NARRATIVE AND ITINERARY — PSUC-SEE-QUE, CHIT-TIKE, AND WAM CHUCK CANONS. 85 



united with these wild unearthly figures to give a gloomy desolation to the scene, which was 

 not a little heightened by a solitary Indian grave. It was marked by a pile of stones, a short 

 stick with a piece of white cloth attached to it, and the skeleton of a horse, shot upon the last 

 resting place of his master. 



We followed down this canon for about five miles, when a rocky spur cut off all further pro- 

 gress, and compelled us to attempt the ascent. This, with great difficulty, we accomplished, 

 and found ourselves on a plain, thinly dotted with sage bushes and clumps of grass. We 

 continued our course, and, after crossing the bed of a torrent of the rainy season, came to a very 

 small stream called Psuc-see-que by the Indians. It was sunk in a canon about 500 feet deep, 

 cut through successive strata of basalt, infusorial marl, tufas, and conglomerate sandstone like 

 that found in the Mpto-ly-as canon. There was a little grass in the narrow bottom and on the 

 sides, and some small cedars, willows, and bushes near the water's edge. Here we encamped, 

 after a laborious day's march, which had brought us but very little nearer the end of our journey. 

 The view from our camp was wild and beautiful. Looking up the canon, we could see the snowy 

 summit of Mount Jefferson closing the narrow vista ; while the steep banks, with their strongly 

 contrasting colors of black, white, blue, pink, and red, gradually approached each other below 

 our camp, until they formed a narrow gateway, through which we had a glimpse of a little 

 opening in the ravine beyond. 



September 8. — This morning our course lay through a lateral defile, opening out of the Psuc- 

 see-que canon by a narrow gate, about half way up its northern side. The general character of 

 the country was similar to that through which we passed yesterday. In about six miles we reached 

 a fine stream called Chit-tike, which was sunk in an enormous canon, 900 feet deep, very much 

 resembling that of the Psuc-see-que, except that it had a wider bottom and more bushes on the 

 water's edge. The grass in the bottom was coarse and not very nutritious ; but on the sides 

 there was a little excellent bunch grass, as is generally the case in these river caucus. We 

 crossed it and entered a narrow gorge which led into a valley, about two miles wide, nearly 

 parallel to the canon that we had left, and covered with scattered sage bushes and a few stunted 

 cedars. This we crossed, ascended by a steep rise into a small basin surrounded by hills and con- 

 siderably elevated above the valley, climbed another steep hill, and found ourselves on the summit 

 of the northern divide of Chit-tike creek. Before us lay a gradual descent, appearing to reach to 

 the foot of a low ridge, which, after extending in an east and west direction about ten miles, 

 abruptly terminated at each extremity. Portions of the sides of this range were of a brick red color, 

 which gave it a strange appearance at a distance. As we approached, we found that a canon 

 300 feet deep, with steep sides of basaltic rock and red earth, separated us from the foot of the 

 range. It contained a stream of considerable size, called Warn Chuck. In the canon we were 

 much surprised to see a party of twenty or thirty white men, who were vainly searching for 

 gold. They had started to explore this barren region, in the hope of discovering new mines; 

 but, as yet, had met with no success. There were also several Indians, who crowded around 

 us with great surprise and interest. They were delighted beyond measure at a ludicrous 

 accident which happened to one of our party ; who, being very thirsty, and seeing a beautiful, clear 

 spring bubbling from under a rock near the trail, jumped from his mule, and lying on the ground 

 eagerly filled his mouth with the tempting liquid. He instantly ejected it, however, with looks 

 of wild astonishment, and many grimaces indicative of anything but satisfaction. It was a hot 

 spring with a temperature of 140° Fah. 



Warn Chuck river flows with a rapid current over a bed of large rounded rocks, which render 



