GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF THE TERRITORIES. 803 



by easy grades. Theuce it follows tbe river quite closely to Tower 

 Creek, which it crosses just above the falls. The descent to the creek 

 is extremely steep, and some better point of crossing must be dis- 

 covered. The creek is in a caiion most of its length, and in the begin- 

 ning of August was about 18 inches deep and 50 feet in width. 



From the mouth of Tower Creek, southward for 15 miles, the Yellow- 

 stone is in the Grand Canon, the numerous impassible cross-cauous of 

 which require that the trail keei) hiiak at a considerable distance from 

 the river, passing round to the west of the summit of Mount Wash- 

 burn, which is the culminating i)oint of the plateau of the Grand 

 Caiion. The grade is easy and smooth up a spur from the mountain, 

 reaching at its highest point nearly to the timber-line on the north side. 

 Passing round to the west side of the spur, the trail becomes very diffi- 

 cult from fallen timber, rock-slides, and steep side-hills. 



From the top of the divide to the falls on the plateau no difficulties 

 are met, except steep grades at first, and some timber. 



The crossing of Cascade Creek, ne.ar the falls, involves, by the trail 

 which we followed, crossing a deep, narrow canon, difficult even for 

 pack-animals. I have no doubt that a better crossing can be found two 

 or three miles farther up the creek. Between this point and Crater 

 Hills are two sloughs, which extend several miles back from the river. 

 At tbe time when we were there they were about two feet deep, but 

 this was at the lowest stage of the water. From there to Yellowstone 

 Lake there is no difficulty whatever, except from live timber. 



We crossed to the geyser basins from the mud geysers. For nine 

 miles the trail led through an open country, nearly level. Thence to 

 the top of the divide we met with a tolerably heavy growth of timber. 

 On the west side of the divide the live timber is very dense, while the 

 ground is thickly covered with fallen timber, making our passage with 

 the train very difficult. This condition of things extends for four or 

 five miles, when the trail enters the open valley of the east fork of the 

 Fire-Hole Eiver. This valley, as far as the mouth of the east fork, is 

 quite marsh}' in some places, but little difficulty will be found in locat- 

 ing a hard road. 



The route up the Madison is, through the greater part of the distance, 

 much easier. Wagon-roads, on both sides of the Madison, already exist 

 from Virginia City to the foot of the Middle Canon, within fifty -five 

 miles of the Lower Geyser Basin. These roads then leiive the Madison, 

 and cross, by Reynold's Pass, to Sawtelle's Ranch, at Henry's Lake. 

 The trail through the Middle Caiion, and thence to the geyser basins, 

 follows the east side of the river. Wagons have been through this 

 caiion, and a slight outlay would suffice to build a good road through 

 it. At the head of this canon it will be necessary to bridge the east 

 fork of the Madison, which, in the latter part of August, was a slug- 

 gish, winding stream about 200 feet wide and 2J feet deep. 



From the Middle to the Upper Caiion the valley is broad, flat, and 

 sparsely timbered. 



The tipper Caiion, in about fifteen miles, presents the only difficulties 

 which are found on this route. The caiion-walls are extremely steep, 

 in some places precipitous, and, much of the way, come close to the 

 water's edge, not unfrequently requiring wading in the river. Gibbon's 

 Fork, which enters the Madison in the middle of the caiion, must be 

 bridged. This stream is 100 feet wide and 2J feet deep. From this 

 creek up to the mouth of the East Fork of the Fire Hole River the trail 

 is obliged to keep back from the river. It is very rough, and badly 

 obstructed by live and dead timber. 



