, 1866-02-23
PEN D'oREfLLE ROUTE.
rA{S' Ess sOn.. SsSI.: E:s . IA Es:ss e: &

Fen d'Oreille Lake and ClaTke,a Fork.
! In these times when the comparative merits
Of roads leading TO the BlAekfoOt country are
being discussed BY everybody, and new routes
are being hunted up, it may serve good pur-
pose, to again quote from that official book,
(which At this particular time contains very
much valuable information relative to the conn
try intervening hetween waIa wana and Fort
Beaton,) Mullau's Road Report. That able en-
gineer, Captain W. W. DsLacy, was ordered, in
1860, to make survey Of the Bitter Root
Clarke Fork and Flathead rivers. These pour
their waters into the Pen d'orieIle lake. As
showing to some extent the nature If the ubsta-
cles to wagon road by the Lake, we give the
subjoined extracts from the report Of Mr. De L. (:
'ln obedience to your orders Of March 27th,
l started on April 4th from the wagon road
crossing on the Bitter Root river to make a sur
vey Of part Of the Bitter Root river, Clarkes
] Fork, and Flathead rivers. | took with me one
Of the fat bottOned boats, built at the ferry,
| about twelve feet long, two men, aud rations for
thirty days. The weather at irst was unfavor-
| aoie and delayed US several days. was sue
cessful in getting the boat over all the rapids in
the Bitter Root river and went down the Clarke's
Fork about ten miles, and thus ascended the
Flathead to the mouth of Plum creek. on which
the Pen d'Oreille Mission is situated.
From the mouth Of the Bitter Root is q distance
/ OF tweuty-three miles. 1t is about 500 feet
wide at the ferry, but the breadth is diminished
/ below as tue mountains press closer; on the
! river, at several rocky points, it is not more
! than half that width. Its general course for
seventeen miles is to the northeast; it then
/ turns north to its junction with the Flathead
| river. 1t is exceedingly crooked and tortuous
] has a NnF Il 10 ,,F
which four are very bad ones, the channel being
obstructed by large rocks. On both sides are
! rocky, rugged mountains, from coo 10 1000
feet high, bordering directly on the river, except
in the bends, which are generally occupied by
! plateaus twenty to eighty feet high these some
! times being in the same bend two or three rising
one above the other; they are not usually OF
great extent and, like the mountains, COW
cred with pine timber. 1t has no tributaries Of
any consequence, there being only three small
creeks flowing into it, and but one island ofany
size, not far below the crossing. On reaching
the junction of the Ri:ler Root and Flathead, |
Immediately continued my survey down the
Clarke'5 FORK lar Horse Plain, on the right
bank. Opposite the mslth of F!athead river
on the right bank, there is rocky precip-
itOus mouattin coming close to the river,
and impossible for man or auimals, This ends,
| however, about half mile down the fork, and
a fiat succeeds, covered with fine grass and
scattering pines, which continues for some FIVE
miles after which there are rolling, grassy hills
! and points Of rock to the Horse Plain This is
| an extensive fiat, on hIgd plates u, more than
mile wide and long, and covered with grass. On
| the opposite side is similar plain, but not so
| large apparently. The left bank of CLarke's
Fork is rocky and mountainous for nearly the
whole distance tc the last mentioned plain, the
mountains being higher and more rugged than
those on the right bank.
II tha n q n +
head there is likewise grass plain which ex
tends up the latter river some two miles, when
the mountains close in on both sides At about
seven miles and half frcm its mouth there is a
bad rapid extending across the river; this was
the only one as far M survey extended. About
ten miles above its mouth the rugged and rocky
mountains on either side end the hills become
geutler in slope aud Of much less altitude, and.
are either bare, or partially so, of timber, whilst
many of them are covered with grass to the
summit, particularly on the right bank. Along
the river, also, are many grass flats or plateaus,
from twenty to forty feet high, some of which,
as those opposite and below the mouth of the |
J0cko river, very large.
This river is wider than the Bitter Root, and
flows in a very straight course, with only las |
far as examined it) two large bends There is |
a group of large islands about twenty miles from |
its mouth, and several smaller ones at different
points Its general direction as far as the mouth |
a sharp bend and flows in westerly course to
its mouth The current is very moderate for |
about twenty miles, there being no difficulty in |
rowing the boat for that dIstancej and could the
rocks at the rapids before mentioned be removed,
| it would be navigable by small steamboats, as
far as | explored it, say 80 miles. Its principal
| tributaries the Jocko river and Plum creek, are
on the left bank there is another above, on
which is q Hudson Bay post, which | did not
see After remaining here day, l
| returned to the boat and commenced the descent
| of the river From the Mission trail desccnds
the left bank of the creek, crossing the river
about a mile below the mouth of the. creek,
where there is ford in low water, and contln-
| ued down the right bank Of the river for about
eighteen miles, when it turns up arayne and
passes over to the Clarke's Fork BY the Cammas
| Prairie There is another trail along the left
bank of the river to its mouth
On the Bitter Root river there is no trail on
the right bank, and the one on the left bank
leaves the river about six and a half miles from
the wagon road ferry and crosses the mountains
coming to the Clarke's Fork at the Horse Plain |
As regards the practicability of making either
wagon road or railroad up the Clarke's Fork
and Flathead rivers, l would remark that the
riobt bank is the most favorable. wagon |
road and perhaps the railroad, too, Il cannot
sneak positively, not having seen that portion
of the route would have to take the line OF the
Cammas prairie trail, as there would be mules
of rocl. cutting by the line of the river. From
the point where the trail strikes the river again.
there is no extraordinary difficulty and little rock
cutting. To take either of them up tho Filter
Root, the left bank would be the most favorable,
as bavins the largest number Of plateaus. But
even then it would be attended with immense
expense and labor, as there would be at least
seven or eight miles of rock to cut through.
The rock formation seems to be trap and its va
rieties dipping to the south, generally at an an,
gle of 45o There has been an upheaval and
disturbance of the whole of this region. Nell
ther fossils nor evidences of metallic minerals
were found, though both were looked for when
opportunities presented. a
The distances on this survey were measured
by my PAGES, carefully compared from time to
time with measurements by tape line"