One of them signified, that he knew where there was water over the next ridge of mountains. Water at the western base of the next range would diminish the long march without this necessary element, over the great Salt Plain, some ten or twelve miles. Descending into the plain or valley before us, we took a northwest course across it, striking Capt. Fremont's trail of last year after we had commenced the ascent of the slope on the western side. The breadth of this valley at this point, from the base of one range of mountains to the other, is about twenty miles.
Large portion sol it are covered with a saline efflorescence of a snowy whiteness.
Not a solitary flower or green plant has exhibited itself. In our march we crossed and passed several deep ravines and chasms, plowed by the waters from the mountains during the melting of the snows, or hollowed out by the action of the winds. Not a living object, animal, reptile, or insect, has been seen during our day's march. There are a few dwarf cedars in our vicinity, and scattered bunches of dead grass. A dense smoky vapor fills the valley and conceals the summits of the distant mountains.