348 
FROM FORT HALL TO HEAD OF HELL GATE RIVER. 
the Pacific, it must necessarily become the great thoroughfare of travel from the two oceans 
washing the east and west coasts of our country, not only for our own citizens, but Europe on 
the one side, and Asia, together with the numerous and valuable islands of the Pacific, on the 
other; will naturally turn the course of their trade and travel for this grand avenue, which must 
needs therefore be guarded for our nation’s safety as well as prosperity; will afford an easy, 
direct, and expeditious connexion for transporting men and munitions of war to the Pacific in 
case of danger or difficulty from abroad; and will (we feel the necessity every day) dispense 
with in a great measure the long, dangerous, and circuitous route either of the Isthmus or by 
Cape Horn. 
Looking back upon our route, we saw we had followed the Bitter Root river to its head, 
which we found from its mouth to be ninety-five miles long, flowing through a wide and beautiful 
valley, whose soil is fertile and productive, and well timbered with the pine and cotton-wood; 
but whose chief characteristic and capability is that of grazing large bands of cattle, and affording 
excellent mill-sites along the numerous streams flowing from the mountains. The country thence, 
which is watered by tributaries to the Missouri and its forks, to the range of mountains separating 
these waters from those of the Snake river, or the south branch of Lewis’s fork of the Columbia, 
is also fertile; but its characteristic feature is the great scarcity of timber for any purpose, the 
willow and wild sage being used for fuel along the whole route. The geological formation of 
this section belongs to the tertiary period. The capability of this broad area, however, for 
grazing, is excellent. It is the great resort, at present, for all Indians in the mountains; the 
mountains and valleys affording a great abundance of game—consisting of elk, bear, deer, and 
antelope—while the numerous rivers and streams abound in fish and beaver. The latter are 
still caught in large numbers on the headwaters and tributaries of the Missouri, but are not so 
anxiously sought after as in years back, owing to the great depreciation of value in the market 
east. The whole country is formed of a series of mountain ranges or ridges, with their inter¬ 
vening valleys, all of which are well defined and marked; the decomposition and washings of 
the rocks of the mountains giving character to the soil of the valleys, which may be termed, as 
a general thing, fertile. The geological formations along the Jefferson fork, and its principal 
tributaries, are limestone and conglomerate rock. From the range called the Snake River divide, 
the whole character of the country is completely changed. Here the geological formation is 
basaltic and volcanic principal^. None of the numerous streams and rivulets flowing from the 
mountains along the route we travelled emptied into the Snake river; but either sunk into the 
ground, or formed small lakes in the broad valley of the Snake river. The ground in most places 
is formed principally of sand, and where large beds of basalt are not found the ground is of a 
very dry, absorbing nature, through which the water sinks—at times bursting out again. It was 
somewhat singular that for sixty miles above Fort Hall, along the main stream of the Snake 
river, we did not cross but one tributary, and this coming in from the south, while none came 
from the north; all of the streams, as before mentioned, either forming lakes or sinking into the 
ground. This section is also noted for the great scarcity of timber and the immense plains of 
wild sage, which is so abundant that it merits the name of the Sage Desert of the mountains. 
It extends for many miles in length and breadth, forming an immense sea of prairie, whose same¬ 
ness is only broken by the “Three Buttes” of the valley, which rise like islands in the sea in 
this broad and barren area. Its whole characteristic might be described in the one word— 
sterility. From the mountains bounding the Snake river valley on the north to Fort Hall, a 
travelled distance of one hundred and twelve miles, there is but one fertile spot of ground that 
could be converted to any useful purpose, and this is found at Cantonment Loring, five miles 
above Fort Hall. Here the soil is of a grayish blue clay and sand, that might be made use of 
for agricultural purposes. The grazing here is most excellent. 
Our return route to the Bitter Root valley, which lay to the east of the Bitter Root mountains, 
from the Snake river to the ridge separating the waters of Wisdom river, or the Big Hole fork of 
