244 
SOUTHERN OREGON. 
has a sharp deer’s horn to confine the two prongs, and is attached to 
the spear by a small lanyard, which in entering the fish slips off, and 
retains its hold. 
At the rancheria, several dances were performed; and it was ob¬ 
served that many of the women were tattooed on their arms and body. 
On reaching the Sacramento, it had been recommended to Lieu¬ 
tenant Emmons to procure canoes, if possible, either by purchase or 
constructing them, in consequence of the belief that both his party and 
the animals would have been nearly if not quite worn out. No canoes, 
however, were to be found, and, as has been seen in my account of that 
river, none were used by the Indians. Neither could any timber be 
obtained without much detention, of which to construct one. It was, 
therefore, necessary for him to keep on to Captain Suter’s, where he 
expected to find boats to take them to the ship as soon as possible. 
From what Lieutenant Emmons could learn, there was no difficulty in 
proceeding in canoes from this place, though there would have been 
some obstacles to surmount, particularly the fish-weirs, which exist 
below. 
On the 11th, they took leave of the friendly Indians, who had, during 
the night, been as watchful as themselves, passing the w’ord among their 
look-outs as if they had been regular sentinels. The party proceeded 
down the western bank of the Sacramento, over a rolling prairie 
country, which they characterize as the most worthless they had met 
with. The soil consists of gravel, coarse pebbles, and large stones, 
mixed with sand. They frequently met the beds of streams, three 
hundred yards wide, which intersect this part of the country, the 
pebbles in which are chiefly composed of jasper and milky quartz, with 
a few of basalt, pudding-stone, and pieces of slate. They made this 
day, twenty-five miles—the longest day’s ride on the journey. 
On the 12th, Lieutenant Emmons determined to ford the river, as it 
was doubtful whether he would have so good an opportunity lower 
down. Inass, one of the hunters, was found sitting beside his horse, on 
the opposite side of the ford, loaded with the meat and skin of a large 
grisly bear which he had killed. The river was about three feet deep, 
and two hundred yards wide. They stopped at a place known among 
the hunters as Bear-camp, from the number of grisly bears found here. 
Five of them were shot the same afternoon, with three deer, which 
were seen feeding within sight of the camp, all in excellent condition. 
The country on the east side of the river was more level than on the 
west, and the soil was thought to be better. Few plants, however, 
were seen, in consequence of the country having been burned over. 
The country continued much the same until, on the 15th, they came 
