festival. 118 Young American's It was doubtful whether those Indians had ever seen any white people before. But it was evident, that if they had not been so fortunate themselves, they had at least had communica- tion with other Indians who had been in the company of whites; for some of them displayed, with a vast amount of pride, sundry brass but- tons and other little fancy articles having a very civilized appearance. Fremont was now looking out, every day, for the far-famed river Buenaventura. He was passing through the district in which it was reported to have been seen. But no such stream showed itself. On the 18th of January, it was determined to cross the Sierra Nevada^ into the valley of the Sacramento, instead of proceeding directly westw^ard across the Rocky Mountains. The reason for this decision was, that, when the condition of the animals was closely examined, their feet were found to have been so much cut up by the rugged rocks, that it became evident they were not fit for the journey w^estward. When this decision became known, it was hail- ed with joy, and diffused new life throughout the camp. Indians, in great numbers, were encountered, Life of Fremont. 119 as the exploring party proceeded. Nearly all of them had for sale the cones of a species of pine-tree, abundant in that region. " In popu- lar language," Fremont says, " this tree may be called the nut-pine. The cone is oily, of very agreeable flavor, and presumed to be quite nutritious. It forms the principal article of food for the different tribes scattered along through this part of the country. By a present of scarlet cloth — oh, how these red people all like red cloth ! — -an Indian was prevailed upon to act as guide for two or three days." Almost all the tribes seemed to be at war with each other, though they showed a very pacific disposition towards the exploring party, •'thanks to the combined effects of power and kindness," as the narrative informs us. Near the close of the month of January, the brave band of explorers arrived at the Califor- nia mountain range, called the Sierra Nevada, This range had to be crossed before they could regale their eyes with a sight of the beautiful Pacific valley. They had scarcely lighted their fires one evening, when the camp was crowded with half- naked Indians. Fremont's description of them is so entertaining, that I shall not attempt to 120 Young American's condense his sketch, but will give it to you en- tire. He says: "Some of these Indians were furnished with long nets in addition to bows, and appeared to have been out on the sage hills to hunt rabbits. These nets vv^ere, perhaps, thir- ty to forty feet long, kept upright in the ground by slight sticks at intervals, and were made from a kind of wild hemp, very much re- sembling in manufacture those common among the Indians of the Sacramento valley. They came among us without any fear, and scattered themselves about the fires, mainly occupied in gratifying their astonishment. I was struck by the singular appearance of a row of about a dozen, who were sitting on their haunches perched on a log near one of the fires, with their quick, sharp eyes following every motion. We gathered together a few of the most in- telligent of the Indians, and held this evening an interesting council. I explained to them m}^ intentions. I told them that we had come from a very far country, having been traveling now nearly a year, and that we were desirous sim- ply to go across the mountain into the country of the other whites. There were two who ap- peared particularly intelligent — one, a some- what old man. He told me that, before the Life of Fremont. 121 snows fell, it was six sleeps to the place where the whites lived, but that now it was impossi- ble to cross the mountain on account of the deep snow^ ; and showing us, as the others had done, that it was over our heads, he urged us strongly to follow^ the course of the river, which A MOUNTAIN BROOK. he said would conduct us to a lake in which there were many large iish. There, he said, were many people ; there was no snow on the ground; and we might remain there until the spring. From their descriptions, we were en- abled to judge that we had encamped on the upper water of the Salmon Trout river. It is hardly necessary to say that our communication was only by signs, as we understood nothing of 11 122 Young American's their language ; but they spoke, notwithstand- ing, rapidly and vehemently, explaining what they considered the folly of our intentions, and urging us to go down to the lake. Tah-ve, a word signifying snow, we veiy soon learned to know, from its frequent repetition. I told him that the men and the horses were strong ; that we would break a road through the snow ; and spreading before him our bales of scarlet cloth, and trinkets, showed him what we would give for a guide. It was necessary to obtain one, if possible ; for I had determined here to attempt the passage of the mountain. Pulling a bunch of grass from the ground, after a short discus- sion among themselves, the old man made us comprehend, that if w^e could break through the snow, at the end of three days we would come down upon grass, which he showed us would be about six inches high, and where the ground was entirely free. So far, he said, he had been hunting for elk, but beyond that (and he closed his eyes) he had seen nothing. There was one among them, however, who had been to the whites ; and, going out of the lodge, he returned with a young man of very intelligent appearance. ' Here,' said he, ' is a young man who has seen the whites with his own eyes ' Life of Fremont. 123 And he swore, first by the sky, and then by the ground, that what he said was true. With a large present, we prevaihid upon this youth to be our guide. He was thinly clad; and, being barefoot, we gave him skins with wliich to make a new pair of moccasins, and to enable him to make the journey with us." This fel- low — so much as this may truthfully be said of his courage and his faithfulness — did actually start with the party, as their guide. But it might also be added — and this, in our account with him, must be set down on the other page of the ledger — that he got sick of the enterprise pretty soon, though not until many valuable pre- sents had been lavished upon him, and that he crept slyly off, like a cat, and made tracks for " home, sweet home," among his brother Snakes. These Indians have some virtues, it is charitable to suppose. But among the sisterhood it does not appear that honesty, integrity, and faithful- ness ever stay long enough to take off their bonnets and shawls. Deceit is one of the most prominent ingredients in Indian char- acter. The leader of this brave band well knew the dangers and difficulties of the course he had marked out for himself. He entered upon it, 124 Young American's nevertlieless, with those dangers and difficulties staring him full in the face. " I wonder if his men knew anything about the dangers they had got to encoun- ter?" Kit Carson knew something about them ; for he had been in California, and learned all about the Sierra Nevada. The men, generally, how- ever had made up their minds, when it was pro- posed to cross over from the Basin into the valley of the Sacramento river, that the jour- ney could be pretty easily accomplished. The distance was not great, and they thought they could flounder through ever so deep snows, if the floundering didn't last longer than two or three days. " Well, it was better so, no doubt. I don't suppose their leader let them know how much they were deceived?" Yes, he did. He told them the whole truth. He didn't wish to mislead them, or to suffer them to be misled. He thought they ought to see clearly, at the very outset, what sufferings they would be liable to encounter, so that they might lay in a sufficient stock of courage and fortitude to bear them. He called his men to- gether, and addressed them, while they hung Life of Fremont. 