WILSON.] WIND EIVER MOUNTAINS. 653 



■svliat, we soon got to work, and I succeeded in getting a very good set 

 of angles to all the surrounding points, except to the north and north- 

 east, where the clouds hung so low that the points were hidden ; but as 

 these points did not come within the area to be surveyed that season, I 

 concluded not to clunb this point again at that time. Looking down 

 from this point upon the great field of snow, I suspected (what proved 

 to be true the following season) that there were living glaciers in some 

 of the amphitheatres at the head of the caiions, which were at that time 

 so concealed by fresh snow that they could not be readily distinguished 

 at a distance. We found the descent in some places even more fatiguing 

 than the ascent, as the snow had softened under the noonday sun so 

 much that we often fell in up to our arms, and in scrambling out we 

 gradually became wet, nntil we were well soaked by the time we reached 

 our bivouac ; but once there we soon saddled our mules and returned to 

 our main camp by nightfall. 



The following morning, June 28, accompanied by Harry Yount, T made 

 the ascent of West Atlantic Peak and took a set of observations, which 

 completed my work on the southeastern end of the range. 



The morning of the 29th found us traveling on westward skirting the 

 foot of the mountains through a snow-storm, accompanied by a heavy, 

 cold west wind, making it very disagreeable traveling, especially as it 

 came fair in our faces ; nevertheless we made about 20 miles, camj)ing 

 for the night on the Big Sandy. 



The following day we continued our march, keeping near the foot of 

 the great granite plateau which here flanks the range, here and there 

 crossing some j)rojecting moraine which extended out into the valley, 

 but the next day brought us fairly into the great morainal region along 

 the head branches of the New Fork of Green Eiver. Here the glaciers 

 appear to have reached their maximum size, and are the finest exam- 

 ples of the kind that I have ever met with anywhere in the West. 

 Crossing these ridges of granite debris, we found here and there some of 

 those beautiful glacial lakes which lay imbedded between those great 

 moraines, rising in some places to a thousand feet above the lakes, and 

 extending six to seven miles beyond the foot of the plateau into the 

 valley below. The glaciers here must have been from twenty to twenty- 

 four miles long, extending from the summit of the range across the 

 plateau and far in the valley below, scooping out the great basins which 

 are now occupied by the lakes as it poured over the edge of the plateau. 



Leaving my camp by one of the lakes at the foot of the plateau, I took 

 a pa(;k-mule with sui3plies to last two or three days and started for the 

 point I then took to be Fremont's Peak. Following up one of the mo- 

 rainal ridges we reached the plateau, which we found covered by snow 

 to a considerable dei)th. After a hard struggle through several miles of 

 snow-covered granite boulders, we reached a i)oint near the foot of the 

 peak where we found a small spot from which the snow had melted off. 

 Taking advantage of this, as it offered some food for our animals, we 

 camped for the night. 



The following morning, July 3, we were off on foot by the break of 

 day for the peak, reaching the summit by nine o'clock. I was soon at 

 work and by noon had finished the observations that were wanted from 

 this point. Having a more comprehensive view of the country from 

 this point, I concluded that I had been mistaken as to this being Fre- 

 mont's Peak, and came to the conclusion that it was a point some eight 

 or nine miles to the north. But the intervening country was so deeply 

 covered with snow that it would be almost impossible to reach it at 

 that time of year., 



