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Show [ 17'4 J 222 .The road le? u up t~e creek, which here be~ome~ a rather rapid moun~ atn str.eam, fifty feet w1de, between dark-loo~tng hall~ without snow; but umnedtatcly beyond them rose snowy mountams on etther side tirnbtred principally with the nut pine. On the lower grounds, the gen~ral hei ht of thi tree is twelve to twenty feet, and eight inches the greatest diamct~r· it is rather branching, and has a peculiar and singular but pleasant odor' '"''e followed the river for only a short distance along a rocky trail and crossed it at a dam which the Indians made us comprehend had been'bullt to catch salmon trout. The snow and ice were heaped up a(J'ainst it three or four feet deep entirely across the stream. b Leaving here the sti cam, which runs through impassable caiions we con. tinued our road over a ve!·y bro}<en country, passing thr~ugh a lo~ gap be· tween the snowy moun tams.. fhe rock which occur~ unmediatcly in the pass has the nppParance of Impure sandstone, coRtalllin(J' , cales of black mica. This may be only a str:atifted lava; on i~suinc; f~om the gap, the compact lava, and other volcantc products usual m the country acrain occUt ·rcd. We descended . rom the gap into a wide valley, or rathc/ ba~in,and encamped on a small tnbntary to the last stream, on which there wa~ very (J'~od gr:ass. It was covered with such thick ice, that it required omo labor w1th p1cknxes to make holes for the animals to drink. The banks arc lightly wooded with willow, and on the upper bottoms are sn(J'e and Fre· ~nontia with ephedra eccidentalis, which begins to occur moreb frequently. fhe day hns been a summer one, warm and pleasant· no snow on the trail w hr.c I1 , as we arc all on foot, makes travellin•"' rMore a<' rreeablc. The hunt·' e:rs went into the !'leighboring mountains b~t found 0 no Cl'amc. 'We have li I 1. . ' b 1ve nc l'lllS 111 camp to-night. Janttary 25.-1_'he morning was cold anll bright, ancl as the sun rose the day became beautiful. A party of twelve Indians came down from the mountains to trade pine nuts, of which each one carried a little bag. These s~emcd. no~ to be the staple of the conn try; and whenever ·we met anln· dwn, h1s f~tenuly salutation consisted in offering a fe\v nuts to cat and lo trad e ~ theu· only arms were bows and flint-pointed arrows. It appeared that, m almost all the valleys, the neighboring bands were at war with each other; a?,d we,ha.d some rliffi?ulty in prcv~iling on our guides to accomp~ny us on th1s day s JOUrney, bcwg at war with the people on the other side of n large snowy mountain which lay before us. :hcO' ?,cncral level ~f the country appeared to be getting higher, and we WCI c b 1.aduaJ1y entcnng the heart of the mountains. Accompanied by all the 1 nd1ans, ~ve ascended a long ridge, and reached a pure spring at the edge ~f the tm1ber, where the Indians had waylaid and killed an ante!ope, and.\\ here the greater part of them left us. Our pacilic conduct had quwted the&r alarms; and though at war amonO' each other vet all confided in us. Tl~~nks to the combined effacts of po~cr and kind;ess- for our arms i~· spu ed respect, and our little presents and (J'ood treatment conciliated their ronflflencc. Here we suddenly entered ~now six inches deep, and the ground was a little rocky with voleanic fraaments the mountain appearing to .be eomposed of such rock. Thn timber ~onsist; pri ncipalJy of nut pines, (~tnus monophyllus,) which here are of laro-er size-12 to J 5 inches in drameter; heaps of cones lyinrr on the O'fO~nd where the Indians have gathrred the seeds. b o ' th~!'he snow. dc.epened g~adually as we advanced. Our guides wore out r moccastns' and, puttmg on'e of them on a horse we enjoyed the unu~ual . ' I... 223 [ 17~! J "''crht of an Indian who could not ride. He could not even guide the ani- b mal and appeared to huve no knowledge of horses. The snow was three or f~ur feet' deep in the summit of the pass; and from this point the guide pointed out our future road, dcciinin~ to go any further. Below us was a little valley; and beyond this, the mountains rose higher still, one riJge above another, presenting a rude and rocky outline. We descended rapidly to the valley ; the snow impeded us but little ; yet it was dark when we reached the foot of the mountain. The dny ha<! been so warm, that our moccasins were wet with meltinO' snow; but here, as soon as tho sun begins to decline, the air gets suddenly cold, and we had great diHiculty to keep our feet from freezing-our moccasins being frozen perfectly stiif. After a hard day's mal ch of :27 miles, we reached the river some time after dark, aud found the snow about a foot deep on the bottom-the ri vcr being entirely fro:.!:e n over. W c found a comfortable camp, where there were dry willows abundant, and we soon had blazing fires. A little brandy, which 1 husbanded with hrcat care, remained, and I do not know any medicine more s·1lutary, or any drink (except coffee) more agreeable, than this in a cold night after a hard day's march. Mr. Preuss questioned whether the famed necta r even possessed so exquisite a flavor. All felt it to be a reviving eo n li al. The next morning, when the sun had not yet ri sen over the mountains, the thermometer was 2° below zero; but the sky was bright and pure, and . the weather changed rapidly into a pleasant day of ummer. 1 rcmairaed encau1ped, in order to examine the country, and <dlow the animals a day of rest, the p;rass being good and abundant undc1 the snow. The river is ftfty to ei~hty feet wide, with a lively curren t, and very ~lear ~ater. It forked a little above our camp, one of it.; branches comtng dtrectly frotn the south. At its head appcareJ to be a lnndsomc ~ass; and from the neighboritlg heil!;hts we coutd sec, beyond, a •ornparattvely low and open country, which wa!:! supposed to form the \'alley of the ~uenaventura. The other branch issued from a nearer pass, in a direction '· 75~ W., forking at the foot of the mountain, and rccci \ inO' part of its wa.tcrs from little lake. I wa in advance of' the camp "hen our last gu t?es had left u.s; .but, so far as could be u ndcr tood, this was the pass wluch they had mdrcatcd, anci, in company with Carson to-day r set out 1? explore it. Entering the range, we continued in a rwr~lnvcsterly direction up the valley, which here bent t(.J the right. It was a pretty, open bot~~ n, locked between lofty mountains, which supplied frequent ::;trcams as advanced. On the lower part they were covered with nut-pine trees an 1 d above with masses of pine, which we easily rccoO' ni sed from the dar kc:. cho or of th. c fo 1 •· age. F~ rom the fresh trat·l s whi·C h occu:>r red fr' equently duri 11 0' t ~mo;-nmg, deer appeared to be remarkably nu Herous in the mountai1~ ~ lad now entirely left tbc desert country and w~ re on the ver<Te of a. reg h' h . ' b 1 1011 w tc , extendtng west ward to the shores of the Pacific abounds 10 ;hge .game, and is covered with a singuiar luxur iance of vegetable life. had / httle ~trearn grew rapidly smali~r, ~nu in .about t wei ve mile;:j we t . eachcd .'ts head, the last water comtng &:nmedtately out of the mou11_ ~~: 01~. the ng!~t; and t.hi spot w a3 selcdc<.l for our n e xt encampttl e nt. w·, J ass sho"' ed wcllm sunny pl acc.::l; bu t tn r uld cr si tuati ns C1c ·now 0';~e ~:ffip, and I:er,.m to occur in lnn 1~ - , tll ru11 . ., :1 w:1ieh th-3 110r.s0s flHt Hi 1 culty 1n ureaking a way. To the left, the open valley continued in a south westerly direction, with |