The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1890-08-03
Fremont's Expeditions Across
the Plains and Conquest of
California.
HIS FORT LARAMIE SPEECH.
The Ascent of Pixies Peak - A
Treacherous FoOthold Upon the
Dizzy Crest-Mrs. Fremonfs
Decentralization the Con-
quest. of the Golden State Was
Effected.

Could Fenimore Cooper have looked for
ward, says the Philadelphia Times, he
would have invented Fremont himself; and
had he done so. the figure Of his boyish
lieutenant, handsome, winning, indomta-
Bile, cut from the heart of a pine knot for
his amazing endurance and elasticity,
gifted with the fire of leadership and the
imagination of a born explorer, leaving
b lovely, girlish bride and brilliant society
to force his way across unknown mountains
and into trackless wilds in the pure spirit
of heroic enterprise and in the end adding
to our national domain all the vast tracts
betw cen the Pacific and the Rocky Noun
tains, completing our territory from ocean
to ocean and saving California to us from
Great Britain-that figure would have Ell
faced Leatherstocking. Yet Fremont COM
posed his own story with daring Cooper
could not have equaled aud told it in a
style which, as all records Of fact exceed
the narrative Of fiction, still beats the novel
ist hollow
And what figure the real Fremont was,
with his boundless authority over the vOy-
ageuTs and tTappers who followed him and
with his trick of Drawing the seasons. noun
taiDs, Mexican Governors, Indian assassins,
glaciers, precipices, unknown lakes, path
less forests, savage tribes and goodness
knows what ALL Who would not liked to
have seen him at 81, his face bronzed and
his eye flashing, dressed in sombrero,
N occasins, wide trousers and the blue shirt
with his wide rolling collar and black silk
handkerchief, riding his horse PrOveau,
that hunter famous throughout the whole
West" into the depths of the Rockies, with
Kit Carson and Basil LaJeunesSe beside
him2 1t was this romantic picture that
nearly made him President when Buchanan
was elected; and II can be cOnjured up to-
day by anybody who chooses to read his
reports. But does anybody read them now?
=. THE FORT LARAMIE SPEECH.
Fremonrs speech to the Indians at Fort
Laramie has often been spoken of as the
turning point in his career. The Sioux
were in open hostility, and, united with
the Cheyennes aud GroS Nentres, were
securing the upper country in war parties
of great force When Fremont cOolly pre-
pared to go on Carson as coolly made his
will. The explorer was on the point of
starting when the chiefs assembled at the
fort attempted to detain Fremont on the
plea that their young men on the warpath
would mistake him for an enemy Ere
mont answered by asking the elder chiefs
TO accompany him, and thus prevent blood
shed. They refused, and almost with his
foot in the stirrup Fremont made them
speech which was of the true Leatherstoek-
ing ring:
You say that you love the whites. Why,
then, have you killed SO many already this
spring? You say that you 10 We the whites,
and are full of many expressions VI friend
ship TO US, but you are not willing TO I'M
dergo the fatigue of few days ride to save
our lives. We do not believe what you have
said, and Will not listen to you. Whatever |
q chief among US tells his soldiers to do is |
done. We are the soldiers of the great |
chief, your father. He has told US to come |
here ana see this country and all the lndi-
ans, his children. Why should we not go?
Before we came we heard that you had |
killed his people and ceased to be his chill
dren, but We came among you peaeeably, |
holding out our hands. Now we find that |
the stories we heard are not lies and that |
. yOa are no longer his friends and chill |
dTen. We have thrown away our bodies |
and will not turn back. When you told US /
that your young men would kill US you did |
not know that our hearts were strong, and |
you did not see the rifles which my young |
men carry in their hands. We are few and |
you are many and you may kill US all, but |
there Will be much weeping in your vii |
lagos, for many OF your young men VIII stay |
behind and forget to return with your war !
.riOrs from the mountains. DO you think |
that our great chief will let his soldiers die !
and forget to cover their graves? Before |
the SHOWS melt again his warriors VIII |
sweep away your villages as the lire does
the prairie in autumn. See! l have pulled |
down my white houses and my people are |
ready. When the sun is ten PAGES higher
We shall be on the march If you have any
thing to tell US you will say it soon"
Without waiting for reply he broke up
the conference and in a few minutes was
among the hills.
ASCENDING PIXIES PEAK.
The notable event Of the first expedition |
was the ascent of Pixies Peak. The Rock |
les were well in sight on the 10th of August.
The 18th saw him under way for the sum-
nit The party was fifteen in number,
armed and mounted on mules.
ION every side as we advanced" says
Fremont twas heard the roar of waters
and of torrent, which we followed I'D a
short distance until 1t expanded into lake
about one mile in length. On the northern
side was bank of ice, or rather of snow
covered with crust OF ice" Carson ad-
vised leaving the valley and taking to the
ridges, which was done, and soon all We're
dispersed among preclpiees and Ice fields,
each Seeking the best road TO ascend the
peak PreusS, the ReOgrapheT, had q dam
gerOus fall and Fremont and two OF the
men were taken Ill again. Carson was able
to reach one Of the snowy SUBMITS of the |
main ridge, and from there saw Pixies Peak |
towering above them eight or ten hundred
feet into the air.
Fremont, growing worse, sent back to the |
place where the, mules had been left for |
provisions and returned TO the lake camp. |
Supper gave them strength and spirits, and |
they slept sOundly. On the next morning,
the 18th, after a hearty breakfast, the |
ascent was again attempted. This sine
they approached by riding up a long defle,
"and sOOn," says Fremont, had the salts
faction to find ourselves riding along the
huge wall which forms the central sum-
mits Of the chain. There at last it rose by
our sides, nearly perpendicular wall
of granite, terminating 1000 to 5000 feet |
above our heads in serrated line of broken, |
jagged cones. We rode on until we came !
almost Immediately below the main peak.
Having .diyes:ed ourselves of every I'M
necessary incumbrance, we commenced the |
ascent. At intervals we reached places |
where number of springs gusbed from the |
locks, and about 1900 feet above the lakes |
came to the snow line. From this point |
our progress was uninterrupted climbing. |
/ aVailed myself OF sort Of comb of the |
mountain which stood against the wall like |
a buttress In a few minutes we reached a |
point where the buttress was overhangEg, |
and there was no other way oil surmounting |
the difficulty than by passing around one |
side of it, which was the face OF vertical |
precipice of several hundred feet.
THE SUMMIT REACHED.
Putting hands and feet in the crevces
between the blocks l succeeded IN getting |
over it. and joining my companions con-
tinued climbing. In short time reached |
Tue Cicot. L SpIdHH uUuu Tue anu
another step would have precipitated me |
into an immense snow-feld 800 feet below.
TO the edge of this field was a sheer icy |
preciDice. stood on narrow crest, about |
three feet in width. AS soon as l
had gratifed the first feelings of
curiosity l descended, aud each man
assembled in his turn; for l would |
allow only one at time to mount the |
unstable and precarIous slab, which it |
seemed breath would hurl into the abyss
below We mounted the barometer in the |
snow of the summit, and, fixing ramTod |
in creYIce, unfurled the national flag to
wave in the breeze where never flag waved |
before. A stiffness the most profound and |
q terrible solitude forced themselves con-
stantly on the mind as the great features OF |
the place. Here we thought ourselves be- |
yond the region of animated life, but while |
we were sitting ON the rock q solitary bee |
came winging his flight from the eastern |
valley and lit on the knee of one Of the men
st was strange place-the icy rock and /
tile highest peak of the Rocky Mountains