EXPLORERS IN WESTERN AMERICA, 411 
party of his men made a trip from Salt Lake southwest to Monterey, California, 
and returned. Bonneville made two trips across the mountains. 
General Atkinson made a trip up the Missouri River in 1825, but we have 
seen no account of it. 
In 1835 Colonel Henry Dodge headed an expedition from Ft. Gibson to the 
Pawnee villages. In 1835 he also commanded eight squadrons of dragoons on 
an expedition from Ft. Leavenworth to the Rocky Mountains, visiting tribes and 
effecting peace among the Indians from the Arkansas to the Platte. 
Nicollet explored the regions of the Upper Mississippi from 1833 to 1838; 
during the latter period he was assisted by Fremont. 
In 1835 G. W. Featherstonhaugh made a geological examination of the 
country between the Missouri and Red Rivers. His report was published by 
authority of the Government, but is not of much value. 
In 1838 Captain Canfield, U. S. Topographical Engineer, surveyed a route 
for a road from Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Snelling. 
Soon after this the Government started Fremont on his eventful expedition. 
In 1842 (then) Lt. John C. Fremont commanded his first expedition to the Rocky 
Mountains. Early in June he set out from the mouth of the Kansas River. His 
route was by way of Platte River to St. Vrain's Fort, Sweet Water River, and 
South Pass to Three Tetons and back to Ft. Laramie, and returned to St. Louis 
early in October. 
May 29, 1843, he left the present site of Kansas City and passed over much 
ojf his last year's route to Ft. St. Vrain, Fontaine qui Bouille, and Arkansas River. 
^He sent Fitzpatrick across to Ft. Hall, and he passed over Cache la Poudre River 
to the Black Hills, then crossed the Medicine Bow Mountains and the North 
Fork of Platte to Green River, and reached Great Salt Lake September 6th. 
Food had become scarce and the party had to subsist on a horse. He thence 
passed over to the waters of the Columbia River, reaching Fishing Falls of Snake 
River, October ist, thence through the Grand Ronde, reaching the Columbia 
River at the mouth of Walla Walla River, October 25th, thence down to Ft. 
Vancouver. Partly retracing his steps he passed the Dalles, thence up Fall 
River and reached Flamath Lake 1;he i ith of December, and Pyramid Lake the 
13th of January. His men suffered extreme hardships among the snows of the 
Sierra Nevada, having to subsist mainly on famished horses and mules. Some of 
the party became crazed by hunger and cold; one was lost and another wandered 
off and was lost for many days. On March 6th the party reached Suter's Fort 
on the Sacramento, explored Stanislaus River and the San Joaquin to its head. 
Thence the route was across the Sierra Nevada to the Santa Clara Fork of the Rio 
Virgin, thence northeast to Sevier River, and reached Salt Lake the 24th of May. 
Thence via the Uintah River to Yampah, and on the 12th of June passed through 
South Pass and reached Kansas (City) the 31st of July. Without the aid of Kit 
Carson it is doubtful whether Fremont could have extricated himself from the 
terrible difficulties of his trip. 
In 1845 Fremont accomplished his third expedition to the head of the Ar- 
