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Show [ 174 J 180 an<l black. Passing throngh a P?int of pi.ncs, ~hich bore evidences of being mnch freq11cnted by th~ Indtans, aJHllll wlucl.l th? trees were sometimes a pp~ retltl y 200 feet. htglt and 3 to. 7 feet 111 d1ametcr, we .halted for a fc•.'.' minutes in the nftcruoou at the foot . o[ the Blue mountams, on a UJ'UllCil or the Grand Hond river, at Ull elevatiOn of 2,!00 fe et. Resnming our jonmey, we colllmcnccd the '"cent of the r!wnntalll through. an open pille J()rt•st of largu nnJ .. tat~ly trees, nt~wng whtch t.he balsc1m pmc made its appoarauce; tlt_e road betng go?d, wt_th the exceptiOn of one s~eep as~ent, with a correspmH.llllg desceut, \~ luc h n11gltt botlllla~c b t~en casdy nvotded by openi11g a way for a short dt stance tltrough the ttmber. It would have hec11 well had we tmrnmpcd ou tl:c. tream wltere we had halted below, as the ni,,ht overtook ns on the nJOuntain, and we W<.'rc obliged to encamp witllo~t water ' atJd tie u.p the animnl~ to the tr.e es Cor th. e night. Y.le had halted on a smooth open place of a narrow ndge, whtch descended very rapiJiy to a 1avinc or piney hollow, at a considerable distance LelQw; and it was quite a pretty spot, h.Hl there bt>en water 11ear. Uut the fires at ninht look very cltccrlcs after a day'::; march, when th ere i no preparation fo~ ~ upper goiug on; aud, afH'r siuing snme time uroutld the bluziug logs, Mr. Prcnss und Car~on, will! ,everal others, volnntet>rcd to take the India rnbber lmckcts alld ~o down iuto the raviue in ~ca rc l1 of water. lt was a VL'l'Y di!lkult way iu t.l1c darkness down tilt' slippery sid(~ of tl1e steep mountaill, and harder still to cli1ub nbont ltalf a mile up again; bnt tlwy found thu water, and the cup of cotT(·e (which it enabled us to make) and bread we1e only enjoyed with greater pleasure. At lliJSet t!JC l<'llJ]Wraturc was 1G0 ; the cveuing remarkably clear; and I ohtained an emeT!jl011 or tlte first atellit e, which does not crive a good resnll, althongh the obscrvatiorJ was n. very good one. The chronometric longitude was 11/0 28' 31", latitude '15° 3S' 07", uno we had ascendeu to an ulevution of 3,830 feet. It u ppcared to have snowed yesterday on the mountai11s, their summits showing very white to-day. October 2(1.-There was a hen. vy w hitc frost dnring the night, and at sqn rl$C the temperature was 37°. Tile aninwl. had eaten nothing <.luring the night; and we made an early start, continuing our route amoug the pines, whicll \vere more dense than yesterday, and still retaiucd tl1eir rnaanificcnt size. The larches cluster together i11 mnsses 011 the sides or the ~nountains, and their yellow foliage COIJtra~ ts haudsomely with the green of the balsatn and other pine~. After a fe_w _miles we ceased to sec auy pine , aud the timber consisled of sev~ral vanet1cs of ~prncc, larch, and bahmm piue, which have a regularlycomcal figure . . These trees appenrcd from GO to nearly 200 feet in _heigltt; the usnai circmnfercnce being 10 to 12 feet, and in the pines sometimes 21 feet. In open places ncar lhe snmmit, tbese trees became less high aud more b_ranching, _the conical form haviug a greater base. The instrument car· nugc occaswncd much delay, it being frequently necessary to foil trees and re~novc the fallen timber. The trail wo were following led up a long spur, With a very gradual and gentle rise. 't At the cud of three miles we halted. at an opcu place near the summt' from which we cnjoycJ a f;ne view over the mountainous country _wherf we had lately travelled, to take a barometrical observation at tho !ICJght 0 4,760 feet. ~fter travelliug occasionally through open places in the forest, w_c wer: obhged to ClH a way through a dense body of timber, from which w 181 [ 174 ] emerged on an open rrwuntain side, where we found a nnmber of small springs, and cucamped after a day' journey of 10 111ilcs. Our elevation here was 5,000 feet. October 21.