114 EXPLORATIONS ACROSS THE GREAT BASIN OF UTAH. 



ley, a rich grass or meadow bottom ; in Pah-him-nu-pe Valley it is argillo-arenaceous, 

 in places gravelly: sage the characteristic: cedars cover the mountains. The grass 

 extends up the bills of the We-a-bah range as far as the eye can reach. Indeed, the 

 valley of McCarthy's Creek furnishes the best exhibition of mountain and bottom grass 

 I have seen. It is almost inexhaustible. Large quantities of bottom-grass could be 

 cut for winter. Cedar fuel, convenient, as also good limestone in lower portion of 

 McCarthy's Canon, and a whitish tufa in lower portion, good for building purposes, 

 available. This tufa so soft as to be easily sawed into blocks of suitable size, and so 

 light as to be easily transported. Indeed, there are all the requisites in this valley of 

 a good dragoon post, which, on account of the altitude, should be kept- as low down 

 the creek as possible. 



The formation of the mountains to the south of Clay Creek are an altered impure 

 limestone, probably of the Carboniferous period, also altered sandstones. 



July 13, < amp No. 16, McCarthy's Creek, We-a-bah Mountains. — Elevation above 

 the sea, 6,184 feet; thermometer, at 4.30 a. m., 54°. Decamped at 5 minutes of 5. 

 Continue up McCarthy's Creek, the grass continuing along and on the neighboring 

 heights in the greatest abundance and luxuriance. The flowers in the valley, as we 

 approach the summit, are of various colors, and very beautiful. Some aspens and wild 

 currants are also seen. The creek continues to within a mile of summit, which is 6.2 

 miles from last camp. Pass rocky near summit : grade all the way up very good. 

 Some few patches of snow visible on highest portion of range. Elevation of summit 

 of pass above the sea, 7,270 feet. 



Went to higher point on right of pass to get an extensive view. To northeast, 

 east, and southeast could see the country for probably 60 miles, chopped up with 

 mountain ranges, running generally north and south, exhibiting passes between them. 

 The valley immediately to the east of us shows a clay flat, denuded of vegetation, and 

 looking arid. Cedars abound in the mountains nearly everywhere. 



We find the descent from pass to valley, east side of We-a-bah range, steeper than 

 we have just come up, on west side, but still not objectionable, though a little sidling. 

 About a mile from summit strike a small, swift mountain stream, 3 feet wide, J deep 

 which we follow down into the main valley, which I call after Maj. Don Carlos Buell' 

 assistant adjutant general. The stream I call after Capt, Thomas H. Neill, Fifth 

 Infantry. Crass continues abundant in the canon of this stream. At mouth of canon, 

 about 1 25 miles from summit, turn northwardly up west side of Buell Valley through 

 an extensive grove of cedars, and in 7.9 miles reach a small stream, which I call Bluff 

 Creek, on account of the imposing bluffs of the canon, through which it debouches from 

 the We-a-bah range into the valley. We encamp on this rreek at quarter of 1 o'clock, after 

 a journey of 15.5 miles. Road good, except for short distances in pass on west side, 

 where it is rough on account of rocks. There is an abundance of grass in Buell Valley, 

 not far from camp. The stream upon which we are encamped, like all others in this 

 great basin, sinks a short distance from its debouchment into the valley. There is 

 another and larger stream, about three-fourths of a mile to our north, running down 

 from the mountains into Buell Valley. 



On our way to-day we met Stevenson, of guide-party, who had been left behind 



