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. 2, Pt. 2

NUMEROUS SPRINGS.
May 27.-We continued along the base of the mountains, crossing several small streams, and
emcamping, after a march of 13.93 miles, at the mouth of a narrow ravine by which an Indian
trail passes over the mountains. I ascended it quite to the summit, overlooking again the
valley of the Humboldt river, towards which several small streams were seen flowing from
mountains west of that on which I stood. On the peaks of two or three of these mountains,
only, could I see snow, and on these in but small quantities. The country, except by the
course of the Humboldt river, looked very broken and difficult to cross. This pass is only fit for
a mule-path, as the ascent by the most advantageous line is 1,200 feet in the first three miles.
The lake spoken of before, several miles in extent at high water, we passed to the east to-day.
It is lined with-grassy mnarshes on the west, and apparently by sage-plains on the east, and is
very shallow, the shoals appearing here and there above its surface. From my position on
the summit of the mountain I could see a high shore-line across its southern end, dry and easily
crossed; but it is immediately succeeded to the south by ponds and marshes of considerable
extent. Several Indians-Diggers-whom we met, collected a score of their friends, and
accompanied us to camp. They are better clothed (in skins) and less afraid of us than those
we have before seen. They are accompanied by but one squaw, who has a child a year old, of
which she is very fond, and its father plays with it in its new finery-a sight I have never
before seen among wild Indians. An equally strange sight was that of the only horse possessed
by the party, packed with their effects, surmounted by the chi]d, while the father walked and
the mother carried no burden. Several of our' men are quite ill with fevers.
May 28.-I engaged an Indian to accompany me to-day in order to gain from him such
information of the country as he possessed; but he soon deserted and returned, with two companions who accompanied him, to his people. From the base of the Humboldt mountains a very
large number of fine springs burst out and flow into the ponds and marshes to the left of our
trail: all the water indeed-and it is a large amount-with the exception of one or two small
creeks of this portion of these mountains, bursts in springs from their base. In a single mile I
counted fifteen, any one of which would have been a remarkable spring in another locality; but
one of them was, even here, remarkable, both in volume and beauty. It bursts from the base
of a vertical rock of blue limestone, nearly 50 feet in height, in the face of the mountain,in a
single stream like the escape of a subterranean river, and pours down in a foaming white sheet
over detached rocks for 40 or 50 yards; and thence continues on in a rapid limpid stream, 15
feet in width, and one in depth. The streams from several of the other springs were nearly
as large, but none compared with this in beauty. The numerous ponds and marshes formed by
them seem to have no outlets; at least we could discover no stream flowing from this valley,
which receives a very large amount of water, all of which must be carried away by evaporation.
Twenty miles from our morning camp we tuirned west, and began the ascent of a pass which an
Indian described to us by placing his open hands side by side, and gently separating and elevating them, indicating a broad open depression in the hill or ridge rising to high summits on
either side. Its width is six or eight miles, and it is a very superior natural wagon-road, for
which it has been used considerably in the early days of emigration to California, the Hastings
road passing over it. It is 5.18 miles from the eastern plain to its summit, which is covered by
a fine growth of cedar, and an equally fine growth of grass. The descent is also broad, and ten
miles in length to the western base of Humboldt mountains to where the southern branch of
Humboldt river flows past, which is followed by Hastings' road to the junction of the north fork.
We encamped, after a march of 35.11 miles, at a late hour, our dinner not being served until
10 o'clock at night. The valley of this creek is uninterrupted to the eye from Humboldt river
far to the south.
.May 29.-We travelled four miles over a field of rank sage, and entered a dry, grassy ravine
from fifty to one hundred and fifty yards wide, leading to the succeeding summit, 6.83 miles
from our morning camp, whence we descended by the same canon ravine to the succeeding plain,
some fifteen miles in extent, enclosed by mountains to the east, south, and west, and by consid
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