656 REPORT UNITED STATES GEOLOGICAL SURVEY. 



fact 'without a more careful examination, owing to the whole surface 

 being covered with a heavy coating of fresh snow. While we were tak- 

 ing our notes, Mr. Eccles descended to this ice field and examined it 

 very carefully, pronouncing it a well-defined glacier. The day being a 

 very fair one, I succeeded in obtaining a good set of observations, but 

 was not able to get sights as I had hoped to do to the peaks in the Big- 

 horn Mountains; these points being between 150 and 1G0 miles distant, 

 the smoke or haze obscured them, yet under favorable circumstances 

 they are visible. On my first visit in 1877, when the weather was too 

 cold and windy to take any observations, I could clearly distinguish 

 every point in the range ; but it is seldom that the weather is so perfect 

 that such long sights can be obtained. I have often found that such 

 long sights could be observed just before sunrise or just after sunset, as 

 the case might be, when the points were projected against a bright 

 luminated sky, while the shaded side of the mountain presented a very 

 dark appearance, thus bringing them out in bold relief; but as this is 

 a very inconvenient time to be on the high peaks, one can seldom take 

 advantage of this fact except from the more accessible points. Com- 

 pleting our notes and sketches, we soon descended to our camp by the 

 lake. During the day Mr. Jackson had taken some excellent photo- 

 graphs of the mountains and lakes surrounding the camp. 



The next point that I wished to visit being Fremont's Peak, after re- 

 turning to our main camp, we followed very nearly the same course as 

 the previous season, along the foot of the range until we reached Fre- 

 mont's Lake. Here we left the greater portion of the party > and taking 

 a small outfit, only sufficient to last us three or four days, we followed 

 along the eastern shore of the lake for some distance, when we turned up 

 to the right. Taking the ridge, we found very easy traveling until 

 approaching the mountains, where we began to find our way obstructed 

 to some extent by granite boulders, and between them the soil was wet 

 and marshy. Working our way along for some distance we came to a 

 lake surrounded by steep granite slopes which we could not pass with 

 our animals, compelling us to halt. Camping here for the night, we made 

 all necessary preparations to attempt the ascent from this point on foot. 



About three o'clock in the morning of August 7 the cook called break- 

 fast and the boys were soon out and by four were off for the peak. 

 After a very tiresome walk over the rolling granite ridges, and scram- 

 bling around the glacial lakes, here and there impeded in the great 

 granite basins formed by the ancient glaciers, we reached the foot of the 

 main peak. From this point to the summit there was nothing but steady 

 climbing over granite debris for about. 3,000 feet. Beaching the summit 

 about 10 a. m., we found no signs of any one having visited this point 

 before ; but I am of the opinion that this is the point that Fremont 

 ascended in 1842, while executing his exploration across the continent 

 at that time, judging only from his description of the country. From 

 the top we looked down on quite a fine glacier which lay at the north 

 foot of the peak and stretched off to the northeast for some distance, 

 while other smaller specimens could be seen hanging in the heads of the 

 surrounding canons. 



Completing our work, we retraced our steps, reaching camp just before 

 dark considerably fatigued, but well pleased with the results of our 

 day's work. The next day we returned to our main camp, where we 

 remained over a day to enable Mr. Jackson to take some photographs of 

 the lakes in the vicinity. 



From Fremont's Lake we marched northwest across the Green Biver 

 Basin to the head of Hoback's Biver, which we followed down to Snake 

 Biver; thence up the latter to the mouth of the Little Grosventre. Leav- 



