New-York daily tribune., 1858-12-04
A1fe' IN zAy PACIFIC FEkRIToRlES.

In isnner article We gave sccouns oi our iutei-
view WITH the SpckSnes, aDd Of our subsequent jour
ney 70 he crossing Of the Pend dOreil'e or Clark
FOrb Of the Columbio. After remaining there Two
dSys raised camp, in company with about II H.
dsn. for the foot Of the PsId Oreile Lake, where
the Indians 20 take goods together with tne
women and chDiren, add carry them to the hesd "'
the lake IN canoes, while the nen were To drVe the
horses around by land Then came the tug OF war
for two thirds Of the time the horses were belly deep
in ma and for tie other third, they were Climbing
over fallen logs through thick brush and deep rayines
swinging rivers and having hard time generally.
L. spite Of all this however, ss We Hog considered
ourselves comparatively safe from the hostile Indians
our spirits rose good many degrees and We began to
see ereai deal Of fun in the laicrous incidents con-
tnusly occurring which before would have passed
unno,iced.
Some idea Of tie Independent manner OF our Far
West people may be gathered from an inventory Of
the equipment of one Of the party ,an old man in
action though really yonug mau in years for
Journey Of about go miles: Twenty five pouods of
iour, twenty-five pounds Of cammah and kOsse, one
Old iron pot his blankets coat and himself all packed
upon one old horse, completed bis outfit. Al every
river that had to be seum be would get off, send his
horse over with the band then spring in s dressed as
he was swim over take off his clothes snd wiring them
dry, put them on again catch his horse, mount and be
ell read H. art. This plan suited Lis horse very we'll
and the first time that came to q mudhole, be
quietly stopped hrtw his rider OF, jumped the hole,
and went to eating on the other side, now and then
turning his head to look at friend lying in the mud
After ths he concluded 70 let the horse have his own
way and that Il was best to oismognt and walk az all
sach places.
The valley is here quite narrow, and the trail runs
along the bark of The river ali the way although
short distance up the side Of the mountain there Is
Jench that could easily be made into much better
road but the present has been used by the lud-
sons Bay men and other traders for long time, and
those now engaged the business say, the odtraders
followed this trail, and We will do the same In
some places the face of the country s much broken,
though the most Of it consists Of rich bottoms, with
heavy growth of timber.
On arriving at the foot of the lake, the Indians
cached their things and made preparations for taxing
ours. The operation of eache,ng has been so often
described that will only say that in this nstan' 'e it
was so well done that of our men. returning 70
the place for something that hal been left, could not
find the spot till one of the Indians went With him and
pointed it out.
We had thirteen packs each consisting of two bales
saddles. were put into five canoes, the women and
children using two others. The canoes were made of
pine bark sewed over q willow framework, and had
to be used very carefully as there great danger
of putting the foot through them. At night all
oamped together the shores OF the lake the
going in few hours as far as the horses could by
travelling all day.
These Indians the Pend dOreiles) are nomnally
Christians having been converted by the Jesuits sud
to some extent their condition has certainly been i'm
proved They now cultivate some oftbeir land, rais
ing considerable quantities ofgran, potatoes, onions,
ard other vegetables while formerly they depended
for food upon fishing and the chase, that they
in much less danger Of tarvation but still the ques
tons arise in the minds of all that give this subject
any thought, Are the Indians any more happy Are
they any bettei, and DO they live any longer /
soaR TO say that in very few cases, these ques
tiors rnust be answered in the negative. The Pend
dOreiles the II ost civilized among the Northwest
ern tribes, ale far from happy They very restless,
and cannot relirquish the roaming habits Of their
youth. At ,taed times they must 60 to the hunting
ground; DO matter low much their crops may suffer,
go they must, and 60 they will.
After seven days hard work, we made the head of
the lake. There paid the chief for the of his
canoes, and the for guarding horses aud then
pacl goods again aud started feeling at last in
complete safety, after having for fortyve days been in
constant fear of being killed. Ooe of the projected
railroad routes the river short distance below,
and us along the shore Of the lake. For nearly all the
way the natural grade is such to require bat little
cutting and the construction Of the road Will be very
easy.
At our second nights camp, prospected and found
a very good color Of gold The soil looks very much
ike that of the gold region Of California, and, from
what could see of the formation and character OF the
rocks taeose slate, mixed with quartz, | think this
will prove rich mining country, not Only for gold,
but FOR lead saw some OF the latter in the hands OF
tie Indians and they told that there plenty in
the hills.
Travelling through fnely-woo1ed country, cross-
ing many small streams and beautiful bottoms, We
came to place called Bad Rock, and truly ii right
fully named. The trail winds up steep ascent of
about l,Os0 feet over loose AID sharp rocks, at an
arele Of about 60o. All hands had to dsmount, and
each taking mule, or horse, drive it up end over
this place. I. would be quite easy TO make road
around the foot of this ascent but it is not much
Travelled by white men, and until the country is settled
by Americans il will not be done The Huisons Bay
who settl here hsve too much OF the old country
feeling to make mary Improvements. Tne difficulty
of the ascent is vel compensated for by the beauty Of
tie view, which is oftae finest in the whole North
West. Deep down in the valley below, for miles and
miles the eye follows the wanderings of the river,
sometimes seeing IT sparkling FOR moment then los
ing again amid the giant trees the forest. Far be-
low We zee tie lake dotted with its islands and i'm
mense hocks of waterfowl especially swsns, whose
graceful movements a.e equalei by no other bird.