Portage sentinel. [volume] (Ravenna, Ohio) 1845-1854, 1849-05-02
From the National Intellig cnce
Letters from Col. Fremont.
AUTHENTIC PARTICULA A

AUTHENTIC PARTICULAR A R S.
Letters have been received from Col.
Fremont covering the two months from
the last of November to the I'd of Februa-
ry) that he was not heard of, and giving
the terrible events of that time They are
written from Taos and Santa Fe, New Mex
leo, and addressed to Mrs Fremont, Wash
ilgton and in her absence, flor it was
deemed probable that she might have set
Otto California by sea before they could
a,rive,) to Senator Benton, and in his ab-
sence to VIM. Carey Jones, Esq. The let
ters came form St. Louis last night, having
been brought to that place byMr. St. Vrain
Mrs. Fremont fortunately was gone; Sen
ator Benton had delayed his departure for
Missouri, confident that letters were on the
way and in his hands we lave seen the Or
igiaals, and we propose to give extracts in
the order of their dates The first is dated
Taos, New MEXICO, Jan. 27. 1s49.
Il write to you from the house of ovr
good friend Carson. This morning a 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 an interest which, in your COM
Portable home, is not possible for you to
conceive.
Il have now the unpleasant task Of tel
ling you how l came here. had much
rather speak of the future, with plans for
which am already ~occupied) for the mind
turns from the scenes have already wit
messed and the sufferings we have endured;
but as clear information is due to you, and
to your father still more, l will give you
the story now, instead Of waiting to tell it
to you in California; but write in the great
hope that you will not receive this letter.
When it reaches Washington you may be
on your way to California.
aFormer letters will have made you ac-
quainted with our progress as far as Bent's
Fort, and from report, you will have heard
the circumstances of our departure from
the Upper Pueblo, near the head Of the
Arkansas. We left that place on the 25th
Of November with upwards Of one hundred
good mules and one hundred and thirty
bushels of shelled corn, intended to support
our animals 10 the deep SHOWS of the high
mountains and down to the lower part Of
the Grand rivers tributaries, where usually
the snow forms no obstacle to our winter
travelling. At Pueblo had engaged as a
guide an old trapper, well known as "Bil
Williams" and who had spent some twen-
ty-Gve years of his life in trapping in yari-
Gus parts of the Rocky Mountains.
'.The error of our expedition was COM
nitted in engaging this man. He proved
never to have known, Or entirely 10 have
forgotten, the whole country through which
we were to pass. We occupied, after pas
sing the mountain, more than half month
in making progress Of few days, blum
dering along a tortuous course, through
deep snow, which already began to choke
up the passes, and wasting our time in
searching the way. The l lsshii of December
we found ourselves at the mouth of the Rio
Del Norte cannon, where that river issues
from the Sierra San Juan-one of the high
est most rugged, and impracticable of all
the Rocky Mountain ranges. inaccessible to
trappers and hunters, even in summer.
Across the point ofthis elevated range our
guide conducted us; and having still great
confidence in this mans knowledge, we
pressed onward with fatal resolution. Even
along the river bottoms the snow was al
ready breast deep for the mules, and fall
ing frequently in the valley and almost con-
stantly on the mountains. The cold was
extraordinary. AT the warmest hours of
the day, between one and two, the ther
nometer (Fahrenheit) stood in the shade
ofa tree trunk, at zero; and that was a
favorable day, the sun shining and moder-
ate breeze. Judge of the nights and the
storms.
We pressed up towards the summit, the
sn0w deepening as we rose, and in four or
Eve days ct this struggling and climbing, all
on foot the line of the timbered region and
which form the dividing heights between
the waters Of the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans. Along these naked heights it
storms all winter, and the raging winds
sweep across them With remorseless f,rv
On our first attemptt to cross we encounter
ed pouderie-(dry snow driven thick
through the air by violent wind, and in,
which objects are visible only at a short
distance e)-and were driven back, having
some ten or twelve men variously frozen
face, hands or feet. The guide came near
being frozon to death here and dead mules
were. already lying about the camp fires.
. q Il = II ~