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Show • ' 55 [ 243] Wind River mountains, appearing at this distance of about seventy miles, to be a low and dark 1notmtainous ridge. 11he view dissipated in a moment the pictures which had bren created in our minds, by many descriptions of travellers, who have compared these mountains to tire Alps in Switzerland ; tuJd .peak of the gliltering peaks which rise in icy majesty am1dst the et r11al g lariers nine or ten thonsand fc0t into the region of eternal snow.. The nakedness of the river was relie ved by grov~s of willows, where we encamped at night, after a march of twenty-six miles ; and numerous bright-colored flower::s had mnde the river bottom Jook gay as a garden. \Vo found here a horse, which had been abandoned by the Indians, because l1 is hoofs had b Pn so rnnch worn t hnt he was unable to travel; nmd durin~ the night, a dorr came into rite camp. I ll[fust L-Our camp wa!'l at the foot of the nranite monntains, which we climbed this moming-to lake some harometrical heights ; and here among the rocks was seen the fir!'lt Jllacrpic. On our return we saw one at the mouth of the Plalle riv r. \Vo l eft here one of our horses, wh1clt was utwblc ro procc d fn rth e r. A fe 1v m if cs from the encn mpmen t we I eft the ri v c r, whrch make a bend to the south, nnd traversing an undulating country, consi tin" of a l!rayi h micaceous sandstone and fine-grained couglomerates, struck it a~ain , and encamped after a jonrnry of twenty-five miles. Astro · nomical ob crvation. placed us in latitude 42° 3~' 30''. Al~![ust 5.-'rhc mor~1inrr was dark, with a driving rnin, and disagr('e. ahly coil. \Vc continued onr route as 11 ual. but tho weather became so had that we wr.re glad to avail ourselves of tl1e heltrr offered by a ~mall island, about ten miles above our last rncarnpment, which was covered with a den c growth of willows. 'l'here wns fine rrrass for our animals, nnd the timber afforded ns co rllfortable protection and good fire!'. In t!Je nfrernoon the sun broke tl1rongh the clouds fiH a short tinJe, and the barometer nt 5 P. M., was at 23. i 13; tlw thermometer H0°, with the wi n<.l sl rong from 1 he northwe t. We availed our elves of the Jinc Wf'nthrr to make excursions in the neighborhood. 'l'he rivrr, at this placr, is bordered by hills of the valley fornwtion. 'riley arc of moderato height, on of the higho t penks on the rig-ht bank brin(T, according to tl1e barometer~ one hundred and eighty feet above tile river. On the left bank they l\re higher. They consist of a fille white clayey sandstone, n white calcareous sandstone, and co:1.rse sand tone or pudding-stone . .:lz~zust G.-ft continued steadily raining all the day; bnt, notwith. tancJ. ing, we left onr ncampmeut in the afternoon. Onr llnirnals had been much refrc h(·d by their repose, and an abnndance of ri ch, oft g ras ·, which had been much i rnproved by 1 he rains. In nbout th roc miles, we reached the entrance of a krtnyon, where tho 'wcct 'Vater i. ucs 11 pon the more open valley we hacl pas~ed over. Immediately at the ent rance, and super. impo ed di rert I y n pon the err an itc. nrc sr rata of compact, calcareous sandstone and chert, nl~crnnting with fine white and reddiJ1 white, aud fiue gray nncl red sandstones. These trata dir to the eastward at an angle of abont l ) 0 , and form the western limit of the sand and limestone formation s, on the line of our route. Here we entered among the rrimitivc rock . 'rhe ns11al road pn.s"cs to the ri crht. of thi · pl[tt'f', hut we wound, or ;:, rather srrnmhlrd, otrr way ur the nnrrow valley for scvC'ral hours. Wild-nos and disorder Wf're the cl1aractc•r of this ·cencry. 'f'ltr r ivcr had lJeen swollen hy the late rains, and carnp rnslling lhr<H rgh with an impetnor1s cnrrcnt, tllree or four feet deep, aud generally twenty yards broad. TlJC |