The Bozeman courier., 1927-12-09

names Of places have been changed, and
in some instances the present name for
merly belonged to another location. For
example, today's Fort Laramie is not the
I gained when coming west with Colonel
Sanders in 1873. Fort Laramie is the
name Of station on the Central Pacific,
but it is not the old fur trading post
that was later military post.
The description Of the route mentions
streams, ETC., not given on many maps.
1t followed the North Platte to Fort
Cooper, fort do not recall, unless it
was small post we passed not long after
leaving Fort Laramie, near which place
the cutoff began.
From Fort Cooper the road struck
across via Willow Springs and Horse
creek to Independence Rock and the
SWeetwater river, continues the descrip-
tion, with no mention of Medicine Bow
river, which I distinctly remember. Veri-
flying this recollection is this note from
the diary Of my cousin, Miss Lucia Darl
ing, which she kept while crossing the
plains with us:
"Camped again at noon on a little
stream just before reaching the Medicine
Bow range. Our hunters came in without
game; tried fishing but the fish would
not bite, yet the gnats and mosquitoes
did plenty of it. The Medicine Bow
mountains are very rocky. They look as
if they recently had been thrown up,
and the rocks were ready to fall off at
the slightest jar. Reached independence
Rock at sundown, and camped at the
foot on the banks Of the Sweetwater.
This morning we went up on the rock
Independence ROck). 1t is a Stupendous
formation. The soldiers that are in camp
here say it covers a hundred acres, but
it does not seem possible" This was
written on Aug. and z, 1868.
The CUTOFF followed up the Sweet
water until on reaching the Wind River
mountains it passed through their south
ern tip for some distance, then crossed
the Big and Little Sandy and went on
to Bitter Root creek. It then turned
northwest to Salt creek, where we gath
cred sacks Of salt, which were in demand
that winter in Bannack when the salt
supply was exhausted.
From Salt creek the road went a little
north Of BlackfoOt Fork, then northwest
until it reached the Snake river, south
Of Market lake, where it struck the Salt
/ Lake road to Bannack. Lander'S road
! joined another road from the south neal
| BlackfOOt Fork. This joined the COrinne-
Salt Lake road little beyond the bridge
/ on Snake river. 1t was here we saw Mrs
Henry Plummer, then on her way east.
] We did not cross the Snake by the
/ bridge, but forded, when Colonel San
/ ders wagon came near overturning, anc
the women and children were carried ovel
by cowboy and an Indian, who were
fortunately there. Mr.. Gridley, who wen-
ahead on horseback to guide the train
had an attack of dizziness, and started
down stream, the Sanders wagon follow
ing, when a front wheel went over
ledge of rocks. 1t took some time tt
right the wagon, but at length it wa
drawn back and passed over safely.
Market lake near this point is a direc
line west from Pierres Hole. 1t did no
prove to be a market lake for us. A fey
water fowl were killed here which wer
absolutely devoid of flesh, being al
, feathers, skin and bone. After Marke
lake, Horse Prairie was the most notabl
: point we saw before our arrival a
Bannack.