125 upon his words, as if he were an oracle, capable of deciding their fate. He represented to them the true character of the Sierra Nevada, He told them of the depth of the snow ; how they must feel their way without a path ; how they were liable to be lost ; that they might be overtaken by hunger and perish. He sketched a brighter picture for their comfort though. He told them of the beautiful valley of the Sacramento, beyond this Sierra. He pictured the beauty of the scenery in California. He assured them, that from the summit of the mountain before them, they could see the Sac- ramento and its charming valley. Sutter's Fort, he said, was but a short distance from the western slope of the Sierra^ and that there they would find a hospitable man, a landholder of great wealth, who was never happier than when he was entertaining strangers from the far- off Atlantic states. The people received this communication cheerfully and hopefully. Then began the work of preparation for the siege of the Sierra. It was a bustling time in that camp. Leggins, moccasins, clothing of different kinds — all were put into the best condition possible. Such patching, and darning, and sewing! How our 11* 126 Young American's mothers and sisters, who handle the needle so scientifically, would have laughed ! Provisions were found to be rather scarce. That was bad, but it couldn't be helped. " What cannot be cured must be endured," you know. The article of salt had given out al- most entirely. "Why, they made a whole peck of salt at the Great Salt Lake. What had become of all that, I should like to know ?" It was used np, and a great deal more, I presume. Do you remember how long it was since they left the Salt Lake ? " No, sir, not exactly — a couple of months, perhaps." A very safe shot — quite within the mark. It was nearer five months. Their Salt Lake adventures occurred during the last week in August, when they were making their prepara- tions to cross the Sierra Nevada. The world had whirled them around into almost the oppo- site sign of the zodiac. It was then the begin- ning of February. The advent of this month was inaugurated by a splendid dinner of roast dog, with a few rabbits purchased of the Indians. The toilsome ascent of the mountains was commenced the Life of Fremont. 127 next day. The people were resolute, but they were serious, too, and remarkably silent. Every one knew tliat the enterprise which had been undertaken was hazardous, and that the issue was doubtful. I hope they looked to a greater Leader than their earthly one, and that they in- voked his blessing and his assistance. I cannot doubt that from those stern, and bold, and fear- less hearts, the pure incense of prayer — accept- able whenever, wherever, and however offered, if sincerely offered — went up to heaven. On they went, up the eastern slope of the mountain. Sometimes they traveled fifteen or sixteen miles, though oftener less. One day, several Indians followed them, in snow-shoes. These snow-shoes were very different from any I ever heard of before. They were made in the form of a hoop at the bottom, about a foot in diameter, the interior space being filled with an open net-work of bark. From all that appear- ed, these Indians were as low in the scale of humanity, and ignorant as those of the tribes living farther eastward. Getting through the snow was harder for the mules and horses than for the men. A road had to be trampled, before the animals could ad- vance. Even this precaution didn't always 128 Young American's save the poor horse or mule from a pretty se- rious misadventure. Occasionally one plunged outside the trail ; and down he slipped to the first platform below, perhaps a hundred yards. Poor beast ! I wonder what thoughts occupied his mind, while this famous slide was going on. I guess he thought he had fallen upon stirring times, at all events. Boys living in the Atlan- tic states, who have such a fever for sliding down hill — and I know a host of such — could have indulged in this fine sport to their hearts' content, if they had been climbing these western mountains with Fr^emont and his companions. Two Indians joined the party on the third or fourth day after they set out. They said it was not possible to cross the mountain. But I must let Fremont himself tell the story about this interview, as I should only spoil it, if I under- took to tell it. He says : *'One of these In- dians, an old man, immediately began to ha- rangue 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 bet- ter way across the mountain. He spoke in a very loud voice, and there was a singular repe- tition of phrases and arrangement of words, Life of Fremont. 129 which rendered his speech striking and not un- musical. We had now begun to understand some words, and with the aid of signs, easily comprehended the old man's simple idea. ' 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 the precipices, and showed us how the feet of the horses would slip, and throw them off from the narrow trails which led along their sides. Our Chinook (that w^as the guide — he hadn't run away yet, though he performed that feat soon after,) who comprehended even more readily than ourselves, and believed our situa- tion 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.' Seated around the tree, the fire illuminating the rocks, and the tall bolls of the pines round about, and the old Indian haranguing, we presented a group of very serious ftices." I don't wonder at that group of serious faces. I could pardon a man, in such circum- stances, and acquit him of unmanly weakness 130 Young American's and cowardice, if his visage had assumed the length of a short yard-stick. On the 6th of the month, an advance party, with Fremont at their head, went on to look for the best place for a road in the snow, and to see what sort of a prospect lay before them. They all traveled on snow-shoes, with wiiich they beat down the snow, as they advanced, so as to make a path for the mules. In a inarch of about ten miles, they reached the top of one of the mountain peaks, from which point they beheld a spectacle that gladdened their hearts. I must let the graphic narrator speak again : *' 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 recognised 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 w^io had not accompa- nied 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 Life of Fremont. 131 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 val- ley, and betv/een us and the phiins, extended miles of snowy fields and broken ridges of pine- covered mountains. It was late in the day when we turned towards the carnp, and it grew rapidly cold as it drew towards night. One of th e 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, on after another, at nightfall, the greater num- ber excessively fatigued, only two of the party having ever traveled on snow-shoes before." The whole company moved on. The general depth of the snow was some five feet ; but the party had often to cross drifts where the depth was at least twenty feet. When they encamp- ed at night, it was necessary to set fire to bro- ken stumps and dead trees, in order to melt holes in the snow for the camp. The mercury 132 Young American's SLEEPING IN THE SNOW in the thermometer found its way down to three degrees below zero. By observation, it was ascertained that they had attained an ele- vation of upwards of eight thousand feet; though they were still a long way from the summit of the range. The glare of the snow rendered some of the men almost blind ; but they had some black silk handkerchiefs with them, and using these as veils, the}- managed partly, though not entirely, to overcome the annoyance. At length, they tried the experi- ment of using mauls in beating down the snow. The mauls worked well. They were generally xised after this. An advance party went ahead Life of Freiviont. 