Jeffersonian Republican. [volume] (Stroudsburg, Pa.) 1840-1853, 1845-11-20
Frcemonl,s Expedition.

pediilons OF the brave, chivalrous, and enterpri-
sing Capt. Freemon,s expedition to the Ore
gon Territory and Rocky Mountains. The frs;
object was military one, bu. other objects
have been by no means neglected. The OBJ
serva,ions upon the peculiarties of the country,
The botanical and geological descriptions, rem
der the work of Capt. Freemon, one of The
mos, desirable and interesting books of The
present day. Wha, were before looked upon
as utter impossib'lities, have been accomplish
ed by ,he'uupre reeadng courage Of this intrepid
voyager.
We learn that the distance from the frontier
of the state of Missouri 10 the tide water Of Or
egon Territory. is bu, about thousand miles
that the mountains are passed without The eas.
difficulty that the whole wav even now while
In state of nature is practicable for carriages
fi,ous grass to furnish food for cattle and hor-
ses-and that a company of twenty-five men
with ho~izer, may move in any direction in
perfect safety in spite Of the hostility of any
tribe. The work is go minute and particular in
its details, carefully and faithfully illustrated
by maps and drawings, that an army would
need no oiher guide in marching through the
country. The Democratic Review says;
From all the facts hich fell under The OBJ
serva;on OF the explorer, be deduces The con-
clusion hat Oregon is The mos, impregnabie
country in the world. In Iraversing The region
from Missouri 10 the Rocky Mountains, an abun-
dance Of the mos, nutritious grass is found a,
almost all seasons Of The year, supersedng, en-
lirely the necessity of Transporting feed for the
suslenance of the cattle and horses, which il
may be necessary 10 take with an expedition
After passing the mountains, the produce is
equally prolific and nutritious, though differ
ent species, called Bunch grass, to which per-
lalns the property of second growth, springing
up vigorously in autumn after the failure Of the
spring shoni. Il seems 10 be universal on tie
western slope Of our continent, as The buffalo
Mountains; end was found sufficient for the
sus,enance of their horses even in the dead of
winter-esen in ,he months of December, JAM
uary and February in the deep gorges and on
the lofty peaks Of the sierra Nevada, (snowy
mountain of California; when the wind had
blown the snow from some exposed point, or
large fires, bnil' of colossal pines and cedars,
had melged circle in ,he deep snow about The
camp.
The Rocky Mountains, whose very name in
duccs ideas of impassabiliiy, are shown 10 be
not the formidable barriers supposed. Capt.
T. crossed them a, " four different places, in
stead Of being desolare and impossible, are
shown 10 have been excellent passes, (of which
The south pass is the iinesi,) and TO enbosom
beautiful valleys, caves and parks. with lakes
and mineraI springs, risalIing and surprising
the mosi enchanting paris of The Alpine regions
IN Switzerland The Great Salt Lake, one Of
the wonders Of nature, and perhaps without a
rival in the world, (being saturated solution
Of salt, of hundred miles diameter, for the
first time revealed TO our view, BY one who has
surveyed lis shores and navigaed its waters
The Bear river valley, with its rich bottoms
and hot springs, soda fountains. volcanic crater,
and saline efflnrescences, and four thousand five
hundred feei above the level of the sea, is for
The frs, time described. The same of the ST.
ezra Nevada, Of the rivers Sacramento and San
Joaquin, which constitute the waters Of the
Bay of San Francisco, and The salDe Of the
Great De-eri, and its Arab inhabitants, which
lies souIh Of the latitude of that bay, aud ex.
tends many degrees cas-, toward the Rocky
MOUNTAINS. None Of these objects have here
,ofore been described by amy traveller"
The Benevensura river. which has place
on so many maps, and whose course is traced
from the Rocky Mountains 10 the Pacific, is
declared to have no existence hat in Imagna-
,lon af writer's and map makers. or The geo
graphical discoveries aud descriptions, the most
striking is that OF The Grea, Basin or vast ine-