Expedition to John Day River 173 



days from Walla Walla, we reached Dayville, a mile 

 below the crossing of the South Fork of the John 

 Day River. One of the first men I met was a cer- 

 tain Bill Day, whom I soon after hired as assistant. 

 He had for years been making collections of the 

 fossil vertebrates here, usually sending them to 

 Professor Marsh. I was able to secure a large and 

 fine collection from him and another mountain man, 

 a Mr. Warfield, who had also spent much time col- 

 lecting fossils. Both men had been employed by 

 Professor Marsh during his expedition in this 

 region, and were very careful workmen. 



We camped on Cottonwood Creek and prepared 

 to pack into the Basin, or Cove as it has been called. 

 For a hundred and fifty miles of its course, the John 

 Day flows east, skirting the Blue Mountains, but 

 here at Cottonwood or Dayville, it has turned north 

 and cut a great canyon, four thousand feet deep, 

 through the heart of the mountains, the so-calle'd 

 Grande Coulee, since known as the Picture Gorge. 

 At the foot of this canyon, the mountains swing 

 away from the river in a great horseshoe bend, clos- 

 ing in upon it again several miles below. This 

 amphitheater, three miles wide and thirteen long, 

 is a scene of surprising beauty. The brilliantly 

 colored clays and volcanic ash-beds of the Miocene 

 of the John Day horizon paint the landscape with 

 green and yellow and orange and other glowing 



