Continuing with the diary of James Field, teamster for the Riggs family, from the Willamette Farmer.
Fri., 25. - Went bout 16 miles to-day, crossing the river again and climbing over a mountain which shuts in to the river's edge.
Sat., 26. - Owing to an injudicious selection of our camp last night we did not get away from it until 11 o'clock, so that we only went seven miles to-day. There was an almost impenetrable thicket of brush near our camp, from which it seemed impossible to get the cattle.
Sun., 27. - Went about 22 miles to-day, camping near the soda springs. These springs are in the river valley on its northern side, and are one of the greatest curiosities on the road. Some of them are warm, others cold, and all boiling, and most of them impregnated more or less with copperas. Where some of them boil up they have formed a lime rock, which on walking over sounds as if it were hollow. There are several elevations on the rock two and three feet high shaped like a sugar-loaf, and their whole insides are filled with warm water constantly boiling and bubbling. Some of the water in these springs is supposed to be poisonous, from the fact of cattle dying when people have camped near them. They extend along for two miles between the mountain and the river on its northern side, and the poisonous ones are supposed to be located near a small cedar grove. The water has not a lively soda taste, but is rather like soda water left to open air until it dies, leaving only a sour, acid taste, and on the whole it is rather mean water.
Mon., 28. - Went about ten miles to-day, leaving Bear River on our left and camping near a spring slightly impregnated with soda. About a mile from camp we passed a spring, the water of which tasted more like soda water than any I have tasted of. The trail from the States to California parts from the Oregon road at Bear River, down which it follows, while the Oregon road strikes over on the Snake River near Fort Hall. A word for the Bear River Valley before leaving it: it comes nearer to being fit for white folks to live in than any section of the country we have traveled through since leaving the branches of Kansas River, and it only lacks a little of being a good farming country. The principal drawbacks are a scarcity of timber, there being only a strip of willow bushes along the river, with once in a long while a small grove of cottonwoods, and a little more rain in summer would be desirable. The soil is excellent, the climate rather cold of nights, and there is once in awhile a snow-drift to be seen on the mountains along the river. There is timber on the mountains nearly sufficient for the use of the valley.
Tues., 29. - One natural production of the country ought to be noticed, as it constitutes an important item of the food of the natives, game being rather scarce here. This is the crickets, which in some parts of the valley are larger and more plentiful than I ever saw them anywhere else, being from an inch and a half to two inches in length, with corporations like aldermen, and the Indians make fine, rich pots of soup of them (see a recipe here), as some of our company saw at a camp near the soda springs. We traveled about 14 miles to-day, camping on a small creek which is probably a branch of Bear River. I omitted mentioning yester-day that we had left the regular road again not far from the soda springs to take another near cut under the pilotage of a Frenchman. Our company found and employed him at the springs, but we had not proceeded far before we found the Greenwoods were conducting Tethero's company by the same route, and as they made a plain road for us to follow, our pilot returned. We have not yet got into the old road, but we have thus far had an easy, level way, and from the relative bearings of the two roads we must cut off at least nine or ten miles. We had an excellent camp, with plenty of grass and water. These Greenwoods are an old man and three sons whom he has raised in the Indian country. They are well posted on the route.
Wed., 30. - Went about 16 miles to-day, crossing the dividing mountain between Bear and Snake Rivers, and camping upon a small creek which runs into the latter stream, so that we are now upon the waters of Oregon. About four miles from our camp we struck and crossed the old road, crossing the mountain by a route which wagons had never taken before. Tethro passed over it, although it was the regular pack-trail. We struck the old road again about two miles from our present camp. An excellent road could be made across here with but little labor, and in its present condition it is not a hard road, and saves eight miles' travel.
Thurs., 31. - Eighteen miles to-day took us to Fort Hall, which stands upon the broad, level bottom of Snake River, with fine pasturage and some timber around it, and surrounded by a few wigwams of the Eutaw and other tribes of Indians. It is a good-sized fort, built like Fort Larimie of unburnt bricks, and is one of the posts of the Hudson's Bay Co. The superintendent of the fort is a very gentlemanly man, a Scotchman, I believe, and showed a good deal of kindness to the immigrants, but like most others in the Indian country, well disposed to make a good bargain off them when it can be done. They told us the first companies who arrived a few days before took them by surprise, being a month earlier than companies had ever reached the fort before.
