Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 13.djvu/245

 TRAIL OF THE ASTORIANS 237 around the rapids at Cascade Locks, where Indian tradition says that the "Bridge of the Gods" formerly spanned the river, they descended the Columbia to Astoria, where they arrived February 15 ; 1812, nearly a month later than the detachment under Mr. McKenzie. (Chapter 38.) Mr. Ramsay Crooks and John Day, the Kentucky hunter, who were mentioned at the opening of this paper, had been left behind by Mr. Hunt, since they, with four Canadians, had become too exhausted from hunger and privation to con- tinue with the main expedition. These six having gotten to- gether near Weiser, Idaho, started in January, 1812, to follow the tracks left in the snow by Mr. Hunt's party and, ascend- ing Burnt River, crossed the divide into Baker Valley, where, like Mr. Hunt, they were disappointed at not finding any Indian encampment, since they were greatly in need of provisions. For some reason Indians appear not to have encamped in Baker Valley, possibly from some superstition. The Powder River is shown on the Lewis and Clark map as "Port-pel-lah," with the North Powder tributary as "Ta-kin-pa," which were names evidently learned from the Nez Perce Indians near Lewiston, Idaho. Captain Fremont mentions meeting an Indian in this valley October 15th, 1843, but his lodge was "in the mountain to the left" (Hunt Mountain). The late Hon. A. H. Brown, once the State Treasurer of Oregon, who was one of the first settlers in the Baker Valley, learned from the Indians that the valley was called by them "The Peace Valley," as there was a tradition that no battle had ever been fought here. The fact that the valley was originally caused by an earthquake, and since the city of Baker has been built an earthquake has oc- curred, it is possible that some superstition may have arisen in this connection. Not finding an Indian encampment, three of the Canadians turned back to the Snake River, while the other three travelers continued along the trail of Mr. Hunt's party until they reached the Grand Ronde Valley, where there was no snow. There, about the, last of March, Dubreuill, the Canadian, became ex- hausted and was left with a lodge of Shoshones.