Exploring the Coast Range in 1850 [pp. 320-326]

1 1Exploring the Coast Rang,e itn I5 o.
was only to be made through them by a vig orous use of the back of our ax.
There was a change in store for us. From
the top of a high ridge we descended over
broken shale or slate rocks, which moved
with us down the hill, until a dense belt of
large fir or spruce trees was entered. After
this forest another of redwood, on a flat, was
crossed to a considerable river. Here I saw
for the first time these monsters of the vege table kingdom. One lying down was ninety
paces in length, and all those standing were
of enor:,ious size and tall, and the sunshine
was completely cut off by the foliage. The
mules sank deep in the carpet of dead leaves.
There was not a stick of underbrush, not a
note of bird, but a solemn stillness among
those lofty columns, and a dim cathedral
light that made the scene most impressive.
Around the evening camp-fire of the thirty fourth day, our position was seriously dis cussed. WNhere are we? was the question.
Again it was insisted that we were a hundred
or two miles farther north than we were. lWe
had no instruments to find our latitude. VWe
did not know that the redwood was a littoral
tree, and that therefore we could not be far
from the ocean. To silence clamor I made
a rough observation on the north star, based
on the well-known fact that from the equator the north star is about at the horizon and
therefore rises one degree with each degree
of north latitude. By getting the elevation
of the star, our latitude would be found
nearly enough for our purpose. WVe had no
level nor quadrant. Two stakes were driven
into the ground, of unequal height, so that the
eye ranging from the top of one to the top of
the other would take the polar star in range,
and a fish line was stretched from one top
to the other and let fall from the highest
stake with a plumb attached. To supply a
quadrant a large sheet of paper was doubled
and then folded and cut in the form of a circle; folded again to give an arc of forty-five
degrees. This was spaced by an improvised
pair of compasses into as nearly as possible
forty-five parts. With this paper quadrant
the upper angle was measured; and the
result subtracted from the right angle gave
the angle at the imaginary base or level, and
the ground end of the fish line. The result
corresponded nearly with the latitude of
Humboldt Bay, as we knew it from the report
of the captain of the Laura Virginia, which
had returned before we left San Francisco.
The next day about two o'clock we struck
the trail from Uniontown, now Arcata, on
the bay, to Trinity River and our position
was determined. On the thirty-sixth day
we rested at the big bar of Trinity River.
As no gold had been found in our wander ings and the diggings on the Trinity did not
meet expectations, in a few days two or three
of our party joined with others, and fitted out
an expedition to explore the country north ward. I was not one of these. Nothing
was heard of the part), till the 2d of July,
when two returned with the news of rich
bars on what was called the Salmon River.
Stealthily we got away from Big Bar, but
were followed.
* Going up the Trinity two or three miles
we turned northward, encountering a snowstorm on the 4th, which compelled a resort
to roof,s and side walls of spruce boughs. It
is enough to say that the trip from the Trinity to the Salmon consumed eleven days of
the roughest traveling I ever did in my life.
The saying with us was, that we never saw
a foot of land in the whole distance. In conclusion it may be proper to remark, that in
the entire trip of forty-seven days our party
never had occasion to shoot at or use any
force against the Indians; nor did we have
cause to complain of them (except for the
pilfering mentioned) up to the last day of
September, when we hurriedly left Salmnon
River and made a forced march to Weaverville in consequence of the outbreak of the
Klamath Indian war, - and that was caused
by ill treatment of the natives by Oregon
men. Indeed, Oregonians who came afteL
us had difficulties with the Indians somewhere to the west of Colusa or Tehama.
One of them related to me the incident at
Big Bar. The Indians, he said, gathered
around, and some of the party fired their
guns to scare them off. "One big old fellow," said he, " just turned round and slapped
1888.]
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