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Show [ 174 ] 256 l lf dcrrree of the ocean, runnin:r parallel to it for a?out two degree~ a1na d tha en fna lling into the I> acl.l rl. c nrar M. on t ~J.( 'Y·. Tll ct.c ~~no opcnrn. gfrorn' t I1 c b ay o f • •.1 0 F1 '· mcisco into the w ·t enlo r 1o f the cdo ntrnent. The two n. ve I' A \\· llt '( 'lL l fl l•' \V into it ar• c co1upara· trvc y s· 101 t, .1a n not pr.rpcndicular to tl 1c. .c.o.,, .", t , t1ut lateral to &t, and h·a vmgf thetr hea· us ·t owards Oregon and southern California. They open .ltnes o com_mun~cat10n nortl~ an.d south, an d n o t ,'"~ '"" · l\V''\ rdl.y ·' and titus. tlus want· of 11 11•t cnor commurH·r a· tton from tIl c S' an 1~"'1 .•' 1 11 c-isco b'a y ' now fully a.sccrtatne<, gi\"CR gre.a t add1ttonal value to the Columbia, which st.nnds nlon.e as the only great nver on lhc Pa~iuc 1 e of our eonlincnt vdHeh l ads from the oc< :1n to the Hock}' mountams, :noJ open!: a line of communication from the sea to the n:dlcy of the Mis. sissi ppi. . . . , . . F 0 I . com1w1leros 1oweu our gu1de at the pns , an d two gomg back at noon,u the otiF"rs con·t inued on in compan D d . 1· I l 'I 1 y. e1. ~<'( n ~ng •o.m t 1; 11 11 1s,,.ve reached n cou11 try of fi ne gra ·s, where t H"' .crot ?.untclcutanum tllla .Y dJS· appc ..., 1·ed 1rivinl•· nlare to an excellent quality of bunch grass. Passrngby 'O rr . I . fl e 81)1 irws , ·he re there\\ as a neh swan ol grass among groves o arge 'S-1O·I Il I' t:l • h' I l . I . d 0 . 1{ we rode over u platn on w tc 1 t 1e gu1< e pollllc out aspol U cl C ~ l ·e ·<t.( r)c f'lwce Clllistian Jnd1• an had. b een l{ I'1 1 e< I by a party o f so ld,1 er1 w tet , ~ . I . C . I which lwd uncxpcc!cdly pene trated Into t ~e mountams. rosstng a ow r~'.- 1' c t • t ...1 , "..t Hl <lc 'ccndin~rr a hollow"' here a spnnl g· ; lg ushed out, we werde strucbk by the sndu <>u nppcarance of yucca t~·ces, w llc 1_gave a tmnge an ou! · ern chnratl ,. to the coun try, :.llld .su1ted ~v e ll 1wr.tl1t theftblry and dcdserthr~· gion we \\ere approa<:hing. Assoc~ated wi.th t 1c H ea o arrcn san s, l .eu stifl' and nn nraccful form mal~cs them to .tile traveller the most repulSIVe trt'<' in the \'('getablc kingdom. Followwg the. hollow, we shortly.came upon .,,. (-•t·crk timlwn.:d with. Iar,o, e blal'k o.a k, wh1ch. ye·t 1h ad ndo t p. ut lortha leaf. There was a small nvulct of runn1ng W~\lCr, wtt 1 .goo grnss. . April 15.-The Indians who had accompa~1cd the gut<.le returned. tim morni 11 ,,. and I pt rchased from them _a Span1sh saddle and Jon" spur , as rcminis~'e11ces of the tin1e; and for a lew yards of ::;carlc.t cloth they gave me a hors1·, which afterwards became food for oth~r I nd ~ans. . . W c continued a short distance down the cn•ek, Ill whtch ~ur gutde In· formed us that the water very soon disappeared, a~d turne~ drrcctly to the southward aloncr tht' foot of' the mountain; the tr:nl on whtch we rode ap· lcarinp; to dcsc7-ibe the eastern limit of trave l, where water and grass ter· !ninated. Crossing a low spur, whic·h bordered the cre?k, '~e dcsce1~dedto a kind of plain among the lower spurs; the desert bct~g tn full v 1te.w 0~ our lc'ft ·1pp·nently illimitable. A hot mist lay over tt to -day, t ll~ug which i; I; ad ~ while and gli•tening appearance; here and I here~. ~)'er;~ looking buttes and isolated black ridges rose suddenly upon tt. ~ 1 'I s ·1id onr guide stretrhin•l' out his hand towards it, "there are t Je greta • ' 0 llanos, ( pl~ ins;) no haJJ agua ): no 1' 1ay zaca le" -na da ·· there is n. ei.th" er wa er 11 waJ nor grass-nothin<r · eve r\' anunal that goes out upon them, d1ee . 80 0 indeed di~mal to loo' k upo• n, an( 1 h artl to concer· ve so. nrT reat a c!hiannar~re v aJll1l ey short u distance. One might travel the world over, wtthout fi.nc o. 1 birds more fresh and verdant-more fl ora l 311 d s,y 1v an - more n.l tvetl cw 1Sta ln Joa· and nnir.1a ls-n.ore bounteo~1sly ,~~ atercd-than w~ ha·d· left ~n d' before us, quin : her~, w'thin a few mtles nd(l, a vnst de.ser t pLu.