"Like a n Emerald Among the Mountains"
AT BEARLAKEAND I t is doubtful that anyone who has ever looked upon the waters of Bear Lake for the first time has failed to be impressed. Warren Angus Ferris crossed the divide between Cache and Bear Lake valleys in 1832 and later wrote how "one of the most agreeable prospects imaginable, saluted and blessed our vision. It was the Little Lake . . . fifteen miles long and about eight in breadth."' In 1871 United States Geologist F. V. Hayden described the lake as being "set like an emerald among the mountains." Hayden, who had seen much of the western United States, thought Bear Lake incomparable: "Not even the waters of Yellowstone Lake present such vivid coloring," he wrote.' Though waxing far less poetic, early Mormon explorers to the region were also impressed. Marcellus Monroe, commander of a detachment sent from Ogden in 1857 to guard against the possible intrusion of Johnston's Army through Bear Lake country, observed Bear Lake to be "one of the prettiest Lakes I ever saw-it has a beautiful sandy beach and groves of timber around its margin."' On their journey, Monroe's party met with numerous Indian
