Devil's Gate Pass Swauger Canyon/Devil's Gate Pass is located approximately 10 miles north of Bridgeport on Highway 395. Lieutenant John Charles Frémont's second Topographical Expedition left Missouri in June of 1843, and, mapping the Oregon Trail, had traveled to Fort Vancouver. Intending to return to Missouri through the Southwest, he then turned South through Oregon and Western Nevada. By January, 1844, the expedition was comprised of thirty men (including Christopher "Kit" Carson, and Thomas "Broken Hand" Fitzpatrick), sixty-seven horses and mules, and a brass mountain howitzer. Being low on provisions, Frémont made the decision to cross the Sierra Nevada to Sutter's Fort. It was mid-winter, and the mountains were covered with snow. The Indians they met told them it would be impossible to cross--"Rock upon rock; snow upon snow." Fremont continued through this pass and lost his cannon somewhere in this area. The Nevada State Museum in Carson City believes that they have Fremont's cannon today. It was found by two miners back in 1859. But if you see an old '12 pounder' out there... who knows? For an interesting look on Fremont's trip over Devil's Gate Pass, visit: Fremont's Long Camp Back to Bridgeport Area Map