There is at present no snow on those mountains;
that which covered them on our arrival, as well as that which has since
fallen, having disappeared. The mountains to the north and northwest
of us are still entirely covered with snow; indeed, there has been no
perceptible diminution of it since we first saw them, which induces a
belief either that the clouds prevailing at this season do not reach
their summits or that they deposit their snow only. They glisten with
great beauty when the sun shines on them in a particular direction, and
most probably from this glittering appearance have derived the name of
the Shining Mountains."
A mysterious noise, heard by the party, here engaged their attention,
as it did years afterwards the attention of other explorers. The journal
says:--
"Since our arrival at the falls we have repeatedly heard a strange noise
coming from the mountains in a direction a little to the north of west.
It is heard at different periods of the day and night (sometimes when
the air is perfectly still and without a cloud), and consists of one
stroke only, or of five or six discharges in quick succession. It is
loud, and resembles precisely the sound of a six-pound piece of ordnance
at the distance of three miles. The Minnetarees frequently mentioned
this noise, like thunder, which they said the mountains made; but we had
paid no attention to it, believing it to have been some superstition, or
perhaps a falsehood. The watermen also of the party say that the
Pawnees and Ricaras give the same account of a noise heard in the Black
Mountains to the westward of them.
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