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Show RECONNAISSANCE IN THE UTE COUNTRY. 45 i t s size, L e.? 25 to 30 feet wide, of slight depth, swift and clear, bowlder !> ed. The head of the valley . is here; below, it continues about eight miles, where the Sandstone Mountains close in, and. there seems to be a canon, seen from abover 600 feet or more deep; not a box. The valley i s level. Much sage; little grass; sage uncommonly large. To the left, as we descend, are sharp, barren foot- hills of the Elk, much cut by water- w* ws. These hills, as seen, rise from 200 to 400 feet above the valley. f) a the right are mountains 2,000 feet high. I judge this to be the Roaring Fork, and the mountains are the spur from the main range between Eoaring Fork and Eagle. On the right, for miles, are seen two perfect water- benches, sharply cut and broad on top. The lower is perhaps 50 to 75 feet above the top of present canon, the upper about one- half that distance above the first. Did not observe those on left, but saw distinct bench somewhat lower. Had occasional glimpses of Elk Mountains and peaks of main range. I now determined to descend no farther, but to strike eastwardly for the main range and the pass. We retraced our route and crossed the Roaring Fork about one mile above camp; found plain trail up north bank, turning to the left up a deep, narrow gulch. Gulch narrow, sides very steep* in sandstone bills, 1,000 feet high, heavily timbered. Four miles from camp, trail turns to the right and climbs steadily for 1,500 or 2,000 feet up the face of a sand-atone hill, with much broken rock and sparse vegetation. On top we found a broad plateau with timbered ridges crossing it, dividing various heads of tributaries of Roaring Fork. Passed about four miles across this plateau over bunch- grass of finest quality and great quantity, through a spruce forest with much fallen timber, and crossed a tributary of the Roaring Fork, probably that which empties four or five miles below Camp 3. Then traveling northwardly about three miles we came to the crest of a ridge, from which the ground fell fast to a large stream, perhaps the Eagle, thought by Thornton to be a branch of the Roaring Fork. The descent to this stream was very steep and perhaps five miles long, and covered with a dense mass of fallen timber. With before us the certainty of a very difficult march to this stream, and with the possibility after reaching it of being compelled to go down and make a long detour, or to cross the ragged mountains to the north of it, and with the necessity of quickly reaching the party, I concluded to abandon the scout here and retrace its seventy miles. The trail was very dim, and had often disappeared. On our return we lost it. We found ourselves in a dense spruce wood, and were kept to the left of our route by mueh fallen timber. Just at dark we struck the head of the gulch, by which we left the river in the morning. Followed down the western side of this gulch till long after dark, but found no water nor place level enough to picket our animals. The hill- side was extremely steep, with broken angular masses of sandstone, fallen timber, scrub- oaks and other brush, and the night as dark as a cloudy, moonless night could be. We led the animals along this slope from fifty to one hundred and fifty feet above the bottom of the gulch; one pack- mule once slipped and rolled to the bottom, but we got him up again. Finally found a little bench affording standing room for animals, and. camped without water or grass. Our return was over the same route, and the monotony was varied by a day's ride through a soaking rain, and the crossing of the divide back to the Taylor in the midst of blustering suow- squalls. We descended the Middle Fork of the Taylor, and found it no better than the route by which we ascended. Within |