Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 7.pdf/323

Rh and before they arrived at the Pass they were driven to the necessity of eating some of the mules and horses which had served them so faithfully, and which were then poor and worn out with fatigue from long and laborious traveling over a country so rough and barren. They left their wagons and much of their baggage, and packing what they could upon the remainder of their fatigued animals they succeeded in gaining the Pass. When they came into the Valley of the St. Wakine they fared more bountifully upon the wild horses, which they found in good condition and in great abundance. They finally arrived in the winter at the settlements, and after suffering all hardships and privations were prepared to relish, in no small degree, the abundance which they afforded.

We also had an opportunity during our stay in the country of seeing most of those with whom we parted at Fort Boise, on Snake River. The gentleman in whose company we were at this time was one of that party. They followed the route which they expected at the time of our separation to follow, experiencing, fortunately, not so much difficulty in finding it as had been anticipated. Having left the head of the Malheur River, and traveled over a barren, sandy country about two days without water, they at length, after ascending a high mountain, came upon a lofty but beautiful table land, rich and wooded with pines or varied by prairies and coursed by many clear mountain streams. They discovered what they supposed to be the head of the Willammette and corrected an error which had previously been entertained concerning the source of the Sacramento. They had expected to endure suffering, and in this they were not mistaken. Although they were fortunate in finding their way through an unknown country, and still more so in preserving their lives from its brutal and hostile