New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1859-08-13
AN OVERLAND JOURNEY.
XVIII.
eOrTH PASS TO BRfD6ER.
BIG SANDY, Oregon, July 6, 1883

NE
L.ie, and 30 TO California, which was formerly the
road TO Oregon as wen But Col. Lander, a. Toe
bad of IT, s. exploring and pioneer party
has lust marked ADD Deaely Opensd ne" ROAD
through the Canon .fore aid, which makes North
or. cu..oH and strikes the OH Oregon trail some
fourteen miles south OF Fort Hall, saving Sky
miles on the Journey 20 Oregon and striAiog
throrob 10 California on Boftbery route, which
thial pushes through to the north OF Honey L'ke,
ana thence over the Sierra down one Of the forks
If the Yuba cannot, Of cOur.e, ray that this is
better than the old route, but II csn hardly DC
Dore destitute Of grass, while the naked TACT that
IL divides the travel ST ,rds cheering hope OF mt
aston Of the .ufsriDgs and hardships OF the long
iuney. missed seeing Col. Lander 10 my rs
sret; but am sure be IL doing good work, Tor
vb,eh Thousands VII have reason TO bless bun. AT
all events, Il great majority Of the California, with
al the Oregon emigration, is turning of on the
new route, and pray that they may find on 1t
food for their weary, FINISHED cate, aud safe
Journey 10 their chosen homes
Though the elevation Of the Pass is nearly . ooo
fe.t above the ocean level, l never endured heat
exceeding that Of yesterday 10 and about the stahoa
tent The sun rose clear, as il almost always does
kere in Sumner soon disptning the chill which
attends every night in this region, and by O'Clock
The beat was most intense. But the afternoon
brought clouds, wind and petty ran-sqaall, and
tbe following night was c,ld enough to still any
mosaui,oes bat those Of the Rocky Mountains /
su.pect these would sing and bite even with the
mercury at zero.
Toward evening, / climbed the hill on the east
of the Canon, and obtained from its summit wide
prospect but how desolate These bills are Of
volcanic formation, a kind of coarse slate, the
strata uphesyed almost perpendiculary, the sur
face shattered and sbiOgy, with veins of hard
Quartz running across them. There is scarcely
busbel Of coil to each square rod and of course no
grass, and little vegetation Of any kind. To the
north, say ten to twenty miles away, is a snow
streahed range of the Rocky Mountains; to the
SOUTH some miles across the S @eetwater, are lower
aid less barren bills, with some suOw.banks aud
some wood-Qusking Asp and Yellow Plue-on
their northern slopes. The S xeetwater heads among
the monntsips TO the north and northwest.
There is little welt snawed grass on its immediate
bsnks aud on those of its tributaries-On the high,
rolling land which fills all beside OF the wide space
between the mountains north and those south,
there is not mule feed 70 each acre Some Grease
wood at intervals, the eternal Ssgebush, and few
weeds, with the Quaklng Asp and Yellow Pine
aforesaid, and thick taDgle of Bitter Cottonwood
(Which is a bad caricature of our Swamp ACder)
tbatcbiDg portions of few of the smaller streams,
comprise the entire vegetation of this fororn
region.
We started at z this morning, came down to the
old Salt Lake Oregon, and California trail AT the
Sweetw ater crossed and left that creek finally and
Gavered a slightly rolling country for seven miles
h the "T~in Buites," two lov, clay -topped
mounds which mark the point from which the water
pups ess'ery TO the Gull of Mexico aud westerly to
the Pacific. If any one has pictured to himself the
South Pass as runDiDg through some narrow,
winding, difficult rocky mountain gorge, he is
r,evousIy mistaken. The road through the South
Pass is the best part Of TIE route from Atcoison to
California; the clay has here been almost wholly
washed away and carried off, SO that the road
passes over a coarse, heavy, gravelly saud,
usually a. compact and smooth as the best ilustra
tons Of the genius Of Macadam. never before
syersed forty five miles of purely natural Iosd SO
Ealtless rs that through the South Pass which l
have travelled to day. But this tract should be
good for roads, as it seems absolutely good for
thing else. The natural obstacles to constructing
Railroad through this region not comparable
TO those overcome in the construction of the Cam
den and An,boy.
Passing the Twin Buttes-.he distance be-
tween the mounta ns on the north and the hills on
the south being not less than thirty miles, AMI
tbeDcefof.h westward rapidly widening-we run
down the side Of dry, shallow water course some
fvt miles to Wet springy marsh or morass of
fifteen or twenty acres, covered with poor, coarse
srsss, in which are found the so-,slled Pacific
Springs" The water is clear and cold bur bad
Perhaps the number of dead cattle, Of which the
skeletons dot the marsh, made it so dstasteful to
me. At sill events could not drink it This bog
is hong and barrow; and from its western end
nsues a petty brook, which takes It's way south.
westwardly to the Sandy Green River, the Colo
r,do and the Gulf OF California Henceforih,
toward the south and west, no hills are visible
noting but sandy, barren plain, msnly covered
with the miserable Ssgebush
Twelve miles further on, we crossed Dry Sandy
pot quite dry at his point, but lis thirsty sands
would surely drink the last of il a mile fur
ther south, Five miles beyond this, the old and
welLbeaten Oregon trail strikes of to the north
west while our road bends 10 the southwest We
are out Of the South Pass, which many have ira
ver.ed unccnsciously, and gone on wondering and
Mquiring when they should reach 1t. Seven miles
further brought us TO Little Sandy, and eight