FROM FORT OWEN TO WALLAH-WALLAH. 
289 
to attract his attention; but after two days’ unsuccessful search I was compelled, in consequence 
of the scarcity of provisions, (we having but seven days’ rations left,) to give him up for lost, and 
to proceed on our journey without him. 
I have recently learned that this man, after wandering several days in the mountains, during 
which time his feet and hands were frozen, found his way to the plains, where he was discovered 
and taken care of by some Nez Perces Indians, who, after he had recovered sufficiently to travel, 
took him to Fort Dalles. He is now in the hospital at that post, and has not yet recovered suffi¬ 
ciently to be sent to duty. 
It appears, from his statement, that his horse gave out, and in trying to get him along he got 
behind the train, and losing the trail in consequence of the snow which covered it, became bewil¬ 
dered, and was unable to find it again. When discovered by the Indians he was unable to walk, 
and in a famishing condition, not having eaten anything for fifteen days but a prairie chicken, 
which he killed with a stick. 
On the morning of the 17th we started again, and in about two hours came upon a stream, 
which I supposed to be the Kooskooskia or Clearwater. This stream, where we crossed it, 
flows with a rapid current over a bed of pebbles, and is about twenty yards wide. Fording it, 
we came upon a deserted Indian camp. Here were the poles of discarded lodges, near which 
were several small gardens that had evidently been cultivated this season, and from the piles of 
hulls which 1 saw scattered about, I judged that peas had been the principal crop raised in them. 
The trail which we had followed so far, here became broader and divided into two—one 
following down the Clearwater, the course of which at this place seemed to be nearly north, and 
the other taking off the left in a southwest direction. I hesitated for a few moments, not know¬ 
ing which of these trails to take, when discovering some fresh tracks of horses and cattle on 
the one to the left, and the course of this one agreeing with that which I thought we ought to 
travel, decided me in choosing it. 
On leaving the Clearwater, we wound our way up a steep hill, and continued to ascend by a 
series of gentle ramps, and at the end of about twenty miles came to the lop of a ridge running 
in a direction nearly parallel to that stream. Between this ridge and the Clearwater, the 
country, with the exception of a few straggling pines, is destitute of timber, the soil of which, 
though dry and sandy, yields an abundance of fine grass. After crossing this ridge, until we 
struck the Snake river, we travelled through a beautiful country, alternating with open prairie 
and timber land, and intersected with numerous little rivulets, varying in width from two to six 
feet. The soil bordering on these streams is a dark loam, and afforded fine pasturage for our 
animals. 
We travelled very slowly, not over fifteen miles a day, for many of our horses were so weak 
that they faltered and staggered as they walked. 
On the morning of the 20th of September we came suddenly in sight of Snake river, running 
through a deep chasm with perpendicular sides a thousand or fifteen hundred feet below us ; so 
that it looked like an inconsiderable stream. 
Following along the edge of this chasm for several miles, we descended, through a narrow 
ravine about six miles in length, to the margin of the river, which we struck about twenty miles 
above the mouth of the Clearwater. Pursuing our course along the river for a few miles, we 
came to an Indian lodge, which was occupied by an old Nez Perce and his son. These were 
the first persons we had seen since leaving the St. Mary’s village. Ascertaining from the old 
Indian that it was impossible to follow the river any farther on this side, I engaged him to cross 
us over in his canoe, and to accompany us as guide to Wallah-Wallah. As he had but one 
canoe, it was not until about one o’clock on the following day that we succeeded in getting 
everything safely across. Many of our horses were so weak that we had to swim them across 
by the side of the canoe. 
37 / 
