, the water flowing down
the slopes of the incrusted mound about one-quarter of an inch deep. As
we stood on the margin of this immense lake a small flock of ducks came
sailing down as if to alight; but as they skimmed the water a few inches
above the surface, they seemed to scent danger, and with rapid flapping
of their wings, all except one rose into the air. This one, in his
descent, had gained too great an impetus to check his progress, and
came down into the water, and his frantic efforts to rise again were
futile, and with one or two loud squawks of distress, which were
responded to by his mates who had escaped, he was in a moment "a dead
duck." We gave no name to this lake.[AB]

About one hundred yards from the lake on the side towards the river, the
incrustation breaks off perpendicularly, and another large lake is
formed, the surface of which is about fifteen feet below the upper and
larger lake. There are a few other springs near the river farther down
the stream.

Jake Smith, for the first time on this trip, selected at this large lake
a curious specimen of tufa. It was a circumstance so unusual that Hedges
called our attention to it, but as Smith was riding along holding his
treasure carefully in his hand, his horse stumbled, and he accidentally
dropped his specimen, and with a remark which I will not here record,
and which is at variance with his own Bible instruction, he denounced as
worthless all the specimens of the party which he had seen, and
inveighed against the folly of spending any time in gathering them.

From this point we passed down the valley close by the bank of the
river. The valley on our right was very marshy, and we saw at a
considerable distance one very large fountain of water spouting into the
atmosphere to a considerable height, and many steam jets, but, owing to
the swampy character of the ground, we did not visit them.[AC]

When we left Helena on August 17th, we believed that twenty-five days
would be the limit of time which would be consumed before our return;
but to meet all exigencies we laid in a thirty days' supply of
provisions. We have now been absent thirty-four days, and as we cached
some of our supply on Yellowstone lake for Mr. Everts' relief, we are
now on short rations, but the fish we dried while camped on Yellowstone
lake are doing good service.

While riding to-day alongside of Stickney and bemoaning the lack in our
larder of many articles of food, such as sugar