A Journey Acro.ss ihc Sierras — S. California. 369 
and found it very cold. As wood has to be hauled twenty 
mile:; or more from the nearest timber-covered mountains, it 
is valual)!( and cannot be used recklessly, so we had little fire. 
The next morning we travelled along the valley for another 
twenty miles, when the trail took us into the mountains, at 
riglit angles to our previous course. 
At lunch this day our horse had for the first time on the 
trip to go unwatered; but we luckily had enough water in 
our canteens to make coffee for ourselves. In these waterless 
districts birds are of course exceedingly scarce, only ihose 
like the birds of prey, who can do without water, being able 
to survive. As it was important that we should r-each water 
before night we only took a (short rest. After an liour or two's 
ascent the mountains Ijegan to be covered again with chap- 
paral and at one place we saw a covey of Quail, a sure sign 
that we were not far from water. About two hours from 
sundown we struck a small spring and at once pitched camp. 
Here we found a gang of men, I'unning' a tiunnel into the moun- 
tain. It appeared that they were intending to tap the waters 
Ojf Elizabeth Lake, that lay on the other side of the mountains, 
and use them for irrig-ating the valley we had just left. A 
rather ambitious progi'amme it seemed to me. We spent the 
evening smoking and chatting ai'ound their camp fire, and as 
several of them were old-timers, we had a very interesting 
time. The next morning in little more than half an hour, we 
topped the ridge, and Lake Elizabeth lay before us. 
Lake Elizabeth is a fine piece of water, and next to Lake 
Tahoe, in Northern California, is, I believe, the largest natural 
lake in the State. It fills a basin in the mountains about 15 
miles in circumference, from which three wide valleys run up 
into the mountains. In these valleys are quite a number of 
ranches, and at the head of the Lake we .saw a school -house, 
the last we had seen being near Bakersfteld, 120 miles distant. 
As we travelled along the lake side I was surprised to find 
how few birds there were : Waders were entirely absent, and a 
few Uucks away out on the open water were the only water- 
fowl seen. In the cliapparal on the mountain side one or two 
lots of Quail and also a few Mourning Doves (Zenaida mac- 
roura) were again seen. They were about the size of the 
Wiiite-winged Dove (J/, leucoplera) and much lai'ger than 
