The Sun.
London, England, 1849-04-24 00:00:00

COL. FRENIONT'S EXPEDITION.

The disastrous accounts from Colonel Fremont, which
have so painfully excited the public mind for some days
past, have induced us to inquire at the source most
probable to have the best information, or the best opi-
nions, in relation to his position. The result of this
inquiry authorises the belief that some of the most pain-
ful of these reports must be unfounded. All that to lates
to the perishing of the party by hunger and starva-
tion are certainly so. Colonel Fremont wrote from the
Pueblos, near the head of the Arkansas, when about to
cross the first range of mountains on the last of Novem-
ber, that his supplies were ample to carry him through
—that he had more flour than he wanted, and left some
behind—plenty of meat, and a reserve of sugar and
coffee, and maccaroni for hard times, and for the
sick or disabled. Thus he had abundant provisions,
besides the resource of above one hundred horses and
mules, which, dead or alive, would be a support to 35
men. If frozen to death these animals would remain in
that state until spring, and continue sound ; so that
there was no danger of death by starvation. That they
perished of cold is another of the painful rumours. This
is improbable, though the cold must have been dreadful,
and the snows fearfully deep. All accounts, as he ap-
proached the mountains, from Indians and traders, repre-
sonted the winter as premature and unusually severe.
So much snow, so early in the season, all agreed, had
never been seen. It was in the last days of November
that he began to climb the mountain range (above the
Spanish Peaks) which divides the valley of the Upper
Arkansas from the head of the Rio del Norte, la-
titude about 36k, longitude about 106. The snow was
about breast deep to the horses when the party was
last seen, about five miles from the summit. Up

o this point the accounts are authentic, two men

from the Pueblos having followed to join Colonel Fre-
mont, but whom he did not receive—probably not know-
ing them, it being his rule to take none but reliable men,
whom he knew, in these dangerous expeditions. There
is no doubt but that Colonel Fremont got over this first
range of mountains,
and thus entered the valley of the
Del Norte, near the head of the river, and about 3 deg.
north of Santa F 6. A greater obstacle was still before
him—the great central chain of the Rocky Mountains,
there called Sierra Madre. He knew the difficulty of
crossing this great barrier, there reaching the region of
perpetual snow, and, if unable to do it, expected to winter
in some core or valley where there might be forests of
evergreens, cedar especially, which would furnish shelter,
and probably game, with some dried grass and soft wood
for their horses to live upon. The account of his coming
to Taos, which is about a degree north of St. Louis, is
proof that he did not cross the Sierra Madre; and, as
he came in for horses, he had probably lost all his by the
cold and deep snows which he encountered after getting
into the valley of the Del Norte. To judge of that de-
gree of cold and depth of snow it is necessary to refer to
what they were known to be at Santa F 6, on the 16th
of December, say two weeks after Colonel Fremont had
crossed into the valley of Del Norte. The Santa Fe Re-
publican, received up to that day, says that the thermo-
meter (Fshrenheit) was 20 deg. below zero—(s2 deg. be-
low the freezing point); that the snows were over the
backs of the horses in the gorges of the mountains; that
a detachment of troops with four guides, which had gene
out in pursuit of some marauding Indians, had become in-
volved in these snows, and with difficulty extricated them-
selves; that all travelling was stopped; that persons had
been frozen to death; and that such prematurity and in-
tensity of cold and depth of snow had never been wit-
nessed. This was at Santa Fe, about north lat. 35 deg.
40 min., long. 106 deg., and at an elevation of 7,000 1.-et
above the level of the sea. At that same time Colonel
Freenoet and his party must have been 3 deg. further
north, and about deg. fut ther west, and at an elevation
(supposing the valley to continue rising to near its gorge
in the Sierra Madre) of near 8,000 feet. The cold, there-
fore, must have been greater, and the snow deeper, than
at Santa Fe—greater and deeper than the cold and
snows w hich killed the 30,000 horses of the French army
in oue night in Russia. It is probable, then, that
Colonel Fremont's animals were all killed near the
head of the Rio Grande del Norte. But the same pro-
bability does not hold with respect to his men. They
had resources which the poor animals had not. Be-
sides, they knew their danger, and were prepared for
it. Colonel Fremont wrote from Bent's Fort—in sight
of the mountains—that he had his party in the most
perFect order, and every precaution taken for their
safety. They knew what cold was. Part of them had
climbed the Sierra Nevada with him, when half the
horses perished, but no men. Part had cro&.ed the Santa
Barbara mountain with him on Christmas day, 1846,
when above 100 horses (Californian horses) perished in
a day, but no men. It is probable, then, that none of
his men perished in this terrible cold, and that is the
belief of the best authority on the subject. That he
came alone, as it was said, to Taos, is no sign that his
men were dead. It was his custom, when his party were
in danger, and needed relief, to go himself arid bring it,
first making them as s.fe as possible, taking two or
three men with him (of whom his faithful servant
Jacob, new a messenger to the senate, was always
one). That ho was on foot only proves the loss of
the horses ; that he made 350 miles, as re
ported, in nine days, is proof that his feet were not
frozen; that he went back with Major Beale, who went
out with relief; is proof that he expected to relieve his
men, and enable them to come in. It is probable that.
early in February he had them refitted, and remounted
in the settlement of New Mexico, and renewed his expe-
dition, crossing the Sierra Madre lower down. This is
the probable state of the party—horses lost, but no men,
and the expedition baulked or delayed two or three
every hour,thoug whhheree
had
dy sever
were.
been lie
k
months. The supposition that the party lost their way
is wholly unwarranted. Colonel Fremont marked out
his whole route before he set out, and he and his men
ltchnneserwwe , everybefore.—National
to
g
dayo to and
T aoe ,
Intelligencer, March 30.

