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Show [ 174 J 278 have been referred to the ~olitic period; it is probable that these rocks also belono- to the same formatiOn. A f? ·1 s ft·on1 this cncampm nt we reached the head of the stream· J.eW mt d. .d. 'd l . I ' an d cross·w bcr , bv "·t tl open a11d ca y pass, the f 1vl 1 mc g1 n gde w ttc 1 separates h t . of t.he G rcat Basin from those o t te o ora o, wo rrachcd the ]t e dwba .c 1 s . · 1 · 1 f 1 d · 1 d 1ea lCil 'So[ ouc of its larger tnbutanos, w llC 1, rom t 10 CCI<. c color 1a1 c vVI · · Tl of its water,.;, ha~ received tlte name of lite r 1 1 1 vcr. 1 . 1 1 c s.nows of the nwun t a ]·11,s wore now bco-innittg to melt, ~HHl a the ttl e nvulcts were b . l' (J ' I (' d C . . run nino- by in rivers, awl rap.idly . becomwg ( 1 tell t t? _o~· . . ontun11ug a :fi m'Jes up a branch of White nver, we cro sed a dtvidltlg ndcrc between i~swwa~ers and those of the Uinta ft. Tile approac~1 t() the pass, which is the best known to lVlr. Walker, \vas Rotue,~ltat difltc.nlt for packs, and. 1m. practicable for wagons-all the st rcan~s b.cmg shut. 111 by narrow ravmes, and the tll't!TOW trail along the steep l11ll stdes allowitlg th~ pas ~l crc of only one animal at a time. From the summit we had a fine VIew o( the snowy Dear River r:tuge; and there were still rcm:lillit tg beds of ~ttow ou th.c co~d sides of the hills ncar the pass. We d }scendcd by.a narrow ravme, m which was rapiuly gn.thcred n. little branch of th.c Umtalt, an~. hultc~ to noon about 1 ,.soo feet below the paRs, r.t an elevatiOn, by the bo1lll1g pomt, of 6 900 fe t n bove the sea. Ti1e next da v ,ve descended along the ri vcr, Jtl<1 about uoon r~achccl a point where tlli·ce. forl{s come to~cther. Fordi11g. one ~f the c wJtl.l so1~1c difficulty, \\'C contunwd up tllc nucldle uranch, winch, ftom the Clllor of 1ts waters, is named the Red ri vcr. Tile few passes, nnu ext rem ly rn~ged 11ature of tlte cou11try, crivc to it groat strc11gth, aud sccnre the Uta.hs from the intrusitHI of their ~nemie . Crossillg iu tlte afternoon ·~ somewhat broken highland, covered in place~ with fine gras~os, and wtth ccl~ar on the hill sides, we encn.mrcd at evomng ou auotlter tnhutary to the Uwt~th, called the IJuch('sne fork. The water wa.., very clear, the stream not bemg yet swollen by the melting sno~v~; and we forded i.t without any difficulty. It is a considerable branch, betllg spreacl out by !.'lands, t!JC largest arm being about a hundred feet wide; and the name it bear is probably that of some old French trapper. . . The next day we COIJtiuued down the river, wl1iclt we were tw1co obliged to cross; aucl, the water having risen during the night, .it was al~nost every where too deep to he forded. After travelling about ~1xtecn mtles, we E:n-campcd agaiu on the left bank. . I obtained here an occultation of o Scorpii at the dark ltmb of the I~oon, which gives for the longitude of the place 112° 18' 30", and the latitude 40° 18, 53". June 1.-\Ve left to day tlw Dnel-10sne fori<, aud, aCter traversing~ br~l~~n country for about sixteen n1iles, arrived at noon at another coDstdeJaJ e branch a river of o-rcat velocity to which the trappers have imprope~ly given t'h e name of bL ake fork. T' he name aprh.e d to H. by the I 11 dt.a ns SWbd· nifies great swif'lt1 os~, and is the same which they usc to express the s~~ed of a race horse. It is spread out in various cltannels over sevcral.hljn Ie yards, and is every where too deep and swift to be forded. At tins .s~ason of the year, there is an uninterrupted noise from the brgc rocks wbtc 1 are rolled along the bed. After iufiuite difllculty, and the delay of a day, we succeeded in getting the strc·1m briugcd, and got over with the lo 8 