INDIAN SIGNAL-FIRES — OGDEN'S HOLE. 81 



until we struck upon the head of a broad, green, beautiful valley, 

 with an even, gentle descent, which led us, in about three miles, 

 down to Ogden's Creek, just before it makes a canon, previous to 

 entering Ogden's Hole. There we encamped for the remainder of 

 the day, with abundance of excellent grass, wood, and water. The 

 same alternations of red and white sandstone appeared here as were 

 seen on the Red Chimney Fork. 



Just before descending into this valley, we had observed from 

 the high ground, the smokes of numerous Indian signal fires, rising 

 in several directions — an intimation that strangers had been dis- 

 covered in their country. A strict watch was therefore maintained 

 during the night, lest our animals should be stolen. Wild cherries 

 were found in tolerable abundance, and the trail was strewn over 

 with their smaller branches, thrown away by the Indians, who had 

 evidently passed only a day or two before, in considerable numbers. 



Monday^ August 27. — We followed down Ogden's Creek about 

 a mile, when we found that the broad valley was shut up between 

 two ranges of hills^ or rather mountains, leaving a flat, low, level 

 bottom, densely covered in places by willows, through which the 

 stream meanders from side to side, for three miles, washing alter- 

 nately the base of either range. After passing through this canon, 

 the ridge separated, and before us lay a most lovely, broad, open 

 valley, somewhat in the shape of a crescent, about fifteen miles 

 long, and from five to seven miles in width, hemmed in on all sides, 

 especially on the south and west, by lofty hills and rocky moun- 

 tains, upon the tops and sides of which the snow glistened in the 

 rays of the morning sun. The scene was cheering in the highest 

 degree. The valley, rich and level, was covered with grass ; 

 springs broke out from the mountains in every direction, and the 

 facilities for irrigation appeared to be very great. Ogden's Creek, 

 breaking through its barriers, flows in a crystal stream at the base 

 of the mountains on the south, for rather more than half the 

 length of the valley, when it forces a passage through the huge 

 range which divides this "gem of the desert" from the Salt Lake 

 Valley, by a canon wild and almost impassable. On the north, a 

 beautiful little brook, taking its rise in the elevated ground sepa- 

 rating this from Cache Valley, washes the base of the western 

 hills, and joins Ogden's Creek just before it enters the canon, after 

 passing through which the latter discharges its waters into the 

 Weber River, a tributary of the Great Salt Lake. Numerous 



bright little streams of pure running water were met with in abun- 



6 



