FROM FORT OWEN TO WALLAH-WALLAH. 289 



to attract bis attention ; but after two days unsuccessful search I was compelled, in consequence 

 of the scarcity of provisions, (we having but seven days rations left,) to give him up for lost, and 

 to proceed on our journey without him. 



I have recently learned that this man, after wandering several days in the mountains, during 

 which time his feet and hands were frozen, found his way to the plains, where he was discovered 

 and taken c;ire of by some Nez Perces Indians, who, after he had recovered sufficiently to travel, 

 took him to Fort Dalles. He is now in the hospital at that post, and has not yet recovered suffi 

 ciently to be sent to duty. 



It appears, fron his statement, that his horse gave out, and in trying to get him along he got 

 behind the train, and losing the trail in consequence of the snow which coveted it, became bewil 

 dered, and was unable to find it again. When discovered by the Indians he was unable to walk, 

 and in a f finishing condition, not having eaten anything for fifteen diys but a prairie chicken, 

 which he killed with a stick. 



On the morning of the 17th we started again, and in about two hours came upon a stream, 

 which I supposed to be the Kooskooskia or Clearwater. This stream, where we crossed it, 

 flows with a rapid current over a bed of pebbles, and is about twenty yards wide. Fording it, 

 we came upon a deserted Indian camp. Here were the poles of discarded lodges, near which 

 were several small gardens that had evidently been cultivated this season, and from the piles of 

 hulls which I saw scattered about, I judged that peas had been the principal crop raised in them. 



The trail which we had followed so fir, here became broader and divided into two one 

 following down the Clearwater, the course of which at this place seemed to be nearly north, and 

 the other taking off the left in a southwest direction. I hesitated for a few moments, not know 

 ing which of these trails to take, when discovering some fresh tracks of horses and cattle on 

 the one to the left, and the course of this one agreeing with that which I thought we ought to 

 travel, decided me in choosing it. 



On leaving the Clearwater, we wound our way up a steep hill, and continued to ascend by a 

 series of gentle ramps, and at the end of about twenty miles came to the lop of a ridge running 

 in a direction nearly parallel to that stream. Between this ridge and the Clearwater, the 

 country, with the exception of a few straggling pines, is destitute of timber, the soil of which, 

 though dry and sandy, yields an abundance of fine grass. After crossing this ridge, until we 

 struck the Snake river, we travelled through a beautiful country, alternating with open prairie 

 and timber land, and intersected with numerous little rivulets, varying in width from two to six 

 feet. The soil bordering on these streams is a dark loam, and afforded fine pasturage for our 

 animals. 



We travelled very slowly, not over fifteen miles a day, for many of our horses were so weak 

 that they faltered and staggered as they walked. 



On the morn ng of the 20th of September we came suddenly in sight of Snake river, running 

 through a deep chasm with perpendicular sides a thousand or fifteen hundred feet below us ; so 

 that it looked like an inconsiderable stream. 



Following along the edge of this chasm for several miles, we descended, through a narrow 

 ravine about six miles in length, to the margin of the river, which we struck about twenty miles 

 above the mouth of the Clearwater. Pursuing our course along the river for a few miles, we 

 came to an Indian lodge, which was occupied by an old Nez Perce and his son. These were 

 the first persons we had seen since leaving the St. Mary s village. Ascertaining from the old 

 Indian that it was impossible to follow the river any farther on this side, I engaged him to cross 

 us over in his canoe, and to accompany us as guide to Wallah- Wallah As he had but one 

 canoe, it was not until about one o clock on the following day that we succeeded in getting 

 everything safely across. Many of our horses were so weak that we had to swim them across 

 by the side of the canoe. 

 37/ 



