61 [174] 
‘sitislannof Green river. The face of the country taveried was of a brown 
sand of granite materials, the detritus of the neighboring’ mountains. 
Strata of the milky quartz cropped out, and blocks of granite were: seat- 
tered about, eescheaseape magnetic iron. On Sandy creek the formation was 
“parti-ci nd,exhibited in escarpments fifty to eighty feet high. In 
the afternoon we had a severe storm of hail, and eneamped at sunset on 
the. first New Fork. Within the space of a few miles, the Wind mo 
“tains supply a number of tributaries to Green river, which are all eaited the 
New Forks. Near our camp were two remafkable isolated “hills, one of 
them sufficiently large to merit the name-of mountain. They are Galle 
the Two, Buttes, and will serve to identify or place of our encampment, 
- which the observations of the eveuing placed in longitude 109° 58’ 11”, 
and latitude 42° 42' 46"... On the right bank of the stream, opposite to the 
large hill, the strata which are displayed consist of ‘decomposing granite, 
which supplies the brow sand of which the face of the country is com- 
posed to a considerable depth. 
August 10.—The air at sunrise is clear and pure, and the morning ex- 
“tremely cold, but beautiful, A lofty snow peak of the mountain is glitter- 
ing in ‘the first’ rays of the sun, which has not yet reached us. 
: itain wall to the: east, rising two thousand feet abruptly from the 
’ plain, behind which we see the peaks, is still dark, and cuts clear against 
the glowing sky. A fog, just risen from the river, lies along the ze) 
the mountain. — A little before sunrise, the ihermometer was at 35°, and at 
sunrise 33°. Water froze last night. and fires are very comfortable. The 
scenery becomes hourly more interesting and grand, and the’ view here is 
ae magnificent; but, indeed, it needs something to repay the long prai- 
“rie rie journey of a a thousand miles. The sun has just shot above the wall, 
makes a magical change. The whole valley is glowing and- bright, 
ae | the mountain peaks are gleaming likesilver. Thongh these snow 
mountains are not the Alps, they have their own character’ of grandeur 
~ 
oe cence, and will doubtless find pens and pencils to do them — 
ju the seen ne before us, we feel how much wood in:provesa view. 
The pines on tlie mountain seemed to give it much. additional beanty. I 
was agreeably earesees in the character of the streams on this side of 
the ridge. Instead of the creeks, which deseription had led me to _ Sapeel, 
I find bold, broad streams, with three or four fet water, and a rapid 
- Tent. “The fork on which we are ‘encamped is upwards of a hundred feet 
wide, timbered with groves or thickets of the low willow. We were 
now! 
approaching the loftiest part of the Wind river chain; ‘and I left the val- 
ley a few miles from our encampment, intending to penetrate the moun- 
tains as far as possible with the whole party. We were soon involved in ~ 
very broken ground, among long ridges covered with fragments of granite. 
Winding our way up a long ravine, we came u unexpectedly in view of a | 
most beautiful lake, set like a gem in the mountains. The sheet wa water = 
lay transversely across the direction we had been pursuing; and, 
“ing the steep, rocky ridge, where it was necessary to lead our h 
“followed its banks io the southern extremity. Here a view of the u 
magnificence and grandeur burst upon our eyes. With nothing oo = 
us and se abbot feet to lessen the effect of the whole height, a gr: 
ped mountains rose before us, pe aoe pile, glo 
Temieaest hokage dos. lemininte 
_ between two ridges, covered faa dark pines, whieh s¥ geen from = 
