yet, though Mr. Brower as a scientific
explorer said he would call it Culver Canyon after that. He did, but his
story of the exploration never got to be very widely known. I guess they
were the first to get to the head, except Indians. The government
surveyors never followed out the river above Upper Red Rock Lake.

"They made two tries at it. The first time was August 5, 1895. They left
their horses and waded up the creek, till they came to a perpendicular
rock across the canyon. It was hard going, so they turned back that day.

"On August 29th they tried it again. They went up Horse Camp Creek and
left their horses at the foot of Hanson Mountain, and took one pack
horse and cut across over Hanson Mountain and then went down into the
Hell Roaring Creek; but they had to leave their pack horse then. Beyond
that they took to the stream bed on foot, and this time they got up on
top and followed the creek to its source.

"They came back all excited, saying they were the first ever to follow
the Missouri to its head. They named a little lake, up near the summit,
in a marshy flat, Lilian Lake, after me. Just a little way beyond that
they found a big saucer-like spot in the round little hole up
there--peaks all around it, like it had sunk down. Well, out of that
circular marsh the creek comes. That's the head--the utmost source. The
snow from the peaks feeds into that cup, or rather saucer, up on top,
back of Mount Jefferson.

"I don't think they went as far toward the actual head as I did myself,
for it was late and they had their horses to find. Now on September 26,
1895, I rode horseback up in there with Mr. Allen, and we rode right on
up over Hanson, and down into Hell Roaring, and beyond where they left
their pack horse. We rode almost all the way, and got into that Hole in
the Mountains, as Mr. Brower calls the depressed valley up on top. But
we rode on clear past it, three miles, and found the creek plain that
far.

"Almost up to the top of the divide, the creek turns northeast. It comes
out from under a big black rock, near a clump of balsam--like my spring
here, only not so big. Mr. Brower and Mr. Culver had marked a rock and
put down a copper plate for their discovery. I had a tin plate, and I
scratched my name and the date on that. There wasn't any mark of anyone
else there, and we were quite beyond the place where Mr. Brower stopped.
So maybe I am the first person, certainly the first woman, to see the
real up