-
15: Mapping the California Trail
- University of Nevada Press
- Chapter
- Additional Information
..g( xv )3.. Mapping the California Trail THE FROST OF LATE SEPTEMBER had colored the leaves of quaking aspens and cottonwoods before the expedition worked its way down the unal western slopes of the Rocky Mountains. True to his word, Joseph Walker met the party somewhere in the valley of the White River. From there, he guided them to where the stream joined the Green. Then they headed northwest through the level and grassy bottom land beside the Duchesne. They crossed the headwaters of the Provo, which Fremont called the Timpanogos, and followed its course to Utah Lake. The going had not been fast, but the party had eased across the stony barrier of the Rockies. By October 10 they were camped in the Great Basin beside the lake the Franciscan friars Escalante and Dominguez had seen in 1776. Only enough time was spent at Utah Lake to make it clear to Fremont that this body of water with a silver sheen was not part of the Great Salt Lake as he had reported. This was fresh water without any taste of alkali, and the men had a feast of big lake trout. Two days later they passed by Dry Creek. The next day they rode into the valley that was to become the Mormon stronghold of Salt Lake City. Here they met a band of Gosiute Indians under the leadership of Chief Wanship. From the chief and his people Fremont learned this was the season of low water in the Great Salt Lake. It was possible for a man on horseback to ride to the largest island. This was not an opportunity to be missed. After the men established a camp near the southeastern shore opposite what John Charles was to name Antelope Island, the captain took Carson and a few others to ride into the shallows with him. On their way to the island the deepest water they found was just above the saddle girths. "The Hoor of the lake was a sheet of salt resembling softening ice, into which the horses' feet sunk to the fetlocks."! On the island the men found fresh water, good grass, and several bands of antelope. As they were running short of fresh meat, they killed enough antelope to feed the camp for a few days. FRBMONT When they returned to the shore, a Gosiute approached them. He complained that they had killed his antelopes. Through Walker, Fremont discovered the Gosiute claimed ownership of all the antelopes on the island and wished to be given some kind of payment for the meat they had taken. In no uncertain terms, the Indian made it clear that they had no right to kill these antelopes without permission. Realizing there had to be a payment, Fremont "had a bale unpacked and gave him a present-some red cloth, a knife, and tobacco, with which he declared himself abundantly satisfied for this trespass on his game preserve."2 During the two weeks at the Great Salt Lake, the explorer and his men enjoyed warm weather for the fall of the year. Completely fascinated by this great inland sea, Fremont and his party moved slowly around the southern shoreline. Camps were made at the base of the Oquirrh Mountains, and at the site of future Grantsville. At these places Fremont took note of the country and the lake. Salt was everywhere, almost beyond belief. Plants and bushes near the lake were encrusted with crystallized salt that weighted branches with a one-inch thickness. Within the water, nothing survived. There were no fish, no marine life of any kind, though the waves pushed a foul-smelling scum of insect larvae onto the beaches. By October 25 the expedition had reached the north end of the Stansbury Mountains and established a camp in Skull Valley near present-day Iosepa. They were away from the lakeshore here, though they could see the changing colors of the water as the sun moved across the sky. But time was becoming a crucial factor. The journey to California was long and across a hard and almost unknown land. Jedediah Smith had crossed it. Before him, Peter Skene Ogden and some Hudson's Bay Company trappers had found their way through this vast high desert country, and Joseph Walker had followed the same general route. That much, Fremont and his men knew, but it didn't create a vast amount of confidence. For from the summit of the Cedar Mountains the way ahead looked...