OVER on the DRY SIDE It was late August, 1852, and from the summit the viewers made a visual survey, ³with our glass.² Below and to the north, at the foot of Diamond Peak, lay a large lake (now known as Crescent Lake). Farther to the north Bachelor Butte, The Three Sisters, and Mt. Jefferson. The sisters had already been named and were known to those in the viewing party. To the south was a mountain that they called Macy¹s Peak. From their description it is believed that this mountain was what we call Mt. Thielsen today. The distance,said the viewers, from the valley to their position was some 60 miles, with the pass low and level. Descending to the east they reached what was known for some time as the West Fork of the Deschutes We now call it Big Marsh Creek. [It was at this place that the wagons of 1853 forded the river] At this point the viewers did some exploring. They crossed Big Marsh Creek several times and rode about 40 miles downstream to the junction with Spring River. Along the way they named a ³long range of hills² the Walker Range. From the junction of the Deschutes they, in Macy¹s words, ³travailed East directly as the Compass informed us ... 25 Miles 10 of which was through Piney glades after which we entered a large Plain off to the East & South with fine grass and Scatering Juniper, about as thick as an Orchard, in this Plain no Water...² From this description it is believed that the party of viewers left the Deschutes somewhere near Lava Butte and headed due east. They found no water for 25 miles when they happened upon ³a small river in the prairie² (present day Bear Creek). They named this ³Surprise River...² A rock found on Stein¹s Ridge, along the east rim of Camp Creek, next to the emigrant trail has a ³T² and the date 1852 scratched into it. Most trail authorities believe that the marks were put there by William Tandy of the viewing expedition, as there is no evidence to indicate the presents of any other white men in the area at this time.