86 EXPLORATIONS ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN OF UTAH. 



air this afternoon has been also very soft and balmy, having a tranquilizing effect on 

 the senses and inducing one to drink in with delight what lies before him. 



Pete, whom I found at camp, and had sent out to Tiring in the rest of the guide's 

 party, returned at 6 p. m., bringing with him the infantry soldier, Sanchez, and the 

 pack-mule. He missed the track of Mr. Reese, who will be in to-night, probably, or 

 to-morrow. The Pi-ute with the check shirt accompanied us all the way to our 

 present camp. In mounting his mule, he invariably would protrude his legs through 

 and between his arms while resting his hands on the saddle, and in one instance, in 

 his attempt to mount in this way, awkwardly tumbled off on the other side. 



June 6, Camp No. 31, north end of Carson Lake.— Longitude, 118° 30' 01"; 

 latitude, 39° 23' 37" ; altitude above the sea, 3,840 feet; thermometer at 4.45 a. m., 

 43i°. Mr. Reese returned during the night. The Indians in camp early this morn- 

 ing, with fish to barter in exchange for old clothing, powder, &c. Seem to be pretty 

 keen in a trade about small things; but in larger matters — as, for instance, the barter 

 of a child — one of the Indians said he would sell his, a lad of about 8 years of age, 

 for a jackknife. They seem to be perfectly beside themselves at the idea of a train 

 of wagons passing through their settlement. Nothing of the kind has ever occurred 

 before! They laugh and jabber like so many parrots, and it has been difficult to get 

 any distinct notions from them about the country in advance of us. 



We retrograde to-day in our course, southerly direction, and skirt the east shore 

 of Carson Lake. Air balmy and throwing a blue veil over the near and distant 

 mountains. The snowy peaks of the Sierra Nevada seen on our right; the water of 

 Carson Lake beautifully blue; lake margined with rushes; the shores are covered 

 with muscle-shells ; pelicans and other aquatic fowl a characteristic, Upper half, that 

 is, north half, of east margin of Carson Lake very slightly alkaline. South half, 

 east margin, white with alkali. Indeed, as I proceed I find that the margin of 

 the lake generally, as far as I can see, looks alkaline. In 9.7 miles leave the 

 lake at its southern end, and, passing over and through some sand-hills, in 5.7 

 miles come to a small spring of calcareous water, where there is no grass. Here 

 there has been a number of these springs, and the locality for a very considerate 

 area is nothing but calcareous tufa, formed by the springs, which are all closed 

 but one. Three miles more brought us through some heavy sand-drifts to a very 

 small spring of miserable mineral-water, so nauseous as not to permit me to take even a 

 swallow. No grass in vicinity. After proceeding a few miles further, in consequence 

 of tlje day being very warm and the sand-hills heavy, halted at 3 o'clock, and turned 

 out the animals to graze upon the little grass which exists in bunches around. At 5 

 start again, and, still ascending to crest of dividing ridge between Walker's Lake 

 Valley and Saleratus Valley, in 9.4 miles reach summit, 4,595 feet above the 

 sea. Just before doing so, Lieutenant Murry sent word that some of the mules 

 were giving out, and he was afraid he would be obliged to halt. I sent word back to 

 him to try and hold on till he could reach the summit, and alter that there would be 

 no difficulty. He managed, by exchanging some of the mules, to get the wagons all 

 up to the top of the divide, but it was midnight before we reached "Walker's River, 

 6.9 miles distant, and as the night was quite dark, we considered ourselves very 



