Sunbury American. [volume] (Sunbury, Pa.) 1848-1879, 1849-04-28
COL. FREMONT
AND HIS EXPEDITION.

SublOIned letter from C0lODel fremont tt
his wife, giving an account OF his horribl,
suHerings. 1t will be seen that they ex.
ceed the accounts previously given in thei
terrible details. The Intelligencer add'
that bad as it is, what is to follow in the
next letter, is worse. These letters wer.
furnished by Colonel Benton, to whom
they were directed in case of the absence
of Mrs. Fremont. This first letter is dated
Taos, New Mexico, January 9th. The
letters were brought by Capt. St. Vrain.
"Former letters will have made you ac-
quainted with our progress as far as bent's
Fort, and, from report, yon 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 upwards 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 rivers tributaries, where usually
the snow forms no obstacle to winter tra-
yelling. At Pueblo l had engaged as a
guide an old trapper, well known, as "Bill
Williams" and who had spent some twen-
ty-fve years of his life in trapping in vari-
Gus parts of the Rocky Mountains. #
"The error OF our expedition was com
mitted in engaging this man. He proved
never to have known, or entirely to have
forgotten, the whole country through
which we were to pass. We occupied
latter passing the mountain) more than half
a month in making the progress of few
days, laundering along a tortuous course,
through deep snow, which already began
to choke up the passes, and wasting our
time in searching the way. The 18th Of
December we found ourselves al the mouth
of the Rio del .Norte canon, where that
river issues from the Sierra San Juan
one of the highest, most rugged, and inn
practicable OF all the Rocky Mountain ran-
ges, inaccessible to trappers and hunters,
even in summer. Across the point of this
elevated range our guide conducted us, and,
having still great confidence in this mans
knowledge, we pressed onwards 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 mouptans.-
The cold was extraordinary. Atthe warm
est hours of the day between one and two)
the thermometer lFahrenheit) stood, in the
shade of tree trunk, at zero; and that was
favorable day, the sun shining and mod
crate breeze. Jud ge of the nights and the
storms,
"We pressed up towards the summit, the
snow deepening as we rose, and in four or
five DAYS of this struggling and climbing,
all on foot, we reached the naked ridges
which lie above the line Of the timbered
region, and which form the dividing heights
between the waters of the Atlantic and Pa
cifc oceans. Along these naked heights it
storms all winter, and the raging winds
sweep across them with remorseless fury.
On our first attempt to cross we encoun-
tered pouderie-(dry snow driven thick
through the air by violent wind, and in
which objects are visible only at short dis
tance) and were driven back, having some
ten or twelve men various'y frozen-iace,
hands or feet. The guide came near being
frozen to death here, and dead mules were
already lying about the camp fire. Mean
time it showed steadily. The next day
tDecember-) we renewed the attempt 10
scale the summit, and were more fortunate.
as it then seemed Making mauls, and
beating down road, or trench through
the deep snow, we forced the ascent in de-
fance of the driving pouderie, crossed the
crest, descended a little, and encamped i'm
medately below in the edge of the timber,
ed region. The trail showed as III defeat
ed party had passed by-packs, pack sad
dies, scattered articles OF clothing, and deae
mules strewed along. We were encampet
about twelve thousand feet above the leve
of the sea. Westward the country wa
buried in snow. The storm Continued
All movement was paralyzed. To advance
with the expedition was impossible: to ge
back, impossible. Our fate stood revealed
We were overtaken by sudden and inevlta
BILE ruin. The poor animals were to g
first. The only places where grass coui'
be had were the extreme SUBMITS OF tn
Sierra, where the sweeping winds kept tn
rocky ground bare, and where the me-
could not live. Below, in the timbered re
gion, the poor animals could not get about
the snow being deep enough to bury ther
alive. II was instantly apparent that w
should lose every one.
81 took my resolution Immediately, an
determined TO recross the mountain back t
the valley OF tie Rio de! None, draggin
+. or packing the baggage by men. Wh
great labor the baggage was transporte
l. across the crest to the head springs OF
= little stream leading to the main river.
). few days were sufficient to destroy that fin
band of mules which you saw me purchas
last fall on the frontier of Missouri. The
generally kept huddled together; and,
.r they froze, one would be seen to tumb
' down, and disappear under the drivin
snow. Sometimes they would break ol
: and rush down towards the timber till stoI
ped by the deep snow, where they wei
g soon hidden by the pouderie. The couras
n of some Of the men began TO fail.
SIN this situation determined to SCI
in a party to the Spanish settlements OF Ne