Reports of explorations and surveys, to ascertain the most practicable and economical route for a railroad from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean: Vol. 1, Pt. 2

GENERAL REPORT ON WESTERN DIVISION.
which is here about one hundred yards wide, there is a small lake, some two hundred yards long,
fed by numerous springs, and surrounded by good grass. In this little lake two streams have their
source; one is the head of the Nooksai Nooksai, which runs into the D'Wamish and Puget sound;
the other into Lake Kitchelus and the Yakima, first passing througoh a lake nearly one mile long,
called by the Indians Willailootzas. To the northward of the pass the moutintains are very lofty,
generally bare at the top, often of solid rock, with sharp outlines, most of them with considerable
snow upon them. As far as the eye can determine, there is no possibility ofeffecting a passage in
that direction; and there certainly is none between this and the Nahchess Pass.
The descent from the pass towards the west is down the narrow, steep, and thickly-wooded
valley of the Nooksai Nooksai, bordered by rough and high mountains. At the distance of about
twenty-five miles from the pass the stream empties into Lake Nook-noo; a sheet of water some
four miles in length, at the foot of which there is a considerable fall. The stream then passes
through a thickly-timbered and quite level country, into the D'Wamish, which empties into Elliott bay near Seattle. This country will be described more in detail in another connexion.
Before leaving the subject of the main Yakima Pass, it should be stated that there is a foot
trail leading from the head of Lake Kitchelus to the head of the south fork of the Snoqualme.
The Indians represent this as practicable on foot with the greatest difficulty, and that it is seldom
used, although much nearer the Snoqualme Falls than by the ordinary horse trail; in fact, there is
no trail, properly so called-merely a possibility for an unencumbered and active man to get
through there.
The size and shape of the mountains seem to verify the truth of their statement. More detailed
information as to the nature of the pass, the nature of the Yakima river, the quantity of snow, &c.,
will be found in my railway report of February 8, already referred to. The quantity of snow in
the pass is there stated at from twenty to twenty-five feet; the data for that conclusion are there
given, and are still believed to be reliable.
Lake Willailootzas is subject to rises of some fifteen feet above its level at the time we visited
it. Its outlet is subterranean in low water and makes its appearance some three hundred yards
fiom the lake; when the lake is full it passes over. About a mile below Lake Kitchelus the Yakima (or Yah-inse, as it is here called) is some twenty yards in width and about two feet deep,
flowing with a rapid current over a bed of cobble stones. The banks are of gravel and about
ten feet high; the river does not appear to overflow its banks; it gradually increases in size until,
at Ketetas, it is about forty yards wide and three feet deep at the fords; near the mouth it becomes about one hundred yards wide at low water. II many parts of its course it is divided
by sand and gravel bars into several channels, and is liable to great rises in the spring. According to the Indians, the snow is knee-deep at the mouth in severe winters; at Ketetas, to
the middle of the thigh in ordinary winters; for some miles before reaching the mountains, it is
six feet deep; in the gorges and passes, from twenty to twenty-five feet; and in peculiar localities, even more. In the timbered country the snow-marks seemed to prove the truth of these
statements.
Having completed the examination of the pass, as far as the time at my disposal would permit,
I rejoined the main party at Ketetas on the 12th September.
On our arrival at camp we found some of the party in a high state of excitement; they had
found gold in small quantities on the margin of the stream, and were most industriously seeking
for more. The fever soon abated, as the returns were not very remunerative. During our absence a large Yakima village had sprung up near our camp; it was the band of Owhai, one of
the very best Indians with whom we met during the trip.
Lieutenant Mowry had returned from the Dalles on the 10th. I will condense from his report
a description of the country over which he passed.
As already stated, he moved from Wenass on the 2d; he followed the trail passed previously
over by the main party as far back as so~me three miles beyond the Sahpeniss, with the exception of
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