Other than the Snake River Canyon, a route which he could hardly have anticipated from any vantage point, he would logically have selected Teton Pass as the most feasible crossing of the Teton Range to the southwest. Here the historians, at least those who accept the theory of a trans-Teton route, are in almost unanimous agreement, although some would have us believe that he made a frontal assault through Cascade Canyon. This hardly seems likely, since Colter, bold as he was, evidenced no characteristics of the foolhardy, and to his eyes the Cascade Canyon route could scarcely have appeared to offer a feasible crossing. One cannot but puzzle a bit, however, as to his reason for crossing the Range at all. From the broad valley of the Hole the route northward up the Snake River into the Yellowstone was to any eye an easy one. The terrain sloped gently, there were no mountain walls to scale or circle, nothing to indicate any obstacle of consequence. Indeed, many notable historical scholars have opposed the Teton Pass theory, asserting that he did avoid the Tetons by moving northward. He would certainly have fulfilled Lisa’s orders to contact nearby Indian tribes by the time he had reached Jackson Hole. Accepting the Teton route, as we must in the light of later evidence, we add further stature to Colter’s perseverance and venturesome spirit. He went over the mountains, perhaps because the Indians had described the route and country beyond to him, perhaps because he was seeking the reported “Spanish Settlements” on the headwaters of the Colorado River (Green River), or perhaps for the very simple reason that he wanted to see what was on the other side. At any rate, the Idaho side of the Range has given us the first really tangible clue as to Colter’s whereabouts while on his winter journey. In 1930, about 4 miles east of the Idaho village of Tetonia, was found the “Colter Stone.” In the spring of that year, while plowing virgin land on his father’s homestead, William Richard Beard, then a boy of 16, unearthed the stone from its resting place about 18 inches beneath the surface. His attention was first attracted by the shape of the rock. It had been roughly formed to resemble a human head, flattened, but with the unmistakeable outline of forehead, nose, lips, and chin. When the stone had been cleaned, it was found to have been crudely carved. One side bore the name “JOHN COLTER,” the other was inscribed with the almost illegible figures, “1808.” [Illustration: The “Colter Stone,” with Colter’s name inscribed on one face, the barely legible date 1808 on the other. Found near Tetonia, Idaho, in 1930, the stone is now on display in the History Museum exhibits at the Moose Visitor Center, Park Headquarters, Grand Teton National Park.]