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Show 203 canyon the men found abundant signs of copper and gold. The mouth of the canyon was described as being very narrow-only about twenty feet wide-which con-sisted of "high ledges of gold bearing quartz." c Several men in the company, who were deemed to be "experienced," were of the opinion that the ledges "promised a very rich yield of gold. But," wrote the historian, "we did not stop 23 to prospect any." The men of the White Mountain Expedition had more important things to do. The canyon's mouth was appropriately named the Golden Gate. It might be interesting to know if the nearby Golden Gate Range is a legacy of this expedition. After traveling thirty rugged miles, most of it in the mountains, Dame's pack train bedded down for the night about a half mile below the mouth of tbe canyon on Wibe Creek. Early on Sunday morning, May 9, the party headed east toward the main camp on the Desert Swamp. The reader may be somewhat confused by the frequent and indiscriminent use of the term "White Mountains." Most recently was Colonel Dame's application of the name to the Ruby Mountains. Earlier Dame had written to Brigham Young from Bennett's Springs that he was proceeding toward the White Mountains. These were obviously the Grant Range. George W. Bean, we have seen, referred to the Snake Range (where his settlement was located) as the White Mountains. And Brigham Young's letters to the ecclesiastical authorities of southern Utah dated February 23 requested men to be sent to "the white and last mountains to the west of the settlements." (italics mine.) What then were the White Mountains ? To answer this question it is necessary to refer back to the original White Mountain Mission of I855. At this time the Mormons had only heard of the White Mountains from the Indians. Brigham Young, who believed in the oasis theories of Fremont and Ward, was greatly intrigued by these fabled mountains |