133 every day with these mauls. Fremont was almost always one of the mauling party. You remember that little dog, Tlamath ? Poor fellow ! he had to fall a victim to the ap- petites of his new friends. Fremont was much attached to him, and wished to take him home, and to introduce him to a circle of more civil- ized dogs than he had been v/ont to associate with. Perhaps he thought that the manners of the little savage might be improved by such associations. But he yielded willingly to the necessity of the case. The doom of little Tlamath was sealed. He was slaughtered, cooked, and eaten. Hear wliat Fremont says of the dinner that day : " Godey prepared the dog in Indian fashion, scorching off the hair, and washing the skin with soap and snow, and then cutting it up in pieces, which were laid on the snow. Shortly afterwards, the sleigh arrived with a supply of horse-meat ; so that we had an extraordinary dinner — pea-soup, mule, and dog." The party began to descend the western slope of the Sierra Nevada about the 20th of Februa- Yj. A flock of wild geese passed over their heads. Strange sounds were the voices of these birds to ears so long accustomed to the silence 12 134 Young AxMErican's of the snowy mountains. The height of the summit of the Sierra Nevada, at the point where the exploring party passed, proved to be some- thing more than nine thousand feet. Think of that. The height of St. Bernard, if I recollect aright, is less than nine thousand feet, and the daring traveler, who undertakes to cross this pass in mid-winter, without a guide, is almost sure to perish in the snow. I crossed it as late as the month of June; and I found the snow then, in some places, directly in our route, ten or a dozen feet deep. The Sierra Nevada chain was found to be higher than the Rocky Mountains. The obser- vations which Fremont was able to make, show- ed clearly the causes for the singular phenome- na exhibited in the Great Basin. Two great mountain chains, situated but a short distance apart, shut up, to a great extent, the waters of the valley between, and prevent them from taking their natural course towards the Pacific ocean. Of course, it was easier going down the mountain, than it had been in scrambling up its eastern slope. But the party had, by no means, conquered all the obstacles in their way. Fre- mont says, in his journal, ** The tough ever- greens of the mountain hindered our progress, Life of Fremont. 135 tore our skins, and exhausted our patience. Sonie of us had the misfortune to wear mocca- sins with parficche soles, so slippery that we could not keep our feet and generally crawled across the snow-beds. Axes and mauls were necessary to-day, to make a road through the snow. Going ahead with Carson to reconnoi- tre the road, we reached in the afternoon the river which made the outlet of the lake. Car- son sprang over, clear across a place where the stream was compressed among rocks ; but the pm-jlccJie sole of my moccasin glanced from the icy rock, and precipitated me into the river. It was some few seconds before I could recover myself in the current, and Carson, thinking me hurt, jumped in after me, and we both had an icy bath. We tried to search awhile for my gun, which had been lost in the fall, but the cold drove us out ; and making a large fire on the bank, after we had partially dried ourselves, we went back to meet the camp. We after- wards found that the gun had been slung under the ice which lined the banks of the creek. Using our old plan of breaking roads with al- ternate horses, we reached the creek in the evening, and encamped on a dry open place in the ravine. We had the pleasure to be rained 136 Young AxMerican's upon this afternoon ; and grass was now our greatest solicitude. Many of the men looked badly ; and some this evening were giving out." No grass was found for several days. The anxiety of every one, on account of the animals, continued to increase. Fremont's favorite horse, named Proveau, became very weak and was scarcely able to drag himself along. A deer was discovered ; but he would not let any- body shoot him, doubtless having private rea- sons of his own against the shooting process. Every hour, as they slovvly proceeded, they hoped and expected to see a fertile valley open before them with grass in abundance. But as often were they doomed to be disappointed. " Near nightfall," however, on the 27th of Fe- bruary, so says the narrative — the party " de- scended into the steep ravine of a handsome creek some thirty feet wide. I was engaged in getting the horses up the opposite hill, when I heard a shout from Carson, who had gone ahead a few hundred yards. 'Life yet!' said he, as he came up, ' life yet ; I have found a hillside, sprinkled with grass .enough for the night.' We drove along our horses, and encamped at the place about dark, and there was just room enough to make a place for shelter on the edge Life of Fremont. 137 of the stream. Three horses were lost to-day : Proveau ; a fine young horse from the Colum- bia, belonging to Charles Towns ; and another Indian horse, which carried our cooking uten- sils. The two former gave out, and the latter strayed off into the woods, as we reached the camp. The next day we lay shut up in the narrow ravine, and gave the animals a necessary holiday ; and men were sent back after the others. Derosier volunteered to bring up Pro- veau, to whom he knew I was greatly attached, as he had been my favorite horse on both ex- peditions. Carson and I climbed one of the nearest mountains ; the forest land still extend- ed ahead, and the valley appeared as far as ever. The pack-horse was found near the camp. Towns became light-headed, wandering off into the woods without knowing where he was going, and Jacob brought him back." Dero- sier did not come in that night. Fremont writes under date of the 1st of March : " We began to be uneasy at Derosier's absence, fearing he might have been bewildered in the woods. Charles Towns, who had not yet recovered his mind, went to swim in the river, as if it were summer, and the stream placid, "when it was a cold mountain torrent foaming 12* 138 Young American's among the rocks. We were happy to see Dero- sier appear in the evening. It appeared that he had been lost in the mountains, and hunger and fatigue, joined to weakness of body and fear of perishing in the mountain, had crazed him. The times were severe, when stout men lost their minds from extremity of suffer- ing — when horses died — and when mules and horses, ready to die of starvation, were killed for food. Yet there was no murmuring or hesi- tation." Life of Fremont 139 Chapter IX. ON the 2nd of March, an event occiirrecl, which filled every breast with sadness and pain. Mr. Preuss, the scientific gentleman whose name has several times been mentioned in our conversations, got lost. The whole party were proceeding through the valley of a little river, when they came to a good place for their night's encampment. It was early in the evening and much before the time that they usually encamp- ed. But Fremont thought it would be better to stop at this convenient locality, even if an hour or two were lost, than it would to go on and run the risk of finding another eligible spot. Mr. Preuss was ahead of the rest of the com- pany. It was so early that he did not dream his leader would stop for the night. So he went on. When night arrived, and Mr. Preuss did not make his appearance, an air of deep solemnity pervaded the whole band. It seemed almost as if there was a funeral among those mountain wilds. It was too late, of course, to do any- thing for the lost man that night. But the en- 140 Young American's campment was broken up unusually early the next morning, and the saddened party followed on in Mr. Preuss' trail. Presently they came to a place where it was evident he had encamp- ed. " Here," Fremont writes, " we shouted and fired guns, but received no answer ; and we concluded that he had pushed on down the stream. I determined to keep out from the river, along which it was nearly impracticable to travel with animals, until it should form a valley. At every step the country improved in beauty ; the pines were rapidly disappearing, and oak became the principal trees of the for- est. Among these, the prevailing tree was the evergreen oak, (which by way of distinction, we call the live-oaJc,) and with these occurred frequently a new species of oak, bearing a long, slender acorn, from an inch to an inch and a half in length, which we now began to see formed the principal vegetable food of the in- habitants of this region. In a short distance we crossed a little rivulet, where were two old huts, and near by were heaps of acorn hulls. The ground around about was very rich, cover- ed with an exuberant sward of grass ; and we sat down for a while in the shade of the oaks, to let the animals feed. We repeated our shouts Life of Fremoxt. 