159 [t%4 
helianthi, a handsome .solidago (8. canadensis,):anda variety of other 
plants in bloom. Continuing along the foot of the hills, in the afternoon 
we found five or six hot springs gushing out together, beneath a conglome- 
rate, consisting principally of fragments of a grayish-blue limestone, efflor- 
-eseing a salt upon the surface. The temperature of these springs-was 134°, 
and the rocks in the bed were colored with a red deposite, and there was 
common salt crystallized on the margin. There was also a white inerust- 
ation upon leaves and roots, consisting principally of carbonate of lime. 
There were rushes seen along the road this afternoon, and the soil under 
the hills was very black, and mpbaeen tly very good ; but at this time the 
grassisentirely dried up. We mped on Bear river,immediately below 
a cut-off, the canon by which thes river enters this valley bearing north by 
compass. The night was mild, with a very clear sky 5 ; and I obtained a 
very excellent observation of an ‘occultation of Tau.’ Arietis, with other ob- 
peels Both immersion and emersion of the star were oyerred ; but, 
ur observations have shown, the phase at the bright limb generally gives 
Sneaeeael longitudes, and we have adopted the result obtained from t 
emersion at the dark limb, without allowing any weight to the immersion. 
According to these observations, the longitude is 112° 05' 12", and the lati- 
tude 41° 42’ 43’. All the longitudes on the line of our outward journey, 
between St. Vrain’s fort and the Dalles of the Columbia, which were not — 
directly determined by satellites, have been chronometrieally referred to 
this place. 
The people to-day were rather low-spirited, hunger making them very 
quiet and peaceable ; and there wasrarely an oath to be heard in the camp— 
not even a solitary enfant de garce. It was time for the men with an ex- 
pected supply of provisions from Fitzpatrick to be in the neighborhood ; and 
e gun was fired at evening, to give them notice of our locality, but met - 
with no response, 
September 14.—About four miles from this encampment, the trail led us 
down to the river, where we unexpectedly found an. excellent ford—the 
stream being widened by an inlond and not yet disengaged from the hills 
at the foot of the range. We encamped on a little ereek where we 
made a noon hait in descending the river. The night was very clear and 
pleasant, the sunset temperature being 67°. 
The people this evening looked so forlorn, that | gavethem permission to 
kill a fat young horse which I had purchased with goods from the Snake 
Indians, and they were very soon restored to gayety andgood humor. Mr. 
Preuss and myself could not yetovereome some remains of civilized preju- 
dices, and preferred to starve a little longer ; feelingyas much saddened as 
if a crime had been commuted. 
The next day we continued up the valley, “ soil being sometimes very 
black and good, occasionally gravelly, and occasionally a kind of naked 
salt plains, We found on the way this moroing small encampment of 
two families of Snake Indians, from whom we purchased a smal! quantity 
of kooyah. They had piles of seeds, of three different kinds, spread out 
upon pieces of buffalo robe ; and the squaws had just gathered about a 
bushel of the roots ofa thistle, (eircium Virginianum. ) T hey were abane 
the. ere size of ca arrots, and, as{ have previously mentioned, are’ 
and Well flavored, requiring only along preparation. They had a band of 
twelve or fifteen horses, and appeared to be growing in the sunshine with 
as little labor as the plants they were eating. Bae ie 
