262 
FROM FORT OWEN TO FORT BENTON. 
recognised it as the spot where, in former years, he used to hunt beaver, before the Blackfeet 
came so near getting his scalp. Though it is eight years since he was here, he knows every 
hill and stream, and guides our little band through this unbroken wilderness, without a trail, as 
true and unwavering as the needle to the pole. 
September 5.—Marched twenty-five miles due west, along the banks of the Blackfoot Fork river, 
through a magnificent country, fitted to support a numerous population of civilized men. Its 
bracing air, and grand mountain scenery, will give inspiration and energy to the future inhab¬ 
itants of this mountain region. 
Our camp is in “ Day Meadow.” The grass is excellent, but game scarce : the Indians have 
probably driven it away. The Indians resort here in the summer to hunt. 
September 6 . —We marched thirty miles, and are now encamped on the last dividing ridge of 
the mountains. Antoine says that we shall see to-morrow the long-looked-for plains of the Mis¬ 
souri. We passed through a region of the same fine character as that of yesterday, but with 
more timber, and more game. I saw numerous large, fine-looking elk, which would have made 
a welcome addition to our slender stock of provisions ; but we did not succeed in taking any. 
We are now near the headwaters of the Blackfoot fork, a branch of the Hell Gate river, full 
of mountain irout. The grass and timber are as good as can be found anywhere. It is contrary 
to all my preconceived ideas of the Rocky mountains, to find such a country in their ver} r heart. 
Saw to the northeast some high snow-capped mountains. 
September 7.—Crossed the last dividing ridge of the mountains, and are encamped on a small 
creek upon the eastern side, one of the head branches of the Missouri. The ridge which divides 
the waters flowing into the Atlantic from those flowing into the Pacific, at the place where we 
crossed, is but a high hill, and it is not more than a mile in a straight line between the sources 
of the Columbia and the Missouri. Nature seems to have intended it for one of the great high¬ 
ways across the continent. We stooped and took a parling glass of the clear, pure water of the 
Columbia, and in a few moments pledged the toast from ihe stream whose waters flow to mingle 
wilh the Gulf of Mexico. The view from the summit of the pass is grand and beautiful; the 
Atlantic and Pacific slopes of the mountains spreading out on either side, and embracing on 
this hill of union, as well as separation. 
The mountains, at this point, offer no obstacle to the construction of a railroad from 1 his place 
to the Flathead village. With the exception of one mountain, easily to be avoided, a finer region 
through which to build a road can nowhere be found. The vast amount of timber and stone, 
granite and marble, will furnish an inexhaustible resource of materials for its construction. 
One of the men to-day killed the first deer that has been killed by our party. We halted and 
made a feast, roasting large piles before the fire. We ate with the keen appetites which the pure 
mountain air gives. 
The day has been cold, with slight rain. We found little game beyond the mountains; 
and any expedition that should depend upon it for food would be apt to go hungry. 
The barometer gave for the highest point of the dividing ridge an altitude of 4,674 feet above 
Fort Vancouver. 
September 8 . —The day has been cold and rainy. The tops of the high mountains in our 
vicinity are white with last night’s snow, warning us of the coming winter. 
We were unexpectedly and most agreeably surprised by the arrival, at about 9 a. m., of Lieu¬ 
tenant Grover, 4th artillery, with a party of nine men, on their way to St. Mary’s village. We 
gave them a hearty welcome. Lieutenant Grover brings news of the arrival of Governor Stevens 
at Fort Benton. The meeting was a pleasant one for all parties. We felt that the plan of our 
operations had been successful, and the object of the expedition accomplished ; as a party from 
the Atlantic, and one from the Pacific—each in search of the other—had met, by appointment, 
after traversing thousands of miles of unknown country, at the foot of the great dividing ridge 
between the oceans. We passed the day in camp, celebrating the reunion. 