the Amphitrite, Capt. S. T. Grave van Linburg
COLLISION.—The Dutch man of war corvette, of
arrived at Spithead on Wednesday evening, at
s2s
seven
vy ger unu
°Mos:Clock. She saluted the garrison with twenty-
one guns, and the Commander-in-Chief, Admiral Sir
B. Capel, with seventeen guns, yesterday morning, at
nine o'clock; which salutes were replied to by the Vic-
tory and Platform Battery. She was afterwards towed
into harbour by the Echo steamer. She is from the
the 17th
bound to
w
o thehe West :sant linng ddieso.wn Channel,Aboutm between
teconn
the Ness and Beachyhead, she came in contact with
the Mary Ann, schooner, of London, from Cadiz,
bound to London, last from Plymouth, laden with wine.
The night was dark and the wind blowing fresh. The
crew of the Mary Ann, consisting of the captain and
five men, took refuge on board the Amphitrite. The
former vessel last her masts, and was stove in. The
Amphitrite lost jib-boom, part of cutwater, and, we
hear, makes water. The Mary Ann did not sink, and
when last seen was drifting over towards the coast of
France. She will, no doubt, be a good prize for some
of the fishing boats, us her cargo (about 90 tons of
wine) wiK prevent her sinking. Captain Grave, accom-
paniedwaited. on the Commander-in-Chief after the Amphitrite
.She will be refitted at the dockyard,
by M. Vandenbourg, the Consul for Holland,
came into
and will, probably, go into dock before she proceeds on
to the West Indies. _

SUICIDE AT THE DUKE OF DEVONSIIIRE'S.—On
Friday, Mr. William Pell, who had fur many years held
the situation of secretary to his Grace the Duke of
Devonshire, in addition to an office in the Board of
Green Cloth, drowned himself in an iron tank sunk
in the garden. The tank was only three feet in
length, and about eighteen inches in depth, and was filled
with water.—Yesterday afternoon an inquest was held
on the body, when the jury returned a verdict of " Tem-
porary insanity."
PRESTON AND LONGRIDGE.—At the half-yearly
general meeting of the proprietors of the Preston and
Longridge Railway, held at the office of the Fleetwood,
Preston, and West Riding Junction Railway Company,
01 Thursday last, C. Swainson, sen., Esq., in the chair,
a dividend of 12s. per share (clear from income-tax) was
declared, for the half-year ending 30th June next.—
Preston Chronicle.

