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Show [ 174 ] 204: like the second fire of the gun, amazc.d and bewildered them with ~elight. It inspired them with trinmphan t feelltlf?S; but on the camps at a distance th~ effect was different, for the smokes 111 tlte lake and on the shores im· mediately disappeared. . . The point on which we were encamped forms, wlth th.e opposlte eastem shore, a narrow neck, connecting the body of the lake wtth a deep c.oveor bay which receives the principa~ afllnent streary, ~nd o~er the g~ca.ter part of which the water (or rather 1cc) was at th1s tim~ ~hspersed m shallow pools. Among the gra~s, ~nd scattered over t~e pra~ne lal~e, appeared. to be similar marshes. It 1~ s1mply a shallow basm, \VhiCh, for a short penod at the time of melting snows, is covered with water from the neighb?ring mountains· but this probably soon runs o!T, and leaves for the rem::under of the yea; a green savannah, thro~1gh ~h~ n1idst of which the river Tla. math, which flows to the ocean, wmds 1ts Wc\y to the outlet on the south· western side. December 11.-No Indians made their appearance, and I determined to pay them a visit. Accordingly, the people were gathered to~ether, and we rode out towards the village in the middle of the lake, whiCh one of o1r gnides had previously visited. It could not be directly approa~hed, as a large part of the lake appeared a marsh ; and there. were ~heets of Ice among the grass, on which our horses could not keep theu footmg. We therefore followed the guide for a considerable distance along the forest; and then turned off towards the village, which we soon began to sec was a few large huts, on the tops of which were collected the Indians. When we had .ar· rived within half a mile of the village, t\VO persons \Vere seen advancmg to meet us; and, to please the fancy of our guides, we ranged ~urselves into a long line, riding abreast, while they galloped ahead to meet the strangers. . We were surprised, on riding up, to find one of then1 a woman, havmg never before kuown a squaw to take any part in the business of war. They were the village chief and his wife, who, in excitement and aiarm at the unusual event and appearance, had come out to meet their fate t?gether. The chief was a very prepossessing Indian, with very handsome teatures, and a singularly soft and agreeable voice-so remarkable as to attract gen· eral notice. · The huts were grouped together on the bank of the river, which, from being spr~ad out in a shallow marsh at the upper end of the lake, was col· lected here into a single stream. Thay were large round huts, per.haps..20 feet in diameter, with rounded tops, on which was the door by whtch thea descended into the interior. Within, they were suppQrted by posts an beams. Almost like plants, these people seem to have adapted themselves t~~h.e soil, and to be growing on what the immediate locality afforded .. ~ elf only subsistence at this time appeared to be a small fish, great qnantttteso w h 1· c h , t h at h ad been smoked and dried were suspende d on stn·n g s .a bohut the loclge. Heaps of stra\v were lyina ~round· and their residence In~ e midst of grass and rushes had tanaht them a peculiar skill in convertmg tfis material to useful purposes. '!~heir shoes were made of straw or grass, which seemed well adapted for a snowy country · and the women wore on their head a closely woven basket which mad~ ~ very bo-ood cap. Among ot h er t hm. g~, wore parti-colored rna' ts about four feet square, wI u .c 11 wel opthnsr · chased to lay on the snow under our blankets and to use for tab~e .c · Numbers of singular-looking dogs, resembling wolves, were Slttwg on • • 205 [ 174 ] the tops of the huts ; and of these we purchased a young one, which, after its birthpla~e, was named Tlamath . ., The language spoket~ b.y thes~ In: dians is difierent fron1 that of t h~ Shoshonee and CoJ un1b1a ll ver tn?es , and otherwise than by signs they cannot understand each other. . 1 hey made us comprehend that the~ were at war with the people \Vho lived to the southward and to the eastward~ but I co~:tld obtain fron1 thern no certain information. The river on wh1ch they hve enters the Cascade mountains on the western side of the luke, and breaks th~ongh them by a passage impracticable for travellers; but over the m?untallls, to th~ north ward, are passes which present. no other obstacle .than u1 the almost unpcnet~ab.le forests. Unlike any Indtans \Ve had prcvwusly see~, .these wore shells 111 the.ir noses. We returned to our can1p, after reinammg here an hour or two, accompanied by a number of Indians. . . In order to recruit a little the strength of our antn1als, an~ ~btain some acquaintance with .the locality? we remained here for th~ re~a1~1.der of the day. By observatiOn, the lat1tude of the camp .w~s 42 56 51 ; and. the diameter of the lake or meadow, as has been 111 t1 mated, about .20 miles. It is a picturesque at{cl beautiful spot; ~nd, uud.er the hand o~ cultivation, might become a little paradise. Game 1s found u.1 the .fores~; tnnbered and snowy moulltains skirt it, and fertility charactenzes 1t. .~.ht1!ated ~ear th.e heads of three rivers and on the liue of inland co1nn1Un1catwn With Caltfornia ami near to I~dians noted for treachery, it will naturally, in the progress ~f the settlement of Oregon, become a point for military occupation and settlement. From Tlamath lake the further continuation of our voyage assumed a character of discovery and exploration, which, frot~ the. Indians here, we could obtain no information to direct, and where the 1magmary maps of the country, instead of assisting, exposed us to suffering and defeat. ln. our journey across the desert, lVlary's lake, and the fainous Duena ventura r1ver, were two points on which I relied to recrni~ the animals,. and repose the party. Forming, agreeably to the best tnaps 111 Iny I ssesswn, a connected water line from the Rocky 1nountains to the Pacific ocean, I felt no other anxiety than to pass safely across the intervening desert to the banks ?f the Bnenaventura where in the softer climate of a more sou~hern latttude, our horses mig' ht find' grass to sustain them, and our~elves be sheltered from the rigors of winter and fj m the inhospitable desert. The guides who had conducted us thus far on our journey were about to return; ar~d I endeavored in vain to obtain others to lead us, even for a few days,.ul the direction (east) which we \vished to go. The chief to. whom I appl~ed alleged the want of horses and the suow on the mountams across whtch our c?urse would carry us: and the sickness of his family, as reasons for refnsmg to go with us. . ,. December 12.-This n1orning the camp was thronged wtth flamath Indians from the southeastern shore of the lake; but, lfnowing the treacherous disposition which is a remarkable characteristic of the Indians south of t~e Columbia, the camp was kept constantly on its guard. I was 1~ot ~nmmdful of the disasters which Smith and other travellers had met w1th tn this couutry, and therefore was equally vigilant in guarding agaiast treachery and violence. . According to the best information I had been able to obtain from the Indians, in a few days' tra veiling we should ~each another large \Vater, probably a lake, which they indicated exactly 111 the course we were a.bout to |
