noon, when the thermometer had risen to 79.5°, we had a bright sun, with blue sky and scattered cumuli. According to the barometer our halt here among the hills was at an elevation of 5320 feet. Crossing a dividing ridge in the afternoon we followed down another little Bear River tributary to the point where it emerged on an open green flat among the hills, timbered with groves, and bordered with cane thickets, but without water. A pretty little rivulet, coming out of the hillside, and overhung by tall, flowering plants of a species I had not hitherto seen, furnished us with a good camping-place. The evening was cloudy, the temperature at sunset 69°, and the elevation 5140 feet. Among the plants occurring along the line of road during the day épinettes des prairies (grindelia squarrosa) was in considerable abundance, and is among the very few plants remaining in bloom-the whole country having now an autumnal appearance, in the crisped and yellow plants, and dried-up grasses. Many cranes were seen during the day, with a few antelopes, very shy and wild. August 28.-During the night we had a thunder-storm, with moderate rain, which has made the air this morning very clear, the thermometer being at 55°. Leaving our encampment at the Cane spring, and quitting the trail on which we had been traveling, and which would probably have afforded us a good road to the lake, we crossed some very deep ravines, and, in about an hour's traveling, again reached the river. We were now in a valley five or six miles wide, between mountain ranges, which, about thirty miles below, appeared to close up and terminate the valley, leaving for the river only a very narrow pass, or cañon, behind which we imagined that we should find the broad waters of the lake. We made the usual halt at the mouth of a small, clear stream, having a slightly mineral taste (perhaps of salt), 4760 feet above the Gulf. In the afternoon we climbed a very steep sandy hill; and, after a slow and winding day's march of twenty-seven miles, encamped at a slough on the river. There were great quantities of geese and ducks, of which only a few were shot; the Indians hav The men employed ing probably made them very wild. themselves in fishing, but caught nothing. A skunk (mephitis Americana), which was killed in the afternoon, made a supper for one of the messes. The river is bordered occasionally with fields of cane, which were regarded as an indication of our approach to a lake country. We had frequent showers of rain during the night, with thunder. August 29.-The thermometer at sunrise was 54°, with air from the N. W., and dark rainy clouds moving on the horizon; rain squalls and bright sunshine by intervals. I rode ahead with Basil to explore the country, and, continuing about three miles along the river, turned directly off on a trail running toward three marked gaps in the bordering range, where the mountains appeared cut through to their bases, toward which the river plain rose gradually. Putting our horses into a gallop on some fresh tracks which showed very plainly in the wet path, we came suddenly upon a small party of Shoshonee Indians, who had fallen into the trail from the north. We could only communicate by signs; but they made us understand that the road through the chain was a very excellent one leading into a broad valley which ran to the southward. We halted to noon at what may be called the gate of the pass; on either side of which were huge mountains of rock, between which stole a little pure water-stream, with a margin just sufficiently large for our passage. From the river the plain had gradually risen to an altitude of 5500 feet, and, by meridian observation, the latitude of the entrance was 42°. In the interval of our usual halt several of us wandered along up the stream to examine the pass more at leisure. Within the gate the rocks receded a little back, leaving a very narrow, but most beautiful valley, through which the little stream wound its way, hidden by different kinds of trees and shrubs-aspen, maple, willow, cherry, and elder; a fine verdure of smooth short grass spread over the remaining space to the bare sides of the rocky walls. These were of a blue limestone, which constitutes the mountain here; and opening directly on the grassy bottom were several curi ous caves, which appeared to be inhabited by root-diggers. On one side was gathered a heap of leaves for a bed, and they were dry, open, and pleasant. On the roofs of the caves I remarked bituminous exudations from the rock. The most remarkable feature of the pass is the Standing Rock, which has fallen from the cliffs above, and standing perpendicularly near the middle of the valley, presents itself like a watch-tower in the pass. It will give you a tolerably correct idea of the character of the scenery in this country, where generally the mountains rise abruptly up from comparatively unbroken plains and level valleys; but it will entirely fail in representing the picturesque beauty of this delightful