Page:History of Utah.djvu/73

Rh Skeen Ogden with his party of Hudson's Bay Company trappers was on Humboldt River, and James P. Beckwourth was pursuing his daring adventures, and the region round the great lakes of Utah first became familiar to American trappers, William H. Ashley, of the Rocky Mountain Fur Company, at the head of one hundred and twenty men and a train of well packed horses, came out from St Louis, through the South Pass and down by Great Salt Lake to Lake Utah. There he built a fort, and two years later brought from St Louis a six-pounder which thereafter graced its court. Ashley was a brave man, shrewd and honest; he was prosperous and commanded the respect of his men. Nor may we impute to him lack of intelligence, or of common geographical knowledge, when we find him seriously considering the project of descending the Colorado in boats, by means of which he would eventually reach St Louis. Mr Green, who gave his name to Green River, had been with Ashley the previous year; and now for three years after the establishing of Fort Ashley at Utah Lake, Green with his trappers occupied the country to the west and north. See ''Hist. Northwest Coast'', ii. 447-8, this series. T. D. Bonner in his Life and Adventures of James P. Beckwourth, 71-3, gives what purports to be an account of Ashley's descent of Green River to Great Salt Lake on a certain occasion in Ashley's own language. There may be some truth in it all, though Beckwourth is far astray in his dates, as he places the occurrence in 1822 Beckwourth goes on to say that one day in June a beautiful Indian girl offered him a pair of moccasins if he would shoot for her an antelope and bring her the brains, that with them she might dress a deer-skin. Beckwourth started out, but failing to secure an antelope, and seeing as he supposed an Indian coming, he thought he would shoot the Indian and take his brains to the girl, who would not know the difference. Just as he was about to fire he discovered the supposed Indian to be Ashley, who thereupon told him of his adventures down Green River and through the cañon to Great Salt Lake. I have no doubt it is three fourths fiction, and what there is of fact must be placed forward four years. We had a very dangerous passage down the river,' said Ashley to Beckwourth, 'and suffered more than I ever wish to see men suffer again. You are aware that we took but little provision with us, not expecting that the cañon extended so far. In passing over the rapids, where we lost two boats and three guns, we made use of ropes in letting down our boats over the most dangerous places. Our provisions soon gave out. We found plenty of beaver in the cañon for some miles, and, expecting to find them in as great plenty all the way, we saved none of their carcasses, which constituted our food. As we proceeded, however, they became more and more scarce, until there were none to be seen, and we were entirely out of provisions. To trace the river was impossible, and to ascend the