The pines on the mountain seemed to give it much additional beauty. I was
agreeably disappointed in the character of the streams on this side of the
ridge. Instead of the creeks, which description had led me to expect, I
find bold, broad streams, with three or four feet water, and a rapid
current. The fork on which we are encamped is upwards of a hundred feet
wide, timbered with groves or thickets of the low willow. We were now
approaching the loftiest part of the Wind River chain; and I left the
valley a few miles from our encampment, intending to penetrate the
mountains as far as possible with the whole party. We were soon involved
in very broken ground, among long ridges covered with fragments of
granite. Winding our way up a long ravine, we came unexpectedly in view of
a most beautiful lake, set like a gem in the mountains. The sheet of water
lay transversely across the direction we had been pursuing; and,
descending the steep, rocky ridge, where it was necessary to lead our
horses, we followed its banks to the southern extremity. Here a view of
the utmost magnificence and grandeur burst upon our eyes. With nothing
between us and their feet to lessen the effect of the whole height, a
grand bed of snow-capped mountains rose before us, pile upon pile, glowing
in the bright light of an August day. Immediately below them lay the lake,
between two ridges, covered with dark pines, which swept down from the
main chain to the spot where we stood. Here, where the lake glittered in
the open sunlight, its banks of yellow sand and the light foliage of aspen
groves contrasted well with the gloomy pines. "Never before," said Mr.
Preuss, "in this country or in Europe, have I seen such grand, magnificent
rocks." I was so much pleased with the beauty of the place, that I
determined to make the main camp here, where our animals would find good
pasturage, and explore the mountains with a small party of men. Proceeding
a little further, we came suddenly upon the outlet of the lake, where it
found its way through a narrow passage between low hills. Dark pines which
overhung the stream, and masses of rock, where the water foamed along,