180 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



however, showed that the strange stories of Jim Bridger were not 

 without some elements of truth. 



Two-Ocean Pass was visited by Captain Jones in 1S73, by Dr. 

 F. V. Hay den in 1878, and by Mr. Arnold Hague in 1884. The 

 observations made by these various explorers seemed to indicate 

 that Two-Ocean Pass is a nearly level meadow, near the center 

 of which is a marsh, which, in times of wet weather, becomes a 

 small lake, and that " a portion of the waters from the surround- 

 ing mountains accumulates in the marshy meadows and gradually 

 gravitates from either side into two small streams, one of which 

 flows to the northeast, the other to the southwest" (Hayden). 



From these reports it began to be suspected that trout, ascend- 

 ing Pacific Creek from Snake River, might, in time of high wa- 

 ter, pass through the lake in Two-Ocean Pass and descend Atlantic 

 Creek and the upper Yellowstone to Yellowstone Lake, and thus 

 would the origin of the trout of that lake be explained. Dr. Jor- 

 dan, who spent some time in the park in 1889, was impressed with 

 the probable correctness of this explanation, but did not visit 

 Two- Ocean Pass. 



In 1891, while carrying on certain investigations in Montana 

 and the Yellowstone Park, under the direction of the United States 

 Commissioner of Fish and Fisheries, Colonel Marshall McDonald, 

 I was instructed to visit Two-Ocean Pass and determine definitely 

 the conditions which obtain there. 



On August 7th, with Billy Hofer, that prince of mountaineers, 

 as our guide, we started out from the Mammoth Hot Springs with 

 a pack train of ten pack horses and eight saddle horses. Our 

 route led us through all the geyser basins of the park, and we 

 reached Two-Ocean Pass August 17th, where we remained long 

 enough to make a careful examination. 



This pass is a high mountain meadow, about eight thousand 

 two hundred feet above the sea, and situated just south of the 

 park, in longitude 110 10', latitude 44 3'. It is surrounded on all 

 sides by rather high mountains, except where the narrow valleys 

 of Atlantic and Pacific Creeks open out from it. Running back 

 among the mountains to the northward are two small canons, 

 down which come two small streams. On the opposite side is an- 

 other canon, down which comes another small stream. The ex- 

 treme length of the meadow from east to west is about a mile, 

 while the width from north to south is not much less. The larger 

 of the streams coming in from the north is Pacific Creek, which, 

 after winding along the western side of the meadow, turns ab- 

 ruptly westward, leaving the pass through a narrow gorge. Re- 

 ceiving numerous small affluents, Pacific Creek soon becomes a 

 good-sized stream, which finally unites with Buffalo Creek a few 

 miles above where the latter stream Hows into Snake River. 



