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Show r I74 J .... 216 watering places of the count!·y. 0~ the wester~ mountains of the valley, with which this of the boihng spnng commumcates, we remarked scat. tcrcd cedars-prob:.bly an indication. that we were on the borders of the timbered region extending to the Pacific. We reached the camp at sunset after a day's ride of about forty mi1es. The horse~ we rode were in good ord er being of some that were kept for emergencies, and rarely used. ~1/ Preuss had ascended one of the mountains, and occupied the day in sketching the country ; and Mr. Fitzpatrick had found, a few miles distant a hollow of excellent grass and pure water, to which the animals wer~ driven, as I remained another day to give them an opportunity to recruit their strength. Indians appear to be every where prowling about like wild animals, and there is a fresh trail across the snow in the valley near. Latitude of the boiling springs, 40o 39' 46". On the 9th we cro 'sed over to the cotton wood camp. Among the shrubs on the hills were a few bushes of ephedra occidentalis, which afterwards occurred frequently along our road, and, as usual, the lowlands were occu· pied with artemisia. While the party proceeded to this place, Carson and myself reconnoitred the road in advance, and found another good encamp· ment for the following day. J anuary 10.-Wc continued our reconnoisance ahead, pursuing a south di rection in the ba in along the ridge ; the camp following slowly after. On a large trail there is ne,·er any doubt of finding suitable places for encamp· ments. 'Vc reached the end of the basin, where we found, in a hollow of the mountain which enclosed it, an abundance of good bunch grass. Leaving a signal for the party to encamp, we continued our way upwthe hollow, intending to see what lay beyond the mountain. The hollow was several miles long, forming a good pass, the snow deepening to a bout a foot as we neared the summit. Beyo11d, a defile between the mountains descended rapidly about two thousand feet; and, filling up all the lower ~pace, was a sheet of green water, some twenty miles broad. It broke upon our eyes like the ocean. The neighboring peaks rose high above us, and we ascended one of them to obtain a better view. The waves were cu rling in the breeze, and their dark-green color showed it to be a body of ~e~p wate•:- For a lo.ng; time we sat enjoying the view, for we had become la l1gucd wtth mountams, and the free expanse of moving waves was.~ery grateful. It was set like a gem in the mountains which from our posttwn, se.emed to enclose it almost entirely. At the we~tern e~d it communicat~d \~I th .the line of ?asins we had left a few days since; and on th~ opposrte Sid~ ~t swept a. .ndge of snowy mountains, the foot of the great Srerra. lis p~sit10n at first m~lined us to believe it .Mary's lake, but the rugged moun· tams were so enttrely discordant with descriptions of its low rush[ shore~ and open country, that we concluded it some unknown body ot water , ""hich it afterward. proved to be. On our road down, the next day we saw herds of mountain sheep, and encamped on a little stream at the ~outh of the defile about a mile from the margin of the water to which we hurried down immediately. The water is so slightly salt 'that at first we thou rrht it fresh and would be plP.asant to drink when ~o otl1~r could be had. 0 The shor~ wns roclcy-:-a handsome beach, which reminded us of the sea. On some large grant boulders that were scattered about the shore, I remarked a coating 0 .a ca!careous substance, in some places a few inches and in others 3 foot rn th ickness. Near our camp, the hills, which were of primitive rock, were |
