188 
Wisconsin Academy of Sciences , Arts and Letters. 
INTRODUCTORY. 
The party .— In August, 1890, a small party of soldiers under the com¬ 
mand of Lieut. George P. Ahern, of the Twenty-fifth infantry, was sent 
to explore the mountainous region in northwestern Montana. The 
party as finally made up consisted of two mountaineers, packer and 
guide respectively, two prospectors eager to take advantage of a new 
route to possible gold fields, two Indian guides, a squad of soldiers, black 
as ebony, the commanding officer, and the writer. All were mounted 
and well armed. Thirty days’ rations were carried. It was supposed we 
would reach an outpost on the west side of the range in a month, to 
which point another thirty day’s supply was sent. Owing to the assist¬ 
ance of various hungry natives and the keenness of mountain appetites 
our rations lasted but twenty days. Game of all kind was abundant, 
but the noise made by the passage of such a party prevented very fre¬ 
quent additions to our larder from this source. A few ducks, grouse, 
and ptarmigan paid our “ cook-house ” a visit, as did numerous fine 
trout. Of large game we secured one bighorn, and sixteen mountain 
goats. The young of the latter are very fine eating; the old bucks taste 
of musk. 
The region covered by the route lies between the 49th parallel on the 
north and the 47th on the south, and between 112° 30' and 114° 30' west. 
It is divided naturally into the following regions: 1. The western bor¬ 
der of the plains, a strip 40 by 130 miles. 2. The narrow belt of foot¬ 
hills, four to twenty miles wide skirting the range. 3. The main range 
of the Rocky mountains, and 4. The Great Flathead valley with its 
tributaries. In the eastern portion of this region, well toward the na¬ 
tional boundary, the Piegan and Blackfeet Indian reservations are lo¬ 
cated. In the southwestern portion is the Flathead Indian reservation, 
extending from Flathead lake down to the Northern Pacific railroad. 
With the exception of these agencies lying on the outer border of the 
region it is wholly uninhabited, and, so far as could be learned, almost 
\yholly unexplored. 
Object of the journey .— The object of the expedition was to find, if 
possible, a pass over the main range farther north than any then known, 
to map the course of the streams and the principal Indian trails. As 
such a trip might offer some opportunity for geological observation I 
accepted Lieut. Ahern’s invitation to join him. 
Region traversed .— We left Fort Shaw, Montana, on the morning of 
August 5th. Our route for the first ninty miles was over a rolling prai¬ 
rie, somwhat west of north, but gradually swinging more to the west, until 
at the end of the fourth day we went into camp in the foot-hills close up 
to the base of the main range on the Cut Bank Creek, thirty-five miles 
from the boundary. A fairly good wagon trail leads to this point, and 
