Year: 1859

The absence Of Mr.. Preuss gave me great con.
Germ ; and, fora large reward, Derosier volun-
teered to 60 back on the trail. directed him
to search along the river, travelling upward for
the space Of day and a half, at which time
expected he would meet MIR. Fitzpatrick, whom
| had requested to aid in the serrch at all
eyenss he was to go no further, but return to
this camp, where a cache of provisions was
made for him.


Continuing the next day down the river, we
discovered three squaws in little bottom, and
surrounded them before they could make their
escape. They had large conical baskets which
they were engaged in filling with small leaty
plant, (erodium cicutarium) just now beginning
to bloom, and covering the ground like a sward
of grass. They did not make any lamentations,
but seemed very much impressed with our ap-
pearance, speaking to us only in whisper, and
offering us smaller baskets of the plant, which
they signifed to us was good to eat, making
signs also that it was to be cooked by the fire.
We drew out little cold horse meat, and tina
squaws made signs to us that the men had gone
out after deer, and that we could have some by
waiting till they came in. We observed that
the horses ate with great avidity the herb which
they had been gathering; and here also for the
first time, we saw Indians eat common grass
one of the squaws pulling several tufts, and eat
ing it with apparent relish. Seeing our sur
prise, she pointed to the horses but we could
not well understand what she meant, except,
perhaps, that what was good for one was good
for the other.


Towards evening we heard weak shout
among the hills behind, and had the pleasure to
see Mr.. Preuss descending towards the camp.
Like ourselves, he had travelled to-day twenty
five miles, but had seen nothing of Derosier.
Knowing, on the day he was lost, that was
determined to keep the river as much as posi-
BILE, he had not thought it necessary to follow
the trail very closily, but walked on, right and
left certain to find it somewhere along the river,
searching places to obtain good views of the
country. Towards sunset he climbed down to-
wards the river to look for the camp; but, find
ing no trail, concluded that ho were behind and
walked back until night came on, when, being
very much fatigued, he collected the drift wood
and made large fire among the rocks. The
next day it became more serious, and he en-
camped again alone, thinking that we must
have taken some other course. To go back
would have been madness in his weak and starv-
ed condition, and onward towards the valley
was his only hope, always in expectation Of
reaching it soon. His principal means OF sub
slstenee was few roots which the hunters call
sweet onions, having very little taste, but a
good deal of nutriment, growing generally in
rocky ground, and requiring good deal of la
bor to get, as he had only pocket knife.
Searching for these, he found a nest of big ants,
which he let run on his hand, and stripped
them of in his mouth these had an agreeable
acid taste. One of his greatest privations was
the want Of tobacco; and a pleasant smoke at
evening would have been relief which only a
voyageur could appreciate. He tried the dried
leaves of the live oak, knowing that those of
other oaks were sometimes used as a substitute ;
hut these were too thick to, and would not do.
On the 4th he made seven or eight miles, walk
ing slowly along the river, avoiding as much as
possible to climb the hills. In little pools he
caught some of the smallest kind Of frogs,