Elk herds. Excursion into the 

 interior. 



CALIFORNIA. 



Survey of the Sacramento. 



305 



tertian fever, and to have nearly become extinct in 

 consequence. 



Game is represented to have decreased in this 

 vicinity, from the numbers destroyed by the parties 

 of the Hudson Bay Company, who annually fre- 

 quent these grounds. Large flocks of curlew were 

 seen around ; and the California quail, which dis- 

 appeared since leaving the coast, was again seen. 

 The trees that line the banks consist of the cotton- 

 wood, &c. Single oaks, with short grass beneath 

 them, are scattered over the plain. 



As they advanced, game became more plentiful, 

 and elks were found in abundance : some were of 

 large size, and at this season of the year, the rut- 

 ting, they are seen generally in pairs ; but at other 

 times, the females are in large herds. They are 

 fine-looking animals, with very large antlers, and 

 seemed, in the first instance, devoid of fear. The 

 herds are usually thirty to forty in number, and 

 are chiefly composed of females and their young. 

 The father of the flock is always conspicuous, and 

 with his horns seemed to overshadow and protect 

 the family. 



The tula or bulrush was found in great quantities, 

 growing on the banks. The Indians use its roots 

 as food, either raw, or mixed with the grass seed, 

 which forms the principal article of their food. 

 This root is likewise eaten by the grisly bear. 



At the encamping-place was a grove of poplars 

 of large size, some of which were seventy feet high, 

 and two and a half feet in diameter. The leaf re- 

 sembled that of the American aspen. At night 

 they had a slight thunder-shower. The wolves 

 and bears had entered the camp during the night, 

 although there was a watch kept at each end of it. 

 The howling of the wolves was almost constant. 



On the 27th, the current in the Sacramento had 

 become much more rapid, and the snags more fre- 

 quent ; its banks were on an average about twenty 

 feet above the water, though there was every 

 appearance on them of their having been over- 

 flowed. 



On the 29th, they for the first time met Indians, 

 who appeared quite shy, concealing themselves be- 

 hind trees. As they increased in numbers, how- 

 ever, they became more confident, and invited the 

 party to land. Towards noon the character of the 

 country began to change, and trees of a larger size 

 than before were seen, growing out from the banks. 

 A little after noon, they met with the remains of a 

 fish-weir. Some Indians were seen along the 

 banks, armed with bows, arrows, and lances : none 

 but males appeared; they, however, made no hostile 

 demonstrations. 



Game and fur-bearing animals had become more 

 numerous, and among them were the lynx and fox. 

 The latter is the species whose fur brings a high 

 price in China, where as much as twenty dollars is 

 paid for a skin. This fox is said to have one pecu- 

 liarity, namely, that when chased it will ascend 

 trees. Bears were also in great numbers. It is 

 reported that they will sometimes attack and eat 

 the Indians. 



The Indians observed by the party were generally 

 fine robust men, of low stature, and badly formed; 

 but the chiefs, five or six in number, were fully 

 equal in size to the whites, though inferior in sta- 

 ture and good-looking as compared with the 

 generality of the Polynesians. They had a strong 

 resemblance to the latter, except that the nose was 



not so flat and their colour rather darker. Although 

 the men go naked, the women are said tft wear the 

 maro. The males seemed to be exceedingly jealous, 

 on account, it is saidj of the unprincipled conduct 

 of the whites who have occasionally passed among 

 them. Their hair is not worn as long as it is by 

 the northern Indians, and is much thicker. They 

 had beards and whiskers an inch or two long, very 

 soft and fine. 



On the morning when the party were breaking 

 up camp to embark, an Indian boldly seized the 

 bowie-knife-pistol of Dr. Pickering, and made at 

 once for the woods. He had chosen his time well, 

 for no arms were at hand. Several of the men 

 pursued him, but by his alertness he eluded all 

 pursuit ; and having gained the bushes, escaped 

 with his prize. 



This act, committed in open daylight, and at the 

 risk of life, shows how strong is their propensity to 

 steal. All the other Indians present soon under- 

 stood the difficulty, and at once took their depar- 

 ture. The chief was not present ; those who were 

 concerned in the theft had not been before seen, 

 and it was conjectured belonged to one of the ran- 

 cherias higher up the river. A short distance 

 above the place where this occurred, they met the 

 chief, to whom the theft was made known, and who 

 promised to restore the stolen article. 



At noon they passed the Prairie Butes, which are 

 a collection of isolated hills, rising from the level 

 plain, as if out of the sea. Indians were seen on 

 the west bank of the river, with a number of 

 women in company, who seemed well disposed 

 to enter into communication, as they motioned the 

 party to' land. 



In the afternoon they encamped on the west 

 bank, at a considerable distance above the Butes. 

 The river was here only two hundred feet wide, 

 and its banks but fifteen feet high. The trees on 

 the shores had now become quite thick, and grew 

 with great luxuriance ; so much so, that were the 

 sight confined to the river banks, it might be sup- 

 posed that the country was one continued forest, 

 instead of an open prairie. 



The Indians who visited them at this camp, were 

 less timid, and a much finer-looking set of men 

 than those before seen. They allowed the officers 

 and men to examine their bows and arrows, and 

 appeared to have confidence in our good feeling 

 towards them. The old chief welcomed the party, 

 granted them permission to encamp on the bank, 

 and then departing with all his tribe, nothing more 

 was seen of him until late the next morning. 



On the 31st, they again proceeded, and passed 

 several Indian villages. Before noon, they arrived 

 at a substantially-built fish-weir, of which the 

 Indians began to take a part down, but Lieutenant- 

 Commandant Ringgold deeming that this was the 

 termination of his exploration, motioned to them to 

 desist. 



The river was examined for two or three miles 

 above, and found to be filled with rapids, and in- 

 numerable difficulties caused by snags and sand- 

 bars. Here Lieutenant-Commandant Ringgold 

 ascertained his position to be in latitude 39 13' 39" 

 N., longitude 122 12' IT' W., which, joined to the 

 work of the land party, gives the exploration of the 

 whole extent of the Sacramento river, from its 

 source to the sea, a distance of two hundred miles. 

 The first fork, or the junction of Pitt's with that of 



