THE GREEN RIVER COUNTRY. 453 



METEOROLOGY OF THE GKEEN RIVER COUNTRY. 



By Colonel Collins. 



Colouel Collins lias been for three years in the Wind and Green River 

 country. The Green River becomes the great Colorado of the west, 

 which empties into the Golf of California, and the Wind liiver becomes 

 the Big- Horn, and runs into the Yellowstone, which in turn empties 

 into the IMissonri. It often happens that rivers in the western part 

 of the United States have different names in different parts of their 

 course, and this appears to be especially the case when a^ river passes 

 throngh a canon ; the fact not being known before exploration that it 

 is the same stream at the two ends of the chasm. 



The climate in the region above mentioned is very dry, electrical 

 appearances being manifest in currying horses (u- brushing clothes, and 

 dew is very seldom seen. Along the Wind River range the storms come 

 from the northwest and follow the chain to the southeast. On some of 

 the high peaks of this region there is often seen a cIoud-c!![> renmining 

 stationary sometimes for a day or more, while a high wind is prevailing 

 at the same time on the plains and valleys below, with a clear atmos- 

 phere in all other parts of the sky. The ca}) appears compact and dis- 

 tinct in outline and perfectly stationary. The peaks of the Wind River 

 range are all covered with perpetual snow. There are no trees on the 

 plains, or anywhere in the vicinity, ex(;ei)t on the mountain-sides from 

 their base up to near the snow-line. 



Frost at the foot of the mountains and in the valleys occnrs almost 

 every night during the summei\ On the 4th of July, 3 8(52, at tlie camp 

 at the head of Sweet-Water River, the ice was formed from half to three- 

 quarters of an inch thick. The summer frost, although it does not kill 

 the hardy grasses, will not allow the cultivation of grains and vegetables. 

 Heat and moisture, the two essential conditions of growth, are wanting, 

 though, in the very deepest valleys, perhaps, grain could be raised by 

 irrigation, since the temperature in these is considerably higher than on 

 the mountains. 



The winter was exceedingly cold; at Fort Laramie in 1SG4 the mer- 

 cury was frozen and continued solid on the •ith of Januiuy for four 

 hours ; on the 5th fifteen, and on the 0th for twelve hours, while in tile 

 warmest part of each day the thermometer never rose above minus "20'^. 

 " I had (command," says Colonel Collins, " at the time, of Fort Laramie, 

 and had great difficulty in keeping the garrison warm. Fuel had to be 

 drawn a distance of about fifteen miles. Every winter a number of 

 men were frozen to death, being usually overtaken by snow storms. 

 When the greatest cold occurs the air is perfectly still and very trans- 

 parent — the transparency is so perfect that objects are seen a long way 

 oft' with such distinctness as to give rise to mistakes as to their actual 

 distance. 



