brings us to the summit of the Rocky Mountains (at South Pass) which
divides the rivers of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and ends their
course thousands of miles apart. Here are the ever snow-capped peaks of
the Wind River Mountains looming up on the north. They are conical in
form and their base is about one thousand feet above the plain that
extends south. This brings us to the nineteenth day of July, 1849. On
the night of this day water froze to the thickness of one-fourth of an
inch in our buckets. The following day we commenced descending the
western slope, which was very rapid and rough. The twenty-first brought
us to Green River which was swollen and appeared to be a great barrier.
Here, for the first time, we brought our pontoons into use and swam the
mules, so that after two days of hard work we were all safely landed on
the west bank. We are now at the base of the Rocky Mountains on the
west, passing from one small valley to another, until we reached a bend
in the Bear River. Here let us pause for a moment and study the wonders
of nature.

First, the ground all around is covered with sulphur; here, a spring of
cold soda water; there, a spring of hot soda water; fourth, an oblong
hole about four by six inches in the rocky bank, from which spouts hot
soda water, like the spouting of a whale. It is called "Steamboat
Spring." It recedes and spouts about once in two minutes. All of these
are within a hundred steps of each other.

Now, our canteens, and every available vessel is to be filled with
water, for use in crossing forty-five miles of lava bed, where there is
neither water nor grass to be found and must be accomplished by
traveling day and night. This was called "Subletts' Cutoff," leaving
Salt Lake to the south of us, and brings us to the base of the mountains
at the source of the Humboldt River.