The weekly pioneer and Democrat. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1855-1865, 1862-10-03
Letter from Captain Ffsk,s Overland
Expedition.
FORT UNION, August II, 1862.

Mountains, left Fort Abercrombie on the
9TH of July, and reached point fifteen
miles northwest of this post on Saturday
evening last at our usual hour for camping
where grass and water are convenient.
The road from our camp to this place is
over bluffs and ravines that are almost i'm
passable, and as it is also directly out of
our way our train remained in camp yes
terday and will so remain until Tomorrow
making such repairs as are necessary be-
fore starting for Fort Benton. Our camp
is on the site occupied by the party which
started from Minnesota four or five weeks
before us, and which proceeded by the St.
Joe route, as it is called; they also tarried
some days at our present camp, W. @.
Morrison, and one French being the only
ones who came to Fort Union. When we
came in sight of the Missouri on Saturday
evening, we were at some loss to know
how far Fort Union was from our camp as
we were upon no trail except that OF the
party which had preceded us to Fort Ben
ton, but by daybreak yesterday morning,
Captain Fisk and Mr. Sturgis started on
horseback to prospect, and late in the at
temoon returned in drenching rain, re-
porting that they found the Fort fifteen
miles below Us and there learned the first
tidings which we have received from white
men OF the Morrison party. Antoine
Azure, a Chippewa half-breed, was enga-
ged at ST. 10 as their guide, but about the
time they were crossing the Coteau du
Missouri, they fell in with large war party
Of Yancton Indians, and their guide left
them secretly in the night through fear,
and they were thus thrown upon their own
resources to navigate the prairie without a
pilot Soon they engaged en- Assiniboine
to guide them to Fort Union, and gave
him horse to ride, but he had no
sooner ridden ahead to find the road than
he followed the example of his predecessor,
and left them his room instead OF his COM
pany. vt this place, some twenty days
ago, they engaged the services Of a half
breed to guide them to Fort Benton and
trust that this (the third time their guide
will stick.
There is one man whose services as a
guide / regard as invaluable, and who will
prove faithful to all his engagements, and
that man is Pierre Bottineau, whose SER
vices Capt. Fisk was most fortunate in en-
gaging He is guide by instinct, intelli-
gent, faithful, and true as steel and had
we not struck the trail Of the Morrison
party, and followed it some distance on
account of the confidence which Bottineau
placed in Azure, we should have been here
some days earlier. Bottineau and his son
return from here by way Of St. 10, and
this affords us an opportunity of commune
eating to our friends in America the intel
ligence that we still live and are in highly
prosperous condition. If We could only
hear from our friends in Minnesota, and get
the news Of the progress Of the war, we
should be overjoyed, and hold a jubilee in
camp such as we have not had since we
started. The latest news that we have
received was contained in the St. Paul pa
pers of the 9th of July, which Capt. Van
derhock kindly forwarded to us by express
from Fort AbercrOmbie, after We had
crossed the Cheyenne. We receive nothing
later here, but boat is expected up the
river every day. We fear, however, that
twill not arrive in season to bring news or
letters for us.
Of the incidents Of our journey thus far,
] have not time to write fully, or / might
describe some interesting scenes in camp
life. We have had to bridge only two
streams thus far, the Wild Rice and the
Cheyenne. The latter we crossed three
times, but forded it twice At the first
crossing, twenty miles from Fort Aber-
crombie, the river is about sixty feet wide
and four or five feet deep, with banks some
thirty or forty feet high. Timber is ready
at hand, however, and We built substan-
stantial bridge and got all our teams safely
across on the 9th of July. Our camp
on the 18th of July We named Camp Tay-
lor, and that on The 18th Camp
Buffalo, in cOmmemoration of three of
those wild prairie cattle which were
killed on that day, one by Bottineau,
one by Captain Fisk, and one by DR.. Dibb,
and whose meat was better than Minneso-
ia beef CD Since that time we have not
been without fresh buffalo steak for sin
gle day.
On the evening of the 18th of July we
encamped on the west bank of the Shay
enne, after our second crossing, and nam
ed our camp "Camp Matrilnony,. in honor
OF a ceremony there performed, which was
probably the first of the kind ever witness