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Show • r. 148 ] 22 reached the rancho of Mr. Keyser, on Bear river; an affluent to Feather river the largest tributary of the Sacramento. The route lay over an ~nd~lating country-mor~ so as our course br~ught us nearer the mountains-wooded wtth oaks and shrubber~ 1n blossom with small prairies intervening. Many plants wer~ tn flower, and' among them the 'California pop~y, u~usuall~ magnificent. It is the characteristic bloom of Californta at .thts sea~on, .and the :Bear river bottoxns; near the hills, were covered w1th 1t. We crossed several small streams, and found the ground miry from the recent rains. The temperature at 4 in the afterno.on was .70°, and at sunset 58°, with an easterly 'vind, and tbe ntght bnght and clear. The morning of the 25th was clear, and warmer than usual; the wind sout~easterly, and the temperat~re' 40°. We trave lied. across the valley plain, and in about 16 m1!es reached - Feather nver at 26 miles from its junction with the Sacra~ento, ne~r the ~outh of the Yuva, so called from a village of Indtans who hve on 1t. '!he river has high banks-20 or 30 feet---:and ~as here 150 yards w!de, a deep, navigable stream. The Indi.ans a1ded us . acros~ the nver with canoes and small rafts. Extending along the bank 1n front of the village, was a range of wicker cribs, about twelv~ feet high, partly filled with what is there. the Indi~ns' sta~ of hfe-aco:ns. A collection of huts, shaped hke bee hives, with naked Indtans sunning thetnselves on the tops, and these acorn cribs, are the prominent objects in an Indian village. . . There is a fine farm, or rancho, on the Yuva, stocked with about 3,000 head of cattle, and cultivated principally in wheat, with some other grains and vegetables, which are carried, by means of the riYer, to a market at San Francisco. Mr. Cprdua, a native of Germany, who is proprietor of the place, informed n1e that his average harvest of wheat was about twenty-five bushels to the acre, which he suppQ.§ed would be about the product of the wheat lands in the Sacramento valley. The labor on this and other farms in the valley is performed by Indians. The temperature here was 74°. at 2 in the afternoon, 71°. at 4, and 69°. at sunset, with a northeasterly wind and clear sky. At sunrise of the 27th the temperature was 42°., clear·, with a northeasterly wind. We travelled northwardly, up the right bank • of the river, which was wooded with large white and evergreen oaks, interspersed with thickets of shrubbery in full bloom. We maae a pleasant journey of twenty-seven miles, and encamped at the bend of the river, where it turns from the course across the valley to .run southerly to its junction with the Sacramento. The thermometer at suns~t ·was at 67°, sky partially clouded, with southerly wind. The thermometer at sunrise on the 28th was at 46.05., with a ~ northeasterly wind. The road was over an open plain, with a few small sloughs or creeks that do not reach the riv~r. After travelling about fifteen miles 've encamped on Butte creek, a beautiful stream of clear water about fifty yards wide, with a bold current running all the year. It has large fertile bottoms, wooded with \ .. • 23 [ 148] . . open groves, and having a luxuriant growth of pea vine among the grass. Th~ oaks here were getting into general bloom. Fine ran- . chos have been selected on both sides the stream, and stocked with cattle, some of which were now very fat. A rancho here is owned by Neal, who formerly belonged to my exploring party. There is a rancheria (Indian village) near by, and some of the Indians glad] y ran races for tl.te head and offals of a fat cow which had been pre~ented to us. T}:ley were entirely naked. The thermometer at 2 in 4 the~ afternoon was at 70°., two hours later at 74°., and 65°. at sunset; the wind east, and sky clear only in the west. . The temperature at sunrise the next day was 50° , \vith cumuli in the south and west, which left a clear sky at 9, with a northwest wind, and temperature of 64°. We travelled 20 miles, and encamped on Pine creek, another fine stream, with bottoms of fertile land, wooded with grove.s of large and handsome oaks, some attaining to six feet in diameter, and . forty to seventy feet in height. At 4 in the afternoon the thermometer showed 74° and 64° at sunset; and the sky clear, except in the horizon. March 30.-The sun rose in masses of clouds over the eastern mountains. A pleasant morning, with a sunrise temperature of 46" .5, and some mosquitoes-never seen, as is said, in the coast country; but at seasons of high water abundant and venomous in the bottoms of the Joaquin and Sacramento. On the tributaries nearer the mountain but few are seen, and those go with the sun. Continuing up the valley, 've crossed in a short distance a large wooded creek, having now about thirty-five feet breadth of water. Our road \vas over an upland prairie of the Sacramento, having a yellowish, gravelly soil, generally two or three miles from the river, and twelve or fifteen from the foot of the eastern mountains. On the west it was 25 or 30 miles to the foot of the mountains, which here make a bed of high and broken ranges. In the afternoon, about half a mile above its mouth, we encamped on Deer creek, another of these beautiful tributaries to the Sacramento. It has the usual broad and fertile .bottom lands common to these streams, wooded with groves of oak and a large sycamore, (platanus occidentalis,) distinguished by nearing its balls in strings of three to five, and peculiar to California. Mr. Lassen, a native of Germany, has established a rancho_ here, which he has stocked, and is gradually bringing into cultivation. Wheat, as generally throughout the north country, gives large returns; cotton, planted in the way of experiment, was not injured by frost, and succeeded well; and he has lately planted a vineyard, for which the Sacramento valley is considered to be singularly well adapted. The seasons are not yet sufficiently understood, and too little has been done in agriculture, to afford certain knowledge of the capacities of the country. This farm is in the 40th degree of latitude; our position· on the river ' being in 30°. 57' . 00''., and longitude 121°. 56'. 44''. west from Greenwich, and elevation above the sea 560 feet. About three miles above the mouth of this stream are the first rapids-the present head of navigation-in the Sacramento river, which, from the rapids to its mouth in the bay, is more than 200 miles long, and in- • ' |