110 NARRATIVE AND ITINERARY YREKA FORT JONES. 



November 7. To-day we travelled about seventeen miles to Yreka, through a rolling prairie 

 country. Most of the hills were covered with bunch grass, and entirely devoid of trees. We 

 passed several houses near the road, and a saw mill on Shasta river, a small but deep stream 

 crossed by a bridge. Yreka is beautifully situated in a little basin surrounded by high hills. 

 Near it, Shasta Butte, the largest and grandest peak of the Cascade Range, rises abruptly from 

 the valley, and, with its double summit, towers far into the region of eternal snow. This little 

 city, which already contains several brick stores and dwelling houses, is a great depot of the 

 northern mines, and gold digging is actually carried on in its streets. It is, however, divided 

 from the settled portion of the Sacramento valley by such precipitous mountain chains that 

 all its supplies are transported by pack trains ; and until very recently a wagon road to Shasta 

 has been considered impracticable. Two routes have lately been found, however, which, it is 

 thought, will prove to be feasible. 



November 8. This morning we followed the course of a little tributary of Shasta river, 

 through a rather stony, gold-bearing plain, to Little Scott s mountains, the divide between 

 Shasta and Scott s valleys. The ascent and descent were very abrupt for a wagon road. After 

 crossing the ridge, we soon struck a small branch of Scott s river, and passed down its valley ; 

 which, although not more than a mile in width, has a rich and fertile soil. We encamped at 

 Fort Jones, distant about sixteen miles from Yreka. The fort is finely situated in an open 

 valley surrounded by high and wooded mountains ; the buildings are made of logs. The soil 

 abounds in silica, but gold has not been discovered in the immediate vicinity in sufficient 

 quantities to pay for working. The altitude of the post above the sea, determined by careful 

 observations, is 2,887 feet. The latitude is 41 35 42&quot;. 4. 



November 9. To-day we remained in camp to recruit the animals, and to transact business 

 with Lieut. Crook, the quartermaster and commissary of the expedition, who had been detached 

 by Captain H. M. Judah, 4th infantry, commanding the post. This officer, who passed us on 

 his way to Fort Lane, ordered Lieut. Crook to remain at Fort Jones, on account of the exigen 

 cies of the public service. I greatly regretted this order ; for it obliged me to discharge the 

 duties of quartermaster and commissary, both for my topographical party and for Lieut. Crook s 

 train, which accompanied me to Fort Reading. This circumstance prevented me from leaving 

 the command, and examining, with a detached party, the Sacramento river route ; which, it is 

 thought, might have been shown to be practicable for a railroad. The want of an escort, and 

 the great uncertainty of obtaining forage, rendered it impossible to travel over this route with 

 the whole train of nearly broken down animals ; and the design of surveying it was necessarily 

 abandoned. 



November 10.- Last night it snowed. We remained in camp again to-day to finish the 

 business with Lieut. Crook. John Mellen, one of our best men, was discharged at his own 

 request. 



November 11. This morning we travelled about twenty-three miles up Scott s valley, and 

 encamped at the foot of the high mountain chain which separates it from Trinity valley. Scott s 

 valley is a very beautiful and fertile opening, lying among forest-clad ridges about two thousand 

 feet in height. It varies from one to eight or ten miles in width, and is nearly destitute of 

 timber, except on the banks of the stream. The soil is rich, and gold is found in some localities. 

 It rained a little in the valley, and snowed upon the mountains during the day. 



November 12. To-day Scott s mountain, the highest summit upon our return route, was 

 crossed by a pack trail. We toiled up a steep and rocky ascent covered with trees, until an 



