The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1860-03-23

it is rather too early to 60 up yet. A good
mining outfit from here, will cost about $500;
and man cannot 60 at all for less than $3.50;
shall not go to the mines! This country is
very good place for young man with small
capital to be in. He can find any quantity of
good openings, very like that Joseph of old
found when he was cnucked into the ground.
81 am keeping books in commits.
sion house. My chum isn't engag yet, but
is going into the tomb stone business" &C.,
&C., -
Per Contra to the above, we have long
letter from Doctor THIBoDo, addressed to
J. w. TAYLOR, of this city, giving detail.
ed account of the journey from Fort Ellice
to Walla.Walla, and which speaks in decid.
eddy more encouging terms of life on the
Pacific coast than the above epistle. We
have not room for the whole of DIR. THIBo.
DOS letter, but merely give such portions
as indicate the progress and difficulties of
the expedition.
The party left Gort Ellice on the 18th of
August, and arrived at Fort L'Appelle, a
distance Of l20 miles, on the 18th of
August. The country between the two forts
is desctibed as +" telerably good, high rolling
prairie, with rather good grass and water"
At Fort LAppelle, they were obliged to
leave 300 lbs. of pemmican, 200 of sugar,
and 100 of coffee, and to abandon their tents
and carts, and pack their provisions.
The party left the Fort on the 2lst of
August, and struck the Saskatchewan on
the lst of September.
DR.. THIBoDo gives the following descrip-
tion of the remainder of the journey to Fort
Walla- Walla:
Left the Fort on the 2lst August, from
there to the Saskatchewan, where we arrived
on the LIST September, there is no wood, with
the exception of the crossing of the Lap
pelle river, where we found some large will
lows. The soil consists of blue clay and
sand no grass; water nearly all alkaline.
Hamilton lost his best mule from the effects
of the water the second day out from the
Fort. We found buffaloes very plenty two
days before we struck the elbow of the Sas>
katchewan. The soil all along the Saskatch.
evan Bow river, and the rivers we followed
up to the mountains, is all alike-blue clay
and sand. We found little or no grass
water very hard to get. We were COM
PEELED to follow the rivers on account of the
water; what little grass there had been has
been eaten off by the bufaloes the country
is very high, rolling prairie and high sand
hills 900 to 600 feet high, with every two
or three miles the most Internal ravines a
white man ever travelled over. We found
elk, antelope, jumping deer, grizzly bears,
geese, ducks and swans rabbits very nu>
merous I might safely say that 1 saw mil
lions of buffaloes the country was fairly
black with them. There is little or no
wood on any of the rivers now and then
we found few cottonwood trees. Black
cherry bushes are about all the wood you
can find. We fshed several times, but
caught no fish.
The Saskatchewan at the elbow is about
half mile wide, filled with sandbars; the
ravines are abominable; it frequently took
us four hours to get from the prairie down
to the water We suffered very much fire.
quently from want of meat, and from rains,
having left our tent foolishly behind US. On
the night of 3lst of August we had very
severe frost ice quarter of an inch thick
in water baskets. Lynch lost his mule
the white one--up the Saskatchewan from
want of food our animals all suffered fear
fully !; we were compelled to remain in
camp for days at time on their account.
We killed several buffaloes, eks &C., and in
fact some of all kinds of game sighted the
main range of the Rocky Mountains on the
9Th of October /; the weather was very cold;
four or five inches of snow on the ground;
country exceedingly high rolling prairie.
The soil here is better, and consequently
here, for the first time since we left Red
river, we found grass from four to five feet
high; great many small ponds here covered
with ducks geese and swans.
On the 18th of October, we met Kou~
tonais Indian, who was about to cross the
mountains, and on the 18th entered them,
and on the 10th crossed the height of land.
We found about eighteen inches of snow in
the mountains travelled very comfortably !;
good grass for the animals the Indian
horses got along very well the mules not
understanding how to paw the snow, suf-
tered fearfully, and Lynchs last mule gave
out, and we had to leave him behind; our
two white mules suffered considerably, but
did not give in. On Saturday, the 22d of
October, we arrived at the Koutonais trad-
ing post; the Hudson Bay trading master,
Mr.. John Linklater, was very kind to us,
and assisted us by all means in his power.
We suffered considerably in the mountains
from want of food, receiving foretaste OF
what was in store for us further on. We
remained a week at the post and then
pushed further on. We found the road to
the first crossing of the Koutonais river
very stony and difficult for the animals an
Indian met us there with a note from George
Mccall, stating that William Caldwell,
George Reid, John P. Dignan, Joseph
| Morden, James Cheever, Nelson Harris,