The miners' express. (Dubuque, Iowa) 1849-1854, 1849-05-01

Could you have looked into Agrippa's glass
few moments only! You remember the vol
umes of Blackstone's Commentaries which l
took from your fathers library when we were
overlooking it at our friend Brants? They
made my Christmas "dmuSementS." l read
them to pass the time, and to kill the conscious
ness of my situation. Certainly you may sup.
pose that my first law lessons will be we'll re-
mcmbered.
1.-The party for relief being gone, we of the
camp occupied ourselves in removing the bag
gage and equippage down the side of the noun
tain to the river in the valley; which we ac-
complished in few days. Now came the to-
dunn of whiting for the return of the relief par
ty. Day after day passed, and no news from
them. Snow fell almost necessarily in the
mountains The spirits fthe camp grew low
err Life was losing its charm to those who had
not reasons beyond themselves to live. Proue
laid down in the trail and froze to death. In a
sunshine day, and having with him the means
to make fire, he threw his blanket down on
the trail, laid down upon it, and laid there till
he froze to death! We were not then with him.
Sixteen days passed away, and no tldiDgs
from the party sent for relief. l became OPP
pressed with anxiety, weary of delay, and de-
term:ned to go myself, both in search of the
absent party, and IN search Of relefin the Mex
lean settIements--I was aware that our troops
in New Mexico had been engaged in hostilities
with the Spanish Utahs, and with the Apaches.
who range in the valley of the Rio del Norte
and the mountains where We were, and became
fearful that they (King and his party had been
cut off by these Indians. l could imagine no
other accident to them. Leaving the camp
employed with the baggage, under the COM
mand of Vincebthaler, with I'M unctions to fol-
low me in three days, l set off down the river
with small party, consisting of Cooley. his
young nephew, Prouss and Saunders. [coored
servant We carried our arms and provisions
for two or three days. In the camp left under
the command of Vincenthalcr] the messes only
had provisions for few meals, and supply Of
five pounds of sugar to each man. If failed
to meet King, my intention was to make the
Mexican settlement on the Colorado, a little
affluent of the Rio del Norte, about half de-
gree above Taos, [you will see it on my map,]
and thence send back the speediest relief pos
sble to the party under Vincenthaler.
son the second day after leaving the camp,
we came upon a fresh trail of Indians-two
lodges with considerable number of animals.
This did not lessen our uneasincss for our long
absent people. The Indian trail, where we fell
upon it, turned and went down the river, and
the camp] we surprised an Indian on the ice Of
the river. He proved to be Utah, son of a
Grand River chief whom we had formerly
known, and he behaved towards us in friend
ly manner. We encamped near them at night.
By present of rifle, my two blankets, and
other promised rewards when we should get in,
prevailed on this Indian to 90 with US as
guide to the Little Rio Colorado settlement,
and to take with him four of his horses to car
ry our little baggage. The horses were miser-
ably poor, and could only get along at slow
On no do = bor e
gressl we left the Indian lodges late and trav-
elled only some six or seven miles. About sun.
set we discovered little smoke in a grove of
timber, off from the river, and, thinking per-
haps it might be our express party King and
his men] on their return, we went to see This
was the twehty.second day since that party
hud left us, and the sixth since we had left the
camp under Vincenthaler.-W found them
three of them: Creutzfeldt, Breckenridge, and
Williams-the most miserable OBJ ects I had
ever beheld. did not recognise Creutzfeldt's
features, when Breckenridge brought him up
and told me his name. They had been starv-
ing! King had starved to death few days be-
fore. His remains were some six or egh miles
above, near the river. BY aid of the Indian
horses we carried these three with ms, down to
the valley, to the Pueblo on the Little Colora.
do, which we reached the fourth day after
wards, the tenth after leaving the camp on the
and on foot, one hundred and sixty miles,
II look upon the feeling which induced me
to set out from the camp as an inspiration.-
Had remained there, waiting the return of
poor Kings party, every man of us must have
perished
1.-The morning after reaching the Little Co.
dorado Pueblo. [horses and supplies not being
there,] Cooley and rode on TO the Rio Hondo,
and thence to Taos, about twenty-five miles,
yhoro co,,p Ixyh,t 49, a..
morning Cooley, with four Mexicans, thirty
horses or mules, and provisions, sat out on his
return to the relief of Vincenthaler's head
from him at the Little Colorado Pueblo, which
he reached the same day he left me, and press.
ed on the next morning. On the way he re.
ceived an accession Of eight or ten horses turn
ed over to him by the orders of Maj. Beal, Of
the army, commanding officer of this northern
district of New Mexico. From him received
the offer of every aid in his power, and such
actual assistance as he was able 70 render-
Some horses, which he had Just recovered from
the Jtahs, were loaned to me, and he supplied
me from the commissary's department with
provisions, which / could have had nowhere
else. find myself in the midst of friends
With Carson is living Owens. Maxwell is at
his father-in laws doing prosperous business
as merchant and contractor for the troops. l
remain here with these old comrades, while
Cooley goes back; because it was not necessa.
ny for me to 60 with him, and it was necessary
for me to remain, and prepare the means of re-
sumng the expedition to California as soon as
he returns with the men left behind. expect
him on Wednesday evening, the 3lst instant,
this being the 18th.
'Say 10 your farther that these are my plans
for the future:
"At the beginning of February Cooley hav.
ing got back at that time] shall set out for
California, taking the southern route--the old
route-by the Rio A5ajo, the Paso del Norte,
the south side Of the ella, entering California
by the Aqua Caliente, thence to Los Angeles,
and Immediately to San Francisco, expecting
to get there in March. and hoping for your
arrival in April. 1t is the first time have er.
plored an old road, but cannot help it now. I
shall move rapidly, taking with me but part
Of my party. The surveys has been uninter-