of 1~7 of our animal '. Continuing 011r route acros. a broken country, of .w uct~ the higher parts were rocky and timbereu with cedar> and tho lowet par 279 [ 174 J overed with o-ood grass, we reached, on the afternoon of the 3d, the Uintah fort, a t~ading: post bclon~ing to Mr. A. Roubidcau, on the principal fork of tho Uintalt nver. We found the stream uearly as raptd and dllficult as tho Lake fork, divided into several channels, which we_rc too broad to be bridged. vVith. the. aid. of .gnidcs from the fort, we suceceu.cd,. wit.h very crreat dilficulty, m fordmg 1l; and encamped ncar the fort, wluch IS sitnat~d a slwrt distance above the jnnctiou of two branclws wlticl1 111akc the river. By an immersiou of the l~t sntrllitc, (ngrecing well with the result of the occultation observed at the Onchcsne fork,) the longitude of tile post i~ 10U0 56' 42" the latitude 40° 27' 45". It ha~ a motley garrison of Canadian and Spanish engages and hunters, with the usnalnnmber of Iudian women. We obtained a small supply of sn(\'ar and collec, with souw dried meat ::u tu a cow, which was a very acceptable change from the pinoli on wlliclt we had subsisted for some weeks past. 1 st rengthencd 1ny party at this place by the ado itiou or Angn!:>te Archambeau, an excellent voyageur aud lluuter, belonging to tl10 class of Carson and t;odcy. On tl1e mon1ing of the 5th we lert tiJC fort,.. ancl the Uiutnh river, and. continued our road over a brol en conntry, which afforded, however, a rich addition to onr botanical collectio11; and, after a march of 25 miles, were again checked by another ~trcarn, callecl A .. hley's fork, where we were dctainctlnntiluoou of the llPxt dn.y. An immcr:sion of the 2d satell ite gave for this place a lougitnde of 109° 27' 07", the l::ttitnde by observation being 40° 28' 07". In the afternoon of the next day we succeeded iu finding a ford; and, aftertravcllinrr liftecninile~ etlcamped ltiah up on the n1ouutain side, where Q ' u • we found excellent and abundu11t grass, which we had not luthcrto sceu. A new species of clymus, whiclt hall a purgative and weakening dfect upon the animals, had occurred abttnuantly since leaving tltc fort. From this point, by observation 7,:wo feet above the sea, we bad a view of tllc Colorado below, shut up amongst rugged mountains, and which is tl~e recipient of all the streams we had been crossing ince we passed tlte nm of tho Great Basin at the heacl uf the 'punish fork. . . On the 7th we had a plca~ant but long day's journey, tltrongl~ bcanttful ltttle valleys and a high mountain country, arriviug abont cvenmg at the verge of a steep and rocky ra vi nc, by which we descended to ''Brown's hole." This is a place well knowu to trappers in the cotwtry, where the cafions through whicll the Colorado rnns expand into a narrow but pretty valley~ about ::;ixtt~cn n1il s in length. The river was scv~ral.lnlndr~d. yards In brcadtll, swollen to the top of its banks, ncar to wluch lt was. 111 many place~ fifteen to twenty feet deep. \Vc repaired a skin bon.t wlnch had. been purchased at the fort, and, after ad .lay of a day, reached the ~ppostte banks with much less delay tltan !tad been encountered on the. Umtah waters. According to information, the lower end of the valley 1 · the 1110~t eastern part of the Colorado; aud the latitude of our encampr:1cnt) '~~llch was opposite to the remains of an old fort un tile left bank o( the nver, Was 40° 4G' 27", a11d, by observation, tile elevation above the sea • Thill fort waR att:wkccl nncl tnkrn by 11 hand of th Utnh Indians l'incc we pltK~<'<l it ; llll<l tho men of the ~nni1-1on killed, the women carried ofT: Mr. Roubidcuu, n tru<.lcr of !:>t. Lon is, WO.l:l au·· '('nt, unu ·o cscap~d the fittc of tlw l'l''it. |