—_ [174] 
Proue, and Jacob. We took with us some of the best animals, and my in- 
tention was to proceed as rapidly as possible to the house of _Mr. Sutter, 
and return to meet the party with a supply of provisions and fresh animals. 
_ Continuing down the river, which pursueda very direct westerly course 
through a narrow yalley, with only a very slight and narrow bottom land, 
we made twelve miles, and encamped at some old Indian huts, apparently 
a fishing place on the river. The bottom was covered with trees of de- 
ciduous foliage, and overgrown with vinesand rushes. Qn a bench of the 
hill near by, wasa field of fresh green grass, six inches long in some of the 
tufts which I had the curiosity to measure. The animals were driven 
here ; and [I spent part of the: afternoon sitting on a large rock among 
them, enjoying the pauseless rapidity with which they luxuriated in the 
unaccustomed food. aK shay 
The forest was imposing to-day in the magnificenee of the trees : some 
of the pines, bearing large cones, were 10 feet in diameter ; cedars also 
abounded, and we measured one.283 feet in eireumference four feet from 
the ground. This noble:tree seemed here to be in its proper soil and cli- 
mate. We found it on both sides of ghe Sierra, but most abundant on the 
west... =r ae : 
bruary 26.—We continued to follow the stream, the. 
_ ~ February : mountains on 
either hand increasing in height as we descended, and. shutting up the 
river narrowly in precipiees, along which we had great difficulty to get 
our horses. “ 
It rained heavily during the afternoon, and we were forced off the river 
. to the heights above ; whence we descended, at night-fall, the point of a 
# of 
_ Spur between the river and a fork of nearly equal size, coming in from the 
right. Here we saw, on the lower hills, the first flowers in bloom, which 
occurred suddenly, and in*considerable quantity ; one of them a speciesof © 
gilia. yi 
The current in both streams (rather torrents than rivers) was broken by — 
large ulders. It was late, and the,animals fatigued ; and not suee 
to find a ford immedi ely, we encamped, although the hill side affordec 
but a few stray bunches of grass, and the horses, standing about in th 
February 27.—We succeeded in fording the stream, and made a trail by 
which we crossed the point of the opposite hill, which, on the southern. 
exposure, Was prettily covered with green grass, and we halted a mile from 
our last encampment. The river was only about sixty feet wide, but rapid, 
and occasionally deep, foaming among boulders, and the water beautifully 
clear, We encamped on the hill slope, as there was no bottom level, and 
the opposite ridge is continuous, affording no-streams... 
_We had with us a large kettle; and a mule being killed here, his head 
was boiled in it for several hours, and made.a passable soup for famished 
elow, precipices on the river forced us to the heights, which we as 
cended by a ste spur 2,000 feet high. My favorite horse, Proveau, had. 
become very weak and wasscarcely able to bring himself to the top. Trav= 
elling here was good, except in crossing the ravines, which were narrow, 
Steep, and frequent. We caught a glimpse of a deer, the first.animal we 
had seen ; but did not succeed in approaching him. Proveaw eould not 
keep up, and I left Jacob to bring him-on, being obliged to press forward. 
with the party, as there was.nograssin the forest. We grew very anxious 
“as the day advanced and no grass appeared, for the lives of our animals 
‘ . 
