198 SADDLE AND CAMP 



reported again in 1825 by Mr. John Bedford, 

 and again in 1833 by members of Captain 

 Bonneville's expedition. Later, Kit Carson and 

 some others of the adventurous trappers who 

 penetrated this far wilderness saw the lake. 

 But the first attempt at scientific exploration 

 was made by Fremont, under the guidance of 

 Kit Carson, in 1843, when, by means of a leaky 

 folding India-rubber boat, he visited with Car- 

 son and some other members of his party what 

 is now known as Fremont's Island, but which 

 he himself named Disappointment Island. 



This was a land of deepest mystery and ro- 

 mance in those early days. Trappers had 

 brought out to the world marvelous tales of the 

 wonders of the great lake. It was popularly 

 believed that it had an underground outlet and 

 where the waters sank was a great and fearful 

 whirlpool. 



The old myths have been dispelled; the old 

 trappers and their romantic lives, Pocatello 

 and his marauding Indians, the struggling pi- 

 oneer and settler, have all given way to the new 

 reality — comfortable living and civilization. 

 Salt Lake City stands on what was once the 

 bottom of Lake Bonneville, whose foam-crested 

 waves rolled a thousand feet above her present 

 street^ 



