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Show ~ 174 ] . 202 Dalles joined that on .'~hich ~ve were tr~velling. After pa~sing ~or several miles over an artem1sta plam, the trail entered a beaut1ful pme forest th,ongh which we travelled for several hours; aud abont 4 o'clock descended into the valley of another large branch, on the bottom of which were spaces of open pines~ with occas~onal mea~ows of good grass, in one of which we encamped. fbc stream 1s very swift and deep, and about 40 feet wide, and nearly half frozen over. Among the timber here, are larches 140 feet high, and over 3 feet in diameter. We had to-night the rare sight of a luuar rainbow. . December 5.-To-day the country was all pine forest, and beautiful weather made our journey delightful. It was too warm at noon for winter clothes ; and the suow, which lay every where in patches through the forest, was melting rapidly. After a few hours' ride, \Ve came upon a fine stream in the midst of the forest, which proved to be the principal branch of Fall river. It was occasionally 200 feet wide-sotnctimcs narrowed to 50 feet; the waters very clear, and frequently deep. W c ascended along the river, which soruetimes presented sheets of foa1ning cascades; its banks occasionally blackened with masses of scoriated rock, and found a good en· campment on the verge of an open bott01n, which had been an old camp· ing ground of the Cayuse Indians. A great number of deer horns were lying about, indicating game in the neighborhood. The timber was uniformly large; some of the pines measuring 22 feet in circumference at the ground, and 12 to 13 feet at six feet above. In all our journeying, we had never travelled through a country where the rivers were so abounding in falls, and the name of this stream is singu· larly characteristic. At every place \vhe..re \Ve come in the neighborhood of the river, is heard the roaring of falls. The rock along the banks o~the stream, and the ledge over which it falls, is a scoria ted basalt, with a bnght metallic fracture. The stream goes over in one clear pitch, succeeded by a foaming cataract of several hundred yards. In the little bottom above the falls~ a small stream discharges into an entonnoir, and disappears bel~w. We had made an early encamp1nent, and in the course of the evemng Mr. Fitzpatrick joined us here \Vith the lost mule. Our lodge poles were nearly worn out, and we found here a handsome set, leaning against one of the trees, very white, and cleanly scraped. flad the owners been here, we woul~ ha v~ purchased them; but as they were not, we merely left the o\d ones m tbeir place, with a small quantity of tobacco. lJecernber 6.-Thc morning was frosty and clear. We continued up the stream on. undulating forest ground, over which there was . scattered much fallen timber. We met here a villaO'e of Nez Perce Ind1ans, who appeared to be coming down from the 1nou~tains, and had with the~? ~ne bands of hors·es. With them were a few Snake Indians of the root~d1ggmg sp~cies.. From the forest we emerged into an open valley ten or twelve mlfS Wide, through which the stream was flowing tranquilly, up:vard of two hundred feet broad, with occasional islands, and borderea wrth fine br?ad. bottoms. Crossing tha river, which here issues from a great moun· tam ndge on the right, we continued up the southern and ~mallcr ~rau~h, 0 era level conntry, consisting of fine meadow land, alternating :vrth ptde forests, and encamped on it early in the evening. A warm suuslune ma e the day pleasant. . December 7.-To-day we had goocl travellino- ground· the trailleadwg someti. mes over rather sanuy soils in the pine of orest, and' someu·m cs over 203 [ 174 J meadow land along the stream. The great beauty of the country in summer constautly suggested itself to our imaginations; and even uow we found it beautiful, as we rode along these meadows, from half a mile to two md'es wide. The rich soil and excellent water, surrounded by noble forests, make a picture that would delight the eye of a fahner; and I regret that the very small scale of the map would not allow us to give some representation of these features of the country. I observed to-night an occultation of '1 Ge1ninorurn j which, although at the briO'ht limb of the moon, appears to give a very good result, that has been adopted for tho longitude. The occultation, observations of satellites, and our po$ition deduced frorn daily surveys with the compass, agree remarkably well together, and n1utuully support and strengthen each other. The latitude of the camp is 43° 30' 36"; and longitude, deduced fr01n the occultation, 121° 33' 50". Decembe1· 8.-T'o-day we crossed the last branch of the Fall river, issuing, like all the others we had crossed, in a southwesterly direction from the mountains. Our direction \vas a little east of south, the trttil leadiug constantly through pine forests. The soil was generally bare, consisLing, in greater part, of a yellowish white pumice stone, producing varieties of magnificeut pines, bnt not a blade of grass ; and to-night our horses were obliged to do without food, and u~e snow for water. These pines are remarkable for the red color of the bolls ; aud among them occurs a species, of which the Indians had informed me when leaving the Dalles. The unusual size of the cone ( 16 or 18 inches long) had attracted their attention; and they pointed it out to me among the curiosities of the country. They are more remarkable for t.heir large diameter than their height, \vhich usually averages only about ·120 feot. 'I'he leaflets arc short-only. two or three inches long, and five in a sbeath; the bark of a red color. December 9.-The trail leads always through splcudid pine forests. Crossing dividing grounds by a very fiue road, we descended very gently towards tho south. The weather \vas pleasant, and we halted late. The soil was very much like that of yesterday; and on the surface of a hill, near our encampment, were displayed beds of pumice stone; but the soil produced no grass, and again the animals fared badly. • December 10.-The country began to improve ; and about 11 o'clock \Ve reached ·a spring of cold water on the edge of a savannah, or grassy meadow. which our guides informed us was an arm of the Tlamatlllake ; and a few miles further vve entered upon an extensive meadow, or lake of grass, sur~·ounded by timbered rnountains. This was the Tlamath lake. It was a picturesque and bcautiful13pot, and rendered more attractive to us by the a~undant and excellent grass, which our animals, after travelling through pme forests, so nu1eh needed; bnt the broad sheet of wator which constitutes a lake was not to be seeA. Overlooking it, im1nediately west, were several snowy knobs, belonging to what we have considered a branch of the Casoade rangP. A low point covered with pines made out into the l~ke, which afforded us a good place flH an encampment, and for the security of our horses, which were guarded in view ou the open n1eadow. The ~haracter of courage and hostility attributed to .the Ind~ans o.f . this quaftler In~uced more than usual precaution ; and, scewg smokes n smg fro1n The ~lddle o_f the lal e (or savannah) and along the opposite shores, I directed t le howttzer to be fired. It was the first time onr guides had socn it discharged; and the bursting of the slwll at a distance, which was sornethiug |