or an
abundant supper at night, and for breakfast next morning. The stillness
of the night was enlivened by millions of waterfowl.

"September. 9.--The day was clear and calm; the thermometer at
sunrise at 49 degrees. As is usual with the trappers on the eve of any
enterprise, our people had made dreams, and theirs happened to be a bad
one--one which always preceded evil--and consequently they looked very
gloomy this morning; but we hurried through our breakfast, in order to
make an early start, and have all the day before us for our adventure.
The channel in a short distance became so shallow that our navigation
was at an end, being merely a sheet of soft mud, with a few inches of
water, and sometimes none at all, forming the low water shore of the
lake. All this place was absolutely covered with flocks of screaming
plover. We took off our clothes, and, getting overboard, commenced
dragging the boat--making, by this operation, a very curious trail, and
a very disagreeable smell in stirring up the mud, as we sank above the
knee at every step. The water here was still fresh, with only an insipid
and disagreeable taste, probably derived from the bed of fetid mud.
After proceeding in this way about a mile, we came to a small black
ridge on the bottom, beyond which the water became suddenly salt,
beginning gradually to deepen, and the bottom was sandy and firm. It was
a remarkable division, separating the fresh water of the rivers from the
briny water of the lake, which was entirely saturated with common salt.
Pushing our little vessel across the narrow boundary, we sprang on
board, and at length were afloat on the waters of the unknown sea.

"We did not steer for the mountainous islands, but directed our course
towards a lower one, which it had been decided we should first visit,
the summit of which was formed like the crater at the upper end of Bear
River Valley. So long as we could touch the bottom with our paddles,
we were very gay; but gradually, as the water deepened, we became more
still in our frail bateau of gum cloth distended with air, and with
pasted seams. Although the day was very calm, there was a considerable
swell on the lake; and there were white patches of foam on the surface,
which were slowly moving to the southward, indicating the set of
a current in that direction, and recalling the recollection of the
whirlpool stories. The water continued to deepen as we advanced; the
lake becoming almost transpare