42 DESCRIPTION OF THE COUNTRY. 
tain ranges, and thus a panoramic view will be obtained, covering an angle of 180°, from the 
W.N.W., by the north, to the E.S.E. No. 3 shows the plain by which it is proposed to de- 
scend to the Colorado valley from the east. No. 1 gives a view of the pass through which the 
Mojave river was previously supposed to flow, and by which the profile crosses the mountain 
ridge, separating the Colorado valley from Soda lake. 
From the Sacramento springs the trail takes a northerly course, following prairie slopes upon 
the western edge of the valley, which is from five to ten miles in width. Upon the left there 
is a slight ridge, with several openings for sandy arroyos, perpendicular to the trail, showing 
channels for the drainage of the waters of the plains beyond. Upon one of these ravines is 
Camp 136, about twenty-one miles from the river, and 1,700 feet above it; the grades being 
nearly uniform. The whole country traversed since leaving the Colorado valley—except at tne 
springs above noticed, where are patches of grass—is nearly destitute of vegetation. Chamiza 
upon the plains, and a few yuccas near the arroyos, furnish a scanty pittance of food for the 
animals and fuel for camp-fires. : 
From Camp 136 the route continues nearly north to station 2. Upon the left is a range of 
hills, 800 feet above the trail and 1,500 feet above the valley, at the foot of the wide slopes upon 
the right. At station 2 this range is broken, leaving an opening towards the west two and a 
half miles in width. Thence we approach the base of a cluster of sharp crested hills, from 800 
to 900 feet in height, at the rocky base of which flows a rivulet called Paiute creek. Upon its 
borders, near Camp 137, are patches of fertile soil, which have been cultivated by Indians, pro- 
ducing corn and melons. There are cedar trees and grass upon the hill sides. The stream 
flows S. E., and is probably lost in the valley before mentioned, which, sweeping around the 
northeastern base of the mountain, continues south and east to the Colorado. The ascent from 
Camp 136—about 600 feet in nine miles—has been gradual, except near the entrance to the 
creek, where several rough ravines were crossed. 
From Camp 137 the trail ascended a tortuous ravine to the head of one of the branches of 
Paiute creek, and then mounted to the crest of the ridge at station 2, about 830 feet above the 
cultivated fields in the valley. From this point sketches were taken, showing a wide gap be- 
tween the hills upon the left, and upon the right a low valley, three-quarters of a mile wide, 
appearing to drain the waters of the plain, which lay extended towards the west, into the same 
great valley that receives Paiute creek. Station B is at the western base of the ridge. From 
that point the course of the trail is nearly magnetic west across a vast plain extending about 
twenty miles to Camp 39, at Rock Spring. The ascent is uniform, at an inclination of about 
eighty feet per mile. Grama grass abounds throughout its whole extent, and upon the sandy 
arroyos, which traverse it, there are fringes of cedar trees furnishing fuel. Rock Spring issues 
from a deep ravine, the sides of which are composed of ledges of sienite. A few hundred yards 
below, it flows into a large valley that proceeds from the N.W. to the S. E. toward the Sacra- 
mento springs. Toward the south, 15 to 30 miles distant, are noted two short. ranges of 
mountains ; and between them and the trail the sketches indicate a broad valley, judged to be 
one thousand feet lower than the region passed over. Near the camp are several rocky hills, 
covered with cedar trees, and containing good grass upon their slopes. 
Leaving Rock Spring we pass around the northern base of the sienitic hill, and make a 
gradual ascent of 300 feet in 3 miles, which brings us to station 5, upon the summit of the 
Paiute ridge. Before us appears a gap between two elevated crests—one upon the north, the 
other upon the south—and a ravine with a well-defined water-course westward. The rise to this 
summit from the east is nearly uniform for 25 miles. Little grading, therefore, would be 
required to construct a road of a grade from 80 to 100 feet per mile upon the natural inclination of 
the surface, It would be difficult to diminish the grades, except by winding in a serpentine course 
across the wide plains, so as to increase the distance. The mountains upon each side of the 
pass are from one to two miles distant, 600 or 700 feet in height, and are covered with cedar 
trees and a few pines. "The arroyo bends between stations 5 and 6, inclining gently toward the 
