From Alkali Springs, called by many pioneers Sulphur Springs, emigrants traveled on to Birch Creek, which offered much needed water and grass for their livestock. French-Canadian fur trappers had first named it "Riviere aux Bouleaux," though travelers found willows there rather than birch. From Birch Creek, iron-rimmed wagon wheels churned toward the Snake River, only four miles away, cutting ruts into the land and creating the gentle swale that remained as a lasting sign of that vast emigration. Diary entries from August 1854 and August and September 1852 recount travel from Sulphur Springs to Birch Creek and onward, camps near Indians and Burnt River, sickness from drinking sulphur water, a move to the Snake River for better water, and Indians who visited daily, brought fish, and appeared perfectly friendly.