salmon were coming up the streams; and we could hardly restrain our
impatience as we thought of them, and worked with increased vigor.

"I was now perfectly satisfied that we had struck the stream on
which Mr. Sutter lived, and turning about, made a hard push, and
reached the camp at dark. Here we had the pleasure to find all
the remaining animals, fifty-seven in number, safely arrived at
the grassy hill near the camp; and here, also, we were agreeably
surprised with the sight of an abundance of salt. Some of the horse
guard had gone to a neighboring hut for pine nuts, and discovered
unexpectedly a large cake of very white fine grained salt, which
the Indians told them they had brought from the other side of the
mountain; they used it to eat with their pine nuts, and readily
sold it for goods.

"On the 19th, the people were occupied in making a road and bringing
up the baggage; and, on the afternoon of the next day, February 20,
1844, we encamped with all the materiel of the camp, on the summit
of the pass in the dividing ridge, 1,000 miles by our travelled
road from the Dalles of the Columbia.

"February 21. -- We now considered ourselves victorious over the
mountain; having only the descent before us, and the valley under
our eyes, we felt strong hope that we should force our way down.
But this was a case in which the descent was not facile. Still,
deep fields of snow lay between, and there was a large intervening
space of rough looking mountains, through which we had yet to wind
our way. Carson roused me this morning with an early fire, and
we were all up long before day, in order to pass the snow fields
before the sun should render the crust soft. We enjoyed this morning