~ sptca from ,, hich the boldest traveller tur ed away In dcspau · ·d 1 running DareC'tly in front of us, at some distance to the southwdat '.anc harinJ out in a~l easterly direction from the mouol!.lins, stretche a Sierra, 257 [ 174 1 at the eastern e?d (perhaps 5? miles eli tant) some snowy peaks, 011 which, by the informatiOn of our gutde, snow rested all the year. . · Onrcavalca~e made~ strange aud gr~t~sque appearance; and it was irnpo sible to a~?I~ reflecting upon onr postt_JOu and composition in this remote olitudc. vV 1thm two degrc~s of the Pac1 fic or.can; already far south of the latitude of Monterey; and still force~ on 8onth by a de ·crt on one hand aud a mou~tain ran~e on th~. ~t.l:cr; g~u1_dccl by a civilized Indi_an, attended by two w1ld ones Jr~m the ICila; ~ Chlllook from the Columlna; and our own mixture of Amcncan, French, German-all nrrnccl; four or five lann-ua(res heard at once; above a hnntlrcd horses and mulr.s, half wild· Am~ric~n .,panish, and I11dian dresse and equip1ncnts intermingled-st;ch was 011 ; composition. Onr march was a sort of processio11. Scouts ahead and ou the flanks; a front aud rear division; tlw pack auimal. baetn-;ge and homed cattle, 1·1 1 t l 1e ccutre; anu, l t I1 0 whol e strcrcl11. ng a qu, arteort> o f a, mile along onr dreary path. In th is fonn we journeyed; looking more like we belonged to Asia than to the United States of America. We continued in a southerly direction across the plain, to which, as well as to .all the country so far as we could sec, the .?Jucca trees gave a strange and s1ngnlar character. Several new plauts appeared, among ·which was a zygophyllaceon shrnb (zy,()'ophyllu1n CaliJornicum, Torr. & Frem.) sometimes 10 feet in heig ht; in form, and in the pliancy of its branches it is rather a graceful plaut. Its leaves are small, covered with a resiu~us substance; and, particularly when bruised and cru~hcd, exhale a sino-nJur but very ~gt:ceablc aud refreshing odor. This shrub aud the yucca, ~vith many vanc~ICs of cactu ... , make the characteristic features in the vegetation fo~ a long dtstance to the eastward. Aloug the foot of the mountai11, 20 ~mles to. the southward, red stripes of flowers were visible during the mornmg, whteh we supposed to be variegated sandstones. We roue rapidly during the day, and in the afternoon emerged from the yucca forest at the foot of an outlie1· of the Sierra before us, and came anJOng the fields of flowers we had seen in the morni11g, whirh consisteJ principally of the rich orangecolore~ Californian poppy, mingled wilh other flowers of brighter tin ts. Reaching the top of the spnr, which was covered witb fiuc bunch grn s, ~nd where the hills were very green, our guiJc pointed to a small hollow Ill the nwuntain before !ls, saying, "it est e pz'edra lut.1J a o-ua." lie J ppearcd to know every nook iu the country. W c cou tinned onr beautiful road, and rea~hcd a spring in lhe slope, at the foot of tlw ridge, running in a green ravme, among granite boulden; · here nightshade and borders of buckwh? nt, with their white bJossotn~ around the grat;ite rocks, attracted our notice as familiar plants. Several antelopes were seen among the hills, and some la~·ge hares. Men were sent back this evening in search of a wild hm.ule.wuh a valuable pack, which had managed (as they frequently do) to Ide Itself along the road. 11B8°y 2 o0b1 0se0r11v ation, the latitude of the camp is 31° 41' 42"; and longitude , . · rhe next day the men returned with the mule. 1przli7.-Crossing the ridge by a beautiful pass of hollows, where sevevraa l' deer broke out of the thickets we e1nero-ed at a small salt lake in a 1 on J • ' o . . B Ying nearly east and west, where a trail fron1 the m1sswu of San r uedaventura comes in. The lake is abont 1,200 va rds in diameter; sur- o.u~ ed on the margin by a white salty border, ·w-hich, by the smell, re~~;~ ~dus slightly of Lake Abert. There are some cotton woods, with willow ' e der, aronnu the lake· a 1d the water is a little salt, although not en- 17 ' |