141 for Mr. Preuss ; and this time were gratified with an answer. The voice grew rapidly near- er, ascending from the river ; but when we ex- pected to see him emerge, it ceased entirely. We had called nps ome straggling Indian — the first we liad met, although for two days back we had seen tracks — who, mistaking us for his fellows, had been only undeceived on getting close up. It would have been pleasant to witness his astonishment. He would not have been more frightened had some of the old mountain spirits they are so much afraid of sud- denly appeared in his path. Ignorant of the character of these people, Vv^e had now an ad- ditional cause of uneasiness in regard to Mr. Preuss. He had no arms with him, and we began to think his chance doubtful. We fol- lowed on a trail, still keeping out from the river, and descended to a large creek, dashing with great velocity over a very rocky bed, and among large boulders." Guns were fired ; but the echo of the report was the only answer. The next day the search was renewed, with equal vigor. Derosier volunteered to go back, in order to see if the missing man had not re- traced his steps. Charging him to follow the valley of the river, and not to venture from it 142 Young American's on any account, Fremont gave his assent. He was not to be absent more than a day and a half. A cache of provisions was left for him. " What is a cache, Uncle Frank ?" That's right. Don't let any hard words lie in the way of your understanding what I am talking about. It is as necessary to us in our expedition, to clear away all these obstacles to our getting along, as it was for Fremont and his men to use those mauls in order to make a path. Cache is a French word. There is no word in our language which means exactly the same thing; else it would have been used here. But I can explain it, and then, when we meet it again, as we shall, before we get through with our conversations, we shall understand it as well as if it had been bora and brought up in this country. " And could make its boast that it was a genuine Native American ?" That's the idea. You have got it to a T. And, by the way, that thought jostles another in my brain, which was almost ready to tum- ble out when you spoke. It occurs to me that we, Americans, ought to have an especial liking for this word. " I don't see why, I'm sure.'* Life of Fremont. 143 Don't you ? Well, you know we have got the name of being the most inveterate money- getters and money-lovers on the face of the globe ; and this foreign word, this adopted citizen, has almost the same sound as our cash. It means a place where something has been concealed ; and when it is used in such nar- ratives as those of Fremont's expeditions, it means a spot w4iere provisions have been con- cealed in the ground. " I see. A^ell, I am satisfied. I wasn't quite sure but there was some catch about it." Ha ! ha ! Pretty good. But we must trudge on, or we shall never catch Mr. Preuss, that's clear. Still no traces of the poor man. Some tracks of barefooted Indians were found, though, and the still-smouldering fire where they had cooked their fish and roots. Proceed- ing, the anxious party came to an Indian vil- lage, consisting of two or three huts. The peo- ple all ran off, greatly frightened, when they saw the white faces. The huts were low and slightly built, in shape like the old-fashioned bee-hives which we see in ancient picture- books. They were only some five or six feet 144 Young American's ">5~ INDIAN LODGE 15 THE SIERRA NEVADA. high. Near each of these huts was a crate, formed of interlaced branches and grass, in size and shape like a hogshead. They were capa- ble of holding from six to nine bushels. These were filled with acorns. In the hats were seve- ral baskets, containing quantities of the acorns roasted. While chasing a deer in this vicinity, the party discovered some Indians on a hill, some hundred yards ahead. They were hail- ed* But they only answered by loud and ex- cited talking among themselves, and the most violent gestures imaginable ; and pretty soon the}^ ran up the mountain, as flist as their legs would carry them. After supplying them- selves with half a bushel of the roasted acorns Life of Fremont. 145 they had found, and leaving one of their hand- kerchiefs and a shirt in payment, the party started again in pursuit of Preuss. The narra- tive here becomes so interesting, that I don't think we can spare a word of it. I quote a parapraph : " Continuing, the next day, down the river, we discovered three squaws in a little bottom, and surrounded them before they could make their escape. They had large conical baskets, which they were engaged in filling with a small leafy plant, just now beginning to bloom, and covering the ground like a sward of grass. These did not make any lamentations, but appeared very much impressed with our appearance, speaking to us only in a whisper, and offering us smaller baskets of the plant, which they signified to us was good to eat, making signs, also, that it was to be cooked by the fire. We drew out a little cold horse- meat, and the squaws made signs to us that the men had gone out after deer, and that we could have some by waiting till they came in. We observed that the horses ate with great avidity the herb which they had been gathering ; and here, also, for the first time, we saw Indians eat the common grass — one of the squaws pulling several tufts, and eating it with apparent rel- 13 146 Young American's isli. Seeing our surprise, she pointed to the horses ; but we could not well understand what she meant, except, perhaps, that what was good for the one was good for the other. We encamped in the evening on the shore of the river, at a place where the associated beau- ties of scenery made so strong an impression on us, that we gave it the name of the Beautifid Camj)' The undulating river shore was shaded with the live-oaks, which formed a continuous grove over the country, and the same grassy sward extended to the edge of the water, and we made our fires near some large granite masses which were lying among the trees. We had seen several of the acorn caches durinor the day, and here there were two which were very large, containing each, probably, ten bush- els. Towards evening, we heard a weak shout among the hills behind, and had the plea- sure to see Mr. Preuss descend ino^ towards the camp." What a thrill of joy the hearts of those bold mountaineers must have felt, when that faint voice was heard. Bound together, as they were, by the ties of the closest friendship, they had mourned the loss of their companion as if he had been a near relative. And now, it LiB^E OF Fremont. 147 seemed almost as if he had risen from the grave. " I guess they all threw up their caps, and gave him three hearty cheers." It would have been just like them ; but the narrative doesn't enlighten us on that point. It tells us, hov^ever, all about poor Mr. Preuss' wanderings, and you must hear that, by all means. Fremont goes on v/ith his thrilling sto- ry: " Knowing, on the day he was lost, that I was determined to keep the river as much as possi- ble, he had not thought it necessary to follow the trail very closely, but walked on, right and left, certain to find it somewhere along the river, searcWng places to obtain good views of the country. Towards sunset, he climbed down towards the river to look for the camp ; but, finding no trail, concluded that we were behind, and walked back till night came on, when, be- ing very much fatigued, he collected drift- v/ood and made a large fire among the rocks. The next day it became more serious, and he en- camped again alone, thinking that we must have taken some other course. To go back would have been madness, in his weak and starved condition, and onward towards the val- ley was his only hope, always in expectation 148 Young American's of reaching it soon. His principal means of subsistence were a few roots which the hunters call sweet onions, having very little taste, but a good deal of nutriment, growing generally in rocky ground, and requiring a good deal of la- bor to get, as he had only a pocket-knife. Searching for these, he found a nest of big ants, which he let run on his hand, and stripped them off in his mouth. These had an agreeable, acid taste. One of his greatest privations was the want of tobacco ; and a pleasant smoke at evening would have been a relief which only a voyagcur could appreciate. He tried the dried leaves of the live-oak, knowing that those of other oaks were sometimes used as a substitute ; but these were too thick and would not do. On