THE INTERIOR OF OREGON. 463 



river abounds in salmon ; but few are found in the Kooskooskee, in 

 which the Indians say the water is too clear to spear salmon. A few 

 miles below the junction of the two rivers, the Snake or Lewis river is 

 bounded by a range of high basaltic columns, affording a fine speci- 

 men of that structure. Under these the party encamped, some twenty 

 miles from Lapwai. The greater portion of the prairie they had just 

 passed over, is only fit for sheep-pasture. 



The Snake river is much inferior to the north branch of the Colum- 

 bia, notwithstanding its length of course; but after it is joined by the 

 Kooskooskee, it becomes much enlarged. It resembles the north 

 branch in being sunk, as it were, in a deep trench, much below the 

 level of the country ; and its banks are even more naked than those 

 of the Columbia. 



On the 27th, they travelled forty miles, at first in a westerly course, 

 and then southwest. The country was hilly, with deep valleys, in 

 which there was water and an abundance of good pasturage. A few 

 willow and alder bushes were all that were seen. In one of the val- 

 leys, they saw a considerable tract irrigated and under cultivation, 

 and small patches of corn on the hill-sides. From the hills over 

 which they passed, they had a view of a high even-topped ridge, on 

 which there were trees of large size. On the north, beyond the Snake 

 river, was an almost boundless expanse of level plain. The prairie 

 that they passed over during the day, was observed to have lost its 

 flowery character, and become altogether grassy. 



On the 28th, they rode fifty-six miles, the first thirty-six of which 

 was through a country of the same character as that they had passed 

 the day before, but the last twenty took them over a sandy desert, on 

 which the vegetation consisted only of wormwood. They reached 

 Walla-walla before dark, and were kindly welcomed by Mr. M'Lean, 

 one of the Company's clerks, who was in charge of that post. 



On the 30th, Lieutenant Johnson joined them again. On his leaving 

 the mission at Chimikaine, he had pursued an easterly course, along 

 the Spokane river, until he reached the falls, of which there are four, 

 three of ten feet, and one of forty, besides which there are rapids ; 

 and the whole fall of the river, within a distance of one thousand feet, 

 is about one hundred feet. After travelling a distance of ten miles, 

 both the distant mountains and prairies expanded to the view : the 

 former rising ridge beyond ridge, while the latter exhibited a breadth 

 of seven miles. The nearest ransre of mountains trends east and west. 

 Six miles further on, they came to the Little Falls, and above them 

 about six miles to the lake of Cceur d'Alene. The breadth of this lake 

 is tw 7 o miles, by five miles long, in an east-southeast and west-north- 



