Copied from pg 81-82 of Exploration and Survey of the Valley of the Great Salt Lake of Utah, Including a Reconnaissance of a New Route Through the Rocky Mountains, by Howard Stansbury, 1852.
August 26 [1849] – […] Just before descending into this valley, we observed from the high ground, the smokes of numerous Indian signal fires, rising in several directions — an intimation that strangers had been discovered in their country. A strict watch was therefore maintained during the night, lest our animals should be stolen. Wild cherries were found in tolerable abundance, and the trail was strewn over with their smaller branches, thrown away by the Indians, who had evidently passed only a day or two before, in considerable numbers.
August 27 –
[…] The Valley of Ogden’s Creek, or Ogden’s Hole, (as places of this kind in the nomenclature of this country, are called,) has long been the rendezvous of the North-west Company, on account of its fine range for stock in the winter, and has been the scene of many a merry reunion of the hardy trappers and traders of the mountains. Its streams were formerly full of beaver, but those have, I believe, entirely disappeared. Some few antelope were bounding over the green, but the appearance of fresh ‘Indian sign’ accounted for their scarcity.
During our ride through the valley we came suddenly on a party of eight or ten Indian women and girls, each with a basket on her back, gathering grass-seeds for their winter’s provisions. They were of the class of “root-diggers”, or, as the guide called them, “snake-diggers”. The instant they discovered us, an immediate and precipitate flight took place, nor could all the remonstrances of the guide, who called loudly after them in their own language, induce them to halt for a single moment. Those who were too close to escape by running, hid themselves in the bushes and grass so effectually, that in less time than it has taken to narrate the circumstances, only two of them were to be seen. These were a couple of girls of twelve or thirteen years of age, who, with their baskets dangling at their backs, set off their utmost speed for the mountains, and continued to run as long as we could see them, without stopping, or so much as turning their heads to look behind them. The whole party was entirely naked. After they had disappeared, we came near riding over two girls of sixteen or seventeen, who had “cached” behind a large fallen tree. They started up, gazed upon us for a moment, waved to us to continue our journey, and then fled with a rapidity that soon carried them beyond our sight