The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1913-01-23

a place of safety without bed, food or
fire, and night drawing near.
After going down river half a mile the
horse with much reluctance was per-
suaded to plunge in and swim to the op-
posite side. During the next forenoon
they reached another place so steep as to
be unsafe for their horse. so they left their
baggage and instead of swimming the
river went up the mountain to return to
APPOINT on the river farther down stream.
AT the highest point on the mountain
they could see the whole course of the
river they had been following for week.
While packing the baggage along the
river toward the horse they camped
on level spot about the size of a house,
on account of approaching darkness.
They were reminded the next morning
by shower Of rolling stones that men
of greater experience would not camp on
the side of a mountain of loose stone.
Doubtless some wild animal started a
stone to rolling, which started others, un-
til they rolled on all sides, but Fortunate
/ ly no one was hurt. While one was get
ting breakfast the other went out and
shot deer
After three hours travel they reached
the mouth of Fall River where it empties
into Snake river. To get information in
regard to settlements one of them went
up Snake river seven miles and learned
that one miner was working IA miles
down the river, and that there were no
other inhabitants within Is miles. Re-
turning to camp they built a raft the
next morning, swan their horse across
Fall river, put their baggage on the raft
and started down Snake river. The cur
rent was so swift that they were unable
to land within mile from where they
started. One remained with the raft
and the other took the horse and went
down river to see whether there were
rapids making it dangerous to continue
with the raft. Judging it safe to pro
coed they started and while passing
tributary the great volume of water
poured in with such rapidity as to sink
the raft three feet under water and keep
it continually whirling as in whirlpool
until it finally drifted below the opposing
current and floated on naturally.
They landed near the miner mentioned
above and stopped with him couple of
days. They were the first white men he
had seen in six months They all went
to the mountains, spent the night and re-
turned next day with an elk. The next
day they left their horse with the miner
and started down the river with their
raft. Coming to an island, and not being
familiar with the river, the current land
ed them on the island before they had
decided on which side to steer. This
was the last of their experience on
water, except to get ashore, which was
accomplished by taking a log from the
raft and man stood on it and padded
ashore and went back to get the miner
with his boat to bring their luggage
ashore. They then resumed their jour
ney with the pack-horse. In some places
the trail was so narrow that it was
necessary to remove the load from the
horse while he passed a short distance.
A misstep would have landed them in
the river 100 feet or more below. Later
the horse did step on sloping stone and
roll several rods down the mountain
side. Fortunately the horses feet struck
on small level place just large enough
for him to stand on, and the only one be-
tween there and the river, several hun
dred feet below The load was removed
from the horse by cutting the ropes, as
the mountain was SO steep, both
above and below, and the level place on
which the horse stood so narrow that
man could not approach him on either
side. The mountain was so nearly per-
pendicular in front that the horse had to
be turned end for end to be led up to the
trail. The shelf on which he stood was
so narrow that in order to turn he had
to stand on his hind feet, balancing him
self with his fore feet against the stone
above.
After proceeding down the river about
rs miles they stopped at settlement
few days and made the acquaintance of
parties living few miles up canyon.
Wishing to buy horse which these par
ties had for sale, they went up the can
yon a few days later and bought horse
go wild that he had to be thrown every
day for nearly week and have the load
fastened or while he was lying on the
ground.
When they reached Pocatello, Idaho,
on the Fort Hall Indian reservation, they
engaged in placer mining for few
months.
Attempting to ford the Snake river
with two horses or a wagon, their horses
became discouraged and attempted to
lie down when the rapid current came
high up on their sides. All means of
persuading them to proceed failing
man sprang upon the back of each horse
at the same moment. AS they were