NARRATIVE OF 1853. 181 
further down there are several falls and cascades. Between these points and its mouth it has 
not been crossed or explored by any party of the expedition. On his route westward, about 
fifteen or twenty miles south of Snake river, Lieutenant Mullan, leaving the river, went up the 
valley of a small branch called Alpahwah, between high, steep prairie bluffs, its banks bor- 
dered with cottonwood, birch, and various shrubs. It is eight or ten yards wide and fifteen 
inches deep. 
The soil, though in places rocky, appeared fertile, and had been cultivated successfully by 
the Indians and half-breeds, who also possessed bands of cattle and horses. Leaving this 
stream, he crossed the rolling prairie to a branch of the Tukanon, five miles distant, which has 
also a similar valley, with steep, rocky bluffs, two hundred feet high and half a mile apart. 
The stream is of the same size and wooded like the Alpahwah. Ten miles beyond this is the 
northern branch of the Touchet, separated by а rolling, grassy prairie. Its valley is a mile 
wide, and bounded by rolling, grassy hills; its banks better wooded than those of any stream 
met with west of the Bitter Root mountains, and the soil equal to any which had been seen on 
the route. Lieutenant Mullan reached Fort Walla-Walla on the 9th of October, where he 
found Mr. Doty, and the Dalles on the 14th, when his party was discharged. He pronounces 
the trail he passed over the worst of the three he examined, the best being the Coeur d Aléne 
trail; Clark’s Fork was the third. 
Something more, however, is due, both to Lieutenant Mullan and his party and the explora- 
tion to which he contributed so largely, than the foregoing narrative of his several journeys. 
In the establishment of his quarters, the management of his command, and in his intercourse 
with the Indians, he evinced the soundest judgment, and the whole sphere of duty was filled 
by him in a manner entitling him to the warmest commendation. I will now give a brief state- 
ment of some incidents connected with his post in the Bitter Root valley. 
On the 8th of October, 1853, he established his camp ten miles above Fort Owen, at a point 
where there was excellent grass, wood, and water, and where, in consequence of its being a 
little removed from the Indian camps, he could better regulate the intercourse of his men with 
them; and in November, notwithstanding his trip in the meantime to the Jefferson Fork of the 
Missouri, he succeeded in getting into a state of forwardness the erection of four log buildings 
for the accommodation of his party, one being a storehouse. Leaving a portion of his party 
behind to continue the work, he started for Fort Hall, and on his return found the buildings 
ready for his reception. This was all done by the labor of his own party, the only additional 
expense being the hire-of some oxen to haul logs, and the purchase of hardware, not exceeding 
in all twenty-five dollars. "There was a corral attached for animals. То this post he gave the 
name of Cantonment Stevens. The accompanying sketch will best describe it. Thus a con- 
siderable cost was saved to the government in the way of rent, and there were ample accom- 
modations provided for the use of any subsequent party employed in continuing the work of 
the exploration, or for the home of an agent sent to the valley to reside amongst the Indians. 
These considerations were dwelt upon by Lieutenant Mullan in his correspondence with me. 
By this time the Indians who wintered in the valley—the Flatheads and some lodges of the 
Nez Percés—had learned to place implicit confidence in him. I had requested that he should 
give much attention to Indian affairs, do what he could to impress them with confidence in our 
government, and especially to devote his energies, in concert with Mr. Doty аё Fort Benton, 
to prevent all difficulties between them and the Blackfeet. The Blackfeet, to be sure, were 
always the aggressors, and the proposed Blackfoot council, which I had gained the consent 
