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1Spring 2000
Volume 6 Spring 2000 No. 2
The Saint Francis of Assissi Mission in Ranchos de Taos, New Mexico
Come join SOME TAOS TRAVELERSON THE OLD SPANISH TRAIL inTaos on June 10-11 at the Old Span-ish Trail Association’s Annual Confer-ence! The “Taos travelers” theme iswoven throughout super program ses-sions on June 10, and three field tripson June 11.
Keynoting the conference will be Dr.Marc Simmons, an eminent profes-sional historian and author of theSouthwest, with 35 books to hiscredit. His topic will be Kit Carsonand the Romance of the Old SpanishTrail. This will be the first publicpresentation by Simmons in aboutthree years. While Simmons hasresearched and written extensivelyabout the Santa Fe Trail, and servedas a founder and president of theSanta Fe Trail Association, he hasmore recently turned to extensivestudy of Kit Carson. Simmons wasknighted by order of the King ofSpain in 1993 for his contributions
OST Travelers toConverge on Taos
June 10 and 11By Willard E. Lewis, Jr.
Continued on the back cover
For many years travelers, artists and photographers have visited the Taosarea to enjoy its many offerings. The San Francisco de Asis Mission is but oneof many attractions. The scenery, atmosphere, architecture and cuisine captivatethe senses. Book shops, art galleries and missions provide other satisfactions.
Photo courtesy of C.W. Querfeld
2 Spring 2000
Officers and Directors: 1998-2000
PRESIDENT:Dr. Charles W. Querfeld
2040 Longs Peak Ave.Longmont, CO 80501
VICE PRESIDENT:Willard E. Lewis, Jr.
PO Box 6073Santa Fe, NM 87502
PAST PRESIDENT:Ron Kessler
1026 S. Co. Road 2EMonte Vista, CO 81144
719-852-5225
SECRETARY:Marie GreeneP.O. Box 483
Angel Fire, NM 87710505-377-6342
TREASURER:Richard Greene
P.O Box 483Angel Fire, NM 87710
DIRECTORS:
William L. Chenoweth707 Brassie Drive
Grand Junction, CO [email protected]
John Coffman1014 Wagon Trail Dr. SEAlbuquerque, NM 87123
Reba Wells Grandrud, Ph.D.2322 East Cholla Street
Phoenix, AZ 85028602-992-0339
Ronald K. Jewkes74 Bryner Street
Helper, UT 84526-1025435-472-0719
John W. Robinson1345 Cameo Lane
Fullerton, CA 92831714-528-8609
Elizabeth von Till WarrenPO Box 19039
Jean, NV 89019702-874-1410
OSTA’s efforts will help preserve one ofAmerica’s great long distance trade routes andincrease appreciation of the West’s multi-cultural heritage. Please join us!
Membership Dues:Institutional $25/yearFamily/Individual $12/yearStudent $ 5/yearSend your checks to:Treasurer, OSTA, PO Box 483, Angel Fire,NM 87710
All matters relating to Spanish Traces shouldbe directed to the Editor:
Judy Querfeld, PO Box 47, Niwot, CO80544 Telephone: 303-651-3403
E-Mail: [email protected]
Spanish Traces is the official publication ofthe Old Spanish Trail Association, a nonprofitorganization incorporated under the laws ofthe State of Colorado. ST welcomes submis-sion of letters, articles, and OSTA relatednews. The next deadline is August 15, 2000.
Judy Querfeld, EditorSPANISH TRACESPO Box 47Niwot, CO 80544
Dear Ms. Querfeld:
This letter is a follow-up to the tele-phone message that I left at your num-ber on Monday. I am writing to you inmy capacity as the President of the SanDimas Historical Society, Past Sher-iff of the San Dimas Westerners, andBoard Member of the San Dimas Fes-tival of Western Arts.
Your Winter 2000 issue contains anarticle written by Kenn and LorraineCarpenter, Experiencing the OldSpanish Trail from a Bicycle Saddle.While I enjoyed the article, I was quitesurprised to see the statue of Jed Smithon page 8 listed as being in La Verne.This statue, the only one of Smith, islocated in San Dimas on the groundsof the San Dimas City Hall. It is thefirst piece of public art that the Festi-val of Western Arts had sponsored,and represents an item paid for in themost part by the people of the City ofSan Dimas, California. While we canunderstand that the Carpenters couldeasily have been mistaken because ofthe lack of boundaries between LaVerne and San Dimas, the locationshould be correctly noted in your nextedition.
The Jedediah Smith Society, located
in Stockton, California, plans to haveits Year 2000 Rendezvous here in SanDimas in October. Their meeting willbe at the same time that we will becelebrating our Western Days.
I have taken the liberty of sending acopy of this letter to one of your di-rectors, John Robinson. John is amember of the San Dimas Westernersand is quite familiar with the locationof the Smith statue.
Please convey my best wishes to theCarpenters. With the exception of thelocation of the Jed Smith statue, I en-joyed their article immensely
Sincerely,Nick Martocchio
The San Dimas, California monument to Jedediah Strong Smith
Revised Location forJedediah Strong Smith15 February 2000
3Spring 2000
Chapter contacts and addresses
Nick SainesLas Vegas Chapter
1587 Figueroa DriveLas Vegas, NV 80123
Jack NelsonMesa County Chapter2276 Windwood Court
Grand Junction, CO 81503970-241-8143
Willard LewisSalida del Sol Chapter
P. O. Box 6073Santa Fe, NM 87502
Yvonne HalburianSaguache County Chapter
P.O. Box 502Saguache, CO 81149
719-655-2529
John RobinsonSouthern California Chapter
1345 Cameo LaneFullerton, CA 92831
714-528-8609
John SharpeWilliam Workman Chapter
Brackenbank, CliftonPenrith
Cumbria CA10 2AEEngland
This is my last column as the presi-dent of the OSTA and it is appropri-ate to comment briefly on how ourassociation is faring. The state ofhealth of the OSTA has improvedmaterially because of your supportand the hard work by your officersand directors. I especially want tothank Richard and Marie Greene fortheir herculean labors in increasingour membership from below 100members to our present 270 mem-bers.
Our chapters have also increased innumber: Southern California and LasVegas Chapters have been estab-lished with efforts by JohnRobinson, OSTA director for Cali-fornia, and Nick Saines in LasVegas, NV. Yvonne Halburian hasrevitalized the Saguache Chapter.Jack and Katherine Nelson of theMesa County Chapter have estab-lished a very much needed liaisonwith the Colorado congressionaldelegation in our on-going effort toconvince the National Park Service(NPS) that the OST genuinely meritsNational Historic Trail designation.
My wife, Judy, the editor of SpanishTraces, has produced a series ofissues that include interesting andimportant articles written by a broadspectrum of our members. These
issues have succeeded primarilybecause of your willingness toprovide good copy for our newslet-ter. Judy will retire from her laborsafter the Fall 2000 issue. We hopethat there is a nascent editor amongyou who will accept this responsibil-ity for the following few years.
The future of our association willnecessarily include major trailconservation efforts. Growth in theLas Vegas area and in adjacentCalifornia has the potential foreffacing a number of pristine OSTsegments that are the only survivingmule traces. OSTA members mustassist our new governing board inthis effort. There will be majorefforts at preservation preceded bymapping and marking activity.Because we have funds that havebeen donated for durable trail memo-rials, I ask that you assist the govern-ing board in placing the most impor-tant memorials, Santa Fe, Abiquiuand San Gabriel Mission.
The NPS preliminary report of thestudy of the OST should be releasedin June or July of this year. Therecommendation that will be offeredis unknown, although past experi-ence suggests that the NPS willcontinue to be (forgive me) mulishabout granting historic trail status.No matter what the outcome of thestudy the OSTA must be prepared for
President’s Corner a long term struggle with the NPS toachieve National Historic Trailstatus on terms that are reasonableand responsible to the OSTA and thepublic in general.
In closing, I want to convey mygratitude to all of the OSTA govern-ing board, the chapter presidents andthe membership for your supportduring the past two years. Finally Imust thank my wife for her help andforebearance.
On March 31, Utah Board member RonJewkes attended the dedication of anOST interpretive sign in Moab, Utah.Jewkes and the Mayor of Moab un-veiled the plaque in the Old City Parkin Moab. (Photo in the Fall 2000issue.)
The Utah State Historical Societyproduced a fabulous map of UtahHistoric Trails from Dominguez-Escalante in 1776 up through earlyautomobile routes (ca. 1910-30). Themap may be obtained from the UtahState Historical Society Bookstore:801-533-3525 at a cost of $5.00 plusshipping.
Steve Madsen has been preparing acomplete update for our website—andmembers should be sure and check itout at http://www.slv.org in the nearfuture.
Noticias
4 Spring 2000
Chapter ReportsMesa CountyWhere has the winter gone? We hereon the Western Slope had a most happywinter, had very few nights belowzero, and heaviest snowfall came onthe first day of Spring. We are pro-gressing quite well with our marker tocommemorate the “Crossing of theGrand.”
We have been donated a huge boul-der, about 5' x 4' x 6'. Through thekindness of a local road constructionoperator, and the knowledge andwherewithal of members of our Chap-ter, the boulder is resting in place atthe top of the arroyo along the old his-toric road bed leading down to theriver crossing. We are in the processof accepting bids for the bronze plaqueat present. The plaque will read“Crossing of the Grand. To honor thecountless travelers who forded theGrand (Colorado) River from this site.This arroyo’s location on the NorthBranch of the Old Spanish Trail andthe Salt Lake Wagon Road was a vitallink in the opening of the West, c.1830-1880.” A list of sponsors followsthe inscription. The whole thing willbe capped off with Yvonne’s familiarOSTA logo as displayed on SpanishTraces frontispiece.
We have been quite actively commu-nicating with our national legislativestaffs. We had a face to face meetingwith staff of both senators and onecongressional office, and are receiv-ing very positive feedback. This com-munication is not just a wham bangpat on the back and out the door, but avery interested supportive followthrough type of “take it to the bank”help. You have to remember membersof our chapter have been working onthis project for several years alongwith other dedicated Trail folks. TheColorado State Legislature passed an
Act several years ago recognizing andurging what we are all trying to do. Itcould be that the Park’s folks will re-alize that we are very serious about thisTrail.
It is our most sincere wish that all thehistorians/evaluators who will hope-fully complete and submit the reporton the Old Spanish Trail this year, willhave an opportunity to view at leastsome segments of the route from theground. Hopefully when we dedicatethe “Crossing” rock, you all can comeand view it and pretend this is the sameboulder that Colonel Loring mentionswhen he came across here in the1850s, as one marking the crossing.
Jack Nelson, PresidentGrand Junction, Colorado
Salida del SolThe Salida del Sol Chapter has muchto report since the Fall 1999 issuesof Spanish Traces! After two suc-cessful Fall programs, the chapterkicked off its Spring 2000 programseries with a March program, Gen-eral Stephen Watts Kearny: Winningthe West, by Stephanie Kearny, thegreat-great granddaughter of GeneralKearny. The meeting was a jointmeeting with the End of the TrailChapter of the Santa Fe Trail Asso-ciation, attended by more than 50people.
Our second Spring program will beon April 29 at 2 p.m. at the PalaceMeeting Room of the Palace of theGovernors. The speaker will be Dr.John Porter Bloom, former presidentof both the Western History Associa-tion and Westerners International.His topic is Johnny Gringo in NewMexico: Kearny, Doniphan, et al,1846-1848. His talk will focus onthe ordinary soldier in the MexicanWar, and will be a nice follow up tothe March Kearny program. This
program is presented through theauspices of the Speakers’ Bureau ofthe Historical Society of NewMexico. The Annual Chapter Mem-bership Meeting will be held at theconclusion of the program session.
The final series program will be inAbiquiu on May 20. Chapter mem-bers will gather at the AbiquiuLibrary at 1:30 p.m. to presentSouthwestern books to the Library.Following will be a program on thehistory of Abiquiu presented jointlyby Aubrey Owen, curator of theGhost Ranch Museum, and AugustinGarcia of Abiquiu. Details are stillbeing worked, so contact ChapterPresident Willard Lewis at505-984-2978 for specifics if you arenot a Chapter member, but areinterested in attending.
In addition to programs, the Chapterhas other activities to report. ChapterPresident Willard Lewis provided atwo-hour December training sessionon the Old Spanish Trail to morethan 50 Palace of the Governorsdocents and staff.
Chapter board member Pat Kuhlhoffis researching requirements forobtaining permission to erect trailinterpretive markers in Santa Fe andAbiquiu, and perhaps other sites inNew Mexico.
Chapter members Richard and MarieGreene, Robert Shlaer, CharlesBennett, Charles and Judy Querfeld,and Dr. Tom Chavez are assisting inplanning and arrangements for theOSTA annual conference in Taos onJune 10-11.
Finally, the Chapter has been invitedto participate in a Trails Commemo-ration Project involving the Santa FeTrail, the Camino Real, and the OldSpanish Trail. Chapter PresidentLewis is serving on a steering
5Spring 2000
Southern CaliforniaThe Southern California Chaptercontinues to grow. 1999 was abanner year with the dedication ofthe plaque in La Plaza of Old LosAngeles in January, followed by fivewell-attended outings, three lastspring (previously reported in Span-ish Traces) and two this past fall.
Jane Stewart, one of our most activeand enthusiastic members, did all theplanning for the October 22-24outing. We met Saturday morning inShoshone (some came in Fridaynight and camped). After visiting anold desert mine, we drove east toMountain Springs, Nevada, wherewe were joined by ten members ofthe newly formed Las Vegas Chap-ter. After lunch, we followed HaroldSteiner, author of the just-publishedThe Old Spanish Trail Across theMojave Desert, west, staying asclose as possible to the original routeof the trail. We visited Stump Springand Emigrant Pass, where traces ofthe trail can still be seen; and endedup at the oasis of Resting Springs,where owner and fellow OSTAmember Harry Godshall greeted us.The Las Vegas Chapter membersthen headed home, while most of ourSouthern California members re-mained overnight in Shoshone, someattending the performance at theAmargosa Opera House thatevening. Sunday we visited ChinaRanch and walked along a stretch ofthe Amargosa River before heading
home.
For our second fall outing, 26 of usassembled at the Mojave-RiverValley Museum Saturday morning,November 20. Cliff Walker, a mu-seum founder and noted MojaveDesert authority, led us eastward toFork-of-the-Road, where the OldSpanish Trail branched away fromthe Mojave Trail, then northeastthrough Spanish Canyon, up to“Impassable Pass,” and on to BitterSprings, a crucial waterhole nowwithin the boundaries of the FortIrwin Military Reservation.
These two great fall outings made usfamiliar with the Old Spanish Trailthrough most of the Californiadesert. The hardships of the originaltravelers of this most historic path-way were easy to imagine.
John Robinson, ChairmanFullerton, California
Las VegasThe Las Vegas Chapter had itsorganizational meeting last Septem-ber. We got the ball rolling with afield trip led by Stan Rolfe (BLM)and Hal Steiner, which had greatpress coverage in the Las Vegasnewspaper. Our charter meeting wasin November attended by OSTAPresident Charles Querfeld. We nowhave 16 paid members, and a muchlarger E-mailing list.
The elected officers of the Las Vegaschapter are:President: Nick SainesVice President: Hal Steiner, authorof a recently published book on theOST through the MojaveTreasurer: Chris Macek, ranger atthe Old Mormon Fort on the OST inLas VegasSecretary: Karen EarleyDirector: Liz Warren, historian and
on the National Board of Directorsof OSTADirector: Helen Mortenson, one ofthe movers and shakers in the preser-vation community in Las Vegas.
Hal Steiner showed Nick Saines thelast stretch of intact OST in the LasVegas metropolitan area and Nicklaunched an all-out effort to try tosave the stretch from development,although warned that it was too late.In spite of great press coverage and alot of interest from citizens andmembers, the fight had to be aban-doned. One developer agreed,however, to put in a little park and aplaque on the Trail on his property.We are now trying to preserve theTrail just outside the metropolitanarea.
In January we had a wonderful meet-ing at former Lieutenant GovernorLonnie Hammargren’s house/mu-seum, where western artist Roy Purcelldisplayed and lectured on his art re-lated to the OST. In March Hal led afour-wheel drive trip along the OSTbetween Las Vegas and Blue Diamond(Cottonwood Springs), including awalk on some relatively pristinestretches.
Upcoming events in Las Vegas: OnApril 8 the reconstructed MormonFort will be dedicated, presided overby Chris Macek. The same day NickSaines is leading a combined SierraClub/OSTA field trip along the OSTnear China Ranch in California.In May the chapter will be participat-ing in the Statewide Archaeologicaland Historic Preservation Week –May 14 through 20. We will have atable at the Southern Nevada Ar-chaeology and History Festival onthe 14th and will have a walk alongthe OST in Blue Diamond on the20th.
