After passing a night in this valley, the travellers in themorning scaled the neighboring hills, to look out for a moreeligible route than that upon which they had unluckily fallen;and, after much reconnoitring, determined to make their way oncemore to the river, and to travel upon the ice when the banksshould prove impassable.
On the second day after this determination, they were again uponSnake River, but, contrary to their expectations, it was nearlyfree from ice. A narrow riband ran along the shore, and sometimesthere was a kind of bridge across the stream, formed of old iceand snow. For a short time, they jogged along the bank, withtolerable facility, but at length came to where the river forcedits way into the heart of the mountains, winding betweentremendous walls of basaltic rock, that rose perpendicularly fromthe water's edge, frowning in bleak and gloomy grandeur. Heredifficulties of all kinds beset their path. The snow was from twoto three feet deep, but soft and yielding, so that the horses hadno foothold, but kept plunging forward, straining themselves byperpetual efforts. Sometimes the crags and promontories forcedthem upon the narrow riband of ice that bordered the shore;sometimes they had to scramble over vast masses of rock which hadtumbled from the impending precipices; sometimes they had tocross the stream upon the hazardous bridges of ice and snow,sinking to the knee at every step; sometimes they had to scaleslippery acclivities, and to pass along narrow cornices, glazedwith ice and sleet, a shouldering wall of rock on one side, ayawning precipice on the other, where a single false step wouldhave been fatal. In a lower and less dangerous pass, two of theirhorses actually fell into the river; one was saved with muchdifficulty, but the boldness of the shore prevented theirrescuing the other, and he was swept away by the rapid current.
In this way they struggled forward, manfully braving difficultiesand dangers, until they came to where the bed of the river wasnarrowed to a mere chasm, with perpendicular walls of rock thatdefied all further progress. Turning their faces now to themountain, they endeavored to cross directly over it; but, afterclambering nearly to the summit, found their path closed byinsurmountable barriers.
Nothing now remained but to retrace their steps. To descend acragged mountain, however, was more difficult and dangerous thanto ascend it. They had to lower themselves cautiously and slowly,from steep to steep; and, while they managed with difficulty tomaintain their own footing, to aid their horses by holding onfirmly to the rope halters, as the poor animals stumbled amongslippery rocks, or slid down icy declivities. Thus, after a dayof intense cold, and severe and incessant toil, amidst thewildest of scenery, they managed, about nightfall, to reach thecamping ground, from which they had started in the morning, andfor the first time in the course of their rugged and perilousexpedition, felt their hearts quailing under their multipliedhardships.
A hearty supper, a tranquillizing pipe, and a sound night'ssleep, put them all in better mood, and in the morning they helda consultation as to their future movements. About four milesbehind, they had remarked a small ridge of mountains approachingclosely to the river. It was determined to scale this ridge, andseek a passage into the valley which must lie beyond. Should theyfail in this, but one alternative remained. To kill their horses,dry the flesh for provisions, make boats of the hides, and, inthese, commit themselves to the stream--a measure hazardous inthe extreme.
A short march brought them to the foot of the mountain, but itssteep and cragged sides almost discouraged hope. The only chanceof scaling it was by broken masses of rock, piled one uponanother, which formed a succession of crags, reaching nearly tothe summit. Up these they wrought their way with indescribabledifficulty and peril, in a zigzag course, climbing from rock torock, and helping their horses up after them; which scrambledamong the crags like mountain goats; now and then dislodging somehuge stone, which, the moment they had left it, would roll downthe mountain, crashing and rebounding with terrific din. It wassome time after dark before they reached a kind of platform onthe summit of the mountain, where they could venture to encamp.
The winds, which swept this naked height, had whirled all thesnow into the valley beneath, so that the horses found tolerablewinter pasturage on the dry grass which remained exposed. Thetravellers, though hungry in the extreme, were fain to make avery frugal supper; for they saw their journey was likely to beprolonged much beyond the anticipated term.
