Chapter 23 - Page 2

and cliffs of red

sandstone, some peaked and angular, some round, some broken into

crags and precipices, and piled up in fantastic masses; but all

naked and sterile. There appeared to be no soil favorable to

vegetation, nothing but coarse gravel; yet, over all this

isolated, barren landscape, were diffused such atmospherical

tints and hues, as to blend the whole into harmony and beauty.

In this neighborhood, the captain made search for "the great Tar

Spring," one of the wonders of the mountains; the medicinal

properties of which, he had heard extravagantly lauded by the

trappers. After a toilsome search, he found it at the foot of a

sand-bluff, a little east of the Wind River Mountains; where it

exuded in a small stream of the color and consistency of tar. The

men immediately hastened to collect a quantity of it, to use as

an ointment for the galled backs of their horses, and as a balsam

for their own pains and aches. From the description given of it,

it is evidently the bituminous oil, called petrolium or naphtha,

which forms a principal ingredient in the potent medicine called

British Oil. It is found in various parts of Europe and Asia, in

several of the West India islands, and in some places of the

United States. In the state of New York, it is called Seneca Oil,

from being found near the Seneca lake.

The Crow country has other natural curiosities, which are held in

superstitious awe by the Indians, and considered great marvels by

the trappers. Such is the Burning Mountain, on Powder River,

abounding with anthracite coal. Here the earth is hot and

cracked; in many places emitting smoke and sulphurous vapors, as

if covering concealed fires. A volcanic tract of similar

character is found on Stinking River, one of the tributaries of

the Bighorn, which takes its unhappy name from the odor derived

from sulphurous springs and streams. This last mentioned place

was first discovered by Colter, a hunter belonging to Lewis and

Clarke's exploring party, who came upon it in the course of his

lonely wanderings, and gave such an account of its gloomy

terrors, its hidden fires, smoking pits, noxious streams, and the

all-pervading "smell of brimstone," that it received, and has

ever since retained among trappers, the name of "Colter's Hell!"

Resuming his descent along the left bank of the Popo Agie,

Captain Bonneville soon reached the plains; where he found

several large streams entering from the west. Among these was

Wind River, which gives its name to the mountains among which it

takes its rise. This is one of the