On and on we walked till the dark shadow of the great mountain in the setting sun was thrown about us, and still we did not seem more than half way to the bluff before us.
All the way had been hill and very tiresome walking.

There was considerable small brush scattered about, here and there, over this steeply inclined plain.
We were still several miles from the base of this largest of the mountains and we could now see that it extended west for many miles.

The buttes to the south were low, black and barren, and to the west as far as we could see there were no mountains with any snow.

As the sun got further down we could see a small smoke curling up near the base of the mountain, and we thought it must be some signal made by the Indians, as we had often seen them signal in that way, but we stopped and talked the matter over, and as we were yet a long way from the bluff which had been our objective point, we concluded we would investigate the smoke signal a little closer.

So we set off toward it in the dusk and darkness and when within about a mile we found we were in a tract that had been somewhat beaten.