Southport telegraph. [volume] (Southport, W.T. [i.e. Kenosha, Wis.]) 1840-1850, 1845-09-09
FREEMONT"S EXPEDITIONS


Of the expeditions OF the brave, chivalrous,
and enterprising Capt. Fremont to the Or.
egon territory and Rocky Mountains. The
first object was military one, bu, other
objects have been by no means neglected.
The observations upon the peculiarities of
the country, the botanical and geological
descriptions.re rem der the work Of Capt. FIRE.
mont one Of the most desirable and inter-
estng books of the present day. VIVA,
were before looked upon as utter impossi-
bilities, have been accomplished by the un-
pretending courage Of this intrepid roya-
geur.
We learn that the distance from the from
tier Of the State of Missouri TO the tide wa
ter of Oregon Territory, is but about
thousand miles-ihat the mountains are
passed without the least difficulry-thal
the whole way, even now while ia stale
OF nature, is practicable for carriages and
artlllery-that there is an abundance of nu
trtious grass to furnish food for cattle and
horses-and that company of twenty FIVE
men, with rifles and howi,zer, NAV move
in any dire :,ion in perfect safety in spite
Of the hostility Of any Indian tribe. The
work is so minute and particular in its de.
tails, SO carefully and faithfully illustrated
by maps and drawings, that an army would
need no other guide in marching through
the country. The Demo ratio Reriew saws:
From all the facts which fell underline
observation oil the explorer, he deduces the
the conclusion that Oregon IS the most i'm.
pregnable country in the world. In trav-
ersing the region from Missouri TO the
Rocky Mountains, an abundance of the
most nutritious grass is found at amos, all
seasons of The year, superseding, entirely,
the necessity of transporting feed for the
sustenance OF the cattle and horses, which
it may be necessary 10 take with an expe.
ton. After passing the mountains, the
produce IS equally prolific and nutritious.
though of different: species, called bunch
grass, TO which pertains the property of Sc
como grow,h-springng up vigorously in
autumn after the failure Of the spring shoot.
1t seems to be universal on the western
slope of our continent, as the bnffa O. grass
is on the eastern slope Of the Rocky Noun
tains; and was found sufficient Cor the sus
tenance of their horses, even in the dead
of winter--even in the months Of Deem
january, land February-in the deep COR
ges and on the lofty peaks Of the Sierra
Nrrod0, (snowy mountain Of California. J
when the wind had blown the snow from
some exposed point, or the sun had melted
1t in The cove. or their own large fires, built
Of colossal pines and lars, had melted
circle in the deep snow about the camp.
The Rocky Mountains, whose very name
induces ideas Of impassablity, are shown
to be not the formidable barriers supposed
Capt. r. crossed them at ''lour different
places, instead Of being desolate and i'm
passable, are shown to have many excel.
lent passes, (of which the South Pass is the
finest, and to embosom beautiful valleys,
caves, and parks, with lakes and mineral
springs. rivaling and surprising The most
enchanting parts Of the Alpine regions in
Switzerland. The Great Sal, Lake, one
Of the wonders Of nature, and perhaps
without riv al in the world, (being a sat
urated solution Of salt, Of hundred miles
diameter;) is for the first time revealed TO
our view, by one who has surveyed its
shores and navigated its waters. The
Bear river valley, with lis rich bottoms,
fine grass ,walled-up mountains hot springs,
soda fountains. volcanic rock, volcanic era
ter,and saline efflorescences, and four thou.
sand five hundred feet above the sea, is for
the first time described The same Of the
Sierra Nevada-of the rivers Sacramento
and San Joaquin, which constitute the wa.
ters Of the Bay Of San Francisco-an1
the same Of the Great Desert, and its Arab
| inhabitants, which lies south of the latitude
o: that bay, land extends many degrees east
towards the Rocky Mountains. None of
these objects have heretofore been describ-
ed by any traveller"
The Beneventura river, which has
place on so many maps, and whose course
is traced from the Rocky Mountains to the
Pacific, is declared TO have no existence
but in the imagination of writer's and map.
makers. or the geographical discoveries
and descriptions, the most striking is that
Of the Great Basin or vast interior plain,
which lies between the Sierra Nevada and
the Rocky Mountains east and west, and
between the Blue mountains and the Wah.
salch on the sonth, and embracing az area
Of five or six hundred miles in diameter.
The elevation Of he Sierra Nevada, being
more lofty than the Rocky Mountains, ac-
counts for the formation Of this Great Ba-
sin, as Captain Fremont calls it. and Of
which he is the first to announce its exist
ence 10 the world. A basin which may
hold such kingdom as France, and which
has for lis rim circle of mountains whose
SUBMITS penetrate the regions Of eternal
snow. certainly new and grand object to
be revealed to Our contemplation; and its
non-discovery heretofore, can only be at
iribued 10 its position in that part of Span
ishAmerica,U he Californians) from which
Spanish jealousy excluded every foreign
eye. lis existence is now established =
Capt Fremont was in and around it-eight
months getting around i,-and never out of
sight of snow-capped mountains; its own
elevation being upwards Of fovr thousand
feet above the sea. His description Of it
will ce read with profound interest; and
FREMoNT's BASIN is assuredIy the name
which justice and propriety would bes,ow
upon it..
There are other portions Of this conden-
sed narrative which deserve notice, both
on account of the country of which they
treat, and the novelties which the expedi-
ton exposed TO view. bat which we must