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Show 10'4 JOlJRNEY TO FORT HALL-, which 0 istanee was without drinkable water. \Ve passed th:e.e- . · t\ e pla'tn but the first was ·salt. and the other two, whtch sprtngs ll1 1 · ' . . .• wet·e c 1o se t oge ttu... e1• , we1·e both hot·, the hu oc rest one, whtch '\\as ten feet in diameter, was boiling furiously; and. we c~uld see the· steam an·s t' ng fr·om i•t · , several miles. These spl'lngs nse thro,u gh volcanic rock ; and large fragments of the same are scattered over· the (rrou nd, around them. A~ the sink of Marie's River, the stream is lost im the sand. T.his· sink is a large sandy ma1~sh, about three miles wide, a~~ te.n m1les· long, full of bull~rushes, and very ~iry; the water wntch 1t co~tains, is also warm, and has a very disagreeable taste. Fvom thts point, we traveled up Marie's River, w.hich flows fl'Or:n. Nort~ ~ac:;t. to the South \Vest, through a sandy plam, almost entt-1 ely d~stttute of vegetation. This plain is about twenty miles wide, and IS bor· dered 011 each sidP., by high, rugged, and perfectly barren moun· tains. On the l0wer part of the River, we could find but little grass. for our animals, and we had traveled two hundred miles up it, be-fore we found water, coming in on either side. Unlike any other· stream, perhaps, it is larget~ in the middle than any where else ;, itcontinued to increase in size as we proceeded up, until we cam<r to where it receives its last tributary. Here we encamped, onenight, in the bend of the river, which we used as a coral.' the guard standing. at the entrance.. During the night, the antrna.ls made several attempts to rush by the guard; and it was with the greatest difficulty, that they were able to keep them. In the m<H· ning, we we·re astonished to find four of them fatally wo~nde.d; they had been shot by the Indians, who had swam across 1n the night; we also found several arrows i.n the encampment,. some of which had evidently been shot a.t the men. We left o.Beof tho· animals dead, in camp, and an.othel' was able to go· only a half 81 mile. The Indians had killed them to eat, and we were detennin· ed to disappoint them as much as possible, by d.l'i·ving. those that were able to travel, away. After we had packed up, two of us r.e· mained beh.i.nd ; and the rest of the company proceeded, taking all the animals. We then concealed ours:el ves in the brush, in· tending to kill, if we could, whoever came to the dead beast. The company had been gone about two hours, when we saw an Indian coming towards us. He came within about two hundred and fifty yards of the point of brush, in which we were concealed; but think· thinking this rather a long shot, ~e let him pass, supposing that he would return to, the horse,. after having examined the company's • WITH SOME OF ITS INCIDENTS. 105 trail, which he see-med to be· doing; he was, however, in all pro· bability, suspidous, und went a\<vay, and 've saw nothing more of him, ot· any othel' Indians. Having W!lited h::llf an hour longer, and finding· that he did not return, we left our place of concealment, and followed the company, t!Hee of whom we met, after havinfT 0 gone about five miles, returning with our horses, to meet us. Overtaking our companions, we continued to travel up the river, finding now an abundance of grass in its bottoms and on its tributaries; which were still very rare. Fifty miles above our unfortunate encampment, we left the river, and the last of our wounded animals. About the head of Marie's Ri ve·r, tho re is a large extent of country cove1·ed with a superior quality of grass; the stalks, hl·anching out into numerous heads, are loaded with · seeds, which are highly nutritious. Leaving the valley, we crossed the sput· of a mountain, which was also covered with grass, and c::tme to waters running Not·th, towards Snake Rivet·; and for fifty mil~s, the country over which we tt·aveled, afforded excellent gt·azing. At the termination or this distance, we came to a spot, containing several acres, fu\1 of small pools of hot watel'. From these hot pools, we tl'ilveled o\·er a mountainous countl'y, leaving the main range, which was bl'Oken in several places,, by deep gaps, several miles to the left, and between us and the Valley of Snake River. The grass became less abundant, .and as we advanced, a gt·eat portion of the country became quite banen. .At one hundred miles from the Hot Pools, we came to and crossed the Raft River, which empties into Snake River, twenty three miles below the American Falls. Thence we crossed the main 1·ange of mountains, South of the Valley of Snake River, through a large, deep gap, and at thirty miles came to the river, five miles below the junction of the Portneiff; thence we proceeded to Fort Hall, a distance of twenty three miles, where we arrived on the 20th day of June, forty days having elapsed since we left Capt. Sutter's, in California. In the whole country between the Eastern base of the Califor· nia Mountains, and Fort Hall, we saw no game, of any descrip· tion, excepting a few Antelopes, on the head of Marie's River. The greater portion of the country, after leaving the head waters of the Sacramento, is either broken by mountains, or covered with extensive wastes of sand and volcanic desolation; and can never be inhabited, by a people much superior to the ir.sect and 14 • |