the 4th, he made seven or eight miles, walking slowly along the river, avoiding as much as possible to climb the hills. In little pools he caught some of the smallest kind of frogs, which he swallowed, not so much for the grati- fication of hunger, as in the hope of obtaining some strength. Scattered along the river were old fire-places, where the Indians had roasted muscles and acorns; but though he searched diligently, he -did not there succeed in finding either. He had collected firewood for the night. Life of Fremont. Ii9 when he heard at some distance from the river, the barking of what he thought were two dogs, and walked in that direction as quickly as he was able, hoping to find there some Indian hnt, but met only two wolves ; and in his disappoint- ment, the gloom of the forest was doubled. Traveling the next day, feebly, down the river, he found five or six Indians at the huts we visit- ed. Some were painting themselves black, and some were roasting acorns." He entered one of the huts. " I wonder how Mr. Preuss dared to do such a thing. How did he know but the Indians would have murdered him ?" He didn't know. There was a risk in the course he took, certainly. But what else could he have done ? He was in a starving condition ; and as it was not absolutely certain that his scalp would be taken off, he thought it wise to throw himself on the mercy of the savages. Of two evils he chose the less. " Being only one man" the narrative continues, "the Indians, did not run off, but received their strange visitor kindly, and gave him a good supply of roasted acorns. He gave them his pocket-knife in re- turn, and stretched out his hand to one of the Indians, in token of friendship. The man did 13* 150 Young American's not understand the motion, but jumped back, as if he thought his guest was about to lay hold of him. All the Indians seemed afraid of him, and acted as if they were not certain what he was. Traveling on, he came to the place where we had found the squaws. Here he discovered our fire, which was still burnings and the tracks of our horses. The sight gave him sudden life and courage." Ou the 7th of March, they came to a very neat Indian village. That mijst have been a treat, I fancy. The inhabitants immediately crowded around the white strangers, showing that they were not in the least afraid. Some of them spoke Spanish, too. That was another pleasant circumstance. There was still another. One of the men, who had a better dress on than the rest, informed Fremont that the river, through the valley of which they were proceed- ing, was the Rio de los Americanos^ which means the American river. Never did a name sound sweeter to their ears than this ; for American, in this part of the country, indicated something pertaining to the United States. The name had a home sound about it. But this was not all the good news they heard. The well-dress- ed man proved to be a cow-herd in the service Life of Fremont. 151 * of Captain Sutter, the very man at whose hos- pitable house they had so long been hoping to supply themselves with provisions fit for a Christian palate. Just over the hill, but a short distance off, was Sutter's mansion. It was not long, as you may suppose, before Fremont had grasped the hand of the good old farmer. He only remained with him over night. The next day he went back, with that portion of the party who had come thus far with him, and commenced hunting for another portion of the company, who had been placed under the direc- tion of Mr. Fitzpatrick some time previously, and who had to travel at a slower rate, as they were encumbered with luggage. On the second day, after leaving Sutter's, the two divisions met, a fev/ miles below the forks of the Ameri- can river. "A more forlorn and pitiable sight," says Fremont, " than they presented, cannot well be imagined. They were all on foot — each man, weak and emaciated, leading a horse or mule as weak and emaciated as himself. They had experienced great difficulty in de- scending the mountains, made slippery by rains and melting snows, and many horses fell over precipices, and were killed ; and with some were lost the iiaclcs they carried. Among these 152 Young American's ♦ was a mule with the plants which we had col- lected since leaving Fort Hall, along a line of two thousand miles' travel. Out of sixty-seven horses and mules, with which we commenced crossing the Sierra, only thirty-three reached the valley of the Sacramento, and they only in a condition to be led along. Mr. Fitzpatrick and his party, traveling more slow^ly, had been able to make some little exertion at hunting, and had killed a few deer. The scanty supply was a great relief to them ; for several had been made sick by the strange and miwholesome food w^iich the preservation of life compelled them to use. We stopped and encamped as soon as we met ; and a repast of good beef, ex- cellent bread, and delicious salmon, which I had brought along, was their first relief from the sufferings of the Sierra, and their first intro- duction to the luxuries of the Sacramento. It required all our philosophy and forbearance to prevent 2?Ie?Wj from becoming as hurtful to us now, as scarcity had been before." *' Before we go any further, can we hear a little about Captain Sutter ? It seems odd that he should have gone away from civilization, and taken up wdth a hermit's life away out in Cali- fornia." Life of Fremont. 153 Captain Sutter formerly lived in the State of Missouri. Like many other American youths, he was of a roving disposition, and fond of ad- venture. Li the year 1838, by hook and by crook — there was a good deal of crooh about it — he found himself in the valley of the Sacramen- to, alone, in the midst of a wilderness. He ob- tained, on very easy terms, a grant of land from the Mexican government, and went to work farming on a large scale. He has now some thirty or forty men in his employ. There are large quantities of gold on his place ; and the working of the mines has greatly increased the value of his estate. The exploring party were sadly in want of supplies at this stage of their progress. They were destitute of provisions, of equipments, of horses, of mules, of almost everything neces- sary for their outfit. More than nine months had elapsed, it should be recollected, since they had left the frontiers of civilization. Near- ly all this time they had been in motion. It is not strange that everything which could be ex- hausted or worn out, was by this time missing. It was only strange, one would think, that the men themselves, as well as their horses and saddles, were not worn out and missin«:. Their 154 Young American's wants were the cause of a good deal of stir in the region of Sutter's. Mules, horses, and cat- tle, were to be collected. There was a horse- mill on the estate ; and that was kept running, day and night, to supply flour. The black- smith had his hands full in making horse-shoes, and bridle-bits, and all sorts of iron implements necessary to the expedition. Pack-saddles, ropes, bridles, harnesses, and many other things, " too numerous to mention," as the country retailer of dry-goods says in his adver- tisements, had all to be procured ; and the ut- most dispatch was employed in procuring them. The delay, which this outfit rendered necessary, afforded an excellent opportunity for Fremont and his men to enjoy a season of rest, which they were in great need of. It re- quired, however, only some ten days to com- plete the equipment, at the end of which time Fremont was off again, at the head of his brave band. He had secured an ample stock of pro- visions ; and when he left the fort, and turned his face homeward, he had one hundred and thirty horses and mules, and thirty head of cat- tle, including cows for milking. Captain Sutter also furnished an Indian boy, who had been trained as a cow-herd, to take charge of the cattle. Life op Fremont. 