THE TRUCKEE AND HUMBOLDT VALLEYS. 31 
'of their exposed strata and always in the graceful outline 
of their summits. Upon the higher portions only of these 
hills grows the juniper (Juniperus occidentalis), the chief 
and best firewood of this region, where fuel is so scarce that 
during the winter of my sojourn, wood sold as high as thirty 
dollars in gold in Virginia City. The cottonwoods are also 
sometimes used for fuel by those residing near the river, to- 
gether with drift wood brought down from the Sierra. The 
lower slopes inclining to the stream support only the scragg 
sage brush (Artemisia). Yet even in this narrow defile the 
farming lands are excellent, and are occupied and cultivated 
by thrifty settlers. The Truckee after flowing in a general 
easterly direction as far as Wadsworth, suddenly hacia and 
following a north-west course empties into Pyramid Lake. 
This is a sheet of water about thirty-five miles in length and 
ten or twelve in width at the widest part.: There are many 
small and steep rocky islands in the lake, some of them cov- 
ered with an arborescent tufa resembling coral in its appear- 
ance. One very abrupt, pyramidal island gives its name to 
the lake which was discovered and e alie explored by 
Fremont. The islands are the temporary home of pelicans 
and other sea fowl, who frequent them in the breeding sea- 
son, and share the rocky soil with numerous rattlesnakes and 
lizards. Near the mouth of the river the land is good 
though subject to overflows, which while they fertilize the 
soil for future growth, often jeopardize the present crops. 
'This land is held as a reservation by the Pi-Ute Indians, but 
even this remnant of their once broad acres is coveted by 
the neighboring whites. The lake is surrounded by moun- 
tains, cad the lands removed from the water are of little or 
no value unless artificially irrigated. 
Just before its embouchure the Truckee throws off a 
branch which supplies Winnemucka Lake, parallel to Pyra- 
mid, but separated from it by a narrow strip of highlands 
and mountain ridges. This lake is rarely found on any but 
the most recent maps and we are led to wonder how it could 
