Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1849-04-26
miscellaneous.
LETTERS FROM COL. FIRE.
MONT.
TERRIBLE sUFFFRINGS OF HIS PARTY AMONG
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
From the National Tntelligcncor, April IA.

/ Letters have been received from Col. FIRE.
mont covering the two months from the
last of November to the I'd of Feb.) that
he was not heard of, and giving terrible
events of that time. They are written from
Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico, and adj
dressed to Mrs Fremont, at Washington !;
and, in her absence, (for it was deemed
probable that she might have set off to Cal
ifornia by sea before they could arrive,) TO
Senator Benton, and in his absence to Will
liam Carey Jones, Esq. The letters came
from St. Louis last night, having been
brought to that place by Mr.. st. Vrain.--
Mrs. Fremont, fortunately, was gone. Sem
ator 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 10 give extracts in
the order Of their dates. The first dated
Taos, New Mexico, Jan. 81 IS49.
write to you from the house of our good
friend Carson. This morning cup ofcho-
colate was brought to Inc while in bed. TO
an overworn, overworked, fatigued, aud star
wing traveller these little Injuries of the
world offer an interest which, in your COM
Portable home, it is not possible for you to
conceive.
have now the unpleasant task ofteling
you how | came here. | had much rather
speak of the future, with plans for which
l am already occupied for the mind turns
from the scenes have witnessed and the
suherings we have endured but as clear
information is due to you, and TO your fa-
Their still more, | 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 OH your
way to California.
Former letters will have made you &C
quainted with our progress as far as Benrs
Fort, and, from report, you will have heard
the circumstances of our departure from
the Upper Pueblo, near the head of the Ar
kansas. We left that place on the 25th of
November, with upward of one hundred
good mules and one hundred and thirty
bushels of shelled corn, intended to support
our animals in the deep SHOWS of the high
mountains and down to the lower parts of
the Grand River "a fork of the Colorado of
the Gulf of California; tributaries, where
usually the snow forms no obstacle to win
ter travelling. At Pueblo | had engaged as
guide an old trapper, named "BllI Will
liuiio, anu WuO huu oPCul ooliIC twenty-five
years of his life in trapping in various
parts of the Rocky Mountains.
The error Of our expedition was commit
ted in engaging this man. He proved new
er to have known, or entirely to have for
gotten, the whole country through which
we were to pass. We occupied CATER pas
sing the mountan) more than half month
in making the progress of few days, blum
dering along tortuous course through
deep snow, which already began to choke
up the passes, and wasting our time in
searching the way. The llth of Decem-
Der we found ourselves at the mouth of the
Rio del Norte canon, where that river is
sues from the Sierra San Juan--one of the
highest, most rugged, and impractcable of
all the Rocky Mountain ranges, inaccessi-
BILE to trappers and hunters, even in Sum-
mer. Across the point of this elevated
range our guide conducted us: and, hav-
ing still great confidence in this man S
knowledge, we pressed onward with fatal
resolution. Even along the river bottoms
the snow was already breast deep for the
mules, and falling frequently in the valley
and almost constantly on the mountains
The cold was extraordinary. At the warm
est hours of the day between one and two
the thermometer (FahrenheiI stood, in the
shade of tree trunk, at zero and thai
was a favorable day, the sun shining and
moderate breeze. Judge of the nights ant
the storms
We pressed up toward the summit, til,
snow deepening as we rose, and in four o.
five days Of this struggling and climbing, al
on foot, we reached the naked ridges which
lie above the line of the timbered region
and which form the dividing heights be
tween the waters Of the Atlantic and Paci
fc oceans. Along these naked heights
storms all Winter, and the raging wind
sweep across them with remorseless fury
On our first attempting to cross we encoun
tered ponderie-(dry snow driven tho
through the air by violent wind, and i
which objects are visible only at short di:
ce)-and were driven back, having som
ten or twelve men varously frozen-face
hands, or feet The guide came near be
ing frozen to death here, and dead mule
were already lying about the camp fires
Meantime it showed steadily. The ne,
day December y we renewed the attemT
to scale the summit, and were more fortl
nate, as it then seemed. Making maui
and beating down road or trench, throug
the deep snow, we forced the ascent in d
fiance of the driving pouderie, crossed Il
crest, descended a little, and encamped in
mediately below in the edge of the timbe
ed region. The trail showed as if
feated party had passed by-packs, pa'
saddles, scattered articles Of clothing, al
dead mules strewed along. We were e
camped about twelve thousand feet abo
the level of the sea. Westward the cou
try was buried in snow. The storm CO
tinued. All movement was paralyzed.
advance with the expedition was impossible
Our fate stood revealed. We were over
ken by sudden and inevitable ruin. T.
poor animals we're to 60 first. The on
places where grass could be had were Il
extreme SUBMITS of the Sierra, where Il
sweeping winds kept the rocky ground bar
and where the men could not live. Belo
in the timbered region, the poor amin;
could not get about, the snow being de
enough to bury them alive. 1t was instaI