Nick Saines, PresidentLas Vegas, Nevada
committee with other trails represen-tatives, officials of the State TourismDepartment, the Santa Fe Conven-tion and Visitors Bureau, and thePalace of the Governors HistoryMuseum. An event may take place asearly as October of this year.
Willard LewisSanta Fe, New Mexico
6 Spring 2000
The Old Spanish TrailThe Old Spanish TrailThe Old Spanish TrailThe Old Spanish TrailThe Old Spanish Trail
Significant in the Opening of the WestSignificant in the Opening of the WestSignificant in the Opening of the WestSignificant in the Opening of the WestSignificant in the Opening of the West
The Spanish Trail was a significant corridor in the opening of the West. Effortsto find the best and most direct routes to the Pacific in the gold rush era, ledPacific railroad surveyors over long segments of the Spanish Trail and broughtthe American Southwest largely out of its logistical isolation. But by 1858, the“Map of the Utah Territory Showing Routes Connecting it with California andthe East,” issued by the Corps of Topographical Engineers, carried the bold phrase“Region Unexplored Scientifically.” Supplementing the work of the railroad sur-veys, the explorations of the Topographical Engineers and the scientific surveysof Hayden and Wheeler, many of which followed the Spanish Trail route, vastlyincreased America’s geological and geographical knowledge of the region. More-over, the Spanish Trail helped government explorers fill in the blank places onthe map of the United States. In addition, the yet unexploited areas of the Westcould be easily accessed via the Spanish Trail by miners, farmers, cattlemen, andlumbermen who studied the government publications and maps. (The map pub-lished as a result of the 1859 Macomb military expedition, which located over200 miles of the Spanish Trail route, provided valuable information for men rush-ing into Colorado’s mineral-rich Southern Rockies and for cattlemen who sup-plied the miners with beef.) Beyond plotting the easiest routes into the West,these studies delineated the irrigable lands, revealed the mineral resources, andmapped the vast timber and grazing lands. Furthermore, 19th century travelersof the Spanish Trail enhanced the West’s historical literature and helped debunkthe geographical myths, including El Dorados and fictitious lakes, streams, andmountain ranges.
Editor’s Note: Madsen’s listing of U.S. Government Publications that reflect the significance of the Old SpanishTrail in facilitating the mapping, examination, and description of the West’s vast resources follow. Detailed ar-ticles by contributing authors on Fremont’s 2nd Expedition, Brewerton, Gunnison, Marcy, and Fort Jurupa alsofollow. The trail made possible gathering of basic scientific information of the region; and the world could see theAmerican Southwest that had formerly been blank space on maps of the United States.
Contributed by Steven K. MadsenContributed by Steven K. MadsenContributed by Steven K. MadsenContributed by Steven K. MadsenContributed by Steven K. Madsen
7Spring 2000
U.S. Congress. House. Ex. Doc. 91, 33rd Cong., 2d sess.: “Reports of Explorations and Surveys, to Ascertain the MostPracticable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Made under the directionof the Secretary of War, in 1853-4, according to Acts of Congress of March 3, 1853, May 31, 1854, and August 5, 1854.” Vol.2, Washington, D.C.: A. O. P. Nicholson, Printer, 1855. (See pages 58, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, and 69.)
U.S. Congress. House. Ex. Doc. 193, 43rd Cong., 1st sess., 1874. (See pages 25, 26, 27, and 56 of “Reconnaissance in theUte Country. Letter from the Secretary of War, Transmitting a report and map of reconnaissance in the Ute country, made in1873 by Lieutenant E. H. Ruffner, of the Corps of Engineers.”)
U.S. Congress. Senate. Ex. Doc. 78, 33rd Cong., 2d sess.: “Report of Explorations and Surveys, to Ascertain the MostPracticable and Economical Route for a Railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Made under the directionof the Secretary of War, in 1853-4, According to Acts of Congress of March 3, 1853, May 31, 1854, and August 5, 1854.” Vol.3 (Washington, D. C.: Government Printing Office, 1856). (See pages 125, 130.)
U.S. Congress. Ex. Doc. 41, 30th Cong., 1st sess.: “Notes of a Military Reconnaissance from Fort Leavenworth, in Missouri,to San Diego, in California, including part of the Arkansas, Del Norte, and Gila Rivers. By Lieut. Col. W. H. Emory.” (Wash-ington, D.C.: Wendell and Van Benthuysen, Printers, 1848.) (See page 460 about the “famous mule trail from Santa Fe to the‘Pueblo de los Angeles’ in California.”)
Frémont, John C. Report of the Exploring Expedition to the Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842, and to Oregon and NorthCalifornia in the Years 1843-’44. By Brevet Captain J. C. Frémont, of the Topographical Engineers, under the orders of Col.J. J. Abert, Chief of the Topographical Bureau.”(Washington, D.C.: Gales & Seaton, Printers, 1845).(See pages 259,270,271.)
Hayden, F. V. Eighth Annual Report of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, EmbracingColorado and Parts of Adjacent Territories; Being a Report of Progress of Exploration for the Year 1874. (Washington, D.C.:Government Printing Office, 1876). (See page 377 of the Report of W. H. Jackson.)
Hayden, F. V. Ninth Annual Report of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, EmbracingColorado and Parts of Adjacent Territories: Being a Report of Progress of the Exploration for the Year 1875. (Washington,D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1877). (See page 349 of “Topographical Report on the Grand River District,” by HenryGannett.)
Hayden, F. V. Tenth Annual Report of the United States Geological and Geographical Survey of the Territories, EmbracingColorado and Parts of Adjacent Territories, Being a Report of Progress of the Exploration for the Year 1876. (Washington,D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1878). (See page 189 of “Report on the Geology of the Sierra Abajo and West San MiguelMountains, by W. H. Holmes.”)
Hayden, F. V. United States Geological and Geographical Surveys of the Territories, Geological and Geographical Atlas ofColorado and Portions of Adjacent Territory. (Washington, D.C.: Julius Bien, 1877). (See Sheet VIII.)
Macomb, John N. Report of an Exploring Expedition from Santa Fe, New Mexico, to the Junction of the Grand and GreenRivers of the Great Colorado of the West, in 1859, with Geological Report by Prof. J. S. Newberry. (Washington, D.C.:Government Printing Office, 1876). (See pages 6, 80, 81....)
Ruffner, E. H. Annual Report upon Explorations and Surveys in the Department of the Missouri, by E. H. Ruffner, FirstLieutenant of Engineers, U.S.A.; Being Appendix QQ of the Annual Report of the Chief of Engineers for 1876. (Washington,D.C.: Government Printing Office, 1876). (See page 20.)
Williamson, R. S. Reports of Explorations and Surveys to Ascertain the Most Practicable and Economical Route for a Rail-road from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean... Vol 5. (Washington, D.C.: Beverley Tucker, Printer, 1856). (See pages33-34 of “Report of Explorations in California for Railroad Routes to connect with the Routes near the 35th and 32d Parallelsof North Latitude.”)
Several 19th Century U.S. Government Publications that Document the Old Spanish Trail
8 Spring 2000
When John Charles Frémont setforth to explore trails and wildernessterrain of the Far West in the springof 1843, he was aspiring toward thepinnacle of his exploratory career. Asurvey of the Wind River Mountainsof central Wyoming the precedingyear launched Frémont’s reputationas America’s Pathfinder. Examina-tion of the Sweetwater River andlegendary South Pass during thatfirst expedition culminated in aprecise map identifying one of themost important routes through theRocky Mountain barrier. Frémont’swell-received, exuberant reportdescribing America’s frontier,viewed for decades as a desertwasteland useless to civilized agrar-ian peoples, encouraged thousandsof migrants to head west toward thetwin promises of new land and newfortunes.
The objective of train-like massmigrations of settlers walking,pushing handcarts or driving wagonsladen with precious relics fromabandoned lives was the PacificNorthwest—specifically Oregon.From 1818 to 1846 the United Statesand Britain disputed the right to layclaim to this fruitful land. A fewbold missionaries tentatively rein-forced the United States’ claim, butCanadian trappers and British
soldiers presented a real threat toAmerica’s expansionist plans.Marcus Whitman’s daring ride fromhis Columbia River mission to Taos,New Mexico, via the Cochetopabranch of the Old Spanish Trail, andthence to Washington, D.C. to lobbyCongress to “save Oregon for theUnion,” fired patriotic ambitions tosecure what political propagandistsof the day promoted as America’sterritorial right to extend its borderto the Pacific Ocean. The youngnation’s Manifest Destiny dreamdepended upon large congregationsof settlers successfully migratingacross a vast and hostile landscape.
Suddenly famous, but still remark-ably young, John Charles Frémontreceived his commission for asecond expedition with specificorders to explore the Oregon Trail tothe Pacific coast. Private confer-ences with his superiors may alsohave brought suggestions to scopethe strength of Britain’s presence andhow far toward California, already afabled Eldorado, the British mayhave extended their influence. TheUnited States’ clear title ended at theRocky Mountains, western boundaryof Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase;but the Lewis and Clark expeditionhad carried America’s flag to themouth of the Columbia River.
Explorations dating back toCoronado and Cabrillo (1539-40)secured Mexico’s claim to Californiaand an interior mountain and basindomain that the United States wouldeventually carve into five states—Nevada, Utah, Arizona, NewMexico, and Colorado. But Britain,already in control of the vast regionof North America known as Canada,considered adding the Far West totheir ever-expanding empire a fairprospect.
The government guide hired to leadFrémont westward over the OregonTrail was a crusty Missourian namedThomas “Brokenhand” Fitzpatrickwho had considerable experiencewithin the western mountains.Charles Preuss, whose grumblingdiary entries provide insightfulcomments on Frémont, Kit Carson,and the 1842 expedition in general,again served as cartographer. With-out official sanction, Frémont de-cided to drag along a brass cannon.An uneasiness had haunted the 1842expedition after Jim Bridger spread awild rumor about several tribespreparing for warfare. PerhapsFrémont felt apprehensive about thekind of reception the 1843 expedi-tion might encounter not only alongthe trail but also within disputedterritory. Whatever Frémont’s rea-soning, the cannon became a nui-sance and slowed the expedition’sprogress. However, as a militaryleader Frémont dared not ditch theartillery piece where it might fallinto civilian or hostile use.
Frémont’s second expedition de-parted from Kaw Landing (KansasCity) May 30, 1843. Touted as oneof the best-outfitted expeditions toleave the Missouri frontier, they
John Charles Frémont’s SecondExpedition and the Old Spanish
Trailby Patricia Joy Richmond
9Spring 2000
carried scientific instruments essen-tial for an accurate and completesurvey and enough supplementalprovisions for an absence of eightmonths. Fourteen months wouldpass before the 39 well-seasonedfrontiersmen who joined Frémont,including some veterans of the 1842expedition, would return to anxiousfamilies. Amazingly, consideringsevere weather, formidable terrain,hostile encounters with nativepeople, and intrusions into disputedand foreign lands, only two membersof the party perished. (The expedi-tion could have ranked as a disasteralong with Frémont’s 1848-49 fourthexpedition in which one third of themen who entered the San JuanMountains of Colorado died ofhypothermia and starvation.)
More to the chance of luck, particu-larly in securing guides who hadfirst-hand knowledge of trails andterrain, Frémont’s career as thePathfinder would remain secure. Hisreport for the 1843-44 expeditiongave potential migrants an accurateand extensive portrayal of NorthAmerica’s western frontier. Thoughnot anticipated at the time of depar-ture, one of the major contributionsof Frémont’s second expeditionwould be exploration of the highdesert basin and range country lyingbetween the Rocky Mountains andCalifornia. Frémont’s careful docu-mentation of the landscapes andresources would provide essentialknowledge for anyone bound toCalifornia via either the HumboldtRiver or the Spanish Trail.
To accommodate the inconveniencepresented by a train of carts and thecannon, Frémont took to dividing hisexpedition into two parties. With a
smaller group able to travel morerapidly, Frémont would scout un-known terrain while the main partyproceeded along known routes. KitCarson, who had established afriendship with Frémont whileserving as guide for the 1842 expedi-tion, sometimes worked as a hunterfor Bent’s Fort on the ArkansasRiver. Upon hearing about
Frémont’s new expedition, Carsonjoined ranks at El Pueblo withouteven bothering to say farewell to hisnew bride in Taos. Frémont hiredCarson as a guide, but at lower paythan Fitzpatrick who continued asthe official guide for the main party.
After celebrating Independence Dayat Fort St. Vrain, the reunited expe-dition moved to a camp on the BigThompson River before headingnorth toward the Cache la Poudre.Fitzpatrick and the main partycontinued over known trails toward
the Sweetwater River and SouthPass. (In 1824, Fitzpatrick hadwintered near South Pass with furtrapping comrade Jedediah Smith.)Frémont’s smaller party examined aroad leading through an unexplored“high prairie, broken by buttes andboulders, with scattered cedars, thedividing ground between theLaramie and Cache la Poudre.”
Mapping the legendary South Passhad opened a northern route throughthe Rockies to each and all whodreamed of venturing west. How-ever, hordes of migrants bound forOregon quickly denuded land ad-joining the trail of firewood andpasture. The influx of travelers intoremote, wild country also threatenedother natural resources essential tosurvival. Locating alternate routes tothe Pacific would become an impor-tant and necessary objective ofFrémont’s second expedition.
Fremont’s two parties reunited onthe Sweetwater River August 9 andthen proceeded to the Green Rivervia South Pass. By September, theexpedition, in passing through theBear River Valley on the Idaho-Utahborder, skirted north of the WasatchMountains. Upon arriving at theGreat Salt Lake (first encountered byJim Bridger in 1824), Frémont and asmall party took an India rubber boatout to an island where they spent thenight making astronomical and otherscientific observations. A suddenstorm almost caused a disaster withthe boat and its occupants as theyreturned to shore the next day.
After a stop at Fort Hall, Frémont’sexpedition continued their journeytoward Oregon by a route compa-rable to modern U.S. Highway 30
10 Spring 2000
(replaced in part by Interstate 84). Infollowing the Snake River, theypassed the American Falls andcamped at “Riviére Boisée” (BigWoods River) to arrive at Fort NezPercé on the mighty Columbia thelast week in October. Leaving theircarts with friendly American settlerson the “Walahwalah,” Frémont’sparty transferred supplies to packanimals. The trip along the Colum-bia Gorge provided fantastic viewsof Mount Hood, Mount St. Helenand “Mt. Regneir,” [sic], the lattertwo spewing volcanic ash.
Frémont found many Americans atFort Vancouver while noting othershad already set to colonizing the“Walahmette” Valley. British agentsof the Hudson Bay Company pro-vided a cordial reception for theexplorer and members of his party,but Frémont did not tarry. Instead,the expedition, fortified with provi-sions sufficient for three months,headed east up the Columbia as ifreturning to the States. However,upon reaching the Dalles inmid-November, Frémont turnedsouth at the Deschutes River tofollow a route first traveled andmapped by Peter Skene Ogden.(Ogden, working for the Hudson BayCompany, retraced his entire routefrom Fort Clatsop to the HumboldtRiver in 1829.) The mild coastalclimate, which permeates much ofthe Columbia’s rift-like gorge,vanished as the second expeditiontrudged through snow-clad moun-tains in central Oregon.
Upon reaching the headwaters of theKlamath River in southern Oregon,Frémont turned southeast to passalong the east shore of Goose Lake.During Christmas week the expedi-
tion crossed the corner of California,near the modern town of Alturas, toenter a desert wilderness. Frémontmay have anticipated finding theHumboldt River, thereby connectingwith Ogden’s 1828 route to the GreatSalt Lake. (The Humboldt Riverwould become Frémont’s routewestward toward California on histhird expedition.) Certainly Frémonthoped not only to explore the GreatBasin, but also to ascertain existenceof the fabled Buenaventura Riverwhich supposedly linked the GreatSalt Lake to the Pacific Ocean. Tothis end his intended line lay throughterritory “absolutely new to geo-graphical, botanical, and geologicalsciences.”
Even today, the northwest corner ofNevada comprises a formidable,desolate region subject to danger-ously unpredictable weatherchanges. Frémont’s report describesalkaline lakes, boiling springs, mudflats, black rock deserts, and the oddformation characterizing PyramidLake. Following along the westernedge of the lava beds and dry lakelowlands, where cold air settles in apuddle as in a chest-style, deepfreeze, the expedition arrived at ameadowland basin now encroachedby modern Reno’s condominiums,resorts and golf courses. Frigid airsweeping off the glaciated peaks inmid-January, coldest of wintermonths, sapped waning strengthfrom men and animals.
Frémont had intruded into Mexicanterritory soon after passing GooseLake. During the trek across the lavadesert, the expedition acquired somesupplemental provisions by tradingwith Indians for piñon nuts andantelope meat. However, one-third
of their 104 horses and mules eitherhad been stolen or had perishedenroute. Compromised by diminish-ing supplies and dying animals, theexpedition’s survival now hingedupon a drastic decision.
