e Pass offers, therefore, an easy gateway to the West.

Passing Pacific Springs at the summit, we rolled over to Big Sandy
Creek. At this point we left the Salt Lake Trail (known also as the
Mormon Trail) and took the Sublette Cut-off over to Bear River. This
was a shorter trail to the Oregon Country, made by William Sublette, one
of the American fur traders of the early days. The earlier emigrants to
Oregon went on to Fort Bridger before leaving the Salt Lake route.

[Illustration: _Howard R. Driggs_

The big bend of the Bear River in Idaho.]

The most attractive natural phenomenon encountered on the whole trip was
found at the Soda Springs, near Bear River in Idaho. Some of the
springs, in fact, are right in the bed of the river. One of them,
Steamboat Spring, was spouting at regular intervals as we passed.

Just after leaving Soda Springs our little company of friends separated.
The McAuleys and William Buck took the trail to California, while with
Oliver and the Davenport brothers we went northwest to Oregon. Jacob,
the younger of the brothers, fell sick and gradually grew worse as the
journey grew harder. Shortly after reaching Portland the poor boy died.

Thomas McAuley settled in the Hobart hills in California and became a
respected citizen of that state. When last I heard of him he was
eighty-eight years old.

William Buck has long since lain down to rest. A few years after we had
parted on the big bend of the Bear River, I heard from William in a way
that was characteristic of the man. He had been back to "the States," as
we then called the eastern part of our country, and returning to
California by way of the Isthmus of Panama, he had brought fifty swarms
of bees. Three of these swarms he sent up to me in Washington. As far as
I know these were the first honey bees in that state. William Buck was a
man who was always doing a good turn for his friends.

When Snake River was reached, and in fact even before that, the heat
again became oppressive, the dust stifling, and the thirst at times
almost maddening. In some places we could see the water of the Snake
winding through the lava gorges; but we could not reach it, as the river
ran in the inaccessible depths of the canyon. Sickness again became
prevalent, and another outbreak of cholera claimed many victims.

There were but few ferries, and none at all in many places where
crossings were to be made. Even where there was a ferry, the charges
were so high