LINE OF THE MARIAS PASS. 279 



An interval of only about thirty-three miles lies between the broken, volcanic country resting 

 on the Missouri and the summit of the pass by which I crossed the Rocky Mountain divide, 

 entering the valley of a fork of Hell Gate river termed by Lieutenant Mullan Little Blackfoot 

 river. We were little troubled either with snow or cold after getting within forty miles of the 

 summit of the mountains, the thermometer never ranging lower than 20 above zero, and generally 

 much higher. The exact configuration of the pass I have given in my general railroad report. On 

 the 10th of November I passed over, in company with a large troop of Pend d Oreille Indians 

 returning from the buffalo hunt. The ridge which constitutes the divide is a mere hill, up which, 

 on the eastern side, loaded wagons can be drawn without serious difficulty ; and the descent on 

 the western slope is very gradual, and, for a wagon-road, all that is desirable. An inch or two of 

 snow lay on the ground on the eastern side of the hill, and what little was on the summit was 

 whirled into small heaps and drifts. 



Following down the valley to its junction with Blackfoot river, as I estimated, about ninety- 

 five miles from the summit, (much too small an estimate, according to Lieutenant Mullan s 

 odometer measurement,) the valley is unusually favorable either for a wagon route or a railway. 

 From the running water at the foot of the divide to Hell Gate, the valley, according to my 

 estimated distances, has an average descent of twenty-two and a half feet per mile, (undoubtedly 

 greater than the actual fall by several feet per mile,) is generally wider than Blackfoot River 

 valley, is generally unobstructed by the woods ; and, although the present trail in several 

 instances for a few miles is steep and difficult when forced to the hill-side by the river, all these 

 difficulties could be removed with a small amount of labor, or apparently avoided without 

 labor sometimes, by taking the bed of the river for a short distance, (the river has a general 

 depth of near three feet,) or by making river crossings. 



The greater portion of this valley is a desirable region for settlement. The soil is often 

 gravelly, as is the soil in St. Mary s valley, but it is fertile, and there are many agreeable and 

 promising locations for farming, where a good soil, plenty of good wood sufficiently near for 

 lumbering or fuel, pure cool water, good grazing, an agreeable and healthy climate, and a 

 pleasing prospect, are inducements not often found united, and are sufficiently attractive to 

 throng these mountain valleys at no distant day with a central population of vast importance, 

 making in the heart of the mountains, and midway between the Missouri and Columbia, a central 

 depot of supplies, a distributing point of labor and materials, and finally a region productive of 

 valuable exports. I do not think there will be any essential increase of distance over the route 

 by way of Blackfoot river from Fort Benton to St. Mary s. 



I reachecl Hell Gate, near the river of Hell Gate, and Blackfoot river, on the 15th of Novem 

 ber. In descending the valley the weather was generally mild, but still colder than what we 

 experienced for nearly a month following. The mercury in one case descended as low as 12 

 above zero, but this was an exceptional case. We had several short squalls of damp snow, 

 lodging for only a short time on the ground, and some little rain. 



Turning up the St. Mary s valley, on November 17th I rested at Lieutenant Mullan s winter 

 establishment, in St. Mary s valley, fourteen miles above Fort Owen ; the weather mild and 

 pleasant, and, during my stay there, occasionally rainy ; the grass good, and the animals of the 

 expedition, with the multitude of horses and cattle owned by the Indians and half-breeds, in 

 the most thriving condition. 



On November 20th, with a fresh band of animals, and renewed outfit of provision, &c., I was 

 in camp, halting on the Sabbath, some nine or ten miles from Lieutenant Mullan, up the valley 

 of St. Mary s river a mild moist day, raining gently most of the day, with a temperature rising 

 to near 50 above zero. About twenty-six miles from Lieutenant Mullan s winter post, and 

 some sixty miles above Hell Gate, the St. Mary s forks to the southeast and southwest. Here 

 we left the fine open valley characterizing the St. Mary s river, and tracing up the western 

 fork, the wooded hills immediately closed in upon the stream ; the valley narrowed until it was 