To avert potential starvation andcomplete disaster, Frémont and hismen had three options: 1) Stay put toregain strength while hoping severeweather or blizzards would notcompletely destroy any prospect forsurvival; 2) Continue to push eastwith hopes of finding some reliefwith friendly Indians or at one of themountain man outposts; 3) Cross theformidable Sierra Nevada barrier.Only the last promised warmerweather, hospitality, and an opportu-nity to re-supply if the expeditioncould successfully endure passagethrough the mountains. Evenexperience-toughened Kit Carson,renowned as having seen and done itall as trapper and mountain man,declared they had no choice but toascend the Sierras to save the expe-dition. Frémont’s men may haveconcurred, but not without reserva-tion.
Today, with knowledge of regionalclimate and modern highwayspassing through towns filled withplaces for lodging, gas, and food, itbecomes easy to second-guessdecisions made by pioneering ex-plorers like Frémont. Nevada, withits desolate, and basin and rangeconfiguration, holds more desertregions than Arizona. Farther east liethe mountain ranges of Utah andmile upon mile of dry, labyrinthcanyons. The Colorado Plateau,buttressing the west face of theRocky Mountains, remained asuntamed as any other mid-19th
11Spring 2000
century western wilderness.
For two decades mountain men hadtraipsed into California either to huntbeaver or to procure horses andmules. Lured by tales of “perpetualspring,” several parties of settlershad already migrated from Missouriinto the upper Sacramento Valley tosettle near the fort of John Sutter.Like the mountain men who eventu-ally took roots in Taos and Santa Fe,Sutter and his American neighborsagreed to pledge fidelity to Mexicanlaw in exchange for the privilege oftaking up land. The Mexican au-thorities, following their Spanishforefathers’ policy of establishingoutliers populated with ChristianizedIndians or half-breeds (half Spanish,half French), tolerated the outsidersby assigning them to buffer areasmost likely to carry the brunt ofattacks by “wild” Indians, that isNative groups not conscripted asslave labor for the California mis-sion system.
Speculation cannot fully explainFrémont’s motive in his decision todetour from the well-known trailleading back to the States. ManifestDestiny advocates, like Frémont’sfather-in-law, Missouri’s SenatorThomas Hart Benton, had alreadycast an American eye toward Cali-fornia. Santa Fe Trail travelers andtraders, familiar with politicaldissatisfactions in New Mexico,hinted a friendly reception if theUnited States ever decided to inter-vene in Mexico’s affairs. PerhapsFrémont deliberately took his mis-sion toward Mexican territory notonly to determine whether theBritish had extended their influenceinto northern California, remotefrom the scrutiny of Mexican offi-
cials, but also to assess the mind-setof Californians both native andforeign born.
While attempting to cross the SierraNevadas in mid-winter may appearfoolhardy in hindsight, Frémont’smen had accepted that alternative asthe most likely prospect for theirsurvival. Success would allow theexpedition to acquire fresh animalsand adequate supplies for the jour-ney home. Success could affordFrémont opportunity to evaluate thesituation in California and to deter-mine sympathies of colonists and
foreign settlers. The secondexpedition’s fateful decision alsowould place Frémont in the positionof leading the first U.S. militaryexpedition across the Old SpanishTrail.
Sierra Nevada slopes and summitscommonly receive a half dozen feetof snow at a time. Unable to secure aguide among local Indians, whowarned of extreme danger by repeat-ing their word for snow (anglicizedto the name, Lake Tahoe), the secondexpedition headed toward the moun-tains on its own. Finally, Frémontgave an order to abandon the can-non. Marching south along the footof the Sierras, possibly in search ofJedediah Smith’s pass (EbbettsPass), the expedition made camp in a
“relatively benign basin” at theeastern base of the mountains.(Historians tend to place the expedi-tion in the vicinity of Grover HotSprings.)
On February 1, the men receivedpermission to kill and eat a dog thathad been a traveling companionsince the Bear River. The expeditioneasily covered 16 miles February 2;the next day, seven miles. By dayfour, they were mired in deep snows.The struggling pack animals refusedto move until relieved of baggage.One man, Baptiste Derosier, disap-peared. (Listed as lost, he eventuallyfound his own way back to Mis-souri.) On the 18th day of theirordeal, February 20, 1844, theexpedition topped a summit south ofLake Tahoe. (Discussion continuesamong knowledgeable historians indetermining exactly which pass thesecond expedition took across theSierras.) Using a spyglass, Carsonspotted landmarks familiar from histrapping days with Ewing Young.Frémont estimated they had traveled1,000 miles since leaving the Dalles.
During their descent of the pass, theexpedition started killing their packanimals for food. Charles Preuss losthis way and wandered for three dayswithout sustenance except ants,small frogs and wild onions. (Fromthen forward Preuss’s diary entriesreflect a changed attitude towardwilderness life.) After another 14days of mountain travel downheadwaters of the Rio de losAmericanos, Frémont’s rag-tagsecond expedition finally reachedSutter’s Fort. A full month oflife-threatening ordeals had broughtthem to relief. One half of the packanimals forced across the mountains
Frémont’s secondexpedition was thefirst United States
military expedition totravel the Old Spanish
Trail
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had survived. The expedition lin-gered two weeks to recuperate whileFrémont conferred with Sutter andneighboring British and Americansettlers.
On March 22, 1844, with the comingof spring, Frémont and his mendeparted from the SacramentoValley. Keeping a low profile andavoiding coastal communities so asnot to aggravate concern amongMexican officials, the expeditionmoved south along the SacramentoRiver toward the juncture with theSan Joaquin River. “ Our directcourse home was east, but the Sierrawould force us south some 500miles of travelling, to a pass at thehead of the San Joaquin River.”Having obtained a description ofWalker Pass (on highway 178 east ofmodern Bakersfield), Frémontanticipated exiting California viathat route through the Sierra Nevada.(Missourian Joseph Walker had beena member of Bonneville’s 110 mantrapping party that traveled fromtheir Green River outpost to explorebeaver prospects in California in1832. Later, in 1843, Walker openedthe main cutoff into California fromthe Oregon Trail when he took aparty into California via theHumboldt River. Walker’s routebecame the gold rush trunkline intoCalifornia--the California Trail.)
Continuing southward past the TuléLakes, where fog lay so thick theyhad to navigate by compass, theexpedition crossed a large streamwhich Frémont identified as themain headwater of the San Joaquin.(This river now bears the name KernRiver in honor of Edward Kern, whowould serve with Frémont’s thirdand fourth expeditions.) Frémont’s
April 9th journal entry reads, “Wehave here approached considerablynearer to the eastern Sierra, whichshows very plainly, still covered withmasses of snow, which yesterday andto-day has also appeared abundanton the Coast Range.” Upon missingthe trail leading to Walker Pass, theexpedition’s objective would be-come the road known as the SpanishTrail, which tied the northern NewMexican capital of Santa Fe toCalifornia’s el pueblo de los angelesand nearby mission communities.
Frémont’s local guide advised that abroad road, “Buen camino,” allowedeasy travel through ensuing hillswhich Frémont described as “verybroken country.” In approaching apass (identified by Donald Jacksonand Mary Lee Spence as Oak CreekPass about five miles fromTehachapi Pass [7]), the expeditionencountered a dry stream bed im-pregnated with numerous horse andIndian tracks. “We ascended a trailfor a few miles along the creek, andsuddenly found a stream of waterfive feet wide, running with a livelycurrent, but losing itself almostimmediately.” Their camp in a“handsome, green oak hollow”contained enough grass and peavines to feed their livestock andhorses.
After conferring with a “ChristianIndian” on furlough from the SanFernando mission, Frémont re-marked, “I have entered the pass[Oak Creek] with a strong disposi-tion to vary my route, and to traveldirectly across towards the GreatSalt lake [sic], in the view of obtain-ing some acquaintance with theinterior of the Great Basin, whilepursuing a direct course for the
frontier; but his representation,which described it as an arid andbarren desert, that had repulsed byits sterility all the attempts of theIndians to penetrate it, determinedme for the present to relinquish theplan; and, agreeably to his advice,after crossing the Sierra, continueour intended route along its easternbase to the Spanish trail. By thisroute, a party of six Indians, who hadcome from a great river in theeastern part of the desert to tradewith his people, had just started ontheir return.”
Frémont’s new associate agreed toaccompany the expedition for a fewdays. April 14, Frémont wrote: “Aswe reached the summit of thisbeautiful pass [filled with trees,flowers, hummingbirds and “otherfeathered friends”] and obtained aview into the eastern country, wesaw at once that here was the placeto take leave of all such pleasantscenes as those around us. Thedistant mountains were now baldrocks again; and below the land hadany color but green.” According toFrémont, the road over this pass[Oak Creek], which he found excel-lent for horse travel, could be im-proved to accommodate wagonswith a bit of labor:
“We here left the waters of thebay of San Francisco, and,though forced upon themcontrary to my intentions, Icannot regret the necessitywhich occasioned the deviation.It made me well acquaintedwith the great range of theSierra Nevada of the AltaCalifornia ... it also made mewell acquainted with the basinof the San Francisco bay and
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with the two pretty rivers andtheir valleys, (the Sacramentoand San Joaquin,) which aretributary to that bay, and clearedup some points in geography onwhich error had long prevailed.It had been constantly repre-sented, as I have already stated,that the bay of San Franciscoopened far into the interior, bysome river coming down fromthe base of the Rocky moun-tains, and upon which supposedstream the name of RioBuenaventura had been be-stowed. Our observations of theSierra Nevada, in the longdistance from the head of theSacramento to the head of theSan Joaquin, and of the valleybelow it, which collects all thewaters of the San Francisco bay,show that this neither is nor canbe the case. No river from theinterior does, or can, cross theSierra Nevada. …”
Considering the number of migrantsdestined to invade California, thisenlightenment about the geographyof the region might well justifyFrémont’s determination to explorethe Mexican territories.
Frémont’s remarks further reinforcethe purpose of his mission as well asthe importance of United States’claims to the Oregon territory:“There is no opening from the bay ofSan Francisco into the interior of thecontinent. The two rivers which flowinto it are comparatively short, andnot perpendicular to the coast, butlateral to it, and having their headstowards Oregon and southern Cali-fornia. They open lines of communi-cation north and south, and noteastwardly; and thus this want of
interior communication from the SanFrancisco bay, now fully ascertained,gives great additional value to theColumbia, which stands alone as theonly great river on the Pacific slopeof our continent which leads fromthe ocean to the Rocky mountains,and opens a line of communicationfrom the sea to the valley of theMississippi.”
Having reached the land of Joshuatrees and cacti, the expeditioncontinued its southward journey --“the trail on which we rode appear-ing to describe the eastern limit oftravel, where water and grass termi-nated.” Through heat and haze, theyobserved a few barren buttes andridges. Frémont’s guide spread hishands and described the scene of“the great llanos, ‘no hay agua; nohay zacaté—nada: there is neitherwater nor grass—nothing; everyanimal that goes out upon them,dies.’ It was indeed dismal to lookupon, and hard to conceive so great achange in so short a distance. Onemight travel the world over, withoutfinding a valley more fresh andverdant ... than we had left in theSan Joaquin here, with a few milesride, a vast desert plain spreadbefore us, from which the boldesttraveller turned away in despair.”
The second expedition had become amotley conglomeration. In Frémont’swords, “forced south by a desert onone hand, and a mountain range onthe other: guided by a civilizedIndian, attended by two wild onesfrom the Sierra; a Chinook from theColumbia; and our own mixture ofAmerican, French, German--allarmed; four or five languages heardat once; above a hundred horses andmules, half wild; American, Spanish,
and Indian dresses and equipmentsintermingled—such was our compo-sition.” The procession, with scoutstaking the lead, pack and stockanimals in the middle, stretched aquarter of a mile, often in a state ofundisciplined confusion.
On April 15, a snowy range stretch-ing eastward came into view as theexpedition continued their marchsouth. After riding all day throughfields of orange poppies, theyreached a series of hollows wheretheir guide announced, “a este piedrahay agua.” Frémont commented, “Heappeared to know every nook in thecountry. We continued our beautifulroad, and reached a spring in theslope, at the foot of the ridge...” Incrossing Cajon Pass (north of mod-ern San Bernadino) on April 17, theyarrived at a small lake with alkaline,but drinkable, water. Before turningsouthwest toward his mission, theguide pointed to a dark butte on theeastern horizon, “aqui es camino, ...no se piedre -- va siempre.” Usingthis landmark, Frémont proceededalong a barely visible trail to reach“the Spanish trail, deviously tracedfrom one watering place to another,which constitutes the route of thecaravans from Pueblo de los Ange-les, near the coast of the Pacific, toSanta Fé of New Mexico.”
Excitement filled the air on April 20:“...after a difficult march of 18miles, a general shout announcedthat we had struck the great object ofour search--THE SPANISH TRAIL,which here was running directlynorth.” Since leaving the ColumbiaGorge in mid-November, the expedi-tion had moved south and away fromtheir intended line of return. “Thecourse of the road, therefore, was
14 Spring 2000
what we wanted; and, once more, wefelt like going homewards. A road totravel on, and the right course to go,were joyful consolations to us; andour animals enjoyed the beaten tracklike ourselves.”
Wind became their traveling com-panion. Frémont noted that most ofthe information provided about thetrail by people claiming to havepassed over it was inaccurate.Waterholes were nonexistent, dry, oralkaline. Probably due to springrunoff, rivers surfaced where nonesupposedly existed. Although theroad had been described as sandyand gentle to horse’s hooves, theexpedition “found it the roughestand rockiest road we had everseen...” According to Frémont, thetrail destroyed many animals everyyear with “a disease called the footevil.”
Finding that even streams severalfeet deep eventually disappeared intothe sand, Frémont determined, “Wewere now careful to take the oldcamping places of the annual SantaFé caravans, which, luckily for us,had not yet made their yearly pas-sage. A drove of several thousandhorses and mules would entirelyhave swept away the scanty grass atthe watering places...”
The expedition continued along thedry bed of the Mojave River, whichthe Spaniards had named Rio de lasAnimas, to one of the usual camp-grounds where they encounteredsome Mojave Indians, each of whomcarried a cord-wrapped gourd can-teen. From one Spanish-speakingmission Indian, Frémont learnedabout various groups living alongthe Rio Colorado. These Indians had
brought goods over the trail to tradewith the “Indians of the Sierras.”The traders forewarned Frémontabout the difficulties of takinganimals across the desert as well ashorse thievery by the Paiutes in thevicinity of the Rio Virgen.
April 24, the second expeditionapproached a stretch of the trail thatpresented “a very long jornada ofperhaps sixty miles, without water.”Frémont’s men were engaged inbutchering and jerking meat fromthree cattle, which had succumbed to
the rigorous trek, when a Mexicanman, Andreas Fuentes, and an 11year old boy, Pablo Hernandez,approached the camp. Driving 30head of horses, their party had goneahead of “the great caravan” prepar-ing to depart from El Pueblo de losAngeles. The small Mexican partyhad stopped at “one of the customarycamping-grounds,” known as theArchilette (80 miles from Frémont’ssite), to await the arrival of the largercaravan. When a large party ofIndians invaded their camp, Fuentesand Hernandez, who were guardingthe horses, drove the herd away fromthe camp. Leaving the horses at awatering hole, Agua de Tomaso, thetwo horse guards then back-trackedin hopes of meeting some comradesalong the trail.
The second expedition had estab-
lished camp away from the maintrail, which veered from the river afew miles upstream. Frémont’s party,joined by the two Mexicans, recon-nected with the road which nowpassed through “a miserable tract ofsand and gravel” marked by blackridges, sand-filled basins, andboulder-strewn plains typical of highdesert country. Despite the misery ofthis and terrain, snow shone uponslopes of neighboring mountains. Inseemingly dry arroyos the men foundwaterholes, dug by wolves, filledwith two feet of fresh water.Frémont noted though barren oftrees, “the naked sand would bloomwith some rich and rare flower...”
Continuing eastnortheast through agap in the mountains, the expeditionapproached the spring known asAgua de Tomaso. Tracks revealedthat the horses left by the Mexicanshad been driven away. Frémont didnot wish to waste time seekingreprisal; but Carson and AlexisGodey, accompanied by Fuentes,offered to retrieve the animals.Fuentes returned to Frémont’s campat nightfall, but Carson and Godeyproceeded to the Indian camp. In amoment turned violent, the moun-taineers killed two Indians whomGodey proceeded to scalp. Thoughthe two men were successful insecuring the stolen horses, thebrutality of their act shocked Preusswho denounced the incident in hisdiary.
Advised by Fuentes that the next 40to 50 miles of trail lay throughelevated desert, the expeditiondeparted late afternoon to takeadvantage of traveling by moonlight.Frémont wrote, “the line of our roadwas marked by the skeletons of
Frémont’s expedition“found it [The OldSpanish Trail] the
roughest and rockiest roadwe had ever seen ...”