-Therc was a very heavy white fro t during the JJight, a.ud the thermometer at sunri~e was 30°. W c continued to travel through the forest, in which the road was rendered difficult by fallen trunks, and obstructed by many smal l trees, which it was necessary to cnt down. But tl 1ese arc only accidental dif1lculties, which could easily be removed, a.ud a very excellent road may be had through this pass, with uo other than very moderate asccuts or declivities. A laborion day, whiell had advaiJC(•d ns ouly six rnile~ ou our road, brought us iu the afteruoou to au ope11ing i11 tllr fore ~ t, in which there \Vai a fine mountain meadow, with good grass, and a largt! clear-water stream-one of the heacl branches of the U1natilah river. Duriug t!Jis day'~ ourncy the barometer was broken; and the ~1:-vations above the sea, hereafter gi vrn: depend upon tl1e temperature of bo1hng water. SonlC of the white spruces which I measured lo-day were t wet ve feet in circumference, and one of the larches ten; but eight feet was the average circumference of those measured aloug the road. I hel<l in my band a tape line as I w~lkeu along, in order to form some correct idea of the size of the timber. Their height appeared to be from I 00 to 1 so, and perhaps 200 feet, and the tr u11 ks of the larches were sometime J 00 feet without a limb; bnt the white spruces were generally covered with brauchcs nearly to tlte root. All these trees have their branches, particularly the lower oues, clcclining. Octobe1· 22.-Tite white fro t this mon:}ing was like snow on the ground; the ice was a quarter of an iuch thick on the creek, and the thermometer at StllHise was at 20°. Bnt, in a [i'w hours, the day became \Varm and pleasant, and our road over the mouutains was delightful and fnll of enjoyment. The trail pas 'ed someti mcs I hrongh very thick young timber, in \Vhich there was much cutting to be done; but, after travelling a few 1niles, the mountains became more bald, and \Ve reached a point frotH which there was a very extensive view in the nortlnvcst. We were here on the western ~erge of tbe Blnc mountains, long spurs of which, very precipitous on either stde, extended down into the valley, the waters of the monntain roaring between them. On our right \Vas a 1nonntain plateau, covered with a dense forest; and to the westward, immediately below ns, was the great Nez Perce (pierced nose) prairie, in \vhich d nk lines of timber indicated the ~ourse of many alllnents to a considerable stremn tha t was seen pursuing Hs _way across the plain to\vards what appeared to ho the Columbia river. Thts I knew to ba the W"' alah\val d1 river, and occasional spots a lon6 its b~nks, which resembled clearings, 'vcrc supposed to he tltc mis ion or Indt~ n settlements; but the weather was smoky and unfavorable to far views Wtth the glass. The roek displayed bore in the escarpments is a compact a~or~hous trap, \Vhieh appears to constitute the mass of the Blue mountams m this latitude; and all the region of conn try through \vhich we have travelled since leaving the Snake river has beeu the scat of violent and extensive ignr.ous action. Along the Bnrnt river valley, the strata a rc cviuen_ tly _sedimcntnry rock~, altered by the intrusion of volcanic products, w~n?h tn some instances have pe11e!ratetl n1Hl c. ~cutially cha nged their 0 ~1 gtnal con_dition. Along our li11C of rontP from tltis poi11t to tlH' Cr~lifor .. ntn. m~mJtrun~, tltcre sf'ems b11t lillie c~HL n ;ial change. All onr :-.pecimcus o_f scduncntary roc..1~.3 show them to he much altcrrd, and volcat1ic productions appear to prevail throughout the \vhole intervcniug dista:tce. |
