As famine
was at his heels, he travelled fast, and reached the mountains by
the 1st of October. He entered by the opening made by John Day's
River; it was a rugged and difficult defile, but he and his men
had become accustomed to hard scrambles of the kind. Fortunately,
the September rains had extinguished the fires which recently
spread over these regions; and the mountains, no longer wrapped
in smoke, now revealed all their grandeur and sublimity to the
eye.
They were disappointed in their expectation of finding abundant
game in the mountains; large bands of the natives had passed
through, returning from their fishing expeditions, and had driven
all the game before them. It was only now and then that the
hunters could bring in sufficient to keep the party from
starvation.
To add to their distress, they mistook their route, and wandered
for ten days among high and bald hills of clay. At length, after
much perplexity, they made their way to the banks of Snake River,
following the course of which, they were sure to reach their
place of destination.
It was the 20th of October when they found themselves once more
upon this noted stream. The Shoshokoes, whom they had met with in
such scanty numbers on their journey down the river, now
absolutely thronged its banks to profit by the abundance of
salmon, and lay up a stock for winter provisions.
