cks they met on their way. It was not until
the edge of the evening that they reached the outlet of the river.

They encamped in a small willow grove, where they found an abundance of
drift-wood for their camp fire. The game they had taken furnished their
supper. They made for themselves soft beds of the tender willow twigs, and
in a mild atmosphere, beneath a starlit sky, slept soundly till morning.
The voices of millions of waterfowl, around them, did not disturb their
slumbers.

CHAPTER XII.

Marches and Battles.

Entering the Lake.--Dangerous Navigation.--The Return to
Camp.--Feast upon Horse Flesh.--Meeting the Indians.--Joyful
Meeting.--Return to Fort Hall.--Feasting at the Fort.--The Party
Diminished.--The Journey down Snake River.--Crossing the Sierra
Nevada.--Carson Rescues Fremont.--Fort Sutter.--Heroic
Achievement of Carson.--Disbanding the Party.--The third
Expedition.--Crossing the Desert.--Threatened by the
Mexicans.--Fight with the Indians.--The Surprise.--Chastisement
of the Indians.

The morning of the ninth of September dawned upon our voyagers remarkably
serene and beautiful. They hurried through breakfast to make an early
start. The water was found so shallow, at the mouth of the river, that it
would not float the boat. They were compelled to take off their clothes
and wade through the soft mud for the distance of a mile, dragging the
boat, when they came to deep water. The whole wide marshy expanse seemed
to be covered with waterfowl of every description, filling the air with
their discordant voices. Though it was calm, there was quite a heavy swell
upon the ocean-like lake. The waters were of crystal clearness, though so
thoroughly saturated with salt that the spray left a saline crust upon the
clothing.

They reached the island and ascended its loftiest peak, which was about
eight hundred feet high. It is almost certain that never since the
creation had a white man's foot trod that summit.

"As we looked," writes Colonel Fremont, "over the vast expanse of water
spread out beneath us, and strained our eyes along the silent shore, over
which hung so much doubt and uncertainty, I could hardly repress the
desire to continue our exploration. But the lengthening snow on the
mountains, spreading farther and farther, was a plain indication of the
advancing season, and our frail linen boat appeared so insecure that I was
unwilling to trust our lives to