

45 



about 10,000 feet, and above this the bare rock rises, in five principal 

 peaks, 3,800 feet higher, covered along the cliffs and canons with per- 

 petual snow. On the eastern side of the Valley there are but few ex- 

 posures of the strata, the hills being covered with grass and timber, 

 and, as far south as Jackson's Lake, the higher summits are capped 

 with igneous rock, which increases to beds of great thickness beyond 

 that point. 



Gold exists in the river drift along the Gros Ventre, Snake River, and 

 other streams in considerable quantities, and several attempts at placer 

 mining have been made from time to time, but without much success 

 owing to the difficulties which beset such an undertaking in a region so 

 remote and inaccessible. When roads are opened and settlements find 

 a footing there, placer mining will at once become an industry of im- 

 portance and profit. The fact that gold is found amongst the sand and 

 gravel, brought down by so many streams which head in the mountaius 



to the east of Jackson's Lake, points to those ranges as a probable 

 locality of rich mines yet to be discovered. 



As there are no settlements in this region, which lias seldom been 

 visited except by a few prospectors and trappers, it becomes an interest- 

 log question as to what its capabilities are for pastoral or agricultural 

 purposes. In the absence of any statistics regarding the climate or 

 seasons we can only judge of these from circumstances and appearances 

 as observed by us in the middle of summer. It would be strange indeed 

 if a country so favored by nature in all its appointments, so romantically 



beautiful, sustaining a rich and varied flora and abounding in animal 

 life, should long remain uninhabited by man. With a southern exposure 

 throughout its length, sheltered on all sides, and under the lea of the 

 Tetons, it must have a climate mild in proportion to its elevation. The 

 flora indicates a climate intermediate between that of the plains and that 

 of the subalpine regions. The vegetation was well advanced August 15, 

 and the luxuriant growth of grasses, sedges, and weeds everywhere 

 gave assurance of a deep rich soil. It must be added, however, that 

 where grasses and flowers flourish so abundantly there is a large amount 

 of moisture, and this, in high altitudes, invariably represents a large 

 amount of snow in winter. The grease wood and white sage, indicative 

 of dry air and little snow, are rarely found there. The following exam- 

 ples, more or less conspicuous for their handsome flowers, maybe selected 



to illustrate the flora of the lower plains ; Aconitum Columbianum, Sphar- 



alcen rivularis, Parnassia fimbriate, EpUobium spicatum, JE. lati/aU 

 Carum Gairdneri, Chrysopsis villom, Aster integrifolim, Antennaria die 

 Bahia integrifolia, Campanula rotundifolia, Ghtux maritima, Spiran 



Romanzoffiana. 



The numerous streams coming out of the hills to the east and cross- 

 ing the valley at right angles afford the means of irrigating every part 

 of it. At the southern end of Jackson's Lake the Snake River has been 

 shoved abruptly to the eastward by descending moraines from the Te- 





