John Charles Fremont and the exploration of the American West - USA Yesterday - Biography

On the way, the expedition's supplies ran short, as horses and mules were stolen or simply worn out. This always necessitated side trips to various trading posts for provisions. Bent's Fort was one, situated on the Arkansas River border with Mexico. Tans, just northeast of Santa Fe, was another, as were Ft. Laramie and Ft. Hall, the latter near present-day Pocatello, Idaho.

On this trip, Fremont wanted to see the Great Salt Lake and, along with a reduced party, reconnoitered the area. After some harrowing experiences, the party was glad to head back to meet the others at Ft. Hall. The rendezvous by all members of the party was a welcome one, but at this juncture, 11 members were cut from the group. Expenses were one reason; another was that it would be easier for a smaller party to cross the looming mountains to their west. Moving ever westward, the more-compact passed traversed the lava beds of Idaho, passed Shoshone and American Falls, and headed for Ft. Boise, an other Hudson Bay Post. (Those who have visited Craters of the Moon National Monument in Idaho can appreciate how different this landscape was from that encountered elsewhere on their journey.)

Fremont's group noted the incredible contrast of the Grand Ronde Valley and, as always, analyzed rich soil samples. Next they came to "Mission" country, opened by Methodists and Presbyterians. The expedition headed directly for the Walla Walla Presbyterian Mission, founded by a New York physician Marcus Whitman. At this remote outpost, the doctor and his young wife, Narcissa, laugh the Bible and farming to the Cayuse Indians, while practicing medicine among them.

Whitman was away when the expedition arrived there, but Fremont was able to procure some potatoes and other vegetables Here they met Jesse Applegate of Oregon Trail fame and pumped him for any information about the land. (Tragedy struck the Mission a few years later when Narcissa's two-year-old baby drowned and the doctor and his wife subsequently were killed by the Cayuse.)

Fremont's group headed for The Dalles, a mission established in 1834 by Jason Lee The Dalles were powerful waterfalls of the Columbia River that required a portage. From there, Fremont followed the Columbia River to Ft. Vancouver, the major Hudson Bay Post in the Oregonland. Its chief factor, John McLaughlin, was a giant of a man, admiringly called by one historian the "Emperor of the North." Yet, if McLaughlin was an emperor, he was a benign one, for he helped American immigrants by lending them planting tools and supplies, as well as serving various other needs. This didn't fit well with England's policy, and McLaughlin was reprimanded. Eventually, he became an American.

The fair treatment the Hudson Bay Company generally gave to the whites and Indians made McLaughlin well-liked and respected by "all. What he did for the emigrants, he did for Fremont as well, helping to outfit the American officer for the turnaround journey back home. He even gave the latter a letter of credit to be honored at all Hudson Bay posts.