64 NARRATIVE AND ITINERARY PIT RIVER VALLEY. 



stick, apparently of elder, about six inches long and a quarter of an inch in diameter, and, 

 inserting one end in the hole, rolled it very rapidly between the palms of his hands. In a few 

 moments sparks of fire fell down upon the tinder and ignited it. These savages have a 

 fondness for smoking tobacco, which I have never seen equalled. They inhale the smoke, and, 

 after retaining it as long as possible, force it through their nostrils in an ecstasy of pleasure. 

 They mark their faces with black, as a sign of mourning, and with red, for ornament ; but I 

 have never seen both colors used at once. Many of them perforate the nose, and insert a 

 straight piece of bone about an inch and a half in length. 



Our camp to-night was on the river bank near the eastern entrance of the canon, where we 

 found an abundant supply of excellent grass. I extract the following remarks upon the canon, 

 from Lieut. Williamson s note book. 



&quot; The river itself was shallow throughout the whole canon, and always had a space between 

 the water and bluff wide enough for a wagon road. No falls were noticed, and I saw nearly 

 the whole of the canon. The bluffs were from 100 to &quot;700 or 800 feet in height, and of basaltic 

 trap. The slope was generally of the debris from the rock, but often vertical columns of the 

 basalt were seen. In one place I noticed veins of a red material, the color of cinnabar.&quot; 



August 8. After fording the river, which was about forty feet in width, we continued our 

 course through a level, grassy valley, bare of trees. Several grouse, duck and curlew were shot 

 on the march. We passed many pits about six feet deep and lightly covered with twigs and 

 grass. The river derives its name from, these pits, which are dug by the Indians to entrap 

 game. On this account, Lieut. Williamson always spelled the name with a single t, although 

 on most maps it is written with two. We encamped on the bank of the river, which here 

 flowed between bluffs, from twenty to thirty feet in height, bordered by bushes. Large 

 quantities of obsidian were found in the vicinity. The river was about thirty feet in width. 

 Lieut. Williamson made the following note on the day s march. 



&quot;To-day we had a level, good, but. tedious ride. Opposite the middle of the valley, to the 

 west, is an opening in the hills of considerable breadth. This looks as if the hills south of 

 the opening were the northern slope of the range north of Fall Eiver valley. Opposite the 

 head of the valley the hills appear again. Near our evening camp, I went on a ridge and 

 found hills to the westward,, not at all formidable in appearance, but which would still require 

 work to make them passable for a railroad.&quot; 



August 9. Lieut. Williamson directed me to remain in camp with the main party and 

 observe for latitude, &c., to-day, while he, with Lieut. Sheridan and the dragoons, explored 

 the road in advance. The heat was oppressive, but the bushes near the river bank afforded a 

 thick and pleasant shade. 



The following extract from Lieutenant Williamson s journal shows the result of his exam 

 ination. 



&quot; We followed the Lassen trail for 2.5 miles, to where it crossed the river at the mouth of a 

 small, dry branch. We here left the road to take the old Oregon trail, which was very dis 

 tinct. It led north up the branch to the divide, and thence on, in the same direction, until we 

 struck a spring branch in pine timber, about seven miles from the river. I went on top of a 

 partially bald hill and had a view of the country. The hills followed to the north, probably 

 inclining to the east. The rest of the country east of the meridian line appeared to be rolling, 

 or slightly hilly, and covered with open pine timber. I was sorry I could not ascertain if the 

 spring branch had a continuous bed to Pit river. Its course near its source was westerly ; 



