CHAPTER III. 
From the valley of Franklin river , east base of the Humboldt mountains , to the crossing 
of the Humboldt river—May 24 to June 9, 1854. 
Journey along the eastern base of the Humboldt mountains.—Forty hot springs.—Mountain chiefly granite.—Eclipse of the 
sun.—Lakes.—Shore-lines.—Digger Indians.—Fevers.—Numerous Springs.—Outlet of subterranean river.—Passage of the 
Humboldt mountains to the southern branch of the Humboldt river.—Interior or secondary basin. Digger methods of catching 
gophers and marmots.—Indian singing, lodges, and wardrobes.—Quartz mountain.—Agate Pass.—Rheumatic fevers—Snow¬ 
storm.—Difficult mountain passage.—Lake and miry plain.—Edible roots.—Return to proposed railroad line.—Description 
of the valley of the Humboldt.—Character of the vegetation of a large portion of the country between the Rocky mountains 
and the Sierra Nevada.—Humboldt river.—Bad character of its water and grass.—Cause of the loss of stock; how avoided. 
May 24.—We travelled south, along the eastern base of the Humboldt mountains, crossing 
numerous small creeks, and at our camp a mountain torrent, which we were obliged to bridge, 
although it did not exceed twelve feet in width by two in depth, hut it poured by with great fury; 
yet we were hut a few hundred feet above the plain, which we were obliged to avoid on account of 
the miry hanks of its numerous creeks. The base of the mountain is finely covered with grass, 
hut we occasionally passed fields of sage and thorny hushes, the latter covered with myriads 
of nesting caterpillars. Before leaving camp this morning, a few miserable Indians came in, 
hut they were very wild and timid; and we met a naked, stalwart fellow during the day, whom 
I adorned with rings. 
In the plain at the foot of the hills near our camp this evening there are some forty hot 
springs. Their orifices are in granite—the water boiling up as from a well into funnel-shaped 
basins, and a small pond is formed by their united waters, with vertical granite walls even 
with the surface of the plain. There is a slight odor of sulphuretted hydrogen about them, 
hut the water, when cooled, tastes pure and fresh, and is limpid. They are more or less inter¬ 
mittent in their action, and the temperatures of the different springs vary from 120° to 170°, 
and the total amount of water which they discharge is small. The mountain above us and 
along our path to-day is almost entirely granitic—sometimes very fine, at others feldspathic 
and crumbling, or micaceous and disintegrating. The morning was very beautiful and 
pleasantly cool, and mid-day warm ; hut we were thoroughly drenched by rain before encamping. 
Day’s march, 19.17 miles. 
May 25.—It commenced raining soon after daylight this morning, and continued until night, 
making the soil very soft for travelling, and swelling every rivulet to a mountain torrent; so 
that, although we started at the usual hour, and did not encamp until late, we made hut 7.99 
miles; and, although we built several bridges in this short distance, several of the gentlemen 
Avere thrown into the swollen streams, their riding-animals being thrown down by the force of 
the water ; hut this bathing was of little consequence, as we were all thoroughly drenched from 
early morning until sundown. We remained in camp on the 26th, for the purpose of observing 
the eclipse of the sun, for longitude, for which we were very anxious, all our previous efforts 
having proved so abortive. But the morning was unfortunately very cloudy, and we failed in 
seeing its commencement, and were no more fortunate at its termination, the sun only occasion¬ 
ally breaking through the clouds during the day, and being too much clouded for the exact 
observation of its termination. The day was considerably darkened and chilled by the obscura¬ 
tion. Our camp is magnetic west from the point where we entered this valley, near a small 
lake, six days since. 