15Spring 2000
horses, which were strewed to aconsiderable breadth over the plain.We were afterwards always warnedon entering one of these longstretches, by the bones of theseanimals, which had perished beforethey could reach the water.” As ifheat and lack of water were notenough misery, the expeditionendured a sandstorm of gale forcewinds. (This stretch held only bitterwater termed Amargosa by theSpaniards.) After a day’s journey of12 miles, Frémont’s men found agreen valley at the foot of the moun-tain, “the best camping ground wehad seen since we struck the Spanishtrail.” Here were springs with freshwater and sufficient grass to refreshthe livestock.
The Archilette [Resting Spring],where the Mexicans had camped, layseven miles farther north over one ofthe worst stretches of desert yet to beencountered. While traveling,Fuentes advised Frémont of apulpy-fleshed plant eaten by travel-ers to slake thirst. Amid sand sur-rounded by black ridges, theArchilette presented an oasis ofgrass, willows, and springs. Uponentering the silent campsite, theexpedition found Fuentes’compadres massacred and mutilated;the women, apparently taken cap-tive. “A little lap-dog, which hadbelonged to Pablo’s mother, re-mained with the dead bodies, andwas frantic with joy at seeing Pablo:he, poor child, was frantic with grief,and filled the air withlamentations...’Mi padre! -- mimadre!’ -- was his incessant cry.”Frémont commented that “thispitiable sight” and consideration ofthe fate of the two women removedany “compunction” members of
expedition had about Godey andCarson’s victims. Frémont renamedthis camp Agua de Hernandez andleft a note describing the tragicevents for the caravan that wouldarrive from the west.
For several days the road continuedacross desert terrain typical along thesouthern California-Nevada border.The expedition repeatedly had to digfor water. As horses gave out,Fuentes would cut off mane and tailto make horse-hair girths beforeabandoning the animals to their fate.After traveling from 12 to 24 milesper day through this rugged region ina slightly northeasterly direction, theexpedition made camp in a large,spring-fed, marshy plain--las Vegas.
“Two narrow streams of clear water,four or five feet deep” gushed fromtwo large warm springs. AlthoughFrémont considered the water toowarm for a pleasant drink (at 70 plusdegrees), the springs provided theweary travelers with refreshingbaths.
Next day the expedition set forthearly, but soon found thesuper-heated air oppressive. Skel-etons of horses warned of “anotherdry jornada, which proved thelongest we had made in all ourjourney—between fifty and sixtymiles without a drop of water.”About midnight the wild mules,smelling water, began running aheadand in a few miles the expedition,after 16 hours of “uninterruptedmarch,” arrived at the Rio de losAngeles [Muddy River] branch ofthe Rio Virgen.
The animals needed a full-day’s restin this place, but Indians forced the
men to establish a diligent watch.The Indians’ actions seemed hostileand provoking for conflict; but“peace being our objective,”Frémont only ordered his men toremain defensive. A small party, whohad backtracked after some strayedhorses, reported finding flesh of thebutchered animals hung on bushes todry. A present of a worn-out horse toone group that evening initiated adinful lament among others lessfortunate. Frémont’s journal does notpresent a kindly description of thesedesert people, whom he designatedas “Diggers” speaking a Utah lan-guage.
The expedition managed to departtheir camp without incident. Afteranother 20 mile stretch of desolation,they reached a river described byFrémont as “A torrent, passingswiftly by, and roaring againstobstructions.” Having reached theVirgin River, flowing southwestfrom snow-covered mountains insouthern Utah toward the Rio Colo-rado, the expedition proceededalong the river bottom. Indians,prowling in bands, waited for oppor-tunity to prey upon any animals leftbehind to rest for a few hours. Aftertraveling upstream about 28 miles,Frémont’s men realized they had losttrack of the road in the sandy soiland had followed an Indian trailthrough the brush-choked rivercanyon. “In a few hours the huntersreturned, having found a convenientford in the river, and discovered theSpanish trail on the other side.”
Unfortunately, this camp broughtanother fatal encounter with Indians.When one man, Tabeau, who hadleft camp to search for a mule, failedto return, Carson and a small party
16 Spring 2000
rode out to investigate smoke risingfrom a cottonwood grove. Theyfound the mule mortally woundedwith an arrow, but no sign of Tabeauexcept a trace of blood on some dryleaves. With dark approaching, thescouts returned to the main camp.Next morning Fitzpatrick, Frémont,and several others resumed thesearch which revealed that Tabeauprobably had been wounded,dragged to the river, and thrown inas nothing of him, or his property,remained but blood on beaten-downbushes. “We wished to avenge hisdeath; but the condition of ourhorses, languishing for grass andrepose, forbade an expedition intounknown mountains.” Frémontobserved that the Indians who hadpestered the expedition the previousdays now disappeared completely.
If not for this tragedy, Frémont’smen might have welcomed thedrastic topographical change in thecountry through which the trail nowled. “Our camp was in a basin belowa deep cañon—a gap of two thou-sand feet deep in the mountain—through which the Rio Virgen passes,and where no man or beast couldfollow it. The Spanish trail, whichwe had lost in the sands of the basin,was on the opposite side of the river.We crossed over to it, and followedit northwardly toward a gap whichwas visible in the mountains.” Formile upon mile, mountains hadpresented an image of barren,boulder-strewn rock. Now the slopesbegan to show cedar and pine, and“clusters of trees gave shelter tobirds—a new and welcome sight...”
The morale of the expedition im-proved as they proceeded throughthis more hospitable terrain. In the
distance one snowy range loomedbehind another. The evening of May10 they found a good campsite onthe Santa Clara River. After 27 daysspent crossing the desert, the menexperienced their first rain. The roadfollowing the Santa Clara fork wasnot easy. The change in weather aswell as the terrain, now covered withpine and cottonwood, indicated theirdesert ordeal lay behind them.
In approaching the dividing summitbetween the waters of the Virgin andSevier rivers, the animals grazed onabundant grass. The expedition hadarrived at “las Vegas de SantaClara,” which had been so longpresented to us as the terminatingpoint of the desert, and where theannual caravan from California toNew Mexico halted and recruited forsome weeks.” The mile-wide,ten-mile long vegas, surrounded bysnow-covered peaks, afforded bothmen and animals a welcome andmuch needed change. Frémontdecided that all deserved “somerelaxation from the severity of campduty; ... for camp guards, horseguards, and scouts are indispensablefrom the time of leaving the frontiersof Missouri until we return to them.”
Another six months would passbefore Frémont, and his men wouldarrive in St. Louis. By good fortune,or as Diego de Vargas would havenoted in his journal providenciadivina, mountain man Joseph Walkeralso had departed California with ahorse caravan. Seeing signs of thesecond expedition’s trek through thedesert, Walker and eight othershurried ahead of their caravan andintercepted Frémont, shortly after hisexpedition left the Santa Claravegas. (Walker’s reputation as an
explorer included not only locatingWalker Pass but also memorizing thelay of the Old Spanish Trail throughMojave country.)
Heading north by northeast (along aline paralleling today’s Interstate 15in Utah), Frémont’s expedition nowreversed the route of JedediahSmith’s famed 1826 trek which hadopened the long-used Old SpanishTrail to a new generation of trappers,traders, explorers, settlers andeventually gold-seekers. The track ofthis north-south route throughcentral Utah was not an easy one.Smith had referred to the region as“a land of starvation” after his partyhad almost perished.
In passing through the Sevier RiverValley, the second expedition antici-pated reaching Utah Lake, whichFrémont presumed to be part of theGreat Salt Lake. On May 16, 1844,Frémont’s men camped on a smallsalt lake [Little Salt Lake] aboutseven miles long at the base of theWasatch Mountains—”nearly oppo-site a gap in that chain of mountainsthrough which the Spanish trailpasses: and which, again fallingupon the waters of the Colorado, andcrossing that river, proceeds over amountainous country to Santa Fé.’’Next day, with the expedition bear-ing northeast, Frémont wrote: “After440 miles of traveling on a trail,which served for a road, we againfound ourselves under the necessityof exploring a track through thewilderness. The Spanish trail hadborne off to the southeast, crossingthe Wah-satch range.”
A party of Utah Indians, led by achief “Walker,” approached theexpedition on May 20th. Frémont
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described the well-armed, mountedpatrol: “They were journeyingslowly towards the Spanish trail, tolevy their usual tribute upon thegreat Californian caravan.” May 23,the expedition built rafts to ferryequipment and supplies across theSevier River which now turned fromits northerly course. (The SevierRiver passes through a gap in themountains, makes a giant U-turn atthe Tintic Valley, and then flowssouthwestwardly toward SevierLake.) Here the expedition buriedanother casualty lost to a gunshotwound in the head.
Frémont noted the expedition hadheard Indian names during the 1,000miles traveled from the Dallesthrough the Sierra Nevada. Spanishnames predominated from theSacramento Valley across the desertto the Santa Clara vegas. French,American, and British names spreadfrom the Mississippi Valley to thePacific. Frémont commented further:“...this prevalence of names indi-cates the national character of thefirst explorers.”
Early morning, May 24, the expedi-tion sighted Utah Lake. “We hadnow accomplished an object we hadin view when leaving the Dalles ofthe Columbia in November last: wehad reached the Utah lake; but by aroute very different from what wehad intended...” Fremont’s reportcontinues, “In arriving at the Utahlake, we had completed an immensecircuit of twelve degrees diameternorth and south and ten degrees eastand west, and found ourselves inMay, 1844, on the same sheet ofwater which we had left in Septem-ber, 1843.” (Based on his presump-tion that Utah Lake was a thumb of
the Great Salt Lake.) “The circuitwhich we had made, and which hadcost us eight months of time, and3,500 miles of travelling, had givenus a view of Oregon and of NorthCalifornia from the Rocky moun-tains to the Pacific ocean, and of thetwo principal streams which formbays or harbors on the coast of thatsea.”
Having returned to northern Utah,the expedition connected withEtienne Provost’s 1824 route, whichtouched the south end of Utah Lake.“Turning our faces once moreeastward, on the morning of the 27thwe left the Utah lake, and continuedfor two days to ascend the Spanishfork, which is dispersed in numerousbranches among rugged moun-tains...” With Walker as guide theyascended a rough trail through theUintah Mountains. “From the sum-mit we had a fine view of the snowyBear River range...” Their descentbrought them onto the Uintah River.
June 1st, the expedition arrived atFort Uintah, “...a trading post,belonging to Mr. A. Roubideau, onthe principal fork of the Uintahriver.” Frémont described the out-post as “a motley garrison of Cana-dian and Spanish engagés andhunters” with a number of Indianwomen. (A footnote in Frémont’sreport indicates that after his expedi-tion departed, the fort was attackedby Utah Indians who killed all themen and carried away the women.)The expedition secured basic sup-plies of sugar, coffee, jerky, and acow and then proceeded to Ashley’sfork . (In 1825 William Ashleyexplored the Flaming Gorge andcountry around today’s DinosaurNational Monument.) After resting
at Brown’s Hole June 7th and 8th,Frémont’s men exited the northwestcorner of Colorado along the LittleSnake River (Frémont mistakenlyidentified the location of his June 10and 11 observations as the Elkheadtributary of the Yampa River.)
The expedition continued its trektoward the headwaters of the NorthPlatte. Mid-June, they camped in“New Park” (Colorado’s NorthPark). Unwilling to return to familiarterritory, Frémont turned his expedi-tion southward. Their route thenopened onto Old Park [MiddlePark], headwaters of the “Grand” orColorado River. Frémont mused,“...Old Park is interesting, though ofa different character from the New;instead of being a comparative plain,it is more or less broken into hills,and surrounded by the high moun-tains...” Here the expedition almostmet with disaster again as a largeparty of Arapaho and Sioux warriorsapproached with intent to attack asthe expedition’s line of travel hadcome from enemy territory. A parleyand large quantity of gifts success-fully appeased the Indians.
Now they were in Carson’s hometerritory. Explorations of surround-ing terrain continued as they passedinto South Park. Exiting the RockyMountains via Ute Pass, Frémont’ssecond expedition returned to themountain man outpost of El PuebloJuly 1, 1844, one year after depar-ture. Their long absence had causedmany to believe the expedition hadcome to grief. After stopping atBent’s Fort July 2, the second expe-dition turned homeward via theSmokey Hill Road and the Santa FeTrail. August 5, 1844, Frémont’ssecond expedition arrived in St.
18 Spring 2000
Louis amid a flurry of excitement.
The explorations of Frémont’sexpedition of 1843-44 presented thefirst comprehensively accuratecartographic representation of theFar West. Their investigationsbeyond the already rutted OregonTrail not only provided valuabledescriptions of the Pacificregions--the Columbia, the SierraNevada, and upper California—butwould also add knowledge about oneof the primary routes into southernCalifornia. Frémont declared, “Andin returning from California alongthe Spanish trail, as far as the headof the Santa Clara fork of the RioVirgin, I crossed only small streamsmaking their way south to theColorado, or lost in sand—as theMo-hah-ve; while to the left, loftymountains, their summits white withsnow, were often visible, and whichturned water to the north as well asto the south,...” Frémont cautionedthat despite his expedition’s exten-sive trek, the Great Basin itself hadyet to be revealed.
Following the initial successes ofJedediah Smith and Joseph Walkerin penetrating the interior of Califor-nia, more and more Americanswould use either the Old Spanish orthe Gila trail to enter California.While some trails traversed bywestering migrants originated withindividuals or specific groups, suchas the Mormon Trail, the Old Span-ish Trail’s reputation lay in a longpattern of traditional use. By the1850s three main roads through theAmerican Southwest would lead toCalifornia. Though these routesfollowed well-worn Indian trails orold Spanish roads, known to a fewadventuresome mountain man, each
route had to be explored orre-discovered for official govern-ment reports and accurate maps usedby professional trail masters or asguidebooks that stirred imaginationsof emigrants seeking a way west tothe Pacific coast.
With the advantages of science andtechnology, modern generations havecome to rely upon predictability.When disaster occurs, whetherresulting from natural or humancauses, we clamor for accountabilitybecause our faith in predictabilityfailed. Frémont may not satisfymodern criteria to justify the fame heachieved in his day, but he and thosewho traveled with him deservedtheir reputations as adventurers—men willing to embark upon boldjourneys without assurance of theoutcome. (Frémont’s career was notwithout criticism in his lifetime.)Some 20th century historians havetaken to dubbing Frémont aPathmarker because Spanish explor-ers, priests, and gold seekers, as wellas trappers and traders with homes inTaos or St. Louis, had previouslytraversed most of the trails Frémontfollowed and mapped. (GenerallyFrémont’s reports acknowledge hispredecessors.) Unlike Columbus,Frémont was not a discoverer; hewas an explorer. Despite Revisionistefforts to redefine Frémont’s place inU. S. history, to his contemporariesFrémont was the Pathfinder.
Robert F. Kennedy observed, “Thosewho dare to fail miserably canachieve greatly. “ One cannot traveleast-west roads and major highwaysacross the United States withoutnoticing proximity to the routes ofFrémont’s explorations. In state afterstate Frémont’s fame remains indel-
ibly marked for future generations—Frémont’s Pond, Frémont’s Orchard,Fremont Pass, the Frémont River,more than one Frémont Peak, severalFrémont counties, a half dozentowns, Pathfinder Reservoir, plusspecies of trees, flowers, and ani-mals bear names honoring JohnCharles Frémont’s achievements.The second expedition’s long detourinto California and its homewardtrek via the Old Spanish Trail alteredAmerica’s perception of the Westand transferred the corridors leadingacross deserts, through canyons andvalleys, or past lofty peaks, from theobscure domain of mountain men tothe realm of public knowledge andthe nation’s geographic treasury.
See Section of the 1845 Fremont(Preuss) map on pages 20-21
Endnotes:
[1] Barnes, Gertrude. “Following Fremont’sTrail Through Northern Colorado,” Colo-rado Magazine. #19, September 1942; pp.185-189.[2] The Conquest of North America. TheEncyclopedia of Discovery and Exploration.Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company,Inc., 1973, 488 pp. with maps, illustrated.[3] Frémont John Charles, Brevet Capt. Tothe Rocky Mountains in the Year 1842 andTo Oregon and North California in theYears 1843-44. Document No. 166. Wash-ington, D.C.: Blair and Rives, Printers,1845, illustrated.[4] Goetzmann, William H. and GlyndwrWilliams. The Atlas of North AmericanExploration: From the Norse Voyages to theRace to the Pole. Norman: University ofOklahoma, 1992, 224 pp. with maps,illustrated.[5] Perrigo, Lynn I. The American South-west: Its Peoples and Cultures. New York:Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1971, 469 pp.with maps and photos.[6] Roberts, David. A Newer World: KitCarson, John Charles Frémont and theClaiming of the American West. New York:Simon and Schuster, 2000, illustrated.[7] Jackson, Donald and Mary Lee Spence,eds. The Expeditions of John CharlesFrémont, Volume 1, Travels from 1838 to1844. Urbana: University of Illinois Press,1970, 854 pp. with drawings and maps.
