The Pacific tourist:

185
votion to woman, which characterizes American
citizens of even humble origin, they made a new
grave and surrounded it with an enclosure-a
picket fence, painted white-and by the side of
it erected a cross, the emblem of the Christian's
faith, which bears on one side, this legend-'" The
Maiden's Grave "-and on the other, her name,
"Lucinda Duncan." All honor to the men whose
respect for the true woman led them to the performance of this praiseworthy act-an act which
would have been performed by no race under the
heavens, but ours; and not by them, indeed, to
the remains, under similar circumstances, of a
representative of the sterner sex. The location
of this grave is near Beowawe, and the point is
now used as a burial ground by the people living
in the v i cinity. Passing the point wher e the
grave is located, an ext ended valley comes in
from the left, south of which extends the Cortez Range of Mountains. We now arrive at
Beowawte,-556 miles from San Francisco,
with an elevation of 4,695 feet. It has a hotel,
a few dwe lling s and is t he sta ti on where the
business of the Cortez Mining District is transac te d. There is no regular stage line to this
district c but priva te conveyance s may be obtained. The mines are reported looking wellare mostly individual prope rty. T hey a re 30
mil es f r om the station and da tri-weekly mail is
carried by some parties who are interested in the
matter. A reduction mill has been erected there
whic h is producing bullion regularly. There is
a be autiful signification attached to the name of
this s ta tion, which will b e moe fully realized
after th e s tat ion is passed, than b efore. It
means " gate," or "the ga te," and as you look
ba ck from below, the conformation of the hills
on either side of th e valley is such, that the station seem s t o stand in an open gateway, up the
Humboldt Valley to the canon beyond. The
valley is occasionally dotted with farm-houses,
or ranches, and besides stock raising, which is
one of the principal features of this part of the
cou ntry, there is considerable done in the way of
agriculture, barley being the chief crop-yielding immensely when the land is properly irrigated and the crops taken care of. At Beowawe
an immense stretch of valley land can be seen
away to the right, with a range of m ountains,
which seems to be a n extension of the Reese
River Range, north of the Humboldt, west of it.
As the river bends northward to meet these valleys, it receives the waters of Boulder and Rock
Creeks, which come in from the north and north east. These creeks open up a vast country,
which is well occupied by ranches and stock men. Leaving Beowawe, we cross a large valley
and sage brush plain —the valley coming in from
the south. A few miles out, we notice, if the
weather is at all cool, steaml rising from the side
of the mountain, while colored streaks, caused
by the sediment of the springs, can clearly be
seen from the passing train. This steam comes
from the Hot Springs on the mountain side, and
the sediment marks their locality. The water in
some of these springs is boiling hot, and partakes strongly of sulphur. We could not learn
that any analysis had been made, nor could any
one inform us of the exact temperature. There
is a vast field for geological exploration in this
State, and the general government should enter
upon the work at once. The springs also are impregnated with iron, but no one knows the quantity, nor just in what proportion these mineral
waters are mixed. To the inhabitants in this
immediate vicinity, of course, they have ceased
to be a wonder; but to the majorityof travelers,
they will ever be clothed with interest. A creek of
alkali water comes down from the springs and
we cross it on the flat alluded to, and the wide
valley off to the right is still better seen as we
approach and pass
Shoshone,-546 miles from San Francisco;
elevation, 4,636 feet. It is simply a side track
station. Rock Creek, before spoken of, comes
into the Humboldt nearly opposite this place,
and the broad valley continues, on the right of
the road. The station is called Shoshone Point
by the people in the valley, because a mountain,
or high ridge, pushes out into the valley, like a
promontory. This is one of the landmarks on
the dividing line between the Shoshone and
Piute tribes of Indians; but the line we consider purely imaginary, from the fact that Indians, as a general thing, go where they please in
this country, lines or n o lines. The wide ie basin
spoken of, continues below and off to the right
of this station, and, as we pass on, a long line of
board fence will be noticed stretching, from a
point high up on the mountain, across the track
and valley toward the Humboldt River, on the
right. This is the eastern line of Dunphy & Hil dreth's stock ranche. In seven miles we shall
pass the western line, or fence. We have before spoken of Iliff, as the cattle king of the
plains, and, while this is true east of the Black
Hills of Wyoming, he will have to yield the
crown to some of the cattle kings of the Pacific
Coast. This firm has 20 miles of fencing in
these two lines: They have over 20 thousand
acres fenced in. Their fences, made of redwood
posts and Oregon pine boards, cost them a little
over $900 per mile. They have, altogether,
about 40,000 head of cattle, mainly in two
herds-one here and the other north, on the
Snake River. They have purchased of the State,
government and Central Pacific Railroad and
now own about 30,000 acres of land. Most of
their cattle are shipped to, and find a market in
San Francisco.
The immense range fenced ill at this point is
occupied by a select herd of graded stock, and
some of the best blooded animals in the country
are annually pulrchased to improve the grades.
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