place, where a green valley, full of foliage, and a hundred yards wide, contrasts with naked crags that spire up into a blue line of pinnacles 3000 feet above, sometimes crested with cedar and pine, and sometimes ragged and bare. The detention we met with in opening the road, and perhaps a willingness to linger on the way, made the afternoon's travel short, and about two miles from the entrance we passed through another gate, and encamped on the stream at the junction of a little fork from the southward, around which the mountains stooped more gently down, forming a small open cove. As it was still early in the afternoon, Basil and myself in one direction, and Mr. Preuss in another, set out to explore the country, and ascended different neighboring peaks, in the hope of seeing some indications of the lake; but though our elevation afforded magnificent views, the eye ranging over a long extent of Bear River, with the broad and fertile Cache valley in the direction of our search, was only to be seen a bed of apparently impracticable mountains. Among these the trail we had been following turned sharply to the northward, and it began to be doubtful if it would not lead us away from the object of our destination; but I nevertheless determined to keep it, in the belief that it would eventually bring us right. A squall of rain drove us out of the mountain, and it was late when we reached the camp. The evening closed in with frequent showers of rain, with some lightning and thunder. August 30.-We had constant thunder-storms during the night, but in the morning the clouds were sinking to the horizon, and the air was clear and cold, with the thermometer at sunrise at 39°. Elevation by barometer 5580 feet. We were in motion early, continuing up the little stream without encountering any ascent where a horse would not easily gallop, and, crossing a slight dividing ground at the summit, descended upon a small stream, along which we continued on the same excellent road. In riding through the pass numerous cranes were seen; and prairie hens, or grouse (bonasia umbellus), which lately had been rare, were very abundant. This little affluent brought us to a larger stream, down which we traveled through a more open bottom, on a level road, where heavily laden wagons could pass without obstacle. The hills on the right grew lower, and, on entering a more open country, we discovered a Shoshonee village; and being desirous to obtain information, and purchase from them some roots and berries, we halted on the river, which was lightly wooded with cherry, willow, maple, service berry, and aspen. The barometer indicated a height of 5170 feet. A number of Indians came immediately over to visit us, and several men were sent to the village with goods, tobacco, knives, cloth, vermilion, and the usual trinkets, to exchange for provisions. Several of the Indians drew aside their blankets, showing me their lean and bony figures; and I would not any longer tempt them with a display of our merchandise to part with their wretched subsistence, when they gave as a reason that it would expose them to temporary starvation. A great portion of the region inhabited by this nation formerly abounded in game; the buffalo ranging about in herds, as we had found them on the eastern waters, and the plains dotted with scattered bands of antelope; but so rapidly have they disappeared within a few years that now, as we journeyed along, an occasional buffalo skull and a few wild antelope were all that remained of the abundance. which had covered the country with animal life. AMERICA Polar Research By GEORG GERLAND EAVING out of view the commercial enterprises of the ancient inhabitants of the Iberian Peninsula and the voyages of the primitive Celtic people of Britain, the earliest explorer of the north was a younger contemporary of Alexander the Great, Pytheas of Marsilia, who braved the perils of that region, impelled by purely scientific motives. He returned with abundant results, but was not understood by the people of his time, and more than 2000 years elapsed before men sailed north again in scientific inquiry. It is true that many voyages were made to the north during the Middle Ages. The Northmen during that period founded colonies in Greenland, in the farthest north, as their countrymen settled in the fair southern regions of Apulia and Sicily; but both sets of settlements failed to be of permanent establishment. The voyage of the Venetian Zeno to the Farö Islands in 1390 was without historical significance, and the voyage of Christopher Columbus beyond Iceland in 1477 is mythical. At the close of the Middle Ages, when the deficiency of knowledge of the earth was great, avarice and the quest for the goods of the south led men into the northern ice; they sought to reach India by the shortest possible routes, where they would not meet rivals and enemies. This was the object of Magellan's circumnavigation. The Ceterum Censeo of James Lancaster asserted that the way to India was north, |