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Show 190 been searching for the route in I858. The honor of searching for the oasis, with the intention of locating an- , other settlement, fell upon the Beaver company. Bean would personally lead this contingent to the southwest. About forty-five men from the Fillmore, Utah County, and Salt Lake companies were assigned to farm the ground at Snake Creek under the direction of Edson Barney, although he did not remain there. Barney later wrote that he chose Bean and a Brother Free to be his counsellors on the 22 mission. Bean, however, never did reside at Snake Creek for more than a few days. The Iron County company, twenty-eight men in all, marched north toward a pass in the Snake Range. - Crossing the site of present-day Baker, Nevada, they turned to the west and ascended the remarkably gentle grade of Sacramento Pass, the present location of U.S. Highway 50 and 6. This broad gap in the mountains abounds in pine and juniper. Down the western slope of the Snake Range on an equally easy inclination, they found themselves in Spring Valley, a ten mile wide, flat, desert plain, bounded on the west by the Schell Creek Range. Most of the valley was a sea of low sagebrush, so typical of the valleys of the Great Basin. But near the center of the valley, and slightly north of their course, they discovered a large, grassy bottom interspersed with cedar trees. Nearby was a small spring which Adams called Desert (Layton) Spring. Crossing the valley a few miles north of tbe present line of U.S. 50-6, the Iron County men proceeded westward up the slopes of the Schell Creek Mountains. Looking back, they could see the back side of the towering Wheeler Peak looming over the valley. Driving up Cooper Canyon, as it is called today, was considerably more difficult than the gentle slopes of Sacramento Pass. A steep ascent was encountered just below the summit on the east slope. At the top the company dug four holes for the purpose of caching supplies, before descending into what they thought was Ruby Valley. The explorers had actually |
