32 ^ ELDORADO 



Pass, came into view. They were probably 300 miles 

 distant, but through the clear, rarified atmosphere ap- 

 peared much nearer. 



Fremont's Peak, the tallest of the group, presented 

 the appearance of a vast body of snow reaching to the 

 clouds. In the bright simlight of the early morning 

 to us "Wild Rovers" it was a very inspiring sight. On 

 the top of the tallest peak, Fremont (after whom it 

 was named), with his movmtain guides, raised, in 1843, 

 the Stars and Stripes and reported finding a bumble 

 bee on the extreme summit, benumbed with cold, en- 

 deavoring evidently to pass from one side to riie other 

 of the range. 



Traveling at the rate of fifteen miles a day makes a 

 journey somewhat monotonous, but the trip overland 

 was occasionally broken b}^ some exciting episode. 

 (Ine occurred after leaving "Lone Tree," 100 miles 

 below Fort Laramie. About 500 miles out from Mis- 

 souri we were joined by two men and two women with 

 one emigrant wagon. They had asked permission of 

 Captain Hardy to camp with us as a protection against 

 the Indians, which was granted. It was soon apparaent 

 that a feud of some kind existed in their household, 

 apparently with "tAvo women in it," until finally, upon 

 leaving camp one morning after a little altercation be- 

 tween the two men, one was shot, and at the time it 

 was supposed he had received his death wound. The 

 shooter at once mounted one of his horses and attempt- 

 ed to escape, whereupon our train was immediately cor- 

 ralled and a number of our men started in pursuit of 

 the supposed murderer. After a chase of several miles, 

 when he was about to be overtaken, he jumped from his 

 horse and secreted himself among the willows upon a 



