NARRATIVE AND ITINERARY DIVISION OF PARTY. 75 



the great canon, which undoubtedly continues, without much interruption, to its mouth. The 

 descent of the river in this canon is shown by our barometric observations to average about 

 twenty-five feet to the mile. A bend in the trail soon brought us to the summit of a cliff 

 above the water, and revealed a scene wild and beautiful in the extreme. The opposite bank 

 was composed of huge masses of trap rock, piled one upon the other in wild confusion. About 

 fifty feet below us, the river was leaping, with a low murmuring sound, from crag to crag and 

 apparently descending one hundred and fifty feet in less than three hundred yards. The dark 

 pines around us, and the remains of a deserted Indian rancheria, harmonized well with the scene. 



After crossing several steep ridges, separated by small ravines, the trail left the river and 

 passed over an elevated plain densely timbered with pine. A few miles further on, we 

 idescended abruptly into a narrow gorge, which conducted us to a small tributary. Here we 

 found Lieut. Williamson in camp, and an abundant supply of good grass and water. The 

 bottom was bordered by bluffs, about one hundred feet high, which approached each other and 

 increased in height, both above and below camp. Immediately after our arrival it began to 

 rain, for the first time on the survey. Some of the party, who had followed down the river 

 beyond the point where I left it, arrived thoroughly wet, a short time before sunset. They 

 reported their route execrable. 



September 4. This morning, after riding a few miles, we emerged from the forest, and traversed 

 an elevated plateau, dotted with cedars and sage bushes, and marked by a few low ridges and 

 ravines extending in a northeast and southwest direction. None of these ridges were over 300 

 feet in height. The air was uncommonly clear and pure. The white summits of several snow/ 

 peaks began to appear in the distance, and we pressed rapidly forward. After travelling 17.5 

 miles from camp, we reached Why-chus creek, near the place where Lieut. Williamson had en 

 camped on September 1st. It was a fine stream, about 30 feet in width, flowing rapidly over rounded 

 rocks. Its waters were slightly turbid. There was an inexhaustible supply of fine grass in the 

 vicinity, but Lieut. Williamson decided to travel on, and encamp near the &quot;forks of the Indian 

 trail.&quot; We passed through an open forest for the whole distance, and encamped on a little brook 

 which, a few miles below us, sank among the rocks. From a slight eminence above camp, the 

 snowy peaks of the Three Sisters appeared quite near. A large meadow, which Lieut. Williamson 

 had previously seen, and upon which he depended for grass, proved to be a cranberry swamp and 

 utterly impassable. A sufficiency of excellent bunch grass, however, was found among the trees. 

 Whortleberries, elder berries and service berries abounded in the vicinity. 



September 5. To-day we remained in camp, and I repaired the barometer which had been 

 broken on the recent trip among the mountains. 



Lieut. Williamson instructed me to proceed to Fort Dalles to obtain provisions, and to examine 

 the Des Chutes valley, while he continued the exploration of the mountains in the vicinity. As 

 I had charge of a detached party during the remainder of the survey, it may be well. to give a 

 brief synopsis of the movements of each division of the command, in order to render the subse 

 quent part of the report more intelligible. Lieut. Williamson continued his explorations among 

 the mountains while I went to Fort Dalles. I rejoined him at Camp S, near Why-chus creek, 

 and we again separated. He returned to the head of the Des Chutes valley ; examined the pass 

 south of Diamond Peak ; proceeded to Vancouver, and thence by water to San Francisco. I 

 explored the vicinity of Mount Jefferson ; returned nearly to the Dalles ; and then, crossing the 

 Cascade mountains by a new pass south of Mount Hood, went to Vancouver. From that post 

 I proceeded, by way of Fort Lane and Fort Jones, to Fort Beading, where the field work ceased. 

 The next chapter contains itineraries of the routes followed by Lieut. Williamson. 



