OVERLAND EXPEDITION TO SAN FRANCISCO. 287 



during this day's ride, a number of Indian graves ; they were 

 surrounded with poles, one end of which was stuck in the 

 ground, to the other were suspended the goods of the deceased, 

 such as mats, blankets, bows, and arrows. We also met 

 several small parties of Umpquoa Indians, who declared them- 

 selves to be friendly to the whites, and were anxious to obtain 

 powder and balls, but we refused to furnish them. We 

 expected an attack during the night, from the hostile tribes, 

 and had prepared to give them a warm reception ; but none 

 appeared. 



On the 22d, at an early hour, we commenced to ascend the 

 Umpquoa Mountains. The path was narrow and very steep, 

 so much so, that several of the pack-horses stumbled and 

 were considerably injured. At 11 A. M. we halted, for 

 nearly half an hour, to rest the animals. At 4, having 

 reached the summit of the ridge, we again rested for a few 

 minutes, and then commenced descending, and by sunset we 

 arrived at the valley beneath, where we spent the night. We 

 found the greatest elevation of the mountain to be 1750 feet. 

 During the 23d, we remained at the same encampment, in 

 order to give the horses time to recover from the fatigue under- 

 gone, and to afford Mr. Peale an opportunity of finding his 

 camera-lucida and drawings, which had dropped out of his 

 carpet-bag, while crossing the mountains yesterday. At 3, 

 he returned, and brought with him the camera-lucida ; the 

 other articles he was unable to find. We observed, in the 

 neighborhood of this encampment, a considerable number of 

 the Pinus Lambertiana Douglas. 



On the 24th we resumed our route. The country looked 

 much less inviting than it did on the other side of the moun- 

 tain. Perhaps the contrast would not have been so striking, 

 had there not been an almost entire destitution of vegetation, 



