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Show llO NATIONAL WAGON ROAD GUIDE. \ water is so high as to entirely cover the bottom lands that border the river, and where the best grass grows ; when this is the case, the passage down the Humboldt is one of peculiar hardship to both men and animals; and then too, the directions as given in this Guide, can not be follo,ved in reference to any particular route or distances from place to place, as you will be forced back to the dry and sterile highlands. If the river is so low as to be within its banks, then, as regards tolerable camping·ground, it can be found almost anywhere along the river. So true is this, that we find emigrants making their way the entire distance to the sink of the river, nearly four hundred miles, wit~out making any effort to arrive at any particular locality for ca1nping ; but turn from the n1ain road to the river 'vhcnever they wish to make camp or obtain water and grass. And though there may be no great difficulty in finding fair can1ping, still, the long, arid, sandy plains, the scorching sun, the deep ashy dust of the roads, the usually muddy water of the river, if the emigration of the season be large, and the little really good water to be found on the whole route- after leaving this, the great upper meadowtogether with the 'veakness of your anirnals, all contrib .. nte to make the passage of the Humboldt any thing but agreeable. En1igrants follow down 11carly the whole distance on either side of the river, and sometimes cross from side to side, as their fancy or j ndgment may die .. tate. The route as laid down in this Guide, is, with but few discrepancies, the National Wagon Road route, as · located for the greater part of the 'vay, on the north and west side of the river. If your tca1ns need rest or re .. cruiting, here, at this extensive and beautiful ~eauow of' grass and clover, and where the water is good, is the place to stop ; for once on your \Vtty uo"·n the Humboldt, there should be no stopping, till you have crossed the NATIONAL WAGON ROAD GUIDE. 111 deserts and reached the great grass meadows that lie along the eastern base of the Sierra Nevada mountains. There are many fine fish in the Humboldt. You cross the river and very soon one or two branches of it, or sloughs; then follow down the valley, near the river or over a barren plain further back, and to the river again in a few miles, if you wish to, for ·water or camping, or pass on further to NORTH 01~ WEST BRANCH OF HUMBOLDT RIVER ................................... . .. 21 From this, one good day's drive down the river, often times near it, and you reach the end of the great meadow or valley. FORKS OF THE ROAD ............................ 27 Here, if the river is high, the right hand road must be taken, though the most hilly and the longest by four or five miles. If the river is low, take the left hand to FIRST FORD . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . I Ncar this, an old road from Salt Lake comes in on your 'left. Good camping a little below the ford. SECOND FORD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ~ You now pass through a canon walled in by rock on either side, several hundred feet high. THIRD FORD. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2X Now a narrow, rocky road for a mile. FOURTH FORD ........ , ........................... 2 You now cross a dusty plain and over a gravelly ridge to RIVER AGAIN ................... · ......... , . . . . . . . . 5 Good cam ping ; water, willows and grass abundant. You· will cross two small creeks before reaching HOT SPRINGS ................................• · · · · 7 Yz These are on the bank of the river, very ncar the water, some good grass here. Now over barren ashy bluffs and ridges, passing one spring half a mile to the left of the road, and on to |