Page:California Inter Pocula.djvu/107



of emigrants."  Arrived  at  Fort  Hall  there  appeared another  allurement  in  the  shape  of  a  cat-off.  "Here we met  with  a  Mr  Applegate,"  continues  Mr  Gray- sen,  "just  from  Oregon,  who  came  that  far  to  meet the emigration,  and  conducted  them  through  a  new route which  he  had  discovered  over  the  Cascade mountains to  Oregon. This was  good  news  to  the emigrants, as  it  was  represented  as  being  a  nearer  and better route  of  course. This caused  a  good  many  to go  to  Oregon  who  were  bound  for  California,  as  they thought they  would  reach  there  before  they  could California. But the  nature  of  the  route  led  me  to believe  it  a  very  difficult  one,  if  not  impassable  for wagons, which  I  have  since  learned  was  the  case. This route  continues  on  the  California  trail  nearly  to the  California  mountains,  where  it  takes  a  north- west direction over  two  lofty  ranges  of  mountains — the Cascade  and  the  Umpqua."

Resting three  days  at  Fort  Bridger,  the  Donner company turned  their  faces  southward,  passed  Salt Lake, and  on  toward  the  Truckee  river. But alas ! the farthest  way  round  would  have  been  the  shortest way to  their  destination. Although this  route  was shorter and  better  than  the  other,  it  was  then  new, unbeaten, and  often  these  emigrants  were  compelled to stop  a  day,  or  two  days,  sometimes  eight  days  to explore,  to  cut  away  underbrush,  to  grade  a  bluff  or bridge  a  marsh. Arriving at  the  southern  end  of Salt  Lake  they  fell  into  the  track  of  a  company  in advance  of  them,  and  so  for  a  time  made  better  pro- gress. But short  was  their  sheen. At a  place  to which  they  gave  the  name  Twenty  Wells,  they  spent the night  of  September  6th. Some of  the  wells, which vary  from  six  inches  to  nine  feet  in  diameter, they sounded  to  a  depth  of  seventy  feet  and  found  no bottom. After a  hard  day's  drive,  the  next  evening they encamped  in  a  beautiful  meadow  covered  with luxuriant grass,  and  where  were  natural  wells  like the others,     Upon  a  split  stick  conspicuously  placed