, 1858-06-25
For the Gold RcgIOn-SnOquaImie Pass,

safe in saying that at least three hundred
persons have arrived at this place from Or
egon, California, &c, en- route for the gold
fields on Frazer's and Thompson's rivers,
and yet this is but a1moiety of the number
that swarm the decks and crowd the cabins
of the ocean steamers and sailing vessels
that regularly ply upon the waters between
our inland sea and San Francisco; as, for
example, the P. NJ. S. S. Co.'s steamer
COYtes, which arrived in our harbor on
Wednesday morning, brought to Beling-
ham Bay and Victoria, from that city, one
thousand and fifty passengers, and the Pan
ana, which arrived the day before, over
sir hundred, all heading towards the gold
region.
The painful feeling Of uncertainty which
has been felt in this locality for the past
week or ten days, lest Mr., De LACY should
fail to find favorable trail for pack ami
mails, leading from Bellingham Bay to the
diggings on Frazer's and Thompson's rivers,
on the eastern slope Of the Cascade noun
tains, has caused halt, here, Of deiach-
ments of various parties from Oregon and
California, and company has been in pro-
cess OF organization for the past week, with
an object Of proceeding directly through
the SnOqualmis Pass, for the purpose Of
gaining access to the upper mining region
of those rivers. Should the company be
formed as at present contemplated, it will
not consist Of less than seVenty-fVe able
bodied, well mounted, armed and provision
ed adventures, and will probably be in
motion on Monday next. Should they
make start there can be little doubt but
that their numbers will be swollen to hun
dreds ere they reach the summit Of the
mountains, and will contain number of
well-known citizens of this county. Judge
B. F. Yantis, Messrs. VIM. Lyle, Levi
Knott, Conrad Allen, Rollen Wood, An
drew Laws, and a number of others, have,
we learn, all their arrangements perfected to
join the expedition. There can be no doubt
but that those, whoever they may be, who
comprise the pioneer company across the
Snoqualmie pass, will be subject to tempo
rary delays and annoyances, and will per-
haps have some serious obstacles to over
come, in cutting and clearing the trail of
fallen timber, &C., in order to render it
practicable for heavily burthened pack ami
mails to travel with ease; and to accomplish
which, ample provision should be made for
axes, spades, shoveIs, ana perhaps saw,
etc. We do not know whether or not any
parties of white men have crossed from one
side Of the mountains to the other, through
this pass, sinoc the close Of the late Indian
war; but it is well understood that the In
dians are in the constant habit Of travelling
from side to side, and packing through it;
and it is well known that during the war,
pack animals were taken, upon more than
one occasion, to the open country beyond
the summit. We have not the evidence or
material at hand to give any very satisfac-
tory Information concerning this route, but
for the benefit of those who are desirous of
obtaining q knowledge Of the country in
that direction, we would refer to the dis
patches Of Major j. ]. H. VAN BoKKEL1N,
! (Northern Battalion, to the Executive and
Adjutant General, during the Indian war,
in the spring and summer of 1856, which
will be found from page 800 to S4l, in the
volume of Message and Correspondence, .
&c, ordered to be printed by the legislature
Of that winter.
As far as our knowledge extends, the
Snoqualmie route has ever been regarded
as far more preferable, either for the estab-
lishmsnt Of pack trail or the making of
wagon road, to that via the Nahchess;
and we well know that the latter pass has
been traversed during the spring, summer
and autumn seasons Of the year, not only
by Indians, but by immigrant teams aud
wagons, bodies Of troops, with arms and
munitions of war, by small parties of white
men, single expressmen, &c. e.
The only serious difficulty in the way Of
making the Nahchess route available now,
is that it leads directly into the Indian
country, and amongst those tribes and
bands that but short time since participa-
ted in the engagement, and contributed to-
wards the disastrous defeat and retreat of
Col. SrEProE's command of regulars;
whereas, by taking the Snoqualmie route
being further to the north-a portion, only,
Of the country of these hostiles need be
penetrated; and by pursuing q direct north
erly course, after crossing the summit, and
keeninO closa IN fba aaefarn baea Of tho