New-York tribune., 1873-12-27

Of
ribe As far as the eye could reach Jagged ns mas n
peaks Of dark brown volcanic eesa"ea sy ~ orm
and shadow wonderful aud mysterious Inc aeso"n' aa
pished without accident TO any OF the party
APPROACHING THE YEILOwsToNE REGION
July @-The No Grass fork of stinksng-water crseH
was reached This Is largo mountain stream ahos'
unordable The expedition marched four days up 'n's
creek, and stil found 1t difficult to ford IL had 10
crossed times. Several mules were thrown oo"n
By the rapid current and only saved with the
mule from drowning. Mr. Curtis the hnod
came very near getting drowned NV bones Of
his right hand. On The 1st OF August CAPT jones
the ascent OF peak which ne nsmed sot the YelIow
stone basin on the norhw could be seen haounes
peak aseended the next day commanded me view oi
the basin itself. The range Of mountains was nansu
the Sierra Shoshone. The outlet OF Yellowstone Lnne
SSses aud Lieut. KSssbury were sent through to Fort
Ellis for supplies. Capt Jones found the leno"seono
growth Of pine. with many strips and patches OF grass
openings along the streams GOOD Yo"na
arrived with pack train from Fort Eis with 2s days
supplies The escort did not arrive until the 1gss.
Capt Noyes was left behind on account S ayssr
Basin, ana Fire Hole Basin were Visited anu anu
dan % wv was made This s q splendid geodetie station
The trail was very bad owing 70 the a,,sa from one
noint To another In this basin Capt Jones says 70
seek the summit Of the ridges ana nils ayoE as and
streams where the fallen timber GENERALLY lies As
general rule the hills and ridges IN the ,nes
Lake Basin have long and generally founden siope.,
and long almost level reaches quite frequent upon
y se .n OF september they reached the Teton
fork Snake River The country is great n ees al
more open than IN the feio~stone one , so of tho
Sierra shoshOne Mountains. The bis are IarHe anu
generally rounded the soil rich and vegetation uxu-
plenty fine trout IN them. Sept they crossed low
nnon the head @ Wind River From mountain on tne
right the Wind River Valley could ne pialny seen Ior
the whole length and Crow Heart Butte anoted land
marx near camp Brown, some 50 miles distant, was
easily distinguished. This pass which mas some very
rugged peaks of volcanic rock ON either sde easy o
approach
WIND RIVER VALLEY PRACTICABLE FOR RAILROAD
The return route then pursued through the "ihu
River Valley to Camp Brown, distance OF 81 miles,
Capt reports that the valley OF the "nd hVer Is
open with cottonwood along the stream. Tne sohln
the valley is good On the upland largely COM
posed Of drift The timber grows pretty nign up 10 the
mountains except near the head OF the valley FROM S
the sierra shosnono Mountains. There is here
Se Seavy fysA timSered, 'an and with very ncH :oIl
Ii bounded the east by these mountains on .ne
Teton Mountains and Joins the yellow country
north Of very low divide, which IN one place s
to make over or wagon road
River Valley and to Yellowstone Lake substantially
From Yellowstone Lake by following the divide Dc
tween River and the lake drainage to the vest
ward, the valley OF the Madison near the Great
Ceyser Basin can be readily reached the only serious
obstruction being the heavy timber The valley Of the
Madison can doubtless be followed down to Fort Ellis
Bozeman, Galatin Helena. and the principal cities OF
Montana Or from Yellowstone Lake the east bank OF
the lake and river might be followed far as East FORK
and thence down the left bank to Fort Ells and Boze
man, the route now trayeied which Il WasOn
River. BY this route 1t would be about 40 miles
nS Se Sss1 stage
pany are now running stages TO South Pass s3 miles
From South Pass there now wagon rOaa 10 TIGa m
80 miles beyond Camp Brown. The distance rom tne
fsom point of ROCKS on the railroad The steep hills
between Camp Stambaugh and the Little PopoAsle can
| be avoided by bending around to the eastward
NEW ROUTES AS SHOWN THE MAP
Mr. F W. Bond Assistant Topogrspher, has furnished
map OF this new route reduced from the official map
made to accompany Capt. Joness report, The square
lined of around the Yellowstone Lake shows the bound
aries OF the National Park the objective point OF the eI
9euarture. Is near the Utah line From this point
trail of Capt Jones can easily be followed to 70 lamp
open to travel for years There are several DE-
the vsy Of the Tsy es or%s
occupied by miners and "prospectors" and numbered
exploration in which expedition taxes precedence Of
all others. from Camp Brown 10 the Yellowstone Lake
M near the owl Creek Mountains the Sinking
Water then turning the west and crossing TO the lake,
the trail sweeps around the lake and bends southeast
along Wind River Mountains down TO Camp Brown
II will be the return trail is the more direct
By carrying this trail to the lake and then crossing 1t
following its eastery shore, very direct rone can
be made through TO Fort Ellis BozeInan, and Galatin
City The distances by the proposed route are as fol
lows: From Camp Brown to the Yellowstone Lake
at the mouth Of the Upper Yellowstone River, 1877 miles
from Bryan on the Union Pacific Road to Camp Brown,
i6 miles, total distance to Yellowstone Lake Sls miles
By starting from Point OF Rocks on the Union Pacific
Road the distance Camp Brown can be shortened 40
miles and Capt Jones is confident that the route from
Brown the lake can be shortened Inc distance from
the road lake would then be reduced to about $50
miles From the mouth OF the Upper Yellowstone River
miles The whole distance he Union Pacific Rail-
road to Ellis would then be- about 40 miles with
advantage OF striking the road over 1o miles further
east than 1t is now struck
The advantages OF this route will be once by
comparing 1t on the map with Haydens route which
was until Capt Joness survey, the only route TO the
Yellowstone Lake. Haydens route leaves the railroad
at Cornne. Salt Lake, aud north TO Fort Hail.
and still further to Virginia City, bending then to the
northeast Gastn and Fort Ellis, thence down TO the
lakes again. The would shorten the distance
nearly miles from the railroad, and for travellers
from the East 400 miles GenOrd IN his official report
to wr run from Point Of Rocks 70 Fort Ellis
Ultimately It probable that railroad will run through
venient for the tourist would open this section for
mining and agricultural purposes.
SCIENTIFIC RESULTS.
The full value OF the scientific work Of such eApe
don can only be when the closet scientist
has had time sit Judgment upon the collections ard
reports Of his brother the field Geology and botany
and chemistry have large field in this region, and the
scientists Of this expedition say will be long while
before investigation exhaust all this material In
zoology there is field large the geological one
and compa ratvely untouched. Unfortunately there
was no zo6lOgist with Capt Joness party. aud at
tempt was made to collect specimens Of nsh, birds or
other animals. In the Yellowstone Lake and
in the numerous springs there Is an abundance
of animal life. OF 1t OF very peculiar character
Dr. Heizman animal life in springs Of 124 degrees
temperature order preserve these creatures 1t
would be necessary transport them In fluids, for
which the expedition had no facilities. DIR. Hickman
field and brings large quantity for Quantitstvs
analysis He Is Of the opinion that they
the character Of the waters but also account Of
the climate. It is only in the Summer mouths that
this place would be accessible. They had frost l3
nights August, but the vegetation was entirely