But Fremont, the discoverer, evidently did not ask or seek to know its Indian name.  As stated elsewhere he erroneously conceived it to be the headquarters of one of the forks of the American river, flowing into the Sacramento, and he so depicts it on his map, giving to it the two names “Mountain Lake” or “Lake Bonpland.”  But neither of these names was acceptable and they practically dropped out of sight.

When the first actual determination of Tahoe’s outlet through the Truckee River was made is not definitely known, but its approximate location was well enough established in 1853 to enable the official map-maker of the new State of California to depict it with reasonable accuracy, and, for some reason, to name it Lake Bigler, after John Bigler, the third Governor of California.

Citizens are still living both in Nevada and California who well remember when the Lake held this name, and the majority of people undoubtedly used it until 1862.  Officially, also, it was known as Lake Bigler in 1862, for in the Nevada Statutes there is recorded an Act approved December 19, 1862, authorizing certain parties to construct a railroad “to be known as the Lake Bigler and Virginia Railroad Co., to commence at a point on the Kingsbury-McDonald road known as the Kingsbury and McDonald Toll House, thence along the southern and eastern shores of Lake Bigler, and in most direct practical route, to the divide between Virginia City and Washoe Valley on east side Washoe Lake, over and through the most practical pass to Virginia City,” and a further right to construct branch road from Virginia to Carson City, Nevada.

In 1861, however, while Downey was Governor of California (he having been elected Lieut.  Governor, and taking the office on the resignation of Governor Latham in January 1860), an attempt was made to change the name from Bigler to the fanciful one of Tula Tulia, but fortunately it failed and the old name remained in general use.

But in 1862 another effort was made in an entirely different direction and this time with success.  It was brought about through the work of William Henry Knight, still living in Los Angeles, who has kindly furnished the following account: 

In the year 1859 I was the youngest member of an overland company which crossed the plains and mountains from St. Joseph, Mo., to California.  Our train was in three divisions and consisted of about twenty persons, and forty horses and mules.

One morning in the middle of August we left our camp at the eastern base of the double summit of the Sierra Nevadas and began our ascent.  Mounted on my faithful steed, Old Pete, I pushed on in advance of the caravan, in order to get the first view of the already famous mountain lake, then known as Lake Bigler.  The road wound through the defile and around the southern border of the Lake on the margin of which we camped for two days.