19Spring 2000
An Artist on the Old Spanish Trail:George D. Brewerton
By Jourdan Houston
He was energetic, often anxious,with an air some saw as supercilious.He was tall for the time—nearly sixfeet—and, in 1848, still quite young.Douglas Brewerton had not yetentered his ‘twenties’ when he madehis first and only trip across the OldSpanish Trail, a journey that forgedhis future and remained the pinnacleof his past.
The significance of Brewerton’stravels across the Old Spanish Trailhas long been considered the recordhe left in a series of articles hepenned for Harper’s New Monthlybeginning in 1853. In them, theimpressionable lieutenant recountedhis six-week transit with Kit Carsonfrom Los Angeles to Carson’s homein Taos in 1848, followed byBrewerton’s solo crossing eastboundon the Santa Fe Trail. The threearticles were later compiled into abook, Overland With Kit Carson, re-issued in paperback in the 1990s.
But Brewerton’s accounts of hisoften harrowing Spanish Trailexperience are only part of hisSouthwestern legacy. In addition tohis sketches and prints of the Carsontrip, he left a vast visual memoir inan array of paintings, some of theearliest canvases of the region.Nearly a decade before AlbertBierstadt (1830-1902) first visitedthe Far West, Brewerton was evok-ing praise in the New York press forhis large paintings of California,Colorado and New Mexico. De-cades before eastern artists colonized
Taos, Brewerton presented NewYork’s elite with a view of the town.
Brewerton had barely returned to theeast in 1853 when his paintingsevoked attention. As early as Febru-ary, the Home Journal, published inNew York by the poet and editorNathaniel P. Willis, wrote of aSouthwestern landscape by “G. D.Brewerton, late of the United StatesArmy.” The painting “...illustratessouthwestern scenery with vividaccuracy, and portrays some featurespeculiar to that region, and such,moreover, as are seldom representedin paintings of this description. Histruthfulness in delineating the mistymountain-tops, turbid streams,decaying forest-wood, and otherremarkable aspects of this portion ofour continent is worthy special andclose attention.”
In early 1853, one of the nation’sfirst illustrated weeklies reproduceda Brewerton scene of the Sangre deCristo mountains in New Mexico.Several of his paintings soon hung atthe National Academy of Design inNew York. He would paint and sellhis canvases of the Old Spanish Trailfor decades, but the locales and thesignificance of his works did nottranslate into the next century. Theirties to New Mexico and Colorado inparticular have only lately beenreclaimed.
George Douglas Brewerton (1828-1901) was a competent artist, trainedby the eminent historical painter
Robert W. Weir (1803-1889) at theU.S. Military Academy at WestPoint. Brewerton’s father, Henry,was a career officer, a West Pointalumnus, and superintendent of theschool from 1845 to 1852. DouglasBrewerton had been born in New-port, Rhode Island, home to hismother’s forebears, who included theminiaturist Edward G. Malbone(1777-1807), her uncle. DouglasBrewerton would return to Newportfor periods throughout his long life.
His route to the Spanish Trail beganin 1846 with the advent of theMexican War. Only 18, he joinedthe Seventh New York Volunteers,later known as the First Regiment ofNew York Volunteers, underJonathan D. Stevenson, a friend ofthe Brewertons. The regimentalmission: to prevent “hostilities inMexico, probably in upper Califor-nia” and to establish a strongerAmerican presence there. A secondlieutenant, Brewerton sailed aroundCape Horn to California, arriving inAugust of 1847. He ended up at thePresidio in Yerba Buena, “old dobiebarracks” that he and his 30 mendefended with two captured Mexicancannons which he described as“prolific in cracks, but deficient onbore.”
In the spring of 1848, Brewerton wasordered to accompany Kit Carsonfrom California east; Carson wascarrying official messages to Wash-ington, including evidence of local
Continued on page 22
20 Spring
The Old Spanish Trai
“The year 1845...because of asingle event is in fact one of thetowering years in the story ofWestern Cartography. In thatyear John C. Frémont’s reportof his journey to Oregon andCalifornia in 1843-44 was pub-lished. This report and theFrémont (Preuss) map whichaccompanied it, changed theentire picture of the West andmade a lasting contributionto cartography.”
Carl I. WheatMapping the Transmissippi WestVolume 2, p. 194
See Patricia Joy Richmond’sarticle, John Charles Frémont’sSecond Expedition and the OldSpanish Trail, on pages 8-18 inthis issue.
21 2000
il Section of The Frémont - Preuss Map of 1845
22 Spring 2000
George Douglas BrewertonBy Mathew Brady
Credit: Library of Congress
gold. Brewerton, now an Armyregular, had been assigned to a newpost with the First Regular Infantryin Mississippi.
The men traveled on mules, accom-panied by two dozen hands, includ-
ing several of John Frémont’sexpeditioners. They left May 4,1848, and followed the Old SpanishTrail to Utah, where they skirted theWasatch Mountains and enteredpresent-day Colorado east of Moab.Traversing the north branch of theTrail, they probably followed theGunnison River, crossed 10,032-foot
Cochetopa Pass and entered the SanLuis Valley, then still in New MexicoTerritory. From there, they turnedsouth to Taos, arriving in mid-June.
Brewerton detailed the rigors of thejourney, including snows, ragingrivers, submerged saddles andmunitions, and encounters withunfriendly Indians at both the begin-ning and end of the trip. His bondwith Carson, who probably saved hislife at least once, was enduring.After spending time in the Carsonhousehold and recovering from about of flu, Brewerton left for hisMississippi posting via the Santa FeTrail, sketching and taking notes ashe went. He would spend four moreyears as a soldier.
By the beginning of 1853, however,Brewerton was a civilian in NewYork City, where he was rapidlyrecognized as “that talented andpeculiar artist.” The descriptionsuited Brewerton throughout his life,although one could add “poet” and“historian” and “journalist” as wellas “minister” and “lawyer,” to thephrase. Brewerton wrote severalbooks and published many, manypoems.
His paintings of the Southwest werenot the first seen by easterners;several artists, mostly on govern-mental expeditions, had precededhim. But his oils of the region wereamong the first landscapes to bepresented in the academic mode,reflective of the more formal, highly-finished style drawn from RobertWeir’s European training. Size, inparticular, characterizes these earlyBrewerton landscapes of Californiaand the Southwest: the canvases areoften large for the time. Only ahandful of these canvases has beenlocated 150 years later; one—a self-portrait in a likely California land-scape dated 1856—measures nearly
Continued from page 19
23Spring 2000
Print from the Illustrated News (NY), March 19, 1853. Title:Prairie Scene Near The Rocky Mountains. “By George D. Brewster”
[It is the Mora, in New Mexico territory, by Brewerton.]Citation: Private collection.
four by six feet.
Brewerton’s paintings of scenesalong the Old Spanish Trail enjoyedwide public display for nearly twodecades. A small sampling of hisoutput shows the breadth of his nowhard-to-find early Western work.Two oils of New Mexico Territory—
Prairie Scene Near the RockyMountains and Gorge in theRockies: Storm Brewing—appearedin New York at the National Acad-emy of the Arts of Design in 1854.Prairie Scene—which depicts partof the Sangre de Cristo range—wasexhibited again that year at theRhode Island Art Association in
Providence, along with his View inthe Wah Satch Mts., From an origi-nal Sketch. A Southwestern scenewas sent to nation’s first world’s fair,at the octagonal iron and glassCrystal Palace in New York in 1853.
Brewerton, skilled also in usingpastels, sent a variety of them to the
24 Spring 2000
Brewerton’s Self-Portrait in a Western Landscape. Oil on Canvas.45 inches x 60 inches. Private Collection. [See Detail on page 26.]
Cosmopolitan Art Association inSandusky, Ohio, in 1858 and 1859;the association disseminated theartist’s works all over the nation—from Natchez, Mississippi, to Au-gusta, Georgia. The pastels includedsuch scenes from his 1848 trip asPrairie on Fire; Rocky MountainScenery; Scene on the Frontier, andSurveying in New Mexico. In 1864, apatron of Brewerton’s donated Onthe Plains to the MetropolitanSanitary Fair in New York, raisingfunds for the care of Union troops.(Early in the Civil War, Brewertonhad served briefly as a volunteer inthe Carolinas with his old friend,
General Rufus Saxton, but neverenlisted as a regular.) The BrooklynArt Association hung his westernworks into the mid-1870s, andBoston auction-goers purchasedthem over the years, also. A scenefrom his Carson trip, Green RiverFalls—Rocky Mts., was hung at theDetroit Art Association exhibition in1876.
Despite Brewerton’s dedication todepicting the scenes of his youthfuljourney, few of these Western workshave been located. Several amongthose surviving, however, are onpublic display; each measures
roughly thirty by forty-four inches:Crossing the Rocky Mountains(1854) hangs today at theCorcoran Gallery of Art inWashington, D.C. It depicts theMora and the Sangre de Cristomountains in New Mexico, nearwhere Fort Union was later built.Gorge in the Rocky Mountains(1854) is in the collection of theButler Institute in Youngstown,Ohio; it may picture theGunnison River gorges visible tothe Carson party.Jornada del Muerto (1853) is atthe Oakland (California) Mu-seum. The scene is the Mojave
25Spring 2000
Desert, be-tween BitterSpring andResting Springin California,near contem-porary Aquade Tomaso andArchilette.This is ahaunting,geometricdesert scene.
In a private collec-tion, Self-Portraitin a WesternLandscape showsthe artist campingby a large river inmountainousterrain, probablyin California. Thelargest of thelocated Westernpaintings, thismeasures forty-five by sixty inches.The artist painted his initials on hisblanket and carved them in a tree; heleft his initials on a tree trunk in theCorcoran Gallery prairie oil, also.In this self-portrait, Brewerton wearshis favorite red buckskin jacket,which he describes in his accounts.
Besides the proliferation of paintingsof the Old Spanish Trail, Brewertonproduced probably thousands ofother works in both oil and pastel.He visited Kansas during the fight-ing in the mid-1850s, writing a bookabout his visit. He supposedlyqualified for the bar in Kansas; in1859, he was ordained as a Baptistminister, practicing for a few yearsin upstate New York both before andafter the Civil War. He lived inBrooklyn, in Newport, in Nebraskaand in Tacoma, Washington, andreturned occasionally to California.He had almost as many wives asresidences – three; two of them
divorced him. Brewerton wrote anelaborate two-volume history of theState of Washington, where he soldreal estate in the later 1880s, painted,and sent poems to the Tacoma press.
Kit Carson, long Brewerton’s friendand hero, died in 1868. DouglasBrewerton died of pneumonia atFordham, N.Y., in January of 1901,more than 50 years after their jour-ney together. But Brewerton’s ties tothe Old Spanish Trail had neverpaled; their days on the road, heonce wrote the scout, had beenamong the happiest of his life.
1. The articles written and illustrated byBrewerton were titled [1] “A Ride WithKit Carson Through the Great AmericanDesert and the Rocky Mountains,”Harper’s New Monthly Magazine, Vol.7 (August 1853), 306-334, [2] “Inci-dents of Travel in New Mexico,”
Harper’s NewMonthly Magazine,Vol. 8 (April 1854),577-596. [3] “InThe Buffalo Coun-try,” Harper’s NewMonthly Magazine,Vol. 25 (September1862), 447-460.2. George DouglasBrewerton, Over-land with KitCarson: A Narra-tive of the OldSpanish Trail in ’48(New York: Cow-ard-McCann Inc.,1930) and OverlandWith Kit Carson: ANarrative of the OldSpanish Trail in ’48( Lincoln, Neb.:University ofNebraska, 1993)..3. Home Journal,February 19, 1853,
p. 3. 4. Brewerton’s dates have been vari-ously given as 1820, 1827 and 1828.His death certificate, gravestone,pension application and a marriagecertificate indicate a birth date of 1828.5. George Douglas Brewerton, ArgonautMemories (San Francisco, FrankEastman & Co., 1887), pp. 18 and 29.6. Home Journal, October 29, 1853,p. 3.7. Paul C. Mills, Archive of CaliforniaArt, Oakland Museum of California,Oakland, Cal.8. Brewerton writes of his carvinginitials during his trip with Carson,those of a “noble-hearted woman...afancy of sweet sixteen” in a “giganticpine.”9. G. Douglas Brewerton, The War InKansas, A Rough Trip to the BorderAmong New Homes and Strange People(New York: Derby & Jackson, 1856),p.124.10. Obituary of George D. Brewerton,Brooklyn Eagle, February 1, 1901.
Endnotes:
Detail with initialed blanket and Brewerton from Self-Portrait in a Western Landscape.
[Opposite page]
26 Spring 2000
In March 1853, Congress appropri-ated $150,000 for surveys to ascer-tain the most practical and economi-cal route for a railroad from theMississippi River to the PacificOcean. Secretary of War, JeffersonDavis, was to use personnel of theCorps of Topographical Engineers,and other persons, as deemed neces-sary, to make the surveys. CaptainJohn Williams Gunnison was pickedto survey a route along the 38thparallel. Gunnison was selected overJohn Charles Frémont much to thedispleasure of his father-in-law,Senator Thomas Hart Benton. Theexpedition was specifically orderedto survey a route through the Colo-rado Rockies, via the Huerfano andCochetopa Rivers over the Conti-nental Divide, then westward towardUtah Territory and The Great SaltLake. Due to Gunnison’s untimelydeath, the second in command, FirstLieutenant Edward G. Beckwith,Third Artillery, wrote the report ofthe expedition, using Gunnison’sjournal [1].
The Gunnison expedition was quitelarge. Besides Gunnison andBeckwith, there were five scientists,a wagon master, 18 wagons, team-sters, employees and 32 mountedriflemen. Richard H. Kern, artist andtopographer prepared maps of theexpedition’s route. After Kern’sdeath, astronomer SheppardHolmans completed the maps. Otherscientists included Jacob H. Schiel,
surgeon geologist, F. Creutzfeldt,botanist, and J. A. Snyder, assistanttopographer. Charles Taplin was thewagon master and the soldiers wereunder the command of BrevetCaptain R.M. Morris. Sixteen of thewagons were each pulled by sixmules. An ambulance was drawn bytwo horses that were replaced byfour mules when they reached themountains. A carriage for the instru-ments was pulled by four mules.
The expedition left Westport, Mis-souri on June 24, 1853 and followedthe Arkansas River into ColoradoTerritory. Mistaking the ApishapaRiver for the Huerfano River, theexpedition followed the Apishapaupstream for some 20 miles beforeheading west. The Cucharas Riverwas crossed and the Huerfano Riverwas located near the landmark ofHuerfano Butte. The Huerfano Riverwas then followed into the Sangre deChristo Range. Fort Massachusetts,on the west side of the range, wasreached on August 20, 1853. Whilein the vicinity of the Fort, Gunnisonsent Lieutenants Beckwith andBaker to Taos, New Mexico toobtain the services of a guide,Antoine Leroux.
After leaving the Fort, the expeditionfollowed the North Branch of theOld Spanish Trail up the San LuisValley passing west of the “SandyHills” (The Great Sand Dunes).After exploring the north end of the
valley, including a possible routeover Poncha Pass, the expeditionchose a route over Cochetopa Pass,arriving near the present site ofGunnison, Colorado on September5.
Following the route of today’s U.S.Highway 50, the heavy wagons ofthe Gunnison expedition experi-enced much difficulty crossing thevalleys of the Lake Fork and CebollaCreek (Cimarron River). Muchcutting and filling was required tomake a passable road for the wag-ons. Beckwith [2] would later write,“it is by far the most difficult andexpensive section upon the route forthe construction of a road.” Whiledescending into the UncompahgreRiver valley, via Cedar Creek,Beckwith [3] recorded “the Salt andAbajo Peaks were pointed out to us.The former is directly upon thenoted Spanish trail leading fromCalifornia to Abiquiu, New Mexico,and is a favorite resort for the Utahand Navajo Indians for trade”.
One September 17, the expeditionforded the Grand (Gunnison) Rivernear “Roubideau’s old trading fort,now entirely fallen to ruins.”[4] Thenight of September 18, the expedi-tion camped on a creek the Indianstold Gunnison was called Kah-nah(Kannah). This was a favored camp-ing site on the North Branch due toabundant wood, grass and clearwater. Here, Leroux and some menleft the expedition to show themembers who accompanied him “thebest road to the Spanish trail.”[5]
After leaving the campsite onKannah Creek, the expedition hadsome difficulty locating a crossing ofthe Colorado River, which Gunnisoncalled the Nah-un-kah-rea or BlueRiver. Some local Indians showed
Captain Gunnison’s PacificRailroad Survey
By William L. Chenoweth
27Spring 2000
the expedition a crossing which isnow believed to be about one milewest of the 32 Road bridge nearClifton, Colorado. After crossing theriver, the expedition traveled alongthe north bank following today’sU.S. Highway 50.
