They assured them that they
would be but little incommoded by snow, and in three days would
arrive among the Sciatogas. Mr. Hunt, however, had been so
frequently deceived by Indian accounts of routes and distances,
that he gave but little faith to this information.
The travellers continued their course due west for five days,
crossing the valley and entering the mountains. Here the
travelling became excessively toilsome, across rough stony
ridges, and amidst fallen trees. They were often knee deep in
snow, and sometimes in the hollows between the ridges sank up to
their waists. The weather was extremely cold; the sky covered
with clouds so that for days they had not a glimpse of the sun.
In traversing the highest ridge they had a wide but chilling
prospect over a wilderness of snowy mountains.
On the 6th of January, however, they had crossed the dividing
summit of the chain, and were evidently under the influence of a
milder climate. The snow began to decrease; the sun once more
emerged from the thick canopy of clouds, and shone cheeringly
upon them, and they caught a sight of what appeared to be a
plain, stretching out in the west. They hailed it as the poor
Israelites hailed the first glimpse of the promised land, for
they flattered themselves that this might be the great plain of
the Columbia, and that their painful pilgrimage might be drawing
to a close,
