CALIFORNIA, 188 



main stream, but there is a bar extending the whole distance across it, 

 on which the boats grounded. On the point of the fork, the ground 

 was strewed with the skulls and bones of an Indian tribe, all of whom 

 are said to have died, within a few years, of the tertian fever, and to 

 have nearly become extinct in consequence. Near this had been an 

 Indian village, which was destroyed by Captain Suter and his trappers, 

 because its inhabitants had stolen cattle, &c. The affair resulted in 

 one of the Indians being killed, twenty-seven made captive, and the 

 removal of the remainder beyond the limits of his territory. The 

 battle-ground was pointed out, at a bend of the river, which is only 

 one-third of a mile across, though three around. Above the junction 

 of the two rivers, the Sacramento becomes sensibly diminished. 



Game is represented to have decreased in this vicinity, from the 

 numbers destroyed by the parties of the Hudson Bay Company, who 

 annually frequent these grounds. Large flocks of curlew were seen 

 around; and the California quail, which disappeared since leaving the 

 coast, was again seen. The trees that line the banks consist of the 

 cotton-wood, &c. Single oaks, with short grass beneath them, are 

 scattered over the plain. 



The next day, as they advanced, game became more plentiful, and 

 elk were found to be most so. Some of them were of large size, and 

 at this season of the year, the rutting, they are seen generally in pairs; 

 but at other times, the females are in large herds. They are fine- 

 looking animals, with very large antlers, and seemed, in the first in- 

 stance, devoid of fear. The herds are usually thirty to forty in number, 

 and are chiefly composed of females and their young. The father of 

 the flock is always conspicuous, and with his horns seemed to over- 

 shadow and protect the family. 



The tula or bulrush was still found in great quantities, growing on 

 the banks. The Indians use its roots as food, either raw, or mixed 

 with the grass seed, which forms the principal article of their food. 

 This root is likewise eaten by the grisly bear. 



At the encamping-place was a grove of poplars of large size, some 

 of which were seventy feet high, and two and a half feet in diameter. 

 The leaf resembled that of the American aspen. At night they had a 

 slight thunder-shower. The wolves and bears had entered the camp 

 during the night, although there was a watch kept at each end of it. 

 The howling of the wolves was almost constant. 



On the 27th, the current in the Sacramento had become much more 

 rapid, and the snags more frequent ; its banks were on an average 

 about twenty feet above the water, though there was every appearance 

 on them of their having been overflowed. The prairies are perfectly 



