In  the  course  of  our  journey  it  will  be  remarked  that  the
buffalo  have  not  so  entirely  abandoned  the  waters  of  the  Paeif-
icj  in  the  Rocky- Mountain  region  south  of  the  Sweet  Water,  as
in  the  country  north  of  the  Great  Pass.  This  partial  distribu-
tion  can  only  be  accounted  for  in  the  great  pastoral  beauty  of


ADVENTURES  AND  EXPLORATIONS.      253

Jiat  country,  which  bears  marks  of  having  been  one  of  theii
favorite  haunts,  and  by  the  fact  that  the  white  hunters  have
more  frequented  the  northern  than  the  southern  i;egion — it  be
ing  north  of  the  South  Pass  that  the  hunters,  trappers,  and  tra-
ders, have  had  their  rendezvous  lor  many  years  past ;  and
from  that  section  also  the  greater  portion  of  the  beaver  and  ricli
furs  were  taken,  although  always  the  most  dangerous  as  well  as
the  most  profitable  hunting-ground.
