158 JOHN C. FREMONT. 



been excited. The event justified his determina- 

 tion. The Indians, overawed by his resolution 

 and self-reliance, and dreading the superior effi- 

 ciency of the fire-arms of the party, assailed them 

 no more. 



Fremont's route lay among the rugged peaks 

 of the Rocky Mountains, which he thoroughly 

 explored. He carefully made observations with 

 the barometer and with the scientific instruments 

 with which he was provided. He ascended, after 

 infinite labor and risk, the lofty summit of the 

 "Wind Eiver Peak, the highest eminence of the 

 Rocky Mountains, which had never before been 

 trodden by the adventurous foot of man. It risea 

 nearly fourteen thousand feet above the level of 

 the sea; and the view which greeted his eye from 

 this magnificent elevation was as extended and as 

 sublime as the imagination of man can conceive. 

 Toward the west, innumerable lakes and streams 

 poured their abundant waters toward the bosom of 

 the Pacific and the Gulf of California. In another 

 direction the pellucid fountains glittered to his view 

 from which flowed the sources of the great Missouri 

 River. To the north, an endless array of snowy 

 mountains stretched away in the distance. Nearer 

 at hand, the rugged and diversified outlines of the 

 neighboring crags and eminences appeared more 



