237 [may 
Fires were lit up in the valley just at night, sepesting inte in answer to 
ours ; and these signs of life renewed, in some measure, the gayety of the 
camp. They appeared so near, that we judged them to ‘be among the tim- 
ber of some of the neighboring ridges ; but, having them constantly in view 
day after day, and night after night, we afterwards found them to be fires 
that had been kindled by the Indians among the tulares, on the shore of 
the bay, 80 miles distant. 
Among the very few plants that appeared here, was the common blue 
flax. To-night, a mule was killed for fo 
February 22.—Our breakfast was over long before day. We took ad- 
vantage of the coolness of the early morning to get over the snow, which 
to-day occurred in very deep banks among the timber ; but we searched 
out the coldest places, and the animals passed successfully with their loads 
the hard crust. Now and then, the delay of making a road occasioned 
much labor and loss of time. In the after part of the day, we saw before 
us a handsome grassy ridge point; and, making a desperate push over a 
snow field 10 to 15 feet deep, we happily succeeded in getting the camp 
across ; and encamped on the ridge, after a march of three miles. We had. 
again the prospect of a thunder storm below ; and to-night we killed another 
mule—now our only resource from starvation 
We satisfied ourselves during the day'that the lake had an outlet be- 
tween two ranges 6n the right; and with tBis, the creek on which I had 
ee probably effected a junction below. Between these, we were 
descen 
We copied to enjoy the same delightful weather ; the sky of the same 
beautiful blue, and such a sunset and sunrise as on our Atlantic coast we 
could scartely imagine. And here among the mountains, 9,000 feet above 
the sea, we have the deep-blue sky and sunny climate of Smyrna and 
ime, which a little map before me shows are in the same latitude. 
vation above the sea, by the boiling point, is 8,565 
‘ February 23 .—This was our most difficult day: we were forced off the 
ridges by the quantity of snow among the timber and obliged to take to’ 
the mountain sides, where, occasionally, rocks and a. ! —— af- 
forded us a chance to scramble along. But these — per 
i i f 
our way, tore our skins, and exhausted our patience. Some of us had the 
misfortune to wear moccasins with parfléche soles, so slippery that we could 
not keep our feet, and generally crawled across the snow beds. Axes and 
mauls were necessary to-day, to make a road through the snow. Going 
ahead with Carson to reconnoitre the road, we reached in the afternoon the 
river which made the outlet of the lake. e. Carson sprang over, clear across 
a place where the stream was compressed among rocks, but the parfléche 
sole of my moccasin glanced from the icy rock, and precipitated me into the 
river. It was some few seconds before I could recover myself in the cur- 
pa: and Carson, thinking me hurt, jumped in after me, and we both had 
y bath. We tried to search a while for oe gun, which had been lost 
in ie fall, but the cold drove us out ; and making a large fire on the bank, 
after we had partial dried ourselves we went i eack to meet the camp- 
.We afterwards spe | oa the gun had been slung under the ice which 
lined the banks of the er 
Using our old plan of in the oad with Pears: horadaage reached 
the ereek in the evening, and encamped on a dry -_ n place in the ravine. 
