RAILROAD LINE WEST FROM THE WAHSATCH PASS. 
1 6 
the tragedy; that it was done without authority, by the young men—boys, as he called them— 
of the band, who had no chief with them, or it would not have happened.” He subsequently 
informed the Governor’s agent that there were thirty of his people in the party, two of whom 
were its instigators, seeking revenge for the death of their father, who, they said, had been killed 
by emigrants but a few days before. 
A few of our men were in Fillmore on the arrival of Kenosh, and caused the authorities some 
apprehension—Captain Morris receiving a note from them, deprecating the indignation of our men 
against the Indians, and hoping we would restrain it within killing limits—fearing that they would 
retaliate upon the exposed settlers after our departure. 
It will be observed that we have been forced much further north in our course west from the 
Coochetopa Pass than had been anticipated when the instructions were issued fixing the vicinity 
of the Vegas de Santa Clara as the western limit of the survey. The pass in the Wahsatch 
mountains was also found considerably to the north of its anticipated locality, and the broken 
and mountainous character (given by our recent guides, and confirmed by observations from the 
summit of the Wahsatch mountains) of the country intervening between this pass and the Little 
Salt lake and Vegas de Santa Clara was such that Captain Gunnison deemed it impracticable 
for a railroad, but, if practicable, by no means desirable, as, in his opinion, it would necessarily 
increase the distance from the Wahsatch Pass to any known pass in the Sierra Nevada beyond 
what it would be by passing down the Sevier river and north of the lake of that name. He 
determined therefore to descend this river to the vicinity of the Sevier lake—a point considerably 
to the north of the Vegas de Santa Clara, but in nearly the same longitude; and thence turn 
northward, on a return route by the way of Lake Utah. In our course down the Sevier or 
Nicollet river, as has been seen, we crossed it on its northern bend, and thence passed over the 
range of mountains which it partially encloses, to the broad open plain of the Sevier lake, and 
again crossed to the right bank of the river. No other than the most ordinary obstructions exist 
to the construction of a railroad from the foot of the Wahsatch Pass to the western point of our 
explorations, passing the Un-kuk-oo-ap mountains through the gorge of the Sevier river; for, 
although we did not pass through this canon, as it is called, we could see entirely through it at 
either end as we passed it. It is apparently without walls, but the mountains rise abruptly from 
the river bank. Twenty miles perhaps to the west of this point mountains are again seen, appar¬ 
ently in detached broken masses. To the north, as before slated, no obstruction could be seen to 
an easy passage to the Great Salt lake. 
October 31.—We re-crossed the Sevier river, encamping half a mile north of our camp of the 
20th instant. Distance, 28.24. miles. 
November 1—Following the road in a general course a little to the east of north, at a short 
distance from the river, a broken range of hills intervening for three or four miles, we came oppo¬ 
site the upper end of the Sevier River canon, which appears no more difficult of passage from 
this than the opposite end. Nine miles from camp we passed a small creek, spreading out in 
some places into little sheets of water, covered with ducks and lined with grass. It breaks 
through the high hills to our left in its course to the river. We travelled up its valley, along the 
course of the mountains on our right, for ten or twelve miles; and, by an almost imperceptible 
change of level, came upon the slope towards Salt creek, which we reached, after a ride of 24.85 
miles, at the small settlement of Nephi. Seventy men with their families constitute this settle¬ 
ment, which, on account of Indian depredations, is concentrated at present in a little village— 
each settler bringing in with him, not only his ricks of corn and hay, but his little log-house. 
Salt creek, which runs into Utah lake, descends from a canon of the mountain just to the east of 
the village, directly at the southern base of a high peak called Mount Nebo. The creek takes 
its name from salt springs on its banks. 
November 3.—Passing northward down Salt creek at the base of the mountains, we crossed 
Willow creek eight miles from Nephi, and three or four fine springs eleven and a half miles from 
