acquainted
mtfc the geography of the country, or who das taken the trouble to trace our route on the map we were already within the northeastern limits prescribed to this mighty territory.
Lea'vingthe delightful valley of Brown's Hole, we dashed swiftly onward in a south westerly direction, and our horses being in fine traveling order, we were enabled to pass a long stretch of beautiful country, and camp, at close of day, on the banks of a stream known as Ashley's Fork. Crossing this the next morning, we contin ued on the same course as the day previ ous, and night found us safely lodged in the Uintah Fort a solitary trading post in the wilderness which was then garrisoned by Spaniards and Canadians, with a sprink ling of several other nations, together with Indian women, wives of the traders and hunters, who comprised the whole female department.
Here we sought to procure a guide, but with the same success as before not one caring to risk his life by an experiment so fool-hardy, as undertaking a journey of many hundred miles, with a force so small, over a pathless region of territory, and either peopled not at all, or by hostile tribes of savages.
The accounts we received from all quar ters of the dangers before us, were cer tainly enough to have intimidated and changed the designs of any less venture some than we, and less firmly tixed in a foolish determination to push to the end what at best could only be termed an idle, boyish freak. But as I said before, our nmbkion WAS roused to perform what all wi-re afraid to dare, and we pressed on ward, as reckless of consequences as though we knew our lives specially guaranteed to as, for a term of years beyond the pre sent, by a Power from on high. I have often since looked back upon this period, and shuddered at the thought of what we then dared; and I can now only account for our temerity our indifference to the warnings we received as resulting from a kind of monomania.
A travel of some two or three days, brought us to a stream called the Spanish Fork; and pushing down this, through a wild gorge in the Wahsatch Mountains, we encamped the day folk wing on its
broad, fertile bottoms, near its junction with, and in full view of the Utah Lake. We were now in the country of the Utalis, a tribe of Indians particularly hostile to small parties of whites, and the utmost caution was necessary to avoid falling into their clutches. On either hand, walling the valley on the right and left, rose wild, rugged, frowning cliffs, and peaks of mountains, lifting their heads far heaven ward, covered with eternal snows.
At this particular spot was good grazing for our horses; but judging by the appear ance of the country around us, and tne in formation we had received from the moun taineers, we were about to enter a sterile region, with little or no vegetation in many places devoid of water and game (our main dependence for subsistence) peopled, if at all, the Diggers only an animal of the human species the very lowest in the scale of intellect in fact scarcely removed from the brute creation who subsist upon what few roots, lizards and reptiles they can gather from the moun tains sometimes in small parties of three and four, and sometimes in numbers and who, being perfect cannibals in their habits, would not fail to destroy us if possible, were it for nothing else than to feast upon our carcasses. Take into consideration, too, our education our luxurious habits through life our inability to contend with numbers that the only benefit we could derive from our expedition would be in satisfying our boyish love of adventure and I think even the most reckless will be free to pronounce our undertaking fool hardy in the extreme.
So far, we had been very fortunate in escaping the savages; but from all appear ances we could not do so much longer; and what would be the result of our meet ing, God only knew. We were now on the borders of the Great Interior Basin, a region of country containing thousands on thousands of miles, never yet explored by a white man, perhaps by no living being! Should we mafee the attempt to cross it 1 We could but lose our lives at the worst, and we might perchance succeed, and find a nearer route to Western or Southern California than the one heretofore travel ed. There was something inspiring in the thought; and the matter wa
