Reports of explorations and surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean: Vol. 1, Pt. 2

ITINERARY OF ROUTE FROM HELL GATE TO C(EUR D ALENE MISSION.
and let it fall, fortunately without injury to any one. The Indians have quite a village of lodges
near the mission, and among them half a dozen log huts.
October 13.-The Coeur d'Alenes have already, under the influence and example of their
priest, made a fair commencement in agriculture, and will, with timely encouragement from
our government, live entirely by cultivation, for which their country is so well adapted. They
are well contented, and it is pleasing to observe habits of industry growing upon them. In the
barn we saw their operation of threshing. Four boys rode as many mules abreast around
in circle, and they were followed by two girls with flails, who were perfectly at home in the
business. I observed an Indian woman milking, and was surprised to see her use both hands,
something rarely seen among the Indians. We afterwards visited the field. A large fire was
burning, and around it sat Indians roasting potatoes at pleasure. There appeared to be great
scarcity of proper implements; and in digging potatoes I noticed that many had nothing better
than sharpened sticks.
October 14.-Determined to remain here until to-morrow. A Nez Perce, Frank, who with
two men arrived yesterday from Wallah-Wallah in three days, and who stopped to exchange
horses for flour, says thirty wagons have crossed the military road from Wallah-Wallah to
Nisqually. The Coeur d'Alenes, Pend d'Oreilles, Spokanes, and Nez Perces, meet together to
fish and hunt. They have an ingenious way of hunting the deer, which is worth relating. A
large circle is enclosed, and upon the trees around its circumference are attached pieces of cloth.
Then the hunters enter the area and start up the deer. The deer are afraid to pass the cloth,
and thus kept within the circle, are easily killed. Last year the Pend d'Oreilles, in one hunt,
killed eight hundred; the Coeur d'Alenes more than four hundred. It is said that the Coeur
d'Alenes of St. Joseph river have finer lands and larger prairies than those of this mission.
The distance from here to Wallah-Wallah is six days, to Colville four days, and four days
to the Pend d'Oreille mission.
On the return of the Indians from the field, Governor Stevens addressed them in kind and
encouraging termns.
October 15.-We started at eight o'clock, after having given brother Charles as many lariet
ropes for raising the timbers of the church as we could spare. We marched through an extensive prairie bottom four miles in length; leaving the river to the left, we took a course north
of west through a wooded, broken country, somewhat obstructed by fallen timber. We camped
on a beautiful prairie, with good grass, and here we found nearly one hundred Spokanes, with
some three hundred horses, on their way to the hunt. We had already met some forty Indians,
Coeur d'Alenes, Nez Perces, and Spokanes, on the road. In the evening the Spokanes held
religious (Protestant) services, and we joined them to witness their ceremonies. The majority
of the Indians were on their way to meet the Flatheads and other tribes to hunt buffalo on
the waters of the Missouri. This is a very strong evidence that the snows will present no
insurmountable barrier to communication across the mountains in winter. Many of them make
a distance of six hunldred miles in midwinter, recrossing the mountains in January, their horses
laden with robes and meat, to their homes on the waters of the Columbia. Distance nineteen
miles.
October 16.-We started at eight o'clock. The road for the first half of the way through an
open, wooded prairie. Then we came into the Coeur d'Alene prairie, a beautiful tract of land
containing about six hundred square miles. Trap-rock, projecting above the surface of the
ground in spurs, is plentiful as we enter this prairie. We met on the way a half-breed, named
Francis Farlay, on his way to St. Mary's with his family. He lives near Golville, just beyond
the ferry. They were dressed, and had an air of general respectability.
Soon after leaving camp the Coeur d'Alene lake came in view to the south of us, and-eleven
miles from camp we struck it near its western extremity. It is a beautiful sheet of water, surrounded by picturesque hills mostly covered with wood. Its shape is irregular, unlike that
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