GENERAL REPORT ON WESTERN DIVISION. 
lfl 
close of which he received a handsome present. He expressed very friendly feelings, and I have 
no reason to doubt his sincerity, for, in a number of instances, he displayed an honesty not often 
found among Indians. 
Having finished the talk with the chief, I started to overtake my party, which had moved 
off some two hours before me. The trail led up the valley of the Wenass, for a few miles, and 
then crossed to the Nahchess. At the distance of a mile above the main camp the Wenass valley 
becomes quite narrow, the hills closing in; the grass continues good; the valley destitute of tim¬ 
ber, with the exception of the usual scanty fringe of cotton-wood and willow, until the trail leaves 
the main and passes up a lateral valley covered with an open growth of yellow pine. About 
half a mile above our camp were some quite large and good potato patches ; indifferent corn 
and melons are also cultivated here by the Indians. Above this point the soil appears to be 
quite poor. The ascent of the dividing ridge is long and broken, but never very steep for any 
long distance, although the elevation of the summit is great. The mountains are generally cov¬ 
ered with yellow pine, never thick, nor with much underbrush ; sometimes they present tracts of 
bare lava. The,descent to the Nahchess is quite steep, and is generally wooded with the same 
timber. The soil on the divide is of the most inferior quality. We encamped this day about 
half a mile from the Nahchess, on a small spring branch. I will now, for a moment, omit the 
description of the Nahchess valley as we travelled up; merely state that on the 2-5th we reached 
and encamped upon the summit, and then take up the description of the valley from its junction 
with the Yakima, without reference to daily marches. 
To the distance of some twelve miles above its mouth, this valley varies from one mile to two 
miles in width, with one or two low terraces. There is no timber here; the fringe of bushy 
cotton-wood and willow being too insignificant to deserve the name. When the valley is not 
covered with volcanic stones, it is, to all appearance, of the most miserable soil, generally covered 
with wild sage, and having but little grass. The hills are quite precipitous where they border 
the valley, and increase in height as they approach the main range. At the distance from the 
mouth above mentioned, the character of the valley undergoes an entire change. The hills by 
this time become mountains, close in upon the stream, so that the valley from here to the head is 
reduced, as a general rule, to a mere canon, occasionally widening out for short distances. The 
stream winds with very sharp curves. The canons are often, for a mile or two in length, occu¬ 
pied to their whole width by the stream. The walls of these canons frequently rise vertically to 
the height of 400 feet, the mountains coming boldly down to their edges. The walls are of solid 
rock—generally trap, or a compact igneous rock. The Indian trail is a very bad one—avoiding 
the valley, and keeping to the mountain-sides, where the ground is very stony; the ascents and 
descents long and steep—so much so, that it would not be possible to construct a wagon-road along 
the mountain-sides at any reasonable expense. The road would, therefore, be forced into the 
valley, and necessarily be located at times in the water, besides requiring an almost endless number 
of crossings. Independently of the impossible grade necessary near the head of the valley, the 
amount of side-cutting in rock, embankment, sharp curves, deep cutting, and short tunnels, would 
render the construction of a railroad too difficult and expensive, if not impracticable. The timber 
(yellow pine) commences in the valley, about eighteen miles from the mouth. For some distance 
it is open, and, with the undergrowth, thick only in places. The nearer the divide is approached, 
the thicker the growth becomes—the underbrush and fallen logs more troublesome—and the yel¬ 
low pine gradually gives place to the white spruce, balsam-fir, &c., until, near the summit, it dis¬ 
appears. In all the openings of the valley the grass is good. Some fifteen miles east of the 
summit there is a chain of small marshy prairies, with excellent grass; and upon the mountains 
immediately south of the pass are some five or six prairies of a larger size, and similar nature, 
through which the trail passes. It may be well to mention here, once for all, that the Indian trails 
in these mountains seldom follow the valleys; they generally keep to the higher ground, where 
the woods are less dense; for the Indian prefers riding over a mountain, to the labor of cutting a 
