MEMOIR OF S. F. EMMONS 17 



life and property. Not infrequently a mounted soldier accompanied a 

 geologist when it was deemed unwise for any one to be quite alone on the 

 mountains. Under such conditions the work, from necessity, took on 

 more the nature of a reconnaissance than a survey. 



The exploration as originally planned by Mr. King, modified later by 

 experience and the needs of the country, required a survey of an area 

 100 miles in width, stretching from the Great Plains of Wyoming and 

 Colorado westward to the eastern boundary of California, and always 

 including the proposed route of the first Transcontinental Eailway. 

 This comprehensive plan called for a topographical map on a scale of 

 four miles to the inch, based upon a system of primary and secondary 

 triangulations, the elevations to be determined by a series of careful and 

 frequent barometric readings, referred to well established main camps. 

 On these topographic maps the geology was to be laid down. It should 

 be borne in mind that such finished maps were seldom in the hands of 

 the geologists till a year after the completion of field work. 



In addition to the corps of geologists and topographers, the party in- 

 cluded an ornithologist, botanist, and, what was at that time an unheard 

 of innovation, a skilled photographer. Under existing conditions, due 

 in part to the large areas to cover in the limited time at our disposal 

 and the lack of adequate funds to do the work commensurate with the 

 standard of excellence desired, geology and topography were compelled 

 to go hand in hand. Two well equipped organizations were constantly 

 in the field, serving in quite separate areas, one known as the Emmons 

 party, the other as the Hague party. Mr. King had his own camping 

 outfit, dividing his time between one or the other party, or else conduct- 

 ing special investigations, and occasionally visiting areas outside the 

 broad belt of exploration. Not infrequently both parties came together 

 to talk over the complexities of geological problems. For instance, 

 Emmons and I agreed regarding the front face of the Wasatch Moun- 

 tains; King at first dissented from some of these conclusions, but was 

 finally won over to our point of view. Again, Emmons and I disagreed 

 on some structural problem connected with the Uinta Mountains. After 

 much discussion King sided with Emmons, and the geology was repre- 

 sented on the maps in accordance with this decision. In this instance 

 T declined to agree with them. 



The short season of 1867 was devoted exclusively to western Nevada, 

 in what was generally referred to as the Humboldt country, from the 

 river of that name, whose principal tributaries had their sources on the 

 Nevada plateau. The following year carried the survey across the re- 

 maining Great Basin ranges as far as the mountains bordering the west- 



II— Bill. Gkol. Soc. Am., Vol. 23, 19H 



