JOHN C. FREMONT. 240 



init-lands were forests of coniferous trees, and the 

 snow in the pass was four inches deep. This was 

 on the 14th of December. A day earlier our horses' 

 feet would not have touched snow in the crossing. 

 Up to this point we had enjoyed clear and dry plea- 

 sant weather. Our journey had been all along on 

 dry ground; and, travelling slowly along, waiting 

 for the winter, there had been abundant leisure for 

 becoming acquainted with the country. The open 

 character of the country, joined to good information, 

 indicated the existence of other passes about the 

 head of the Sahwatch. This it was desirable to 

 verify, and especially to examine a neighboring and 

 lower pass connecting more directly with the Ar- 

 kansas Valley, known as the Poow-che. 



"But the winter had now set in over all the 

 mountain-regions, and the country was so constantly 

 enveloped and hidden in clouds which rested upon 

 it, and the air so darkened by falling snow, that 

 exploring became difficult and dangerous precisely 

 where we felt most interested in making a thorough 

 examination. We were moving, in fogs, and clouds, 

 through a region wholly unknown to us. and with- 

 out guides, and were therefore obliged to content 

 ourselves with the examination of a single line and 

 the ascertainment of the winter-condition of the 



