i6 



and grew quiet outside in the streets, but the men only ad- 

 journed to the saloons (almost every other house was one), 

 where their carousing was kept up till late in the night. The 

 evening being very cool, a fire was kindled in the parlor, 

 around which a good many of the " old cases" were gathered, 

 and the amusing stories of frontier and prairie experience 

 served to pass away the hours till bedtime. 



JULY 23, MONDAY. 



Our friends gathered to see us off. Dick gave us a " send- 

 off" in the way of a cock-tail, as his breakfast-time had not 

 yet come. We were off at seven, and had a delightful ride 

 for ten miles in the cool morning, down the valley of the Blue 

 River. When we came to the Snake Valley, we rode up that 

 stream ten more miles, through a most glorious piece of 

 woodland scenery. We found we were in the neighborhood 

 of Montezuma, and halted at the hotel for our dinner, which 

 turned out to be a regular New York feast mock-turtle 

 soup, steak with mushrooms, etc. This fact, as well as the 

 presence of New York papers, Harper s Weekly and Monthly \ 

 and the genteel appearance of our host, led us to make in- 

 quiries, whereupon he was recognized by two of us as one of 

 those voluntary exiles from society, where he once moved 

 with honor. Leaving at one o'clock, and riding five miles 

 further up, we came to the head-waters of the Snake River 

 at timber line, and saw our trail ahead, stretched along the 

 precipitous side of the mountain which forms the head of the 

 valley. Before and above us, almost 3000 feet, lay the ridge 

 of the Argentine Pass, 13,100 feet in elevation, the highest 

 wagon-road in the United States. After a long, slow ride, 

 we reached the top, going sometimes over snowbanks (for it 

 had not entirely disappeared here yet), sometimes finding 

 barely walking room for our horses. From the summit the 

 scene was perfectly grand. Here we stopped for our lunch, 

 which we had in our saddle-bags, and rested our horses, while 

 we enjoyed the scenery. A further ride of eight miles 

 brought us to the hillside which seems to overhang George- 

 town. This is a beautifully situated place, at the head of a 

 valley surrounded by mountains on three sides. We stopped 



