the mountains 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 the uncertainties of
the lake. I therefore unwillingly resolved to terminate our survey here,
and remain satisfied for the present with what we had been able to
add to the unknown geography of the region. We felt pleasure also in
remembering that we were the first who, in the traditionary annals of
the country, had visited the islands, and broken, with the cheerful
sound of human voices, the long solitude of the place.

"I accidentally left on the summit the brass cover to the object end of
my spyglass and as it will probably remain there undisturbed by Indians,
it will furnish matter of speculation to some future traveller. In our
excursions about the island, we did not meet with any kind of animal: a
magpie, and another larger bird, probably attracted by the smoke of our
fire, paid us a visit from the shore, and were the only living things
seen during our stay. The rock constituting the cliffs along the shore
where we were encamped, is a talcous rock, or steatite, with brown spar.

"At sunset, the temperature was 70 degrees. We had arrived just in time
to obtain a meridian altitude of the sun, and other observations were
obtained this evening, which placed our camp in latitude 41 degrees 10'
42" and longitude 112 degrees 21' 05" from Greenwich. From a discussion
of the barometrical observations made during our stay on the shores of
the lake, we have adopted 4,200 feet for its elevation above the Gulf of
Mexico. In the first disappointment we felt from the dissipation of our
dream of the fertile islands, I called this Disappointment Island.

"Out of the driftwood, we made ourselves pleasant little lodges, open to
the water, and, after having kindled large fires to excite the wonder of
any straggling savage on the lake shores, lay down, for the first time
in a long journey, in perfect security; no one thinking about his arms.
The evening was extremely bright and pleasant; but the wind rose during
the night, and the waves began to break heavily on the shore, making
our island tremble. I had not expected in our inland journey to hear
the roar of an ocean surf; and the strangeness of our situation, and the
excitement we felt in the associated interests of the place, made
this one of the most interesting nights I remember during our long
expedition.

"In the morning, the