208 GEOLOGICAL SUEVEY OF THE TEEEITORIES. 



CIIAPTErt II. 



MARKET LAKE— CKATER BUTTES— Tf^TON ]MOTJNTAINS— 

 HENRY'S FORK— UENliY'S LAKE— MADISON RIVER— GEY- 

 SER BASm— REUNION. 



Uaving: completed our outfit, tliroii.qli the kind assistance of Captain 

 Putnam and his aids, who did all in their power to forward our plans, 

 though at the same time showing such courteous hos])itality that we 

 were loth to leave them, we started again, on the 12th of July, and 

 camped at Higham's ranch, on Blacktoot Eork, after a drive of only 

 seveu miles. This stream was named atter the well known Indian tribe, 

 whose wairiors once infested this region to the great discomfort and 

 danger and frequently loss of the trappers and traders passing through 

 or wintering near here. At present members of the tribe are rarely, if 

 ever, seen on this side of the mountains, and the generally peaceable 

 tribes of Shoshones, Bannocks, and Boises, whose reservation reaches to 

 the southern bank of the stream, were the only ones seen by oar party 

 on the entire trip. 



Either westerly winds or the waves of the old lake, which is supposed 

 to have covered this broad plain, have Accumulated in this neighbor- 

 hood considerable bodies of fine sand. As we ai)proach the mouth of 

 Lincoln Valley we encountered broad stretches of this sand, partly 

 covered with a scattered vegetation, partly bare and drifting. On one 

 of these drifting patches lies the bleached trunk of a large cottonwood, 

 though no such trees are now to be found for miles around. Has the 

 gradual drying.up of the country only recently permitted the sands to 

 drift and accumulate here ? And did its accuuuilation kill off a formerly 

 extensive grovv'th of trees at this point '? Here also appears the first of 

 a long range of sand-knobs, whicli are seen at short intervals for some 

 miles, until they finally are lost in the irregular sand-i)lain along the 

 lower course of Sand Creek. 



The road we are now following, between Ross's Fork and Taylor's 

 bridge, is much used by drovers and freighters, when they are going 

 south with empty wagons. Being less traveled than the stage-road, 

 which follows directly up the river, the grazing is generally better, while 

 the distance is about the same, and the grades over the ridge west of Fort 

 Hall are not very steep, being only about 8S feet to the mile. 



A fine young greyhound had accompanied us from the post, but the 

 march of thirteen miles, from Blackfoot Creek to Sand Creek crossing, 

 under a scorching sun and without water, was too much for her endur- 

 ance, and she died of thirst, about a mile from our camp on the latter 

 stream. This creek is said to have been entirely dry on June 24, 1871, 

 when crossed by Dr. Hayden's party, and we accordingly attributed 

 its fullness at the time of our arrival solely to the unusually large sup- 

 ply of water furnished by the immense snow-fall of the previous winter; 

 but, upon onr return in October, we found its channel still carrying 

 from 12 to 15 feet of water, and were obliged to look to some other 

 source for the change. Our guide, Richard Leigh, generally known as 

 "Beaver Dick," who has long lived in this region, inforihed us that for 

 many years this channel had carried no water except during rains, 

 when it gathered small an)ounts from its immediate banks, but that, 

 two or three years since. Willow Creek, which had previously emptied 

 its waters into Snake River by two mouths, one about a half-mile and 

 the other about two miles above Tifjdor's Bridge, broke over its banks 

 in time of flood and poured part of its surplus into Sand Creek. Since 



