He soon
found that he was in a wild desert region in the depths of winter, facing
death from cold and starvation. The situation was desperate.
Fremont judged that they were about as far south as San Francisco Bay. If
this was true, he knew that the distance to that place was only about
seventy miles. But to reach San Francisco Bay it was necessary to cross
the mountains, and the Indians refused to act as guides, telling him that
men could not possibly cross the steep, rugged heights in winter. This did
not stop Fremont. He said: "We'll go, guides or no guides!" And go they
did.
It was a terrible journey. Sometimes they came to places where the snow
was one hundred feet deep or more. But they pushed forward for nearly six
weeks. Finally, after suffering from intense cold and from lack of food,
they made their way down the western side of the mountains, men and horses
alike being in such a starved condition that they were almost walking
skeletons.
At last they reached Sutter's Fort, now the city of Sacramento, where they
enjoyed the hospitality of Captain Sutter. After remaining there for a
short time, Fremont recrossed the mountains, five hundred miles farther
south, and continued to Utah Lake, which is twenty-eight miles south of
Great Salt Lake.
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