— 103 — 
somewhat pungent and benumbing odor. Some of 
my companions thought it weak sulphurated hydro- 
gen; to me it seemed merely carbonic acid gas. The 
puffing noise deceptively resembles the well-known 
sound of an engine, for which reason is also known 
by the name “Steamboat.” 
Gladly would I have spent some time in this most 
interesting valley, but my companions, less enthusi- 
astic than I, insisted on pushing on; and so we left 
it the next morning. On our seven-day journey from 
the Green River to the Beer Spring we had covered 
almost two hundred miles. Many Indians, for whom 
we traveled too rapidly, had remained behind. Here 
our company divided again. The greater part of 
them went northwestwardly to Fort Hall on the 
Snake River, about fifty or sixty miles distant: while 
about a dozen others traveled northwardly to hunt, 
and then also go, with fresh provisions of meat, to 
Fort Hall. The latter party consisted of my old 
traveling companions that intended to go to the Col- 
umbia River. I joined them. In the mountains 
themselves we had seen no game save some grizzly 
bears; and so had lived on the dried meat which we 
had bought of the Indians at the rendezvous. The 
projected trip to the Columbia, however, on which 
we would have to cross a wide, barren, sandy plateau, 
made fresh meat supplies a necessity, which deter- 
mined us to make this side trip. The neighborhood 
of the Beer Spring does not abound in game; further 
north, however, toward the Snake River, we hoped 
ee Bg 
seaiee mney t0 
Fort Hall 
