According to tradition, a hunting party led by Captain Benjamin Bonneville reached this promontory in 1833, saw the lush river valley below, and exclaimed in French, “Les bois; les bois; vouyez le bois!” (“The woods; the woods; see the woods!”), leading to his party being credited with naming the Boise Valley. A career soldier, Bonneville obtained leave from the Army to examine the locations, habits, and trading practices of Indian tribes, visit American and British establishments, and study how the country could be made available to American citizens. He left St. Louis in May 1832 with 110 men and 20 wagons, explored Utah’s Great Salt Lake, and crossed southern Idaho several times. His routes helped establish what became the Oregon Trail for settlers entering the Boise River Valley, and he returned east in 1835. Bonneville County in Idaho, the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah, and Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River were later named in his honor.