, 1865-09-08


of ninety miles, unsuited to either navigation or
rafting purposes. It's banks are timbered for a
stretch Of forty miles from its mouth. Its mi
nor tributaries, north and eastward, only enter
as elements Of advantage for camping purposes
The great number of Lakes found on the Plains
of the Columbia form marked features in this
immense area
HANGMANs CREEK.
This is the stream upon which the late GEN
eral Wright ordered reveral of the Palouses and
Spokanes to be hanged, during the memorable
campaign against the Northern Indians, in the
summer Of 1858. Hangman's Greek also has
its sour.s ia.a.spur Of the Bitter Root range
and flows into the Spokane it has no special
advantages outside of affording camping facili-
ties
SPOKANE RIVER
is the outlet of the Ceur d'Alene Lake; is one
hundred miles long, and drains throughout a
timbered region, and enjoys special advantages
for rafting purposes Its mouth is the South
ern limit for timber along the main Columbia.
Gold mines exist at and above its mouth
PEN DoREILLE RIVER.
A project has been conceived to open canal
from the Clark's Fork, at the Pen Orelle Lake
to the Spokane, the elevation being suited to
this purpose. The Clark'S Fork, with the Pen
I d Orelle Lake, offers marked advantages for
F., steam navigation for at least eighty miles. My
I idea has always been that steam on the Clarks
( Fork, at "Park's Crossing" running thirty
miles to the Lake, and thirty miles across the
Lake and twenty miles up the Clark's Fork,
would reach point where cheap wagon road
| could be opened to the Hell's Gate or Bitter
Root Valley, and that for all purposes of travel,
carrying mails, and migrant purposes, this in
time would be done. | do not know what spe-
cial advantages are expected to be derived from
the canal referred to, nor do think it will be
undertaken unless this region should prove
very rich and extensive gold field The Coeur
d'Alene Lake and its two EARNS" can be navi-
gated by steam, and are adapted to rafting pur-
poses The Clarks Fork (which is the middle
Fork of the Columba) is most important
stream. tits fed by two large forks, yis the
Flathead river from the north, and the Bitter
Root from the south.
ST. REGIS BoRGIA.
Crossing the divide of the Occur dAlene
mountains, eastward from the mission, the line
is down the narrow and densey- -timbered valley
of the st. Regis Borgia Its frequent crossings
have rendered it rather an element of disadvan-
tags. It possesses no advantages outside of
camping purposes. a.u
BITTER ROOT RIVER.
The Bitter Root River, with its three large
tributaries, (the Big Blackfoot, Hells Gate and
ST. Mary s,) has special advantages for rafting
purposes, and through here and there are
stretches suited to steam navigation, yet, bro
ken as is its length by falls and rapids precudes
the possibility of its ever being used for such
purposes.
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.
The early geographers who attempted the
mapping of the country west of the Mississippi,
left us very vague and erroneous outline of
the Rocky Mountain formation, Oh the direction
of the vast system of spurs that go to form them.
The dividing ridge Of the Rocky mountains was
nearly always represented as a right line tend
ing from northwest to southeast from
Northern Boundary to New Mexico. This ''right
line" mas, however disappeared from our maps,
as explorations have brought in from year to
year the results of their researches.
DEER LODGE VALLEY
The greatest deviation from right line that
occurs in close proximity to the road, exists
from the head of Deer Lodge Valley to the
Wind River Chain, where the mountains en-
close in large re-entering angle the Big Hole
Valley. l look forward to seeing this section
become great centre both for mining and ag-
riculturaI purpose5. The barometer detects
this fact, that all the waters of the Clarks Fork,
with the Bitter Root, Hell's Gate, St. Marys and
the Big Blackfoot, flow in basin elevated
above the waters of the Plains of the Columbia
by seven hundred feet, and above the Plains of
the Missouri by five hundred feet Military
roads should be opened from Deer Lodge to
Salt Lake. from Fort Benton to Beaver Head
Valley, and from Beaver head valley to Salmon
river or to Florence.
THE PARTY FINDS GOLD IN 1853, 1860, 81.
In and on the east slope of the Bitter Root
mountains my party had found gold as early as
1858, (ten years ago. but not in quantities suf-
ficient to warrant parties working the mines
Discoveries were again made IN 1860, and in the
summer Of 1861, for the first time, did the min
ers feel authorized to go extensively into mining
operations. 1t was not long, however, before
we found parties out prospecting in all direc-
tons, and now mines are being worked, sue
cessively, in the Deer Lodge Valley Beaver
Head Valley, Big Hole Valley, and the Prickly
Pear Valley, at the headwaters Of the Columbia
and Missouri rivers.
REcAPITULATIoS OF EoUTE.
The road may be recapitulated as follows =
Leaving Walla Walla to Dry Creek--thence to
Touchet-thence to Snake river, at mouth of
the Palouse-along its valley to Coeur Alene
Lake, to the Mission-to St. Regis Borgia, by
its valley to the Bitter Root-to Hellgate-to
Little Blackfoot-crossing to the eastern slope,
to Big Prickly Pear, to Fir Creek-to Little
Prickly Pear-to Dearborn river-Sun River
Fort Benton.
Napoleon never smoked; and Goethe says that
] a man of true Qeniuq cannot cn1tivafA. sciAnce