From the Great Salt Lake.
From the St. Louis Intelligencer.
The St. Ange arrived from the Missouri last evening, having as passengers Capt. Stansbury, of the topographical engineers, and Lieut. J. W. Gunnison and party, who are on their return from an exploring expedition in the Great Salt Lake country.
Capt. Stansbury, with Lieut. Gunnison and twenty men, left Fort Leavenworth in May, 1849, to explore and survey, by order of Government, the region of the Utah Mountains, from Fort Hall, in Oregon, to the valleys of the Great Salt and Utah Lakes, in the now Utah territory.
On their outward trip they pursued the route of the Sweetwater Pass, or as it is now called in common parlance, the South Pass, and thence to the Great Salt Lake, on two routes, by dividing the surveying party at Fort Bridges, on the Black Fork of the Colorado—Capt. Stansbury retaining the command of one division, while the other was entrusted to Lieut. Gunnison. We learn that the survey has been made of the two valleys of the lakes—a complete triangulation extending over their surface—the route explored to Fort Hall, and, on their return, a direct route was taken through the plains to the east base of the Black Hills, which lies about eighty miles South of the Platte route by the Sweetwater river.
This was found to be a very level, well grassed and watered route, and turns the points of the Medicine Bow Mountains on one hand, and the South point of the Black Hills on the other. Coal in great abundance was found in the bluffs of the Bitter Creek, an affluent of the Green or Colorado River, up which the party followed to the dividing ridge between the Atlantic and Pacific waters.—There are now four crossings of this champaign country, between the North Fork and Wind Ri-ver Mountains, viz. : the "South or Sweetwater Pass," the "Simoni's Route," taken by the Cher-okee emigrants with eighty wagons, and passing at the North Park, the "Evans' Route," followed by a party under the command of a gentleman of that name, in 1849, and crossing near Sage Creek, forty miles north of the Park: and lastly, Captain Stanbury's route, of 1850, between the latter two, to the crossing of the North Fork of the Platte, thence to the head of Lodge Pole Creek, which creek lies in the plains, and is a tributary of the South Fork, whence they come to Fort Laramie.
Capt. Stansbury was upward of twelve month actively, and, we dare say, profitably employed in making surveys and explorations, and his party return in good health and without accident, except a sprain sustained by the commanding officer near Fort Laramie, whence he had to be conveyed to Fort Leavenworth on a litter, but we are grati-fied to state he is now better, with fair prospects of a speedy recovery.
The Mormons in the country where the principal duty of surveying was performed, aided the opera-tions all in their power, and are spoken of in high terms by Capt. S. and his party for their industry, and deserve the favorable consideration of Government for adding a cultivated Territory to the Union, where the ordinary manner of civiliza-tion would not have reached for years, and just where we need a thriving agricultural people be-tween our Atlantic and Pacific empires.
Capt. Stansbury's party left the Salt Lake City, on their return home, on the 28th of August. Just on the outskirts of the town the first of the Mor-mon train of emigrants from Council Bluffs was met, under the command of Elder Orson Hyde, From this time, up to where Capt. Stansbury left; the usually traveled route, Mormon trains were daily met wending their way slowly but surely to the land of their hope. They were all getting along finely. Nothing can exceed the admirable manner with which the moving of the Mormons from Count-cil Bluffs to Salt Lake was planned and executed this season. They were thoroughly organized be-fore leaving the Bluffs, and appointed captains of hundreds, captains of fifties, and captains of tens', and throughout followed the manner of the moving of the children of Israel, as handed down by the most ancient and best of books, and now, as then, most admirably has it succeeded; when met, their teams were all fat, their wagons in repair, their women and children remarkably well, and their men, to all appearances, happy. It is estimated that twelve hundred wagons will have reached the city of Salt Lake this season, from the States, add-ing to the population of that already numerous and prospering people, full seven thousand souls. The crops are all good in the valley, and such s thing as a scarcity of provisions, even with the increase of population, is not even dreamed of.
On the trip in, Capt. Stansbury's party were charged upon by a war party of Snake Indians, bug they did no harm, for on coming to close quarters, they discovered that preparations were made to receive them; and also, that it was not the Utahs, with whom they were at war. The Sioux and Cheyenne Indians were seen in great numbers, but they were friendly, and showed great dread of offending the soldiers at Fort Laramie, near which are their hunting and wintering grounds.
The Cheyennes are at war with the Utahs, the Crows and the Snake Indians, also with the Paw-nees, from the East, a large party of whom had driven them into the vicinity of the Fort, and a few accompanied the surveying party from the Platte to Fort Kearney.
In this connection, we Would inquire why has Government overlooked the position on the Green River between the tribes of Indians of the Rocky Mountains, and adjacent to the "Neutral Ground,” where their battles are nearly all fought, and push the troops to Fort Hall in the midst of the friendly Indians and to a point far distant from any of the main routes to California? This is certainly great oversight in Government, and calls loudly for change.
In coming in Capt. Stansbury met with J. Owens, sutler of Fort Hall, whose train had beers robbed by the Crow Indians, at the South Pass, in the latter part of August. He had sent to Fort Bridger for assistance, and has ere this ob-tained it. Livingston & Kincaid's train was met at Fort Bridger on the 10th of September, Other trains, with goods for the valley, in that vicinity. The first U. S. mail arrived at Fort Bridger on the 9th. The second was met Oct. 17, near Ash Hollow. Capt. Tuttle's train on Plumb Creek, 35 miles beyond Fort Kearney, ore the 25th ult. and Richards's train with Indian goods, at the head of Little Blue on the 28th.
A train was to have left Salt Lake City on or about the 10th of September for the States. Or-son Hyde, editor of the Frontier Guardian, and an Elder in the Mormon Church, was to have re-turned to his post at Council Bluffs by this train. A large number of missionaries to all parts of the globe were to have been appointed at the great conference of the Mormon Church, held on Sept. 6, and would also come in by the same opportu-nity.