Near the present town of Mack,Colorado, and without a guide,Gunnison did not take the main trailto the southwest, downRabbit Valley, butcontinued westerlyalong the Uintahsegment of the NorthBranch. The expeditionturned south down adrainage (Coal Draw)and reached theWestwater area on theGrand (Colorado) Riveron September 22,where they rested forthree days. TheWestwater area, calledBitter Water byGunnison, was a well-known camping spot onthe North Branch, withplenty of grass, wood,and water. Leroux andthree companions rejoined theexpedition at Westwater and thenreturned to New Mexico.
Instead of following the main trailsouthwesterly for several milesbefore heading west, the Gunnisonexpedition headed west out of theWestwater area. After reaching thefoot of the Book Cliffs the expedi-tion then turned to the southwestlocating the “noted Spanish trail” onSeptember 29, some 20 miles south-east of the Green River crossing.They followed the trail to the cross-ing that was forded on October 1.
West of Green River, at Lost Spring
Wash, the expedition left the trailand headed north toward the White(Price) River. After turning to thesouthwest Gunnison rejoined theSpanish Trail, on October 10, atHuntington Creek in the CastleValley. In this valley Beckwith [6]recorded “The Spanish Trail, thoughbut seldom used of late years, is stillvery distinct where the soil washesbut slightly. On some such spaces
today we counted from fourteen totwenty parallel trails, of the ordinarysize of Indian trails or horse-paths ona way of barely fifty feet in width.”The expedition continued to followthe Old Spanish Trail across theWasatch Plateau and into the SalinaCanyon. Gunnison left the trail atthe Sawtooth Narrows in the Canyonand near Salina, Utah turned northdown the valley of the Sevier River,on October 17.
The expedition continued down theSevier River. On October 25,Captain Gunnison, four men andseveral soldiers left the main party toexplore the area near Sevier Lake.
The next morning on October 26,1853, Captain Gunnison, Mr. Kern,Mr. Creutzfeld, William Potter, aguide, John Bellows, an employee,and Privates Caulfield, Liptrott andMerhteens were killed at theircampsite by Paiute Indians. Afterthe massacre, the expedition traveledto Salt Lake City, where Beckwithprepared a report to Congress.
The Gunnisonexpedition, althoughtragically cut short,did provide the U.S.Congress with abrief description ofthe topography ofColorado and easternUtah and the prob-lems faced by theconstruction of atrans-continentalrailroad across theRocky Mountains.The expedition wasthe first to preparemaps showing thetopography alongportions of the NorthBranch of the OldSpanish Trail in
Colorado, as well as sections of themain trail in eastern Utah.
Endnotes:
[1] Edward G. Beckwith, Report ofExploration of a Route for the PacificaRailroad Near the 38th and 39th Paral-lels of Latitude: U. S. Pacific RailroadExplorations- 33 rd Congress- 1stSession, House Document 129 (Wash-ington DC: A O P Nickelson Printer,1855).[2] Ibid., p. 95.[3] Ibid., p. 55.[4] Ibid., p. 59.[5] Ibid., p. 63.[6] Ibid., p. 71.
Sketch of the Green River Crossing of the Old Spanish TrailBy Richard Kern of the Gunnison Expedition.
Book Cliffs on the SkylineDrawing courtesy of the U.S. Geological Survey
28 Spring 2000
A military expedition which hasbeen referred to on occasion, butwhich is usually either ignored orgrossly underrated, was led by aCaptain Randolph B. Marcy duringthe winter of 1857-58. CaptainMarcy, a veteran of many years onthe western frontier, was a memberof the contingent of United StatesArmy troops which had been orderedto Utah to aid in quelling the so-called “Mormon War” which wascoming to a head in 1857-58.
Uneasiness had been brewing be-tween members of the Mormon faithand the “gentiles” for several years,which followed the brethren west toUtah in the early 1850s. Thereappeared to be ample blame on eachside for the cause of the friction.Rumors ran rampant throughout theisolated settlements, and it was notlong before armed militia groupsbecame common. An unfortunatesituation arose at a well-knowncampsite along the main route of theOld Spanish Trail.
This campsite, commonly referred toas “Mountain Meadows,” was thescene of a massacre on or aboutSeptember 10, 1857, in which wellover 100 emigrants on their way toCalifornia were killed. We are nothere to discuss the right or wrong ofthis unfortunate situation, but weneed to point out that there wasextensive military action in the Utaharea during the 1850s.
Fort Bridger, located in the area ofthe Utah-Wyoming border, was thefocus of much of the unrest. Becausethe fort area was a gathering placefor United States troops coming infrom the east, it was the scene ofmuch action. Small groups of Mor-mon guerrilla troops were often sentout to harass any approaching U.S.Army troops and disrupt them in anyway they could. The Mormons were
quite successful in their efforts, anddestroyed an alarming amount ofsupplies and equipment and almostgutted Fort Bridger. For the U.S.troops, already on short rations, andfacing a long Wyoming winter, itwas decision time.
Situated where it was, Fort Bridgerwas located on the Oregon Trail anda variant of the North Branch of theOld Spanish Trail, an old trappertrail which came from the south. Asthe closest source of re-supply wasfrom a military outpost in NewMexico, the commandant had littlechoice but to send a contingent ofrelief troops in that direction forhelp. The story can best be told byexcerpts from the introduction andbody of the journal of the leaderCaptain R. B. Marcy, 5th Infantry,United States Army. [1] “During themonth of November, 1857, while ourtroops were encamped at FortBridger, in Utah Territory, I wasordered, with a command of fortyenlisted men, to cross the mountainsby the most direct route into NewMexico, and procure supplies. ...After a march of fifty-one days, theyemerged from the forests, and foundthemselves at Fort Massachusetts, inNew Mexico. …”[2] This simplestatement (as shortened), extractedfrom the report to the Secretary ofWar in 1858, tells nothing of whatoccurred between the first sentenceand the last. Marcy’s contingent leftFort Bridger on November 24, 1857with 40 army personnel, several
mountain men and various othercivilian support personnel.
Being assured that there would bevery little snow, even in the higherpasses, the expedition headed downHenry’s Fork to reach and ford theGreen River. Here they found andfollowed a trail downstream to reachthe North Branch of the Old SpanishTrail, a route they would followvirtually the entire distance to NewMexico.
From the description given in thejournal, it appears that the expedi-tion ascended Willow Creek Trail,undoubtedly following AntoineRobidoux’s old route through theplateau of the Roan/Bookcliff Rangein northeastern Utah. The snow, atthis point, was approximately twofeet in depth. To add to their con-cerns, an Indian guide, hired to takethem through the range of moun-tains, left one night taking all of hispre-paid gifts and leaving the groupto its own devices. Going on in themorning, and to quote from thejournal: “...Our track led us acrossthis elevated table-land, which wefound terminating in a towering andalmost perpendicular cliff or bluff,bordering the valley of Grand River[now the Colorado], and some twothousand feet above it. On reachingthis lofty escarpment, it did not seempossible that our mules could de-scend it, indeed, I had previouslybeen told that there was but oneplace for fifty miles along this cliff
Marcy’s Ordeal Along the NorthBranch of the Old Spanish Trail
By Jack Nelson
29Spring 2000
where the declivity was practicablefor animals, and this was at a pointwhere the Indians had cut a narrowpath along the face of the bluff. ...[3] It is very possible that the grouphad found the one practical escaperoute down Hay Canyon located onthe upper end of Westwater Canyon.
They encamped in a tiny enclosedarea, which fits the description ofthat near Antoine Robidoux’s in-scription at the mouth of WestwaterCreek Canyon. A map showing theroute of Marcy’s expedition, drawnin the 1860s, would lead one tobelieve that the group came downeither East or Bitter Creek Canyon.[4] While not discounting the routeas drawn, and its other valuablehistorical information, the map scaleleaves much to be desired to pre-cisely locate sites unless correlatedwith other documentation. [Fortu-nately, first hand information of thephysical layout of the area underdiscussion, aids in the interpretationof Marcy’s Journal.]
“On the 8th of December we struckGrand River near the congruence ofits two principal branches, the‘Uncompadre’ and the ‘Bunkara’.”[5] This was an interesting entry as itgoes on to state “...We forded them,[?] but with great difficulty, as thewater was deep and rapid, ... andencamped at the base of the ‘ElkMountain,’ near the remains of anold Indian trading establishment,which had formerly been occupiedby a man named Robedeau,”...[6]
It is obvious that Marcy had lost aday in his memoirs at this point. The“Uncompadre” [sic], the “ Elks” andRobidoux’s old fort were locatednear today’s Delta, Colorado. Theford at the “Bunkara” [sic], nowcalled “The Crossing of the Grand,”was located above the confluence ofthe Gunnison and the Colorado
rivers [3] at present Grand Junction,Colorado. This surmise is docu-mented by a comment made thefollowing year in the journal of aColonel Loring when he camethrough the same area with a contin-gent of fifty wagons and 300 men.Loring commented on seeing theremains of Marcy’s camp near theCrossing of the Grand, in the vicinityof Kannah Creek. [7]
After leaving the site of destroyedFort Uncompahgre, Marcy’s groupcontinued up the valley of theUncompahgre River, following thewell-established route. A large bandof Ute Indians were encamped in thevicinity of present day Montrose,Colorado. Captain Marcy enteredinto negotiations with them offeringto pay them to serve as guidesthrough the mountains ahead. Noamount of bribery, cajoling or insultscould sway the chief either to partwith any of his ponies or to helpthem along their way.
Pushing onward, the group started toencounter deeper snowdrifts and wasforced to cache any extraneousequipment and personal items tolighten their packs. Loring’s groupwas to later record locating one ofthe caches, probably in the vicinityof Cerro Summit. With snow depthbecoming a problem, the pack andriding stock were forced to eat pineneedles. Game had been forced tolower elevations, and provisionswere slowly being exhausted. Astheir pack stock died of starvation,the group was forced to eat them, themeat tough, bitter tasting and con-taining no nourishment. The Captainmentions sprinkling gunpowder onhis mule meat to make it morepalatable.
Inching their way through the deepdrifts, sometimes camping in sight oftheir previous night’s campsites, the
group struggled on through the sevento eight foot deep snows. Often ontheir hands and knees while breakingtrail, progress was extremely slow.With the wind blown, deep powder-like snow concealing the few knowntrail markers, it was not long beforethe group became hopelessly lost.Marcy had undoubtedly tried tofollow John Gunnison’s surveyroute; however, the deep snow hadcovered or hidden the access route toCochetopa Pass.
There is an interesting scientificaside or general observation of thecuriosity of the mountain men: TomGoodale, one of the civilians wasbreaking trail, when he called out tothe Captain to come see somestrange birds he had noticed. Itseems that in spite of their otherconcerns, the group had made anornithological discovery in a previ-ously unknown geographical area,they had located a small flock ofwhite tailed ptarmigans. TomGoodale stated that in all his wan-derings, he had only seen the smallwhite birds once before. Regardless,after carefully packing two of thebirds for later scientific study,Captain Marcy relates “... Thesebirds were the only glimpse ofanimal life we had met with, outsideof our own party, during the thirtydays that we were struggling throughthe deep snow.” [8]
It was shortly after the incident ofsighting the ptarmigans that thegroup realized that they were goingin the wrong direction. A Mexicanemployee, Miguel Alona, ap-proached the Captain and informedhim of their error. The area theywere in was an easy one to becomeconfused in as it contains severalside canyons and streams. They wereby now in the present day, upperGunnison River watershed. It ap-pears that Miguel had been through
30 Spring 2000
that country before. The Captain,realizing that they were reaching theend of their resources, informedMiguel that if he could lead them outof their white maze, he would beamply rewarded, if not, he would behung. Miguel, much disturbed thathis integrity was being questioned,assured the Captain he would ratherdie than lie.
Marcy, realizing that he had no otherchoice, placed the lives of the entirecompany into the judgment ofMiguel. The journal records: “...From this time the uncertainty of ourposition, and the knowledge of thefact that if we failed to strike theCochetope Pass we must all inevita-bly perish, gave me great anxiety,and prevented me from sleeping forseveral nights. There was not theslightest sign of a road, trail orfootmark to guide us; ... but mynoble soldiers struggled manfullyahead, and not a single murmur orcomplaint ever was heard. ...” [9]
After struggling up the Razor Creekvariant of the North Branch, the Passwas finally reached ten days later.Suffering severe privation, frostbite,shoeless and virtual starvation, thegroup guided by Miguel Alona,finally located and crossed overCochetopa Pass, almost a full monthafter fording at the “Crossing of theGrand.” Their troubles were still notover, they were without supplies andmany miles lay between them andFort Massachusetts.
After ascertaining that they hadlocated and crossed the Pass, Marcysent a small relief crew on to theFort riding the strongest animals.The remaining group struggled alongdown the trail, dropping in elevation,until they reached an area alongSaguache Creek where the grass hadmelted out of the snow and the stillsurviving animals could feed. Trav-
eling along as best they could, thegroup waited eleven days before therelief party was sighted and theexpedition knew they were saved.Once the loaded relief wagonsarrived, great caution had to beexerted to see that the men did notovereat. Regardless of warnings,after a supper of filling soup, someof the starving men pressured thewagon guards to allow them to takemore rations. Many gorged them-selves only to later suffer severestomach cramping resulting in thedeath of one of the men who hadsurvived the long trek.
After the group rested and tried torecoup some of their strength forfour days, they pressed on: they stillhad a mission to accomplish. Whenthe small, but intact, group enteredthe fort, Marcy reported:
“... As we approached the fort, oneof the officers complimented us bysaying he took us for a band ofprairie Indians. Not more than halfof the men had any caps, and but fewhad any remains of trowsers belowthe knees. Their feet were tied upwith mule hides, pieces of blankets,coat-tails, etc. and certainly wererough and ragged looking specimensof United States soldiers... “ [10]
Marcy’s “march” may well berecorded as a truism for the oldadage: “The cowards never started ,and the weak ones never got there .”The Mexican guide, Miguel Alona,has to considered one of the heroesof the expedition. He was amplyrewarded with a sum of five hundreddollars, but it is recorded that hepromptly lost the entire sum gam-bling. The entire mission should gointo military annals as comparable tothe sufferings endured by GeorgeWashington’s troops at Valley Forge.Not forgetting the purpose of themission, several wagon loads of
supplies and equipment were sentback to Fort Bridger by a differentroute. [11] *
1. Marcy, Randolph B. Thirty years of ArmyLife on the Border (Harper & Brothers,Publishers, New York, 1866.) [Photocopy ofpages 198-22, in the author’s library.] Seealso Hafen, LeRoy R. A Winter MarchAcross the Rockies. in The ColoradoMagazine, Vols. IV and V, Jan, 1927 to Oct.1928. Denver, CO. pp.7-13. This a muchmodified version of the entire trek from thatappearing in Marcy’s work. The lattershould be read carefully and compared withMarcy’s original, there are discrepancies.2. Marcy, pps. 199-200.3. Ibid., 202.4. Macomb, J. N. Captain, Map of Explora-tions and Surveys in New Mexico and Utah,1860. (Geographical Institute, Baron F. W.Von Egloffstein, No, 154 Broadway, N. Y.1864).5. Marcy, p. 203. “Uncompadre” is“Umcompahgre.” “Bunkara” is a phoneticcorruption of a common Indian name for theColorado River.6. Ibid., p. 203.7. “Colonel Loring’s Expedition AcrossColorado in 1858.” The Colorado Maga-zine, Vol. XXIII, No. 2, The State HistoricalSociety of Colorado, March, 1946, p. 64.8. Marcy, p. 209. The group, living as theywere on tough mule meat, preserved the twobirds for scientific purposes. They were lateridentified as “Sagopus Leucurus.” Whilewell known in Europe these birds wererarely seen in the United States and thenonly in the Rocky Mountains north of 540
Latitude according to the journal’s notes.9. Ibid. p. 212. Captain Marcy is even todayto be commended for his outstandingleadership. He suffered right along with hismen.10. Ibid., p. 219 The author can attest to theextreme weather conditions Marcy’s menwere subjected to. Minus 500 and deepsnows are very common during the wintermonths.11. Hafen, A Winter Rescue...., pp. 12-13.*Authors note: Much of the above data isfound in an unpublished document presentlyat the publishers. Its tentative title is“Forgotten Pathfinders.” Along the NorthBranch of the Old Spanish Trail by JackNelson.
31Spring 2000
Due to the continuing danger fromIndian raids in San BernardinoValley after California became aU.S. territory, forts--both locally andfederally sponsored--were erected atseveral locations. San Bernardinobuilt one shortly after the Mormonshad arrived in 1851. Chino had agovernment post established in1850. This garrison later moved toLouis Robidoux’s rancho in 1852.
