"We remained at our encampment of this day until the morning of the 7th, when we descended ten miles lower down and encamped on a spot of ground where several thousand Indians had wintered during the past season"
- William Henry Ashley
About this Quote
This quote is from William Henry Ashley's account of his exploration in the Rocky Mountains in 1825. He and his group had been taking a trip for a long time and had actually stopped to camp on the 6th. The next day, they continued their journey and came down 10 miles lower down, where they found an area of ground that had actually been used by a number of thousand Indians as a winter camp. This suggests that the location was widely known to the regional Indigenous people and was likely a popular spot for them to invest the winter season. It likewise suggests that the area was well-resourced and provided the required nourishment for the a great deal of people who had actually stayed there. The truth that Ashley and his team selected to camp there too shows that they knew the area's possible and were most likely looking to benefit from the resources it needed to offer.
"I weep for the liberty of my country when I see at this early day of its successful experiment that corruption has been imputed to many members of the House of Representatives, and the rights of the people have been bartered for promises of office"