Democratic banner., 1849-04-30

From the National L~ateligencer of the IAN.
COLONEL FREMONT AND HIS PARTY.
ac ,sa Authentic Particulars.
Letters have been received from Col,
Fremont covering the two months from
the last of November TO the Cd of Februa-
ry } that he was not heard Of, and giving ter.
rible events of that time. They are writ
ten from Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico,
and addressed to Mrs. Fremont, at Wash
i.ngto"; and, in her absence, flor it was
deemed probable that she might have SET of
TO California by sea before they could ar
rive, TO Senator Benton, and in his absence
TO William Cary Jones, Esq. The letters
came from St.. Louis last night, having been
brought to thst place by Mr.. St. Vrain-
Mrs. Fremont, fortunately was gone: Sena-
tor Benton had delayed his departure for
Missouri, confident that letters were on the
way; and in his hands we have seen the
originals, and we propose to give extracts
in the order of their dates. The first is
dated .
Taos, New MEXICO, Jan. 81, Is49.
write to you from the house of our good
friend Carson. This morning q cup Of
chocolate was brought to me while in bed.
To an overworn, overworked, fatigued, and
starving traveller, these little luxurieS of
the world offer IN interest which, in your
comfortable home, it is not possible for you
Ito conceive. =
Il have now the unpleasant task of tell
ling you how Icame here. Ihad much rath-
er speak of the future, (withplans for which
am already occupied for the mind turns
from the scenes ! have witnessed aud the
sufferiAgs we have endured; but as clear
information is due to you, and TO your faith
er still more. will give you the story now,
instead of waiting to tell it to you in Cali
I%forLia; butI write in the great hope that you
will not receive this letter. When it reach
es Washington you may be on your way to
lCalifornia. ..# @
Former letters will have made you &C.
Iquaihted with our progress as far as Bent's
Fort, and, from report, you will haveheard
1.-THE circumstances Of our departure from
1.-THE Upper Pueblo, near the head of the
Arkansas. We left that place on the 25th
Iof November, with upwards Of one hun
ldred good mules and one hundred and thir-
Ity bushels of shelled corn, intended to sup
port our animals in the deep SHOWS Of the
thigh mountains, and down to the lower
parts Of the Grand riyer* tributaries, where
usually the snow forms no obstacle to win
ter travelling. At Pueblo / had engaged
as a guide an old trapper, well known as
sBM Willoms,' ard who had spent some
twenty-five years of his life in trapping in
various parts of the Rocky Mountains.
fThe error of our expedition was CON-
mitted in engaging this man. He proved
never to have known, or entirely 20 have
forgotten, the whole country through which
we were to pass. We occupied (afterpass
ling the ~mountain) more than half a month
in making the progress Of a few days, blum.
Idering along a ~tortuous course, through
ldeep snow, which already began to choke
up the passes, and wasting our time ir
searching the way. The 18th of Decem'
Der we found ourselves at the mouth of the
RIO del Norte canon, where that river is
sues from the Sierra San Judn-one of the
highest, most rugged and impracticsble Of
alI the Rocky mountain ranges, inaccessi'
bile to trsppers and hunters, even in sum.
liner. Across the point Of this elevated
range our guloe us anu nSElhe
lstill great confidence in this mans knowl
ledge, we pressed EDWARDS with fatal resolu'
ltion. Even along tile river bottoms thu
SNOW was already breast deep for the mules
land falling frequently in the valley and al
most constantly on the mountains. Th'
icoid was extraordinary. At the warmes
|hours of the day between one and two.
the thermometer (Fahrenheit) stood in thu
Ishada, Of atree trunk, at zero; and that wa
. favorable day, the sun shining and a mod
, erate breeze. Judge Of the nights and th'
swe pressed up towards the summit, tn
,isnow deepening as we rose, and in fo,'r o
, five days Of this struggling and climbing
, ell on foot, we reached the naked ridge
|, which lie above the line of the timbered re
ilIpion, and which form the dividing height
tlbstween the waters of the Atlantic and Pa
cife oceans. Along these naked heights !
slstofrns ell winter, and the rsging wind
iswsep aerosstiem with remorseless fury
Ion our FIRST attempt TO cross we encounter
led q pouders-(dry snow driven thicl