About two dozen infantry troopswere stationed there for two years,and a small garrison stayed untilafter the end of the Civil War. Theactual site of “Fort Jurupa” (it wasreferred to officially as “the post onthe Santa Ana River”) has not beenprecisely determined. However, itwas probably near theWilson-Robidoux grist mill intoday’s town of Rubidoux, for themill was located at the intersectionof Fort Drive and Molino Way. Thislocation is no longer on theriverbank at that point since the riverhas changed its course over theyears, especially after the GreatFlood of 1862 which nearly de-stroyed the communities of AguaMansa/La Placita and also didconsiderable damage to Robidoux’srancho.
The location of the Army barracks andother buildings was about one blockfrom the Wilson-Robidoux adobe situ-ated at today’s intersection of MissionBlvd. and Rubidoux Blvd. (formerlynamed Bloomington Blvd.) in down-
town Rubidoux. The adobe haciendano longer stands, having been bull-dozed down after World War II to pro-vide space for a shopping center.Buildings at the nearby military com-pound included the barracks for un-married soldiers, several cottages formarried personnel, a barn for storageand some horses, and a small chapel.Since over half of the troops were IrishCatholics, the pastor at Agua Mansa’snewly-built San Salvador Church jour-neyed to Jurupa once a month to saymass, hear confessions and baptize,etc. as needed. The chapel was sweptaway in the 1862 flood.
Major Horace Bell, whose self-assignment in Southern Californiaincluded visiting the frontier posts,left an interesting description of lifeat Fort Jurupa as follows: CaptainLovell (the commander) was asedate, methodical, sober kind ofofficer who seemed perfectly contentto sit in his elegant quarters, issueorders to his little army ... ofwell-fed, clean shaved,white-cotton-gloved, nicely dressed,lazy, fat fellows, who were seem-ingly happy and content on the $8per month.... They all, from Captainto Corporal, seemed resigned to alife of well-fed indolence.
Prior to the detachment’s arrival,Indian raiders were dealt with byAgua Mansa’s leader, LorenzoTrujillo and his four sons along withmen on Benjamin Wilson’s payroll.These vigilantes gave a good ac-
count of themselves in a series ofskirmishes from 1843 to the early1850’s. With the arrival of a smallband of soldiers, the civilians bowedout and thereafter apparently littlewas accomplished to prevent peri-odic incursions. Although a numberof expeditions were sent out againstthe Indians, negative results were theusual case. The detachment, when atChino in 1851, did not participate inthe pursuit of the Irving Gang; thisassignment fell to a company of U.S.dragoons then encamped on the eastbank of the Los Angeles River.
The names of the soldiers and theirdependents can be derived from thefirst federal census of California in1850. Shortly after the military’sarrival at Jurupa, the new county ofSan Bernardino was established in1853. This meant that no sooner hadthe detachment settled on LosAngeles County land than the newboundary placed them on San Ber-nardino County land. This areaeventually became Riverside Countyland in 1893, but because of anambling boundary line, Chinoremained in San Bernardino County.
A tally of the Jurupa assigneesshows a total of 23 officers andenlisted men, four wives, one familywithout a mother, six children, andone general laborer. Half of theadults were from the East Coast,although 13 were born in Ireland,one in England and one in Sweden.The size of the Irish contingent canbe explained as the result of thepotato famine of 1848 in Ireland andthe subsequent migration of manyfamilies to America. Military servicewould speed up naturalization forcitizenship.
An alphabetical listing of all the 34people at this Army outpost, givenon the next page, shows the break-down of the census data. Where the
Fort Jurupa, Robidoux Rancho
By Dr. R. Bruce Harley
A Military Presence at the Post on theSanta Ana River
Editor’s Note: Fort Jurupa and Agua Mansa are direct consequences of immigra-tion from Abiquiú over the Old Spanish Trail.
32 Spring 2000
soldiers eventually settled after theirdischarge is not known. One cansurmise that some of the troopssettled in California, although not inthe Jurupa area. Cornelius Jensen’scensus of Jurupa Township in 1856and the federal census of 1860 donot contain names which correlate tothe detachment’s names in 1850.
Captain Lovell, being from SouthCarolina, became a Major-Generalin the Civil War, although on the
side of the Confederacy. Second Lt.Smith had a reputation as a “ladies’man” from romancing senoritas ofthe Jurupa neighborhood; but, unlikeRobidoux and other Anglos, did notmarry one, instead he too answeredthe call to return to Virginia andfight on the Confederate side.
BIBLIOGRAPHY:
George & Helen Beattie, Heritage of theValley: San Bernardino’s First Century2nd ed., 1951.
Major Horace Bell, Reminiscences of aRanger, or Early Times in Southern Califor-nia, reprint, 1927. John Brown, Jr. & James Boyd, Historyof San Bernardino and Riverside Counties,Vol. 1, 1922 Maurice H. & Marco R. Newmark,Census of the City and County of LosAngeles, California, for the Year 1850,1929. Jack Nelson, “Louis Robidoux: CaliforniaPioneer,” University of Redlands, master’sthesis, 1940. Tom Patterson, Landmarks of Riverside,1962.
1850 Federal Census, County of Los Angeles, U.S. Army Barracks, Chino/Jurupa
Name Age Rank BirthplaceChristopher L. Lovell 31 Capt., Infantry South Carolina
Sarah A. Lovell 22 wife ConnecticutNelson H. Lovell 2 son California
James W. Schureman 30 1 st Lieut., Infantry New JerseyCaleb Smith 25 2nd Lieut., Infantry VirginiaJames T. Overstreet 24 Surgeon South CarolinaHiram V. Bogart 37 Soldier New York
Edwin V. Bogart 8 son PennsylvaniaHomer Bogart 6 son PennsylvaniaEmma Ann Bogart 4 daughter Pennsylvania
Hugh Bums 28 Soldier IrelandGeorge W. Cole 29 Soldier MarylandEnoch Cook 33 Soldier MassachusettsBowers Danforth 40 Soldier MassachusettsJames Dempsey 37 Soldier Ireland
Mary Dempsey 25 wife IrelandCharles J. Fox 25 Soldier IrelandJohn Gigology 34 Soldier Ireland
Margaret Gigology 30 wife IrelandMary Gigology 8 daughter New YorkJames Gigology 2 son New York
Samuel Hains 37 Soldier EnglandLaurence B. Harris 31 Soldier VermontWilliam J. Henning 25 Soldier IrelandFranklin Hoff 21 Soldier PennsylvaniaJohn A. Jackson 25 Soldier IrelandWilliam G. Lee 25 Soldier Ireland
Rosa Lee 22 wife IrelandJames Macanally 30 Soldier IrelandJames Maguire 28 Soldier IrelandThomas Maddigan 25 Soldier IrelandWilliam Stewart 25 Soldier IrelandLaurence Strobal 30 Soldier SwedenJesus Moreno 30 Laborer Mexico-- It is noted that no ranks are given for the enlisted troops; with the number assigned, theremust have been at least one sergeant and two corporals. The U.S. Army History Centerhas little data on Fort Jurupa.
33Spring 2000
[The following is a transcription of an important document that locates the Ute Crossing of the Colorado River in thevicinity of the Elk [La Sal] Mountains, near present Moab, Utah. The letter was written in Salt Lake City, on July 15,1876, by BrighamYoung and Daniel H. Wells. It is addressed to Latter-day Saint missionaries “encamped on the LittleColorado.” Paragraph two of the letter announces the intention of the L.D.S. leaders to send an exploring expeditionto find a better supply road leading south to the Little Colorado River. The proposed road would follow one of tworoutes: 1). The western leg of the “old Spanish Trail which passed a little north of Panguitch [Utah].” 2). The easternleg of the Spanish Trail which the 1855 Elk Mountain Mission party followed via Green River ford and the “UteCrossing on the Old Trail which led from California to Santa Fe.”]:
Salt Lake City, U.T.July 15, 1876
To Elders Smith, Lake, Ballinger[,]Allen and the Brethren encamped onthe Little Colorado [River].
Dear Brethren — We were muchpleased to hear the good reports ofyour progress, which were made tous by Bro’s Wells, Snow andBrigham Jr. We did not imagine thatyou would not meet with difficultiesand perplexities, such are the heri-tage of all who labor to spread thecurtains of Zion. Nor is it to besupposed but that you will have tomake many experiments, some ofwhich may prove failures, until youbecome acquainted with thepecularities [sic] of the soil, theclimate and other surroundings.Nevertheless we thank the Lord thatall is as well with you as it is, andwe pray that your efforts to accom-plish the purposes of God in thedirection in which you are now
called to labor may be crownedwith abundant success. We arereliably informed that there are afew in some of the camps whosemouths are full of murmuring, andsome whose hearts incline toapostasy. We want none such toremain with you, lest they poisonthe camp with the leaven of theirill-feeling. We desire that thesettlements in the Little Coloradobe built up to the Lord in righ-teousness, wherein an examplewill be set to the surroundingtribes of the Lamanites, [a Book ofMormon term that refers toAmerican Indians] and indeed toall others of the way the Lord willbuild up Zion. The selfishnessand individuality that have charac-terized the labors of some of ourbrethren should not find a placewith those called to this mission.
We contemplate sending out anexploring expedition very shortly,whose business it will be to find a
better road than the one now traveledby way of Lee’s crossing at the BigColorado to your camps. It is presum-able that a good road can be found bytaking the old Spanish Trail whichpassed a little north of Panguitch [BearValley Junction], or by a more north-erly route from Salina through SaltCreek [Salina Canyon] eastward. Oneor both of these roads would crossGreen river at the ford passed by thebrethren who some years ago went on amission to the Elk [La Sal] Mountains[at Moab], which is called the UteCrossing on the Old Trail which ledfrom California to Santa Fe. Fromwhence the road would turn more tothe Southward to some point where itwould be practicable to cross theGrand [Colorado] and afterwards theSan Juan rivers, the latter if possible,not far east of the longitude of yourcamps. One of the principal reasonswhy we desire to find some differentroad from that at present traveled, isthat we may have one that will beeasier for the stock and sheep to travel
A Letter Concerning the Location of theUte Crossing of the Colorado River
Contributed by Steven K. Madsen
34 Spring 2000
over, where they can have water andfeed. And if it should be possible foryou to spare a few men from theirpressing labors, we should bepleased to have them take a tripNorth from your settlements to theSan Juan to mark out the mostacceptable road between the twopoints and thus hasten the comple-tion of the purposes of the explora-tion.
Owing to the great depreciation inthe price of wool all over the countrywe do not deem it advisable for youto purchase wool to send to this cityfor sale this present season. It nowonly fetches twelve and a half centsper lb[.] cash in this market, atwhich price you will perceive it willnot return you the original cost andthe transportation.
The saw mill we will load up at anytime that will suit you, and if youwill send us word when your teamswill be at the Colorado crossing tomeet it we will have it forwarded.We think in view of the difficultiesof transferring some of the morebulky portions of the machinery, thatthe same wagons that carry it fromSt. George had better take it rightthrough to your camps whilst themen and teams can return if desiredto St. George.
We request that in all your conversa-tions and associations with theLamanites you treat them withkindness and present before them anexample which they can imitate withpropriety and mutual advantage.When any of them present them-selves for baptism, we desire thatyou should instruct them in theprinciples of the gospel until they, as
far as their limited comprehensions[sic] admit, have an understandingof the importance of the step they aretaking. It must clearly be taught tothem that when they become mem-bers of the church they must stoptheir waring [sic] and fighting, andlive at peace with all men, white orred, that they must change a life ofidleness to one of usefulness, andthat they must entirely cease fromgambling, stealing and all othervices to which the Indian races areaddicted. We also earnestly hopethat you on the other hand will givethem encouragement, help andinstruction they need to perform andimprove the habit of their lives, andthat your helping hands will beextended to aid them in becominggood and useful citizens of thekingdom of the Father, whose settime to favor Israel we trust is nighat hand.
Elder Henry G. Boyle who has beenlaboring with much success inPrairie Co. Arkansas, during the pastwinter is expecting next spring tolead a company direct from that stateto settle somewhere in your neigh-borhood either in the fertile valleysof New Mexico, or near the headwaters of one of the branches of theLittle Colorado. The members of thechurch in Arkansas desire to settlenear you for various reasons,amongst others it will be moreeconomical than for them to selltheir teams and farming implementsand spend the proceeds on railroadfares, and be again compelled topurchase on their arrival, while bythis move they can bring their teams&c. with them, and thus be preparedto commence the cultivation of the
desire to build up the settlement theyform under the family order andbeing southerners think they wouldprosper best in a southern clime. Weare also watching with much interestthe progress made on the railtoads[sic] now in course of constructionin southern Colorado, with the hopethat by next spring they will besufficiently advanced toward yoursettlements to warrant us in bringingthe emigration from Europe by thatroute, with a view to strengtheningyour present settlements and formingnew ones.
We hope to hear from you often thatwe may be acquainted with yourprogress, labors and prospects aswell as of the success of the mis-sions to the Zuni and otherLamanites in your neighborhood, astidings thereof reach you from timeto time.
May God grant you the wisdom ofhis spirit that you may never be at aloss to know his will, nor of themeans you should take to accom-plish it is the prayer of
Your Brethren in the Gospel,
Brigham Young First Presidency of the Church
Daniel H. Wells of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints.
Source: Lot Smith Papers, Type-script, Ms. 4, Manuscripts Division,Special Collections, Marriott Li-brary, University of Utah, Salt LakeCity.soil on their arrival. They also
35Spring 2000
South Entrance to the Los Angeles Historic Park
I took my first trip over the SpanishTrail between Los Angeles, CA, andSanta Fe, NM, in 1993. It was theculmination of lots of time spent in
dusty library archives poring overmaps, books and magazine articles.I made the trip on a bicycle. It wasa rewarding experience and encour-aged me to spend more time on theTrail.
Why a bike and why the Spanish
Trail? I’ve been a bike tourist forover thirty years, and for the pastseveral years, have led cross-countrytours for a well-known bicycletouring company. By the time youread this, I’ll have again led a touracross the southwest. Needless tosay, I suppose, I like touring bybicycle. As for the Trail, I ran across
word of it when researching some-thing else. It piqued my interest thenand now. And, after all, it was thefirst commercial and emigrant roadacross the southwest. I thought: thiswould be a great trip for people whowant to experience an important partof the great American westward
expansion saga.
Following my first ride, I decided towrite a bicycle guide to the SpanishTrail, but soon realized that such aguide would be equally applicable todoing it other ways too, including byfour-wheeler, horse, mule or on foot.There’s no best way to tour theSpanish Trail. I’ve been working onthat concept on and off ever since,and touring portions of the trail bybike and in the “Beast,” my 1977Ford four-wheel drive truck when Ihave the time. Someday that guidemay come to fruition.
Early on, I decided that there were anumber of really interesting nationalparks and monuments, state parksand other nearby historic sites thatwould make this tour even moreexciting. So, there are alternate roadsthat, while close, sometimes leadaway from the Trail, but the route Idescribe in the nascent guide stilltakes you over 300+ miles of dirtroads and Jeep paths that closelyparallel the route used by NewMexican mule caravans and pioneerwagons. In general my directionsclosely follow the route described inthe Hafen’s book, “The Old SpanishTrail: Santa Fe to Los Angeles” andCrampton and Madsen’s, “In Searchof the Old Spanish Trail.” As amatter of personal choice the route isdescribed west to east.
Into and Out of Los Angeles on the Spanish TrailBy Lou McCombs
This material is the property of and was copyrighted by the author and may not be reproduced without his written permission.
This is the first in a series of articleswritten by McCombs on his adven-tures traveling the Old SpanishTrail from Los Angeles to Santa Fé.
Photo courtesy of the Editor
36 Spring 2000
McCombs’ Schwinn Bicycle and Trailer Photo courtesy of the Author
More recently, I joined the OSTA.Through some ongoing discussions,I asked to share my experience onthe Trail with other members via themedium of Spanish Traces. Such anendeavor requires much more spacethan is available in one issue, so Iproposed to write a series of how-to-follow the Spanish Trail articles.Since I hope to keep each section toa manageable number of words, andif the editors don’t give up, there’llbe six more of these.
The adventure beginsin downtown LosAngeles at El Pueblode Los AngelesHistoric Park, near theintersection of Mainand Macy Streets.Things are muchdifferent now thanthey were when thefirst Santa Fe caravanarrived in 1829. Then,the pueblo was sur-rounded by orchards,vineyards and smallfarms tended by lessthan 2500 residents.For as far as the eyecould see, the areafrom Cajon Pass tothe sea was a grassy,shrub covered plain cut by swiftflowing rivers, streams and a smallhills. A network of trails led toremote haciendas and well-usedriver crossings. At Mission SanGabriel, just a few miles east, padresand Indian acolytes tended largeherds of cattle and horses whichfreely roamed the plain. Ranchos atCucamonga and San Bemardinoguarded the Cajon Pass againstdepredations by Indian and outlawhorse thieves.