155 The route which Fremont had marked out for hin:iself, was first to follow the valley of the San Joaquin river, to a pass nearly at its head. This, of course, would take him out of a direct line some five hundred miles. But as there was no valuable scientific object to be attained by recrossing the Sierra Nevada, in the latitude where he crossed it before, he determined to keep out of the snow-banks as long as it was practicable. He had another reason, too, for this course. He wished to explore another sec- tion of the country, and to make himself famil- iar with it. From the pass at the head of the San Joaquin, the route determined upon was in a southwesterly direction to the " Spanish trail," which was the route of the caravans from the southern part of California to Sante F6. From the pass to this trail was one hun- dred and fifty miles. The trail was to be fol- lowed through a country for the most part a barren desert, until it turned to cross the Colo- rado river ; then the course was to be towards a pass in the Rocky Mountains, at the head of the Arkansas. It was computed that a distance of more than two thousand miles had to be traveled, in pursuing this route, before that pass could be reached. I am thus particular in 156 Young American's sketching the proposed route of Fremont, be- cause I think, especially if you can refer to a correct map of California, New Mexico, and Kansas, that such a sketch will help you in un- derstanding the movements of the party, as we follow their route homeward. Traversing the valley of the San Joaquin, the explorers encountered something to excite their wonder or admiration every day. Now they came across strange Indians ; then half a dozen elks ; and then deer, and antelopes, and wolves. The last-mentioned chaps proved themselves to be decidedly wolfish. They sustained the char- acter of their race remarkably well. The young antelopes couldn't run very f\ist ; and the wolves, who could run fast, amused them- selves by racing after and killing the poor little slow-footed creatures. Some forty or fifty In- dians, a little farther removed from the scale of the brute creation, I should judge, than the Snakes and the Tlamaths, presented themselves to the party, and offered to trade. Their stock consisted of otter skins, bread made from acorns, and several kinds of fish. The time approached, when the beauties of the California slope of the Sierra were to be exchanged for the toils, and hardships, and expo- Life op Fremont. 157 sures of the mountains. What a contrast be- tween the tv/o scenes I " One might travel the world over," writes Fremont, " vv^ithout finding a valley more fresh and verdant— more floral and sylvan— more alive with birds and animals — more bounteously w^atered— than we had left in the San Joaquin. Here, within a few miles' ride, a vast desert plain spread be- fore us, from which the boldest traveler turned away in despair." The *' Spanish trail" was reached not far from the middle of April. To this point in the journey, Fremont had constantly looked forward with great interest. A spicy incident occurred among the moun- tains. Our explorers met two Spaniards, who were connected w^ith a caravan proceeding to Sante Fe. They had, hov/ever, gone on ahead of the rest of the party, for some reason or other, with a considerable number of horses in their charge. Their camp was attacked one night by a large body of Indians, who made themselves masters of the horses, and drove them off. After listening to the story of these unfortunate men, Fremont determined to lend them such assistance as would be necessary in recovering the horses. Carson and Godey vol- 14 158 Young American's unteered their services in pursuing the thieves ; and they, with one of the Spaniards, gave chase. They were all three well armed, and, withal, had as generous a stock of courage as ammunition. The Spaniard soon returned, his horse having failed. The other two continued the pursuit of the Indians. We must now let Fremont do the speaking : " In the afternoon of the next day, a war-whoop was heard, such as Indians make when returning from a victo- rious enterprise ; and soon Carson and Godey appeared, driving before them a band of horses, recognized by one of the Spaniards to be part of those they had lost. They informed us, that after the Spaniard left them, they contin- ued the pursuit alone, and towards night- fall entered the mountains, into which the trail led. After sunset, the moon gave light, and they followed the trail by moonshine until late in the night, when it entered a narrow defile, and was difficult to follow. Afraid of losing it in the darkness of the defile, they tied up their horses, struck no fire, and lay down to sleep, in si- lence and in darkness. Here they lay from midnight until morning. At daylight they re- sumed the pursuit, and about sunrise discover- ed the horses ; and, immediately dismounting, Life of Fremont. 159 and tying up their own, they crept cautiously to a rising ground which intervened, from the crest of which they perceived the encampment of four lodges close by. They proceeded qui- etly, and got within thirty or forty yards of their object, when a movement among the horses discovered them to the Indians. Giving the war-shout, they instantly charged into the camp, regardless of the number which the four lodges would imply. The Indians received them with a flight of arrows shot from their long bows, one of which passed through Godey's sliirt-collar, barely missing the neck. Our men fired their rifles upon a steady aim, and rushed in. Two Indians were stretched upon the ground, fatally pierced with bullets. The rest fled, except a little lad, that was captured. They were now masters of the camp, which was a pretty little recess in the mountain, with a fine spring, and apparently safe from all inva- sion. Great preparations had been made to feast a large party, for it was a very proper place to rendezvous, and for the celebration of such orgies as robbers of the desert would de- light in. Several of the best horses had been killed, skinned, and cut up ; for the Indians living in mountains, and only coming into the 160 Young American's plains to rob and murder, make no other use of horses than to eat them. Large earthen vessels were on the fire, boiUng and stewing the horse-beef; and several baskets, containing fifty or sixty pairs of moccasins, indicated the presence or expectation of a considerable par- ty. They released the boy, who commenced his breakfast upon a horse's head, as soon as he found he was not to be killed, but only tied as a prisoner. Their object accomplished, our men gathered up all the surviving horses, fif- teen in number, returned upon their trail, and rejoined us, at our camp, in the afternoon of the same day. They had rode about one hun- dred miles, in the pursuit and return, and all in thirty hours. The time, place, object, and numbers considered, this expedition of Carson and Godey may be considered as one of the b'oldest and most disinterested, which the an- nals of western adventure, so full of daring deeds, can present. Two men, in a savage desert, pursue, day and night, an unknown body of Indians, into the defile of an un- known mountain ; attack them at night, with- out counting their numbers ; and defeat them in an instant. And for what ? To punish the robbers of the desert, and to avenge Life of Fremont. 161 the wrongs of Mexicans whom they did not know." One day, in the early part of May, while in their encampment, the exploring party were visited by a large number of hostile Indians, who used insulting language, and seemed bent on mischief. They were the same people who had carried off the horses of the Spaniards. All of them were barefooted and nearly naked, and their hair was gathered up into a knot behind. Each one carried a bow, with thirty or forty arrows. It was difficult for the leader to re- strain his men from attacking these savages, for they put on very insolent airs. Still no blow was struck on the part of the whites. They held in their resentment, in obedience to their leader, with a curb-bit. In the evening, with a view of softening the enmity of these Indians, if possible, Fremont gave them a fatigued horse for a feast. They had a great merry-making over the poor horse. They quarreled among themselves, however, about the division of the animal, which must have taken away a little, one would think, from the extreme hilarity of the feast; because "better is a dinner of herbs, where love is, than a stalled ox and hatred therewith." These Indians belonged to the fra- 14* 162 Young American's A DIGGER INDIAN. ternity of Diggers. Many of them carried long sticks, hooked at one end, with which they pull out lizards from their holes. They roasted and ate sundry lizards at the fires in the camp. At night, several animals were stolen and slaughtered by these Diggers. They hadn't any wit to spare ; but they mustered enough to Life of Fremont. 