METEOROLOGY OP THE CASCADES. 
391 
During this day the thermometer indicated a temperature below the freezing-point, and ice 
formed to the thickness of half an inch. At the same time and place strawberries were growing 
in great luxuriance and abundance—an anomaly agreeable in itself, and worthy of mention. 
The Indians, who resort to this place annually for berries, informed me that the weather was 
usually as we lound it there; and they were well provided with blankets for protection against 
the cold. From the same source I gathered the information that the snow falls here as early as 
November, and during the winter covered the trees. 
On leaving the low prairie lands back of Vancouver, and gradually penetrating the range of 
mountains, the atmosphere, clear below, became smoky. This appearance continued throughout 
the country in the vicinity of the mountains. It is believed to be caused chiefly by the immense 
fires which, from time to time, are kindled in the forests by the Indians, and which lay waste 
large sections of country. For scores of miles we marched through a country entirely devastated 
by this element. 
The change of temperature from a high point to a low one as we ascended the mountains, its 
remaining at nearly a fixed point while traversing the summit, and the gradual increase as we 
descended into the valleys, will be noticed by referring to the tables. 
The expedition remained in camp in the valley of the Wenass river two weeks. At this point 
the thermometer ranges higher than at any other. The highest temperature indicated was on the 
24th of August, at 3 p. m., 100° in the shade; but during the last week in August the average 
temperature at meridian was above 90°—at sunrise it reached 50°. The valley of the We¬ 
nass is almost one thousand feet above the sea-level. An extract from my meteorological journal 
for one day describes the appearance of the cloudy and the general character of the weather 
throughout the month. 
Avgust 26.—Sun rose clear and brilliant; no dew; air hot and dry at 8 a. m.; no breeze until 
9 a. m. From 9 a. m. light cirrus and cirro-stratus clouds visible, rising in southern and western 
horizon, gradually becoming cumulus p. m. Sky one-third cloudy at 4. p. m. The last three days 
would have been suffocating by heat had it not been for a gentle breeze, and clouds at intervals 
obscuring the sun. The thermometer near a cool running stream, and in the shade, ranges from 
90° to 100°. Strong breeze from northwest at 9 p. m. Comet visible from G-l to 7.38 p. m.; 
brilliant near the horizon, and emitting luminous particles from the nucleus, or from the tail near 
the nucleus. That there should be no possibility of mistake about this last phenomenon, I called 
others to observe it, and for several minutes luminous particles were distinctly seen thrown out, 
like sparks from heated iron under the hammer, taking no regular course, and expiring a short 
distance from the nucleus or tail. 
From the camp on the Wenass river the expedition moved to the valley of the Yakima, about 
twenty miles to the north and east, where we remained in camp about three weeks. The tem¬ 
perature here was much lower than at Wenass. From the 1st to the 19th of September, the ther¬ 
mometer at noon seldom indicated a higher temperature than 70° to 80°. Some rain fell early in 
the month; the weather was threatening, and the barometer unsettled in its indications for several 
days preceding and succeeding the 10th. I am informed by the Indians, and also by the rever¬ 
end father of the Yakima mission, that the snow in the winter falls in these valleys to a depth of 
from six to ten feet, rendering them wholly uninhabitable, except near the mouth of the Yakima 
and the approaches to the Columbia river. 
The expedition reached Fort Okinakane September 27th, and here again for a few days the 
heat was intense. The temperature of the water of the Columbia was above 52°, and of the 
Okinakane much higher. 
Proceeding up the Methow river, and attaining a latitude above 48°, and a point elevated some 
two thousand feet above the sea, we again, only three days after leaving Okinakane, found a tem¬ 
perature below freezing at sunrise, and scarcely reaching 50° at meridian. 
While ascending the Okinakane river, early in October, the temperature, after the first chill of 
