GRADES ON THE SACRAMENTO.—CANOE CREEK VALLEY. 57 
a point, which can only be determined by a minute survey, whether it will be easier to pass 
around it to the south, over the lava fields at the foot of the ridge or butte which rises on that 
side of the cafion, and return to the river at the mouth of Canoe creek, than to descend by the 
caiion itself. 
Table of approximate average grades in descending the Sacramento 
river, from the mouth of Fall river to the head of steamboat naviga- 
tion at Fort Reading, California. 
Stations. Intermediate) Total dis- | Average de-| Altitude Remarks. 
distances. ances.  |scentpermile above the sea 
in fee i 
Mouth of Fall river i Es melee 3, 249 Head of see 
Foot of second canon. 8. 95 8. 95 35. 00 ond cañon. 
Mouth of Canoe creek. 4. 70 13. 65 14. 00 
Sacramento river. . 22. 92. 50 36. 15 30. 70 
Sacramento rapids . .. 7.50 43. 65 59. 60 1, 730 
Sacramento river..... 96. 50 70. 15 91. 70 1, 156 
4. 70 74, 85 16. 60 1, 078 
10. 50 85. 30 11. 80 954 
MeCloud's Fork...... 5. 90. 55 10 22 
Sacramento river..... 11.75 102. 30 7.90 837 
Fort Reading.... .... 92. 125. 20 7.10 674 
Having completed, by this connection, my exploration of the line of the Madelin Pass entirely 
through to the head of steamboat navigation on the Sacramento, we turned our course towards 
the south to explore the country drained by Canoe creek, and, if possible, discover a route con- 
necting the Sacramento, at the mouth of that creek, with Noble’s Pass at Black Butte creek, 
where the emigrant road first strikes it in crossing the mountains from the east, by which, 
if no better route could be found, the steep descent from that pass to the west would be avoided. 
The ascent of this creek for the first mile led us over thorny bushes and rocky bluffs; and in 
their passage we were greatly aided by a heavy Indian trail, always serviceable when available, 
and here doubly acceptable, for our animals were both jaded and sore-footed from constantly 
travelling on the sharp angular fragments of rocks. For the first mile, also, the stream was 
full of foaming rapids at short intervals; but above that point we came to an open grassy prairie 
of small extent, through which the stream flows gently, and in its passage receives two or three 
respectable tributaries, one of which, from the southwest, falls with considerable noise into the 
main stream. We encamped under a wide branching pine in the centre of this prairie. 
uly 22.—Just above our morning camp we ascended a terrace wall, fifty or sixty feet high, 
to a nearly level plain, upon which we followed an Indian trail for two miles. This plain was 
covered in various parts with grassy ponds, but it was obstructed to the southeast and east by 
large fields and hills of volcanic rocks, with dark ledges and masses here and there, and it was 
apparently impassable. To the west there was an open pine woods and a low range of hills, 
apparently succeeded by another plain, upon which there is a lake called Freaner, the name of 
an unfortunate gentleman who is supposed to have beer killed by the Indians in its vicinity. 
Many Indians were daily seen in every part of the mountains, but they invariably fled 
upon seeing us. Dismounting from our animals, we determined to attempt the passage of 
the field of lava (pedrigal) to a high bluff beyond; but the path was so bad that many of them 
could not be led, and we were obliged to remount, and in two miles succeeded in extricating 
ourselves from it by the most difficult path I have ever seen. * Ascending the bluff, the red soil 
of which was friable and dusty, we still found a stony path, but it afforded us an extensive view 
of the country for many miles, overlooking the Sacramento and Fall rivers, and the valley of 
anoe creek. _as above, the valley of Canoe creek is but a few miles wide, and is almost 
entirely occupied by fields of v ic rocks—the part we had crossed being but a small angle 
8b 
or 