163 enable them to perceive that thieving, for the time being, paid better than lizard-hunting and root-diggiDg. I have a sad tale to tell you next — a tale of blood and death. A close v^atch was kept over the movements of these Digger Indians ; for they were known to be treacherous, reckless, and savage in the last degree. But one day, contrary to the orders of Fremont, one of the men strayed away alone from the camp. His name was Tabeau. The party spent an entire day in their encampment, not for the purpose of resting, but to allow the leader to arrange a large number of rare and valuable plants which he had procured in different places all along his route. A mule was lost. Tabeau, who had charge of the animals, went back to the encampment of the previous day, without let- ting his chief know his intentions, in search of the missing mule. When informed of Tabeau's daring act, which happened near sun-set, Fre- mont was filled with alarm. "Not long after this painful disclosure was made," says Fremont in his journal, " a smoke rose suddenly from the cotton-wood grove below, which plainly told us what had befallen him. It was raised to inform the surrounding Indians that a blow had 164 Young American's been struck, and to tell them to be on their guard. Carson, with several men well mount- ed, was instantly sent down the river; but they returned in the night without tidings of the missing man. They went to the camp we had left ; but neither Tabeau nor the mule was there. Searching down the*- river, however, they found the tracks of the mule, evidently driven along by the Indians, whose tracks were on each side of those made by the animal. After going several miles, they came to the mule it- self, standing in some bushes, mortally wounded in the side by an arrow, and left to die, that it might afterwards be butchered for food. They also found in another place, as they were hunt- ing about on the ground, after Tabeau's tracks, something that looked like a little puddle of blood." The next day, at a very early hour in the morning, Fremont set out himself with several men, in search of the missing man. He says: "We went to the spot where the ap- pearance of blood had been seen, and this, we perceived at once, was the spot where the poor man fell down and died. Blood upon the leaves, and beaten-down bushes, showed that he had got his wound about twenty paces from where he fell, and that he had struggled for his Life of Fremont. 165 life. He had probably been shot through the lungs with an arrow. From the place where he lay and bled, it could be seen that he had been dragged to the river bank, and thrown into it." In May, 1S44, near the close of the month, the exploring party found themselves at almost the same point where they had been in Sep- tember, 1843. This point was the southern arm of the Great Salt Lake, called the Utah Lake. Before, they had made themselves fa- miliar with the northern part of this remarkable sheet of water ; now they became acquainted with its southern extremity. On the 13th of June, with a degree of joy which you may imagine, they stood again on the summit of the Rocky Mountain range, and could look down and see a little stream flow- ing towards the rising sun ! They had a brisk chase after a grizzly bear, one morning, as they were proceeding down the mountain. They tried to catch him with the lasso. "What is a lasso, Uncle Frank?" It is a long cord, something like a whip, with a little weisrht at the end. When it is throw^n skillfully, it is usually wound around 166 Young- American's the legs of the animal, so that he becomes un- able to run. In the case of the bear, however, it was thrown around the neck, instead of the legs. But the savage fellow managed to get away. Fremont came very near having a skirmish with a about thirty Arapahoe Indians. He says: "I made them the usual presents; but they appeared disposed to be unfriendly, and galloped back at full speed to the village. Knowing that we had trouble to expect, I de- scended immediately into the bottoms of Grand river, which were overflowed in places, the river being up, and made the best encampment the ground afforded. We had no time to build a fort, but found an open place among the wil- lows, which was defended by the river on one side and the overflowed bottoms on the other. "We had scarcely made our few preparations, when about two hundred of them appeared on the verge of the bottom, mounted, painted, and armed for war. We planted the American flag between us ; and a short parley ended in a truce, with something more than the usual amount of presents. About twenty Sioux were with them — one of the man old chief, who had always been friendly to the whites. He informed me Life of Freimont. 167 that, before coming down, a council had been held at the village, in which the greater part had declared for attacking us — we had come from their enemies, to whom we had, doubtless, been carrying assistance in arms and ammunition — but his own party with some few of the Arapa- hoes, who had seen us the previous year in the plains, opposed it. It will be remembered, that it is customary for this people to attack the trading parties which they meet in this region, considering all whom they meet on the western side of the mountains to be their ene- mies." The party passed Bent's Fort early in July. As they came into view, they were saluted with a display of the national flag, and by repeated discharges of artillery. But we must not dwell too long on the in- cidents of this expedition. On the last day of July, Fremont, with his company, encamped at the little town of Kansas, on the Missouri, having been absent from that place fourteen months. Don't you think he was glad to meet his family again ? and is it not quite within the range of probability that they were equally glad to welcome him home ? 168 Young American's Chapter X. DUKINGr the remainder of 1844, and a part of the following year, Fremont was en- gaged in preparing the report of his second ex- pedition, and completing the maps and profiles of his route. This employment, as it would seem, was all the recreation he allowed himself between the end of his second and the com- mencement of his third expeditions ; for as soon as he had presented his report to the chief of the corps of Topographical Engineers, he w^as again pursuing his w^ay, through as many dan- gers and hardships as ever, across the Eocky Mountains. You remember what w^e have learn- ed about the Great Basin ? " Yes, sir ; we have learned enough to make us anxious to know more about it." Well, one object of this expedition of Fre- mont, was to explore this basin more thorough- ly than he had been able to do when he passed through it. Another object was to explore that part of Oregon and California lying con- tiguous to the sea coast. But still another, and, Life of Fremont. 16^ perhaps, in the mind of the chief explorer, the most important object, was an accurate exami- nation of the overland route to the Pacific. He had begun, by this time, to take an especial interest in California, and was already thinking of it as his future home. As a token of the high estimate in which the government, at the time, held the services of Fre- mont, the President conferred on him the com- mission of Captain of the corps of Topographi- cal Engineers. It was in the autumn of 1845, that the third expedition set out. This time, Fremont took along with him a daguerreotype apparatus^ which was of great service to him^ in taking views of interesting points on the route. He went out by the northern head waters of the Arkansas river. Then he proceeded to the great Salt Lake ; and thence directly across the Central Basin, towards California, in a route which he w as the first to explore. Several months were spent in examining the head waters of the great rivers which flow, some of them, eastward towards the Atlantic, and some westward towards the Pacific. When the party reached the Great Salt Lake, the country looked so familiar to them, that it al- 15 170 Young American's most seemed as if they were at home. When the time came for them to leave this spot, they left it with no little regret. They were now to push their way through a barren desert. Four men, with a horse loaded with provisions and water for two days, were sent on ahead, to see if they could find grass and water for the ani- mals; for you must recollect that the lives of these poor beasts depended entirely upon the springs and brooks to be found, and upon the facilities for grazing which were afforded. An Indian, not at all burdened with clothing, ac- companied the pioneers. If they found what they were looking after, they were to build a fire, and raise a smoke. Nearly two days had passed, and they did not return, nor was the smoke-signal discovered. Fremont began to have fears about their safety. So he started, with the whole party, after them. He waited until nearly sunset, hoping they would arrive, or that he would see the signal. But he was disap- pointed ; and instead of delaying until morning — as many men, with more discretion, judg- ment, and prudence, than energy, force, and de- termination, would have done — off he posted, that very evening. There was a thing to be done, you perceive — an important thing — and Life of Fremont. 