28 THE GEYSERS OF PLUTON RIVER, 
which he said the specimen was taken. An examina- 
tion showed it to be nothing but serpentine. He led 
the doctor to several ledges at some distance, but their 
character was the same. He had evidently been im- 
posed upon, for he acknowledged afterwards that he 
did not find the specimen himself. Many tricks of 
this kind are practised on the ignorant, and they even 
sometimes lead scientific men astray. 
While this man was hunting up his imaginary trea- 
_ sures, I ascended a small hill and took a sketch of the 
beautiful scenery around. Directly before me on the 
eastern side of the valley loomed up Mount Helena or 
Moyacino of the Russians. This is the highest moun- 
tain for a great distance around, none within seventy 
or eighty miles having as great an altitude. On its 
summit is an inscription in Russian: characters on a 
plate of copper, giving the latitude and longitude of 
the place. We met several persons who had seen the 
tablet. The Russians had a settlement called Fort 
Rosse on Bodega Bay, opposite this mountain; and 
the tablet was doubtless placed there to show the line 
of boundary which Russia claimed. 
The view here exhibited the finest alpine scenery 
I had yet seen in California, and showed that we were 
advancing northward as well as reaching a higher 
elevation. 
Reached Mr. Knight’s, twelve miles from Kilburn’s, 
at noon. Here the valley grew quite narrow, or rather — 
terminated, it being intersected by a range of hills. 
At this place, another valley opened some two or three 
miles in width, and extended about ten miles farther 
to the north. 