That pastoral topography is nowgone—replaced by an intricate mazeof streets, high-rise buildings, shop-ping centers and housing projects. Thecart roads and trails have been pavedover and swapped for traffic jams onbusy freeways. However, it’s still pos-sible to closely follow the path of theearly caravans across the valley. Ofcourse, doing so requires some imagi-nation. And while history’s ebb andflow has replaced the old trails withthe exigencies of modern city plan-
ning, there’s still much to see and doalong the route into and out of L.A.
On the Trail the caravans en route toand from Santa Fe went in a more orless straight line between CajonPass, first to San Gabriel missionand then on to Los Angeles pueblobefore spreading out across southernCalifornia to trade their goods. Theroads herein described do much thesame. Along the way are museums,surviving ranch houses, historicmonuments, Route 66 and an inter-
esting cross-section of modern LosAngeles. My advice is that Sunday isa good day to start the tour in orderto beat much of the otherwise miser-able L.A. traffic found during theregular workweek.
From the Historic Park, head east onMacy to Mission Boulevard, thenfollow Mission, Valley Boulevard,and Alhambra Avenue to MissionSan Gabriel. The mission, foundedin 1771 and recently restored, is the
third Californiamission established atthe direction of PadreJunipero Serra.
From the mission, takeLas Tunas to ArrowHighway. Turn northon Euclid to the inter-section of FoothillRoad (Old Route 66)where there is a Ma-donna of the Trailmonument on thenorthwest corner thatdescribes the story ofearly pioneers. Route66, often called the“Mother Road” since itwas the first paved roadacross the U.S., linkedChicago, IL, to Santa
Monica, CA. Best described by JohnSteinbeck in “The Grapes of Wrath,”it was the exodus route for manymid-westem Americans fleeing dustbowl conditions and looking for jobsin the far west during the 1930’s.
Follow Foothill to Etiwanda Avenuein Rancho Cucamonga, turn left toSummit Avenue and follow Summitto I-15. Just before the freeway, turnleft onto Lyttle Creek Road. Followit to DeVore Road and Glen HelenRegional Park, the general area of
37Spring 2000
what in Trail days was SycamoreGrove camp. Near the park entranceare historic plaques that identify thegrove as a camping place on the OldSpanish Trail and briefly discuss theMormon Battalion. The battalionwas formed in 1846 to help constructa wagon road across the southwestduring the Mexican War. Uponmustering out, some members werethe first to take a wagon over theOST along the route that would laterbecome the Mormon, and later still,the Los Angeles-Salt Lake Road.
North of DeVore, take the old high-way, a continuation of Route 66. Itparallels I-15 on the west. Not manypeople now drive the road, but itclosely follows the Spanish Trailthrough Cajon Creek Canyon.During gold rush days, forty-ninerspanned for gold along the creek.Today, many modern day prospec-tors continue to try their luck. It’snot unusual to run across peoplepanning or dredging for gold alongthe creek.
Route 66 eventually ends at anentrance to I-15. Head north to theSR 138 offramp and exit the free-way. Turn immediately right ontoFrontage Road. At the dead end isanother Trail monument at themouth of Crowder Canyon. For themule trains, this canyon was simplythe upper narrows. The monumentdescribes the canyon as the route ofthe Mormon Road/Old SpanishTrail. The canyon is now part of theCalifornia Trail hiking and eques-trian system.
To continue on the Trail, return toSR 138 and turn right. This will takeyou across east Cajon Pass by wayof historic Brown’s Toll Road andthe modern railroad into Summit
Canyon. In a few miles turn left onSummit Valley Road. This leads tothe railroad tracks and a 4-milesection of good gravel road. This inturn becomes Santa Fe Avenue nearthe airport. At the first overpass(Main Street) wind your way up,over and down onto Hesperia Road.Follow it all the way into old townVictorville. For cyclists: Hesperiahas recently been widened and
resurfaced which makes for a muchmore pleasant ride.
Just a note: While you’re inVictorville, make sure you take timeto visit the Roy Rogers/Dale EvansMuseum. For those of us who grewup in the 40’s and 50’s, it’s a nostal-
Mormon/Salt Lake Road-Los Angeles Road Monument
At Crowder Canyon above I-15Photo courtesy of the Author
gic trip back to the days when thegood guys all wore white hats.
Maps: You don’t need a briefcasefull to take the tour, but the follow-ing are essential. The first two arereally necessary for negotiating thecongested L.A. and San Berdoostreets. The L.A. guide also hassome good suggestions about inter-esting places to visit.• AAA Guide to Metropolitan Los
Angeles• AAA San Bernardino County• AAA Guide to Indian Country• AAA Las Vegas Area Guide• Utah Travel Council South-
western, Northeastern andSoutheastern guides
• Santa Fe City mapFor more info about the city andnearby high desert communities suchas Victorville, contact the LosAngeles Convention and VisitorsBureau, 685 So. Figueroa St., LosAngeles, CA 90017, (213) 689-8822.
This is the first in a series of sevenarticles written by McCombs onhis adventures traveling the OldSpanish Trail. Next: Across aHostile Desert to Las Vegas, NV
About the Author: McCombs tells usthat following his retirement, he tookup leading long distance bicycle tours.He now lives in Utah. McCombsemphasizes that the Trail wandersthrough some very tough countryside,so there is some risk involved intouring the route. Make sure yourvehicle or bike is in good repair,always carry lots of water and letpeople know where you’re going to bewhen you’re in the outback.
38 Spring 2000
A Newer World: Kit Carson, JohnC. Frémont, and the Claiming ofthe American West. By DavidRoberts. (New York: Simon & Schuster,2000, 320 pp., illustrations, map, index,$25)
This is a book that will stir somecontroversy, and force the reader tomake some judgments about the twopeople and era that the author haschosen to examine. Probably, experi-enced writer David Roberts couldask for no more than to challenge hisreaders.
John C. Frémont and Kit Carson hadmuch to do with the promotion andsettlement of the Southwest andRocky Mountain regions. Robertsexamines their stories in relation toeach other and their involvement inAmerica’s expansion in the decadesof the 1840s-1860s. Perhaps his“Epilogue” should be read first; but,then, that might be “cheating.”
Having researched the documentsand visited many areas under discus-sion, Roberts takes the reader alongwith him in a fast paced, well writ-ten story, Not everyone is going toagree with his conclusions or hisdescription of the people and events.There is glory and adventure here aswell as tragedy for those people whoalready called this land home.
This is a recommended volume. Onecould argue with the author’s failureto provide more information onsources used, particularly after hecriticized some who wrote beforehim for just this “sin,” but that is asmall matter.
Reviewed by Duane A. SmithDurango, Colorado
Sights Once Seen: DaguerreotypingFrémont’s Last Expedition throughthe Rockies. By Robert Shlaer,(Museum of New Mexico Press, 2000, retailprice $45, but it will be available to OSTAconference attendees at a discount.)
Old Spanish Trail buffs will not wantto miss Sights Once Seen. Thisaccount of John Charles Frémont’sfifth, and last, expedition in theRockies in 1853-54 notes theexpedition’s association with theSpanish Trail. Crossing Coloradoand entering Utah, the expeditionroute included a significant sectionof the North Branch of OST, andlater intersected, more than once, themain route of OST. These associa-tions are documented in Sights OnceSeen.
Robert Shlaer, one of a small num-ber of contemporary daguerreo-typists working today, has not onlydemonstrated his mastery of the art,but has made a significant contribu-tion to the history of Western expedi-tions. Working in the field, Shlaerhas recreated many of the lostdaguerreotype photographs takenalmost 150 years ago by SolomonNunes Carvalho to documentFremont’s survey of a proposedroute for a transcontinental railroad.
Frémont had planned a first inUnited States history: to comprehen-sively document his expedition withdaguerreotype photography, using aprocess that had been developedabout 14 years earlier, and to publishan expedition report containingimages derived from the photos.Unfortunately for history, no reportwas ever produced, and sadly themore than 300 daguerreotype plates(except for perhaps one, discussed inthe book) along with later MathewBrady photos of the daguerreotypeimages were destroyed in a NewYork warehouse fire in 1881.
To recreate the images, Shlaer
successfully played the role of adetective. First, since no compre-hensive report of the expedition hadbeen produced and since the originalimages were destroyed, he had tofind engravers’ renditions of images.In a coast-to-coast search, Shlaerwas ultimately successful in finding34 images that he believes werederived from Carvalho’s daguerreo-types. Second, after finding theimages, Shlaer had to find the sitesfrom which the photos were taken.Dealing with problems of reversedimages, mislabeled images, andsometimes confusing reports oflocations, geographic names, andexpedition routing, Shlaer spent fouryears seeking out the sites. He alsophotographed many scenes forwhich no expedition images exist,based on participants’ journals andnotes.
Shlaer’s resulting book serves as acatalog for a companion exhibitionof his daguerreotype images, whichis now at the Palace of the Gover-nors History Museum in Santa Fe.But this book is far more than ashow catalog. Shlaer has written anelegant series of essays that serve asbook chapters. In four short chap-ters, he encapsulates the history ofWestern exploration and the FrémontFifth Expedition. In four other shortchapters he discusses early expedi-tionary daguerreotypy andCarvalho’s use of the process, aswell as his own experiences inmodern daguerreotypy. Shlaersuccessfully explains the daguerreo-type process for the layman, withoutthe technical photographic jargonthat causes many non-photographersto glaze over. He dramaticallyemphasizes the enormous difficultiesthat faced Carvalho (and to a lesserdegree, Shlaer) in producing qualityimages.
Following these eight chapters are192 engraving images, daguerreo-type images, and modern photos
Book Reviews
39Spring 2000
comparing images derived fromCarvalho images and expeditionmembers’ reports. They show theroute from Westport, Kansas Terri-tory to the site near current-dayFremont, Utah, where the belea-guered expedition members, nearlydead from starvation, exhaustion,were forced to cache their equip-ment. Cached, and never recovered,was Carvalho’s daguerreotypeequipment. Frémont insisted thatthe 300 plus daguerreotype plates(about 25 pounds of material) ex-posed by Carvalho be carried onuntil the rescue of the group.
While much has been written ofFrémont, both good and bad, Car-valho is a little-known, but clearlyheroic, figure in a chapter of Westernhistory. He was a Sephardic Jewfrom Baltimore with no experiencein coping with the wilds of the West.With only about two weeks notice,he equipped himself with daguerreo-type apparatus and accessories thatallowed him to successfully photo-graph an unforgiving landscape intemperatures as low as 30 degreesbelow zero, at elevations sometimesexceeding 10,000 feet, occasionallystanding in snow up to his waist, andwith limited facilities for protectingagainst dust, moisture, and glare. Heencountered prairie fires, buffalostampedes, and hostile Indians.Interestingly, like many others led byFrémont (sometimes rashly) intoperilous situations, he developed afierce loyalty to Frémont, and lateractively promoted Frémont’s bid forthe presidency. Fortunately for us,he left his own report of this expedi-tion in an interesting book, Incidentsof Travel and Adventure in the FarWest; with Frémont’s Last Expedi-tion across the Rocky Mountains.
The book is beautifully done. It iswell-written and wonderfully infor-mative, and the images are of finequality. There are two good mapsand an extensive bibliography. This
reviewer has one complaint: mu-seum and academic press books likethis should always include a compre-hensive index. Regrettably, thisbook has none. I noted a couple ofminor editorial errors: Charles F.Lummis’ name is spelled “Loomis,”and in one place the name ofFrémont’s physician, Dr. Ebers,comes out as “Ober.” (A good indexwould have helped catch theseerrors.) These minor quibbles takenothing away from an outstandingbook.
A final tribute to Shlaer’s approachis merited. The sites photographedare ultimately based on Shlaer’s bestjudgment of locations whereCarvalho produced images. Some-times these sites are unarguablyclear, but at other times Shlaer’sdecisions could be questioned. Inthe latter cases, Shlaer is very carefulto note the ambiguity, and to give afair and balanced set of “pros andcons” regarding his judgments.
Reviewed by Willard LewisSanta Fe, New Mexico
America’s National Historic Trails.By Kathleen Ann Cordes. (Universityof Oklahoma Press, 1999, Norman, Okla-homa, 384 pp., Photography and illustra-tions, maps, appendix, index. $19.95)
The twelve American NationalHistoric Trails, which are found in28 of the 50 states, range from thefamous (The Lewis and Clark Trail)to the infamous (The Trail of Tears).The stories they tell range from earlyexploration history (The JuanBautista de Anza Trail in California)to recent civil rights history (Selmato Montgomery Trail). KathleenAnn Cordes has put together a nicelyillustrated very informative book.
The first thing I did after skimmingthrough the book and reading theback cover was to look at the map ofAmerica’s National Historic Trails,
where I was struck by two things:1) The big empty area in that part of
the southwest traversed by the OldSpanish Trail, and
2) How several of the NationalHistoric Trails have branches, andnot just one trail. For example, theSanta Fe Trail has two branchesgoing into Santa Fe, one throughColorado, and one through Okla-homa; and the California Trail hasmore than five branches going intoCalifornia.
Having satisfied my curiosity on twoissues relating to the Old SpanishTrail, I then proceeded to explore thebook. The first chapter is a goodintroduction to the 12 NationalHistoric Trails, except that I wouldhave liked to see more on the criteriaused to select a National HistoricTrail. Then each of the trails iscovered in a separate chapter. First,the facts and figures regarding thelocation of the trail and logisticalinformation for contacting or travel-ing to the trail is provided. Then aremarkably detailed history of thetrail is presented. Following thedetailed history is a description of“The Trail Today.” Points of interestalong the trail are described, alongwith a nice large-scale map of thetrail. Several of the chapters includebiographical sketches, such as Lewisand Clark, Bill Cody, and the Mor-mon Tabernacle Choir.
The only problem I had with thisbook is the format. The book is only8.5 x 5.5 inches in size, with pagesand pages of small print with nobreak. Even if it is intended as afield guide, in my opinion the sub-ject is too big for the size of thebook. I suggest that the next editionbe larger, with larger print, and withmore subheadings and larger andmore interspersed illustrations. Forhistory buffs and trail buffs this bookis a must.
Reviewed by Nick SainesLas Vegas, Nevada
40 Spring 2000
Nonprofit Org.U.S. Postage
PAIDAngel Fire, NM
Permit No. 7
Old Spanish Trail AssociationP.O. Box 483Angel Fire, NM 87710
to Spanish colonial history of theSouthwest. Three of his books havereceived awards, including theGolden Spur Award by the WesternWriters of America and the C. L.Sonnichsen Book Award. He is aformer Woodrow Wilson Fellow anda recipient of the GuggenheimFellowship. The Simmons keynotewill kick off a great series of OSTpresenters.
Another highlight of the day is anearly-evening tour with light refresh-ments at the Hacienda de los Mar-tinez, a living history museum oper-ated by the Kit Carson HistoricMuseums. The hacienda dates to1804, when Antonio Severino Mar-tin (later changed to Martinez)moved from Abiquiu to Taos andbegan building. By the time of hisdeath in 1827, the hacienda hadgrown to encompass 21 roomsenclosing two placitas. The familyand hacienda figure richly in thehistory of Taos and the Southwest inthe 19th century.
Both the Taos County HistoricalSociety and the Kit Carson Historic
Museums are cooperating withOSTA to present the conference.Other conference speakers includeHarold Steiner of Las Vegas, Ne-vada, speaking on Taos to LosAngeles: Corridors of History, andRobert Shlaer, presenting an illus-trated lecture, Sights Once Seen:Daguerreotyping Frémont’s LastExpedition through the Rockies.Steiner is author of the new book,The Old Spanish Trail Across theMojave Desert, and is nominee forthe presidency of OSTA. Shlaer iscurator of a new exhibition at thePalace of the Governors HistoryMuseum, and author of a Museum ofNew Mexico Press book carrying thesame title. Both men will be avail-able for booksigning, and the bookswill be available for purchase(through cooperation with theMuseum Press, the Shlaer book willbe available at a 20% discount forconference attendees—see bookreview in this issue).
Adding a truly international flavor tothe conference, John Sharpe, anOSTA member from Clifton,Cumbria, England, will speak on
William Workman (1799-1876): AnEnglishman’s Place in the History ofthe American West. Workman livedin Taos before immigrating overOST to California, where he becamean important citizen. Clifton is thehometown of the Workmans.
Three field trips will be offeredconcurrently on June 11. The firstwill focus on the Taos area; thesecond on Santa Fe, with a visit tothe Shlaer exhibit (where Shlaer willbe available to answer questions)and other exhibits at the Palace ofthe Governors; and the third willvisit Abiquiu, possible trail crossingsof the Chama River, and (dependingon time and weather) Horse Lake, acamping place on OST. Both thesecond and third tours will visit SanGabriel, the site of Oñate’s firstsettlement in New Mexico.
Registration materials and informa-tion about accommodations will bemailed to you in mid-April. You areurged to register and secure accom-modations as early as possiblebecause Taos is a major vacationdestination in June.
Continued from page one
SEE YOU IN TAOS JUNE 10-11, 2000!
