320 
FROM CANTONMENT STEVENS TO FORT HALL AND BACK. 
I was compelled to make the best use of the time and means at my disposal that the circumstances 
under which I was placed would admit of. I succeeded, therefore, in making the connexion 
between this point and the Jefferson fork of the Missouri. 
I followed up the valley of the Bitter Root river to its headwaters. This valley retains the 
general character that it possesses at or near the St. Mary’s village for a distance of forty-three 
miles, the width of the valley being from four to seven miles up to this point. The stream is 
well wooded for the whole distance with the cotton-wood and pine. At the point referred to, 
forty-three miles from the St. Mary’s village, the river forks in two main branches—one coming 
from the south-southeast, and the second from the south-southwest. My trail lay along the fork 
coming from the south-southeast. The trail also forks at the point of junction. The trail along 
the other fork is used by the INez Perces Indians on their road to the buffalo hunt east of the 
Rocky mountains. This point is known among the Flatheads as the place of “Many Roads,” 
there being many trails crossing and recrossing each other at this point. From this point the 
valley of the stream diminishes to its headwaters, a distance of about twenty-one miles, the trail 
leading over a very excellent road to within six or eight miles of its source, where the trail leads 
over a somewhat difficult road for two or three miles, crossing what is termed “Ross’s Hole 
mountain,” leading to a broad open prairie, surrounded on all sides by mountains. This spot is 
known among the Flatheads and others as “Ross’s Hole,” and it is here (which I have from un¬ 
doubted evidence, as there are men now living at the St. Mary’s village who were present at 
the time) that Messrs. Lewis and Clark first saw the Flatheads as they were encamped on the 
Bitter Root river. Our road lay over this prairie to the foot of the dividing ridge of the Missouri 
and Columbia waters, up to which point there is a good wagon road, save the crossing of “Ross’s 
Hole mountain;” which, however, can be avoided by following the bending of the stream through 
a canon of the mountains. On our return, I, with a portion of the party, came through this canon 
without any difficulty; and, in order to be made a good wagon-road, it needs only to be cleared 
of timber and brush-wood. The ascent over the divide is very steep, and near the summit some¬ 
what difficult. 
The mountain of the divide over which the trail leads is known as the “Big Hole mountain.” 
I think that empty wagons can ascend it, however, with not much difficulty, though, as yet, none 
have ever crossed it in going towards the east. The descent, however, on the Missouri side, is 
very gradual and over a most excellent road, leading to a broad open prairie, through which 
flows a series of streams, forming the Wisdom river of the Jefferson fork of the Missouri. Imme¬ 
diately upon crossing the divide we fell upon one of these streams, which we followed down to the 
open prairie, which was about thirty miles in width. The geological character of the country up 
to this point, from the St. Mary’s village, is about one and the same; the rocks being principally 
granite and basaltic rocks out of place. Arriving, however, at the range of hills or mountains 
forming the eastern boundary of this prairie, the rock changes to a conglomerate formation, 
having no general direction. This conglomerate rock is formed of rounded pebble-stones and 
broken pieces of rock cemented together by a calcareous cement. This formation also occurs to 
a very great extent along the Jefferson fork of the Missouri. 
All of the streams forming the Wisdom river are unwooded, save by the willow, except the 
stream along which our trail lay, which was well wooded with the pine, which, near the summit 
of the divide, was the spruce and white, growing small and scrubby ; but the farther we descended 
the valley of the stream, the larger and better became the timber, till, reaching near the open 
prairie, the trees became straight, and growing to a height of sixty or seventy feet, the pine then 
becoming the spruce and 3 'ellow-pine; but little cotton-wood was to be seen along the whole 
length of the stream. After leaving the “Big Hole” prairie, our trail lay over a very low divide 
of a gradual ascent and descent to a second prairie, through which flows a second stream tribu¬ 
tary to the Jefferson fork, along which we followed till we struck the main fork, or main stream 
of the fork. The greater portion of this stream leads through a sage plain, or at least for half the 
