d broken through, and were plunging about or
lying half buried in snow. He was occupied in endeavoring to get
them back to his camp; and in the mean time sent to me for further
instructions. I wrote to him to send the animals immediately back to
their old pastures; and, after having made mauls and shovels, turn in
all the strength of his party to open and beat a road through the snow,
strengthening it with branches and boughs of the pines.

"February 12.--We made mauls, and worked hard at our end of the road all
the day. The wind was high, but the sun bright, and the snow thawing. We
worked down the face of the hill, to meet the people at the other end.
Towards sundown it began to grow cold, and we shouldered our mauls, and
trudged back to camp.

"February 13.--We continued to labor on the road; and in the course of
the day had the satisfaction to see the people working down the face of
the opposite hill, about three miles distant. During the morning we had
the pleasure of a visit from Mr. Fitzpatrick, with the information that
all was going on well. A party of Indians had passed on snowshoes, who
said they were going to the western side of the mountain after fish.
This was an indication that the salmon were coming up the streams;
and we could hardly restrain our impatience as we thought of them, and
worked with increased vigor.

"I was now perfectly satisfied that we had struck the stream on which
Mr. Sutter lived, and turning about, made a hard push, and reached
the camp at dark. Here we had the pleasure to find all the remaining
animals, fifty-seven in number, safely arrived at the grassy hill near
the camp; and here, also, we were agreeably surprised with the sight of
an abundance of salt. Some of the horse guard had gone to a neighboring
hut for pine nuts, and discovered unexpectedly a large cake of very
white fine grained salt, which the Indians told them they had brought
from the other side of the mountain; they used it to eat with their pine
nuts, and readily sold it for goods.

"On the 19th, the people were occupied in making a road and bringing up
the baggage; and, on the afternoon of the next day, February 20, 1844,
we encamped with all the materiel of the camp, on the summit of the pass
in the dividing ridge, 1,000 miles by our travelled road from the Dalles
of the Columbia.

"February 21.--We now considered ourselves victorious over the mountain;
having only the descent before us, and the valley under