CHAPTER VE 
Ascent of the Sacramento river from Fort Reading to the mouth of Fall river, (line of 
the Madelin Pass,) and thence by the valley of Canoe creek to Noble's Pass, and return 
to Fort Reading—July 15 to 26, 1854. 
Character of the Sacramento valley above Fort Reading.—Mining village.—Sacramento river enclosed by mountains; its char- 
acter.—Trail to Yreka —Stream known as the Sacramento —McCloud’s Fork.—Salmon.—Pittsburg ferries —Snows and 
freshets.—Ascent of the river.—Rapids.— Hot spring.— Re-ascent of mountain.—River still shut in by precipitous mountains,— 
Valley at the mouth of Canoe creek.—Second canon of the Sacramento; its character.—Table of grades from Fall river to 
Fort Reading.—Completion of the survey of Madelin Pass.—Return to Black Butte creek, Noble's Pass.—Numbers of In- 
dians daily seen.—Fields of lava.—Valley of Canoe creek; difficulty of its passage.—Disappointed in the course of Black 
Butte creek.—Night march.—Return to Fort Reading.—Sacramento valley.—Party disband ed. 
July 15.—Leaving Fort Reading, we ascended the valley of the Sacramento, by a general 
course a little west of north, passing over a hilly country of open oak prairie for sixteen 
miles, and encamped without reaching the river, which is a few miles to the west of our path. 
For several miles above the Fort the valley of the river is an open, rolling prairie, more or 
less timbered with oak and a small growth of pine. The general level of the country is, 
however, elevated above the immediate plain of the river banks, and is broken by dry ravines 
and hills, which continue to rise as they recede from the stream, and are eventually united to 
the great mountain masses which entirely enclose the head of the valley, and shut in the river 
from immediately west of our present camp upwards to the mouth of Fall river. 
July 16.—Five miles from camp, this morning, we came to a small mining village called 
Churntown. It consists merely of a dozen miserable log-huts, and being badly supplied with 
water at this season of the year, is in a thriftless condition. The day, too, was intensely hot, 
and the men had everywhere thrown by their tools—not a man being seen at work. It was 
four miles from this village to the Sacramento river, directly north, and its mountainous position 
cannot better be illustrated, perhaps, than by the fact, that the stream or rivulet which supplies 
Churntown with water rises but a mile from the river, but instead of flowing north towards 
it, it descends in the opposite direction, and enters it below our last night's camp. From the 
head of this creek we descended by a very steep Indian trail directly to the river, where it is 
two hundred feet wide, flowing with a very rapid, powerful current, and, with the exception of 
short distances here and there, breaking over a rocky bed. In seasons of high water it sends 
down immense volumes, the drift being ten and fifteen feet above the present stream. The 
mountains rise abruptly from the river banks to the height of eight and ten hundred feet. 
They are timbered with pine and oak near the river, but rocky ledges slope down to the water's 
edge; and it is, at intervals, impossible to ride along the Indian trails which lead over the 
water-washed drifts and heaps of rocks lying on the banks. At points where rocky strata crop 
out on the river banks, the Indians themselves are forced more or less to ascend the side of 
the mountain in travelling up and down the river, and in many instances, to avoid long 
bends of the stream, pass over the projecting spurs. In its mountain course the river is wind- 
ing; but in its general direction in this part, it descends from a little east of north, and continues 
it a short distance below our present position, when it changes more to the south and eventually 
a little to the east, as it enters the open valley below. We began its ascent by riding, when 
we could, on the trails, but were frequently forced to leave them and pass over spurs, up which 
our animals could not carry us, and we suffered greatly from the intense heat of the day. 
