SIERRA NEVADA. 
69 
We took an early start and found the country more rolling, with 
an occasional pine tree. It was evident that we were ascending 
into a more elevated region, and from the higher points we could 
plainly see the Sierra Nevada, their slopes pointing out the 
location of the river to which we were journeying—the north 
branch of the American river. The country abounded in mas¬ 
sive rocks, sometimes piled up in ledges, and sometimes forming 
the entire summits of the hills. 
