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Show [ 148] 20 Salmon was first obtain~d on the ~th F~bruary in the To-wal-um-ne · h' ch according to the Indians, 1s the most southerly stream nver, w 1 · the valley' in which th1· s fish 1· s found. B y t h e m1' ddl e o f M arc h , ~~e whole valley of the San J oa9-uin was in th~ full . glory. of · . the evergreen oaks were m flower, geram,um C'tcutan'l(,m ~::nge,nerally in bloom, occupying the pla~e or the gr~s.s, and maki~g o'n all the uplands a close sward. The b1gher prau1es between the rivers presented unbroken fields of yell~w an~ ora~ge l red flowers varieties of Layia and Eschscholtz'ta Californ'tca, co d0 large bouq' uets of the blue flowen. ng nemop h 't' l a nearer tb. e :~reams. These made the prevai)ing blo.om, and the sunny .h1ll slopes to the river bottoms showed a ~aned growth of luxunant flowers. The white oaks were not yet m bloom. . Observations made in the valley, from the bend of the J oaqum to the Cos-um-ne river, give, for the mean temperature, from the 1~th to the 22d March, 38° at sunrise, and 56° at sunset, the dew .pomt being 35°.7 at -sunrise, and 4 7°.6 at su_nset,. and the , qu~ntlty of moisture contained in a cubic foot of au bemg 2.712 grams, and 4.072 grains, respectively. . . A sudden chanc.re in the temperature was remarked m passmg from the ~o-wal:'um-ne to the .stanisl~us. river, there being :no change in the weather, an.d the wmd contmmng fr~m the north.west, to which we were more duectly exposed on reach~~g the Stamslaus river where we opened on the bay. In travelhng .down to the Stani'slaus the mean temperature for five days (from the 1lth to the 16th) was 40°.3 at sunrise, 73° at 4 p. m., and 63° at sunset; and detached observations gave 66° at 9, a. m., 77° at noon, and 87° at 2, p. m. . . The dew point was 38° .0, 55° .5, 54°.3 at sunnse, at 4 m the after-noon and at sunset; and the moisture contained in a cubic foot of air 2~878 grains, 5 .209 grains, and 4.927 grains, respectively. North of the 18tanislaus for five days (from 16th to the 21st) " the mean was 36° ~6 at s.unrise, 57° at 4, p. m., and 49° at sunset. The dew point was 3'4°.9 at sunrise, 37•.1 at.4, p. m., and 40°.9 at sunset, and the quantity of moisture in a cubic foot of air 2.671 grains, 2.983 grains, and 3.216 grains at the corresponding times .. At sunrise of the 16th, on the To-wal-um-ne, the thermometer' was at 43°, and at sunrise of the next morning, on the Stanislaus, 0 • at 35 . , The temperature was lowest on the night of the 17th. At sunrise of the morning following the thermometer was at 27°, and it was re;marked that the frost affected several varieties of plants. On the 20th and 21st there were some showers of rain, the first since the end of February. These were preceded by southwesterly, winds. · During December aDd the first part of January, which was still at the season of low water~, we were easily able to ford all the Joaquin tributaries. These begin to rise with the rains, and are kept up by the melting snows in the summer. At the end of January, the Joaquin' required boating throughout the val fey, and the tributaries were forded with difficulty. . , 21 [ 148] In t'lfe latfer part of March, of a dry season, (1844,) we were obliged to boat the Stanislaus, To-wal-um-ne, and Aux-um-ne, and the San Joaquin was no where fordable below the bend where it is joined by the slough of the Tulare lake. On the 13th of March, 1846, we were obliged to boat the San Joaquin, the river being no where fordable below the junction of the slough, and the Indians guided us to some difficult fords of the large tributaries, where we succeeded to cross with damage to our equipage. In July of the same year, we boated the San Joaquin below the Aux-um-ne, it being no where fordable below the bend. · . · In June, 1847, the Joaquin was no. where fordable, being several hundred yards broad as high up as the .IJ.ux-um-ne river, even with its hanks, and scattered in sloughs over all its lower bottoms. All tlie large tributaries, the Aux-um·ne, To-wal-um-ne, Stanislaus, and Mo-kel-um-ne, required to be boated, and were pouring down a deep volume of _water \[rom the mountains, one to two hundred yards wide. The high waters came from the melting snows, which, during the past winter, had accumulated to a great depth in the mountains, and' at th~ ·end of June, lay in the . approaches to . the Dear river pass, on a breadth of ten or fifteen miles, and this below _the level of 7,200 feet. In rainy seasons, when the rains begin with November, and the snows lie on the mountains till July, this river is navigable for 8 months of the year-the length of time depending on the season. The Cos-um-ne was the last tributary of the San Joaquin, and the last river of its valley coming down from the Sierra Nevada. The Rio de los .IJ.mericanos was the first tributary of the valley o.f the Sacramento, also coming eown, like all the respectable tributaries of both rivers from the snowy summit and rainy sides of the . great Sierra. The two valleys are one, only discriminated in ~escription or reference by the name of the river which traverses the respective halves, as seen in the map. We entered the part of the valley which takes the name of its river, Sacramento, on the 21st ' day of March, going north, a~d continued our observations on that valley. We remained several days on the Rio de los Americanos, to ecruit our animals on the abundant range between the Sacramento and the hills. During this time the thermometer was at 35° at sunrise, 54° at 9 o'clock in the m•orning, 63° at noon, 63° a~ 2 in the afternoon, 61° at 4, and 53° at sunset; the dew point at corresponding times being 34°. 0, 49°.9, 46°. 6, 49°. 4, 51°. 6, 43°.7; and the quantity of moisture in a cubic foot of air being 2.519 grs., 4 . .235 grs., ·3.808 grs., 4.161 grs., 4.484 grs., 3.469 grs. We left the Rio de los Ar.nericanos on the 24th, ten miles above the mouth, travelling a little east of north, in the direction of the Bear river settleme.nts, at the foot of the' Emigrant Pass. The road led among oak timber, over ground slightly undulating, covered with grass intermingled with flowers. The thermometer at 4 was 76°, and at sunset 60°; the weather clear. At sunrise of the 25th, the temperature was 36°, with an easterly wind and clear sky. In about thirty miles travel to the north, we |