171 the sooner it was done the better. In such a case Fremont never hesitated, and never delay- ed. He went about the execution of the thing at once, and he threw his whole soul, for the time being, into the undertaking. "But wasn't this undertaking rather a dan- gerous one?" It was certainly not very safe. Traveling by night, in an unknown country, among wild beasts and wild Indians, is not an occupation that cowards would be likely to fall in love with. It was from necessity, with a desire to render assistance to his men, not from choice, that Fremont made this night excursion. To- wards morning, the Indian who had gone with the advance party, was met, returning home- ward. He had been found to know no more of the country than the men he attempted to lead, knew themselves. He turned out to have been a " blind leader of the blind." The advance party, however — so it was afterwards ascertain- ed — went ahead without any guide, except their own judgment. After a long search, they found a running stream and plenty of grass. A few days afterward, the expedition was divided into two parties. The larger one w^as 172 Young American's placed under the direction of Walker, a well- known mountaineer, and a very successful ex- plorer. The course determined upon for them was around the base of the Sierra Nevada, by a route which Walker had pursued before. The other party, under Fremont's direction, were to penetrate directly through the heart of the desert. This party was composed of only ten men, a part of whom were whites, and a j)art Delaware Indians. Fremont's party traveled a week or more without encountering a human being, except Qu one occasion. Near the close of a hard day's journey, not finding any water, they turned in- to a mountainous district, and followed the dry bed of a stream, until they were some two thou- sand feet above the plain. Here they found a spring and abundance of grass. After supper was over, and as the men wero standing or sit- ting about the fire, they were startled by the appearance of a human form. It proved to be a woman. She was old, decrepid, and reduced almost to a mere skeleton. She was almost naked ; her long hair hung down over her face and shoulders ; her face w^as wrinkled, wan, and ghastly. She might have made a good pic- tare of one of the witches that Sliakespeare de- Life of Fremont. 173 scribes in "Macbeth." It appeared that she had mistaken the camp-fire of the whites for one of the Indians. Her tale about her condi- tion was a sad one. The Indians, you know, are in the habit of leaving their fathers and mothers, when they get old and unable to take care of themselves, to die of hunger. This poor woman had become a burden to the sons she had reared ; and so they turned her out of their lodge, and sent her to wander alone among the mountains, where she could get no food but roots to eat, and where she was liable to be torn in pieces by wild beasts. What inhuman wretches — what monsters in the form of men, these savages are ! The woman was afraid of the whites, and was eager to get away. The men could not detain her long except by force. They gave her a generous share of the mountain sheep they had killed that day, and she tottered off with her load, as fast as her feeble limbs would carry her. She had not gone many yards, be- fore one of the men, thinkinsr she had no means of cooking her meat, and wishing to show as much kindness as he could to her, went after her, with a brand of fire in his hand ; but he could not reach her before she dodged down 174 YouN€^ American's into a thicket, where, in the darkness, is wag impossible to find her. Traveling along the foot of a mountain, some days after this incident occurred, the party saw a volume of smoke rising from a little ravine, not a great way off. They rode up to the spot as cautiously as possible, when they discovered a single Indian on the margin of a small creek. He was standing before a fire, apparently " in deep thought," the narrative informs us. As his dinner was boiling in a pot hanging over the fire, I am inclined to think the current of his thoughts tended in that direction. The pot contained squirrels, and there were some half dozen of these animals, besides, lying on the ground near the fire. Not far off, were the In- dian's bow and quiver of arrows. The poor fellow was completely taken by surprise. He was hugely frightened. Still he didn't run away. He made the best of the matter. As soon as he could collect his scattered thoughts — they went a wool-gathering at first — he treat- ed his unwelcome guests in the most polite manner imaginable, offered them a part of his dinner, and made himself as agreeable as he knew how to be. Fremont gave him some lit- tle presents, for which he seemed heartily grate- Life of Fremont. 175 ful, when the party left him and went on their way. They had not proceeded far, however, be- fore the keen eye of their leader discovered that his Delawares had taken a fancy to the handsome bow and arrow^s they had seen lying on the ground, by the side of the little pile of squirrels, and had walked off with them. When Fremont told these Delawares that they had probably taken away the only means of that lone Indian's support, and that, without his bow and arrows, he would be almost sure to die of starvation, they went back v^^illingly and re- stored the articles. The party reached a lake lying at the foot of the Sierra Nevada chain. This was the place where the two divisions were to meet. There, as they were turning a point on the lake shore, a band of some twelve or fourteen Indians ap- peared suddenly in view. They came along, one by one — in '^Indian file," as that mode of marching is called — with their heads bent for- ward, and their eyes fixed upon the ground. They didn't say a word. They passed on as silently as if they were a funeral party, and didn't lift their eyes from the ground for a moment. The whites, too, quite willing to 176 Young Americano's avoid an encounter with the savages, humored their whim, and passed in silence. There seems to have been an understanding on both sides, which, if it had been expressed at all, would probably have been uttered in something like this form : " If you'll let us alone, we'll let you alone." Soon after this strange meeting, the two divisions of the exploring party were again joined into one. By this time, winter had come on in earnest. The party were nearly out of provisions, and novgame was to be found. The heavy snows were beginning to block up the passes in the Sierra. It was considered too hazardous, tak- ing into account their want of provisians, as well as the lateness of the season, to attempt a direct passage over the mountains with the entire company at this time ; so it was arranged that Walker should continue with the main branch of the party along the foot of the Sierra, in a southerly direction, and enter the valley of the San Joaquin by some one of the low and least formidable passes at its head, while Fre- mont, with a few men, proceeded in a nearly direct course across the range, to Sutter's Fort. There he knew he could get supplies of horses and cattle^ when he intended to join Life ©f Fremont. 177 tfee oth^r brao