aving been for
many years a trapper in the country, was an experienced mountaineer.

"'We formed now but a small family. With Mr. Preuss and myself,
Carson, Bernier, and Basil Lajeunesse had been selected for the boat
expedition--the first ever attempted on this interior sea; and Badeau,
with Derosier, and Jacob (the colored man), were to be left in charge
of the camp. We were favored with most delightful weather. To-night
there was a brilliant sunset of golden orange and green, which left
the western sky clear and beautifully pure; but clouds in the east
made me lose an occultation. The summer frogs were singing around us,
and the evening was very pleasant, with a temperature of 60 deg.--a night
of a more southern autumn. For our supper we had _yampah_, the most
agreeably flavored of the roots, seasoned by a small fat duck, which
had come in the way of Jacob's rifle. Around our fire to-night were
many speculations on what to-morrow would bring forth; and in our
busy conjectures we fancied that we should find every one of the large
islands a tangled wilderness of trees and shrubbery, teeming with game
of every description that the neighboring region afforded, and which
the foot of a white man or Indian had never violated. Frequently,
during the day, clouds had rested on the summits of their lofty
mountains, and we believed that we should find clear streams and
springs of fresh water; and we indulged in anticipations of the
luxurious repasts with which we were to indemnify ourselves for past
privations. Neither, in our discussions were the whirlpool and other
mysterious dangers forgotten, which Indian and hunters' stories
attributed to this unexplored lake. The men had discovered that,
instead of being strongly sewed (like that of the preceding year,
which had so triumphantly rode the canons of the Upper Great Platte),
our present boat was only pasted together in a very insecure manner,
the maker having been allowed so little time in the construction that
he was obliged to crowd the labor of two months into several days. The
insecurity of the boat was sensibly felt by us; and, mingled with
the enthusiasm and excitement that we all felt at the prospect of an
undertaking which had never before been accomplished, was a certain
impression of danger, sufficient to give a serious character to our
conversation. The momentary view which had been had of the lake the
day before, its great extent and rugged islands, dimly seen amid