ROYAL MUNIFICENCE.—At a meeting of the go-
vernors and committee of the Adult Deaf and Dumb
Institution, 26, Red Lion-square, Bloomsbury, J.
Michael, Esq., in the chair, it was stated that a commu-
nication had been received from George Maule, E 51.,
the solicitor to the Treasury, announcing a very liberal
gift from her Most Gracious Majesty the Queen. The
letter of Mr. Maule stated that the property of the
late Thomas thine, Esq., who died intestate, having
reverted to the Crown, her Majesty had been
pleased to sign a warrant, directing a dona-
tion of two hundred pounds to be paid out of
the said estate towards the purposes and objects of the
institution for the adult deaf and dumb. J. G. Simpson,
Esq., to whom the above had been addressed, observed
that the munificence of her Majesty was a most timely
aid to the funds of the charity, not alone as re,ards
the want of funds for general purposes, but as indicat-
ing, he hoped, an early increase in its operation,t, for
which it was to be regretted too great a necessity existed.
STATE OF WESTMINSTER ABBEY.—It has been
stated that the Dean of Westminster has, with his well-
known liberality and enthusiasm, resolved to apply a
considerable portion of his income to the repairs and im-
provements of the Abbey ; but the following extra-
ordinary circumstances have not yet been made known
to the public, though they are deeply interesting. Dr.
Buckland having determined to set a noble example,
very judiciously began by a close investigation of the
actual state of the edifice; and lo! it has been discovered
that buttresses and other essential parts of the building
are in a dilapidated, and even imminently dangerous
condition, so as to threaten with destruction some of the
venerable Royal chapels, and the unequalled national
relics they contain. It ia, indeed, fortunate that the
appointment of a dignitary alike remarkable for rare
acquirements in science and a generous disposition, has
saved the country from the impending misfortune, and
the Abbey authorities from unavailing reproaches,--
Builder,

IMPERIAL P tRLIAMENT.

HOUSE 0]! LO RD S , Apr il 23.
LonD CIIA.NCELLOR tOOk ;1201 010 Wool-
sack at Five o'clock.

The Bishop of WORCESTER, prc-s-nteJ F_:::,vc,r.l peti-
tions in favour of the Pr:,vention of Seduction Bill.

Tbe Earl of H II,OW BY prevnted several petitions
prayin for an Atnendmeot, of the lawa regulating
beer shop;.

:3ALE.OF LANDS (NEW SOUTH AVALEI'i) BILL.

Oil the motion of Earl GREY this Bill was real a
second time.

ST. JOHN'S, NEWFOUNDLAND, REBUILDING

BILL.
Earl GREY moved the second reading of this
Agreed to.

AFFAIRS OF ROME.

Lord 13ROUGIIA NI asked if it was true that the
Roman and Tuscan Republicans had laid a sacrilegious
hand on the works of art, and had sold them. He hoped
that those rumours were false ; indeed, he knew that
the rumour that one of the greatest of the works of
art had been bought by an agent of the linit,l States,
was incorrect. Ile had also heard that a member of their
Lordships' louse had purchased the Transfiguration; this
he believed was false, and he could nut believe that any
person in the station of their Lordships would purchase
such works, unless for the purpose of restoring them;
but he feared some of the lesser works of art
might be purchased by persons in this country,
and he hoped some measures would be adopted to pre-
vent these works from being disposed of in this country,
as the want of title to dispose of them was notorious.
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE believed that the
reports were very much exaggerated, and that the
great works of art had not been touched,
nor had any attempt been made to dispose
of them. With regard to the smaller works of
art, he was not able to speak so positively, but he agreed
with the Noble and Learned Lord in denouncing any
attempt to dispose of them, and he did not believe that
any person in this country would disgrace himself by
purchasing them.
Lard REDESDALE said that he hoped
that no person would purchase these works of
art; but if ever there was a de facto
Government, it was the Government of Rome, and no-
thing but foreign intervention would put it down; and
he believed, if speculators chose to purchase, that Go-
vernment could give a good title, and as to its having
been established by murder, every revolutionary Go-
vernment had been so established.