From “The Diary of James Field” Willamette Farmer (Portland, OR, Fridays: April 18 – August 1, 1879).
20 Jun 1879 (July 22-29)
Sat., 26. - Owing to an injudicious selection of our camp last night we did not get away from it until 11 o'clock, so that we only went seven miles to-day. There was an almost impenetrable thicket of brush near our camp, from which it seemed impossible to get the cattle.
Sun., 27. - Went about 22 miles to-day, camping near the soda springs. These springs are in the river valley on its northern side, and are one of the greatest curiosities on the road. Some of them are warm, others cold, and all boiling, and most of them impregnated more or less with copperas. Where some of them boil up they have formed a lime rock, which on walking over sounds as if it were hollow. There are several elevations on the rock two and three feet high shaped like a sugar-loaf, and their whole insides are filled with warm water constantly boiling and bubbling. Some of the water in these springs is supposed to be poisonous, from the fact of cattle dying when people have camped near them. They extend along for two miles between the mountain and the river on its northern side, and the poisonous ones are supposed to be located near a small cedar grove. The water has not a lively soda taste, but is rather like soda water left to open air until it dies, leaving only a sour, acid taste, and on the whole it is rather mean water.
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| Soda Springs photo from: https://www.pemcarbon.com/gallery/soda-springs-id/ |
Tues., 29. - One natural production of the country ought to be noticed, as it constitutes an important item of the food of the natives, game being rather scarce here. This is the crickets, which in some parts of the valley are larger and more plentiful than I ever saw them anywhere else, being from an inch and a half to two inches in length, with corporations like aldermen, and the Indians make fine, rich pots of soup of them (see a recipe here), as some of our company saw at a camp near the soda springs. We traveled about 14 miles to-day, camping on a small creek which is probably a branch of Bear River. I omitted mentioning yester-day that we had left the regular road again not far from the soda springs to take another near cut under the pilotage of a Frenchman. Our company found and employed him at the springs, but we had not proceeded far before we found the Greenwoods were conducting Tethero's company by the same route, and as they made a plain road for us to follow, our pilot returned. We have not yet got into the old road, but we have thus far had an easy, level way, and from the relative bearings of the two roads we must cut off at least nine or ten miles. We had an excellent camp, with plenty of grass and water. These Greenwoods are an old man and three sons whom he has raised in the Indian country. They are well posted on the route.
Wed., 30. - Went about 16 miles to-day, crossing the dividing mountain between Bear and Snake Rivers, and camping upon a small creek which runs into the latter stream, so that we are now upon the waters of Oregon. About four miles from our camp we struck and crossed the old road, crossing the mountain by a route which wagons had never taken before. Tethro passed over it, although it was the regular pack-trail. We struck the old road again about two miles from our present camp. An excellent road could be made across here with but little labor, and in its present condition it is not a hard road, and saves eight miles' travel.
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| Fort Hall, 1849 sketch from: http://www.historyglobe.com/ot/fthall.htm |
Thurs., 31. - Eighteen miles to-day took us to Fort Hall, which stands upon the broad, level bottom of Snake River, with fine pasturage and some timber around it, and surrounded by a few wigwams of the Eutaw and other tribes of Indians. It is a good-sized fort, built like Fort Larimie of unburnt bricks, and is one of the posts of the Hudson's Bay Co. The superintendent of the fort is a very gentlemanly man, a Scotchman, I believe, and showed a good deal of kindness to the immigrants, but like most others in the Indian country, well disposed to make a good bargain off them when it can be done. They told us the first companies who arrived a few days before took them by surprise, being a month earlier than companies had ever reached the fort before.
From “The Diary of James Field” Willamette Farmer (Portland, OR, Fridays: April 18 – August 1, 1879).
20 Jun 1879 (July 22-29)
27 Jun 1879 (July 29-August 3)
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