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crossing them by the snow,—and of a party of eleven who attempted to come into the valley on foot. The writer, who is well qualified to judge, is of the opinion that the whole party might have reached the California valley before the first fall of snow, if the men had exerted themselves as they should have done. Nothing but a contrary and contentious disposition on the part of some of the men belonging to the party prevented them from getting in as soon as any of the first companies.
    The following particulars we extracted from the letter:
    â€œThe company is composed of twenty three waggons [sic], and is a part of Col. Russell’s company that left the rendezvous on Indian Creek near the Missouri line on the 13th day of May last. They arrived at Fort Bridger in good time, some two weeks earlier than the last company on the road. From that point they took the new road by the south end of the Great Salt Lake, which was then being marked out by some seventy five waggons [sic] with Messrs. Hastings and Headspath as pilots.
    â€œThey followed on in the train until they were near the Weber River canion [sic], and within some 4 or 5 days travel of the leading waggons [sic], when they stopped and sent on three men (Messrs. Reed, Stanton and Pike) to the first company to request Mr. Hastings to go back and show them the pack trail from the Red Fork of Weber River to the Lake. Mr. H. went back and showed them the trail, and then returned to our company, all of which time we remained in camp, waiting for Mr. Hastings to show us the rout.
    â€œThey then commenced making the new road over the Lake on the pack trail, so as to avoid the Weber river canion [sic], and Mr. Reed and others, who left the company, and came in for assistance, informed me that they were sixteen days making the road, as the men would not work one quarter oftheir time. Had they gone on the road that we had made for them, they would have easily overtaken us before we reached the old road on Mary’s river.
    â€œThey were then but some 4 of 5 days travel behind the first waggons [sic], which were travelling [sic] slow, on account of being obliged to make an entire new rout for several hundred miles through heavy sage and over mountains, and delayed four days by the guides hunting out passes in the mountains, and these waggons [sic] arrived at the settlement about the first of October. Had they gone around the old road, the north end of the Great Salt Lake, they would have been in the first of September.
    â€œAfter crossing the long drive of 75 miles without water or grass, and suffering much from loss of oxen, they sent on two men (Messrs. Stanton and McCutcher). They left the company recruiting on the second long drive of 35 miles, and came in to Capt. J. A. Sutter’s Fort, and asked for assistance.
    â€œCapt. Sutter in his usual prompt and generous manner, furnished them with 7 of his best mules and two of his favorite Indian vaqueros, and all of the flour and beef that they wanted. Mr. C. S. Stanton, a young gentlemen from Syracuse, New York, took charge of the vaqueros and provisions, and returned to the company. Afterwards, Mr. Reed came in almost exhausted from starvation; he was supplied with a still larger number of horsesand mules and all the provisions he could take. He returned as far as the Bear River valley, and found snow so deep, that he could not get to the company. He cached the provisions at that place and returned.
    â€œSince that time (the middle of November), we heard nothing of the company, until last week, when a messenger was sent down from Capt. Wm. Johnson’s settlement, with the astounding information that five women and two men had arrived at that point entirely naked, their feet frost bitten—and informed them that the company arrived within three miles of the small log cabin near Trucky’s Lake on the east side of the mountains, and found the snow so deep that they could not travel, and fearing